Declares that a child expelled or suspended shall not be entitled to continued educational services, including a free appropriate public education, during the term of such expulsion or suspension, if the State does not require a child without a disability to receive educational services after being expelled or suspended. Authorizes the LEA, even if State law does not require it to do so, to choose to continue to provide educational services, at any level of services and at a site it chooses.
Amends the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 to subject certain provisions to IDEA requirements added by this Act for school expulsion or suspension, because of a weapons violation, of a child with a disability.
[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2517 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
106th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2517
To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Gun-
Free Schools Act of 1994 to allow school personnel to apply appropriate
discipline measures to all students in cases involving weapons, illegal
drugs, and assaults upon teachers, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 8, 2000
Mr. Ashcroft introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Gun-
Free Schools Act of 1994 to allow school personnel to apply appropriate
discipline measures to all students in cases involving weapons, illegal
drugs, and assaults upon teachers, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``School Safety Act of 2000''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.
(a) Procedural Safeguards.-- Section 615 of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(n) Discipline by Local Authority With Respect to Weapons, Drugs,
and Teacher Assaults.--
``(1) Authority of school personnel with respect to
weapons, drugs, and teacher assaults.--Notwithstanding any
other provision of this title, school personnel may discipline
(including expel or suspend) a child with a disability in the
same manner in which such personnel may discipline a child
without a disability if the child with a disability--
``(A) carries or possesses a weapon to or at a
school, on school premises, or to or at a school
function under the jurisdiction of a State or a local
educational agency;
``(B) threatens to carry, possess, or use a weapon
to or at a school, on school premises, or to or at a
school function under the jurisdiction of a State or a
local educational agency;
``(C) possesses or uses illegal drugs or sells or
solicits the sale of a controlled substance while at
school, on school premises, or at a school function
under the jurisdiction of a State or local educational
agency; or
``(D) assaults or threatens to assault a teacher,
teacher's aide, principal, school counselor, or other
school personnel, including independent contractors and
volunteers.
``(2) Individual determinations.--In carrying out any
disciplinary action described in paragraph (1), school
personnel have discretion to consider all germane factors in
each individual case and modify any disciplinary action on a
case-by-case basis.
``(3) Defense.--Nothing in paragraph (1) shall be construed
to prevent a child with a disability who is disciplined
pursuant to the authority provided under paragraph (1) from
asserting a defense that the alleged act was unintentional or
innocent.
``(4) Free appropriate public education.--
``(A) Ceasing to provide education.--
Notwithstanding section 612(a)(1)(A), or any other
provision of this title, a child expelled or suspended
under paragraph (1) shall not be entitled to continued
educational services, including a free appropriate
public education, under this subsection, during the
term of such expulsion or suspension, if the State in
which the local educational agency responsible for
providing educational services to such child does not
require a child without a disability to receive
educational services after being expelled or suspended.
``(B) Providing education.--Notwithstanding
subparagraph (A), the local educational agency
responsible for providing educational services to a
child with a disability who is expelled or suspended
under paragraph (1) may choose to continue to provide
educational services to such child. If the local
educational agency so chooses to continue to provide
the services--
``(i) nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to require the local educational
agency to provide such child with a free
appropriate public education, or any particular
level of service; and
``(ii) the location where the local
educational agency provides the services shall
be left to the discretion of the local
educational agency.
``(5) Relationship to other requirements.--
``(A) Plan requirements.--No agency shall be
considered to be in violation of section 612 or 613
because the agency has provided discipline, services,
or assistance in accordance with this subsection.
``(B) Procedure.--None of the procedural safeguards
or disciplinary procedures of this Act shall apply to
this subsection, and the relevant procedural safeguards
and disciplinary procedures applicable to children
without disabilities may be applied to the child with a
disability in the same manner in which such safeguards
and procedures would be applied to children without
disabilities.
``(6) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Threaten to carry, possess, or use a
weapon.--The term `threaten to carry, possess, or use a
weapon' includes behavior in which a child verbally
threatens to kill another person.
``(B) Weapon, illegal drug, controlled substance,
and assault.--The terms `weapon', `illegal drug',
`controlled substance', `assault', `unintentional', and
`innocent' have the meanings given such terms under
State law.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 615 of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415) is amended--
(1) in subsection (f)(1), by striking ``Whenever'' and
inserting the following: ``Except as provided in section
615(n), whenever''; and
(2) in subsection (k)--
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraph (A)
and inserting the following:
``(A) In any disciplinary situation except for such
situations as described in subsection (n), school personnel
under this section may order a change in the placement of a
child with a disability to an appropriate interim alternative
educational setting, another setting, or suspension, for not
more than 10 school days (to the extent such alternatives would
apply to children without disabilities).'';
(B) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the
following:
``(3) Any interim alternative educational setting in which a child
is placed under paragraph (1) or (2) shall--
``(A) be selected so as to enable the child to continue to
participate in the general curriculum, although in another
setting, and to continue to receive those services and
modifications, including those described in the child's current
IEP, that will enable the child to meet the goals set out in
that IEP; and
``(B) include services and modifications designed to
address the behavior described in paragraphs (1) or (2) so that
it does not recur.'';
(C) in paragraph (6)(B)--
(i) in clause (i), by striking ``(i) In
reviewing'' and inserting ``In reviewing''; and
(ii) by striking clause (ii);
(D) in paragraph (7)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking
``paragraph (1)(A)(ii) or'' each place it
appears; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking
``paragraph (1)(A)(ii) or''; and
(E) by striking paragraph (10) and inserting the
following:
``(10) Substantial evidence.--The term `substantial evidence' means
beyond a preponderance of the evidence.''.
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE GUN-FREE SCHOOLS ACT OF 1994.
Subsection (c) of section 14601 of the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994
(20 U.S.C. 8921) is amended to read as follows:
``(c) Special Rule.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, this section shall be subject to section 615(n) of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415(n)).''.
SEC. 4. APPLICATION.
The amendments made by sections 2 and 3 shall not apply to conduct
occurring prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. (text of measure as introduced: CR S3614)
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