The Education Task Force of the Consortium of Citizens with Disabilities, a Task Force made up of over 60 national disability organizations, opposes amendments to IDEA that would weaken the current provisions related to disciplining students with disabilities. Current provisions, carefully crafted in 1997, ensure safe schools without jeopardizing the right to education for students with disabilities.

"Congressional decision making should be driven by facts, not anecdotes," said Jane West, co-chair of the Education Task Force. "The General Accounting Office has studied the implementation of the discipline provisions of IDEA and determined that they are not an obstacle for administrators in ensuring safe schools. Most schools are having no problems with the current provisions."

The Task Force urges the reauthorization of IDEA to focus on measures to increase the effective implementation and enforcement of the law. Most discipline problems can be handled by designing and implementing appropriate individualized education programs (IEPs) or by properly implementing the existing IEPs. It is critical to enhance training of school personnel in order to ensure that everyone working with students with behavior problems has effective behavior management skills. Teachers and related personnel in both general education and special education should have training in techniques to teach students positive appropriate behavior. Furthermore, schools should have the resources required to implement school wide positive behavior support initiatives, which have been proven to reduce discipline problems among all students.

"Parents of students with disabilities are just as committed to safe schools as are all parents," said Paul Marchand of The Arc, also a co-chair of the Education Task Force. "Ending educational services for students with behavior problems, whether they have disabilities or not, is not sound education policy. No one is safe when a troubled child is left unsupervised on our streets."

The 1997 IDEA discipline amendments which are in current law provide ample authority for school officials to readily remove students with disabilities from school who are dangerous. Students may be placed in alternative settings for up to 45 days and may be moved to another setting entirely by the team planning the child’s IEP.

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