Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003
Latest action. Returned to the Calendar. Calendar No. 362.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2003 - Title I: Amendments to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act - (Sec. 101) Amends the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to revise programs and reauthorize appropriations through FY 2009.
Revises IDEA part A general provisions, including definitions. Eliminates, from assistive technology device and related services, coverage of: (1) surgically implanted medical devices; (2) such devices' post-surgical maintenance, programming, or replacement; and (3) external devices connected with the use of such devices. Allows routine maintenance and monitoring of an external device at the same time the child is receiving IDEA assistance. Allows a State or local educational agency (LEA), with respect to children ages three to nine, to include any subset of that age range for purposes of determinations that an individual is experiencing development delays and needs special education and related services as a child with a disability. Provides definitions of core academic subject, highly qualified teacher, consultative services, and limited English proficient individual to conform with requirements under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA). Includes interpreting services, school health services, and travel training instruction under related services. Includes oral transliteration services, cued language transliteration services, and sign language interpreting services among interpreting services for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Sets forth requirements relating to State administration, policies, and rulemaking under IDEA.
Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) review Federal, State, and local requirements relating to the education of children with disabilities to determine which requirements result in excessive paperwork completion burdens for teachers, related services providers, and school administrators; and (2) report to Congress on such review, with strategic proposals for reducing the paperwork burdens on teachers.
Revises IDEA part B assistance for education of all children with disabilities.
Continues the permanent authorization of appropriations for part B programs, including the separate authorization for preschool grants.
The summary continues for 88 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on November 3, 2003. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on May 13, 2004: Returned to the Calendar. Calendar No. 362.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 108th Congress (2003-04), 498 of the 8,623 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 5.8 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Judd Gregg (R-NH) introduced it on June 12, 2003, and 14 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 8 Democrats, 5 Republicans, 1 independent.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 12, 2003, 8538 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 8202 days ago, on May 13, 2004.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 108th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2005 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers