To authorize appropriations for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to achieve full funding in fiscal year 2004 and fiscal year 2005, and for other purposes.

February 13, 2003

Mr. VITTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

To authorize appropriations for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to achieve full funding in fiscal year 2004 and fiscal year 2005, 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 `IDEA Keeping Our Commitment Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds the following:

(1) In 1975, Congress passed the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (enacted as Public Law 94-142), now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.), which established a Federal commitment to provide schools with 40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure for the purpose of educating children with disabilities.

(2) To date, the Federal Government has never contributed more than 14.9 percent of the maximum State grant allocation for educating children with disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

(3) The failure by the Federal Government to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has forced State and local governments to divert funding from other worthy projects, including school construction and hiring additional teachers, in order to pay for the full costs of educating children with disabilities.

(4) Each year, State and local educational agencies are forced to spend precious resources to simply comply with numerous reporting requirements called for under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

(5) Although Congress has increased Federal funding for special education by 129 percent since 1995, the failure by the Federal Government to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act constitutes a de facto unfunded Federal mandate on the States.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

It is the purpose of this Act to reach the Federal Government's goal of providing 40 percent of the national average per pupil expenditure for the purpose of educating all children with disabilities in fiscal year 2004 and fiscal year 2005.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.

Section 611(j) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411(j)) is amended to read as follows:

`(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- For the purpose of carrying out this part, other than section 619, there are authorized to be appropriated--

`(1) $17,700,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and

`(2) $18,400,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.'.

END