Juvenile justice bill would ease discipline restrictions under IDEA

6/8/99 – Most of the attention focused on new gun restrictions, but the juvenile justice bill passed by the Senate May 20 also includes an amendment to allow school officials to suspend or expel disabled students with weapons under the same terms they would discipline non-disabled students.

That amendment, offered by senators Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and John Ashcroft (R-Mo.), allows schools to equally discipline all students who carry guns or bombs to school and authorizes schools to cut off educational services to disabled students who are suspended or expelled for weapons-related offenses. It was passed on the Senate floor by a vote of 74-25.

NSBA supports the amendment, arguing it will give districts more flexibility in student discipline, says Dan Fuller, Federal Relations Network advocate. "Eliminating this double standard will help local communities ensure safer schools and help prevent gun violence."

If approved by Congress, the amendment would overturn the provision in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) that allows school officials to transfer disabled students to an alternative setting for 45 days if they carry weapons, possess drugs, or pose a safety risk to themselves or others. During that period, IDEA requires schools to continue to provide education services to those students.

The provision, enacted in 1997, was an improvement over the previous law, which made it even more difficult for schools to discipline disabled students.

Federal law requires regular education students caught with a gun in school to be expelled for at least one year, Frist said during the debate on the amendment. Yet, IDEA says "there is a certain group of students . . . to whom that does not apply," he notes. A child in special education who brings a gun or bomb to school should not be "treated preferentially."

Sen. Tom Harkin (R-Iowa) argued against the Frist-Ashcroft amendment, charging that a dual-discipline standard is needed to protect the rights of special education students.

To stop Harkin's attempted filibuster of the entire juvenile justice bill, the Senate agreed on a voice vote to approve his amendment to mandate mental health services for violent students.

It would require schools to provide immediate appropriate intervention and services, including mental health, for any child--non-disabled as well as disabled--who possesses weapons or commits a violent act.

NSBA opposes this mandate and will urge members of the House not to include it in their version of the juvenile justice bill. The House is scheduled to begin debate on the bill the second week of June.

The Senate passed the Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Accountability and Rehabilitation Act (S.254) on a 73-25 vote, after Vice President Al Gore cast a tie-breaking vote on an amendment to require background checks on firearms sold at gun shows.

The bill is the first major victory for gun control advocates in the past five years. They hope Congress will become more receptive to the issue following the shootings at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., and other recent incidents of school violence.

Another key provision passed with bipartisan support would require child-safety locks or secure gun storage devices to be sold with handguns.

House leaders, including Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas), and Judiciary Committee Chair Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), recently announced they will support gun control measures in their version of the juvenile justice bill.

The Senate bill provides approximately $1 billion for various initiatives to fight juvenile crime and prevent juvenile delinquency. It includes $500 million for state block grants, which can be used for more detention facilities, tougher sentencing provisions, drug testing and treatment, school counseling, and crime prevention.

In other provisions of the Senate bill:

• It would authorize $75 million annually to help states upgrade juvenile felony records and provide school officials access to these records in appropriate circumstances.

• It would provide $435 million to the states for prevention programs, including programs targeting gangs in schools.

• The bill would authorize a three-year $45 million demonstration project to provide alternative education to troubled youths.

• It would provide assistance to school districts and states for comprehensive school security assessments; violence prevention and mentoring programs; school resource officers; and the purchase of security equipment, such as metal detectors, electronic locks, and surveillance cameras.

• Incentives would be provided to make school discipline records available when students transfer from one school to another.

• An amendment by senators Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), which passed by a large margin, facilitates the setting of voluntary ratings by the motion picture, recording, and video game industries; directs the federal government to study the extent to which these industries market violent material to children; and funds a study on the effects of violent entertainment on children.

• The bill encourages the large Internet service providers to offer filtering software to empower parents to restrict their children's access to unsuitable material.

• It would be illegal to provide bomb-making instructions on the Internet.

• A juvenile who illegally brings a gun or ammunition to school would face up to 20 years in prison.

• Anyone who committed a violent felony as a juvenile would be prohibited from possessing a firearm.