S 2517 IS

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.

May 8, 2000

Mr. ASHCROFT introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

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.

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