IIB 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1350

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 1, 2003

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

AN ACT

To reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

Act, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Education 

3 Results for Children With Disabilities Act of 2003’’. 

4 TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS

5 SEC. 101. SECTIONS 601 THROUGH 603 OF THE INDIVIDUALS 

6 WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT. 

7 Sections 601 through 603 of the Individuals with 

8 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400–1402) are 

9 amended to read as follows:

10 ‘‘SEC. 601. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; FINDINGS; 

11 PURPOSES. 

12 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

13 ‘Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’.

14 ‘‘(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents 

15 for this Act is as follows:

‘‘PART A—GENERAL PROVISIONS

‘‘Sec. 601. Short title; table of contents; findings; purposes. 

‘‘Sec. 602. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 603. Office of Special Education Programs. 

‘‘Sec. 604. Abrogation of State sovereign immunity. 

‘‘Sec. 605. Acquisition of equipment; construction or alteration of facilities. 

‘‘Sec. 606. Employment of individuals with disabilities. 

‘‘Sec. 607. Requirements for prescribing regulations. 

‘‘Sec. 608. State administration. 

‘‘PART B—ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION OF ALL CHILDREN WITH

DISABILITIES

‘‘Sec. 611. Authorization; allotment; use of funds; authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘Sec. 612. State eligibility. 

‘‘Sec. 613. Local educational agency eligibility. 

‘‘Sec. 614. Evaluations, eligibility determinations, individualized education programs, and educational placements. 

‘‘Sec. 615. Procedural safeguards. 

‘‘Sec. 616. Monitoring, enforcement, withholding, and judicial review. 

‘‘Sec. 617. Administration. 

‘‘Sec. 618. Program information. 
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‘‘Sec. 619. Preschool grants. 

‘‘PART C—INFANTS AND TODDLERS WITH DISABILITIES

‘‘Sec. 631. Findings and policy. 

‘‘Sec. 632. Definitions. 

‘‘Sec. 633. General authority. 

‘‘Sec. 634. Eligibility. 

‘‘Sec. 635. Requirements for statewide system. 

‘‘Sec. 636. Individualized family service plan. 

‘‘Sec. 637. State application and assurances. 

‘‘Sec. 638. Uses of funds. 

‘‘Sec. 639. Procedural safeguards. 

‘‘Sec. 640. Payor of last resort. 

‘‘Sec. 641. State Interagency Coordinating Council. 

‘‘Sec. 642. Federal administration. 

‘‘Sec. 643. Allocation of funds. 

‘‘Sec. 644. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘PART D—NATIONAL ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE EDUCATION OF CHILDREN

WITH DISABILITIES

‘‘Sec. 651. Findings. 

‘‘SUBPART 1—STATE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

‘‘Sec. 652. Purpose. 

‘‘Sec. 653. Eligibility and collaborative process. 

‘‘Sec. 654. Applications. 

‘‘Sec. 655. Use of funds. 

‘‘Sec. 656. State grant amounts. 

‘‘Sec. 657. Authorization of appropriations. 

‘‘SUBPART 2—SCIENTIFICALLY BASED RESEARCH; TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; 

MODEL DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS; DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION; AND

PERSONNEL PREPARATION PROGRAMS

‘‘Sec. 661. Purpose. 

‘‘Sec. 662. Administrative provisions. 

‘‘Sec. 663. Research to improve results for children with disabilities. 

‘‘Sec. 664. Technical assistance, demonstration projects, dissemination of information, and implementation of scientifically based research. 

‘‘Sec. 665. Personnel preparation programs to improve services and results for 

children with disabilities. 

‘‘Sec. 666. Studies and evaluations. 

‘‘Sec. 667. Authorization of appropriations.

‘‘SUBPART 3—SUPPORTS TO IMPROVE RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH

DISABILITIES

‘‘Sec. 671. Purposes. 

‘‘Sec. 672. Parent training and information centers. 

‘‘Sec. 673. Community parent resource centers. 

‘‘Sec. 674. Technical assistance for parent training and information centers. 

‘‘Sec. 675. Technology development, demonstration, and utilization; and media 

services.

1 ‘‘(c) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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1 ‘‘(1) Disability is a natural part of the human 

2 experience and in no way diminishes the right of in3 dividuals to participate in or contribute to society. 

4 Improving educational results for children with dis5 abilities is an essential element of our national policy 

6 of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participa7 tion, independent living, and economic self-suffi8 ciency for individuals with disabilities. 

9 ‘‘(2) Before the date of the enactment of the 

10 Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 

11 1975 (Public Law 94–142), the special educational 

12 needs of millions of children with disabilities were 

13 not being fully met and there were many children 

14 with disabilities participating in regular school pro15 grams whose undiagnosed disabilities prevented 

16 them from having a successful educational experi17 ence. 

18 ‘‘(3) Since the enactment and implementation 

19 of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act 

20 of 1975, this Act has been successful in ensuring 

21 children with disabilities and the families of such 

22 children access to a free appropriate public edu23 cation and in improving educational results for chil24 dren with disabilities. 
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1 ‘‘(4) Over 25 years of research and experience 

2 has demonstrated that the education of children with 

3 disabilities can be made more effective by—

4 ‘‘(A) having high expectations for such 

5 children and ensuring their access to the gen6 eral education curriculum in the regular class7 room to the maximum extent possible in 

8 order—

9 ‘‘(i) to meet developmental goals and, 

10 to the maximum extent possible, the chal11 lenging expectations that have been estab12 lished for all children; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) to be prepared to lead productive 

14 and independent adult lives, to the max15 imum extent possible; 

16 ‘‘(B) strengthening the role and responsi17 bility of parents and ensuring that families of 

18 such children have meaningful opportunities to 

19 participate in the education of their children at 

20 school and at home; 

21 ‘‘(C) coordinating this Act with other local, 

22 State, and Federal school improvement efforts, 

23 including efforts under the Elementary and 

24 Secondary Education Act of 1965, in order to 

25 ensure that children with disabilities benefit 
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1 from such efforts and that special education 

2 can become a service for such children rather 

3 than a place where they are sent; 

4 ‘‘(D) supporting high-quality, intensive 

5 professional development for personnel who 

6 work with children with disabilities; 

7 ‘‘(E) providing incentives for scientifically 

8 based reading programs and prereferral inter9 vention services to reduce the need to label chil10 dren as disabled in order to address their learn11 ing needs; 

12 ‘‘(F) focusing resources on teaching and 

13 learning while reducing paperwork and require14 ments that do not assist in improving edu15 cational results; and 

16 ‘‘(G) supporting the development and use 

17 of technology, including assistive technology de18 vices and services, to maximize accessibility for 

19 children with disabilities. 

20 ‘‘(5) While States, local educational agencies, 

21 and educational service agencies are primarily re22 sponsible for providing an education for all children 

23 with disabilities, it is in the national interest that 

24 the Federal Government has a supporting role in as25 sisting State and local efforts to educate children 
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1 with disabilities in order to improve results for such 

2 children and to ensure equal protection of the law. 

3 ‘‘(6) A more equitable allocation of resources is 

4 essential for the Federal Government to meet its re5 sponsibility to provide an equal educational oppor6 tunity for all individuals. 

7 ‘‘(7)(A) The Federal Government must respond 

8 to the growing needs of an increasingly diverse soci9 ety. 

10 ‘‘(B) America’s ethnic profile is rapidly chang11 ing. In the year 2000, nearly one of every three per12 sons in America was a member of a minority group 

13 or was limited English proficient. 

14 ‘‘(C) Minority children comprise an increasing 

15 percentage of public school students. 

16 ‘‘(D) With such changing demographics, re17 cruitment efforts for special education personnel 

18 should focus on increasing the participation of mi19 norities in the teaching profession in order to pro20 vide appropriate role models with sufficient knowl21 edge to address the special education needs of these 

22 students.

23 ‘‘(8)(A) The limited English proficient popu24 lation is the fastest growing in our Nation, and the 

25 growth is occurring in many parts of our Nation. 
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1 ‘‘(B) Studies have documented apparent dis2 crepancies in the levels of referral and placement of 

3 limited English proficient children in special edu4 cation. 

5 ‘‘(C) This poses a special challenge for special 

6 education in the referral, assessment, and provision 

7 of services for our Nation’s students from non8 English language backgrounds. 

9 ‘‘(9)(A) Greater efforts are needed to prevent 

10 the intensification of problems connected with 

11 mislabeling and high dropout rates among minority 

12 children with disabilities. 

13 ‘‘(B) More minority children continue to be 

14 served in special education than would be expected 

15 from the percentage of minority students in the gen16 eral school population. 

17 ‘‘(C) African American children are overidenti18 fied as having mental retardation and emotional dis19 turbance at rates greater than their white counter20 parts.

21 ‘‘(D) In the 1998–99 school year, African 

22 American children represented just 14.8 percent of 

23 the population aged 6 through 21, but comprised 

24 20.2 percent of all children with disabilities. 
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1 ‘‘(E) Studies have found that schools with pre2 dominantly Caucasian students and teachers have 

3 placed disproportionately high numbers of their mi4 nority students into special education. 

5 ‘‘(10)(A) As the number of minority students in 

6 special education increases, the number of minority 

7 teachers and related services personnel produced in 

8 colleges and universities continues to decrease. 

9 ‘‘(B) The opportunity for full participation by 

10 minority individuals, organizations, and historically 

11 black colleges and universities in awards for grants 

12 and contracts, boards of organizations receiving as13 sistance under this Act, peer review panels, and 

14 training of professionals in the area of special edu15 cation is essential to obtain greater success in the 

16 education of minority children with disabilities. 

17 ‘‘(d) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are—

18 ‘‘(1)(A) to ensure that all children with disabil19 ities have available to them a free appropriate public 

20 education that emphasizes special education and re21 lated services designed to meet their unique needs 

22 and prepare them for further education, employ23 ment, and independent living; 
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1 ‘‘(B) to ensure that the rights of children with 

2 disabilities and parents of such children are pro3 tected; and 

4 ‘‘(C) to assist States, localities, educational 

5 service agencies, and Federal agencies to provide for 

6 the education of all children with disabilities; 

7 ‘‘(2) to assist States in the implementation of 

8 a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisci9 plinary, interagency system of early intervention 

10 services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and 

11 their families; 

12 ‘‘(3) to ensure that educators and parents have 

13 the necessary tools to improve educational results for 

14 children with disabilities by supporting system im15 provement activities; coordinated research and per16 sonnel preparation; coordinated technical assistance, 

17 dissemination, and support; and technology develop18 ment and media services; and 

19 ‘‘(4) to assess, and ensure the effectiveness of, 

20 efforts to educate children with disabilities. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS. 

22 ‘‘Except as otherwise provided, as used in this Act: 

23 ‘‘(1) ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVICE.—The 

24 term ‘assistive technology device’ means any item, 

25 piece of equipment, or product system, whether ac-
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1 quired commercially off the shelf, modified, or cus2 tomized, that is used to increase, maintain, or im3 prove functional capabilities of a child with a dis4 ability. 

5 ‘‘(2) ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY SERVICE.—The 

6 term ‘assistive technology service’ means any service 

7 that directly assists a child with a disability in the 

8 selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive tech9 nology device. Such term includes—

10 ‘‘(A) the evaluation of the needs of such 

11 child, including a functional evaluation of the 

12 child in the child’s customary environment; 

13 ‘‘(B) purchasing, leasing, or otherwise pro14 viding for the acquisition of assistive technology 

15 devices by such child; 

16 ‘‘(C) selecting, designing, fitting, custom17 izing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repair18 ing, or replacing of assistive technology devices; 

19 ‘‘(D) coordinating and using other thera20 pies, interventions, or services with assistive 

21 technology devices, such as those associated 

22 with existing education and rehabilitation plans 

23 and programs; 
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1 ‘‘(E) training or technical assistance for 

2 such child, or, where appropriate, the family of 

3 such child; and 

4 ‘‘(F) training or technical assistance for 

5 professionals (including individuals providing 

6 education and rehabilitation services), employ7 ers, or other individuals who provide services to, 

8 employ, or are otherwise substantially involved 

9 in the major life functions of such child. 

10 ‘‘(3) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘child with a 

12 disability’ means a child—

13 ‘‘(i) with mental retardation, hearing 

14 impairments (including deafness), speech 

15 or language impairments, visual impair16 ments (including blindness), serious emo17 tional disturbance (hereinafter referred to 

18 as ‘emotional disturbance’), orthopedic im19 pairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, 

20 other health impairments, or specific learn21 ing disabilities; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) who, by reason thereof, needs 

23 special education and related services. 

24 ‘‘(B) CHILD AGED 3 THROUGH 9.—The 

25 term ‘child with a disability ’ for a child aged 3 
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1 through 9 or any subset of that age range, in2 cluding ages 3 through 5, may, at the discretion 

3 of the State and the local educational agency, 

4 include a child—

5 ‘‘(i) experiencing developmental 

6 delays, as defined by the State and as 

7 measured by appropriate diagnostic instru8 ments and procedures, in one or more of 

9 the following areas: physical development, 

10 cognitive development, communication de11 velopment, social or emotional develop12 ment, or adaptive development; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) who, by reason thereof, needs 

14 special education and related services. 

15 ‘‘(4) EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY.—The 

16 term ‘educational service agency’—

17 ‘‘(A) means a regional public multiservice 

18 agency—

19 ‘‘(i) authorized by State law to de20 velop, manage, and provide services or pro21 grams to local educational agencies; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) recognized as an administrative 

23 agency for purposes of the provision of 

24 special education and related services pro-
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1 vided within public elementary and sec2 ondary schools of the State; and 

3 ‘‘(B) includes any other public institution 

4 or agency having administrative control and di5 rection over a public elementary or secondary 

6 school. 

7 ‘‘(5) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘ele8 mentary school’ means a nonprofit institutional day 

9 or residential school that provides elementary edu10 cation, as determined under State law. 

11 ‘‘(6) EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘equipment’ in12 cludes—

13 ‘‘(A) machinery, utilities, and built-in 

14 equipment and any necessary enclosures or 

15 structures to house such machinery, utilities, or 

16 equipment; and 

17 ‘‘(B) all other items necessary for the 

18 functioning of a particular facility as a facility 

19 for the provision of educational services, includ20 ing items such as instructional equipment and 

21 necessary furniture; printed, published, and 

22 audio-visual instructional materials; tele23 communications, sensory, and other techno24 logical aids and devices; and books, periodicals, 

25 documents, and other related materials. 
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1 ‘‘(7) EXCESS COSTS.—The term ‘excess costs’ 

2 means those costs that are in excess of the average 

3 annual per-student expenditure in a local edu4 cational agency during the preceding school year for 

5 an elementary or secondary school student, as may 

6 be appropriate, and which shall be computed after 

7 deducting—

8 ‘‘(A) amounts received—

9 ‘‘(i) under part B of this title; 

10 ‘‘(ii) under part A of title I of the El11 ementary and Secondary Education Act of 

12 1965; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) under title III of that Act; and 

14 ‘‘(B) any State or local funds expended for 

15 programs that would qualify for assistance 

16 under any of the provisions of law described in 

17 subparagraph (A). 

18 ‘‘(8) FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDU19 CATION.—The term ‘free appropriate public edu20 cation’ means special education and related services 

21 that—

22 ‘‘(A) have been provided at public expense, 

23 under public supervision and direction, and 

24 without charge; 
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1 ‘‘(B) meet the standards of the State edu2 cational agency; 

3 ‘‘(C) include an appropriate preschool, ele4 mentary, or secondary school education in the 

5 State involved that is reasonably calculated to 

6 provide educational benefit to enable the child 

7 with a disability to access the general cur8 riculum; and 

9 ‘‘(D) are provided in conformity with the 

10 individualized education program required 

11 under section 614(d). 

12 ‘‘(9) HIGHLY QUALIFIED.—The term ‘highly 

13 qualified’ has the same meaning as that term in sec14 tion 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu15 cation Act of 1965. 

16 ‘‘(10) INDIAN.—The term ‘Indian’ means an in17 dividual who is a member of an Indian tribe. 

18 ‘‘(11) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

19 means any Federal or State Indian tribe, band, 

20 rancheria, pueblo, colony, or community, including 

21 any Alaska Native village or regional village corpora22 tion (as defined in or established under the Alaska 

23 Native Claims Settlement Act). 

24 ‘‘(12) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PRO25 GRAM.—The term ‘individualized education program’ 
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1 or ‘IEP’ means a written statement for each child 

2 with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and re3 vised in accordance with section 614(d). 

4 ‘‘(13) INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE

5 PLAN.—The term ‘individualized family service plan’ 

6 has the meaning given such term in section 636. 

7 ‘‘(14) INFANT OR TODDLER WITH A DIS8 ABILITY.—The term ‘infant or toddler with a dis9 ability ’ has the meaning given such term in section 

10 632. 

11 ‘‘(15) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—

12 The term ‘institution of higher education’—

13 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given that term in 

14 subsection (a) or (b) of section 101 of the 

15 Higher Education Act of 1965; and 

16 ‘‘(B) also includes any community college 

17 receiving funding from the Secretary of the In18 terior under the Tribally Controlled Community 

19 College Assistance Act of 1978. 

20 ‘‘(16) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—

21 ‘‘(A) The term ‘local educational agency’ 

22 means a public board of education or other pub23 lic authority legally constituted within a State 

24 for either administrative control or direction of, 

25 or to perform a service function for, public ele-
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1 mentary or secondary schools in a city, county, 

2 township, school district, or other political sub3 division of a State, or for such combination of 

4 school districts or counties as are recognized in 

5 a State as an administrative agency for its pub6 lic elementary or secondary schools. 

7 ‘‘(B) The term includes—

8 ‘‘(i) an educational service agency, as 

9 defined in paragraph (4); and 

10 ‘‘(ii) any other public institution or 

11 agency having administrative control and 

12 direction of a public elementary or sec13 ondary school. 

14 ‘‘(C) The term includes an elementary or 

15 secondary school funded by the Bureau of In16 dian Affairs, but only to the extent that such 

17 inclusion makes the school eligible for programs 

18 for which specific eligibility is not provided to 

19 the school in another provision of law and the 

20 school does not have a student population that 

21 is smaller than the student population of the 

22 local educational agency receiving assistance 

23 under this Act with the smallest student popu24 lation, except that the school shall not be sub-
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1 ject to the jurisdiction of any State educational 

2 agency other than the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 

3 ‘‘(17) NATIVE LANGUAGE.—The term ‘native 

4 language’, when used with reference to an individual 

5 of limited English proficiency, means the language 

6 normally used by the individual, or, in the case of 

7 a child, the language normally used by the parents 

8 of the child. 

9 ‘‘(18) NONPROFIT.—The term ‘nonprofit’, as 

10 applied to a school, agency, organization, or institu11 tion, means a school, agency, organization, or insti12 tution owned and operated by one or more nonprofit 

13 corporations or associations no part of the net earn14 ings of which inures, or may lawfully inure, to the 

15 benefit of any private shareholder or individual. 

16 ‘‘(19) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘outlying 

17 area’ means the United States Virgin Islands, 

18 Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of 

19 the Northern Mariana Islands. 

20 ‘‘(20) PARENT.—The term ‘parent’—

21 ‘‘(A) includes a legal guardian; and 

22 ‘‘(B) except as used in sections 615(b)(2) 

23 and 639(a)(5), includes an individual assigned 

24 under either of those sections to be a surrogate 

25 parent. 
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1 ‘‘(21) PARENT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘par2 ent organization’ has the meaning given that term in 

3 section 672(g). 

4 ‘‘(22) PARENT TRAINING AND INFORMATION

5 CENTER.—The term ‘parent training and informa6 tion center’ means a center assisted under sections 

7 672 and 673. 

8 ‘‘(23) RELATED SERVICES.—The term ‘related 

9 services’ means transportation, and such develop10 mental, corrective, and other supportive services (in11 cluding speech-language pathology and audiology 

12 services, psychological services, physical and occupa13 tional therapy, recreation, including therapeutic 

14 recreation, social work services, counseling services, 

15 including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and 

16 mobility services, and medical services, except that 

17 such medical services shall be for diagnostic and 

18 evaluation purposes only) as may be required to as19 sist a child with a disability to benefit from special 

20 education, and includes the early identification and 

21 assessment of disabling conditions in children. 

22 ‘‘(24) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘sec23 ondary school’ means a nonprofit institutional day or 

24 residential school that provides secondary education, 
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1 as determined under State law, except that it does 

2 not include any education beyond grade 12. 

3 ‘‘(25) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

4 means the Secretary of Education. 

5 ‘‘(26) SPECIAL EDUCATION.—The term ‘special 

6 education’ means specially designed instruction, at 

7 no cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a 

8 child with a disability, including—

9 ‘‘(A) instruction conducted in the class10 room, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, 

11 and in other settings; and 

12 ‘‘(B) instruction in physical education. 

13 ‘‘(27) SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘specific 

15 learning disability ’ means a disorder in one or 

16 more of the basic psychological processes in17 volved in understanding or in using language, 

18 spoken or written, which disorder may manifest 

19 itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, 

20 read, write, spell, or do mathematical calcula21 tions. 

22 ‘‘(B) DISORDERS INCLUDED.—Such term 

23 includes such conditions as perceptual disabil24 ities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, 

25 dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. 
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1 ‘‘(C) DISORDERS NOT INCLUDED.—Such 

2 term does not include a learning problem that 

3 is primarily the result of visual, hearing, or 

4 motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of 

5 emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cul6 tural, or economic disadvantage. 

7 ‘‘(28) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of 

8 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com9 monwealth of Puerto Rico, and each of the outlying 

10 areas. 

11 ‘‘(29) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The 

12 term ‘State educational agency’ means the State 

13 board of education or other agency or officer pri14 marily responsible for the State supervision of public 

15 elementary and secondary schools, or, if there is no 

16 such officer or agency, an officer or agency des17 ignated by the Governor or by State law. 

18 ‘‘(30) SUPPLEMENTARY AIDS AND SERVICES.—

19 The term ‘supplementary aids and services’ means 

20 aids, services, and other supports that are provided 

21 in regular education classes or other education-re22 lated settings to enable children with disabilities to 

23 be educated with nondisabled children to the max24 imum extent appropriate in accordance with section 

25 612(a)(5). 
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1 ‘‘(31) TRANSITION SERVICES.—The term ‘tran2 sition services’ means a coordinated set of activities 

3 for a child with a disability that—

4 ‘‘(A) is designed within a results-oriented 

5 process, that is focused on improving the aca6 demic and developmental achievement of the 

7 child with a disability to facilitate the child’s 

8 move from school to post-school activities, in9 cluding post-secondary education, vocational 

10 training, integrated employment (including sup11 ported employment), continuing and adult edu12 cation, adult services, independent living, or 

13 community participation; 

14 ‘‘(B) is based upon the individual child’s 

15 needs, taking into account the child’s skills, 

16 preferences, and interests; and 

17 ‘‘(C) includes instruction, related services, 

18 community experiences, the development of em19 ployment and other post-school adult living ob20 jectives, and, when appropriate, acquisition of 

21 daily living skills and functional vocational eval22 uation. 

23 ‘‘SEC. 603. OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 

24 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be, within the 

25 Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in 
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1 the Department of Education, an Office of Special Edu2 cation Programs, which shall be the principal agency in 

3 such Department for administering and carrying out this 

4 Act and other programs and activities concerning the edu5 cation of children with disabilities. 

6 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Office established under sub7 section (a) shall be headed by a Director who shall be se8 lected by the Secretary and shall report directly to the As9 sistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative 

10 Services. 

11 ‘‘(c) VOLUNTARY AND UNCOMPENSATED SERV12 ICES.—Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United 

13 States Code, the Secretary is authorized to accept vol14 untary and uncompensated services in furtherance of the 

15 purposes of this Act.’’. 

16 SEC. 102. SECTIONS 605 THROUGH 607 OF THE INDIVIDUALS 

17 WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT. 

18 Sections 605 through 607 of the Individuals with 

19 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1404–1406) are 

20 amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 605. ACQUISITION OF EQUIPMENT; CONSTRUCTION 

22 OR ALTERATION OF FACILITIES. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines that 

24 a program authorized under this Act would be improved 

25 by permitting program funds to be used to acquire appro-
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1 priate equipment, or to construct new facilities or alter 

2 existing facilities, the Secretary is authorized to allow the 

3 use of those funds for those purposes. 

4 ‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE WITH CERTAIN REGULATIONS.—

5 Any construction of new facilities or alteration of existing 

6 facilities under subsection (a) shall comply with the re7 quirements of—

8 ‘‘(1) appendix A of part 36 of title 28, Code of 

9 Federal Regulations (commonly known as the 

10 ‘Americans with Disabilities Accessibility Guidelines 

11 for Buildings and Facilities’); or 

12 ‘‘(2) appendix A of part 101–19.6 of title 41, 

13 Code of Federal Regulations (commonly known as 

14 the ‘Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards’). 

15 ‘‘SEC. 606. EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABIL16 ITIES. 

17 ‘‘The Secretary shall ensure that each recipient of as18 sistance under this Act makes positive efforts to employ 

19 and advance in employment qualified individuals with dis20 abilities, particularly as teachers, related services per21 sonnel, early intervention providers, and administrators, 

22 in programs assisted under this Act. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 607. REQUIREMENTS FOR PRESCRIBING REGULA2 TIONS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may issue regula4 tions under this Act only to the extent that such regula5 tions are reasonably necessary to ensure that there is com6 pliance with the specific requirements of this Act. 

7 ‘‘(b) PROTECTIONS PROVIDED TO CHILDREN.—The 

8 Secretary may not implement, or publish in final form, 

9 any regulation prescribed pursuant to this Act that 

10 would—

11 ‘‘(1) violate or contradict any provision of this 

12 Act; and 

13 ‘‘(2) procedurally or substantively lessen the 

14 protections provided to children with disabilities 

15 under this Act, as embodied in regulations in effect 

16 on July 20, 1983 (particularly as such protections 

17 relate to parental consent to initial evaluation or ini18 tial placement in special education, least restrictive 

19 environment, related services, timelines, attendance 

20 of evaluation personnel at individualized education 

21 program meetings, or qualifications of personnel), 

22 except to the extent that such regulation reflects the 

23 clear and unequivocal intent of the Congress in legis24 lation. 

25 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.—The Secretary 

26 shall provide a public comment period of at least 60 days 
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1 on any regulation proposed under part B or part C of this 

2 Act on which an opportunity for public comment is other3 wise required by law. 

4 ‘‘(d) POLICY LETTERS AND STATEMENTS.—The Sec5 retary may not issue policy letters or other statements (in6 cluding on issues of national significance) that—

7 ‘‘(1) would violate or contradict any provision of 

8 this Act; or 

9 ‘‘(2) establish a rule that is required for compli10 ance with, and eligibility under, this Act without fol11 lowing the requirements of section 553 of title 5, 

12 United States Code. 

13 ‘‘(e) CORRESPONDENCE FROM DEPARTMENT OF

14 EDUCATION DESCRIBING INTERPRETATIONS OF THIS

15 PART.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, on a 

17 quarterly basis, publish in the Federal Register, and 

18 widely disseminate to interested entities through var19 ious additional forms of communication, a list of 

20 correspondence from the Department of Education 

21 received by individuals during the previous quarter 

22 that describes the interpretations of the Department 

23 of Education of this Act or the regulations imple24 mented pursuant to this Act. 
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1 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—For each 

2 item of correspondence published in a list under 

3 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

4 ‘‘(A) identify the topic addressed by the 

5 correspondence and shall include such other 

6 summary information as the Secretary deter7 mines to be appropriate; and 

8 ‘‘(B) ensure that all such correspondence 

9 is issued, where applicable, in compliance with 

10 section 553 of title 5, United States Code. 

11 ‘‘(f) EXPLANATION AND ASSURANCES.—Any written 

12 response by the Secretary under subsection (e) regarding 

13 a policy, question, or interpretation under this Act shall 

14 include an explanation in the written response that the 

15 response—

16 ‘‘(1) is issued, when required, in compliance 

17 with the requirements of section 553 of title 5, 

18 United States Code; and 

19 ‘‘(2) is provided as informal guidance and rep20 resents only the interpretation by the Department of 

21 Education of the applicable statutory or regulatory 

22 requirements in the context of the specific facts pre23 sented in the original question.’’. 
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1 SEC. 103. SECTION 608 OF THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABIL2 ITIES EDUCATION ACT. 

3 Part A of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

4 Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

5 the end the following:

6 ‘‘SEC. 608. STATE ADMINISTRATION. 

7 ‘‘(a) RULEMAKING.—Each State that receives funds 

8 under this Act shall—

9 ‘‘(1) ensure that any State rules, regulations, 

10 and policies relating to this Act conform to the pur11 poses of this Act; and 

12 ‘‘(2) minimize the number of rules, regulations, 

13 and policies to which the State’s local educational 

14 agencies and schools are subject to under this Act. 

15 ‘‘(b) SUPPORT AND FACILITATION.—All State rules, 

16 regulations, and policies relating to this Act shall support 

17 and facilitate local educational agency and school-level sys18 temic reform designed to enable children with disabilities 

19 to meet the challenging State student academic achieve20 ment standards.’’. 

21 SEC. 104. GAO REPORTS. 

22 (a) PAPERWORK STUDY.—

23 (1) REVIEW.—The Comptroller General shall 

24 conduct a review of all Federal requirements under 

25 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and 

26 the requirements of a reasonable sample of State 
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1 and local educational agencies relating to such Act, 

2 to determine which requirements result in excessive 

3 paperwork completion burdens for teachers, related 

4 services providers, and school administrators. As 

5 part of such review, the Comptroller General shall 

6 include recommendations to reduce or eliminate the 

7 excessive paperwork burdens described in the pre8 ceding sentence. 

9 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act, and once every 2 

11 years thereafter, the Comptroller General shall pre12 pare and submit to the appropriate congressional 

13 committees a report that contains the results of the 

14 review under paragraph (1). 

15 (b) DISABILITY DEFINITIONS.—

16 (1) REVIEW.—The Comptroller General of the 

17 United States shall conduct a review of—

18 (A) variation among States in definitions, 

19 and evaluation processes, relating to the provi20 sion of services under the Individuals with Dis21 abilities Education Act to children having con22 ditions described in section 602(a)(3) of such 

23 Act using the terms ‘‘emotional disturbance’’, 

24 ‘‘other health impairments’’, and ‘‘specific 

25 learning disability’’; and 
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1 (B) the degree to which these definitions 

2 and evaluation processes conform to scientific, 

3 peer-reviewed research. 

4 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

6 General shall prepare and submit to the appropriate 

7 congressional committees a report that contains the 

8 results of the review under paragraph (1). 

9 (c) DISTANCE LEARNING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP10 MENT PROGRAMS.—

11 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall 

12 conduct a study on existing or developing profes13 sional development programs for special education 

14 personnel delivered through the use of technology 

15 and distance learning. 

16 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

18 General shall submit a report containing the find19 ings from the study conducted under paragraph (1) 

20 to the appropriate congressional committees. 

21 (d) LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENT CHILDREN WITH

22 DISABILITIES.—

23 (1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General shall 

24 conduct a study on how limited English proficient 
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1 students are being served under the Individuals with 

2 Disabilities Education Act. 

3 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

4 date of the enactment of the Improving Education 

5 Results for Children With Disabilities Act of 2003, 

6 the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

7 submit a report containing the findings from the 

8 study conducted under paragraph (1) to the appro9 priate congressional committees. 

10 (e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘appro11 priate congressional committees’’ means the Committee on 

12 Education and the Workforce of the House of Representa13 tives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 

14 and Pensions of the Senate. 

15 TITLE II—ASSISTANCE FOR EDU16 CATION OF ALL CHILDREN 

17 WITH DISABILITIES 

18 SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION; ALLOTMENT; USE OF FUNDS; 

19 AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 Section 611 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu21 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1411) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 611. AUTHORIZATION; ALLOTMENT; USE OF FUNDS; 

23 AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE OF GRANTS.—The Secretary 

2 shall make grants to States and the outlying areas, 

3 and provide funds to the Secretary of the Interior, 

4 to assist them to provide special education and re5 lated services to children with disabilities in accord6 ance with this part.

7 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.—The maximum 

8 amount of the grant a State may receive under this 

9 section for any fiscal year is—

10 ‘‘(A) the number of children with disabil11 ities in the State who are receiving special edu12 cation and related services—

13 ‘‘(i) aged 3 through 5 if the State is 

14 eligible for a grant under section 619; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) aged 6 through 21; multiplied by 

16 ‘‘(B) 40 percent of the average per-pupil 

17 expenditure in public elementary and secondary 

18 schools in the United States. 

19 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

20 (2), the maximum amount of the grant a State may 

21 receive under this section for a fiscal year may not 

22 be based on the number of children ages 3 through 

23 17, inclusive, in excess of 13.5 percent of the num24 ber of all children in that age range in the State. 

25 ‘‘(b) OUTLYING AREAS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) FUNDS RESERVED.—From the amount ap2 propriated for any fiscal year under subsection (i), 

3 the Secretary shall reserve not more than one per4 cent, which shall be used to provide assistance to the 

5 outlying areas in accordance with their respective 

6 populations of individuals aged 3 through 21. 

7 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—The provisions of Public 

8 Law 95–134, permitting the consolidation of grants 

9 by the outlying areas, shall not apply to funds pro10 vided to those areas under this section. 

11 ‘‘(c) SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.—From the 

12 amount appropriated for any fiscal year under subsection 

13 (i), the Secretary shall reserve 1.226 percent to provide 

14 assistance to the Secretary of the Interior in accordance 

15 with subsection (h). 

16 ‘‘(d) ALLOCATIONS TO STATES.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After reserving funds for 

18 payments to the outlying areas and the Secretary of 

19 the Interior under subsections (b) and (c), the Sec20 retary shall allocate the remaining amount among 

21 the States in accordance with this subsection. 

22 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR USE OF FISCAL YEAR

23 1999 AMOUNT.—If a State does not make a free ap24 propriate public education available to all children 

25 with disabilities aged 3 through 5 in the State in 
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1 any fiscal year, the Secretary shall compute the 

2 State’s amount for fiscal year 1999, solely for the 

3 purpose of calculating the State’s allocation in the 

4 subsequent year under paragraph (3) or (4), by sub5 tracting the amount allocated to the State for fiscal 

6 year 1999 on the basis of those children. 

7 ‘‘(3) INCREASE IN FUNDS.—If the amount 

8 available for allocations to States under paragraph 

9 (1) is greater than the amount allocated to the 

10 States under this paragraph for the preceding fiscal 

11 year, those allocations shall be calculated as follows: 

12 ‘‘(A)(i) Except as provided in subpara13 graph (B), the Secretary shall allocate—

14 ‘‘(I) to each State the amount it re15 ceived for fiscal year 1999; 

16 ‘‘(II) 85 percent of any remaining 

17 funds to States on the basis of their rel18 ative populations of children aged 3 

19 through 21 who are of the same age as 

20 children with disabilities for whom the 

21 State ensures the availability of a free ap22 propriate public education under this part; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(III) 15 percent of those remaining 

25 funds to States on the basis of their rel-
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1 ative populations of children described in 

2 subclause (II) who are living in poverty. 

3 ‘‘(ii) For the purpose of making grants 

4 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall use 

5 the most recent population data, including data 

6 on children living in poverty, that are available 

7 and satisfactory to the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), 

9 allocations under this paragraph shall be sub10 ject to the following: 

11 ‘‘(i) No State’s allocation shall be less 

12 than its allocation for the preceding fiscal 

13 year. 

14 ‘‘(ii) No State’s allocation shall be less 

15 than the greatest of—

16 ‘‘(I) the sum of—

17 ‘‘(aa) the amount it received 

18 for fiscal year 1999; and 

19 ‘‘(bb) one-third of one per20 cent of the amount by which the 

21 amount appropriated under sub22 section (i) exceeds the amount 

23 appropriated under this section 

24 for fiscal year 1999; 

25 ‘‘(II) the sum of—
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1 ‘‘(aa) the amount it received 

2 for the preceding fiscal year; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) that amount multi4 plied by the percentage by which 

5 the increase in the funds appro6 priated from the preceding fiscal 

7 year exceeds 1.5 percent; or 

8 ‘‘(III) the sum of—

9 ‘‘(aa) the amount it received 

10 for the preceding fiscal year; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) that amount multi12 plied by 90 percent of the per13 centage increase in the amount 

14 appropriated from the preceding 

15 fiscal year. 

16 ‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding clause (ii), no 

17 State’s allocation under this paragraph 

18 shall exceed the sum of—

19 ‘‘(I) the amount it received for 

20 the preceding fiscal year; and 

21 ‘‘(II) that amount multiplied by 

22 the sum of 1.5 percent and the per23 centage increase in the amount appro24 priated. 
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1 ‘‘(C) If the amount available for allocations 

2 under this paragraph is insufficient to pay 

3 those allocations in full, those allocations shall 

4 be ratably reduced, subject to subparagraph 

5 (B)(i). 

6 ‘‘(4) DECREASE IN FUNDS.—If the amount 

7 available for allocations to States under paragraph 

8 (1) is less than the amount allocated to the States 

9 under this section for the preceding fiscal year, those 

10 allocations shall be calculated as follows: 

11 ‘‘(A) If the amount available for allocations 

12 is greater than the amount allocated to the 

13 States for fiscal year 1999, each State shall be 

14 allocated the sum of—

15 ‘‘(i) the amount it received for fiscal 

16 year 1999; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) an amount that bears the same 

18 relation to any remaining funds as the in19 crease the State received for the preceding 

20 fiscal year over fiscal year 1999 bears to 

21 the total of all such increases for all 

22 States. 

23 ‘‘(B)(i) If the amount available for alloca24 tions is equal to or less than the amount allo25 cated to the States for fiscal year 1999, each 
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1 State shall be allocated the amount it received 

2 for fiscal year 1999. 

3 ‘‘(ii) If the amount available is insufficient 

4 to make the allocations described in clause (i), 

5 those allocations shall be ratably reduced. 

6 ‘‘(e) STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

8 ‘‘(A) Each State may retain not more than 

9 the amount described in subparagraph (B) for 

10 administration and other State-level activities in 

11 accordance with paragraphs (2), (3), and (4). 

12 ‘‘(B) For each fiscal year, the Secretary 

13 shall determine and report to the State edu14 cational agency an amount that is 25 percent of 

15 the amount the State received under this sec16 tion for fiscal year 1997, cumulatively adjusted 

17 by the Secretary for each succeeding fiscal year 

18 by the lesser of—

19 ‘‘(i) the percentage increase, if any, 

20 from the preceding fiscal year in the 

21 State’s allocation under this section; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) the rate of inflation, as measured 

23 by the percentage increase, if any, from 

24 the preceding fiscal year in the Consumer 

25 Price Index For All Urban Consumers, 
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1 published by the Bureau of Labor Statis2 tics of the Department of Labor. 

3 ‘‘(C) A State may use funds it retains 

4 under subparagraph (A) without regard to—

5 ‘‘(i) the prohibition on commingling of 

6 funds in section 612(a)(18)(B); and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the prohibition on supplanting 

8 other funds in section 612(a)(18)(C). 

9 ‘‘(2) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—

10 ‘‘(A) For the purpose of administering this 

11 part, including section 619 (including the co12 ordination of activities under this part with, 

13 and providing technical assistance to, other pro14 grams that provide services to children with dis15 abilities)—

16 ‘‘(i) each State may use not more 

17 than 20 percent of the maximum amount 

18 it may retain under paragraph (1)(A) for 

19 any fiscal year or $750,000, whichever is 

20 greater; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) each outlying area may use up to 

22 5 percent of the amount it receives under 

23 this section for any fiscal year or $35,000 

24 (adjusted by the cumulative rate of infla25 tion since fiscal year 1998, as measured by 
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1 the percentage increase, if any, in the Con2 sumer Price Index For All Urban Con3 sumers, published by the Bureau of Labor 

4 Statistics of the Department of Labor), 

5 whichever is greater. 

6 ‘‘(B) Funds described in subparagraph (A) 

7 may also be used for the administration of part 

8 C of this Act, if the State educational agency 

9 is the lead agency for the State under that 

10 part.

11 ‘‘(3) HIGH COST SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RE12 LATED SERVICES.—Each State may use not more 

13 than 40 percent of the maximum amount it may re14 tain under paragraph (1)(A) for any fiscal year to 

15 establish and implement cost or risk sharing funds, 

16 consortia, or cooperatives to assist local educational 

17 agencies in providing high cost special education and 

18 related services. 

19 ‘‘(4) OTHER STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—Each 

20 State shall use any funds it retains under paragraph 

21 (1) and does not use under paragraph (2) or (3) for 

22 any of the following: 

23 ‘‘(A) Support and direct services, including 

24 technical assistance and personnel development 

25 and training. 
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1 ‘‘(B) Administrative costs of monitoring 

2 and complaint investigation. 

3 ‘‘(C) To establish and implement the medi4 ation and voluntary binding arbitration proc5 esses required by sections 612(a)(17) and 

6 615(e), including providing for the costs of me7 diators, arbitrators, and support personnel. 

8 ‘‘(D) To assist local educational agencies 

9 in meeting personnel shortages. 

10 ‘‘(E) Activities at the State and local levels 

11 to meet the performance goals established by 

12 the State under section 612(a)(15) and to sup13 port implementation of the State plan under 

14 subpart 1 of part D if the State receives funds 

15 under that subpart. 

16 ‘‘(F) To support paperwork reduction ac17 tivities, including expanding the appropriate use 

18 of technology in the IEP process under this 

19 part. 

20 ‘‘(G) To develop and maintain a com21 prehensive, coordinated, prereferral educational 

22 support system for students in kindergarten 

23 through grade 12 (with a particular emphasis 

24 on students in kindergarten through grade 3) 

25 who are not enrolled in special education but 
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1 who need additional academic and behavioral 

2 support to succeed in a general education envi3 ronment. 

4 ‘‘(H) To support capacity building activi5 ties and improve the delivery of services by local 

6 educational agencies to improve results for chil7 dren with disabilities. 

8 ‘‘(I) For subgrants to local educational 

9 agencies for the purposes described in para10 graph (5)(A). 

11 ‘‘(5)(A) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

12 AGENCIES FOR ACCOUNTABILITY.—In any fiscal year 

13 in which the percentage increase in the State’s allo14 cation under this section exceeds the rate of inflation 

15 (as measured by the percentage increase, if any, 

16 from the preceding fiscal year in the Consumer Price 

17 Index For All Urban Consumers, published by the 

18 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of 

19 Labor), each State shall reserve, from its allocation 

20 under this section, the amount described in subpara21 graph (B) to make subgrants to local educational 

22 agencies, unless that amount is less than $100,000, 

23 to provide technical assistance and direct services to 

24 local educational agencies identified as being in need 

25 of improvement under section 1116 of the Elemen-
44

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1 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 on the 

2 basis, in whole or in part, of the assessment results 

3 of the disaggregated subgroup of students with dis4 abilities, including providing professional develop5 ment to special and regular education teachers, 

6 based on scientifically based research to improve 

7 educational instruction. 

8 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM SUBGRANT.—For each fiscal 

9 year, the amount referred to in subparagraph (A) 

10 is—

11 ‘‘(i) the maximum amount the State was 

12 allowed to retain under paragraph (1)(A) for 

13 the prior fiscal year, or for fiscal year 1998, 25 

14 percent of the State’s allocation for fiscal year 

15 1997 under this section; multiplied by 

16 ‘‘(ii) the difference between the percentage 

17 increase in the State’s allocation under this sec18 tion and the rate of inflation, as measured by 

19 the percentage increase, if any, from the pre20 ceding fiscal year in the Consumer Price Index 

21 For All Urban Consumers, published by the 

22 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department 

23 of Labor. 

24 ‘‘(6) REPORT ON USE OF FUNDS.—As part of 

25 the information required to be submitted to the Sec-
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1 retary under section 612, each State shall annually 

2 describe—

3 ‘‘(A) how amounts retained under para4 graph (1) will be used to meet the requirements 

5 of this part; 

6 ‘‘(B) how those amounts will be allocated 

7 among the activities described in this subsection 

8 to meet State priorities based on input from 

9 local educational agencies; and 

10 ‘‘(C) the percentage of those amounts, if 

11 any, that will be distributed to local educational 

12 agencies by formula. 

13 ‘‘(f) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN14 CIES.—

15 ‘‘(1) SUBGRANTS REQUIRED.—Each State that 

16 receives a grant under this section for any fiscal 

17 year shall distribute any funds it does not retain 

18 under subsection (e) to local educational agencies, 

19 including public charter schools that operate as local 

20 educational agencies, in the State that have estab21 lished their eligibility under section 613, for use in 

22 accordance with this part. 

23 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE FOR ALLOCATIONS TO LOCAL

24 EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—For each fiscal year for 

25 which funds are allocated to States under subsection 
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1 (e), each State shall allocate funds under paragraph 

2 (1) as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) BASE PAYMENTS.—The State shall 

4 first award each agency described in paragraph 

5 (1) the amount that agency would have received 

6 under this section for fiscal year 1999, if the 

7 State had distributed 75 percent of its grant for 

8 that year under section 611(d), as then in ef9 fect. 

10 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF REMAINING

11 FUNDS.—After making allocations under sub12 paragraph (A), the State shall—

13 ‘‘(i) allocate 85 percent of any re14 maining funds to those agencies on the 

15 basis of the relative numbers of children 

16 enrolled in public and private elementary 

17 and secondary schools within the agency’s 

18 jurisdiction; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) allocate 15 percent of those re20 maining funds to those agencies in accord21 ance with their relative numbers of chil22 dren living in poverty, as determined by 

23 the State educational agency. 

24 ‘‘(3) REALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—If a State 

25 educational agency determines that a local edu-
47

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1 cational agency is adequately providing a free appro2 priate public education to all children with disabil3 ities residing in the area served by that agency with 

4 State and local funds, the State educational agency 

5 may reallocate any portion of the funds under this 

6 part that are not needed by that local agency to pro7 vide a free appropriate public education to other 

8 local educational agencies in the State that are not 

9 adequately providing special education and related 

10 services to all children with disabilities residing in 

11 the areas they serve. 

12 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR INCREASED FUNDS.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the amount avail14 able for allocations to States under subsection 

15 (d)(1) for a fiscal year is equal to or greater 

16 than the amount allocated to States for fiscal 

17 year 2003, then each State may retain not 

18 more than the amount of funds it had reserved 

19 under subsection (e)(1)(B) for fiscal year 2003. 

20 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—In any fiscal year in 

21 which the percentage increase of the amount 

22 available for allocations to States under sub23 section (d)(1) is equal to or greater than the 

24 rate of inflation, each State may increase its al25 location under subsection (e)(1)(B) by the 
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1 amount allowed under subsection (e)(4)(B), for 

2 the sole purpose of making grants under sub3 section (e)(4)(A). 

4 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this sec5 tion—

6 ‘‘(1) the term ‘average per-pupil expenditure in 

7 public elementary and secondary schools in the 

8 United States’ means—

9 ‘‘(A) without regard to the source of 

10 funds—

11 ‘‘(i) the aggregate current expendi12 tures, during the second fiscal year pre13 ceding the fiscal year for which the deter14 mination is made (or, if satisfactory data 

15 for that year are not available, during the 

16 most recent preceding fiscal year for which 

17 satisfactory data are available) of all local 

18 educational agencies in the 50 States and 

19 the District of Columbia); plus 

20 ‘‘(ii) any direct expenditures by the 

21 State for the operation of those agencies; 

22 divided by 

23 ‘‘(B) the aggregate number of children in 

24 average daily attendance to whom those agen-
49

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1 cies provided free public education during that 

2 preceding year; and 

3 ‘‘(2) the term ‘State’ means each of the 50 

4 States, the District of Columbia, and the Common5 wealth of Puerto Rico. 

6 ‘‘(h) USE OF AMOUNTS BY SECRETARY OF THE IN7 TERIOR.—

8 ‘‘(1) PROVISION OF AMOUNTS FOR ASSIST9 ANCE.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Edu11 cation shall provide amounts to the Secretary of 

12 the Interior to meet the need for assistance for 

13 the education of children with disabilities on 

14 reservations aged 5 to 21, inclusive, enrolled in 

15 elementary and secondary schools for Indian 

16 children operated or funded by the Secretary of 

17 the Interior. The amount of such payment for 

18 any fiscal year shall be equal to 80 percent of 

19 the amount allotted under subsection (c) for 

20 that fiscal year. Of the amount described in the 

21 preceding sentence—

22 ‘‘(i) 80 percent shall be allocated to 

23 such schools by July 1 of that fiscal year; 

24 and 
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1 ‘‘(ii) 20 percent shall be allocated to 

2 such schools by September 30 of that fiscal 

3 year. 

4 ‘‘(B) CALCULATION OF NUMBER OF CHIL5 DREN.—In the case of Indian students aged 3 

6 to 5, inclusive, who are enrolled in programs af7 filiated with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (here8 after in this subsection referred to as ‘BIA’) 

9 schools and that are required by the States in 

10 which such schools are located to attain or 

11 maintain State accreditation, and which schools 

12 have such accreditation prior to the date of en13 actment of the Individuals with Disabilities 

14 Education Act Amendments of 1991, the school 

15 shall be allowed to count those children for the 

16 purpose of distribution of the funds provided 

17 under this paragraph to the Secretary of the 

18 Interior. The Secretary of the Interior shall be 

19 responsible for meeting all of the requirements 

20 of this part for these children, in accordance 

21 with paragraph (2). 

22 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—With 

23 respect to all other children aged 3 to 21, inclu24 sive, on reservations, the State educational 

25 agency shall be responsible for ensuring that all 
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1 of the requirements of this part are imple2 mented. 

3 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec4 retary of Education may provide the Secretary of 

5 the Interior amounts under paragraph (1) for a fis6 cal year only if the Secretary of the Interior submits 

7 to the Secretary of Education information that—

8 ‘‘(A) demonstrates that the Department of 

9 the Interior meets the appropriate require10 ments, as determined by the Secretary of Edu11 cation, of sections 612 (including monitoring 

12 and evaluation activities) and 613; 

13 ‘‘(B) includes a description of how the Sec14 retary of the Interior will coordinate the provi15 sion of services under this part with local edu16 cational agencies, tribes and tribal organiza17 tions, and other private and Federal service 

18 providers; 

19 ‘‘(C) includes an assurance that there are 

20 public hearings, adequate notice of such hear21 ings, and an opportunity for comment afforded 

22 to members of tribes, tribal governing bodies, 

23 and affected local school boards before the 

24 adoption of the policies, programs, and proce25 dures described in subparagraph (A); 
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1 ‘‘(D) includes an assurance that the Sec2 retary of the Interior will provide such informa3 tion as the Secretary of Education may require 

4 to comply with section 618; 

5 ‘‘(E) includes an assurance that the Sec6 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of 

7 Health and Human Services have entered into 

8 a memorandum of agreement, to be provided to 

9 the Secretary of Education, for the coordination 

10 of services, resources, and personnel between 

11 their respective Federal, State, and local offices 

12 and with State and local educational agencies 

13 and other entities to facilitate the provision of 

14 services to Indian children with disabilities re15 siding on or near reservations (such agreement 

16 shall provide for the apportionment of respon17 sibilities and costs including, but not limited to, 

18 child find, evaluation, diagnosis, remediation or 

19 therapeutic measures, and (where appropriate) 

20 equipment and medical or personal supplies as 

21 needed for a child to remain in school or a pro22 gram); and 

23 ‘‘(F) includes an assurance that the De24 partment of the Interior will cooperate with the 

25 Department of Education in its exercise of 
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1 monitoring, enforcement, and oversight of this 

2 application, and any agreements entered into 

3 between the Secretary of the Interior and other 

4 entities under this part, and will fulfill its du5 ties under this part. 

6 Section 616(a) shall apply to the information de7 scribed in this paragraph. 

8 ‘‘(3) PAYMENTS FOR EDUCATION AND SERVICES

9 FOR INDIAN CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES AGED 3

10 THROUGH 5.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With funds appro12 priated under subsection (i), the Secretary of 

13 Education shall make payments to the Sec14 retary of the Interior to be distributed to tribes 

15 or tribal organizations (as defined under section 

16 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu17 cation Assistance Act) or consortia of the above 

18 to provide for the coordination of assistance for 

19 special education and related services for chil20 dren with disabilities aged 3 through 5 on res21 ervations served by elementary and secondary 

22 schools for Indian children operated or funded 

23 by the Department of the Interior. The amount 

24 of such payments under subparagraph (B) for 
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1 any fiscal year shall be equal to 20 percent of 

2 the amount allotted under subsection (c). 

3 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The Sec4 retary of the Interior shall distribute the total 

5 amount of the payment under subparagraph 

6 (A) by allocating to each tribe or tribal organi7 zation an amount based on the number of chil8 dren with disabilities ages 3 through 5 residing 

9 on reservations as reported annually, divided by 

10 the total of those children served by all tribes 

11 or tribal organizations. 

12 ‘‘(C) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—To 

13 receive a payment under this paragraph, the 

14 tribe or tribal organization shall submit such 

15 figures to the Secretary of the Interior as re16 quired to determine the amounts to be allocated 

17 under subparagraph (B). This information shall 

18 be compiled and submitted to the Secretary of 

19 Education. 

20 ‘‘(D) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds received 

21 by a tribe or tribal organization shall be used 

22 to assist in child find, screening, and other pro23 cedures for the early identification of children 

24 aged 3 through 5, parent training, and the pro25 vision of direct services. These activities may be 
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1 carried out directly or through contracts or co2 operative agreements with the BIA, local edu3 cational agencies, and other public or private 

4 nonprofit organizations. The tribe or tribal or5 ganization is encouraged to involve Indian par6 ents in the development and implementation of 

7 these activities. The above entities shall, as ap8 propriate, make referrals to local, State, or 

9 Federal entities for the provision of services or 

10 further diagnosis. 

11 ‘‘(E) ANNUAL REPORT.—To be eligible to 

12 receive a grant pursuant to subparagraph (A), 

13 the tribe or tribal organization shall provide to 

14 the Secretary of the Interior an annual report 

15 of activities undertaken under this paragraph, 

16 including the number of contracts and coopera17 tive agreements entered into, the number of 

18 children contacted and receiving services for 

19 each year, and the estimated number of chil20 dren needing services during the year following 

21 the one in which the report is made. The Sec22 retary of the Interior shall include a summary 

23 of this information on an annual basis in the 

24 report to the Secretary of Education required 

25 under this subsection. The Secretary of Edu-
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1 cation may require any additional information 

2 from the Secretary of the Interior. 

3 ‘‘(F) PROHIBITIONS.—None of the funds 

4 allocated under this paragraph may be used by 

5 the Secretary of the Interior for administrative 

6 purposes, including child count and the provi7 sion of technical assistance. 

8 ‘‘(4) PLAN FOR COORDINATION OF SERVICES.—

9 The Secretary of the Interior shall develop and im10 plement a plan for the coordination of services for 

11 all Indian children with disabilities residing on res12 ervations covered under this Act. Such plan shall 

13 provide for the coordination of services benefiting 

14 these children from whatever source, including 

15 tribes, the Indian Health Service, other BIA divi16 sions, and other Federal agencies. In developing the 

17 plan, the Secretary of the Interior shall consult with 

18 all interested and involved parties. It shall be based 

19 on the needs of the children and the system best 

20 suited for meeting those needs, and may involve the 

21 establishment of cooperative agreements between the 

22 BIA, other Federal agencies, and other entities. The 

23 plan shall also be distributed upon request to States, 

24 State and local educational agencies, and other 

25 agencies providing services to infants, toddlers, and 
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1 children with disabilities, to tribes, and to other in2 terested parties. 

3 ‘‘(5) ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY BOARD.—

4 To meet the requirements of section 612(a)(22), the 

5 Secretary of the Interior shall establish, under the 

6 BIA, an advisory board composed of individuals in7 volved in or concerned with the education and provi8 sion of services to Indian infants, toddlers, children, 

9 and youth with disabilities, including Indians with 

10 disabilities, Indian parents or guardians of such chil11 dren, teachers, service providers, State and local 

12 educational officials, representatives of tribes or trib13 al organizations, representatives from State Inter14 agency Coordinating Councils under section 641 in 

15 States having reservations, and other members rep16 resenting the various divisions and entities of the 

17 BIA. The chairperson shall be selected by the Sec18 retary of the Interior. The advisory board shall—

19 ‘‘(A) assist in the coordination of services 

20 within the BIA and with other local, State, and 

21 Federal agencies in the provision of education 

22 for infants, toddlers, and children with disabil23 ities; 
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1 ‘‘(B) advise and assist the Secretary of the 

2 Interior in the performance of the Secretary’s 

3 responsibilities described in this subsection; 

4 ‘‘(C) develop and recommend policies con5 cerning effective inter- and intra-agency collabo6 ration, including modifications to regulations, 

7 and the elimination of barriers to inter- and 

8 intra-agency programs and activities; 

9 ‘‘(D) provide assistance and disseminate 

10 information on best practices, effective program 

11 coordination strategies, and recommendations 

12 for improved educational programming for In13 dian infants, toddlers, and children with disabil14 ities; and 

15 ‘‘(E) provide assistance in the preparation 

16 of information required under paragraph 

17 (2)(D). 

18 ‘‘(6) ANNUAL REPORTS.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The advisory board 

20 established under paragraph (5) shall prepare 

21 and submit to the Secretary of the Interior and 

22 to the Congress an annual report containing a 

23 description of the activities of the advisory 

24 board for the preceding year. 
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1 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary of the 

2 Interior shall make available to the Secretary of 

3 Education the report described in subparagraph 

4 (A). 

5 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

6 purpose of carrying out this part, other than section 619, 

7 there are authorized to be appropriated—

8 ‘‘(1) $11,074,398,000 for fiscal year 2004; 

9 ‘‘(2) $13,574,398,000 for fiscal year 2005; 

10 ‘‘(3) $15,746,302,000 for fiscal year 2006; 

11 ‘‘(4) $17,918,205,000 for fiscal year 2007; 

12 ‘‘(5) $20,090,109,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

13 ‘‘(6) $22,262,307,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

14 ‘‘(7) $25,198,603,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

15 ‘‘(8) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 

16 year 2011 and each subsequent fiscal year.’’. 

17 SEC. 202. STATE ELIGIBILITY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Section 612(a) of the Individ19 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)) 

20 is amended in the matter preceding paragraph (1) by 

21 striking ‘‘demonstrates to the satisfaction of’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘reasonably demonstrates to’’. 

23 (2) Paragraphs (1) through (11) of section 612(a) 

24 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

25 U.S.C. 1412(a)(1)–(11)) are amended to read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(1) FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDU2 CATION.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A free appropriate 

4 public education is available to all children with 

5 disabilities residing in the State between the 

6 ages of 3 and 21, inclusive, including children 

7 with disabilities who have been suspended or ex8 pelled from school. 

9 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The obligation to 

10 make a free appropriate public education avail11 able to all children with disabilities does not 

12 apply with respect to children—

13 ‘‘(i) aged 3 through 5 and 18 through 

14 21 in a State to the extent that its applica15 tion to those children would be inconsistent 

16 with State law or practice, or the order of 

17 any court, respecting the provision of pub18 lic education to children in those age 

19 ranges; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) aged 18 through 21 to the extent 

21 that State law does not require that special 

22 education and related services under this 

23 part be provided to children with disabil24 ities who, in the educational placement 
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1 prior to their incarceration in an adult cor2 rectional facility—

3 ‘‘(I) were not actually identified 

4 as being a child with a disability 

5 under section 602(3) of this Act; or 

6 ‘‘(II) did not have an individual7 ized education program under this 

8 part. 

9 ‘‘(2) FULL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

10 GOAL.—The State has established a goal of pro11 viding full educational opportunity to all children 

12 with disabilities and a detailed timetable for accom13 plishing that goal. 

14 ‘‘(3) CHILD FIND.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All children with dis16 abilities residing in the State, including children 

17 with disabilities attending private schools, re18 gardless of the severity of their disabilities, and 

19 who are in need of special education and related 

20 services, are identified, located, and evaluated 

21 and a practical method is developed and imple22 mented to determine which children with dis23 abilities are currently receiving needed special 

24 education and related services. 
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1 ‘‘(B) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

2 Act requires that children be classified by their 

3 disability so long as each child who has a dis4 ability listed in section 602 and who, by reason 

5 of that disability, needs special education and 

6 related services is regarded as a child with a 

7 disability under this part. 

8 ‘‘(4) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM.—

9 An individualized education program, or an individ10 ualized family service plan that meets the require11 ments of section 636(d), is developed, reviewed, and 

12 revised for each child with a disability in accordance 

13 with section 614(d). 

14 ‘‘(5) LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum ex16 tent appropriate, children with disabilities, in17 cluding children in public or private institutions 

18 or other care facilities, are educated with chil19 dren who are not disabled, and special classes, 

20 separate schooling, or other removal of children 

21 with disabilities from the regular educational 

22 environment occurs only when the nature or se23 verity of the disability of a child is such that 

24 education in regular classes with the use of sup-
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1 plementary aids and services cannot be achieved 

2 satisfactorily. 

3 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the State uses a 

5 funding mechanism by which the State dis6 tributes State funds on the basis of the 

7 type of setting in which a child is served, 

8 the funding mechanism does not result in 

9 placements that violate the requirements of 

10 subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(ii) ASSURANCE.—If the State does 

12 not have policies and procedures to ensure 

13 compliance with clause (i), the State shall 

14 provide the Secretary an assurance that it 

15 will revise the funding mechanism as soon 

16 as feasible to ensure that such mechanism 

17 does not result in such placements. 

18 ‘‘(6) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Children with disabil20 ities and their parents are afforded the proce21 dural safeguards required by section 615. 

22 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURAL SAFE23 GUARDS.—Procedures to ensure that testing 

24 and evaluation materials and procedures uti25 lized for the purposes of evaluation and place-
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1 ment of children with disabilities for services 

2 under this Act will be selected and administered 

3 so as not to be racially or culturally discrimina4 tory. Such materials or procedures shall be pro5 vided and administered in the child’s native lan6 guage or mode of communication, unless it 

7 clearly is not feasible to do so, and no single 

8 procedure shall be the sole criterion for deter9 mining an appropriate educational program for 

10 a child. 

11 ‘‘(7) EVALUATION.—Children with disabilities 

12 are evaluated in accordance with subsections (a) 

13 through (c) of section 614. 

14 ‘‘(8) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Agencies in the State 

15 comply with section 617(d) (relating to the confiden16 tiality of records and information). 

17 ‘‘(9) TRANSITION FROM PART C TO PRESCHOOL

18 PROGRAMS.—Children participating in early inter19 vention programs assisted under part C, and who 

20 will participate in preschool programs assisted under 

21 this part, experience a smooth and effective transi22 tion to those preschool programs in a manner con23 sistent with section 637(a)(8). By the third birthday 

24 of such a child, an individualized education program 

25 or, if consistent with section 636(d), an individual-
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1 ized family service plan, has been developed and is 

2 being implemented for the child. The local edu3 cational agency will participate in transition plan4 ning conferences arranged by the designated lead 

5 agency under section 637(a)(8). 

6 ‘‘(10) CHILDREN IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS.—

7 ‘‘(A) CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE

8 SCHOOLS BY THEIR PARENTS.—

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To the extent con10 sistent with the number and location of 

11 children with disabilities in the State who 

12 are enrolled by their parents in private ele13 mentary and secondary schools in the area 

14 served by such agency, provision is made 

15 for the participation of those children in 

16 the program assisted or carried out under 

17 this part by providing for such children 

18 special education and related services in 

19 accordance with the following require20 ments, unless the Secretary has arranged 

21 for services to those children under sub22 section (f): 

23 ‘‘(I) Amounts to be expended for 

24 the provision of those services (includ25 ing direct services to parentally-placed 
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1 children) by a local educational agen2 cy shall be equal to a proportionate 

3 amount of Federal funds made avail4 able under this part. 

5 ‘‘(II) In calculating the propor6 tionate share of Federal funds, the 

7 local educational agency, after timely 

8 and meaningful consultation with rep9 resentatives of children with disabil10 ities parentally-placed in private 

11 schools as described in clause (iii), 

12 shall conduct a thorough and complete 

13 child-find process to determine the 

14 number of parentally-placed children 

15 with disabilities attending private 

16 schools located in the district. 

17 ‘‘(III) Such services may be pro18 vided to children with disabilities on 

19 the premises of private, including reli20 gious, schools, to the extent consistent 

21 with law. 

22 ‘‘(IV) State and local funds may 

23 supplement and in no case shall sup24 plant the proportionate amount of 
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1 Federal funds required to be expended 

2 under this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(V) Each local educational 

4 agency maintains in its records and 

5 provides to the State educational 

6 agency the number of children evalu7 ated under this paragraph, the num8 ber of children determined to be chil9 dren with disabilities, and the number 

10 of children served under this sub11 section. 

12 ‘‘(ii) CHILD-FIND REQUIREMENT.—

13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The require14 ments of paragraph (3) of this sub15 section (relating to child find) shall 

16 apply with respect to children with 

17 disabilities in the State who are en18 rolled in private, including religious, 

19 elementary and secondary schools. 

20 ‘‘(II) EQUITABLE PARTICIPA21 TION.—The child-find process must be 

22 designed to ensure the equitable par23 ticipation of parentally-placed private 

24 school children and an accurate count 

25 of such children. 
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1 ‘‘(III) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying 

2 out this clause, the local educational 

3 agency, or where applicable, the State 

4 educational agency, shall undertake 

5 activities similar to those activities un6 dertaken for its public school children. 

7 ‘‘(IV) COST.—The cost of car8 rying out this clause, including indi9 vidual evaluations, may not be consid10 ered in determining whether a local 

11 education agency has met its obliga12 tions under clause (i). 

13 ‘‘(V) COMPLETION PERIOD.—

14 Such child-find process shall be com15 pleted in a time period comparable to 

16 that for other students attending pub17 lic schools in the local educational 

18 agency. 

19 ‘‘(iii) CONSULTATION.—To ensure 

20 timely and meaningful consultation, a local 

21 educational agency, or where appropriate, 

22 a state educational agency, shall consult 

23 with representatives of children with dis24 abilities parentally-placed in private schools 

25 during the design and development of spe-
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1 cial education and related services for 

2 these children including—

3 ‘‘(I) the child-find process and 

4 how parentally-placed private school 

5 children suspected of having a dis6 ability can participate equitably, in7 cluding how parents, teachers, and 

8 private school officials will be in9 formed of the process; 

10 ‘‘(II) the determination of the 

11 proportionate share of Federal funds 

12 available to serve parentally-placed 

13 private school children with disabil14 ities under this paragraph, including 

15 the determination of how those funds 

16 were calculated; 

17 ‘‘(III) the consultation process 

18 among the district, private school offi19 cials, and parents of parentally-placed 

20 private school children with disabil21 ities including how such process will 

22 operate throughout the school year to 

23 ensure that parentally-placed children 

24 with disabilities identified through the 

25 child find process can meaningfully 
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1 participate in special education and 

2 related services; and 

3 ‘‘(IV) how, where, and by whom 

4 special education and related services 

5 will be provided for parentally-placed 

6 private school children, including a 

7 discussion of alternate service delivery 

8 mechanisms, how such services will be 

9 apportioned if funds are insufficient 

10 to serve all children, and how and 

11 when these decisions will be made. 

12 ‘‘(iv) COMPLIANCE.— 

13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A private 

14 school official shall have the right to 

15 complain to the State educational 

16 agency that the local educational 

17 agency did not engage in consultation 

18 that was meaningful and timely, or 

19 did not give due consideration to the 

20 views of the private school official. 

21 ‘‘(II) PROCEDURE.—If the pri22 vate school official wishes to complain, 

23 the official shall provide the basis of 

24 the noncompliance with this section by 

25 the local educational agency to the 
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1 State educational agency, and the 

2 local educational agency shall forward 

3 the appropriate documentation to the 

4 State educational agency. If the pri5 vate school official is dissatisfied with 

6 the decision of the State educational 

7 agency, such official may complain to 

8 the Secretary by providing the basis 

9 of the noncompliance with this section 

10 by the local educational agency to the 

11 Secretary, and the State educational 

12 agency shall forward the appropriate 

13 documentation to the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(v) PROVISION OF SERVICES.—

15 ‘‘(I) DIRECTLY OR THROUGH

16 CONTRACTS.—An agency may provide 

17 special education and related services 

18 directly or through contracts with 

19 public and private agencies, organiza20 tions, and institutions. 

21 ‘‘(II) SECULAR, NEUTRAL, NON22 IDEOLOGICAL.—Special education and 

23 related services, including materials 

24 and equipment, shall be secular, neu25 tral, and nonideological. 
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1 ‘‘(vi) PUBLIC CONTROL OF FUNDS.—

2 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The control 

3 of funds used to provide special edu4 cation and related services under this 

5 section, and title to materials, equip6 ment, and property purchased with 

7 those funds, shall be in a public agen8 cy for the uses and purposes provided 

9 in this Act, and a public agency shall 

10 administer the funds and property. 

11 ‘‘(II) PROVISION OF SERVICES.—

12 The provision of services under this 

13 Act shall be provided—

14 ‘‘(aa) by employees of a pub15 lic agency; or 

16 ‘‘(bb) through contract by 

17 the public agency with an indi18 vidual, association, agency, orga19 nization, or other entity. 

20 ‘‘(B) CHILDREN PLACED IN, OR REFERRED

21 TO, PRIVATE SCHOOLS BY PUBLIC AGENCIES.—

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Children with dis23 abilities in private schools and facilities are 

24 provided special education and related 

25 services, in accordance with an individual-
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1 ized education program, at no cost to their 

2 parents, if such children are placed in, or 

3 referred to, such schools or facilities by the 

4 State or appropriate local educational 

5 agency as the means of carrying out the 

6 requirements of this part or any other ap7 plicable law requiring the provision of spe8 cial education and related services to all 

9 children with disabilities within such State. 

10 ‘‘(ii) STANDARDS.—In all cases de11 scribed in clause (i), the State educational 

12 agency shall determine whether such 

13 schools and facilities meet standards that 

14 apply to State and local educational agen15 cies and that children so served have all 

16 the rights they would have if served by 

17 such agencies. 

18 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT FOR EDUCATION OF CHIL19 DREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS WITH20 OUT CONSENT OF OR REFERRAL BY THE PUB21 LIC AGENCY.—

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to sub23 paragraph (A), this part does not require 

24 a local educational agency to pay for the 

25 cost of education, including special edu-
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1 cation and related services, of a child with 

2 a disability at a private school or facility if 

3 that agency made a free appropriate public 

4 education available to the child and the 

5 parents elected to place the child in such 

6 private school or facility. 

7 ‘‘(ii) REIMBURSEMENT FOR PRIVATE

8 SCHOOL PLACEMENT.—If the parents of a 

9 child with a disability, who previously re10 ceived special education and related serv11 ices under the authority of a public agency, 

12 enroll the child in a private elementary or 

13 secondary school without the consent of or 

14 referral by the public agency, a court or a 

15 hearing officer may require the agency to 

16 reimburse the parents for the cost of that 

17 enrollment if the court or hearing officer 

18 finds that the agency had not made a free 

19 appropriate public education available to 

20 the child in a timely manner prior to that 

21 enrollment. 

22 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION ON REIMBURSE23 MENT.—The cost of reimbursement de24 scribed in clause (ii) may be reduced or de25 nied—
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1 ‘‘(I) if—

2 ‘‘(aa) at the most recent 

3 IEP meeting that the parents at4 tended prior to removal of the 

5 child from the public school, the 

6 parents did not inform the IEP 

7 Team that they were rejecting 

8 the placement proposed by the 

9 public agency to provide a free 

10 appropriate public education to 

11 their child, including stating their 

12 concerns and their intent to en13 roll their child in a private school 

14 at public expense; or 

15 ‘‘(bb) 10 business days (in16 cluding any holidays that occur 

17 on a business day) prior to the 

18 removal of the child from the 

19 public school, the parents did not 

20 give written notice to the public 

21 agency of the information de22 scribed in division (aa); 

23 ‘‘(II) if, prior to the parents’ re24 moval of the child from the public 

25 school, the public agency informed the 
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1 parents, through the notice require2 ments described in section 615(b)(7), 

3 of its intent to evaluate the child (in4 cluding a statement of the purpose of 

5 the evaluation that was appropriate 

6 and reasonable), but the parents did 

7 not make the child available for such 

8 evaluation; or 

9 ‘‘(III) upon a judicial finding of 

10 unreasonableness with respect to ac11 tions taken by the parents. 

12 ‘‘(iv) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding 

13 the notice requirement in clause (iii)(I), 

14 the cost of reimbursement—

15 ‘‘(I) shall not be reduced or de16 nied for failure to provide such notice 

17 if—

18 ‘‘(aa) the school prevented 

19 the parent from providing such 

20 notice; 

21 ‘‘(bb) the parents had not 

22 received notice, pursuant to sec23 tion 615, of the notice require24 ment in clause (iii)(I); or 
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1 ‘‘(cc) compliance with clause 

2 (iii)(I) would likely result in 

3 physical harm to the child; and 

4 ‘‘(II) may, in the discretion of a 

5 court or a hearing officer, not be re6 duced or denied for failure to provide 

7 such notice if—

8 ‘‘(aa) the parent is illiterate 

9 or cannot write in English; or 

10 ‘‘(bb) compliance with clause 

11 (iii)(I) would likely result in seri12 ous emotional harm to the child. 

13 ‘‘(11) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY RESPON14 SIBLE FOR GENERAL SUPERVISION.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State educational 

16 agency is responsible for ensuring that—

17 ‘‘(i) the requirements of this part are 

18 met; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) all educational programs for chil20 dren with disabilities in the State, includ21 ing all such programs administered by any 

22 other State or local agency—

23 ‘‘(I) are under the general super24 vision of individuals in the State who 

25 are responsible for educational pro-
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1 grams for children with disabilities; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) meet the educational stand4 ards of the State educational agency. 

5 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Subparagraph (A) 

6 shall not limit the responsibility of agencies in 

7 the State other than the State educational 

8 agency to provide, or pay for some or all of the 

9 costs of, a free appropriate public education for 

10 any child with a disability in the State. 

11 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub12 paragraphs (A) and (B), the Governor (or an13 other individual pursuant to State law), con14 sistent with State law, may assign to any public 

15 agency in the State the responsibility of ensur16 ing that the requirements of this part are met 

17 with respect to children with disabilities who 

18 are convicted as adults under State law and in19 carcerated in adult prisons.’’. 

20 (3) Paragraphs (13) through (22) of section 612(a) 

21 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

22 U.S.C. 1412(a)(13)–(22)) are amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(13) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS RELATING

24 TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ELIGIBILITY.—

25 The State educational agency will not make a final 
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1 determination that a local educational agency is not 

2 eligible for assistance under this part without first 

3 affording that agency reasonable notice and an op4 portunity for a hearing. 

5 ‘‘(14) PERSONNEL STANDARDS.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State educational 

7 agency has established and maintains standards 

8 to ensure that personnel necessary to carry out 

9 this part are appropriately and adequately pre10 pared and trained. 

11 ‘‘(B) STANDARDS DESCRIBED.—Such 

12 standards shall—

13 ‘‘(i) ensure that special education 

14 teachers who teach in core academic sub15 jects are highly qualified in those subjects; 

16 ‘‘(ii) be consistent with any State-ap17 proved or State-recognized certification, li18 censing, registration, or other comparable 

19 requirements that apply to the professional 

20 discipline in which those personnel are pro21 viding special education or related services 

22 in order to ensure that such individuals are 

23 qualified to provide such services; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) allow paraprofessionals and as25 sistants who are appropriately trained and 
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1 supervised, in accordance with State law, 

2 regulations, or written policy, in meeting 

3 the requirements of this part to be used to 

4 assist in the provision of special education 

5 and related services to children with dis6 abilities under this part.

7 ‘‘(C) INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES FOR PRO8 FESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—The State edu9 cational agency encourages the development and 

10 use of research-based innovative strategies, such 

11 as strategies using technology, peer networks, 

12 and distance learning, to deliver intensive pro13 fessional development programs for special and 

14 regular education teachers, administrators, 

15 principals, and related services personnel that—

16 ‘‘(i) improve educational results for 

17 students with disabilities; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) are both cost-effective and easily 

19 accessible. 

20 ‘‘(15) PERFORMANCE GOALS AND INDICA21 TORS.—The State—

22 ‘‘(A) has established goals for the perform23 ance of children with disabilities in the State 

24 that—
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1 ‘‘(i) promote the purposes of this Act, 

2 as stated in section 601(d); 

3 ‘‘(ii) are the same as the State’s defi4 nition of adequate yearly progress, includ5 ing the State’s objectives for progress by 

6 children with disabilities, under section 

7 1111(b)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Sec8 ondary Education Act of 1965; 

9 ‘‘(iii) address dropout rates, as well as 

10 such other factors as the State may deter11 mine; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) are consistent, to the extent ap13 propriate, with any other goals and stand14 ards for children established by the State; 

15 ‘‘(B) has established performance indica16 tors the State will use to assess progress toward 

17 achieving those goals described in subparagraph 

18 (A), including measurable annual objectives for 

19 progress by children with disabilities under sec20 tion 1111(b)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Sec21 ondary Education Act of 1965; and 

22 ‘‘(C) will annually report to the Secretary 

23 and the public on the progress of the State, and 

24 of children with disabilities in the State, toward 

25 meeting the goals established under subpara-
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1 graph (A), which may include elements of the 

2 reports required under section 1111(h) of the 

3 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 

4 1965. 

5 ‘‘(16) PARTICIPATION IN ASSESSMENTS.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—(i) All children with 

7 disabilities are included in all general State and 

8 district-wide assessment programs, including 

9 assessments described under title I of the Ele10 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 

11 with appropriate accommodations, where nec12 essary and as indicated in their respective indi13 vidualized education programs. 

14 ‘‘(ii) The State (or, in the case of a dis15 trict-wide assessment, the local educational 

16 agency) has developed and implemented guide17 lines for the provision of accommodations de18 scribed in clause (i). 

19 ‘‘(iii) The State (or, in the case of a dis20 trict-wide assessment the local educational 

21 agency)—

22 ‘‘(I) has developed and implemented 

23 guidelines for the participation of children 

24 with disabilities in alternate assessments 

25 for those children who cannot participate 
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1 in regular assessments under clause (i); 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) conducts those alternate assess4 ments. 

5 ‘‘(B) REPORTS.—The State educational 

6 agency (or, in the case of a district-wide assess7 ment, the local educational agency) makes 

8 available to the public, and reports to the public 

9 with the same frequency and in the same detail 

10 as it reports on the assessment of nondisabled 

11 children, the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) The number of children with dis13 abilities participating in regular assess14 ments, and the number of those children 

15 who were provided accommodations in 

16 order to participate in those assessments. 

17 ‘‘(ii) The number of children with dis18 abilities participating in alternate assess19 ments. 

20 ‘‘(iii) The performance of children 

21 with disabilities on regular assessments 

22 and on alternate assessments (if the num23 ber of children with disabilities partici24 pating in those assessments is sufficient to 

25 yield statistically reliable information and 
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1 reporting that information would not re2 veal personally identifiable information 

3 about an individual student), compared 

4 with the achievement of all children, in5 cluding children with disabilities, on those 

6 assessments. 

7 ‘‘(17) DISPUTE RESOLUTION.—The State has 

8 in effect systems of mediation and voluntary binding 

9 arbitration pursuant to section 615(e). 

10 ‘‘(18) SUPPLEMENTATION OF STATE, LOCAL, 

11 AND OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—

12 ‘‘(A) EXPENDITURES.—Funds paid to a 

13 State under this part will be expended in ac14 cordance with all the provisions of this part. 

15 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION AGAINST COMMIN16 GLING.—Funds paid to a State under this part 

17 will not be commingled with State funds. 

18 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION AGAINST SUPPLAN19 TATION AND CONDITIONS FOR WAIVER BY SEC20 RETARY.—Except as provided in section 613, 

21 funds paid to a State under this part will be 

22 used to supplement the level of Federal, State, 

23 and local funds (including funds that are not 

24 under the direct control of State or local edu25 cational agencies) expended for special edu-
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1 cation and related services provided to children 

2 with disabilities under this part and in no case 

3 to supplant such Federal, State, and local 

4 funds, except that, where the State provides 

5 clear and convincing evidence that all children 

6 with disabilities have available to them a free 

7 appropriate public education, the Secretary may 

8 waive, in whole or in part, the requirements of 

9 this subparagraph if the Secretary concurs with 

10 the evidence provided by the State. 

11 ‘‘(19) MAINTENANCE OF STATE FINANCIAL

12 SUPPORT.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State does not re14 duce the amount of State financial support for 

15 special education and related services for chil16 dren with disabilities, or otherwise made avail17 able because of the excess costs of educating 

18 those children, below the amount of that sup19 port for the preceding fiscal year. 

20 ‘‘(B) REDUCTION OF FUNDS FOR FAILURE

21 TO MAINTAIN SUPPORT.—The Secretary shall 

22 reduce the allocation of funds under section 611 

23 for any fiscal year following the fiscal year in 

24 which the State fails to comply with the re25 quirement of subparagraph (A) by the same 
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1 amount by which the State fails to meet the re2 quirement. 

3 ‘‘(C) WAIVERS FOR EXCEPTIONAL OR UN4 CONTROLLABLE CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Sec5 retary may waive the requirement of subpara6 graph (A) for a State, for one fiscal year at a 

7 time, if the Secretary determines that—

8 ‘‘(i) granting a waiver would be equi9 table due to exceptional or uncontrollable 

10 circumstances such as a natural disaster or 

11 a precipitous and unforeseen decline in the 

12 financial resources of the State; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) the State meets the standard in 

14 paragraph (18)(C) of this section for a 

15 waiver of the requirement to supplement, 

16 and not to supplant, funds received under 

17 this part. 

18 ‘‘(D) SUBSEQUENT YEARS.—If, for any 

19 year, a State fails to meet the requirement of 

20 subparagraph (A), including any year for which 

21 the State is granted a waiver under subpara22 graph (C), the financial support required of the 

23 State in future years under subparagraph (A) 

24 shall be the amount that would have been re-
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1 quired in the absence of that failure and not 

2 the reduced level of the State’s support. 

3 ‘‘(20) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—Prior to the 

4 adoption of any policies and procedures needed to 

5 comply with this section (including any amendments 

6 to such policies and procedures), the State ensures 

7 that there are public hearings, adequate notice of 

8 the hearings, and an opportunity for comment avail9 able to the general public, including individuals with 

10 disabilities and parents of children with disabilities. 

11 ‘‘(21) STATE ADVISORY PANEL.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State has estab13 lished and maintains an advisory panel for the 

14 purpose of providing policy guidance with re15 spect to special education and related services 

16 for children with disabilities in the State. 

17 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—Such advisory panel 

18 shall consist of members appointed by the Gov19 ernor, or any other official authorized under 

20 State law to make such appointments, that is 

21 representative of the State population and that 

22 is composed of individuals involved in, or con23 cerned with, the education of children with dis24 abilities, including—
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1 ‘‘(i) parents of children with disabil2 ities (ages birth through 26); 

3 ‘‘(ii) individuals with disabilities; 

4 ‘‘(iii) teachers; 

5 ‘‘(iv) representatives of institutions of 

6 higher education that prepare special edu7 cation and related services personnel; 

8 ‘‘(v) State and local education offi9 cials; 

10 ‘‘(vi) administrators of programs for 

11 children with disabilities; 

12 ‘‘(vii) representatives of other State 

13 agencies involved in the financing or deliv14 ery of related services to children with dis15 abilities; 

16 ‘‘(viii) representatives of private 

17 schools and public charter schools; 

18 ‘‘(ix) at least one representative of a 

19 vocational, community, or business organi20 zation concerned with the provision of 

21 transition services to children with disabil22 ities; and 

23 ‘‘(x) representatives from the State 

24 juvenile and adult corrections agencies. 
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1 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE.—A majority of the 

2 members of the panel shall be individuals with 

3 disabilities or parents of children with disabil4 ities ages birth through 26. 

5 ‘‘(D) DUTIES.—The advisory panel shall—

6 ‘‘(i) advise the State educational agen7 cy of unmet needs within the State in the 

8 education of children with disabilities; 

9 ‘‘(ii) comment publicly on any rules or 

10 regulations proposed by the State regard11 ing the education of children with disabil12 ities; 

13 ‘‘(iii) advise the State educational 

14 agency in developing evaluations and re15 porting on data to the Secretary under sec16 tion 618; 

17 ‘‘(iv) advise the State educational 

18 agency in developing corrective action 

19 plans to address findings identified in Fed20 eral monitoring reports under this part; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(v) advise the State educational 

23 agency in developing and implementing 

24 policies relating to the coordination of serv25 ices for children with disabilities. 
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1 ‘‘(22) SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION RATES.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State educational 

3 agency examines data, including data 

4 disaggregated by race and ethnicity, to deter5 mine if significant discrepancies are occurring 

6 in the rate of long-term suspensions and expul7 sions of children with disabilities—

8 ‘‘(i) among local educational agencies 

9 in the State; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) compared to such rates for non11 disabled children within such agencies. 

12 ‘‘(B) REVIEW AND REVISION OF POLI13 CIES.—If such discrepancies are occurring, the 

14 State educational agency reviews and, if appro15 priate, revises (or requires the affected State or 

16 local educational agency to revise) its policies, 

17 procedures, and practices relating to the devel18 opment and implementation of IEPs, the use of 

19 positive behavioral interventions and supports, 

20 and procedural safeguards, to ensure that such 

21 policies, procedures, and practices comply with 

22 this Act.’’. 

23 (4) Section 612(a) of the Individuals with Disabilities 

24 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(13)–(22)) is amended 

25 by adding at the end the following: 
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1 ‘‘(23) INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State adopts the 

3 national instructional materials accessibility 

4 standard for the purposes of providing instruc5 tional materials to blind persons or other per6 sons with print disabilities in a timely manner 

7 after the publication of the standard by the 

8 Secretary in the Federal Register.

9 ‘‘(B) PURCHASE REQUIREMENT.—Not 

10 later than 2 years after the date of the enact11 ment of the Improving Education Results for 

12 Children With Disabilities Act of 2003, the 

13 State educational agency, when purchasing in14 structional materials for use in public elemen15 tary and secondary schools within the State, re16 quires the publisher of the instructional mate17 rials, as a part of any purchase agreement that 

18 is made, renewed, or revised, to prepare and 

19 supply electronic files containing the contents of 

20 the instructional materials using the national 

21 instructional materials accessibility standard. 

22 ‘‘(C) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this 

23 paragraph, the term ‘instructional materials’ 

24 means printed textbooks and related core mate25 rials that are written and published primarily 
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1 for use in elementary school and secondary 

2 school instruction and are required by a State 

3 educational agency or local educational agency 

4 for use by pupils in the classroom. 

5 ‘‘(24) OVERIDENTIFICATION AND

6 DISPROPORTIONALITY.—The State has in effect, 

7 consistent with the purposes of this Act and with 

8 section 618, policies and procedures designed to pre9 vent the overidentification or disproportionate rep10 resentation by race and ethnicity of children as chil11 dren with disabilities, including the identification of 

12 children as children with disabilities in accordance 

13 with a particular impairment described in section 

14 602(3). 

15 ‘‘(25) PROHIBITION ON PSYCHOTROPIC MEDICA16 TION.—The State educational agency develops and 

17 implements policies and procedures prohibiting 

18 school personnel from requiring a child to obtain a 

19 prescription for substances covered by section 202(c) 

20 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)) 

21 as a condition of attending school or receiving serv22 ices.’’. 

23 (b) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY AS PROVIDER OF

24 FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION OR DIRECT

25 SERVICES.—Section 612(b) of the Individuals with Dis-
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1 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1412(b)) is amended 

2 to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(b) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY AS PROVIDER OF

4 FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION OR DIRECT

5 SERVICES.—If the State educational agency provides free 

6 appropriate public education to children with disabilities, 

7 or provides direct services to such children, such agency—

8 ‘‘(1) shall comply with any additional require9 ments of section 613(a), as if such agency were a 

10 local educational agency; and 

11 ‘‘(2) may use amounts that are otherwise avail12 able to such agency under this part to serve those 

13 children without regard to section 613(a)(2)(A)(i) 

14 (relating to excess costs).’’. 

15 (c) EXCEPTION FOR PRIOR STATE PLANS.—Section 

16 612(c) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

17 (20 U.S.C. 1412(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION FOR PRIOR STATE PLANS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a State has on file with 

20 the Secretary policies and procedures that dem21 onstrate that such State meets any requirement of 

22 subsection (a), including any policies and procedures 

23 filed under this part as in effect before the effective 

24 date of the Improving Education Results for Chil25 dren With Disabilities Act of 2003, the Secretary 
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1 shall consider such State to have met such require2 ment for purposes of receiving a grant under this 

3 part. 

4 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATIONS MADE BY STATE.—Sub5 ject to paragraph (3), an application submitted by a 

6 State in accordance with this section shall remain in 

7 effect until the State submits to the Secretary such 

8 modifications as the State deems necessary. This 

9 section shall apply to a modification to an applica10 tion to the same extent and in the same manner as 

11 this section applies to the original plan. 

12 ‘‘(3) MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY THE SEC13 RETARY.—If, after the effective date of the Improv14 ing Education Results for Children With Disabilities 

15 Act of 2003, the provisions of this Act are amended 

16 (or the regulations developed to carry out this Act 

17 are amended), or there is a new interpretation of 

18 this Act by a Federal court or a State’s highest 

19 court, or there is an official finding of noncompli20 ance with Federal law or regulations, the Secretary 

21 may require a State to modify its application only to 

22 the extent necessary to ensure the State’s compli23 ance with this part.’’. 
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1 (d) APPROVAL BY THE SECRETARY.—Section 612(d) 

2 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 

3 U.S.C. 1412(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL BY THE SECRETARY.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines 

6 that a State is eligible to receive a grant under this 

7 part, the Secretary shall notify the State of that de8 termination. 

9 ‘‘(2) NOTICE AND HEARING.—The Secretary 

10 shall not make a final determination that a State is 

11 not eligible to receive a grant under this part until 

12 after providing the State—

13 ‘‘(A) with reasonable notice; and 

14 ‘‘(B) with an opportunity for a hearing.’’. 

15 (e) ASSISTANCE UNDER OTHER FEDERAL PRO16 GRAMS.—Section 612(e) of the Individuals with Disabil17 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1412(e)) is amended to 

18 read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(e) ASSISTANCE UNDER OTHER FEDERAL PRO20 GRAMS.—Nothing in this title permits a State to reduce 

21 medical and other assistance available, or to alter eligi22 bility, under titles V and XIX of the Social Security Act 

23 with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public 

24 education for children with disabilities in the State.’’. 
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1 SEC. 203. LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ELIGIBILITY. 

2 Section 613 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu3 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1413) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 613. LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ELIGIBILITY. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency is eli6 gible for assistance under this part for a fiscal year if such 

7 agency reasonably demonstrates to the State educational 

8 agency that it meets each of the following conditions: 

9 ‘‘(1) CONSISTENCY WITH STATE POLICIES.—

10 The local educational agency, in providing for the 

11 education of children with disabilities within its ju12 risdiction, has in effect policies, procedures, and pro13 grams that are consistent with the State policies and 

14 procedures established under section 612. 

15 ‘‘(2) USE OF AMOUNTS.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts provided to 

17 the local educational agency under this part 

18 shall be expended in accordance with the appli19 cable provisions of this part and—

20 ‘‘(i) shall be used only to pay the ex21 cess costs of providing special education 

22 and related services to children with dis23 abilities; 

24 ‘‘(ii) shall be used to supplement 

25 State, local, and other Federal funds and 

26 not to supplant such funds; and 
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1 ‘‘(iii) shall not be used, except as pro2 vided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), to re3 duce the level of expenditures for the edu4 cation of children with disabilities made by 

5 the local educational agency from local 

6 funds below the level of those expenditures 

7 for the preceding fiscal year. 

8 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the 

9 restriction in subparagraph (A)(iii), a local edu10 cational agency may reduce the level of expendi11 tures where such reduction is attributable to—

12 ‘‘(i) the voluntary departure, by re13 tirement or otherwise, or departure for just 

14 cause, of special education personnel; 

15 ‘‘(ii) a decrease in the enrollment of 

16 children with disabilities; 

17 ‘‘(iii) the termination of the obligation 

18 of the agency, consistent with this part, to 

19 provide a program of special education to 

20 a particular child with a disability that is 

21 an exceptionally costly program, as deter22 mined by the State educational agency, be23 cause the child—

24 ‘‘(I) has left the jurisdiction of 

25 the agency; 
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1 ‘‘(II) has reached the age at 

2 which the obligation of the agency to 

3 provide a free appropriate public edu4 cation to the child has terminated; or 

5 ‘‘(III) no longer needs such pro6 gram of special education; or 

7 ‘‘(iv) the termination of costly expend8 itures for long-term purchases, such as the 

9 acquisition of equipment or the construc10 tion of school facilities. 

11 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDS IN

12 CERTAIN FISCAL YEARS.—

13 ‘‘(i) Notwithstanding clauses (ii) and 

14 (iii) of subparagraph (A), for any fiscal 

15 year for which amounts appropriated to 

16 carry out section 611 exceeds 

17 $4,100,000,000, a local educational agency 

18 may treat as local funds, for the purpose 

19 of such clauses, up to 20 percent of the 

20 amount of funds it receives under this part 

21 that exceeds the amount it received under 

22 this part for the previous fiscal year. 

23 ‘‘(ii) If a local educational agency 

24 chooses to use the authority under clause 

25 (i), then the agency shall use those local 
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1 funds to provide additional funding for 

2 programs under the Elementary and Sec3 ondary Education Act of 1965, including, 

4 but not limited to, programs that address 

5 student achievement, comprehensive school 

6 reform, literacy, teacher quality and pro7 fessional development, school safety, 

8 before- and after- school learning opportu9 nities. 

10 ‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding clause (i), if a 

11 State educational agency determines that a 

12 local educational agency is unable to estab13 lish and maintain programs of free appro14 priate public education that meet the re15 quirements of subsection (a), the State 

16 educational agency shall prohibit the local 

17 educational agency from treating funds re18 ceived under this part as local funds under 

19 clause (i) for that fiscal year, but only if 

20 it is authorized to do so by the State con21 stitution or a State statute. 

22 ‘‘(D) SCHOOLWIDE PROGRAMS UNDER

23 TITLE I OF THE ESEA.—Notwithstanding sub24 paragraph (A) or any other provision of this 

25 part, a local educational agency may use funds 
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1 received under this part for any fiscal year to 

2 carry out a schoolwide program under section 

3 1114 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu4 cation Act of 1965, except that the amount so 

5 used in any such program shall not exceed—

6 ‘‘(i) the number of children with dis7 abilities participating in the schoolwide 

8 program; multiplied by 

9 ‘‘(ii)(I) the amount received by the 

10 local educational agency under this part 

11 for that fiscal year; divided by 

12 ‘‘(II) the number of children with dis13 abilities in the jurisdiction of that agency. 

14 ‘‘(3) PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT.—The local 

15 educational agency shall ensure that all personnel 

16 necessary to carry out this part are appropriately 

17 and adequately prepared, consistent with the re18 quirements of section 612 of this Act and section 

19 1119 of the Elementary and Secondary Education 

20 Act of 1965. 

21 ‘‘(4) PERMISSIVE USE OF FUNDS.—Notwith22 standing paragraph (2)(A) or section 612(a)(18)(B) 

23 (relating to commingled funds), funds provided to 

24 the local educational agency under this part may be 

25 used for the following activities: 
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1 ‘‘(A) SERVICES AND AIDS THAT ALSO BEN2 EFIT NONDISABLED CHILDREN.—For the costs 

3 of special education and related services and 

4 supplementary aids and services provided in a 

5 regular class or other education-related setting 

6 to a child with a disability in accordance with 

7 the individualized education program of the 

8 child, even if one or more nondisabled children 

9 benefit from such services. 

10 ‘‘(B) PREREFERRAL SERVICES.—To de11 velop and implement a system of comprehensive 

12 coordinated prereferral education support serv13 ices in accordance with subsection (f). 

14 ‘‘(C) HIGH COST EDUCATION AND RE15 LATED SERVICES.—To establish and implement 

16 cost or risk sharing funds, consortia, or co17 operatives for the agency itself, or for local edu18 cational agencies working in consortium of 

19 which the local educational agency is a part, to 

20 pay for high cost special education and related 

21 services. 

22 ‘‘(D) CASE MANAGEMENT AND ADMINIS23 TRATION.—To purchase appropriate technology 

24 for record keeping, data collection, and related 

25 case management activities of teachers and re-
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1 lated services personnel who are providing serv2 ices described in the individualized education 

3 program of children with disabilities necessary 

4 to the implementation of those case manage5 ment activities. 

6 ‘‘(E) SUPPLEMENTAL EDUCATIONAL SERV7 ICES FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN

8 SCHOOLS DESIGNATED FOR IMPROVEMENT.—

9 For the reasonable additional expenses (as de10 termined by the local educational agency) of 

11 any necessary accommodations to allow children 

12 with disabilities who are being educated in a 

13 school identified for school improvement under 

14 section 1116(b) of the Elementary and Sec15 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

16 6316(b)) to be provided supplemental edu17 cational services under section 1116(e) of such 

18 Act on an equitable basis. 

19 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT OF CHARTER SCHOOLS AND

20 THEIR STUDENTS.—In carrying out this part with 

21 respect to charter schools that are public schools of 

22 the local educational agency, the local educational 

23 agency—

24 ‘‘(A) serves children with disabilities at25 tending those schools in the same manner as it 
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1 serves children with disabilities in its other 

2 schools, including providing supplemental and 

3 related services on site at the charter school 

4 when the local educational agency has a policy 

5 or practice of providing those services on site to 

6 its other schools; and 

7 ‘‘(B) provides funds under this part to 

8 those schools on the same basis as it provides 

9 those funds to its other public schools (includ10 ing, at the option of such agency, proportional 

11 distribution based on relative enrollment of chil12 dren with disabilities at such charter schools), 

13 and at the same time as such agency distributes 

14 other Federal funds to those schools, consistent 

15 with the State’s charter law.

16 ‘‘(6) PURCHASE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATE17 RIALS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of the 

18 enactment of the Improving Education Results for 

19 Children With Disabilities Act of 2003, the local 

20 educational agency, when purchasing instructional 

21 materials for use in public elementary and secondary 

22 schools within the local educational agency, requires 

23 the publisher of the instructional materials, as a 

24 part of any purchase agreement that is made, re25 newed, or revised, to prepare and supply electronic 
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1 files containing the contents of the instructional ma2 terials using the national instructional materials ac3 cessibility standard described in section 612(a)(23). 

4 ‘‘(7) INFORMATION FOR STATE EDUCATIONAL

5 AGENCY.—The local educational agency shall provide 

6 the State educational agency with information nec7 essary to enable the State educational agency to 

8 carry out its duties under this part, including, with 

9 respect to paragraphs (15) and (16) of section 

10 612(a), information relating to the performance of 

11 children with disabilities participating in programs 

12 carried out under this part. 

13 ‘‘(8) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—The local edu14 cational agency shall make available to parents of 

15 children with disabilities and to the general public 

16 all documents relating to the eligibility of such agen17 cy under this part.

18 ‘‘(9) RECORDS REGARDING MIGRATORY CHIL19 DREN WITH DISABILITIES.—The local educational 

20 agency shall cooperate in the Secretary’s efforts 

21 under section 1308 of the Elementary and Sec22 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6398) to 

23 ensure the linkage of records pertaining to migratory 

24 children with a disability for the purpose of elec-
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1 tronically exchanging, among the States, health and 

2 educational information regarding such children. 

3 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR PRIOR LOCAL PLANS.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a local educational agen5 cy or State agency has on file with the State edu6 cational agency policies and procedures that dem7 onstrate that such local educational agency, or such 

8 State agency, as the case may be, meets any require9 ment of subsection (a), including any policies and 

10 procedures filed under this part as in effect before 

11 the effective date of the Improving Education Re12 sults for Children With Disabilities Act of 2003, the 

13 State educational agency shall consider such local 

14 educational agency or State agency, as the case may 

15 be, to have met such requirement for purposes of re16 ceiving assistance under this part. 

17 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATION MADE BY LOCAL EDU18 CATIONAL AGENCY.—Subject to paragraph (3), an 

19 application submitted by a local educational agency 

20 in accordance with this section shall remain in effect 

21 until it submits to the State educational agency such 

22 modifications as the local educational agency deems 

23 necessary. 

24 ‘‘(3) MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY STATE

25 EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—If, after the date of the en-
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1 actment of the Improving Education Results for 

2 Children With Disabilities Act of 2003, the provi3 sions of this Act are amended (or the regulations de4 veloped to carry out this Act are amended), or there 

5 is a new interpretation of this Act by Federal or 

6 State courts, or there is an official finding of non7 compliance with Federal or State law or regulations, 

8 the State educational agency may require a local 

9 educational agency to modify its application only to 

10 the extent necessary to ensure the local educational 

11 agency’s compliance with this part or State law. 

12 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN13 CY OR STATE AGENCY IN CASE OF INELIGIBILITY.—If the 

14 State educational agency determines that a local edu15 cational agency or State agency is not eligible under this 

16 section, the State educational agency shall notify the local 

17 educational agency or State agency, as the case may be, 

18 of that determination and shall provide such local edu19 cational agency or State agency with reasonable notice and 

20 an opportunity for a hearing. 

21 ‘‘(d) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY COMPLIANCE.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the State educational 

23 agency, after reasonable notice and an opportunity 

24 for a hearing, finds that a local educational agency 

25 or State agency that has been determined to be eligi-
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1 ble under this section is failing to comply with any 

2 requirement described in subsection (a), the State 

3 educational agency shall reduce or shall not provide 

4 any further payments to the local educational agency 

5 or State agency until the State educational agency 

6 is satisfied that the local educational agency or State 

7 agency, as the case may be, is complying with that 

8 requirement. 

9 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Any State 

10 agency or local educational agency in receipt of a no11 tice described in paragraph (1) shall, by means of 

12 public notice, take such measures as may be nec13 essary to bring the pendency of an action pursuant 

14 to this subsection to the attention of the public with15 in the jurisdiction of such agency. 

16 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION.—In carrying out its re17 sponsibilities under paragraph (1), the State edu18 cational agency shall consider any decision made in 

19 a hearing held under section 615 that is adverse to 

20 the local educational agency or State agency involved 

21 in that decision. 

22 ‘‘(e) JOINT ESTABLISHMENT OF ELIGIBILITY.—

23 ‘‘(1) JOINT ESTABLISHMENT.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

25 agency may require a local educational agency 
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1 to establish its eligibility jointly with another 

2 local educational agency if the State educational 

3 agency determines that the local educational 

4 agency would be ineligible under this section be5 cause the local educational agency would not be 

6 able to establish and maintain programs of suf7 ficient size and scope to effectively meet the 

8 needs of children with disabilities. 

9 ‘‘(B) CHARTER SCHOOL EXCEPTION.—A 

10 State educational agency may not require a 

11 charter school that is a local educational agency 

12 to jointly establish its eligibility under subpara13 graph (A) unless it is explicitly permitted to do 

14 so under the State’s charter school statute. 

15 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.—If a State edu16 cational agency requires the joint establishment of 

17 eligibility under paragraph (1), the total amount of 

18 funds made available to the affected local edu19 cational agencies shall be equal to the sum of the 

20 payments that each such local educational agency 

21 would have received under section 611(f) if such 

22 agencies were eligible for such payments. 

23 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Local educational agen24 cies that establish joint eligibility under this sub25 section shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) adopt policies and procedures that 

2 are consistent with the State’s policies and pro3 cedures under section 612(a); and 

4 ‘‘(B) be jointly responsible for imple5 menting programs that receive assistance under 

6 this part. 

7 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL SERV8 ICE AGENCIES.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an educational serv10 ice agency is required by State law to carry out 

11 programs under this part, the joint responsibil12 ities given to local educational agencies under 

13 this subsection shall—

14 ‘‘(i) not apply to the administration 

15 and disbursement of any payments re16 ceived by that educational service agency; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) be carried out only by that edu19 cational service agency. 

20 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Not21 withstanding any other provision of this sub22 section, an educational service agency shall pro23 vide for the education of children with disabil24 ities in the least restrictive environment, as re25 quired by section 612(a)(5). 
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1 ‘‘(f) PREREFERRAL SERVICES.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency 

3 may use not more than 15 percent of the amount 

4 such agency receives under this part for any fiscal 

5 year, in combination with other amounts (which may 

6 include amounts other than education funds), to de7 velop and implement comprehensive coordinated 

8 prereferral educational support services for students 

9 in kindergarten through grade 12 (with a particular 

10 emphasis on students in grades kindergarten 

11 through 3) who have not been identified as needing 

12 special education or related services but who need 

13 additional academic and behavioral support to suc14 ceed in a general education environment. 

15 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—In implementing comprehen16 sive coordinated prereferral educational services 

17 under this subsection, a local educational agency 

18 may carry out the following activities: 

19 ‘‘(A) Professional development (which may 

20 be provided by entities other than local edu21 cational agencies) for teachers to enable them 

22 to deliver scientifically based academic and be23 havioral interventions, including scientifically 

24 based literacy instruction. 
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1 ‘‘(B) Providing educational evaluations, 

2 services, and supports, including scientifically 

3 based literacy instruction and speech therapy. 

4 ‘‘(C) Providing behavioral evaluations and 

5 services and supports, including positive behav6 ioral interventions and supports. 

7 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSION.—Nothing in this subsection 

8 shall be construed to either limit or create a right 

9 to a free appropriate public education under this 

10 part. 

11 ‘‘(4) REPORTING.—Each local educational 

12 agency that develops and maintains comprehensive 

13 coordinated prereferral educational support services 

14 under this subsection shall annually report to the 

15 State educational agency on—

16 ‘‘(A) the number of students served under 

17 this subsection; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the number of students served under 

19 this subsection who subsequently receive special 

20 education and related services under this Act 

21 during the preceding 2-year period. 

22 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION WITH THE ELEMENTARY

23 AND SECONDARY EDUCATION ACT OF 1965.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Comprehensive coordi25 nated prereferral educational support services 
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1 provided under this subsection may be aligned 

2 with activities funded by, and carried out 

3 under, the Elementary and Secondary Edu4 cation Act of 1965, such as the Reading First 

5 program under subpart 1 of part B of title I of 

6 such Act, the Early Reading First program 

7 under subpart 2 of part B of title I of such Act, 

8 reading and math supports under part A of 

9 title I of such Act, and behavior intervention 

10 supports, that improve results for children with 

11 disabilities. 

12 ‘‘(B) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—Funds 

13 used under this section shall be used to supple14 ment, and not supplant, funds made available 

15 under the Elementary and Secondary Education 

16 Act of 1965. 

17 ‘‘(g) DIRECT SERVICES BY THE STATE EDU18 CATIONAL AGENCY.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 

20 shall use the payments that would otherwise have 

21 been available to a local educational agency or to a 

22 State agency to provide special education and re23 lated services directly to children with disabilities re24 siding in the area served by that local agency, or for 

25 whom that State agency is responsible, if the State 
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1 educational agency determines that the local edu2 cation agency or State agency, as the case may be—

3 ‘‘(A) has not provided the information 

4 needed to establish the eligibility of such agency 

5 under this section; 

6 ‘‘(B) is unable to establish and maintain 

7 programs of free appropriate public education 

8 that meet the requirements of subsection (a); 

9 ‘‘(C) is unable or unwilling to be consoli10 dated with one or more local educational agen11 cies in order to establish and maintain such 

12 programs; or 

13 ‘‘(D) has one or more children with disabil14 ities who can best be served by a regional or 

15 State program or service-delivery system de16 signed to meet the needs of such children. 

17 ‘‘(2) MANNER AND LOCATION OF EDUCATION

18 AND SERVICES.—The State educational agency may 

19 provide special education and related services under 

20 paragraph (1) in such manner and at such locations 

21 (including regional or State centers) as the State 

22 agency considers appropriate. Such education and 

23 services shall be provided in accordance with this 

24 part. 
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1 ‘‘(h) STATE AGENCY ELIGIBILITY.—Any State agen2 cy that desires to receive a subgrant for any fiscal year 

3 under section 611(f) shall demonstrate to the satisfaction 

4 of the State educational agency that—

5 ‘‘(1) all children with disabilities who are par6 ticipating in programs and projects funded under 

7 this part receive a free appropriate public education, 

8 and that those children and their parents are pro9 vided all the rights and procedural safeguards de10 scribed in this part; and 

11 ‘‘(2) the agency meets such other conditions of 

12 this section as the Secretary determines to be appro13 priate. 

14 ‘‘(i) DISCIPLINARY INFORMATION.—The State may 

15 require that a local educational agency include in the 

16 records of a child with a disability a statement of any cur17 rent or previous disciplinary action that has been taken 

18 against the child and transmit such statement to the same 

19 extent that such disciplinary information is included in, 

20 and transmitted with, the student records of nondisabled 

21 children. The statement may include a description of any 

22 behavior engaged in by the child that required disciplinary 

23 action, a description of the disciplinary action taken, and 

24 any other information that is relevant to the safety of the 

25 child and other individuals involved with the child. If the 
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1 State adopts such a policy, and the child transfers from 

2 one school to another, the transmission of any of the 

3 child’s records must include both the child’s current indi4 vidualized education program and any such statement of 

5 current or previous disciplinary action that has been taken 

6 against the child.’’. 

7 SEC. 204. EVALUATIONS, ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS, 

8 INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS, 

9 AND EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENTS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 614 of the Individuals 

11 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1414) is 

12 amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 614. EVALUATIONS, ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS, 

14 INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS, 

15 AND EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENTS. 

16 ‘‘(a) EVALUATIONS, PARENTAL CONSENT, AND RE17 EVALUATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(1) INITIAL EVALUATIONS.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

20 agency, other State agency, or local educational 

21 agency shall conduct a full and individual initial 

22 evaluation, in accordance with this paragraph 

23 and subsection (b), before the initial provision 

24 of special education and related services to a 

25 child with a disability under this part. 
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1 ‘‘(B) REQUEST FOR INITIAL EVALUA2 TION.—Consistent with subparagraph (D), ei3 ther a parent of a child, a State educational 

4 agency, other State agency as appropriate, or 

5 local educational agency may initiate a request 

6 for an initial evaluation to determine if the 

7 child is a child with a disability. 

8 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES.—Such initial evalua9 tion shall consist of procedures—

10 ‘‘(i) to determine whether a child is a 

11 child with a disability (as defined in sec12 tion 602(3)); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) to determine the educational 

14 needs of such child. 

15 ‘‘(D) PARENTAL CONSENT.—

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—

17 ‘‘(I) CONSENT FOR INITIAL

18 EVALUATION.—The agency proposing 

19 to conduct an initial evaluation to de20 termine if the child qualifies as a child 

21 with a disability as defined in section 

22 602(3) shall obtain informed consent 

23 from the parent of such child before 

24 conducting the evaluation. Parental 

25 consent for evaluation shall not be 
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1 construed as consent for placement 

2 for receipt of special education and re3 lated services. 

4 ‘‘(II) CONSENT FOR SERVICES.—

5 An agency that is responsible for 

6 making a free appropriate public edu7 cation available to a child with a dis8 ability under this part shall seek to 

9 obtain informed consent from the par10 ent of such child before providing spe11 cial education and related services to 

12 the child. 

13 ‘‘(ii) ABSENCE OF CONSENT.—

14 ‘‘(I) FOR INITIAL EVALUATION.—

15 If the parent of such child does not 

16 provide consent for an initial evalua17 tion under clause (i)(I), or the parent 

18 fails to respond to a request to pro19 vide the consent, the local educational 

20 agency may pursue the initial evalua21 tion of the child through the proce22 dures described in section 615, except 

23 to the extent inconsistent with State 

24 law relating to such parental consent. 
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1 ‘‘(II) FOR SERVICES.—If the par2 ent of such child does not provide con3 sent for services under clause (i)(II), 

4 or the parent fails to respond to a re5 quest to provide the consent, the local 

6 educational agency shall not provide 

7 special education and related services 

8 to the child through the procedures 

9 described in section 615. 

10 ‘‘(III) EFFECT ON AGENCY OBLI11 GATIONS.—In any case for which 

12 there is an absence of consent for an 

13 initial evaluation under subclause (I), 

14 or for which there is an absence of 

15 consent for services under subclause 

16 (II)—

17 ‘‘(aa) the local educational 

18 agency shall not be required to 

19 convene an IEP meeting or de20 velop an IEP under this section 

21 for the child; and 

22 ‘‘(bb) the local educational 

23 agency shall not be considered to 

24 be in violation of any require25 ment under this part (including 
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1 the requirement to make avail2 able a free appropriate public 

3 education to the child) with re4 spect to the lack of an initial 

5 evaluation of the child, an IEP 

6 meeting with respect to the child, 

7 or the development of an IEP 

8 under this section for the child.

9 ‘‘(E) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—The 

10 screening of a student by a teacher or specialist 

11 to determine appropriate instructional strate12 gies for curriculum implementation shall not be 

13 considered to be an evaluation for eligibility for 

14 special education and related services. 

15 ‘‘(2) REEVALUATIONS.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A local educational 

17 agency shall ensure that a reevaluation of each 

18 child with a disability is conducted in accord19 ance with subsections (b) and (c)—

20 ‘‘(i) if the local educational agency de21 termines that the educational needs, in22 cluding improved academic achievement, of 

23 the child warrant a reevaluation; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) if the child’s parent or teacher 

25 requests a reevaluation. 
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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—A reevaluation con2 ducted under subparagraph (A) shall occur—

3 ‘‘(i) no more than once a year, unless 

4 the parent and the local educational agen5 cy agree otherwise; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) at least once every three years, 

7 unless the parent and the local educational 

8 agency agree that a reevaluation is unnec9 essary. 

10 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION PROCEDURES.—

11 ‘‘(1) NOTICE.—The local educational agency 

12 shall provide notice to the parent of a child with a 

13 disability, in accordance with subsections (b)(3), 

14 (b)(4), and (c) of section 615, that describes any 

15 evaluation procedures such agency proposes to con16 duct. 

17 ‘‘(2) CONDUCT OF EVALUATION.—In con18 ducting the evaluation, the local educational agency 

19 shall—

20 ‘‘(A) use multiple up-to-date measures and 

21 assessments to gather relevant functional, de22 velopmental, and academic information, includ23 ing information provided by the parent, to as24 sist in determining—
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1 ‘‘(i) whether the child is a child with 

2 a disability; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the content of the child’s individ4 ualized education program, including infor5 mation related to enabling the child to be 

6 involved in and progress in the general 

7 education curriculum or, for preschool chil8 dren, to participate in appropriate activi9 ties; 

10 ‘‘(B) not use any single measure or assess11 ment as the sole criterion for determining 

12 whether a child is a child with a disability or 

13 determining an appropriate educational pro14 gram for the child; and 

15 ‘‘(C) use technically sound instruments 

16 that may assess the relative contribution of cog17 nitive and behavioral factors, in addition to 

18 physical or developmental factors. 

19 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Each local 

20 educational agency shall ensure that—

21 ‘‘(A) assessments and other evaluation 

22 measures used to assess a child under this sec23 tion—
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1 ‘‘(i) are selected and administered so 

2 as not to be discriminatory on a racial or 

3 cultural basis; 

4 ‘‘(ii) are provided and administered in 

5 the language and form most likely to yield 

6 accurate academic and developmental data, 

7 unless it is clearly not feasible to do so; 

8 ‘‘(iii) are used for the purposes for 

9 which the assessments or measures are 

10 valid and reliable; 

11 ‘‘(iv) are administered by trained and 

12 knowledgeable personnel; and 

13 ‘‘(v) are administered in accordance 

14 with any instructions provided by the pro15 ducer of such tests; 

16 ‘‘(B) the child is assessed in all areas of 

17 suspected disability; and 

18 ‘‘(C) assessment tools and strategies that 

19 provide relevant information that directly as20 sists persons in determining the educational 

21 needs of the child are provided. 

22 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY AND

23 EDUCATIONAL NEED.—Upon completion of the ad24 ministration of assessments and other evaluation 

25 measures—
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1 ‘‘(A) the determination of whether the 

2 child is a child with a disability as defined in 

3 section 602(3) and the educational needs of the 

4 child shall be made by a team of qualified pro5 fessionals and the parent of the child in accord6 ance with paragraph (5); and 

7 ‘‘(B) a copy of the evaluation report and 

8 the documentation of determination of eligibility 

9 will be given to the parent. 

10 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULE FOR ELIGIBILITY DETER11 MINATION.—In making a determination of eligibility 

12 under paragraph (4)(A), a child shall not be deter13 mined to be a child with a disability if the deter14 minant factor for such determination is—

15 ‘‘(A) lack of scientifically based instruction 

16 practices and programs that contain the essen17 tial components of reading instruction (as that 

18 term is defined in section 1208(3) of the Ele19 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 

20 1965); 

21 ‘‘(B) lack of instruction in math; or 

22 ‘‘(C) limited English proficiency. 

23 ‘‘(6) SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec25 tion 607 of this Act, when determining whether 
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1 a child has a specific learning disability as de2 fined under this Act, the local educational agen3 cy shall not be required to take into consider4 ation whether the child has a severe discrepancy 

5 between achievement and intellectual ability in 

6 oral expression, listening comprehension, writ7 ten expression, basic reading skill, reading com8 prehension, mathematical calculation, or mathe9 matical reasoning. 

10 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—In deter11 mining whether a child has a specific learning 

12 disability, a local educational agency may use a 

13 process which determines if a child responds to 

14 scientific, research-based intervention. 

15 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EVALUATION

16 AND REEVALUATIONS.—

17 ‘‘(1) REVIEW OF EXISTING EVALUATION

18 DATA.—As part of an initial evaluation (if appro19 priate) and as part of any reevaluation under this 

20 section, the IEP Team described in subsection 

21 (d)(1)(B) and other qualified professionals, as ap22 propriate, shall—

23 ‘‘(A) review existing evaluation data on the 

24 child, including evaluations and information 

25 provided by the parents of the child, current 
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1 classroom-based local or State assessments, and 

2 classroom-based observations, and teacher and 

3 related services providers observations; and 

4 ‘‘(B) on the basis of that review, and input 

5 from the child’s parents, identify what addi6 tional data, if any, are needed to determine—

7 ‘‘(i) whether the child is a child with 

8 a disability as defined in section 602(3), 

9 and the educational needs of the child, or, 

10 in case of a reevaluation of a child, wheth11 er the child continues to have such a dis12 ability and such educational needs; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the present levels of academic 

14 achievement and related developmental 

15 needs of the child; 

16 ‘‘(iii) whether the child needs special 

17 education and related services, or in the 

18 case of a reevaluation of a child, whether 

19 the child continues to need special edu20 cation and related services; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) whether any additions or modi22 fications to the special education and re23 lated services are needed to enable the 

24 child to meet the measurable annual goals 

25 set out in the individualized education pro-
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1 gram of the child and to participate, as ap2 propriate, in the general education cur3 riculum. 

4 ‘‘(2) SOURCE OF DATA.—The local educational 

5 agency shall administer such assessments and other 

6 evaluation measures as may be needed to produce 

7 the data identified by the IEP Team under para8 graph (1)(B). 

9 ‘‘(3) PARENTAL CONSENT.—Each local edu10 cational agency shall obtain informed parental con11 sent, in accordance with subsection (a)(1)(D), prior 

12 to conducting any reevaluation of a child with a dis13 ability, except that such informed parental consent 

14 need not be obtained if the local educational agency 

15 can demonstrate that it had taken reasonable meas16 ures to obtain such consent and the child’s parent 

17 has failed to respond. 

18 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS IF ADDITIONAL DATA ARE

19 NOT NEEDED.—If the IEP Team and other qualified 

20 professionals, as appropriate, determine that no ad21 ditional data are needed to determine whether the 

22 child continues to be a child with a disability and to 

23 determine the child’s educational needs, the local 

24 educational agency—

25 ‘‘(A) shall notify the child’s parents of—
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1 ‘‘(i) that determination and the rea2 sons for it; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the right of such parents to re4 quest an assessment to determine whether 

5 the child continues to be a child with a dis6 ability and to determine the child’s edu7 cational needs; and 

8 ‘‘(B) shall not be required to conduct such 

9 an assessment unless requested to by the child’s 

10 parents. 

11 ‘‘(5) EVALUATIONS BEFORE CHANGE IN ELIGI12 BILITY.—A local educational agency shall evaluate a 

13 child with a disability in accordance with this section 

14 prior to graduation, and before determining that the 

15 child is no longer a child with a disability, only in 

16 instances where the IEP Team is not in agreement 

17 regarding the change in eligibility. 

18 ‘‘(d) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—

19 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this title: 

20 ‘‘(A) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PRO21 GRAM.—

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘individ23 ualized education program’ or ‘IEP’ means 

24 a written statement for each child with a 

25 disability that is developed, reviewed, and 
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1 revised in accordance with this section and 

2 that includes—

3 ‘‘(I) a statement of the child’s 

4 present levels of academic achieve5 ment, including—

6 ‘‘(aa) how the child’s dis7 ability affects the child’s involve8 ment and progress in the general 

9 education curriculum; 

10 ‘‘(bb) for preschool children, 

11 as appropriate, how the disability 

12 affects the child’s participation in 

13 appropriate activities; and 

14 ‘‘(cc) until the beginning of 

15 the 2005–2006 school year, a de16 scription of benchmarks or short17 term objectives, except in the 

18 case of children with disabilities 

19 who take alternate assessments 

20 aligned to alternate achievement 

21 standards, a description of 

22 benchmarks or short-term objec23 tives shall continue to be in24 cluded; 
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1 ‘‘(II) a statement of measurable 

2 annual goals designed to—

3 ‘‘(aa) meet the child’s needs 

4 that result from the child’s dis5 ability to enable the child to be 

6 involved in and make progress in 

7 the general education curriculum; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(bb) meet the child’s other 

10 educational needs that result 

11 from the child’s disability; 

12 ‘‘(III) a statement of the special 

13 education and related services and 

14 supplementary aids and services, 

15 based on peer-reviewed research to the 

16 extent practicable, to be provided to 

17 the child, or on behalf of the child, 

18 and a statement of the program modi19 fications or supports for school per20 sonnel that will be provided for the 

21 child—

22 ‘‘(aa) to advance appro23 priately toward attaining the an24 nual goals; 
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1 ‘‘(bb) to be involved in and 

2 make progress in the general 

3 education curriculum in accord4 ance with subclause (I) and to 

5 participate in extracurricular and 

6 other nonacademic activities; and 

7 ‘‘(cc) to be educated and 

8 participate with other children 

9 with disabilities and nondisabled 

10 children in the activities de11 scribed in this paragraph; 

12 ‘‘(IV) an explanation of the ex13 tent, if any, to which the child will not 

14 participate with nondisabled children 

15 in the regular class and in the activi16 ties described in subclause (III)(cc); 

17 ‘‘(V)(aa) a statement of any indi18 vidual appropriate accommodations in 

19 the administration of State or district20 wide assessments of student achieve21 ment that are necessary to measure 

22 the academic achievement of the child 

23 consistent with section 

24 612(a)(16)(A)(ii); and 
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1 ‘‘(bb) if the IEP Team deter2 mines that the child will not partici3 pate in a particular State or district4 wide assessment of student achieve5 ment (or part of such an assessment), 

6 a statement of—

7 ‘‘(AA) why that assessment 

8 is not appropriate for the child; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(BB) how the child will be 

11 assessed consistent with 

12 612(a)(16)(A); 

13 ‘‘(VI) the projected date for the 

14 beginning of the services and modi15 fications described in subclause (III), 

16 and the anticipated frequency, loca17 tion, and duration of those services 

18 and modifications; 

19 ‘‘(VII)(aa) beginning at age 14, 

20 and updated annually, a statement of 

21 the transition service needs of the 

22 child under the applicable components 

23 of the child’s IEP that focuses on the 

24 child’s courses of study (such as par25 ticipation in advanced-placement 
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1 courses or a vocational education pro2 gram); 

3 ‘‘(bb) beginning at age 16 (or 

4 younger, if determined appropriate by 

5 the IEP Team), a statement of need6 ed transition services for the child, in7 cluding, when appropriate, a state8 ment of the interagency responsibil9 ities or any needed linkages; and 

10 ‘‘(cc) beginning at least 1 year 

11 before the child reaches the age of 

12 majority under State law, a statement 

13 that the child has been informed of 

14 his or her rights under this title, if 

15 any, that will transfer to the child on 

16 reaching the age of majority under 

17 section 615(l); and 

18 ‘‘(VIII) a statement of—

19 ‘‘(aa) how the child’s 

20 progress toward the annual goals 

21 described in subclause (II) will be 

22 measured; and 

23 ‘‘(bb) how the child’s par24 ents will be regularly informed 

25 (by such means as periodic report 
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1 cards), at least as often as par2 ents are informed of their non3 disabled children’s progress, of 

4 the sufficiency of their child’s 

5 progress toward the annual goals 

6 described in subclause (II). 

7 ‘‘(ii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—

8 Nothing in this subparagraph shall be con9 strued to require—

10 ‘‘(I) that additional information 

11 be included in a child’s IEP beyond 

12 what is required in this subsection; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(II) the IEP Team to include 

15 information under one component of a 

16 child’s IEP that is already contained 

17 under another component of such 

18 IEP. 

19 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PRO20 GRAM TEAM.—The term ‘individualized edu21 cation program team’ or ‘IEP Team’ means a 

22 group of individuals composed of—

23 ‘‘(i) the parents of a child with a dis24 ability; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) a regular education teacher of 

2 such child, but such teacher shall not be 

3 required to attend a meeting or part of a 

4 meeting of the IEP Team involving issues 

5 not related to the child’s participation in 

6 the regular education environment, nor 

7 shall multiple regular education teachers, if 

8 the child has more than one regular edu9 cation teacher, be required to attend a 

10 meeting, or part of a meeting, of the IEP 

11 team; 

12 ‘‘(iii) at least 1 special education 

13 teacher, or where appropriate, at least 1 

14 special education provider of such child; 

15 ‘‘(iv) a representative of the local edu16 cational agency who—

17 ‘‘(I) is qualified to provide, or su18 pervise the provision of, specially de19 signed instruction to meet the unique 

20 needs of children with disabilities; 

21 ‘‘(II) is knowledgeable about the 

22 general education curriculum; and 

23 ‘‘(III) is knowledgeable about the 

24 availability of resources of the local 

25 educational agency; 
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1 ‘‘(v) an individual who can interpret 

2 the instructional implications of evaluation 

3 results, who may be a member of the team 

4 described in clauses (ii) through (vi); 

5 ‘‘(vi) at the discretion of the parent or 

6 the agency, other individuals who have 

7 knowledge or special expertise regarding 

8 the child, including related services per9 sonnel as appropriate; and 

10 ‘‘(vii) whenever appropriate, the child 

11 with a disability. 

12 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT THAT PROGRAM BE IN EF13 FECT.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the beginning of 

15 each school year, each local educational agency, 

16 State educational agency, or other State agen17 cy, as the case may be, shall have in effect, for 

18 each child with a disability in its jurisdiction, 

19 an individualized education program, as defined 

20 in paragraph (1)(A). 

21 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM FOR CHILD AGED 3

22 THROUGH 5.—In the case of a child with a dis23 ability aged 3 through 5 (or, at the discretion 

24 of the State educational agency, a 2 year-old 

25 child with a disability who will turn age 3 dur-
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1 ing the school year), the IEP Team shall con2 sider the individualized family service plan that 

3 contains the material described in section 636, 

4 and that is developed in accordance with this 

5 section, and the individualized family service 

6 plan may serve as the IEP of the child if using 

7 that plan as the IEP is—

8 ‘‘(i) consistent with State policy; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) agreed to by the agency and the 

10 child’s parents. 

11 ‘‘(3) DEVELOPMENT OF IEP.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In developing each 

13 child’s IEP, the IEP Team, subject to subpara14 graph (C), shall consider—

15 ‘‘(i) the results of the initial evalua16 tion or most recent evaluation of the child; 

17 ‘‘(ii) the academic and developmental 

18 needs of the child; 

19 ‘‘(iii) the strengths of the child; and 

20 ‘‘(iv) the concerns of the parents for 

21 enhancing the education of their child. 

22 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF SPECIAL FAC23 TORS.—The IEP Team shall—

24 ‘‘(i) in the case of a child whose be25 havior impedes his or her learning or that 
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1 of others, consider the use of positive be2 havioral interventions and supports, and 

3 other strategies, to address that behavior; 

4 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a child with limited 

5 English proficiency, consider the language 

6 needs of the child as such needs relate to 

7 the child’s IEP; 

8 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a child who is 

9 blind or visually impaired, provide for in10 struction in Braille and the use of Braille 

11 unless the IEP Team determines, after an 

12 evaluation of the child’s reading and writ13 ing skills, needs, and appropriate reading 

14 and writing media (including an evaluation 

15 of the child’s future needs for instruction 

16 in Braille or the use of Braille), that in17 struction in Braille or the use of Braille is 

18 not appropriate for the child; 

19 ‘‘(iv) consider the communication 

20 needs of the child, and in the case of a 

21 child who is deaf or hard of hearing, con22 sider the child’s language and communica23 tion needs, opportunities for direct commu24 nications with peers and professional per25 sonnel in the child’s language and commu-
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1 nication mode, academic level, and full 

2 range of needs, including opportunities for 

3 direct instruction in the child’s language 

4 and communication mode; and 

5 ‘‘(v) consider whether the child needs 

6 assistive technology devices and services. 

7 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT WITH RESPECT TO

8 REGULAR EDUCATION TEACHER.—The regular 

9 education teacher of the child, if a member of 

10 the IEP Team pursuant to paragraph 

11 (1)(B)(ii), shall, to the extent appropriate, par12 ticipate in the development of the IEP of the 

13 child, including the determination of appro14 priate positive behavioral interventions and sup15 ports, and other strategies and the determina16 tion of supplementary aids and services, pro17 gram modifications, and support for school per18 sonnel consistent with paragraph (1)(A)(i)(III). 

19 ‘‘(D) IEP TEAM ATTENDANCE.—The par20 ent of a child with a disability and the local 

21 educational agency may jointly excuse any 

22 member of the IEP Team from attending all or 

23 part of an IEP meeting if they agree that the 

24 member’s attendance is not necessary. The IEP 

25 Team shall obtain the member’s input prior to 
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1 an IEP meeting from which the member is ex2 cused. 

3 ‘‘(E) AGREEMENT ON MEETING.—In mak4 ing changes to a child’s IEP after the annual 

5 IEP meeting, the parent of a child with a dis6 ability and the local educational agency may 

7 agree not to reconvene the IEP team and in8 stead develop a written document to amend or 

9 modify the child’s current IEP. 

10 ‘‘(F) CONSOLIDATION OF IEP TEAM MEET11 INGS.—To the extent possible, the local edu12 cational agency shall encourage the consolida13 tion of IEP Team meetings for a child. 

14 ‘‘(G) AMENDMENTS.—Changes to the IEP 

15 may be made either by the entire IEP Team or, 

16 as provided in subparagraph (E), by amending 

17 the IEP rather than by redrafting the entire 

18 IEP. 

19 ‘‘(4) REVIEW AND REVISION OF IEP.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The local educational 

21 agency shall ensure that, subject to subpara22 graph (B), the IEP Team—

23 ‘‘(i) reviews the child’s IEP periodi24 cally, but not less than annually, to deter-
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1 mine whether the annual goals for the 

2 child are being achieved; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) revises the IEP as appropriate to 

4 address—

5 ‘‘(I) any lack of expected 

6 progress toward the annual goals and 

7 in the general education curriculum, 

8 where appropriate; 

9 ‘‘(II) the results of any reevalua10 tion conducted under this section; 

11 ‘‘(III) information about the 

12 child provided to, or by, the parents, 

13 as described in subsection (c)(1)(B); 

14 ‘‘(IV) the child’s anticipated 

15 needs; or 

16 ‘‘(V) other matters. 

17 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT WITH RESPECT TO

18 REGULAR EDUCATION TEACHER.—The regular 

19 education teacher of the child, if a member of 

20 the IEP Team, shall, consistent with this sec21 tion, participate in the review and revision of 

22 the IEP of the child. 

23 ‘‘(5) MULTI-YEAR IEP.—

24 ‘‘(A) DEVELOPMENT.—The local edu25 cational agency may offer to the parent of a 
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1 child with a disability the option of developing 

2 a comprehensive multi-year IEP, not to exceed 

3 3 years, that is designed to cover the natural 

4 transition points for the child. With the consent 

5 of the parent, the IEP Team shall develop an 

6 IEP, as described in paragraphs (1) and (3), 

7 that is designed to serve the child for the ap8 propriate multi-year period, which includes a 

9 statement of—

10 ‘‘(i) measurable goals pursuant to 

11 paragraph (1)(A)(i)(II), coinciding with 

12 natural transition points for the child, that 

13 will enable the child to be involved in and 

14 make progress in the general education 

15 curriculum and that will meet the child’s 

16 other needs that result from the child’s 

17 disability; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) measurable annual goals for de19 termining progress toward meeting the 

20 goals described in clause (i). 

21 ‘‘(B) REVIEW AND REVISION OF MULTI22 YEAR IEP.—

23 ‘‘(i) REQUIREMENT.—The IEP Team 

24 shall conduct a review under paragraph (4) 
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1 of the child’s multi-year IEP at each of the 

2 child’s natural transition points. 

3 ‘‘(ii) STREAMLINED ANNUAL REVIEW

4 PROCESS.—In years other than a child’s 

5 natural transition points, the local edu6 cational agency shall ensure that the IEP 

7 Team—

8 ‘‘(I) provides an annual review of 

9 the child’s IEP to determine the 

10 child’s current levels of progress and 

11 determine whether the annual goals 

12 for the child are being achieved; and 

13 ‘‘(II) amends the IEP, as appro14 priate, to enable the child to continue 

15 to meet the measurable goals set out 

16 in the IEP. 

17 ‘‘(iii) COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW PROC18 ESS.—If the IEP Team determines, on the 

19 basis of the review under clause (i), that 

20 the child is not making sufficient progress 

21 toward the goals described in subpara22 graph (A), the local educational agency 

23 shall ensure that the IEP Team reviews 

24 the IEP under paragraph (4), within 30 

25 calendar days. 
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1 ‘‘(iv) PARENTAL PREFERENCE.—At 

2 the request of the parent, the IEP Team 

3 shall conduct a review under paragraph (4) 

4 of the child’s multi-year IEP rather than a 

5 streamlined annual review under clause 

6 (ii). 

7 ‘‘(C) DEFINITION.—As used in this para8 graph, the term ‘natural transition points’ 

9 means those periods that are close in time to 

10 the transition of a child with a disability from 

11 preschool to elementary grades, from elemen12 tary grades to middle or junior high school 

13 grades, from middle or junior high school 

14 grades to high school grades, and from high 

15 school grades to post-secondary activities, but 

16 in no case longer than 3 years. 

17 ‘‘(6) FAILURE TO MEET TRANSITION OBJEC18 TIVES.—If a participating agency, other than the 

19 local educational agency, fails to provide the transi20 tion services described in the IEP in accordance with 

21 paragraph (1)(A)(i)(VII), the local educational agen22 cy shall reconvene the IEP Team to identify alter23 native strategies to meet the transition objectives for 

24 the child set out in that program. 
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1 ‘‘(7) CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN ADULT

2 PRISONS.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The following require4 ments do not apply to children with disabilities 

5 who are convicted as adults under State law 

6 and incarcerated in adult prisons: 

7 ‘‘(i) The requirements contained in 

8 section 612(a)(16) and paragraph 

9 (1)(A)(i)(V) of this subsection (relating to 

10 participation of children with disabilities in 

11 general assessments). 

12 ‘‘(ii) The requirements of items (aa) 

13 and (bb) of paragraph (1)(A)(i)(VII) of 

14 this subsection (relating to transition plan15 ning and transition services), do not apply 

16 with respect to such children whose eligi17 bility under this part will end, because of 

18 their age, before they will be released from 

19 prison. 

20 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—If a 

21 child with a disability is convicted as an adult 

22 under State law and incarcerated in an adult 

23 prison, the child’s IEP Team may modify the 

24 child’s IEP or placement notwithstanding the 

25 requirements of sections 612(a)(5)(A) and 
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1 614(d)(1)(A) if the State has demonstrated a 

2 bona fide security or compelling penological in3 terest that cannot otherwise be accommodated. 

4 ‘‘(e) EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENTS.—Each local edu5 cational agency or State educational agency shall ensure 

6 that the parents of each child with a disability are mem7 bers of any group that makes decisions on the educational 

8 placement of their child. 

9 ‘‘(f) ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF MEETING PARTICIPA10 TION.—When conducting IEP team meetings and place11 ment meetings pursuant to this section and 615, the par12 ent of a child with a disability and a local educational 

13 agency may agree to use alternative means of meeting par14 ticipation, such as video conferences and conference 

15 calls.’’. 

16 (b) FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS.—

17 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

18 (A) Certain of the categories of disability 

19 that allow students to qualify for benefits under 

20 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

21 have not been scientifically established and, as 

22 a result, some children who do not have actual 

23 learning disabilities are classified as having dis24 abilities under that Act. 
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1 (B) Nearly one in eight students is now la2 beled as disabled. 

3 (C) Over one-half of those students are 

4 classified as having learning and behavioral 

5 challenges. 

6 (D) Current definitions of disabilities in 

7 the Code of Federal Regulations, particularly 

8 the definition of ‘‘emotional disturbance’’, are 

9 vague and ambiguous. 

10 (E) The absence of reliable methods for 

11 distinguishing children with a special learning 

12 disability from children who have lower than ex13 pected achievement leads to over-identification 

14 and misidentification of non-disabled students 

15 as students with disabilities. 

16 (F) The lack of consistently applied diag17 nostic criteria for specific learning disabilities 

18 makes it possible to diagnose almost any low or 

19 underachieving child as a student with a dis20 ability. 

21 (G) The President’s Commission on Excel22 lence in Special Education (PCESE) found in 

23 its July 1, 2002, report, ‘‘A New Era: Revital24 izing Special Education for Children and their 

25 Families’’, that many of the current methods of 
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1 identifying children with disabilities lack valid2 ity and, as a result, thousands of children are 

3 misidentified every year, while many others are 

4 not identified early enough or at all. 

5 (H) The President’s Commission also 

6 found that emotional and behavioral difficulties 

7 could be prevented through classroom-based ap8 proaches involving positive discipline and class9 room management. 

10 (I) According to testimony from a March 

11 13, 2003, hearing before the Subcommittee on 

12 Education Reform of the Committee on Edu13 cation and the Workforce of the House of Rep14 resentatives, students are frequently referred to 

15 special education because they are not suc16 ceeding in the general education setting, and 

17 not because they are actually disabled. 

18 (J) Students with controllable behavioral 

19 problems are often classified as having learning 

20 disabilities and therefore are not held respon21 sible for their own behavior. 

22 (K) According to testimony by Secretary of 

23 Education Rod Paige on October 4, 2001, be24 fore the Committee on Education and the 

25 Workforce of the House of Representatives, our 
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1 educational system fails to teach many children 

2 fundamental skills like reading, then inappro3 priately identifies some of them as having dis4 abilities, thus harming the educational future of 

5 those children who are misidentified and reduc6 ing the resources available to serve children 

7 with disabilities. 

8 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

9 Congress that—

10 (A) students who have not been diagnosed 

11 by a physician or other person certified by a 

12 State health board as having a disability (as de13 fined under the Individuals with Disabilities 

14 Education Act) should not be classified as chil15 dren with disabilities for purposes of receiving 

16 services under that Act; and 

17 (B) students with behavioral problems who 

18 have not been diagnosed by a physician or other 

19 person certified by a State health board as hav20 ing a disability should be subject to the regular 

21 school disciplinary code. 

22 SEC. 205. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCEDURES.—Section 

24 615(a) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

25 (20 U.S.C. 1415(a)) is amended to read as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCEDURES.—Any State 

2 educational agency, State agency, or local educational 

3 agency that receives assistance under this part shall estab4 lish and maintain procedures in accordance with this sec5 tion to ensure that children with disabilities and their par6 ents are guaranteed procedural safeguards with respect to 

7 the provision of free appropriate public education by such 

8 agencies.’’. 

9 (b) TYPES OF PROCEDURES.—Section 615(b) of the 

10 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

11 1415(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(b) TYPES OF PROCEDURES.—The procedures re13 quired by this section shall include—

14 ‘‘(1) an opportunity for the parents of a child 

15 with a disability to examine all records relating to 

16 such child and to participate in meetings with re17 spect to the identification, evaluation, and edu18 cational placement of the child, and the provision of 

19 a free appropriate public education to such child, 

20 and to obtain as appropriate an independent edu21 cational evaluation of the child; 

22 ‘‘(2) procedures to protect the rights of the 

23 child whenever the parents of the child are not 

24 known, the agency cannot, after reasonable efforts, 

25 locate the parents, or the child is a ward of the 
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1 State, including the assignment of an individual 

2 (who shall not be an employee of the State edu3 cational agency, the local educational agency, or any 

4 other agency that is involved in the education or 

5 care of the child) to act as a surrogate for the par6 ents; 

7 ‘‘(3) written prior notice to the parents of the 

8 child whenever such agency—

9 ‘‘(A) proposes to initiate or change; or 

10 ‘‘(B) refuses to initiate or change; 

11 the identification, evaluation, or educational place12 ment of the child, in accordance with subsection (c), 

13 or the provision of a free appropriate public edu14 cation to the child; 

15 ‘‘(4) procedures designed to ensure that the no16 tice required by paragraph (3) is in the native lan17 guage of the parents, unless it clearly is not feasible 

18 to do so; 

19 ‘‘(5) an opportunity for mediation and vol20 untary binding arbitration, in accordance with sub21 section (e); 

22 ‘‘(6) an opportunity to present complaints—

23 ‘‘(A) with respect to any matter relating to 

24 the identification, evaluation, or educational 
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1 placement of the child, or the provision of a free 

2 appropriate public education to such child; and 

3 ‘‘(B) which set forth a violation that oc4 curred not more than one year before the com5 plaint is filed; 

6 ‘‘(7)(A) procedures that require the parent of a 

7 child with a disability, or the attorney representing 

8 the child, to provide notice (which shall remain con9 fidential)—

10 ‘‘(i) to the local educational agency or 

11 State educational agency (if the State edu12 cational agency is the direct provider of services 

13 pursuant to section 613(g)), in the complaint 

14 filed under paragraph (6); and 

15 ‘‘(ii) that shall include—

16 ‘‘(I) the name of the child, the ad17 dress of the residence of the child (or, in 

18 the case of a homeless child or youth 

19 (within the meaning of section 725(2) of 

20 the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 

21 Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)), available con22 tact information for the child), and the 

23 name of the school the child is attending; 

24 ‘‘(II) a description of the specific 

25 issues regarding the nature of the problem 
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1 of the child relating to such proposed initi2 ation or change, including facts relating to 

3 such problem; and 

4 ‘‘(III) a proposed resolution of the 

5 problem to the extent known and available 

6 to the parents at the time; 

7 ‘‘(B) a requirement that a parent of a child 

8 with a disability may not have a due process hearing 

9 until the parent, or the attorney representing the 

10 child, files a notice that meets the requirements of 

11 this paragraph; and 

12 ‘‘(8) procedures that require the State edu13 cational agency to develop a model form to assist 

14 parents in filing a complaint in accordance with 

15 paragraph (7).’’. 

16 (c) CONTENT OF PRIOR WRITTEN NOTICE.—Section 

17 615(c) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1415(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(c) CONTENT OF PRIOR WRITTEN NOTICE.—The 

20 notice required by subsection (b)(3) shall include—

21 ‘‘(1) a description of the action proposed or re22 fused by the agency; 

23 ‘‘(2) an explanation of why the agency proposes 

24 or refuses to take the action and a description of 

25 each evaluation procedure, test, record, or report the 
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1 agency used as a basis for the proposed or refused 

2 action; 

3 ‘‘(3) a statement that the parents of a child 

4 with a disability have protection under the proce5 dural safeguards of this part and, if this notice is 

6 not an initial referral for evaluation, the means by 

7 which a copy of a description of the procedural safe8 guards can be obtained; and 

9 ‘‘(4) sources for parents to contact to obtain as10 sistance in understanding the provisions of this 

11 part.’’. 

12 (d) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS NOTICE.—Section 

13 615(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

14 (20 U.S.C. 1415(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS NOTICE.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A copy of the procedural 

17 safeguards available to the parents of a child with 

18 a disability shall be given to the parents, at a min19 imum—

20 ‘‘(A) upon initial referral or parental re21 quest for evaluation; 

22 ‘‘(B) annually, at the beginning of the 

23 school year; and 

24 ‘‘(C) upon written request by a parent. 
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1 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The procedural safeguards 

2 notice shall include a description of the procedural 

3 safeguards, written in the native language of the 

4 parents, unless it clearly is not feasible to do so, and 

5 written in an easily understandable manner, avail6 able under this section and under regulations pro7 mulgated by the Secretary relating to—

8 ‘‘(A) independent educational evaluation; 

9 ‘‘(B) prior written notice; 

10 ‘‘(C) parental consent; 

11 ‘‘(D) access to educational records; 

12 ‘‘(E) opportunity to present complaints; 

13 ‘‘(F) the child’s placement during pend14 ency of due process proceedings; 

15 ‘‘(G) procedures for students who are sub16 ject to placement in an interim alternative edu17 cational setting; 

18 ‘‘(H) requirements for unilateral placement 

19 by parents of children in private schools at pub20 lic expense; 

21 ‘‘(I) mediation, early dispute resolution, 

22 and voluntary binding arbitration; 

23 ‘‘(J) due process hearings, including re24 quirements for disclosure of evaluation results 

25 and recommendations; 
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1 ‘‘(K) civil actions; and 

2 ‘‘(L) attorneys’ fees.’’. 

3 (e) MEDIATION AND VOLUNTARY BINDING ARBITRA4 TION.—Section 615(e) of the Individuals with Disabilities 

5 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415(e)) is amended to read 

6 as follows: 

7 ‘‘(e) MEDIATION AND VOLUNTARY BINDING ARBI8 TRATION.—

9 ‘‘(1) MEDIATION.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any State educational 

11 agency or local educational agency that receives 

12 assistance under this part shall ensure that pro13 cedures are established and implemented to 

14 allow parties to disputes involving any matter, 

15 including matters arising prior to the filing of 

16 a complaint pursuant to subsection (b)(6), to 

17 resolve such disputes through a mediation proc18 ess. 

19 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—Such procedures 

20 shall meet the following requirements: 

21 ‘‘(i) The procedures shall ensure that 

22 the mediation process—

23 ‘‘(I) is voluntary on the part of 

24 the parties; 
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1 ‘‘(II) is not used to deny or delay 

2 a parent’s right to a due process hear3 ing under subsection (f), or to deny 

4 any other rights afforded under this 

5 part; and 

6 ‘‘(III) is conducted by a qualified 

7 and impartial mediator who is trained 

8 in effective mediation techniques. 

9 ‘‘(ii) A local educational agency or a 

10 State agency may establish procedures to 

11 offer to parents who choose not to use the 

12 mediation process, an opportunity to meet, 

13 at a time and location convenient to the 

14 parents, with a disinterested party who is 

15 under contract with—

16 ‘‘(I) a parent training and infor17 mation center in the State established 

18 under section 672; or 

19 ‘‘(II) an appropriate alternative 

20 dispute resolution entity; 

21 to encourage the use, and explain the bene22 fits, of the mediation process to the par23 ents. 

24 ‘‘(iii) The State shall maintain a list 

25 of individuals who are qualified mediators 
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1 and knowledgeable in laws and regulations 

2 relating to the provision of special edu3 cation and related services. 

4 ‘‘(iv) The State shall bear the cost of 

5 the mediation process, including the costs 

6 of meetings described in clause (ii). 

7 ‘‘(v) Each session in the mediation 

8 process shall be scheduled in a timely man9 ner and shall be held in a location that is 

10 convenient to the parties to the dispute. 

11 ‘‘(vi) An agreement reached by the 

12 parties to the dispute in the mediation 

13 process shall be set forth in a written me14 diation agreement. 

15 ‘‘(vii) Discussions that occur during 

16 the mediation process shall be confidential 

17 and may not be used as evidence in any 

18 subsequent due process hearings or civil 

19 proceedings and the parties to the medi20 ation process may be required to sign a 

21 confidentiality pledge prior to the com22 mencement of such process. 

23 ‘‘(2) VOLUNTARY BINDING ARBITRATION.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational 

25 agency that receives assistance under this part 
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1 shall ensure that procedures are established and 

2 implemented to allow parties to disputes involv3 ing any matter described in subsection (b)(6) to 

4 resolve such disputes through voluntary binding 

5 arbitration, which shall be available when a 

6 hearing is requested under subsection (f) or (j). 

7 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—Such procedures 

8 shall meet the following requirements: 

9 ‘‘(i) The procedures shall ensure that 

10 the voluntary binding arbitration process—

11 ‘‘(I) is voluntarily and knowingly 

12 agreed to in writing by the parties; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(II) is conducted by a qualified 

15 and impartial arbitrator. 

16 ‘‘(ii) A local educational agency or a 

17 State agency shall ensure that parents who 

18 choose to use voluntary binding arbitration 

19 understand that the process is in lieu of a 

20 due process hearing under subsection (f) or 

21 (j) and that the decision made by the arbi22 trator is final, unless there is fraud by a 

23 party or the arbitrator or misconduct on 

24 the part of the arbitrator. 
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1 ‘‘(iii) The parties shall jointly agree to 

2 use an arbitrator from a list that the State 

3 shall maintain of individuals who are quali4 fied arbitrators and knowledgeable in laws 

5 and regulations relating to the provision of 

6 special education and related services. 

7 ‘‘(iv) The arbitration shall be con8 ducted according to State law on arbitra9 tion or, if there is no such applicable State 

10 law, in a manner consistent with the Re11 vised Uniform Arbitration Act. 

12 ‘‘(v) The voluntary binding arbitration 

13 shall be scheduled in a timely manner and 

14 shall be held in a location that is conven15 ient to the parties to the dispute.’’. 

16 (f) IMPARTIAL DUE PROCESS HEARING.—Section 

17 615(f) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 

18 (20 U.S.C. 1415(f)) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(f) IMPARTIAL DUE PROCESS HEARING.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

21 ‘‘(A) ACCESS TO HEARING.—Whenever a 

22 complaint has been received under subsection 

23 (b)(6) or (j) of this section, the parents or the 

24 local educational agency involved in such com25 plaint shall have an opportunity for an impar-
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1 tial due process hearing, which shall be con2 ducted by the State educational agency. 

3 ‘‘(B) RESOLUTION SESSION.—

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Prior to the op5 portunity for an impartial due process 

6 hearing under subparagraph (A), the local 

7 educational agency shall convene a meeting 

8 with the parents—

9 ‘‘(I) within 15 days of receiving 

10 notice of the parents’ complaint; and 

11 ‘‘(II) where the parents of the 

12 child discuss their complaint, and the 

13 specific issues that form the basis of 

14 the complaint, and the local edu15 cational agency is provided the oppor16 tunity to resolve the complaint; 

17 unless the parents and the local edu18 cational agency agree in writing to waive 

19 such meeting. 

20 ‘‘(ii) DUE PROCESS HEARING.—If the 

21 local educational agency has not resolved 

22 the complaint to the satisfaction of the 

23 parents within 30 days of the receipt of 

24 the complaint, the due process hearing 
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1 shall occur in accordance with subpara2 graph (A). 

3 ‘‘(iii) DEFINITION OF MEETING.—A 

4 meeting conducted pursuant to clause (i) 

5 shall not be considered—

6 ‘‘(I) a meeting convened as a re7 sult of an administrative hearing or 

8 judicial action; or 

9 ‘‘(II) an administrative hearing 

10 or judicial action for purposes of sub11 section (h)(3). 

12 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE OF EVALUATIONS AND REC13 OMMENDATIONS.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At least 5 business 

15 days prior to a hearing conducted pursuant to 

16 paragraph (1), each party shall disclose to all 

17 other parties all evaluations completed by that 

18 date and recommendations based on the offer19 ing party’s evaluations that the party intends to 

20 use at the hearing. 

21 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—A hearing 

22 officer may bar any party that fails to comply 

23 with subparagraph (A) from introducing the 

24 relevant evaluation or recommendation at the 

25 hearing without the consent of the other party. 
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1 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON HEARING.—

2 ‘‘(A) HEARING OFFICER.—A hearing con3 ducted pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) may not 

4 be conducted by—

5 ‘‘(i) an employee of the State edu6 cational agency or the local educational 

7 agency involved in the education or care of 

8 the child; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) any person having a personal or 

10 professional interest that would conflict 

11 with his or her objectivity in the hearing. 

12 ‘‘(B) SUBJECT MATTER OF HEARING.—No 

13 party shall be allowed to raise issues at the due 

14 process hearing that were not raised in the 

15 complaint, discussed during the meeting con16 ducted pursuant to paragraph (1)(B), or prop17 erly disclosed pursuant to paragraph (2), unless 

18 both parties agree otherwise.’’. 

19 (g) APPEAL.—Section 615 of the Individuals with 

20 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415) is amended 

21 by striking subsection (g). 

22 (h) SAFEGUARDS.—Section 615 of the Individuals 

23 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415) is 

24 amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub2 section (g); and 

3 (2) by amending subsection (g) (as redesig4 nated) to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(g) SAFEGUARDS.—Any party to a hearing con6 ducted pursuant to subsection (f) or (j) shall be ac7 corded—

8 ‘‘(1) the right to be represented by counsel and 

9 by non-attorney advocates and to be accompanied 

10 and advised by individuals with special knowledge or 

11 training with respect to the problems of children 

12 with disabilities; 

13 ‘‘(2) the right to present evidence and confront, 

14 cross-examine, and compel the attendance of wit15 nesses; 

16 ‘‘(3) the right to a written, or, at the option of 

17 the parents, electronic verbatim record of such hear18 ing; and 

19 ‘‘(4) the right to written, or, at the option of 

20 the parents, electronic findings of fact and decisions 

21 (which findings and decisions shall be made available 

22 to the public consistent with the requirements of sec23 tion 617(d)) (relating to the confidentiality of data, 

24 information, and records).’’. 
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1 (i) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—Section 615 of 

2 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

3 1415) is amended—

4 (1) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection 

5 (h); and 

6 (2) in subsection (h) (as redesignated)—

7 (A) in paragraph (1)—

8 (i) by striking ‘‘IN GENERAL.—’’ and 

9 all that follows through ‘‘A decision made 

10 in a hearing’’ and inserting ‘‘IN GEN11 ERAL.—A decision made in a hearing’’; 

12 (ii) by striking ‘‘(k)’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘(j)’’; 

14 (iii) by striking ‘‘subsection (g) and’’; 

15 and 

16 (iv) by striking subparagraph (B); 

17 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘sub18 section (f) or (k) who does not have the right 

19 to an appeal under subsection (g)’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘subsection (f) or (j)’’; and 

21 (C) in paragraph (3), by amending sub22 paragraph (C) to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF AT24 TORNEYS’ FEES.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Fees awarded 

2 under this paragraph shall be based on 

3 rates determined by the Governor of the 

4 State (or other appropriate State official) 

5 in which the action or proceeding arose for 

6 the kind and quality of services furnished. 

7 No bonus or multiplier may be used in cal8 culating the fees awarded under this sub9 section. 

10 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE.—The Governor of the 

11 State (or other appropriate State official) 

12 shall make available to the public on an 

13 annual basis the rates described in clause 

14 (i).’’. 

15 (j) MAINTENANCE OF CURRENT EDUCATIONAL

16 PLACEMENT.—Section 615 of the Individuals with Dis17 abilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415) is amended—

18 (1) by redesignating subsection (j) as sub19 section (i); and 

20 (2) by amending subsection (i) (as redesig21 nated) to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(i) MAINTENANCE OF CURRENT EDUCATIONAL

23 PLACEMENT.—Except as provided in subsection (j)(4), 

24 during the pendency of any proceedings conducted pursu25 ant to this section, unless the State or local educational 
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1 agency and the parents otherwise agree, the child shall 

2 remain in the then-current educational placement of such 

3 child, or, if applying for initial admission to a public 

4 school, shall, with the consent of the parents, be placed 

5 in the public school program until all such proceedings 

6 have been completed.’’.

7 (k) PLACEMENT IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL

8 SETTING.—Section 615 of the Individuals with Disabil9 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415) is amended—

10 (1) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub11 section (j); and 

12 (2) by amending subsection (j) (as redesig13 nated) to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(j) PLACEMENT IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL

15 SETTING.—

16 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF SCHOOL PERSONNEL.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—School personnel 

18 under this section may order a change in the 

19 placement of a child with a disability who vio20 lates a code of student conduct policy to an ap21 propriate interim alternative educational set22 ting, another setting, or suspension, for not 

23 more than 10 school days (to the extent such 

24 alternatives would be applied to children with25 out disabilities). 
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1 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—Subject 

2 to subparagraph (C), and notwithstanding any 

3 other provision of this Act, school personnel 

4 under this section may order a change in the 

5 placement of a child with a disability who vio6 lates a code of student conduct policy to an ap7 propriate interim alternative educational setting 

8 selected so as to enable the child to continue to 

9 participate in the general education curriculum, 

10 although in another setting, and to progress to11 ward meeting the goals set out in the child’s 

12 IEP, for not more than 45 school days (to the 

13 extent such alternative and such duration would 

14 be applied to children without disabilities, and 

15 which may include consideration of unique cir16 cumstances on a case-by-case basis), except that 

17 the change in placement may last beyond 45 

18 school days if required by State law or regula19 tion for the violation in question, to ensure the 

20 safety and appropriate educational atmosphere 

21 in the schools under the jurisdiction of the local 

22 educational agency. 

23 ‘‘(C) SERVICES.—A child with a disability 

24 who is removed from the child’s current place25 ment under subparagraph (B) shall—
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1 ‘‘(i) continue to receive educational 

2 services selected so as to enable the child 

3 to continue to participate in the general 

4 education curriculum, although in another 

5 setting, and to progress toward meeting 

6 the goals set out in the child’s IEP; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) continue to receive behavioral 

8 intervention services designed to address 

9 the behavior violation so that it does not 

10 recur. 

11 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF SETTING.—The alter12 native educational setting described in paragraph 

13 (1)(B) shall be determined by the IEP Team. 

14 ‘‘(3) PARENT APPEAL.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the parent of a 

16 child with a disability disagrees with any deci17 sion regarding placement or punishment under 

18 this section, the parent may request a hearing. 

19 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY OF HEARING OFFICER.—

20 If a parent of a child with a disability disagrees 

21 with a decision regarding placement of the child 

22 or punishment of the child under this section, 

23 including duration of the punishment, the hear24 ing officer may determine whether the decision 

25 regarding such action was appropriate. 
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1 ‘‘(4) PLACEMENT DURING APPEALS.—When a 

2 parent requests a hearing regarding a disciplinary 

3 action described in paragraph (1)(B) to challenge 

4 the interim alternative educational setting or the vio5 lation of the code of student conduct policy, the child 

6 shall remain in the interim alternative educational 

7 setting pending the decision of the hearing officer or 

8 until the expiration of the time period provided for 

9 in paragraph (1)(B), whichever occurs first, unless 

10 the parent and the State or local educational agency 

11 agree otherwise. 

12 ‘‘(5) PROTECTIONS FOR CHILDREN NOT YET

13 ELIGIBLE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED

14 SERVICES.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A child who has not 

16 been determined to be eligible for special edu17 cation and related services under this part and 

18 who has engaged in behavior that violates a 

19 code of student conduct policy, may assert any 

20 of the protections provided for in this part if 

21 the local educational agency had knowledge (as 

22 determined in accordance with this paragraph) 

23 that the child was a child with a disability be24 fore the behavior that precipitated the discipli25 nary action occurred. 
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1 ‘‘(B) BASIS OF KNOWLEDGE.—A local edu2 cational agency shall be deemed to have knowl3 edge that a child is a child with a disability if, 

4 before the behavior that precipitated the dis5 ciplinary action occurred—

6 ‘‘(i) the parent of the child has ex7 pressed concern in writing (unless the par8 ent is illiterate or has a disability that pre9 vents compliance with the requirements 

10 contained in this clause) to personnel of 

11 the appropriate educational agency that 

12 the child is in need of special education 

13 and related services; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the parent of the child has re15 quested an evaluation of the child pursuant 

16 to section 614; or 

17 ‘‘(iii) the teacher of the child, or other 

18 personnel of the local educational agency, 

19 has expressed concern in writing about the 

20 behavior or performance of the child to the 

21 director of special education of such agen22 cy or to other personnel of the agency. 

23 ‘‘(C) CONDITIONS THAT APPLY IF NO

24 BASIS OF KNOWLEDGE.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a local edu2 cational agency does not have knowledge 

3 that a child is a child with a disability (in 

4 accordance with subparagraph (B)) prior 

5 to taking disciplinary measures against the 

6 child, the child may be subjected to dis7 ciplinary measures applied to children 

8 without disabilities who engaged in com9 parable behaviors consistent with clause 

10 (ii). 

11 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—If a request is 

12 made for an evaluation of a child during 

13 the time period in which the child is sub14 jected to disciplinary measures under para15 graph (1) or (2), the evaluation shall be 

16 conducted in an expedited manner. If the 

17 child is determined to be a child with a dis18 ability, taking into consideration informa19 tion from the evaluation conducted by the 

20 agency and information provided by the 

21 parents, the agency shall provide special 

22 education and related services in accord23 ance with this part, except that, pending 

24 the results of the evaluation, the child shall 
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1 remain in the educational placement deter2 mined by school authorities. 

3 ‘‘(6) REFERRAL TO AND ACTION BY LAW EN4 FORCEMENT AND JUDICIAL AUTHORITIES.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this part 

6 shall be construed to prohibit an agency from 

7 reporting a crime committed by a child with a 

8 disability to appropriate authorities or to pre9 vent State law enforcement and judicial au10 thorities from exercising their responsibilities 

11 with regard to the application of Federal and 

12 State law to crimes committed by a child with 

13 a disability. 

14 ‘‘(B) TRANSMISSION OF RECORDS.—An 

15 agency reporting a crime committed by a child 

16 with a disability shall ensure that copies of the 

17 special education and disciplinary records of the 

18 child are transmitted for consideration by the 

19 appropriate authorities to whom it reports the 

20 crime.’’. 

21 (l) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Section 615 of the In22 dividuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 

23 1415) is amended by redesignating subsection (l) as sub24 section (k). 
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1 (m) TRANSFER OF PARENTAL RIGHTS AT AGE OF

2 MAJORITY.—Section 615 of the Individuals with Disabil3 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1415) is amended—

4 (1) by redesignating subsection (m) as sub5 section (l); and 

6 (2) by amending subsection (l) (as redesig7 nated) to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(l) TRANSFER OF PARENTAL RIGHTS AT AGE OF

9 MAJORITY.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives 

11 amounts from a grant under this part may provide 

12 that, when a child with a disability reaches the age 

13 of majority under State law (except for a child with 

14 a disability who has been determined to be incom15 petent under State law)—

16 ‘‘(A) the public agency shall provide any 

17 notice required by this section to both the indi18 vidual and the parents; 

19 ‘‘(B) all other rights accorded to parents 

20 under this part transfer to the child; 

21 ‘‘(C) the agency shall notify the individual 

22 and the parents of the transfer of rights; and 

23 ‘‘(D) all rights accorded to parents under 

24 this part transfer to children who are incarcer-
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1 ated in an adult or juvenile Federal, State, or 

2 local correctional institution. 

3 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—If, under State law, a 

4 child with a disability who has reached the age of 

5 majority under State law, who has not been deter6 mined to be incompetent, but who is determined not 

7 to have the ability to provide informed consent with 

8 respect to the educational program of the child, the 

9 State shall establish procedures for appointing the 

10 parent of the child, or if the parent is not available, 

11 another appropriate individual, to represent the edu12 cational interests of the child throughout the period 

13 of eligibility of the child under this part.’’. 

14 SEC. 206. MONITORING, ENFORCEMENT, WITHHOLDING, 

15 AND JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

16 Section 616 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu17 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1416) is amended—

18 (1) by amending the heading to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 616. MONITORING, ENFORCEMENT, WITHHOLDING, 

20 AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.’’; 

21 (2) by redesignating subsections (a) through (c) 

22 as subsections (e) through (g), respectively; and 

23 (3) by inserting before subsection (e) (as redes24 ignated) the following: 

25 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL MONITORING.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall mon2 itor implementation of this Act. 

3 ‘‘(2) FOCUSED MONITORING.—The primary 

4 focus of Federal monitoring activities shall be to im5 prove educational results for all children with dis6 abilities, while ensuring compliance with program re7 quirements, with a particular emphasis on those re8 quirements that are most closely related to improv9 ing educational results for children with disabilities. 

10 ‘‘(b) INDICATORS.—

11 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED INDICATORS.—The Secretary 

12 shall examine relevant information and data related 

13 to States’ progress on improving educational results 

14 for children with disabilities by reviewing—

15 ‘‘(A) achievement results of children with 

16 disabilities on State or district assessments, in17 cluding children with disabilities taking State or 

18 district assessments with appropriate accom19 modations; 

20 ‘‘(B) achievement results of children with 

21 disabilities on State or district alternate assess22 ments; 

23 ‘‘(C) graduation rates of children with dis24 abilities and graduation rates of children with 
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1 disabilities as compared to graduation rates of 

2 nondisabled children; and 

3 ‘‘(D) dropout rates for children with dis4 abilities and dropout rates of children with dis5 abilities as compared to dropout rates of non6 disabled children. 

7 ‘‘(2) PERMISSIVE INDICATORS.—The Secretary 

8 also may establish other priorities for review of rel9 evant information and data, including data provided 

10 by States under section 618, and also including the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(A) PRIORITIES FOR THIS PART.—The 

13 Secretary may give priority to monitoring on 

14 the following areas under this part: 

15 ‘‘(i) Provision of educational services 

16 in the least restrictive environment, includ17 ing—

18 ‘‘(I) education of children with 

19 disabilities with nondisabled peers to 

20 the maximum extent appropriate; 

21 ‘‘(II) provision of appropriate 

22 special education and related services; 

23 ‘‘(III) access to the general cur24 riculum with appropriate accommoda25 tions; 
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1 ‘‘(IV) provision of appropriate 

2 services to students whose behavior 

3 impedes learning; and 

4 ‘‘(V) participation and perform5 ance of children with disabilities on 

6 State and local assessments, including 

7 alternate assessments. 

8 ‘‘(ii) Secondary transition, including 

9 the extent to which youth exiting special 

10 education are prepared for post-secondary 

11 education, employment, and adult life, and 

12 are participants in appropriate transition 

13 planning while in school. 

14 ‘‘(iii) State exercise of general super15 visory authority, including effective moni16 toring and use of complaint resolution, me17 diation, and voluntary binding arbitration. 

18 ‘‘(B) PRIORITIES FOR PART C.—The Sec19 retary may give priority to monitoring on the 

20 following areas under part C: 

21 ‘‘(i) Child find and public awareness 

22 to support the identification, evaluation 

23 and assessment of all eligible infants and 

24 toddlers, including the provision of cul-
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1 turally relevant materials to inform and 

2 promote referral. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Provision of early intervention 

4 services in natural environments, evalua5 tion and assessment to identify child needs 

6 and family needs related to enhancing the 

7 development of the child, and provision of 

8 appropriate early intervention services in 

9 natural environments to meet the needs of 

10 individual children. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Effective early childhood transi12 tion to services under this part. 

13 ‘‘(iv) State exercise of general super14 visory authority, including—

15 ‘‘(I) effective monitoring and use 

16 of other mechanisms such as com17 plaint resolution; 

18 ‘‘(II) implementation of medi19 ation and voluntary binding arbitra20 tion; and 

21 ‘‘(III) coordination of parent and 

22 child protections. 

23 ‘‘(3) DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS.—The 

24 Secretary shall review the data collection and anal25 ysis capacity of States to ensure that data and infor-
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1 mation is collected, analyzed, and accurately re2 ported to the Secretary. The Secretary may provide 

3 technical assistance to improve the capacity of 

4 States to meet data requirements. 

5 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL PRIORITIES.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may develop 

7 additional priorities for monitoring the effective im8 plementation of this Act. 

9 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretary shall 

10 provide a public comment period of at least 30 days 

11 on any additional priority proposed under this part 

12 or part C. 

13 ‘‘(3) DATE OF ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary 

14 may not begin to enforce a new priority until one 

15 year from the date of publication of the priority in 

16 the Federal Register as a final rule. 

17 ‘‘(d) COMPLIANCE.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall review 

19 State data to determine whether the State is in com20 pliance with the provisions of this Act. 

21 ‘‘(2) LACK OF PROGRESS.—If after examining 

22 data, as provided in section (b) or (c), the Secretary 

23 determines that a State is not making satisfactory 

24 progress in improving educational results for chil-
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1 dren with disabilities, the Secretary shall take one or 

2 more of the following actions: 

3 ‘‘(A) Advise the State of available sources 

4 of technical assistance that may help the State 

5 address the lack of progress, which may include 

6 assistance from the Office of Special Education 

7 Programs, other offices of the Department of 

8 Education, other Federal agencies, technical as9 sistance providers approved by the Secretary, 

10 and other federally funded nonprofit agencies. 

11 Such technical assistance may include—

12 ‘‘(i) the provision of advice by experts 

13 to address the areas of noncompliance, in14 cluding explicit plans for ensuring compli15 ance within a specified period of time; 

16 ‘‘(ii) assistance in identifying and im17 plementing professional development, in18 structional strategies, and methods of in19 struction that are based on scientifically 

20 based research; 

21 ‘‘(iii) designating and using distin22 guished superintendents, principals, special 

23 education administrators, regular edu24 cation teachers, and special education 
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1 teachers to provide advice, technical assist2 ance, and support; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) devising additional approaches to 

4 providing technical assistance, such as col5 laborating with institutions of higher edu6 cation, educational service agencies, na7 tional centers of technical assistance sup8 ported under part D, and private providers 

9 of scientifically based technical assistance. 

10 ‘‘(B) Direct the use of State level funds for 

11 technical assistance on the area or areas of un12 satisfactory performance. 

13 ‘‘(C) Each year withhold at least 20 but no 

14 more than 50 percent of the State’s funds 

15 under section 611(e), after providing the State 

16 the opportunity to show cause why the with17 holding should not occur, until the Secretary 

18 determines that sufficient progress has been 

19 made in improving educational results for chil20 dren with disabilities. 

21 ‘‘(3) SUBSTANTIAL NON-COMPLIANCE.—

22 ‘‘(A) INITIAL DETERMINATION.—When the 

23 Secretary determines that a State is not in sub24 stantial compliance with any provision of this 
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1 part, the Secretary shall take one or more of 

2 the following actions: 

3 ‘‘(i) Request that the State prepare a 

4 corrective action plan or improvement plan 

5 if the Secretary determines that the State 

6 should be able to correct the problem with7 in one year. 

8 ‘‘(ii) Identify the State as a high-risk 

9 grantee and impose special conditions on 

10 the State’s grant. 

11 ‘‘(iii) Require the State to enter into 

12 a compliance agreement under section 457 

13 of the General Education Provisions Act, if 

14 the Secretary has reason to believe that 

15 the State cannot correct the problem with16 in one year. 

17 ‘‘(iv) Recovery of funds under section 

18 452 of the General Education Provisions 

19 Act. 

20 ‘‘(v)(I) Withholding of payments 

21 under subsection (e). 

22 ‘‘(II) Pending the outcome of any 

23 hearing to withhold payments under sub24 section (e), the Secretary may suspend 

25 payments to a recipient, suspend the au-
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1 thority of the recipient to obligate Federal 

2 funds, or both, after such recipient has 

3 been given reasonable notice and an oppor4 tunity to show cause why future payments 

5 or authority to obligate Federal funds 

6 should not be suspended. 

7 ‘‘(B) CONTINUED NON-COMPLIANCE.—

8 ‘‘(i) SECRETARIAL ACTION.—If the 

9 Secretary has imposed special conditions 

10 on a grant under subparagraph (A)(ii) for 

11 substantially the same compliance prob12 lems for three consecutive years, and at 

13 the end of the third year the State has not 

14 demonstrated that the violation has been 

15 corrected to the satisfaction of the Sec16 retary, the Secretary shall take such addi17 tional enforcement actions as the Secretary 

18 determines to be appropriate from among 

19 those actions specified in clauses (iii) 

20 through (v) of subparagraph (A). 

21 ‘‘(ii) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The 

22 Secretary shall report to Congress within 

23 30 days of taking enforcement action pur24 suant to this paragraph on the specific ac-
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1 tion taken and the reasons why enforce2 ment action was taken.’’. 

3 SEC. 207. ADMINISTRATION. 

4 Section 617 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu5 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1417) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 617. ADMINISTRATION. 

7 ‘‘(a) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SECRETARY.—In car8 rying out this part, the Secretary shall—

9 ‘‘(1) cooperate with, and (directly or by grant 

10 or contract) furnish technical assistance necessary 

11 to, the State in matters relating to—

12 ‘‘(A) the education of children with disabil13 ities; and 

14 ‘‘(B) carrying out this part; and 

15 ‘‘(2) provide short-term training programs and 

16 institutes.

17 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION AGAINST FEDERAL MANDATES, 

18 DIRECTION, OR CONTROL.—Nothing in this Act may be 

19 construed to authorize an officer or employee of the Fed20 eral Government to mandate, direct, or control a State, 

21 local educational agency, or school’s specific instructional 

22 content, academic achievement standards and assess23 ments, curriculum, or program of instruction. 

24 ‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Secretary shall take 

25 appropriate action, in accordance with section 444 of the 
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1 General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g), to 

2 ensure the protection of the confidentiality of any person3 ally identifiable data, information, and records collected 

4 or maintained by the Secretary and by State and local 

5 educational agencies pursuant to this part. 

6 ‘‘(d) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary is authorized to 

7 hire qualified personnel necessary to carry out the Sec8 retary’s duties under subsection (a) and under sections 

9 618 and 661 without regard to the provisions of title 5, 

10 United States Code, relating to appointments in the com11 petitive service and without regard to chapter 51 and sub12 chapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classi13 fication and general schedule pay rates, except that no 

14 more than twenty such personnel shall be employed at any 

15 time. 

16 ‘‘(e) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Secretary is authorized 

17 to grant waivers of paperwork requirements under this 

18 part for a period of time not to exceed 4 years with respect 

19 to not more than 10 States based on proposals submitted 

20 by States for addressing reduction of paperwork and non21 instructional time spent fulfilling statutory and regulatory 

22 requirements. 

23 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—The Secretary shall include in the an24 nual report to Congress under section 426 of the Depart25 ment of Education Organization Act information related 
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1 to the effectiveness of waivers granted under subsection 

2 (e)—

3 ‘‘(1) in reducing the paperwork burden on 

4 teachers, administrators, and related services pro5 viders and non-instructional time spent by teachers 

6 in complying with this part, including any specific 

7 recommendations for broader implementation; and 

8 ‘‘(2) in enhancing longer-term educational plan9 ning, improving positive outcomes for children with 

10 disabilities, promoting collaboration between IEP 

11 Team members, and ensuring satisfaction of family 

12 members, including any specific recommendations 

13 for broader implementation. 

14 ‘‘(g) MODEL FORMS.—Not later than the date on 

15 which the Secretary publishes final regulations to imple16 ment this part (as amended by the Improving Education 

17 Results for Children With Disabilities Act of 2003), the 

18 Secretary shall publish and disseminate widely to States, 

19 local educational agencies, and parent training and infor20 mation centers—

21 ‘‘(1) a model individualized education program 

22 form; 

23 ‘‘(2) a model form for the procedural safe24 guards notice described in section 615(d); and 
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1 ‘‘(3) a model form for the prior written notice 

2 described in section 615(b)(3); 

3 that would be consistent with the requirements of this part 

4 and be deemed to be sufficient to meet such require5 ments.’’. 

6 SEC. 208. PROGRAM INFORMATION. 

7 Section 618 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu8 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1418) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 618. PROGRAM INFORMATION. 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State and local educational 

11 agency that receives assistance under this part, and the 

12 Secretary of the Interior, shall provide data each year to 

13 the Secretary—

14 ‘‘(1)(A) on—

15 ‘‘(i) the number and percentage of children 

16 with disabilities, by race, ethnicity, and dis17 ability category, who are receiving a free appro18 priate public education; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the number and percentage of chil20 dren with disabilities, by race and ethnicity, 

21 who are receiving early intervention services; 

22 ‘‘(iii) the number and percentage of chil23 dren with disabilities, by race, ethnicity, and 

24 disability category, who are participating in reg25 ular education; 
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1 ‘‘(iv) the number and percentage of chil2 dren with disabilities, by race, ethnicity, and 

3 disability category, who are in separate classes, 

4 separate schools or facilities, or public or pri5 vate residential facilities; 

6 ‘‘(v) the number and percentage of chil7 dren with disabilities, by race and ethnicity, and 

8 disability category who begin secondary school 

9 and graduate with a regular high school di10 ploma, through the age of 21; 

11 ‘‘(vi) the number and percentage of chil12 dren with disabilities, by race, ethnicity, and 

13 disability category, who, for each year of age 

14 from age 14 to 21, stopped receiving special 

15 education and related services because of pro16 gram completion or other reasons and the rea17 sons why those children stopped receiving spe18 cial education and related services; 

19 ‘‘(vii) the number and percentage of chil20 dren with disabilities, by race and ethnicity, 

21 who, from birth through age 2, stopped receiv22 ing early intervention services because of pro23 gram completion or for other reasons; 

24 ‘‘(viii)(I) the number and percentage of 

25 children with disabilities, by race, ethnicity, and 
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1 disability category, who under subparagraph 

2 (A) or (B) of section 615(j)(1), are removed to 

3 an interim alternative educational setting; 

4 ‘‘(II) the acts or items precipitating those 

5 removals; 

6 ‘‘(III) the number of children with disabil7 ities, by race, ethnicity, and disability category, 

8 who are subject to long-term suspensions or ex9 pulsions; and 

10 ‘‘(IV) the incidence, duration, and type of 

11 disciplinary actions, by race and ethnicity, in12 cluding suspension and expulsions; 

13 ‘‘(ix) the number of complaints resolved 

14 through voluntary binding arbitration; and 

15 ‘‘(x) the number of mediations held and 

16 the number of settlement agreements reached 

17 through mediation; 

18 ‘‘(B) on the number and percentage of infants 

19 and toddlers, by race and ethnicity, who are at risk 

20 of having substantial developmental delays (as de21 fined in section 632), and who are receiving early 

22 intervention services under part C; and 

23 ‘‘(C) on the number of children served with 

24 funds under section 613(f); and 
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1 ‘‘(2) on any other information that may be re2 quired by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(b) SAMPLING.—The Secretary may permit States 

4 and the Secretary of the Interior to obtain the data de5 scribed in subsection (a) through sampling. 

6 ‘‘(c) DISPROPORTIONALITY.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State that receives 

8 assistance under this part, and the Secretary of the 

9 Interior, shall provide for the collection and exam10 ination of data to determine if significant 

11 disproportionality based on race and ethnicity is oc12 curring in the State and the local educational agen13 cies of the State with respect to—

14 ‘‘(A) the identification of children as chil15 dren with disabilities, including the identifica16 tion of children as children with disabilities in 

17 accordance with a particular impairment de18 scribed in section 602(3); 

19 ‘‘(B) the placement in particular edu20 cational settings of such children; and 

21 ‘‘(C) the incidence, duration, and type of 

22 disciplinary actions, including suspensions and 

23 expulsions. 

24 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND REVISION OF POLICIES, 

25 PRACTICES, AND PROCEDURES.—In the case of a de-
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1 termination of significant disproportionality with re2 spect to the identification of children as children 

3 with disabilities, or the placement in particular edu4 cational settings of such children, in accordance with 

5 paragraph (1), the State or the Secretary of the In6 terior, as the case may be—

7 ‘‘(A) shall provide for the review and, if 

8 appropriate, revision of the policies, procedures, 

9 and practices used in such identification or 

10 placement to ensure that such policies, proce11 dures, and practices comply with the require12 ments of this Act; 

13 ‘‘(B) shall require any local educational 

14 agency identified under paragraph (1) to re15 serve the maximum amount of funds under sec16 tion 613(f) to provide comprehensive coordi17 nated prereferral support services to serve chil18 dren in the local educational agency, particu19 larly children in those groups that were signifi20 cantly overidentified under paragraph (1); and 

21 ‘‘(C) shall require the local educational 

22 agency to publicly report on the revision of poli23 cies, practices, and procedures described under 

24 subparagraph (A).’’. 
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1 SEC. 209. PRESCHOOL GRANTS. 

2 Section 619 of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu3 cation Act (20 U.S.C. 1419) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 619. PRESCHOOL GRANTS. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

6 grants under this section to assist States to provide special 

7 education and related services, in accordance with this 

8 part—

9 ‘‘(1) to children with disabilities aged 3 through 

10 5, inclusive; and 

11 ‘‘(2) at the State’s discretion, to 2-year-old chil12 dren with disabilities who will turn 3 during the 

13 school year. 

14 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A State shall be eligible for a 

15 grant under this section if such State—

16 ‘‘(1) is eligible under section 612 to receive a 

17 grant under this part; and 

18 ‘‘(2) makes a free appropriate public education 

19 available to all children with disabilities, aged 3 

20 through 5, residing in the State. 

21 ‘‘(c) ALLOCATIONS TO STATES.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall allo23 cate funds among the States in accordance with 

24 paragraph (2) or (3), as appropriate. 

25 ‘‘(2) INCREASE IN FUNDS.—If the amount 

26 available for allocations to States under paragraph 
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1 (1) is equal to or greater than the amount allocated 

2 to the States under this section for the preceding 

3 fiscal year, those allocations shall be calculated as 

4 follows: 

5 ‘‘(A)(i) Except as provided in subpara6 graph (B), the Secretary shall—

7 ‘‘(I) allocate to each State the amount 

8 it received for fiscal year 1997; 

9 ‘‘(II) allocate 85 percent of any re10 maining funds to States on the basis of 

11 their relative populations of children aged 

12 3 through 5; and 

13 ‘‘(III) allocate 15 percent of those re14 maining funds to States on the basis of 

15 their relative populations of all children 

16 aged 3 through 5 who are living in poverty. 

17 ‘‘(ii) For the purpose of making grants 

18 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall use 

19 the most recent population data, including data 

20 on children living in poverty, that are available 

21 and satisfactory to the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), 

23 allocations under this paragraph shall be sub24 ject to the following: 
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1 ‘‘(i) No State’s allocation shall be less 

2 than its allocation for the preceding fiscal 

3 year. 

4 ‘‘(ii) No State’s allocation shall be less 

5 than the greatest of—

6 ‘‘(I) the sum of—

7 ‘‘(aa) the amount it received 

8 for fiscal year 1997; and 

9 ‘‘(bb) one third of one per10 cent of the amount by which the 

11 amount appropriated under sub12 section (j) exceeds the amount 

13 appropriated under this section 

14 for fiscal year 1997; 

15 ‘‘(II) the sum of—

16 ‘‘(aa) the amount it received 

17 for the preceding fiscal year; and 

18 ‘‘(bb) that amount multi19 plied by the percentage by which 

20 the increase in the funds appro21 priated from the preceding fiscal 

22 year exceeds 1.5 percent; or 

23 ‘‘(III) the sum of—

24 ‘‘(aa) the amount it received 

25 for the preceding fiscal year; and 
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1 ‘‘(bb) that amount multi2 plied by 90 percent of the per3 centage increase in the amount 

4 appropriated from the preceding 

5 fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(iii) Notwithstanding clause (ii), no 

7 State’s allocation under this paragraph 

8 shall exceed the sum of—

9 ‘‘(I) the amount it received for 

10 the preceding fiscal year; and 

11 ‘‘(II) that amount multiplied by 

12 the sum of 1.5 percent and the per13 centage increase in the amount appro14 priated. 

15 ‘‘(C) If the amount available for allocations 

16 under this paragraph is insufficient to pay 

17 those allocations in full, those allocations shall 

18 be ratably reduced, subject to subparagraph 

19 (B)(i). 

20 ‘‘(3) DECREASE IN FUNDS.—If the amount 

21 available for allocations to States under paragraph 

22 (1) is less than the amount allocated to the States 

23 under this section for the preceding fiscal year, those 

24 allocations shall be calculated as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(A) If the amount available for allocations 

2 is greater than the amount allocated to the 

3 States for fiscal year 1997, each State shall be 

4 allocated the sum of—

5 ‘‘(i) the amount it received for fiscal 

6 year 1997; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) an amount that bears the same 

8 relation to any remaining funds as the in9 crease the State received for the preceding 

10 fiscal year over fiscal year 1997 bears to 

11 the total of all such increases for all 

12 States. 

13 ‘‘(B) If the amount available for alloca14 tions is equal to or less than the amount allo15 cated to the States for fiscal year 1997, each 

16 State shall be allocated the amount it received 

17 for that year, ratably reduced, if necessary. 

18 ‘‘(d) RESERVATION FOR STATE ACTIVITIES.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State may retain not 

20 more than the amount described in paragraph (2) 

21 for administration and other State-level activities in 

22 accordance with subsections (e) and (f). 

23 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT DESCRIBED.—For each fiscal 

24 year, the Secretary shall determine and report to the 

25 State educational agency an amount that is 25 per-
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1 cent of the amount the State received under this sec2 tion for fiscal year 1997, cumulatively adjusted by 

3 the Secretary for each succeeding fiscal year by the 

4 lesser of—

5 ‘‘(A) the percentage increase, if any, from 

6 the preceding fiscal year in the State’s alloca7 tion under this section; or 

8 ‘‘(B) the percentage increase, if any, from 

9 the preceding fiscal year in the Consumer Price 

10 Index For All Urban Consumers published by 

11 the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Depart12 ment of Labor. 

13 ‘‘(e) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of admin15 istering this section (including the coordination of 

16 activities under this part with, and providing tech17 nical assistance to, other programs that provide 

18 services to children with disabilities) a State may 

19 use not more than 20 percent of the maximum 

20 amount it may retain under subsection (d) for any 

21 fiscal year. 

22 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION OF PART C.—Funds de23 scribed in paragraph (1) may also be used for the 

24 administration of part C of this Act, if the State 
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1 educational agency is the lead agency for the State 

2 under that part. 

3 ‘‘(f) OTHER STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—Each State 

4 shall use any funds it retains under subsection (d) and 

5 does not use for administration under subsection (e)—

6 ‘‘(1) for support services (including establishing 

7 and implementing the mediation and voluntary bind8 ing arbitration process required by section 615(e)), 

9 which may benefit children with disabilities younger 

10 than 3 or older than 5 as long as those services also 

11 benefit children with disabilities aged 3 through 5; 

12 ‘‘(2) for direct services for children eligible for 

13 services under this section; 

14 ‘‘(3) for activities at the State and local levels 

15 to meet the performance goals established by the 

16 State under section 612(a)(16) and to support im17 plementation of the State plan under subpart 1 of 

18 part D if the State receives funds under that sub19 part; or 

20 ‘‘(4) to supplement other funds used to develop 

21 and implement a Statewide coordinated services sys22 tem designed to improve results for children and 

23 families, including children with disabilities and their 

24 families, but not to exceed one percent of the 
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1 amount received by the State under this section for 

2 a fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(g) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN4 CIES.—

5 ‘‘(1) SUBGRANTS REQUIRED.—Each State that 

6 receives a grant under this section for any fiscal 

7 year shall distribute all of the grant funds that it 

8 does not reserve under subsection (d) to local edu9 cational agencies in the State that have established 

10 their eligibility under section 613, as follows: 

11 ‘‘(A) BASE PAYMENTS.—The State shall 

12 first award each agency described in paragraph 

13 (1) the amount that agency would have received 

14 under this section for fiscal year 1997 if the 

15 State had distributed 75 percent of its grant for 

16 that year under section 619(c)(3), as then in ef17 fect. 

18 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF REMAINING

19 FUNDS.—After making allocations under sub20 paragraph (A), the State shall—

21 ‘‘(i) allocate 85 percent of any re22 maining funds to those agencies on the 

23 basis of the relative numbers of children 

24 enrolled in public and private elementary 
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1 and secondary schools within the agency’s 

2 jurisdiction; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) allocate 15 percent of those re4 maining funds to those agencies in accord5 ance with their relative numbers of chil6 dren living in poverty, as determined by 

7 the State educational agency. 

8 ‘‘(2) REALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—If a State 

9 educational agency determines that a local edu10 cational agency is adequately providing a free appro11 priate public education to all children with disabil12 ities aged 3 through 5 residing in the area served by 

13 that agency with State and local funds, the State 

14 educational agency may reallocate any portion of the 

15 funds under this section that are not needed by that 

16 local agency to provide a free appropriate public 

17 education to other local educational agencies in the 

18 State that are not adequately providing special edu19 cation and related services to all children with dis20 abilities aged 3 through 5 residing in the areas they 

21 serve. 

22 ‘‘(h) PART C INAPPLICABLE.—Part C of this Act 

23 does not apply to any child with a disability receiving a 

24 free appropriate public education, in accordance with this 

25 part, with funds received under this section. 
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1 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—For the purpose of this section, 

2 the term ‘State’ means each of the 50 States, the District 

3 of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 

4 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

5 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

6 to be appropriated to the Secretary $500,000,000 for fis7 cal year 2004 and such sums as may be necessary for each 

8 subsequent fiscal year.’’. 

9 TITLE III—INFANTS AND 

10 TODDLERS WITH DISABILITIES 

11 SEC. 301. SECTIONS 631 THROUGH 638 OF THE INDIVIDUALS 

12 WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT. 

13 Sections 631 through 638 of the Individuals with 

14 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431–1438) are 

15 amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 631. FINDINGS AND POLICY. 

17 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that there is an 

18 urgent and substantial need—

19 ‘‘(1) to enhance the development of infants and 

20 toddlers with disabilities and to minimize their po21 tential for developmental delay; 

22 ‘‘(2) to reduce the educational costs to our soci23 ety, including our Nation’s schools, by minimizing 

24 the need for special education and related services 
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1 after infants and toddlers with disabilities reach 

2 school age; 

3 ‘‘(3) to minimize the likelihood of institutional4 ization of individuals with disabilities and maximize 

5 the potential for their independently living in society; 

6 ‘‘(4) to enhance the capacity of families to meet 

7 the special needs of their infants and toddlers with 

8 disabilities; and 

9 ‘‘(5) to enhance the capacity of State and local 

10 agencies and service providers to identify, evaluate, 

11 and meet the needs of historically underrepresented 

12 populations, particularly minority, low-income, inner13 city, and rural populations. 

14 ‘‘(b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States 

15 to provide financial assistance to States—

16 ‘‘(1) to develop and implement a statewide, 

17 comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, inter18 agency system that provides early intervention serv19 ices for infants and toddlers with disabilities and 

20 their families; 

21 ‘‘(2) to facilitate the coordination of payment 

22 for early intervention services from Federal, State, 

23 local, and private sources (including public and pri24 vate insurance coverage); 
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1 ‘‘(3) to enhance their capacity to provide qual2 ity early intervention services and expand and im3 prove existing early intervention services being pro4 vided to infants and toddlers with disabilities and 

5 their families; and 

6 ‘‘(4) to encourage States to expand opportuni7 ties for children under 3 years of age who would be 

8 at risk of having substantial developmental delay if 

9 they did not receive early intervention services. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 632. DEFINITIONS. 

11 ‘‘As used in this part: 

12 ‘‘(1) AT-RISK INFANT OR TODDLER.—The term 

13 ‘at-risk infant or toddler’ means an individual under 

14 3 years of age who would be at risk of experiencing 

15 a substantial developmental delay if early interven16 tion services were not provided to the individual. 

17 ‘‘(2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘council’ means a 

18 State interagency coordinating council established 

19 under section 641. 

20 ‘‘(3) DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY.—The term ‘de21 velopmental delay’, when used with respect to an in22 dividual residing in a State, has the meaning given 

23 such term by the State under section 635(a)(1). 
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1 ‘‘(4) EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES.—The 

2 term ‘early intervention services’ means develop3 mental services that—

4 ‘‘(A) are provided under public supervision; 

5 ‘‘(B) are provided at no cost except where 

6 Federal or State law provides for a system of 

7 payments by families, including a schedule of 

8 sliding fees; 

9 ‘‘(C) are designed to address family-identi10 fied priorities and concerns that are determined 

11 by individualized family service plan team to re12 late to enhancing the child’s development in any 

13 one or more of the following areas—

14 ‘‘(i) physical development; 

15 ‘‘(ii) cognitive development; 

16 ‘‘(iii) communication development; 

17 ‘‘(iv) social or emotional development; 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(v) adaptive development; 

20 ‘‘(D) meet the standards of the State in 

21 which they are provided, including the require22 ments of this part; 

23 ‘‘(E) include—

24 ‘‘(i) family training, family therapy, 

25 counseling, and home visits; 
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1 ‘‘(ii) special instruction; 

2 ‘‘(iii) speech-language pathology and 

3 audiology services; 

4 ‘‘(iv) occupational therapy; 

5 ‘‘(v) physical therapy; 

6 ‘‘(vi) psychological services; 

7 ‘‘(vii) service coordination services; 

8 ‘‘(viii) medical services only for diag9 nostic or evaluation purposes; 

10 ‘‘(ix) early identification, screening, 

11 and assessment services; 

12 ‘‘(x) health services necessary to en13 able the infant or toddler to benefit from 

14 the other early intervention services; 

15 ‘‘(xi) social work services; 

16 ‘‘(xii) vision services; 

17 ‘‘(xiii) assistive technology devices and 

18 assistive technology services; and 

19 ‘‘(xiv) transportation and related costs 

20 that are necessary to enable an infant or 

21 toddler and the infant’s or toddler ’s family 

22 to receive another service described in this 

23 paragraph; 

24 ‘‘(F) are provided by qualified personnel, 

25 including—
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1 ‘‘(i) special educators; 

2 ‘‘(ii) speech-language pathologists and 

3 audiologists; 

4 ‘‘(iii) occupational therapists; 

5 ‘‘(iv) physical therapists; 

6 ‘‘(v) psychologists; 

7 ‘‘(vi) social workers; 

8 ‘‘(vii) nurses; 

9 ‘‘(viii) registered dietitians; 

10 ‘‘(ix) family therapists; 

11 ‘‘(x) vision specialists, including oph12 thalmologists and optometrists; 

13 ‘‘(xi) orientation and mobility special14 ists; and 

15 ‘‘(xii) pediatricians and other physi16 cians; 

17 ‘‘(G) to the maximum extent appropriate, 

18 are provided in natural environments, including 

19 the home, and community settings in which 

20 children without disabilities participate; and 

21 ‘‘(H) are provided in conformity with an 

22 individualized family service plan adopted in ac23 cordance with section 636. 
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1 ‘‘(5) INFANT OR TODDLER WITH A DIS2 ABILITY.—The term ‘infant or toddler with a dis3 ability ’—

4 ‘‘(A) means an individual under 3 years of 

5 age who needs early intervention services be6 cause the individual—

7 ‘‘(i) is experiencing developmental 

8 delays, as measured by appropriate diag9 nostic instruments and procedures in one 

10 or more of the areas of cognitive develop11 ment, physical development, communica12 tion development, social or emotional devel13 opment, and adaptive development; or 

14 ‘‘(ii) has a diagnosed physical or men15 tal condition which has a high probability 

16 of resulting in developmental delay; 

17 ‘‘(B) may also include, at a State’s discre18 tion, at-risk infants and toddlers; and

19 ‘‘(C) may also include, at a State’s discre20 tion, a child aged 3 through 5, who previously 

21 received services under this part and who is eli22 gible for services under section 619, if—

23 ‘‘(i) services provided to this age 

24 group under this part include an edu25 cational component that promotes school 
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1 readiness and incorporates scientifically 

2 based pre-literacy, language, and numeracy 

3 skills; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) parents are provided a written 

5 notification of their rights and responsibil6 ities in determining whether their child will 

7 continue to receive services under this part 

8 or participate in preschool programs as9 sisted under section 619. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 633. GENERAL AUTHORITY. 

11 ‘‘The Secretary shall, in accordance with this part, 

12 make grants to States (from their allotments under sec13 tion 643) to assist each State to maintain and implement 

14 a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, 

15 interagency system to provide early intervention services 

16 for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 634. ELIGIBILITY. 

18 ‘‘In order to be eligible for a grant under section 633, 

19 a State shall provide assurances to the Secretary that the 

20 State—

21 ‘‘(1) has adopted a policy that appropriate early 

22 intervention services are available to all infants and 

23 toddlers with disabilities in the State and their fami24 lies, including Indian infants and toddlers with dis-
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1 abilities and their families residing on a reservation 

2 geographically located in the State; and 

3 ‘‘(2) has in effect a statewide system that meets 

4 the requirements of section 635. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 635. REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEWIDE SYSTEM. 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A statewide system described in 

7 section 633 shall include, at a minimum, the following 

8 components: 

9 ‘‘(1) A definition of the term ‘developmental 

10 delay’ that will be used by the State in carrying out 

11 programs under this part. 

12 ‘‘(2) A State policy that is in effect and that 

13 ensures that appropriate early intervention services 

14 based on scientifically based research are available to 

15 all infants and toddlers with disabilities and their 

16 families, including Indian infants and toddlers and 

17 their families residing on a reservation geographi18 cally located in the State. 

19 ‘‘(3) A timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary 

20 evaluation of the functioning of each infant or tod21 dler with a disability in the State, and a family-di22 rected identification of the needs of each family of 

23 such an infant or toddler, to appropriately assist in 

24 the development of the infant or toddler. 
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1 ‘‘(4) For each infant or toddler with a disability 

2 in the State, an individualized family service plan in 

3 accordance with section 636, including service co4 ordination services in accordance with such service 

5 plan. 

6 ‘‘(5) A comprehensive child find system, con7 sistent with part B, including a system for making 

8 referrals to service providers that includes timelines 

9 and provides for participation by primary referral 

10 sources. 

11 ‘‘(6) A public awareness program focusing on 

12 early identification of infants and toddlers with dis13 abilities, including the preparation and dissemination 

14 by the lead agency designated or established under 

15 paragraph (10) to all primary referral sources, espe16 cially hospitals and physicians, of information to be 

17 given to parents, especially to inform parents with 

18 premature infants, or infants with other physical 

19 risk factors associated with learning or develop20 mental complications, on the availability of early 

21 intervention services under this part and of services 

22 under section 619 of this Act, and procedures for as23 sisting such sources in disseminating such informa24 tion to parents of infants and toddlers. 
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1 ‘‘(7) A central directory that includes informa2 tion on early intervention services, resources, and ex3 perts available in the State and research and dem4 onstration projects being conducted in the State. 

5 ‘‘(8) A comprehensive system of personnel de6 velopment, including the training of paraprofes7 sionals and the training of primary referral sources 

8 respecting the basic components of early intervention 

9 services available in the State that—

10 ‘‘(A) shall include—

11 ‘‘(i) implementing innovative strate12 gies and activities for the recruitment and 

13 retention of early education service pro14 viders; 

15 ‘‘(ii) promoting the preparation of 

16 early intervention providers who are fully 

17 and appropriately qualified to provide early 

18 intervention services under this part; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) training personnel to coordinate 

20 transition services for infants and toddlers 

21 served under this part from a program 

22 providing early intervention services under 

23 this part and under part B (other than 

24 section 619), to a preschool program re-
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1 ceiving funds under section 619, or an2 other appropriate program; and 

3 ‘‘(B) may include—

4 ‘‘(i) training personnel to work in 

5 rural and inner-city areas; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) training personnel in the emo7 tional and social development of young 

8 children. 

9 ‘‘(9) Subject to subsection (b), policies and pro10 cedures relating to the establishment and mainte11 nance of standards to ensure that personnel nec12 essary to carry out this part are appropriately and 

13 adequately prepared and trained, including the es14 tablishment and maintenance of standards that are 

15 consistent with any State-approved or recognized 

16 certification, licensing, registration, or other com17 parable requirements that apply to the area in which 

18 such personnel are providing early intervention serv19 ices. 

20 ‘‘(10) A single line of responsibility in a lead 

21 agency designated or established by the Governor for 

22 carrying out—

23 ‘‘(A) the general administration and super24 vision of programs and activities receiving as25 sistance under section 633, and the monitoring 
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1 of programs and activities used by the State to 

2 carry out this part, whether or not such pro3 grams or activities are receiving assistance 

4 made available under section 633, to ensure 

5 that the State complies with this part; 

6 ‘‘(B) the identification and coordination of 

7 all available resources within the State from 

8 Federal, State, local, and private sources; 

9 ‘‘(C) the assignment of financial responsi10 bility in accordance with section 637(a)(2) to 

11 the appropriate agencies; 

12 ‘‘(D) the development of procedures to en13 sure that services are provided to infants and 

14 toddlers with disabilities and their families 

15 under this part in a timely manner pending the 

16 resolution of any disputes among public agen17 cies or service providers; 

18 ‘‘(E) the resolution of intra- and inter19 agency disputes; and 

20 ‘‘(F) the entry into formal interagency 

21 agreements that define the financial responsi22 bility of each agency for paying for early inter23 vention services (consistent with State law) and 

24 procedures for resolving disputes and that in-
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1 clude all additional components necessary to en2 sure meaningful cooperation and coordination. 

3 ‘‘(11) A policy pertaining to the contracting or 

4 making of other arrangements with service providers 

5 to provide early intervention services in the State, 

6 consistent with the provisions of this part, including 

7 the contents of the application used and the condi8 tions of the contract or other arrangements. 

9 ‘‘(12) A procedure for securing timely reim10 bursements of funds used under this part in accord11 ance with section 640(a). 

12 ‘‘(13) Procedural safeguards with respect to 

13 programs under this part, as required by section 

14 639. 

15 ‘‘(14) A system for compiling data requested by 

16 the Secretary under section 618 that relates to this 

17 part. 

18 ‘‘(15) A State interagency coordinating council 

19 that meets the requirements of section 641. 

20 ‘‘(16) Policies and procedures to ensure that, 

21 consistent with section 636(d)(5)—

22 ‘‘(A) to the maximum extent appropriate, 

23 early intervention services are provided in nat24 ural environments; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) the provision of early intervention 

2 services for any infant or toddler occurs in a 

3 setting other than a natural environment only 

4 when early intervention cannot be achieved sat5 isfactorily for the infant or toddler in a natural 

6 environment or in a setting that is most appro7 priate, as determined by the parent and the in8 dividualized family service plan team. 

9 ‘‘(b) POLICY.—In implementing subsection (a)(9), a 

10 State may adopt a policy that includes making ongoing 

11 good-faith efforts to recruit and hire appropriately and 

12 adequately trained personnel to provide early intervention 

13 services to infants and toddlers with disabilities, including, 

14 in a geographic area of the State where there is a shortage 

15 of such personnel, the most qualified individuals available 

16 who are making satisfactory progress toward completing 

17 applicable course work necessary to meet the standards 

18 described in subsection (a)(9), consistent with State law 

19 within 3 years.

20 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF CHILDREN AGED 3 THROUGH

21 5.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a State includes children 

23 described in section 632(5)(C) in the system de24 scribed in section 633, the State shall be considered 

25 to have fulfilled any obligation under part B with re-
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1 spect to the provision of a free appropriate public 

2 education to those children during the period in 

3 which they are receiving services under this part. 

4 ‘‘(2) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in paragraph 

5 (1) shall be construed to alter or diminish the rights 

6 and protections afforded under this part to children 

7 described in such paragraph. 

8 ‘‘SEC. 636. INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLAN. 

9 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENT AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.—

10 A statewide system described in section 633 shall provide, 

11 at a minimum, for each infant or toddler with a disability, 

12 and the infant’s or toddler’s family, to receive—

13 ‘‘(1) a multidisciplinary assessment of the 

14 unique strengths and needs of the infant or toddler 

15 and the identification of services appropriate to meet 

16 such needs; 

17 ‘‘(2) a family-directed assessment of the re18 sources, priorities, and concerns of the family and 

19 the identification of the supports and services nec20 essary to enhance the family ’s capacity to meet the 

21 developmental needs of the infant or toddler; and 

22 ‘‘(3) a written individualized family service plan 

23 developed by a multidisciplinary team, including the 

24 parents, as required by subsection (e), including a 
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1 description of the appropriate transition services for 

2 the child’s entrance in school. 

3 ‘‘(b) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The individualized family 

4 service plan shall be evaluated once a year and the family 

5 shall be provided a review of the plan at 6-month intervals 

6 (or more often where appropriate based on infant or tod7 dler and family needs). 

8 ‘‘(c) PROMPTNESS AFTER ASSESSMENT.—The indi9 vidualized family service plan shall be developed within a 

10 reasonable time after the assessment required by sub11 section (a)(1) is completed. With the parents’ consent, 

12 early intervention services may commence prior to the 

13 completion of the assessment. 

14 ‘‘(d) CONTENT OF PLAN.—The individualized family 

15 service plan shall be in writing and contain—

16 ‘‘(1) a statement of the infant’s or toddler ’s 

17 present levels of physical development, cognitive de18 velopment, communication development, social or 

19 emotional development, and adaptive development, 

20 based on objective criteria; 

21 ‘‘(2) a statement of the family ’s resources, pri22 orities, and concerns relating to enhancing the devel23 opment of the family ’s infant or toddler with a dis24 ability; 
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1 ‘‘(3) a statement of the major goals expected to 

2 be achieved for the infant or toddler and the family, 

3 including pre-literacy and language skills, as devel4 opmentally appropriate for the child, and the cri5 teria, procedures, and timelines used to determine 

6 the degree to which progress toward achieving the 

7 goals is being made and whether modifications or re8 visions of the goals or services are necessary; 

9 ‘‘(4) a statement of specific early intervention 

10 services based on peer-reviewed research, to the ex11 tent practicable, necessary to meet the unique needs 

12 of the infant or toddler and the family, including the 

13 frequency, intensity, and method of delivering serv14 ices; 

15 ‘‘(5) a statement of the natural environments in 

16 which early intervention services will appropriately 

17 be provided, including a justification of the extent, 

18 if any, to which the services will not be provided in 

19 a natural environment; 

20 ‘‘(6) the projected dates for initiation of serv21 ices and the anticipated length, duration, and fre22 quency of the services; 

23 ‘‘(7) the identification of the service coordinator 

24 from the profession most immediately relevant to the 

25 infant’s or toddler’s or family’s needs (or who is oth-
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1 erwise qualified to carry out all applicable respon2 sibilities under this part) who will be responsible for 

3 the implementation of the plan and coordination 

4 with other agencies and persons, including transition 

5 services; and 

6 ‘‘(8) the steps to be taken to support the transi7 tion of the toddler with a disability to preschool or 

8 other appropriate services. 

9 ‘‘(e) PARENTAL CONSENT.—The contents of the indi10 vidualized family service plan shall be fully explained to 

11 the parents and informed written consent from the par12 ents shall be obtained prior to the provision of early inter13 vention services described in such plan. If the parents do 

14 not provide consent with respect to a particular early 

15 intervention service, then only the early intervention serv16 ices to which consent is obtained shall be provided. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 637. STATE APPLICATION AND ASSURANCES. 

18 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—A State desiring to receive a 

19 grant under section 633 shall submit an application to the 

20 Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Sec21 retary may reasonably require. The application shall con22 tain—

23 ‘‘(1) a designation of the lead agency in the 

24 State that will be responsible for the administration 

25 of funds provided under section 633; 
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1 ‘‘(2) a designation of an individual or entity re2 sponsible for assigning financial responsibility 

3 among appropriate agencies; 

4 ‘‘(3) information demonstrating eligibility of the 

5 State under section 634, including a description of 

6 services to be provided to infants and toddlers with 

7 disabilities and their families through the system; 

8 ‘‘(4) if the State provides services to at-risk in9 fants and toddlers through the statewide system, a 

10 description of such services; 

11 ‘‘(5) a description of the State policies and pro12 cedures requiring the referral of a child under the 

13 age 3 who is involved in a substantiated case of child 

14 abuse or neglect consistent with section 635(a)(5) or 

15 who is born and identified with fetal alcohol effects, 

16 fetal alcohol syndrome, neonatal intoxication, or neo17 natal physical or neurological harm resulting from 

18 prenatal drug exposure; 

19 ‘‘(6) a description of the uses for which funds 

20 will be expended in accordance with this part; 

21 ‘‘(7) a description of the procedure used to en22 sure that resources are made available under this 

23 part for all geographic areas within the State; 

24 ‘‘(8) a description of State policies and proce25 dures that ensure that, prior to the adoption by the 
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1 State of any other policy or procedure necessary to 

2 meet the requirements of this part, there are public 

3 hearings, adequate notice of the hearings, and an 

4 opportunity for comment available to the general 

5 public, including individuals with disabilities and 

6 parents of infants and toddlers with disabilities; 

7 ‘‘(9) a description of the policies and procedures 

8 to be used—

9 ‘‘(A) to ensure a smooth transition for tod10 dlers receiving early intervention services under 

11 this part to preschool or other appropriate serv12 ices, including a description of how—

13 ‘‘(i) the families of such toddlers will 

14 be included in the transition plans required 

15 by subparagraph (C); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the lead agency designated or es17 tablished under section 635(a)(10) will—

18 ‘‘(I) notify the local educational 

19 agency for the area in which such a 

20 child resides that the child will shortly 

21 reach the age of eligibility for pre22 school services under part B, as deter23 mined in accordance with State law; 

24 ‘‘(II) in the case of a child who 

25 may be eligible for such preschool 
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1 services, with the approval of the fam2 ily of the child, convene a conference 

3 among the lead agency, the family, 

4 and the local educational agency at 

5 least 90 days (and at the discretion of 

6 all such parties, up to 6 months) be7 fore the child is eligible for the pre8 school services, to discuss any such 

9 services that the child may receive; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(III) in the case of a child who 

12 may not be eligible for such preschool 

13 services, with the approval of the fam14 ily, make reasonable efforts to con15 vene a conference among the lead 

16 agency, the family, and providers of 

17 other appropriate services for children 

18 who are not eligible for preschool serv19 ices under part B, to discuss the ap20 propriate services that the child may 

21 receive; 

22 ‘‘(B) to review the child’s program options 

23 for the period from the child’s third birthday 

24 through the remainder of the school year; and 

25 ‘‘(C) to establish a transition plan; 
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1 ‘‘(10) a description of State efforts to promote 

2 collaboration between Early Head Start programs, 

3 child care, and services under part C of this Act; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(11) such other information and assurances as 

6 the Secretary may reasonably require. 

7 ‘‘(b) ASSURANCES.—The application described in 

8 subsection (a)—

9 ‘‘(1) shall provide satisfactory assurance that 

10 Federal funds made available under section 643 to 

11 the State will be expended in accordance with this 

12 part; 

13 ‘‘(2) shall contain an assurance that the State 

14 will comply with the requirements of section 640; 

15 ‘‘(3) shall provide satisfactory assurance that 

16 the control of funds provided under section 643, and 

17 title to property derived from those funds, will be in 

18 a public agency for the uses and purposes provided 

19 in this part and that a public agency will administer 

20 such funds and property; 

21 ‘‘(4) shall provide for—

22 ‘‘(A) making such reports in such form 

23 and containing such information as the Sec24 retary may require to carry out the Secretary’s 

25 functions under this part; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) keeping such records and affording 

2 such access to them as the Secretary may find 

3 necessary to ensure the correctness and 

4 verification of those reports and proper dis5 bursement of Federal funds under this part; 

6 ‘‘(5) provide satisfactory assurance that Federal 

7 funds made available under section 643 to the 

8 State—

9 ‘‘(A) will not be commingled with State 

10 funds; and 

11 ‘‘(B) will be used so as to supplement the 

12 level of State and local funds expended for in13 fants and toddlers with disabilities and their 

14 families and in no case to supplant those State 

15 and local funds; 

16 ‘‘(6) shall provide satisfactory assurance that 

17 such fiscal control and fund accounting procedures 

18 will be adopted as may be necessary to ensure prop19 er disbursement of, and accounting for, Federal 

20 funds paid under section 643 to the State; 

21 ‘‘(7) shall provide satisfactory assurance that 

22 policies and procedures have been adopted to ensure 

23 meaningful involvement of underserved groups, in24 cluding minority, low-income, and rural families, in 
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1 the planning and implementation of all the require2 ments of this part; and 

3 ‘‘(8) shall contain such other information and 

4 assurances as the Secretary may reasonably require 

5 by regulation. 

6 ‘‘(c) STANDARD FOR DISAPPROVAL OF APPLICA7 TION.—The Secretary may not disapprove such an appli8 cation unless the Secretary determines, after notice and 

9 opportunity for a hearing, that the application fails to 

10 comply with the requirements of this section. 

11 ‘‘(d) SUBSEQUENT STATE APPLICATION.—If a State 

12 has on file with the Secretary a policy, procedure, or as13 surance that demonstrates that the State meets a require14 ment of this section, including any policy or procedure 

15 filed under this part (as in effect before the date of the 

16 enactment of the Improving Education Results for Chil17 dren With Disabilities Act of 2003), the Secretary shall 

18 consider the State to have met the requirement for pur19 poses of receiving a grant under this part. 

20 ‘‘(e) MODIFICATION OF APPLICATION.—An applica21 tion submitted by a State in accordance with this section 

22 shall remain in effect until the State submits to the Sec23 retary such modifications as the State determines nec24 essary. This section shall apply to a modification of an 
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1 application to the same extent and in the same manner 

2 as this section applies to the original application. 

3 ‘‘(f) MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY THE SEC4 RETARY.—The Secretary may require a State to modify 

5 its application under this section, but only to the extent 

6 necessary to ensure the State’s compliance with this part, 

7 if—

8 ‘‘(1) an amendment is made to this Act, or a 

9 Federal regulation issued under this Act; 

10 ‘‘(2) a new interpretation of this Act is made by 

11 a Federal court or the State’s highest court; or 

12 ‘‘(3) an official finding of noncompliance with 

13 Federal law or regulations is made with respect to 

14 the State. 

15 ‘‘SEC. 638. USES OF FUNDS. 

16 ‘‘In addition to using funds provided under section 

17 633 to maintain and implement the statewide system re18 quired by such section, a State may use such funds—

19 ‘‘(1) for direct early intervention services for in20 fants and toddlers with disabilities, and their fami21 lies, under this part that are not otherwise funded 

22 through other public or private sources; 

23 ‘‘(2) to expand and improve on services for in24 fants and toddlers and their families under this part 

25 that are otherwise available; 
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1 ‘‘(3) to provide a free appropriate public edu2 cation, in accordance with part B, to children with 

3 disabilities from their third birthday to the begin4 ning of the following school year; and 

5 ‘‘(4) in any State that does not provide services 

6 for at-risk infants and toddlers under section 

7 637(a)(4), to strengthen the statewide system by ini8 tiating, expanding, or improving collaborative efforts 

9 related to at-risk infants and toddlers, including es10 tablishing linkages with appropriate public or private 

11 community-based organizations, services, and per12 sonnel for the purposes of—

13 ‘‘(A) identifying and evaluating at-risk in14 fants and toddlers; 

15 ‘‘(B) making referrals of the infants and 

16 toddlers identified and evaluated under sub17 paragraph (A); and 

18 ‘‘(C) conducting periodic followup on each 

19 such referral to determine if the status of the 

20 infant or toddler involved has changed with re21 spect to the eligibility of the infant or toddler 

22 for services under this part.’’. 
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1 SEC. 302. SECTIONS 641 THROUGH 645 OF THE INDIVIDUALS 

2 WITH DISABILITIES EDUCATION ACT. 

3 Sections 641 through 645 of the Individuals with 

4 Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1441–1445) are 

5 amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 641. STATE INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL. 

7 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that desires to re9 ceive financial assistance under this part shall estab10 lish a State interagency coordinating council. 

11 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The council shall be ap12 pointed by the Governor. In making appointments to 

13 the council, the Governor shall ensure that the mem14 bership of the council reasonably represents the pop15 ulation of the State. 

16 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Governor shall des17 ignate a member of the council to serve as the chair18 person of the council, or shall require the council to 

19 so designate such a member. Any member of the 

20 council who is a representative of the lead agency 

21 designated under section 635(a)(10) may not serve 

22 as the chairperson of the council. 

23 ‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The council shall be com25 posed as follows: 
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1 ‘‘(A) PARENTS.—At least 20 percent of 

2 the members shall be parents of infants or tod3 dlers with disabilities or children with disabil4 ities aged 12 or younger, with knowledge of, or 

5 experience with, programs for infants and tod6 dlers with disabilities. At least one such mem7 ber shall be a parent of an infant or toddler 

8 with a disability or a child with a disability 

9 aged 6 or younger. 

10 ‘‘(B) SERVICE PROVIDERS.—At least 20 

11 percent of the members shall be public or pri12 vate providers of early intervention services. 

13 ‘‘(C) STATE LEGISLATURE.—At least one 

14 member shall be from the State legislature. 

15 ‘‘(D) PERSONNEL PREPARATION.—At least 

16 one member shall be involved in personnel prep17 aration. 

18 ‘‘(E) AGENCY FOR EARLY INTERVENTION

19 SERVICES.—At least one member shall be from 

20 each of the State agencies involved in the provi21 sion of, or payment for, early intervention serv22 ices to infants and toddlers with disabilities and 

23 their families and shall have sufficient authority 

24 to engage in policy planning and implementa25 tion on behalf of such agencies. 
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1 ‘‘(F) AGENCY FOR PRESCHOOL SERV2 ICES.—At least one member shall be from the 

3 State educational agency responsible for pre4 school services to children with disabilities and 

5 shall have sufficient authority to engage in pol6 icy planning and implementation on behalf of 

7 such agency. 

8 ‘‘(G) AGENCY FOR HEALTH INSURANCE.—

9 At least one member shall be from the agency 

10 responsible for the State governance of health 

11 insurance. 

12 ‘‘(H) HEAD START AGENCY.—At least one 

13 representative from a Head Start agency or 

14 program in the State. 

15 ‘‘(I) CHILD CARE AGENCY.—At least one 

16 representative from a State agency responsible 

17 for child care.

18 ‘‘(J) MENTAL HEALTH AGENCY.—At least 

19 one representative from the State agency re20 sponsible for children’s mental health. 

21 ‘‘(K) CHILD WELFARE AGENCY.—At least 

22 one representative from the State agency re23 sponsible for child protective services. 

24 ‘‘(L) OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR FOR

25 THE EDUCATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND
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1 YOUTH.—At least one representative designated 

2 by the Office of the Coordinator. 

3 ‘‘(2) OTHER MEMBERS.—The council may in4 clude other members selected by the Governor, in5 cluding a representative from the Bureau of Indian 

6 Affairs, or where there is no BIA-operated or BIA7 funded school, from the Indian Health Service or the 

8 tribe or tribal council. 

9 ‘‘(c) MEETINGS.—The council shall meet at least 

10 quarterly and in such places as it deems necessary. The 

11 meetings shall be publicly announced, and, to the extent 

12 appropriate, open and accessible to the general public. 

13 ‘‘(d) MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY.—Subject to the ap14 proval of the Governor, the council may prepare and ap15 prove a budget using funds under this part to conduct 

16 hearings and forums, to reimburse members of the council 

17 for reasonable and necessary expenses for attending coun18 cil meetings and performing council duties (including child 

19 care for parent representatives), to pay compensation to 

20 a member of the council if the member is not employed 

21 or must forfeit wages from other employment when per22 forming official council business, to hire staff, and to ob23 tain the services of such professional, technical, and cler24 ical personnel as may be necessary to carry out its func25 tions under this part. 
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1 ‘‘(e) FUNCTIONS OF COUNCIL.—

2 ‘‘(1) DUTIES.—The council shall—

3 ‘‘(A) advise and assist the lead agency des4 ignated or established under section 635(a)(10) 

5 in the performance of the responsibilities set 

6 forth in such section, particularly the identifica7 tion of the sources of fiscal and other support 

8 for services for early intervention programs, as9 signment of financial responsibility to the ap10 propriate agency, and the promotion of the 

11 interagency agreements; 

12 ‘‘(B) advise and assist the lead agency in 

13 the preparation of applications and amend14 ments thereto; 

15 ‘‘(C) advise and assist the State edu16 cational agency regarding the transition of tod17 dlers with disabilities to preschool and other ap18 propriate services; and 

19 ‘‘(D) prepare and submit an annual report 

20 to the Governor and to the Secretary on the 

21 status of early intervention programs for in22 fants and toddlers with disabilities and their 

23 families operated within the State. 

24 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITY.—The council may 

25 advise and assist the lead agency and the State edu-
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1 cational agency regarding the provision of appro2 priate services for children from birth through age 

3 5. The council may advise appropriate agencies in 

4 the State with respect to the integration of services 

5 for infants and toddlers with disabilities and at-risk 

6 infants and toddlers and their families, regardless of 

7 whether at-risk infants and toddlers are eligible for 

8 early intervention services in the State. 

9 ‘‘(f) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—No member of the 

10 council shall cast a vote on any matter that would provide 

11 direct financial benefit to that member or otherwise give 

12 the appearance of a conflict of interest under State law. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 642. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION. 

14 ‘‘Sections 616, 617, and 618 shall, to the extent not 

15 inconsistent with this part, apply to the program author16 ized by this part, except that—

17 ‘‘(1) any reference in such sections to a State 

18 educational agency shall be considered to be a ref19 erence to a State’s lead agency established or des20 ignated under section 635(a)(10); 

21 ‘‘(2) any reference in such sections to a local 

22 educational agency, educational service agency, or a 

23 State agency shall be considered to be a reference to 

24 an early intervention service provider under this 

25 part; and 
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1 ‘‘(3) any reference to the education of children 

2 with disabilities or the education of all children with 

3 disabilities shall be considered to be a reference to 

4 the provision of appropriate early intervention serv5 ices to infants and toddlers with disabilities. 

6 ‘‘SEC. 643. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS. 

7 ‘‘(a) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR OUTLYING

8 AREAS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the sums appro10 priated to carry out this part for any fiscal year, the 

11 Secretary may reserve up to one percent for pay12 ments to Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Is13 lands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar14 iana Islands in accordance with their respective 

15 needs. 

16 ‘‘(2) CONSOLIDATION OF FUNDS.—The provi17 sions of Public Law 95–134, permitting the consoli18 dation of grants to the outlying areas, shall not 

19 apply to funds those areas receive under this part. 

20 ‘‘(b) PAYMENTS TO INDIANS.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, sub22 ject to this subsection, make payments to the Sec23 retary of the Interior to be distributed to tribes, 

24 tribal organizations (as defined under section 4 of 

25 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist-
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1 ance Act), or consortia of the above entities for the 

2 coordination of assistance in the provision of early 

3 intervention services by the States to infants and 

4 toddlers with disabilities and their families on res5 ervations served by elementary and secondary 

6 schools for Indian children operated or funded by 

7 the Department of the Interior. The amount of such 

8 payment for any fiscal year shall be 1.25 percent of 

9 the aggregate of the amount available to all States 

10 under this part for such fiscal year. 

11 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—For each fiscal year, the 

12 Secretary of the Interior shall distribute the entire 

13 payment received under paragraph (1) by providing 

14 to each tribe, tribal organization, or consortium an 

15 amount based on the number of infants and toddlers 

16 residing on the reservation, as determined annually, 

17 divided by the total number of such children served 

18 by all tribes, tribal organizations, or consortia. 

19 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION.—To receive a payment 

20 under this subsection, the tribe, tribal organization, 

21 or consortium shall submit such information to the 

22 Secretary of the Interior as is needed to determine 

23 the amounts to be distributed under paragraph (2). 

24 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds received by a 

25 tribe, tribal organization, or consortium shall be 
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1 used to assist States in child find, screening, and 

2 other procedures for the early identification of In3 dian children under 3 years of age and for parent 

4 training. Such funds may also be used to provide 

5 early intervention services in accordance with this 

6 part. Such activities may be carried out directly or 

7 through contracts or cooperative agreements with 

8 the BIA, local educational agencies, and other public 

9 or private nonprofit organizations. The tribe, tribal 

10 organization, or consortium is encouraged to involve 

11 Indian parents in the development and implementa12 tion of these activities. The above entities shall, as 

13 appropriate, make referrals to local, State, or Fed14 eral entities for the provision of services or further 

15 diagnosis. 

16 ‘‘(5) REPORTS.—To be eligible to receive a 

17 grant under paragraph (2), a tribe, tribal organiza18 tion, or consortium shall make an annual report to 

19 the Secretary of the Interior of activities undertaken 

20 under this subsection, including the number of con21 tracts and cooperative agreements entered into, the 

22 number of children contacted and receiving services 

23 for each year, and the estimated number of children 

24 needing services during the year following the year 

25 in which the report is made. The Secretary of the 
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1 Interior shall include a summary of this information 

2 on an annual basis to the Secretary of Education 

3 along with such other information as required under 

4 section 611(h)(3)(E). The Secretary of Education 

5 may require any additional information from the 

6 Secretary of the Interior. 

7 ‘‘(6) PROHIBITED USES OF FUNDS.—None of 

8 the funds under this subsection may be used by the 

9 Secretary of the Interior for administrative pur10 poses, including child count, and the provision of 

11 technical assistance. 

12 ‘‘(c) STATE ALLOTMENTS.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graphs (2) and (3) from the funds remaining for 

15 each fiscal year after the reservation and payments 

16 under subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary shall 

17 first allot to each State an amount that bears the 

18 same ratio to the amount of such remainder as the 

19 number of infants and toddlers in the State bears to 

20 the number of infants and toddlers in all States. 

21 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM ALLOTMENTS.—Except as pro22 vided in paragraph (3) no State shall receive an 

23 amount under this section for any fiscal year that is 

24 less than the greater of—
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1 ‘‘(A) one-half of one percent of the remain2 ing amount described in paragraph (1); or 

3 ‘‘(B) $500,000. 

4 ‘‘(3) RATABLE REDUCTION.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the sums made 

6 available under this part for any fiscal year are 

7 insufficient to pay the full amounts that all 

8 States are eligible to receive under this sub9 section for such year, the Secretary shall rat10 ably reduce the allotments to such States for 

11 such year. 

12 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—If additional 

13 funds become available for making payments 

14 under this subsection for a fiscal year, allot15 ments that were reduced under subparagraph 

16 (A) shall be increased on the same basis they 

17 were reduced. 

18 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this 

19 subsection—

20 ‘‘(A) the terms ‘infants’ and ‘toddlers’ 

21 mean children under 3 years of age; and 

22 ‘‘(B) the term ‘State’ means each of the 50 

23 States, the District of Columbia, and the Com24 monwealth of Puerto Rico. 
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1 ‘‘(d) REALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.—If a State elects 

2 not to receive its allotment under subsection (c), the Sec3 retary shall reallot, among the remaining States, amounts 

4 from such State in accordance with such subsection. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 644. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 ‘‘For the purpose of carrying out this part, there are 

7 authorized to be appropriated $447,000,000 for fiscal year 

8 2004 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 

9 fiscal years 2005 through 2009.’’. 

10 TITLE IV—NATIONAL ACTIVITIES 

11 TO IMPROVE EDUCATION OF 

12 CHILDREN WITH DISABIL13 ITIES 

14 SEC. 401. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE EDUCATION 

15 OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES. 

16 Part D of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

17 Act (20 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) is amended to read as fol18 lows:

19 ‘‘PART D—NATIONAL ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE 

20 EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES 

21 ‘‘SEC. 651. FINDINGS. 

22 ‘‘The Congress finds the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) The Federal Government has an ongoing 

24 obligation to support activities that contribute to 

25 positive results for children with disabilities, ena-
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1 bling them to lead productive and independent adult 

2 lives. 

3 ‘‘(2) Systemic change benefiting all students, 

4 including children with disabilities, requires the in5 volvement of States, local educational agencies, par6 ents, individuals with disabilities and their families, 

7 teachers and other service providers, and other inter8 ested individuals and organizations, to develop and 

9 implement comprehensive strategies that improve 

10 educational results for children with disabilities. 

11 ‘‘(3) State educational agencies, in partnership 

12 with local educational agencies, parents of children 

13 with disabilities, and other individuals and organiza14 tions, are in the best position to improve education 

15 for children with disabilities and to address their 

16 special needs. 

17 ‘‘(4) An effective educational system serving 

18 students with disabilities should—

19 ‘‘(A) maintain high academic standards 

20 and clear achievement goals for children, con21 sistent with the standards and expectations for 

22 all students in the educational system, and pro23 vide for appropriate and effective strategies and 

24 methods to ensure that all children with disabil-
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1 ities have the opportunity to achieve those 

2 standards and goals; 

3 ‘‘(B) clearly define, in objective, measur4 able terms, the school and post-school results 

5 that children with disabilities are expected to 

6 achieve; and 

7 ‘‘(C) promote transition services, as de8 scribed in section 602(31), and coordinate State 

9 and local education, social, health, mental 

10 health, and other services, to address the full 

11 range of student needs, particularly the needs 

12 of children with disabilities who need significant 

13 levels of support to participate and learn in 

14 school and the community. 

15 ‘‘(5) The availability of an adequate number of 

16 qualified personnel is critical in order to serve effec17 tively children with disabilities, fill leadership posi18 tions in administrative and direct-service capacities, 

19 provide teacher training, and conduct high-quality 

20 research to improve special education. 

21 ‘‘(6) High-quality, comprehensive professional 

22 development programs are essential to ensure that 

23 the persons responsible for the education or transi24 tion of children with disabilities possess the skills 
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1 and knowledge necessary to address the educational 

2 and related needs of those children. 

3 ‘‘(7) Models of professional development should 

4 be scientifically based and reflect successful prac5 tices, including strategies for recruiting, preparing, 

6 and retaining personnel. 

7 ‘‘(8) Continued support is essential for the de8 velopment and maintenance of a coordinated and 

9 high-quality program of research to inform success10 ful teaching practices and model curricula for edu11 cating children with disabilities. 

12 ‘‘(9) A comprehensive research agenda should 

13 be established and pursued to promote the highest 

14 quality and rigor in research on special education 

15 and related services, and to address the full range 

16 of issues facing children with disabilities, parents of 

17 children with disabilities, school personnel, and oth18 ers. 

19 ‘‘(10) Technical assistance, support, and dis20 semination activities are necessary to ensure that 

21 parts B and C are fully implemented and achieve 

22 quality early intervention, educational, and transi23 tional results for children with disabilities and their 

24 families. 
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1 ‘‘(11) Parents, teachers, administrators, and re2 lated services personnel need technical assistance 

3 and information in a timely, coordinated, and acces4 sible manner in order to improve early intervention, 

5 educational, and transitional services and results at 

6 the State and local levels for children with disabil7 ities and their families. 

8 ‘‘(12) Parent training and information activities 

9 assist parents of a child with a disability in dealing 

10 with the multiple pressures of parenting such a child 

11 and are of particular importance in—

12 ‘‘(A) creating and preserving constructive 

13 relationships between parents of children with 

14 disabilities and schools by facilitating open com15 munication between such parents and schools, 

16 encouraging dispute resolution at the earliest 

17 point in time possible, and discouraging the es18 calation of an adversarial process between such 

19 parents and schools; 

20 ‘‘(B) ensuring the involvement of such par21 ents in planning and decision-making with re22 spect to early intervention, educational, and 

23 transitional services; 
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1 ‘‘(C) achieving high-quality early interven2 tion, educational, and transitional results for 

3 children with disabilities; 

4 ‘‘(D) providing such parents information 

5 on their rights, protections, and responsibilities 

6 under this Act to ensure improved early inter7 vention, educational, and transitional results for 

8 children with disabilities; 

9 ‘‘(E) assisting such parents in the develop10 ment of skills to participate effectively in the 

11 education and development of their children and 

12 in the transitions described in section 602(31); 

13 ‘‘(F) supporting the roles of such parents 

14 as participants within partnerships seeking to 

15 improve early intervention, educational, and 

16 transitional services and results for children 

17 with disabilities and their families; and 

18 ‘‘(G) supporting those parents who may 

19 have limited access to services and supports due 

20 to economic, cultural, or linguistic barriers. 

21 ‘‘(13) Support is needed to improve techno22 logical resources and integrate technology into the 

23 lives of children with disabilities, parents of children 

24 with disabilities, school personnel, and others 
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1 through curricula, services, and assistive tech2 nologies. 

3 ‘‘Subpart 1—State Professional Development Grants 

4 ‘‘SEC. 652. PURPOSE. 

5 ‘‘The purpose of this subpart is to assist State edu6 cational agencies in reforming and improving their sys7 tems for professional development in early intervention, 

8 educational, and related and transition services in order 

9 to improve results for children with disabilities. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 653. ELIGIBILITY AND COLLABORATIVE PROCESS. 

11 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A State educational 

12 agency may apply for a grant under this subpart for a 

13 period of not less than 1 year and not more than 5 years. 

14 ‘‘(b) PARTNERS.—

15 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED PARTNERS.—In order to be 

16 considered for a grant under this subpart, a State 

17 educational agency shall enter into a partnership 

18 agreement with local educational agencies, at least 

19 one institution of higher education in the State, and 

20 other State agencies involved in, or concerned with, 

21 the education of children with disabilities. 

22 ‘‘(2) OPTIONAL PARTNERS.—In addition, a 

23 State educational agency may enter into a partner24 ship agreement with any of the following: 

25 ‘‘(A) The Governor. 
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1 ‘‘(B) Parents of children with disabilities 

2 ages birth through 26. 

3 ‘‘(C) Parents of nondisabled children ages 

4 birth through 26. 

5 ‘‘(D) Individuals with disabilities. 

6 ‘‘(E) Organizations representing individ7 uals with disabilities and their parents, such as 

8 parent training and information centers. 

9 ‘‘(F) Community-based and other non10 profit organizations involved in the education 

11 and employment of individuals with disabilities. 

12 ‘‘(G) The lead State agency for part C. 

13 ‘‘(H) General and special education teach14 ers, related services personnel, and early inter15 vention personnel. 

16 ‘‘(I) The State advisory panel established 

17 under part C. 

18 ‘‘(J) The State interagency coordinating 

19 council established under part C. 

20 ‘‘(K) Institutions of higher education with21 in the State. 

22 ‘‘(L) Individuals knowledgeable about voca23 tional education. 

24 ‘‘(M) The State agency for higher edu25 cation. 
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1 ‘‘(N) The State vocational rehabilitation 

2 agency. 

3 ‘‘(O) Public agencies with jurisdiction in 

4 the areas of health, mental health, social serv5 ices, and juvenile justice. 

6 ‘‘(P) Other providers of professional devel7 opment that work with students with disabil8 ities. 

9 ‘‘(Q) Other individuals. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 654. APPLICATIONS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

12 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.—A State educational agency 

13 that desires to receive a grant under this subpart 

14 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 

15 time, in such manner, and including such informa16 tion as the Secretary may require. 

17 ‘‘(2) STATE PLAN.—The application shall in18 clude a plan that addresses the State and local 

19 needs for the professional development of adminis20 trators, principals, teachers, related services per21 sonnel, and individuals who provide direct supple22 mentary aids and services to children with disabil23 ities, and that—

24 ‘‘(A) is integrated, to the maximum extent 

25 possible, with State plans under the Elementary 
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1 and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the Re2 habilitation Act of 1973, and the Higher Edu3 cation Act of 1965, as appropriate; and 

4 ‘‘(B) is designed to enable the State to 

5 meet the requirements of section 612(a)(15) of 

6 this Act. 

7 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS OF STATE PLAN.—Each State plan 

8 shall—

9 ‘‘(1) describe a partnership agreement that—

10 ‘‘(A) specifies—

11 ‘‘(i) the nature and extent of the part12 nership among the State educational agen13 cy, local educational agencies, and other 

14 State agencies involved in, or concerned 

15 with, the education of children with disabil16 ities, and the respective roles of each mem17 ber of the partnership; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) how such agencies will work in 

19 partnership with other persons and organi20 zations involved in, and concerned with, 

21 the education of children with disabilities, 

22 including the respective roles of each of 

23 these persons and organizations; and 

24 ‘‘(B) is in effect for the period of the 

25 grant; 
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1 ‘‘(2) describe how grant funds, including part B 

2 funds retained for use at the State level under sec3 tions 611(e) and 619(d), and other Federal funds 

4 will be used to support activities conducted under 

5 this subpart; 

6 ‘‘(3) describe the strategies the State will use to 

7 implement the plan to improve results for children 

8 with disabilities, including—

9 ‘‘(A) how the State will align its profes10 sional development plan with the plans sub11 mitted by the State under sections 1111 and 

12 2112 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu13 cation Act of 1965; 

14 ‘‘(B) how the State will provide technical 

15 assistance to local educational agencies and 

16 schools to improve the quality of professional 

17 development available to meet the needs of per18 sonnel that serve children with disabilities; and 

19 ‘‘(C) how the State will assess, on a reg20 ular basis, the extent to which the strategies 

21 implemented under this subpart have been ef22 fective in meeting the achievement goals and in23 dicators in section 612(a)(16); 
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1 ‘‘(4) describe, as appropriate, how the strate2 gies described in paragraph (3) will be coordinated 

3 with public and private sector resources; and 

4 ‘‘(5) include an assurance that the State will 

5 use funds received under this subpart to carry out 

6 each of the activities specified in the plan. 

7 ‘‘(c) COMPETITIVE AWARDS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

9 grants under this subpart on a competitive basis. 

10 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary may give pri11 ority to applications—

12 ‘‘(A) on the basis of need; and 

13 ‘‘(B) that provide for the establishment of 

14 professional development programs regarding 

15 methods of early and appropriate identification 

16 of children with disabilities. 

17 ‘‘(d) PEER REVIEW.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall evalu19 ate applications under this subpart using a panel of 

20 experts who are qualified by virtue of their training, 

21 expertise, or experience. 

22 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION OF PANEL.—A majority of a 

23 panel described in paragraph (1) shall be composed 

24 of individuals who are not employees of the Federal 

25 Government. 
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1 ‘‘(3) PAYMENT OF FEES AND EXPENSES OF

2 CERTAIN MEMBERS.—The Secretary may use avail3 able funds appropriated to carry out this subpart to 

4 pay the expenses and fees of panel members who are 

5 not employees of the Federal Government. 

6 ‘‘(e) REPORTING PROCEDURES.—Each State edu7 cational agency that receives a grant under this subpart 

8 shall submit annual performance reports to the Secretary. 

9 The reports shall—

10 ‘‘(1) describe the progress of the State in imple11 menting its plan; 

12 ‘‘(2) analyze the effectiveness of the State’s ac13 tivities under this subpart and of the State’s strate14 gies for meeting its goals under section 612(a)(16); 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(3) identify any changes in such strategies 

17 needed to improve its performance. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 655. USE OF FUNDS. 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

20 ‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES.—A State educational agency 

21 that receives a grant under this subpart shall use 

22 the grant funds, subject to subsection (b), for the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(A) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT.—
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1 ‘‘(i) Carrying out programs that sup2 port the professional development of early 

3 intervention personnel, related services per4 sonnel, and both special education and reg5 ular education teachers of children with 

6 disabilities, such as programs that—

7 ‘‘(I) provide teacher mentoring, 

8 team teaching, reduced class sched9 ules, and intensive professional devel10 opment; 

11 ‘‘(II) use standards or assess12 ments for guiding beginning teachers 

13 that are consistent with challenging 

14 State student academic achievement 

15 standards and with the definition of 

16 professional development in section 

17 9101 of the Elementary and Sec18 ondary Education Act of 1965; 

19 ‘‘(III) promote collaborative and 

20 consultive models of providing special 

21 education ad related services; and 

22 ‘‘(IV) increase understanding as 

23 to the most appropriate placements 

24 and services for all students to reduce 

25 significant racial and ethnic 
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1 disproportionality in eligibility, place2 ment, and disciplinary actions. 

3 ‘‘(ii) Encouraging and supporting the 

4 training of special education and regular 

5 education teachers and administrators to 

6 effectively integrate technology into cur7 ricula and instruction, including training 

8 to improve the ability to collect, manage, 

9 and analyze data to improve teaching, deci10 sionmaking, school improvement efforts, 

11 and accountability. 

12 ‘‘(iii) Providing professional develop13 ment activities that improve the knowledge 

14 of special education and regular education 

15 teachers concerning—

16 ‘‘(I) the academic and develop17 mental needs of students with disabil18 ities; and 

19 ‘‘(II) effective instructional strat20 egies, methods, and skills, use of chal21 lenging State academic content stand22 ards and student academic achieve23 ment standards, and use of State as24 sessments, to improve teaching prac-
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1 tices and student academic achieve2 ment. 

3 ‘‘(iv) Providing professional develop4 ment activities that—

5 ‘‘(I) improve the knowledge of 

6 special education and regular edu7 cation teachers and principals and, in 

8 appropriate cases, related services 

9 personnel and paraprofessionals, con10 cerning effective instructional prac11 tices; 

12 ‘‘(II) provide training in how to 

13 teach and address the needs of stu14 dents with different learning styles; 

15 ‘‘(III) involve collaborative 

16 groups of teachers and administra17 tors; 

18 ‘‘(IV) provide training in meth19 ods of—

20 ‘‘(aa) positive behavior inter21 ventions and supports to improve 

22 student behavior in the class23 room; 
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1 ‘‘(bb) scientifically based 

2 reading instruction, including 

3 early literacy instruction; and 

4 ‘‘(cc) early and appropriate 

5 interventions to identify and help 

6 students with disabilities; 

7 ‘‘(V) provide training to enable 

8 special education and regular edu9 cation teachers, related services per10 sonnel, and principals to involve par11 ents in their child’s education, espe12 cially parents of low-income and lim13 ited English proficient children with 

14 disabilities; or 

15 ‘‘(VI) train administrators and 

16 other relevant school personnel in con17 ducting facilitated individualized edu18 cation program meetings. 

19 ‘‘(v) Developing and implementing ini20 tiatives to promote retention of highly 

21 qualified special education teachers, includ22 ing programs that provide—

23 ‘‘(I) teacher mentoring from ex24 emplary special education teachers, 

25 principals, or superintendents; 
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1 ‘‘(II) induction and support for 

2 special education teachers during their 

3 first 3 years of employment as teach4 ers; or 

5 ‘‘(III) incentives, including finan6 cial incentives, to retain special edu7 cation teachers who have a record of 

8 success in helping students with dis9 abilities improve their academic 

10 achievement. 

11 ‘‘(vi) Carrying out programs and ac12 tivities that are designed to improve the 

13 quality of the teacher force that serves 

14 children with disabilities, such as—

15 ‘‘(I) innovative professional devel16 opment programs (which may be pro17 vided through partnerships including 

18 institutions of higher education), in19 cluding programs that train teachers 

20 and principals to integrate technology 

21 into curricula and instruction to im22 prove teaching, learning, and tech23 nology literacy, are consistent with the 

24 requirements of section 9101 of the 

25 Elementary and Secondary Education 
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1 Act of 1965, and are coordinated with 

2 activities carried out under this part; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(II) development and use of 

5 proven, cost-effective strategies for the 

6 implementation of professional devel7 opment activities, such as through the 

8 use of technology and distance learn9 ing. 

10 ‘‘(B) STATE ACTIVITIES.—

11 ‘‘(i) Reforming special education and 

12 regular education teacher certification (in13 cluding recertification) or licensing require14 ments to ensure that—

15 ‘‘(I) special education and reg16 ular education teachers have the 

17 training and information necessary, 

18 including an understanding of the lat19 est scientifically valid education re20 search and its applicability, to address 

21 the wide variety of needs of children 

22 with disabilities across disability cat23 egories; 

24 ‘‘(II) special education and reg25 ular education teachers have the nec-
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1 essary subject matter knowledge and 

2 teaching skills in the academic sub3 jects that the teachers teach; 

4 ‘‘(III) special education and reg5 ular education teacher certification 

6 (including recertification) or licensing 

7 requirements are aligned with chal8 lenging State academic content stand9 ards; and 

10 ‘‘(IV) special education and reg11 ular education teachers have the sub12 ject matter knowledge and teaching 

13 skills, including technology literacy, 

14 necessary to help students meet chal15 lenging State student academic 

16 achievement standards. 

17 ‘‘(ii) Carrying out programs that es18 tablish, expand, or improve alternative 

19 routes for State certification of special 

20 education teachers for individuals who 

21 demonstrate the potential to become highly 

22 effective special education teachers, such 

23 as individuals with a baccalaureate or mas24 ter’s degree (including mid-career profes25 sionals from other occupations), para-
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1 professionals, former military personnel, 

2 and recent college or university graduates 

3 with records of academic distinction. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Carrying out teacher advance5 ment initiatives for special education 

6 teachers that promote professional growth 

7 and emphasize multiple career paths (such 

8 as paths to becoming a career teacher, 

9 mentor teacher, or exemplary teacher) and 

10 pay differentiation. 

11 ‘‘(iv) Developing and implementing 

12 mechanisms to assist local educational 

13 agencies and schools in effectively recruit14 ing and retaining highly qualified special 

15 education teachers. 

16 ‘‘(v) Reforming tenure systems, imple17 menting teacher testing for subject matter 

18 knowledge, and implementing teacher test19 ing for State certification or licensing, con20 sistent with title II of the Higher Edu21 cation Act of 1965. 

22 ‘‘(vi) Developing and implementing 

23 mechanisms to assist schools in effectively 

24 recruiting and retaining highly qualified 

25 special education teachers. 
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1 ‘‘(vii) Funding projects to promote 

2 reciprocity of teacher certification or li3 censing between or among States for spe4 cial education teachers, except that no reci5 procity agreement developed under this 

6 clause or developed using funds provided 

7 under this subpart may lead to the weak8 ening of any State teaching certification or 

9 licensing requirement. 

10 ‘‘(viii) Developing or assisting local 

11 educational agencies to serve children with 

12 disabilities through the development and 

13 use of proven, innovative strategies to de14 liver intensive professional development 

15 programs that are both cost-effective and 

16 easily accessible, such as strategies that in17 volve delivery through the use of tech18 nology, peer networks, and distance learn19 ing. 

20 ‘‘(ix) Developing, or assisting local 

21 educational agencies in developing, merit22 based performance systems, and strategies 

23 that provide differential and bonus pay for 

24 special education teachers. 
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1 ‘‘(x) Supporting activities that ensure 

2 that teachers are able to use challenging 

3 State academic content standards and stu4 dent academic achievement standards, and 

5 State assessments, to improve instructional 

6 practices and improve the academic 

7 achievement of children with disabilities. 

8 ‘‘(xi) Coordinating with, and expand9 ing, centers established under section 

10 2113(c)(18) of the Elementary and Sec11 ondary Education Act of 1965 to benefit 

12 special education teachers. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTS AND SUBGRANTS.—Each such 

14 State educational agency—

15 ‘‘(A) shall, consistent with its partnership 

16 agreement under section 654(b)(1), award con17 tracts or subgrants to local educational agen18 cies, institutions of higher education, and par19 ent training and information centers, as appro20 priate, to carry out its State plan under this 

21 subpart; and 

22 ‘‘(B) may award contracts and subgrants 

23 to other public and private entities, including 

24 the lead agency under part C, to carry out such 

25 plan. 
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1 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP2 MENT.—A State educational agency that receives a grant 

3 under this subpart shall use—

4 ‘‘(1) not less than 90 percent of the funds it re5 ceives under the grant for any fiscal year for activi6 ties under subsection (a)(1)(A); and 

7 ‘‘(2) not more than 10 percent of the funds it 

8 receives under the grant for any fiscal year for ac9 tivities under subsection (a)(1)(B). 

10 ‘‘(c) GRANTS TO OUTLYING AREAS.—Public Law 95–

11 134, permitting the consolidation of grants to the outlying 

12 areas, shall not apply to funds received under this subpart. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 656. STATE GRANT AMOUNTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make a 

15 grant to each State educational agency whose application 

16 the Secretary has selected for funding under this subpart 

17 in an amount for each fiscal year that is—

18 ‘‘(1) not less than $500,000, nor more than 

19 $2,000,000, in the case of the 50 States, the Dis20 trict of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto 

21 Rico; and 

22 ‘‘(2) not less than $80,000, in the case of an 

23 outlying area. 

24 ‘‘(b) FACTORS.—The Secretary shall set the amount 

25 of each grant under subsection (a) after considering—
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1 ‘‘(1) the amount of funds available for making 

2 the grants; 

3 ‘‘(2) the relative population of the State or out4 lying area; and 

5 ‘‘(3) the types of activities proposed by the 

6 State or outlying area, including—

7 ‘‘(A) the alignment of proposed activities 

8 with paragraphs (14) and (15) of section 

9 612(a); 

10 ‘‘(B) the alignment of proposed activities 

11 with the plans submitted under sections 1111 

12 and 2112 of the Elementary and Secondary 

13 Education Act of 1965; and 

14 ‘‘(C) the use, as appropriate, of scientif15 ically based research. 

16 ‘‘SEC. 657. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

18 this subpart $44,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such 

19 sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2005 

20 through 2009. 
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1 ‘‘Subpart 2—Scientifically Based Research; Technical 

2 Assistance; Model Demonstration Projects; Dis3 semination of Information; and Personnel Prep4 aration Programs 

5 ‘‘SEC. 661. PURPOSE. 

6 ‘‘The purpose of this subpart is to provide Federal 

7 funding for scientifically based research, technical assist8 ance, model demonstration projects, information dissemi9 nation, and personnel preparation programs to improve 

10 early intervention, educational, and transitional results for 

11 children with disabilities. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 662. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

13 ‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

15 and implement a comprehensive plan for activities 

16 carried out under this subpart (other than section 

17 663) in order to enhance the provision of edu18 cational, related, transitional, and early intervention 

19 services to children with disabilities under parts B 

20 and C. The plan shall include mechanisms to ad21 dress educational, related services, transitional, and 

22 early intervention needs identified by State edu23 cational agencies in applications submitted under 

24 subpart 1. 
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1 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretary shall 

2 provide a public comment period of at least 30 days 

3 on the plan. 

4 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—In imple5 menting the plan, the Secretary shall, to the extent 

6 appropriate, ensure that funds are awarded to re7 cipients under this subpart to carry out activities 

8 that benefit, directly or indirectly, children with dis9 abilities of all ages. 

10 ‘‘(4) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 

11 shall annually report to the Congress on the Sec12 retary’s activities under this subsection, including an 

13 initial report not later than the date that is 12 

14 months after the date of the enactment of Improving 

15 Education Results for Children With Disabilities Act 

16 of 2003. 

17 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro19 vided in this subpart, the following entities are eligi20 ble to apply for a grant, contract, or cooperative 

21 agreement under this subpart: 

22 ‘‘(A) A State educational agency. 

23 ‘‘(B) A local educational agency. 

24 ‘‘(C) A public charter school that is a local 

25 educational agency under State law. 
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1 ‘‘(D) An institution of higher education. 

2 ‘‘(E) Any other public agency. 

3 ‘‘(F) A private nonprofit organization. 

4 ‘‘(G) An outlying area. 

5 ‘‘(H) An Indian tribe or a tribal organiza6 tion (as defined under section 4 of the Indian 

7 Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

8 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)). 

9 ‘‘(I) A for-profit organization if the Sec10 retary finds it appropriate given the specific 

11 purpose of the competition. 

12 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—The Secretary may limit 

13 the entities eligible for an award of a grant, con14 tract, or cooperative agreement to one or more cat15 egories of eligible entities described in paragraph 

16 (1). 

17 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL POPULATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION REQUIREMENT.—In making 

19 an award of a grant, contract, or cooperative agree20 ment under this subpart, the Secretary shall, as ap21 propriate, require an applicant to demonstrate how 

22 the applicant will address the needs of children with 

23 disabilities from minority backgrounds. 

24 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED OUTREACH AND TECHNICAL AS25 SISTANCE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 
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1 this Act, the Secretary shall reserve at least two per2 cent of the total amount of funds appropriated to 

3 carry out this subpart for either or both of the fol4 lowing activities: 

5 ‘‘(A) Providing outreach and technical as6 sistance to historically black colleges and uni7 versities, and to institutions of higher education 

8 with minority enrollments of at least 25 per9 cent, to promote the participation of such col10 leges, universities, and institutions in activities 

11 under this subpart. 

12 ‘‘(B) Enabling historically black colleges 

13 and universities, and the institutions described 

14 in subparagraph (A), to assist other colleges, 

15 universities, institutions, and agencies in im16 proving educational and transitional results for 

17 children with disabilities, if such grant appli18 cants meet the criteria established by the Sec19 retary under this subpart. 

20 ‘‘(d) PRIORITIES.—The Secretary, in making an 

21 award of a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement 

22 under this subpart, may, without regard to the rulemaking 

23 procedures under section 553 of title 5, United States 

24 Code, limit competitions to, or otherwise give priority to—

25 ‘‘(1) projects that address one or more—
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1 ‘‘(A) age ranges; 

2 ‘‘(B) disabilities; 

3 ‘‘(C) school grades; 

4 ‘‘(D) types of educational placements or 

5 early intervention environments; 

6 ‘‘(E) types of services; 

7 ‘‘(F) content areas, such as reading; or 

8 ‘‘(G) effective strategies for helping chil9 dren with disabilities learn appropriate behavior 

10 in the school and other community-based edu11 cational settings; 

12 ‘‘(2) projects that address the needs of children 

13 based on the severity or incidence of their disability; 

14 ‘‘(3) projects that address the needs of—

15 ‘‘(A) low-achieving students; 

16 ‘‘(B) underserved populations; 

17 ‘‘(C) children from low-income families; 

18 ‘‘(D) children with limited English pro19 ficiency; 

20 ‘‘(E) unserved and underserved areas; 

21 ‘‘(F) rural or urban areas; 

22 ‘‘(G) children whose behavior interferes 

23 with their learning and socialization; 

24 ‘‘(H) children with intractable reading dif25 ficulties; and 
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1 ‘‘(I) children in public charter schools; 

2 ‘‘(4) projects to reduce inappropriate identifica3 tion of children as children with disabilities, particu4 larly among minority children; and 

5 ‘‘(5) any activity that is expressly authorized in 

6 this subpart or subpart 3. 

7 ‘‘(e) APPLICANT AND RECIPIENT RESPONSIBIL8 ITIES.—

9 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF

10 PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall require that an ap11 plicant for, and a recipient of, a grant, contract, or 

12 cooperative agreement for a project under this sub13 part—

14 ‘‘(A) involve individuals with disabilities, or 

15 parents of individuals with disabilities ages 

16 birth through 26, in planning, implementing, 

17 and evaluating the project; and 

18 ‘‘(B) where appropriate, determine whether 

19 the project has any potential for replication and 

20 adoption by other entities. 

21 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—The 

22 Secretary may require a recipient of a grant, con23 tract, or cooperative agreement for a project under 

24 this subpart—

25 ‘‘(A) to share in the cost of the project; 
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1 ‘‘(B) to prepare the research and evalua2 tion findings and products from the project in 

3 formats that are useful for specific audiences, 

4 including parents, administrators, teachers, 

5 early intervention personnel, related services 

6 personnel, and individuals with disabilities; 

7 ‘‘(C) to disseminate such findings and 

8 products; and 

9 ‘‘(D) to collaborate with other such recipi10 ents in carrying out subparagraphs (B) and 

11 (C). 

12 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION MANAGEMENT.—

13 ‘‘(1) STANDING PANEL.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

15 establish and use a standing panel of experts 

16 who are qualified, by virtue of their training, 

17 expertise, or experience, to evaluate applications 

18 under this subpart (other than section 663) 

19 that, individually, request more than $75,000 

20 per year in Federal financial assistance. 

21 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The standing panel 

22 shall include, at a minimum—

23 ‘‘(i) individuals who are representa24 tives of institutions of higher education 
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1 that plan, develop, and carry out high2 quality programs of personnel preparation; 

3 ‘‘(ii) individuals who design and carry 

4 out scientifically-based research targeted to 

5 the improvement of special education pro6 grams and services; 

7 ‘‘(iii) individuals who have recognized 

8 experience and knowledge necessary to in9 tegrate and apply scientifically-based re10 search findings to improve educational and 

11 transitional results for children with dis12 abilities; 

13 ‘‘(iv) individuals who administer pro14 grams at the State or local level in which 

15 children with disabilities participate; 

16 ‘‘(v) individuals who prepare parents 

17 of children with disabilities to participate 

18 in making decisions about the education of 

19 their children; 

20 ‘‘(vi) individuals who establish policies 

21 that affect the delivery of services to chil22 dren with disabilities; 

23 ‘‘(vii) individuals who are parents of 

24 children with disabilities ages birth 

25 through 26 who are benefiting, or have 
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1 benefited, from coordinated research, per2 sonnel preparation, and technical assist3 ance; and 

4 ‘‘(viii) individuals with disabilities. 

5 ‘‘(C) TERM.—No individual shall serve on 

6 the standing panel for more than 3 consecutive 

7 years. 

8 ‘‘(2) PEER-REVIEW PANELS FOR PARTICULAR

9 COMPETITIONS.—

10 ‘‘(A) COMPOSITION.—The Secretary shall 

11 ensure that each subpanel selected from the 

12 standing panel that reviews applications under 

13 this subpart (other than section 663) in14 cludes—

15 ‘‘(i) individuals with knowledge and 

16 expertise on the issues addressed by the 

17 activities authorized by the subpart; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) to the extent practicable, parents 

19 of children with disabilities ages birth 

20 through 26, individuals with disabilities, 

21 and persons from diverse backgrounds. 

22 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT LIMITA23 TION.—A majority of the individuals on each 

24 subpanel that reviews an application under this 

25 subpart (other than section 663) shall be indi-
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1 viduals who are not employees of the Federal 

2 Government. 

3 ‘‘(3) USE OF DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FOR AD4 MINISTRATIVE PURPOSES.—

5 ‘‘(A) EXPENSES AND FEES OF NON-FED6 ERAL PANEL MEMBERS.—The Secretary may 

7 use funds available under this subpart to pay 

8 the expenses and fees of the panel members 

9 who are not officers or employees of the Fed10 eral Government. 

11 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The 

12 Secretary may use not more than 1 percent of 

13 the funds appropriated to carry out this sub14 part to pay non-Federal entities for administra15 tive support related to management of applica16 tions submitted under this subpart. 

17 ‘‘(g) PROGRAM EVALUATION.—The Secretary may 

18 use funds appropriated to carry out this subpart to evalu19 ate activities carried out under the subpart. 

20 ‘‘(h) MINIMUM FUNDING REQUIRED.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

22 the Secretary shall ensure that, for each fiscal year, 

23 at least the following amounts are provided under 

24 this subpart to address the following needs: 
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1 ‘‘(A) $12,832,000 to address the edu2 cational, related services, transitional, and early 

3 intervention needs of children with deaf-blind4 ness. 

5 ‘‘(B) $4,000,000 to address the postsec6 ondary, vocational, technical, continuing, and 

7 adult education needs of individuals with deaf8 ness. 

9 ‘‘(C) $4,000,000 to address the edu10 cational, related services, and transitional needs 

11 of children with an emotional disturbance and 

12 those who are at risk of developing an emo13 tional disturbance. 

14 ‘‘(2) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the total 

15 amount appropriated to carry out this subpart for 

16 any fiscal year is less than $130,000,000, the 

17 amounts listed in paragraph (1) shall be ratably re18 duced. 

19 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—Ef20 fective for fiscal years for which the Secretary may make 

21 grants under section 619(b), no State or local educational 

22 agency or educational service agency or other public insti23 tution or agency may receive a grant under this subpart 

24 which relates exclusively to programs, projects, and activi25 ties pertaining to children aged 3 through 5, inclusive, un-
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1 less the State is eligible to receive a grant under section 

2 619(b).

3 ‘‘SEC. 663. RESEARCH TO IMPROVE RESULTS FOR CHIL4 DREN WITH DISABILITIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION

6 RESEARCH.—

7 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established, 

9 in the Institute of Education Sciences estab10 lished under section 111 of the Education 

11 Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–

12 279; 116 Stat. 1944) (hereinafter in this sec13 tion referred to as ‘the Institute’), the National 

14 Center for Special Education Research. 

15 ‘‘(B) COMMISSIONER.—The National Cen16 ter for Special Education Research shall be 

17 headed by a Commissioner for Special Edu18 cation Research (hereinafter in this section re19 ferred to as ‘the Commissioner’). The Commis20 sioner shall be appointed by the Director of the 

21 Institute (hereinafter in this section referred to 

22 as ‘the Director’) in accordance with section 

23 117 of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 

24 2002. The Commissioner shall have substantial 

25 knowledge of the Center’s activities, including a 
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1 high level of expertise in the fields of research 

2 and research management. 

3 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY OF EDUCATION SCIENCE

4 REFORM ACT OF 2002.—Parts A and E of the Edu5 cation Sciences Reform Act of 2002, as well as the 

6 standards for peer review of applications and for the 

7 conduct and evaluation of research under sections 

8 133(a) and 134 of such Act, shall apply to the Sec9 retary, the Director, and the Commissioner in car10 rying out this section. 

11 ‘‘(b) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.—The Director shall 

12 make competitive grants to, or enter into contracts or co13 operative agreements with, eligible entities to expand the 

14 fundamental knowledge and understanding of the edu15 cation of infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities 

16 in order to improve educational results for such individ17 uals, in accordance with the priorities determined under 

18 this section. 

19 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that may 

20 be carried out under this section include research activi21 ties—

22 ‘‘(1) to improve services provided under this 

23 Act in order to improve academic achievement for 

24 children with disabilities; 
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1 ‘‘(2) to investigate scientifically based edu2 cational practices that support learning and improve 

3 academic achievement and progress for all students 

4 with disabilities; 

5 ‘‘(3) to examine the special needs of preschool6 aged children and infants and toddlers with disabil7 ities, including factors that may result in develop8 mental delays; 

9 ‘‘(4) to investigate scientifically based related 

10 services and interventions that promote participation 

11 and progress in the general education curriculum; 

12 ‘‘(5) to improve the alignment, compatibility, 

13 and development of valid and reliable assessment 

14 methods for assessing adequate yearly progress, as 

15 described under section 1111(b)(2)(B) of the Ele16 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 

17 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(B)); 

18 ‘‘(6) to improve the alignment, compatibility, 

19 and development of valid and reliable alternate as20 sessment methods for assessing adequate yearly 

21 progress, as described under such section 

22 1111(b)(2)(B); 

23 ‘‘(7) to examine State content standards and al24 ternate assessments for students with a significant 

25 cognitive impairment in terms of academic achieve-
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1 ment, individualized instructional need, appropriate 

2 educational settings, and improved post-school re3 sults; 

4 ‘‘(8) to examine the educational and develop5 mental needs of children with high-incidence and 

6 low-incidence disabilities; 

7 ‘‘(9) to examine the extent to which overidenti8 fication and underidentification of children with dis9 abilities occurs, and the causes thereof; 

10 ‘‘(10) to improve reading and literacy skills for 

11 children with disabilities; 

12 ‘‘(11) to examine and improve secondary and 

13 postsecondary education and transitional needs of 

14 children with disabilities; 

15 ‘‘(12) to examine methods of early intervention 

16 for children with disabilities who need significant 

17 levels of support; 

18 ‘‘(13) to examine universal design concepts in 

19 the development of assessments, curricula, and in20 structional methods as a method to improve edu21 cational results for children with disabilities; 

22 ‘‘(14) to improve the professional preparation 

23 for personnel who provide educational and related 

24 services to children with disabilities, including chil-
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1 dren with low-incidence disabilities, to increase aca2 demic achievement of children with disabilities; 

3 ‘‘(15) to examine the excess costs of educating 

4 a child with a disability and expenses associated with 

5 high-cost special education and related services; and

6 ‘‘(16) to examine the special needs of limited 

7 English proficient children with disabilities. 

8 ‘‘(d) PLAN.—The National Center for Special Edu9 cation Research shall propose to the Director a research 

10 plan, with the advice of the Assistant Secretary for Special 

11 Education and Rehabilitative Services, that—

12 ‘‘(1) is consistent with the priorities and mis13 sion of the Institute of Educational Sciences and the 

14 mission of the Special Education Research Center 

15 and includes the activities described in paragraph 

16 (3); 

17 ‘‘(2) shall be carried out pursuant to subsection 

18 (c) and, as appropriate, be updated and modified; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(3) carries out specific, long-term research ac21 tivities that are consistent with the priorities and 

22 mission of the Institute of Educational Sciences, and 

23 are approved by the Director. 

24 ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION.—The National Center for 

25 Special Education Research shall implement the plan pro-
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1 posed under subsection (d) to carry out scientifically valid 

2 research that—

3 ‘‘(1) is consistent with the purposes of this Act; 

4 ‘‘(2) reflects an appropriate balance across all 

5 age ranges of children with disabilities; 

6 ‘‘(3) provides for research that is objective and 

7 that uses measurable indicators to assess its 

8 progress and results; 

9 ‘‘(4) includes both basic research and applied 

10 research, which shall include research conducted 

11 through field-initiated studies and which may in12 clude ongoing research initiatives; 

13 ‘‘(5) ensures that the research conducted under 

14 this section is relevant to special education practice 

15 and policy; 

16 ‘‘(6) synthesize and disseminate, through the 

17 National Center for Education Evaluation and Re18 gional Assistance as well as activities authorized 

19 under this part, the findings and results of edu20 cation research conducted or supported by the Na21 tional Center for Special Education Research; and 

22 ‘‘(7) assist the Director in the preparation of a 

23 biennial report, as a described in section 119 of the 

24 Education Sciences Reform Act of 2003. 
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1 ‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity that wishes 

2 to receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative 

3 agreement, under this section shall submit an application 

4 to the Commissioner at such time, in such manner, and 

5 containing such information as the Commissioner may 

6 reasonably require. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 664. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DEMONSTRATION 

8 PROJECTS, DISSEMINATION OF INFORMA9 TION, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SCIENTIF10 ICALLY BASED RESEARCH. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make com12 petitive grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative 

13 agreements with, eligible entities including regional re14 source centers and clearinghouses to provide technical as15 sistance, support model demonstration projects, dissemi16 nate useful information, and implement activities that are 

17 supported by scientifically based research. 

18 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Funds received under 

19 this section shall be used to support activities to improve 

20 services provided under this Act, including the practices 

21 of professionals and others involved in providing such serv22 ices to children with disabilities, that promote academic 

23 achievement and improve results for children with disabil24 ities through—
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1 ‘‘(1) implementing effective strategies for ad2 dressing inappropriate behavior of students with dis3 abilities in schools, including strategies to prevent 

4 children with emotional and behavioral problems 

5 from developing emotional disturbances that require 

6 the provision of special education and related serv7 ices; 

8 ‘‘(2) improving the alignment, compatibility, 

9 and development of valid and reliable assessments 

10 and alternate assessments for assessing adequate 

11 yearly progress, as described under section 

12 1111(b)(2)(B) of the Elementary and Secondary 

13 Education Act of 1965; 

14 ‘‘(3) providing training for both regular edu15 cation teachers and special education teachers to ad16 dress the needs of students with different learning 

17 styles; 

18 ‘‘(4) identifying innovative, effective, and effi19 cient curricula designs, instructional approaches, 

20 and strategies, and identifying positive academic and 

21 social learning opportunities, that—

22 ‘‘(A) provide effective transitions between 

23 educational settings or from school to post 

24 school settings; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) improve educational and transitional 

2 results at all levels of the educational system in 

3 which the activities are carried out and, in par4 ticular, that improve the progress of children 

5 with disabilities, as measured by assessments 

6 within the general education curriculum in7 volved; and 

8 ‘‘(5) demonstrating and applying scientifically 

9 based findings to facilitate systemic changes, related 

10 to the provision of services to children with disabil11 ities, in policy, procedure, practice, and the training 

12 and use of personnel. 

13 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that may 

14 be carried out under this section include activities to im15 prove services provided under this Act, including the prac16 tices of professionals and others involved in providing such 

17 services to children with disabilities, that promote aca18 demic achievement and improve results for children with 

19 disabilities through—

20 ‘‘(1) applying and testing research findings in 

21 typical service settings to determine the usefulness, 

22 effectiveness, and general applicability of such re23 search findings in such areas as improving instruc24 tional methods, curricula, and tools, such as text25 books and media; 
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1 ‘‘(2) supporting and promoting the coordination 

2 of early intervention and educational services for 

3 children with disabilities with services provided by 

4 health, rehabilitation, and social service agencies; 

5 ‘‘(3) promoting improved alignment and com6 patibility of general and special education reforms 

7 concerned with curricular and instructional reform, 

8 and evaluation of such reforms; 

9 ‘‘(4) enabling professionals, parents of children 

10 with disabilities, and other persons to learn about, 

11 and implement, the findings of scientifically based 

12 research, and successful practices developed in model 

13 demonstration projects, relating to the provision of 

14 services to children with disabilities; 

15 ‘‘(5) conducting outreach, and disseminating in16 formation, relating to successful approaches to over17 coming systemic barriers to the effective and effi18 cient delivery of early intervention, educational, and 

19 transitional services to personnel who provide serv20 ices to children with disabilities; 

21 ‘‘(6) assisting States and local educational 

22 agencies with the process of planning systemic 

23 changes that will promote improved early interven24 tion, educational, and transitional results for chil25 dren with disabilities; 
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1 ‘‘(7) promoting change through a multistate or 

2 regional framework that benefits States, local edu3 cational agencies, and other participants in partner4 ships that are in the process of achieving systemic5 change outcomes; 

6 ‘‘(8) focusing on the needs and issues that are 

7 specific to a population of children with disabilities, 

8 such as the provision of single-State and multi-State 

9 technical assistance and in-service training—

10 ‘‘(A) to schools and agencies serving deaf11 blind children and their families; 

12 ‘‘(B) to programs and agencies serving 

13 other groups of children with low-incidence dis14 abilities and their families; 

15 ‘‘(C) addressing the postsecondary edu16 cation needs of individuals who are deaf or 

17 hard-of-hearing; and 

18 ‘‘(D) to schools and personnel providing 

19 special education and related services for chil20 dren with autism spectrum disorders; 

21 ‘‘(9) demonstrating models of personnel prepa22 ration to ensure appropriate placements and services 

23 for all students and reduce disproportionality in eli24 gibility, placement, and disciplinary actions for mi25 nority and limited English proficient children; and 
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1 ‘‘(10) disseminating information on how to re2 duce racial and ethnic disproportionalities identified 

3 under section 618. 

4 ‘‘(d) BALANCE AMONG ACTIVITIES AND AGE

5 RANGES.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall 

6 ensure that there is an appropriate balance across all age 

7 ranges of children with disabilities. 

8 ‘‘(e) LINKING STATES TO INFORMATION SOURCES.—

9 In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall support 

10 projects that link States to technical assistance resources, 

11 including special education and general education re12 sources, and shall make research and related products 

13 available through libraries, electronic networks, parent 

14 training projects, and other information sources, including 

15 through the activities of the National Center for Evalua16 tion and Regional Assistance established under the Edu17 cation Sciences Reform Act. 

18 ‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that 

20 wishes to receive a grant, or enter into a contract or 

21 cooperative agreement, under this section shall sub22 mit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 

23 such manner, and containing such information as 

24 the Secretary may require. 
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1 ‘‘(2) STANDARDS.—To the maximum extent 

2 feasible, each applicant shall demonstrate that the 

3 project described in its application is supported by 

4 scientifically valid research that has been carried out 

5 in accordance with the standards for the conduct 

6 and evaluation of all relevant research and develop7 ment established by the National Center for Edu8 cation Research. 

9 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—As appropriate, the Secretary 

10 shall give priority to applications that propose to 

11 serve teachers and school personnel directly in the 

12 school environment. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 665. PERSONNEL PREPARATION PROGRAMS TO IM14 PROVE SERVICES AND RESULTS FOR CHIL15 DREN WITH DISABILITIES. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, on a com17 petitive basis, make grants to, or enter into contracts or 

18 cooperative agreements with, eligible entities—

19 ‘‘(1) to help address State-identified needs for 

20 qualified personnel in special education, related serv21 ices, early intervention, and regular education, to 

22 work with children with disabilities; 

23 ‘‘(2) to ensure that those personnel have the 

24 necessary skills and knowledge, derived from prac25 tices that have been determined, through scientif-
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1 ically valid research, to be successful in serving those 

2 children; 

3 ‘‘(3) to encourage increased focus on academics 

4 and core content areas in special education per5 sonnel preparation programs; 

6 ‘‘(4) to ensure that regular education teachers 

7 have the necessary skills and knowledge to provide 

8 instruction to students with disabilities in the reg9 ular education classroom;

10 ‘‘(5) to provide high-quality professional devel11 opment for principals, superintendents, and other 

12 administrators, including training in—

13 ‘‘(A) instructional leadership; 

14 ‘‘(B) behavioral supports in the school and 

15 classroom; 

16 ‘‘(C) paperwork reduction; 

17 ‘‘(D) promoting improved collaboration be18 tween special education and general education 

19 teachers; 

20 ‘‘(E) assessment and accountability; 

21 ‘‘(F) ensuring effective learning environ22 ments; and 

23 ‘‘(G) fostering positive relationships with 

24 parents; and 
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1 ‘‘(6) to ensure that all special education teach2 ers teaching in core academic subjects are highly 

3 qualified. 

4 ‘‘(b) PERSONNEL PREPARATION; AUTHORIZED AC5 TIVITIES.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec7 tion, the Secretary shall support activities, including 

8 activities for high-incidence and low-incidence dis9 abilities, consistent with the objectives described in 

10 subsection (a). 

11 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that 

12 may be carried out under this subsection include the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(A) Promoting activities undertaken by 

15 institutions of higher education, local edu16 cational agencies, and other local entities—

17 ‘‘(i) to improve and reform their exist18 ing programs, and to support effective ex19 isting programs, to prepare teachers and 

20 related services personnel—

21 ‘‘(I) to meet the diverse needs of 

22 children with disabilities for early 

23 intervention, educational, and transi24 tional services, including to train 

25 school safety personnel and first re-
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1 sponders who work at qualified edu2 cational facilities; and 

3 ‘‘(II) to work collaboratively in 

4 regular classroom settings; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) to incorporate best practices and 

6 scientifically based research about pre7 paring personnel—

8 ‘‘(I) so they will have the knowl9 edge and skills to improve educational 

10 results for children with disabilities; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(II) so they can implement ef13 fective teaching strategies and inter14 ventions to ensure appropriate identi15 fication, and to prevent the 

16 misidentification or overidentification, 

17 of children as having a disability, es18 pecially minority and limited English 

19 proficient children. 

20 ‘‘(B) Developing, evaluating, and dissemi21 nating innovative models for the recruitment, 

22 induction, retention, and assessment of highly 

23 qualified teachers to reduce shortages in per24 sonnel. 
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1 ‘‘(C) Developing and improving programs 

2 for paraprofessionals to assist in the provision 

3 of special education, related services, and early 

4 intervention services, including interdisciplinary 

5 training to enable them to improve early inter6 vention, educational, and transitional results for 

7 children with disabilities. 

8 ‘‘(D) Demonstrating models for the prepa9 ration of, and interdisciplinary training of, early 

10 intervention, special education, and general edu11 cation personnel, to enable the personnel to ac12 quire the collaboration skills necessary to work 

13 within teams to improve results for children 

14 with disabilities, particularly within the general 

15 education curriculum. 

16 ‘‘(E) Promoting the transferability, across 

17 State and local jurisdictions, of licensure and 

18 certification of teachers and administrators 

19 working with such children. 

20 ‘‘(F) Developing and disseminating models 

21 that prepare teachers with strategies, including 

22 behavioral interventions, for addressing the con23 duct of children with disabilities that impedes 

24 their learning and that of others in the class25 room. 
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1 ‘‘(G) Developing and improving programs 

2 to enhance the ability of general education 

3 teachers, principals, school administrators, and 

4 school board members to improve results for 

5 children with disabilities. 

6 ‘‘(H) Supporting institutions of higher 

7 education with minority enrollments of at least 

8 25 percent for the purpose of preparing per9 sonnel to work with children with disabilities. 

10 ‘‘(I) Developing and improving programs 

11 to train special education teachers with an ex12 pertise in autism spectrum disorders, including 

13 to train school safety personnel and first re14 sponders who work at qualified educational fa15 cilities. 

16 ‘‘(c) LOW-INCIDENCE DISABILITIES; AUTHORIZED

17 ACTIVITIES.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec19 tion, the Secretary shall support activities, consistent 

20 with the objectives described in subsection (a), that 

21 benefit children with low-incidence disabilities. 

22 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that 

23 may be carried out under this subsection include ac24 tivities such as the following: 

25 ‘‘(A) Preparing persons who—
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1 ‘‘(i) have prior training in educational 

2 and other related service fields; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) are studying to obtain degrees, 

4 certificates, or licensure that will enable 

5 them to assist children with low-incidence 

6 disabilities to achieve the objectives set out 

7 in their individualized education programs 

8 described in section 614(d), or to assist in9 fants and toddlers with low incidence dis10 abilities to achieve the outcomes described 

11 in their individualized family service plans 

12 described in section 636. 

13 ‘‘(B) Providing personnel from various dis14 ciplines with interdisciplinary training that will 

15 contribute to improvement in early intervention, 

16 educational, and transitional results for children 

17 with low-incidence disabilities. 

18 ‘‘(C) Preparing personnel in the innovative 

19 uses and application of technology to enhance 

20 learning by children with low-incidence disabil21 ities through early intervention, educational, 

22 and transitional services. 

23 ‘‘(D) Preparing personnel who provide 

24 services to visually impaired or blind children to 
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1 teach and use Braille in the provision of serv2 ices to such children. 

3 ‘‘(E) Preparing personnel who provide 

4 services to deaf and hard-of-hearing children by 

5 providing direct language and communication 

6 access to the general education curriculum 

7 through spoken or signed languages, or other 

8 modes of communication. 

9 ‘‘(F) Preparing personnel to be qualified 

10 educational interpreters, to assist children with 

11 low-incidence disabilities, particularly deaf and 

12 hard-of-hearing children in school and school13 related activities and deaf and hard-of-hearing 

14 infants and toddlers and preschool children in 

15 early intervention and preschool programs. 

16 ‘‘(G) Preparing personnel who provide 

17 services to children with low-incidence disabil18 ities with limited English proficiency. 

19 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the 

20 term ‘low-incidence disability’ means—

21 ‘‘(A) a visual or hearing impairment, or si22 multaneous visual and hearing impairments; 

23 ‘‘(B) a significant cognitive impairment; or 

24 ‘‘(C) any impairment for which a small 

25 number of personnel with highly specialized 
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1 skills and knowledge are needed in order for 

2 children with that impairment to receive early 

3 intervention services or a free appropriate pub4 lic education. 

5 ‘‘(4) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—In selecting 

6 recipients under this subsection, the Secretary may 

7 give preference to applications that propose to pre8 pare personnel in more than one low-incidence dis9 ability, such as deafness and blindness. 

10 ‘‘(5) PREPARATION IN USE OF BRAILLE.—The 

11 Secretary shall ensure that all recipients of assist12 ance under this subsection who will use that assist13 ance to prepare personnel to provide services to vis14 ually impaired or blind children that can appro15 priately be provided in Braille will prepare those in16 dividuals to provide those services in Braille. 

17 ‘‘(d) LEADERSHIP PREPARATION; AUTHORIZED AC18 TIVITIES.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec20 tion, the Secretary shall support leadership prepara21 tion activities that are consistent with the objectives 

22 described in subsection (a). 

23 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that 

24 may be carried out under this subsection include ac25 tivities such as the following: 
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1 ‘‘(A) Preparing personnel at the graduate, 

2 doctoral, and postdoctoral levels of training to 

3 administer, enhance, or provide services to im4 prove results for children with disabilities. 

5 ‘‘(B) Providing interdisciplinary training 

6 for various types of leadership personnel, in7 cluding teacher preparation faculty, related 

8 services faculty, administrators, researchers, su9 pervisors, principals, and other persons whose 

10 work affects early intervention, educational, and 

11 transitional services for children with disabil12 ities, including children with disabilities with 

13 limited English proficiency. 

14 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any eligible entity that 

16 wishes to receive a grant, or enter into a contract or 

17 cooperative agreement, under this section shall sub18 mit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 

19 such manner, and containing such information as 

20 the Secretary may require. 

21 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFIED STATE NEEDS.—

22 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT TO ADDRESS IDENTI23 FIED NEEDS.—Any application under sub24 section (b), (c), or (d) shall include information 

25 demonstrating to the satisfaction of the Sec-
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1 retary that the activities described in the appli2 cation will address needs identified by the State 

3 or States the applicant proposes to serve. 

4 ‘‘(B) COOPERATION WITH STATE EDU5 CATIONAL AGENCIES.—Any applicant that is 

6 not a local educational agency or a State edu7 cational agency shall include information dem8 onstrating to the satisfaction of the Secretary 

9 that the applicant and one or more State edu10 cational agencies or local educational agencies 

11 will cooperate in carrying out and monitoring 

12 the project. 

13 ‘‘(3) ACCEPTANCE BY STATES OF PERSONNEL

14 PREPARATION REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may 

15 require applicants to provide assurances from one or 

16 more States that such States—

17 ‘‘(A) intend to accept successful completion 

18 of the proposed personnel preparation program 

19 as meeting State personnel standards or other 

20 requirements in State law or regulation for 

21 serving children with disabilities or serving in22 fants and toddlers with disabilities; and 

23 ‘‘(B) need personnel in the area or areas 

24 in which the applicant proposes to provide prep25 aration, as identified in the States’ comprehen-
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1 sive systems of personnel development under 

2 parts B and C. 

3 ‘‘(f) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—

4 ‘‘(1) IMPACT OF PROJECT.—In selecting recipi5 ents under this section, the Secretary shall consider 

6 the impact of the project proposed in the application 

7 in meeting the need for personnel identified by the 

8 States. 

9 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT ON APPLICANTS TO MEET

10 STATE AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS.—The Sec11 retary shall make grants under this section only to 

12 eligible applicants that meet State and professionally 

13 recognized standards for the preparation of special 

14 education and related services personnel, if the pur15 pose of the project is to assist personnel in obtaining 

16 degrees. 

17 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCES.—In selecting recipients 

18 under this section, the Secretary may—

19 ‘‘(A) give preference to institutions of 

20 higher education that are educating regular 

21 education personnel to meet the needs of chil22 dren with disabilities in integrated settings and 

23 educating special education personnel to work 

24 in collaboration with regular educators in inte25 grated settings; and 
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1 ‘‘(B) give preference to institutions of 

2 higher education that are successfully recruiting 

3 and preparing individuals with disabilities and 

4 individuals from groups that are underrep5 resented in the profession for which they are 

6 preparing individuals. 

7 ‘‘(g) SERVICE OBLIGATION.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each application for funds 

9 under subsections (b) and (c) shall include an assur10 ance that the applicant will ensure that individuals 

11 who receive a scholarship under the proposed project 

12 will subsequently provide special education and re13 lated services to children with disabilities for a pe14 riod of 2 years for every year for which assistance 

15 was received or repay all or part of the cost of that 

16 assistance, in accordance with regulations issued by 

17 the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(2) LEADERSHIP PREPARATION.—Each appli19 cation for funds under subsection (d) shall include 

20 an assurance that the applicant will ensure that in21 dividuals who receive a scholarship under the pro22 posed project will subsequently perform work related 

23 to their preparation for a period of 2 years for every 

24 year for which assistance was received or repay all 
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1 or part of such costs, in accordance with regulations 

2 issued by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(h) SCHOLARSHIPS.—The Secretary may include 

4 funds for scholarships, with necessary stipends and allow5 ances, in awards under subsections (b), (c), and (d). 

6 ‘‘SEC. 666. STUDIES AND EVALUATIONS. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

8 ‘‘(1) PROGRESS ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary 

9 shall, in accordance with the priorities determined 

10 under this section and in section 663, directly or 

11 through competitive grants, contracts, or cooperative 

12 agreements, assess the progress in the implementa13 tion of this Act, including the effectiveness of State 

14 and local efforts to provide—

15 ‘‘(A) a free appropriate public education to 

16 children with disabilities; and 

17 ‘‘(B) early intervention services to infants 

18 and toddlers with disabilities and infants and 

19 toddlers who would be at risk of having sub20 stantial developmental delays if early interven21 tion services were not provided to them. 

22 ‘‘(2) DELEGATION.—Notwithstanding any other 

23 provision of law, the Secretary shall designate the 

24 Director of the Institute for Education Sciences to 

25 carry out this section. 
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1 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying 

2 out this subsection, the Secretary may support ob3 jective studies, evaluations, and assessments, includ4 ing studies that—

5 ‘‘(A) analyze issues identified in the re6 search agenda in section 663(d); 

7 ‘‘(B) meet the standards in section 663(c); 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(C) undertake one or more of the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(i) An analysis of the measurable im12 pact, outcomes, and results achieved by 

13 State educational agencies and local edu14 cational agencies through their activities to 

15 reform policies, procedures, and practices 

16 designed to improve educational and tran17 sitional services and results for children 

18 with disabilities. 

19 ‘‘(ii) An analysis of State and local 

20 needs for professional development, parent 

21 training, and other appropriate activities 

22 that can reduce the need for disciplinary 

23 actions involving children with disabilities. 

24 ‘‘(iii) An assessment of educational 

25 and transitional services and results for 
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1 children with disabilities from minority 

2 backgrounds or are limited English pro3 ficient, including—

4 ‘‘(I) data on—

5 ‘‘(aa) the number of such 

6 children who are referred for spe7 cial education evaluation; 

8 ‘‘(bb) the number of such 

9 children who are receiving special 

10 education and related services 

11 and their educational or other 

12 service placement; 

13 ‘‘(cc) the number of such 

14 children who graduated from sec15 ondary programs with a regular 

16 diploma in the standard number 

17 of years; and 

18 ‘‘(dd) the number of such 

19 children who drop out of the edu20 cational system without a regular 

21 diploma; and 

22 ‘‘(II) the performance of such 

23 children with disabilities on State as24 sessments and other performance indi25 cators established for all students. 
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1 ‘‘(iv) A measurement of educational 

2 and transitional services and results of 

3 children with disabilities served under this 

4 Act, including longitudinal studies that—

5 ‘‘(I) examine educational and 

6 transitional services and results for 

7 children with disabilities who are 3 

8 through 17 years of age and are re9 ceiving special education and related 

10 services under this Act, using a na11 tional, representative sample of dis12 tinct age cohorts and disability cat13 egories; and 

14 ‘‘(II) examine educational results, 

15 transition services, postsecondary 

16 placement, and employment status of 

17 individuals with disabilities, 18 

18 through 21 years of age, who are re19 ceiving or have received special edu20 cation and related services under this 

21 Act. 

22 ‘‘(v) An identification and report on 

23 the placement of children with disabilities 

24 by disability category. 

25 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL ASSESSMENT.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

2 out a national assessment of activities carried out 

3 with Federal funds under this Act in order—

4 ‘‘(A) to determine the effectiveness of this 

5 Act in achieving its purposes; 

6 ‘‘(B) to provide timely information to the 

7 President, the Congress, the States, local edu8 cational agencies, and the public on how to im9 plement the Act more effectively; and 

10 ‘‘(C) to provide the President and the Con11 gress with information that will be useful in de12 veloping legislation to achieve the purposes of 

13 this Act more effectively. 

14 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC COMMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(A) PLAN.—Not later than 12 months 

16 after the date of enactment of the Improving 

17 Education Results for Children With Disabil18 ities Act of 2003, the Secretary shall publish in 

19 the Federal Register for public comment a com20 prehensive plan for developing and conducting 

21 the national assessment. 

22 ‘‘(B) COMMENT PERIOD.—The Secretary 

23 shall provide a public comment period of at 

24 least 30 days on such plan. 
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1 ‘‘(3) SCOPE OF ASSESSMENT.—The national as2 sessment shall assess the—

3 ‘‘(A) implementation of programs assisted 

4 under this Act and the impact of such pro5 grams on addressing the developmental needs 

6 of, and improving the academic achievement of, 

7 children with disabilities to enable them to 

8 reach challenging developmental goals and chal9 lenging State academic content standards based 

10 on State academic assessments; 

11 ‘‘(B) types of programs and services that 

12 have demonstrated the greatest likelihood of 

13 helping students reach the challenging State 

14 academic content standards and developmental 

15 goals; 

16 ‘‘(C) implementation of the professional 

17 development activities assisted under this Act 

18 and the impact on instruction, student aca19 demic achievement, and teacher qualifications 

20 to enhance the ability of special education 

21 teachers and regular education teachers to im22 prove results for children with disabilities; and 

23 ‘‘(D) effectiveness of schools, local edu24 cational agencies, States, other recipients of as-
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1 sistance under this Act, and the Secretary in 

2 achieving the purposes of this Act by—

3 ‘‘(i) improving the academic achieve4 ment of children with disabilities and their 

5 performance on regular statewide assess6 ments as compared to nondisabled chil7 dren, and the performance of children with 

8 disabilities on alternate assessments; 

9 ‘‘(ii) improving the participation of 

10 children with disabilities in the general 

11 education curriculum; 

12 ‘‘(iii) improving the transitions of chil13 dren with disabilities at natural transition 

14 points; 

15 ‘‘(iv) placing and serving children with 

16 disabilities, including minority children, in 

17 the least restrictive environment appro18 priate; 

19 ‘‘(v) preventing children with disabil20 ities, especially children with emotional dis21 turbances and specific learning disabilities, 

22 from dropping out of school; 

23 ‘‘(vi) addressing the reading and lit24 eracy needs of children with disabilities; 
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1 ‘‘(vii) reducing the overidentification 

2 of children, especially minority and limited 

3 English proficient children, as having a 

4 disability; 

5 ‘‘(viii) improving the participation of 

6 parents of children with disabilities in the 

7 education of their children; and 

8 ‘‘(ix) resolving disagreements between 

9 education personnel and parents through 

10 alternate dispute resolution activities in11 cluding mediation and voluntary binding 

12 arbitration. 

13 ‘‘(4) INTERIM AND FINAL REPORTS.—The Sec14 retary shall submit to the President and the Con15 gress—

16 ‘‘(A) an interim report that summarizes 

17 the preliminary findings of the assessment not 

18 later than 30 months after the date of the en19 actment of the Improving Education Results for 

20 Children With Disabilities Act of 2003; and 

21 ‘‘(B) a final report of the findings of the 

22 assessment not later than 5 years after the date 

23 of the enactment of such Act. 

24 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall provide 

25 an annual report to the Congress that—
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1 ‘‘(1) summarizes the research conducted under 

2 section 663; 

3 ‘‘(2) analyzes and summarizes the data re4 ported by the States and the Secretary of the Inte5 rior under section 618; 

6 ‘‘(3) summarizes the studies and evaluations 

7 conducted under this section and the timeline for 

8 their completion; 

9 ‘‘(4) describes the extent and progress of the 

10 national assessment; and 

11 ‘‘(5) describes the findings and determinations 

12 resulting from reviews of State implementation of 

13 this Act. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 667. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

15 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

16 sections 663, 664, and 666 $171,861,000 for fiscal year 

17 2004 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 

18 fiscal years 2005 through 2009. There are authorized to 

19 be appropriated to carry out section 665 $90,000,000 for 

20 fiscal year 2004 and such sums as may be necessary for 

21 each of the fiscal years 2005 through 2009. 

22 ‘‘Subpart 3—Supports To Improve Results for 

23 Children With Disabilities 

24 ‘‘SEC. 671. PURPOSES. 

25 ‘‘The purposes of this subpart are to ensure that—
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1 ‘‘(1) children with disabilities and their parents 

2 receive training and information on their rights, re3 sponsibilities, and protections under this Act, in 

4 order to develop the skills necessary to cooperatively 

5 and effectively participate in planning and decision6 making relating to early intervention, educational, 

7 and transitional services; 

8 ‘‘(2) parents, teachers, administrators, early 

9 intervention personnel, related services personnel, 

10 and transition personnel receive coordinated and ac11 cessible technical assistance and information to as12 sist them in improving early intervention, edu13 cational, and transitional services and results for 

14 children with disabilities and their families; and 

15 ‘‘(3) appropriate technology and media are re16 searched, developed, and demonstrated, to improve 

17 and implement early intervention, educational, and 

18 transitional services and results for children with 

19 disabilities and their families. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 672. PARENT TRAINING AND INFORMATION CENTERS. 

21 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may 

22 make grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative 

23 agreements with, parent organizations to support parent 

24 training and information centers to carry out activities 

25 under this section. 
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1 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Each parent and com2 munity training and information center that receives as3 sistance under this section shall—

4 ‘‘(1) provide training and information that 

5 meets the needs of parents of children with disabil6 ities living in the area served by the center, includ7 ing underserved parents and parents of children who 

8 may be inappropriately identified, to enable children 

9 with disabilities—

10 ‘‘(A) to meet developmental and chal11 lenging academic achievement goals that have 

12 been established for all children; and 

13 ‘‘(B) to be prepared to lead productive 

14 independent adult lives to the maximum extent 

15 possible; 

16 ‘‘(2) ensure that the training and information 

17 provided meets the needs of low-income parents and 

18 parents of children with limited English proficiency; 

19 ‘‘(3) serve the parents of infants, toddlers, and 

20 children with the full range of disabilities; 

21 ‘‘(4) assist parents—

22 ‘‘(A) to better understand the nature of 

23 their children’s disabilities and their edu24 cational, developmental, and transitional needs; 
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1 ‘‘(B) to communicate effectively and work 

2 collaboratively with personnel responsible for 

3 providing special education, early intervention, 

4 transition services, and related services; 

5 ‘‘(C) to participate in decisionmaking proc6 esses and the development of individualized 

7 education programs under part B and individ8 ualized family service plans under part C; 

9 ‘‘(D) to obtain appropriate information 

10 about the range, type and quality of options, 

11 programs, services, and resources available to 

12 assist children with disabilities and their fami13 lies in school and at home; 

14 ‘‘(E) to understand the provisions of this 

15 Act for the education of, and the provision of 

16 early intervention services to, children with dis17 abilities; and 

18 ‘‘(F) to participate in activities at the 

19 school level which benefit their children; 

20 ‘‘(5) assist parents in resolving disputes in the 

21 most expeditious way possible, including encouraging 

22 the use, and explaining the benefits, of alternative 

23 methods of dispute resolution, such as the use of in24 dividualized education program facilitators and me-
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1 diation and voluntary binding arbitration processes 

2 described in section 615(e); 

3 ‘‘(6) assist parents to understand the avail4 ability of, and how to effectively use, procedural 

5 safeguards under this Act; 

6 ‘‘(7) network with appropriate clearinghouses, 

7 including organizations conducting national dissemi8 nation activities under subpart 2 and the Institute 

9 of Educational Sciences, and with other national, 

10 State, and local organizations and agencies, such as 

11 protection and advocacy agencies, that serve parents 

12 and families of children with the full range of dis13 abilities; and 

14 ‘‘(8) annually report to the Secretary on—

15 ‘‘(A) the number and demographics of par16 ents to whom it provided information and train17 ing in the most recently concluded fiscal year; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(B) the effectiveness of strategies used to 

20 reach and serve parents, including underserved 

21 parents of children with disabilities. 

22 ‘‘(c) OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES.—A parent training and 

23 community and information center that receives assistance 

24 under this section may—
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1 ‘‘(1) provide information to teachers and other 

2 professionals to assist them in improving results for 

3 children with disabilities; and 

4 ‘‘(2) assist students with disabilities to under5 stand their rights and responsibilities under section 

6 615(l) on reaching the age of majority. 

7 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Each applica8 tion for assistance under this section shall identify with 

9 specificity the special efforts that the applicant will under10 take—

11 ‘‘(1) to ensure that the needs for training and 

12 information of underserved parents of children with 

13 disabilities in the area to be served are effectively 

14 met; and 

15 ‘‘(2) to work with community-based organiza16 tions, including those that work with low-income 

17 parents and parents of children with limited English 

18 proficiency. 

19 ‘‘(e) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

21 at least 1 award to a parent organization in each 

22 State, unless the Secretary does not receive an appli23 cation from such an organization in each State of 

24 sufficient quality to warrant approval. 
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1 ‘‘(2) SELECTION REQUIREMENT.—The Sec2 retary shall select among applications submitted by 

3 parent organizations in a State in a manner that en4 sures the most effective assistance to parents, in5 cluding parents in urban and rural areas, in the 

6 State. 

7 ‘‘(f) QUARTERLY REVIEW.—

8 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS.—

9 ‘‘(A) MEETINGS.—The board of directors 

10 or special governing committee of each organi11 zation that receives an award under this section 

12 shall meet at least once in each calendar quar13 ter to review the activities for which the award 

14 was made. 

15 ‘‘(B) ADVISING BOARD.—Each special gov16 erning committee shall directly advise the orga17 nization’s governing board of its views and rec18 ommendations. 

19 ‘‘(2) CONTINUATION AWARD.—When an organi20 zation requests a continuation award under this sec21 tion, the board of directors or special governing com22 mittee shall submit to the Secretary a written review 

23 of the parent training and information program con24 ducted by the organization during the preceding fis25 cal year. 
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1 ‘‘(g) DEFINITION OF PARENT ORGANIZATION.—As 

2 used in this section, the term ‘parent organization’ means 

3 a private nonprofit organization (other than an institution 

4 of higher education) that—

5 ‘‘(1) has a board of directors—

6 ‘‘(A) the majority of whom are parents of 

7 children with disabilities ages birth through 26; 

8 ‘‘(B) that includes—

9 ‘‘(i) individuals working in the fields 

10 of special education, related services, and 

11 early intervention; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) individuals with disabilities; and 

13 ‘‘(C) the parent and professional members 

14 of which are broadly representative of the popu15 lation to be served, including low-income and 

16 limited English proficient parents of children 

17 with disabilities; or 

18 ‘‘(2) has—

19 ‘‘(A) a membership that represents the in20 terests of individuals with disabilities and has 

21 established a special governing committee that 

22 meets the requirements of paragraph (1); and 

23 ‘‘(B) a memorandum of understanding be24 tween the special governing committee and the 

25 board of directors of the organization that 
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1 clearly outlines the relationship between the 

2 board and the committee and the decision3 making responsibilities and authority of each. 

4 ‘‘SEC. 673. COMMUNITY PARENT RESOURCE CENTERS. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants 

6 to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements 

7 with, local parent organizations to support parent training 

8 and information centers that will help ensure that under9 served parents of children with disabilities, including low10 income parents, parents of children with limited English 

11 proficiency, and parents with disabilities, have the training 

12 and information they need to enable them to participate 

13 effectively in helping their children with disabilities—

14 ‘‘(1) to meet developmental goals and, to the 

15 maximum extent possible, those challenging stand16 ards that have been established for all children; and 

17 ‘‘(2) to be prepared to lead productive inde18 pendent adult lives, to the maximum extent possible. 

19 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Each parent training 

20 and information center assisted under this section shall—

21 ‘‘(1) provide training and information that 

22 meets the training and information needs of parents 

23 of children with disabilities proposed to be served by 

24 the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement; 
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1 ‘‘(2) carry out the activities required of parent 

2 training and information centers under paragraphs 

3 (2) through (7) of section 672(b); 

4 ‘‘(3) establish cooperative partnerships with the 

5 parent training and information centers funded 

6 under section 672; and 

7 ‘‘(4) be designed to meet the specific needs of 

8 families who experience significant isolation from 

9 available sources of information and support. 

10 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—As used is this section, the term 

11 ‘local parent organization’ means a parent organization, 

12 as defined in section 672(g), that either—

13 ‘‘(1) has a board of directors the majority of 

14 whom are from the community to be served; or 

15 ‘‘(2) has—

16 ‘‘(A) as a part of its mission, serving the 

17 interests of individuals with disabilities from 

18 such community; and 

19 ‘‘(B) a special governing committee to ad20 minister the grant, contract, or cooperative 

21 agreement, a majority of the members of which 

22 are individuals from such community. 
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1 ‘‘SEC. 674. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PARENT TRAINING 

2 AND INFORMATION CENTERS. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, directly or 

4 through awards to eligible entities (as defined in section 

5 662(b)), provide technical assistance for developing, as6 sisting, and coordinating parent training and information 

7 programs carried out by parent training and information 

8 centers receiving assistance under sections 672 and 673. 

9 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may 

10 provide technical assistance to a parent training and infor11 mation center under this section in areas such as—

12 ‘‘(1) effective coordination of parent training ef13 forts; 

14 ‘‘(2) dissemination of scientifically based re15 search and information; 

16 ‘‘(3) promotion of the use of technology, includ17 ing assistive technology devices and assistive tech18 nology services; 

19 ‘‘(4) reaching underserved populations, includ20 ing parents of low-income and limited English pro21 ficient children with disabilities; 

22 ‘‘(5) including children with disabilities in gen23 eral education programs; 

24 ‘‘(6) facilitation of transitions from—

25 ‘‘(A) early intervention services to pre26 school; 
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1 ‘‘(B) preschool to elementary school; 

2 ‘‘(C) elementary school to secondary 

3 school; and 

4 ‘‘(D) secondary school to postsecondary en5 vironments; and 

6 ‘‘(7) promotion of alternative methods of dis7 pute resolution, including mediation and voluntary 

8 binding arbitration. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 675. TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION, 

10 AND UTILIZATION; AND MEDIA SERVICES. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall competi12 tively make grants to, and enter into contracts and cooper13 ative agreements with, eligible entities (as defined in sec14 tion 662(b)) to support activities described in subsections 

15 (b) and (c). 

16 ‘‘(b) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRA17 TION, AND UTILIZATION.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec19 tion, the Secretary shall support activities to pro20 mote the development, demonstration, and utiliza21 tion of technology. 

22 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The following 

23 activities may be carried out under this subsection: 

24 ‘‘(A) Conducting research on, and pro25 moting the demonstration and use of—
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1 ‘‘(i) innovative and emerging tech2 nologies for children with disabilities; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) improved transfer of technology 

4 from research and development to practice. 

5 ‘‘(B) Supporting research, development, 

6 and dissemination of technology with universal7 design features, so that the technology is acces8 sible to individuals with disabilities without fur9 ther modification or adaptation. 

10 ‘‘(C) Demonstrating the use of systems to 

11 provide parents and teachers with information 

12 and training concerning early diagnosis of, 

13 intervention for, and effective teaching strate14 gies for, young children with reading disabil15 ities. 

16 ‘‘(D) Supporting the implementation of re17 search programs. 

18 ‘‘(E) Communicating information on avail19 able technology and the uses of such technology 

20 to assist children with disabilities. 

21 ‘‘(c) EDUCATIONAL MEDIA SERVICES; OPTIONAL AC22 TIVITIES.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary may 

23 support—
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1 ‘‘(1) educational media activities that are de2 signed to be of educational value in the classroom 

3 setting to children with disabilities; 

4 ‘‘(2) providing video description, open cap5 tioning, or closed captioning of television programs, 

6 videos or other materials that would be appropriate 

7 for use in the classroom setting, or news (until the 

8 end of fiscal year 2006), when such services are not 

9 provided by the producer or distributor of such in10 formation, including programs and materials associ11 ated with new and emerging technologies such as 

12 CDs, DVDs, video streaming, and other forms of 

13 multimedia; 

14 ‘‘(3) distributing materials described in para15 graphs (1) and (2) through such mechanisms as a 

16 loan service; and 

17 ‘‘(4) providing free educational materials, in18 cluding textbooks, in accessible media for visually 

19 impaired and print-disabled students in elementary, 

20 secondary, postsecondary, and graduate schools. 

21 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—Any eligible entity (as defined 

22 in section 662(b)) that wishes to receive a grant, or enter 

23 into a contract or cooperative agreement, under this sec24 tion shall submit an application to the Secretary at such 

25 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
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1 the Secretary may require. For purposes of subsection 

2 (c)(4), such entity shall—

3 ‘‘(1) be a national, nonprofit entity with a track 

4 record of meeting the needs of students with print 

5 disabilities through services described in paragraph 

6 (4); 

7 ‘‘(2) have the capacity to produce, maintain, 

8 and distribute in a timely fashion, up-to-date text9 books in digital audio formats to qualified students; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(3) have a demonstrated ability to significantly 

12 leverage Federal funds through other public and pri13 vate contributions, as well as through the expansive 

14 use of volunteers. 

15 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

16 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 674 

17 $32,710,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums as may 

18 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2005 through 

19 2009. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 

20 out sections 672 and 673 $26,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 

21 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal 

22 years 2005 through 2009.’’. 
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1 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 501. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO SAFE AND 

4 DRUG-FREE SCHOOLS. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Providing children with disabilities with a 

7 safe, productive, and drug-free learning environment 

8 is a laudable goal for our Nation’s schools. 

9 (2) Schools are a refuge for students, not a 

10 place where drugs and violence are to be tolerated. 

11 (3) Every child with a disability in the Nation 

12 deserves access to a quality education, including a 

13 safe and drug-free learning environment. 

14 (4) Local educational agencies, school boards, 

15 schools, teachers, administrators, and students all 

16 have a responsibility to keep school facilities, includ17 ing lockers, drug-free. 

18 (5) Random searches of student lockers to seize 

19 any illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia has been 

20 known to work as an effective method to address the 

21 problem of such drugs and paraphernalia. The time 

22 of day in which lockers are to be searched should be 

23 left to the discretion of the local educational agency. 
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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 

2 Congress that safe and drug-free schools are essential for 

3 the learning and development of children with disabilities. 

4 SEC. 502. STUDY AND REPORT ON STATE COSTS UNDER 

5 THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES EDU6 CATION ACT. 

7 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Education shall con8 duct a study on the amount of cost to States to comply 

9 with the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities 

10 Education Act. 

11 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prepare 

13 and submit to Congress a report that contains the results 

14 of the study conducted under subsection (a).

Passed the House of Representatives April 30, 2003. 

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL, 

Clerk.