Bill Lets Schools Remove Unruly Disabled Students Measure, Which Clinton Backs, Seeks To Ensure Classroom Safety

While millions of disabled children would still be guaranteed a free education, schools could remove them if they threaten classroom safety under a bill passed Tuesday by the House.

President Clinton said he is eager to sign the bill into law. The Senate is scheduled to vote on it today. The House passed it 420-3 with only Reps. Herbert H. Bateman, R-Va.; Ray LaHood, R-Ill.; and Ron Paul, R-Texas, voting no.

The rewrite of the 22-year-old Individuals With Disabilities Education Act would give local officials more leeway to remove disabled children who bring weapons or drugs to school or otherwise threaten classroom safety. But it also would guarantee a hearing for those children and provide that they continue to get an education elsewhere.

A child whose conduct was not related to a disability would be disciplined just as any other.

Other provisions aim at curbing the legal costs of settling disputes between parents and schools over how to educate disabled children, while easing the financial burden on local school districts.

The civil rights law, first enacted in 1975, guarantees a free, “appropriate” education for children with a range of disabilities, including physical impairments such as deafness, or emotional or learning problems. As much as possible, children are to be brought into regular classrooms rather than being segregated.

The Education Department estimates that 5.8 million children ages 3 to 21 qualify as disabled.