Calendar No. 431

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3268

AN ACT

To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Eduments to that Act, and for other purposes. cation Act, to reauthorize and make improveJUNE 11, 1996

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar
II

Calendar No. 431

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3268

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 11, 1996

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar

AN ACT

To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,

to reauthorize and make improvements to that Act, and

for other purposes.

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

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘IDEA Improvement

3 Act of 1996’’.

4 TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE

5 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABIL6 ITIES EDUCATION ACT

7 SEC. 101. AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS8 ABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.

9 Parts A through D of the Individuals with Disabil10 ities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) are amended

11 to read as follows:

12 ‘‘PART A—GENERAL PROVISIONS

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

14 PURPOSES.

15 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the

16 ‘Individuals with Disabilities Education Act’.

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

18 for this title is as follows:

‘‘PART A—GENERAL PROVISIONS

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

‘‘Sec. 602. Definitions.

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

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

‘‘Sec. 605. Requirements for prescribing regulations.

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

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

DISABILITIES

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

‘‘Sec. 612. State requirements.

‘‘Sec. 613. Local educational agency requirements.
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‘‘Sec. 614. Evaluations, reevaluations, individualized education programs,

and educational placements.

‘‘Sec. 615. Procedural safeguards.

‘‘Sec. 616. Withholding and judicial review.

‘‘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. 651. Purpose of part.

‘‘Sec. 652. Eligibility for financial assistance.

‘‘Sec. 653. Comprehensive plan.

‘‘Sec. 654. Peer review.

‘‘Sec. 655. Eligible applicants.

‘‘Sec. 656. Applicant and recipient responsibilities.

‘‘Sec. 657. Indirect costs.

‘‘Sec. 658. Program evaluation.

‘‘SUBPART 1—NATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT ACTIVITIES

‘‘Sec. 661. General authority to make awards.

‘‘Sec. 662. Priorities.

‘‘Sec. 663. National assessment.

‘‘Sec. 664. Authorization of appropriations.

‘‘SUBPART 2—PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

‘‘Sec. 671. Purpose.

‘‘Sec. 672. Finding.

‘‘Sec. 673. National activities.

‘‘Sec. 674. Professional development for personnel serving low-incidence

populations.

‘‘Sec. 675. Leadership personnel.

‘‘Sec. 676. Service obligation.

‘‘Sec. 677. Outreach.
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‘‘SUBPART 3—STATE PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT GRANTS FOR CHILDREN WITH

DISABILITIES

‘‘Sec. 681. Purpose.

‘‘Sec. 682. Eligibility and collaborative process.

‘‘Sec. 683. State improvement plans.

‘‘Sec. 684. Use of funds.

‘‘Sec. 685. Minimum State allotments.

‘‘Sec. 686. Authorization of appropriations.

‘‘SUBPART 4—PARENT TRAINING

‘‘Sec. 691. Grants for parent training and information centers.

‘‘Sec. 692. Technical assistance for parent training and information centers.

‘‘Sec. 693. Authorization of appropriations.

1 ‘‘(c) FINDINGS.—The 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-suffi9 ciency for individuals with disabilities.

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

11 Education for All Handicapped Children Act of

12 1975 (Public Law 94–142)—

13 ‘‘(A) the special educational needs of chil14 dren with disabilities were not being fully met;

15 ‘‘(B) more than one-half of the children

16 with disabilities in the United States did not re17 ceive appropriate educational services that
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1 would enable such children to have full equality

2 of opportunity;

3 ‘‘(C) 1,000,000 of the children with dis4 abilities in the United States were excluded en5 tirely from the public school system and did not

6 go through the educational process with their

7 peers;

8 ‘‘(D) there were many children with dis9 abilities throughout the United States partici10 pating in regular school programs whose dis11 abilities prevented such children from having a

12 successful educational experience because their

13 disabilities were undetected; and

14 ‘‘(E) because of the lack of adequate serv15 ices within the public school system, families

16 were often forced to find services outside the

17 public school system, often at great distance

18 from their residence and at their own expense.

19 ‘‘(3) Since the enactment and implementation

20 of the Education for All Handicapped Children Act

21 of 1975, this Act has been successful in ensuring

22 children with disabilities and the families of such

23 children access to a free appropriate public edu24 cation and in improving educational results for chil25 dren with disabilities.
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1 ‘‘(4) However, the implementation of this Act

2 has been impeded by low expectations, and an insuf3 ficient focus on applying replicable research on prov4 en methods of teaching and learning for children

5 with disabilities.

6 ‘‘(5) 20 years of research and experience has

7 demonstrated that the education of children with

8 disabilities can be made more effective by—

9 ‘‘(A) having high expectations for such

10 children and ensuring their access in the gen11 eral curriculum to the maximum extent pos12 sible;

13 ‘‘(B) ensuring that families of such chil14 dren have meaningful opportunities to partici15 pate in the education of their children at school

16 and at home;

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

18 educational service agency, State, and Federal

19 school improvement efforts in order to ensure

20 that such children benefit from such efforts and

21 that special education can become a service for

22 such children rather than a place where they

23 are sent;

24 ‘‘(D) providing appropriate special edu25 cation and related services and aids and sup-
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1 ports in the regular classroom to such children,

2 whenever appropriate;

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

4 professional development for all personnel who

5 work with such children in order to ensure that

6 they have the skills and knowledge necessary to

7 enable them—

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

9 to the maximum extent possible, those

10 challenging expectations that have been es11 tablished for all children; and

12 ‘‘(ii) to be prepared to lead produc13 tive, independent, adult lives, to the maxi14 mum extent possible;

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

16 approaches and early intervention to reduce the

17 need to label children as disabled in order to

18 address their learning needs; and

19 ‘‘(G) focusing resources on teaching and

20 learning while reducing paperwork and require21 ments that do not assist in improving edu22 cational results.

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

24 and educational service agencies are responsible for

25 providing an education for all children with disabil-
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1 ities, it is in the national interest that the Federal

2 Government have a role in assisting State and local

3 efforts to educate children with disabilities in order

4 to improve results for such children and to ensure

5 equal protection of the law.

6 ‘‘(7)(A) The Federal Government must be re7 sponsive to the growing needs of an increasingly

8 more diverse society. A more equitable allocation of

9 resources is essential for the Federal Government to

10 meet its responsibility to provide an equal edu11 cational opportunity for all individuals.

12 ‘‘(B) America’s racial profile is rapidly chang13 ing. Between 1980 and 1990, the rate of increase in

14 the population for white Americans was 6 percent,

15 while the rate of increase for racial and ethnic mi16 norities was much higher: 53 percent for Hispanics,

17 13.2 percent for African-Americans, and 107.8 per18 cent for Asians.

19 ‘‘(C) By the year 2000, this Nation will have

20 275,000,000 people, nearly one of every three of

21 whom will be either African-American, Hispanic,

22 Asian-American, or American Indian.

23 ‘‘(D) Taken together as a group, minority chil24 dren are comprising an ever larger percentage of

25 public school students. Large city school populations
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1 are overwhelmingly minority, e.g., for fall 1993, the

2 figure for Miami was 84 percent; Chicago, 89 per3 cent; Philadelphia, 78 percent; Baltimore, 84 per4 cent; Houston, 88 percent; and Los Angeles, 88 per5 cent.

6 ‘‘(E) Recruitment efforts within special edu7 cation at the level of preservice, continuing edu8 cation, and practice must focus on bringing larger

9 numbers of minorities into the profession in order to

10 provide appropriate practitioner knowledge, role

11 models, and sufficient manpower to address the

12 clearly changing demography of special education.

13 ‘‘(F) The limited English proficient population

14 is the fastest growing in our Nation, and the growth

15 is occurring in many parts of our Nation. In the Na16 tion’s 2 largest school districts, limited English stu17 dents make up almost half of all students initially

18 entering school at the kindergarten level. Studies

19 have documented apparent discrepancies in the levels

20 of referral and placement of limited English pro21 ficient children in special education. The Depart22 ment of Education has found that services provided

23 to limited English proficient students often do not

24 respond primarily to the pupil’s academic needs.

25 These trends pose special challenges for special edu-
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1 cation in the referral, assessment, and services for

2 our Nation’s students from non-English language

3 backgrounds.

4 ‘‘(8)(A) Greater efforts are needed to prevent

5 the intensification of problems connected with

6 mislabeling and high dropout rates among minority

7 children with disabilities.

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

9 served in special education than would be expected

10 from the percentage of minority students in the gen11 eral school population.

12 ‘‘(C) Poor African-American children are 3.5

13 times more likely to be identified by their teacher as

14 mentally retarded than their white counterpart.

15 ‘‘(D) Although African-Americans represent 12

16 percent of elementary and secondary enrollments,

17 they constitute 28 percent of total enrollments in

18 special education.

19 ‘‘(E) The drop out rate is 68 percent higher for

20 minorities than for whites.

21 ‘‘(F) More than 50 percent of minority students

22 in large cities drop out of school.

23 ‘‘(9)(A) The opportunity for full participation

24 in awards for grants and contracts; boards of orga25 nizations receiving funds under this Act; and peer
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1 review panels; and training of professionals in the

2 area of special education by minority individuals, or3 ganizations, and historically Black colleges and uni4 versities is essential if we are to obtain greater suc5 cess in the education of minority children with dis6 abilities.

7 ‘‘(B) In 1989, of the 661,000 college and uni8 versity professors, 4.6 percent were African-Amer9 ican and 3.1 percent were Hispanic. Of the

10 3,600,000 teachers, prekindergarten through high

11 school, 9.4 percent were African-American and 3.9

12 percent were Hispanic.

13 ‘‘(C) Students from minority groups comprise

14 more than 50 percent of K–12 public school enroll15 ment in seven States yet minority enrollment in

16 teacher training programs is less than 15 percent in

17 all but six States.

18 ‘‘(D) As the number of African-American and

19 Hispanic students in special education increases, the

20 number of minority teachers and related service per21 sonnel produced in our colleges and universities con22 tinues to decrease.

23 ‘‘(E) Ten years ago, 12.5 percent of the United

24 States teaching force in public elementary and sec25 ondary schools were members of a minority group.
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1 Minorities comprised 21.3 percent of the national

2 population at that time and were clearly underrep3 resented then among employed teachers. Today, the

4 elementary and secondary teaching force is 3 to 5

5 percent minority, while one-third of the students in

6 public schools are minority children.

7 ‘‘(F) As recently as 1991, Historically Black

8 Colleges and Universities enrolled 44 percent of the

9 African-American teacher trainees in the Nation.

10 However, in 1993, Historically Black Colleges and

11 Universities received only 4 percent of the discre12 tionary funds for special education and related serv13 ices personnel training under this Act.

14 ‘‘(G) While African-American students con15 stitute 28 percent of total enrollment in special edu16 cation, only 11.2 percent of individuals enrolled in

17 preservice training programs for special education

18 are African-American.

19 ‘‘(H) In 1986–87, of the degrees conferred in

20 education at the B.A., M.A., and Ph.D levels, only

21 6, 8, and 8 percent, respectively, were awarded to

22 African-American or Hispanic students.

23 ‘‘(10) Minorities and underserved persons are

24 socially disadvantaged because of the lack of oppor25 tunities in training and educational programs,
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1 undergirded by the practices in the private sector

2 that impede their full participation in the main3 stream of society.

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

5 ‘‘(1) to ensure that all children with disabilities

6 have available to them a free appropriate public edu7 cation that emphasizes special education and related

8 services designed to meet their unique needs and

9 prepare them for employment and independent liv10 ing;

11 ‘‘(2) to ensure that the rights of children with

12 disabilities and parents of such children are pro13 tected;

14 ‘‘(3) to assist States, localities, education serv15 ice agencies, and Federal agencies to provide for the

16 education of all children with disabilities; and

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

18 efforts to educate children with disabilities.

19 ‘‘SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.

20 ‘‘As used in this title:

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

22 term ‘assistive technology device’ means any item,

23 piece of equipment, or product system, whether ac24 quired commercially off the shelf, modified, or cus25 tomized, that is used to increase, maintain, or im-
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1 prove functional capabilities of a child with a disabil2 ity.

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

4 term ‘assistive technology service’ means any service

5 that directly assists a child with a disability in the

6 selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive tech7 nology device. Such term includes—

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

9 child, including a functional evaluation of the

10 child in the child’s customary environment;

11 ‘‘(B) purchasing, leasing, or otherwise pro12 viding for the acquisition of assistive technology

13 devices by such child;

14 ‘‘(C) selecting, designing, fitting, customiz15 ing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing,

16 or replacing of assistive technology devices;

17 ‘‘(D) coordinating and using other thera18 pies, interventions, or services with assistive

19 technology devices, such as those associated

20 with existing education and rehabilitation plans

21 and programs;

22 ‘‘(E) training or technical assistance for

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

24 such child; and
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1 ‘‘(F) training or technical assistance for

2 professionals (including individuals providing

3 education and rehabilitation services), employ4 ers, or other individuals who provide services to,

5 employ, or are otherwise substantially involved

6 in the major life functions of such child.

7 ‘‘(3) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—

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

9 disability’ means a child—

10 ‘‘(i) with mental retardation, hearing

11 impairments (including deafness), speech

12 or language impairments, visual impair13 ments (including blindness), serious emo14 tional disturbance, orthopedic impairments,

15 autism, traumatic brain injury, other

16 health impairments, or specific learning

17 disabilities; and

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

19 special education and related services.

20 ‘‘(B) CHILD AGED 3 TO 9.—The term

21 ‘child with a disability’ for a child aged 3 to 9,

22 inclusive, may, at the discretion of the State

23 and the local educational agency, include a

24 child—
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1 ‘‘(i) experiencing developmental

2 delays, as defined by the State and as

3 measured by appropriate diagnostic instru4 ments and procedures, in one or more of

5 the following areas: physical development,

6 cognitive development, communication de7 velopment, social or emotional develop8 ment, or adaptive development; and

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

10 special education and related services.

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

12 term ‘educational service agency’—

13 ‘‘(A) means a regional public multiservice

14 agency—

15 ‘‘(i) authorized by State law to de16 velop, manage, and provide services or pro17 grams to local educational agencies; and

18 ‘‘(ii) recognized as an administrative

19 agency for purposes of the provision of

20 special education and related services pro21 vided within public elementary and second22 ary schools of the State; and

23 ‘‘(B) includes any other public institution

24 or agency having administrative control and di-
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1 rection over a public elementary or secondary

2 school.

3 ‘‘(5) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘ele4 mentary school’ means a day or residential school

5 which provides elementary education, as determined

6 under State law, policy, or procedure.

7 ‘‘(6) EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘equipment’ in8 cludes—

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

10 equipment and any necessary enclosures or

11 structures to house such machinery, utilities, or

12 equipment; and

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

14 functioning of a particular facility as a facility

15 for the provision of educational services, includ16 ing items such as instructional equipment and

17 necessary furniture, printed, published, and

18 audio-visual instructional materials, tele19 communications, sensory, and other techno20 logical aids and devices, and books, periodicals,

21 documents, and other related materials.

22 ‘‘(7) EXCESS COSTS.—The term ‘excess costs’

23 means those costs which are in excess of the average

24 annual per student expenditure in a local edu25 cational agency during the preceding school year for
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1 an elementary or secondary school student, as may

2 be appropriate, and which shall be computed after

3 deducting—

4 ‘‘(A) amounts received—

5 ‘‘(i) under part B of this title;

6 ‘‘(ii) under part A of title I of the El7 ementary and Secondary Education Act of

8 1965; or

9 ‘‘(iii) under part A of title VII of such

10 Act; and

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

12 programs that would qualify for assistance

13 under any such part.

14 ‘‘(8) FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDU15 CATION.—The term ‘free appropriate public edu16 cation’ means special education and related services

17 that—

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

19 under public supervision and direction, and

20 without charge;

21 ‘‘(B) meet the standards of the State edu22 cational agency;

23 ‘‘(C) include an appropriate preschool, ele24 mentary, or secondary school education in the

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

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

7 means any Federal or State Indian tribe, band,

8 rancheria, pueblo, colony, or community, including

9 any Alaskan native village or regional village cor10 poration (as defined in or established under the

11 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act).

12 ‘‘(11) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PRO13 GRAM.—The term ‘individualized education program’

14 or ‘IEP’ means a written statement for each child

15 with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and re16 vised in accordance with section 614(d) and that in17 cludes—

18 ‘‘(A) a statement of the child’s present lev19 els of educational performance, including—

20 ‘‘(i) how the child’s disability affects

21 the child’s involvement and progress in the

22 general curriculum; or

23 ‘‘(ii) for preschool children, as appro24 priate, how the disability affects the child’s

25 participation in appropriate activities;
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1 ‘‘(B) a statement of measurable annual

2 goals, including benchmarks or short-term ob3 jectives, related to—

4 ‘‘(i) meeting the child’s needs that re5 sult from the child’s disability to enable

6 the child to be involved in and progress in

7 the general curriculum; and

8 ‘‘(ii) meeting each of the child’s other

9 educational needs that result from the

10 child’s disability;

11 ‘‘(C) a statement of how the classroom was

12 adapted before the student was referred for

13 identification as a child with a disability;

14 ‘‘(D) a justification of the extent, if any, to

15 which the child will not be educated with non16 disabled children;

17 ‘‘(E) a statement of the special education

18 and related services and supplementary aids

19 and services to be provided to the child, or on

20 behalf of the child, and any program modifica21 tions or support for school personnel necessary

22 for the child—

23 ‘‘(i) to progress toward the attainment

24 of the annual goals described in subpara25 graph (B); and
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1 ‘‘(ii) to be involved and progress in

2 the general curriculum in accordance with

3 subparagraph (A) and to participate in ex4 tracurricular and other nonacademic activi5 ties;

6 ‘‘(F)(i) a statement of any individual modi7 fications in the administration of State or dis8 trictwide assessments of student achievement

9 that are needed in order for the child to partici10 pate in such assessment; and

11 ‘‘(ii) if the individualized education pro12 gram team determines that the child will not

13 participate in a particular State or districtwide

14 assessment of student achievement (or part of

15 such an assessment), a statement of—

16 ‘‘(I) why that assessment is not ap17 propriate for the child; and

18 ‘‘(II) how the child will be assessed;

19 ‘‘(G) the projected date for the beginning

20 of the services and modifications described in

21 subparagraph (E), and the anticipated fre22 quency, location, and duration of those services

23 and modifications;

24 ‘‘(H)(i) beginning at age 14, and updated

25 annually, a statement of the transition service
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1 needs of the child under the applicable compo2 nents of the child’s IEP that focuses on the

3 child’s courses of study (such as participation

4 in advanced-placement courses or a vocational

5 education or school-to-work program);

6 ‘‘(ii) beginning at age 16 (or younger, if

7 determined appropriate by the IEP Team), a

8 statement of needed transition services for the

9 child, including, when appropriate, a statement

10 of the interagency responsibilities or any needed

11 linkages; and

12 ‘‘(iii) beginning at least one year before the

13 child reaches the age of majority under State

14 law, a statement that the child has been in15 formed of his or her rights under this title, if

16 any, that will transfer to the child on reaching

17 the age of majority under section 615(m); and

18 ‘‘(I) a statement of—

19 ‘‘(i) how the child’s progress toward

20 the annual goals described in subpara21 graph (B) will be measured; and

22 ‘‘(ii) how the child’s parents will be

23 regularly informed (by such means as peri24 odic report cards), at least as often as par-
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1 ents are informed of their nondisabled chil2 dren’s progress, of—

3 ‘‘(I) their child’s progress toward

4 the annual goals described in subpara5 graph (B); and

6 ‘‘(II) the extent to which that

7 progress is sufficient to enable the

8 child to achieve the objectives by the

9 end of the year.

10 ‘‘(12) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM

11 TEAM.—The term ‘individualized education program

12 team’ or ‘IEP Team’ means a group of individuals

13 composed of—

14 ‘‘(A) the parents of a child with a disabil15 ity;

16 ‘‘(B) at least one regular education teacher

17 of such child (if the child is, or may be, partici18 pating in the regular education environment);

19 ‘‘(C) at least one special education teacher,

20 or where appropriate, at least one special edu21 cation provider of such child;

22 ‘‘(D) a representative of the local edu23 cational agency who—

24 ‘‘(i) is qualified to provide, or super25 vise the provision of, specially designed in-
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1 struction to meet the unique needs of chil2 dren with disabilities;

3 ‘‘(ii) is knowledgeable about the gen4 eral curriculum; and

5 ‘‘(iii) is knowledgeable about the avail6 ability of resources of the local educational

7 agency;

8 ‘‘(E) whenever appropriate, the child with

9 a disability; and

10 ‘‘(F) at the discretion of the parent or the

11 agency, other individuals who have special ex12 pertise or knowledge regarding the abilities and

13 disability or disabilities of the child, including,

14 as appropriate, related services personnel who

15 are or who will be working with the child.

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

17 The term ‘institution of higher education’—

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

19 section 1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of

20 1965; and

21 ‘‘(B) also includes any community college

22 receiving funding from the Secretary of the In23 terior under the Tribally Controlled Community

24 College Assistance Act of 1978.
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1 ‘‘(14) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The

2 term ‘local educational agency’ means—

3 ‘‘(A) a public board of education or other

4 public authority legally constituted within a

5 State for either administrative control or direc6 tion of, or to perform a service function for,

7 public elementary or secondary schools in a

8 city, county, township, school district, or other

9 political subdivision of a State, or for a com10 bination of school districts or counties as are

11 recognized in a State as an administrative

12 agency for its public elementary or secondary

13 schools;

14 ‘‘(B) any other public institution or agency

15 having administrative control and direction of a

16 public elementary or secondary school; or

17 ‘‘(C) an educational service agency.

18 ‘‘(15) NATIVE LANGUAGE.—The term ‘native

19 language’, when used with reference to an individual

20 of limited English proficiency, means the language

21 normally used by the individual, or in the case of a

22 child, the language normally used by the parents of

23 the child, and includes American Sign Language.

24 ‘‘(16) NONPROFIT.—The term ‘nonprofit’ as

25 applied to a school, agency, organization, or institu-
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1 tion means a school, agency, organization, or institu2 tion owned and operated by one or more nonprofit

3 corporations or associations no part of the net earn4 ings of which inures, or may lawfully inure, to the

5 benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

6 ‘‘(17) PARENT.—The term ‘parent’ includes a

7 legal guardian or surrogate parent.

8 ‘‘(18) PARENT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘par9 ent organization’ means a private nonprofit organi10 zation (but not including an institution of higher

11 education) that—

12 ‘‘(A) has a board of directors—

13 ‘‘(i) the majority of whom are parents

14 of children with disabilities;

15 ‘‘(ii) that includes—

16 ‘‘(I) individuals working in the

17 fields of special education, related

18 services, and early intervention; and

19 ‘‘(II) individuals with disabilities;

20 and

21 ‘‘(iii) the parent and professional

22 members of which are broadly representa23 tive of the population to be served; or

24 ‘‘(B)(i) represents the interests of individ25 uals with disabilities and has established a spe-
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1 cial governing committee which meets the re2 quirements of subparagraph (A); and

3 ‘‘(ii) has a memorandum of understanding

4 between the special governing committee and

5 the board of directors of the organization which

6 clearly outlines the relationship between the

7 board and the committee and the decisionmak8 ing responsibilities and authority of each.

9 ‘‘(19) PARENT TRAINING AND INFORMATION

10 CENTER.—The term ‘parent training and informa11 tion center’ means a center that—

12 ‘‘(A) provides training and information

13 that meets the training and information needs

14 of parents of children with disabilities living in

15 the area served by the center; and

16 ‘‘(B) assists parents—

17 ‘‘(i) to better understand the nature

18 of their children’s disabilities and their

19 educational and developmental needs;

20 ‘‘(ii) to communicate effectively with

21 personnel responsible for providing special

22 education, early intervention, and related

23 services;

24 ‘‘(iii) to participate in decisionmaking

25 processes and the development of the IEP;
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1 ‘‘(iv) to obtain appropriate informa2 tion about the range of options, programs,

3 services, and resources available to assist

4 children with disabilities and their families;

5 ‘‘(v) to understand the programs

6 under this title for the education of, and

7 the provision of early intervention services

8 to, children with disabilities; and

9 ‘‘(vi) to participate in school reform

10 activities.

11 ‘‘(20) RELATED SERVICES.—The term ‘related

12 services’ means transportation, and such devel13 opmental, corrective, and other supportive services

14 (including speech-language pathology and audiology

15 services, psychological services, physical and occupa16 tional therapy, recreation, including therapeutic

17 recreation, social work services, counseling services,

18 including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and

19 mobility services, and medical services, except that

20 such medical services shall be for diagnostic and

21 evaluation purposes only) as may be required to as22 sist a child with a disability to benefit from special

23 education, and includes the early identification and

24 assessment of disabling conditions in children.
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1 ‘‘(21) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘second2 ary school’ means a day or residential school which

3 provides secondary education, as determined under

4 State law, policy, or procedure, except that it does

5 not include any education provided beyond grade 12.

6 ‘‘(22) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’

7 means the Secretary of Education.

8 ‘‘(23) SPECIAL EDUCATION.—The term ‘special

9 education’ means specially designed instruction, at

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

11 child with a disability, including—

12 ‘‘(A) instruction conducted in the class13 room, in the home, in hospitals and institutions,

14 and in other settings; and

15 ‘‘(B) instruction in physical education.

16 ‘‘(24) SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY.—

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

18 learning disability’ means a disorder in one or

19 more of the basic psychological processes in20 volved in understanding or in using language,

21 spoken or written, which disorder may manifest

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

23 read, write, spell, or do mathematical calcula24 tions.
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1 ‘‘(B) DISORDERS INCLUDED.—Such term

2 includes such conditions as perceptual disabil3 ities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction,

4 dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

5 ‘‘(C) DISORDERS NOT INCLUDED.—Such

6 term does not include a learning problem that

7 is primarily the result of visual, hearing, or

8 motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of

9 emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cul10 tural, or economic disadvantage.

11 ‘‘(25) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of

12 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com13 monwealth of Puerto Rico, and each of the terri14 tories.

15 ‘‘(26) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The

16 term ‘State educational agency’ means the State

17 board of education or other agency or officer pri18 marily responsible for the State supervision of public

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

20 such officer or agency, an officer or agency des21 ignated by the Governor or by State law.

22 ‘‘(27) SUPPLEMENTARY AIDS AND SERVICES.—

23 The term ‘supplementary aids and services’ means,

24 aids, services, and other supports that are provided

25 in regular education classes or other education-relat-
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1 ed settings to enable children with disabilities to be

2 educated with nondisabled children to the maximum

3 extent appropriate in accordance with section

4 612(a)(4).

5 ‘‘(28) TERRITORY.—The term ‘territory’ means

6 American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the North7 ern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.

8 ‘‘(29) TRANSITION SERVICES.—The term ‘tran9 sition services’ means a coordinated set of activities

10 for a child with a disability that—

11 ‘‘(A) are designed within an outcome-ori12 ented process, which promotes movement from

13 school to post-school activities, including post14 secondary education, vocational training, inte15 grated employment (including supported em16 ployment), continuing and adult education,

17 adult services, independent living, or community

18 participation;

19 ‘‘(B) are based upon the individual child’s

20 needs, taking into account the child’s pref21 erences and interests; and

22 ‘‘(C) include instruction, related services,

23 community experiences, the development of em24 ployment and other post-school adult living ob25 jectives, and, when appropriate, acquisition of
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1 daily living skills and functional vocational eval2 uation.

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

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

5 Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in

6 the Department of Education, an Office of Special Edu7 cation Programs which shall be the principal agency in

8 such Department for administering and carrying out this

9 title and other programs and activities concerning the edu10 cation and training of children with disabilities.

11 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Office established under sub12 section (a) shall be headed by a Director who shall be se13 lected by the Secretary and shall report directly to the As14 sistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative

15 Services.

16 ‘‘(c) VOLUNTARY AND UNCOMPENSATED SERV17 ICES.—Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United

18 States Code, the Secretary is authorized to accept vol19 untary and uncompensated services in furtherance of the

20 purposes of this title.

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

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

23 under the eleventh amendment to the Constitution of the

24 United States from suit in Federal court for a violation

25 of this title.
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1 ‘‘(b) REMEDIES.—In a suit against a State for a vio2 lation of this title, remedies (including remedies both at

3 law and in equity) are available for such a violation to

4 the same extent as such remedies are available for such

5 a violation in the suit against any public entity other than

6 a State.

7 ‘‘(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The provisions of sub8 sections (a) and (b) apply with respect to violations that

9 occur in whole or part after the date of the enactment

10 of the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of

11 1990.

12 ‘‘SEC. 605. REQUIREMENTS FOR PRESCRIBING REGULA13 TIONS.

14 ‘‘(a) PUBLIC-COMMENT PERIOD.—The Secretary

15 shall provide a public-comment period of at least 90 days

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

17 title on which an opportunity for public comment is other18 wise required by law.

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

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

21 any regulation prescribed pursuant to this title which

22 would procedurally or substantively lessen the protections

23 provided to children with disabilities under this title, as

24 embodied in regulations in effect on July 20, 1983 (par25 ticularly as such protections relate to parental consent to
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1 initial evaluation or initial placement in special education,

2 least restrictive environment, related services, timeliness,

3 attendance of evaluation personnel at individualized edu4 cation program meetings, or qualifications of personnel),

5 except to the extent that such regulation reflects the clear

6 and unequivocal intent of the Congress in legislation.

7 ‘‘(c) CORRESPONDENCE FROM DEPARTMENT OF

8 EDUCATION DESCRIBING INTERPRETATIONS OF THIS

9 PART.—

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

14 correspondence from the Department of Education

15 received by individuals during the previous quarter

16 that describes the interpretations of the Department

17 of Education of this Act or the regulations imple18 mented pursuant to this Act.

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

20 item of correspondence published in a list under

21 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall identify the topic

22 addressed by the correspondence and shall include

23 such other summary information as the Secretary

24 determines to be appropriate.
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1 ‘‘(3) RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF CORRESPOND2 ENCE.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

4 subparagraph (B), an item of correspondence

5 published and disseminated under paragraph

6 (1) may not be used in the following:

7 ‘‘(i) An administrative or due process

8 action commenced under section 615.

9 ‘‘(ii) A compliance review or other ac10 tion relating to a State educational agency

11 conducted by the Department of Edu12 cation.

13 ‘‘(iii) A compliance review or other ac14 tion relating to a local educational agency

15 or other agency conducted by a State edu16 cational agency.

17 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTIONS.—A restriction on the

18 use of an item of correspondence under sub19 paragraph (A) shall not apply if the item of

20 correspondence—

21 ‘‘(i) is directly related to the particu22 lar fact situation, practice, or policy at

23 issue under clause (i) or (iii) of subpara24 graph (A);
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1 ‘‘(ii)(I) was originally directed to one

2 of the parties to the action under subpara3 graph (A)(i); or

4 ‘‘(II) was originally directed to the

5 particular local educational agency or other

6 agency under subparagraph (A)(iii); or

7 ‘‘(iii) was originally directed to the

8 particular State educational agency under

9 subparagraph (A)(ii).

10 ‘‘SEC. 606. EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABIL11 ITIES.

12 ‘‘The Secretary shall assure that each recipient of as13 sistance under this Act shall make positive efforts to em14 ploy and advance in employment qualified individuals with

15 disabilities in programs assisted under this Act.

16 ‘‘PART B—ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION OF ALL

17 CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

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

19 AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Education

21 shall provide grants to States and provide amounts to the

22 Secretary of the Interior for the purpose of providing spe23 cial education and related services to children with disabil24 ities in accordance with this part.

25 ‘‘(b) ALLOTMENT AMONG STATES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) RESERVATION FOR THE TERRITORIES.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount appro3 priated pursuant to subsection (e) to carry out

4 this part for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall

5 allot not more than one percent among the ter6 ritories in accordance with this paragraph.

7 ‘‘(B) BASIS FOR ALLOTMENT.—The Sec8 retary shall allot to each territory an amount

9 that bears the same proportion to the amount

10 appropriated pursuant to subsection (e) for a

11 fiscal year as the number of individuals aged 3

12 to 21, inclusive, residing in such territory bears

13 to the aggregate number of such individuals re14 siding in all such territories.

15 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION ON CONSOLIDATION OF

16 GRANTS.—Section 501 of Public Law 95–134

17 (48 U.S.C. 1469a; relating to the consolidation

18 of one or more grants provided to certain terri19 tories) shall not apply with respect to amounts

20 provided to a territory under a grant under this

21 part.

22 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.—Of the

23 amount appropriated pursuant to subsection (e) to

24 carry out this part for a fiscal year, the Secretary

25 shall provide to the Secretary of the Interior an
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1 amount equal to 1.226 percent to carry out sub2 section (d) (relating to special education and related

3 services for Indian children with disabilities).

4 ‘‘(3) STATES.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After determining the

6 amount to be allotted to the territories under

7 paragraph (1) and the amount to be provided

8 to the Secretary of the Interior under para9 graph (2) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall

10 allot the remaining amount to the remaining

11 States in accordance with this paragraph.

12 ‘‘(B) BASIS FOR ALLOTMENT.—Except as

13 provided in subparagraph (D), the Secretary

14 shall allot to each State an amount equal to the

15 sum of the following amounts:

16 ‘‘(i) The amount equal to—

17 ‘‘(I) 85 percent of the remaining

18 amount described in subparagraph

19 (A); multiplied by

20 ‘‘(II) the child population per21 centage of the State (as determined

22 under subparagraph (C)(i)).

23 ‘‘(ii) The amount equal to—
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1 ‘‘(I) 15 percent of the remaining

2 amount described in subparagraph

3 (A); multiplied by

4 ‘‘(II) the child poverty percentage

5 of the State (as determined under

6 subparagraph (C)(ii)).

7 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF CHILD POPU8 LATION PERCENTAGE AND CHILD POVERTY

9 PERCENTAGE.—

10 ‘‘(i) CHILD POPULATION PERCENT11 AGE.—The child population percentage

12 shall be determined by comparing—

13 ‘‘(I) the number of children aged

14 3 to 21, inclusive, in the State who

15 are of the same age as children with

16 disabilities for whom the State en17 sures the availability of a free appro18 priate public education; to

19 ‘‘(II) the number of such children

20 in the remaining States.

21 ‘‘(ii) CHILD POVERTY PERCENTAGE.—

22 The child poverty percentage shall be de23 termined by comparing—

24 ‘‘(I) the number of children aged

25 3 to 21, inclusive, in the State living
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1 in poverty who are of the same age as

2 children with disabilities for whom the

3 State ensures the availability of a free

4 appropriate public education; to

5 ‘‘(II) the number of such children

6 in the remaining States.

7 ‘‘(D) TRANSITION FORMULA.—For each of

8 the fiscal years 1997 through 2005, the Sec9 retary shall allot the remaining amount to the

10 remaining States in accordance with the follow11 ing:

12 ‘‘(i) FISCAL YEAR 1997.—For fiscal

13 year 1997, the Secretary shall allot to each

14 remaining State the sum of—

15 ‘‘(I) 10 percent multiplied by the

16 amount determined for such State

17 under subparagraph (B); and

18 ‘‘(II) 90 percent multiplied by

19 the amount determined for such State

20 under subparagraph (E).

21 ‘‘(ii) FISCAL YEAR 1998.—For fiscal

22 year 1998, the Secretary shall allot to each

23 remaining State the sum of—
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1 ‘‘(I) 20 percent multiplied by the

2 amount determined for such State

3 under subparagraph (B); and

4 ‘‘(II) 80 percent multiplied by

5 the amount determined for such State

6 under subparagraph (E).

7 ‘‘(iii) FISCAL YEAR 1999.—For fiscal

8 year 1999, the Secretary shall allot to each

9 remaining State the sum of—

10 ‘‘(I) 30 percent multiplied by the

11 amount determined for such State

12 under subparagraph (B); and

13 ‘‘(II) 70 percent multiplied by

14 the amount determined for such State

15 under subparagraph (E).

16 ‘‘(iv) FISCAL YEAR 2000.—For fiscal

17 year 2000, the Secretary shall allot to each

18 remaining State the sum of—

19 ‘‘(I) 40 percent multiplied by the

20 amount determined for such State

21 under subparagraph (B); and

22 ‘‘(II) 60 percent multiplied by

23 the amount determined for such State

24 under subparagraph (E).
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1 ‘‘(v) FISCAL YEAR 2001.—For fiscal

2 year 2001, the Secretary shall allot to each

3 remaining State the sum of—

4 ‘‘(I) 50 percent multiplied by the

5 amount determined for such State

6 under subparagraph (B); and

7 ‘‘(II) 50 percent multiplied by

8 the amount determined for such State

9 under subparagraph (E).

10 ‘‘(vi) FISCAL YEAR 2002.—For fiscal

11 year 2002, the Secretary shall allot to each

12 remaining State the sum of—

13 ‘‘(I) 60 percent multiplied by the

14 amount determined for such State

15 under subparagraph (B); and

16 ‘‘(II) 40 percent multiplied by

17 the amount determined for such State

18 under subparagraph (E).

19 ‘‘(vii) FISCAL YEAR 2003.—For fiscal

20 year 2003, the Secretary shall allot to each

21 remaining State the sum of—

22 ‘‘(I) 70 percent multiplied by the

23 amount determined for such State

24 under subparagraph (B); and
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1 ‘‘(II) 30 percent multiplied by

2 the amount determined for such State

3 under subparagraph (E).

4 ‘‘(viii) FISCAL YEAR 2004.—For fiscal

5 year 2004, the Secretary shall allot to each

6 remaining State the sum of—

7 ‘‘(I) 80 percent multiplied by the

8 amount determined for such State

9 under subparagraph (B); and

10 ‘‘(II) 20 percent multiplied by

11 the amount determined for such State

12 under subparagraph (E).

13 ‘‘(ix) FISCAL YEAR 2005.—For fiscal

14 year 2005, the Secretary shall allot to each

15 remaining State the sum of—

16 ‘‘(I) 90 percent multiplied by the

17 amount determined for such State

18 under subparagraph (B); and

19 ‘‘(II) 10 percent multiplied by

20 the amount determined for such State

21 under subparagraph (E).

22 ‘‘(E) BASE AMOUNT FOR 1996.—

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause

24 (ii), the amount determined under this

25 subparagraph for a State is the amount
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1 that bears the same proportion to the re2 maining amount (described in subpara3 graph (A)) for the fiscal year under sub4 paragraph (D) as the amount received by

5 the State under this section for fiscal year

6 1996 bears to the aggregate of the

7 amounts received by the remaining States

8 (described in subparagraph (A)) under this

9 section for fiscal year 1996.

10 ‘‘(ii) REDUCTION IN AMOUNT.—If the

11 State received an amount under this sec12 tion for fiscal year 1996 on the basis of

13 children aged 3 to 5, inclusive, in such

14 State, but the State does not make a free

15 appropriate public education available to

16 all children with disabilities aged 3 to 5,

17 inclusive, in the State at the time a deter18 mination is made under subparagraph (C),

19 the Secretary shall reduce, on a propor20 tional basis, the amount under clause (i)

21 for purposes of allotting amounts under

22 such subparagraph.

23 ‘‘(F) INCREASE IN ALLOTMENT AMOUNT

24 DURING TRANSITION YEARS.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.— For each of the

2 fiscal years 1997 through 2005, if the

3 amount determined for a State under sub4 paragraph (D) is an amount that is less

5 than the amount received by the State

6 under this section for fiscal year 1996

7 and—

8 ‘‘(I) the amount of the difference

9 between such two amounts is less

10 than an amount equal to 10 percent

11 of the amount received by the State

12 for fiscal year 1996, then the amount

13 allotted to the State for the fiscal year

14 shall be equal to the amount received

15 by the State for fiscal year 1996; or

16 ‘‘(II) the amount of the dif17 ference between such two amounts is

18 equal to or greater than an amount

19 equal to 10 percent of the amount re20 ceived by the State for fiscal year

21 1996, then the amount allotted to the

22 State for the fiscal year shall be equal

23 to the sum of (aa) the amount deter24 mined for the State under subpara25 graph (D), and (bb) the amount equal
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1 to 10 percent of the amount received

2 by the State for fiscal year 1996.

3 ‘‘(ii) ADJUSTMENT.—If amounts are

4 allotted to one or more States under clause

5 (i) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall re6 duce, on a proportional basis, the amounts

7 allotted to the remaining States for which

8 the amount determined under subpara9 graph (D) is an amount that is greater

10 than the amount received by such States

11 under this section for fiscal year 1996.

12 ‘‘(G) MINIMUM ALLOTMENT.—For each

13 fiscal year for which one of the conditions of

14 subparagraph (F) is met (or such subparagraph

15 does not apply) and subject to the availability

16 of appropriations, for fiscal year 1997 and each

17 subsequent fiscal year, the amount allotted to

18 each remaining State (described in subpara19 graph (A)) shall not be less than an amount

20 equal to one-third of one percent of the remain21 ing amount (described in subparagraph (A)) for

22 the fiscal year.

23 ‘‘(H) MAXIMUM ALLOTMENT.—

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For fiscal year

25 1997 and each subsequent fiscal year, the
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1 amount allotted to each remaining State

2 (described in subparagraph (A)) under this

3 paragraph shall not be more than an

4 amount equal to

5 ‘‘(I) the sum of—

6 ‘‘(aa) the number of children

7 with disabilities in the State,

8 aged 6 through 21, who are re9 ceiving special education and re10 lated services, as determined

11 under clause (ii); and

12 ‘‘(bb) if the State is eligible

13 for a grant under section 619,

14 the number of such children in

15 the State, aged 3 through 5; mul16 tiplied by

17 ‘‘(II) 40 percent of the average

18 per-pupil expenditure in public ele19 mentary and secondary schools in the

20 United States.

21 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER OF

22 CHILDREN.—The number of children with

23 disabilities receiving special education and

24 related services in any fiscal year shall be

25 equal to the number of such children re-
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1 ceiving special education and related serv2 ices on December 1 of the fiscal year pre3 ceding the fiscal year for which the deter4 mination is made.

5 ‘‘(iii) AVERAGE PER PUPIL EXPENDI6 TURE.—For purposes of clause (i)(II), the

7 term ‘average per pupil expenditure’, in

8 the United States, means the aggregate

9 current expenditures, during the second

10 fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for

11 which the computation is made (or, if sat12 isfactory data for such year are not avail13 able at the time of computation, then dur14 ing the most recent preceding fiscal year

15 for which satisfactory data are available)

16 of all local educational agencies in the

17 United States (which, for purposes of this

18 subparagraph, means the fifty States and

19 the District of Columbia), as the case may

20 be, plus any direct expenditures by the

21 State for operation of such agencies (with22 out regard to the source of funds from

23 which either of such expenditures are

24 made), divided by the aggregate number of

25 children in average daily attendance to
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1 whom such agencies provided free public

2 education during such preceding year.

3 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE WITH RESPECT TO PUERTO

4 RICO.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

6 subparagraph (B) and notwithstanding para7 graph (3), the amount allotted to Puerto Rico

8 for a fiscal year shall bear the same or lower

9 proportion to the remaining amount (described

10 in paragraph (3)(A)) as the amount received by

11 Puerto Rico under this section for fiscal year

12 1996 bears to the aggregate of the amounts re13 ceived by the remaining States (as described in

14 paragraph (3)(A)) under this section for fiscal

15 year 1996.

16 ‘‘(B) INCREASE IN ALLOTMENT AMOUNT

17 DURING CERTAIN FISCAL YEARS.—For each fis18 cal year for which the minimum allotment re19 quirement under paragraph (3)(G) is met, the

20 amount allotted to Puerto Rico for that fiscal

21 year shall be equal to—

22 ‘‘(i) subject to clause (ii), the sum

23 of—
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1 ‘‘(I) the amount determined for

2 Puerto Rico under subparagraph (A);

3 and

4 ‘‘(II) the amount equal to 10 per5 cent of such amount determined for

6 Puerto Rico under subparagraph (A);

7 or

8 ‘‘(ii) if the amount determined for

9 Puerto Rico under clause (i) is greater

10 than the amount determined for Puerto

11 Rico under paragraph (3), the amount de12 termined for Puerto Rico under paragraph

13 (3).

14 ‘‘(C) ADJUSTMENT IN AMOUNTS TO RE15 MAINING STATES.—If the amount allotted to

16 Puerto Rico for a fiscal year is determined

17 under subparagraph (A) or (B)(i), the Sec18 retary shall reallot to the remaining States (as

19 described in paragraph (3)(A)), on a propor20 tional basis, any amount not otherwise allotted

21 to Puerto Rico.

22 ‘‘(5) USE OF MOST RECENT POPULATION

23 DATA.—For the purpose of providing grants under

24 this part, the Secretary shall use the most recent

25 population data and data on children aged 3 to 21,
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1 inclusive, living in poverty that are available and sat2 isfactory to the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS BY STATE.—

4 ‘‘(1) RESERVATION FOR STATE ACTIVITIES.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara6 graph (D), a State may reserve not more than

7 25 percent of the amount allotted to the State

8 under paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection (b) for

9 a fiscal year for administration and other State10 level activities in accordance with subpara11 graphs (B) and (C).

12 ‘‘(B) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose

14 of administering programs under this part,

15 including the coordination of activities

16 under this part with, and providing tech17 nical assistance to, other programs that

18 provide services to children with disabil19 ities—

20 ‘‘(I) each territory may use up to

21 3 percent of the amount allotted to

22 the territory for a fiscal year, or

23 $35,000, whichever is greater; and

24 ‘‘(II) each remaining State may

25 use up to 3 percent of the amount al-
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1 lotted to the State for a fiscal year, or

2 $450,000, whichever is greater.

3 ‘‘(ii) USE OF AMOUNTS FOR ADMINIS4 TRATION OF PART C.—If the State edu5 cational agency is the lead agency for the

6 State under part C, amounts described in

7 clause (i) may also be used for the admin8 istration of part C.

9 ‘‘(C) OTHER STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—A

10 State shall use any amounts reserved under

11 subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year that are not

12 used for administration under subparagraph

13 (B) for such fiscal year—

14 ‘‘(i) for support and direct services,

15 including technical assistance and person16 nel development and training;

17 ‘‘(ii) for administrative costs of mon18 itoring and complaint investigation, but

19 only to the extent that such costs exceed

20 the costs incurred for those activities dur21 ing fiscal year 1985;

22 ‘‘(iii) to establish and implement the

23 mediation process required by section

24 615(d), including providing for the costs of

25 mediators and support personnel;
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1 ‘‘(iv) to assist local educational agen2 cies in meeting personnel shortages;

3 ‘‘(v) to develop a State improvement

4 plan under part D;

5 ‘‘(vi) for activities at the State and

6 local levels to meet the performance goals

7 established by the State under section

8 612(a)(14) and to support implementation

9 of the State improvement plan under part

10 D if the State receives funds under that

11 part; or

12 ‘‘(vii) to supplement other amounts

13 used to develop and implement a Statewide

14 coordinated services system designed to im15 prove results for children and families, in16 cluding children with disabilities and their

17 families, but not to exceed one percent of

18 the amount received by the State under

19 this section (such system shall be coordi20 nated with and, to the extent appropriate,

21 build on the system of coordinated services

22 developed by the State under part C).

23 ‘‘(D) REPORT ON USE OF AMOUNTS.—The

24 State shall, as part of the information required
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1 to be submitted under section 612, submit a de2 scription of—

3 ‘‘(i) how amounts reserved under sub4 paragraph (A) will be used to meet the re5 quirements of this part;

6 ‘‘(ii) how such amounts will be allo7 cated among the activities described in

8 subparagraphs (B) and (C) to meet State

9 priorities based on input from local edu10 cational agencies; and

11 ‘‘(iii) what percentage of such

12 amounts, if any, will be distributed to local

13 educational agencies by formula.

14 ‘‘(2) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

15 AGENCIES AND CERTAIN STATE AGENCIES.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State shall pro17 vide at least 75 percent of the amount received

18 under a grant for a fiscal year to local edu19 cational agencies in the State that have estab20 lished their eligibility under section 613, and to

21 State agencies that received funds under section

22 614A(a) (as such section was in effect on the

23 day before the date of the enactment of the

24 IDEA Improvement Act of 1996) for fiscal year

25 1996 and have established their eligibility under
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1 section 613, for use in accordance with this

2 part.

3 ‘‘(B) METHODS OF DISTRIBUTION.—A

4 State may provide amounts under subpara5 graph (A) to local educational agencies and

6 State agencies described under such subpara7 graph on the basis of—

8 ‘‘(i) school-age population;

9 ‘‘(ii) school enrollment;

10 ‘‘(iii) numbers of children with disabil11 ities receiving a free appropriate public

12 education;

13 ‘‘(iv) allocations for previous fiscal

14 years;

15 ‘‘(v) any two or more of the factors

16 described in clauses (i) through (iv); or

17 ‘‘(vi) poverty, in combination with one

18 or more of the factors described in clauses

19 (i) through (iv).

20 ‘‘(C) FORMER CHAPTER 1 STATE AGEN21 CIES.—

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To the extent nec23 essary for each of the fiscal years 1997,

24 1998, and 1999, the State shall use

25 amounts that are available under para-
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 graph (1)(A) to ensure that each State

2 agency that received amounts in fiscal year

3 1994 under subpart 2 of part D of chapter

4 1 of title I of the Elementary and Second5 ary Education Act of 1965 (as such sub6 part was in effect on the day before the

7 date of the enactment of the Improving

8 America’s Schools Act of 1994) receives,

9 from the combination of funds under para10 graph (1)(A) and funds provided under

11 subparagraph (A), an amount equal to—

12 ‘‘(I) the number of children with

13 disabilities, aged 6 to 21, inclusive, to

14 whom the agency was providing spe15 cial education and related services on

16 December 1 of the fiscal year for

17 which the funds were appropriated,

18 subject to the methods of distribution

19 under subparagraph (B); multiplied

20 by

21 ‘‘(II) the per-child amount pro22 vided under such subpart for fiscal

23 year 1994.

24 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL USE OF

25 AMOUNTS.—The State may use amounts
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 described in clause (i) to ensure that each

2 local educational agency that received fis3 cal year 1994 funds under that subpart for

4 children who had transferred from a State5 operated or State-supported school or pro6 gram assisted under that subpart receives,

7 from the combination of funds available

8 under paragraph (1)(A) and funds pro9 vided under subparagraph (A), an amount

10 for each such child, aged 3 to 21, inclusive,

11 to whom the agency was providing special

12 education and related services on Decem13 ber 1 of the fiscal year for which the funds

14 were appropriated, equal to the per-child

15 amount the agency received under that

16 subpart for fiscal year 1994.

17 ‘‘(iii) DETERMINATION OF NUMBER

18 OF CHILDREN.—The number of children

19 counted under clause (i)(I) shall not exceed

20 the number of children aged 3 to 21, inclu21 sive, for whom the agency received

22 amounts in fiscal year 1994 under subpart

23 2 of part D of chapter 1 of title I of the

24 Elementary and Secondary Education Act

25 of 1965 (as such subpart was in effect on
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 the day before the date of the enactment

2 of the Improving America’s Schools Act of

3 1994).

4 ‘‘(D) REALLOCATION OF AMOUNTS.—If a

5 State educational agency determines that a

6 local educational agency is adequately providing

7 a free appropriate public education to all chil8 dren with disabilities residing in the area served

9 by that agency with State and local funds, the

10 State educational agency may reallocate any

11 portion of amounts received under a grant

12 under this part that are not needed by that

13 local agency to other local educational agencies

14 in the State that are not adequately providing

15 special education and related services to all chil16 dren with disabilities residing in the areas they

17 serve.

18 ‘‘(d) USE OF AMOUNTS BY SECRETARY OF THE IN19 TERIOR.—

20 ‘‘(1) PROVISION OF AMOUNTS FOR ASSIST21 ANCE.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Edu23 cation shall provide amounts to the Secretary of

24 the Interior to meet the need for assistance for

25 the education of children with disabilities on
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 reservations aged 5 to 21, inclusive, enrolled in

2 elementary and secondary schools for Indian

3 children operated or funded by the Secretary of

4 the Interior. The amount of such payment for

5 any fiscal year shall be equal to 80 percent of

6 the amount allotted under subsection (b)(2) for

7 that fiscal year.

8 ‘‘(B) CALCULATION OF NUMBER OF CHIL9 DREN.—In the case of Indian students ages 3

10 to 5, inclusive, who are enrolled in programs af11 filiated with Bureau of Indian Affairs (here12 after in this subsection referred to as ‘BIA’)

13 schools and that are required by the States in

14 which such schools are located to attain or

15 maintain State accreditation, and which schools

16 have such accreditation prior to the date of en17 actment of the Individuals with Disabilities

18 Education Act Amendments of 1991, the school

19 shall be allowed to count those children for the

20 purpose of distribution of the funds provided

21 under this paragraph to the Secretary of the

22 Interior. The Secretary of the Interior shall be

23 responsible for meeting all of the requirements

24 of this part for these children, in accordance

25 with paragraph (2).
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1 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—With

2 respect to all other children aged 3 to 21, inclu3 sive, on reservations, the State educational

4 agency shall be responsible for ensuring that all

5 of the requirements of this part are imple6 mented.

7 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec8 retary of Education may provide the Secretary of

9 the Interior amounts under paragraph (1) for a fis10 cal year only if the Secretary of the Interior submits

11 to the Secretary of Education information that—

12 ‘‘(A) demonstrates that the Department of

13 the Interior meets the appropriate require14 ments, as determined by the Secretary of Edu15 cation, of sections 612 (including monitoring

16 and evaluation activities) and 613;

17 ‘‘(B) includes a description of how the Sec18 retary of the Interior will coordinate the provi19 sion of services under this part with local edu20 cational agencies, tribes and tribal organiza21 tions, and other private and Federal service

22 providers;

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

24 public hearings, adequate notice of such hear25 ings, and an opportunity for comment afforded
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 to members of tribes, tribal governing bodies,

2 and affected local school boards before the

3 adoption of the policies, programs, and proce4 dures described in subparagraph (A);

5 ‘‘(D) includes an assurance that the Sec6 retary of the Interior will provide such informa7 tion as the Secretary of Education may require

8 to comply with section 618;

9 ‘‘(E) includes an assurance that the Sec10 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of

11 Health and Human Services have entered into

12 a memorandum of agreement, to be provided to

13 the Secretary of Education, for the coordination

14 of services, resources, and personnel between

15 their respective Federal, State, and local offices

16 and with State and local educational agencies

17 and other entities to facilitate the provision of

18 services to Indian children with disabilities re19 siding on or near reservations (such agreement

20 shall provide for the apportionment of respon21 sibilities and costs including, but not limited to,

22 child find, evaluation, diagnosis, remediation or

23 therapeutic measures, and (where appropriate)

24 equipment and medical or personal supplies as
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 needed for a child to remain in school or a pro2 gram); and

3 ‘‘(F) includes an assurance that the De4 partment of the Interior will cooperate with the

5 Department of Education in its exercise of

6 monitoring and oversight of this application,

7 and any agreements entered into between the

8 Secretary of the Interior and other entities

9 under this part, and will fulfill its duties under

10 this part.

11 Section 616(a) shall apply to the information de12 scribed in this paragraph.

13 ‘‘(3) PAYMENTS FOR EDUCATION AND SERVICES

14 FOR INDIAN CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES AGED 3

15 TO 5.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With funds appro17 priated under subsection (e), the Secretary of

18 Education shall make payments to the Sec19 retary of the Interior to be distributed to tribes

20 or tribal organizations (as defined under section

21 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu22 cation Assistance Act) or consortia of the above

23 to provide for the coordination of assistance for

24 special education and related services for chil25 dren with disabilities aged 3 to 5, inclusive, on
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 reservations served by elementary and second2 ary schools for Indian children operated or

3 funded by the Department of the Interior. The

4 amount of such payments under subparagraph

5 (B) for any fiscal year shall be equal to 20 per6 cent of the amount allotted under subsection

7 (b)(2).

8 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The Sec9 retary of the Interior shall distribute the total

10 amount of the payment under subparagraph

11 (A) by allocating to each tribe or tribal organi12 zation an amount based on the number of chil13 dren with disabilities, ages 3 to 5, inclusive, re14 siding on reservations as reported annually di15 vided by the total of such children served by all

16 tribes or tribal organizations.

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

18 receive a payment under this paragraph, the

19 tribe or tribal organization shall submit such

20 figures to the Secretary of the Interior as re21 quired to determine the amounts to be allocated

22 under subparagraph (B). This information shall

23 be compiled and submitted to the Secretary of

24 Education.
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•HR 3268 PCS

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

2 by a tribe or tribal organization shall be used

3 to assist in child find, screening, and other pro4 cedures for the early identification of children

5 aged 3 to 5, inclusive, parent training, and the

6 provision of direct services. These activities may

7 be carried out directly or through contracts or

8 cooperative agreements with the BIA, local edu9 cational agencies, and other public or private

10 nonprofit organizations. The tribe or tribal or11 ganization is encouraged to involve Indian par12 ents in the development and implementation of

13 these activities. The above entities shall, as ap14 propriate, make referrals to local, State, or

15 Federal entities for the provision of services or

16 further diagnosis.

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

18 receive a grant pursuant to subparagraph (A),

19 the tribe or tribal organization shall provide to

20 the Secretary of the Interior a biennial report

21 of activities undertaken under this paragraph,

22 including the number of contracts and coopera23 tive agreements entered into, the number of

24 children contacted and receiving services for

25 each year and the estimated number of children
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 needing services during the 2 years following

2 the one in which the report is made. The Sec3 retary of the Interior shall include a summary

4 of this information on a biennial basis in the re5 port to the Secretary of Education required

6 under this subsection. The Secretary of Edu7 cation may require any additional information

8 from the Secretary of the Interior.

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

10 allocated under this paragraph may be used by

11 the Secretary of the Interior for administrative

12 purposes, including child count and the provi13 sion of technical assistance.

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

15 The Secretary of the Interior shall develop and im16 plement a plan for the coordination of services for

17 all Indian children with disabilities residing on res18 ervations covered under this Act. Such plan shall

19 provide for the coordination of services benefiting

20 these children from whatever source, including

21 tribes, the Indian Health Service, other BIA divi22 sions, and other Federal agencies. In developing

23 such a plan, the Secretary of the Interior shall con24 sult with all interested and involved parties. It shall

25 be based upon the needs of the children and the sys-
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 tem best suited for meeting those needs, and may in2 volve the establishment of cooperative agreements

3 between the BIA, other Federal agencies, and other

4 entities. Such plan shall also be distributed upon re5 quest to States, State and local educational agencies,

6 and other agencies providing services to infants, tod7 dlers, children, and youth with disabilities, to tribes,

8 and to other interested parties.

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

10 To meet the requirements of section 612(a)(18), the

11 Secretary of the Interior shall establish, not later

12 than 6 months after the date of the enactment of

13 the IDEA Improvement Act of 1996, under the Bu14 reau of Indian Affairs (BIA), an advisory board

15 composed of individuals involved in or concerned

16 with the education and provision of services to In17 dian infants, toddlers, children, and youth with dis18 abilities, including Indians with disabilities, Indian

19 parents or guardians of such children, teachers,

20 service providers, State and local educational offi21 cials, representatives of tribes or tribal organiza22 tions, representatives from State Interagency Co23 ordinating Councils in States having reservations,

24 and other members representing the various divi25 sions and entities of the BIA. The chairperson shall
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 be selected by the Secretary of the Interior. The ad2 visory board shall—

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

4 within BIA and with other local, State, and

5 Federal agencies in the provision of education

6 for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with

7 disabilities;

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

9 Interior in the performance of the Secretary’s

10 responsibilities described in this subsection;

11 ‘‘(C) develop and recommend policies con12 cerning effective inter- and intra-agency collabo13 ration, including modifications to regulations,

14 and the elimination of barriers to inter- and

15 intra-agency programs and activities;

16 ‘‘(D) provide assistance and disseminate

17 information on best practices, effective program

18 coordination strategies, and recommendations

19 for improved educational programming for In20 dian infants, toddlers, children, and youth with

21 disabilities; and

22 ‘‘(E) provide assistance in the preparation

23 of information required under paragraph

24 (2)(D).

25 ‘‘(6) ANNUAL REPORTS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The advisory board

2 established under paragraph (5) shall prepare

3 and submit to the Secretary of the Interior and

4 to the Congress an annual report containing a

5 description of the activities of the advisory

6 board for the preceding year.

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

8 Interior shall make available to the Secretary of

9 Education the report described in subparagraph

10 (A).

11 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the

12 purpose of carrying out this part (except for section 619;

13 relating to preschool grants), there are authorized to be

14 appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may be nec15 essary.

16 ‘‘SEC. 612. STATE REQUIREMENTS.

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State shall be eligible to re18 ceive a grant under this part for a fiscal year if, except

19 as provided in subsection (c), the State submits to the Sec20 retary information that demonstrates to the satisfaction

21 of the Secretary that the State has in effect policies and

22 procedures to ensure that it meets each of the following

23 requirements:

24 ‘‘(1) FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDU25 CATION.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A free appropriate

2 public education is available to all children with

3 disabilities residing in the State between the

4 ages of 3 and 21, inclusive.

5 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Subparagraph (A)

6 shall not apply with respect to children with

7 disabilities aged 3 to 5 and children with dis8 abilities aged 18 to 21 to the extent that such

9 application to those children would be inconsist10 ent with State law or practice, or the order of

11 any court, relating to the provision of public

12 education to children in such age ranges.

13 ‘‘(2) CHILD FIND.—All children with disabilities

14 residing in the State, including children with disabil15 ities attending private schools, regardless of the se16 verity of such disabilities, and who are in need of

17 special education and related services, are identified,

18 located, and evaluated and that a practical method

19 is developed and implemented to determine which

20 children with disabilities are currently receiving

21 needed special education and related services.

22 ‘‘(3) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM.—

23 An individualized education program, or an individ24 ualized family service plan that meets the require25 ments of section 636(d), is developed, reviewed, and
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 revised for each child with a disability in accordance

2 with section 614(d).

3 ‘‘(4) LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum ex5 tent appropriate—

6 ‘‘(i) children with disabilities, includ7 ing children in public or private institu8 tions or other care facilities, are educated

9 with children who are not disabled; and

10 ‘‘(ii) special classes, separate school11 ing, or other removal of children with dis12 abilities from the regular educational envi13 ronment occurs only when the nature or

14 severity of the disability of a child means

15 that education in regular classes with the

16 use of supplementary aids and services

17 cannot be achieved satisfactorily.

18 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The State’s meth20 od of distributing funds shall not result in

21 placements that violate the requirements of

22 subparagraph (A).

23 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—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 it

2 will revise the funding mechanism as soon

3 as feasible to ensure that such mechanism

4 does not result in such placements.

5 ‘‘(5) 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 assure that testing

11 and evaluation materials and procedures uti12 lized for the purposes of evaluation and place13 ment of children with disabilities will be se14 lected and administered so as not to be racially

15 or culturally discriminatory. Such materials or

16 procedures shall be provided and administered

17 in the child’s native language or mode of com18 munication, unless it clearly is not feasible to

19 do so, and no single procedure shall be the sole

20 criterion for determining an appropriate edu21 cational program for a child.

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

23 are evaluated in accordance with subsections (a)

24 through (c) of section 614.
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1 ‘‘(7) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Agencies in the State

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

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

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

7 will participate in preschool programs assisted under

8 this part, experience a smooth transition to those

9 preschool programs in a manner consistent with sec10 tion 637(a)(7). By the third birthday of such a

11 child, an individualized education program or, if con12 sistent with sections 614(d)(1)(B) and 636(d), an

13 individualized family service plan, has been devel14 oped and is being implemented for the child. The

15 local educational agency will participate in transition

16 planning conferences by the designated lead agency

17 under section 637(a)(7).

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

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To the extent consist20 ent with the number and location of children

21 with disabilities in the State who are enrolled in

22 private elementary and secondary schools, pro23 vision is made for the participation of such chil24 dren in the program assisted or carried out

25 under this part by providing for such children
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 special education and related services, except if

2 the Secretary has arranged for services to such

3 children under subsection (f).

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

5 TO, PRIVATE SCHOOLS BY PUBLIC AGENCIES.—

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Children with dis7 abilities in private schools and facilities are

8 provided special education and related

9 services, in accordance with an individual10 ized education program, at no cost to their

11 parents, if they are placed in, or referred

12 to, such schools or facilities by the State or

13 a local educational agency in order to com14 ply with this part or with any other provi15 sion of law requiring the provision of spe16 cial education and related services to all

17 children with disabilities in the State.

18 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—

19 In all cases described in clause (i)—

20 ‘‘(I) children with disabilities are

21 placed in, or referred to, only those

22 private schools and facilities that the

23 State educational agency determines

24 meet standards that apply to State

25 and local educational agencies; and
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 ‘‘(II) children served in such pri2 vate schools or facilities retain access

3 to a free appropriate public education

4 in accordance with this part.

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

7 CONSENT OF OR REFERRAL BY THE PUBLIC

8 AGENCY.—

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the parents of a

10 child with a disability that had previously

11 received special education and related serv12 ices under the authority of a public agency

13 have enrolled their child in a private ele14 mentary or secondary school without the

15 consent of or referral by the public agency,

16 as a result of mediation described in sec17 tion 615(d), or as a result of a decision

18 rendered under the procedural safeguards

19 of section 615, the public agency may be

20 required to reimburse the parents for the

21 cost of the enrollment, except that the cost

22 of the reimbursement may be reduced or

23 denied—

24 ‘‘(I) if, at least 10 school days

25 prior to the removal of the child from
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1 the public school, the parents did not

2 give a written statement of their con3 cerns to the public agency and notice

4 that they intend to place their child in

5 a private school at public expense;

6 ‘‘(II) if, prior to the removal of

7 the child from the public school, the

8 parents did not make the child avail9 able for an initial assessment and

10 evaluation by the local educational

11 agency prior to enrollment in the pri12 vate school; or

13 ‘‘(III) at the discretion of the

14 judge.

15 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding

16 the notice requirement in clause (i)(I), the

17 cost of the reimbursement may not be re18 duced or denied for failure to provide such

19 notice if—

20 ‘‘(I) the parent is illiterate or

21 cannot write in English;

22 ‘‘(II) compliance with clause

23 (i)(I) would likely result in physical or

24 serious emotional harm to the child;
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1 ‘‘(III) the school prevented the

2 parent from providing such notice; or

3 ‘‘(IV) the parent had not received

4 notice, pursuant to section 615(d), of

5 the notice requirement in clause (i)(I).

6 ‘‘(10) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY RESPON7 SIBLE FOR GENERAL SUPERVISION.—

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

9 agency is responsible for ensuring that—

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

11 met; and

12 ‘‘(ii) all educational programs for chil13 dren with disabilities in the State, includ14 ing all such programs administered by any

15 other State or local agency—

16 ‘‘(I) are under the general super17 vision of individuals in the State who

18 are responsible for educational pro19 grams for children with disabilities;

20 and

21 ‘‘(II) meet the educational stand22 ards of the State educational agency.

23 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Subparagraph (A)

24 shall not limit the responsibility of agencies in

25 the State other than the State educational
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1 agency to provide, or pay for some or all of the

2 costs of, a free appropriate public education for

3 any child with a disability in the State.

4 ‘‘(11) OBLIGATIONS RELATED TO AND METH5 ODS OF ENSURING SERVICES.—

6 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHING RESPONSIBILITY FOR

7 SERVICES.—The Chief Executive Officer or des8 ignee of the officer shall ensure that an inter9 agency agreement or other mechanism for inter10 agency coordination is in effect between each

11 public agency described in subparagraph (B)

12 and the appropriate educational agency within

13 the State, in order to ensure that all services

14 described in subparagraph (B)(i) that are need15 ed to ensure a free appropriate public education

16 are provided, including the provision of such

17 services during the pendency of any dispute

18 under clause (iii). Such agreement or mecha19 nism shall include the following:

20 ‘‘(i) AGENCY FINANCIAL RESPON21 SIBILITY.—An identification of, or a meth22 od for defining, the financial responsibility

23 of each agency for providing services de24 scribed in subparagraph (B)(i) to ensure a

25 free appropriate public education to chil-
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•HR 3268 PCS

1 dren with disabilities provided that the fi2 nancial responsibility of each public agency

3 described in subparagraph (B), including

4 the State Medicaid agency and other public

5 insurers of children with disabilities, shall

6 precede the financial responsibility of the

7 local education agency (or the State agency

8 responsible for developing the child’s IEP).

9 ‘‘(ii) CONDITIONS AND TERMS OF RE10 IMBURSEMENT.—The conditions, terms,

11 and procedures under which a local edu12 cational agency shall be reimbursed by

13 other agencies.

14 ‘‘(iii) INTERAGENCY DISPUTES.—Pro15 cedures for resolving interagency disputes

16 (including procedures under which local

17 education agencies may initiate proceed18 ings) under the agreement or other mecha19 nism to secure reimbursement from other

20 agencies or otherwise implement the provi21 sions of the agreement or mechanism.

22 ‘‘(iv) COORDINATION OF SERVICES

23 PROCEDURES.—Policies and procedures for

24 agencies to determine and identify the

25 interagency coordination responsibilities of
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1 each agency to promote the coordination

2 and timely and appropriate delivery of

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

4 ‘‘(B) OBLIGATION OF PUBLIC AGENCY.—

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If any public

6 agency other than an educational agency is

7 otherwise obligated under Federal or State

8 law, or assigned responsibility under State

9 policy or pursuant to subparagraph (A), to

10 provide or pay for any services that are

11 also considered special education or related

12 services (such as, but not limited to, serv13 ices described in sections 602(1) relating

14 to assistive technology devices, 602(2) re15 lating to assistive technology services,

16 602(20) relating to related services,

17 602(27) related to supplementary aids and

18 services, and 602(29) relating to transition

19 services) that are necessary for ensuring a

20 free appropriate public education to chil21 dren with disabilities within the State,

22 such public agency shall fulfill that obliga23 tion or responsibility, either directly or

24 through contract or other arrangement.
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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

5 and related services described in clause (i),

6 the local educational agency (or State

7 agency responsibility for developing the

8 child’s IEP) shall provide or pay for such

9 services to the child. Such local education

10 agency or State agency may then claim re11 imbursement for the services from the pub12 lic agency that failed to provide or pay for

13 such services and such public agency shall

14 reimburse the local education agency or

15 State agency pursuant to the terms of the

16 interagency agreement described in sub17 paragraph (A)(i) according to the proce18 dures established in such agreement pursu19 ant 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 re24 spective agency officials that clearly iden-
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1 tify the responsibilities of each agency re2 lating to the provision of services; or

3 ‘‘(iii) other appropriate methods as

4 determined by the Chief Executive Officer

5 or designee of the officer.

6 ‘‘(12) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS RELATING

7 TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ELIGIBILITY.—

8 The State educational agency will not make a final

9 determination that a local educational agency is not

10 eligible for assistance under this part without first

11 affording that agency reasonable notice and an op12 portunity for a hearing.

13 ‘‘(13) COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF PERSONNEL

14 DEVELOPMENT.—The State has established and im15 plemented, consistent with the purposes of this title

16 and section 635(a)(7), a comprehensive system of

17 personnel development that is designed to ensure an

18 adequate supply of qualified special education and

19 related services personnel necessary to carry out this

20 part, including—

21 ‘‘(A) a statewide, coordinated personnel-de22 velopment plan that meets the personnel devel23 opment requirements of a State improvement

24 plan under section 683; or
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1 ‘‘(B) a personnel-development plan, devel2 oped in consultation with parents of children

3 with disabilities, State and local educational

4 agencies, institutions of higher education, and

5 professional associations that—

6 ‘‘(i) addresses current and projected

7 needs for special education and related

8 services personnel throughout the State;

9 ‘‘(ii) addresses the need for the pre10 service and in-service preparation of per11 sonnel throughout the State, including reg12 ular education personnel, to provide edu13 cational services to children with disabil14 ities;

15 ‘‘(iii) includes a system or procedures

16 for recruiting, preparing, and retaining

17 qualified personnel, including personnel

18 with disabilities and personnel from groups

19 that are underrepresented in the field of

20 special education and related services; and

21 ‘‘(iv) is integrated, to the maximum

22 extent possible, with other professional de23 velopment plans and activities.

24 ‘‘(14) PERSONNEL STANDARDS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State educational

2 agency has established and maintains standards

3 to ensure that personnel necessary to carry out

4 this part are appropriately and adequately pre5 pared and trained.

6 ‘‘(B) STANDARDS DESCRIBED.—Such

7 standards shall—

8 ‘‘(i) be consistent with any State-ap9 proved or State-recognized certification, li10 censing, registration, or other comparable

11 requirements that apply to the professional

12 discipline in which those personnel are pro13 viding special education or related services;

14 ‘‘(ii) to the extent the standards de15 scribed in subparagraph (A) are not based

16 on the highest requirements in the State

17 applicable to a specific profession or dis18 cipline, the State is taking steps to require

19 retraining or hiring of personnel that meet

20 appropriate professional requirements in

21 the State; and

22 ‘‘(iii) allow paraprofessionals and as23 sistants who are appropriately trained and

24 supervised, in accordance with State law,

25 regulations, or written policy, in meeting
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1 the requirements of this part to be used to

2 assist in the provision of special education

3 and related services to children with dis4 abilities under this part.

5 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION.—If the State determines

6 that, within a geographic area of the State

7 there is a shortage of an appropriate number

8 and type of personnel to provide the special

9 education and related services to children with

10 disabilities within such area, and the appro11 priate public agency has taken steps to recruit

12 and hire such personnel, the State may, subject

13 to public comment and review, temporarily sus14 pend the standards of subparagraph (B)(ii)—

15 ‘‘(i) consistent with State law, for the

16 purpose of recruiting and hiring for such

17 shortage areas the most qualified available

18 individuals who are making progress in ap19 plicable coursework; and

20 ‘‘(ii) for a period not to exceed 3

21 years.

22 ‘‘(15) PERFORMANCE GOALS AND INDICA23 TORS.—The State—
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1 ‘‘(A) has established goals for the perform2 ance of children with disabilities in the State

3 that—

4 ‘‘(i) will promote the purposes of this

5 title, as stated in section 601(d); and

6 ‘‘(ii) are consistent, to the maximum

7 extent appropriate, with other goals and

8 standards established by the State;

9 ‘‘(B) has established performance indica10 tors the State will use to assess progress toward

11 achieving those goals that, at a minimum, ad12 dress the performance of children with disabil13 ities on assessments, drop-out rates, and grad14 uation rates;

15 ‘‘(C) will, every two years, report to the

16 Secretary and the public on the progress of the

17 State, and of children with disabilities in the

18 State, toward meeting the goals established

19 under subparagraph (A); and

20 ‘‘(D) based on its assessment of that

21 progress, will revise its State improvement plan

22 under part D as may be needed to improve its

23 performance, if the State receives assistance

24 under such part.

25 ‘‘(16) PARTICIPATION IN ASSESSMENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Children with disabil2 ities are included in general State and district3 wide assessment programs, with appropriate ac4 commodations, where necessary. As appro5 priate, the State or local educational agency—

6 ‘‘(i) develops guidelines for the par7 ticipation of children with disabilities in al8 ternate assessments for those children who

9 cannot participate in State and district10 wide assessment programs; and

11 ‘‘(ii) develops and, beginning not later

12 than July 1, 1999, conducts those alter13 nate assessments.

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

15 agency makes available to the public, and re16 ports to the public with the same frequency and

17 in the same detail as it reports on the assess18 ment of nondisabled children, the following:

19 ‘‘(i) The number of children with dis20 abilities participating in regular assess21 ments.

22 ‘‘(ii) The number of those children

23 participating in alternate assessments.

24 ‘‘(iii) The performance of those chil25 dren on regular assessments (beginning
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1 not later than July 1, 1997) and on alter2 nate assessments (not later than July 1,

3 1999), if doing so would be statistically

4 sound and would not result in the disclo5 sure of performance results identifiable to

6 individual children.

7 ‘‘(17) SUPPLEMENTATION OF STATE, LOCAL,

8 AND OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State ensures

10 that amounts provided under a grant to the

11 State under this part, except as provided in

12 subparagraph (B), will be used to supplement

13 State, local, and other Federal funds (including

14 funds not under the direct control of State or

15 local educational agencies) expended for special

16 education and related services, and not to sup17 plant those funds.

18 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive,

19 in whole or in part, the requirements of sub20 paragraph (A) if the Secretary determines that

21 the State has provided clear evidence that all

22 children with disabilities in the State have avail23 able a free appropriate public education or that,

24 such a waiver would allow the State to improve

25 the delivery of special education and related
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1 services to children with disabilities in the

2 State.

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

4 adoption of any policies and procedures needed to

5 comply with this section (including any amendments

6 to such policies and procedures), the State ensures

7 that there are public hearings, adequate notice of

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

10 disabilities and parents of children with disabilities.

11 ‘‘(19) STATE ADVISORY PANEL.—

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

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

16 for children with disabilities in the State.

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

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

20 State law to make such appointments, that is

21 representative of the State population and that

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

3 ‘‘(ii) individuals with disabilities;

4 ‘‘(iii) teachers;

5 ‘‘(iv) representatives of institutions of

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

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

10 ‘‘(vi) administrators of programs for

11 children with disabilities;

12 ‘‘(vii) representatives of other State

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

16 ‘‘(viii) at least one representative of a

17 vocational, community, or business organi18 zation concerned with the provision of

19 transition services to children with disabil20 ities; and

21 ‘‘(ix) representatives from the State

22 juvenile and adult corrections agencies.

23 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE.—A majority of the

24 members of the panel shall be individuals with
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1 disabilities or parents of children with disabil2 ities.

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

4 ‘‘(i) advise the State educational agen5 cy of unmet needs within the State in the

6 education of children with disabilities;

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

8 regulations proposed by the State regard9 ing—

10 ‘‘(I) the education of children

11 with disabilities; and

12 ‘‘(II) the procedures for distribu13 tion of amounts received by the State

14 under a grant under this part;

15 ‘‘(iii) advise the State educational

16 agency in developing evaluations and re17 porting on data to the Secretary under sec18 tion 618;

19 ‘‘(iv) advise the State educational

20 agency in developing corrective action

21 plans to address findings identified in Fed22 eral monitoring reports under this part;

23 and

24 ‘‘(v) advise the State educational

25 agency in developing and implementing
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1 policies relating to the coordination of serv2 ices for children with disabilities.

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

4 FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION OR DIRECT

5 SERVICES.—If the State educational agency provides free

6 appropriate public education to children with disabilities,

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

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

10 local educational agency; and

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

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

14 (relating to excess costs).

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

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

17 the Secretary policies and procedures that dem18 onstrate that such State meets any requirement of

19 subsection (a), including any policies and procedures

20 filed under this part as in effect before the date of

21 the enactment of the IDEA Improvement Act of

22 1996, the Secretary shall consider such State to

23 have met such requirement for purposes of receiving

24 a grant under this part.
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1 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATIONS MADE BY STATE.—Sub2 ject to paragraph (3), an application submitted by a

3 State in accordance with this section shall remain in

4 effect until the State submits to the Secretary such

5 modifications as the State deems necessary. This

6 section shall apply to a modification to an applica7 tion to the same extent and in the same manner as

8 this section applies to the original plan.

9 ‘‘(3) MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY THE SEC10 RETARY.—The Secretary may require a State to

11 amend its application at any time as a result of the

12 Secretary’s compliance reviews under parts B and C.

13 The Secretary shall reduce or shall not provide any

14 further payments to the State educational agency

15 until the Secretary is satisfied that the State edu16 cational agency is complying with that requirement.

17 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL BY THE SECRETARY.—

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

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

20 part, the Secretary shall notify the State of that de21 termination.

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

23 shall not make a final determination that a State is

24 not eligible to receive a grant under this part until

25 after providing the State—
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1 ‘‘(A) with reasonable notice; and

2 ‘‘(B) with an opportunity for a hearing.

3 ‘‘(e) ASSISTANCE UNDER OTHER FEDERAL PRO4 GRAMS.—Nothing in this title permits a State to reduce

5 medical and other assistance available, or to alter eligi6 bility, under titles V and XIX of the Social Security Act

7 with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public

8 education for children with disabilities within the State.

9 ‘‘(f) BY-PASS FOR CHILDREN IN PRIVATE

10 SCHOOLS.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, on the date of enact12 ment of the Education of the Handicapped Act

13 Amendments of 1983, a State educational agency is

14 prohibited by law from providing for the participa15 tion in special programs of children with disabilities

16 enrolled in private elementary and secondary schools

17 as required by subsection (a)(9), the Secretary shall,

18 notwithstanding such provision of law, arrange for

19 the provision of services to such children through ar20 rangements which shall be subject to the require21 ments of such subsection.

22 ‘‘(2) PAYMENTS.—

23 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNTS.—If

24 the Secretary arranges for services pursuant to

25 this subsection, the Secretary, after consulta-
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1 tion with the appropriate public and private

2 school officials, shall pay to the provider of such

3 services for a fiscal year an amount per child

4 that does not exceed the amount determined by

5 dividing—

6 ‘‘(i) the total amount received by the

7 State under this part for such fiscal year;

8 by

9 ‘‘(ii) the number of children with dis10 abilities served in the prior year, as re11 ported to the Secretary by the State under

12 section 618.

13 ‘‘(B) WITHHOLDING OF CERTAIN

14 AMOUNTS.—Pending final resolution of any in15 vestigation or complaint that could result in a

16 determination under this subsection, the Sec17 retary may withhold from the allocation of the

18 affected State educational agency the amount

19 the Secretary estimates would be necessary to

20 pay the cost of services described in subpara21 graph (A).

22 ‘‘(C) PERIOD OF PAYMENTS.—The period

23 under which payments are made under sub24 paragraph (A) shall continue until the Sec25 retary determines that there will no longer be
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1 any failure or inability on the part of the State

2 educational agency to meet the requirements of

3 subsection (a)(9).

4 ‘‘(3) NOTICE AND HEARING.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

6 not take any final action under this subsection

7 until the State educational agency affected by

8 such action has had an opportunity, for at least

9 45 days after receiving written notice thereof,

10 to submit written objections and to appear be11 fore the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee

12 to show cause why such action should not be

13 taken.

14 ‘‘(B) REVIEW OF ACTION.—If a State edu15 cational agency is dissatisfied with the Sec16 retary’s final action after a proceeding under

17 subparagraph (A), such agency may, not later

18 than 60 days after notice of such action, file

19 with the United States court of appeals for the

20 circuit in which such State is located a petition

21 for review of that action. A copy of the petition

22 shall be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of

23 the court to the Secretary. The Secretary there24 upon shall file in the court the record of the

25 proceedings on which the Secretary based the
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1 Secretary’s action, as provided in section 2112

2 of title 28, United States Code.

3 ‘‘(C) REVIEW OF FINDINGS OF FACT.—The

4 findings of fact by the Secretary, if supported

5 by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive, but

6 the court, for good cause shown, may remand

7 the case to the Secretary to take further evi8 dence, and the Secretary may thereupon make

9 new or modified findings of fact and may mod10 ify the Secretary’s previous action, and shall file

11 in the court the record of the further proceed12 ings. Such new or modified findings of fact

13 shall likewise be conclusive if supported by sub14 stantial evidence.

15 ‘‘(D) JURISDICTION OF COURT OF AP16 PEALS; REVIEW BY UNITED STATES SUPREME

17 COURT.—Upon the filing of a petition under

18 subparagraph (B), the United States court of

19 appeals shall have jurisdiction to affirm the ac20 tion of the Secretary or to set it aside, in whole

21 or in part. The judgment of the court shall be

22 subject to review by the Supreme Court of the

23 United States upon certiorari or certification as

24 provided in section 1254 of title 28, United

25 States Code.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 613. LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY REQUIREMENTS.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency shall

3 be eligible for assistance under this part for any fiscal year

4 if, except as provided in subsection (b), such agency sub5 mits to the State educational agency information that

6 demonstrates to the satisfaction of the State educational

7 agency the following:

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

9 The local educational agency, in providing for the

10 education of children with disabilities within its ju11 risdiction, has in effect policies, procedures, and pro12 grams that are consistent with the State policies and

13 procedures established under section 612.

14 ‘‘(2) USE OF AMOUNTS.—

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

16 the local educational agency under this part—

17 ‘‘(i) shall be used only to pay the ex18 cess costs of providing special education

19 and related services to children with dis20 abilities;

21 ‘‘(ii) shall be used to supplement

22 State, local, and other Federal funds and

23 not to supplant such funds;

24 ‘‘(iii) except as provided in subpara25 graph (B), may not be used to reduce the

26 level of expenditures for the education of
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1 children with disabilities made by the local

2 educational agency from State or local

3 funds below the level of those expenditures

4 for the preceding fiscal year;

5 ‘‘(iv) may be used, notwithstanding

6 clause (i) or any other provision of this

7 part, for the costs of special education and

8 related services provided in a regular class

9 or other education related setting to a

10 child with a disability in accordance with

11 the child’s individualized education pro12 gram, even if one or more nondisabled chil13 dren benefit from those services; and

14 ‘‘(v) may be used, in accordance with

15 subsection (f) and notwithstanding clause

16 (i) or any other provision of this part, to

17 develop and implement a coordinated serv18 ices system.

19 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the

20 restriction in subparagraph (A)(iii), a local edu21 cation agency may reduce the level of expendi22 tures where such reduction is attributable to—

23 ‘‘(i) the departure, by retirement or

24 otherwise, of special education personnel;
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1 ‘‘(ii) a decrease in the enrollment of

2 children with disabilities;

3 ‘‘(iii) the termination of the obligation

4 of the agency, consistent with this part, to

5 provide a program of special education to

6 a particular child with a disability that is

7 an exceptionally costly program, as deter8 mined by the State educational agency, be9 cause the child—

10 ‘‘(I) has left the jurisdiction of

11 the agency;

12 ‘‘(II) has reached the age at

13 which the obligation of the agency to

14 provide a free appropriate public edu15 cation to the child has terminated; or

16 ‘‘(III) no longer needs such pro17 gram of special education; or

18 ‘‘(iv) the termination of costly expend19 itures for long-term purchases, such as the

20 acquisition of equipment or the construc21 tion of school facilities.

22 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION FOR STATE EDUCATIONAL

23 AGENCY.—The local educational agency shall provide

24 the State educational agency with information nec25 essary to enable the State educational agency to
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1 carry out its duties under this part, including, with

2 respect to paragraphs (14) and (15) of section

3 612(a), information relating to the performance of

4 children with disabilities participating in programs

5 carried out under this part.

6 ‘‘(4) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—The local edu7 cational agency shall make available to parents of

8 children with disabilities and to the general public

9 all documents relating to the eligibility of such agen10 cy under this part.

11 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION FOR PRIOR LOCAL PLANS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a local educational agen13 cy or State agency has on file with the State edu14 cational agency policies and procedures that dem15 onstrate that such local educational agency, or such

16 State agency, as the case may be, meets any require17 ment of subsection (a), including any policies and

18 procedures filed under this part as in effect before

19 the date of the enactment of IDEA Improvement

20 Act of 1996, the State educational agency shall con21 sider such local educational agency or State agency,

22 as the case may be, to have met such requirement

23 for purposes of receiving assistance under this part.

24 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATION MADE BY LOCAL EDU25 CATIONAL AGENCY.—Subject to paragraph (3), an
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1 application submitted by a local educational agency

2 in accordance with this section shall remain in effect

3 until the such agency submits to the State edu4 cational agency such modifications as the local edu5 cational agency deems necessary.

6 ‘‘(3) MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY STATE

7 EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The State educational

8 agency may require a local educational agency to

9 amend its application at anytime as a result of the

10 compliance reviews of the State educational agency

11 under parts B and C. This paragraph shall apply to

12 a modification to an application to the same extent

13 and in the same manner as this section applies to

14 the original plan.

15 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN16 CY OR STATE AGENCY IN CASE OF INELIGIBILITY.—If the

17 State educational agency determines that a local edu18 cational agency or State agency is not eligible under this

19 section, the State educational agency shall notify such

20 local educational agency or State agency, as the case may

21 be, of that determination and shall provide such local edu22 cational agency or State agency with reasonable notice and

23 an opportunity for a hearing.

24 ‘‘(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

10 is 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 nec17 essary to bring the pendency of an action pursuant

18 to this subsection to the attention of the public with19 in the jurisdiction 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) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency

3 may require a local educational agency to establish

4 its eligibility jointly with another local educational

5 agency if the State educational agency determines

6 that the local educational agency would be ineligible

7 under this section because the local educational

8 agency would not be able to establish and maintain

9 programs of sufficient size and scope to effectively

10 meet the needs of children with disabilities.

11 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.—If a State edu12 cational agency requires the joint establishment of

13 eligibility under paragraph (1), the total amount of

14 funds made available to the affected local edu15 cational agencies shall be equal to the sum of the

16 payments that each such local educational agency

17 would have received under section 611(c) if such

18 agencies were eligible for such payments.

19 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Local educational agen20 cies that establish joint eligibility under this sub21 section shall—

22 ‘‘(A) adopt policies and procedures that

23 are consistent with the State’s policies and pro24 cedures under section 612(a); and
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1 ‘‘(B) be jointly responsible for implement2 ing programs that receive assistance under this

3 part.

4 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL SERV5 ICE AGENCIES.—

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an educational serv7 ice agency is required by State law to carry out

8 programs under this part, the joint responsibil9 ities given to local educational agencies under

10 this subsection shall—

11 ‘‘(i) not apply to the administration

12 and disbursement of any payments re13 ceived by that educational service agency;

14 and

15 ‘‘(ii) be carried out only by that edu16 cational service agency.

17 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Not18 withstanding any other provision of this sub19 section, an educational service agency shall pro20 vide for the education of children with disabil21 ities in the least restrictive environment, as re22 quired by section 612(a)(4).

23 ‘‘(f) COORDINATED SERVICES SYSTEM.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency

25 may not use more than 5 percent of the amount
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1 such agency receives under this part for any fiscal

2 year, in combination with other amounts (which

3 shall include amounts other than education funds),

4 to develop and implement a coordinated services sys5 tem designed to improve results for children and

6 families, including children with disabilities and their

7 families.

8 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—In implementing a coordi9 nated services system under this subsection, a local

10 educational agency may carry out activities which in11 clude—

12 ‘‘(A) improving the effectiveness and effi13 ciency of service delivery, including developing

14 strategies that promote accountability for re15 sults;

16 ‘‘(B) service coordination and case man17 agement that facilitates the linkage of individ18 ualized education programs under this part and

19 individualized family service plans under part C

20 with individualized service plans under multiple

21 Federal and State programs, such as title I of

22 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (vocational reha23 bilitation), title XIX of the Social Security Act

24 (Medicaid), and title XVI of the Social Security

25 Act (supplemental security income);
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1 ‘‘(C) developing and implementing inter2 agency financing strategies for the provision of

3 education, health, mental health, and social

4 services, including transition services and relat5 ed services under this title; and

6 ‘‘(D) interagency personnel development

7 for individuals working on coordinated services.

8 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH CERTAIN PROJECTS

9 UNDER ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

10 ACT OF 1965.—If a local educational agency is carry11 ing out a coordinated services project under title XI

12 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

13 1965 and a coordinated services project under this

14 part in the same schools, such agency shall use

15 amounts under this subsection in accordance with

16 the requirements of that title.

17 ‘‘(g) DIRECT SERVICES BY THE STATE EDU18 CATIONAL AGENCY.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency

20 shall use the payments that would otherwise have

21 been available to a local educational agency or to a

22 State agency to provide special education and relat23 ed services directly to children with disabilities resid24 ing in the area served by that local agency, or for

25 whom that State agency is responsible, if the State
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1 educational agency determines that the local edu2 cation agency or State agency, as the case may be—

3 ‘‘(A) has not provided the information

4 needed to establish the eligibility of such agency

5 under this section;

6 ‘‘(B) is unable to establish and maintain

7 programs of free appropriate public education

8 that meet the requirements of subsection (a);

9 ‘‘(C) is unable or unwilling to be consoli10 dated with one or more local educational agen11 cies in order to establish and maintain such

12 programs; or

13 ‘‘(D) has one or more children with disabil14 ities who can best be served by a regional or

15 State program or service delivery system de16 signed to meet the needs of such children.

17 ‘‘(2) MANNER AND LOCATION OF EDUCATION

18 AND SERVICES.—The State educational agency may

19 provide special education and related services under

20 paragraph (1) in such manner and at such locations

21 (including regional or State centers) as the State

22 agency considers appropriate. Such education and

23 services shall be provided in accordance with this

24 part.
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1 ‘‘(h) STATE AGENCY ELIGIBILITY.—Any State agen2 cy that desires to receive a subgrant for any fiscal year

3 under section 611(c) shall demonstrate to the satisfaction

4 of the State educational agency that—

5 ‘‘(1) all children with disabilities who are par6 ticipating in programs and projects funded under

7 this part receive a free appropriate public education,

8 and that those children and their parents are pro9 vided all the rights and procedural safeguards de10 scribed in this part; and

11 ‘‘(2) the agency meets such other conditions of

12 this section as the Secretary determines to be appro13 priate.

14 ‘‘SEC. 614. EVALUATIONS, REEVALUATIONS, INDIVIDUAL15 IZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND EDU16 CATIONAL PLACEMENTS.

17 ‘‘(a) EVALUATIONS AND REEVALUATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(1) INITIAL EVALUATIONS.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State educational

20 agency, other State agency, or local educational

21 agency shall conduct an initial evaluation, in ac22 cordance with this paragraph and subsection

23 (b), before the initial provision of special edu24 cation and related services to a child with a dis25 ability under this part.
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1 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES.—Such initial evalua2 tion shall consist of procedures—

3 ‘‘(i) to determine whether a child is a

4 child with a disability (as defined in sec5 tion 602(3)); and

6 ‘‘(ii) to determine the educational

7 needs of such child.

8 ‘‘(C) PARENTAL CONSENT.—

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The agency pro10 posing to conduct an initial evaluation to

11 determine if the child qualifies as a child

12 with a disability as defined in section

13 602(3)(A) or 602(3)(B) shall obtain an in14 formed consent from the parent of such

15 child before the evaluation is conducted.

16 Parental consent for evaluation shall not

17 be construed as consent for placement for

18 receipt of special education and related

19 services.

20 ‘‘(ii) REFUSAL.—If the parents of

21 such child refuse consent for the evalua22 tion, the agency may continue to pursue an

23 evaluation by utilizing the mediation and

24 due process procedures under section

25 615(e).
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1 ‘‘(2) REEVALUATIONS.—A local educational

2 agency shall ensure that a reevaluation of each child

3 with a disability is conducted—

4 ‘‘(A) if conditions warrant a reevaluation

5 or if the child’s parent or teacher requests a re6 evaluation, but at least once every 3 years; and

7 ‘‘(B) in accordance with subsections (b)

8 and (c).

9 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION PROCEDURES.—

10 ‘‘(1) NOTICE.—The local educational agency

11 shall provide notice to the parents of a child with a

12 disability, in accordance with subsections (b)(3),

13 (b)(4), and (c) of section 615, that describes any

14 evaluation procedures such agency proposes to con15 duct.

16 ‘‘(2) CONDUCT OF EVALUATION.—In conduct17 ing the evaluation, the local educational agency

18 shall—

19 ‘‘(A) use a variety of assessment tools and

20 strategies to gather relevant functional and de21 velopmental information, including information

22 provided by the parent, that may assist in de23 termining whether the child is a child with a

24 disability and the content of the child’s individ25 ualized education program, including informa-
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1 tion related to enabling the child to be involved

2 in and progress in the general curriculum or,

3 for preschool children, to participate in appro4 priate activities;

5 ‘‘(B) not use any single procedure as the

6 sole criterion for determining whether a child is

7 a child with a disability or determining an ap8 propriate educational program for the child;

9 and

10 ‘‘(C) use technically sound instruments

11 that may assess the relative contribution of cog12 nitive and behavioral factors, in addition to

13 physical or developmental factors.

14 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Each local

15 educational agency shall ensure that—

16 ‘‘(A) tests and other evaluation materials

17 used to assess a child under this section—

18 ‘‘(i) are selected and administered so

19 as not to be discriminatory on a racial or

20 cultural basis; and

21 ‘‘(ii) are provided and administered in

22 the child’s native language or other mode

23 of communication, unless it is clearly not

24 feasible to do so; and
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1 ‘‘(B) any standardized tests that are given

2 to the child—

3 ‘‘(i) have been validated for the spe4 cific purpose for which they are used;

5 ‘‘(ii) are administered by qualified

6 personnel; and

7 ‘‘(iii) are administered in accordance

8 with any instructions provided by the pro9 ducer of such tests; and

10 ‘‘(C) the child is assessed in all areas of

11 suspected disability.

12 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Upon

13 completion of administration of tests and other eval14 uation materials—

15 ‘‘(A) the determination of whether the

16 child is a child with a disability as defined in

17 section 602(3) or section 602(3)(B) will be

18 made by a team of qualified professionals and

19 the parent of the child in accordance with para20 graph (5); and

21 ‘‘(B) a copy of the evaluation report and

22 the documentation of determination of eligibility

23 will be given to the parent.

24 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULE FOR ELIGIBILITY DETER25 MINATION.—In making a determination of eligibility
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1 under paragraph (4)(A), a child shall not be deter2 mined to be a child with a disability based on any

3 of the following:

4 ‘‘(A) Lack of instruction, including instruc5 tion in reading or math.

6 ‘‘(B) Limited English proficiency.

7 ‘‘(C) Cultural or environmental factors.

8 ‘‘(D) Economic disadvantage.

9 ‘‘(c) REEVALUATION PROCEDURES.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of any reevaluation

11 to assess a child under this section, the individual12 ized education program team and other qualified

13 professionals, as appropriate, shall—

14 ‘‘(A) review existing evaluation data on the

15 child, including current classroom-based assess16 ments and teacher and related services provid17 ers observation; and

18 ‘‘(B) on the basis of that review and input

19 from the child’s parents, identify what addi20 tional data, if any, are needed to determine—

21 ‘‘(i) whether the child continues to

22 have a disability, as described in section

23 602(3)(A)(i) or section 602(3)(B);

24 ‘‘(ii) the child’s present levels of per25 formance and educational needs; and
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1 ‘‘(iii)(I) whether the child continues to

2 need special education and related services;

3 and

4 ‘‘(II) if so, any additions or modifica5 tions to the special education and related

6 services to enable the child to meet the ob7 jectives set out in the individualized edu8 cation program of the child and to partici9 pate, as appropriate, in the general cur10 riculum.

11 ‘‘(2) TESTS AND OTHER EVALUATION MATE12 RIALS.—The local educational agency shall admin13 ister such tests and other evaluation materials as

14 may be needed to produce the data identified by the

15 IEP Team under paragraph (1)(B).

16 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS IF ADDITIONAL DATA NOT

17 NEEDED.—If the IEP Team and other qualified pro18 fessionals, as appropriate, determines that no addi19 tional data are needed to determine whether the

20 child continues to be a child with a disability, the

21 local educational agency—

22 ‘‘(A) shall notify the child’s parents of—

23 ‘‘(i) that determination and the rea24 sons for it; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) the right of such parents to re2 quest an assessment to determine whether

3 the child continues to be a child with a dis4 ability; and

5 ‘‘(B) shall not be required to conduct such

6 an assessment unless requested to by the child’s

7 parents.

8 ‘‘(d) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—

9 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT THAT PROGRAM BE IN EF10 FECT.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the beginning of

12 each school year, each local educational agency,

13 or State educational agency, as the case may

14 be, shall have in effect, for each child with a

15 disability in its jurisdiction, an individualized

16 education program, as defined in section

17 602(11).

18 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM FOR CHILD AGED 3 TO 5.—

19 In the case of a child with a disability aged 3

20 to 5, inclusive, an individualized family service

21 plan that contains the material described in sec22 tion 636, and that is developed in accordance

23 with this section, may serve as the IEP of the

24 child if using that plan as the IEP is—

25 ‘‘(i) consistent with State policy; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) agreed to by the agency and the

2 child’s parents.

3 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT OF IEP.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An individualized edu5 cation program team shall develop the IEP de6 scribed in paragraph (1). In developing such

7 IEP, the IEP Team, subject to subparagraph

8 (B), shall—

9 ‘‘(i) consider the child’s strengths and

10 the parents’ concerns for enhancing their

11 child’s education;

12 ‘‘(ii) consider the results of the initial

13 evaluation or most recent reevaluation;

14 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a child whose be15 havior impedes his or her learning or that

16 of others, consider, when appropriate,

17 strategies, including positive behavior man18 agement interventions and strategies to

19 help the child behave in an appropriate

20 and responsible manner conducive to learn21 ing;

22 ‘‘(iv) in the case of a child with lim23 ited English proficiency, consider the lan24 guage needs of the child as such needs re25 late to the child’s IEP;
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1 ‘‘(v) in the case of a child who is blind

2 or visually impaired, provide for instruction

3 in braille and the use of braille unless all

4 members of the IEP Team concur that,

5 after an evaluation of the child’s reading

6 and writing skills, needs, and appropriate

7 reading and writing media (including an

8 evaluation of the child’s future needs for

9 instruction in braille or the use of braille),

10 instruction in braille or the use of braille

11 is not appropriate for the child;

12 ‘‘(vi) consider the communication

13 needs of the child, and in the case of a

14 child who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, or

15 communicatively disabled, consider the lan16 guage and communication needs of the

17 child; and

18 ‘‘(vii) consider whether the child re19 quires assistive technology services or de20 vices.

21 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT WITH RESPECT TO

22 REGULAR EDUCATION TEACHER.—The regular

23 education teacher of the child, as a member of

24 the IEP Team, shall, to the extent appropriate,

25 participate in the development of the IEP of
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1 the child, including the determination of appro2 priate positive behavior-management interven3 tions and strategies consistent with subpara4 graph (A)(iii) of this paragraph, and the deter5 mination of supplementary aids and services,

6 program modifications, and support for school

7 personnel consistent with section 602(11)(E).

8 ‘‘(3) REVIEW AND REVISION OF IEP.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The local educational

10 agency shall ensure that, subject to subpara11 graph (C), the IEP Team—

12 ‘‘(i) reviews each IEP at least once a

13 year to determine whether the annual goals

14 for the child are being achieved; and

15 ‘‘(ii) revises the IEP to address—

16 ‘‘(I) any lack of expected

17 progress toward the annual goals and

18 in the general curriculum, where ap19 propriate;

20 ‘‘(II) the results of any reevalua21 tion conducted under this section;

22 ‘‘(III) information about the

23 child provided to, or by, the parents,

24 as described in section 602(11)(F)(ii);

25 or
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1 ‘‘(IV) the child’s anticipated

2 needs as otherwise appropriate.

3 ‘‘(B) CERTAIN CHILDREN WITH DISABIL4 ITIES.—

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a

6 child with a disability who has dem7 onstrated a pattern of behavior that sig8 nificantly impairs the education of the

9 child, or the education of the classmates of

10 the child, and the ability of the teacher of

11 the child to teach, if such teacher initiates

12 or requests an IEP meeting, then the ap13 propriate authority shall convene an IEP

14 meeting to review the child’s educational

15 program, related services, supplementary

16 aids and services, and placement.

17 ‘‘(ii) REVIEW OF IEP.—In carrying

18 out a review of the IEP of the child, the

19 IEP Team shall determine—

20 ‘‘(I) the appropriateness of the

21 current IEP of the child;

22 ‘‘(II) whether or not special edu23 cation and related services have been

24 appropriately provided to the child;
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1 ‘‘(III) whether or not other sup2 plementary aids or services, including

3 teacher training, are needed to ad4 dress the behavior of the child; and

5 ‘‘(IV) subject to clauses (iii) and

6 (iv), whether or not the placement of

7 the child should be changed.

8 ‘‘(iii) DETERMINATION OF CHANGE IN

9 PLACEMENT.—Prior to proposing a change

10 in the placement of the child, the IEP

11 Team shall first consider and then docu12 ment the following:

13 ‘‘(I) The cumulative record over

14 a reasonable period of time describing

15 the frequent behaviors exhibited by

16 the child that significantly impairs the

17 education of the child, the education

18 of the classmates of the child, and the

19 ability of the teacher of the child to

20 teach.

21 ‘‘(II) Documentation of the ef22 forts made to address the behavior of

23 the child, the use of supplementary

24 services or strategies (including the

25 use of behavior management plans)
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1 that have been implemented over a

2 reasonable period of time and have

3 failed to address the behavior of the

4 child in a manner that would enable

5 the child to remain in the current

6 educational placement of the child

7 without significantly impairing the

8 education of the child, the education

9 of the classmates of the child, and the

10 ability of the teacher of the child to

11 teach.

12 ‘‘(III) The training made avail13 able to the teacher or teachers of the

14 child.

15 ‘‘(iv) EXPEDITED DUE PROCESS

16 HEARING.—If the IEP Team determines

17 that a change in placement of the child is

18 appropriate, and the parents of the child

19 disagree with such determination, then ei20 ther party may request an expedited due

21 process hearing in accordance with section

22 615(f)(2).

23 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT WITH RESPECT TO

24 REGULAR EDUCATION TEACHER.—The regular

25 education teacher of the child, as a member of
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1 the IEP Team, shall, to the extent appropriate,

2 participate in the review and revision of the

3 IEP of the child.

4 ‘‘(4) FAILURE TO MEET TRANSITION OBJEC5 TIVES.—If a participating agency, other than the

6 local educational agency, fails to provide the transi7 tion services described in the IEP in accordance with

8 section 602(11)(F)(ii), the local educational agency

9 shall reconvene the IEP Team to identify alternative

10 strategies to meet the transition objectives for the

11 child set out in that program.

12 ‘‘(5) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in

13 this subsection shall be construed—

14 ‘‘(A) to decrease the amount of informa15 tion that a parent receives concerning the

16 progress of the child of such parent; or

17 ‘‘(B) to increase the amount of paperwork

18 for the teachers, related services personnel, and

19 administrators of such child.

20 ‘‘(e) EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENTS.—Each local edu21 cational agency or State educational agency shall ensure

22 that the parents of each child with a disability are mem23 bers of any group that makes decisions on the educational

24 placement of their child.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 615. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCEDURES.—Any State

3 educational agency or local educational agency that re4 ceives assistance under this part shall establish and main5 tain procedures in accordance with this section to assure

6 that children with disabilities and their parents are guar7 anteed procedural safeguards with respect to the provision

8 of free appropriate public education by such agencies.

9 ‘‘(b) TYPES OF PROCEDURES.—The procedures re10 quired by this section shall include—

11 ‘‘(1) an opportunity for the parents of a child

12 with a disability to examine all records relating to

13 such child and to participate in meetings with re14 spect to the identification, evaluation, and edu15 cational placement of the child, and the provision of

16 a free appropriate public education to such child,

17 and to obtain an independent educational evaluation

18 of the child;

19 ‘‘(2) procedures to protect the rights of the

20 child whenever the parents of the child are not

21 known, the agency cannot, after reasonable efforts,

22 locate the parents, or the child is a ward of the

23 State, including the assignment of an individual

24 (who shall not be an employee of the State edu25 cational agency, the local educational agency, or any

26 other agency that is involved in the education or
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1 care of the child) to act as a surrogate for the par2 ents;

3 ‘‘(3) written prior notice to the parents of the

4 child whenever such agency—

5 ‘‘(A) proposes to initiate or change; or

6 ‘‘(B) refuses to initiate or change;

7 the identification, evaluation, or educational place8 ment of the child, in accordance with subsection (c),

9 or the provision of a free appropriate public edu10 cation to the child;

11 ‘‘(4) procedures designed to assure that the no12 tice required by paragraph (3) is in the native lan13 guage of the parents, unless it clearly is not feasible

14 to do so;

15 ‘‘(5) an opportunity for mediation in accordance

16 with subsection (e);

17 ‘‘(6) an opportunity to present complaints with

18 respect to any matter relating to the identification,

19 evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or

20 the provision of a free appropriate public education

21 to such child;

22 ‘‘(7) procedures that require the parent of a

23 child with a disability, or the attorney representing

24 the child, to provide notice (which shall remain con25 fidential)—
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1 ‘‘(A) to the State educational agency or

2 local educational agency, as the case may be, in

3 the complaint filed under paragraph (6); and

4 ‘‘(B) that shall include—

5 ‘‘(i) the name of the child, the address

6 of the residence of the child, and the name

7 of the school at which the child is attend8 ing;

9 ‘‘(ii) a description of the nature of the

10 problem of the child relating to such pro11 posed initiation or change, including facts

12 relating to such problem; and

13 ‘‘(iii) the proposed resolution of the

14 problem; and

15 ‘‘(8) procedures that require the State edu16 cational agency to develop a model form to assist

17 parents in filing a complaint in accordance with

18 paragraph (7).

19 ‘‘(c) CONTENT OF PRIOR WRITTEN NOTICE.—The

20 notice required by subsection (b)(3) shall include—

21 ‘‘(1) a description of the action proposed or re22 fused by the agency;

23 ‘‘(2) an explanation of why the agency proposes

24 or refuses to take the action;
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1 ‘‘(3) a description of any other options that the

2 agency considered and the reasons why those options

3 were rejected;

4 ‘‘(4) a description of each evaluation procedure,

5 test, record, or report the agency used as a basis for

6 the proposed or refused action;

7 ‘‘(5) a description of any other factors that are

8 relevant to the agency’s proposal or refusal; and

9 ‘‘(6) a statement that the parents of a child

10 with a disability have protection under the proce11 dural safeguards of this title and, if this notice is

12 not an initial referral for evaluation, the means by

13 which a copy of a description of the procedural safe14 guards can be obtained.

15 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS NOTICE.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A copy of the procedural

17 safeguards available to the parents of a child with

18 a disability shall be given to the parents, at a mini19 mum—

20 ‘‘(A) upon initial referral for evaluation;

21 ‘‘(B) upon each notification of an individ22 ualized education program meeting and upon

23 reevaluation of the child; and

24 ‘‘(C) upon registration of a complaint

25 under subsection (b)(6).
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1 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The procedural safeguards

2 notice shall include a full explanation of the proce3 dural safeguards written in the native language of

4 the parents, unless not feasible to do so, and written

5 in an easily understandable manner, available under

6 this section and under regulations promulgated by

7 the Secretary relating to—

8 ‘‘(A) independent educational evaluation;

9 ‘‘(B) prior written notice;

10 ‘‘(C) parental consent;

11 ‘‘(D) access to educational records;

12 ‘‘(E) opportunity to present complaints;

13 ‘‘(F) the child’s placement during pend14 ency of due process proceedings;

15 ‘‘(G) procedures for students who are sub16 ject to placement in an interim alternative edu17 cational setting;

18 ‘‘(H) requirements for unilateral placement

19 by parents of children in private schools at pub20 lic expense;

21 ‘‘(I) mediation;

22 ‘‘(J) due process hearings, including re23 quirements for disclosure of evaluation results

24 and recommendations;
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1 ‘‘(K) State-level appeals (if applicable in

2 that State);

3 ‘‘(L) civil actions; and

4 ‘‘(M) attorney’s fees.

5 ‘‘(e) MEDIATION.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any State educational

7 agency or local educational agency that receives as8 sistance under this part shall ensure that procedures

9 are established and implemented to allow parties to

10 disputes involving the provision of free appropriate

11 public education to children with disabilities by any

12 such State educational agency or local educational

13 agency to resolve such disputes through a mediation

14 process.

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Such procedures shall

16 meet the following requirements:

17 ‘‘(A) The procedures shall ensure that the

18 mediation process—

19 ‘‘(i) is voluntary on the part of the

20 parents and may be terminated by either

21 party after a good faith effort has been

22 made by the party terminating the medi23 ation process; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) is conducted by a qualified and

2 impartial mediator who is trained in effec3 tive mediation techniques.

4 ‘‘(B) The State shall maintain a list of in5 dividuals who are qualified mediators and

6 knowledgeable in laws and regulations relating

7 to the provision of special education and related

8 services.

9 ‘‘(C) The State shall bear the cost of the

10 mediation process.

11 ‘‘(D) Each session in the mediation process

12 shall be scheduled in a timely manner and shall

13 be held in a location that is convenient to the

14 parties to the dispute.

15 ‘‘(E) An agreement reached by the parties

16 to the dispute in the mediation process shall be

17 set forth in a written mediation agreement.

18 ‘‘(F) Discussions that occur during the

19 mediation process shall be confidential and may

20 not be used as evidence in any subsequent due

21 process hearings or civil proceedings, and the

22 parties to the mediation process may be re23 quired to sign a confidentiality pledge prior to

24 the commencement of such process.
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1 ‘‘(G) The State shall determine whether or

2 not attorneys may attend or otherwise partici3 pate in the mediation process after offering the

4 opportunity for parents and representatives of

5 school districts to participate in the mediation

6 process prior to any due process filing without

7 attorneys present.

8 ‘‘(f) IMPARTIAL DUE PROCESS HEARING.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever a complaint has

10 been received under section 614(d)(3)(B), or sub11 section (b)(6) or (k) of this section, the parents in12 volved in such complaint shall have an opportunity

13 for an impartial due process hearing which shall be

14 conducted by the State educational agency or by the

15 local educational agency, as determined by State law

16 or by the State educational agency.

17 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE OF EVALUATIONS AND REC18 OMMENDATIONS.—

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At least 10 school

20 days prior to a hearing conducted pursuant to

21 paragraph (1), each party shall disclose to all

22 other parties all evaluations and recommenda23 tions based on the offering party’s evaluations

24 which the party intends to use at the hearing.
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1 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION.—Any party which fails

2 to meet the requirement of subparagraph (A)

3 shall be barred from introducing such evalua4 tions and recommendations at such hearing.

5 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON CONDUCT OF HEARING.—

6 A hearing conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) may

7 not be conducted by an employee of the State edu8 cational agency or the local educational agency in9 volved in the education or care of the child.

10 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS WITH RE11 SPECT TO HEARINGS FOR CERTAIN CHILDREN WITH

12 DISABILITIES.—A hearing conducted pursuant to

13 paragraph (1) that is based upon a complaint re14 ceived under section 614(d)(3)(B) shall, in addition

15 to the requirements contained in this subsection,

16 comply with the following additional requirements:

17 ‘‘(A) In determining whether or not the de18 cision by the IEP Team to change the place19 ment of the child is justified and appropriate,

20 the hearing officer shall, at a minimum, review

21 the information under clause (iii) of such sec22 tion.

23 ‘‘(B) The child shall remain in the current

24 educational placement of the child until the
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1 hearing officer reaches a final decision under

2 this subsection.

3 ‘‘(C) The hearing officer shall make a de4 termination of findings and reach a final deci5 sion not later than 20 days after the first day

6 of the hearing, or, at the discretion of the hear7 ing officer, not later than 30 days after such

8 first day of the hearing.

9 ‘‘(D) The placement of the child, including

10 the placement of the child during any due proc11 ess or judicial proceeding, shall be determined

12 in accordance with the final decision of the

13 hearing officer under this subsection, unless the

14 parents and the State or local educational agen15 cy agree otherwise.

16 ‘‘(g) APPEAL.—If the hearing required by subsection

17 (f) is conducted by a local educational agency, any party

18 aggrieved by the findings and decision rendered in such

19 a hearing may appeal such findings and decision to the

20 State educational agency. Such agency shall conduct an

21 impartial review of such decision. The officer conducting

22 such review shall make an independent decision upon com23 pletion of such review.
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1 ‘‘(h) SAFEGUARDS.—Any party to a hearing con2 ducted pursuant to subsection (f), or an appeal conducted

3 pursuant to subsection (g), shall be accorded—

4 ‘‘(1) the right to be accompanied and advised

5 by counsel and by individuals with special knowledge

6 or training with respect to the problems of children

7 with disabilities;

8 ‘‘(2) the right to present evidence and confront,

9 cross-examine, and compel the attendance of wit10 nesses;

11 ‘‘(3) the right to a written, or, at the option of

12 the parents, electronic verbatim record of such hear13 ing; and

14 ‘‘(4) the right to written, or, at the option of

15 the parents, electronic findings of fact and decisions

16 (which findings and decisions shall be made available

17 to the public consistent with the requirements of sec18 tion 617(c) (relating to the confidentiality of data,

19 information, and records) and shall also be transmit20 ted to the advisory panel established pursuant to

21 section 612(a)(18)).

22 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A decision made in a hear24 ing conducted pursuant to subsection (f) shall be

25 final, except that any party involved in such hearing
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1 may appeal such decision under the provisions of

2 subsection (g) and paragraph (2) of this subsection.

3 ‘‘(2) RIGHT TO BRING CIVIL ACTION.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any party aggrieved

5 by the findings and decision made under sub6 section (f) who does not have the right to an

7 appeal under subsection (g), and any party ag8 grieved by the findings and decision under this

9 subsection, shall have the right to bring a civil

10 action with respect to the complaint presented

11 pursuant to this section, which action may be

12 brought in any State court of competent juris13 diction or in a district court of the United

14 States without regard to the amount in con15 troversy.

16 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In

17 any action brought under this paragraph the

18 court—

19 ‘‘(i) shall receive the records of the

20 administrative proceedings;

21 ‘‘(ii) shall hear additional evidence at

22 the request of a party; and

23 ‘‘(iii) basing its decision on the pre24 ponderance of the evidence, shall grant
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1 such relief as the court determines is ap2 propriate.

3 ‘‘(3) JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURTS; AT4 TORNEYS’ FEES.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The district courts of

6 the United States shall have jurisdiction of ac7 tions brought under this section without regard

8 to the amount in controversy.

9 ‘‘(B) AWARD OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—In

10 any action or proceeding brought under this

11 section, the court, in its discretion, may award

12 reasonable attorneys’ fees as part of the costs

13 to the parents of a child or youth with a disabil14 ity who is the prevailing party.

15 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF AT16 TORNEYS’ FEES.—Fees awarded under this

17 paragraph shall be based on rates prevailing in

18 the community in which the action or proceed19 ing arose for the kind and quality of services

20 furnished. No bonus or multiplier may be used

21 in calculating the fees awarded under this sub22 section.

23 ‘‘(D) PROHIBITION OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES

24 AND RELATED COSTS FOR CERTAIN SERV25 ICES.—(i) Attorneys’ fees may not be awarded
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1 and related costs may not be reimbursed in any

2 action or proceeding under this subsection for

3 services performed subsequent to the time of a

4 written offer of settlement to a parent if—

5 ‘‘(I) the offer is made within the time

6 prescribed by Rule 68 of the Federal Rules

7 of Civil Procedure or, in the case of an ad8 ministrative proceeding, at any time more

9 than ten days before the proceeding begins;

10 ‘‘(II) the offer is not accepted within

11 10 days; and

12 ‘‘(III) the court or administrative

13 hearing officer finds that the relief finally

14 obtained by the parents is not more favor15 able to the parents than the offer of settle16 ment.

17 ‘‘(ii) Attorneys’ fees may not be awarded

18 relating to any meeting of the IEP Team unless

19 such meeting is convened as a result of a judi20 cial action or proceeding.

21 ‘‘(E) EXCEPTION TO PROHIBITION ON AT22 TORNEYS’ FEES AND RELATED COSTS.—Not23 withstanding subparagraph (D), an award of

24 attorneys’ fees and related costs may be made

25 to a parent who is the prevailing party and who
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1 was substantially justified in rejecting the set2 tlement 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, during the course of

7 the action or proceeding, unreasonably pro8 tracted the final resolution of the con9 troversy;

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

14 attorneys of reasonably comparable skill

15 and experience;

16 ‘‘(iii) the time spent and legal services

17 furnished were excessive considering the

18 nature of the action or proceeding;

19 ‘‘(iv) the attorney representing the

20 parent did not provide to the school dis21 trict the appropriate information in the

22 due process complaint in accordance with

23 subsection (b)(7); or
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1 ‘‘(v) the amount of attorneys’ fees re2 quested is not consistent with the extent of

3 the success of the parents;

4 the court shall reduce, accordingly, the amount

5 of the attorneys’ fees awarded under this sub6 section.

7 ‘‘(G) EXCEPTION TO REDUCTION IN

8 AMOUNT OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—The provi9 sions of subparagraph (F) shall not apply in

10 any action or proceeding if the court finds that

11 the State or local educational agency unreason12 ably protracted the final resolution of the action

13 or proceeding or there was a violation of this

14 section.

15 ‘‘(j) MAINTENANCE OF CURRENT EDUCATIONAL

16 PLACEMENT.—Except as provided in subsection (k), dur17 ing the pendency of any proceedings conducted pursuant

18 to this section, unless the State or local educational agency

19 and the parents otherwise agree, the child shall remain

20 in the then current educational placement of such child,

21 or, if applying for initial admission to a public school,

22 shall, with the consent of the parents, be placed in the

23 public school program until all such proceedings have been

24 completed.
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1 ‘‘(k) PLACEMENT IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL

2 SETTING.—

3 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF SCHOOL PERSONNEL.—

4 School personnel under this section may, to the

5 same extent as a court, order a change in the place6 ment of a child with a disability—

7 ‘‘(A) to an appropriate interim alternative

8 educational setting, another setting, or suspen9 sion, for not more than 10 school days (to the

10 extent such alternatives would be applied to

11 children without disabilities); and

12 ‘‘(B) to an appropriate interim alternative

13 educational setting for the same amount of time

14 that a child without a disability would be sub15 ject to discipline, but for not more than an ad16 ditional 45 school days if—

17 ‘‘(i) the child carries a weapon to

18 school or to a school function under the ju19 risdiction of a State or a local educational

20 agency;

21 ‘‘(ii) the child possesses or uses illegal

22 drugs or sells or solicits the sale of medica23 tions or illegal drugs while at school or a

24 school function under the jurisdiction of a

25 State or local educational agency; or
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1 ‘‘(iii) the child causes serious injury

2 while at school or at a school function

3 under the jurisdiction of a State or a local

4 educational agency.

5 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF HEARING OFFICER.—A

6 hearing officer under this section may, to the same

7 extent as a court, order a change in the placement

8 of a child with a disability to an appropriate interim

9 alternative educational setting for not more than 45

10 school days if—

11 ‘‘(A) the maintenance of the current place12 ment of such child is substantially likely to re13 sult in injury to the child or to others; and

14 ‘‘(B) the hearing officer—

15 ‘‘(i) determines that the public agency

16 has demonstrated by substantial evidence

17 that the requirement of subparagraph (A)

18 has been met;

19 ‘‘(ii) considers the appropriateness of

20 the child’s current placement; and

21 ‘‘(iii) considers whether the public

22 agency has made reasonable efforts to min23 imize the risk of harm including the use of

24 supplementary aids and services.
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1 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF SETTING.—The alter2 native educational setting described in paragraph (1)

3 or paragraph (2) shall be determined by the individ4 ualized education program team.

5 ‘‘(4) MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION RE6 VIEW.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a change in place8 ment or disciplinary proceeding, including ex9 pulsion, is contemplated as a result of an action

10 described in paragraph (1) or paragraph (2)—

11 ‘‘(i) not later than 3 school days after

12 the date on which such action has been

13 taken the parents shall be notified of such

14 action; and

15 ‘‘(ii) not later than 15 school days

16 after the date on which such action has

17 been taken a review shall be conducted of

18 the relationship between the child’s disabil19 ity and the behavior described in para20 graph (1).

21 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALS TO CARRY OUT RE22 VIEW.—A review described in subparagraph (A)

23 shall be conducted by the IEP Team and other

24 qualified personnel.

25 ‘‘(C) CONDUCT OF REVIEW.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out a

2 review described in subparagraph (A), the

3 individuals described in subparagraph (B)

4 shall consider appropriate factors, includ5 ing—

6 ‘‘(I) the appropriateness of the

7 child’s placement;

8 ‘‘(II) the consistency of the im9 plementation of the child’s entire IEP,

10 including the technical soundness of

11 the behavior strategies used;

12 ‘‘(III) evaluation and diagnostic

13 results, which may include any such

14 results supplied by the parents or

15 guardian of the child; and

16 ‘‘(IV) observations of the child.

17 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—

18 The IEP Team may determine that the be19 havior of the child was not a manifestation

20 of such child’s disability only if the IEP

21 Team first determines that the disability—

22 ‘‘(I) did not impair the ability of

23 the child to understand the impact

24 and consequences of the behavior; and
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1 ‘‘(II) did not impair the ability of

2 the child to control the behavior.

3 ‘‘(5) DETERMINATION THAT BEHAVIOR WAS

4 MANIFESTATION OF DISABILITY.—If the result of

5 the review described in paragraph (4) is a deter6 mination that the behavior of the child with a dis7 ability was a manifestation of such child’s disability

8 and the parents of such child agree with such deter9 mination, the educational placement of such child

10 may be changed. If the parents do not agree with

11 such determination or with such changed educational

12 placement, an immediate appeal may be made to a

13 hearing officer to determine whether the child’s

14 placement should be changed. Any party aggrieved

15 by the determination of the hearing officer may initi16 ate a due process hearing as described in subsection

17 (f).

18 ‘‘(6) DETERMINATION THAT BEHAVIOR WAS

19 NOT MANIFESTATION OF DISABILITY.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the result of the re21 view described in paragraph (4) is a determina22 tion that the behavior of the child with a dis23 ability was not a manifestation of such child’s

24 disability, the relevant disciplinary procedures

25 applicable to children without disabilities may
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1 be applied in the same manner in which they

2 would be applied to children without disabilities.

3 If the parents do not agree with such applica4 tion, a due process hearing, as described in sub5 section (f), may be initiated. Any determination

6 under paragraph (4) that a child’s behavior was

7 not a manifestation of a disability shall be re8 viewed by a hearing officer under subsection (f),

9 whether or not the child’s parents request a

10 hearing, before educational services to the child

11 may be terminated under this paragraph. Dur12 ing the pendency of such due process proce13 dures, the child shall continue to receive edu14 cational services in the alternative educational

15 setting.

16 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE.—Where application

17 of the relevant disciplinary procedures in sub18 paragraph (A) would result in the expulsion of

19 the child without the receipt of educational

20 services, the child may be expelled only if—

21 ‘‘(i) the child carries a weapon to

22 school or to a school function under the ju23 risdiction of a State or local educational

24 agency; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) the child possesses or uses illegal

2 drugs or sells or solicits the sale of medica3 tions or illegal drugs while at school or a

4 school function under the jurisdiction of a

5 State or local educational agency.

6 ‘‘(7) EXPEDITED HEARING.—The State or local

7 educational agency shall arrange for an expedited

8 hearing in any case described in this subsection

9 when requested by the parent.

10 ‘‘(8) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—

11 ‘‘(A) MAINTENANCE OF ALTERNATIVE

12 EDUCATIONAL SETTING.— If the parent of a

13 child described in this section requests a hear14 ing pursuant to subsection (f), the child shall

15 remain in the alternative educational setting in

16 which such child was placed during the pend17 ency of any proceedings under this subsection,

18 unless the parents and the State or local edu19 cational agency agree otherwise.

20 ‘‘(B) PROTECTIONS FOR CHILDREN NOT

21 YET ELIGIBLE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION AND

22 RELATED SERVICES.—

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A child who has

24 not been determined to be eligible for spe25 cial education and related services under
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1 this part and who has engaged in behavior

2 that violated any rule or code of conduct of

3 the local educational agency, including any

4 behavior described in paragraph (1), may

5 assert any of the protections provided for

6 in this part if the local educational agency

7 had knowledge (as determined in accord8 ance with this subparagraph) that the

9 child was a child with a disability before

10 the behavior that precipitated the discipli11 nary action occurred.

12 ‘‘(ii) BASIS OF KNOWLEDGE.—A local

13 educational agency shall be deemed to have

14 knowledge that a child is a child with a

15 disability if—

16 ‘‘(I) the parent of the child has

17 expressed concern in writing (unless

18 the parent is illiterate or has a dis19 ability that prevents compliance with

20 the requirements contained in this

21 subclause) to personnel of the appro22 priate educational agency that the

23 child is in need of special education

24 and related services;
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1 ‘‘(II) the behavior of the child

2 demonstrates the need for such serv3 ices;

4 ‘‘(III) the parent of the child has

5 requested an evaluation of the child

6 pursuant to section 614; or

7 ‘‘(IV) the teacher of the child, or

8 other personnel of the local edu9 cational agency, has expressed con10 cern about the behavior of the child to

11 the director of special education of

12 such agency or to other personnel of

13 the agency.

14 ‘‘(iii) CONDITIONS THAT APPLY IF NO

15 BASIS OF KNOWLEDGE.—

16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If a local

17 educational agency does not have

18 knowledge that a child is a child with

19 a disability (in accordance with clause

20 (ii)) prior to taking disciplinary meas21 ures against the child, the child may

22 be subjected to the same disciplinary

23 measures as measures applied to chil24 dren without disabilities, who engaged
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1 in comparable behaviors consistent

2 with paragraph (2).

3 ‘‘(II) LIMITATIONS.—If a request

4 is made for an evaluation of a child

5 during the time period in which the

6 child is subjected to disciplinary meas7 ures under paragraph (1), the evalua8 tion shall be conducted in an expe9 dited manner. If the child is deter10 mined to be a child with a disability,

11 taking into consideration information

12 from the evaluation conducted by the

13 agency and information provided by

14 the parents, the agency shall provide

15 special education and related services

16 in accordance with the provisions of

17 this part, except that, pending the re18 sults of the evaluation, the child shall

19 remain in the educational placement

20 determined by school authorities.

21 ‘‘(C) REFERRAL TO AND ACTION BY LAW

22 ENFORCEMENT AND JUDICIAL AUTHORITIES.—

23 Nothing in this part shall be construed to pro24 hibit an agency from reporting a crime commit25 ted by a child with a disability to appropriate
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1 authorities or to prevent State law enforcement

2 and judicial authorities from exercising their re3 sponsibilities with regard to the application of

4 Federal and State law to crimes committed by

5 a child with a disability.

6 ‘‘(9) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub7 section, the following definitions apply:

8 ‘‘(A) ILLEGAL DRUG.—The term ‘illegal

9 drug’—

10 ‘‘(i) means a controlled substance

11 within the meaning of any of paragraphs

12 (1) through (5) of section 202 of the Con13 trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C 812); but

14 ‘‘(ii) does not include a controlled sub15 stance within the meaning of paragraphs

16 (1) through (5) of section 202 of such Act

17 if—

18 ‘‘(I) such controlled substance is

19 legally possessed or used under the

20 supervision of a licensed health care

21 professional; or

22 ‘‘(II) such controlled substance is

23 legally possessed or used under any

24 other authority under such Act or
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1 under any other provision of Federal

2 law.

3 ‘‘(B) SERIOUS INJURY.—The term ‘serious

4 injury’ means an injury that involves substan5 tial risk of death, extreme physical pain, obvi6 ous or protracted disfigurement, loss of the use

7 of bodily members or organs, broken bones, or

8 significant endangerment to an individual’s

9 emotional health or safety that is the result of

10 a physical or verbal assault.

11 ‘‘(C) WEAPON.—The term ‘weapon’ has

12 the meaning given the term ‘dangerous weapon’

13 under paragraph (2) of the first subsection (g)

14 of section 930 of title 18, United States Code.

15 ‘‘(l) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this part

16 shall be construed to restrict or limit the rights, proce17 dures, and remedies available under the Constitution, the

18 Americans with Disabilities Act, title V of the Rehabilita19 tion Act of 1973, or other Federal laws protecting the

20 rights of children with disabilities, except that before the

21 filing of a civil action under such laws seeking relief that

22 is also available under this part, the procedures under sub23 sections (f) and (g) shall be exhausted to the same extent

24 as would be required had the action been brought under

25 this part.
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1 ‘‘(m) TRANSFER OF PARENTAL RIGHTS AT AGE OF

2 MAJORITY.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives

4 amounts from a grant under this part may provide

5 that, when a child with a disability reaches the age

6 of majority under State law (except for a child with

7 a disability who has been determined to be incom8 petent under State law)—

9 ‘‘(A) the public agency shall provide any

10 notice required by this section to both the indi11 vidual and the parents;

12 ‘‘(B) all other rights accorded to parents

13 under this part transfer to the child;

14 ‘‘(C) the agency shall notify the individual

15 and the parents of the transfer of rights; and

16 ‘‘(D) all rights accorded to parents under

17 this part transfer to children who are incarcer18 ated in an adult or juvenile Federal, State, or

19 local correctional institution.

20 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—If, under State law, a

21 child with a disability who has reached the age of

22 majority under State law is determined not to have

23 the ability to provide informed consent with respect

24 to the educational program of the child, the State

25 shall establish procedures for appointing the parent
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1 of the child, or another appropriate individual, to

2 represent the educational interests of the child

3 throughout the period of eligibility of the child under

4 this part.

5 ‘‘SEC. 616. WITHHOLDING AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.

6 ‘‘(a) WITHHOLDING OF PAYMENTS.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the Secretary,

8 after reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing

9 to the State educational agency involved (and to any

10 local educational agency or State agency affected by

11 any failure described in subparagraph (B)), finds—

12 ‘‘(A) that there has been a failure by the

13 State to comply substantially with any provision

14 of this part; or

15 ‘‘(B) that there is a failure to comply with

16 any condition of a local educational agency’s or

17 State agency’s eligibility under this part;

18 the Secretary shall, after notifying the State edu19 cational agency, withhold any further payments to

20 the State under this part.

21 ‘‘(2) NATURE OF WITHHOLDING.—If the Sec22 retary withholds further payments under paragraph

23 (1), the Secretary may determine that such with24 holding will be limited to programs or projects, or

25 portions thereof, affected by the failure, or that the
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1 State educational agency shall not make further pay2 ments under this part to specified local educational

3 agencies or State agencies affected by the failure.

4 Until the Secretary is satisfied that there is no

5 longer any failure to comply with the provisions of

6 this part, as specified in subparagraph (A) or (B) of

7 paragraph (1), no further payments shall be made to

8 the State under this part, or payments by the State

9 educational agency under this part shall be limited

10 to local educational agencies and State agencies

11 whose actions did not cause or were not involved in

12 the failure, as the case may be. Any State edu13 cational agency, State agency, or local educational

14 agency that has received notice under paragraph (1)

15 shall, by means of a public notice, take such meas16 ures as may be necessary to bring the pendency of

17 an action pursuant to this subsection to the atten18 tion of the public within the jurisdiction of such

19 agency.

20 ‘‘(b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any State is dissatisfied

22 with the Secretary’s final action with respect to the

23 eligibility of the State under section 612, such State

24 may, not later than 60 days after notice of such ac25 tion, file with the United States court of appeals for
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1 the circuit in which such State is located a petition

2 for review of that action. A copy of the petition shall

3 be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of the court to

4 the Secretary. The Secretary thereupon shall file in

5 the court the record of the proceedings upon which

6 the Secretary’s action was based, as provided in sec7 tion 2112 of title 28, United States Code.

8 ‘‘(2) JURISDICTION; REVIEW BY UNITED

9 STATES SUPREME COURT.—Upon the filing of such

10 petition, the court shall have jurisdiction to affirm

11 the action of the Secretary or to set it aside, in

12 whole or in part. The judgment of the court shall be

13 subject to review by the Supreme Court of the Unit14 ed States upon certiorari or certification as provided

15 in section 1254 of title 28, United States Code.

16 ‘‘(3) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The findings of

17 fact by the Secretary, if supported by substantial

18 evidence, shall be conclusive, but the court, for good

19 cause shown, may remand the case to the Secretary

20 to take further evidence, and the Secretary may

21 thereupon make new or modified findings of fact and

22 may modify the Secretary’s previous action, and

23 shall file in the court the record of the further pro24 ceedings. Such new or modified findings of fact shall
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1 likewise be conclusive if supported by substantial evi2 dence.

3 ‘‘SEC. 617. ADMINISTRATION.

4 ‘‘(a) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SECRETARY.—In carry5 ing out this part, the Secretary shall—

6 ‘‘(1) cooperate with, and (directly or by grant

7 or contract) furnish technical assistance necessary

8 to, the 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) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—In carrying out

15 the provisions of this part, the Secretary shall issue regu16 lations under this Act only to the extent that such regula17 tions are necessary to ensure that there is compliance with

18 the specific requirements of this Act.

19 ‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Secretary shall take

20 appropriate action, in accordance with the provisions of

21 section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20

22 U.S.C. 1232g), to assure the protection of the confiden23 tiality of any personally identifiable data, information, and

24 records collected or maintained by the Secretary and by
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1 State and local educational agencies pursuant to the provi2 sions of this part.

3 ‘‘(d) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary is authorized to

4 hire qualified personnel necessary to conduct data collec5 tion and evaluation activities authorized by subsection (a)

6 and section 618 without regard to the provisions of title

7 5, United States Code, relating to appointments in the

8 competitive service and without regard to chapter 51 and

9 subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classi10 fication and general schedule pay rates, except that no

11 more than twenty such personnel shall be employed at any

12 time.

13 ‘‘SEC. 618. PROGRAM INFORMATION.

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State that receives assist15 ance under this part, and the Secretary of the Interior,

16 shall provide data, which may be based on a sampling of

17 data, each year to the Secretary on—

18 ‘‘(1) the number of children, categorized by

19 race, ethnicity, gender, and disability, who are re20 ceiving—

21 ‘‘(A) a free appropriate public education;

22 or

23 ‘‘(B) early intervention services because—

24 ‘‘(i) such children have developmental

25 delays; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) such children have a diagnosed

2 physical or mental condition that has a

3 high probability of resulting in devel4 opmental delay;

5 ‘‘(2) the progress of the State, and of the chil6 dren with disabilities in the State, toward meeting

7 the goals established under section 612(14);

8 ‘‘(3) the types of early intervention services pro9 vided to such children;

10 ‘‘(4) the number of children with disabilities,

11 categorized by race, ethnicity, gender, and disabil12 ity—

13 ‘‘(A) participating in regular education

14 programs;

15 ‘‘(B) in separate classes, separate schools

16 or facilities, or public or private residential fa17 cilities;

18 ‘‘(C) who have been otherwise removed

19 from the regular education environment; and

20 ‘‘(D) in various early intervention settings;

21 ‘‘(5) for each year of age from age 14 to 21,

22 the number of children with disabilities, categorized

23 by race, ethnicity, gender, and disability, who, be24 cause of program completion or for other reasons,

25 stopped receiving special education, and the reasons
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1 why such children stopped receiving such special

2 education;

3 ‘‘(6)(A) the number of children with disabilities,

4 categorized by race, ethnicity, gender, and disability,

5 who, under section 615(k), are removed to an in6 terim alternative educational setting;

7 ‘‘(B) the acts or items precipitating such re8 movals; and

9 ‘‘(C) the number of children with disabilities

10 who are expelled from school without receiving serv11 ices; and

12 ‘‘(7) any other information required by the Sec13 retary.

14 ‘‘(b) DISPROPORTIONALITY.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State that receives

16 assistance under this part, and the Secretary of the

17 Interior, shall provide for the collection and exam18 ination of data to determine if significant

19 disproportionality based on race is occurring in the

20 State with respect to—

21 ‘‘(A) the identification of children as chil22 dren with disabilities, including the identifica23 tion of children as children with disabilities in

24 accordance with a particular impairment de25 scribed in section 602(3); and
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1 ‘‘(B) the placement in particular edu2 cational settings of such children.

3 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND REVISION OF POLICIES,

4 PRACTICES, AND PROCEDURES.—In the case of a de5 termination of significant disproportionality with re6 spect to the identification of children as children

7 with disabilities, or the placement in particular edu8 cational settings of such children, in accordance with

9 paragraph (1), the State or the Secretary of the In10 terior, as the case may be, shall provide for the re11 view and, if appropriate, revision of the policies, pro12 cedures, and practices used in such identification or

13 placement to ensure that such policies, procedures,

14 and practices comply with the requirements of this

15 Act.

16 ‘‘SEC. 619. PRESCHOOL GRANTS.

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide

18 grants under this section to assist States to provide special

19 education and related services, in accordance with this

20 part—

21 ‘‘(1) to children with disabilities aged 3 to 5, in22 clusive; and

23 ‘‘(2) at the State’s discretion, to 2-year-old chil24 dren with disabilities who will turn 3 during the

25 school year.
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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A State shall be eligible for a

2 grant under this section if such State—

3 ‘‘(1) is eligible under section 612 to receive a

4 grant under this part; and

5 ‘‘(2) makes a free appropriate public education

6 available to all children with disabilities, aged 3 to

7 5, inclusive, residing in the State.

8 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the amount appro10 priated for any fiscal year pursuant to the author11 ization of appropriations under subsection (m), the

12 Secretary shall allot to each eligible State the

13 amount it received for fiscal year 1996 under this

14 section (as this section was in effect on the day be15 fore the date of the enactment of the IDEA Im16 provement Act of 1996).

17 ‘‘(2) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the amount appro19 priated under subsection (m) for a fiscal year is

20 insufficient to make the full allotments de21 scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

22 ‘‘(i) first, reduce the allocation to any

23 State whose number of children aged 3 to

24 5, inclusive, is less than the number of

25 such children in such State in fiscal year
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1 1995 by the same percentage by which

2 such number of children declined from the

3 number of children in fiscal year 1995; and

4 ‘‘(ii) second, if necessary, ratably re5 duce the allocations of all States, including

6 those allocations reduced under clause (i).

7 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF ADDITIONAL

8 FUNDS.—If additional funds become available

9 to make allocations under this section, the allo10 cations that were reduced under subparagraph

11 (A) shall be increased on the same basis as

12 such allocations were reduced.

13 ‘‘(d) ALLOTMENT OF REMAINING FUNDS.—After

14 making allotments under subsection (c), the Secretary

15 shall allot any remaining funds to eligible States on the

16 basis of their relative population of children aged 3 to 5,

17 inclusive.

18 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULE WITH RESPECT TO PUERTO

19 RICO.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this sub20 section, the amount allotted to Puerto Rico for a fiscal

21 year shall bear the same or lower proportion to the amount

22 appropriated pursuant to subsection (m) as the amount

23 received by Puerto Rico under this section for fiscal year

24 1996 bears to the aggregate of the amounts received by

25 all States under this section for fiscal year 1996.
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1 ‘‘(f) DETERMINATION OF POPULATION FIGURES.—

2 For the purpose of providing grants under this section,

3 the Secretary shall use the most recent population data

4 that are available and satisfactory to the Secretary.

5 ‘‘(g) RESERVATION FOR STATE ACTIVITIES.—A

6 State may reserve not more than 25 percent of the amount

7 allotted to the State under this section for a fiscal year

8 for administration and other State-level activities in ac9 cordance with subsections (h) and (i).

10 ‘‘(h) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State may use up to 3

12 percent of the amount allotted to the State under

13 this section for a fiscal year for the purpose of ad14 ministering this section, including the coordination

15 of activities under this part with, and providing

16 technical assistance to, other programs that provide

17 services to children with disabilities.

18 ‘‘(2) USE OF AMOUNTS FOR ADMINISTRATION

19 OF PART C.—If the State educational agency is the

20 lead agency for the State under part C, amounts de21 scribed in paragraph (1) may also be used for the

22 administration of such part C.

23 ‘‘(i) OTHER STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—Each State

24 shall use any funds it retains under subsection (g) and

25 does not use for administration under subsection (h)—
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1 ‘‘(1) for support services (including establishing

2 and implementing the mediation process required by

3 section 615(d)), which may benefit children with dis4 abilities younger than 3 or older than 5 as long as

5 those services also benefit children with disabilities

6 aged 3 to 5, inclusive;

7 ‘‘(2) for direct services for children eligible for

8 services under this section;

9 ‘‘(3) to develop a State improvement plan under

10 part D;

11 ‘‘(4) for activities at the State and local levels

12 to meet the performance goals established by the

13 State under section 612(a)(14) and to support im14 plementation of the State improvement plan under

15 part D if the State receives funds under that part;

16 or

17 ‘‘(5) to supplement other funds used to develop

18 and implement a Statewide coordinated services sys19 tem designed to improve results for children and

20 families, including children with disabilities and their

21 families, but not to exceed one percent of the

22 amount received by the State under this section for

23 a fiscal year.

24 ‘‘(j) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN25 CIES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT TO MAKE SUBGRANTS.—

2 Each State that receives a grant under this section

3 for any fiscal year shall distribute at least 75 per4 cent of the grant funds to local educational agencies

5 in the State, and to State agencies that received

6 funds under section 614A(a) (as such section was in

7 effect on the day before the date of the enactment

8 of the IDEA Improvement Act of 1996) for fiscal

9 year 1996, that have established their eligibility

10 under section 613.

11 ‘‘(2) METHODS OF DISTRIBUTION.—A State

12 may distribute funds under paragraph (1) on the

13 basis of—

14 ‘‘(A) total school age population;

15 ‘‘(B) school enrollment;

16 ‘‘(C) numbers of children with disabilities

17 aged 3 to 5, inclusive, receiving a free appro18 priate public education;

19 ‘‘(D) allocations for previous fiscal years;

20 ‘‘(E) any two or more of the factors de21 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (D); or

22 ‘‘(F) poverty, in combination with one or

23 more of the factors described in subparagraphs

24 (A) through (D).
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1 ‘‘(k) PART C INAPPLICABLE.—Part C of this Act

2 does not apply to any child with a disability receiving a

3 free appropriate public education, in accordance with this

4 part, with funds received under this section.

5 ‘‘(l) PROHIBITION ON CONSOLIDATION OF GRANTS

6 FOR TERRITORIES.—The provisions of section 501 of

7 Public Law 95–134 (48 U.S.C. 1469a; relating to the con8 solidation of one or more grants provided to certain terri9 tories) shall not apply with respect to amounts provided

10 to a territory under a grant under this section.

11 ‘‘(m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For

12 the purpose of carrying out this section, there are author13 ized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may

14 be necessary.

15 ‘‘PART C—INFANTS AND TODDLERS WITH

16 DISABILITIES

17 ‘‘SEC. 631. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

18 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that there is an

19 urgent and substantial need—

20 ‘‘(1) to enhance the development of infants and

21 toddlers with disabilities and to minimize their po22 tential for developmental delay;

23 ‘‘(2) to reduce the educational costs to our soci24 ety, including our Nation’s schools, by minimizing

25 the need for special education and related services
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1 after infants and toddlers with disabilities reach

2 school age;

3 ‘‘(3) to minimize the likelihood of institutional4 ization of individuals with disabilities and maximize

5 the potential for their independently living in society;

6 ‘‘(4) to enhance the capacity of families to meet

7 the special needs of their infants and toddlers with

8 disabilities; and

9 ‘‘(5) to enhance the capacity of State and local

10 agencies and service providers to identify, evaluate,

11 and meet the needs of historically underrepresented

12 populations, particularly minority, low-income, inner13 city, and rural populations.

14 ‘‘(b) POLICY.—It is therefore the policy of the United

15 States to provide financial assistance to States—

16 ‘‘(1) to develop and implement a statewide,

17 comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, inter18 agency system of early intervention services for in19 fants and toddlers with disabilities and their fami20 lies;

21 ‘‘(2) to facilitate the coordination of payment

22 for early intervention services from Federal, State,

23 local, and private sources (including public and pri24 vate insurance coverage); and
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1 ‘‘(3) to enhance their capacity to provide qual2 ity early intervention services and expand and im3 prove existing early intervention services being pro4 vided to infants and toddlers with disabilities and

5 their families.

6 ‘‘SEC. 632. DEFINITIONS.

7 ‘‘As used in this part:

8 ‘‘(1) AT-RISK INFANT OR TODDLER.—The term

9 ‘at-risk infant or toddler’ means an individual under

10 3 years of age who would be at risk of experiencing

11 a substantial developmental delay if early interven12 tion services were not provided to the individual.

13 ‘‘(2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘council’ means a

14 State interagency coordinating council established

15 under section 641.

16 ‘‘(3) DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY.—The term ‘de17 velopmental delay’, when used with respect to an in18 dividual residing in a State, has the meaning given

19 such term by the State under section 635(a)(1).

20 ‘‘(4) EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES.—The

21 term ‘early intervention services’ means developmen22 tal services which—

23 ‘‘(A) are provided under public supervision;

24 ‘‘(B) are provided at no cost except where

25 Federal or State law provides for a system of
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1 payments by families, including a schedule of

2 sliding fees;

3 ‘‘(C) are designed to meet the developmen4 tal needs of an infant or toddler with a disabil5 ity in any one or more of the following areas—

6 ‘‘(i) physical development;

7 ‘‘(ii) cognitive development;

8 ‘‘(iii) communication development;

9 ‘‘(iv) social or emotional development;

10 or

11 ‘‘(v) adaptive development;

12 ‘‘(D) meet the standards of the State in

13 which they are provided, including the require14 ments of this part;

15 ‘‘(E) include—

16 ‘‘(i) family training, counseling, and

17 home visits;

18 ‘‘(ii) special instruction;

19 ‘‘(iii) speech-language pathology and

20 audiology services;

21 ‘‘(iv) occupational therapy;

22 ‘‘(v) physical therapy;

23 ‘‘(vi) psychological services;

24 ‘‘(vii) service coordination services;
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1 ‘‘(viii) medical services only for diag2 nostic or evaluation purposes;

3 ‘‘(ix) early identification, screening,

4 and assessment services;

5 ‘‘(x) health services necessary to en6 able the infant or toddler to benefit from

7 the other early intervention services;

8 ‘‘(xi) social work services;

9 ‘‘(xii) vision services;

10 ‘‘(xiii) assistive technology devices and

11 assistive technology services; and

12 ‘‘(xiv) transportation and related costs

13 that are necessary to enable an infant or

14 toddler and the infant’s or toddler’s family

15 to receive another service described in this

16 paragraph;

17 ‘‘(F) are provided by qualified personnel,

18 including—

19 ‘‘(i) special educators;

20 ‘‘(ii) speech-language pathologists and

21 audiologists;

22 ‘‘(iii) occupational therapists;

23 ‘‘(iv) physical therapists;

24 ‘‘(v) psychologists;

25 ‘‘(vi) social workers;
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1 ‘‘(vii) nurses;

2 ‘‘(viii) nutritionists;

3 ‘‘(ix) family therapists;

4 ‘‘(x) orientation and mobility special5 ists; and

6 ‘‘(xi) pediatricians and other physi7 cians;

8 ‘‘(G) to the maximum extent appropriate,

9 are provided in natural environments, including

10 the home, and community settings in which

11 children without disabilities participate; and

12 ‘‘(H) are provided in conformity with an

13 individualized family service plan adopted in ac14 cordance with section 636.

15 ‘‘(5) INFANT OR TODDLER WITH A DISABIL16 ITY.—The term ‘infant or toddler with a disabil17 ity’—

18 ‘‘(A) means an individual under 3 years of

19 age who needs early intervention services be20 cause the individual—

21 ‘‘(i) is experiencing developmental

22 delays, as measured by appropriate diag23 nostic instruments and procedures in one

24 or more of the areas of cognitive develop25 ment, physical development, communica-
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1 tion development, social or emotional devel2 opment, and adaptive development; or

3 ‘‘(ii) has a diagnosed physical or men4 tal condition which has a high probability

5 of resulting in developmental delay; and

6 ‘‘(B) may also include, at a State’s discre7 tion, at-risk infants and toddlers.

8 ‘‘SEC. 633. GENERAL AUTHORITY.

9 ‘‘The Secretary shall, in accordance with this part,

10 make grants to States (from their allocations under sec11 tion 643) to assist each State to maintain and implement

12 a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary,

13 interagency system to provide early intervention services

14 for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.

15 ‘‘SEC. 634. ELIGIBILITY.

16 ‘‘In order to be eligible for a grant under section 633,

17 a State shall demonstrate to the Secretary that the

18 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; and
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1 ‘‘(2) has in effect a statewide system that meets

2 the requirements of section 635.

3 ‘‘SEC. 635. REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEWIDE SYSTEM.

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A statewide system described in

5 section 633 shall include, at a minimum, the following

6 components:

7 ‘‘(1) A definition of the term ‘developmental

8 delay’ that will be used by the State in carrying out

9 programs under this part.

10 ‘‘(2) A timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary

11 evaluation of the functioning of each infant or tod12 dler with a disability in the State, and a family13 directed identification of the needs of each family of

14 such an infant or toddler, to appropriately assist in

15 the development of the infant or toddler.

16 ‘‘(3) For each infant or toddler with a disability

17 in the State, an individualized family service plan in

18 accordance with section 636, including service co19 ordination services in accordance with such service

20 plan.

21 ‘‘(4) A comprehensive child find system, con22 sistent with part B, including a system for making

23 referrals to service providers that includes timelines

24 and provides for participation by primary referral

25 sources.
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1 ‘‘(5) A public awareness program focusing on

2 early identification of infants and toddlers with dis3 abilities, including the preparation and dissemination

4 by the lead agency designated or established under

5 paragraph (8) to all primary referral sources, espe6 cially hospitals and physicians, of information for

7 parents on the availability of early intervention serv8 ices, and procedures for determining the extent to

9 which such sources disseminate such information to

10 parents of infants and toddlers.

11 ‘‘(6) A central directory which includes infor12 mation on early intervention services, resources, and

13 experts available in the State and research and dem14 onstration projects being conducted in the State.

15 ‘‘(7) A comprehensive system of personnel de16 velopment, including the training of paraprofes17 sionals and the training of primary referral sources

18 respecting the basic components of early intervention

19 services available in the State, that is consistent

20 with the comprehensive system of personnel develop21 ment described in section 612(a)(13) (or with the

22 personnel development requirements for State im23 provement plans under section 683) and may in24 clude—
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1 ‘‘(A) implementing innovative strategies

2 and activities for the recruitment and retention

3 of early education service providers;

4 ‘‘(B) promoting the preparation of early

5 intervention providers who are fully and appro6 priately qualified to provide early intervention

7 services under this part;

8 ‘‘(C) training personnel to work in rural

9 and inner city areas; and

10 ‘‘(D) training personnel to coordinate tran11 sition services for infants and toddlers served

12 under this part from an early intervention pro13 gram under this part to preschool or other ap14 propriate services.

15 ‘‘(8) Policies and procedures relating to the es16 tablishment and maintenance of standards to ensure

17 that personnel necessary to carry out this part are

18 appropriately and adequately prepared and trained,

19 including—

20 ‘‘(A) the establishment and maintenance of

21 standards which are consistent with any State

22 approved or recognized certification, licensing,

23 registration, or other comparable requirements

24 which apply to the area in which such personnel

25 are providing early intervention services; and
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1 ‘‘(B) subject to subsection (b), to the ex2 tent such standards are not based on the high3 est requirements in the State applicable to a

4 specific profession or discipline, the steps the

5 State is taking to require the retraining or hir6 ing of personnel that meet appropriate profes7 sional requirements in the State;

8 except that nothing in this part, including this para9 graph, prohibits the use of paraprofessionals and as10 sistants who are appropriately trained and super11 vised, in accordance with State law, regulations, or

12 written policy, to assist in the provision of early

13 intervention services to infants and toddlers with

14 disabilities under this part.

15 ‘‘(9) A single line of responsibility in a lead

16 agency designated or established by the Governor for

17 carrying out—

18 ‘‘(A) the general administration and super19 vision of programs and activities receiving as20 sistance under section 633, and the monitoring

21 of programs and activities used by the State to

22 carry out this part, whether or not such pro23 grams or activities are receiving assistance

24 made available under section 633, to ensure

25 that the State complies with this part;
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1 ‘‘(B) the identification and coordination of

2 all available resources within the State from

3 Federal, State, local and private sources;

4 ‘‘(C) the assignment of financial respon5 sibility in accordance with section 637(a)(1) to

6 the appropriate agencies;

7 ‘‘(D) the development of procedures to en8 sure that services are provided to infants and

9 toddlers and their families under this part in a

10 timely manner pending the resolution of any

11 disputes among public agencies or service pro12 viders;

13 ‘‘(E) the resolution of intra- and inter14 agency disputes; and

15 ‘‘(F) the entry into formal interagency

16 agreements that define the financial responsibil17 ity of each agency for paying for early interven18 tion services (consistent with State law) and

19 procedures for resolving disputes and that in20 clude all additional components necessary to en21 sure meaningful cooperation and coordination.

22 ‘‘(10) A policy pertaining to the contracting or

23 making of other arrangements with service providers

24 to provide early intervention services in the State,

25 consistent with the provisions of this part, including
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1 the contents of the application used and the condi2 tions of the contract or other arrangements.

3 ‘‘(11) A procedure for securing timely reim4 bursement of funds used under this part in accord5 ance with section 640(a).

6 ‘‘(12) Procedural safeguards with respect to

7 programs under this part, as required by section

8 639.

9 ‘‘(13) A system for compiling data requested by

10 the Secretary under section 618 that relates to this

11 part.

12 ‘‘(14) A State interagency coordinating council

13 that meets the requirements of section 641.

14 ‘‘(15) Policies and procedures to ensure that,

15 consistent with section 636(d)(5)—

16 ‘‘(A) to the maximum extent appropriate,

17 early intervention services are provided in natu18 ral environments; and

19 ‘‘(B) the provision of early intervention

20 services for any infant or toddler occurs in a

21 setting other than a natural environment only

22 when early intervention cannot be achieved sat23 isfactorily for such infant or toddler in a natu24 ral environment.
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1 ‘‘(b) MODIFICATION OF PERSONNEL REQUIRE2 MENT.—If a State determines that the requirement of

3 subsection (a)(8)(B) would significantly inhibit the ability

4 of the State to contract with, or employ, an appropriate

5 number and types of personnel to provide early interven6 tion services to infants and toddlers with disabilities in

7 a geographic region, the State may, subject to public no8 tice and comment, temporarily suspend the requirement

9 for the region, in a manner consistent with State law and

10 for a period not exceeding 3 years, with respect to the

11 most qualified available individuals in shortage areas who

12 are making annual progress in applicable coursework.

13 ‘‘SEC. 636. INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLAN.

14 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENT AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.—

15 A statewide system described in section 633 shall provide,

16 at a minimum, for each infant or toddler with a disability,

17 and the infant’s or toddler’s family, to receive—

18 ‘‘(1) a multidisciplinary assessment of the

19 unique strengths and needs of the infant or toddler

20 and the identification of services appropriate to meet

21 such needs;

22 ‘‘(2) a family-directed assessment of the re23 sources, priorities, and concerns of the family and

24 the identification of the supports and services nec-
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1 essary to enhance the family’s capacity to meet the

2 developmental needs of the infant or toddler; and

3 ‘‘(3) a written individualized family service plan

4 developed by a multidisciplinary team, including the

5 parents, as required by subsection (e).

6 ‘‘(b) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The individualized family

7 service plan shall be evaluated once a year and the family

8 shall be provided a review of the plan at 6-month intervals

9 (or more often where appropriate based on infant or tod10 dler and family needs).

11 ‘‘(c) PROMPTNESS AFTER ASSESSMENT.—The indi12 vidualized family service plan shall be developed within a

13 reasonable time after the assessment required by sub14 section (a)(1) is completed. With the parents’ consent,

15 early intervention services may commence prior to the

16 completion of such assessment.

17 ‘‘(d) CONTENT OF PLAN.—The individualized family

18 service plan shall be in writing and contain—

19 ‘‘(1) a statement of the infant’s or toddler’s

20 present levels of physical development, cognitive de21 velopment, communication development, social or

22 emotional development, and adaptive development,

23 based on objective criteria;

24 ‘‘(2) a statement of the family’s resources, pri25 orities, and concerns relating to enhancing the devel-
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1 opment of the family’s infant or toddler with a dis2 ability;

3 ‘‘(3) a statement of the major outcomes ex4 pected to be achieved for the infant or toddler and

5 the family, and the criteria, procedures, and

6 timelines used to determine the degree to which

7 progress toward achieving the outcomes is being

8 made and whether modifications or revisions of the

9 outcomes or services are necessary;

10 ‘‘(4) a statement of specific early intervention

11 services necessary to meet the unique needs of the

12 infant or toddler and the family, including the fre13 quency, intensity, and method of delivering services;

14 ‘‘(5) a statement of the natural environments in

15 which early intervention services shall appropriately

16 be provided, including a justification of the extent,

17 if any, to which such services will not be provided in

18 a natural environment;

19 ‘‘(6) the projected dates for initiation of serv20 ices and the anticipated duration of such services;

21 ‘‘(7) the identification of the service coordinator

22 from the profession most immediately relevant to the

23 infant’s or toddler’s or family’s needs (or who is oth24 erwise qualified to carry out all applicable respon25 sibilities under this part) who will be responsible for
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1 the implementation of the plan and coordination

2 with other agencies and persons; and

3 ‘‘(8) the steps to be taken to support the transi4 tion of the toddler with a disability to preschool or

5 other appropriate services.

6 ‘‘(e) PARENTAL CONSENT.—The contents of the indi7 vidualized family service plan shall be fully explained to

8 the parents and informed written consent from such par9 ents shall be obtained prior to the provision of early inter10 vention services described in such plan. If such parents

11 do not provide such consent with respect to a particular

12 early intervention service, then the early intervention serv13 ices to which such consent is obtained shall be provided.

14 ‘‘SEC. 637. STATE APPLICATION AND ASSURANCES.

15 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—A State desiring to receive a

16 grant under section 633 shall submit an application to the

17 Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Sec18 retary may reasonably require. Such application shall con19 tain—

20 ‘‘(1) a designation of the lead agency in the

21 State that will be responsible for the administration

22 of funds provided under section 633;

23 ‘‘(2) a designation of a person responsible for

24 assigning financial responsibility among appropriate

25 agencies;
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1 ‘‘(3) information demonstrating eligibility of the

2 State under section 634, including—

3 ‘‘(A) information demonstrating to the

4 Secretary’s satisfaction that the State has in ef5 fect the statewide system required by section

6 633; and

7 ‘‘(B) a description of services to be pro8 vided to infants and toddlers with disabilities

9 and their families through the system;

10 ‘‘(4) a description of the uses for which funds

11 will be expended in accordance with this part;

12 ‘‘(5) a description of the procedure used to en13 sure that resources are made available under this

14 part for all geographic areas within the State;

15 ‘‘(6) a description of State policies and proce16 dures that ensure that, prior to the adoption by the

17 State of any other policy or procedure necessary to

18 meet the requirements of this part, there are public

19 hearings, adequate notice of the hearings, and an

20 opportunity for comment available to the general

21 public, including individuals with disabilities and

22 parents of infants and toddlers with disabilities;

23 ‘‘(7) a description of the policies and procedures

24 to be used—
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1 ‘‘(A) to ensure a smooth transition for tod2 dlers receiving early intervention services under

3 this part to preschool or other appropriate serv4 ices, including a description of how—

5 ‘‘(i) the families of such toddlers will

6 be included in the transition plans required

7 by subparagraph (C); and

8 ‘‘(ii) the lead agency designated or es9 tablished under section 635(a) will—

10 ‘‘(I) notify the local educational

11 agency for the area in which such a

12 child resides that the child will shortly

13 reach the age of eligibility for pre14 school services under part B, as deter15 mined in accordance with State law;

16 ‘‘(II) in the case of such a child

17 who may be eligible for such preschool

18 services, with the approval of the fam19 ily of the child, convene a conference

20 among the lead agency, the family,

21 and the local educational agency at

22 least 90 days (and at the discretion of

23 all such parties, up to 6 months) be24 fore the child is eligible for the pre25 school services, to discuss any such
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1 services that the child may receive;

2 and

3 ‘‘(III) in the case of such a child

4 who may not be eligible for such pre5 school services, with the approval of

6 the family, make reasonable efforts to

7 convene a conference among the lead

8 agency, the family, and providers of

9 other appropriate services for children

10 who are not eligible for preschool serv11 ices under part B, to discuss the ap12 propriate services that the child may

13 receive;

14 ‘‘(B) to review the child’s program options

15 for the period from the child’s third birthday

16 through the remainder of the school year; and

17 ‘‘(C) to establish a transition plan; and

18 ‘‘(8) such other information and assurances as

19 the Secretary may reasonably require.

20 ‘‘(b) ASSURANCES.—The application described in

21 subsection (a) shall contain the following:

22 ‘‘(1) A satisfactory assurance that the State

23 will—

24 ‘‘(A) make such reports in such form and

25 containing such information as the Secretary
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1 may require to carry out the Secretary’s func2 tions under this part; and

3 ‘‘(B) keep such records and afford such ac4 cess thereto as the Secretary may find nec5 essary to assure the correctness and verification

6 of such reports and proper disbursement of

7 Federal funds under this part.

8 ‘‘(2) A satisfactory assurance that Federal

9 funds made available under section 633 will be used

10 to supplement and increase the level of State and

11 local funds expended for infants and toddlers with

12 disabilities and their families under this part and in

13 no case to supplant such State and local funds.

14 ‘‘(3) Such other information and assurances as

15 the Secretary may reasonably require by regulation.

16 ‘‘(c) STANDARD FOR DISAPPROVAL OF APPLICA17 TION.—The Secretary may not disapprove such an appli18 cation unless the Secretary determines, after notice and

19 opportunity for a hearing, that the application fails to

20 comply with the requirements of this section.

21 ‘‘(d) SUBSEQUENT STATE APPLICATION.—If a State

22 has on file with the Secretary a policy, procedure, or as23 surance that demonstrates that the State meets a require24 ment of this section, including any policy or procedure

25 filed under part H (as in effect before the date of the en-
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1 actment of the IDEA Improvement Act of 1996), the Sec2 retary shall consider the State to have met the require3 ment for purposes of receiving a grant under this part.

4 ‘‘(e) MODIFICATION OF APPLICATION.—An applica5 tion submitted by a State in accordance with this section

6 shall remain in effect until the State submits to the Sec7 retary such modifications as the State determines nec8 essary. This section shall apply to a modification of an

9 application to the same extent and in the same manner

10 as this section applies to the original application.

11 ‘‘SEC. 638. USES OF FUNDS.

12 ‘‘In addition to using funds provided under section

13 633 to maintain and implement the statewide system re14 quired by such section, a State may use such funds—

15 ‘‘(1) for direct early intervention services for in16 fants and toddlers with disabilities, and their fami17 lies, under this part that are not otherwise funded

18 through other public or private sources;

19 ‘‘(2) to expand and improve on services for in20 fants and toddlers and their families under this part

21 that are otherwise available; and

22 ‘‘(3) to provide a free appropriate public edu23 cation, in accordance with part B, to children with

24 disabilities from their third birthday to the begin25 ning of the following school year.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 639. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.

2 ‘‘(a) MINIMUM PROCEDURES.—The procedural safe3 guards required to be included in a statewide system

4 under section 635(a)(10) shall provide, at a minimum, the

5 following:

6 ‘‘(1) The timely administrative resolution of

7 complaints by parents. Any party aggrieved by the

8 findings and decision regarding an administrative

9 complaint shall have the right to bring a civil action

10 with respect to the complaint in any State court of

11 competent jurisdiction or in a district court of the

12 United States without regard to the amount in con13 troversy. In any action brought under this para14 graph, the court shall receive the records of the ad15 ministrative proceedings, shall hear additional evi16 dence at the request of a party, and, basing its deci17 sion on the preponderance of the evidence, shall

18 grant such relief as the court determines is appro19 priate.

20 ‘‘(2) The right to confidentiality of personally

21 identifiable information, including the right of par22 ents to written notice of and written consent to the

23 exchange of such information among agencies con24 sistent with Federal and State law.

25 ‘‘(3) The right of the parents to determine

26 whether they, their infant or toddler, or other family
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1 members will accept or decline any early intervention

2 service under this part in accordance with State law

3 without jeopardizing other early intervention services

4 under this part.

5 ‘‘(4) The opportunity for parents to examine

6 records relating to assessment, screening, eligibility

7 determinations, and the development and implemen8 tation of the individualized family service plan.

9 ‘‘(5) Procedures to protect the rights of the in10 fant or toddler whenever the parents of the child are

11 not known or cannot be found or the child is a ward

12 of the State, including the assignment of an individ13 ual (who shall not be an employee of the State or

14 any person, or any employee of a person, providing

15 early intervention services to the infant or toddler or

16 any family member of the infant or toddler) to act

17 as a surrogate for the parents.

18 ‘‘(6) Written prior notice to the parents of the

19 infant or toddler with a disability whenever the State

20 agency or service provider proposes to initiate or

21 change or refuses to initiate or change the identifica22 tion, evaluation, placement, or the provision of ap23 propriate early intervention services to the infant or

24 toddler with a disability.
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1 ‘‘(7) Procedures designed to assure that the no2 tice required by paragraph (6) fully informs the par3 ents, in the parents’ native language, unless it clear4 ly is not feasible to do so, of all procedures available

5 pursuant to this section.

6 ‘‘(8) The right of parents to use mediation in

7 accordance with section 615(e), except that—

8 ‘‘(A) any reference in such section to a

9 State educational agency shall be considered to

10 be a reference to a State’s lead agency estab11 lished or designated under section 635(a)(8);

12 ‘‘(B) any reference in such section to a

13 local educational agency shall be considered to

14 be a reference to a local service provider or the

15 State’s lead agency under this part, as the case

16 may be; and

17 ‘‘(C) any reference in such section to the

18 provision of free appropriate public education to

19 children with disabilities shall be considered to

20 be a reference to the provision of appropriate

21 early intervention services to infants and tod22 dlers with disabilities.

23 ‘‘(b) SERVICES DURING PENDENCY OF PROCEED24 INGS.—During the pendency of any proceeding or action

25 involving a complaint by the parents of an infant or tod-
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1 dler with a disability, unless the State agency and the par2 ents otherwise agree, the infant or toddler shall continue

3 to receive the appropriate early intervention services cur4 rently being provided or, if applying for initial services,

5 shall receive the services not in dispute.

6 ‘‘SEC. 640. PAYOR OF LAST RESORT.

7 ‘‘(a) NONSUBSTITUTION.—Funds provided under

8 section 643 may not be used to satisfy a financial commit9 ment for services which would have been paid for from

10 another public or private source but for the enactment of

11 this part, except that whenever considered necessary to

12 prevent a delay in the receipt of appropriate early inter13 vention services by an infant, toddler, or family in a timely

14 fashion, funds provided under section 643 may be used

15 to pay the provider of services pending reimbursement

16 from the agency which has ultimate responsibility for the

17 payment.

18 ‘‘(b) REDUCTION OF OTHER BENEFITS.—Nothing in

19 this part shall be construed to permit the State to reduce

20 medical or other assistance available or to alter eligibility

21 under title V of the Social Security Act (relating to mater22 nal and child health) or title XIX of the Social Security

23 Act (relating to medicaid for infants or toddlers with dis24 abilities) within the State.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 641. STATE INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL.

2 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that desires to re4 ceive financial assistance under this part shall estab5 lish a State interagency coordinating council.

6 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The council shall be ap7 pointed by the Governor. In making appointments to

8 the council, the Governor shall ensure that the mem9 bership of the council reasonably represents the pop10 ulation of the State.

11 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Governor shall des12 ignate a member of the council to serve as the chair13 person of the Council, or shall require the council to

14 so designate such a member. Any member of the

15 council who is a representative of the lead agency

16 designated under section 635(b)(8) may not serve as

17 the chairperson of the council.

18 ‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The council shall be com20 posed as follows:

21 ‘‘(A) PARENTS.—At least 20 percent of

22 the members shall be parents of infants or tod23 dlers with disabilities or children with disabil24 ities aged 12 or younger, with knowledge of, or

25 experience with, programs for infants and tod26 dlers with disabilities. At least one such mem-
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1 ber shall be a parent of an infant or toddler

2 with a disability or a child with a disability

3 aged 6 or younger.

4 ‘‘(B) SERVICE PROVIDERS.—At least 20

5 percent of the members shall be public or pri6 vate providers of early intervention services.

7 ‘‘(C) STATE LEGISLATURE.—At least one

8 member shall be from the State legislature.

9 ‘‘(D) PERSONNEL PREPARATION.—At least

10 one member shall be involved in personnel prep11 aration.

12 ‘‘(E) AGENCY FOR EARLY INTERVENTION

13 SERVICES.—At least one member shall be from

14 each of the State agencies involved in the provi15 sion of, or payment for, early intervention serv16 ices to infants and toddlers with disabilities and

17 their families and shall have sufficient authority

18 to engage in policy planning and implementa19 tion on behalf of such agencies.

20 ‘‘(F) AGENCY FOR PRESCHOOL SERV21 ICES.—At least one member shall be from the

22 State educational agency responsible for pre23 school services to children with disabilities and

24 shall have sufficient authority to engage in pol-
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1 icy planning and implementation on behalf of

2 such agency.

3 ‘‘(G) AGENCY FOR INSURANCE.—At least

4 one member shall be from the agency respon5 sible for the State governance of insurance, es6 pecially in the area of health insurance.

7 ‘‘(H) HEAD START AGENCY.—A represent8 ative from a Head Start agency or program in

9 the State.

10 ‘‘(I) A representative from a State agency

11 responsible for child care.

12 ‘‘(2) OTHER MEMBERS.—The council may in13 clude other members selected by the Governor, in14 cluding a representative from the Bureau of Indian

15 Affairs, or where there is no BIA operated or funded

16 school, from the Indian Health Service or the tribe/

17 tribal council.

18 ‘‘(c) MEETINGS.—The council shall meet at least

19 quarterly and in such places as it deems necessary. The

20 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

25 hearings and forums, to reimburse members of the council
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1 for reasonable and necessary expenses for attending coun2 cil meetings and performing council duties (including child

3 care for parent representatives), to pay compensation to

4 a member of the council if such member is not employed

5 or must forfeit wages from other employment when per6 forming official council business, to hire staff, and to ob7 tain the services of such professional, technical, and cleri8 cal personnel as may be necessary to carry out its func9 tions under this 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(b)(8)

14 in the performance of the responsibilities set

15 out in such section, particularly the identifica16 tion of the sources of fiscal and other support

17 for services for early intervention programs, as18 signment of financial responsibility to the ap19 propriate agency, and the promotion of the

20 interagency agreements;

21 ‘‘(B) advise and assist the lead agency in

22 the preparation of applications and amend23 ments thereto;

24 ‘‘(C) advise and assist the State edu25 cational agency regarding the transition of tod-
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1 dlers with disabilities to preschool and other ap2 propriate services; and

3 ‘‘(D) prepare and submit an annual report

4 to the Governor and to the Secretary on the

5 status of early intervention programs for in6 fants and toddlers with disabilities and their

7 families operated within the State.

8 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITY.—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 aged birth to 5, inclusive.

12 ‘‘(f) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—No member of the

13 council shall cast a vote on any matter which would pro14 vide direct financial benefit to that member or otherwise

15 give the appearance of a conflict of interest under State

16 law.

17 ‘‘SEC. 642. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.

18 ‘‘Sections 616, 617, 618, and 620 shall, to the extent

19 not inconsistent with this part, apply to the program au20 thorized by this part, except that—

21 ‘‘(1) any reference in such sections to a State

22 educational agency shall be considered to be a ref23 erence to a State’s lead agency established or des24 ignated under section 635(a)(8);
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1 ‘‘(2) any reference in such sections to a local

2 educational agency, educational service agency, or a

3 State agency shall be considered to be a reference to

4 an early intervention service provider under this

5 part; and

6 ‘‘(3) any reference to the education of children

7 with disabilities or the education of all children with

8 disabilities shall be considered to be a reference to

9 the provision of appropriate early intervention serv10 ices to infants and toddlers with disabilities.

11 ‘‘SEC. 643. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.

12 ‘‘(a) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR TERRITORIES.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the sums appro14 priated to carry out this part for any fiscal year, the

15 Secretary may reserve up to one percent for pay16 ments to Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Is17 lands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mari18 ana Islands in accordance with their respective

19 needs.

20 ‘‘(2) CONSOLIDATION OF FUNDS.—The provi21 sions of Public Law 95–134, permitting the consoli22 dation of grants to the territories, shall not apply to

23 funds those areas receive under this part.

24 ‘‘(b) PAYMENTS TO INDIANS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, sub2 ject to this subsection, make payments to the Sec3 retary of the Interior to be distributed to tribes,

4 tribal organizations (as defined under section 4 of

5 the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist6 ance Act), or consortia of the above entities for the

7 coordination of assistance in the provision of early

8 intervention services by the States to infants and

9 toddlers with disabilities and their families on res10 ervations served by elementary and secondary

11 schools for Indian children operated or funded by

12 the Department of the Interior. The amount of such

13 payment for any fiscal year shall be 1.25 percent of

14 the aggregate of the amount available to all States

15 under this part for such fiscal year.

16 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—For each fiscal year, the

17 Secretary of the Interior shall distribute the entire

18 payment received under paragraph (1) by providing

19 to each tribe, tribal organization, or consortium an

20 amount based on the number of infants and toddlers

21 residing on the reservation as determined annually

22 divided by the total of such children served by all

23 tribes, tribal organizations, or consortia.

24 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION.—To receive a payment

25 under this paragraph, the tribe, tribal organization,
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1 or consortia shall submit such information to the

2 Secretary of the Interior as is needed to determine

3 the amounts to be allocated under paragraph (2).

4 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds received by a

5 tribe, tribal organization, or consortia shall be used

6 to assist States in child find, screening, and other

7 procedures for the early identification of Indian chil8 dren under 3 years of age and for parent training.

9 Such funds may also be used to provide early inter10 vention services in accordance with this part. Such

11 activities may be carried out directly or through con12 tracts or cooperative agreements with the BIA, local

13 educational agencies, and other public or private

14 nonprofit organizations. The tribe, tribal organiza15 tion, or consortia is encouraged to involve Indian

16 parents in the development and implementation of

17 these activities. The above entities shall, as appro18 priate, make referrals to local, State, or Federal en19 tities for the provision of services or further diag20 nosis.

21 ‘‘(5) REPORTS.—To be eligible to receive a

22 grant under paragraph (2), a tribe, tribal organiza23 tion, or consortia shall make a biennial report to the

24 Secretary of the Interior of activities undertaken

25 under this subsection, including the number of con-
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1 tracts and cooperative agreements entered into, the

2 number of children contacted and receiving services

3 for each year, and the estimated number of children

4 needing services during the 2 years following the

5 year in which the report is made. The Secretary of

6 the Interior shall include a summary of this informa7 tion on a biennial basis to the Secretary of Edu8 cation along with such other information as required

9 under section 611(f)(3)(D). The Secretary of Edu10 cation may require any additional information from

11 the Secretary of the Interior.

12 ‘‘(6) PROHIBITED USES OF FUNDS.—None of

13 the funds under this subsection may be used by the

14 Secretary of the Interior for administrative pur15 poses, including child count, and the provision of

16 technical assistance.

17 ‘‘(c) STATE ALLOTMENTS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graphs (2), (3), and (4), from the funds remaining

20 for each fiscal year after the reservation and pay21 ments under subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary

22 shall first allot to each State an amount that bears

23 the same ratio to the amount of such remainder as

24 the number of infants and toddlers in the State
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1 bears to the number of infants and toddlers in all

2 States.

3 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM ALLOTMENTS.—Except as pro4 vided in paragraphs (3) and (4), no State shall re5 ceive an amount under this section for any fiscal

6 year that is less than the greatest of—

7 ‘‘(A) one-half of one percent of the remain8 ing amount described in paragraph (1); or

9 ‘‘(B) $500,000.

10 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR 1997 THROUGH 1999.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

12 paragraph (4), no State may receive an amount

13 under this section for any of the fiscal years

14 1997 through 1999 that is less than the sum of

15 the amount such State received for fiscal year

16 1994 under—

17 ‘‘(i) part H (as in effect on the day

18 before the date of the enactment of the

19 IDEA Improvement Act of 1996); and

20 ‘‘(ii) subpart 2 of part D of chapter 1

21 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary

22 Education Act of 1965 (as in effect on the

23 day before the date of the enactment of the

24 Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994)
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1 for children with disabilities under 3 years

2 of age.

3 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If, for fiscal year 1998

4 or 1999, the number of infants and toddlers in

5 a State, as determined under paragraph (1), is

6 less than the number of infants and toddlers so

7 determined for fiscal year 1994, the amount de8 termined under subparagraph (A) for the State

9 shall be reduced by the same percentage by

10 which the number of such infants and toddlers

11 so declined.

12 ‘‘(4) RATABLE REDUCTION.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the sums made

14 available under this part for any fiscal year are

15 insufficient to pay the full amounts that all

16 States are eligible to receive under this sub17 section for such year, the Secretary shall rat18 ably reduce the allocations to such States for

19 such year.

20 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—If additional

21 funds become available for making payments

22 under this subsection for a fiscal year, alloca23 tions that were reduced under subparagraph

24 (A) shall be increased on the same basis as

25 such allocations were reduced.
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1 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this

2 subsection—

3 ‘‘(A) the terms ‘infants’ and ‘toddlers’

4 mean 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

9 not to receive its allotment under subsection (c), the Sec10 retary shall reallot, among the remaining States, amounts

11 from such State in accordance with such subsection.

12 ‘‘SEC. 644. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

13 ‘‘For the purpose of carrying out this part, there are

14 authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec15 essary for each of the fiscal years 1997 through 2001.

16 ‘‘PART D—NATIONAL ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE

17 EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

18 ‘‘SEC. 651. PURPOSE OF PART.

19 ‘‘The purpose of this part is to support national,

20 State, and local activities aimed at improving educational,

21 early intervention, and transitional services and opportuni22 ties for children with disabilities.

23 ‘‘SEC. 652. ELIGIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.

24 ‘‘No State, State educational agency, local edu25 cational agency, educational service agency, or other pub-
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1 lic institution or agency may receive a grant, contract, or

2 cooperative agreement under this part which relates exclu3 sively to programs, projects, and activities for children

4 aged 3 to 5, inclusive, unless the State, or, in the case

5 of an agency or institution, the State in which the agency

6 or institution is located, is eligible to receive a grant under

7 section 619.

8 ‘‘SEC. 653. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop and

10 implement a comprehensive plan for ongoing activities

11 conducted by the Secretary under this part.

12 ‘‘(b) USE OF KNOWLEDGE IN DEVELOPING PLAN.—

13 To the maximum extent appropriate, the Secretary shall

14 ensure that the plan is based upon the knowledge gained

15 from research on practices that have been proven effective

16 in improving the achievement of children with disabilities.

17 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In developing the plan, the

18 Secretary shall consult the following persons:

19 ‘‘(1) Individuals with disabilities.

20 ‘‘(2) Parents of children with disabilities.

21 ‘‘(3) Representatives of State and local edu22 cational agencies and educational service agencies.

23 ‘‘(4) Private schools.

24 ‘‘(5) Institutions of higher education.

25 ‘‘(6) Other Federal agencies.
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1 ‘‘(7) The National Council on Disability.

2 ‘‘(8) National organizations with an interest in,

3 and expertise in, providing services to children with

4 disabilities and their families.

5 ‘‘(9) Any other professionals determined appro6 priate by the Secretary.

7 ‘‘(d) DEADLINE.—The plan shall be developed not

8 later than the date that is 12 months after the date of

9 the enactment of the IDEA Improvement Act of 1996.

10 ‘‘SEC. 654. PEER REVIEW.

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use a panel

12 of experts who are competent, by virtue of their training,

13 expertise, or experience, to evaluate an application under

14 this part that requests more than $75,000 in Federal fi15 nancial assistance.

16 ‘‘(b) COMPOSITION OF PANEL.—A majority of a

17 panel described in subsection (a) shall be composed of in18 dividuals who are not employees of the Federal Govern19 ment.

20 ‘‘(c) PAYMENT OF FEES AND EXPENSES OF CERTAIN

21 MEMBERS.—The Secretary may use available funds ap22 propriated to carry out this part to pay the expenses and

23 fees of panel members who are not employees of the Fed24 eral Government.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 655. ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.

2 ‘‘Except as otherwise provided in this part, the per3 sons who, and the agencies that, may apply for receipt

4 of grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under this

5 part are the following:

6 ‘‘(1) Institutions of higher education.

7 ‘‘(2) State educational agencies.

8 ‘‘(3) Local educational agencies.

9 ‘‘(4) Educational service agencies.

10 ‘‘(5) Other public agencies.

11 ‘‘(6) Private nonprofit organizations.

12 ‘‘(7) Indian tribes and tribal organizations (as

13 defined under section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter14 mination and Education Assistance Act).

15 ‘‘(8) For-profit organizations.

16 ‘‘SEC. 656. APPLICANT AND RECIPIENT RESPONSIBILITIES.

17 ‘‘(a) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS ON APPLICANTS AND

18 RECIPIENTS.—The Secretary may not make a grant to,

19 or enter into a contract or cooperative agreement with,

20 a person or agency under this part unless—

21 ‘‘(1) the person or agency involves individuals

22 with disabilities, and parents of children with dis23 abilities, in planning, implementing, and evaluating

24 activities conducted under the grant, contract, or

25 agreement;
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1 ‘‘(2) the person or agency, where appropriate,

2 evaluates the potential for replication and wide3 spread adoption of such activities; and

4 ‘‘(3) the person or agency prepares their find5 ings and work product in a format useful for a spe6 cific audience specified by the Secretary, such as

7 parents, administrators, teachers, early intervention

8 personnel, related services personnel, or individuals

9 with disabilities.

10 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS IMPOSED AT DIS11 CRETION OF SECRETARY.—The Secretary may require

12 that a person who, or agency that, is awarded a grant,

13 contract, or cooperative agreement under this part—

14 ‘‘(1) assume a portion of the cost of carrying

15 out the grant, contract, or agreement;

16 ‘‘(2) disseminate the findings and work product

17 of the person or agency; and

18 ‘‘(3) collaborate with other such persons and

19 agencies.

20 ‘‘SEC. 657. INDIRECT COSTS.

21 ‘‘The Secretary—

22 ‘‘(1) may not permit any recipient of Federal

23 funds under this part to use more than 25 percent

24 of such funds for indirect costs; and
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1 ‘‘(2) may further limit the extent to which any

2 such recipient may use such funds for such costs.

3 ‘‘SEC. 658. PROGRAM EVALUATION.

4 ‘‘The Secretary may use funds appropriated to carry

5 out this part to evaluate any activity carried out under

6 this part.

7 ‘‘Subpart 1—National Research and Improvement

8 Activities

9 ‘‘SEC. 661. GENERAL AUTHORITY TO MAKE AWARDS.

10 ‘‘The Secretary may make grants to, and enter into

11 contracts and cooperative agreements with, eligible entities

12 to carry out research and improvement activities that fur13 ther the purpose of this part and are consistent with the

14 priorities established under section 662.

15 ‘‘SEC. 662. PRIORITIES.

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In making awards under this

17 subpart, the Secretary may, without regard to the rule

18 making procedures under section 553 of title 5, United

19 States Code, limit such awards to, or otherwise give prior20 ity to—

21 ‘‘(1) projects that address the improvement of

22 the academic performance of children with disabil23 ities;

24 ‘‘(2) projects that address one or more—

25 ‘‘(A) age ranges;
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1 ‘‘(B) disabilities;

2 ‘‘(C) grades in school;

3 ‘‘(D) types of educational placements or

4 early intervention environments;

5 ‘‘(E) types of services; or

6 ‘‘(F) content areas such as reading;

7 ‘‘(3) projects that address the needs of children

8 based on the severity of their disability;

9 ‘‘(4) projects that address the needs of—

10 ‘‘(A) low-achieving students;

11 ‘‘(B) underserved populations;

12 ‘‘(C) children from low-income families;

13 ‘‘(D) children with limited English pro14 ficiency;

15 ‘‘(E) unserved and underserved areas;

16 ‘‘(F) particular types of geographic areas,

17 such as inner-city or rural areas; or

18 ‘‘(G) institutionalized children in juvenile

19 and adult correctional institutions;

20 ‘‘(5) any activity that is expressly authorized in

21 this title;

22 ‘‘(6) a large-scale longitudinal study designed to

23 provide information on the long-term impact of edu24 cation agency disciplinary procedures on children

25 with disabilities;
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1 ‘‘(7) research and development projects includ2 ing—

3 ‘‘(A) projects that advance knowledge

4 about—

5 ‘‘(i) teaching and learning practices,

6 and assessment techniques, instruments,

7 and strategies, including behavioral strate8 gies, that lead to improved results for chil9 dren with disabilities;

10 ‘‘(ii) the developmental and learning

11 characteristics of children with disabilities

12 in a manner that will improve the design

13 and effectiveness of interventions and in14 struction; or

15 ‘‘(iii) the coordination of education

16 with health and social services;

17 ‘‘(B) large-scale longitudinal studies de18 signed to produce information on the long-term

19 impact of early intervention and education on

20 results for individuals with disabilities;

21 ‘‘(C) model demonstration projects to

22 apply and test research findings in typical serv23 ice settings to determine the usability, effective24 ness, and general applicability of such research

25 findings in such areas as improving instruc-
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1 tional methods, curricula, and tools such as

2 textbooks, media, and other materials; and

3 ‘‘(D) projects which apply research and

4 other knowledge to improve educational results

5 for children with disabilities by—

6 ‘‘(i) synthesizing useful research and

7 educational products;

8 ‘‘(ii) ensuring that such research and

9 products are in appropriate formats for

10 distribution to administrators, teachers,

11 parents, and individuals with disabilities;

12 or

13 ‘‘(iii) making such research and prod14 ucts available through libraries, electronic

15 networks, parent training projects, and

16 other information sources, including the

17 National Information Dissemination Sys18 tem under part D of title IX of Public Law

19 103–227;

20 ‘‘(8) projects which provide technical assistance

21 to—

22 ‘‘(A) States—

23 ‘‘(i) to link States to other technical

24 assistance resources, including special and

25 general education resources; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) in gaining access to information,

2 including information on research and best

3 practices; or

4 ‘‘(B) State educational agencies, State lead

5 agencies serving infants and toddlers with dis6 abilities under part C, and other organizations

7 and agencies that play a critical role in provid8 ing for the participation of children with dis9 abilities in State and local assessments;

10 ‘‘(9) activities to produce, and promote the use

11 of, knowledge to address the special needs of chil12 dren who have a high likelihood of needing special

13 education and related services in order to reduce,

14 through early intervention, the need for special edu15 cation services later in life;

16 ‘‘(10) educational media activities including—

17 ‘‘(A) through September 30, 1998, video

18 description, open captioning, or closed caption19 ing;

20 ‘‘(B) video description, open captioning, or

21 closed captioning of educational, news, and in22 formational materials;

23 ‘‘(C) through September 30, 1998, dis24 tribution of captioned and described materials

25 and videos;
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1 ‘‘(D) distribution of captioned and de2 scribed educational, news, and informational

3 materials and videos; and

4 ‘‘(E) recording free educational materials,

5 including textbooks, for visually impaired and

6 print-disabled students in elementary, second7 ary, post-secondary, and graduate schools; and

8 ‘‘(11) projects to assist institutions of higher

9 education in appropriately serving students with dis10 abilities, including deaf students.

11 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term

12 ‘low-incidence disability’ means—

13 ‘‘(1) a visual impairment, a hearing impair14 ment, or simultaneous visual and hearing impair15 ments;

16 ‘‘(2) a significant cognitive impairment; or

17 ‘‘(3) any impairment for which a small number

18 of personnel, with highly specialized skills and

19 knowledge, are needed nationwide in order for all

20 children with disabilities who have the impairment to

21 receive early intervention services or a free appro22 priate public education.

23 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—If the Secretary awards a grant, con24 tract, or cooperative agreement under this subpart prior

25 to February 1, 1998 with respect to an educational media
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1 activity described in subparagraph (A) or (C) of sub2 section (a)(10), the Secretary, after consulting with the

3 chairman of the Federal Communications Commission,

4 shall submit to the Committee on Economic and Edu5 cational Opportunities of the House of Representatives

6 and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of

7 the Senate, not later than April 15, 1998, a report on the

8 progress that the Federal Communications Commission is

9 making towards meeting the requirements imposed on the

10 Commission under section 713 of the Communications Act

11 of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 613).

12 ‘‘SEC. 663. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT.

13 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE OF ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary

14 shall carry out a national assessment of activities carried

15 out with Federal funds under this title in order—

16 ‘‘(1) to determine the effectiveness of the title

17 in achieving the purposes of the title;

18 ‘‘(2) to provide information to the President,

19 the Congress, the States, local educational agencies,

20 and the public on how to implement the title more

21 effectively; and

22 ‘‘(3) to provide the President and the Congress

23 with information that will be useful in developing

24 legislation to achieve the purposes of this title more

25 effectively.
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1 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall plan, re2 view, and conduct the national assessment under this sec3 tion in consultation with researchers, State practitioners,

4 local practitioners, parents of children with disabilities, in5 dividuals with disabilities, and other appropriate individ6 uals.

7 ‘‘(c) SCOPE OF ASSESSMENT.—The national assess8 ment shall examine how well schools, local educational

9 agencies, States, other recipients of assistance under this

10 title, and the Secretary are achieving the purposes of this

11 title, including—

12 ‘‘(1) the performance of children with disabil13 ities in general scholastic activities and assessments

14 as compared to nondisabled children;

15 ‘‘(2) providing for the participation of children

16 with disabilities in the general education curriculum;

17 ‘‘(3) helping children with disabilities make suc18 cessful transitions from—

19 ‘‘(A) early intervention services to pre20 school education;

21 ‘‘(B) preschool education to elementary

22 school; and

23 ‘‘(C) secondary school to adult life;

24 ‘‘(4) placing and serving children with disabil25 ities, including children from underserved popu-
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1 lations, in the least restrictive environment appro2 priate;

3 ‘‘(5) preventing children with disabilities, espe4 cially children with emotional disturbances and spe5 cific learning disabilities, from dropping out of

6 school;

7 ‘‘(6) assessing the use of disciplinary measures,

8 and the effect of such use, with children with dis9 abilities as compared to nondisabled children;

10 ‘‘(7) coordinating services provided under this

11 title with each other, with other educational and

12 pupil services (including preschool services), and

13 with health and social services funded from other

14 sources;

15 ‘‘(8) addressing the participation of parents of

16 children with disabilities in the education of their

17 children; and

18 ‘‘(9) resolving disagreements between education

19 personnel and parents through activities such as me20 diation.

21 ‘‘(d) INTERIM AND FINAL REPORTS.—The Secretary

22 shall submit to the President and the Congress—

23 ‘‘(1) an interim report that summarizes the pre24 liminary findings of the assessment not later than

25 October 1, 1998; and
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1 ‘‘(2) a final report of the findings of the assess2 ment not later than October 1, 2000.

3 ‘‘SEC. 664. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap5 propriated to carry out this subpart such sums as may

6 be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1997 through

7 2001.

8 ‘‘(b) MINIMUM AMOUNTS.—Subject to subsection (c),

9 the Secretary shall ensure that, for each fiscal year, at

10 least the following amounts are provided under this sub11 part to address the following needs:

12 ‘‘(1) $12,832,000 to address the educational,

13 related services, transitional, and early intervention

14 needs of children with deaf-blindness.

15 ‘‘(2) $4,000,000 to address the postsecondary,

16 vocational, technical, continuing, and adult edu17 cation needs of individuals with deafness.

18 ‘‘(c) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the total amount ap19 propriated to carry out this subpart for any fiscal year

20 is less than $135,600,000, the amounts listed in sub21 section (b) shall be ratably reduced.

22 ‘‘Subpart 2—Professional Development

23 ‘‘SEC. 671. PURPOSE.

24 ‘‘The purpose of this subpart is to help ensure that—
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1 ‘‘(1) personnel responsible for serving children

2 with disabilities, including general and special edu3 cation personnel, related services personnel, and

4 early intervention personnel, have the knowledge and

5 skills necessary to help such children—

6 ‘‘(A) meet developmental goals and, to the

7 maximum extent possible, those challenging ex8 pectations that have been established for all

9 children; and

10 ‘‘(B) be prepared to lead productive, inde11 pendent adult lives to the maximum extent pos12 sible;

13 ‘‘(2) there are adequate numbers of such per14 sonnel to meet the needs of children with disabilities;

15 and

16 ‘‘(3) the skills and knowledge of personnel re17 sponsible for serving children with disabilities reflect

18 the best practices, as determined through research

19 and experience, particularly with respect to the in20 clusion of children with disabilities in the regular

21 education environment.

22 ‘‘SEC. 672. FINDING.

23 ‘‘The Congress finds that the conditions noted in

24 paragraphs (7) through (10) of section 601(c) can be

25 greatly improved by providing opportunities for the full
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1 participation of minorities through the implementation of

2 the following recommendations:

3 ‘‘(1) Implementation of a policy to mobilize the

4 Nation’s resources to prepare minorities for careers

5 in special education and related services.

6 ‘‘(2) Focusing such policy on—

7 ‘‘(A) the recruitment of minorities into

8 teaching; and

9 ‘‘(B) financially assisting Historically

10 Black Colleges and Universities and other insti11 tutions of higher education (whose minority stu12 dent enrollment is at least 25 percent) to pre13 pare students for special education and related

14 service careers.

15 ‘‘SEC. 673. NATIONAL ACTIVITIES.

16 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may

17 make grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative

18 agreements with, eligible entities to support activities of

19 national significance that—

20 ‘‘(1) have broad applicability; and

21 ‘‘(2) will help ensure that the purpose of this

22 subpart is met.

23 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out this

24 section, the Secretary may support any activity that is

25 consistent with subsection (a), including—
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1 ‘‘(1) the development, evaluation, demonstra2 tion, or dissemination of effective personnel prepara3 tion practices for personnel to work with children

4 with disabilities;

5 ‘‘(2) promoting the transferability of licensure

6 and certification of teachers and administrators

7 among State and local jurisdictions;

8 ‘‘(3) developing and disseminating models that

9 prepare teachers with strategies, including behav10 ioral management techniques, for addressing the

11 conduct of children with disabilities that impedes

12 their learning and that of others in the classroom;

13 and

14 ‘‘(4) supporting Historically Black Colleges and

15 Universities and institutions of higher education

16 with minority enrollments of at least 25 percent for

17 the purpose of preparing personnel.

18 ‘‘SEC. 674. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR PERSONNEL

19 SERVING LOW-INCIDENCE POPULATIONS.

20 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may

21 make grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative

22 agreements with, eligible entities to meet the purpose of

23 this subpart by supporting preparation for personnel who

24 will provide educational and related services to children

25 with low-incidence disabilities and personnel who will pro-
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1 vide early intervention services to infants and toddlers

2 with disabilities.

3 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Individuals who may be

5 prepared pursuant to this section include personnel

6 who—

7 ‘‘(A) are currently prepared in the fields of

8 educational, related, or early intervention serv9 ices; and

10 ‘‘(B) are studying—

11 ‘‘(i) to obtain degrees, certification, li12 censure, or endorsements in one or more of

13 such fields; or

14 ‘‘(ii) to meet competency requirements

15 in one or more of such fields.

16 ‘‘(2) SCHOLARSHIPS.—The Secretary may in17 clude funds for scholarships, with necessary stipends

18 and allowances, in awards under this section.

19 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—Any application for assistance

20 under this section shall propose to provide preparation

21 that addresses a significant need, as shown by letters from

22 one or more States stating that the State—

23 ‘‘(1) intends to accept successful completion of

24 the proposed personnel preparation as meeting State

25 personnel standards for serving children with low-in-
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1 cidence disabilities, or for serving infants and tod2 dlers with disabilities; and

3 ‘‘(2) needs personnel in the area or areas in

4 which the applicant proposes to provide preparation,

5 as identified in the State’s comprehensive system of

6 personnel development under part B or C, or in the

7 State’s State improvement plan under subpart 3.

8 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

9 term ‘low-incidence disability’ has the meaning given such

10 term in section 662(b).

11 ‘‘SEC. 675. LEADERSHIP PERSONNEL.

12 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may

13 make grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative

14 agreements with, eligible entities to meet the purpose of

15 this subpart by preparing educational, related service, and

16 early intervention leadership personnel (including teacher17 preparation faculty, administrators, researchers, super18 visors, and principals) so that they are prepared to help

19 children with disabilities—

20 ‘‘(1) meet developmental goals and, to the max21 imum extent possible, those challenging expectations

22 that have been established for all children; and

23 ‘‘(2) be prepared to lead productive, independ24 ent adult lives to the maximum extent possible.

25 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec2 tion, the Secretary may support any activity that is

3 consistent with subsection (a), including—

4 ‘‘(A) preparation of personnel at the ad5 vanced graduate, doctoral, or post-doctoral lev6 els; and

7 ‘‘(B) professional development of leader8 ship personnel.

9 ‘‘(2) SCHOLARSHIPS.—The Secretary may in10 clude funds for scholarships, with necessary stipends

11 and allowances, in awards under this section.

12 ‘‘(c) PREFERENCES.—In making awards under this

13 section, the Secretary shall give preference to projects at

14 institutions of higher education that have successfully in15 tegrated the professional development of general and spe16 cial education personnel.

17 ‘‘SEC. 676. SERVICE OBLIGATION.

18 ‘‘Each application for funds under section 674 or 675

19 shall include an assurance that the applicant will ensure

20 that individuals who are prepared under the proposed

21 project will subsequently perform work related to their

22 preparation or repay all or part of the cost of such prepa23 ration.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 677. OUTREACH.

2 ‘‘(a) PLAN FOR OUTREACH SERVICES.—The Sec3 retary shall develop a plan for providing outreach services

4 to the entities and populations described in subsection (b)

5 in order to increase the participation of such entities and

6 populations in competitions for grants, contracts, and co7 operative agreements under this subpart.

8 ‘‘(b) ENTITIES AND POPULATIONS DESCRIBED.—

9 The entities and populations referred to in subsection (a)

10 are—

11 ‘‘(1) Historically Black Colleges and Univer12 sities and other institutions of higher education

13 whose minority student enrollment is at least 25

14 percent;

15 ‘‘(2) eligible institutions, as defined in section

16 312 of the Higher Education Act of 1965;

17 ‘‘(3) nonprofit and for-profit agencies at least

18 51 percent owned or controlled by one or more mi19 nority individuals; and

20 ‘‘(4) underrepresented populations.

21 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—For the purpose of implementing

22 the plan required under subsection (a), the Secretary

23 shall, for each of the fiscal years 1997 through 2002, ex24 pend 1 percent of the funds appropriated for the fiscal

25 year involved for carrying out this subpart.
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1 ‘‘(d) DILIGENCE.—The Secretary shall exercise the

2 utmost authority, resourcefulness, and diligence of the

3 Secretary to meet the requirements of this section.

4 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than January 31 of each

5 year, beginning with fiscal year 1997 and ending with fis6 cal year 2002, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress

7 a final report on the progress toward meeting the goals

8 of this section during the preceding fiscal year. The report

9 shall include—

10 ‘‘(1) a full explanation of any progress toward

11 meeting the goals of this section; and

12 ‘‘(2) a plan to meet the goals, if necessary.

13 ‘‘(f) UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS DE14 FINED.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘underrep15 resented populations’ means populations such as minori16 ties, the poor, individuals with limited English proficiency,

17 and individuals with disabilities.

18 ‘‘Subpart 3—State Program Improvement Grants for

19 Children with Disabilities

20 ‘‘SEC. 681. PURPOSE.

21 ‘‘The purpose of this subpart is to assist States in

22 reforming and improving their systems for providing edu23 cational and early intervention services, particularly their

24 systems for professional development, to improve the

25 achievement of children with disabilities.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 682. ELIGIBILITY AND COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.

2 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A State may apply for

3 a grant under this subpart for a grant period that is not

4 less than one year, but is not greater than 4 years.

5 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION THAT COLLABORATIVE PROC6 ESS HAS BEEN USED.—A State that desires to receive

7 a grant under this subpart shall certify to the Secretary

8 that a collaborative process with persons described in sub9 section (c) has been used in developing the State improve10 ment plan described in section 683.

11 ‘‘(c) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS PARTICIPANTS.—

12 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED PARTICIPANTS.—The collabo13 rative process referred to in subsection (b) is a State

14 process for making decisions which includes as par15 ticipants, at a minimum, the Governor of the State

16 and representatives, appointed by such Governor,

17 of—

18 ‘‘(A) parents of children with disabilities;

19 ‘‘(B) parents of nondisabled children;

20 ‘‘(C) individuals with disabilities;

21 ‘‘(D) organizations representing individuals

22 with disabilities and their parents;

23 ‘‘(E) community-based and other nonprofit

24 organizations related to the education and em25 ployment of individuals with disabilities;
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1 ‘‘(F) the lead State agency official or offi2 cials for part C;

3 ‘‘(G) local educational agencies;

4 ‘‘(H) general and special education teach5 ers;

6 ‘‘(I) the State educational agency;

7 ‘‘(J) the State advisory panel established

8 under part B; and

9 ‘‘(K) the State interagency coordinating

10 council established under part C.

11 ‘‘(2) OPTIONAL PARTICIPANTS.—The collabo12 rative process may include, at the Governor’s discre13 tion, representatives, appointed by the Governor,

14 of—

15 ‘‘(A) individuals knowledgeable about voca16 tional education;

17 ‘‘(B) the State agency for higher edu18 cation;

19 ‘‘(C) institutions of higher education;

20 ‘‘(D) schools of education;

21 ‘‘(E) the State vocational rehabilitation

22 agency;

23 ‘‘(F) public agencies with jurisdiction in

24 the areas of health, mental health, social serv25 ices, and juvenile justice; and
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1 ‘‘(G) any other individuals designated by

2 the Governor.

3 ‘‘SEC. 683. STATE IMPROVEMENT PLANS.

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State that desires to receive

5 a grant under this subpart shall submit to the Secretary

6 a State improvement plan that is integrated, to the maxi7 mum extent possible, with State plans under the Elemen8 tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the Reha9 bilitation Act of 1973, as appropriate.

10 ‘‘(b) DETERMINING CHILD AND PROGRAM NEEDS.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State improvement

12 plan shall identify those critical aspects of early

13 intervention, general education, and special edu14 cation programs (including professional development,

15 based on an assessment of State and local needs)

16 that must be improved to enable children with dis17 abilities to meet the goals established by the State

18 under section 612(a)(14).

19 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED ANALYSES.—To meet the re20 quirement of paragraph (1), the State improvement

21 plan shall include at least—

22 ‘‘(A) an analysis of all information, reason23 ably available to the State, on the performance

24 of children with disabilities in the State, includ25 ing—
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1 ‘‘(i) their performance on State as2 sessments and other performance indica3 tors established for all children, including

4 drop-out rates and graduation rates;

5 ‘‘(ii) their participation in postsecond6 ary education and employment; and

7 ‘‘(iii) how their performance on the

8 assessments and indicators described in

9 clause (i) compares to that of non-disabled

10 children;

11 ‘‘(B) an analysis of State and local needs

12 for professional development for personnel to

13 serve children with disabilities that includes, at

14 a minimum, relevant information on current

15 and anticipated personnel shortages, and on the

16 extent of certification or retraining necessary to

17 eliminate such shortages, that is based, to the

18 maximum extent possible, on existing assess19 ments of personnel needs; and

20 ‘‘(C) a summary of the information and

21 analysis provided by the State to the Secretary

22 under parts B and C on the effectiveness of the

23 State’s systems of early intervention, special

24 education, and general education in meeting the

25 needs of children with disabilities.
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1 ‘‘(c) IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES.—Each State im2 provement plan shall—

3 ‘‘(1) describe the strategies the State will use to

4 address the needs identified under subsection (b)(1),

5 including—

6 ‘‘(A) how it will hold school districts and

7 schools accountable for educational progress of

8 children with disabilities;

9 ‘‘(B) how it will provide technical assist10 ance to school districts and schools to improve

11 results for children with disabilities;

12 ‘‘(C) how it will address the identified

13 needs for in-service and pre-service preparation

14 to ensure that all personnel who work with chil15 dren with disabilities (including both profes16 sional and paraprofessional personnel who pro17 vide early intervention services, special edu18 cation, general education, or related services)

19 have the skills and knowledge necessary to meet

20 the needs of children with disabilities, including

21 a description of how—

22 ‘‘(i) the State will prepare general

23 education and special education personnel

24 with the content knowledge and collabo25 rative skills needed to meet the needs of
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1 children with disabilities, including how the

2 State will work with other States on com3 mon certification criteria;

4 ‘‘(ii) the State will prepare profes5 sionals and paraprofessionals in the area of

6 early intervention with the content knowl7 edge and collaborative skills needed to

8 meet the needs of infants and toddlers

9 with disabilities;

10 ‘‘(iii) the State will work with institu11 tions of higher education and other entities

12 that prepare (on both a pre-service and an

13 in-service basis) personnel who work with

14 children with disabilities to ensure that

15 such institutions and entities develop the

16 capacity to support professional develop17 ment programs which reflect actual edu18 cation practices and techniques;

19 ‘‘(iv) the State’s requirements for li20 censure of teachers and administrators, in21 cluding certification and recertification,

22 will be modified to support an adequate

23 supply of personnel with the necessary

24 skills and knowledge (including, where ap25 propriate, strategies for developing recip-
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1 rocal certification agreements and common

2 certification requirements with other

3 States); and

4 ‘‘(v) the State will work to develop

5 collaborative agreements with other States

6 for the joint support and development of

7 programs to prepare personnel for which

8 there is not sufficient demand within a sin9 gle State to justify support or development

10 of such a program of preparation;

11 ‘‘(D) how it will work in collaboration with

12 other States, particularly neighboring States, to

13 address the lack of uniformity and reciprocity

14 in the credentialing of teachers and other per15 sonnel;

16 ‘‘(E) strategies that will address systemic

17 problems identified in Federal compliance re18 views, including shortages of qualified person19 nel; and

20 ‘‘(F) how the State will assess, on a regu21 lar basis, the extent to which the strategies im22 plemented under this subpart have been effec23 tive; and
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1 ‘‘(2) describe how the improvement strategies

2 under paragraph (1) will be coordinated with public

3 and private sector resources.

4 ‘‘(d) REPORTING PROCEDURES.—Each State that re5 ceives a grant under this subpart shall submit perform6 ance reports to the Secretary pursuant to a schedule to

7 be determined by the Secretary, but not more frequently

8 that annually.

9 ‘‘(e) PLAN APPROVAL.—The Secretary shall approve

10 a State improvement plan under this section if it—

11 ‘‘(1) meets the requirements of this part;

12 ‘‘(2) has been developed in accordance with the

13 requirements of section 682; and

14 ‘‘(3) in the opinion of the Secretary, has a rea15 sonable chance of achieving the purposes of the

16 grant.

17 ‘‘(f) PLAN AMENDMENTS.—

18 ‘‘(1) MODIFICATIONS MADE BY STATE.—Sub19 ject to paragraph (2), a plan submitted by a State

20 in accordance with this section shall remain in effect

21 until the State submits to the Secretary such modi22 fications as the State determines necessary. This

23 section shall apply to a modification to a plan to the

24 same extent and in the same manner as this section

25 applies to the original plan.
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1 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY SEC2 RETARY.—The Secretary may require a State to

3 amend its State improvement plan at any time as a

4 result of the Secretary’s compliance reviews under

5 parts B and C. The Secretary may not provide fur6 ther funding under this subpart to the State until

7 such amendments are made.

8 ‘‘SEC. 684. USE OF FUNDS.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives a grant

10 under this subpart may use the grant to carry out any

11 activities that are described in the State improvement plan

12 and that are consistent with the purpose of this subpart.

13 Such activities may include the awarding of subgrants, but

14 only if the subgrants are made to local educational agen15 cies. Any such local educational agency may award sub16 grants to any person. Such activities may also include the

17 awarding of contracts to appropriate entities.

18 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP19 MENT.—A State that receives a grant under this subpart

20 shall use not less than 75 percent of the funds it receives

21 under the grant for any fiscal year to ensure that there

22 is a sufficient supply of personnel who have the skills and

23 knowledge necessary to enable children with disabilities to

24 meet developmental goals and to meet the needs of such
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1 children, including working with other States on common

2 certification criteria.

3 ‘‘(c) GRANTS TO TERRITORIES.—The provisions of

4 Public Law 95–134, permitting the consolidation of grants

5 to the territories, shall not apply to funds received under

6 this subpart.

7 ‘‘SEC. 685. MINIMUM STATE ALLOTMENTS.

8 ‘‘A State that receives a grant under this subpart

9 shall receive an amount that is—

10 ‘‘(1) not less than $200,000, in the case of the

11 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Com12 monwealth of Puerto Rico; and

13 ‘‘(2) not less than $40,000, in the case of a ter14 ritory.

15 ‘‘SEC. 686. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

17 this subpart such sums as may be necessary for each of

18 the fiscal years 1997 through 2001.

19 ‘‘Subpart 4—Parent Training

20 ‘‘SEC. 691. GRANTS FOR PARENT TRAINING AND INFORMA21 TION CENTERS.

22 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may

23 make grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative

24 agreements with, parent organizations to support parent
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1 training and information centers to carry out activities

2 under this subpart.

3 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—A parent training and

4 information center that receives assistance under this sec5 tion shall—

6 ‘‘(1) assist parents to understand the availabil7 ity of, and how effectively to use, procedural safe8 guards under this title, including the use of alter9 native methods of dispute resolution, such as medi10 ation;

11 ‘‘(2) serve the parents of children with the full

12 range of disabilities; and

13 ‘‘(3) annually report to the Secretary on—

14 ‘‘(A) the number of parents to whom it

15 provided information and training in the most

16 recently concluded fiscal year; and

17 ‘‘(B) the effectiveness of strategies used to

18 reach and serve parents of children with disabil19 ities, including underserved parents of children

20 with disabilities.

21 ‘‘(c) OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES.—A parent training and

22 information center that receives assistance under this sec23 tion may—
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1 ‘‘(1) provide information to teachers and other

2 professionals who provide special education and re3 lated services to children with disabilities;

4 ‘‘(2) assist students with disabilities to under5 stand their rights and responsibilities under section

6 615(j) on reaching the age of majority; and

7 ‘‘(3) establish cooperative partnerships with

8 parent organizations, and other organizations assist9 ing families of children with disabilities, in the com10 munity.

11 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Each applica12 tion for assistance under this section shall identify with

13 specificity the special efforts that the applicant will under14 take to—

15 ‘‘(1) ensure that the needs for training and in16 formation of parents of underserved children with

17 disabilities in the area to be served are effectively

18 met; and

19 ‘‘(2) work with community-based organizations.

20 ‘‘(e) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—

21 ‘‘(1) INITIAL AWARDS.—

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

23 make at least one award to a parent organiza24 tion in each State, unless the Secretary does

25 not receive an application from such an organi-
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1 zation in each State of sufficient quality to war2 rant approval.

3 ‘‘(B) SELECTION REQUIREMENT.—The

4 Secretary shall select among applications sub5 mitted by parent organizations in a State in a

6 manner that ensures the most effective assist7 ance to parents, including parents in urban and

8 rural areas, in the State.

9 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL AWARDS.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may

11 make additional awards to community-based

12 parent organizations in each State.

13 ‘‘(B) SELECTION REQUIREMENT.—The

14 Secretary may make additional awards in a

15 manner that ensures that parents of children

16 with disabilities in low-income, high-density,

17 and rural areas have access to parent training

18 and information centers that provide appro19 priate training and information.

20 ‘‘SEC. 692. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PARENT TRAINING

21 AND INFORMATION CENTERS.

22 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may

23 provide technical assistance for developing, assisting, and

24 coordinating parent training and information programs
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1 carried out by parent training and information centers re2 ceiving assistance under section 691.

3 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may

4 provide technical assistance to a parent training and infor5 mation center under this section in areas such as—

6 ‘‘(1) effective coordination of parent training ef7 forts;

8 ‘‘(2) dissemination of information;

9 ‘‘(3) evaluation by the center of itself;

10 ‘‘(4) promotion of the use of technology, includ11 ing assistive technology devices and assistive tech12 nology services;

13 ‘‘(5) reaching underserved populations;

14 ‘‘(6) including children with disabilities in gen15 eral education programs;

16 ‘‘(7) facilitation of transitions from—

17 ‘‘(A) early intervention services to pre18 school;

19 ‘‘(B) preschool to school; and

20 ‘‘(C) secondary school to postsecondary en21 vironments; and

22 ‘‘(8) promotion of alternative methods of dis23 pute resolution.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 693. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

3 this subpart such sums as may be necessary for each of

4 the fiscal years 1997 through 2001.’’.

5 TITLE II—MISCELLANEOUS

6 PROVISIONS

7 SEC. 201. AMENDMENT TO ESEA TO COORDINATE IDEA AND

8 SCHOOLWIDE PROGRAMS.

9 Section 1114(a)(4) of the Elementary and Secondary

10 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6314(a)(4)) is amend11 ed—

12 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘Secretary

13 (other than formula or discretionary grant programs

14 under the Individuals with Disabilities Education

15 Act),’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary,’’; and

16 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘special

17 education and related services under an individual18 ized education program, procedural safeguards,’’

19 after ‘‘civil rights,’’.

20 SEC. 202. EFFECTIVE DATES.

21 (a) PARTS A, B, AND C.—Except as provided in sub22 section (b), parts A, B, and C of the Individuals with Dis23 abilities Education Act, as amended by title I, shall take

24 effect on July 1, 1997.
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1 (b) SECTION 605.—Section 605 of such Act, as

2 amended by title I, shall take effect upon the enactment

3 of this Act.

4 (c) PART D.—Part D of such Act, as amended by

5 title I, shall take effect on October 1, 1997.

6 SEC. 203. REPEALERS.

7 (a) PART I.—Part I of the Individuals with Disabil8 ities Education Act is hereby repealed.

9 (b) PART H.—Effective July 1, 1997, part H of such

10 Act is hereby repealed.

11 (c) PARTS E, F, AND G.—Effective October 1, 1997,

12 parts E, F, and G of such Act are hereby repealed.

Passed the House of Representatives June 10, 1996.

Attest: ROBIN H. CARLE,

Clerk.

By LINDA NAVE,

Deputy Clerk.