article: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Reducing Special Education Through Prevention Act''. SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT. (a) In General.--Part D of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Subpart 3--Grants To Improve School-Based Early Intervention Services for Children With Emotional Disturbances ``SEC. 691. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. ``(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following: ``(1) During 2002-2001 approximately 472,932 children between the ages of 6 and 21 who were receiving special education and related services were identified as having emotional disturbances--a 21.8 percent increase from the number of such children so identified during 1990-1991. These children with emotional disturbances represent 7.7 percent of the total number of children with disabilities and approximately 1 percent of the general population of the United States. ``(2) It is estimated that up to 19 percent of the total number of students in elementary and secondary schools in the United States exhibit symptoms of emotional disturbance or symptoms of other mental health conditions, but only 1 percent of such students are properly identified as such and receive necessary services. These students fail more classes, miss more days of school, have lower grades, are more frequently retained at the same grade level for more than 1 school year, drop out from school more frequently, and have lower graduation rates than do other students with disabilities. ``(3) At the Conference on Children's Mental Health in September 2000, the Surgeon General stated that `[c]hildren and families are suffering because of missed opportunities for prevention and early identification [of children with emotional disturbances], fragmented services, and low priorities for resources'. ``(4) Goal Number 3 of the Conference on Children's Mental Health Report is to improve the assessment and recognition of the mental health needs of children, including through the following actions: ``(A) Encourage early identification of mental health needs in existing preschool, childcare, education, health, welfare, juvenile justice, and substance abuse treatment systems. ``(B) Promote cost-effective, proactive systems of behavior support at the school level. These systems of behavior support should emphasize universal, primary prevention methods that recognize the unique differences of all children and youth, but should include selective individual student support for those students with more intense and long-term needs. ``(5) Improving outcomes for children with emotional disturbances depends not only on improving the learning opportunities of such children, but also on promoting effective coordination among schools, families, and systems that provide services for such children, such as the social services, health, mental health, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems. Positive results of such coordination include increased retention in school, improved educational outcomes, and the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral development of such children. ``(6) Increased academic performance, improved attendance, increased engagement in academic activities, and fewer disruptions to the learning environment are a few of the many positive outcomes documented when systems that provide services for children with emotional disturbances include a continuum of services such as prevention, early intervention at the first indication of a mental health problem or behavioral difficulty of a child, and treatment of severe and chronic mental health problems. ``(7) Surveys of school administrators indicate that behavioral problems, lack of discipline, safety of students, and violence in schools are among top concerns with respect to public education today. Teachers spend inordinate amounts of time and energy during the school day managing student misbehavior and conflict--time and energy that could be spent on teaching and learning. ``(8) Effective early intervention strategies to reduce the number of children who have, or who are at risk of developing, emotional disturbances currently exist. As the National Academy of Sciences concluded in its 2002 report ``Minority Students in Special and Gifted Education'', early intervention for children at risk of behavorial problems ``has been demonstrated to be considerably greater than the effectiveness of later, postfailure intervention''. ``(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this subpart is to develop and implement strategies to reduce the number of children who have, or who are at risk of developing, emotional disturbances that require the provision of special education and related services under this Act. ``SEC. 692. AUTHORIZATION. ``(a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized to make grants for a three-year period to State educational agencies and local educational agencies to develop and implement effective strategies to reduce the number of children who have, or who are at risk of developing, emotional disturbances that require the provision of special education and related services under this Act. ``(b) Priority.--In making grants under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority to State educational agencies and local educational agencies that agree to provide additional annual reports to the Secretary in accordance with section 697 after completion of the term of the grant. ``SEC. 693. APPLICATION. ``(a) In General.--A State educational agency or local educational agency that desires to receive a grant under this subpart shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and including such information as the Secretary may require. ``(b) Contents.--The application shall include the following: ``(1) A description of a plan, developed in consultation with families of children who will be eligible to participate in activities carried out under this subpart, teachers, and mental health and related service providers, to carry out activities under the grant. ``(2) A description of prevention and early intervention services provided to date in schools with respect to which activities under a grant under this subpart are proposed to be carried out. ``(3) A description of the outcome measures that will be used to demonstrate the effectiveness of activities carried out to achieve the purpose of this subpart and to comply with the requirements of paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 694(b). ``(4) A description of the funding structure of amounts received under a grant under this subpart, including a detailed description for compliance with the matching requirement under section 695. ``(5) Assurances that activities carried out under this subpart will be culturally competent. ``(6) Assurances that amounts received under a grant under this subpart will be used to supplement and not supplant amounts from other sources to carry out activities consistent with the purpose of this subpart. ``SEC. 694. USE OF AMOUNTS. ``(a) In General.--A State educational agency or local educational agency, as the case may be, that receives a grant under this subpart may use amounts received under the grant to carry out activities that are consistent with the purpose of this subpart, including the following activities: ``(1) Universal, primary prevention strategies at the school level to reduce the number of children who have, or who are at risk of developing, emotional disturbances that require the provision of special education and related services under this Act. ``(2) Early intervention services and individual support for children who have, or who are at risk of developing, emotional disturbances and who are not currently provided services pursuant to part B of this Act. ``(3) Effective coordination among schools, families, and systems that provide services for such children, such as the social services, health, mental health, child welfare, and juvenile justice systems. ``(4) Training of staff and professional development with respect to prevention and early intervention strategies. ``(b) Additional Requirements.--In carrying out the activities described in subsection (a), the agency shall-- ``(1) coordinate such activities with appropriate social services providers, health (including mental health) providers, child welfare organizations, and juvenile justice organizations; ``(2) ensure that a sufficient number of children are provided services in order to produce results that are measurable and reliable under evaluations of such activities conducted pursuant to section 698; ``(3) ensure that not more than 5 percent of the amount of a grant is used for administrative expenses, including expenses related to the collection of data; ``(4) ensure that such activities do not adversely affect school attendance, dropout rates, classroom behavior, academic achievement, or the general welfare of students who receive special education and related services; ``(5) ensure that such activities do not result in increased segregation of students receiving special education classes from students in the general education program or curriculum of the school; and ``(6) ensure that such activities are culturally competent and are evidenced-based. ``SEC. 695. MATCHING REQUIREMENT. ``The Secretary may not make a grant to a State educational agency or local educational agency under this subpart unless the agency agrees that, with respect to the costs to be incurred in carrying out the activities for which the grant was awarded, the agency will make available non-Federal contributions in an amount equal to not less than 35 percent of such costs for the first year of the grant, 50 percent of such costs for the second year of the grant, and 65 percent of such costs for the third year of the grant. ``SEC. 696. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES. The Secretary may reserve not more than 10 percent of the amount made available to carry out this subpart for a fiscal year for administrative expenses in carrying out this subpart, including expenses relating to the evaluation conducted under section 698. ``SEC. 697. REPORTS TO SECRETARY. ``A State educational agency or local educational agency that receives a grant under this subpart shall submit annually to the Secretary a report that contains such information as the Secretary may reasonably require, including a description of the collection of data by the agency to ensure compliance with the requirements of this subpart (particularly the requirements contained in paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 694(b)). ``SEC. 698. EVALUATIONS. ``The Secretary shall, directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements, conduct evaluations of activities established and carried out under grants made under this subpart. ``SEC. 699. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. ``The Secretary shall submit annually to Congress a report that contains the following: ``(1) A summary and analysis of the data in the reports submitted to the Secretary under section 697. ``(2) A summary of the evaluations conducted under section 698. ``SEC. 699A. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subpart such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2003 through 2007.''. (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``subpart 3--grants to improve school-based early intervention services for children with emotional disturbances ``Sec. 691. Findings; purpose. ``Sec. 692. Authorization. ``Sec. 693. Application. ``Sec. 694. Use of amounts. ``Sec. 695. Matching requirement. ``Sec. 696. Administrative expenses. ``Sec. 697. Reports to Secretary. ``Sec. 698. Evaluations. ``Sec. 699. Reports to Congress. ``Sec. 699A. Authorization of appropriations.
summary: Reducing Special Education Through Prevention Act - Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to establish a program of grants to improve school-based early intervention services for children with emotional disturbances.Authorizes the Secretary of Education to make program grants to State or local educational agencies to develop and implement strategies to reduce the number of children who have, or who are at risk of developing, emotional disturbances that require special education and related services under IDEA. Includes among authorized activities: (1) universal, primary prevention strategies at the school level; (2) early intervention services and individual support for such children who are not currently served under IDEA; (3) coordination among schools, families, and other service provider systems; and (4) staff training and professional development.