In the Senate of the United States,

May 13, 2004.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 1350) entitled ‘‘An Act to reauthorize the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and for other purposes.’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Individuals with Dis3 abilities Education Improvement Act of 2004’’.
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1 SEC. 2. ORGANIZATION OF THE ACT.

2 This Act is organized into the following titles:

TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES

EDUCATION ACT

TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973

TITLE III—NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION

RESEARCH

TITLE IV—COMMISSION ON UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND THE

ACCESSIBILITY OF CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS

3 TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE

4 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABIL5 ITIES EDUCATION ACT

6 SEC. 101. AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS7 ABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.

8 Parts A through D of the Individuals with Disabilities

9 Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) are amended to read

10 as follows:

11 ‘‘PART A—GENERAL PROVISIONS

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

13 PURPOSES.

14 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘In15 dividuals with Disabilities Education Act’.

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

17 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.
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‘‘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.

‘‘Sec. 609. Paperwork reduction.

‘‘Sec. 610. Freely associated States.

‘‘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, technical assistance, and enforcement.

‘‘Sec. 617. Administration.

‘‘Sec. 618. Program information.

‘‘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. 650. Findings.

‘‘SUBPART 1—STATE PERSONNEL PREPARATION AND PROFESSIONAL

DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

‘‘Sec. 651. Purpose; definition; program authority.

‘‘Sec. 652. Eligibility and collaborative process.

‘‘Sec. 653. Applications.

‘‘Sec. 654. Use of funds.

‘‘Sec. 655. Authorization of appropriations.

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

MODEL DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS, AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION

‘‘Sec. 660. Purpose.
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‘‘Sec. 661. Administrative provisions.

‘‘Sec. 662. Research coordination to improve results for children with disabilities.

‘‘Sec. 663. Technical assistance, demonstration projects, dissemination of information, and implementation of scientifically based research.

‘‘Sec. 664. Personnel development to improve services and results for children

with disabilities.

‘‘Sec. 665. Studies and evaluations.

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

DISABILITIES

‘‘Sec. 670. Purposes.

‘‘Sec. 671. Parent training and information centers.

‘‘Sec. 672. Community parent resource centers.

‘‘Sec. 673. Technical assistance for parent training and information centers.

‘‘Sec. 674. Technology development, demonstration, and utilization; and

media services.

‘‘Sec. 675. Accessibility of instructional materials.

‘‘Sec. 676. Authorization of appropriations.

‘‘SUBPART 4—INTERIM ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS, BEHAVIORAL

SUPPORTS, AND WHOLE SCHOOL INTERVENTIONS

‘‘Sec. 681. Purpose.

‘‘Sec. 682. Definition of eligible entity.

‘‘Sec. 683. Program authorized.

‘‘Sec. 684. Program evaluations.

‘‘Sec. 685. Authorization of appropriations.

1 ‘‘(c) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

2 ‘‘(1) Disability is a natural part of the human

3 experience and in no way diminishes the right of in4 dividuals to participate in or contribute to society.

5 Improving educational results for children with dis6 abilities is an essential element of our national policy

7 of ensuring equality of opportunity, full participa8 tion, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency

9 for individuals with disabilities.

10 ‘‘(2) Before the date of the enactment of the Edu11 cation for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975

12 (Public Law 94–142), the educational needs of mil-
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1 lions of children with disabilities were not being fully

2 met because—

3 ‘‘(A) the children did not receive appro4 priate educational services;

5 ‘‘(B) the children were excluded entirely

6 from the public school system and from being

7 educated with their peers;

8 ‘‘(C) undiagnosed disabilities prevented the

9 children from having a successful educational ex10 perience; or

11 ‘‘(D) a lack of adequate resources within the

12 public school system forced families to find serv13 ices outside the public school system.

14 ‘‘(3) Since the enactment and implementation of

15 the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of

16 1975, this Act has been successful in ensuring chil17 dren with disabilities and the families of such chil18 dren access to a free appropriate public education

19 and in improving educational results for children

20 with disabilities.

21 ‘‘(4) However, the implementation of this Act

22 has been impeded by low expectations, and an insuffi23 cient focus on applying replicable research on proven

24 methods of teaching and learning for children with

25 disabilities.
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1 ‘‘(5) 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 chil5 dren and ensuring their access to the general

6 education curriculum in the regular classroom to

7 the maximum extent possible in order to—

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

9 the maximum extent possible, the chal10 lenging expectations that have been estab11 lished for all children; and

12 ‘‘(ii) be prepared to lead productive

13 and independent adult lives, to the max14 imum extent possible;

15 ‘‘(B) strengthening the role and responsi16 bility of parents and ensuring that families of

17 such children have meaningful opportunities to

18 participate in the education of their children at

19 school and at home;

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

21 educational service agency, State, and Federal

22 school improvement efforts, including improve23 ment efforts under the Elementary and Sec24 ondary Education Act of 1965, in order to en25 sure that such children benefit from such efforts
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1 and that special education can become a service

2 for such children rather than a place where they

3 are sent;

4 ‘‘(D) providing appropriate special edu5 cation and related services, and aids and sup6 ports in the regular classroom, to such children,

7 whenever appropriate;

8 ‘‘(E) supporting high-quality, intensive

9 preservice preparation and professional develop10 ment for all personnel who work with children

11 with disabilities in order to ensure that such per12 sonnel have the skills and knowledge necessary to

13 improve the academic achievement and func14 tional performance of children with disabilities,

15 including the use of scientifically based instruc16 tional practices, to the maximum extent possible;

17 ‘‘(F) providing incentives for whole-school

18 approaches, scientifically based early reading

19 programs, positive behavioral interventions and

20 supports, and prereferral interventions to reduce

21 the need to label children as disabled in order to

22 address their learning and behavioral needs;

23 ‘‘(G) focusing resources on teaching and

24 learning while reducing paperwork and require-
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1 ments that do not assist in improving edu2 cational results; and

3 ‘‘(H) supporting the development and use of

4 technology, including assistive technology devices

5 and assistive technology services, to maximize

6 accessibility for children with disabilities.

7 ‘‘(6) While States, local educational agencies,

8 and educational service agencies are primarily re9 sponsible for providing an education for all children

10 with disabilities, it is in the national interest that the

11 Federal Government have a supporting role in assist12 ing State and local efforts to educate children with

13 disabilities in order to improve results for such chil14 dren and to ensure equal protection of the law.

15 ‘‘(7) A more equitable allocation of resources is

16 essential for the Federal Government to meet its re17 sponsibility to provide an equal educational oppor18 tunity for all individuals.

19 ‘‘(8) Parents and schools should be given ex20 panded opportunities to resolve their disagreements in

21 positive and constructive ways.

22 ‘‘(9) Teachers, schools, local educational agencies,

23 and States should be relieved of irrelevant and unnec24 essary paperwork burdens that do not lead to im25 proved educational outcomes.
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1 ‘‘(10)(A) The Federal Government must be re2 sponsive to the growing needs of an increasingly more

3 diverse society.

4 ‘‘(B) America’s ethnic profile is rapidly chang5 ing. In the year 2000, 1 of every 3 persons in the

6 United States was a member of a minority group or

7 was limited English proficient.

8 ‘‘(C) Minority children comprise an increasing

9 percentage of public school students.

10 ‘‘(D) With such changing demographics, recruit11 ment efforts for special education personnel should

12 focus on increasing the participation of minorities in

13 the teaching profession.

14 ‘‘(11)(A) The limited English proficient popu15 lation is the fastest growing in our Nation, and the

16 growth is occurring in many parts of our Nation.

17 ‘‘(B) Studies have documented apparent discrep18 ancies in the levels of referral and placement of lim19 ited English proficient children in special education.

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

21 education in the referral of, assessment of, and serv22 ices for, our Nation’s students from non-English lan23 guage backgrounds.

24 ‘‘(12)(A) Greater efforts are needed to prevent the

25 intensification of problems connected with mislabeling
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1 and high dropout rates among minority children with

2 disabilities.

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

4 served in special education than would be expected

5 from the percentage of minority students in the gen6 eral school population.

7 ‘‘(C) African-American children are identified as

8 having mental retardation and emotional disturbance

9 at rates greater than their white counterparts.

10 ‘‘(D) In the 1998–1999 school year, African11 American children represented just 14.8 percent of the

12 population aged 6 through 21, but comprised 20.2

13 percent of all children with disabilities.

14 ‘‘(E) Studies have found that schools with pre15 dominately Caucasian students and teachers have

16 placed disproportionately high numbers of their mi17 nority students into special education.

18 ‘‘(13)(A) As the number of minority students in

19 special education increases, the number of minority

20 teachers and related services personnel produced in

21 colleges and universities continues to decrease.

22 ‘‘(B) The opportunity for minority individuals,

23 organizations, and Historically Black Colleges and

24 Universities to participate fully in awards for grants

25 and contracts, boards of organizations receiving funds
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1 under this Act, and peer review panels, and in the

2 training of professionals in the area of special edu3 cation is essential if we are to obtain greater success

4 in the education of minority children with disabil5 ities.

6 ‘‘(14) As the graduation rates for children with

7 disabilities continue to climb, providing effective

8 transition services to promote successful post-school

9 employment or education is an important measure of

10 accountability for children with disabilities.

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

12 ‘‘(1)(A) to ensure that all children with disabil13 ities have available to them a free appropriate public

14 education that emphasizes special education and re15 lated services designed to meet their unique needs and

16 prepare them for employment, further education, and

17 independent living;

18 ‘‘(B) to ensure that the rights of children with

19 disabilities and parents of such children are protected;

20 and

21 ‘‘(C) to assist States, localities, educational serv22 ice agencies, and Federal agencies to provide for the

23 education of all children with disabilities;

24 ‘‘(2) to assist States in the implementation of a

25 Statewide, coordinated, multidisciplinary, inter-
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1 agency system of early intervention services for in2 fants and toddlers with disabilities and their families;

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

4 the necessary tools to improve educational results for

5 children with disabilities by supporting systemic6 change activities; coordinated research and personnel

7 preparation; coordinated technical assistance, dis8 semination, and support; and technology development

9 and media services; and

10 ‘‘(4) to assess, and ensure the effectiveness of, ef11 forts to educate children with disabilities.

12 ‘‘SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.

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

14 ‘‘(1) ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVICE.—The term

15 ‘assistive technology device’ means any item, piece of

16 equipment, or product system, whether acquired com17 mercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that

18 is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional

19 capabilities of a child with a disability. The term

20 does not include a medical device that is surgically

21 implanted, or the repalcement of such device.

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

23 term ‘assistive technology service’ means any service

24 that directly assists a child with a disability in the
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1 selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology

2 device. Such term includes—

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

4 child, including a functional evaluation of the

5 child in the child’s customary environment;

6 ‘‘(B) purchasing, leasing, or otherwise pro7 viding for the acquisition of assistive technology

8 devices by such child;

9 ‘‘(C) selecting, designing, fitting, custom10 izing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repair11 ing, or replacing of assistive technology devices;

12 ‘‘(D) coordinating and using other thera13 pies, interventions, or services with assistive

14 technology devices, such as those associated with

15 existing education and rehabilitation plans and

16 programs;

17 ‘‘(E) training or technical assistance for

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

19 such child; and

20 ‘‘(F) training or technical assistance for

21 professionals (including individuals providing

22 education and rehabilitation services), employ23 ers, or other individuals who provide services to,

24 employ, or are otherwise substantially involved

25 in the major life functions of such child.
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1 ‘‘(3) CHILDWITH A DISABILITY.—

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

3 disability’ means a child—

4 ‘‘(i) with mental retardation, hearing

5 impairments (including deafness), speech or

6 language impairments, visual impairments

7 (including blindness), serious emotional dis8 turbance (hereinafter referred to as ‘emo9 tional disturbance’), orthopedic impair10 ments, autism, traumatic brain injury,

11 other health impairments, or specific learn12 ing disabilities; and

13 ‘‘(ii) who, by reason thereof, needs spe14 cial education and related services.

15 ‘‘(B) CHILDAGED3 THROUGH 9.—The term

16 ‘child with a disability’ for a child aged 3

17 through 9 (or any subset of that age range, in18 cluding ages 3 through 5), may, at the discretion

19 of the State and the local educational agency, in20 clude a child—

21 ‘‘(i) experiencing developmental delays,

22 as defined by the State and as measured by

23 appropriate diagnostic instruments and

24 procedures, in 1 or more of the following

25 areas: physical development, cognitive devel-
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1 opment, communication development, social

2 or emotional development, or adaptive de3 velopment; and

4 ‘‘(ii) who, by reason thereof, needs spe5 cial education and related services.

6 ‘‘(4) CORE ACADEMIC SUBJECT.—The term ‘core

7 academic subject’ has the meaning given the term in

8 section 9101(11) of the Elementary and Secondary

9 Education Act of 1965.

10 ‘‘(5) EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY.—The term

11 ‘educational service agency’—

12 ‘‘(A) means a regional public multiservice

13 agency—

14 ‘‘(i) authorized by State law to de15 velop, manage, and provide services or pro16 grams to local educational agencies; and

17 ‘‘(ii) recognized as an administrative

18 agency for purposes of the provision of spe19 cial education and related services provided

20 within public elementary schools and sec21 ondary schools of the State; and

22 ‘‘(B) includes any other public institution

23 or agency having administrative control and di24 rection over a public elementary school or sec25 ondary school.
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1 ‘‘(6) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘elemen2 tary school’ means a nonprofit institutional day or

3 residential school that provides elementary education,

4 as determined under State law.

5 ‘‘(7) EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘equipment’

6 includes—

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

8 equipment, and any necessary enclosures or

9 structures to house such machinery, utilities, or

10 equipment; and

11 ‘‘(B) all other items necessary for the func12 tioning of a particular facility as a facility for

13 the provision of educational services, including

14 items such as instructional equipment and nec15 essary furniture; printed, published, and audio16 visual instructional materials; telecommuni17 cations, sensory, and other technological aids

18 and devices; and books, periodicals, documents,

19 and other related materials.

20 ‘‘(8) EXCESS COSTS.—The term ‘excess costs’

21 means those costs that are in excess of the average an22 nual per-student expenditure in a local educational

23 agency during the preceding school year for an ele24 mentary school or secondary school student, as may
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1 be appropriate, and which shall be computed after

2 deducting—

3 ‘‘(A) amounts received—

4 ‘‘(i) under part B of this title;

5 ‘‘(ii) under part A of title I of the Ele6 mentary and Secondary Education Act of

7 1965; and

8 ‘‘(iii) under parts A and B of title III

9 of that Act; and

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

11 programs that would qualify for assistance under

12 any of those parts.

13 ‘‘(9) FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION.—

14 The term ‘free appropriate public education’ means

15 special education and related services that—

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

17 under public supervision and direction, and

18 without charge;

19 ‘‘(B) meet the standards of the State edu20 cational agency;

21 ‘‘(C) include an appropriate preschool, ele22 mentary school, or secondary school education in

23 the State involved; and
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1 ‘‘(D) are provided in conformity with the

2 individualized education program required

3 under section 614(d).

4 ‘‘(10) HIGHLY QUALIFIED.—The term ‘highly

5 qualified’ means the following:

6 ‘‘(A) ALL SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACH7 ERS.—When used with respect to any public ele8 mentary school or secondary school special edu9 cation teacher teaching in a State, means that

10 the teacher holds at least a bachelor’s degree and

11 that—

12 ‘‘(i) the teacher has obtained full State

13 certification as a special education teacher

14 through a State-approved special education

15 teacher preparation program (including

16 certification obtained through alternative

17 routes to certification) or other comparably

18 rigorous methods, or passed the State teach19 er special education licensing examination,

20 and holds a license to teach in the State as

21 a special education teacher, except that

22 when used with respect to any teacher

23 teaching in a public charter school, the term

24 means that the teacher meets the require-
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1 ments set forth in the State’s public charter

2 school law;

3 ‘‘(ii) the teacher has not had certifi4 cation or licensure requirements waived on

5 an emergency, temporary, or provisional

6 basis; and

7 ‘‘(iii) the teacher demonstrates knowl8 edge of special education and the teaching

9 skills necessary to teach children with dis10 abilities.

11 ‘‘(B) NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SPECIAL

12 EDUCATION TEACHERS.—When used with respect

13 to a special education elementary school teacher

14 who is new to the profession, means that the

15 teacher demonstrated, by passing a rigorous

16 State test, subject knowledge and teaching skills

17 in reading, writing, mathematics, and other

18 areas of the basic elementary school curriculum

19 (which may consist of passing a State-required

20 certification or licensing test or tests in reading,

21 writing, mathematics, and other areas of the

22 basic elementary school curriculum).

23 ‘‘(C) NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL AND SECONDARY

24 SCHOOL SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS.—When

25 used with respect to a special education middle
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1 school or secondary school teacher who is new to

2 the profession, means that the teacher has dem3 onstrated a high level of competency in each of

4 the academic subjects in which the teacher teach5 es by—

6 ‘‘(i) passing a rigorous State academic

7 subject test in each of the academic subjects

8 in which the teacher teaches (which may

9 consist of a passing level of performance on

10 a State-required certification or licensing

11 test or tests in each of the academic subjects

12 in which the teacher teaches); or

13 ‘‘(ii) successful completion, in each of

14 the academic subjects in which the teacher

15 teaches, of an academic major, graduate de16 gree, coursework equivalent to an under17 graduate academic major, or advanced cer18 tification or credentialing.

19 ‘‘(D) VETERAN SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACH20 ERS.—When used with respect to an elementary

21 school, middle school, or secondary school special

22 education teacher who is not new to the profes23 sion, means that the teacher has—
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1 ‘‘(i) met the applicable standard in

2 subparagraph (B) or (C), which includes an

3 option for a test; or

4 ‘‘(ii) has demonstrated competence in

5 all the academic subjects in which the teach6 er teaches based on a high objective uniform

7 State standard of evaluation for special

8 education teachers that—

9 ‘‘(I) is set by the State for both

10 grade-appropriate academic subject

11 matter knowledge and special edu12 cation teaching skills;

13 ‘‘(II) is aligned with challenging

14 State academic content and student

15 academic achievement standards and

16 developed in consultation with special

17 education teachers, core content spe18 cialists, teachers, principals, and

19 school administrators;

20 ‘‘(III) provides objective, coherent

21 information about the teachers’ attain22 ment of knowledge of core content

23 knowledge in the academic subjects in

24 which a teacher teaches;
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1 ‘‘(IV) is applied uniformly to all

2 special education teachers who teach in

3 the same academic subject and the

4 same grade level throughout the State;

5 ‘‘(V) takes into consideration, but

6 is not based primarily on, the time the

7 teacher has been teaching in the aca8 demic subject;

9 ‘‘(VI) is made available to the

10 public on request; and

11 ‘‘(VII) may involve multiple objec12 tive measures of teacher competency.

13 ‘‘(E) TEACHERS PROVIDING CONSULTATIVE

14 SERVICES.—

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding

16 subparagraphs (B) through (D), when used

17 with respect to a special education teacher

18 who provides only consultative services to a

19 highly qualified regular education teacher

20 (as the term highly qualified is defined in

21 section 9101(23) of the Elementary and

22 Secondary Education Act of 1965), means

23 that the teacher meets the requirements of

24 subparagraph (A).
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1 ‘‘(ii) CONSULTATIVE SERVICES.—As

2 used in clause (i), the term ‘consultative

3 services’ means services that adjust the

4 learning environment, modify instructional

5 methods, adapt curricula, use positive be6 havior supports and interventions, and se7 lect and implement appropriate accom8 modations to meet the needs of individual

9 children.

10 ‘‘(F) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub11 paragraphs (B) through (D), when used with re12 spect to a special education teacher who teaches

13 more than 1 subject, primarily to middle school

14 and secondary school-aged children with signifi15 cant cognitive disabilities, means that the teach16 er has demonstrated subject knowledge and teach17 ing skills in reading, mathematics, and other

18 areas of the basic elementary school curriculum

19 by—

20 ‘‘(i) passing a rigorous State test

21 (which may consist of passing a State-re22 quired certification or licensing test or tests

23 in those areas); or

24 ‘‘(ii) demonstrating competency in all

25 the academic subjects in which the teacher
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1 teaches, based on a high objective uniform

2 State standard as described in subpara3 graph (D)(ii).

4 ‘‘(11) INDIAN.—The term ‘Indian’ means an in5 dividual who is a member of an Indian tribe.

6 ‘‘(12) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’

7 means any Federal or State Indian tribe, band,

8 rancheria, pueblo, colony, or community, including

9 any Alaska Native village or regional village corpora10 tion (as defined in or established under the Alaska

11 Native Claims Settlement Act).

12 ‘‘(13) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM.—

13 The term ‘individualized education program’ or ‘IEP’

14 means a written statement for each child with a dis15 ability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in ac16 cordance with section 614(d).

17 ‘‘(14) INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLAN.—

18 The term ‘individualized family service plan’ has the

19 meaning given such term in section 636.

20 ‘‘(15) INFANT OR TODDLER WITH A DIS21 ABILITY.—The term ‘infant or toddler with a dis22 ability’ has the meaning given such term in section

23 632.

24 ‘‘(16) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—

25 The term ‘institution of higher education’—
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1 ‘‘(A) has the meaning given such term in

2 section 101 (a) and (b) of the Higher Education

3 Act of 1965; and

4 ‘‘(B) also includes any community college

5 receiving funding from the Secretary of the Inte6 rior under the Tribally Controlled College or

7 University Assistance Act of 1978.

8 ‘‘(17) LIMITEDENGLISH PROFICIENT.—The term

9 ‘limited English proficient’ has the meaning given the

10 term in section 9101(25) of the Elementary and Sec11 ondary Education Act of 1965.

12 ‘‘(18) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—

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

14 means a public board of education or other pub15 lic authority legally constituted within a State

16 for either administrative control or direction of,

17 or to perform a service function for, public ele18 mentary schools or secondary schools in a city,

19 county, township, school district, or other polit20 ical subdivision of a State, or for such combina21 tion of school districts or counties as are recog22 nized in a State as an administrative agency for

23 its public elementary schools or secondary

24 schools.

25 ‘‘(B) The term includes—
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1 ‘‘(i) an educational service agency, as

2 defined in paragraph (5); and

3 ‘‘(ii) any other public institution or

4 agency having administrative control and

5 direction of a public elementary school or

6 secondary school.

7 ‘‘(C) The term includes an elementary

8 school or secondary school funded by the Bureau

9 of Indian Affairs, but only to the extent that

10 such inclusion makes the school eligible for pro11 grams for which specific eligibility is not pro12 vided to the school in another provision of law

13 and the school does not have a student popu14 lation that is smaller than the student popu15 lation of the local educational agency receiving

16 assistance under this Act with the smallest stu17 dent population, except that the school shall not

18 be subject to the jurisdiction of any State edu19 cational agency other than the Bureau of Indian

20 Affairs.

21 ‘‘(19) NATIVE LANGUAGE.—The term ‘native lan22 guage’, when used with respect to an individual of

23 limited English proficiency, means the language nor24 mally used by the individual, or in the case of a
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1 child, the language normally used by the parents of

2 the child.

3 ‘‘(20) NONPROFIT.—The term ‘nonprofit’, as ap4 plied to a school, agency, organization, or institution,

5 means a school, agency, organization, or institution

6 owned and operated by 1 or more nonprofit corpora7 tions or associations no part of the net earnings of

8 which inures, or may lawfully inure, to the benefit of

9 any private shareholder or individual.

10 ‘‘(21) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘outlying

11 area’ means the United States Virgin Islands, Guam,

12 American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the

13 Northern Mariana Islands.

14 ‘‘(22) PARENT.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘parent’—

16 ‘‘(i) means—

17 ‘‘(I) a natural or adoptive parent

18 of a child;

19 ‘‘(II) a guardian (but not the

20 State if the child is a ward of the

21 State);

22 ‘‘(III) an individual acting in the

23 place of a natural or adoptive parent,

24 including a grandparent, stepparent,

25 or other relative with whom the child
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1 lives or an individual who is legally

2 responsible for the child’s welfare; or

3 ‘‘(IV) except as used in sections

4 615(b)(2) and 639(a)(5), an individual

5 assigned under either of those sections

6 to be a surrogate parent; and

7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a homeless child

8 who is not in the physical custody of a par9 ent or guardian, includes a related or unre10 lated adult with whom the child is living or

11 other adult jointly designated by the child

12 and the local educational agency liaison for

13 homeless children and youths (designated

14 pursuant to section 722(g)(1)(J)(ii) of the

15 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act),

16 in addition to other individuals permitted

17 by law.

18 ‘‘(B) FOSTER PARENT.—Unless State law

19 prohibits a foster parent from acting as a par20 ent, the term ‘parent’ includes a foster parent

21 if—

22 ‘‘(i) the natural or adoptive parents’

23 authority to make educational decisions on

24 the child’s behalf has been extinguished

25 under State law; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) the foster parent—

2 ‘‘(I) has an ongoing, long-term

3 parental relationship with the child;

4 ‘‘(II) is willing to make the edu5 cational decisions required of parents

6 under this Act; and

7 ‘‘(III) has no interest that would

8 conflict with the interests of the child.

9 ‘‘(23) PARENT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘par10 ent organization’ has the meaning given such term in

11 section 671(g).

12 ‘‘(24) PARENT TRAINING ANDINFORMATION CEN13 TER.—The term ‘parent training and information

14 center’ means a center assisted under section 671 or

15 672.

16 ‘‘(25) RELATEDSERVICES.—The term ‘related

17 services’ means transportation, and such develop18 mental, corrective, and other supportive services (in19 cluding speech-language pathology and audiology

20 services, interpreting services, psychological services,

21 physical and occupational therapy, recreation, in22 cluding therapeutic recreation, social work services,

23 school health services, counseling services, including

24 rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility

25 services, travel training instruction, and medical
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1 services, except that such medical services shall be for

2 diagnostic and evaluation purposes only) as may be

3 required to assist a child with a disability to benefit

4 from special education, and includes the early identi5 fication and assessment of disabling conditions in

6 children. The term does not include a medical device

7 that is surgically implanted, or the replacement of

8 such device.

9 ‘‘(26) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘sec10 ondary school’ means a nonprofit institutional day or

11 residential school that provides secondary education,

12 as determined under State law, except that it does not

13 include any education beyond grade 12.

14 ‘‘(27) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means

15 the Secretary of Education.

16 ‘‘(28) SPECIAL EDUCATION.—The term ‘special

17 education’ means specially designed instruction, at no

18 cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child

19 with a disability, including—

20 ‘‘(A) instruction conducted in the classroom,

21 in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and

22 in other settings; and

23 ‘‘(B) instruction in physical education.

24 ‘‘(29) SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘specific

2 learning disability’ means a disorder in 1 or

3 more of the basic psychological processes involved

4 in understanding or in using language, spoken

5 or written, which disorder may manifest itself in

6 the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read,

7 write, spell, or do mathematical calculations.

8 ‘‘(B) DISORDERS INCLUDED.—Such term

9 includes such conditions as perceptual disabil10 ities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction,

11 dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

12 ‘‘(C) DISORDERS NOT INCLUDED.—Such

13 term does not include a learning problem that is

14 primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor

15 disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional

16 disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or

17 economic disadvantage.

18 ‘‘(30) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of

19 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Common20 wealth of Puerto Rico, and each of the outlying areas.

21 ‘‘(31) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term

22 ‘State educational agency’ means the State board of

23 education or other agency or officer primarily respon24 sible for the State supervision of public elementary

25 schools and secondary schools, or, if there is no such
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1 officer or agency, an officer or agency designated by

2 the Governor or by State law.

3 ‘‘(32) SUPPLEMENTARY AIDS AND SERVICES.—

4 The term ‘supplementary aids and services’ means

5 aids, services, and other supports that are provided in

6 regular education classes or other education-related

7 settings to enable children with disabilities to be edu8 cated with nondisabled children to the maximum ex9 tent appropriate in accordance with section

10 612(a)(5).

11 ‘‘(33) TRANSITION SERVICES.—The term ‘transi12 tion services’ means a coordinated set of activities for

13 a child with a disability (as defined in paragraph

14 (3)(A)) that—

15 ‘‘(A) is designed to be within a results-ori16 ented process, that is focused on improving the

17 academic and functional achievement of the child

18 with a disability to facilitate the child’s move19 ment from school to post-school activities, includ20 ing post-secondary education, vocational train21 ing, integrated employment (including supported

22 employment), continuing and adult education,

23 adult services, independent living, or community

24 participation;
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1 ‘‘(B) is based on the individual child’s

2 needs, taking into account the child’s strengths,

3 preferences, and interests; and

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

5 community experiences, the development of em6 ployment and other post-school adult living ob7 jectives, and, when appropriate, acquisition of

8 daily living skills and functional vocational

9 evaluation.

10 ‘‘(34) CHILDWITH A DISABILITY IN A MILITARY

11 FAMILY.—The term ‘child with a disability in a mili12 tary family’ means a child with a disability who has

13 a parent who is a member of the Armed Forces, in14 cluding a member of the National Guard or Reserves.

15 ‘‘(35) HOMELESS CHILDREN.—The term ‘home16 less children’ has the meaning given the term ‘home17 less children and youths’ in section 725 of the McKin18 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

19 ‘‘(36) WARDOF THE STATE.—The term ‘ward of

20 the State’ means a child who, as defined by the State

21 where the child resides, is a foster child, a ward of the

22 State or is in the custody of a public child welfare

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

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be, within the Of3 fice of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the

4 Department of Education, an Office of Special Education

5 Programs, which shall be the principal agency in such De6 partment for administering and carrying out this Act and

7 other programs and activities concerning the education of

8 children with disabilities.

9 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Office established under sub10 section (a) shall be headed by a Director who shall be se11 lected by the Secretary and shall report directly to the As12 sistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative

13 Services.

14 ‘‘(c) VOLUNTARY AND UNCOMPENSATED SERVICES.—

15 Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States

16 Code, the Secretary is authorized to accept voluntary and

17 uncompensated services in furtherance of the purposes of

18 this Act.

19 ‘‘SEC. 604. ABROGATION OF STATE SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State shall not be immune

21 under the 11th amendment to the Constitution of the United

22 States from suit in Federal court for a violation of this

23 Act.

24 ‘‘(b) REMEDIES.—In a suit against a State for a viola25 tion of this Act, remedies (including remedies both at law

26 and in equity) are available for such a violation to the same
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1 extent as those remedies are available for such a violation

2 in the suit against any public entity other than a State.

3 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsections (a) and (b) apply

4 with respect to violations that occur in whole or part after

5 the date of enactment of the Education of the Handicapped

6 Act Amendments of 1990.

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

8 OR ALTERATION OF FACILITIES.

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

10 a program authorized under this Act will be improved by

11 permitting program funds to be used to acquire appropriate

12 equipment, or to construct new facilities or alter existing

13 facilities, the Secretary is authorized to allow the use of

14 those funds for those purposes.

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

16 Any construction of new facilities or alteration of existing

17 facilities under subsection (a) shall comply with the require18 ments of—

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

20 Federal Regulations (commonly known as the ‘Ameri21 cans with Disabilities Accessibility Guidelines for

22 Buildings and Facilities’); or

23 ‘‘(2) appendix A of subpart 101–19.6 of title 41,

24 Code of Federal Regulations (commonly known as the

25 ‘Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards’).
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1 ‘‘SEC. 606. EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABIL2 ITIES.

3 ‘‘The Secretary shall ensure that each recipient of as4 sistance under this Act makes positive efforts to employ and

5 advance in employment qualified individuals with disabil6 ities in programs assisted under this Act.

7 ‘‘SEC. 607. REQUIREMENTS FOR PRESCRIBING REGULA8 TIONS.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the provisions of

10 this Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations under this

11 Act only to the extent that such regulations are necessary

12 to ensure that there is compliance with the specific require13 ments of this Act.

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

15 Secretary may not implement, or publish in final form, any

16 regulation prescribed pursuant to this Act that—

17 ‘‘(1) violates or contradicts any provision of this

18 Act; and

19 ‘‘(2) procedurally or substantively lessens the

20 protections provided to children with disabilities

21 under this Act, as embodied in regulations in effect

22 on July 20, 1983 (particularly as such protections re23 lated to parental consent to initial evaluation or ini24 tial placement in special education, least restrictive

25 environment, related services, timelines, attendance of

26 evaluation personnel at individualized education pro-
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1 gram meetings, or qualifications of personnel), except

2 to the extent that such regulation reflects the clear

3 and unequivocal intent of the Congress in legislation.

4 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.—The Secretary shall

5 provide a public comment period of not more than 90 days

6 on any regulation proposed under part B or part C of this

7 Act on which an opportunity for public comment is other8 wise required by law.

9 ‘‘(d) POLICY LETTERS AND STATEMENTS.—The Sec10 retary may not issue policy letters or other statements (in11 cluding letters or statements regarding issues of national

12 significance) that—

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

14 Act; or

15 ‘‘(2) establish a rule that is required for compli16 ance with, and eligibility under, this Act without fol17 lowing the requirements of section 553 of title 5,

18 United States Code.

19 ‘‘(e) EXPLANATION AND ASSURANCES.—Any written

20 response by the Secretary under subsection (d) regarding

21 a policy, question, or interpretation under part B of this

22 Act shall include an explanation in the written response

23 that—

24 ‘‘(1) such response is provided as informal guid25 ance and is not legally binding;
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1 ‘‘(2) when required, such response is issued in

2 compliance with the requirements of section 553 of

3 title 5, United States Code; and

4 ‘‘(3) such response represents the interpretation

5 by the Department of Education of the applicable

6 statutory or regulatory requirements in the context of

7 the specific facts presented.

8 ‘‘(f) CORRESPONDENCE FROM DEPARTMENT OF EDU9 CATION DESCRIBING INTERPRETATIONS OF THIS ACT.—

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

11 quarterly basis, publish in the Federal Register, and

12 widely disseminate to interested entities through var13 ious additional forms of communication, a list of cor14 respondence from the Department of Education re15 ceived by individuals during the previous quarter

16 that describes the interpretations of the Department of

17 Education of this Act or the regulations implemented

18 pursuant to this Act.

19 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.—For each item

20 of correspondence published in a list under paragraph

21 (1), the Secretary shall—

22 ‘‘(A) identify the topic addressed by the cor23 respondence and shall include such other sum24 mary information as the Secretary determines to

25 be appropriate; and
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1 ‘‘(B) ensure that all such correspondence is

2 issued, where applicable, in compliance with the

3 requirements of section 553 of title 5, United

4 States Code.

5 ‘‘SEC. 608. STATE ADMINISTRATION.

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

7 under this Act shall—

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

9 and policies relating to this Act conform to the pur10 poses of this Act; and

11 ‘‘(2) identify in writing to its local educational

12 agencies and the Secretary any such rule, regulation,

13 or policy as a State-imposed requirement that is not

14 required by this Act and Federal regulations.

15 ‘‘(b) SUPPORT AND FACILITATION.—State rules, regu16 lations, and policies under this Act shall support and facili17 tate local educational agency and school-level systemic re18 form designed to enable children with disabilities to meet

19 the challenging State student academic achievement stand20 ards.

21 ‘‘SEC. 609. PAPERWORK REDUCTION.

22 ‘‘(a) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Comptroller Gen23 eral shall conduct a review of Federal, State, and local re24 quirements relating to the education of children with dis25 abilities to determine which requirements result in excessive
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1 paperwork completion burdens for teachers, related services

2 providers, and school administrators, and shall report to

3 Congress not later than 18 months after the date of enact4 ment of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Im5 provement Act of 2003 regarding such review along with

6 strategic proposals for reducing the paperwork burdens on

7 teachers.

8 ‘‘(b) PAPERWORK REDUCTION DEMONSTRATION.—

9 ‘‘(1) PILOT PROGRAM.—

10 ‘‘(A) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this sub11 section is to provide an opportunity for States to

12 identify ways to reduce paperwork burdens and

13 other administrative duties that are directly as14 sociated with the requirements of this Act, in

15 order to increase the time and resources available

16 for instruction and other activities aimed at im17 proving educational and functional results for

18 children with disabilities.

19 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION.—

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In order to carry

21 out the purpose of this subsection, the Sec22 retary is authorized to grant waivers of

23 statutory requirements of, or regulatory re24 quirements relating to, this part for a pe25 riod of time not to exceed 4 years with re-
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1 spect to not more than 15 States based on

2 proposals submitted by States to reduce ex3 cessive paperwork and noninstructional

4 time burdens that do not assist in improv5 ing educational and functional results for

6 children with disabilities.

7 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary shall

8 not waive any statutory requirements of, or

9 regulatory requirements relating to, appli10 cable civil rights requirements.

11 ‘‘(iii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Noth12 ing in this subsection shall be construed

13 to—

14 ‘‘(I) affect the right of a child

15 with a disability to receive a free ap16 propriate public education under this

17 part; and

18 ‘‘(II) permit a State or local edu19 cational agency to waive procedural

20 safeguards under section 615.

21 ‘‘(C) PROPOSAL.—

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A State desiring to

23 participate in the program under this sub24 section shall submit a proposal to the Sec-
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1 retary at such time and in such manner as

2 the Secretary may reasonably require.

3 ‘‘(ii) CONTENT.—The proposal shall

4 include—

5 ‘‘(I) a list of any statutory re6 quirements of, or regulatory require7 ments relating to, this part that the

8 State desires the Secretary to waive or

9 change, in whole or in part; and

10 ‘‘(II) a list of any State require11 ments that the State proposes to waive

12 or change, in whole or in part, to

13 carry out a waiver granted to the State

14 by the Secretary.

15 ‘‘(D) TERMINATION OF WAIVER.—The Sec16 retary shall terminate a State’s waiver under

17 this subsection if the Secretary determines that

18 the State—

19 ‘‘(i) has failed to make satisfactory

20 progress in meeting the indicators described

21 in section 616; or

22 ‘‘(ii) has failed to appropriately imple23 ment its waiver.

24 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Beginning 2 years after the date

25 of enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities
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1 Education Improvement Act of 2003, the Secretary

2 shall include in the annual report to Congress sub3 mitted pursuant to section 426 of the Department of

4 Education Organization Act information related to

5 the effectiveness of waivers granted under paragraph

6 (1), including any specific recommendations for

7 broader implementation of such waivers, in—

8 ‘‘(A) reducing—

9 ‘‘(i) the paperwork burden on teachers,

10 principals, administrators, and related

11 service providers; and

12 ‘‘(ii) noninstructional time spent by

13 teachers in complying with this part;

14 ‘‘(B) enhancing longer-term educational

15 planning;

16 ‘‘(C) improving positive outcomes for chil17 dren with disabilities;

18 ‘‘(D) promoting collaboration between IEP

19 Team members; and

20 ‘‘(E) ensuring satisfaction of family mem21 bers.

22 ‘‘SEC. 610. FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES.

23 ‘‘The Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated

24 States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau shall con25 tinue to be eligible for competitive grants administered by
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1 the Secretary under this Act to the extent that such grants

2 continue to be available to States and local educational

3 agencies under this Act.

4 ‘‘PART B—ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION OF ALL

5 CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

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

7 AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

8 ‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.—

9 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE OF GRANTS.—The Secretary shall

10 make grants to States and the outlying areas, and

11 provide funds to the Secretary of the Interior, to as12 sist them to provide special education and related

13 services to children with disabilities in accordance

14 with this part.

15 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The maximum

16 amount available for awarding grants under this sec17 tion for any fiscal year is—

18 ‘‘(A) the total number of children with dis19 abilities in the 2002–2003 school year in the

20 States who received special education and related

21 services and who were—

22 ‘‘(i) aged 3 through 5, if the State was

23 eligible for a grant under section 619; and

24 ‘‘(ii) aged 6 through 21; multiplied by
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1 ‘‘(B) 40 percent of the average per-pupil ex2 penditure in public elementary schools and sec3 ondary schools in the United States; adjusted by;

4 ‘‘(C) the rate of change in the sum of—

5 ‘‘(i) 85 percent of the change in the na6 tionwide total of the population described in

7 subsection (d)(3)(A)(i)(II); and

8 ‘‘(ii) 15 percent of the change in the

9 nationwide total of the population described

10 in subsection (d)(3)(A)(i)(III).

11 ‘‘(b) OUTLYING AREAS AND FREELY ASSOCIATED

12 STATES.—

13 ‘‘(1) FUNDS RESERVED.—From the amount ap14 propriated for any fiscal year under subsection (i),

15 the Secretary shall reserve not more than 1 percent,

16 which shall be used—

17 ‘‘(A) to provide assistance to the outlying

18 areas in accordance with their respective popu19 lations of individuals aged 3 through 21; and

20 ‘‘(B) to provide each freely associated State

21 a grant in the amount that such freely associated

22 State received for fiscal year 2003 under this

23 part, but only if the freely associated State meets

24 the applicable requirements of this part, as well

25 as the requirements of section 611(b)(2)(C) as
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1 such section was in effect on the day before the

2 date of enactment of the Individuals with Dis3 abilities Education Improvement Act of 2004.

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

5 Law 95–134, permitting the consolidation of grants

6 by the outlying areas, shall not apply to funds pro7 vided to the outlying areas or the freely associated

8 States under this section.

9 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—As used in this subsection,

10 the term ‘freely associated States’ means the Republic

11 of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Mi12 cronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

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

14 amount appropriated for any fiscal year under subsection

15 (i), the Secretary shall reserve 1.226 percent to provide as16 sistance to the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with

17 subsection (i).

18 ‘‘(d) ALLOCATIONS TO STATES.—

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

20 studies and evaluations under section 665, and for

21 payments to the outlying areas, the freely associated

22 States, and the Secretary of the Interior under sub23 sections (b) and (c) for a fiscal year, the Secretary

24 shall allocate the remaining amount among the States

25 in accordance with this subsection.
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1 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR USE OF FISCAL YEAR

2 1999 AMOUNT.—If a State received any funds under

3 this section for fiscal year 1999 on the basis of chil4 dren aged 3 through 5, but does not make a free ap5 propriate public education available to all children

6 with disabilities aged 3 through 5 in the State in any

7 subsequent fiscal year, the Secretary shall compute the

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

9 purpose of calculating the State’s allocation in that

10 subsequent year under paragraph (3) or (4), by sub11 tracting the amount allocated to the State for fiscal

12 year 1999 on the basis of those children.

13 ‘‘(3) INCREASE IN FUNDS.—If the amount avail14 able for allocations to States under paragraph (1) for

15 a fiscal year is equal to or greater than the amount

16 allocated to the States under this paragraph for the

17 preceding fiscal year, those allocations shall be cal18 culated as follows:

19 ‘‘(A) ALLOCATION OF INCREASE.—

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

21 in subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall al22 locate for the fiscal year—

23 ‘‘(I) to each State the amount the

24 State received under this section for

25 fiscal year 1999;
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1 ‘‘(II) 85 percent of any remaining

2 funds to States on the basis of the

3 States’ relative populations of children

4 aged 3 through 21 who are of the same

5 age as children with disabilities for

6 whom the State ensures the avail7 ability of a free appropriate public

8 education under this part; and

9 ‘‘(III) 15 percent of those remain10 ing funds to States on the basis of the

11 States’ relative populations of children

12 described in subclause (II) who are liv13 ing in poverty.

14 ‘‘(ii) DATA.—For the purpose of mak15 ing grants under this paragraph, the Sec16 retary shall use the most recent population

17 data, including data on children living in

18 poverty, that are available and satisfactory

19 to the Secretary.

20 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.—Notwithstanding sub21 paragraph (A), allocations under this paragraph

22 shall be subject to the following:

23 ‘‘(i) PRECEDING YEAR ALLOCATION.—

24 No State’s allocation shall be less than its
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1 allocation under this section for the pre2 ceding fiscal year.

3 ‘‘(ii) MINIMUM.—No State’s allocation

4 shall be less than the greatest of—

5 ‘‘(I) the sum of—

6 ‘‘(aa) the amount the State

7 received under this section for fis8 cal year 1999; and

‘‘(bb) 1 9 ⁄3 of 1 percent of the

10 amount by which the amount ap11 propriated under subsection (i)

12 for the fiscal year exceeds the

13 amount appropriated for this sec14 tion for fiscal year 1999;

15 ‘‘(II) the sum of—

16 ‘‘(aa) the amount the State

17 received under this section for the

18 preceding fiscal year; and

19 ‘‘(bb) that amount multiplied

20 by the percentage by which the in21 crease in the funds appropriated

22 for this section from the preceding

23 fiscal year exceeds 1.5 percent; or

24 ‘‘(III) the sum of—
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1 ‘‘(aa) the amount the State

2 received under this section for the

3 preceding fiscal year; and

4 ‘‘(bb) that amount multiplied

5 by 90 percent of the percentage

6 increase in the amount appro7 priated for this section from the

8 preceding fiscal year.

9 ‘‘(iii) MAXIMUM.—Notwithstanding

10 clause (ii), no State’s allocation under this

11 paragraph shall exceed the sum of—

12 ‘‘(I) the amount the State received

13 under this section for the preceding fis14 cal year; and

15 ‘‘(II) that amount multiplied by

16 the sum of 1.5 percent and the percent17 age increase in the amount appro18 priated under this section from the

19 preceding fiscal year.

20 ‘‘(C) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the amount

21 available for allocations under this paragraph is

22 insufficient to pay those allocations in full, those

23 allocations shall be ratably reduced, subject to

24 subparagraph (B)(i).
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1 ‘‘(4) DECREASE IN FUNDS.—If the amount avail2 able for allocations to States under paragraph (1) for

3 a fiscal year is less than the amount allocated to the

4 States under this section for the preceding fiscal year,

5 those allocations shall be calculated as follows:

6 ‘‘(A) AMOUNTS GREATER THAN FISCAL

7 YEAR 1999 ALLOCATIONS.—If the amount avail8 able for allocations is greater than the amount

9 allocated to the States for fiscal year 1999, each

10 State shall be allocated the sum of—

11 ‘‘(i) the amount the State received

12 under this section for fiscal year 1999; and

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

14 relation to any remaining funds as the in15 crease the State received under this section

16 for the preceding fiscal year over fiscal year

17 1999 bears to the total of all such increases

18 for all States.

19 ‘‘(B) AMOUNTS EQUAL TO OR LESS THAN

20 FISCAL YEAR 1999 ALLOCATIONS.—

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the amount

22 available for allocations under this para23 graph is equal to or less than the amount

24 allocated to the States for fiscal year 1999,
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1 each State shall be allocated the amount the

2 State received for fiscal year 1999.

3 ‘‘(ii) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the

4 amount available for allocations under this

5 paragraph is insufficient to make the allo6 cations described in clause (i), those alloca7 tions shall be ratably reduced.

8 ‘‘(e) STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—

9 ‘‘(1) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of ad11 ministering this part, including paragraph (3),

12 section 619, and the coordination of activities

13 under this part with, and providing technical

14 assistance to, other programs that provide serv15 ices to children with disabilities—

16 ‘‘(i) each State may reserve not more

17 than the maximum amount the State was

18 eligible to reserve for State administration

19 for fiscal year 2003 or $800,000 (adjusted

20 by the cumulative rate of inflation since fis21 cal year 2003 as measured by the percent22 age increase, if any, in the Consumer Price

23 Index For All Urban Consumers, published

24 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the De-
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1 partment of Labor), whichever is greater;

2 and

3 ‘‘(ii) each outlying area may reserve

4 not more than 5 percent of the amount the

5 outlying area receives under subsection (b)

6 for any fiscal year or $35,000, whichever is

7 greater.

8 ‘‘(B) PART C.—Funds reserved under sub9 paragraph (A) may be used for the administra10 tion of part C, if the State educational agency

11 is the lead agency for the State under that part.

12 ‘‘(C) CERTIFICATION.—Prior to expenditure

13 of funds under this paragraph, the State shall

14 certify to the Secretary that the arrangements to

15 establish responsibility for services pursuant to

16 section 612(a)(12)(A) are current as of the date

17 of submission of the certification.

18 ‘‘(2) OTHER STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—

19 ‘‘(A) STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of

21 carrying out State-level activities, each

22 State may reserve for each of the fiscal

23 years 2004 and 2005, not more than 10 per24 cent of the amount that remains after sub25 tracting the amount reserved under para-
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1 graph (1) from the amount of the State’s al2 location under subsection (d) for fiscal years

3 2004 and 2005, respectively. For fiscal

4 years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009, the State

5 may reserve the maximum amount the

6 State was eligible to reserve under the pre7 ceding sentence for fiscal year 2005 (ad8 justed by the cumulative rate of inflation

9 since fiscal year 2005 as measured by the

10 percentage increase, if any, in the Con11 sumer Price Index for All Urban Con12 sumers, published by the Bureau of Labor

13 Statistics of the Department of Labor).

14 ‘‘(ii) SMALL STATE ADJUSTMENT.—

15 Notwithstanding clause (i), in the case of a

16 State for which the maximum amount re17 served for State administration under para18 graph (1) is not greater than $800,000 (as

19 adjusted pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)(i)),

20 the State may reserve for the purpose of

21 carrying out State-level activities for each

22 of the fiscal years 2004 and 2005, not more

23 than 12 percent of the amount that remains

24 after subtracting the amount reserved under

25 paragraph (1) from the amount of the
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1 State’s allocation under subsection (d) for

2 fiscal years 2004 and 2005, respectively.

3 For each of the fiscal years 2006, 2007,

4 2008, and 2009, each such State may re5 serve for such purpose the maximum

6 amount the State was eligible to reserve

7 under the preceding sentence for fiscal year

8 2005 (adjusted by the cumulative rate of in9 flation since fiscal year 2005 as measured

10 by the percentage increase, if any, in the

11 Consumer Price Index For All Urban Con12 sumers, published by the Bureau of Labor

13 Statistics of the Department of Labor).

14 ‘‘(B) REQUIREDACTIVITIES.—Funds re15 served under subparagraph (A) shall be used to

16 carry out the following activities:

17 ‘‘(i) For monitoring, enforcement and

18 complaint investigation.

19 ‘‘(ii) To establish and implement the

20 mediation, processes required by section

21 615(e)(1), including providing for the costs

22 of mediators and support personnel;

23 ‘‘(iii) To support the State protection

24 and advocacy system to advise and assist

25 parents in the areas of—
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1 ‘‘(I) dispute resolution and due

2 process;

3 ‘‘(II) voluntary mediation; and

4 ‘‘(III) the opportunity to resolve

5 complaints.

6 ‘‘(C) AUTHORIZEDACTIVITIES.—Funds re7 served under subparagraph (A) may be used to

8 carry out the following activities:

9 ‘‘(i) For support and direct services,

10 including technical assistance, personnel

11 preparation, and professional development

12 and training.

13 ‘‘(ii) To support paperwork reduction

14 activities, including expanding the use of

15 technology in the IEP process.

16 ‘‘(iii) To assist local educational agen17 cies in providing positive behavioral inter18 ventions and supports and mental health

19 services for children with disabilities.

20 ‘‘(iv) To improve the use of technology

21 in the classroom by children with disabil22 ities to enhance learning.

23 ‘‘(v) To support the development and

24 use of technology, including universally de25 signed technologies and assistive technology
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1 devices, to maximize accessibility to the gen2 eral curriculum for children with disabil3 ities.

4 ‘‘(vi) Development and implementation

5 of transition programs, including coordina6 tion of services with agencies involved in

7 supporting the transition of students with

8 disabilities to post-secondary activities.

9 ‘‘(vii) To assist local educational agen10 cies in meeting personnel shortages.

11 ‘‘(viii) To support capacity building

12 activities and improve the delivery of serv13 ices by local educational agencies to im14 prove results for children with disabilities.

15 ‘‘(ix) Alternative programming for

16 children who have been expelled from school,

17 and services for children in correctional fa18 cilities, children enrolled in State-operated

19 or State-supported schools, and children in

20 charter schools.

21 ‘‘(x) To support the development and

22 provision of appropriate accommodations

23 for children with disabilities, or the develop24 ment and provision of alternate assessments

25 that are valid and reliable for assessing the
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1 performance of children with disabilities, in

2 accordance with sections 1111(b) and 6111

3 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu4 cation Act of 1965.

5 ‘‘(3) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY RISK POOL.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of as7 sisting local educational agencies (and charter

8 schools that are local educational agencies) in

9 addressing the needs of high-need children and

10 the unanticipated enrollment of other children el11 igible for services under this part, each State

12 shall reserve for each of the fiscal years 2004

13 through 2009, 2 percent of the amount that re14 mains after subtracting the amount reserved

15 under paragraph (1) from the amount of the

16 State’s allocation under subsection (d) for each of

17 the fiscal years 2004 through 2009, respectively,

18 to—

19 ‘‘(i) establish a high-cost fund; and

20 ‘‘(ii) make disbursements from the

21 high-cost fund to local educational agencies

22 in accordance with this paragraph.

23 ‘‘(B) REQUIREDDISBURSEMENTS FROM

24 THE FUND.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each State edu2 cational agency shall make disbursements

3 from the fund established under subpara4 graph (A) to local educational agencies to

5 pay the percentage, described in subpara6 graph (D), of the costs of providing a free

7 appropriate public education to high-need

8 children.

9 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—If funds re10 served for a fiscal year under subparagraph

11 (A) are insufficient to pay the percentage

12 described in subparagraph (D) to assist all

13 the local educational agencies having appli14 cations approved under subparagraph (C),

15 then the State educational agency shall rat16 ably reduce the amount paid to each local

17 educational agency that receives a disburse18 ment for that fiscal year.

19 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—A local educational

20 agency that desires a disbursement under this

21 subsection shall submit an application to the

22 State educational agency at such time, in such

23 manner, and containing such information as the

24 State educational agency may require. Such ap25 plication shall include assurances that funds
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1 provided under this paragraph shall not be used

2 to pay costs that otherwise would be reimburs3 able as medical assistance for a child with a dis4 ability under the State medicaid program under

5 title XIX of the Social Security Act.

6 ‘‘(D) DISBURSEMENTS.—

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A State edu8 cational agency shall make a disbursement

9 to a local educational agency that submits

10 an application under subparagraph (C) in

11 an amount that is equal to 75 percent of the

12 costs that are in excess of 4 times the aver13 age per-pupil expenditure in the United

14 States or in the State where the child re15 sides (whichever average per-pupil expendi16 ture is lower) associated with educating

17 each high need child served by such local

18 educational agency in a fiscal year for

19 whom such agency desires a disbursement.

20 ‘‘(ii) APPROPRIATE COSTS.—The costs

21 associated with educating a high need child

22 under clause (i) are only those costs associ23 ated with providing direct special education

24 and related services to such child that are
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1 identified in such child’s appropriately de2 veloped IEP.

3 ‘‘(E) LEGAL FEES.—The disbursements

4 under subparagraph (D) shall not support legal

5 fees, court costs, or other costs associated with a

6 cause of action brought on behalf of such child to

7 ensure a free appropriate public education for

8 such child.

9 ‘‘(F) PERMISSIBLE DISBURSEMENTS FROM

10 REMAINING FUNDS.—A State educational agency

11 may make disbursements to local educational

12 agencies from any funds that are remaining in

13 the high cost fund after making the required dis14 bursements under subparagraph (D) for a fiscal

15 year for the following purposes:

16 ‘‘(i) To pay the costs associated with

17 serving children with disabilities who

18 moved into the areas served by such local

19 agencies after the budget for the following

20 school year had been finalized to assist the

21 local educational agencies in providing a

22 free appropriate public education for such

23 children in such year.

24 ‘‘(ii) To compensate local educational

25 agencies for extraordinary costs, as deter-
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1 mined by the State, of any children eligible

2 for services under this part due to—

3 ‘‘(I) unexpected enrollment or

4 placement of children eligible for serv5 ices under this part; or

6 ‘‘(II) a significant underestimate

7 of the average cost of providing services

8 to children eligible for services under

9 this part.

10 ‘‘(G) REMAINING FUNDS.—Funds reserved

11 under subparagraph (A) in any fiscal year but

12 not expended in that fiscal year pursuant to sub13 paragraph (D) or subparagraph (F) shall—

14 ‘‘(i) be allocated to local educational

15 agencies pursuant to subparagraphs (D) or

16 (F) for the next fiscal year; or

17 ‘‘(ii) be allocated to local educational

18 agencies in the same manner as funds are

19 allocated to local educational agencies under

20 subsection (f).

21 ‘‘(H) ASSURANCE OF A FREE APPROPRIATE

22 PUBLIC EDUCATION.—Nothing in this section

23 shall be construed—

24 ‘‘(i) to limit or condition the right of

25 a child with a disability who is assisted
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1 under this part to receive a free appropriate

2 public education pursuant to section

3 612(a)(1) in a least restrictive environment

4 pursuant to section 612(a)(5); or

5 ‘‘(ii) to authorize a State educational

6 agency or local educational agency to indi7 cate a limit on what is expected to be spent

8 on the education of a child with a dis9 ability.

10 ‘‘(I) MEDICAID SERVICES NOT AFFECTED.—

11 Disbursements provided under this subsection

12 shall not be used to pay costs that otherwise

13 would be reimbursable as medical assistance for

14 a child with a disability under the State med15 icaid program under title XIX of the Social Se16 curity Act.

17 ‘‘(J) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph:

18 ‘‘(i) AVERAGE PER-PUPIL EXPENDI19 TURE.—The term ‘average per-pupil ex20 penditure’ has the meaning given the term

21 in section 9101 of the Elementary and Sec22 ondary Education Act of 1965.

23 ‘‘(ii) HIGH-NEEDCHILD.—The term

24 ‘high-need’, when used with respect to a

25 child with a disability, means a child with
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1 a disability for whom a free appropriate

2 public education in a fiscal year costs more

3 than 4 times the average per-pupil expendi4 ture for such fiscal year.

5 ‘‘(K) SPECIAL RULE FOR RISK POOL AND

6 HIGH-NEEDASSISTANCE PROGRAMS IN EFFECT

7 AS OF JANUARY 1, 2003.—Notwithstanding the

8 provisions of subparagraphs (A) through (J), a

9 State may use funds reserved pursuant to this

10 paragraph for administering and implementing

11 a placement-neutral cost-sharing and reimburse12 ment program of high-need, low-incidence, emer13 gency, catastrophic, or extraordinary aid to local

14 educational agencies that provides services to

15 students eligible under this part based on eligi16 bility criteria for such programs that were oper17 ative on January 1, 2003.

18 ‘‘(4) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN PROHIBI19 TIONS.—A State may use funds the State reserves

20 under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) without regard

21 to—

22 ‘‘(A) the prohibition on commingling of

23 funds in section 612(a)(17)(B); and

24 ‘‘(B) the prohibition on supplanting other

25 funds in section 612(a)(17)(C).
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1 ‘‘(5) REPORT ON USE OF FUNDS.—As part of the

2 information required to be submitted to the Secretary

3 under section 612, each State shall annually describe

4 how amounts under this section—

5 ‘‘(A) will be used to meet the requirements

6 of this Act; and

7 ‘‘(B) will be allocated among the activities

8 described in this section to meet State priorities

9 based on input from local educational agencies.

10 ‘‘(6) FLEXIBILITY IN USING FUNDS FOR PART

11 C.—Any State eligible to receive a grant under sec12 tion 619 may use funds made available under para13 graph (1)(A), subsection (f)(3), or section 619(f)(5) to

14 develop and implement a State policy jointly with the

15 lead agency under part C and the State educational

16 agency to provide early intervention services (which

17 shall include an educational component that promotes

18 school readiness and incorporates pre-literacy, lan19 guage, and numeracy skills) in accordance with part

20 C to children with disabilities who are eligible for

21 services under section 619 and who previously re22 ceived services under part C until such children enter,

23 or are eligible under State law to enter, kindergarten.

24 ‘‘(f) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN25 CIES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) SUBGRANTS REQUIRED.—Each State that

2 receives a grant under this section for any fiscal year

3 shall distribute any funds the State does not reserve

4 under subsection (e) to local educational agencies (in5 cluding public charter schools that operate as local

6 educational agencies) in the State that have estab7 lished their eligibility under section 613 for use in ac8 cordance with this part.

9 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE FOR ALLOCATIONS TO LOCAL

10 EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.—

11 ‘‘(A) PROCEDURE.—For each fiscal year for

12 which funds are allocated to States under sub13 section (d), each State shall allocate funds under

14 paragraph (1) as follows:

15 ‘‘(i) BASE PAYMENTS.—The State shall

16 first award each local educational agency

17 described in paragraph (1) the amount the

18 local educational agency would have re19 ceived under this section for fiscal year

20 1999, if the State had distributed 75 per21 cent of its grant for that year under section

22 611(d) as section 611(d) was then in effect.

23 ‘‘(ii) ALLOCATION OF REMAINING

24 FUNDS.—After making allocations under

25 clause (i), the State shall—
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1 ‘‘(I) allocate 85 percent of any re2 maining funds to those local edu3 cational agencies on the basis of the

4 relative numbers of children enrolled in

5 public and private elementary schools

6 and secondary schools within the local

7 educational agency’s jurisdiction; and

8 ‘‘(II) allocate 15 percent of those

9 remaining funds to those local edu10 cational agencies in accordance with

11 their relative numbers of children liv12 ing in poverty, as determined by the

13 State educational agency.

14 ‘‘(3) REALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—If a State edu15 cational agency determines that a local educational

16 agency is adequately providing a free appropriate

17 public education to all children with disabilities re18 siding in the area served by that local educational

19 agency with State and local funds, the State edu20 cational agency may reallocate any portion of the

21 funds under this part that are not needed by that

22 local educational agency to provide a free appropriate

23 public education to other local educational agencies in

24 the State that are not adequately providing special

25 education and related services to all children with
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1 disabilities residing in the areas served by those other

2 local educational agencies.

3 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this section—

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

5 public elementary schools and secondary schools in

6 the United States’ means—

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

8 funds—

9 ‘‘(i) the aggregate current expenditures,

10 during the second fiscal year preceding the

11 fiscal year for which the determination is

12 made (or, if satisfactory data for that year

13 are not available, during the most recent

14 preceding fiscal year for which satisfactory

15 data are available) of all local educational

16 agencies in the 50 States and the District of

17 Columbia; plus

18 ‘‘(ii) any direct expenditures by the

19 State for the operation of those local edu20 cational agencies; divided by

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

22 average daily attendance to whom those local

23 educational agencies provided free public edu24 cation during that preceding year; and
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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘State’ means each of the 50 States,

2 the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of

3 Puerto Rico.

4 ‘‘(h) USE OF AMOUNTS BY SECRETARY OF THE INTE5 RIOR.—

6 ‘‘(1) PROVISION OF AMOUNTS FOR ASSIST7 ANCE.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Edu9 cation shall provide amounts to the Secretary of

10 the Interior to meet the need for assistance for

11 the education of children with disabilities on res12 ervations aged 5 through 21 who are enrolled in

13 elementary schools and secondary schools for In14 dian children operated or funded by the Sec15 retary of the Interior. The amount of such pay16 ment for any fiscal year shall be equal to 80 per17 cent of the amount allotted under subsection (c)

18 for that fiscal year.

19 ‘‘(B) CALCULATION OF NUMBER OF CHIL20 DREN.—In the case of Indian students aged 3

21 through 5 who are enrolled in programs affili22 ated with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (hereafter

23 in this subsection referred to as ‘BIA’) schools,

24 and that are required by the States in which

25 such schools are located to attain or maintain
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1 State accreditation, and which schools had such

2 accreditation prior to the date of enactment of

3 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

4 Amendments of 1991, the school shall be allowed

5 to count those children for the purpose of dis6 tribution of the funds provided under this para7 graph to the Secretary of the Interior. The Sec8 retary of the Interior shall be responsible for

9 meeting all of the requirements of this part for

10 these children, in accordance with paragraph

11 (2).

12 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—With re13 spect to all other children aged 3 through 21 on

14 reservations, the State educational agency shall

15 be responsible for ensuring that all of the re16 quirements of this part are implemented.

17 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec18 retary of Education may provide the Secretary of the

19 Interior amounts under paragraph (1) for a fiscal

20 year only if the Secretary of the Interior submits to

21 the Secretary of Education information that—

22 ‘‘(A) demonstrates that the Department of

23 the Interior meets the appropriate requirements,

24 as determined by the Secretary of Education, of
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1 sections 612 (including monitoring and evalua2 tion activities) and 613;

3 ‘‘(B) includes a description of how the Sec4 retary of the Interior will coordinate the provi5 sion of services under this part with local edu6 cational agencies, tribes and tribal organiza7 tions, and other private and Federal service pro8 viders;

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

10 public hearings, adequate notice of such hear11 ings, and an opportunity for comment afforded

12 to members of tribes, tribal governing bodies, and

13 affected local school boards before the adoption of

14 the policies, programs, and procedures described

15 in subparagraph (A);

16 ‘‘(D) includes an assurance that the Sec17 retary of the Interior will provide such informa18 tion as the Secretary of Education may require

19 to comply with section 618;

20 ‘‘(E) includes an assurance that the Sec21 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of

22 Health and Human Services have entered into a

23 memorandum of agreement, to be provided to the

24 Secretary of Education, for the coordination of

25 services, resources, and personnel between their
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1 respective Federal, State, and local offices and

2 with State and local educational agencies and

3 other entities to facilitate the provision of serv4 ices to Indian children with disabilities residing

5 on or near reservations (such agreement shall

6 provide for the apportionment of responsibilities

7 and costs including, but not limited to, child

8 find, evaluation, diagnosis, remediation or thera9 peutic measures, and (where appropriate) equip10 ment and medical or personal supplies as needed

11 for a child to remain in school or a program);

12 and

13 ‘‘(F) includes an assurance that the Depart14 ment of the Interior will cooperate with the De15 partment of Education in its exercise of moni16 toring and oversight of this application, and any

17 agreements entered into between the Secretary of

18 the Interior and other entities under this part,

19 and will fulfill its duties under this part.

20 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.—Section 616(a) shall

21 apply to the information described in this paragraph.

22 ‘‘(4) PAYMENTS FOR EDUCATION AND SERVICES

23 FOR INDIAN CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES AGED 3

24 THROUGH 5.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With funds appro2 priated under subsection (i), the Secretary of

3 Education shall make payments to the Secretary

4 of the Interior to be distributed to tribes or tribal

5 organizations (as defined under section 4 of the

6 Indian Self-Determination and Education As7 sistance Act) or consortia of the above to provide

8 for the coordination of assistance for special edu9 cation and related services for children with dis10 abilities aged 3 through 5 on reservations served

11 by elementary schools and secondary schools for

12 Indian children operated or funded by the De13 partment of the Interior. The amount of such

14 payments under subparagraph (B) for any fiscal

15 year shall be equal to 20 percent of the amount

16 allotted under subsection (c).

17 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The Sec18 retary of the Interior shall distribute the total

19 amount of the payment under subparagraph (A)

20 by allocating to each tribe or tribal organization

21 an amount based on the number of children with

22 disabilities ages 3 through 5 residing on reserva23 tions as reported annually, divided by the total

24 of those children served by all tribes or tribal or25 ganizations.
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1 ‘‘(C) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—To re2 ceive a payment under this paragraph, the tribe

3 or tribal organization shall submit such figures

4 to the Secretary of the Interior as required to de5 termine the amounts to be allocated under sub6 paragraph (B). This information shall be com7 piled and submitted to the Secretary of Edu8 cation.

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

10 by a tribe or tribal organization shall be used to

11 assist in child find, screening, and other proce12 dures for the early identification of children aged

13 3 through 5, parent training, and the provision

14 of direct services. These activities may be carried

15 out directly or through contracts or cooperative

16 agreements with the BIA, local educational agen17 cies, and other public or private nonprofit orga18 nizations. The tribe or tribal organization is en19 couraged to involve Indian parents in the devel20 opment and implementation of these activities.

21 The above entities shall, as appropriate, make re22 ferrals to local, State, or Federal entities for the

23 provision of services or further diagnosis.

24 ‘‘(E) BIENNIAL REPORT.—To be eligible to

25 receive a grant pursuant to subparagraph (A),
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1 the tribe or tribal organization shall provide to

2 the Secretary of the Interior a biennial report of

3 activities undertaken under this paragraph, in4 cluding the number of contracts and cooperative

5 agreements entered into, the number of children

6 contacted and receiving services for each year,

7 and the estimated number of children needing

8 services during the 2 years following the year in

9 which the report is made. The Secretary of the

10 Interior shall include a summary of this infor11 mation on a biennial basis in the report to the

12 Secretary of Education required under this sub13 section. The Secretary of Education may require

14 any additional information from the Secretary

15 of the Interior.

16 ‘‘(F) PROHIBITIONS.—None of the funds al17 located under this paragraph may be used by the

18 Secretary of the Interior for administrative pur19 poses, including child count and the provision of

20 technical assistance.

21 ‘‘(5) PLAN FOR COORDINATION OF SERVICES.—

22 The Secretary of the Interior shall develop and imple23 ment a plan for the coordination of services for all

24 Indian children with disabilities residing on reserva25 tions covered under this Act. Such plan shall provide
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1 for the coordination of services benefiting these chil2 dren from whatever source, including tribes, the In3 dian Health Service, other BIA divisions, and other

4 Federal agencies. In developing the plan, the Sec5 retary of the Interior shall consult with all interested

6 and involved parties. The plan shall be based on the

7 needs of the children and the system best suited for

8 meeting those needs, and may involve the establish9 ment of cooperative agreements between the BIA,

10 other Federal agencies, and other entities. The plan

11 shall also be distributed upon request to States, State

12 and local educational agencies, and other agencies

13 providing services to infants, toddlers, and children

14 with disabilities, to tribes, and to other interested

15 parties.

16 ‘‘(6) ESTABLISHMENT OF ADVISORY BOARD.—To

17 meet the requirements of section 612(a)(20), the Sec18 retary of the Interior shall establish, under the BIA,

19 an advisory board composed of individuals involved

20 in or concerned with the education and provision of

21 services to Indian infants, toddlers, children, and

22 youth with disabilities, including Indians with dis23 abilities, Indian parents or guardians of such chil24 dren, teachers, service providers, State and local edu25 cational officials, representatives of tribes or tribal or-
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1 ganizations, representatives from State Interagency

2 Coordinating Councils under section 641 in States

3 having reservations, and other members representing

4 the various divisions and entities of the BIA. The

5 chairperson shall be selected by the Secretary of the

6 Interior. The advisory board shall—

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

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

9 Federal agencies in the provision of education

10 for infants, toddlers, and children with disabil11 ities;

12 ‘‘(B) advise and assist the Secretary of the

13 Interior in the performance of the Secretary’s re14 sponsibilities described in this subsection;

15 ‘‘(C) develop and recommend policies con16 cerning effective inter- and intra-agency collabo17 ration, including modifications to regulations,

18 and the elimination of barriers to inter- and

19 intra-agency programs and activities;

20 ‘‘(D) provide assistance and disseminate in21 formation on best practices, effective program co22 ordination strategies, and recommendations for

23 improved educational programming for Indian

24 infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities;

25 and
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1 ‘‘(E) provide assistance in the preparation

2 of information required under paragraph (2)(D).

3 ‘‘(7) ANNUAL REPORTS.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The advisory board es5 tablished under paragraph (6) shall prepare and

6 submit to the Secretary of the Interior and to

7 Congress an annual report containing a descrip8 tion of the activities of the advisory board for the

9 preceding year.

10 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary of the

11 Interior shall make available to the Secretary of

12 Education the report described in subparagraph

13 (A).

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

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

16 there are authorized to be appropriated—

17 ‘‘(1) $12,358,376,571 for fiscal year 2005;

18 ‘‘(2) $14,648,647,143 for fiscal year 2006;

19 ‘‘(3) $16,938,917,714 for fiscal year 2007;

20 ‘‘(4) $19,229,188,286 for fiscal year 2008;

21 ‘‘(5) $21,519,458,857 for fiscal year 2009;

22 ‘‘(6) $23,809,729,429 for fiscal year 2010;

23 ‘‘(7) $26,100,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and

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

25 year 2012 and each succeeding fiscal year.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 612. STATE ELIGIBILITY.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State is eligible for assistance

3 under this part for a fiscal year if the State submits a plan

4 that provides assurances to the Secretary that the State has

5 in effect policies and procedures to ensure that the State

6 meets each of the following conditions:

7 ‘‘(1) FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A free appropriate pub9 lic education is available to all children with

10 disabilities residing in the State between the ages

11 of 3 and 21, inclusive, including children with

12 disabilities who have been suspended or expelled

13 from school.

14 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The obligation to make

15 a free appropriate public education available to

16 all children with disabilities does not apply with

17 respect to children—

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

19 21 in a State to the extent that its applica20 tion to those children would be inconsistent

21 with State law or practice, or the order of

22 any court, respecting the provision of public

23 education to children in those age ranges;

24 and

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

26 that State law does not require that special
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1 education and related services under this

2 part be provided to children with disabil3 ities who, in the educational placement

4 prior to their incarceration in an adult cor5 rectional facility—

6 ‘‘(I) were not actually identified

7 as being a child with a disability

8 under section 602(3); or

9 ‘‘(II) did not have an individual10 ized education program under this

11 part.

12 ‘‘(C) STATE FLEXIBILITY.—A State that

13 provides early intervention services in accord14 ance with part C to a child who is eligible for

15 services under section 619, is not required to

16 provide such child with a free appropriate public

17 education.

18 ‘‘(2) FULL EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GOAL.—

19 The State has established a goal of providing full edu20 cational opportunity to all children with disabilities

21 and a detailed timetable for accomplishing that goal.

22 ‘‘(3) CHILDFIND.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All children with dis24 abilities residing in the State, including children

25 with disabilities who are homeless children or
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1 are wards of the State and children with disabil2 ities attending private schools, regardless of the

3 severity of their disabilities, and who are in need

4 of special education and related services, are

5 identified, located, and evaluated and a practical

6 method is developed and implemented to deter7 mine which children with disabilities are cur8 rently receiving needed special education and re9 lated services.

10 ‘‘(B) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act

11 requires that children be classified by their dis12 ability so long as each child who has a disability

13 listed in section 602 and who, by reason of that

14 disability, needs special education and related

15 services is regarded as a child with a disability

16 under this part.

17 ‘‘(4) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM.—

18 An individualized education program, or an individ19 ualized family service plan that meets the require20 ments of section 636(d), is developed, reviewed, and

21 revised for each child with a disability in accordance

22 with section 614(d).

23 ‘‘(5) LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum ex25 tent appropriate, children with disabilities, in-
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1 cluding children in public or private institutions

2 or other care facilities, are educated with chil3 dren who are not disabled, and special classes,

4 separate schooling, or other removal of children

5 with disabilities from the regular educational en6 vironment occurs only when the nature or sever7 ity of the disability of a child is such that edu8 cation in regular classes with the use of supple9 mentary aids and services cannot be achieved

10 satisfactorily.

11 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A State funding

13 mechanism shall not result in placements

14 that violate the requirements of subpara15 graph (A), and a State shall not use a

16 funding mechanism by which the State dis17 tributes funds on the basis of the type of set18 ting in which a child is served that will re19 sult in the failure to provide a child with

20 a disability a free appropriate public edu21 cation according to the unique needs of the

22 child as described in the child’s IEP.

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

24 not have policies and procedures to ensure

25 compliance with clause (i), the State shall
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1 provide the Secretary an assurance that the

2 State will revise the funding mechanism as

3 soon as feasible to ensure that such mecha4 nism does not result in such placements.

5 ‘‘(6) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Children with disabil7 ities and their parents are afforded the proce8 dural safeguards required by section 615.

9 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURAL SAFE10 GUARDS.—Procedures to ensure that testing and

11 evaluation materials and procedures utilized for

12 the purposes of evaluation and placement of chil13 dren with disabilities will be selected and admin14 istered so as not to be racially or culturally dis15 criminatory. Such materials or procedures shall

16 be provided and administered in the child’s na17 tive language or mode of communication, unless

18 it clearly is not feasible to do so, and no single

19 procedure shall be the sole criterion for deter20 mining an appropriate educational program for

21 a child.

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

23 are evaluated in accordance with subsections (a) and

24 (b) of section 614.
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1 ‘‘(8) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Agencies in the State

2 comply with section 617(c) (relating to the confiden3 tiality of records and information).

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

5 PROGRAMS.—Children participating in early-inter6 vention programs assisted under part C, and who will

7 participate in preschool programs assisted under this

8 part, experience a smooth and effective transition to

9 those preschool programs in a manner consistent with

10 section 637(a)(8). By the third birthday of such a

11 child, an individualized education program or, if con12 sistent with sections 614(d)(2)(B) and 636(d), an in13 dividualized family service plan, has been developed

14 and is being implemented for the child. The local edu15 cational agency will participate in transition plan16 ning conferences arranged by the designated lead

17 agency under section 635(a)(10).

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

19 ‘‘(A) CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE

20 SCHOOLS BY THEIR PARENTS.—

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To the extent con22 sistent with the number and location of

23 children with disabilities in the State who

24 are enrolled by their parents in private ele25 mentary schools and secondary schools in
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1 the school district served by a local edu2 cational agency, provision is made for the

3 participation of those children in the pro4 gram assisted or carried out under this part

5 by providing for such children special edu6 cation and related services in accordance

7 with the following requirements, unless the

8 Secretary has arranged for services to those

9 children under subsection (f):

10 ‘‘(I) Amounts to be expended for

11 the provision of those services (includ12 ing direct services to parentally placed

13 children) by the local educational agen14 cy shall be equal to a proportionate

15 amount of Federal funds made avail16 able under this part.

17 ‘‘(II) 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 ‘‘(III) Each local educational

23 agency shall maintain in its records

24 and provide to the State educational

25 agency the number of children evalu-
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1 ated under this paragraph, the number

2 of children determined to be children

3 with disabilities, and the number of

4 children served under this subsection.

5 ‘‘(ii) CHILD-FINDREQUIREMENT.—

6 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The require7 ments of paragraph (3) of this sub8 section (relating to child find) shall

9 apply with respect to children with

10 disabilities in the State who are en11 rolled in private, including religious,

12 elementary schools and secondary

13 schools. Such child find process shall be

14 conducted in a comparable time period

15 as for other students attending public

16 schools in the local educational agency.

17 ‘‘(II) EQUITABLE PARTICIPA18 TION.—The child find process shall be

19 designed to ensure the equitable par20 ticipation of parentally placed private

21 school children and an accurate count

22 of such children.

23 ‘‘(III) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying

24 out this clause, the local educational

25 agency, or where applicable, the State
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1 educational agency, shall undertake ac2 tivities similar to those activities un3 dertaken for its public school children.

4 ‘‘(IV) COST.—The cost of carrying

5 out this clause, including individual

6 evaluations, may not be considered in

7 determining whether a local education

8 agency has met its obligations under

9 clause (i).

10 ‘‘(iii) CONSULTATION.—To ensure

11 timely and meaningful consultation, a local

12 educational agency, or where appropriate, a

13 State educational agency, shall consult with

14 representatives of children with disabilities

15 who are parentally placed in private

16 schools, during the design and development

17 of special education and related services for

18 these children, including consultation

19 regarding—

20 ‘‘(I) the child find process and

21 how parentally placed private school

22 children suspected of having a dis23 ability can participate equitably, in24 cluding how parents, teachers, and pri-
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1 vate school officials will be informed of

2 the process;

3 ‘‘(II) the determination of the pro4 portionate share of Federal funds

5 available to serve parentally placed

6 private school children with disabilities

7 under this paragraph, including the

8 determination of how the proportionate

9 share of those funds were calculated;

10 ‘‘(III) the consultation process

11 among the school district, private

12 school officials, and parents of paren13 tally placed private school children

14 with disabilities, including how such

15 process will operate throughout the

16 school year to ensure that parentally

17 placed children with disabilities identi18 fied through the child find process can

19 meaningfully participate in special

20 education and related services;

21 ‘‘(IV) how, where, and by whom

22 special education and related services

23 will be provided for parentally placed

24 private school children, including a

25 discussion of alternate service delivery
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1 mechanisms, how such services will be

2 apportioned if funds are insufficient to

3 serve all children, and how and when

4 these decisions will be made; and

5 ‘‘(V) how, if the local educational

6 agency disagrees with the views of the

7 private school officials on the provision

8 of services through a contract, the local

9 educational agency shall provide to the

10 private school officials a written expla11 nation of the reasons why the local

12 educational agency chose not to pro13 vide services through a contract.

14 ‘‘(iv) WRITTEN AFFIRMATION.—When

15 timely and meaningful consultation as re16 quired by this section has occurred, the local

17 educational agency shall obtain a written

18 affirmation signed by the representatives of

19 participating private schools, and if such

20 officials do not provide such affirmation

21 within a reasonable period of time, the local

22 educational agency shall forward the docu23 mentation of the consultation process to the

24 State educational agency.

25 ‘‘(v) COMPLIANCE.—
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1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A private

2 school official shall have the right to

3 complain to the State educational

4 agency that the local educational agen5 cy did not engage in consultation that

6 was meaningful and timely, or did not

7 give due consideration to the views of

8 the private school official.

9 ‘‘(II) PROCEDURE.—If the private

10 school official wishes to complain, the

11 official shall provide the basis of the

12 noncompliance with this section by the

13 local educational agency to the State

14 educational agency, and the local edu15 cational agency shall forward the ap16 propriate documentation to the State

17 educational agency. If the private

18 school official is dissatisfied with the

19 decision of the State educational agen20 cy, such official may complain to the

21 Secretary by providing the basis of the

22 noncompliance with this section by the

23 local educational agency to the Sec24 retary, and the State educational agen-
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1 cy shall forward the appropriate docu2 mentation to the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(vi) PROVISION OF EQUITABLE SERV4 ICES.—

5 ‘‘(I) DIRECT SERVICES.—To the

6 extent practicable, the local educational

7 agency shall provide direct services to

8 children with disabilities parentally

9 placed in private schools.

10 ‘‘(II) DIRECTLY OR THROUGH

11 CONTRACTS.—A public agency may

12 provide special education and related

13 services directly or through contracts

14 with public and private agencies, orga15 nizations, and institutions.

16 ‘‘(III) SECULAR, NEUTRAL, NON17 IDEOLOGICAL.—Special education and

18 related services provided to children

19 with disabilities attending private

20 schools, including materials and equip21 ment, shall be secular, neutral, and

22 nonideological.

23 ‘‘(vii) PUBLIC CONTROL OF FUNDS.—

24 The control of funds used to provide special

25 education and related services under this
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1 section, and title to materials, equipment,

2 and property purchased with those funds,

3 shall be in a public agency for the uses and

4 purposes provided in this Act, and a public

5 agency shall administer the funds and

6 property.

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

8 TO, PRIVATE SCHOOLS BY PUBLIC AGENCIES.—

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Children with dis10 abilities in private schools and facilities are

11 provided special education and related serv12 ices, in accordance with an individualized

13 education program, at no cost to their par14 ents, if such children are placed in, or re15 ferred to, such schools or facilities by the

16 State or appropriate local educational agen17 cy as the means of carrying out the require18 ments of this part or any other applicable

19 law requiring the provision of special edu20 cation and related services to all children

21 with disabilities within such State.

22 ‘‘(ii) STANDARDS.—In all cases de23 scribed in clause (i), the State educational

24 agency shall determine whether such schools

25 and facilities meet standards that apply to
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1 State and local educational agencies and

2 that children so served have all the rights

3 the children would have if served by such

4 agencies.

5 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT FOR EDUCATION OF CHIL6 DREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS WITHOUT

7 CONSENT OF OR REFERRAL BY THE PUBLIC

8 AGENCY.—

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara10 graph (A), this part does not require a local

11 educational agency to pay for the cost of

12 education, including special education and

13 related services, of a child with a disability

14 at a private school or facility if that agency

15 made a free appropriate public education

16 available to the child and the parents elect17 ed to place the child in such private school

18 or facility.

19 ‘‘(ii) REIMBURSEMENT FOR PRIVATE

20 SCHOOL PLACEMENT.—If the parents of a

21 child with a disability, who previously re22 ceived special education and related services

23 under the authority of a public agency, en24 roll the child in a private elementary school

25 or secondary school without the consent of
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1 or referral by the public agency, a court or

2 a hearing officer may require the agency to

3 reimburse the parents for the cost of that en4 rollment if the court or hearing officer finds

5 that the agency had not made a free appro6 priate public education available to the

7 child in a timely manner prior to that en8 rollment.

9 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION ON REIMBURSE10 MENT.—The cost of reimbursement described

11 in clause (ii) may be reduced or denied—

12 ‘‘(I) if—

13 ‘‘(aa) at the most recent IEP

14 meeting that the parents attended

15 prior to removal of the child from

16 the public school, the parents did

17 not inform the IEP Team that

18 they were rejecting the placement

19 proposed by the public agency to

20 provide a free appropriate public

21 education to their child, including

22 stating their concerns and their

23 intent to enroll their child in a

24 private school at public expense;

25 or
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1 ‘‘(bb) 10 business days (in2 cluding any holidays that occur

3 on a business day) prior to the re4 moval of the child from the public

5 school, the parents did not give

6 written notice to the public agen7 cy of the information described in

8 division (aa);

9 ‘‘(II) if, prior to the parents’ re10 moval of the child from the public

11 school, the public agency informed the

12 parents, through the notice require13 ments described in section 615(b)(3), of

14 its intent to evaluate the child (includ15 ing a statement of the purpose of the

16 evaluation that was appropriate and

17 reasonable), but the parents did not

18 make the child available for such eval19 uation; or

20 ‘‘(III) upon a judicial finding of

21 unreasonableness with respect to ac22 tions taken by the parents.

23 ‘‘(iv) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding

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

25 cost of reimbursement—
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1 ‘‘(I) shall not be reduced or denied

2 for failure to provide such notice if—

3 ‘‘(aa) the school prevented the

4 parent from providing such no5 tice; or

6 ‘‘(bb) the parents had not re7 ceived notice, pursuant to section

8 615, of the notice requirement in

9 clause (iii)(I); and

10 ‘‘(II) may, in the discretion of a

11 court or a hearing officer, not be re12 duced or denied for failure to provide

13 such notice if—

14 ‘‘(aa) the parent is illiterate

15 and cannot write in English; or

16 ‘‘(bb) compliance with clause

17 (iii)(I) would likely have resulted

18 in physical or serious emotional

19 harm to the child.

20 ‘‘(11) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY RESPON21 SIBLE FOR GENERAL SUPERVISION.—

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

23 agency is responsible for ensuring that—

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

25 met; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) all educational programs for chil2 dren with disabilities in the State, includ3 ing all such programs administered by any

4 other State or local agency—

5 ‘‘(I) are under the general super6 vision of individuals in the State who

7 are responsible for educational pro8 grams for children with disabilities;

9 and

10 ‘‘(II) meet the educational stand11 ards of the State educational agency.

12 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Subparagraph (A) shall

13 not limit the responsibility of agencies in the

14 State other than the State educational agency to

15 provide, or pay for some or all of the costs of, a

16 free appropriate public education for any child

17 with a disability in the State.

18 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub19 paragraphs (A) and (B), the Governor (or an20 other individual pursuant to State law), con21 sistent with State law, may assign to any public

22 agency in the State the responsibility of ensuring

23 that the requirements of this part are met with

24 respect to children with disabilities who are con-
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1 victed as adults under State law and incarcer2 ated in adult prisons.

3 ‘‘(12) OBLIGATIONS RELATEDTO ANDMETHODS

4 OF ENSURING SERVICES.—

5 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHING RESPONSIBILITY FOR

6 SERVICES.—The Chief Executive Officer of a

7 State or designee of the officer shall ensure that

8 an interagency agreement or other mechanism

9 for interagency coordination is in effect between

10 each public agency described in subparagraph

11 (B) and the State educational agency, in order

12 to ensure that all services described in subpara13 graph (B)(i) that are needed to ensure a free ap14 propriate public education are provided, includ15 ing the provision of such services during the

16 pendency of any dispute under clause (iii). Such

17 agreement or mechanism shall include the fol18 lowing:

19 ‘‘(i) AGENCY FINANCIAL RESPONSI20 BILITY.—An identification of, or a method

21 for defining, the financial responsibility of

22 each agency for providing services described

23 in subparagraph (B)(i) to ensure a free ap24 propriate public education to children with

25 disabilities, provided that the financial re-
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1 sponsibility of each public agency described

2 in subparagraph (B), including the State

3 Medicaid agency and other public insurers

4 of children with disabilities, shall precede

5 the financial responsibility of the local edu6 cational agency (or the State agency re7 sponsible for developing the child’s IEP).

8 ‘‘(ii) CONDITIONS AND TERMS OF RE9 IMBURSEMENT.—The conditions, terms, and

10 procedures under which a local educational

11 agency shall be reimbursed by other agen12 cies.

13 ‘‘(iii) INTERAGENCY DISPUTES.—Pro14 cedures for resolving interagency disputes

15 (including procedures under which local

16 educational agencies may initiate pro17 ceedings) under the agreement or other

18 mechanism to secure reimbursement from

19 other agencies or otherwise implement the

20 provisions of the agreement or mechanism.

21 ‘‘(iv) COORDINATION OF SERVICES

22 PROCEDURES.—Policies and procedures for

23 agencies to determine and identify the

24 interagency coordination responsibilities of

25 each agency to promote the coordination
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1 and timely and appropriate delivery of

2 services described in subparagraph (B)(i).

3 ‘‘(B) OBLIGATION OF PUBLIC AGENCY.—

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If any public agen5 cy other than an educational agency is oth6 erwise obligated under Federal or State law,

7 or assigned responsibility under State pol8 icy pursuant to subparagraph (A), to pro9 vide or pay for any services that are also

10 considered special education or related serv11 ices (such as, but not limited to, services de12 scribed in section 602(1) relating to assist13 ive technology devices, 602(2) relating to as14 sistive technology services, 602(25) relating

15 to related services, 602(32) relating to sup16 plementary aids and services, and 602(33)

17 relating to transition services) that are nec18 essary for ensuring a free appropriate pub19 lic education to children with disabilities

20 within the State, such public agency shall

21 fulfill that obligation or responsibility, ei22 ther directly or through contract or other

23 arrangement pursuant to subparagraph (A)

24 or an agreement pursuant to subparagraph

25 (C).
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1 ‘‘(ii) REIMBURSEMENT FOR SERVICES

2 BY PUBLIC AGENCY.—If a public agency

3 other than an educational agency fails to

4 provide or pay for the special education and

5 related services described in clause (i), the

6 local educational agency (or State agency

7 responsible for developing the child’s IEP)

8 shall provide or pay for such services to the

9 child. Such local educational agency or

10 State agency is authorized to claim reim11 bursement for the services from the public

12 agency that failed to provide or pay for

13 such services and such public agency shall

14 reimburse the local educational agency or

15 State agency pursuant to the terms of the

16 interagency agreement or other mechanism

17 described in subparagraph (A)(i) according

18 to the procedures established in such agree19 ment pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii).

20 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE.—The requirements of

21 subparagraph (A) may be met through—

22 ‘‘(i) State statute or regulation;

23 ‘‘(ii) signed agreements between respec24 tive agency officials that clearly identify the
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1 responsibilities of each agency relating to

2 the provision of services; or

3 ‘‘(iii) other appropriate written meth4 ods as determined by the Chief Executive

5 Officer of the State or designee of the officer

6 and approved by the Secretary.

7 ‘‘(13) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS RELATING

8 TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ELIGIBILITY.—The

9 State educational agency will not make a final deter10 mination that a local educational agency is not eligi11 ble for assistance under this part without first afford12 ing that agency reasonable notice and an opportunity

13 for a hearing.

14 ‘‘(14) PERSONNEL STANDARDS.—

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

16 agency has established and maintains standards

17 to ensure that personnel necessary to carry out

18 this part are appropriately and adequately pre19 pared and trained, including that those per20 sonnel have the content knowledge and skills to

21 serve children with disabilities.

22 ‘‘(B) RELATEDSERVICES PERSONNEL AND

23 PARAPROFESSIONALS.—The standards under

24 subparagraph (A) include standards for related

25 services personnel and paraprofessionals that—
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1 ‘‘(i) are consistent with any State-ap2 proved or State-recognized certification, li3 censing, registration, or other comparable

4 requirements that apply to the professional

5 discipline in which those personnel are pro6 viding special education or related services;

7 ‘‘(ii) ensure that related services per8 sonnel who deliver services in their dis9 cipline or profession meet the requirements

10 of clause (i) and have not had certification

11 or licensure requirements waived on an

12 emergency, temporary, or provisional basis;

13 and

14 ‘‘(iii) allow paraprofessionals and as15 sistants who are appropriately trained and

16 supervised, in accordance with State law,

17 regulation, or written policy, in meeting the

18 requirements of this part to be used to assist

19 in the provision of special education and re20 lated services under this part to children

21 with disabilities.

22 ‘‘(C) STANDARDS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION

23 TEACHERS.—

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The standards de25 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall ensure
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1 that each person employed as a special edu2 cation teacher in the State who teaches in

3 an elementary, middle, or secondary school

4 is highly qualified not later than the end of

5 the 2006–2007 school year.

6 ‘‘(ii) COMPLIANCE.—Notwithstanding

7 paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 1119(a) of

8 the Elementary and Secondary Education

9 Act of 1965, for purposes of determining

10 compliance with such paragraphs—

11 ‘‘(I) the Secretary, the State edu12 cational agency, and local educational

13 agencies shall apply the definition of

14 highly qualified in section 602(10) to

15 special education teachers; and

16 ‘‘(II) the State shall ensure that

17 all special education teachers teaching

18 in core academic subjects within the

19 State are highly qualified (as defined

20 in section 602(10)) not later than the

21 end of the 2006–2007 school year.

22 ‘‘(iii) PARENTS’ RIGHT TO KNOW.—In

23 carrying out section 1111(h)(6) of the Ele24 mentary and Secondary Education Act of
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1 1965 with respect to special education

2 teachers, a local educational agency shall—

3 ‘‘(I) include in a response to a re4 quest under such section any addi5 tional information needed to dem6 onstrate that the teacher meets the ap7 plicable requirements of section

8 602(10) relating to certification or li9 censure as a special education teacher;

10 and

11 ‘‘(II) apply the definition of high12 ly qualified in section 602(10) in car13 rying out section 1111(h)(6)(B)(ii).

14 ‘‘(D) POLICY.—In implementing this sec15 tion, a State shall adopt a policy that includes

16 a requirement that local educational agencies in

17 the State take measurable steps to recruit, hire,

18 train, and retain highly qualified personnel to

19 provide special education and related services

20 under this part to children with disabilities.

21 ‘‘(E) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Notwith22 standing any other individual right of action

23 that a parent or student may maintain under

24 this part, nothing in this subsection shall be con25 strued to create a right of action on behalf of an
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1 individual student for the failure of a particular

2 State educational agency or local educational

3 agency staff person to be highly qualified, or to

4 prevent a parent from filing a complaint about

5 staff qualifications with the State educational

6 agency as provided for under this part.

7 ‘‘(15) PERFORMANCE GOALS ANDINDICATORS.—

8 The State—

9 ‘‘(A) has established goals for the perform10 ance of children with disabilities in the State

11 that—

12 ‘‘(i) promote the purposes of this Act,

13 as stated in section 601(d);

14 ‘‘(ii) are the same as the State’s defini15 tion of adequate yearly progress, including

16 the State’s objectives for progress by chil17 dren with disabilities, under section

18 1111(b)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Sec19 ondary Education Act of 1965;

20 ‘‘(iii) address graduation rates and

21 drop out rates, as well as such other factors

22 as the State may determine; and

23 ‘‘(iv) are consistent, to the extent ap24 propriate, with any other goals and stand25 ards for children established by the State;
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1 ‘‘(B) has established performance indicators

2 the State will use to assess progress toward

3 achieving the goals described in subparagraph

4 (A), including measurable annual objectives for

5 progress by children with disabilities under sec6 tion 1111(b)(2)(C)(v)(II)(cc) of the Elementary

7 and Secondary Education Act of 1965; and

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

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

10 of children with disabilities in the State, toward

11 meeting the goals established under subpara12 graph (A).

13 ‘‘(16) PARTICIPATION IN ASSESSMENTS.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.— All children with dis15 abilities are included in all general State and

16 districtwide assessment programs and account17 ability systems, including assessments and ac18 countability systems described under section

19 1111 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu20 cation Act of 1965, with appropriate accom21 modations, alternate assessments where nec22 essary, and as indicated in their respective indi23 vidualized education programs.

24 ‘‘(B) ACCOMMODATION GUIDELINES.—The

25 State (or, in the case of a districtwide assess-
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1 ment, the local educational agency) has devel2 oped guidelines for the provision of appropriate

3 accommodations.

4 ‘‘(C) ALTERNATE ASSESSMENTS.—

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State (or, in

6 the case of a districtwide assessment, the

7 local educational agency) has developed and

8 implemented guidelines for the participa9 tion of children with disabilities in alter10 nate assessments for those children who can11 not participate in regular assessments

12 under subparagraph (B) as indicated in

13 their respective individualized education

14 programs.

15 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS FOR ALTERNATE

16 ASSESSMENTS.—The guidelines under

17 clause (i) shall provide for alternate assess18 ments that—

19 ‘‘(I) are aligned with the State’s

20 challenging academic content and aca21 demic achievement standards; and

22 ‘‘(II) if the State has adopted al23 ternate academic achievement stand24 ards permitted under section

25 1111(b)(1) of the Elementary and Sec-
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1 ondary Education Act of 1965, meas2 ure the achievement of children with

3 disabilities against those standards.

4 ‘‘(iii) CONDUCT OF ALTERNATIVE AS5 SESSMENTS.—The State conducts the alter6 nate assessments described in this subpara7 graph.

8 ‘‘(D) REPORTS.—The State educational

9 agency (or, in the case of a districtwide assess10 ment, the local educational agency) makes avail11 able to the public, and reports to the public with

12 the same frequency and in the same detail as it

13 reports on the assessment of nondisabled chil14 dren, the following:

15 ‘‘(i) The number of children with dis16 abilities participating in regular assess17 ments, and the number of those children

18 who were provided accommodations in

19 order to participate in those assessments.

20 ‘‘(ii) The number of children with dis21 abilities participating in alternate assess22 ments described in subparagraph (C)(ii)(I).

23 ‘‘(iii) The number of children with dis24 abilities participating in alternate assess-
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1 ments described in subparagraph

2 (C)(ii)(II).

3 ‘‘(iv) The performance of children with

4 disabilities on regular assessments and on

5 alternate assessments (if the number of chil6 dren with disabilities participating in those

7 assessments is sufficient to yield statis8 tically reliable information and reporting

9 that information will not reveal personally

10 identifiable information about an indi11 vidual student), compared with the achieve12 ment of all children, including children

13 with disabilities, on those assessments.

14 ‘‘(E) UNIVERSAL DESIGN.—The State edu15 cational agency (or, in the case of a districtwide

16 assessment, the local educational agency) shall,

17 to the extent feasible, use universal design prin18 ciples in developing and administering any as19 sessments under this paragraph.

20 ‘‘(17) SUPPLEMENTATION OF STATE, LOCAL, AND

21 OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—

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

23 State under this part will be expended in accord24 ance with all the provisions of this part.
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1 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION AGAINST COMMIN2 GLING.—Funds paid to a State under this part

3 will not be commingled with State funds.

4 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION AGAINST SUPPLANTATION

5 ANDCONDITIONS FOR WAIVER BY SECRETARY.—

6 Except as provided in section 613, funds paid to

7 a State under this part will be used to supple8 ment the level of Federal, State, and local funds

9 (including funds that are not under the direct

10 control of State or local educational agencies) ex11 pended for special education and related services

12 provided to children with disabilities under this

13 part and in no case to supplant such Federal,

14 State, and local funds, except that, where the

15 State provides clear and convincing evidence

16 that all children with disabilities have available

17 to them a free appropriate public education, the

18 Secretary may waive, in whole or in part, the

19 requirements of this subparagraph if the Sec20 retary concurs with the evidence provided by the

21 State.

22 ‘‘(18) MAINTENANCE OF STATE FINANCIAL SUP23 PORT.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State does not re25 duce the amount of State financial support for
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1 special education and related services for chil2 dren with disabilities, or otherwise made avail3 able because of the excess costs of educating those

4 children, below the amount of that support for

5 the preceding fiscal year.

6 ‘‘(B) REDUCTION OF FUNDS FOR FAILURE

7 TO MAINTAIN SUPPORT.—The Secretary shall re8 duce the allocation of funds under section 611 for

9 any fiscal year following the fiscal year in which

10 the State fails to comply with the requirement of

11 subparagraph (A) by the same amount by which

12 the State fails to meet the requirement.

13 ‘‘(C) WAIVERS FOR EXCEPTIONAL OR UN14 CONTROLLABLE CIRCUMSTANCES.—The Secretary

15 may waive the requirement of subparagraph (A)

16 for a State, for 1 fiscal year at a time, if the

17 Secretary determines that—

18 ‘‘(i) granting a waiver would be equi19 table due to exceptional or uncontrollable

20 circumstances such as a natural disaster or

21 a precipitous and unforeseen decline in the

22 financial resources of the State; or

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

24 paragraph (17)(C) for a waiver of the re-
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1 quirement to supplement, and not to sup2 plant, funds received under this part.

3 ‘‘(D) SUBSEQUENT YEARS.—If, for any

4 year, a State fails to meet the requirement of

5 subparagraph (A), including any year for which

6 the State is granted a waiver under subpara7 graph (C), the financial support required of the

8 State in future years under subparagraph (A)

9 shall be the amount that would have been re10 quired in the absence of that failure and not the

11 reduced level of the State’s support.

12 ‘‘(19) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—Prior to the

13 adoption of any policies and procedures needed to

14 comply with this section (including any amendments

15 to such policies and procedures), the State ensures

16 that there are public hearings, adequate notice of the

17 hearings, and an opportunity for comment available

18 to the general public, including individuals with dis19 abilities and parents of children with disabilities.

20 ‘‘(20) STATE ADVISORY PANEL.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State has estab22 lished and maintains an advisory panel for the

23 purpose of providing policy guidance with re24 spect to special education and related services for

25 children with disabilities in the State.
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1 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—Such advisory panel

2 shall consist of members appointed by the Gov3 ernor, or any other official authorized under

4 State law to make such appointments, that is

5 representative of the State population and that

6 is composed of individuals involved in, or con7 cerned with, the education of children with dis8 abilities, including—

9 ‘‘(i) parents of children with disabil10 ities ages birth through 26, including not

11 less than 1 foster parent of a child with dis12 abilities who is a ward of the State, not less

13 than 1 grandparent or other relative who is

14 acting in the place of a natural or adoptive

15 parent, and not less than 1 representative of

16 children with disabilities in military fami17 lies;

18 ‘‘(ii) individuals with disabilities;

19 ‘‘(iii) teachers;

20 ‘‘(iv) representatives of institutions of

21 higher education that prepare special edu22 cation and related services personnel;

23 ‘‘(v) State and local education officials,

24 including officials who carry out activities
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1 under subtitle B of title VII of the McKin2 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act;

3 ‘‘(vi) administrators of programs for

4 children with disabilities;

5 ‘‘(vii) representatives of other State

6 agencies involved in the financing or deliv7 ery of related services to children with dis8 abilities;

9 ‘‘(viii) representatives of private

10 schools and public charter schools;

11 ‘‘(ix) at least 1 representative of a vo12 cational, community, or business organiza13 tion concerned with the provision of transi14 tion services to children with disabilities;

15 and

16 ‘‘(x) representatives from the State ju17 venile and adult corrections agencies.

18 ‘‘(xi) representatives from the State

19 child welfare agency; and

20 ‘‘(xii) a representative of wards of the

21 State who are in foster care, such as an at22 torney for children in foster care, a guard23 ian ad litem, a court appointed special ad24 vocate, or a judge.
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1 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE.—A majority of the

2 members of the panel shall be individuals with

3 disabilities ages birth through 26 or parents of

4 such individuals.

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 regarding

11 the education of children with disabilities;

12 ‘‘(iii) advise the State educational

13 agency in developing evaluations and re14 porting on data to the Secretary under sec15 tion 618;

16 ‘‘(iv) advise the State educational

17 agency in developing corrective action plans

18 to address findings identified in Federal

19 monitoring reports under this part; and

20 ‘‘(v) advise the State educational agen21 cy in developing and implementing policies

22 relating to the coordination of services for

23 children with disabilities.

24 ‘‘(21) SUSPENSION ANDEXPULSION RATES.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State educational

2 agency examines data to determine if significant

3 discrepancies are occurring in the rate of long4 term suspensions and expulsions of children with

5 disabilities—

6 ‘‘(i) among local educational agencies

7 in the State; or

8 ‘‘(ii) compared to such rates for non9 disabled children within such agencies.

10 ‘‘(B) REVIEW ANDREVISION OF POLICIES.—

11 If such discrepancies are occurring, the State

12 educational agency reviews and, if appropriate,

13 revises (or requires the affected State or local

14 educational agency to revise) its policies, proce15 dures, and practices relating to the development

16 and implementation of IEPs, the use of behav17 ioral interventions, and procedural safeguards,

18 to ensure that such policies, procedures, and

19 practices comply with this Act.

20 ‘‘(22) ACCESS TO INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.—

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

22 national Instructional Materials Accessibility

23 Standard described in section 675(a) for the pur24 poses of providing instructional materials to

25 blind persons or other persons with print disabil-
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1 ities in a timely manner after the publication of

2 the standard in the Federal Register.

3 ‘‘(B) PREPARATION ANDDELIVERY OF

4 FILES.—Not later than 2 years after the date of

5 enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities

6 Education Improvement Act of 2004, a State

7 educational agency, as part of any print instruc8 tional materials adoption process, procurement

9 contract, or other practice or instrument used for

10 purchase of print instructional materials, enters

11 into a written contract with the publisher of the

12 print instructional materials to—

13 ‘‘(i) prepare, and on or before delivery

14 of the print instructional materials, provide

15 to the National Instructional Materials Ac16 cess Center, established pursuant to section

17 675(b), electronic files containing the con18 tents of the print instructional materials

19 using the Instructional Materials Accessi20 bility Standard; or

21 ‘‘(ii) purchase instructional materials

22 from a publisher that are produced in or

23 may be rendered in the specialized formats

24 described in section 675(a)(4)(C).
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1 ‘‘(C) ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY.—In carrying

2 out subparagraph (B), the State educational

3 agency, to the maximum extent possible, shall

4 work collaboratively with the State agency re5 sponsible for assistive technology programs.

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

7 FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION OR DIRECT SERV8 ICES.—If the State educational agency provides free appro9 priate public education to children with disabilities, or pro10 vides direct services to such children, such agency—

11 ‘‘(1) shall comply with any additional require12 ments of section 613(a), as if such agency were a local

13 educational agency; and

14 ‘‘(2) may use amounts that are otherwise avail15 able to such agency under this part to serve those chil16 dren without regard to section 613(a)(2)(A)(i) (relat17 ing to excess costs).

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 Individuals with Disabilities Education

25 Improvement Act of 2004, the Secretary shall consider
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1 such State to have met such requirement for purposes

2 of receiving a grant under this part.

3 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATIONS MADE BY STATE.—Subject

4 to paragraph (3), an application submitted by a

5 State in accordance with this section shall remain in

6 effect until the State submits to the Secretary such

7 modifications as the State determines necessary. This

8 section shall apply to a modification to an applica9 tion to the same extent and in the same manner as

10 this section applies to the original plan.

11 ‘‘(3) MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY THE SEC12 RETARY.—If, after the effective date of the Individuals

13 with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of

14 2004, the provisions of this Act are amended (or the

15 regulations developed to carry out this Act are

16 amended), there is a new interpretation of this Act by

17 a Federal court or a State’s highest court, or there is

18 an official finding of noncompliance with Federal law

19 or regulations, then the Secretary may require a

20 State to modify its application only to the extent nec21 essary to ensure the State’s compliance with this part.

22 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL BY THE SECRETARY.—

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

24 that a State is eligible to receive a grant under this
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1 part, the Secretary shall notify the State of that deter2 mination.

3 ‘‘(2) NOTICE ANDHEARING.—The Secretary shall

4 not make a final determination that a State is not

5 eligible to receive a grant under this part until after

6 providing the State—

7 ‘‘(A) with reasonable notice; and

8 ‘‘(B) with an opportunity for a hearing.

9 ‘‘(e) ASSISTANCE UNDER OTHER FEDERAL PRO10 GRAMS.—Nothing in this title permits a State to reduce

11 medical and other assistance available, or to alter eligi12 bility, under titles V and XIX of the Social Security Act

13 with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public

14 education for children with disabilities in the State.

15 ‘‘(f) BY-PASS FOR CHILDREN IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, on the date of enactment

17 of the Education of the Handicapped Act Amend18 ments of 1983, a State educational agency was pro19 hibited by law from providing for the equitable par20 ticipation in special programs of children with dis21 abilities enrolled in private elementary schools and

22 secondary schools as required by subsection

23 (a)(10)(A), or if the Secretary determines that a State

24 educational agency, local educational agency, or other

25 entity has substantially failed or is unwilling to pro-
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1 vide for such equitable participation, then the Sec2 retary shall, notwithstanding such provision of law,

3 arrange for the provision of services to such children

4 through arrangements which shall be subject to the re5 quirements of such subsection.

6 ‘‘(2) PAYMENTS.—

7 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNTS.—If the

8 Secretary arranges for services pursuant to this

9 subsection, the Secretary, after consultation with

10 the appropriate public and private school offi11 cials, shall pay to the provider of such services

12 for a fiscal year an amount per child that does

13 not exceed the amount determined by dividing—

14 ‘‘(i) the total amount received by the

15 State under this part for such fiscal year;

16 by

17 ‘‘(ii) the number of children with dis18 abilities served in the prior year, as re19 ported to the Secretary by the State under

20 section 618.

21 ‘‘(B) WITHHOLDING OF CERTAIN

22 AMOUNTS.—Pending final resolution of any in23 vestigation or complaint that may result in a de24 termination under this subsection, the Secretary

25 may withhold from the allocation of the affected
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1 State educational agency the amount the Sec2 retary estimates will be necessary to pay the cost

3 of services described in subparagraph (A).

4 ‘‘(C) PERIODOF PAYMENTS.—The period

5 under which payments are made under subpara6 graph (A) shall continue until the Secretary de7 termines that there will no longer be any failure

8 or inability on the part of the State educational

9 agency to meet the requirements of subsection

10 (a)(10)(A).

11 ‘‘(3) NOTICE ANDHEARING.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not

13 take any final action under this subsection until

14 the State educational agency affected by such ac15 tion has had an opportunity, for at least 45 days

16 after receiving written notice thereof, to submit

17 written objections and to appear before the Sec18 retary or the Secretary’s designee to show cause

19 why such action should not be taken.

20 ‘‘(B) REVIEW OF ACTION.—If a State edu21 cational agency is dissatisfied with the Sec22 retary’s final action after a proceeding under

23 subparagraph (A), such agency may, not later

24 than 60 days after notice of such action, file with

25 the United States court of appeals for the circuit
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1 in which such State is located a petition for re2 view of that action. A copy of the petition shall

3 be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of the court

4 to the Secretary. The Secretary thereupon shall

5 file in the court the record of the proceedings on

6 which the Secretary based the Secretary’s action,

7 as provided in section 2112 of title 28, United

8 States Code.

9 ‘‘(C) REVIEW OF FINDINGS OF FACT.—The

10 findings of fact by the Secretary, if supported by

11 substantial evidence, shall be conclusive, but the

12 court, for good cause shown, may remand the

13 case to the Secretary to take further evidence,

14 and the Secretary may thereupon make new or

15 modified findings of fact and may modify the

16 Secretary’s previous action, and shall file in the

17 court the record of the further proceedings. Such

18 new or modified findings of fact shall likewise be

19 conclusive if supported by substantial evidence.

20 ‘‘(D) JURISDICTION OF COURT OF APPEALS;

21 REVIEW BY UNITEDSTATES SUPREME COURT.—

22 Upon the filing of a petition under subpara23 graph (B), the United States court of appeals

24 shall have jurisdiction to affirm the action of the

25 Secretary or to set it aside, in whole or in part.
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1 The judgment of the court shall be subject to re2 view by the Supreme Court of the United States

3 upon certiorari or certification as provided in

4 section 1254 of title 28, United States Code.

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

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency is eli7 gible for assistance under this part for a fiscal year if such

8 agency submits a plan that provides assurances to the State

9 educational agency that the local educational agency meets

10 each of the following conditions:

11 ‘‘(1) CONSISTENCY WITH STATE POLICIES.—The

12 local educational agency, in providing for the edu13 cation of children with disabilities within its jurisdic14 tion, has in effect policies, procedures, and programs

15 that are consistent with the State policies and proce16 dures established under section 612.

17 ‘‘(2) USE OF AMOUNTS.—

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

19 the local educational agency under this part

20 shall be expended in accordance with the appli21 cable provisions of this part and—

22 ‘‘(i) shall be used only to pay the excess

23 costs of providing special education and re24 lated services to children with disabilities;
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1 ‘‘(ii) shall be used to supplement State,

2 local, and other Federal funds and not to

3 supplant such funds; and

4 ‘‘(iii) shall not be used, except as pro5 vided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), to re6 duce the level of expenditures for the edu7 cation of children with disabilities made by

8 the local educational agency from local

9 funds below the level of those expenditures

10 for the preceding fiscal year.

11 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the re12 striction in subparagraph (A)(iii), a local edu13 cational agency may reduce the level of expendi14 tures where such reduction is attributable to—

15 ‘‘(i) the voluntary departure, by retire16 ment or otherwise, or departure for just

17 cause, of special education personnel;

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

19 children with disabilities;

20 ‘‘(iii) the termination of the obligation

21 of the agency, consistent with this part, to

22 provide a program of special education to a

23 particular child with a disability that is an

24 exceptionally costly program, as determined
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1 by the State educational agency, because the

2 child—

3 ‘‘(I) has left the jurisdiction of the

4 agency;

5 ‘‘(II) has reached the age at which

6 the obligation of the agency to provide

7 a free appropriate public education to

8 the child has terminated; or

9 ‘‘(III) no longer needs such pro10 gram of special education; or

11 ‘‘(iv) the termination of costly expendi12 tures for long-term purchases, such as the

13 acquisition of equipment or the construction

14 of school facilities.

15 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDS IN

16 CERTAIN FISCAL YEARS.—

17 ‘‘(i) 8 PERCENT RULE.—Notwith18 standing clauses (ii) and (iii) of subpara19 graph (A), a local educational agency may

20 treat as local funds, for the purposes of such

21 clauses, not more than 8 percent of the

22 amount of funds the local educational agen23 cy receives under this part.

24 ‘‘(ii) 40 PERCENT RULE.—Notwith25 standing clauses (ii) and (iii) of subpara-
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1 graph (A), for any fiscal year for which

2 States are allocated the maximum amount

3 of grants pursuant to section 611(a)(2), a

4 local educational agency may treat as local

5 funds, for the purposes of such clauses, not

6 more than 40 percent of the amount of

7 funds the local educational agency receives

8 under this part, subject to clause (iv).

9 ‘‘(iii) EARLY INTERVENING SERV10 ICES.—

11 ‘‘(I) 8 PERCENT RULE.—If a local

12 educational agency exercises authority

13 pursuant to clause (i), the 8 percent

14 funds shall be counted toward the per15 centage and amount of funds that may

16 be used to provide early intervening

17 educational services pursuant to sub18 section (f).

19 ‘‘(II) 40 PERCENT RULE.—If a

20 local educational agency exercises au21 thority pursuant to clause (ii), the

22 local educational agency shall use an

23 amount of the 40 percent funds from

24 clause (ii) that represents 15 percent of

25 the total amount of funds the local edu-
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1 cational agency receives under this

2 part, to provide early intervening edu3 cational services pursuant to subsection

4 (f).

5 ‘‘(iv) SPECIAL RULE.—Funds treated

6 as local funds pursuant to clause (i) or (ii)

7 may be considered non-Federal or local

8 funds for the purposes of—

9 ‘‘(I) clauses (ii) and (iii) of sub10 paragraph (A); and

11 ‘‘(II) the provision of the local

12 share of costs for title XIX of the Social

13 Security Act.

14 ‘‘(v) REPORT.—For each fiscal year in

15 which a local educational agency exercises

16 its authority pursuant to this subparagraph

17 and treats Federal funds as local funds, the

18 local educational agency shall report to the

19 State educational agency the amount of

20 funds so treated and the activities that were

21 funded with such funds.

22 ‘‘(D) SCHOOLWIDE PROGRAMS UNDER TITLE

23 I OF THE ESEA.—Notwithstanding subparagraph

24 (A) or any other provision of this part, a local

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

2 schoolwide program under section 1114 of the

3 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

4 1965, except that the amount so used in any

5 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 for

11 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 edu15 cational agency shall ensure that all personnel nec16 essary to carry out this part are appropriately and

17 adequately prepared, consistent with the requirements

18 of section 612(a)(14) of this Act and section 2122 of

19 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

20 1965.

21 ‘‘(4) PERMISSIVE USE OF FUNDS.—

22 ‘‘(A) USES.—Notwithstanding paragraph

23 (2)(A) or section 612(a)(17)(B) (relating to com24 mingled funds), funds provided to the local edu-
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1 cational agency under this part may be used for

2 the following activities:

3 ‘‘(i) SERVICES ANDAIDS THAT ALSO

4 BENEFIT NONDISABLED CHILDREN.—For

5 the costs of special education and related

6 services, and supplementary aids and serv7 ices, provided in a regular class or other

8 education-related setting to a child with a

9 disability in accordance with the individ10 ualized education program of the child, even

11 if 1 or more nondisabled children benefit

12 from such services.

13 ‘‘(ii) EARLY INTERVENING SERVICES.—

14 To develop and implement coordinated,

15 early intervening educational services in ac16 cordance with subsection (f).

17 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE CASE MANAGE18 MENT.—A local educational agency may use

19 funds received under this part to purchase ap20 propriate technology for recordkeeping, data col21 lection, and related case management activities

22 of teachers and related services personnel pro23 viding services described in the individualized

24 education program of children with disabilities,
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1 that is needed for the implementation of such

2 case management activities.

3 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT OF CHARTER SCHOOLS AND

4 THEIR STUDENTS.—In carrying out this part with re5 spect to charter schools that are public schools of the

6 local educational agency, the local educational

7 agency—

8 ‘‘(A) serves children with disabilities at9 tending those charter schools in the same manner

10 as the local educational agency serves children

11 with disabilities in its other schools, including

12 providing supplementary and related services on

13 site at the charter school to the same extent to

14 which the local educational agency has a policy

15 or practice of providing such services on the site

16 to its other public schools; and

17 ‘‘(B) provides funds under this part to those

18 charter schools on the same basis, including pro19 portional distribution based on relative enroll20 ment of children with disabilities, and at the

21 same time, as the local educational agency dis22 tributes State, local, or a combination of State

23 and local, funds to those charter schools under

24 the State’s charter school law.
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1 ‘‘(6) PURCHASE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATE2 RIALS.—Not later than 2 years after the date of en3 actment of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu4 cation Improvement Act of 2004, a local educational

5 agency, when purchasing print instructional mate6 rials, acquires these instructional materials in the

7 same manner as a State educational agency described

8 in section 612(a)(22).

9 ‘‘(7) INFORMATION FOR STATE EDUCATIONAL

10 AGENCY.—The local educational agency shall provide

11 the State educational agency with information nec12 essary to enable the State educational agency to carry

13 out its duties under this part, including, with respect

14 to paragraphs (15) and (16) of section 612(a), infor15 mation relating to the performance of children with

16 disabilities participating in programs carried out

17 under this part.

18 ‘‘(8) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—The local edu19 cational agency shall make available to parents of

20 children with disabilities and to the general public all

21 documents relating to the eligibility of such agency

22 under this part.

23 ‘‘(9) RECORDS REGARDING MIGRATORY CHIL24 DREN WITH DISABILITIES.—The local educational

25 agency shall cooperate in the Secretary’s efforts under
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1 section 1308 of the Elementary and Secondary Edu2 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6398) to ensure the

3 linkage of records pertaining to migratory children

4 with a disability for the purpose of electronically ex5 changing, among the States, health and educational

6 information regarding such children.

7 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR PRIOR LOCAL PLANS.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a local educational agency

9 or State agency has on file with the State educational

10 agency policies and procedures that demonstrate that

11 such local educational agency, or such State agency,

12 as the case may be, meets any requirement of sub13 section (a), including any policies and procedures

14 filed under this part as in effect before the effective

15 date of the Individuals with Disabilities Education

16 Improvement Act of 2004, the State educational agen17 cy shall consider such local educational agency or

18 State agency, as the case may be, to have met such

19 requirement for purposes of receiving assistance under

20 this part.

21 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATION MADE BY LOCAL EDU22 CATIONAL AGENCY.—Subject to paragraph (3), an ap23 plication submitted by a local educational agency in

24 accordance with this section shall remain in effect

25 until the local educational agency submits to the
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1 State educational agency such modifications as the

2 local educational agency determines necessary.

3 ‘‘(3) MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY STATE EDU4 CATIONAL AGENCY.—If, after the effective date of the

5 Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement

6 Act of 2004, the provisions of this Act are amended

7 (or the regulations developed to carry out this Act are

8 amended), there is a new interpretation of this Act by

9 Federal or State courts, or there is an official finding

10 of noncompliance with Federal or State law or regu11 lations, then the State educational agency may re12 quire a local educational agency to modify its appli13 cation only to the extent necessary to ensure the local

14 educational agency’s compliance with this part or

15 State law.

16 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY

17 OR STATE AGENCY IN CASE OF INELIGIBILITY.—If the

18 State educational agency determines that a local edu19 cational agency or State agency is not eligible under this

20 section, then the State educational agency shall notify the

21 local educational agency or State agency, as the case may

22 be, of that determination and shall provide such local edu23 cational agency or State agency with reasonable notice and

24 an opportunity for a hearing.

25 ‘‘(d) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY COMPLIANCE.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the State educational

2 agency, after reasonable notice and an opportunity

3 for a hearing, finds that a local educational agency

4 or State agency that has been determined to be eligi5 ble under this section is failing to comply with any

6 requirement described in subsection (a), the State

7 educational agency shall reduce or shall not provide

8 any further payments to the local educational agency

9 or State agency until the State educational agency is

10 satisfied that the local educational agency or State

11 agency, as the case may be, is complying with that

12 requirement.

13 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Any State

14 agency or local educational agency in receipt of a no15 tice described in paragraph (1) shall, by means of

16 public notice, take such measures as may be necessary

17 to bring the pendency of an action pursuant to this

18 subsection to the attention of the public within the ju19 risdiction of such agency.

20 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION.—In carrying out its re21 sponsibilities under paragraph (1), the State edu22 cational agency shall consider any decision made in

23 a hearing held under section 615 that is adverse to

24 the local educational agency or State agency involved

25 in that decision.
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1 ‘‘(e) JOINT ESTABLISHMENT OF ELIGIBILITY.—

2 ‘‘(1) JOINT ESTABLISHMENT.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational

4 agency may require a local educational agency

5 to establish its eligibility jointly with another

6 local educational agency if the State educational

7 agency determines that the local educational

8 agency will be ineligible under this section be9 cause the local educational agency will not be

10 able to establish and maintain programs of suffi11 cient size and scope to effectively meet the needs

12 of children with disabilities.

13 ‘‘(B) CHARTER SCHOOL EXCEPTION.—A

14 State educational agency may not require a

15 charter school that is a local educational agency

16 to jointly establish its eligibility under subpara17 graph (A) unless the charter school is explicitly

18 permitted to do so under the State’s charter

19 school law.

20 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.—If a State edu21 cational agency requires the joint establishment of eli22 gibility under paragraph (1), the total amount of

23 funds made available to the affected local educational

24 agencies shall be equal to the sum of the payments

25 that each such local educational agency would have
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1 received under section 611(f) if such agencies were eli2 gible for such payments.

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Local educational agen4 cies that establish joint eligibility under this sub5 section shall—

6 ‘‘(A) adopt policies and procedures that are

7 consistent with the State’s policies and proce8 dures under section 612(a); and

9 ‘‘(B) be jointly responsible for implementing

10 programs that receive assistance under this part.

11 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL SERVICE

12 AGENCIES.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an educational serv14 ice agency is required by State law to carry out

15 programs under this part, the joint responsibil16 ities given to local educational agencies under

17 this subsection shall—

18 ‘‘(i) not apply to the administration

19 and disbursement of any payments received

20 by that educational service agency; and

21 ‘‘(ii) be carried out only by that edu22 cational service agency.

23 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Not24 withstanding any other provision of this sub25 section, an educational service agency shall pro-
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1 vide for the education of children with disabil2 ities in the least restrictive environment, as re3 quired by section 612(a)(5).

4 ‘‘(f) EARLY INTERVENING SERVICES.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency

6 may not use more than 15 percent of the amount such

7 agency receives under this part for any fiscal year,

8 less any amount treated as local funds pursuant to

9 subsection (a)(2)(C), if any, in combination with

10 other amounts (which may include amounts other

11 than education funds), to develop and implement co12 ordinated, early intervening services, which may in13 clude interagency financing structures, for students in

14 kindergarten through grade 12 (with a particular em15 phasis on students in kindergarten through grade 3)

16 who do not meet the definition of a child with a dis17 ability under section 602(3) but who need additional

18 academic and behavioral support to succeed in a gen19 eral education environment.

20 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—In implementing coordinated,

21 early intervening services under this subsection, a

22 local educational agency may carry out activities that

23 include—

24 ‘‘(A) professional development (which may

25 be provided by entities other than local edu-
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1 cational agencies) for teachers and other school

2 staff to enable such personnel to deliver scientif3 ically based academic and behavioral interven4 tions, including scientifically based literacy in5 struction, and, where appropriate, instruction on

6 the use of adaptive and instructional software;

7 ‘‘(B) providing educational and behavioral

8 evaluations, services, and supports, including

9 scientifically based literacy instruction; and

10 ‘‘(C) developing and implementing inter11 agency financing structures for the provision of

12 such services and supports.

13 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this subsection

14 shall be construed to either limit or create a right to

15 a free appropriate public education under this part.

16 ‘‘(4) REPORTING.—Each local educational agen17 cy that develops and maintains coordinated, early in18 tervening services with funds made available for this

19 subsection, shall annually report to the State edu20 cational agency on—

21 ‘‘(A) the number of children served under

22 this subsection; and

23 ‘‘(B) the number of children served under

24 this subsection who are subsequently referred to

25 special education.
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1 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION WITH CERTAIN PROJECTS

2 UNDER ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

3 ACT OF 1965.—Funds made available to carry out this

4 subsection may be used to carry out coordinated,

5 early intervening services aligned with activities

6 funded by, and carried out under, the Elementary

7 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 if such funds

8 are used to supplement, and not supplant, funds

9 made available under the Elementary and Secondary

10 Education Act of 1965 for the activities and services

11 assisted under this subsection.

12 ‘‘(6) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1

13 year after the date of enactment of the Individuals

14 with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of

15 2004, the Comptroller General shall conduct a study

16 on the types of services provided to children served

17 under this subsection, and shall submit a report to

18 Congress regarding the study.

19 ‘‘(g) DIRECT SERVICES BY THE STATE EDUCATIONAL

20 AGENCY.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency

22 shall use the payments that would otherwise have been

23 available to a local educational agency or to a State

24 agency to provide special education and related serv25 ices directly to children with disabilities residing in
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1 the area served by that local educational agency, or

2 for whom that State agency is responsible, if the State

3 educational agency determines that the local edu4 cational agency or State agency, as the case may be—

5 ‘‘(A) has not provided the information need6 ed to establish the eligibility of such agency

7 under this section;

8 ‘‘(B) is unable to establish and maintain

9 programs of free appropriate public education

10 that meet the requirements of subsection (a);

11 ‘‘(C) is unable or unwilling to be consoli12 dated with 1 or more local educational agencies

13 in order to establish and maintain such pro14 grams; or

15 ‘‘(D) has 1 or more children with disabil16 ities who can best be served by a regional or

17 State program or service delivery system de18 signed to meet the needs of such children.

19 ‘‘(2) MANNER ANDLOCATION OF EDUCATION AND

20 SERVICES.—The State educational agency may pro21 vide special education and related services under

22 paragraph (1) in such manner and at such locations

23 (including regional or State centers) as the State

24 agency considers appropriate. Such education and
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1 services shall be provided in accordance with this

2 part.

3 ‘‘(h) STATE AGENCY ELIGIBILITY.—Any State agency

4 that desires to receive a subgrant for any fiscal year under

5 section 611(f) shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the

6 State educational agency that—

7 ‘‘(1) all children with disabilities who are par8 ticipating in programs and projects funded under this

9 part receive a free appropriate public education, and

10 that those children and their parents are provided all

11 the rights and procedural safeguards described in this

12 part; and

13 ‘‘(2) the agency meets such other conditions of

14 this section as the Secretary determines to be appro15 priate.

16 ‘‘(i) DISCIPLINARY INFORMATION.—The State may re17 quire that a local educational agency include in the records

18 of a child with a disability a statement of any current or

19 previous disciplinary action that has been taken against the

20 child and transmit such statement to the same extent that

21 such disciplinary information is included in, and trans22 mitted with, the student records of nondisabled children.

23 The statement may include a description of any behavior

24 engaged in by the child that required disciplinary action,

25 a description of the disciplinary action taken, and any
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1 other information that is relevant to the safety of the child

2 and other individuals involved with the child. If the State

3 adopts such a policy, and the child transfers from 1 school

4 to another, the transmission of any of the child’s records

5 shall include both the child’s current individualized edu6 cation program and any such statement of current or pre7 vious disciplinary action that has been taken against the

8 child.

9 ‘‘(j) STATE AGENCY FLEXIBILITY.—

10 ‘‘(1) TREATMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDS IN CER11 TAIN FISCAL YEARS.—If a State educational agency

12 pays or reimburses local educational agencies within

13 the State for not less than 80 percent of the non-Fed14 eral share of the costs of special education and related

15 services, or the State is the sole provider of free ap16 propriate public education or direct services pursuant

17 to section 612(b), then the State educational agency,

18 notwithstanding sections 612(a) (17) and (18) and

19 612(b), may treat funds allocated pursuant to section

20 611 as general funds available to support the edu21 cational purposes described in paragraph (2) (A) and

22 (B).

23 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS.—A State educational agency

24 may use funds in accordance with paragraph (1) sub25 ject to the following conditions:
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1 ‘‘(A) 8 PERCENT RULE.—A State edu2 cational agency may treat not more than 8 per3 cent of the funds the State educational agency re4 ceives under this part as general funds to sup5 port any educational purpose described in the

6 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

7 1965, needs-based student or teacher higher edu8 cation programs, or the non-Federal share of

9 costs of title XIX of the Social Security Act.

10 ‘‘(B) 40 PERCENT RULE.—For any fiscal

11 year for which States are allocated the maximum

12 amount of grants pursuant to section 611(a)(2),

13 a State educational agency may treat not more

14 than 40 percent of the amount of funds the State

15 educational agency receives under this part as

16 general funds to support any educational pur17 pose described in the Elementary and Secondary

18 Education Act of 1965, needs-based student or

19 teacher higher education programs, or the non20 Federal share of costs of title XIX of the Social

21 Security Act, subject to subparagraph (C).

22 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT.—A State educational

23 agency may exercise its authority pursuant to

24 subparagraph (B) only if the State educational

25 agency uses an amount of the 40 percent funds
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1 from subparagraph (B) that represents 15 per2 cent of the total amount of funds the State edu3 cational agency receives under this part, to pro4 vide, or to pay or reimburse local educational

5 agencies for providing, early intervening services

6 pursuant to subsection (f).

7 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—Notwithstanding subsection

8 (a), if the Secretary determines that a State edu9 cational agency is unable to establish, maintain, or

10 oversee programs of free appropriate public education

11 that meet the requirements of this part, then the Sec12 retary shall prohibit the State educational agency

13 from treating funds allocated under this part as gen14 eral funds pursuant to paragraph (1).

15 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—For each fiscal year for which a

16 State educational agency exercises its authority pur17 suant to paragraph (1) and treats Federal funds as

18 general funds, the State educational agency shall re19 port to the Secretary the amount of funds so treated

20 and the activities that were funded with such funds.

21 ‘‘SEC. 614. EVALUATIONS, ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS,

22 INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS,

23 AND EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENTS.

24 ‘‘(a) EVALUATIONS AND REEVALUATIONS.—

25 ‘‘(1) INITIAL EVALUATIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational

2 agency, other State agency, or local educational

3 agency shall conduct a full and individual ini4 tial evaluation in accordance with this para5 graph and subsection (b), before the initial pro6 vision of special education and related services to

7 a child with a disability under this part.

8 ‘‘(B) REQUEST FOR INITIAL EVALUATION.—

9 Consistent with subparagraph (D), either a par10 ent of a child, or a State educational agency,

11 other State agency, or local educational agency

12 may initiate a request for an initial evaluation

13 to determine if the child is a child with a dis14 ability.

15 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURES.—Such initial evalua16 tion shall consist of procedures—

17 ‘‘(i) to determine whether a child is a

18 child with a disability (as defined in sec19 tion 602(3)) within 60 days of receiving pa20 rental consent for the evaluation, or, if the

21 State has established a timeframe within

22 which the evaluation must be conducted,

23 within such timeframe; and

24 ‘‘(ii) to determine the educational

25 needs of such child.
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1 ‘‘(D) PARENTAL CONSENT.—

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The agency pro3 posing to conduct an initial evaluation to

4 determine if the child qualifies as a child

5 with a disability as defined in section

6 602(3) (A) or (B) shall obtain an informed

7 consent from the parent of such child before

8 the evaluation is conducted. Parental con9 sent for evaluation shall not be construed as

10 consent for placement for receipt of special

11 education and related services.

12 ‘‘(ii) REFUSAL.—If the parents of such

13 child refuse consent for the evaluation, the

14 agency may continue to pursue an evalua15 tion by utilizing the mediation and due

16 process procedures under section 615, except

17 to the extent inconsistent with State law re18 lating to parental consent.

19 ‘‘(iii) REFUSAL OR FAILURE TO CON20 SENT.—If the parent of a child does not

21 provide informed consent to the receipt of

22 special education and related services, or

23 the parent fails to respond to a request to

24 provide the consent, the local educational

25 agency shall not be considered to be in vio-
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1 lation of the requirement to make available

2 a free appropriate public education to the

3 child for the failure to provide the special

4 education and related services for which the

5 local educational agency requests such in6 formed consent.

7 ‘‘(iv) EXCEPTION FOR WARDS OF THE

8 STATE.—The agency shall not be required to

9 obtain an informed consent from the par10 ents of a child for an initial evaluation to

11 determine whether the child is a child with

12 a disability if such child is a ward of the

13 State and is not residing with the child’s

14 parent and consent has been given by an

15 individual who has appropriate knowledge

16 of the child’s educational needs, including

17 the judge appointed to the child’s case or the

18 child’s attorney, guardian ad litem, or court

19 appointed special advocate.

20 ‘‘(2) REEVALUATIONS.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A local educational

22 agency shall ensure that a reevaluation of each

23 child with a disability is conducted in accord24 ance with subsections (b) and (c)—
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1 ‘‘(i) if the local educational agency de2 termines that the educational or related

3 services needs, including improved academic

4 achievement and functional performance, of

5 the child warrant a reevaluation; or

6 ‘‘(ii) if the child’s parents or teacher

7 requests a reevaluation.

8 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—A reevaluation con9 ducted under subparagraph (A) shall occur—

10 ‘‘(i) not more than once a year, unless

11 the parent and the local educational agency

12 agree otherwise; and

13 ‘‘(ii) at least once every 3 years, unless

14 the parent and the local educational agency

15 agree that a reevaluation is unnecessary.

16 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION PROCEDURES.—

17 ‘‘(1) NOTICE.—The local educational agency

18 shall provide notice to the parents of a child with a

19 disability, in accordance with subsections (b)(3),

20 (b)(4), and (c) of section 615, that describes any eval21 uation procedures such agency proposes to conduct.

22 ‘‘(2) CONDUCT OF EVALUATION.—In conducting

23 the evaluation, the local educational agency shall—

24 ‘‘(A) use a variety of assessment tools and

25 strategies to gather relevant functional, develop-
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1 mental, and academic information, including in2 formation provided by the parent, that may as3 sist in determining—

4 ‘‘(i) whether the child is a child with

5 a disability; and

6 ‘‘(ii) the content of the child’s individ7 ualized education program, including infor8 mation related to enabling the child to be

9 involved in and progress in the general cur10 riculum, or for preschool children, to par11 ticipate in appropriate activities;

12 ‘‘(B) not use any single procedure, measure,

13 or assessment as the sole criterion for deter14 mining whether a child is a child with a dis15 ability or determining an appropriate edu16 cational program for the child; and

17 ‘‘(C) use technically sound instruments that

18 may assess the relative contribution of cognitive

19 and behavioral factors, in addition to physical

20 or developmental factors.

21 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Each local

22 educational agency shall ensure that—

23 ‘‘(A) tests and other evaluation materials

24 used to assess a child under this section—
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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 information on what the child

7 knows and can do academically, develop8 mentally, and functionally, unless it is not

9 feasible to so provide or administer;’’.

10 ‘‘(iii) are used for purposes for which

11 the assessments or measures are valid and

12 reliable;

13 ‘‘(iv) are administered by trained and

14 knowledgeable personnel; and

15 ‘‘(v) are administered in accordance

16 with any instructions provided by the pro17 ducer of such tests;

18 ‘‘(B) the child is assessed in all areas of sus19 pected disability; and

20 ‘‘(C) assessment tools and strategies that

21 provide relevant information that directly assists

22 persons in determining the educational needs of

23 the child are provided.

24 ‘‘(D) assessments of children with disabil25 ities, including homeless children with disabil-
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1 ities, children with disabilities who are wards of

2 the State, and children with disabilities in mili3 tary families, who transfer from 1 school district

4 to another school district in the same academic

5 year, are—

6 ‘‘(i) coordinated with such children’s

7 prior and subsequent schools as necessary to

8 ensure timely completion of full evaluations;

9 and

10 ‘‘(ii) completed within time limits—

11 ‘‘(I) established for all students by

12 Federal law or State plans; and

13 ‘‘(II) that computes the com14 mencement of time from the date on

15 which such children are first referred

16 for assessments in any local edu17 cational agency.

18 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Upon

19 completion of administration of tests and other eval20 uation materials—

21 ‘‘(A) the determination of whether the child

22 is a child with a disability as defined in section

23 602(3) shall be made by a team of qualified pro24 fessionals and the parent of the child in accord25 ance with paragraph (5); and
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1 ‘‘(B) a copy of the evaluation report and the

2 documentation of determination of eligibility

3 shall be given to the parent.

4 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULE FOR ELIGIBILITY DETER5 MINATION.—In making a determination of eligibility

6 under paragraph (4)(A), a child shall not be deter7 mined to be a child with a disability if the deter8 minant factor for such determination is—

9 ‘‘(A) lack of scientifically based instruction

10 in reading;

11 ‘‘(B) lack of instruction in mathematics; or

12 ‘‘(C) limited English proficiency.

13 ‘‘(6) SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITIES.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec15 tion 607(b), when determining whether a child

16 has a specific learning disability as defined in

17 section 602(29), a local educational agency shall

18 not be required to take into consideration wheth19 er a child has a severe discrepancy between

20 achievement and intellectual ability in oral ex21 pression, listening comprehension, written ex22 pression, basic reading skill, reading comprehen23 sion, mathematical calculation, or mathematical

24 reasoning.
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1 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—In deter2 mining whether a child has a specific learning

3 disability, a local educational agency may use a

4 process that determines if the child responds to

5 scientific, research-based intervention as a part

6 of the evaluation procedures described in para7 graphs (2) and (3).

8 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EVALUATION

9 AND REEVALUATIONS.—

10 ‘‘(1) REVIEW OF EXISTING EVALUATION DATA.—

11 As part of an initial evaluation (if appropriate) and

12 as part of any reevaluation under this section, the

13 IEP Team described in subsection (d)(1)(B) and other

14 qualified professionals, as appropriate, shall—

15 ‘‘(A) review existing evaluation data on the

16 child, including evaluations and information

17 provided by the parents of the child, current

18 classroom-based assessments, and observations,

19 and teacher and related services providers obser20 vations; and

21 ‘‘(B) on the basis of that review, and input

22 from the child’s parents, identify what addi23 tional data, if any, are needed to determine—

24 ‘‘(i) whether the child has a particular

25 category of disability, as described in sec-
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1 tion 602(3), or, in case of a reevaluation of

2 a child, whether the child continues to have

3 such a disability;

4 ‘‘(ii) the present levels of performance

5 and educational needs of the child;

6 ‘‘(iii) whether the child needs special

7 education and related services, or in the

8 case of a reevaluation of a child, whether

9 the child continues to need special education

10 and related services; and

11 ‘‘(iv) whether any additions or modi12 fications to the special education and re13 lated services are needed to enable the child

14 to meet the measurable annual goals set out

15 in the individualized education program of

16 the child and to participate, as appropriate,

17 in the general curriculum.

18 ‘‘(2) SOURCE OF DATA.—The local educational

19 agency shall administer such tests and other evalua20 tion materials and procedures as may be needed to

21 produce the data identified by the IEP Team under

22 paragraph (1)(B).

23 ‘‘(3) PARENTAL CONSENT.—Each local edu24 cational agency shall obtain informed parental con25 sent, in accordance with subsection (a)(1)(D), prior to
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1 conducting any reevaluation of a child with a dis2 ability, except that such informed parental consent

3 need not be obtained if the local educational agency

4 can demonstrate that the local educational agency

5 had taken reasonable measures to obtain such consent

6 and the child’s parent has failed to respond.

7 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS IF ADDITIONAL DATA ARE

8 NOT NEEDED.—If the IEP Team and other qualified

9 professionals, as appropriate, determine that no addi10 tional data are needed to determine whether the child

11 is or continues to be a child with a disability, the

12 local educational agency—

13 ‘‘(A) shall notify the child’s parents of—

14 ‘‘(i) that determination and the rea15 sons for the determination; and

16 ‘‘(ii) the right of such parents to re17 quest an assessment to determine whether

18 the child is or continues to be a child with

19 a disability; and

20 ‘‘(B) shall not be required to conduct such

21 an assessment unless requested by the child’s

22 parents.

23 ‘‘(5) EVALUATIONS BEFORE CHANGE IN ELIGI24 BILITY.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

2 subparagraph (B), a local educational agency

3 shall evaluate a child with a disability in ac4 cordance with this section before determining

5 that the child is no longer a child with a dis6 ability.

7 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The evaluation de9 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall not be re10 quired before the termination of a child’s

11 eligibility under this part due to graduation

12 from secondary school with a regular di13 ploma, or to exceeding the age eligibility for

14 a free appropriate public education under

15 State law.

16 ‘‘(ii) SUMMARY OF PERFORMANCE.—

17 For a child whose eligibility under this part

18 terminates under circumstances described in

19 clause (i), a local educational agency shall

20 provide the child with a summary of the

21 child’s academic achievement and func22 tional performance, which shall include rec23 ommendations on how to assist the child in

24 meeting the child’s postsecondary goals.

25 ‘‘(d) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this title:

2 ‘‘(A) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PRO3 GRAM.—

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘individ5 ualized education program’ or ‘IEP’ means

6 a written statement for each child with a

7 disability that is developed, reviewed, and

8 revised in accordance with this section and

9 that includes—

10 ‘‘(I) a statement of the child’s

11 present levels of academic achievement

12 and functional performance,

13 including—

14 ‘‘(aa) how the child’s dis15 ability affects the child’s involve16 ment and progress in the general

17 curriculum; or

18 ‘‘(bb) for preschool children,

19 as appropriate, how the disability

20 affects the child’s participation in

21 appropriate activities;

22 ‘‘(II) a statement of measurable

23 annual goals, including academic and

24 functional goals, designed to—
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1 ‘‘(aa) meet the child’s needs

2 that result from the child’s dis3 ability to enable the child to be

4 involved in and make progress in

5 the general curriculum; and

6 ‘‘(bb) meet each of the child’s

7 other educational needs that result

8 from the child’s disability;

9 ‘‘(III) a description of how the

10 child’s progress toward meeting the an11 nual goals described in subclause (II)

12 will be measured and when periodic re13 ports on the progress the child is mak14 ing toward meeting the annual goals

15 (such as through the use of quarterly or

16 other periodic reports, concurrent with

17 the issuance of report cards) will be

18 provided;

19 ‘‘(IV) a statement of the special

20 education and related services, and

21 supplementary aids and services, to be

22 provided to the child, or on behalf of

23 the child, and a statement of the pro24 gram modifications or supports for
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1 school personnel that will be provided

2 for the child—

3 ‘‘(aa) to advance appro4 priately toward attaining the an5 nual goals;

6 ‘‘(bb) to be involved in and

7 make progress in the general cur8 riculum in accordance with sub9 clause (I) and to participate in

10 extracurricular and other nonaca11 demic activities; and

12 ‘‘(cc) to be educated and par13 ticipate with other children with

14 disabilities and nondisabled chil15 dren in the activities described in

16 this paragraph;

17 ‘‘(V) an explanation of the extent,

18 if any, to which the child will not par19 ticipate with nondisabled children in

20 the regular class and in the activities

21 described in subclause (IV)(cc);

22 ‘‘(VI)(aa) a statement of any in23 dividual appropriate accommodations

24 that are necessary to measure the aca25 demic achievement and functional per-
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1 formance of the child on State and dis2 trictwide assessments consistent with

3 section 612(a)(16)(A); and

4 ‘‘(bb) if the IEP Team determines

5 that the child shall take an alternate

6 assessment on a particular State or

7 districtwide assessment of student

8 achievement, a statement of why—

9 ‘‘(AA) the child cannot par10 ticipate in the regular assessment;

11 and

12 ‘‘(BB) the particular alter13 nate assessment selected is appro14 priate for the child;

15 ‘‘(VII) the projected date for the

16 beginning of the services and modifica17 tions described in subclause (IV), and

18 the anticipated frequency, location,

19 and duration of those services and

20 modifications; and

21 ‘‘(VIII) beginning not later than

22 the first IEP to be in effect when the

23 child is 14, and updated annually

24 thereafter—
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1 ‘‘(aa) appropriate measur2 able postsecondary goals based

3 upon age appropriate transition

4 assessments related to training,

5 education, employment, and,

6 where appropriate, independent

7 living skills;

8 ‘‘(bb) the transition services

9 (including courses of study) need10 ed by the child to reach those

11 goals, including services to be pro12 vided by other agencies when

13 needed; and

14 ‘‘(cc) beginning at least 1

15 year before the child reaches the

16 age of majority under State law,

17 a statement that the child has

18 been informed of the child’s rights

19 under this title, if any, that will

20 transfer to the child on reaching

21 the age of majority under section

22 615(m).

23 ‘‘(ii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Noth24 ing in this section shall be construed to

25 require—
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1 ‘‘(I) that additional information

2 be included in a child’s IEP beyond

3 what is explicitly required in this sec4 tion; and

5 ‘‘(II) the IEP Team to include in6 formation under 1 component of a

7 child’s IEP that is already contained

8 under another component of such IEP.

9 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM

10 TEAM.—The term ‘individualized education pro11 gram team’ or ‘IEP Team’ means a group of in12 dividuals composed of—

13 ‘‘(i) the parents of a child with a dis14 ability;

15 ‘‘(ii) at least 1 regular education

16 teacher of such child (if the child is, or may

17 be, participating in the regular education

18 environment);

19 ‘‘(iii) at least 1 special education

20 teacher, or where appropriate, at least 1

21 special education provider of such child;

22 ‘‘(iv) a representative of the local edu23 cational agency who—

24 ‘‘(I) is qualified to provide, or su25 pervise the provision of, specially de-
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1 signed instruction to meet the unique

2 needs of children with disabilities;

3 ‘‘(II) is knowledgeable about the

4 general curriculum; and

5 ‘‘(III) is knowledgeable about the

6 availability of resources of the local

7 educational agency;

8 ‘‘(v) an individual who can interpret

9 the instructional implications of evaluation

10 results, who may be a member of the team

11 described in clauses (ii) through (vi);

12 ‘‘(vi) at the discretion of the parent or

13 the agency, other individuals who have

14 knowledge or special expertise regarding the

15 child, including related services personnel as

16 appropriate; and

17 ‘‘(vii) whenever appropriate, the child

18 with a disability.

19 ‘‘(viii) if the child is a ward of the

20 State, another individual with appropriate

21 knowledge of the child’s educational needs,

22 such as a foster parent, a relative with

23 whom the child lives who acts as a parent

24 to the child, an attorney for the child, a

25 guardian ad litem, a court appointed spe-
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1 cial advocate, a judge, or an education sur2 rogate.

3 ‘‘(C) IEP TEAM ATTENDANCE.—

4 ‘‘(i) ATTENDANCE NOT NECESSARY.—A

5 member of the IEP Team shall not be re6 quired to attend an IEP meeting, in whole

7 or in part, if that member, the parent of a

8 child with a disability, and the local edu9 cational agency agree that the attendance of

10 such member is not necessary because no

11 modification to the member’s area of the

12 curriculum or related services is being

13 modified or discussed in the meeting.

14 ‘‘(ii) EXCUSAL.—A member of the IEP

15 Team may be excused from attending an

16 IEP meeting, in whole or in part, when the

17 meeting involves a modification to or dis18 cussion of the member’s area of the cur19 riculum or related services, if—

20 ‘‘(I) that member, the parent, and

21 the local educational agency consent to

22 the excusal; and

23 ‘‘(II) the member submits input

24 into the development of the IEP prior

25 to the meeting.
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1 ‘‘(iii) WRITTEN AGREEMENT ANDCON2 SENT REQUIRED.—A parent’s agreement

3 under clause (i) and consent under clause

4 (ii) shall be in writing.

5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT THAT PROGRAM BE IN EF6 FECT.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the beginning of

8 each school year, each local educational agency,

9 State educational agency, or other State agency,

10 as the case may be, shall have in effect, for each

11 child with a disability in its jurisdiction, an in12 dividualized education program, as defined in

13 paragraph (1)(A).

14 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM FOR CHILDAGED3

15 THROUGH 5.—In the case of a child with a dis16 ability aged 3 through 5 (or, at the discretion of

17 the State educational agency, a 2-year-old child

18 with a disability who will turn age 3 during the

19 school year), an individualized family service

20 plan that contains the material described in sec21 tion 636, and that is developed in accordance

22 with this section, may serve as the IEP of the

23 child if using that plan as the IEP is—

24 ‘‘(i) consistent with State policy; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) agreed to by the agency and the

2 child’s parents.

3 ‘‘(C) PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN WHO TRANS4 FER SCHOOL DISTRICTS.—

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a

6 child with a disability, including a home7 less child with a disability, a child with a

8 disability who is a ward of the State, or a

9 child with a disability in a military fam10 ily, who transfers school districts within the

11 same academic year, who enrolls in a new

12 school and who had an IEP that was in ef13 fect in the same or another State, the local

14 educational agency, State educational agen15 cy, or other State agency, as the case may

16 be, shall immediately provide such child

17 with a free appropriate public education,

18 including comparable services identified in

19 the previously held IEP and in consultation

20 with the parents until such time as the local

21 educational agency, State educational agen22 cy, or other State agency, as the case may

23 be, adopts the previously held IEP or devel24 ops, adopts, and implements a new IEP
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1 that is consistent with Federal and State

2 law.

3 ‘‘(ii) TRANSMITTAL OF RECORDS.—To

4 facilitate the transition for a child described

5 in clause (i), the new school in which the

6 child enrolls shall immediately request the

7 child’s records from the previous schools in

8 which the child was enrolled and the pre9 vious schools in which the child was en10 rolled shall immediately transmit to the

11 new school, upon such request, the IEP and

12 supporting documents and any other

13 records relating to the provision of special

14 education or related services to the child.

15 ‘‘(3) DEVELOPMENT OF IEP.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In developing each

17 child’s IEP, the IEP Team, subject to subpara18 graph (C), shall consider—

19 ‘‘(i) the strengths of the child;

20 ‘‘(ii) the concerns of the parents for en21 hancing the education of their child;

22 ‘‘(iii) the results of the initial evalua23 tion or most recent evaluation of the child;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(iv) the academic, developmental, and

2 functional needs of the child.

3 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF SPECIAL FAC4 TORS.—The IEP Team shall—

5 ‘‘(i) in the case of a child whose behav6 ior impedes the child’s learning or that of

7 others, provide for positive behavioral inter8 ventions and supports, and other strategies

9 to address that behavior;

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a child with limited

11 English proficiency, consider the language

12 needs of the child as such needs relate to the

13 child’s IEP;

14 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a child who is

15 blind or visually impaired—

16 ‘‘(I) provide for instruction in

17 Braille and the use of Braille unless

18 the IEP Team determines, after an

19 evaluation of the child’s reading and

20 writing skills, needs, and appropriate

21 reading and writing media (including

22 an evaluation of the child’s future

23 needs for instruction in Braille or the

24 use of Braille), that instruction in
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1 Braille or the use of Braille is not ap2 propriate for the child; and

3 ‘‘(II) consider, when appropriate,

4 instructional services related to func5 tional performance skills, orientation

6 and mobility, and skills in the use of

7 assistive technology devices, including

8 low vision devices;

9 ‘‘(iv) consider the communication

10 needs of the child, and in the case of a child

11 who is deaf or hard of hearing, consider the

12 child’s language and communication needs,

13 opportunities for direct communications

14 with peers and professional personnel in the

15 child’s language and communication mode,

16 academic level, and full range of needs, in17 cluding opportunities for direct instruction

18 in the child’s language and communication

19 mode; and

20 ‘‘(v) consider whether the child requires

21 assistive technology devices and services.

22 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT WITH RESPECT TO

23 REGULAR EDUCATION TEACHER.—A regular edu24 cation teacher of the child, as a member of the

25 IEP Team shall, to the extent appropriate, par-
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1 ticipate in the development of the IEP of the

2 child, including the determination of appro3 priate positive behavioral interventions and sup4 ports, and other strategies, and the determina5 tion of supplementary aids and services, pro6 gram modifications, and support for school per7 sonnel consistent with paragraph (1)(A)(i)(IV).

8 ‘‘(D) AGREEMENT.—In making changes to

9 a child’s IEP after the annual IEP meeting for

10 a school year, the parent of a child with a dis11 ability and the local educational agency may

12 agree not to convene an IEP meeting for the pur13 poses of making such changes, and instead may

14 develop a written document to amend or modify

15 the child’s current IEP.

16 ‘‘(E) CONSOLIDATION OF IEP TEAM MEET17 INGS.—To the extent possible, the local edu18 cational agency shall encourage the consolidation

19 of reevaluations of a child with IEP Team meet20 ings for the child.

21 ‘‘(4) REVIEW ANDREVISION OF IEP.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The local educational

23 agency shall ensure that, subject to subparagraph

24 (B), the IEP Team—
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1 ‘‘(i) reviews the child’s IEP periodi2 cally, but not less than annually, to deter3 mine whether the annual goals for the child

4 are being achieved; and

5 ‘‘(ii) revise the IEP as appropriate to

6 address—

7 ‘‘(I) any lack of expected progress

8 toward the annual goals and in the

9 general curriculum, where appropriate;

10 ‘‘(II) the results of any reevalua11 tion conducted under this section;

12 ‘‘(III) information about the child

13 provided to, or by, the parents, as de14 scribed in subsection (c)(1)(B);

15 ‘‘(IV) the child’s anticipated

16 needs; or

17 ‘‘(V) other matters.

18 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT WITH RESPECT TO

19 REGULAR EDUCATION TEACHER.—A regular edu20 cation teacher of the child, as a member of the

21 IEP Team, shall, consistent with paragraph

22 (1)(C), participate in the review and revision of

23 the IEP of the child.

24 ‘‘(5) THREE-YEAR IEP.—
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1 ‘‘(A) DEVELOPMENT OF 3-YEAR IEP.—The

2 local educational agency may offer a child with

3 a disability who has reached the age of 18, the

4 option of developing a comprehensive 3-year

5 IEP. With the consent of the parent, when ap6 propriate, the IEP Team shall develop an IEP,

7 as described in paragraphs (1) and (3), that is

8 designed to serve the child for the final 3-year

9 transition period, which includes a statement

10 of—

11 ‘‘(i) measurable goals that will enable

12 the child to be involved in and make

13 progress in the general education cur14 riculum and that will meet the child’s tran15 sitional and postsecondary needs that result

16 from the child’s disability; and

17 ‘‘(ii) measurable annual goals for

18 measuring progress toward meeting the

19 postsecondary goals described in clause (i).

20 ‘‘(B) REVIEW ANDREVISION OF 3-YEAR

21 IEP.—

22 ‘‘(i) REQUIREMENT.—Each year the

23 local educational agency shall ensure that

24 the IEP Team—
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1 ‘‘(I) provides an annual review of

2 the child’s IEP to determine the child’s

3 current levels of progress and deter4 mine whether the annual goals for the

5 child are being achieved; and

6 ‘‘(II) revises the IEP, as appro7 priate, to enable the child to continue

8 to meet the measurable transition goals

9 set out in the IEP.

10 ‘‘(ii) COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW.—If the

11 review under clause (i) determines that the

12 child is not making sufficient progress to13 ward the goals described in subparagraph

14 (A), the local educational agency shall en15 sure that the IEP Team provides a review,

16 within 30 calendar days, of the IEP under

17 paragraph (4).

18 ‘‘(iii) PREFERENCE.—At the request of

19 the child, or when appropriate, the parent,

20 the IEP Team shall conduct a review of the

21 child’s 3-year IEP under paragraph (4)

22 rather than an annual review under sub23 paragraph (B)(i).

24 ‘‘(6) FAILURE TO MEET TRANSITION OBJEC25 TIVES.—If a participating agency, other than the
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1 local educational agency, fails to provide the transi2 tion services described in the IEP in accordance with

3 paragraph (1)(A)(i)(VIII), the local educational agen4 cy shall reconvene the IEP Team to identify alter5 native strategies to meet the transition objectives for

6 the child set out in that program.

7 ‘‘(7) CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN ADULT

8 PRISONS.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The following require10 ments shall not apply to children with disabil11 ities who are convicted as adults under State law

12 and incarcerated in adult prisons:

13 ‘‘(i) The requirements contained in sec14 tion 612(a)(16) and paragraph (1)(A)(i)(V)

15 (relating to participation of children with

16 disabilities in general assessments).

17 ‘‘(ii) The requirements of items (aa)

18 and (bb) of paragraph (1)(A)(i)(VIII) (re19 lating to transition planning and transi20 tion services), do not apply with respect to

21 such children whose eligibility under this

22 part will end, because of their age, before

23 they will be released from prison.

24 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—If a

25 child with a disability is convicted as an adult
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1 under State law and incarcerated in an adult

2 prison, the child’s IEP Team may modify the

3 child’s IEP or placement notwithstanding the re4 quirements of sections 612(a)(5)(A) and

5 614(d)(1)(A) if the State has demonstrated a

6 bona fide security or compelling penological in7 terest that cannot otherwise be accommodated.

8 ‘‘(e) EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENTS.—Each local edu9 cational agency or State educational agency shall ensure

10 that the parents of each child with a disability are members

11 of any group that makes decisions on the educational place12 ment of their child. Decisions regarding the educational

13 placement of a child with a disability who is a homeless

14 child shall comply with the requirements described under

15 section 722(g)(3) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist16 ance Act.

17 ‘‘(f) ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF MEETING PARTICIPA18 TION.—When conducting IEP Team meetings and place19 ment meetings pursuant to this section, the parent of a child

20 with a disability and a local educational agency may agree

21 to use alternative means of meeting participation, such as

22 video conferences and conference calls.

23 ‘‘SEC. 615. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.

24 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCEDURES.—Any State

25 educational agency, State agency, or local educational
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1 agency that receives assistance under this part shall estab2 lish and maintain procedures in accordance with this sec3 tion to ensure that children with disabilities, including chil4 dren with disabilities who are wards of the State, and their

5 parents are guaranteed procedural safeguards with respect

6 to the provision of free appropriate public education by

7 such agencies.

8 ‘‘(b) TYPES OF PROCEDURES.—The procedures re9 quired by this section shall include—

10 ‘‘(1) an opportunity for the parents of a child

11 with a disability to examine all records relating to

12 such child and to participate in meetings with respect

13 to the identification, evaluation, and educational

14 placement of the child, and the provision of a free ap15 propriate public education to such child, and to ob16 tain an independent educational evaluation of the

17 child;

18 ‘‘(2) procedures to protect the rights of the child

19 whenever the parents of the child are not known, the

20 agency cannot, after reasonable efforts, locate the par21 ents, the child is a ward of the State, or the child is

22 a homeless child who is not in the physical custody

23 of a parent or guardian including the assignment of

24 an individual (who shall not be an employee of the

25 State educational agency, the local educational agen-
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1 cy, or any other agency that is involved in the edu2 cation or care of the child) to act as a surrogate for

3 the parents in accordance with subsection (o);

4 ‘‘(3) written prior notice to the parents of the

5 child, in accordance with subsection (c)(1), whenever

6 the local educational agency—

7 ‘‘(A) proposes to initiate or change; or

8 ‘‘(B) refuses to initiate or change,

9 the identification, evaluation, or educational place10 ment of the child, or the provision of a free appro11 priate public education to the child;

12 ‘‘(4) procedures designed to ensure that the notice

13 required by paragraph (3) is in the native language

14 of the parents, unless it clearly is not feasible to do

15 so;

16 ‘‘(5) an opportunity for mediation in accordance

17 with subsection (e);

18 ‘‘(6) an opportunity for either party to present

19 complaints with respect to any matter relating to the

20 identification, evaluation, or educational placement of

21 the child, or the provision of a free appropriate public

22 education to such child;

23 ‘‘(7)(A) procedures that require either party, or

24 the attorney representing a party, to provide due
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1 process complaint notice in accordance with sub2 section (c)(2) (which shall remain confidential)—

3 ‘‘(i) to the other party, in the complaint

4 filed under paragraph (6), and forward a copy

5 of such notice to the State educational agency;

6 and

7 ‘‘(ii) that shall include—

8 ‘‘(I) the name of the child, the address

9 of the residence of the child (or available

10 contact information in the case of a home11 less child), and the name of the school the

12 child is attending;

13 ‘‘(II) in the case of a homeless child or

14 youth (within the meaning of section 725(2)

15 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance

16 Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)), available con17 tact information for the child and the name

18 of the school the child is attending;

19 ‘‘(III) a description of the nature of the

20 problem of the child relating to such pro21 posed initiation or change, including facts

22 relating to such problem; and

23 ‘‘(IV) a proposed resolution of the

24 problem to the extent known and available

25 to the party at the time; and
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1 ‘‘(B) a requirement that a party may not have

2 a due process hearing until the party, or the attorney

3 representing the party, files a notice that meets the

4 requirements of subparagraph (A)(ii);

5 ‘‘(8) a requirement that the local educational

6 agency shall send a prior written notice pursuant to

7 subsection (c)(1) in response to a parent’s due process

8 complaint notice under paragraph (7) if the local

9 educational agency has not sent such a prior written

10 notice to the parent regarding the subject matter con11 tained in the parent’s due process complaint notice;

12 and

13 ‘‘(9) procedures that require the State edu14 cational agency to develop a model form to assist par15 ents in filing a complaint and due process complaint

16 notice in accordance with paragraphs (6) and (7), re17 spectively.

18 ‘‘(10) procedures to protect the rights of the child

19 whenever the child is a ward of the State, including

20 procedures that preserve the rights of the natural or

21 adoptive parent to make the decisions required of par22 ents under this Act (unless such rights have been ex23 tinguished under State law) but that permit a child

24 who is represented in juvenile court by an attorney,

25 guardian ad litem, or another individual, to have
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1 such attorney, guardian ad litem, or other individual

2 present in any meetings, mediation proceedings, or

3 hearings provided under this Act.

4 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.—

5 ‘‘(1) CONTENT OF PRIOR WRITTEN NOTICE.—The

6 prior written notice of the local educational agency

7 required by subsection (b)(3) shall include—

8 ‘‘(A) a description of the action proposed or

9 refused by the agency;

10 ‘‘(B) an explanation of why the agency pro11 poses or refuses to take the action;

12 ‘‘(C) a description of any other options that

13 the agency considered and the reasons why those

14 options were rejected;

15 ‘‘(D) a description of each evaluation proce16 dure, test, record, or report the agency used as a

17 basis for the proposed or refused action;

18 ‘‘(E) a description of any other factors that

19 are relevant to the agency’s proposal or refusal;

20 ‘‘(F) a statement that the parents of a child

21 with a disability have protection under the pro22 cedural safeguards of this part and, if this notice

23 is not an initial referral for evaluation, the

24 means by which a copy of a description of the

25 procedural safeguards can be obtained; and
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1 ‘‘(G) sources for parents to contact to obtain

2 assistance in understanding the provisions of

3 this part.

4 ‘‘(2) DUE PROCESS COMPLAINT NOTICE.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The due process com6 plaint notice required under subsection (b)(7)(A)

7 shall be deemed to be sufficient unless the party

8 receiving the notice notifies the hearing officer

9 and the other party in writing that the receiving

10 party believes the notice has not met the require11 ments of that subsection.

12 ‘‘(B) TIMING.—The party sending a hearing

13 officer notification under subparagraph (A) shall

14 send the notification within 20 days of receiving

15 the complaint.

16 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION.—Within 5 days of

17 receipt of the notification provided under sub18 paragraph (B), the hearing officer shall make a

19 determination on the face of the notice of whether

20 the notification meets the requirements of sub21 section (b)(7)(A), and shall immediately notify

22 both parties in writing of such determination.

23 ‘‘(D) PARENT’S AMENDED NOTICE OF COM24 PLAINT.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A parent may

2 amend the parent’s due process complaint

3 notice only if—

4 ‘‘(I) the public agency consents in

5 writing to such amendment and is

6 given the opportunity to resolve the

7 complaint through a meeting held pur8 suant to subsection (f)(1)(B); or

9 ‘‘(II) the hearing officer grants

10 permission, but may do so only before

11 a due process hearing occurs.

12 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE TIMELINE.—The ap13 plicable timeline for a due process hearing

14 under this part shall recommence at the

15 time the party files an amended notice.

16 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS NOTICE.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A copy of the procedural

18 safeguards available to the parents of a child with a

19 disability shall be given to the parents only 1 time a

20 year, except that a copy also shall be given to the

21 parents—

22 ‘‘(A) upon initial referral or parental re23 quest for evaluation;

24 ‘‘(B) upon registration of a complaint

25 under subsection (b)(6); and
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1 ‘‘(C) upon request by a parent.

2 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The procedural safeguards no3 tice shall include a full explanation of the procedural

4 safeguards, written in the native language of the par5 ents, unless it clearly is not feasible to do so, and

6 written in an easily understandable manner, avail7 able under this section and under regulations promul8 gated by the Secretary relating to—

9 ‘‘(A) independent educational evaluation;

10 ‘‘(B) prior written notice;

11 ‘‘(C) parental consent;

12 ‘‘(D) access to educational records;

13 ‘‘(E) the opportunity to present and resolve

14 complaints, including—

15 ‘‘(i) the time period in which to make

16 a complaint;

17 ‘‘(ii) the opportunity for the agency to

18 resolve the complaint; and

19 ‘‘(iii) the availability of mediation;

20 ‘‘(F) the child’s placement during pendency

21 of due process proceedings;

22 ‘‘(G) procedures for students who are subject

23 to placement in an interim alternative edu24 cational setting;
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1 ‘‘(H) requirements for unilateral placement

2 by parents of children in private schools at pub3 lic expense;

4 ‘‘(I) due process hearings, including re5 quirements for disclosure of evaluation results

6 and recommendations;

7 ‘‘(J) State-level appeals (if applicable in

8 that State);

9 ‘‘(K) civil actions, including the time period

10 in which to file such actions; and

11 ‘‘(L) attorney’s fees.

12 ‘‘(e) MEDIATION.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any State educational agen14 cy or local educational agency that receives assistance

15 under this part shall ensure that procedures are estab16 lished and implemented to allow parties to disputes

17 involving any matter, including matters arising prior

18 to the filing of a complaint pursuant to subsection

19 (b)(6), to resolve such disputes through a mediation

20 process.

21 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Such procedures shall

22 meet the following requirements:

23 ‘‘(A) The procedures shall ensure that the

24 mediation process—
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1 ‘‘(i) is voluntary on the part of the

2 parties;

3 ‘‘(ii) is not used to deny or delay a

4 parent’s right to a due process hearing

5 under subsection (f), or to deny any other

6 rights afforded under this part; and

7 ‘‘(iii) is conducted by a qualified and

8 impartial mediator who is trained in effec9 tive mediation techniques.

10 ‘‘(B) OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH A DISIN11 TERESTEDPARTY.—A local educational agency

12 or a State agency may establish procedures to

13 offer to parents and schools who choose not to use

14 the mediation process, an opportunity to meet,

15 at a time and location convenient to the parents,

16 with a disinterested party who is under contract

17 with—

18 ‘‘(i) a parent training and informa19 tion center or community parent resource

20 center in the State established under section

21 671 or 672; or

22 ‘‘(ii) an appropriate alternative dis23 pute resolution entity,

24 to encourage the use, and explain the benefits, of

25 the mediation process to the parents.
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1 ‘‘(C) LIST OF QUALIFIEDMEDIATORS.—The

2 State shall maintain a list of individuals who

3 are qualified mediators and knowledgeable in

4 laws and regulations relating to the provision of

5 special education and related services.

6 ‘‘(D) COSTS.—The State shall bear the cost

7 of the mediation process, including the costs of

8 meetings described in subparagraph (B).

9 ‘‘(E) SCHEDULING AND LOCATION.—Each

10 session in the mediation process shall be sched11 uled in a timely manner and shall be held in a

12 location that is convenient to the parties to the

13 dispute.

14 ‘‘(F) WRITTEN MEDIATION AGREEMENT.—

15 An agreement reached by the parties to the dis16 pute in the mediation process shall be set forth

17 in a written mediation agreement that is en18 forceable in any State court of competent juris19 diction or in a district court of the United

20 States.

21 ‘‘(G) MEDIATION DISCUSSIONS.—Discus22 sions that occur during the mediation process

23 shall be confidential and may not be used as evi24 dence in any subsequent due process hearings or

25 civil proceedings, and the parties to the medi-
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1 ation process may be required to sign a confiden2 tiality pledge prior to the commencement of such

3 process.

4 ‘‘(f) IMPARTIAL DUE PROCESS HEARING.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

6 ‘‘(A) HEARING.—Whenever a complaint has

7 been received under subsection (b)(6) or (k), the

8 parents or the local educational agency involved

9 in such complaint shall have an opportunity for

10 an impartial due process hearing, which shall be

11 conducted by the State educational agency or by

12 the local educational agency, as determined by

13 State law or by the State educational agency.

14 ‘‘(B) OPPORTUNITY TO RESOLVE COM15 PLAINT.—

16 ‘‘(i) PRELIMINARY MEETING.—Prior to

17 the opportunity for an impartial due proc18 ess hearing under subparagraph (A), the

19 local educational agency shall convene a

20 meeting with the parents and the IEP

21 Team—

22 ‘‘(I) within 15 days of receiving

23 notice of the parents’ complaint;

24 ‘‘(II) which shall include a rep25 resentative of the public agency who
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1 has decisionmaking authority on behalf

2 of such agency;

3 ‘‘(III) which may not include an

4 attorney of the local educational agen5 cy unless the parent is accompanied by

6 an attorney; and

7 ‘‘(IV) where the parents of the

8 child discuss their complaint, and the

9 specific issues that form the basis of the

10 complaint, and the local educational

11 agency is provided the opportunity to

12 resolve the complaint,

13 unless the parents and the local educational

14 agency agree in writing to waive such meet15 ing, or agree to use the mediation process

16 described in subsection (e).

17 ‘‘(ii) HEARING.—If the local edu18 cational agency has not resolved the com19 plaint to the satisfaction of the parents

20 within 15 days of the receipt of the com21 plaint, the due process hearing may occur,

22 and all of the applicable timelines for a due

23 process hearing under this part shall com24 mence.
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1 ‘‘(iii) WRITTEN SETTLEMENT AGREE2 MENT.—In the case that an agreement is

3 reached to resolve the complaint at such

4 meeting, the agreement shall be set forth in

5 a written settlement agreement that is—

6 ‘‘(I) signed by both the parent and

7 a representative of the public agency

8 who has decisionmaking authority on

9 behalf of such agency; and

10 ‘‘(II) enforceable in any State

11 court of competent jurisdiction or in a

12 district court of the United States.

13 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE OF EVALUATIONS ANDREC14 OMMENDATIONS.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 5 business

16 days prior to a hearing conducted pursuant to

17 paragraph (1), each party shall disclose to all

18 other parties all evaluations completed by that

19 date, and recommendations based on the offering

20 party’s evaluations, that the party intends to use

21 at the hearing.

22 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—A hearing of23 ficer may bar any party that fails to comply

24 with subparagraph (A) from introducing the rel-
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1 evant evaluation or recommendation at the hear2 ing without the consent of the other party.

3 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS ON HEARING.—

4 ‘‘(A) PERSON CONDUCTING HEARING.—A

5 hearing officer conducting a hearing pursuant to

6 paragraph (1)(A) shall, at a minimum—

7 ‘‘(i) not be—

8 ‘‘(I) an employee of the State edu9 cational agency or the local edu10 cational agency involved in the edu11 cation or care of the child; or

12 ‘‘(II) a person having a personal

13 or professional interest that conflicts

14 with the person’s objectivity in the

15 hearing;

16 ‘‘(ii) possess a fundamental under17 standing of this Act, Federal and State reg18 ulations pertaining to this Act, and inter19 pretations of this Act by State and Federal

20 courts;

21 ‘‘(iii) possess the knowledge and ability

22 to conduct hearings in accordance with ap23 propriate, standard legal practice; and
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1 ‘‘(iv) possess the knowledge and ability

2 to render and write decisions in accordance

3 with appropriate, standard legal practice.

4 ‘‘(B) SUBJECT MATTER OF HEARING.—The

5 party requesting the due process hearing shall

6 not be allowed to raise issues at the due process

7 hearing that were not raised in the notice filed

8 under subsection (b)(7), unless the other party

9 agrees otherwise.

10 ‘‘(C) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in

11 this section shall be construed to preclude a par12 ent from filing a separate due process complaint

13 on an issue separate from a due process com14 plaint already filed.

15 ‘‘(D) TIMELINE FOR REQUESTING HEAR16 ING.—A parent or public agency shall request an

17 impartial due process hearing within 2 years of

18 the date the parent or public agency knew or

19 should have known about the alleged action that

20 forms the basis of the complaint, or, if the State

21 has an explicit time limitation for requesting

22 such a hearing under this part, in such time as

23 the State law allows.

24 ‘‘(E) EXCEPTION TO THE TIMELINE.—The

25 timeline described in subparagraph (D) shall not
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1 apply if the parent was prevented from request2 ing the hearing due to—

3 ‘‘(i) failure of the local educational

4 agency to provide prior written or proce5 dural safeguards notices;

6 ‘‘(ii) false representations that the local

7 educational agency was attempting to re8 solve the problem forming the basis of the

9 complaint; or

10 ‘‘(iii) the local educational agency’s

11 withholding of information from parents.

12 ‘‘(F) DECISION OF HEARING OFFICER.—

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause

14 (ii), a decision made by a hearing officer

15 shall be made on substantive grounds based

16 on a determination of whether the child re17 ceived a free appropriate public education.

18 ‘‘(ii) PROCEDURAL ISSUES.—In mat19 ters alleging a procedural violation, a hear20 ing officer may find that a child did not re21 ceive a free appropriate public education

22 only if the procedural inadequacies—

23 ‘‘(I) compromised the child’s right

24 to an appropriate public education;
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1 ‘‘(II) seriously hampered the par2 ents’ opportunity to participate in the

3 process; or

4 ‘‘(III) caused a deprivation of

5 educational benefits.

6 ‘‘(iii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Noth7 ing in this paragraph shall be construed to

8 preclude a hearing officer from ordering a

9 local educational agency to comply with

10 procedural requirements under this section.

11 ‘‘(G) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in

12 this section shall be construed to affect the right

13 of a parent to file a complaint with the State

14 educational agency.

15 ‘‘(g) APPEAL.—If the hearing required by subsection

16 (f) is conducted by a local educational agency, any party

17 aggrieved by the findings and decision rendered in such a

18 hearing may appeal such findings and decision to the State

19 educational agency. Such State educational agency shall

20 conduct an impartial review of such decision. The officer

21 conducting such review shall make an independent decision

22 upon completion of such review.

23 ‘‘(h) SAFEGUARDS.—Any party to a hearing conducted

24 pursuant to subsection (f) or (k), or an appeal conducted

25 pursuant to subsection (g), shall be accorded—
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1 ‘‘(1) the right to be accompanied and advised by

2 counsel and by individuals with special knowledge or

3 training with respect to the problems of children with

4 disabilities;

5 ‘‘(2) the right to present evidence and confront,

6 cross-examine, and compel the attendance of wit7 nesses;

8 ‘‘(3) the right to a written, or, at the option of

9 the parents, electronic verbatim record of such hear10 ing; and

11 ‘‘(4) the right to a written, or, at the option of

12 the parents, electronic findings of fact and decisions,

13 which findings and decisions—

14 ‘‘(A) shall be made available to the public

15 consistent with the requirements of section 617(b)

16 (relating to the confidentiality of data, informa17 tion, and records); and

18 ‘‘(B) shall be transmitted to the advisory

19 panel established pursuant to section 612(a)(20).

20 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

22 ‘‘(A) DECISION MADE IN HEARING.—A deci23 sion made in a hearing conducted pursuant to

24 subsection (f) or (k) shall be final, except that

25 any party involved in such hearing may appeal
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1 such decision under the provisions of subsection

2 (g) and paragraph (2).

3 ‘‘(B) DECISION MADE AT APPEAL.—A deci4 sion made under subsection (g) shall be final, ex5 cept that any party may bring an action under

6 paragraph (2).

7 ‘‘(2) RIGHT TO BRING CIVIL ACTION.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any party aggrieved by

9 the findings and decision made under subsection

10 (f) or (k) who does not have the right to an ap11 peal under subsection (g), and any party ag12 grieved by the findings and decision under this

13 subsection, shall have the right to bring a civil

14 action with respect to the complaint presented

15 pursuant to this section, which action may be

16 brought in any State court of competent jurisdic17 tion or in a district court of the United States,

18 without regard to the amount in controversy.

19 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The party bringing the

20 action shall have 90 days from the date of the de21 cision of the hearing officer to bring such an ac22 tion, or, if the State has an explicit time limita23 tion for bringing such action under this part, in

24 such time as the State law allows.
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1 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In any

2 action brought under this paragraph, the court—

3 ‘‘(i) shall receive the records of the ad4 ministrative proceedings;

5 ‘‘(ii) shall hear additional evidence at

6 the request of a party; and

7 ‘‘(iii) basing its decision on the pre8 ponderance of the evidence, shall grant such

9 relief as the court determines is appro10 priate.

11 ‘‘(3) JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURTS; ATTOR12 NEYS’ FEES.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The district courts of

14 the United States shall have jurisdiction of ac15 tions brought under this section without regard

16 to the amount in controversy.

17 ‘‘(B) AWARDOF ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In any action or

19 proceeding brought under this section, the

20 court, in its discretion, may award reason21 able attorneys’ fees as part of the costs—

22 ‘‘(I) to a prevailing party who is

23 the parent of a child with a disability;

24 ‘‘(II) to a prevailing party who is

25 a State educational agency or local
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1 educational agency against the attor2 ney of a parent who files a complaint

3 or subsequent cause of action that is

4 frivolous, unreasonable, or without

5 foundation, or against the attorney of

6 a parent who continued to litigate

7 after the litigation clearly became friv8 olous, unreasonable, or without founda9 tion; or

10 ‘‘(III) to a State educational

11 agency or local educational agency

12 against the attorney of a parent, or

13 against the parent, if the parent’s com14 plaint or subsequent cause of action

15 was presented for any improper pur16 pose, such as to harass or to cause un17 necessary delay or needless increase in

18 the cost of litigation.

19 ‘‘(ii) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Noth20 ing in this subparagraph shall be construed

21 to affect section 432 of the District of Co22 lumbia Appropriations Act, 2004.

23 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF AT24 TORNEYS’ FEES.—Fees awarded under this para25 graph shall be based on rates prevailing in the
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1 community in which the action or proceeding

2 arose for the kind and quality of services fur3 nished. No bonus or multiplier may be used in

4 calculating the fees awarded under this sub5 section.

6 ‘‘(D) PROHIBITION OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES

7 ANDRELATEDCOSTS FOR CERTAIN SERVICES.—

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Attorneys’ fees may

9 not be awarded and related costs may not

10 be reimbursed in any action or proceeding

11 under this section for services performed

12 subsequent to the time of a written offer of

13 settlement to a parent if—

14 ‘‘(I) the offer is made within the

15 time prescribed by Rule 68 of the Fed16 eral Rules of Civil Procedure or, in the

17 case of an administrative proceeding,

18 at any time more than 10 days before

19 the proceeding begins;

20 ‘‘(II) the offer is not accepted

21 within 10 days; and

22 ‘‘(III) the court or administrative

23 hearing officer finds that the relief fi24 nally obtained by the parents is not
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1 more favorable to the parents than the

2 offer of settlement.

3 ‘‘(ii) IEP TEAM MEETINGS.—Attor4 neys’ fees may not be awarded relating to

5 any meeting of the IEP Team unless such

6 meeting is convened as a result of an ad7 ministrative proceeding or judicial action,

8 or, at the discretion of the State, for a medi9 ation described in subsection (e).

10 ‘‘(iii) OPPORTUNITY TO RESOLVE COM11 PLAINTS.—A meeting conducted pursuant to

12 subsection (f)(1)(B)(i) shall not be

13 considered—

14 ‘‘(I) a meeting convened as a re15 sult of an administrative hearing or

16 judicial action; or

17 ‘‘(II) an administrative hearing

18 or judicial action for purposes of this

19 paragraph.

20 ‘‘(E) EXCEPTION TO PROHIBITION ON AT21 TORNEYS’ FEES ANDRELATEDCOSTS.—Notwith22 standing subparagraph (D), an award of attor23 neys’ fees and related costs may be made to a

24 parent who is the prevailing party and who was
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1 substantially justified in rejecting the settlement

2 offer.

3 ‘‘(F) REDUCTION IN AMOUNT OF ATTOR4 NEYS’ FEES.—Except as provided in subpara5 graph (G), whenever the court finds that—

6 ‘‘(i) the parent, or the parent’s attor7 ney, during the course of the action or pro8 ceeding, unreasonably protracted the final

9 resolution of the controversy;

10 ‘‘(ii) the amount of the attorneys’ fees

11 otherwise authorized to be awarded unrea12 sonably exceeds the hourly rate prevailing

13 in the community for similar services by at14 torneys of reasonably comparable skill, rep15 utation, and experience;

16 ‘‘(iii) the time spent and legal services

17 furnished were excessive considering the na18 ture of the action or proceeding; or

19 ‘‘(iv) the attorney representing the par20 ent did not provide to the local educational

21 agency the appropriate information in the

22 notice of the complaint described in sub23 section (b)(7)(A),

24 the court shall reduce, accordingly, the amount of

25 the attorneys’ fees awarded under this section.
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1 ‘‘(G) EXCEPTION TO REDUCTION IN AMOUNT

2 OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—The provisions of sub3 paragraph (F) shall not apply in any action or

4 proceeding if the court finds that the State or

5 local educational agency unreasonably protracted

6 the final resolution of the action or proceeding or

7 there was a violation of this section.

8 ‘‘(4) PARENTS REPRESENTING THEIR CHILDREN

9 IN COURT.—Subject to subsection (m), and notwith10 standing any other provision of Federal law regard11 ing attorney representation (including the Federal

12 Rules of Civil Procedure), a parent of a child with a

13 disability may represent the child in any action

14 under this part in Federal or State court, without the

15 assistance of an attorney.

16 ‘‘(j) MAINTENANCE OF CURRENT EDUCATIONAL

17 PLACEMENT.—Except as provided in subsection (k)(4), dur18 ing the pendency of any proceedings conducted pursuant

19 to this section, unless the State or local educational agency

20 and the parents otherwise agree, the child shall remain in

21 the then-current educational placement of such child, or, if

22 applying for initial admission to a public school, shall,

23 with the consent of the parents, be placed in the public

24 school program until all such proceedings have been com25 pleted.
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1 ‘‘(k) PLACEMENT IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL SET2 TING.—

3 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF SCHOOL PERSONNEL.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—School personnel under

5 this section may order a change in the placement

6 of a child with a disability who violates a code

7 of student conduct to an appropriate interim al8 ternative educational setting, another setting, or

9 suspension, for not more than 10 school days (to

10 the extent such alternatives are applied to chil11 dren without disabilities).

12 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—If school

13 personnel seek to order a change in placement

14 that would exceed 10 school days and the behav15 ior that gave rise to the violation of the school

16 code is determined not to be a manifestation of

17 the child’s disability pursuant to subparagraph

18 (C), the relevant disciplinary procedures appli19 cable to children without disabilities may be ap20 plied to the child in the same manner in which

21 the procedures would be applied to children with22 out disabilities, except as provided in section

23 612(a)(1).

24 ‘‘(C) MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

2 in subparagraphs (A) and (D), within 10

3 school days of any decision to change the

4 placement of a child with a disability be5 cause of a violation of a code of student con6 duct, the IEP Team shall review all rel7 evant information in the student’s file, any

8 information provided by the parents, and

9 teacher observations, to determine—

10 ‘‘(I) if the conduct in question

11 was the result of the child’s disability;

12 or

13 ‘‘(II) if the conduct in question

14 resulted from the failure to implement

15 the IEP or to implement behavioral

16 interventions as required by section

17 614(d)(3)(B)(i).

18 ‘‘(ii) MANIFESTATION.—If the IEP

19 Team determines that either subclause (I)

20 or (II) of clause (i) is applicable for the

21 child, the conduct shall be determined to be

22 a manifestation of the child’s disability.

23 ‘‘(D) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—In cases

24 where a child—
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1 ‘‘(i) carries or possesses a weapon to or

2 at school, on school premises, or to or at a

3 school function under the jurisdiction of a

4 State or local educational agency; or

5 ‘‘(ii) knowingly possesses or uses illegal

6 drugs, or sells or solicits the sale of a con7 trolled substance, while at school or a school

8 function under the jurisdiction of a State or

9 local educational agency; or

10 ‘‘(iii) has committed serious bodily in11 jury upon another person while at school or

12 at a school function under the jurisdiction

13 of a State or local educational agency,

14 school personnel may remove a student to an in15 terim alternative educational setting for not

16 more than 45 school days, without regard to

17 whether the behavior is determined to be a mani18 festation of the child’s disability.

19 ‘‘(E) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than the

20 date on which the decision to take disciplinary

21 action is made, the local educational agency

22 shall notify the parents of that decision, and of

23 all procedural safeguards accorded under this

24 section.
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1 ‘‘(F) SERVICES.—A child with a disability

2 who is removed from the child’s current place3 ment under subparagraph (B) or (D) shall—

4 ‘‘(i) continue to receive educational

5 services pursuant to section 612(a)(1), so as

6 to enable the child to continue to partici7 pate in the general education curriculum,

8 although in another setting, and to progress

9 toward meeting the goals set out in the

10 child’s IEP; and

11 ‘‘(ii) receive behavioral intervention

12 services as described in section

13 614(d)(3)(B)(i), and a functional behavioral

14 assessment (but only if the local educational

15 agency did not conduct such an assessment

16 before the violation occurred), designed to

17 address the behavior violation so that the

18 violation does not recur.

19 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATION OF SETTING.—The alter20 native educational setting shall be determined by the

21 IEP Team.

22 ‘‘(3) APPEAL.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The parent of a child

24 with a disability who disagrees with any deci25 sion regarding disciplinary action, placement, or
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1 the manifestation determination under this sub2 section, or a local educational agency that be3 lieves that maintaining the current placement of

4 the child is substantially likely to result in in5 jury to the child or to others, may request a

6 hearing.

7 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY OF HEARING OFFICER.—

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a parent of a

9 child with a disability disagrees with a de10 cision as described in subparagraph (A), the

11 hearing officer may determine whether the

12 decision regarding such action was appro13 priate.

14 ‘‘(ii) CHANGE OF PLACEMENT

15 ORDER.—A hearing officer under this sec16 tion may order a change in placement of a

17 child with a disability to an appropriate

18 interim alternative educational setting for

19 not more than 45 school days if the hearing

20 officer determines that maintaining the cur21 rent placement of such child is substantially

22 likely to result in injury to the child or to

23 others.

24 ‘‘(4) PLACEMENT DURING APPEALS.—When a

25 parent requests a hearing regarding a disciplinary
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1 procedure described in paragraph (1)(B) or challenges

2 the interim alternative educational setting or mani3 festation determination—

4 ‘‘(A) the child shall remain in the interim

5 alternative educational setting pending the deci6 sion of the hearing officer or until the expiration

7 of the time period provided for in paragraph

8 (1)(B), whichever occurs first, unless the parent

9 and the State or local educational agency agree

10 otherwise; and

11 ‘‘(B) the State or local educational agency

12 shall arrange for an expedited hearing, which

13 shall occur within 20 school days of the date the

14 hearing is requested.

15 ‘‘(5) PROTECTIONS FOR CHILDREN NOT YET ELI16 GIBLE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION ANDRELATEDSERV17 ICES.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A child who has not

19 been determined to be eligible for special edu20 cation and related services under this part and

21 who has engaged in behavior that violates a code

22 of student conduct, may assert any of the protec23 tions provided for in this part if the local edu24 cational agency had knowledge (as determined in

25 accordance with this paragraph) that the child
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1 was a child with a disability before the behavior

2 that precipitated the disciplinary action oc3 curred.

4 ‘‘(B) BASIS OF KNOWLEDGE.—A local edu5 cational agency shall be deemed to have knowl6 edge that a child is a child with a disability if,

7 before the behavior that precipitated the discipli8 nary action occurred—

9 ‘‘(i) the parent of the child has ex10 pressed concern in writing (unless the par11 ent is illiterate or has a disability that pre12 vents compliance with the requirements con13 tained in this clause) to personnel of the ap14 propriate educational agency that the child

15 is in need of special education and related

16 services;

17 ‘‘(ii) the parent of the child has re18 quested an evaluation of the child pursuant

19 to section 614;

20 ‘‘(iii) the teacher of the child, or other

21 personnel of the local educational agency,

22 has expressed concern about a pattern of be23 havior demonstrated by the child, to the di24 rector of special education of such agency or
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1 to other administrative personnel of the

2 agency; or

3 ‘‘(iv) the child has engaged in a pat4 tern of behavior that should have alerted

5 personnel of the local educational agency

6 that the child may be in need of special

7 education and related services.

8 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION.—A local educational

9 agency shall not be deemed to have knowledge

10 that the child has a disability if the parent of the

11 child has not agreed to allow an evaluation of

12 the child pursuant to section 614.

13 ‘‘(D) CONDITIONS THAT APPLY IF NO BASIS

14 OF KNOWLEDGE.—

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a local edu16 cational agency does not have knowledge

17 that a child is a child with a disability (in

18 accordance with subparagraph (B) or (C))

19 prior to taking disciplinary measures

20 against the child, the child may be subjected

21 to disciplinary measures applied to children

22 without disabilities who engaged in com23 parable behaviors consistent with clause

24 (ii).
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1 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—If a request is

2 made for an evaluation of a child during

3 the time period in which the child is sub4 jected to disciplinary measures under para5 graph (1), the evaluation shall be conducted

6 in an expedited manner. If the child is de7 termined to be a child with a disability,

8 taking into consideration information from

9 the evaluation conducted by the agency and

10 information provided by the parents, the

11 agency shall provide special education and

12 related services in accordance with this

13 part, except that, pending the results of the

14 evaluation, the child shall remain in the

15 educational placement determined by school

16 authorities.

17 ‘‘(6) REFERRAL TO ANDACTION BY LAW EN18 FORCEMENT ANDJUDICIAL AUTHORITIES.—

19 ‘‘(A) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this part

20 shall be construed to prohibit an agency from re21 porting a crime committed by a child with a dis22 ability to appropriate authorities or to prevent

23 State law enforcement and judicial authorities

24 from exercising their responsibilities with regard
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1 to the application of Federal and State law to

2 crimes committed by a child with a disability.

3 ‘‘(B) TRANSMITTAL OF RECORDS.—An

4 agency reporting a crime committed by a child

5 with a disability shall ensure that copies of the

6 special education and disciplinary records of the

7 child are transmitted for consideration by the

8 appropriate authorities to whom the agency re9 ports the crime.

10 ‘‘(7) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub11 section, the following definitions apply:

12 ‘‘(A) CONTROLLEDSUBSTANCE.—The term

13 ‘controlled substance’ means a drug or other sub14 stance identified under schedule I, II, III, IV, or

15 V in section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances

16 Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)).

17 ‘‘(B) ILLEGAL DRUG.—The term ‘illegal

18 drug’ means a controlled substance but does not

19 include a controlled substance that is legally pos20 sessed or used under the supervision of a licensed

21 health-care professional or that is legally pos22 sessed or used under any other authority under

23 that Act or under any other provision of Federal

24 law.
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1 ‘‘(C) WEAPON.—The term ‘weapon’ has the

2 meaning given the term ‘dangerous weapon’

3 under section 930(g)(2) of title 18, United States

4 Code.

5 ‘‘(D) SERIOUS BODILY INJURY.—The term

6 ‘serious bodily injury’ has the meaning given the

7 term ‘serious bodily injury’ under paragraph (3)

8 of subsection (h) of section 1365 of title 18,

9 United States Code.

10 ‘‘(l) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this title

11 shall be construed to restrict or limit the rights, procedures,

12 and remedies available under the Constitution, the Ameri13 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990, title V of the Rehabilita14 tion Act of 1973, or other Federal laws protecting the rights

15 of children with disabilities, or under subtitle B of title VII

16 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act or parts

17 B and E of title IV of the Social Security Act, except that

18 before the filing of a civil action under such laws seeking

19 relief that is also available under this part, the procedures

20 under subsections (f) and (g) shall be exhausted to the same

21 extent as would be required had the action been brought

22 under this part.

23 ‘‘(m) TRANSFER OF PARENTAL RIGHTS AT AGE OF

24 MAJORITY.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives

2 amounts from a grant under this part may provide

3 that, when a child with a disability reaches the age

4 of majority under State law (except for a child with

5 a disability who has been determined to be incom6 petent under State law)—

7 ‘‘(A) the public agency shall provide any

8 notice required by this section to both the indi9 vidual and the parents;

10 ‘‘(B) all other rights accorded to parents

11 under this part transfer to the child;

12 ‘‘(C) the agency shall notify the individual

13 and the parents of the transfer of rights; and

14 ‘‘(D) all rights accorded to parents under

15 this part transfer to children who are incarcer16 ated in an adult or juvenile Federal, State, or

17 local correctional institution.

18 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—If, under State law, a

19 child with a disability who has reached the age of

20 majority under State law, who has not been deter21 mined to be incompetent, but who is determined not

22 to have the ability to provide informed consent with

23 respect to the educational program of the child, the

24 State shall establish procedures for appointing the

25 parent of the child, or if the parent is not available,
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1 another appropriate individual, to represent the edu2 cational interests of the child throughout the period of

3 eligibility of the child under this part.

4 ‘‘(n) E-MAIL.—A parent of a child with a disability

5 may elect to receive notices required under this section by

6 e-mail communication, if the public agency makes such op7 tion available.

8 ‘‘(o) SURROGATE PARENT.—

9 ‘‘(1) ASSIGNMENT.—The assignment of a surro10 gate under subsection (b)(2) shall take place not more

11 than 30 days after either of the following takes place:

12 ‘‘(A) The child is referred to the local edu13 cational agency for an initial evaluation to de14 termine if the child is a child with a disability.

15 ‘‘(B) There is a determination made by the

16 agency that the child needs a surrogate parent

17 because the child’s parent cannot be identified,

18 the child becomes a ward of the State, or, despite

19 reasonable efforts to do so, the agency cannot dis20 cover the whereabouts of the parent of the child.

21 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS OF SURROGATE.—An indi22 vidual may not be assigned to act as a surrogate for

23 the parents under subsection (b)(2) unless the

24 individual—
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1 ‘‘(A) signs a written form agreeing to make

2 the educational decisions required of parents

3 under this Act;

4 ‘‘(B)(i) has the knowledge and skills nec5 essary to ensure adequate representation of the

6 child; or

7 ‘‘(ii) agrees to be trained as an educational

8 surrogate; and

9 ‘‘(C) has no interests that would conflict

10 with the interests of the child.

11 ‘‘(3) FOSTER PARENT AS SURROGATE.—A foster

12 parent of a child may be assigned to act as a surro13 gate for the parents of such child under subsection

14 (b)(2) if the foster parent—

15 ‘‘(A) has an ongoing, long-term parental re16 lationship with the child;

17 ‘‘(B) agrees to make the educational deci18 sions required of parents under this Act;

19 ‘‘(C) agrees to be trained as an educational

20 surrogate; and

21 ‘‘(D) has no interest that would conflict

22 with the interests of the child.

23 ‘‘SEC. 616. MONITORING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND EN24 FORCEMENT.

25 ‘‘(a) FEDERAL AND STATE MONITORING.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—

2 ‘‘(A) monitor implementation of this Act

3 through—

4 ‘‘(i) oversight of the States’ exercise of

5 general supervision, as required in section

6 612(a)(11); and

7 ‘‘(ii) the system of indicators, described

8 in subsection (b)(2); and

9 ‘‘(B) enforce this Act in accordance with

10 subsection (c); and

11 ‘‘(C) require States to monitor implementa12 tion of this Act by local educational agencies and

13 enforce this Act in accordance with paragraph

14 (3) of this subsection and subsection (c).

15 ‘‘(2) FOCUSEDMONITORING.—The primary focus

16 of Federal and State monitoring activities described

17 in paragraph (1) shall be on improving educational

18 results and functional outcomes for all children with

19 disabilities, while ensuring compliance with program

20 requirements, with a particular emphasis on those re21 quirements that are most closely related to improving

22 educational results for children with disabilities.

23 ‘‘(3) MONITORING PRIORITIES.—The Secretary

24 shall monitor, and shall require States to monitor, the

25 following priority areas:
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1 ‘‘(A) Provision of a free appropriate public

2 education in the least restrictive environment.

3 ‘‘(B) Provision of transition services, as de4 fined in section 602(33).

5 ‘‘(C) State exercise of general supervisory

6 authority, including the effective use of com7 plaint resolution and mediation.

8 ‘‘(D) Overrepresentation of racial and eth9 nic groups in special education and related serv10 ices, to the extent the overrepresentation is the

11 result of inappropriate policies, procedures, and

12 practices.

13 ‘‘(4) PERMISSIVE AREAS OF REVIEW.—The Sec14 retary may examine other relevant information and

15 data, including data provided by States under section

16 618, and data from the State’s compliance plan under

17 subsection (b)(2)(C).

18 ‘‘(b) INDICATORS.—

19 ‘‘(1) SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall implement

20 and administer a system of required indicators as de21 scribed in paragraph (2) that measures the progress

22 of States in improving their performance under this

23 Act.

24 ‘‘(2) INDICATORS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Using the performance

2 indicators established by States under section

3 612(a)(15), the Secretary shall review—

4 ‘‘(i) the performance of children with

5 disabilities in the State on assessments, in6 cluding alternate assessments, dropout rates,

7 and graduation rates, which for purposes of

8 this paragraph means the number and per9 centage of students with disabilities who

10 graduate with a regular diploma within the

11 number of years specified in a student’s

12 IEP; and

13 ‘‘(ii) the performance of children with

14 disabilities in the State on assessments, in15 cluding alternate assessments, dropout rates,

16 and graduation rates, as compared to the

17 performance and rates for all children.

18 ‘‘(B) SECRETARY’S ASSESSMENT.—Based on

19 that review and a review of the State’s compli20 ance plan under subparagraph (C), the Secretary

21 shall assess the State’s progress in improving

22 educational results for children with disabilities.

23 ‘‘(C) STATE COMPLIANCE PLAN.—Not later

24 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of the

25 Individuals with Disabilities Education Im-
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1 provement Act of 2004, each State shall have in

2 place a compliance plan developed in collabora3 tion with the Secretary. Each State’s compliance

4 plan shall—

5 ‘‘(i) include benchmarks to measure

6 continuous progress on the priority areas

7 described in subsection (a)(3);

8 ‘‘(ii) describe strategies the State will

9 use to achieve the benchmarks; and

10 ‘‘(iii) be approved by the Secretary.

11 ‘‘(D) PUBLIC REPORTING ANDPRIVACY.—

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—After the Secretary

13 approves a State’s compliance plan under

14 subparagraph (C), the State shall use the

15 benchmarks in the plan and the indicators

16 described in this subsection to analyze the

17 progress of each local educational agency in

18 the State on those benchmarks and indica19 tors.

20 ‘‘(ii) REPORT.—The State shall report

21 annually to the public on each local edu22 cational agency’s progress under clause (i),

23 except where doing so would result in the

24 disclosure of personally identifiable infor25 mation about individual children or where
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1 the available data is insufficient to yield

2 statistically reliable information.

3 ‘‘(3) DATA COLLECTION ANDANALYSIS.—The

4 Secretary shall—

5 ‘‘(A) review the data collection and analysis

6 capacity of States to ensure that data and infor7 mation determined necessary for implementation

8 of this subsection is collected, analyzed, and ac9 curately reported to the Secretary; and

10 ‘‘(B) provide technical assistance to improve

11 the capacity of States to meet these data collec12 tion requirements.

13 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall examine

15 relevant State information and data annually, to de16 termine whether the State is making satisfactory

17 progress toward improving educational results for

18 children with disabilities using the indicators de19 scribed in subsection (b)(2)(A) and the benchmarks es20 tablished in the State compliance plan under sub21 section (b)(2)(C), and is in compliance with the pro22 visions of this Act.

23 ‘‘(2) LACK OF SATISFACTORY PROGRESS BY A

24 STATE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If after examining

2 data, as provided in subsection (b)(2) (A) and

3 (C), the Secretary determines that a State failed

4 to make satisfactory progress in meeting the in5 dicators described in subsection (b)(2)(A) or has

6 failed to meet the benchmarks described in sub7 section (b)(2)(C) for 2 consecutive years after the

8 State has developed its compliance plan, the Sec9 retary shall notify the State that the State has

10 failed to make satisfactory progress, and shall

11 take 1 or more of the following actions:

12 ‘‘(i) Direct the use of State level funds

13 for technical assistance, services, or other

14 expenditures to ensure that the State re15 solves the area or areas of unsatisfactory

16 progress.

17 ‘‘(ii) Withhold not less than 20, but not

18 more than 50, percent of the State’s funds

19 for State administration and activities for

20 the fiscal year under section 611(e), after

21 providing the State the opportunity to show

22 cause why the withholding should not occur,

23 until the Secretary determines that suffi24 cient progress has been made in improving
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1 educational results for children with dis2 abilities.

3 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL SECRETARIAL ACTION.—

4 If, at the end of the 5th year after the Secretary

5 has approved the compliance plan that the State

6 has developed under subsection (b)(2)(C), the

7 Secretary determines that a State failed to meet

8 the benchmarks in the State compliance plan

9 and make satisfactory progress in improving

10 educational results for children with disabilities

11 pursuant to the indicators described in sub12 section (b)(2)(A), the Secretary shall take 1 or

13 more of the following actions:

14 ‘‘(i) Seek to recover funds under section

15 452 of the General Education Provisions

16 Act.

17 ‘‘(ii) After providing reasonable notice

18 and an opportunity for a hearing to the

19 State educational agency involved, with20 hold, in whole or in part, any further pay21 ments to the State under this part pursuant

22 to subsection (c)(5).

23 ‘‘(iii) After providing reasonable notice

24 and an opportunity for a hearing to the

25 State educational agency involved, refer the
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1 matter for appropriate enforcement action,

2 which may include referral to the Depart3 ment of Justice.

4 ‘‘(iv) Pending the outcome of any hear5 ing to withhold payments under clause (ii),

6 the Secretary may suspend payments to a

7 recipient, suspend the authority of the re8 cipient to obligate Federal funds, or both,

9 after such recipient has been given reason10 able notice and an opportunity to show

11 cause why future payments or authority to

12 obligate Federal funds should not be sus13 pended.

14 ‘‘(C) SUBSTANTIAL NONCOMPLIANCE.—Not15 withstanding subparagraph (B), at any time

16 that the Secretary determines that a State is not

17 in substantial compliance with any provision of

18 this part or that there is a substantial failure to

19 comply with any condition of a local agency’s or

20 State agency’s eligibility under this part, the

21 Secretary shall take 1 or more of the following

22 actions:

23 ‘‘(i) Request that the State prepare a

24 corrective action plan or improvement plan

25 if the Secretary determines that the State
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1 should be able to correct the problem within

2 1 year.

3 ‘‘(ii) Identify the State as a high-risk

4 grantee and impose special conditions on

5 the State’s grant under this part.

6 ‘‘(iii) Require the State to enter into a

7 compliance agreement under section 457 of

8 the General Education Provisions Act, if the

9 Secretary has reason to believe that the

10 State cannot correct the problem within 1

11 year.

12 ‘‘(iv) Recovery of funds under section

13 452 of the General Education Provisions

14 Act.

15 ‘‘(v) After providing reasonable notice

16 and an opportunity for a hearing to the

17 State educational agency involved, with18 hold, in whole or in part, any further pay19 ments to the State under this part.

20 ‘‘(vi) After providing reasonable notice

21 and an opportunity for a hearing to the

22 State educational agency involved, refer the

23 matter for appropriate enforcement action,

24 which may include referral to the Depart25 ment of Justice.
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1 ‘‘(vii) Pending the outcome of any

2 hearing to withhold payments under clause

3 (v), the Secretary may suspend payments to

4 a recipient, suspend the authority of the re5 cipient to obligate Federal funds, or both,

6 after such recipient has been given reason7 able notice and an opportunity to show

8 cause why future payments or authority to

9 obligate Federal funds should not be sus10 pended.

11 ‘‘(3) EGREGIOUS NONCOMPLIANCE.—At any time

12 that the Secretary determines that a State is in egre13 gious noncompliance or is willfully disregarding the

14 provisions of this Act, the Secretary shall take such

15 additional enforcement actions as the Secretary deter16 mines to be appropriate from among those actions

17 specified in paragraph (2)(C), and, additionally, may

18 impose 1 or more of the following sanctions upon that

19 State:

20 ‘‘(A) Institute a cease and desist action

21 under section 456 of the General Education Pro22 visions Act.

23 ‘‘(B) Refer the case to the Office of the In24 spector General.
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1 ‘‘(4) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary

2 shall report to Congress within 30 days of taking en3 forcement action pursuant to paragraph (2) (B) or

4 (C), or (3), on the specific action taken and the rea5 sons why enforcement action was taken.

6 ‘‘(5) NATURE OF WITHHOLDING.—If the Sec7 retary withholds further payments under paragraphs

8 (2)(B)(ii) and (2)(C)(v), the Secretary may determine

9 that such withholding will be limited to programs or

10 projects, or portions thereof, affected by the failure, or

11 that the State educational agency shall not make fur12 ther payments under this part to specified local edu13 cational agencies or State agencies affected by the

14 failure. Until the Secretary is satisfied that there is

15 no longer any failure to make satisfactory progress as

16 specified in paragraph (2)(B), or to comply with the

17 provisions of this part, as specified in paragraph

18 (2)(C), payments to the State under this part shall be

19 withheld in whole or in part, or payments by the

20 State educational agency under this part shall be lim21 ited to local educational agencies and State agencies

22 whose actions did not cause or were not involved in

23 the failure, as the case may be. Any State educational

24 agency, State agency, or local educational agency that

25 has received notice under paragraph (2)(B) or (2)(C)
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1 shall, by means of a public notice, take such measures

2 as may be necessary to bring the pendency of an ac3 tion pursuant to this subsection to the attention of the

4 public within the jurisdiction of such agency.

5 ‘‘(6) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If any State is dissatis7 fied with the Secretary’s final action with re8 spect to the eligibility of the State under section

9 612, such State may, not later than 60 days

10 after notice of such action, file with the United

11 States court of appeals for the circuit in which

12 such State is located a petition for review of that

13 action. A copy of the petition shall be forthwith

14 transmitted by the clerk of the court to the Sec15 retary. The Secretary thereupon shall file in the

16 court the record of the proceedings upon which

17 the Secretary’s action was based, as provided in

18 section 2112 of title 28, United States Code.

19 ‘‘(B) JURISDICTION; REVIEW BY UNITED

20 STATES SUPREME COURT.—Upon the filing of

21 such petition, the court shall have jurisdiction to

22 affirm the action of the Secretary or to set it

23 aside, in whole or in part. The judgment of the

24 court shall be subject to review by the Supreme

25 Court of the United States upon certiorari or
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1 certification as provided in section 1254 of title

2 28, United States Code.

3 ‘‘(C) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The findings

4 of fact by the Secretary, if supported by substan5 tial evidence, shall be conclusive, but the court,

6 for good cause shown, may remand the case to

7 the Secretary to take further evidence, and the

8 Secretary may thereupon make new or modified

9 findings of fact and may modify the Secretary’s

10 previous action, and shall file in the court the

11 record of the further proceedings. Such new or

12 modified findings of fact shall likewise be conclu13 sive if supported by substantial evidence.

14 ‘‘(d) DIVIDED STATE AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY.—For

15 purposes of this section, where responsibility for ensuring

16 that the requirements of this part are met with respect to

17 children with disabilities who are convicted as adults under

18 State law and incarcerated in adult prisons is assigned to

19 a public agency other than the State educational agency

20 pursuant to section 612(a)(11)(C), the Secretary, in in21 stances where the Secretary finds that the failure to comply

22 substantially with the provisions of this part are related

23 to a failure by the public agency, shall take appropriate

24 corrective action to ensure compliance with this part, except

25 that—
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1 ‘‘(1) any reduction or withholding of payments

2 to the State shall be proportionate to the total funds

3 allotted under section 611 to the State as the number

4 of eligible children with disabilities in adult prisons

5 under the supervision of the other public agency is

6 proportionate to the number of eligible individuals

7 with disabilities in the State under the supervision of

8 the State educational agency; and

9 ‘‘(2) any withholding of funds under paragraph

10 (1) shall be limited to the specific agency responsible

11 for the failure to comply with this part.

12 ‘‘(e) STATE AND LOCAL MONITORING.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The State educational agen14 cy shall monitor and enforce implementation of this

15 Act, implement a system of monitoring the bench16 marks in the State’s compliance plan under sub17 section (b)(2)(C), and require local educational agen18 cies to monitor and enforce implementation of this

19 Act.

20 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT OPTIONS.—If a

21 State educational agency determines that a local edu22 cational agency is not meeting the requirements of

23 this part, including the benchmarks in the State’s

24 compliance plan, the State educational agency shall

25 prohibit the local educational agency from treating
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1 funds received under this part as local funds under

2 section 613(a)(2)(C) for any fiscal year.

3 ‘‘SEC. 617. ADMINISTRATION.

4 ‘‘(a) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SECRETARY.—The Sec5 retary shall—

6 ‘‘(1) cooperate with, and (directly or by grant or

7 contract) furnish technical assistance necessary to, a

8 State in matters relating to—

9 ‘‘(A) the education of children with disabil10 ities; and

11 ‘‘(B) carrying out this part; and

12 ‘‘(2) provide short-term training programs and

13 institutes.

14 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Secretary shall take ap15 propriate action, in accordance with section 444 of the Gen16 eral Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1232g), to assure

17 the protection of the confidentiality of any personally iden18 tifiable data, information, and records collected or main19 tained by the Secretary and by State and local educational

20 agencies pursuant to this part.

21 ‘‘(c) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary is authorized to hire

22 qualified personnel necessary to carry out the Secretary’s

23 duties under subsection (a) and under sections 618, 661,

24 and 664, without regard to the provisions of title 5, United

25 States Code, relating to appointments in the competitive
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1 service and without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter

2 III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and

3 general schedule pay rates, except that not more than 20

4 such personnel shall be employed at any 1 time.

5 ‘‘(d) MODEL FORMS.—Not later than the date that the

6 Secretary publishes final regulations under this Act, to im7 plement amendments made by the Individuals with Disabil8 ities Education Improvement Act of 2004, the Secretary

9 shall publish and disseminate widely to States, local edu10 cational agencies, and parent and community training and

11 information centers—

12 ‘‘(1) a model IEP form;

13 ‘‘(2) a model individualized family service plan

14 (IFSP) form;

15 ‘‘(3) a model form of the notice of procedural

16 safeguards described in section 615(d); and

17 ‘‘(4) a model form of the prior written notice de18 scribed in section 615 (b)(3) and (c)(1) that is con19 sistent with the requirements of this part and is suffi20 cient to meet such requirements.

21 ‘‘SEC. 618. PROGRAM INFORMATION.

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State that receives assist23 ance under this part, and the Secretary of the Interior, shall

24 provide data each year to the Secretary of Education and

25 the public on—
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1 ‘‘(1)(A) the number and percentage of children

2 with disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English

3 proficiency status, gender, and disability category,

4 who are receiving a free appropriate public education;

5 ‘‘(B) the number and percentage of children with

6 disabilities, by race, gender, and ethnicity, who are

7 receiving early intervention services;

8 ‘‘(C) the number and percentage of children with

9 disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English pro10 ficiency status, gender, and disability category, who

11 are participating in regular education;

12 ‘‘(D) the number and percentage of children with

13 disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English pro14 ficiency status, gender, and disability category, who

15 are in separate classes, separate schools or facilities,

16 or public or private residential facilities;

17 ‘‘(E) the number and percentage of children with

18 disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English pro19 ficiency status, gender, and disability category, who,

20 for each year of age from age 14 through 21, stopped

21 receiving special education and related services be22 cause of program completion (including graduation

23 with a regular secondary school diploma), or other

24 reasons, and the reasons why those children stopped

25 receiving special education and related services;
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1 ‘‘(F) the number and percentage of children with

2 disabilities, by race, gender, and ethnicity, who, from

3 birth through age 2, stopped receiving early interven4 tion services because of program completion or for

5 other reasons;

6 ‘‘(G)(i) the number and percentage of children

7 with disabilities, by race, ethnicity, limited English

8 proficiency status, gender, and disability category,

9 who are removed to an interim alternative edu10 cational setting under section 615(k)(1);

11 ‘‘(ii) the acts or items precipitating those remov12 als; and

13 ‘‘(iii) the number of children with disabilities

14 who are subject to long-term suspensions or expul15 sions;

16 ‘‘(H) the incidence and duration of disciplinary

17 actions by race, ethnicity, limited English proficiency

18 status, gender, and disability category, of children

19 with disabilities, including suspensions of 1 day or

20 more;

21 ‘‘(I) the number and percentage of children with

22 disabilities who are removed to alternative edu23 cational settings or expelled as compared to children

24 without disabilities who are removed to alternative

25 educational settings or expelled;
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1 ‘‘(J) the number of due process complaints filed

2 under section 615 and the number of hearings con3 ducted;

4 ‘‘(K) the number of hearings requested under sec5 tion 615(k) and the number of changes in placements

6 ordered as a result of those hearings;

7 ‘‘(L) the number of hearings requested under sec8 tion 615(k)(3)(B)(ii) and the number of changes in

9 placements ordered as a result of those hearings; and

10 ‘‘(M) the number of mediations held and the

11 number of settlement agreements reached through such

12 mediations;

13 ‘‘(2) the number and percentage of infants and

14 toddlers, by race, and ethnicity, who are at risk of

15 having substantial developmental delays (as defined

16 in section 632), and who are receiving early interven17 tion services under part C; and

18 ‘‘(3) any other information that may be required

19 by the Secretary.

20 ‘‘(b) DATA REPORTING.—The data described in sub21 section (a) shall be reported by each State at the school dis22 trict and State level in a manner that does not result in

23 the disclosure of data identifiable to individual children.

24 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may

25 provide technical assistance to States to ensure compliance
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1 with the data collection and reporting requirements under

2 this Act.

3 ‘‘(d) DISPROPORTIONALITY.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State that receives as5 sistance under this part, and the Secretary of the In6 terior, shall provide for the collection and examina7 tion of data to determine if significant

8 disproportionality based on race is occurring in the

9 State with respect to—

10 ‘‘(A) the identification of children as chil11 dren with disabilities, including the identifica12 tion of children as children with disabilities in

13 accordance with a particular impairment de14 scribed in section 602(3);

15 ‘‘(B) the placement in particular edu16 cational settings of such children; and

17 ‘‘(C) the incidence, duration, and type of

18 disciplinary actions, including suspensions and

19 expulsions.

20 ‘‘(2) REVIEW ANDREVISION OF POLICIES, PRAC21 TICES, ANDPROCEDURES.—In the case of a deter22 mination of significant disproportionality with re23 spect to the identification of children as children with

24 disabilities, or the placement in particular edu25 cational settings of such children, in accordance with
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1 paragraph (1), the State or the Secretary of the Inte2 rior, as the case may be, shall provide for the review

3 and, if appropriate, revision of the policies, proce4 dures, and practices used in such identification or

5 placement to ensure that such policies, procedures,

6 and practices comply with the requirements of this

7 Act.

8 ‘‘SEC. 619. PRESCHOOL GRANTS.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide grants

10 under this section to assist States to provide special edu11 cation and related services, in accordance with this part—

12 ‘‘(1) to children with disabilities aged 3 through

13 5, inclusive; and

14 ‘‘(2) at the State’s discretion, to 2-year-old chil15 dren with disabilities who will turn 3 during the

16 school year.

17 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A State shall be eligible for a grant

18 under this section if such State—

19 ‘‘(1) is eligible under section 612 to receive a

20 grant under this part; and

21 ‘‘(2) makes a free appropriate public education

22 available to all children with disabilities, aged 3

23 through 5, residing in the State.

24 ‘‘(c) ALLOCATIONS TO STATES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall allocate

2 the amount made available to carry out this section

3 for a fiscal year among the States in accordance with

4 paragraph (2) or (3), as the case may be.

5 ‘‘(2) INCREASE IN FUNDS.—If the amount avail6 able for allocations to States under paragraph (1) is

7 equal to or greater than the amount allocated to the

8 States under this section for the preceding fiscal year,

9 those allocations shall be calculated as follows:

10 ‘‘(A) ALLOCATION.—

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

12 in subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall—

13 ‘‘(I) allocate to each State the

14 amount the State received under this

15 section for fiscal year 1997;

16 ‘‘(II) allocate 85 percent of any

17 remaining funds to States on the basis

18 of the States’ relative populations of

19 children aged 3 through 5; and

20 ‘‘(III) allocate 15 percent of those

21 remaining funds to States on the basis

22 of the States’ relative populations of all

23 children aged 3 through 5 who are liv24 ing in poverty.
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1 ‘‘(ii) DATA.—For the purpose of mak2 ing grants under this paragraph, the Sec3 retary shall use the most recent population

4 data, including data on children living in

5 poverty, that are available and satisfactory

6 to the Secretary.

7 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS.—Notwithstanding sub8 paragraph (A), allocations under this paragraph

9 shall be subject to the following:

10 ‘‘(i) PRECEDING YEARS.—No State’s

11 allocation shall be less than its allocation

12 under this section for the preceding fiscal

13 year.

14 ‘‘(ii) MINIMUM.—No State’s allocation

15 shall be less than the greatest of—

16 ‘‘(I) the sum of—

17 ‘‘(aa) the amount the State

18 received under this section for fis19 cal year 1997; and

‘‘(bb) 1 20 ⁄3 of 1 percent of the

21 amount by which the amount ap22 propriated under subsection (j) for

23 the fiscal year exceeds the amount

24 appropriated for this section for

25 fiscal year 1997;
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1 ‘‘(II) the sum of—

2 ‘‘(aa) the amount the State

3 received under this section for the

4 preceding fiscal year; and

5 ‘‘(bb) that amount multiplied

6 by the percentage by which the in7 crease in the funds appropriated

8 under this section from the pre9 ceding fiscal year exceeds 1.5 per10 cent; or

11 ‘‘(III) the sum of—

12 ‘‘(aa) the amount the State

13 received under this section for the

14 preceding fiscal year; and

15 ‘‘(bb) that amount multiplied

16 by 90 percent of the percentage

17 increase in the amount appro18 priated under this section from

19 the preceding fiscal year.

20 ‘‘(iii) MAXIMUM.—Notwithstanding

21 clause (ii), no State’s allocation under this

22 paragraph shall exceed the sum of—

23 ‘‘(I) the amount the State received

24 under this section for the preceding fis25 cal year; and
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1 ‘‘(II) that amount multiplied by

2 the sum of 1.5 percent and the percent3 age increase in the amount appro4 priated under this section from the

5 preceding fiscal year.

6 ‘‘(C) RATABLE REDUCTIONS.—If the

7 amount available for allocations under this

8 paragraph is insufficient to pay those allocations

9 in full, those allocations shall be ratably reduced,

10 subject to subparagraph (B)(i).

11 ‘‘(3) DECREASE IN FUNDS.—If the amount avail12 able for allocations to States under paragraph (1) is

13 less than the amount allocated to the States under

14 this section for the preceding fiscal year, those alloca15 tions shall be calculated as follows:

16 ‘‘(A) ALLOCATIONS.—If the amount avail17 able for allocations is greater than the amount

18 allocated to the States for fiscal year 1997, each

19 State shall be allocated the sum of—

20 ‘‘(i) the amount the State received

21 under this section for fiscal year 1997; and

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

23 relation to any remaining funds as the in24 crease the State received under this section

25 for the preceding fiscal year over fiscal year
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1 1997 bears to the total of all such increases

2 for all States.

3 ‘‘(B) If the amount available for allocations

4 under this paragraph is equal to or less than the

5 amount allocated under this section to the States

6 for fiscal year 1997, each State shall be allocated

7 the amount the State received for that year, rat8 ably reduced, if necessary.

9 ‘‘(d) RESERVATION FOR STATE ACTIVITIES.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State may reserve not

11 more than the amount described in paragraph (2) for

12 administration and other State-level activities in ac13 cordance with subsections (e) and (f).

14 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT DESCRIBED.—For each fiscal year,

15 the Secretary shall determine and report to the State

16 educational agency an amount that is 25 percent of

17 the amount the State received under this section for

18 fiscal year 1997, cumulatively adjusted by the Sec19 retary for each succeeding fiscal year by the lesser

20 of—

21 ‘‘(A) the percentage increase, if any, from

22 the preceding fiscal year in the State’s allocation

23 under this section; or

24 ‘‘(B) the percentage increase, if any, from

25 the preceding fiscal year in the Consumer Price
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1 Index For All Urban Consumers published by the

2 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of

3 Labor.

4 ‘‘(e) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of admin6 istering this section (including the coordination of ac7 tivities under this part with, and providing technical

8 assistance to, other programs that provide services to

9 children with disabilities) a State may use not more

10 than 20 percent of the maximum amount the State

11 may reserve under subsection (d) for any fiscal year.

12 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION OF PART C.—Funds de13 scribed in paragraph (1) may also be used for the ad14 ministration of part C of this Act, if the State edu15 cational agency is the lead agency for the State under

16 that part.

17 ‘‘(f) OTHER STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—Each State

18 shall use any funds the State reserves under subsection (d)

19 and does not use for administration under subsection (e)—

20 ‘‘(1) for support services (including establishing

21 and implementing the mediation process required by

22 section 615(e)), which may benefit children with dis23 abilities younger than 3 or older than 5 as long as

24 those services also benefit children with disabilities

25 aged 3 through 5;
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1 ‘‘(2) for direct services for children eligible for

2 services under this section;

3 ‘‘(3) for activities at the State and local levels to

4 meet the performance goals established by the State

5 under section 612(a)(15);

6 ‘‘(4) to supplement other funds used to develop

7 and implement a statewide coordinated services sys8 tem designed to improve results for children and fam9 ilies, including children with disabilities and their

10 families, but not more than 1 percent of the amount

11 received by the State under this section for a fiscal

12 year; or

13 ‘‘(5) to provide early intervention services (which

14 shall include an educational component that promotes

15 school readiness and incorporates pre-literacy, lan16 guage, and numeracy skills) in accordance with part

17 C to children with disabilities who are eligible for

18 services under this section and who previously re19 ceived services under part C until such children enter,

20 or are eligible under State law to enter, kindergarten.

21 ‘‘(g) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN22 CIES.—

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

24 receives a grant under this section for any fiscal year

25 shall distribute all of the grant funds that the State
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1 does not reserve under subsection (d) to local edu2 cational agencies in the State that have established

3 their eligibility under section 613, as follows:

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

5 first award each local educational agency de6 scribed in paragraph (1) the amount that agency

7 would have received under this section for fiscal

8 year 1997 if the State had distributed 75 percent

9 of its grant for that year under section 619(c)(3),

10 as such section was then in effect.

11 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF REMAINING FUNDS.—

12 After making allocations under subparagraph

13 (A), the State shall—

14 ‘‘(i) allocate 85 percent of any remain15 ing funds to those local educational agencies

16 on the basis of the relative numbers of chil17 dren enrolled in public and private elemen18 tary schools and secondary schools within

19 the local educational agency’s jurisdiction;

20 and

21 ‘‘(ii) allocate 15 percent of those re22 maining funds to those local educational

23 agencies in accordance with their relative

24 numbers of children living in poverty, as

25 determined by the State educational agency.
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1 ‘‘(2) REALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—If a State edu2 cational agency determines that a local educational

3 agency is adequately providing a free appropriate

4 public education to all children with disabilities aged

5 3 through 5 residing in the area served by that agen6 cy with State and local funds, the State educational

7 agency may reallocate any portion of the funds under

8 this section that are not needed by that local edu9 cational agency to provide a free appropriate public

10 education to other local educational agencies in the

11 State that are not adequately providing special edu12 cation and related services to all children with dis13 abilities aged 3 through 5 residing in the areas the

14 other local educational agencies serve.

15 ‘‘(h) PART C INAPPLICABLE.—Part C of this Act does

16 not apply to any child with a disability receiving a free

17 appropriate public education, in accordance with this part,

18 with funds received under this section.

19 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—For the purpose of this section, the

20 term ‘State’ means each of the 50 States, the District of

21 Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

22 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the

23 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized

24 to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary.
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1 ‘‘PART C—INFANTS AND TODDLERS WITH

2 DISABILITIES

3 ‘‘SEC. 631. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

4 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that there is an ur5 gent and substantial need—

6 ‘‘(1) to enhance the development of infants and

7 toddlers with disabilities, to minimize their potential

8 for developmental delay, and to recognize the signifi9 cant brain development which occurs during a child’s

10 first 3 years of life;

11 ‘‘(2) to reduce the educational costs to our soci12 ety, including our Nation’s schools, by minimizing

13 the need for special education and related services

14 after infants and toddlers with disabilities reach

15 school age;

16 ‘‘(3) to maximize the potential for individuals

17 with disabilities to live independently in society;

18 ‘‘(4) to enhance the capacity of families to meet

19 the special needs of their infants and toddlers with

20 disabilities; and

21 ‘‘(5) to enhance the capacity of State and local

22 agencies and service providers to identify, evaluate,

23 and meet the needs of all children, particularly mi24 nority, low-income, inner city, and rural children,

25 and infants and toddlers in foster care.
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1 ‘‘(b) POLICY.—It is the policy of the United States to

2 provide financial assistance to States—

3 ‘‘(1) to develop and implement a statewide, com4 prehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, inter5 agency system that provides early intervention serv6 ices for infants and toddlers with disabilities and

7 their families;

8 ‘‘(2) to facilitate the coordination of payment for

9 early intervention services from Federal, State, local,

10 and private sources (including public and private in11 surance coverage);

12 ‘‘(3) to enhance State capacity to provide high

13 quality early intervention services and expand and

14 improve existing early intervention services being

15 provided to infants and toddlers with disabilities and

16 their families; and

17 ‘‘(4) to encourage States to expand opportunities

18 for children under 3 years of age who would be at risk

19 of having substantial developmental delay if they did

20 not receive early intervention services.

21 ‘‘SEC. 632. DEFINITIONS.

22 ‘‘As used in this part:

23 ‘‘(1) AT-RISK INFANT OR TODDLER.—The term

24 ‘at-risk infant or toddler’ means an individual under

25 3 years of age who would be at risk of experiencing
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1 a substantial developmental delay if early interven2 tion services were not provided to the individual.

3 ‘‘(2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘council’ means a

4 State interagency coordinating council established

5 under section 641.

6 ‘‘(3) DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY.—The term ‘devel7 opmental delay’, when used with respect to an indi8 vidual residing in a State, has the meaning given

9 such term by the State under section 635(a)(1).

10 ‘‘(4) EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES.—The term

11 ‘early intervention services’ means developmental

12 services that—

13 ‘‘(A) are provided under public supervision;

14 ‘‘(B) are provided at no cost except where

15 Federal or State law provides for a system of

16 payments by families, including a schedule of

17 sliding fees;

18 ‘‘(C) are designed to meet the developmental

19 needs of an infant or toddler with a disability

20 in any 1 or more of the following areas:

21 ‘‘(i) physical development;

22 ‘‘(ii) cognitive development;

23 ‘‘(iii) communication development;

24 ‘‘(iv) social or emotional development;

25 or
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1 ‘‘(v) adaptive development;

2 ‘‘(D) meet the standards of the State in

3 which the services are provided, including the re4 quirements of this part;

5 ‘‘(E) include—

6 ‘‘(i) family training, counseling, and

7 home visits;

8 ‘‘(ii) special instruction;

9 ‘‘(iii) speech-language pathology and

10 audiology services, and sign language and

11 cued language services;

12 ‘‘(iv) occupational therapy;

13 ‘‘(v) physical therapy;

14 ‘‘(vi) psychological services;

15 ‘‘(vii) service coordination services;

16 ‘‘(viii) medical services only for diag17 nostic or evaluation purposes;

18 ‘‘(ix) early identification, screening,

19 and assessment services;

20 ‘‘(x) health services necessary to enable

21 the infant or toddler to benefit from the

22 other early intervention services;

23 ‘‘(xi) social work services;

24 ‘‘(xii) vision services;
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1 ‘‘(xiii) assistive technology devices and

2 assistive technology services; and

3 ‘‘(xiv) transportation and related costs

4 that are necessary to enable an infant or

5 toddler and the infant’s or toddler’s family

6 to receive another service described in this

7 paragraph;

8 ‘‘(F) are provided by qualified personnel,

9 including—

10 ‘‘(i) special educators;

11 ‘‘(ii) speech-language pathologists and

12 audiologists;

13 ‘‘(iii) teachers of the deaf;

14 ‘‘(iv) occupational therapists;

15 ‘‘(v) physical therapists;

16 ‘‘(vi) psychologists;

17 ‘‘(vii) social workers;

18 ‘‘(viii) nurses;

19 ‘‘(ix) nutritionists;

20 ‘‘(x) family therapists;

21 ‘‘(xi) orientation and mobility special22 ists;

23 ‘‘(xii) vision specialists, including

24 opthamologists and optometrists; and
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1 ‘‘(xiii) pediatricians and other physi2 cians;

3 ‘‘(G) to the maximum extent appropriate,

4 are provided in natural environments, including

5 the home, and community settings in which chil6 dren without disabilities participate; and

7 ‘‘(H) are provided in conformity with an

8 individualized family service plan adopted in

9 accordance with section 636.

10 ‘‘(5) INFANT OR TODDLER WITH A DISABILITY.—

11 The term ‘infant or toddler with a disability’—

12 ‘‘(A) means an individual under 3 years of

13 age who needs early intervention services because

14 the individual—

15 ‘‘(i) is experiencing developmental

16 delays, as measured by appropriate diag17 nostic instruments and procedures in 1 or

18 more of the areas of cognitive development,

19 physical development, communication devel20 opment, social or emotional development,

21 and adaptive development; or

22 ‘‘(ii) has a diagnosed physical or men23 tal condition which has a high probability

24 of resulting in developmental delay; and
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1 ‘‘(B) may also include, at a State’s

2 discretion—

3 ‘‘(i) at-risk infants and toddlers; and

4 ‘‘(ii) children with disabilities who are

5 eligible for services under section 619 and

6 who previously received services under this

7 part until such children enter, or are eligi8 ble under State law to enter, kindergarten.

9 ‘‘SEC. 633. GENERAL AUTHORITY.

10 ‘‘The Secretary shall, in accordance with this part,

11 make grants to States (from their allotments under section

12 643) to assist each State to maintain and implement a

13 statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary,

14 interagency system to provide early intervention services for

15 infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.

16 ‘‘SEC. 634. ELIGIBILITY.

17 ‘‘In order to be eligible for a grant under section 633,

18 a State shall demonstrate to the Secretary that the State—

19 ‘‘(1) has adopted a policy that appropriate early

20 intervention services are available to all infants and

21 toddlers with disabilities in the State and their fami22 lies, including Indian infants and toddlers with dis23 abilities and their families residing on a reservation

24 geographically located in the State, infants or tod25 dlers with disabilities who are homeless children, in-
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1 fants or toddlers with disabilities who are wards of

2 the State, and infants or toddlers with disabilities

3 who have a parent who is a member of the Armed

4 Forces, including a member of the National Guard or

5 Reserves; and

6 ‘‘(2) has in effect a statewide system that meets

7 the requirements of section 635.

8 ‘‘SEC. 635. REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEWIDE SYSTEM.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A statewide system described in

10 section 633 shall include, at a minimum, the following com11 ponents:

12 ‘‘(1) A definition of the term ‘developmental

13 delay’ that—

14 ‘‘(A) will be used by the State in carrying

15 out programs under this part; and

16 ‘‘(B) covers, at a minimum, all infants and

17 toddlers with—

18 ‘‘(i) a developmental delay of 35 per19 cent or more in 1 of the developmental areas

20 described in section 632(5)(A)(i); or

21 ‘‘(ii) a developmental delay of 25 per22 cent or more in 2 or more of the develop23 mental areas described in section

24 632(5)(A)(i).
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1 ‘‘(2) A State policy that is in effect and that en2 sures that appropriate early intervention services are

3 available to all infants and toddlers with disabilities

4 and their families, including Indian infants and tod5 dlers and their families residing on a reservation geo6 graphically located in the State.

7 ‘‘(3) A timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary

8 evaluation of the functioning of each infant or toddler

9 with a disability in the State, and a family-directed

10 identification of the needs of each family of such an

11 infant or toddler, to appropriately assist in the devel12 opment of the infant or toddler.

13 ‘‘(4) For each infant or toddler with a disability

14 in the State, an individualized family service plan in

15 accordance with section 636, including service coordi16 nation services in accordance with such service plan.

17 ‘‘(5) A comprehensive child find system, con18 sistent with part B, including a system for making

19 referrals to service providers that includes timelines

20 and provides for participation by primary referral

21 sources.

22 ‘‘(6) A public awareness program focusing on

23 early identification of infants and toddlers with dis24 abilities, including the preparation and dissemina25 tion by the lead agency designated or established
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1 under paragraph (10) to all primary referral sources,

2 especially hospitals, physicians, homeless family shel3 ters, medicaid and State child health insurance pro4 gram enrollment offices, health and mental health

5 clinics, public schools in low-income areas serving

6 low-income children, staff in State and local child

7 welfare agencies, judges, and base commanders or

8 their designees, of information for parents on the

9 availability of early intervention services, and proce10 dures for determining the extent to which such sources

11 disseminate such information to parents of infants

12 and toddlers.

13 ‘‘(7) A central directory that includes informa14 tion on early intervention services, resources, and ex15 perts available in the State and research and dem16 onstration projects being conducted in the State.

17 ‘‘(8) A comprehensive system of personnel devel18 opment, including the training of paraprofessionals

19 and the training of primary referral sources with re20 spect to the basic components of early intervention

21 services available in the State, which comprehensive

22 system may include—

23 ‘‘(A) implementing innovative strategies

24 and activities for the recruitment and retention

25 of early education service providers;
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1 ‘‘(B) promoting the preparation of early

2 intervention providers who are fully and appro3 priately qualified to provide early intervention

4 services under this part;

5 ‘‘(C) training personnel to work in rural

6 and inner-city areas; and

7 ‘‘(D) training personnel to coordinate tran8 sition services for infants and toddlers served

9 under this part from an early intervention pro10 gram under this part to preschool or other ap11 propriate services.

12 ‘‘(9) Policies and procedures relating to the es13 tablishment and maintenance of standards to ensure

14 that personnel necessary to carry out this part are

15 appropriately and adequately prepared and trained,

16 including the establishment and maintenance of

17 standards which are consistent with any State-ap18 proved or recognized certification, licensing, registra19 tion, or other comparable requirements which apply

20 to the area in which such personnel are providing

21 early intervention services, except that nothing in this

22 part (including this paragraph) shall be construed to

23 prohibit the use of paraprofessionals and assistants

24 who are appropriately trained and supervised in ac25 cordance with State law, regulation, or written pol-
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1 icy, to assist in the provision of early intervention

2 services under this part to infants and toddlers with

3 disabilities.

4 ‘‘(10) A single line of responsibility in a lead

5 agency designated or established by the Governor for

6 carrying out—

7 ‘‘(A) the general administration and super8 vision of programs and activities receiving as9 sistance under section 633, and the monitoring

10 of programs and activities used by the State to

11 carry out this part, whether or not such pro12 grams or activities are receiving assistance made

13 available under section 633, to ensure that the

14 State complies with this part;

15 ‘‘(B) the identification and coordination of

16 all available resources within the State from

17 Federal, State, local, and private sources;

18 ‘‘(C) the assignment of financial responsi19 bility in accordance with section 637(a)(2) to the

20 appropriate agencies;

21 ‘‘(D) the development of procedures to en22 sure that services are provided to infants and

23 toddlers with disabilities and their families

24 under this part in a timely manner pending the
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1 resolution of any disputes among public agencies

2 or service providers;

3 ‘‘(E) the resolution of intra- and inter4 agency disputes; and

5 ‘‘(F) the entry into formal interagency

6 agreements that define the financial responsi7 bility of each agency for paying for early inter8 vention services (consistent with State law) and

9 procedures for resolving disputes and that in10 clude all additional components necessary to en11 sure meaningful cooperation and coordination.

12 ‘‘(11) A policy pertaining to the contracting or

13 making of other arrangements with service providers

14 to provide early intervention services in the State,

15 consistent with the provisions of this part, including

16 the contents of the application used and the condi17 tions of the contract or other arrangements.

18 ‘‘(12) A procedure for securing timely reimburse19 ments of funds used under this part in accordance

20 with section 640(a).

21 ‘‘(13) Procedural safeguards with respect to pro22 grams under this part, as required by section 639.

23 ‘‘(14) A system for compiling data requested by

24 the Secretary under section 618 that relates to this

25 part.
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1 ‘‘(15) A State interagency coordinating council

2 that meets the requirements of section 641.

3 ‘‘(16) Policies and procedures to ensure that,

4 consistent with section 636(d)(5) to the maximum ex5 tent appropriate, early intervention services are pro6 vided in natural environments unless a specific out7 come cannot be met satisfactorily for the infant or

8 toddler in a natural environment.

9 ‘‘(17) A procedure to ensure that early interven10 tion services and evaluations are available to infants

11 or toddlers with disabilities who are—

12 ‘‘(A) homeless children; and

13 ‘‘(B) wards of the State or in foster care, or

14 both.

15 ‘‘(b) FLEXIBILITY TO SERVE CHILDREN 3 YEARS OF

16 AGE TO UNDER 6 YEARS OF AGE.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A statewide system described

18 in section 633 may include a State policy, developed

19 and implemented jointly by the lead agency and the

20 State educational agency, under which parents of

21 children with disabilities who are eligible for services

22 under section 619 and previously received services

23 under this part, may choose the continuation of early

24 intervention services (which shall include an edu25 cational component that promotes school readiness
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1 and incorporates preliteracy, language, and

2 numeracy skills) for such children under this part

3 until such children enter, or are eligible under State

4 law to enter, kindergarten.

5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—If a statewide system in6 cludes a State policy described in paragraph (1), the

7 statewide system shall ensure—

8 ‘‘(A) that parents of infants or toddlers with

9 disabilities (as defined in section 632(5)(A)) pro10 vide informed written consent to the State, before

11 such infants and toddlers reach 3 years of age,

12 as to whether such parents intend to choose the

13 continuation of early intervention services pur14 suant to this subsection for such infants or tod15 dlers;

16 ‘‘(B) that the State policy will not affect the

17 right of any child served pursuant to this sub18 section to instead receive a free appropriate pub19 lic education under part B;

20 ‘‘(C) that parents of children served pursu21 ant to this subsection are provided with annual

22 notice—

23 ‘‘(i) of such parents’ right to elect serv24 ices pursuant to this subsection or under

25 part B; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) fully explaining the differences

2 between receiving services pursuant to this

3 subsection and receiving services under part

4 B, including—

5 ‘‘(I) the types of services available

6 under both provisions;

7 ‘‘(II) applicable procedural safe8 guards under both provisions, includ9 ing due-process protections and medi10 ation or other dispute resolution op11 tions; and

12 ‘‘(III) the possible costs, if any

13 (including any fees to be charged to

14 families as described in section

15 632(4)(B)) to parents under both pro16 visions;

17 ‘‘(D) that the conference under section

18 637(a)(9)(A)(ii)(II), the review under section

19 637(a)(9)(B), and the establishment of a transi20 tion plan under section 637(a)(9)(C) occur not

21 less than 90 days (and at the discretion of the

22 parties to the conference, not more than 9

23 months) before each of the following:
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1 ‘‘(i) the time the child will first be eli2 gible for services under part B, including

3 under section 619; and

4 ‘‘(ii) if the child is receiving services in

5 accordance with this subsection, the time the

6 child will no longer receive those services;

7 ‘‘(E) the continuance of all early interven8 tion services outlined in the child’s individual9 ized family service plan under section 636 while

10 any eligibility determination is being made for

11 services under this subsection;

12 ‘‘(F) that services provided pursuant to this

13 subsection include an educational component

14 that promotes school readiness and incorporates

15 preliteracy, language, and numeracy skills and

16 are provided in accordance with an individual17 ized family service plan under section 636; and

18 ‘‘(G) the referral for evaluation for early

19 intervention services of a child below the age of

20 3 who experiences a substantiated case of expo21 sure to violence or trauma.

22 ‘‘(3) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.—If a statewide

23 system includes a State policy described in paragraph

24 (1), the State shall submit to the Secretary, in the
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1 State’s report under section 637(b)(4)(A), a report

2 on—

3 ‘‘(A) the percentage of children with disabil4 ities who are eligible for services under section

5 619 but whose parents choose for such children to

6 continue to receive early intervention services

7 under this part; and

8 ‘‘(B) the number of children who are eligible

9 for services under section 619 who instead con10 tinue to receive early intervention services under

11 this part.

12 ‘‘(4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this

13 subsection shall be construed to require a provider of

14 services under this part to provide a child served

15 under this part with a free appropriate public edu16 cation.

17 ‘‘(5) AVAILABLE FUNDS.—If a statewide system

18 includes a State policy described in paragraph (1),

19 the policy shall describe the funds (including an iden20 tification as Federal, State, or local funds) that will

21 be used to ensure that the option described in para22 graph (1) is available to eligible children and families

23 who provide the consent described in paragraph

24 (2)(A), including fees to be charged to families as de25 scribed in section 632(4)(B).
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1 ‘‘(c) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in subsection (a)(5)

2 shall be construed to alter the responsibility of a State

3 under title XIX of the Social Security Act with respect to

4 early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment

5 services (as defined in section 1905(r) of such Act).

6 ‘‘SEC. 636. INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLAN.

7 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENT AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.—A

8 statewide system described in section 633 shall provide, at

9 a minimum, for each infant or toddler with a disability,

10 and the infant’s or toddler’s family, to receive—

11 ‘‘(1) a multidisciplinary assessment of the

12 unique strengths and needs of the infant or toddler

13 and the identification of services appropriate to meet

14 such needs;

15 ‘‘(2) a family-directed assessment of the re16 sources, priorities, and concerns of the family and the

17 identification of the supports and services necessary

18 to enhance the family’s capacity to meet the develop19 mental needs of the infant or toddler; and

20 ‘‘(3) a written individualized family service plan

21 developed by a multidisciplinary team, including the

22 parents, as required by subsection (e), including a de23 scription of the appropriate transition services for the

24 child.
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1 ‘‘(b) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The individualized family

2 service plan shall be evaluated once a year and the family

3 shall be provided a review of the plan at 6-month intervals

4 (or more often where appropriate based on infant or toddler

5 and family needs).

6 ‘‘(c) PROMPTNESS AFTER ASSESSMENT.—The individ7 ualized family service plan shall be developed within a rea8 sonable time after the assessment required by subsection

9 (a)(1) is completed. With the parents’ consent, early inter10 vention services may commence prior to the completion of

11 the assessment.

12 ‘‘(d) CONTENT OF PLAN.—The individualized family

13 service plan shall be in writing and contain—

14 ‘‘(1) a statement of the infant’s or toddler’s

15 present levels of physical development, cognitive devel16 opment, communication development, social or emo17 tional development, and adaptive development, based

18 on objective criteria;

19 ‘‘(2) a statement of the family’s resources, prior20 ities, and concerns relating to enhancing the develop21 ment of the family’s infant or toddler with a dis22 ability;

23 ‘‘(3) a statement of the measurable outcomes ex24 pected to be achieved for the infant or toddler and the

25 family, including, as appropriate, preliteracy and
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1 language skills, and the criteria, procedures, and

2 timelines used to determine the degree to which

3 progress toward achieving the outcomes is being made

4 and whether modifications or revisions of the out5 comes or services are necessary;

6 ‘‘(4) a statement of specific early intervention

7 services necessary to meet the unique needs of the in8 fant or toddler and the family, including the fre9 quency, intensity, and method of delivering services;

10 ‘‘(5) a statement of the natural environments in

11 which early intervention services will appropriately

12 be provided, including a justification of the extent, if

13 any, to which the services will not be provided in a

14 natural environment;

15 ‘‘(6) the projected dates for initiation of services

16 and the anticipated length, duration, and frequency

17 of the services;

18 ‘‘(7) the identification of the service coordinator

19 from the profession most immediately relevant to the

20 infant’s or toddler’s or family’s needs (or who is oth21 erwise qualified to carry out all applicable respon22 sibilities under this part) who will be responsible for

23 the implementation of the plan and coordination with

24 other agencies and persons, including transition serv25 ices; and
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1 ‘‘(8) the steps to be taken to support the transi2 tion of the toddler with a disability to preschool or

3 other appropriate services.

4 ‘‘(e) PARENTAL CONSENT.—The contents of the indi5 vidualized family service plan shall be fully explained to

6 the parents and informed written consent from the parents

7 shall be obtained prior to the provision of early intervention

8 services described in such plan. If the parents do not pro9 vide consent with respect to a particular early intervention

10 service, then only the early intervention services to which

11 consent is obtained shall be provided.

12 ‘‘SEC. 637. STATE APPLICATION AND ASSURANCES.

13 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—A State desiring to receive a

14 grant under section 633 shall submit an application to the

15 Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary

16 may reasonably require. The application shall contain—

17 ‘‘(1) a designation of the lead agency in the

18 State that will be responsible for the administration

19 of funds provided under section 633;

20 ‘‘(2) a certification to the Secretary that the ar21 rangements to establish financial responsibility for

22 services provided under this part pursuant to section

23 640(b) are current as of the date of submission of the

24 certification;
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1 ‘‘(3) information demonstrating eligibility of the

2 State under section 634, including—

3 ‘‘(A) information demonstrating to the Sec4 retary’s satisfaction that the State has in effect

5 the statewide system required by section 633;

6 and

7 ‘‘(B) a description of services to be provided

8 to infants and toddlers with disabilities and

9 their families through the system;

10 ‘‘(4) if the State provides services to at-risk in11 fants and toddlers through the system, a description

12 of such services;

13 ‘‘(5) a description of the uses for which funds

14 will be expended in accordance with this part;

15 ‘‘(6) a description of the State policies and pro16 cedures that require the referral for evaluation for

17 early intervention services of a child under the age of

18 3 who—

19 ‘‘(A) is involved in a substantiated case of

20 child abuse or neglect; or

21 ‘‘(B) is identified as affected by illegal sub22 stance abuse, or withdrawal symptoms resulting

23 from prenatal drug exposure;
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1 ‘‘(7) a description of the procedure used to en2 sure that resources are made available under this part

3 for all geographic areas within the State;

4 ‘‘(8) a description of State policies and proce5 dures that ensure that, prior to the adoption by the

6 State of any other policy or procedure necessary to

7 meet the requirements of this part, there are public

8 hearings, adequate notice of the hearings, and an op9 portunity for comment available to the general public,

10 including individuals with disabilities and parents of

11 infants and toddlers with disabilities;

12 ‘‘(9) a description of the policies and procedures

13 to be used—

14 ‘‘(A) to ensure a smooth transition for tod15 dlers receiving early intervention services under

16 this part (and children receiving those services

17 under section 635(b)) to preschool, other appro18 priate services, or exiting the program, including

19 a description of how—

20 ‘‘(i) the families of such toddlers and

21 children will be included in the transition

22 plans required by subparagraph (C); and

23 ‘‘(ii) the lead agency designated or es24 tablished under section 635(a)(10) will—
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1 ‘‘(I) notify the local educational

2 agency for the area in which such a

3 child resides that the child will shortly

4 reach the age of eligibility for preschool

5 services under part B, as determined

6 in accordance with State law;

7 ‘‘(II) in the case of a child who

8 may be eligible for such preschool serv9 ices, with the approval of the family of

10 the child, convene a conference among

11 the lead agency, the family, and the

12 local educational agency at least 90

13 days (and at the discretion of all such

14 parties, not more than 9 months) be15 fore the child is eligible for the pre16 school services, to discuss any such

17 services that the child may receive; and

18 ‘‘(III) in the case of a child who

19 may not be eligible for such preschool

20 services, with the approval of the fam21 ily, make reasonable efforts to convene

22 a conference among the lead agency,

23 the family, and providers of other ap24 propriate services for children who are

25 not eligible for preschool services under
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1 part B, to discuss the appropriate serv2 ices that the child may receive;

3 ‘‘(B) to review the child’s program options

4 for the period from the child’s third birthday

5 through the remainder of the school year; and

6 ‘‘(C) to establish a transition plan, includ7 ing, as appropriate, steps to exit from the pro8 gram; and

9 ‘‘(10) such other information and assurances as

10 the Secretary may reasonably require.

11 ‘‘(11) a description of policies and procedures to

12 ensure that infants or toddlers with disabilities who

13 are homeless children and their families and infants

14 or toddlers with disabilities who are wards of the

15 State have access to multidisciplinary evaluations

16 and early intervention services.

17 ‘‘(b) ASSURANCES.—The application described in sub18 section (a)—

19 ‘‘(1) shall provide satisfactory assurance that

20 Federal funds made available under section 643 to the

21 State will be expended in accordance with this part;

22 ‘‘(2) shall contain an assurance that the State

23 will comply with the requirements of section 640;

24 ‘‘(3) shall provide satisfactory assurance that the

25 control of funds provided under section 643, and title
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1 to property derived from those funds, will be in a

2 public agency for the uses and purposes provided in

3 this part and that a public agency will administer

4 such funds and property;

5 ‘‘(4) shall provide for—

6 ‘‘(A) making such reports in such form and

7 containing such information as the Secretary

8 may require to carry out the Secretary’s func9 tions under this part; and

10 ‘‘(B) keeping such reports and affording

11 such access to the reports as the Secretary may

12 find necessary to ensure the correctness and

13 verification of the reports and proper disburse14 ment of Federal funds under this part;

15 ‘‘(5) provide satisfactory assurance that Federal

16 funds made available under section 643 to the

17 State—

18 ‘‘(A) will not be commingled with State

19 funds; and

20 ‘‘(B) will be used so as to supplement the

21 level of State and local funds expended for in22 fants and toddlers with disabilities and their

23 families and in no case to supplant those State

24 and local funds;
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1 ‘‘(6) shall provide satisfactory assurance that

2 such fiscal control and fund accounting procedures

3 will be adopted as may be necessary to ensure proper

4 disbursement of, and accounting for, Federal funds

5 paid under section 643 to the State;

6 ‘‘(7) shall provide satisfactory assurance that

7 policies and procedures have been adopted to ensure

8 meaningful involvement of underserved groups, in9 cluding minority, low-income, homeless, and rural

10 families and children with disabilities who are wards

11 of the State, in the planning and implementation of

12 all the requirements of this part; and

13 ‘‘(8) shall contain such other information and

14 assurances as the Secretary may reasonably require

15 by regulation.

16 ‘‘(c) STANDARD FOR DISAPPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—

17 The Secretary may not disapprove such an application un18 less the Secretary determines, after notice and opportunity

19 for a hearing, that the application fails to comply with the

20 requirements of this section.

21 ‘‘(d) SUBSEQUENT STATE APPLICATION.—If a State

22 has on file with the Secretary a policy, procedure, or assur23 ance that demonstrates that the State meets a requirement

24 of this section, including any policy or procedure filed

25 under part C, as in effect before the date of enactment of
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1 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement

2 Act of 2004, the Secretary shall consider the State to have

3 met the requirement for purposes of receiving a grant under

4 this part.

5 ‘‘(e) MODIFICATION OF APPLICATION.—An application

6 submitted by a State in accordance with this section shall

7 remain in effect until the State submits to the Secretary

8 such modifications as the State determines necessary. This

9 section shall apply to a modification of an application to

10 the same extent and in the same manner as this section

11 applies to the original application.

12 ‘‘(f) MODIFICATIONS REQUIREDBY THE SEC13 RETARY.—The Secretary may require a State to modify its

14 application under this section, but only to the extent nec15 essary to ensure the State’s compliance with this part, if—

16 ‘‘(1) an amendment is made to this Act, or a

17 Federal regulation issued under this Act;

18 ‘‘(2) a new interpretation of this Act is made by

19 a Federal court or the State’s highest court; or

20 ‘‘(3) an official finding of noncompliance with

21 Federal law or regulations is made with respect to the

22 State.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 638. USES OF FUNDS.

2 ‘‘In addition to using funds provided under section

3 633 to maintain and implement the statewide system re4 quired by such section, a State may use such funds—

5 ‘‘(1) for direct early intervention services for in6 fants and toddlers with disabilities, and their fami7 lies, under this part that are not otherwise funded

8 through other public or private sources;

9 ‘‘(2) to expand and improve on services for in10 fants and toddlers and their families under this part

11 that are otherwise available;

12 ‘‘(3) to provide a free appropriate public edu13 cation, in accordance with part B, to children with

14 disabilities from their third birthday to the beginning

15 of the following school year;

16 ‘‘(4) with the written consent of the parents, to

17 continue to provide early intervention services under

18 this part to children with disabilities from their 3rd

19 birthday to the beginning of the following school year,

20 in lieu of a free appropriate public education pro21 vided in accordance with part B; and

22 ‘‘(5) in any State that does not provide services

23 for at-risk infants and toddlers under section

24 637(a)(4), to strengthen the statewide system by initi25 ating, expanding, or improving collaborative efforts

26 related to at-risk infants and toddlers, including es-
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1 tablishing linkages with appropriate public or private

2 community-based organizations, services, and per3 sonnel for the purposes of—

4 ‘‘(A) identifying and evaluating at-risk in5 fants and toddlers;

6 ‘‘(B) making referrals of the infants and

7 toddlers identified and evaluated under subpara8 graph (A); and

9 ‘‘(C) conducting periodic follow-up on each

10 such referral to determine if the status of the in11 fant or toddler involved has changed with respect

12 to the eligibility of the infant or toddler for serv13 ices under this part.

14 ‘‘SEC. 639. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.

15 ‘‘(a) MINIMUM PROCEDURES.—The procedural safe16 guards required to be included in a statewide system under

17 section 635(a)(13) shall provide, at a minimum, the fol18 lowing:

19 ‘‘(1) The timely administrative resolution of

20 complaints by parents. Any party aggrieved by the

21 findings and decision regarding an administrative

22 complaint shall have the right to bring a civil action

23 with respect to the complaint in any State court of

24 competent jurisdiction or in a district court of the

25 United States without regard to the amount in con-
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1 troversy. In any action brought under this paragraph,

2 the court shall receive the records of the administra3 tive proceedings, shall hear additional evidence at the

4 request of a party, and, basing its decision on the

5 preponderance of the evidence, shall grant such relief

6 as the court determines is appropriate.

7 ‘‘(2) The right to confidentiality of personally

8 identifiable information, including the right of par9 ents to written notice of and written consent to the

10 exchange of such information among agencies con11 sistent with Federal and State law.

12 ‘‘(3) The right of the parents to determine wheth13 er they, their infant or toddler, or other family mem14 bers will accept or decline any early intervention

15 service under this part in accordance with State law

16 without jeopardizing other early intervention services

17 under this part.

18 ‘‘(4) The opportunity for parents to examine

19 records relating to assessment, screening, eligibility

20 determinations, and the development and implemen21 tation of the individualized family service plan.

22 ‘‘(5) Procedures to protect the rights of the infant

23 or toddler whenever the parents of the infant or tod24 dler are not known or cannot be found or the infant

25 or toddler is a ward of the State, including the as-
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1 signment of an individual (who shall not be an em2 ployee of the State lead agency, or other State agency,

3 and who shall not be any person, or any employee of

4 a person, providing early intervention services to the

5 infant or toddler or any family member of the infant

6 or toddler) to act as a surrogate for the parents.

7 ‘‘(6) Written prior notice to the parents of the

8 infant or toddler with a disability whenever the State

9 agency or service provider proposes to initiate or

10 change, or refuses to initiate or change, the identifica11 tion, evaluation, or placement of the infant or toddler

12 with a disability, or the provision of appropriate

13 early intervention services to the infant or toddler.

14 ‘‘(7) Procedures designed to ensure that the no15 tice required by paragraph (6) fully informs the par16 ents, in the parents’ native language, unless it clearly

17 is not feasible to do so, of all procedures available

18 pursuant to this section.

19 ‘‘(8) The right of parents to use mediation in ac20 cordance with section 615, except that—

21 ‘‘(A) any reference in the section to a State

22 educational agency shall be considered to be a

23 reference to a State’s lead agency established or

24 designated under section 635(a)(10);
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1 ‘‘(B) any reference in the section to a local

2 educational agency shall be considered to be a

3 reference to a local service provider or the State’s

4 lead agency under this part, as the case may be;

5 and

6 ‘‘(C) any reference in the section to the pro7 vision of free appropriate public education to

8 children with disabilities shall be considered to

9 be a reference to the provision of appropriate

10 early intervention services to infants and tod11 dlers with disabilities.

12 ‘‘(b) SERVICES DURING PENDENCY OF PRO13 CEEDINGS.—During the pendency of any proceeding or ac14 tion involving a complaint by the parents of an infant or

15 toddler with a disability, unless the State agency and the

16 parents otherwise agree, the infant or toddler shall continue

17 to receive the appropriate early intervention services cur18 rently being provided or, if applying for initial services,

19 shall receive the services not in dispute.

20 ‘‘SEC. 640. PAYOR OF LAST RESORT.

21 ‘‘(a) NONSUBSTITUTION.—Funds provided under sec22 tion 643 may not be used to satisfy a financial commitment

23 for services that would have been paid for from another pub24 lic or private source, including any medical program ad25 ministered by the Secretary of Defense, but for the enact-
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1 ment of this part, except that whenever considered necessary

2 to prevent a delay in the receipt of appropriate early inter3 vention services by an infant, toddler, or family in a timely

4 fashion, funds provided under section 643 may be used to

5 pay the provider of services pending reimbursement from

6 the agency that has ultimate responsibility for the payment.

7 ‘‘(b) OBLIGATIONS RELATEDTO AND METHODS OF

8 ENSURING SERVICES.—

9 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHING FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

10 FOR SERVICES.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Chief Executive Of12 ficer of a State or designee of the officer shall en13 sure that an interagency agreement or other

14 mechanism for interagency coordination is in ef15 fect between each public agency and the State

16 educational agency, in order to ensure—

17 ‘‘(i) the provision of, and financial re18 sponsibility for, services provided under this

19 part; and

20 ‘‘(ii) such services are consistent with

21 the requirements of section 635 and the

22 State’s application pursuant to section 637,

23 including the provision of such services dur24 ing the pendency of any dispute.
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1 ‘‘(B) CONSISTENCY BETWEEN AGREEMENTS

2 OR MECHANISMS UNDER PARTS B AND D.—The

3 Chief Executive Officer of a State or designee of

4 the officer shall ensure that the terms and condi5 tions of such agreement or mechanism are con6 sistent with the terms and conditions of the

7 State’s agreement or mechanism under section

8 612(a)(12).

9 ‘‘(2) REIMBURSEMENT FOR SERVICES BY PUBLIC

10 AGENCY.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a public agency

12 other than an educational agency fails to provide

13 or pay for the services pursuant to an agreement

14 required under paragraph (1) the local edu15 cational agency or State agency (as determined

16 by the Chief Executive Officer or designee) shall

17 provide or pay for the provision of such services

18 to the child.

19 ‘‘(B) REIMBURSEMENT.—Such local edu20 cational agency or State agency is authorized to

21 claim reimbursement for the services from the

22 public agency that failed to provide or pay for

23 such services and such public agency shall reim24 burse the local educational agency or State agen25 cy pursuant to the terms of the interagency
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1 agreement or other mechanism required under

2 paragraph (1).

3 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE.—The requirements of para4 graph (1) may be met through—

5 ‘‘(A) State statute or regulation;

6 ‘‘(B) signed agreements between respective

7 agency officials that clearly identify the respon8 sibilities of each agency relating to the provision

9 of services; or

10 ‘‘(C) other appropriate written methods as

11 determined by the Chief Executive Officer of the

12 State or designee of the officer and approved by

13 the Secretary through the review and approval of

14 the State’s application pursuant to section 637.

15 ‘‘(c) REDUCTION OF OTHER BENEFITS.—Nothing in

16 this part shall be construed to permit the State to reduce

17 medical or other assistance available or to alter eligibility

18 under title V of the Social Security Act (relating to mater19 nal and child health) or title XIX of the Social Security

20 Act (relating to Medicaid for infants or toddlers with dis21 abilities) within the State.

22 ‘‘SEC. 641. STATE INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL.

23 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that desires to re2 ceive financial assistance under this part shall estab3 lish a State interagency coordinating council.

4 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The council shall be ap5 pointed by the Governor. In making appointments to

6 the council, the Governor shall ensure that the mem7 bership of the council reasonably represents the popu8 lation of the State.

9 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Governor shall des10 ignate a member of the council to serve as the chair11 person of the council, or shall require the council to

12 so designate such a member. Any member of the coun13 cil who is a representative of the lead agency des14 ignated under section 635(a)(10) may not serve as the

15 chairperson of the council.

16 ‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The council shall be com18 posed as follows:

19 ‘‘(A) PARENTS.—At least 20 percent of the

20 members shall be parents of infants or toddlers

21 with disabilities or children with disabilities

22 aged 12 or younger, with knowledge of, or experi23 ence with, programs for infants and toddlers

24 with disabilities. At least 1 such member shall be

25 a parent of an infant or toddler with a dis-
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1 ability or a child with a disability aged 6 or

2 younger, not less than one other member shall be

3 a foster parent of a child with a disability, not

4 less than one other member shall be a grand5 parent or other relative acting in the place of a

6 natural or adoptive parent of a child with a dis7 ability, and not less than 1 other member shall

8 be a representative of children with disabilities

9 in military families.

10 ‘‘(B) SERVICE PROVIDERS.—At least 20

11 percent of the members shall be public or private

12 providers of early intervention services.

13 ‘‘(C) STATE LEGISLATURE.—At least 1

14 member shall be from the State legislature.

15 ‘‘(D) PERSONNEL PREPARATION.—At least

16 1 member shall be involved in personnel prepa17 ration.

18 ‘‘(E) AGENCY FOR EARLY INTERVENTION

19 SERVICES.—At least 1 member shall be from each

20 of the State agencies involved in the provision of,

21 or payment for, early intervention services to in22 fants and toddlers with disabilities and their

23 families and shall have sufficient authority to

24 engage in policy planning and implementation

25 on behalf of such agencies.
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1 ‘‘(F) AGENCY FOR PRESCHOOL SERVICES.—

2 At least 1 member shall be from the State edu3 cational agency responsible for preschool services

4 to children with disabilities and shall have suffi5 cient authority to engage in policy planning and

6 implementation on behalf of such agency.

7 ‘‘(G) STATE MEDICAID AGENCY.—At least 1

8 member shall be from the agency responsible for

9 the State medicaid program.

10 ‘‘(H) HEADSTART AGENCY.—At least 1

11 representative from a Head Start agency or pro12 gram in the State.

13 ‘‘(I) CHILDCARE AGENCY.—At least 1 rep14 resentative from a State agency responsible for

15 child care.

16 ‘‘(J) AGENCY FOR HEALTH INSURANCE.—At

17 least 1 member shall be from the agency respon18 sible for the State regulation of health insurance.

19 ‘‘(K) OFFICE OF THE COORDINATOR OF

20 EDUCATION OF HOMELESS CHILDREN AND

21 YOUTH.—Not less than 1 representative des22 ignated by the Office of Coordinator for Edu23 cation of Homeless Children and Youths.
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1 ‘‘(L) STATE CHILDWELFARE AGENCY.—Not

2 less than 1 representative from the State child

3 welfare agency responsible for foster care.

4 ‘‘(M) REPRESENTATIVE OF FOSTER CHIL5 DREN.—Not less than 1 individual who rep6 resents the interests of children in foster care and

7 understands such children’s education needs,

8 such as an attorney for children in foster care,

9 a guardian ad litem, a court appointed special

10 advocate, a judge, or an education surrogate for

11 children in foster care.

12 ‘‘(2) OTHER MEMBERS.—The council may in13 clude other members selected by the Governor, includ14 ing a representative from the Bureau of Indian Af15 fairs, or where there is no BIA-operated or BIA-fund16 ed school, from the Indian Health Service or the tribe

17 or tribal council.

18 ‘‘(c) MEETINGS.—The council shall meet at least quar19 terly and in such places as the council determines necessary.

20 The meetings shall be publicly announced, and, to the extent

21 appropriate, open and accessible to the general public.

22 ‘‘(d) MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY.—Subject to the ap23 proval of the Governor, the council may prepare and ap24 prove a budget using funds under this part to conduct hear25 ings and forums, to reimburse members of the council for
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1 reasonable and necessary expenses for attending council

2 meetings and performing council duties (including child

3 care for parent representatives), to pay compensation to a

4 member of the council if the member is not employed or

5 must forfeit wages from other employment when performing

6 official council business, to hire staff, and to obtain the serv7 ices of such professional, technical, and clerical personnel

8 as may be necessary to carry out its functions under this

9 part.

10 ‘‘(e) FUNCTIONS OF COUNCIL.—

11 ‘‘(1) DUTIES.—The council shall—

12 ‘‘(A) advise and assist the lead agency des13 ignated or established under section 635(a)(10)

14 in the performance of the responsibilities set

15 forth in such section, particularly the identifica16 tion of the sources of fiscal and other support for

17 services for early intervention programs, assign18 ment of financial responsibility to the appro19 priate agency, and the promotion of the inter20 agency agreements;

21 ‘‘(B) advise and assist the lead agency in

22 the preparation of applications and amendments

23 thereto;

24 ‘‘(C) advise and assist the State educational

25 agency regarding the transition of toddlers with
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1 disabilities to preschool and other appropriate

2 services; and

3 ‘‘(D) prepare and submit an annual report

4 to the Governor and to the Secretary on the sta5 tus of early intervention programs for infants

6 and toddlers with disabilities and their families

7 operated within the State.

8 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZEDACTIVITY.—The council may

9 advise and assist the lead agency and the State edu10 cational agency regarding the provision of appro11 priate services for children from birth through age 5.

12 The council may advise appropriate agencies in the

13 State with respect to the integration of services for in14 fants and toddlers with disabilities and at-risk in15 fants and toddlers and their families, regardless of

16 whether at-risk infants and toddlers are eligible for

17 early intervention services in the State.

18 ‘‘(f) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—No member of the coun19 cil shall cast a vote on any matter that is likely to provide

20 a direct financial benefit to that member or otherwise give

21 the appearance of a conflict of interest under State law.

22 ‘‘SEC. 642. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.

23 ‘‘Sections 616, 617, and 618 shall, to the extent not

24 inconsistent with this part, apply to the program author25 ized by this part, except that—
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1 ‘‘(1) any reference in such sections to a State

2 educational agency shall be considered to be a ref3 erence to a State’s lead agency established or des4 ignated under section 635(a)(10);

5 ‘‘(2) any reference in such sections to a local

6 educational agency, educational service agency, or a

7 State agency shall be considered to be a reference to

8 an early intervention service provider under this

9 part; and

10 ‘‘(3) any reference to the education of children

11 with disabilities or the education of all children with

12 disabilities shall be considered to be a reference to the

13 provision of appropriate early intervention services to

14 infants and toddlers with disabilities.

15 ‘‘SEC. 643. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.

16 ‘‘(a) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR OUTLYING

17 AREAS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the sums appropriated

19 to carry out this part for any fiscal year, the Sec20 retary may reserve not more than 1 percent for pay21 ments to Guam, American Samoa, the United States

22 Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the North23 ern Mariana Islands in accordance with their respec24 tive needs.
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1 ‘‘(2) CONSOLIDATION OF FUNDS.—The provisions

2 of Public Law 95–134, permitting the consolidation of

3 grants to the outlying areas, shall not apply to funds

4 those areas receive under this part.

5 ‘‘(b) PAYMENTS TO INDIANS.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, subject

7 to this subsection, make payments to the Secretary of

8 the Interior to be distributed to tribes, tribal organi9 zations (as defined under section 4 of the Indian Self10 Determination and Education Assistance Act), or

11 consortia of the above entities for the coordination of

12 assistance in the provision of early intervention serv13 ices by the States to infants and toddlers with disabil14 ities and their families on reservations served by ele15 mentary schools and secondary schools for Indian

16 children operated or funded by the Department of the

17 Interior. The amount of such payment for any fiscal

18 year shall be 1.25 percent of the aggregate of the

19 amount available to all States under this part for

20 such fiscal year.

21 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—For each fiscal year, the Sec22 retary of the Interior shall distribute the entire pay23 ment received under paragraph (1) by providing to

24 each tribe, tribal organization, or consortium an

25 amount based on the number of infants and toddlers
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1 residing on the reservation, as determined annually,

2 divided by the total of such children served by all

3 tribes, tribal organizations, or consortia.

4 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION.—To receive a payment

5 under this subsection, the tribe, tribal organization,

6 or consortium shall submit such information to the

7 Secretary of the Interior as is needed to determine the

8 amounts to be distributed under paragraph (2).

9 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds received by a

10 tribe, tribal organization, or consortium shall be used

11 to assist States in child find, screening, and other

12 procedures for the early identification of Indian chil13 dren under 3 years of age and for parent training.

14 Such funds may also be used to provide early inter15 vention services in accordance with this part. Such

16 activities may be carried out directly or through con17 tracts or cooperative agreements with the BIA, local

18 educational agencies, and other public or private non19 profit organizations. The tribe, tribal organization, or

20 consortium is encouraged to involve Indian parents

21 in the development and implementation of these ac22 tivities. The above entities shall, as appropriate, make

23 referrals to local, State, or Federal entities for the

24 provision of services or further diagnosis.
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1 ‘‘(5) REPORTS.—To be eligible to receive a grant

2 under paragraph (2), a tribe, tribal organization, or

3 consortium shall make a biennial report to the Sec4 retary of the Interior of activities undertaken under

5 this subsection, including the number of contracts and

6 cooperative agreements entered into, the number of

7 children contacted and receiving services for each

8 year, and the estimated number of children needing

9 services during the 2 years following the year in

10 which the report is made. The Secretary of the Inte11 rior shall include a summary of this information on

12 a biennial basis to the Secretary of Education along

13 with such other information as required under section

14 611(h)(3)(E). The Secretary of Education may re15 quire any additional information from the Secretary

16 of the Interior.

17 ‘‘(6) PROHIBITEDUSES OF FUNDS.—None of the

18 funds under this subsection may be used by the Sec19 retary of the Interior for administrative purposes, in20 cluding child count, and the provision of technical as21 sistance.

22 ‘‘(c) STATE ALLOTMENTS.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para24 graphs (2) and (3), from the funds remaining for each

25 fiscal year after the reservation and payments under
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1 subsections (a), (b), and (e), the Secretary shall first

2 allot to each State an amount that bears the same

3 ratio to the amount of such remainder as the number

4 of infants and toddlers in the State bears to the num5 ber of infants and toddlers in all States.

6 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM ALLOTMENTS.—Except as pro7 vided in paragraph (3), no State shall receive an

8 amount under this section for any fiscal year that is

9 less than the greater of—

‘‘(A) 1 10 ⁄2 of 1 percent of the remaining

11 amount described in paragraph (1); or

12 ‘‘(B) $500,000.

13 ‘‘(3) RATABLE REDUCTION.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the sums made avail15 able under this part for any fiscal year are in16 sufficient to pay the full amounts that all States

17 are eligible to receive under this subsection for

18 such year, the Secretary shall ratably reduce the

19 allotments to such States for such year.

20 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—If additional

21 funds become available for making payments

22 under this subsection for a fiscal year, allotments

23 that were reduced under subparagraph (A) shall

24 be increased on the same basis the allotments

25 were reduced.
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1 ‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this

2 subsection—

3 ‘‘(A) the terms ‘infants’ and ‘toddlers’ mean

4 children under 3 years of age; and

5 ‘‘(B) the term ‘State’ means each of the 50

6 States, the District of Columbia, and the Com7 monwealth of Puerto Rico.

8 ‘‘(d) REALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.—If a State elects not

9 to receive its allotment under subsection (c), the Secretary

10 shall reallot, among the remaining States, amounts from

11 such State in accordance with such subsection.

12 ‘‘(e) RESERVATION FOR STATE BONUS GRANTS.—The

13 Secretary shall reserve 10 percent of the amount by which

14 the amount appropriated under section 644 for any fiscal

15 year exceeds $434,159,000 to make allotments to States that

16 are carrying out the policy described in section 635(b), in

17 accordance with the formula described in subsection (c)(1)

18 without regard to subsections (c) (2) and (3).

19 ‘‘SEC. 644. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 ‘‘For the purpose of carrying out this part, there are

21 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec22 essary for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2009.
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1 ‘‘PART D—NATIONAL ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE

2 EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

3 ‘‘SEC. 650. FINDINGS.

4 ‘‘Congress finds the following:

5 ‘‘(1) The Federal Government has an ongoing ob6 ligation to support activities that contribute to posi7 tive results for children with disabilities, enabling

8 them to lead productive and independent adult lives.

9 ‘‘(2) Systemic change benefiting all students, in10 cluding children with disabilities, requires the in11 volvement of States, local educational agencies, par12 ents, individuals with disabilities and their families,

13 teachers and other service providers, and other inter14 ested individuals and organizations to develop and

15 implement comprehensive strategies that improve edu16 cational results for children with disabilities.

17 ‘‘(3) State educational agencies, in partnership

18 with local educational agencies, parents of children

19 with disabilities, and other individuals and organiza20 tions, are in the best position to improve education

21 for children with disabilities and to address their spe22 cial needs.

23 ‘‘(4) An effective educational system serving stu24 dents with disabilities should—

25 ‘‘(A) maintain high academic achievement

26 standards and clear performance goals for chil-
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1 dren with disabilities, consistent with the stand2 ards and expectations for all students in the edu3 cational system, and provide for appropriate

4 and effective strategies and methods to ensure

5 that all children with disabilities have the oppor6 tunity to achieve those standards and goals;

7 ‘‘(B) clearly define, in objective, measurable

8 terms, the school and post-school results that

9 children with disabilities are expected to achieve;

10 and

11 ‘‘(C) promote transition services and coordi12 nate State and local education, social, health,

13 mental health, and other services, in addressing

14 the full range of student needs, particularly the

15 needs of children with disabilities who need sig16 nificant levels of support to participate and

17 learn in school and the community.

18 ‘‘(5) The availability of an adequate number of

19 qualified personnel is critical to serve effectively chil20 dren with disabilities, to assume leadership positions

21 in administration and direct services, to provide

22 teacher training, and to conduct high quality research

23 to improve special education.

24 ‘‘(6) High quality, comprehensive professional

25 development programs are essential to ensure that the
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1 persons responsible for the education or transition of

2 children with disabilities possess the skills and knowl3 edge necessary to address the educational and related

4 needs of those children.

5 ‘‘(7) Models of professional development should

6 be scientifically based and reflect successful practices,

7 including strategies for recruiting, preparing, and re8 taining personnel.

9 ‘‘(8) Continued support is essential for the devel10 opment and maintenance of a coordinated and high

11 quality program of research to inform successful

12 teaching practices and model curricula for educating

13 children with disabilities.

14 ‘‘(9) A comprehensive research agenda should be

15 established and pursued to promote the highest qual16 ity and rigor in special education research, and to

17 address the full range of issues facing children with

18 disabilities, parents of children with disabilities,

19 school personnel, and others.

20 ‘‘(10) Training, technical assistance, support,

21 and dissemination activities are necessary to ensure

22 that parts B and C are fully implemented and

23 achieve high quality early intervention, educational,

24 and transitional results for children with disabilities

25 and their families.
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1 ‘‘(11) Parents, teachers, administrators, and re2 lated services personnel need technical assistance and

3 information in a timely, coordinated, and accessible

4 manner in order to improve early intervention, edu5 cational, and transitional services and results at the

6 State and local levels for children with disabilities

7 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) playing a vital role in creating and

13 preserving constructive relationships between

14 parents of children with disabilities and schools

15 by facilitating open communication between the

16 parents and schools; encouraging dispute resolu17 tion at the earliest possible point in time; and

18 discouraging the escalation of an adversarial

19 process between the parents and schools;

20 ‘‘(B) ensuring the involvement of parents in

21 planning and decisionmaking with respect to

22 early intervention, educational, and transitional

23 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 on

5 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 673(b)(6);

13 ‘‘(F) supporting the roles of such parents as

14 participants within partnerships seeking to im15 prove early intervention, educational, and tran16 sitional services and results for children with

17 disabilities and their families; and

18 ‘‘(G) supporting such 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 technological

22 resources and integrate technology, including univer23 sally designed technologies, into the lives of children

24 with disabilities, parents of children with disabilities,
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1 school personnel, and others through curricula, serv2 ices, and assistive technologies.

3 ‘‘Subpart 1—State Personnel Preparation and

4 Professional Development Grants

5 ‘‘SEC. 651. PURPOSE; DEFINITION; PROGRAM AUTHORITY.

6 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subpart is to as7 sist State educational agencies in reforming and improving

8 their systems for personnel preparation and professional de9 velopment in early intervention, educational, and transi10 tion services in order to improve results for children with

11 disabilities.

12 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this subpart, the term ‘per13 sonnel’ means special education teachers, regular education

14 teachers, principals, administrators, related services per15 sonnel, paraprofessionals, and early intervention personnel

16 serving infants, toddlers, preschoolers, or children with dis17 abilities, except where a particular category of personnel,

18 such as related services personnel, is identified.

19 ‘‘(c) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub21 section (d), for any fiscal year for which the amount

22 appropriated under section 655, that remains after

23 the Secretary reserves funds under subsection (e) for

24 the fiscal year, is less than $100,000,000, the Sec25 retary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to
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1 State educational agencies to carry out the activities

2 described in the State plan submitted under section

3 653.

4 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under

5 paragraph (1), the Secretary may give priority to

6 State educational agencies that—

7 ‘‘(A) are in States with the greatest per8 sonnel shortages; or

9 ‘‘(B) demonstrate the greatest difficulty

10 meeting the requirements of section 612(a)(14).

11 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM.—The Secretary shall make a

12 grant to each State educational agency selected under

13 paragraph (1) in an amount for each fiscal year that

14 is—

15 ‘‘(A) not less than $500,000, nor more than

16 $4,000,000, in the case of the 50 States, the Dis17 trict of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of

18 Puerto Rico; and

19 ‘‘(B) not less than $80,000 in the case of an

20 outlying area.

21 ‘‘(4) INCREASES.—The Secretary may increase

22 the amounts under in paragraph (3) to account for

23 inflation.
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1 ‘‘(5) FACTORS.—The Secretary shall set the

2 amount of each grant under paragraph (1) after

3 considering—

4 ‘‘(A) the amount of funds available for mak5 ing the grants;

6 ‘‘(B) the relative population of the State or

7 outlying area;

8 ‘‘(C) the types of activities proposed by the

9 State or outlying area;

10 ‘‘(D) the alignment of proposed activities

11 with section 612(a)(14);

12 ‘‘(E) the alignment of proposed activities

13 with the State plans and applications submitted

14 under sections 1111 and 2112, respectively, of

15 the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

16 1965; and

17 ‘‘(F) the use, as appropriate, of scientif18 ically based activities.

19 ‘‘(d) FORMULA GRANTS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graphs (2) and (3), for the first fiscal year for which

22 the amount appropriated under section 655, that re23 mains after the Secretary reserves funds under sub24 section (e) for the fiscal year, is equal to or greater

25 than $100,000,000, and for each fiscal year thereafter,
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1 the Secretary shall allot to each State educational

2 agency, whose application meets the requirements of

3 this subpart, an amount that bears the same relation

4 to the amount appropriated as the amount the State

5 received under section 611(d) for that fiscal year

6 bears to the amount of funds received by all States

7 (whose applications meet the requirements of this sub8 part) under section 611(d) for that fiscal year.

9 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM ALLOTMENTS FOR STATES THAT

10 RECEIVEDCOMPETITIVE GRANTS.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The amount allotted

12 under this subsection to any State that received

13 a competitive multi-year grant under subsection

14 (c) for which the grant period has not expired

15 shall be at least the amount specified for that fis16 cal year in the State’s grant award document

17 under that subsection.

18 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—Each such State

19 shall use the minimum amount described in sub20 paragraph (A) for the activities described in its

21 competitive grant award document for that year,

22 unless the Secretary approves a request from the

23 State to spend the funds on other activities.
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1 ‘‘(3) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT.—The amount of any

2 State educational agency’s allotment under this sub3 section for any fiscal year shall not be less than—

‘‘(A) the greater of $500,000 or 1 4 ⁄2 of 1 per5 cent of the total amount available under this

6 subsection for that year, in the case of each of the

7 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the

8 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; and

9 ‘‘(B) $80,000, in the case of an outlying

10 area.

11 ‘‘(e) CONTINUATION AWARDS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

13 provision of this subpart, from funds appropriated

14 under section 655 for each fiscal year, the Secretary

15 shall reserve the amount that is necessary to make a

16 continuation award to any State (at the request of the

17 State) that received a multi-year award under this

18 part (as this part was in effect on the day before the

19 date of enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities

20 Education Improvement Act of 2004), to enable the

21 State to carry out activities in accordance with the

22 terms of the multi-year award.

23 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—A State that receives a con24 tinuation award under paragraph (1) for any fiscal
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1 year may not receive any other award under this sub2 part for that fiscal year.

3 ‘‘SEC. 652. ELIGIBILITY AND COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.

4 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A State educational

5 agency may apply for a grant under this subpart for a

6 grant period of not less than 1 year and not more than

7 5 years.

8 ‘‘(b) PARTNERS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In order to be considered for

10 a grant under this subpart, a State educational agen11 cy shall establish a partnership with local educational

12 agencies and other State agencies involved in, or con13 cerned with, the education of children with disabil14 ities, including institutions of higher education and

15 the State agencies responsible for administering part

16 C, child care, and vocational rehabilitation programs.

17 ‘‘(2) OTHER PARTNERS.—In order to be consid18 ered for a grant under this subpart, a State edu19 cational agency shall work in partnership with other

20 persons and organizations involved in, and concerned

21 with, the education of children with disabilities,

22 which may include—

23 ‘‘(A) the Governor;

24 ‘‘(B) parents of children with disabilities

25 ages birth through 26;
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1 ‘‘(C) parents of nondisabled children ages

2 birth through 26;

3 ‘‘(D) individuals with disabilities;

4 ‘‘(E) parent training and information cen5 ters or community parent resource centers fund6 ed under sections 671 and 672, respectively;

7 ‘‘(F) community based and other nonprofit

8 organizations involved in the education and em9 ployment of individuals with disabilities;

10 ‘‘(G) personnel as defined in section 651(b);

11 ‘‘(H) the State advisory panel established

12 under part B;

13 ‘‘(I) the State interagency coordinating

14 council established under part C;

15 ‘‘(J) individuals knowledgeable about voca16 tional education;

17 ‘‘(K) the State agency for higher education;

18 ‘‘(L) public agencies with jurisdiction in the

19 areas of health, mental health, social services,

20 and juvenile justice;

21 ‘‘(M) other providers of professional develop22 ment that work with infants, toddlers, pre23 schoolers, and children with disabilities; and

24 ‘‘(N) other individuals.
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1 ‘‘(3) REQUIREDPARTNER.—If State law assigns

2 responsibility for teacher preparation and certifi3 cation to an individual, entity, or agency other than

4 the State educational agency, the State educational

5 agency shall—

6 ‘‘(A) include that individual, entity, or

7 agency as a partner in the partnership under

8 this subsection; and

9 ‘‘(B) ensure that any activities the State

10 will carry out under this subpart that are within

11 that partner’s jurisdiction (which may include

12 activities described in section 654(b)) are carried

13 out by that partner.

14 ‘‘SEC. 653. APPLICATIONS.

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

16 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.—A State educational agency

17 that desires to receive a grant under this subpart

18 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such

19 time, in such manner, and including such informa20 tion as the Secretary may require.

21 ‘‘(2) STATE PLAN.—The application shall in22 clude a plan that identifies and addresses the State

23 and local needs for the personnel preparation and

24 professional development of personnel, as well as indi-
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1 viduals who provide direct supplementary aids and

2 services to children with disabilities, and that—

3 ‘‘(A) is designed to enable the State to meet

4 the requirements of section 612(a)(14) and sec5 tion 635(a) (8) and (9);

6 ‘‘(B) is based on an assessment of State and

7 local needs that identifies critical aspects and

8 areas in need of improvement related to the

9 preparation, ongoing training, and professional

10 development of personnel that serve infants, tod11 dlers, preschoolers, and children with disabilities

12 within the State, including—

13 ‘‘(i) current and anticipated personnel

14 vacancies and shortages; and

15 ‘‘(ii) the number of preservice pro16 grams; and

17 ‘‘(C) is integrated and aligned, to the max18 imum extent possible, with State plans and ac19 tivities under the Elementary and Secondary

20 Education Act of 1965, the Rehabilitation Act of

21 1973, and the Higher Education Act of 1965.

22 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENT.—The State application

23 shall contain an assurance that the State educational

24 agency will carry out each of the strategies described

25 in subsection (b)(4).
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1 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS OF STATE PERSONNEL PREPARATION

2 AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN.—Each profes3 sional development plan under subsection (a)(2) shall—

4 ‘‘(1) describe a partnership agreement that is in

5 effect for the period of the grant, which agreement

6 shall specify—

7 ‘‘(A) the nature and extent of the partner8 ship described in section 652(b) and the respec9 tive roles of each member of the partnership, in10 cluding the partner described in section

11 652(b)(3) if applicable; and

12 ‘‘(B) how the State will work with other

13 persons and organizations involved in, and con14 cerned with, the education of children with dis15 abilities, including the respective roles of each of

16 the persons and organizations;

17 ‘‘(2) describe how the strategies and activities de18 scribed in paragraph (4) will be coordinated with

19 other public resources (including part B and part C

20 funds retained for use at the State level for personnel

21 and professional development purposes) and private

22 resources;

23 ‘‘(3) describe how the State will align its profes24 sional development plan under this subpart with the

25 plan and application submitted under sections 1111
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1 and 2112, respectively, of the Elementary and Sec2 ondary Education Act of 1965;

3 ‘‘(4) describe what strategies the State will use to

4 address the professional development and personnel

5 needs identified under subsection (a)(2) and how those

6 strategies will be implemented, including—

7 ‘‘(A) a description of the preservice and in8 service programs and activities to be supported

9 under this subpart that will provide personnel

10 with the knowledge and skills to meet the needs

11 of, and improve the performance and achieve12 ment of, infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and chil13 dren with disabilities; and

14 ‘‘(B) how such strategies shall be integrated,

15 to the maximum extent possible, with other ac16 tivities supported by grants funded under this

17 part, including those under section 664;

18 ‘‘(5) provide an assurance that the State will

19 provide technical assistance to local educational agen20 cies to improve the quality of professional develop21 ment available to meet the needs of personnel who

22 serve children with disabilities;

23 ‘‘(6) provide an assurance that the State will

24 provide technical assistance to entities that provide

25 services to infants and toddlers with disabilities to
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1 improve the quality of professional development avail2 able to meet the needs of personnel serving such chil3 dren;

4 ‘‘(7) describe how the State will recruit and re5 tain highly qualified teachers and other qualified per6 sonnel in geographic areas of greatest need;

7 ‘‘(8) describe the steps the State will take to en8 sure that poor and minority children are not taught

9 at higher rates by teachers who are not highly quali10 fied; and

11 ‘‘(9) describe how the State will assess, on a reg12 ular basis, the extent to which the strategies imple13 mented under this subpart have been effective in meet14 ing the performance goals described in section

15 612(a)(15).

16 ‘‘(c) PEER REVIEW.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use a

18 panel of experts who are competent, by virtue of their

19 training, expertise, or experience, to evaluate applica20 tions for grants under section 651(c)(1).

21 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION OF PANEL.—A majority of a

22 panel described in paragraph (1) shall be composed of

23 individuals who are not employees of the Federal

24 Government.
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1 ‘‘(3) PAYMENT OF FEES ANDEXPENSES OF CER2 TAIN MEMBERS.—The Secretary may use available

3 funds appropriated to carry out this subpart to pay

4 the expenses and fees of panel members who are not

5 employees of the Federal Government.

6 ‘‘(d) 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 describe the progress of the State in imple10 menting its plan and analyze the effectiveness of the State’s

11 activities under this subpart.

12 ‘‘SEC. 654. USE OF FUNDS.

13 ‘‘(a) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.—A

14 State educational agency that receives a grant under this

15 subpart shall use the grant funds to support activities in

16 accordance with the State’s plan described in section 653,

17 including 1 or more of the following:

18 ‘‘(1) Carrying out programs that provide sup19 port to both special education and regular education

20 teachers of children with disabilities and principals,

21 such as programs that—

22 ‘‘(A) provide teacher mentoring, team teach23 ing, reduced class schedules and case loads, and

24 intensive professional development;
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1 ‘‘(B) use standards or assessments for guid2 ing beginning teachers that are consistent with

3 challenging State student academic achievement

4 and functional standards and with the require5 ments for professional development as defined in

6 section 9101(34) of the Elementary and Sec7 ondary Education Act of 1965; and

8 ‘‘(C) encourage collaborative and consult9 ative models of providing early intervention, spe10 cial education, and related services.

11 ‘‘(2) Encouraging and supporting the training of

12 special education and regular education teachers and

13 administrators to effectively use and integrate

14 technology—

15 ‘‘(A) into curricula and instruction, includ16 ing training to improve the ability to collect,

17 manage, and analyze data to improve teaching,

18 decisionmaking, school improvement efforts, and

19 accountability;

20 ‘‘(B) to enhance learning by children with

21 disabilities; and

22 ‘‘(C) to effectively communicate with par23 ents.

24 ‘‘(3) Providing professional development activi25 ties that—
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1 ‘‘(A) improve the knowledge of special edu2 cation and regular education teachers

3 concerning—

4 ‘‘(i) the academic and developmental

5 or functional needs of students with disabil6 ities; or

7 ‘‘(ii) effective instructional strategies,

8 methods, and skills, and the use of State

9 academic content standards and student

10 academic achievement and functional

11 standards, and State assessments, to im12 prove teaching practices and student aca13 demic achievement;

14 ‘‘(B) improve the knowledge of special edu15 cation and regular education teachers and prin16 cipals and, in appropriate cases, paraprofes17 sionals, concerning effective instructional prac18 tices and that—

19 ‘‘(i) provide training in how to teach

20 and address the needs of children with dif21 ferent learning styles and children with

22 limited English proficiency;

23 ‘‘(ii) involve collaborative groups of

24 teachers, administrators, and, in appro25 priate cases, related services personnel;
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1 ‘‘(iii) provide training in methods of—

2 ‘‘(I) positive behavioral interven3 tions and supports to improve student

4 behavior in the classroom;

5 ‘‘(II) scientifically based reading

6 instruction, including early literacy

7 instruction;

8 ‘‘(III) early and appropriate

9 interventions to identify and help chil10 dren with disabilities;

11 ‘‘(IV) effective instruction for chil12 dren with low incidence disabilities;

13 ‘‘(V) successful transitioning to

14 postsecondary opportunities; and

15 ‘‘(VI) using classroom-based tech16 niques to assist children prior to refer17 ral for special education;

18 ‘‘(iv) provide training to enable per19 sonnel to work with and involve parents in

20 their child’s education, including parents of

21 low income and limited English proficient

22 children with disabilities;

23 ‘‘(v) provide training for special edu24 cation personnel and regular education per25 sonnel in planning, developing, and imple-
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1 menting effective and appropriate IEPs;

2 and

3 ‘‘(vi) provide training to meet the

4 needs of students with significant health,

5 mobility, or behavioral needs prior to serv6 ing such students;

7 ‘‘(C) train administrators, principals, and

8 other relevant school personnel in conducting ef9 fective IEP meetings; and

10 ‘‘(D) Train early intervention, preschool,

11 and related services providers, and other relevant

12 school personnel, in conducting effective individ13 ualized family service plan (IFSP) meetings.

14 ‘‘(4) Developing and implementing initiatives to

15 promote the recruitment and retention of highly

16 qualified special education teachers, particularly ini17 tiatives that have been proven effective in recruitment

18 and retaining highly qualified teachers, including

19 programs that provide—

20 ‘‘(A) teacher mentoring from exemplary spe21 cial education teachers, principals, or super22 intendents;

23 ‘‘(B) induction and support for special edu24 cation teachers during their first 3 years of em25 ployment as teachers; or
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1 ‘‘(C) incentives, including financial incen2 tives, to retain special education teachers who

3 have a record of success in helping students with

4 disabilities.

5 ‘‘(5) Carrying out programs and activities that

6 are designed to improve the quality of personnel who

7 serve children with disabilities, such as—

8 ‘‘(A) innovative professional development

9 programs (which may be provided through part10 nerships that include institutions of higher edu11 cation), including programs that train teachers

12 and principals to integrate technology into cur13 ricula and instruction to improve teaching,

14 learning, and technology literacy, which profes15 sional development shall be consistent with the

16 definition of professional development in section

17 9101(34) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu18 cation Act of 1965; and

19 ‘‘(B) the development and use of proven,

20 cost effective strategies for the implementation of

21 professional development activities, such as

22 through the use of technology and distance learn23 ing.

24 ‘‘(6) Carrying out programs and activities that

25 are designed to improve the quality of early interven-
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1 tion personnel, including paraprofessionals and pri2 mary referral sources, such as—

3 ‘‘(A) professional development programs to

4 improve the delivery of early intervention serv5 ices;

6 ‘‘(B) initiatives to promote the recruitment

7 and retention of early intervention personnel;

8 and

9 ‘‘(C) interagency activities to ensure that

10 personnel are adequately prepared and trained.

11 ‘‘(b) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—A State educational agency

12 that receives a grant under this subpart shall use the grant

13 funds to support activities in accordance with the State’s

14 plan described in section 653, including 1 or more of the

15 following:

16 ‘‘(1) Reforming special education and regular

17 education teacher certification (including recertifi18 cation) or licensing requirements to ensure that—

19 ‘‘(A) special education and regular edu20 cation teachers have—

21 ‘‘(i) the training and information nec22 essary to address the full range of needs of

23 children with disabilities across disability

24 categories; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) the necessary subject matter

2 knowledge and teaching skills in the aca3 demic subjects that they teach;

4 ‘‘(B) special education and regular edu5 cation teacher certification (including recertifi6 cation) or licensing requirements are aligned

7 with challenging State academic content stand8 ards; and

9 ‘‘(C) special education and regular edu10 cation teachers have the subject matter knowledge

11 and teaching skills, including technology lit12 eracy, necessary to help students with disabilities

13 meet challenging State student academic achieve14 ment and functional standards.

15 ‘‘(2) Programs that establish, expand, or improve

16 alternative routes for State certification of special

17 education teachers for highly qualified individuals

18 with a baccalaureate or master’s degree, including

19 mid-career professionals from other occupations,

20 paraprofessionals, and recent college or university

21 graduates with records of academic distinction who

22 demonstrate the potential to become highly effective

23 special education teachers.

24 ‘‘(3) Teacher advancement initiatives for special

25 education teachers that promote professional growth
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1 and emphasize multiple career paths (such as paths

2 to becoming a career teacher, mentor teacher, or exem3 plary teacher) and pay differentiation.

4 ‘‘(4) Developing and implementing mechanisms

5 to assist local educational agencies and schools in ef6 fectively recruiting and retaining highly qualified

7 special education teachers.

8 ‘‘(5) Reforming tenure systems, implementing

9 teacher testing for subject matter knowledge, and im10 plementing teacher testing for State certification or

11 licensing, consistent with title II of the Higher Edu12 cation Act of 1965.

13 ‘‘(6) Funding projects to promote reciprocity of

14 teacher certification or licensing between or among

15 States for special education teachers, except that no

16 reciprocity agreement developed under this paragraph

17 or developed using funds provided under this subpart

18 may lead to the weakening of any State teaching cer19 tification or licensing requirement.

20 ‘‘(7) Developing or assisting local educational

21 agencies to serve children with disabilities through the

22 development and use of proven, innovative strategies

23 to deliver intensive professional development pro24 grams that are both cost effective and easily acces25 sible, such as strategies that involve delivery through
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1 the use of technology, peer networks, and distance

2 learning.

3 ‘‘(8) Developing, or assisting local educational

4 agencies in developing, merit based performance sys5 tems, and strategies that provide differential and

6 bonus pay for special education teachers.

7 ‘‘(9) Supporting activities that ensure that

8 teachers are able to use challenging State academic

9 content standards and student academic and func10 tional achievement standards, and State assessments

11 for all children with disabilities, to improve instruc12 tional practices and improve the academic achieve13 ment of children with disabilities.

14 ‘‘(10) When applicable, coordinating with, and

15 expanding centers established under, section

16 2113(c)(18) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu17 cation Act of 1965 to benefit special education teach18 ers.

19 ‘‘(c) CONTRACTS AND SUBGRANTS.—Each such State

20 educational agency—

21 ‘‘(1) shall award contracts or subgrants to local

22 educational agencies, institutions of higher education,

23 parent training and information centers, or commu24 nity parent resource centers, as appropriate, to carry

25 out its State plan under this subpart; and
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1 ‘‘(2) may award contracts and subgrants to other

2 public and private entities, including the lead agency

3 under part C, to carry out such plan.

4 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP5 MENT.—A State educational agency that receives a grant

6 under this subpart shall use—

7 ‘‘(1) not less than 75 percent of the funds the

8 State educational agency receives under the grant for

9 any fiscal year for activities under subsection (a);

10 and

11 ‘‘(2) not more than 25 percent of the funds the

12 State educational agency receives under the grant for

13 any fiscal year for activities under subsection (b).

14 ‘‘(e) GRANTS TO OUTLYING AREAS.—Public Law 95–

15 134, permitting the consolidation of grants to the outlying

16 areas, shall not apply to funds received under this subpart.

17 ‘‘SEC. 655. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

19 this subpart such sums as may be necessary for each of the

20 fiscal years 2004 through 2009.

21 ‘‘Subpart 2—Scientifically Based Research, Technical

22 Assistance, Model Demonstration Projects, and

23 Dissemination of Information

24 ‘‘SEC. 660. PURPOSE.

25 ‘‘The purpose of this subpart is—
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1 ‘‘(1) to provide Federal funding for scientifically

2 based research, technical assistance, model demonstra3 tion projects, and information dissemination to im4 prove early intervention, educational, and transi5 tional results for children with disabilities; and

6 ‘‘(2) to assist State educational agencies and

7 local educational agencies in improving their edu8 cation systems.

9 ‘‘SEC. 661. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

10 ‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After receiving input from

12 interested individuals with relevant expertise, the Sec13 retary shall develop and implement a comprehensive

14 plan for activities carried out under this subpart

15 (other than activities assisted under section 665 and

16 subpart 3) in order to enhance the provision of early

17 intervention, educational, related and transitional

18 services to children with disabilities under parts B

19 and C. The plan shall be coordinated with the plan

20 developed pursuant to section 177(c) of the Education

21 Sciences Reform Act of 2002 and shall include mecha22 nisms to address early intervention, educational, re23 lated service and transitional needs identified by

24 State educational agencies in applications submitted

25 for State Personnel and Professional Development
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1 grants under subpart 1 and for grants under this sub2 part.

3 ‘‘(2) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretary shall

4 provide a public comment period of at least 60 days

5 on the plan.

6 ‘‘(3) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—In imple7 menting the plan, the Secretary shall, to the extent

8 appropriate, ensure that funds are awarded to recipi9 ents under this subpart, subpart 3, and subpart 4 to

10 carry out activities that benefit, directly or indirectly,

11 children with the full range of disabilities and of all

12 ages.

13 ‘‘(4) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary

14 shall annually report to Congress on the Secretary’s

15 activities under this subpart, subpart 3, and subpart

16 4, including an initial report not later than 12

17 months after the date of enactment of the Individuals

18 with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of

19 2004.

20 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided

22 in this subpart, the following entities are eligible to

23 apply for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement

24 under this subpart:

25 ‘‘(A) A State educational agency.
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1 ‘‘(B) A local educational agency.

2 ‘‘(C) A public charter school that is a local

3 educational agency under State law.

4 ‘‘(D) An institution of higher education.

5 ‘‘(E) Any other public agency.

6 ‘‘(F) A private nonprofit organization.

7 ‘‘(G) An outlying area.

8 ‘‘(H) An Indian tribe or a tribal organiza9 tion (as defined under section 4 of the Indian

10 Self-Determination and Education Assistance

11 Act).

12 ‘‘(I) A for-profit organization.

13 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—The Secretary may limit

14 the entities eligible for an award of a grant, contract,

15 or cooperative agreement to 1 or more categories of el16 igible entities described in paragraph (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, subpart 3, and subpart 4,

21 the Secretary shall, as appropriate, require an appli22 cant to meet the criteria set forth by the Secretary

23 under this subpart and demonstrate how the appli24 cant will address the needs of children with disabil25 ities from minority backgrounds.
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1 ‘‘(2) OUTREACH ANDTECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

2 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the

3 Secretary shall reserve at least 1 percent of the total

4 amount of funds made available to carry out this sub5 part, subpart 3, or subpart 4 for 1 or both of the fol6 lowing activities:

7 ‘‘(A) To provide outreach and technical as8 sistance to Historically Black Colleges and Uni9 versities, and to institutions of higher education

10 with minority enrollments of at least 25 percent,

11 to promote the participation of such colleges,

12 universities, and institutions in activities under

13 this subpart.

14 ‘‘(B) To enable Historically Black Colleges

15 and Universities, and the institutions described

16 in subparagraph (A), to assist other colleges,

17 universities, institutions, and agencies in im18 proving educational and transitional results for

19 children with disabilities.

20 ‘‘(d) PRIORITIES.—The Secretary, in making an

21 award of a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under

22 this subpart, subpart 3, or subpart 4, may, without regard

23 to the rulemaking procedures under section 553(a) of title

24 5, United States Code, limit competitions to, or otherwise

25 give priority to—
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1 ‘‘(1) projects that address 1 or more—

2 ‘‘(A) age ranges;

3 ‘‘(B) disabilities;

4 ‘‘(C) school grades;

5 ‘‘(D) types of educational placements or

6 early intervention environments;

7 ‘‘(E) types of services;

8 ‘‘(F) content areas, such as reading; or

9 ‘‘(G) effective strategies for helping children

10 with disabilities learn appropriate behavior in

11 the school and other community based edu12 cational settings;

13 ‘‘(2) projects that address the needs of children

14 based on the severity or incidence of their disability;

15 ‘‘(3) projects that address the needs of—

16 ‘‘(A) low achieving students;

17 ‘‘(B) underserved populations;

18 ‘‘(C) children from low income families;

19 ‘‘(D) limited English proficient children;

20 ‘‘(E) unserved and underserved areas;

21 ‘‘(F) rural or urban areas;

22 ‘‘(G) children whose behavior interferes with

23 their learning and socialization;

24 ‘‘(H) children with reading difficulties;

25 ‘‘(I) children in charter schools; or
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1 ‘‘(J) children who are gifted and talented;

2 ‘‘(K) children with disabilities served by

3 local educational agencies that receive payments

4 under title VIII of the Elementary and Sec5 ondary Education Act of 1965;

6 ‘‘(L) children with disabilities who are

7 homeless children or children with disabilities

8 who are wards of the State;

9 ‘‘(4) projects to reduce inappropriate identifica10 tion of children as children with disabilities, particu11 larly among minority children;

12 ‘‘(5) projects that are carried out in particular

13 areas of the country, to ensure broad geographic cov14 erage;

15 ‘‘(6) projects that promote the development and

16 use of universally designed technologies, assistive tech17 nology devices, and assistive technology services to

18 maximize children with disabilities’ access to and

19 participation in the general education curriculum;

20 ‘‘(7) any activity that is authorized in this sub21 part or subpart 3; and

22 ‘‘(8) projects that provide training in edu23 cational advocacy to individuals with responsibility

24 for the needs of wards of the State, including foster

25 parents, grandparents and other relatives acting in
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1 the place of a natural or adoptive parent, attorneys

2 for children in foster care, guardians ad litem, court

3 appointed special advocates, judges, education surro4 gates, and children’s caseworkers.

5 ‘‘(e) APPLICANT AND RECIPIENT RESPONSIBILITIES.—

6 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT ANDASSESSMENT OF

7 PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall require that an ap8 plicant for, and a recipient of, a grant, contract, or

9 cooperative agreement for a project under this sub10 part, subpart 3, or subpart 4—

11 ‘‘(A) involve individuals with disabilities or

12 parents of individuals with disabilities ages

13 birth through 26 in planning, implementing,

14 and evaluating the project; and

15 ‘‘(B) where appropriate, determine whether

16 the project has any potential for replication and

17 adoption by other entities.

18 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Sec19 retary may require a recipient of a grant, contract,

20 or cooperative agreement under this subpart, subpart

21 3, or subpart 4 to—

22 ‘‘(A) share in the cost of the project;

23 ‘‘(B) prepare any findings and products

24 from the project in formats that are useful for

25 specific audiences, including parents, adminis-
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1 trators, teachers, early intervention personnel,

2 related services personnel, and individuals with

3 disabilities;

4 ‘‘(C) disseminate such findings and prod5 ucts; and

6 ‘‘(D) collaborate with other such recipients

7 in carrying out subparagraphs (B) and (C).

8 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION MANAGEMENT.—

9 ‘‘(1) STANDING PANEL.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es11 tablish and use a standing panel of experts who

12 are competent, by virtue of their training, exper13 tise, or experience, to evaluate applications

14 under this subpart (other than applications for

15 assistance under section 665), subpart 3, and

16 subpart 4 that, individually, request more than

17 $75,000 per year in Federal financial assistance.

18 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The standing panel

19 shall include, at a minimum—

20 ‘‘(i) individuals who are representa21 tives of institutions of higher education that

22 plan, develop, and carry out high quality

23 programs of personnel preparation;

24 ‘‘(ii) individuals who design and carry

25 out scientifically based research targeted to
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1 the improvement of special education pro2 grams and services;

3 ‘‘(iii) individuals who have recognized

4 experience and knowledge necessary to inte5 grate and apply scientifically based re6 search findings to improve educational and

7 transitional results for children with dis8 abilities;

9 ‘‘(iv) individuals who administer pro10 grams at the State or local level in which

11 children with disabilities participate;

12 ‘‘(v) individuals who prepare parents

13 of children with disabilities to participate

14 in making decisions about the education of

15 their children;

16 ‘‘(vi) individuals who establish policies

17 that affect the delivery of services to chil18 dren with disabilities;

19 ‘‘(vii) parents of children with disabil20 ities ages birth through 26 who are bene21 fiting, or have benefited, from coordinated

22 research, personnel preparation, and tech23 nical assistance; and

24 ‘‘(viii) individuals with disabilities.
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1 ‘‘(C) TERM.—Unless approved by the Sec2 retary due to extenuating circumstances related

3 to shortages of experts in a particular area of ex4 pertise or for a specific competition, no indi5 vidual shall serve on the standing panel for more

6 than 3 consecutive years.

7 ‘‘(2) PEER REVIEW PANELS FOR PARTICULAR

8 COMPETITIONS.—

9 ‘‘(A) COMPOSITION.—The Secretary shall

10 ensure that each sub panel selected from the

11 standing panel that reviews applications under

12 this subpart (other than section 665), subpart 3,

13 and subpart 4 includes—

14 ‘‘(i) individuals with knowledge and

15 expertise on the issues addressed by the ac16 tivities authorized by the relevant subpart;

17 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 LIMITATION.—

23 A majority of the individuals on each sub panel

24 that reviews an application under this subpart

25 (other than an application under section 665),
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1 subpart 3, and subpart 4 shall be individuals

2 who are not employees of the Federal Govern3 ment.

4 ‘‘(3) USE OF DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FOR ADMIN5 ISTRATIVE PURPOSES.—

6 ‘‘(A) EXPENSES ANDFEES OF NON-FED7 ERAL PANEL MEMBERS.—The Secretary may use

8 funds made available under this subpart, sub9 part 3, and subpart 4 to pay the expenses and

10 fees of the panel members who are not officers or

11 employees of the Federal Government.

12 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Sec13 retary may use not more than 1 percent of the

14 funds made available to carry out this subpart,

15 subpart 3, or subpart 4 to pay non-Federal enti16 ties for administrative support related to man17 agement of applications submitted under this

18 subpart.

19 ‘‘(4) AVAILABILITY OF CERTAIN PRODUCTS.—The

20 Secretary shall ensure that recipients of grants, coop21 erative agreements, or contracts under this subpart,

22 subpart 3, and subpart 4 make available in formats

23 that are accessible to individuals with disabilities any

24 products developed under such grants, cooperative
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1 agreements, or contracts that the recipient is making

2 available to the public.

3 ‘‘(g) PROGRAM EVALUATION.—The Secretary may use

4 funds made available to carry out this subpart, subpart 3,

5 and subpart 4 to evaluate activities carried out under this

6 subpart.

7 ‘‘(h) MINIMUM FUNDING REQUIRED.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the

9 Secretary shall ensure that, for each fiscal year, at

10 least the following amounts are provided under this

11 subpart and subpart 3 to address the following needs:

12 ‘‘(A) $12,832,000 to address the edu13 cational, related services, transitional, and early

14 intervention needs of children with deaf-blind15 ness.

16 ‘‘(B) $4,000,000 to address the postsec17 ondary, vocational, technical, continuing, and

18 adult education needs of individuals with deaf19 ness.

20 ‘‘(C) $4,000,000 to address the educational,

21 related services, and transitional needs of chil22 dren with an emotional disturbance and those

23 who are at risk of developing an emotional dis24 turbance.
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1 ‘‘(2) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the total amount

2 appropriated to carry out this subpart, subpart 3,

3 and part E of the Education Sciences Reform Act of

4 2002 for any fiscal year is less than $130,000,000, the

5 amounts listed in paragraph (1) shall be ratably re6 duced.

7 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—No

8 State or local educational agency, or other public institu9 tion or agency, may receive a grant or enter into a contract

10 or cooperative agreement under this subpart that relates ex11 clusively to programs, projects, and activities pertaining to

12 children aged 3 through 5, inclusive, unless the State is eli13 gible to receive a grant under section 619(b).

14 ‘‘SEC. 662. RESEARCH COORDINATION TO IMPROVE RE15 SULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES.

16 ‘‘The Secretary shall coordinate research carried out

17 under this subpart with research carried out under part

18 E of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002.

19 ‘‘SEC. 663. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, DEMONSTRATION

20 PROJECTS, DISSEMINATION OF INFORMA21 TION, AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SCIENTIF22 ICALLY BASED RESEARCH.

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available

24 under section 675, the Secretary, on a competitive basis,

25 shall award grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative
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1 agreements with, eligible entities to provide technical assist2 ance, carry out model demonstration projects, disseminate

3 useful information, and implement activities that are sup4 ported by scientifically based research.

5 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall sup6 port activities to improve services provided under this Act,

7 including the practices of professionals and others involved

8 in providing such services to children with disabilities, that

9 promote academic achievement and functional performance

10 to improve educational results and functional outcomes for

11 children with disabilities through—

12 ‘‘(1) implementing effective strategies that are

13 conducive to learning and for addressing inappro14 priate behavior of students with disabilities in

15 schools, including strategies to prevent children with

16 emotional and behavioral problems from developing

17 emotional disturbances that require the provision of

18 special education and related services;

19 ‘‘(2) improving the alignment, compatibility,

20 and development of valid and reliable assessment

21 methods, including alternate assessment methods and

22 evaluation methods, for assessing adequately yearly

23 progress as described in section 1111(b)(2) of the Ele24 mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965;
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1 ‘‘(3) providing information to both regular edu2 cation teachers and special education teachers to ad3 dress the different learning styles and disabilities of

4 students;

5 ‘‘(4) disseminating information on innovative,

6 effective, and efficient curricula, materials (including

7 those that are universally designed), instructional ap8 proaches, and strategies that—

9 ‘‘(A) support effective transitions between

10 educational settings or from school to post-school

11 settings;

12 ‘‘(B) support effective inclusion of students

13 with disabilities in general education settings,

14 especially students with low-incidence disabil15 ities; and

16 ‘‘(C) improve educational and transitional

17 results at all levels of the educational system in

18 which the activities are carried out and, in par19 ticular, that improve the progress of children

20 with disabilities, as measured by assessments

21 within the general education curriculum in22 volved; and

23 ‘‘(5) demonstrating and applying scientifically24 based findings to facilitate systematic changes related
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1 to the provision of services to children with disabil2 ities.

3 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that may

4 be carried out under this section include activities to im5 prove services provided under this Act, including the prac6 tices of professionals and others involved in providing such

7 services to children with disabilities, that promote increased

8 academic achievement and enhanced functional outcomes

9 for children with disabilities through—

10 ‘‘(1) supporting and promoting the coordination

11 of early intervention, education, and transitional

12 services for children with disabilities with services

13 provided by health, rehabilitation, and social service

14 agencies;

15 ‘‘(2) promoting improved alignment and com16 patibility of general and special education reforms

17 concerned with curriculum and instructional reform,

18 and evaluating of such reforms;

19 ‘‘(3) enabling professionals, parents of children

20 with disabilities, and other persons, to learn about,

21 and implement, the findings of scientifically based re22 search and effective practices relating to the provision

23 of services to children with disabilities;

24 ‘‘(4) disseminating information relating to suc25 cessful approaches to overcoming systemic barriers to
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1 the effective and efficient delivery of early interven2 tion, educational, and transitional services, to per3 sonnel who provide services to children with disabil4 ities;

5 ‘‘(5) assisting States and local educational agen6 cies with the process of planning systemic changes

7 that will promote improved early intervention, edu8 cational, and transitional results for children with

9 disabilities;

10 ‘‘(6) promoting change through a multi-State or

11 regional framework that benefits States, local edu12 cational agencies, and other participants in partner13 ships that are in the process of achieving systemic

14 change;

15 ‘‘(7) focusing on the needs and issues that are

16 specific to a population of children with disabilities,

17 such as providing single-State and multi-State tech18 nical assistance and in-service training—

19 ‘‘(A) to schools and agencies serving deaf20 blind children and their families;

21 ‘‘(B) to programs and agencies serving other

22 groups of children with low-incidence disabilities

23 and their families;
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1 ‘‘(C) to address the postsecondary education

2 needs of individuals who are deaf or hard-of3 hearing; and

4 ‘‘(D) to schools and personnel providing

5 special education and related services for chil6 dren with autism spectrum disorders;

7 ‘‘(8) demonstrating models of personnel prepara8 tion to ensure appropriate placements and services for

9 all students with disabilities and to reduce

10 disproportionality in eligibility, placement, and dis11 ciplinary actions for minority and limited English

12 proficient children: and

13 ‘‘(9) disseminating information on how to reduce

14 racial and ethnic disproportionalities.

15 ‘‘(d) BALANCE AMONG DISABILITIES AND AGE

16 RANGES.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall

17 ensure that there is an appropriate balance across all age

18 ranges and disabilities.

19 ‘‘(e) LINKING STATES TO INFORMATION SOURCES.—

20 In carrying out this section, the Secretary may support

21 projects that link States to technical assistance resources,

22 including special education and general education re23 sources, and may make research and related products avail24 able through libraries, electronic networks, parent training

25 projects, and other information sources.
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1 ‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity that de3 sires to receive a grant, or to enter into a contract or

4 cooperative agreement, under this section shall submit

5 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such

6 manner, and containing such information as the Sec7 retary may require.

8 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The Secretary may, as appro9 priate, require eligible entities to demonstrate that the

10 projects described in their applications are supported

11 by scientifically based research that has been carried

12 out in conjunction with the standards for the conduct

13 and evaluation of all research and development estab14 lished by the National Center for Education Research

15 under sections 133 and 134 of the Education Sciences

16 Reform Act of 2002.

17 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—As appropriate, the Secretary

18 shall give priority to applications that propose to

19 serve teachers and school personnel directly in the

20 school environment or that strengthen State and local

21 agency capacity to improve instructional practices of

22 personnel to improve educational results for children

23 with disabilities in the school environment.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 664. PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT TO IMPROVE SERV2 ICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DIS3 ABILITIES.

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, on a competitive

5 basis, shall award grants to, or enter into contracts or coop6 erative agreements with, eligible entities for 1 or more of

7 the following:

8 ‘‘(1) To help address the needs identified in the

9 State plan described in section 653(a)(2) for highly

10 qualified personnel, as defined in section 651(b), to

11 work with infants, toddlers, or children with disabil12 ities, consistent with the standards described in sec13 tion 612(a)(14).

14 ‘‘(2) To ensure that those personnel have the nec15 essary skills and knowledge, derived from practices

16 that have been determined, through scientifically

17 based research, to be successful in serving those chil18 dren.

19 ‘‘(3) To encourage increased focus on academics

20 and core content areas in special education personnel

21 preparation programs.

22 ‘‘(4) To ensure that regular education teachers

23 have the necessary skills and knowledge to provide in24 struction to students with disabilities in the regular

25 education classroom.
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1 ‘‘(5) To ensure that all special education teachers

2 are highly qualified.

3 ‘‘(6) To ensure that preservice and in-service

4 personnel preparation programs include training

5 in—

6 ‘‘(A) the use of new technologies;

7 ‘‘(B) the area of early intervention, edu8 cational, and transition services;

9 ‘‘(C) effectively involving parents; and

10 ‘‘(D) positive behavioral supports.

11 ‘‘(7) To provide high-quality professional devel12 opment for principals, superintendents, and other ad13 ministrators, including training in—

14 ‘‘(A) instructional leadership;

15 ‘‘(B) behavioral supports in the school and

16 classroom;

17 ‘‘(C) paperwork reduction;

18 ‘‘(D) promoting improved collaboration be19 tween special education and general education

20 teachers;

21 ‘‘(E) assessment and accountability;

22 ‘‘(F) ensuring effective learning environ23 ments; and

24 ‘‘(G) fostering positive relationships with

25 parents.
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1 ‘‘(b) PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT; AUTHORIZED AC2 TIVITIES.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

4 the Secretary shall support activities to prepare per5 sonnel, including activities for the preparation of per6 sonnel who will serve children with high-incidence

7 and low-incidence disabilities, consistent with the ob8 jectives described in subsection (a).

9 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZEDACTIVITIES.—Activities that

10 may be carried out under this subsection include the

11 following:

12 ‘‘(A) Supporting collaborative personnel

13 preparation activities undertaken by institutions

14 of higher education, local educational agencies,

15 and other local entities—

16 ‘‘(i) to improve and reform their exist17 ing programs, to support effective existing

18 programs, to support the development of

19 new programs, and to prepare teachers,

20 principals, administrators, and related

21 services personnel—

22 ‘‘(I) to meet the diverse needs of

23 children with disabilities for early

24 intervention, educational, and transi25 tional services; and
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1 ‘‘(II) to work collaboratively in

2 regular classroom settings; and

3 ‘‘(ii) to incorporate best practices and

4 scientifically based research about pre5 paring personnel—

6 ‘‘(I) so the personnel will have the

7 knowledge and skills to improve edu8 cational results for children with dis9 abilities; and

10 ‘‘(II) to implement effective teach11 ing strategies and interventions to pre12 vent the misidentification, overidenti13 fication, or underidentification of chil14 dren as having a disability, especially

15 minority and limited English pro16 ficient children.

17 ‘‘(B) Developing, evaluating, and dissemi18 nating innovative models for the recruitment, in19 duction, retention, and assessment of highly

20 qualified teachers to reduce teachers shortages.

21 ‘‘(C) Providing continuous personnel prepa22 ration, training, and professional development

23 designed to provide support and ensure retention

24 of teachers and personnel who teach and provide

25 related services to children with disabilities.
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1 ‘‘(D) Developing and improving programs

2 for paraprofessionals to become special education

3 teachers, related services personnel, and early

4 intervention personnel, including interdiscipli5 nary training to enable the paraprofessionals to

6 improve early intervention, educational, and

7 transitional results for children with disabilities.

8 ‘‘(E) Demonstrating models for the prepara9 tion 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 and to improve results for children

14 with disabilities, particularly within the general

15 education curriculum.

16 ‘‘(F) Promoting effective parental involve17 ment practices to enable the personnel to work

18 with parents and involve parents in the edu19 cation of such parents’ children.

20 ‘‘(G) Promoting the transferability, across

21 State and local jurisdictions, of licensure and

22 certification of teachers, principals, and admin23 istrators working with such children.

24 ‘‘(H) Developing and disseminating models

25 that prepare teachers with strategies, including
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1 positive behavioral interventions, for addressing

2 the conduct of children with disabilities that im3 pedes their learning and that of others in the

4 classroom.

5 ‘‘(I) Developing and improving programs to

6 enhance the ability of early childhood providers,

7 general education teachers, principals, school ad8 ministrators, related services personnel, and

9 school board members to improve results for chil10 dren with disabilities.

11 ‘‘(J) Supporting institutions of higher edu12 cation with minority enrollments of at least 25

13 percent for the purpose of preparing personnel to

14 work with children with disabilities.

15 ‘‘(K) Preparing personnel to work in high

16 need elementary schools and secondary schools,

17 including urban schools, rural schools, and

18 schools operated by an entity described in section

19 7113(d)(1)(A)(ii) of the Elementary and Sec20 ondary Education Act of 1965, and schools that

21 serve high numbers or percentages of limited

22 English proficient children.

23 ‘‘(L) Developing, evaluating, and dissemi24 nating innovative models for the recruitment, in25 duction, retention, and assessment of new, highly
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1 qualified teachers, especially from groups that

2 are underrepresented in the teaching profession,

3 including individuals with disabilities.

4 ‘‘(M) Developing and improving programs

5 to train special education teachers to develop an

6 expertise in autism spectrum disorders.

7 ‘‘(c) LOW INCIDENCE DISABILITIES; AUTHORIZED AC8 TIVITIES.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

10 the Secretary shall support activities, consistent with

11 the objectives described in subsection (a), that benefit

12 children with low incidence disabilities.

13 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZEDACTIVITIES.—Activities that

14 may be carried out under this subsection include ac15 tivities such as the following:

16 ‘‘(A) Preparing persons who—

17 ‘‘(i) have prior training in educational

18 and other related service fields; and

19 ‘‘(ii) are studying to obtain degrees,

20 certificates, or licensure that will enable the

21 persons to assist children with low incidence

22 disabilities to achieve the objectives set out

23 in their individualized education programs

24 described in section 614(d), or to assist in25 fants and toddlers with low incidence dis-
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1 abilities to achieve the outcomes described

2 in their individualized family service plans

3 described in section 636.

4 ‘‘(B) Providing personnel from various dis5 ciplines with interdisciplinary training that will

6 contribute to improvement in early intervention,

7 educational, and transitional results for children

8 with low incidence disabilities.

9 ‘‘(C) Preparing personnel in the innovative

10 uses and application of technology, including

11 universally designed technologies, assistive tech12 nology devices, and assistive technology

13 services—

14 ‘‘(i) to enhance learning by children

15 with low incidence disabilities through early

16 intervention, educational, and transitional

17 services; and

18 ‘‘(ii) to improve communication with

19 parents.

20 ‘‘(D) Preparing personnel who provide serv21 ices to visually impaired or blind children to

22 teach and use Braille in the provision of services

23 to such children.

24 ‘‘(E) Preparing personnel to be qualified

25 educational interpreters, to assist children with
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1 low incidence disabilities, particularly deaf and

2 hard of hearing children in school and school re3 lated activities, and deaf and hard of hearing in4 fants and toddlers and preschool children in

5 early intervention and preschool programs.

6 ‘‘(F) Preparing personnel who provide serv7 ices to children with significant cognitive dis8 abilities and children with multiple disabilities.

9 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the

10 term ‘low incidence disability’ means—

11 ‘‘(A) a visual or hearing impairment, or si12 multaneous visual and hearing impairments;

13 ‘‘(B) a significant cognitive impairment; or

14 ‘‘(C) any impairment for which a small

15 number of personnel with highly specialized

16 skills and knowledge are needed in order for chil17 dren with that impairment to receive early

18 intervention services or a free appropriate public

19 education.

20 ‘‘(4) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—In selecting

21 recipients under this subsection, the Secretary may

22 give preference to eligible entities submitting applica23 tions that include 1 or more of the following:
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1 ‘‘(A) A proposal to prepare personnel in

2 more than 1 low incidence disability, such as

3 deafness and blindness.

4 ‘‘(B) A demonstration of an effective col5 laboration with an eligible entity and a local

6 educational agency that promotes recruitment

7 and subsequent retention of highly qualified per8 sonnel to serve children with disabilities.

9 ‘‘(5) PREPARATION IN USE OF BRAILLE.—The

10 Secretary shall ensure that all recipients of assistance

11 under this subsection who will use that assistance to

12 prepare personnel to provide services to visually im13 paired or blind children that can appropriately be

14 provided in Braille will prepare those individuals to

15 provide those services in Braille.

16 ‘‘(d) LEADERSHIP PREPARATION; AUTHORIZED AC17 TIVITIES.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

19 the Secretary shall support leadership preparation ac20 tivities that are consistent with the objectives de21 scribed in subsection (a).

22 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZEDACTIVITIES.—Activities that

23 may be carried out under this subsection include ac24 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, includ7 ing teacher preparation faculty, administrators,

8 researchers, supervisors, principals, related serv9 ices personnel, and other persons whose work af10 fects early intervention, educational, and transi11 tional services for children with disabilities.

12 ‘‘(e) ENHANCED SUPPORT AND TRAINING FOR BEGIN13 NING SPECIAL EDUCATORS; AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

15 the Secretary shall support personnel preparation ac16 tivities that are consistent with the objectives de17 scribed in subsection (a).

18 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZEDACTIVITIES.—Activities that

19 may be carried out under this subsection include—

20 ‘‘(A) enhancing and restructuring an exist21 ing program or developing a preservice teacher

22 education program, to prepare special education

23 teachers, at colleges or departments of education

24 within the institution of higher education, by in25 corporating an additional 5th year clinical
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1 learning opportunity, field experience, or super2 vised practicum into a program of preparation

3 and coursework for special education teachers; or

4 ‘‘(B) Creating or supporting professional

5 development schools that provide—

6 ‘‘(i) high quality mentoring and induc7 tion opportunities with ongoing support for

8 beginning special education teachers; or

9 ‘‘(ii) inservice professional development

10 to veteran special education teachers

11 through the ongoing exchange of informa12 tion and instructional strategies.

13 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.—Eligible recipi14 ents of assistance under this subsection are

15 partnerships—

16 ‘‘(A) that shall consist of—

17 ‘‘(i) 1 or more institutions of higher

18 education with special education personnel

19 preparation programs; and

20 ‘‘(ii) 1 or more local educational agen21 cies; and

22 ‘‘(iii) in the case of activities assisted

23 under paragraph (2)(B), an elementary

24 school or secondary school; and
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1 ‘‘(B) that may include other entities eligible

2 for assistance under this part, such as a State

3 educational agency.

4 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants or entering

5 into contracts or cooperative agreements under this

6 subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to part7 nerships that include local educational agencies that

8 serve—

9 ‘‘(A) high numbers or percentages of low-in10 come students; or

11 ‘‘(B) schools that have failed to make ade12 quate yearly progress toward enabling children

13 with disabilities to meet academic achievement

14 standards.

15 ‘‘(f) TRAINING TO SUPPORT GENERAL EDUCATORS;

16 AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

18 the Secretary shall support personnel preparation ac19 tivities that are consistent with the objectives de20 scribed in subsection (a).

21 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZEDACTIVITIES.—Activities that

22 may be carried out under this subsection include—

23 ‘‘(A) high quality professional development

24 for general educators that develops the knowledge
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1 and skills, and enhances the ability, of general

2 educators to—

3 ‘‘(i) use classroom-based techniques to

4 identify students who may be eligible for

5 special education services, and deliver in6 struction in a way that meets the individ7 ualized needs of children with disabilities

8 through appropriate supports, accommoda9 tions, and curriculum modifications;

10 ‘‘(ii) use classroom-based techniques,

11 such as scientifically based reading instruc12 tion;

13 ‘‘(iii) work collaboratively with special

14 education teachers and related services per15 sonnel;

16 ‘‘(iv) implement strategies, such as

17 positive behavioral interventions—

18 ‘‘(I) to address the behavior of

19 children with disabilities that impedes

20 the learning of such children and oth21 ers; or

22 ‘‘(II) to prevent children from

23 being misidentified as children with

24 disabilities;
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1 ‘‘(v) prepare children with disabilities

2 to participate in statewide assessments

3 (with or without accommodations) and al4 ternate assessments, as appropriate;

5 ‘‘(vi) develop effective practices for en6 suring that all children with disabilities are

7 a part of all accountability systems under

8 the Elementary and Secondary Education

9 Act of 1965;

10 ‘‘(vii) work with and involve parents of

11 children with disabilities in their child’s

12 education;

13 ‘‘(viii) understand how to effectively

14 construct IEPs, participate in IEP meet15 ings, and implement IEPs; and

16 ‘‘(ix) in the case of principals and su17 perintendents, be instructional leaders and

18 promote improved collaboration between

19 general educators, special education teach20 ers, and related services personnel; and

21 ‘‘(B) release and planning time for the ac22 tivities described in this subsection.

23 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIPS.—Eligible recipi24 ents of assistance under this subsection are

25 partnerships—
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1 ‘‘(A) that consist of—

2 ‘‘(i) 1 or more institutions of higher

3 education with special education personnel

4 preparation programs; and

5 ‘‘(ii) 1 or more local educational agen6 cies; and

7 ‘‘(B) that may include other entities eligible

8 for assistance under this part, such as a State

9 educational agency.

10 ‘‘(g) APPLICATIONS.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any eligible entity that de12 sires to receive a grant, or enter into a contract or

13 cooperative agreement, under this section shall submit

14 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such

15 manner, and containing such information as the Sec16 retary may require.

17 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFIED STATE NEEDS.—

18 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT TO ADDRESS IDENTI19 FIEDNEEDS.—Any application under subsection

20 (b), (c), (d), (e), or (f) shall include information

21 demonstrating to the satisfaction of the Secretary

22 that the activities described in the application

23 will address needs identified by the State or

24 States the applicant proposes to serve, consistent
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1 with the needs identified in the State plan de2 scribed in section 653(a)(2).

3 ‘‘(B) COOPERATION WITH STATE EDU4 CATIONAL AGENCIES.—Any applicant that is not

5 a local educational agency or a State edu6 cational agency shall include in the application

7 information demonstrating to the satisfaction of

8 the Secretary that the applicant and 1 or more

9 State educational agencies or local educational

10 agencies have engaged in a cooperative effort to

11 carry out and monitor the project to be assisted.

12 ‘‘(3) ACCEPTANCE BY STATES OF PERSONNEL

13 PREPARATION REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may

14 require applicants to provide assurances from 1 or

15 more States that such States intend to accept success16 ful completion of the proposed personnel preparation

17 program as meeting State personnel standards for

18 serving children with disabilities or serving infants

19 and toddlers with disabilities.

20 ‘‘(h) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—

21 ‘‘(1) IMPACT OF PROJECT.—In selecting award

22 recipients under this section, the Secretary shall con23 sider the impact of the proposed project described in

24 the application in meeting the need for personnel

25 identified by the States.
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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT FOR APPLICANTS TO MEET

2 STATE AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS.—The Sec3 retary shall make grants and enter into contracts and

4 cooperative agreements under this section only to eli5 gible applicants that meet State and professionally

6 recognized standards for the preparation of special

7 education and related services personnel, if the pur8 pose of the project is to assist personnel in obtaining

9 degrees.

10 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCES.—In selecting recipients

11 under this section, the Secretary may give preference

12 to institutions of higher education that are—

13 ‘‘(A) educating regular education personnel

14 to meet the needs of children with disabilities in

15 integrated settings;

16 ‘‘(B) educating special education personnel

17 to work in collaboration with regular educators

18 in integrated settings; and

19 ‘‘(C) successfully recruiting and preparing

20 individuals with disabilities and individuals

21 from groups that are underrepresented in the

22 profession for which the institution of higher

23 education is preparing individuals.

24 ‘‘(i) SERVICE OBLIGATION.—Each application for

25 funds under subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) shall include
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1 an assurance that the applicant will ensure that individ2 uals who receive assistance under the proposed project will

3 subsequently provide special education and related services

4 to children with disabilities for a period of 1 year for every

5 year for which assistance was received, or repay all or part

6 of the cost of that assistance, in accordance with regulations

7 issued by the Secretary.

8 ‘‘(j) SCHOLARSHIPS.—The Secretary may include

9 funds for scholarships, with necessary stipends and allow10 ances, in awards under subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e).

11 ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

12 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

13 such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years

14 2004 through 2009.

15 ‘‘SEC. 665. STUDIES AND EVALUATIONS.

16 ‘‘(a) STUDIES AND EVALUATIONS.—

17 ‘‘(1) DELEGATION.—The Secretary shall delegate

18 to the Director of the Institute for Education Sciences

19 responsibility to carry out this section, other than

20 subsections (d) and (f).

21 ‘‘(2) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary shall, directly

22 or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agree23 ments awarded on a competitive basis, assess the

24 progress in the implementation of this Act, including

25 the effectiveness of State and local efforts to provide—
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1 ‘‘(A) a free appropriate public education to

2 children with disabilities; and

3 ‘‘(B) early intervention services to infants

4 and toddlers with disabilities, and infants and

5 toddlers who would be at risk of having substan6 tial developmental delays if early intervention

7 services were not provided to them.

8 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL ASSESSMENT.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry

10 out a national assessment of activities carried out

11 with Federal funds under this Act in order—

12 ‘‘(A) to determine the effectiveness of this

13 Act in achieving its purposes;

14 ‘‘(B) to provide timely information to the

15 President, Congress, the States, local educational

16 agencies, and the public on how to implement

17 this Act more effectively; and

18 ‘‘(C) to provide the President and Congress

19 with information that will be useful in devel20 oping legislation to achieve the purposes of this

21 Act more effectively.

22 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall plan,

23 review, and conduct the national assessment under

24 this subsection in consultation with researchers, State
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1 practitioners, local practitioners, parents of children

2 with disabilities, and other appropriate individuals.

3 ‘‘(3) SCOPE OF ASSESSMENT.—The national as4 sessment shall assess the—

5 ‘‘(A) implementation of programs assisted

6 under this Act and the impact of those programs

7 on addressing the developmental, educational,

8 and transitional needs of, and improving the

9 academic achievement and functional outcomes

10 of, children with disabilities to enable the chil11 dren to reach challenging developmental goals

12 and challenging State academic content stand13 ards based on State academic assessments, in14 cluding alternate assessments;

15 ‘‘(B) types of programs and services that

16 have demonstrated the greatest likelihood of help17 ing students reach the challenging State aca18 demic content standards and developmental

19 goals;

20 ‘‘(C) implementation of the personnel prep21 aration and professional development activities

22 assisted under this Act and the impact on in23 struction, student academic achievement, and

24 teacher qualifications to enhance the ability of

25 special education teachers and regular education
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1 teachers to improve results for children with dis2 abilities; and

3 ‘‘(D) effectiveness of schools, local edu4 cational agencies, States, and other recipients of

5 assistance under this Act, in achieving the pur6 poses of this Act in—

7 ‘‘(i) improving the academic achieve8 ment of children with disabilities and their

9 performance on regular statewide assess10 ments, and the performance of children with

11 disabilities on alternate assessments;

12 ‘‘(ii) improving the participation rate

13 of children with disabilities in the general

14 education curriculum;

15 ‘‘(iii) improving the transitions of chil16 dren with disabilities at natural transition

17 points;

18 ‘‘(iv) placing and serving children with

19 disabilities, including minority children, in

20 the least restrictive environment appro21 priate;

22 ‘‘(v) preventing children with disabil23 ities, especially children with emotional dis24 turbances and specific learning disabilities,

25 from dropping out of school;
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1 ‘‘(vi) addressing the reading and lit2 eracy needs of children with disabilities;

3 ‘‘(vii) coordinating services provided

4 under this Act with each other, with other

5 educational and pupil services (including

6 preschool services), and with health and so7 cial services funded from other sources;

8 ‘‘(viii) improving the participation of

9 parents of children with disabilities in the

10 education of their children;

11 ‘‘(ix) resolving disagreements between

12 education personnel and parents through al13 ternative dispute resolution activities in14 cluding mediation; and

15 ‘‘(x) reducing the misidentification of

16 children, especially minority and limited

17 English proficient children.

18 ‘‘(4) INTERIM ANDFINAL REPORTS.—The Sec19 retary shall submit to the President and Congress—

20 ‘‘(A) an interim report that summarizes the

21 preliminary findings of the national assessment

22 not later than 3 years after the date of enact23 ment of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu24 cation Improvement Act of 2004; and
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1 ‘‘(B) a final report of the findings of the as2 sessment not later than 5 years after the date of

3 enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities

4 Education Improvement Act of 2004.

5 ‘‘(c) STUDY ON ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY FOR STU6 DENTS WHO ARE HELDTO ALTERNATIVE ACHIVEMENT

7 STANDARDS.—The Secretary shall carry out a national

8 study or studies to examine—

9 ‘‘(1) the criteria that States use to determine—

10 ‘‘(A) eligibility for alternate assessments;

11 and

12 ‘‘(B) the number and type of children who

13 take those assessments and are held accountable

14 to alternate achievement standards;

15 ‘‘(2) the validity and reliability of alternate as16 sessment instruments and procedures;

17 ‘‘(3) the alignment of alternate assessments and

18 alternative achievement standards to State academic

19 content standards in reading, mathematics, and

20 science; and

21 ‘‘(4) the use and effectiveness of alternate assess22 ments in appropriately measuring student progress

23 and outcomes specific to individualized instructional

24 need.
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1 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall provide

2 an annual report to Congress that—

3 ‘‘(1) summarizes the research conducted under

4 section 662;

5 ‘‘(2) analyzes and summarizes the data reported

6 by the States and the Secretary of the Interior under

7 section 618;

8 ‘‘(3) summarizes the studies and evaluations con9 ducted under this section and the timeline for their

10 completion;

11 ‘‘(4) describes the extent and progress of the na12 tional assessment; and

13 ‘‘(5) describes the findings and determinations

14 resulting from reviews of State implementation of this

15 Act.

16 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out this

17 section, the Secretary may support objective studies, evalua18 tions, and assessments, including studies that—

19 ‘‘(1) analyze measurable impact, outcomes, and

20 results achieved by State educational agencies and

21 local educational agencies through their activities to

22 reform policies, procedures, and practices designed to

23 improve educational and transitional services and re24 sults for children with disabilities;
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1 ‘‘(2) analyze State and local needs for profes2 sional development, parent training, and other appro3 priate activities that can reduce the need for discipli4 nary actions involving children with disabilities;

5 ‘‘(3) assess educational and transitional services

6 and results for children with disabilities from minor7 ity backgrounds, including—

8 ‘‘(A) data on—

9 ‘‘(i) the number of minority children

10 who are referred for special education eval11 uation;

12 ‘‘(ii) the number of minority children

13 who are receiving special education and re14 lated services and their educational or other

15 service placement;

16 ‘‘(iii) the number of minority children

17 who graduated from secondary programs

18 with a regular diploma in the standard

19 number of years; and

20 ‘‘(iv) the number of minority children

21 who drop out of the educational system; and

22 ‘‘(B) the performance of children with dis23 abilities from minority backgrounds on State as24 sessments and other performance indicators es25 tablished for all students;
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1 ‘‘(4) measure educational and transitional serv2 ices and results of children with disabilities served

3 under this Act, including longitudinal studies that—

4 ‘‘(A) examine educational and transitional

5 services and results for children with disabilities

6 who are 3 through 17 years of age and are re7 ceiving special education and related services

8 under this Act, using a national, representative

9 sample of distinct age cohorts and disability cat10 egories; and

11 ‘‘(B) examine educational results, transition

12 services, postsecondary placement, and employ13 ment status of individuals with disabilities, 18

14 through 21 years of age, who are receiving or

15 have received special education and related serv16 ices under this Act; and

17 ‘‘(5) identify and report on the placement of

18 children with disabilities by disability category.

19 ‘‘(f) STUDY.—The Secretary shall study, and report to

20 Congress regarding, the extent to which States adopt poli21 cies described in section 635(b)(1) and on the effects of those

22 policies.

23 ‘‘(g) RESERVATION FOR STUDIES AND EVALUA24 TIONS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2) and notwithstanding any other provision of

this Act, the Secretary may reserve not more than 1 3 ⁄2

4 of 1 percent of the amount appropriated under parts

5 B and C for each fiscal year to carry out this section,

6 of which not more than $3,000,000 shall be available

7 to carry out subsection (c).

8 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The maximum

9 amount the Secretary may reserve under paragraph

10 (1) for any fiscal year is $40,000,000, increased by

11 the cumulative rate of inflation since fiscal year 2003.

12 ‘‘Subpart 3—Supports To Improve Results for

13 Children With Disabilities

14 ‘‘SEC. 670. PURPOSES.

15 ‘‘The purposes of this subpart are to ensure that—

16 ‘‘(1) children with disabilities and their parents

17 receive training and information on their rights, re18 sponsibilities, and protections under this Act, in order

19 to develop the skills necessary to cooperatively and ef20 fectively participate in planning and decision making

21 relating to early intervention, educational, and tran22 sitional services;

23 ‘‘(2) parents, teachers, administrators, early

24 intervention personnel, related services personnel, and

25 transition personnel receive coordinated and acces-
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1 sible technical assistance and information to assist

2 them in improving early intervention, educational,

3 and transitional services and results for children with

4 disabilities and their families; and

5 ‘‘(3) appropriate technology and media are re6 searched, developed, and demonstrated, to improve

7 and implement early intervention, educational, and

8 transitional services and results for children with dis9 abilities and their families.

10 ‘‘SEC. 671. PARENT TRAINING AND INFORMATION CENTERS.

11 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may

12 award grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative

13 agreements with, parent organizations to support parent

14 training and information centers to carry out activities

15 under this section.

16 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Each parent training

17 and information center that receives assistance under this

18 section shall—

19 ‘‘(1) provide training and information that

20 meets the needs of parents of children with disabilities

21 living in the area served by the center, particularly

22 underserved parents and parents of children who may

23 be inappropriately identified, to enable their children

24 with disabilities to—
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1 ‘‘(A) meet developmental and functional

2 goals, and challenging academic achievement

3 goals that have been established for all children;

4 and

5 ‘‘(B) be prepared to lead productive inde6 pendent adult lives, to the maximum extent pos7 sible;

8 ‘‘(2) serve the parents of infants, toddlers, and

9 children with the full range of disabilities described in

10 section 602(3);

11 ‘‘(3) assist parents to—

12 ‘‘(A) better understand the nature of their

13 children’s disabilities and their educational, de14 velopmental, and transitional needs;

15 ‘‘(B) communicate effectively and work col16 laboratively with personnel responsible for pro17 viding special education, early intervention serv18 ices, transition services, and related services;

19 ‘‘(C) participate in decisionmaking proc20 esses and the development of individualized edu21 cation programs under part B and individual22 ized family service plans under part C;

23 ‘‘(D) obtain appropriate information about

24 the range, type, and quality of options, pro25 grams, services, technologies, and research based
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1 practices and interventions, and resources avail2 able to assist children with disabilities and their

3 families in school and at home;

4 ‘‘(E) understand the provisions of this Act

5 for the education of, and the provision of early

6 intervention services to, children with disabil7 ities; and

8 ‘‘(F) participate in school reform activities;

9 ‘‘(4) in States where the State elects to contract

10 with the parent training and information center, con11 tract with State educational agencies to provide, con12 sistent with subparagraphs (B) and (D) of section

13 615(e)(2), individuals who meet with parents to ex14 plain the mediation process to the parents;

15 ‘‘(5) assist parents in resolving disputes in the

16 most expeditious and effective way possible, including

17 encouraging the use, and explaining the benefits, of

18 alternative methods of dispute resolution, such as the

19 mediation process described in section 615(e);

20 ‘‘(6) assist parents and students with disabilities

21 to understand their rights and responsibilities under

22 this Act, including those under section 615(m) on the

23 student’s reaching the age of majority;
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1 ‘‘(7) assist parents to understand the availability

2 of, and how to effectively use, procedural safeguards

3 under this Act;

4 ‘‘(8) assist parents in understanding, preparing

5 for, and participating in, the process described in sec6 tion 615(f)(1)(B);

7 ‘‘(9) establish cooperative partnerships with com8 munity parent resource centers funded under section

9 672;

10 ‘‘(10) network with appropriate clearinghouses,

11 including organizations conducting national dissemi12 nation activities under section 663, and with other

13 national, State, and local organizations and agencies,

14 such as protection and advocacy agencies, that serve

15 parents and families of children with the full range

16 of disabilities described in section 602(3); and

17 ‘‘(11) annually report to the Secretary on—

18 ‘‘(A) the number and demographics of par19 ents to whom the center provided information

20 and training in the most recently concluded fis21 cal year;

22 ‘‘(B) the effectiveness of strategies used to

23 reach and serve parents, including underserved

24 parents of children with disabilities; and
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1 ‘‘(C) the number of parents served who have

2 resolved disputes through alternative methods of

3 dispute resolution.

4 ‘‘(c) OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES.—A parent training and

5 information center that receives assistance under this sec6 tion may provide information to teachers and other profes7 sionals to assist the teachers and professionals in improving

8 results for children with disabilities.

9 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Each applica10 tion for assistance under this section shall identify with

11 specificity the special efforts that the parent organization

12 will undertake—

13 ‘‘(1) to ensure that the needs for training and in14 formation of underserved parents of children with dis15 abilities in the area to be served are effectively met;

16 and

17 ‘‘(2) to work with community based organiza18 tions.

19 ‘‘(e) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall—

21 ‘‘(A) make at least 1 award to a parent or22 ganization in each State for a parent training

23 and information center which is designated as

24 the statewide parent training and information

25 center; or
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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of a large State, make

2 awards to multiple parent training and infor3 mation centers, but only if the centers dem4 onstrate that coordinated services and supports

5 will occur among the multiple centers.

6 ‘‘(2) SELECTION REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary

7 shall select among applications submitted by parent

8 organizations in a State in a manner that ensures the

9 most effective assistance to parents, including parents

10 in urban and rural areas, in the State.

11 ‘‘(f) QUARTERLY REVIEW.—

12 ‘‘(1) MEETINGS.—The board of directors of each

13 parent organization that receives an award under

14 this section shall meet at least once in each calendar

15 quarter to review the activities for which the award

16 was made.

17 ‘‘(2) CONTINUATION AWARD.—When an organi18 zation requests a continuation award under this sec19 tion, the board of directors shall submit to the Sec20 retary a written review of the parent training and

21 information program conducted by the organization

22 during the preceding fiscal year.

23 ‘‘(g) DEFINITION OF PARENT ORGANIZATION.—As

24 used in this section, the term ‘parent organization’ means
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1 a private nonprofit organization (other than an institution

2 of higher education) that—

3 ‘‘(1) has a board of directors—

4 ‘‘(A) the majority of whom are parents of

5 children with disabilities ages birth through 26;

6 ‘‘(B) that includes—

7 ‘‘(i) individuals working in the fields

8 of special education, related services, and

9 early intervention; and

10 ‘‘(ii) individuals with disabilities;

11 ‘‘(C) the parent and professional members of

12 which are broadly representative of the popu13 lation to be served; and

14 ‘‘(2) has as its mission serving families of chil15 dren and youth with disabilities who—

16 ‘‘(A) are ages birth through 26; and

17 ‘‘(B) have the full range of disabilities de18 scribed in section 602(3).

19 ‘‘SEC. 672. COMMUNITY PARENT RESOURCE CENTERS.

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may award grants

21 to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements

22 with, local parent organizations to support parent training

23 and information centers that will help ensure that under24 served parents of children with disabilities, including low

25 income parents, parents of children with limited English
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1 proficiency, and parents with disabilities, have the training

2 and information the parents need to enable the parents to

3 participate effectively in helping their children with

4 disabilities—

5 ‘‘(1) to meet developmental and functional goals,

6 and challenging academic achievement goals that have

7 been established for all children; and

8 ‘‘(2) to be prepared to lead productive inde9 pendent adult lives, to the maximum extent possible.

10 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Each community par11 ent resource center assisted under this section shall—

12 ‘‘(1) provide training and information that

13 meets the training and information needs of parents

14 of children with disabilities proposed to be served by

15 the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement;

16 ‘‘(2) carry out the activities required of parent

17 training and information centers under paragraphs

18 (2) through (9) of section 671(b);

19 ‘‘(3) establish cooperative partnerships with the

20 parent training and information centers funded

21 under section 671; and

22 ‘‘(4) be designed to meet the specific needs of

23 families who experience significant isolation from

24 available sources of information and support.
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1 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term

2 ‘local parent organization’ means a parent organization,

3 as defined in section 671(g), that—

4 ‘‘(1) has a board of directors the majority of

5 whom are parents of children with disabilities ages

6 birth through 26 from the community to be served;

7 and

8 ‘‘(2) has as its mission serving parents of chil9 dren with disabilities who—

10 ‘‘(A) are ages birth through 26; and

11 ‘‘(B) have the full range of disabilities de12 scribed in section 602(3).

13 ‘‘SEC. 673. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PARENT TRAINING

14 AND INFORMATION CENTERS.

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make an

16 award to 1 parent organization (as defined in section

17 671(g)) that receives assistance under section 671 to enable

18 the parent organization to provide technical assistance for

19 developing, assisting, and coordinating parent training and

20 information programs carried out by parent training and

21 information centers receiving assistance under sections 671

22 and 672.

23 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may

24 provide technical assistance to a parent training and infor25 mation center under this section in areas such as—
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1 ‘‘(1) effective national coordination of parent

2 training efforts, which includes encouraging collabo3 rative efforts among award recipients under sections

4 671 and 672;

5 ‘‘(2) dissemination of information, scientifically

6 based research, and research based practices and

7 interventions;

8 ‘‘(3) promotion of the use of technology, includ9 ing universally designed technologies, assistive tech10 nology devices, and assistive technology services;

11 ‘‘(4) reaching underserved populations;

12 ‘‘(5) including children with disabilities in gen13 eral education programs;

14 ‘‘(6) facilitation of transitions from—

15 ‘‘(A) early intervention services to preschool;

16 ‘‘(B) preschool to elementary school;

17 ‘‘(C) elementary school to secondary school;

18 and

19 ‘‘(D) secondary school to postsecondary en20 vironments; and

21 ‘‘(7) promotion of alternative methods of dispute

22 resolution, including mediation.

23 ‘‘(c) REGIONAL PARENT CENTERS.—The recipient of

24 the award described in section 673(a) shall establish no

25 fewer than 4 regional centers from the parent training and
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1 information centers and community parent resource centers

2 receiving assistance under sections 671 and 672 for the pur3 pose of carrying out the authorized activities described in

4 subsection (b). These regional centers shall be selected on

5 the basis of the center’s—

6 ‘‘(1) willingness to be a regional parent center;

7 ‘‘(2) demonstrated expertise in the delivery of re8 quired parent training and information center activi9 ties described in section 671(b);

10 ‘‘(3) demonstrated capacity to deliver the author11 ized activities described in subsection (b);

12 ‘‘(4) history of collaboration with other parent

13 training and information centers, community parent

14 resource centers, regional resource centers, clearing15 houses, and other projects; and

16 ‘‘(5) geographic location.

17 ‘‘(d) COLLABORATION WITH THE RESOURCE CEN18 TERS.—The recipient of the award described in subsection

19 (a), in conjunction with the regional parent centers de20 scribed in subsection (c), shall develop collaborative agree21 ments with the geographically appropriate Regional Re22 source Center to further parent and professional collabora23 tion.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 674. TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION,

2 AND UTILIZATION; AND MEDIA SERVICES.

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, on a competitive

4 basis, shall award grants to, and enter into contracts and

5 cooperative agreements with, eligible entities to support ac6 tivities described in subsections (b) and (c).

7 ‘‘(b) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION,

8 AND USE.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

10 the Secretary shall support activities to promote the

11 development, demonstration, and use of technology.

12 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZEDACTIVITIES.—The following

13 activities may be carried out under this subsection:

14 ‘‘(A) Conducting research on and promoting

15 the demonstration and use of innovative, emerg16 ing, and universally designed technologies for

17 children with disabilities, by improving the

18 transfer of technology from research and develop19 ment to practice.

20 ‘‘(B) Supporting research, development, and

21 dissemination of technology with universal de22 sign features, so that the technology is accessible

23 to the broadest range of individuals with disabil24 ities without further modification or adaptation.

25 ‘‘(C) Demonstrating the use of systems to

26 provide parents and teachers with information
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1 and training concerning early diagnosis of,

2 intervention for, and effective teaching strategies

3 for, young children with reading disabilities.

4 ‘‘(D) Supporting the use of Internet-based

5 communications for students with cognitive dis6 abilities in order to maximize their academic

7 and functional skills.

8 ‘‘(c) EDUCATIONAL MEDIA SERVICES; OPTIONAL AC9 TIVITIES.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

11 the Secretary shall support—

12 ‘‘(A) educational media activities that are

13 designed to be of educational value in the class14 room setting to children with disabilities;

15 ‘‘(B) providing video description, open cap16 tioning, or closed captioning, that is appropriate

17 for use in the classroom setting, of—

18 ‘‘(i) television programs;

19 ‘‘(ii) videos;

20 ‘‘(iii) other materials, including pro21 grams and materials associated with new

22 and emerging technologies, such as CDs,

23 DVDs, video streaming, and other forms of

24 multimedia; or
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1 ‘‘(iv) news (but only until September

2 30, 2006);

3 ‘‘(C) distributing materials described in

4 subparagraphs (A) and (B) through such mecha5 nisms as a loan service; and

6 ‘‘(D) providing free educational materials,

7 including textbooks, in accessible media for vis8 ually impaired and print disabled students in

9 elementary schools and secondary schools.

10 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The video description, open

11 captioning, or closed captioning described in para12 graph (1)(B) shall only be provided when the descrip13 tion or captioning has not been previously provided

14 by the producer or distributor, or has not been fully

15 funded by other sources.

16 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—Any eligible entity that wishes

17 to receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative

18 agreement, under this section shall submit an application

19 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and con20 taining such information as the Secretary may require.

21 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

22 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such

23 sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2004

24 through 2009.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 675. ACCESSIBILITY OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.

2 ‘‘(a) INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ACCESSIBILITY

3 STANDARD.—

4 ‘‘(1) ACCESSIBILITY STANDARD.—Not later than

5 180 days after the date of enactment of the Individ6 uals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of

7 2004, the Secretary shall, by rulemaking, promulgate

8 an Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard

9 which shall constitute the technical standards to be

10 used by publishers for the preparation of electronic

11 files for States under section 612(a)(22).

12 ‘‘(2) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.—For pur13 poses of this section:

14 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZEDENTITY.—Notwith15 standing the provisions of section 106 of title 17,

16 United States Code, it is not an infringement of

17 copyright for an authorized entity to reproduce

18 or to distribute copies of the electronic files de19 scribed in section 612(a)(22)(B), containing the

20 contents of the print instructional materials

21 using the Instructional Materials Accessibility

22 Standard, if such copies are used solely for re23 production or distribution of the contents of such

24 print instructional materials in specialized for25 mats designed exclusively for use by the blind or

26 other persons with print disabilities.
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1 ‘‘(B) PUBLISHER.—Notwithstanding the

2 provisions of section of 106 of title 17, United

3 States Code, it is not an infringement of copy4 right for a publisher to create and distribute cop5 ies of the electronic files described in section

6 612(a)(22)(B), containing the contents of the

7 print instructional materials using the Instruc8 tional Material Accessibility Standard, if such

9 copies are used solely for reproduction or dis10 tribution of the contents of such print instruc11 tional materials in specialized formats designed

12 exclusively for use by the blind or other persons

13 with print disabilities.

14 ‘‘(C) COPIES.—Copies of the electronic files

15 containing the contents of the print instructional

16 materials using the Instructional Materials Ac17 cessibility Standard shall be made in compliance

18 with the provisions of section 121(b) of title 17,

19 United States Code, regarding the reproduction

20 and distribution of copyrighted print instruc21 tional materials in specialized formats.

22 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

23 ‘‘(A) INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ACCESSI24 BILITY STANDARD.—The term ‘Instructional Ma25 terials Accessibility Standard’ means the tech-
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1 nical standards described in paragraph (2), to be

2 used in the preparation of electronic files suit3 able and used solely for efficient conversion into

4 specialized formats.

5 ‘‘(B) BLINDOR OTHER PERSONS WITH

6 PRINT DISABILITIES.—The term ‘blind or other

7 persons with print disabilities’ means children

8 served under this Act and who may qualify in

9 accordance with the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to pro10 vide books for the adult blind’’, approved March

11 3, 1931 (2 U.S.C. 135a; 46 Stat. 1487) to receive

12 books and other publications produced in special13 ized formats.

14 ‘‘(C) SPECIALIZEDFORMATS.—The term

15 ‘specialized formats’ has the meaning given the

16 term in section 121(c)(3) of title 17, United

17 States Code, and for the purposes of this section,

18 includes synthesized speech, digital audio, and

19 large print.

20 ‘‘(D) PRINT INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.—

21 The term ‘print instructional materials’ means

22 printed textbooks and related printed core mate23 rials that are written and published primarily

24 for use in elementary school and secondary

25 school instruction and are required by a State
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1 educational agency or local educational agency

2 for use by pupils in the classroom.

3 ‘‘(E) AUTHORIZEDENTITY.—The term ‘au4 thorized entity’ has the meaning given the term

5 in section 121(c)(1) of title 17, United States

6 Code.

7 ‘‘(4) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall apply to

8 print instructional materials published and copy9 righted after the date on which the final rule estab10 lishing the Instructional Materials Accessibility

11 Standard is published in the Federal Register.

12 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ACCESS

13 CENTER.—

14 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 2 years

15 after the date of enactment of the Individuals with

16 Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, the

17 Secretary shall establish a center, to be known as the

18 National Instructional Materials Access Center, which

19 shall coordinate the acquisition and distribution of

20 print instructional materials prepared in the Instruc21 tional Materials Accessibility Standard described in

22 subsection (a)(2).

23 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The duties of the Na24 tional Instructional Materials Access Center are the

25 following:
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1 ‘‘(A) To receive and maintain a catalog of

2 print instructional materials made available

3 under section 612(a)(22) and section 613(a)(6).

4 ‘‘(B) To provide authorized entities with ac5 cess to such print instructional materials, free of

6 charge, in accordance with such terms and proce7 dures as the National Instructional Materials

8 Access Center may prescribe.

9 ‘‘(C) To develop, adopt, and publish proce10 dures to protect against copyright infringement

11 and otherwise to administratively assure compli12 ance with title 17, United States Code, with re13 spect to the print instructional materials pro14 vided under section 612(a)(22) and section

15 613(a)(6).

16 ‘‘(3) CONTRACT AUTHORIZED.—To assist in car17 rying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall award,

18 on a competitive basis, a contract renewable on a bi19 ennial basis with a nonprofit organization, or with a

20 consortium of such organizations, determined by the

21 Secretary to be best qualified to carry out the respon22 sibilities described in paragraph (2). The contractor

23 shall report directly to the Assistant Secretary for

24 Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
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1 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

3 this subsection such sums as may be necessary.

4 ‘‘SEC. 676. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

5 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

6 sections 671, 672, 673, and 663 such sums as may be nec7 essary for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2009.

8 ‘‘Subpart 4—Interim Alternative Educational Set9 tings, Behavioral Supports, and Whole School

10 Interventions

11 ‘‘SEC. 681. PURPOSE.

12 ‘‘The purpose of this subpart is to authorize resources

13 to foster a safe learning environment that supports aca14 demic achievement for all students by improving the quality

15 of interim alternative educational settings, providing more

16 behavioral supports in schools, and supporting whole school

17 interventions.

18 ‘‘SEC. 682. DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.

19 ‘‘In this subpart, the term ‘eligible entity’ means—

20 ‘‘(1) a local educational agency; or

21 ‘‘(2) a consortium consisting of a local edu22 cational agency and 1 or more of the following enti23 ties:

24 ‘‘(A) another local educational agency;
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1 ‘‘(B) a community-based organization with

2 a demonstrated record of effectiveness in helping

3 children with disabilities who have behavioral

4 challenges succeed;

5 ‘‘(C) an institution of higher education;

6 ‘‘(D) a mental health provider; or

7 ‘‘(E) an educational service agency.

8 ‘‘SEC. 683. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

9 ‘‘The Secretary is authorized to award grants, on a

10 competitive basis, to eligible entities to enable the eligible

11 entities—

12 ‘‘(1) to establish or expand behavioral supports

13 and whole school behavioral interventions by pro14 viding for effective, research-based practices,

15 including—

16 ‘‘(A) comprehensive, early screening efforts

17 for students at risk for emotional and behavioral

18 difficulties;

19 ‘‘(B) training for school staff on early iden20 tification, prereferral, and referral procedures;

21 ‘‘(C) training for administrators, teachers,

22 related services personnel, behavioral specialists,

23 and other school staff in whole school positive be24 havioral interventions and supports, behavioral
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1 intervention planning, and classroom and stu2 dent management techniques;

3 ‘‘(D) joint training for administrators, par4 ents, teachers, related services personnel, behav5 ioral specialists, and other school staff on effec6 tive strategies for positive behavioral interven7 tions and behavior management strategies that

8 focus on the prevention of behavior problems;

9 ‘‘(E) developing or implementing specific

10 curricula, programs, or interventions aimed at

11 addressing behavioral problems;

12 ‘‘(F) stronger linkages between school-based

13 services and community-based resources, such as

14 community mental health and primary care pro15 viders; or

16 ‘‘(G) using behavioral specialists, related

17 services personnel, and other staff necessary to

18 implement behavioral supports; or

19 ‘‘(2) to improve interim alternative educational

20 settings by—

21 ‘‘(A) improving the training of administra22 tors, teachers, related services personnel, behav23 ioral specialists, and other school staff (including

24 ongoing mentoring of new teachers);
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1 ‘‘(B) attracting and retaining a high qual2 ity, diverse staff;

3 ‘‘(C) providing for on-site counseling serv4 ices;

5 ‘‘(D) using research-based interventions,

6 curriculum, and practices;

7 ‘‘(E) allowing students to use instructional

8 technology that provides individualized instruc9 tion;

10 ‘‘(F) ensuring that the services are fully

11 consistent with the goals of the individual stu12 dent’s IEP;

13 ‘‘(G) promoting effective case management

14 and collaboration among parents, teachers, phy15 sicians, related services personnel, behavioral

16 specialists, principals, administrators, and other

17 school staff;

18 ‘‘(H) promoting interagency coordination

19 and coordinated service delivery among schools,

20 juvenile courts, child welfare agencies, commu21 nity mental health providers, primary care pro22 viders, public recreation agencies, and commu23 nity-based organizations; or

24 ‘‘(I) providing for behavioral specialists to

25 help students transitioning from interim alter-
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1 native educational settings reintegrate into their

2 regular classrooms.

3 ‘‘SEC. 684. PROGRAM EVALUATIONS.

4 ‘‘(a) REPORT AND EVALUATION.—Each eligible entity

5 receiving a grant under this subpart shall prepare and sub6 mit annually to the Secretary a report on the outcomes of

7 the activities assisted under the grant.

8 ‘‘(b) BEST PRACTICES ON WEBSITE.—The Secretary

9 shall make available on the Department’s website informa10 tion for parents, teachers, and school administrators on best

11 practices for interim alternative educational settings, be12 havior supports, and whole school intervention.

13 ‘‘SEC. 685. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

14 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

15 this subpart $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2004 and such sums

16 as may be necessary for each of the 5 succeeding fiscal

17 years.’’.

18 TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO THE

19 REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973

20 SEC. 201. FINDINGS.

21 Section 2(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29

22 U.S.C. 701(a)) is amended—

23 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

24 end;
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1 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period and

2 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

3 (3) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(7) there is a substantial need to improve and

5 expand services for students with disabilities under

6 this Act.’’.

7 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

8 Section 7 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.

9 705) is amended—

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (35) through

11 (39) as paragraphs (36), (37), (38), (40), and (41),

12 respectively;

13 (2) in subparagraph (A)(ii) of paragraph (36)

14 (as redesignated in paragraph (1)), by striking

15 ‘‘paragraph (36)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph

16 (37)(C)’’;

17 (3) by inserting after paragraph (34) the fol18 lowing:

19 ‘‘(35)(A) The term ‘student with a disability’

20 means an individual with a disability who—

21 ‘‘(i) is not younger than 14 and not older

22 than 21;

23 ‘‘(ii) has been determined to be eligible

24 under section 102(a) for assistance under this

25 title; and
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1 ‘‘(iii)(I) is eligible for, and is receiving, spe2 cial education under part B of the Individuals

3 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1411

4 et seq.); or

5 ‘‘(II) is an individual with a disability, for

6 purposes of section 504.

7 ‘‘(B) The term ‘students with disabilities’ means

8 more than 1 student with a disability.’’; and

9 (4) by inserting after paragraph (38) the fol10 lowing:

11 ‘‘(39) The term ‘transition services expansion

12 year’ means—

13 ‘‘(A) the first fiscal year for which the

14 amount appropriated under section 100(b) ex15 ceeds the amount appropriated under section

16 100(b) for fiscal year 2004 by not less than

17 $100,000,000; and

18 ‘‘(B) each fiscal year subsequent to that first

19 fiscal year.’’.

20 SEC. 203. STATE PLAN.

21 (a) ASSESSMENT AND STRATEGIES.—Section

22 101(a)(15) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.

23 721(a)(15)) is amended—

24 (1) in subparagraph (A)(i)—
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1 (A) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘and’’ at

2 the end;

3 (B) in subclause (III), by adding ‘‘and’’ at

4 the end; and

5 (C) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(IV) in a transition services ex7 pansion year, students with disabil8 ities, including their need for transi9 tion services;’’; and

10 (2) in subparagraph (D)—

11 (A) by redesignating clauses (iii), (iv), and

12 (v) as clauses (iv), (v), and (vi), respectively;

13 and

14 (B) by inserting after clause (ii) the fol15 lowing:

16 ‘‘(iii) in a transition services expan17 sion year, the methods to be used to improve

18 and expand vocational rehabilitation serv19 ices for students with disabilities, including

20 the coordination of services designed to fa21 cilitate the transition of such students from

22 the receipt of educational services in school

23 to the receipt of vocational rehabilitation

24 services under this title or to postsecondary

25 education or employment;’’.
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1 (b) SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES.—

2 Section 101(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C.

3 721(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(25) SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABIL5 ITIES.—The State plan for a transition services ex6 pansion year shall provide an assurance satisfactory

7 to the Secretary that the State—

8 ‘‘(A) has developed and implemented strate9 gies to address the needs identified in the assess10 ment described in paragraph (15), and achieve

11 the goals and priorities identified by the State,

12 to improve and expand vocational rehabilitation

13 services for students with disabilities on a state14 wide basis in accordance with paragraph (15);

15 and

16 ‘‘(B) from funds reserved under section

17 110A, shall carry out programs or activities de18 signed to improve and expand vocational reha19 bilitation services for students with disabilities

20 that—

21 ‘‘(i) facilitate the transition of the stu22 dents with disabilities from the receipt of

23 educational services in school, to the receipt

24 of vocational rehabilitation services under

25 this title, including, at a minimum, those
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1 services specified in the interagency agree2 ment required in paragraph (11)(D);

3 ‘‘(ii) improve the achievement of post4 school goals of students with disabilities, in5 cluding improving the achievement through

6 participation (as appropriate when voca7 tional goals are discussed) in meetings re8 garding individualized education programs

9 developed under section 614 of the Individ10 uals with Disabilities Education Act (20

11 U.S.C. 1414);

12 ‘‘(iii) provide vocational guidance, ca13 reer exploration services, and job search

14 skills and strategies and technical assistance

15 to students with disabilities;

16 ‘‘(iv) support the provision of training

17 and technical assistance to State and local

18 educational agency and designated State

19 agency personnel responsible for the plan20 ning and provision of services to students

21 with disabilities; and

22 ‘‘(v) support outreach activities to stu23 dents with disabilities who are eligible for,

24 and need, services under this title.’’.
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1 SEC. 204. SCOPE OF SERVICES.

2 Section 103 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29

3 U.S.C. 723) is amended—

4 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (15)

5 and inserting the following:

6 ‘‘(15) transition services for students with dis7 abilities, that facilitate the achievement of the em8 ployment outcome identified in the individualized

9 plan for employment, including, in a transition serv10 ices expansion year, services described in clauses (i)

11 through (iii) of section 101(a)(25)(B);’’; and

12 (2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (6)

13 and inserting the following:

14 ‘‘(6)(A)(i) Consultation and technical assistance

15 services to assist State and local educational agencies

16 in planning for the transition of students with dis17 abilities from school to post-school activities, includ18 ing employment.

19 ‘‘(ii) In a transition services expansion year,

20 training and technical assistance described in section

21 101(a)(25)(B)(iv).

22 ‘‘(B) In a transition services expansion year,

23 services for groups of individuals with disabilities

24 who meet the requirements of clauses (i) and (iii) of

25 section 7(35)(A), including services described in

26 clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and (v) of section
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1 101(a)(25)(B), to assist in the transition from school

2 to post-school activities.’’.

3 SEC. 205. STANDARDS AND INDICATORS.

4 Section 106(a) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29

5 U.S.C. 726(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (1)(C)

6 and all that follows through paragraph (2) and inserting

7 the following:

8 ‘‘(2) MEASURES.—The standards and indicators

9 shall include outcome and related measures of pro10 gram performance that—

11 ‘‘(A) facilitate the accomplishment of the

12 purpose and policy of this title;

13 ‘‘(B) to the maximum extent practicable,

14 are consistent with the core indicators of per15 formance, and corresponding State adjusted lev16 els of performance, established under section

17 136(b) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998

18 (29 U.S.C. 2871(b)); and

19 ‘‘(C) include measures of the program’s per20 formance with respect to the transition to post21 school vocational activities, and achievement of

22 the post-school vocational goals, of students with

23 disabilities served under the program.’’.
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1 SEC. 206. RESERVATION FOR EXPANDED TRANSITION SERV2 ICES.

3 The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is amended by insert4 ing after section 110 (29 U.S.C. 730) the following:

5 ‘‘SEC. 110A. RESERVATION FOR EXPANDED TRANSITION

6 SERVICES.

7 ‘‘(a) RESERVATION.—From the State allotment under

8 section 110 in a transition services expansion year, each

9 State shall reserve an amount calculated by the Commis10 sioner under subsection (b) to carry out programs and ac11 tivities under sections 101(a)(25)(B) and 103(b)(6).

12 ‘‘(b) CALCULATION.—The Commissioner shall calculate

13 the amount to be reserved for such programs and activities

14 for a fiscal year by each State by multiplying $50,000,000

15 by the percentage determined by dividing—

16 ‘‘(1) the amount allotted to that State under sec17 tion 110 for the prior fiscal year; by

18 ‘‘(2) the total amount allotted to all States under

19 section 110 for that prior fiscal year.’’.

20 SEC. 207. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.

21 Section 1(b) of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is

22 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 110

23 the following:

‘‘Sec. 110A. Reservation for expanded transition services.’’.
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1 TITLE III—NATIONAL CENTER

2 FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RE3 SEARCH

4 SEC. 301. NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RE5 SEARCH.

6 (a) AMENDMENT.—The Education Sciences Reform

7 Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.) is amended—

8 (1) by redesignating part E as part F; and

9 (2) by inserting after part D the following:

10 ‘‘PART E—NATIONAL CENTER FOR SPECIAL

11 EDUCATION RESEARCH

12 ‘‘SEC. 175. ESTABLISHMENT.

13 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the In14 stitute a National Center for Special Education Research.

15 ‘‘(b) MISSION.—The mission of the National Center for

16 Special Education Research (in this part referred to as the

17 ‘Special Education Research Center’) is—

18 ‘‘(1) to sponsor research to expand knowledge

19 and understanding of the needs of infants, toddlers,

20 and children with disabilities in order to improve the

21 developmental, educational, and transitional results

22 of such individuals;

23 ‘‘(2) to sponsor research to improve services pro24 vided under, and support the implementation of, the

25 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; and
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1 ‘‘(3) to evaluate the implementation and effec2 tiveness of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu3 cation Act in coordination with the National Center

4 for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.

5 ‘‘(c) APPLICABILITY OF EDUCATION SCIENCES RE6 FORM ACT OF 2002.—Parts A and F, and the standards

7 for peer review of applications and for the conduct and eval8 uation of research under sections 133(a) and 134, respec9 tively, shall apply to the Secretary, the Director, and the

10 Commissioner in carrying out this part.

11 ‘‘SEC. 176. COMMISSIONER FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION RE12 SEARCH.

13 ‘‘The Special Education Research Center shall be head14 ed by a Commissioner for Special Education Research (in

15 this part referred to as ‘the Special Education Research

16 Commissioner’) who shall have substantial knowledge of the

17 Special Education Research Center’s activities, including

18 a high level of expertise in the fields of research, research

19 management, and the education of children with disabil20 ities.

21 ‘‘SEC. 177. DUTIES.

22 ‘‘(a) GENERAL DUTIES.—The Special Education Re23 search Center shall carry out research activities under this

24 part consistent with the mission described in section 175(b),

25 such as activities that—
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1 ‘‘(1) improve services provided under the Indi2 viduals with Disabilities Education Act in order to

3 improve—

4 ‘‘(A) academic achievement, functional out5 comes, and educational results for children with

6 disabilities; and

7 ‘‘(B) developmental outcomes for infants

8 and toddlers;

9 ‘‘(2) identify scientifically based educational

10 practices that support learning and improve aca11 demic achievement, functional outcomes, and edu12 cational results for all students with disabilities;

13 ‘‘(3) examine the special needs of preschool aged

14 children, infants, and toddlers with disabilities, in15 cluding factors that may result in developmental

16 delays;

17 ‘‘(4) identify scientifically based related services

18 and interventions that promote participation and

19 progress in the general education curriculum and

20 general education settings;

21 ‘‘(5) improve the alignment, compatibility, and

22 development of valid and reliable assessments, includ23 ing alternate assessments, as required by section

24 1111(b) of the Elementary and Secondary Education

25 Act of 1965;
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1 ‘‘(6) examine State content standards and alter2 nate assessments for students with significant cog3 nitive impairment in terms of academic achievement,

4 individualized instructional need, appropriate edu5 cation settings, and improved post-school results;

6 ‘‘(7) examine the educational, developmental,

7 and transitional needs of children with high incidence

8 and low incidence disabilities;

9 ‘‘(8) examine the extent to which overidentifica10 tion and underidentification of children with disabil11 ities occurs, and the causes thereof;

12 ‘‘(9) improve reading and literacy skills of chil13 dren with disabilities;

14 ‘‘(10) examine and improve secondary and post15 secondary education and transitional outcomes and

16 results for children with disabilities;

17 ‘‘(11) examine methods of early intervention for

18 children with disabilities, including children with

19 multiple or complex developmental delays;

20 ‘‘(12) examine and incorporate universal design

21 concepts in the development of standards, assessments,

22 curricula, and instructional methods as a method to

23 improve educational and transitional results for chil24 dren with disabilities;
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1 ‘‘(13) improve the preparation of personnel, in2 cluding early intervention personnel, who provide

3 educational and related services to children with dis4 abilities to increase the academic achievement and

5 functional performance of students with disabilities;

6 ‘‘(14) examine the excess costs of educating a

7 child with a disability and expenses associated with

8 high cost special education and related services;

9 ‘‘(15) help parents improve educational results

10 for their children, particularly related to transition

11 issues; and

12 ‘‘(16) address the unique needs of children with

13 significant cognitive disabilities.

14 ‘‘(b) STANDARDS.—The Commissioner of Special Edu15 cation Research shall ensure that activities assisted under

16 this section—

17 ‘‘(1) conform to high standards of quality, integ18 rity, accuracy, validity, and reliability;

19 ‘‘(2) are carried out in conjunction with the

20 standards for the conduct and evaluation of all re21 search and development established by the National

22 Center for Education Research; and

23 ‘‘(3) are objective, secular, neutral, and nonideo24 logical, and are free of partisan political influence,
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1 and racial, cultural, gender, regional, or disability

2 bias.

3 ‘‘(c) PLAN.—The Commissioner of Special Education

4 Research shall propose to the Director a research plan, de5 veloped in collaboration with the Assistant Secretary for

6 Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, that—

7 ‘‘(1) is consistent with the priorities and mission

8 of the Institute and the mission of the Special Edu9 cation Research Center;

10 ‘‘(2) is carried out, updated, and modified, as

11 appropriate;

12 ‘‘(3) is consistent with the purpose of the Indi13 viduals with Disabilities Education Act;

14 ‘‘(4) contains an appropriate balance across all

15 age ranges and types of children with disabilities;

16 ‘‘(5) provides for research that is objective and

17 uses measurable indicators to assess its progress and

18 results;

19 ‘‘(6) is coordinated with the comprehensive plan

20 developed under section 661 of the Individuals with

21 Disabilities Education Act; and

22 ‘‘(7) provides that the research conducted under

23 part D of the Individuals with Disabilities Education

24 Act is relevant to special education practice and pol25 icy.
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1 ‘‘(d) GRANTS, CONTRACTS, AND COOPERATIVE AGREE2 MENTS.—In carrying out the duties under this section, the

3 Director may award grants to, or enter into contracts or

4 cooperative agreements with, eligible entities.

5 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity that wishes to

6 receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative

7 agreement, under this part shall submit an application to

8 the Director at such time, in such manner, and containing

9 such information as the Director may require.

10 ‘‘(f) DISSEMINATION.—The Special Education Re11 search Center shall—

12 ‘‘(1) synthesize and disseminate, through the Na13 tional Center for Education Evaluation and Regional

14 Assistance, the findings and results of special edu15 cation research conducted or supported by the Special

16 Education Research Center; and

17 ‘‘(2) assist the Director in the preparation of a

18 biennial report, as described in section 119.

19 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

20 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this part

21 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2004

22 through 2009.’’.

23 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
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1 (1) EDUCATION SCIENCES REFORM ACT OF

2 2002.—The Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002

3 (20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.) is amended—

4 (A) in section 111(b)(1)(A) (20 U.S.C.

5 9511(b)(1)(A)), by inserting ‘‘and special edu6 cation’’ after ‘‘early childhood education’’.

7 (B) in section 111(c)(3) (20 U.S.C.

8 9511(c)(3))—

9 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking

10 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon;

11 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking

12 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

13 (iii) by adding at the end the fol14 lowing:

15 ‘‘(D) the National Center for Special Edu16 cation Research (as described in part E).’’;

17 (C) in section 115(a) (20 U.S.C. 9515(a)),

18 by striking ‘‘including those’’ and all that follows

19 through ‘‘such as’’ and inserting ‘‘including those

20 associated with the goals and requirements of the

21 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

22 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.), the Individuals

23 with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400

24 et seq.), and the Higher Education Act of 1965

25 (20 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), such as’’; and
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1 (D) in section 116(c)(4)(A)(ii) (20 U.S.C.

2 9516(c)(4)(A)(ii) is amended by inserting ‘‘spe3 cial education experts,’’ after ‘‘early childhood

4 experts,’’.

5 (2) ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

6 ACT OF 1965.—Section 1117(a)(3) of the Elementary

7 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

8 6317(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘part E’’ and in9 serting ‘‘part D’’.

10 (c) TRANSITION PROVISIONS.—

11 (1) ORDERLY TRANSITION.—Notwithstanding

12 any other provision of law, the Secretary of Edu13 cation shall take such steps as are necessary to pro14 vide for the orderly transition to, and implementation

15 of, part E of the Education Science Reform Act of

16 2002, as enacted by subsection (a), from research ac17 tivities carried out under section 672 of the Individ18 uals with Disabilities Education Act (as such section

19 was in effect on the day before the date of enactment

20 of this Act).

21 (2) CONTINUATION OF AWARDS.—The Secretary

22 of Education shall continue research awards made

23 under section 672 of the Individuals with Disabilities

24 Education Act (as such section was in effect on the

25 day before the date of enactment of this Act) that are
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1 in effect on the day before the date of enactment of

2 this Act in accordance with the terms of those awards.

3 (d) EFFECTIVE DATES.—Notwithstanding any other

4 provision of law—

5 (1) the amendments made by subsections (a) and

6 (b) of this section shall take effect on October 1, 2004;

7 and

8 (2) section 672 of the Individuals with Disabil9 ities Education Act (as such section was in effect on

10 the day before the date of enactment of this Act) shall

11 remain in effect through September 30, 2004.

12 SEC. 302. NATIONAL BOARD FOR EDUCATION SCIENCES.

13 Section 116(c)(9) of the Education Sciences Reform

14 Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9516(c)(9)) is amended by striking

15 the third sentence and inserting the following: ‘‘Meetings

16 of the Board are subject to section 552b of title 5, United

17 States Code (commonly referred to as the Government in

18 the Sunshine Act).’’.

19 SEC. 303. REGIONAL ADVISORY COMMITTEES.

20 Section 206(d)(3) of the Education Sciences Reform

21 Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9605(d)(3)) is amended by striking

22 ‘‘Academy’’ and inserting ‘‘Institute’’.
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1 TITLE IV—COMMISSION ON UNI2 VERSAL DESIGN AND THE AC3 CESSIBILITY OF CURRICULUM

4 AND INSTRUCTIONAL MATE5 RIALS

6 SEC. 401. COMMISSION ON UNIVERSAL DESIGN AND THE

7 ACCESSIBILITY OF CURRICULUM AND IN8 STRUCTIONAL MATERIALS.

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—

10 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a

11 Commission (hereafter in this section referred to as

12 the ‘‘Commission’’) to study, evaluate, and make ap13 propriate recommendations to the Congress and to the

14 Secretary on universal design and accessibility of cur15 riculum and instructional materials for use by all

16 children, with a particular focus on children with dis17 abilities, in elementary schools and secondary schools.

18 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Commission

19 is—

20 (A) to survey the issues related to improv21 ing access to curriculum and instructional mate22 rials for children with disabilities, with and

23 without assistive technologies;

24 (B) to study the benefits, current or poten25 tial costs, and challenges of developing and im-
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1 plementing a standard definition of the term

2 universal design as a means to achieve accessi3 bility of curriculum and instructional materials,

4 and as the Commission determines necessary, to

5 recommend a definition for the term universal

6 design, or other terms, taking into consideration

7 educational objectives, investment of resources,

8 state of technology, and effect on development of

9 curriculum and instructional materials;

10 (C) to examine issues related to the need for

11 and current availability and accessibility of cur12 riculum and instructional materials for use in

13 elementary schools and secondary schools by chil14 dren with disabilities, gaps in or conflicts among

15 relevant technical standards, educational qual16 ity, availability of instructional materials, tech17 nical standards, intellectual property rights, and

18 the economic and technical feasibility of imple19 menting any recommended definitions; and

20 (D) to provide the Congress and the Sec21 retary, not later than 24 months after the date

22 of enactment of this Act, the report described in

23 subsection (d).

24 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—
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1 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be

2 composed of 21 members, of which—

3 (A) 3 members shall be appointed by the

4 Majority Leader of the Senate;

5 (B) 2 members shall be appointed by the

6 Minority Leader of the Senate;

7 (C) 3 members shall be appointed by the

8 Speaker of the House of Representatives;

9 (D) 2 members shall be appointed by the

10 Minority Leader of the House;

11 (E) 8 members shall be appointed by the

12 Secretary including representatives of States,

13 local educational agencies, publishers of instruc14 tional material, individuals with disabilities,

15 technical standard setting bodies, and authorized

16 entities as defined in section 121(c)(1) of title

17 17, United States Code; and

18 (F) 3 members shall be appointed by the

19 Registrar of Copyrights.

20 (2) EXPERTISE OF COMMISSIONERS.—All mem21 bers of the Commission shall be individuals who have

22 been appointed on the basis of technical qualifica23 tions, professional expertise, and demonstrated knowl24 edge and shall include at least 4 representatives of

25 each of the following:
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1 (A) publishers of instructional materials,

2 including of textbooks, software, and other print,

3 electronic, or digital curricular materials;

4 (B) elementary and secondary education,

5 including teachers, special educators, and State

6 and local education officials or administrators;

7 (C) researchers in the fields of disabilities,

8 technology, and accessible media;

9 (D) experts in intellectual property rights;

10 and

11 (E) advocates of children with disabilities,

12 including parents of blind, visually impaired,

13 deaf, hearing impaired, physically challenged,

14 cognitively impaired, or learning disabled, or

15 representatives of organizations that advocate for

16 such children.

17 (3) DATE.—The appointment of the members of

18 the Commission shall be made not later than 60 days

19 after the date of enactment of this Act.

20 (4) PERIODOF APPOINTMENT ANDVACANCIES.—

21 Members shall be appointed for the life of the Com22 mission. Any vacancy in the Commission shall not af23 fect its powers, but shall be filled in the same manner

24 as the original appointment.
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1 (5) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 45 days

2 after the date on which all members of the Commis3 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold

4 the Commission’s first meeting.

5 (6) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at

6 the call of the Chairperson.

7 (7) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the

8 Commission shall constitute a quorum, but a lesser

9 number of members may hold hearings.

10 (8) CHAIRPERSON ANDVICE CHAIRPERSON.—The

11 Commission shall select a chairperson and vice chair12 person from among the members of the Commission.

13 (c) DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION.—The Commission

14 shall study and make recommendations to Congress and the

15 Secretary regarding—

16 (1) the purposes of the Commission described in

17 subsection (a)(2);

18 (2) priority topics for additional research;

19 (3) the availability and accessibility of curricula

20 and instructional materials, including print, soft21 ware, CD–ROM, video, and Internet, for use in ele22 mentary schools and secondary schools by children

23 with disabilities, including—

24 (A) the numbers of affected children with

25 disabilities, by grade, age, and type of disability;
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1 (B) the technical and other means by which

2 such materials are made accessible, such as as3 sistive technologies, electronic versions, large

4 print, closed captioning, video description, and

5 Braille, and any conflicts between relevant tech6 nical standards by which instructional materials

7 are made accessible;

8 (C) the steps taken by State and local edu9 cational agencies to support accessibility, includ10 ing through State adoption and procurement

11 policies, the acquisition and integration of as12 sistive technology, and any State and local re13 quirements or standards;

14 (D) timeliness of receipt of such materials

15 by children with disabilities; and

16 (E) continued barriers to access to such ma17 terials; and

18 (4) the potential and likely effects of providing

19 accessible or universally designed materials for all

20 students in elementary schools and secondary schools,

21 with a particular focus on children with disabilities,

22 including—

23 (A) an analysis of the current and potential

24 costs to develop and provide accessible instruc25 tional materials, with and without specialized
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1 formats, to publishers, States, local educational

2 agencies, schools, and others, broken down by—

3 (i) type of disability, including phys4 ical, sensory, and cognitive disability;

5 (ii) type of instructional materials, in6 cluding by grade and by basal and supple7 mental materials; and

8 (iii) type of media, including print,

9 electronic, software, web-based, audio, and

10 video; and

11 (B) an analysis of the effects of any rec12 ommended definitions regarding—

13 (i) the availability and quality of in14 structional materials for nondisabled stu15 dents, and innovation in the development

16 and delivery of these materials;

17 (ii) State learning content standards

18 that are media-, skill-, or pedagogically19 based and may therefore be compromised;

20 (iii) prices of instructional materials

21 and the impact of the definitions on State

22 and local budgets; and

23 (iv) intellectual property rights in con24 nection with the development, distribution,
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1 and use of curriculum and instructional

2 materials.

3 (d) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—As part of the study con4 ducted under this subsection, the Commission shall hold

5 public hearings, including through the use of the Internet

6 or other technologies, for the purposes referred to in sub7 section (a).

8 (e) REPORT.—

9 (1) INTERIM REPORT.—Not later than 12 months

10 after the establishment of the Commission, the Com11 mission shall provide to the Secretary and Congress

12 an interim report on the Commission’s activities dur13 ing the Commission’s first year and any preliminary

14 findings.

15 (2) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 24 months

16 after the establishment of the Commission, the Com17 mission shall submit a report to the Secretary and

18 Congress that shall contain—

19 (A) recommendations determined necessary

20 regarding definitions of the terms described in

21 subsection (a)(2)(B);

22 (B) recommendations for additional re23 search; and

24 (C) a detailed statement of the findings and

25 conclusions of the Commission resulting from the
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1 study of the issues identified in subsection

2 (a)(2)(C).

3 (f) POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.—

4 (1) AUTHORITY OF COMMISSION.—The Commis5 sion may hold such hearings, convene and act at such

6 times and places, take such testimony, and receive

7 such evidence, as the Commission considers necessary

8 to carry out the responsibilities of the Commission.

9 (2) USE OF MAIL.—The Commission may use the

10 United States mails in the same manner and under

11 the same conditions as other departments and agen12 cies of the Federal Government.

13 (3) GIFTS.—The Commission may accept, use,

14 and dispose of gifts or donations of services or prop15 erty.

16 (4) COMPENSATION.—Except as provided in

17 paragraph (5), each member of the Commission who

18 is not an officer or employee of the Federal Govern19 ment shall serve without compensation. All members

20 of the Commission who are officers or employees of the

21 United States shall serve without compensation in ad22 dition to that received for their services as officers or

23 employees of the United States.

24 (5) PER DIEM.—The members of the Commission

25 shall be allowed travel expenses, including per diem
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1 in lieu of subsistence, at rates authorized for employ2 ees of agencies under subchapter I of chapter 57 of

3 title 5, United States Code, while away from their

4 homes or regular places of business in the perform5 ance of services for the Commission.

6 (6) EMPLOYMENT ANDCOMPENSATION OF EM7 PLOYEES.—Except as otherwise provided in this sec8 tion and consistent with section 3161 of title 5,

9 United States Code, the Chairperson may appoint, fix

10 the compensation of, and terminate an executive di11 rector and such additional employees as may be nec12 essary to enable the Commission to perform the Com13 mission’s duties.

14 (7) DETAILING OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—Any

15 Federal Government employee may be detailed to the

16 Commission without reimbursement, and such detail

17 shall be without interruption or loss of civil service

18 status or privilege.

19 (8) TEMPORARY ANDINTERMITTENT SERV20 ICES.—The Chairperson of the Commission may pro21 cure temporary and intermittent services under sec22 tion 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code, at rates

23 for individuals that do not exceed the daily equivalent

24 of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level V
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1 of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of such

2 title.

3 (g) TERMINATION OF THE COMMISSION.—The Com4 mission shall terminate on the date that is 90 days after

5 the date on which the Commission submits its final report

6 under subsection (e)(2).

7 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

8 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—There are authorized to be

9 appropriated $750,000 for fiscal year 2004, and such

10 sums as necessary for fiscal year 2005 to carry out

11 the provisions of this section.

12 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Any sums appropriated

13 under the authorization contained in this subsection

14 shall remain available, without fiscal year limitation,

15 until expended.

16 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS

17 SEC. 501. AMENDMENT TO CHILDREN’S HEALTH ACT OF

18 2000.

19 Section 1004 of the Children’s Health Act of 2000 (42

20 U.S.C. 285g note) is amended—

21 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Agency’’ and

22 inserting ‘‘Agency, and the Department of Edu23 cation’’; and

24 (2) in subsection (c)—
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1 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’

2 after the semicolon;

3 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period

4 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

5 (C) by adding at the end the following:

6 ‘‘(4) be conducted in compliance with section 444

7 of the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C.

8 1232g), including the requirement of prior parental

9 consent for the disclosure of any education records, ex10 cept without the use of authority or exceptions grant11 ed to authorized representatives of the Secretary of

12 Education for the evaluation of Federally-supported

13 education programs or in connection with the enforce14 ment of the Federal legal requirements that relate to

15 such programs.’’.

16 SEC. 502. GAO REVIEW OF CHILD MEDICATION USAGE.

17 (a) REVIEW.—The Comptroller General shall conduct

18 a review of—

19 (1) the extent to which personnel in schools ac20 tively influence parents in pursuing a diagnosis of at21 tention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyper22 activity disorder;

23 (2) the policies and procedures among public

24 schools in allowing school personnel to distribute con25 trolled substances; and
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1 (3) the extent to which school personnel have re2 quired a child to obtain a prescription for substances

3 covered by section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances

4 Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)) to treat attention deficit dis5 order, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or

6 other attention deficit-related illnesses or disorders, in

7 order to attend school or be evaluated for services

8 under the Individuals with Disabilities Education

9 Act.

10 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of

11 enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall pre12 pare and submit to Congress a report that contains the re13 sults of the review under subsection (a).

Attest:

Secretary.
108TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1350

AMENDMENT