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1999 SESSION

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HJ 650 Memorializing Congress; discipline of students with disabilities.

Introduced by: John A. Rollison III | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles | history

SUMMARY AS PASSED:

Discipline of students with disabilities. Memorializes Congress to reconsider federal restrictions on discipline of certain students with disabilities. This resolution notes that the majority of students with disabilities behave well in school; however, there are some students with disabilities who have serious behavior problems, resulting in violence and disruption in the educational environment.

SUMMARY AS INTRODUCED:

Memorializing Congress; discipline of students with disabilities. Memorializes Congress to reconsider federal restrictions on discipline of certain students with disabilities. This resolution notes that the majority of students with disabilities behave well in school; however, there are some students with disabilities who have serious behavior problems, resulting in violence and disruption in the educational environment.

Noting that Virginia prevailed in the Fourth Circuit in litigation between Virginia and the federal Department of Education on the issue of continuation of educational services to students with disabilities who are expelled, regardless of whether the behavior was related to the disability, the resolution states that Congress then amended the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to require the continuation of educational services to expelled special education students. Virginia’s contention, throughout this process, has been that allowing students with disabilities to be exempt from the consequences of their actions is a policy which does not benefit the student with disabilities or the educational environment and is patently unfair to other students. In response to recent incidents of violence on school grounds, the public schools throughout the nation are seeking to develop mechanisms to prevent the outbreaks of violence, particularly incidences of shootings; therefore, Congress is urged to examine the consequences of its mandate to continue educational services to expelled students in terms of fairness to all students, school safety for all students and the maintenance of a positive educational atmosphere.