Sen. Clinton: new law will help bring order to classrooms
The Associated Press, 12/3/2004, 5:04 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) - A new measure signed by President Bush Friday will help educators rein in disruptive special education students, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said.

The bill updating the Individuals With Disabilities Act will make it easier for schools to suspend a special education student and provide grants to allow educators to take early action before problem behavior
becomes unmanageable.

"Today is a landmark day for children with special needs throughout New York and America," said Clinton, D-N.Y.

It also aims to provide training for both special education and general education teachers to learn how to better manage disruptive students.

Lawmakers tried unsuccessfully for years to change the law, but the bill finally moved through Congress last week by an overwhelming margin.

The changes are designed to deal with the growing numbers of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, the number of prescriptions written
for medication to treat ADHD has increased 500 percent since 1991.

Clinton worked on the measure with Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.

The old version of the law made it difficult for schools to suspend a special education student who was acting out and disrupting classwork.

Under the new language, those students can be suspended unless they prove their misbehavior is directly tied to their disability.

In New York, approximately 7.4 percent of students with disabilities were separated from general student classrooms, significantly higher than the national average of 4 percent.