IDEAL Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6932 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6932

  To rescind unobligated amounts made available to the Department of 
Education for fiscal year 2026, and transfer such amounts to States in 
   accordance with section 611 of the Individuals with Disabilities 
                             Education Act.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 26, 2025

  Mr. James introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Appropriations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To rescind unobligated amounts made available to the Department of 
Education for fiscal year 2026, and transfer such amounts to States in 
   accordance with section 611 of the Individuals with Disabilities 
                             Education Act.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Individuals with Disabilities 
Education And Legacy Act'' or the ``IDEAL Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On November 29, 2025, the Individuals with Disabilities 
        Education Act (IDEA) will honor its 50th anniversary since 
        President Gerald Ford signed the Education for All Handicapped 
        Children Act into law in 1975.
            (2) IDEA stated, clearly and unequivocally, that every 
        child, regardless of disability, has the right to a free 
        appropriate public education in the least restrictive setting 
        possible.
            (3) 50 years of progress, 50 years of possibilities, IDEA 
        opened classroom doors, expanded opportunities, and transformed 
        education for millions of students with disabilities, let us 
        keep moving forward, not backward.
            (4) Before 1975, more than 1,000,000 children with 
        disabilities were excluded from public schools, often relegated 
        to specialized private schools sponsored by charities and 
        psychiatric hospitals, or left without an education altogether.
            (5) IDEA changed that, paving the way for individualized 
        education plans that addressed the individual needs of students 
        classified under IDEA.
            (6) Today, IDEA governs the education of nearly 8,000,000 
        students nationwide, or approximately 15 percent of all public 
        school students.
            (7) According to the law, public schools must identify and 
        assess all students to ascertain if they require services under 
        IDEA.
            (8) Children who are experiencing homelessness or attending 
        private schools must also be afforded these services if 
        required.
            (9) For 50 years, IDEA has been the cornerstone of special 
        education in the United States, ensuring access, 
        accountability, and equality for millions of students.
            (10) The history of IDEA is one of progress hard-won and 
        progress worth protecting.
            (11) When IDEA became law, only 1 in 5 children with 
        disabilities had access to public education, and today, 
        millions learn, grow, and thrive because of its protections.
            (12) 50 years later, that impact can't be forgotten, or 
        undone.

SEC. 3. TRANSFERRING UNOBLIGATED AMOUNTS TO THE IDEA.

    (a) Rescission.--The unobligated balance of each amount made 
available under the heading ``Department of Education'' by any Act 
providing appropriations for fiscal year 2026, as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act, are permanently rescinded.
    (b) Transfer.--To the extent that amounts otherwise made available 
to carry out section 611 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act (20 U.S.C. 1411) for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029 are 
equivalent, accounting for inflation, to the amounts made available to 
carry out such section 611 in fiscal year 2025, there is hereby 
appropriated, out of any amounts in the Treasury not otherwise 
appropriated, to be allocated to States for each of fiscal years 2026 
through 2029 in accordance with such section 611, an amount equal to 
the amounts rescinded by subsection (a), to be merged with amounts 
otherwise made available for such purposes. Amounts allocated to States 
pursuant to this subsection for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2029 
shall supplement, not supplant, amounts otherwise made available to 
make allocations to States under section 611 of the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411) for each such fiscal year.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 90 days after amounts are rescinded by 
subsection (a), the Secretary of Education shall submit to the 
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate a report identifying--
            (1) the amounts rescinded by subsection (a); and
            (2) the amounts allocated to each State pursuant to 
        subsection (b).
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