Government Relations Action Alert

IDEA Reauthorization Bill Introduced in Senate
S. 1248

June 18, 2003

On Thursday, June 12, Sens. Judd Gregg (R-NH) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) introduced a bipartisan bill to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The bill, S. 1248, can be viewed in its entirety at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills&docid=f:s1248is.txt.pdf  (If you have trouble viewing it this way, please go to www.congress.gov and type in S. 1248 at the bill number prompt.)

The offices of Sens. Gregg and Kennedy will be meeting with interested parties, including NASW, over the next two weeks in order to hear their views on the bill. The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee will also be accepting comments on the bill from the public via e-mail. You can e-mail comments to idea_feedback@labor.senate.gov In the subject line, type “IDEA Reauthorization Feedback.”  The Committee has scheduled a “mark-up” of the bill for June 25.

Key Points of S. 1248

• Related Services Personnel—The language in the Senate bill regarding related services personnel is considerably better than the House language.  The Senate bill includes related services personnel in numerous sections of the bill, and social workers are listed among the professionals who fall into this category. The bill also acknowledges that special education teachers and related services personnel should be highly qualified.  NASW is supportive of the National Alliance of Pupil Services Organizations’ efforts to have a definition of “highly qualified personnel” added to the bill. 
• Funding—Sen. Kennedy would like IDEA funding to be made mandatory, but Sen. Gregg wants to keep it as a discretionary program. This bill does not address the issue of full funding; instead, it will be addressed during the debate on the Senate floor through the introduction of amendments.
• Discipline—The language in this bill is an improvement over the House bill’s language.  S. 1248 includes language regarding a manifestation determination as part of the discipline process, which the House bill does not.  However, this does not appear to apply in the case of students being removed from their current placements due to drugs, weapons violations, and serious bodily injury. 
• A downside of the Senate bill is that it eliminates the requirement for schools to conduct a functional behavioral assessment when removing a student from school, as does the House bill.
• IEP—The Senate bill eliminates the section in the IEP that sets short term objectives. Rather, students will receive a progress report (which could potentially increase paperwork) along with their quarterly report cards. This change could make it more difficult for parents and schools to measure students’ progress. In addition, the bill offers the option of a three-year IEP for students between the ages of 18 and 21.
• Research—The responsibility for administering IDEA’s Part D Research (Sec. 653) and Studies and Evaluations (Sec. 666) programs is moved from the Dept. of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). IES was just created last year and has no proven track record, while OSEP has been doing this research for the past 30 years.

To view additional information on IDEA Reauthorization, please visit NASW’s website at: https://www.socialworkers.org/advocacy/issues/education.asp  If you have questions, you may also contact Ann Bradford, senior government relations associate, at 202-336-8237 or abradford@naswdc.org