S 969 IS

To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 to authorize schools to apply appropriate discipline measures in cases where students have weapons or threaten to harm others, and for other purposes.

May 5, 1999

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 authorize schools to apply appropriate discipline measures in cases where students have weapons or threaten to harm others, 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 my be cited as the `School Safety Act of 1999'.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.

(a) PLACEMENT IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS- Section 615(k) of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415(k)) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), by striking `45 days if--' and all that follows through `(II) the child' and inserting `45 days if the child';

(2) in paragraph (2), by striking `A hearing' and inserting `Except as provided in paragraph (10), a hearing';

(3) by redesignating paragraph (10) as paragraph (11);

(4) by inserting after paragraph (9) the following new section:

`(10) Expulsion or suspension with respect to weapons-

`(A) AUTHORITY OF SCHOOL PERSONNEL WITH RESPECT TO WEAPONS- Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, school personnel may suspend or expel a child with a disability who--

`(i) 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; or

`(ii) 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;

in the same manner in which such personnel would suspend or expel a child without a disability.

`(B) DEFINITIONS- For the purposes of this paragraph:

`(i) WEAPON- The term `weapon' has the meaning given the term under applicable State law.

`(ii) THREATENS TO CARRY, POSSESS, OR USE A WEAPON- The term `threatens to carry, possess, or use a weapon' includes behavior in which a child verbally threatens to kill another person.

`(C) FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION-

`(i) CEASING TO PROVIDE EDUCATION- A child expelled or suspended under subparagraph (A) shall not be entitled to continued educational services, including, but not limited to a free appropriate public education, under this Act, 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 suspended or expelled.

`(ii) PROVIDING EDUCATION- Notwithstanding clause (i), the local educational agency responsible for providing educational services to a child with a disability who is expelled or suspended under subparagraph (A) may choose to continue to provide educational services to such child. If the local educational agency so chooses, then--

`(I) nothing in this Act shall require the local educational agency to provide such child with a free appropriate public education, or any particular level of service; and

`(II) the site where the local educational agency provides the services shall be left to the discretion of the local educational agency.'.

(5) in paragraph (11) (as redesignated in paragraph (3)), by striking subparagraph (D).

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS-

(1) Section 612(a)(1)(A) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting before the period `(except as provided in section 615(k)(10))'.

(2) Section 615(f)(1) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415(f)(1)) is amended by inserting at the beginning of the first sentence `Except as provided in section 615(k)(10),'.

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(k)(10) of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415(k)(10)).'.

END