Union Calendar No. 60

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 5

[Report No. 105–95]

A BILL

To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Eduments to that Act, and for other purposes. cation Act, to reauthorize and make improveMAY 13, 1997

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commitordered to be printed tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
IB

Union Calendar No. 60

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 5

[Report No. 105–95]

To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to reauthorize

and make improvements to that Act, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 7, 1997

Mr. GOODLING (for himself, Mr. RIGGS, Mr. CASTLE, Mr. PETRI, Mr.

BALLENGER, Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska, Mr. MCKEON, Mr. TALENT,

Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. KNOLLENBERG, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. SOUDER, Mr.

MCINTOSH, Mr. NORWOOD, and Mr. CUNNINGHAM) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the

Workforce

MAY 13, 1997

Additional sponsors: Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. BONO, Mr. LATHAM,

and Mr. MCGOVERN

MAY 13, 1997

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 7, 1997]

A BILL

To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,

to reauthorize and make improvements to that Act, and

for other purposes.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Individuals with Dis5 abilities Education Act Amendments of 1997’’.

6 TITLE I—AMENDMENTS TO THE

7 INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABIL8 ITIES EDUCATION ACT

9 SEC. 101. AMENDMENTS TO THE INDIVIDUALS WITH DIS10 ABILITIES EDUCATION ACT.

11 Parts A through D of the Individuals with Disabilities

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

13 as follows:

14 ‘‘PART A—GENERAL PROVISIONS

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

16 PURPOSES.

17 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘In18 dividuals with Disabilities Education Act’.

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

20 this Act is as follows:

‘‘PART A—GENERAL PROVISIONS

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

‘‘Sec. 602. Definitions.

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

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

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

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

‘‘Sec. 607. Requirements for prescribing regulations.
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‘‘PART B—ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION OF ALL CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

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

‘‘Sec. 612. State eligibility.

‘‘Sec. 613. Local educational agency eligibility.

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

‘‘Sec. 615. Procedural safeguards.

‘‘Sec. 616. 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. Federal interagency coordinating council.

‘‘Sec. 645. Authorization of appropriations.

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

DISABILITIES

‘‘SUBPART 1—STATE PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT GRANTS FOR CHILDREN WITH

DISABILITIES

‘‘Sec. 651. Findings and purpose.

‘‘Sec. 652. Eligibility and collaborative process.

‘‘Sec. 653. Applications.

‘‘Sec. 654. Use of funds.

‘‘Sec. 655. Minimum State grant amounts.

‘‘Sec. 656. Authorization of appropriations.

‘‘SUBPART 2—COORDINATED RESEARCH, PERSONNEL PREPARATION, TECHNICAL

ASSISTANCE, SUPPORT, AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION

‘‘Sec. 661. Administrative provisions.

‘‘CHAPTER 1—IMPROVING EARLY INTERVENTION, EDUCATIONAL, AND TRANSITIONAL SERVICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH

COORDINATED RESEARCH AND PERSONNEL PREPARATION

‘‘Sec. 671. Findings and purpose.

‘‘Sec. 672. Research and innovation to improve services and results for children

with disabilities.

‘‘Sec. 673. Personnel preparation to improve services and results for children with

disabilities.
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‘‘Sec. 674. Studies and evaluations.

‘‘CHAPTER 2—IMPROVING EARLY INTERVENTION, EDUCATIONAL, AND TRANSITIONAL SERVICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES THROUGH

COORDINATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, SUPPORT, AND DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION

‘‘Sec. 681. Findings and purposes.

‘‘Sec. 682. Parent training and information centers.

‘‘Sec. 683. Community parent resource centers.

‘‘Sec. 684. Technical assistance for parent training and information centers.

‘‘Sec. 685. Coordinated technical assistance and dissemination.

‘‘Sec. 686. Authorization of appropriations.

‘‘Sec. 687. Technology development, demonstration, and utilization, and media

services.

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-sufficiency

9 for individuals with disabilities.

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

12 (Public Law 94–142)—

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 would
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1 enable such children to have full equality of op2 portunity;

3 ‘‘(C) 1,000,000 of the children with disabil4 ities in the United States were excluded entirely

5 from the public school system and did not go

6 through the educational process with their peers;

7 ‘‘(D) there were many children with disabil8 ities throughout the United States participating

9 in regular school programs whose disabilities

10 prevented such children from having a successful

11 educational experience because their disabilities

12 were undetected; and

13 ‘‘(E) because of the lack of adequate services

14 within the public school system, families were

15 often forced to find services outside the public

16 school system, often at great distance from their

17 residence and at their own expense.

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

19 the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of

20 1975, this Act has been successful in ensuring chil21 dren with disabilities and the families of such chil22 dren access to a free appropriate public education

23 and in improving educational results for children

24 with disabilities.
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1 ‘‘(4) However, the implementation of this Act

2 has been impeded by low expectations, and an insuffi3 cient focus on applying replicable research on proven

4 methods of teaching and learning for children with

5 disabilities.

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

7 has demonstrated that the education of children with

8 disabilities can be made more effective by—

9 ‘‘(A) having high expectations for such chil10 dren and ensuring their access in the general

11 curriculum to the maximum extent possible;

12 ‘‘(B) strengthening the role of parents and

13 ensuring that families of such children have

14 meaningful opportunities to participate in the

15 education of their children at school and at

16 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 are

23 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 pro4 fessional development for all personnel who work

5 with such children in order to ensure that they

6 have the skills and knowledge necessary to enable

7 them—

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

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

12 ‘‘(ii) to be prepared to lead productive,

13 independent, adult lives, to the maximum

14 extent possible;

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

16 approaches and pre-referral intervention to re17 duce the need to label children as disabled in

18 order to 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 to

4 improve results for such children and to ensure equal

5 protection of the law.

6 ‘‘(7)(A) The Federal Government must be respon7 sive to the growing needs of an increasingly more di8 verse society. A more equitable allocation of resources

9 is essential for the Federal Government to meet its re10 sponsibility to provide an equal educational oppor11 tunity 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 whom

21 will be either African-American, Hispanic, Asian22 American, or American Indian.

23 ‘‘(D) Taken together as a group, minority chil24 dren are comprising an ever larger percentage of pub25 lic school students. Large-city school populations are
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1 overwhelmingly minority, for example: for fall 1993,

2 the figure for Miami was 84 percent; Chicago, 89 per3 cent; Philadelphia, 78 percent; Baltimore, 84 percent;

4 Houston, 88 percent; and Los Angeles, 88 percent.

5 ‘‘(E) Recruitment efforts within special edu6 cation must focus on bringing larger numbers of mi7 norities into the profession in order to provide appro8 priate practitioner knowledge, role models, and suffi9 cient manpower to address the clearly changing de10 mography of special education.

11 ‘‘(F) The limited English proficient population

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

13 is occurring in many parts of our Nation. In the Na14 tion’s 2 largest school districts, limited English stu15 dents make up almost half of all students initially en16 tering school at the kindergarten level. Studies have

17 documented apparent discrepancies in the levels of re18 ferral and placement of limited English proficient

19 children in special education. The Department of

20 Education has found that services provided to limited

21 English proficient students often do not respond pri22 marily to the pupil’s academic needs. These trends

23 pose special challenges for special education in the re24 ferral, assessment, and services for our Nation’s stu25 dents from non-English language backgrounds.
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1 ‘‘(8)(A) Greater efforts are needed to prevent the

2 intensification of problems connected with mislabeling

3 and high dropout rates among minority children with

4 disabilities.

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

6 served in special education than would be expected

7 from the percentage of minority students in the gen8 eral school population.

9 ‘‘(C) Poor African-American children are 2.3

10 times more likely to be identified by their teacher as

11 having mental retardation than their white counter12 part.

13 ‘‘(D) Although African-Americans represent 16

14 percent of elementary and secondary enrollments, they

15 constitute 21 percent of total enrollments in special

16 education.

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

18 minorities than for whites.

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

20 in large cities drop out of school.

21 ‘‘(9)(A) The opportunity for full participation in

22 awards for grants and contracts; boards of organiza23 tions receiving funds under this Act; and peer review

24 panels; and training of professionals in the area of

25 special education by minority individuals, organiza-
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1 tions, and historically black colleges and universities

2 is essential if we are to obtain greater success in the

3 education of minority children with disabilities.

4 ‘‘(B) In 1993, of the 915,000 college and univer5 sity professors, 4.9 percent were African-American

6 and 2.4 percent were Hispanic. Of the 2,940,000

7 teachers, prekindergarten through high school, 6.8 per8 cent were African-American and 4.1 percent were

9 Hispanic.

10 ‘‘(C) Students from minority groups comprise

11 more than 50 percent of K–12 public school enroll12 ment in seven States yet minority enrollment in

13 teacher training programs is less than 15 percent in

14 all but six States.

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

16 Hispanic students in special education increases, the

17 number of minority teachers and related service per18 sonnel produced in our colleges and universities con19 tinues to decrease.

20 ‘‘(E) Ten years ago, 12 percent of the United

21 States teaching force in public elementary and sec22 ondary schools were members of a minority group.

23 Minorities comprised 21 percent of the national popu24 lation at that time and were clearly underrepresented

25 then among employed teachers. Today, the elementary
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1 and secondary teaching force is 13 percent minority,

2 while one-third of the students in public schools are

3 minority children.

4 ‘‘(F) As recently as 1991, historically black col5 leges and universities enrolled 44 percent of the Afri6 can-American teacher trainees in the Nation. How7 ever, in 1993, historically black colleges and univer8 sities received only 4 percent of the discretionary

9 funds for special education and related services per10 sonnel training under this Act.

11 ‘‘(G) While African-American students constitute

12 28 percent of total enrollment in special education,

13 only 11.2 percent of individuals enrolled in preservice

14 training programs for special education are African15 American.

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

17 education at the B.A., M.A., and Ph.D levels, only 6,

18 8, and 8 percent, respectively, were awarded to Afri19 can-American or Hispanic students.

20 ‘‘(10) Minorities and underserved persons are so21 cially disadvantaged because of the lack of opportuni22 ties in training and educational programs, under23 girded by the practices in the private sector that im24 pede their full participation in the mainstream of so25 ciety.
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1 ‘‘(d) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this title are—

2 ‘‘(1)(A) to ensure that all children with disabil3 ities have available to them a free appropriate public

4 education that emphasizes special education and re5 lated services designed to meet their unique needs and

6 prepare them for employment and independent living;

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

8 disabilities and parents of such children are protected;

9 and

10 ‘‘(C) to assist States, localities, educational serv11 ice agencies, and Federal agencies to provide for the

12 education of all children with disabilities;

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

14 statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisci15 plinary, interagency system of early intervention

16 services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and

17 their families;

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

19 the necessary tools to improve educational results for

20 children with disabilities by supporting systemic21 change activities; coordinated research and personnel

22 preparation; coordinated technical assistance, dis23 semination, and support; and technology development

24 and media services; and
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1 ‘‘(4) to assess, and ensure the effectiveness of, ef2 forts to educate children with disabilities.

3 ‘‘SEC. 602. DEFINITIONS.

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

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

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

7 equipment, or product system, whether acquired com8 mercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that

9 is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional

10 capabilities of a child with a disability.

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

12 term ‘assistive technology service’ means any service

13 that directly assists a child with a disability in the

14 selection, acquisition, or use of an assistive technology

15 device. Such term includes—

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

17 child, including a functional evaluation of the

18 child in the child’s customary environment;

19 ‘‘(B) purchasing, leasing, or otherwise pro20 viding for the acquisition of assistive technology

21 devices by such child;

22 ‘‘(C) selecting, designing, fitting, customiz23 ing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing,

24 or replacing of assistive technology devices;
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1 ‘‘(D) coordinating and using other thera2 pies, interventions, or services with assistive

3 technology devices, such as those associated with

4 existing education and rehabilitation plans and

5 programs;

6 ‘‘(E) training or technical assistance for

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

8 such child; and

9 ‘‘(F) training or technical assistance for

10 professionals (including individuals providing

11 education and rehabilitation services), employ12 ers, or other individuals who provide services to,

13 employ, or are otherwise substantially involved

14 in the major life functions of such child.

15 ‘‘(3) CHILD WITH A DISABILITY.—

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

17 disability’ means a child—

18 ‘‘(i) with mental retardation, hearing

19 impairments (including deafness), speech or

20 language impairments, visual impairments

21 (including blindness), serious emotional dis22 turbance (hereinafter referred to as ‘emo23 tional disturbance’), orthopedic impair24 ments, autism, traumatic brain injury,
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1 other health impairments, or specific learn2 ing disabilities; and

3 ‘‘(ii) who, by reason thereof, needs spe4 cial education and related services.

5 ‘‘(B) CHILD AGED 3 THROUGH 9.—The term

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

7 through 9 may, at the discretion of the State and

8 the local educational agency, include a child—

9 ‘‘(i) experiencing developmental delays,

10 as defined by the State and as measured by

11 appropriate diagnostic instruments and

12 procedures, in one or more of the following

13 areas: physical development, cognitive devel14 opment, communication development, social

15 or emotional development, or adaptive de16 velopment; and

17 ‘‘(ii) who, by reason thereof, needs spe18 cial education and related services.

19 ‘‘(4) EDUCATIONAL SERVICE AGENCY.—The term

20 ‘educational service agency’—

21 ‘‘(A) means a regional public multiservice

22 agency—

23 ‘‘(i) authorized by State law to de24 velop, manage, and provide services or pro25 grams to local educational agencies; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) recognized as an administrative

2 agency for purposes of the provision of spe3 cial education and related services provided

4 within public elementary and secondary

5 schools of the State; and

6 ‘‘(B) includes any other public institution

7 or agency having administrative control and di8 rection over a public elementary or secondary

9 school.

10 ‘‘(5) ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘elemen11 tary school’ means a nonprofit institutional day or

12 residential school that provides elementary education,

13 as determined under State law.

14 ‘‘(6) EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘equipment’ in15 cludes—

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

17 equipment and any necessary enclosures or

18 structures to house such machinery, utilities, or

19 equipment; and

20 ‘‘(B) all other items necessary for the func21 tioning of a particular facility as a facility for

22 the provision of educational services, including

23 items such as instructional equipment and nec24 essary furniture; printed, published, and audio25 visual instructional materials; telecommuni-
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1 cations, sensory, and other technological aids

2 and devices; and books, periodicals, documents,

3 and other related materials.

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

5 means those costs that are in excess of the average an6 nual per-student expenditure in a local educational

7 agency during the preceding school year for an ele8 mentary or secondary school student, as may be ap9 propriate, and which shall be computed after deduct10 ing—

11 ‘‘(A) amounts received—

12 ‘‘(i) under part B of this title;

13 ‘‘(ii) under part A of title I of the Ele14 mentary and Secondary Education Act of

15 1965; or

16 ‘‘(iii) under part A of title VII of that

17 Act; and

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

19 programs that would qualify for assistance under

20 any of those parts.

21 ‘‘(8) FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION.—

22 The term ‘free appropriate public education’ means

23 special education and related services that—
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1 ‘‘(A) have been provided at public expense,

2 under public supervision and direction, and

3 without charge;

4 ‘‘(B) meet the standards of the State edu5 cational agency;

6 ‘‘(C) include an appropriate preschool, ele7 mentary, or secondary school education in the

8 State involved; and

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

10 individualized education program required

11 under section 614(d).

12 ‘‘(9) INDIAN.—The term ‘Indian’ means an indi13 vidual who is a member of an Indian tribe.

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

15 means any Federal or State Indian tribe, band,

16 rancheria, pueblo, colony, or community, including

17 any Alaskan Native village or regional village cor18 poration (as defined in or established under the Alas19 ka Native Claims Settlement Act).

20 ‘‘(11) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM.—

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

22 means a written statement for each child with a dis23 ability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in ac24 cordance with section 614(d).
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1 ‘‘(12) INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLAN.—

2 The term ‘individualized family service plan’ has the

3 meaning given such term in section 632.

4 ‘‘(13) INFANT OR TODDLER WITH A DISABIL5 ITY.—The term ‘infant or toddler with a disability’

6 has the meaning given such term in section 632.

7 ‘‘(14) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—

8 The term ‘institution of higher education’—

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

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

11 1965; and

12 ‘‘(B) also includes any community college

13 receiving funding from the Secretary of the Inte14 rior under the Tribally Controlled Community

15 College Assistance Act of 1978.

16 ‘‘(15) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—

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

18 means a public board of education or other pub19 lic authority legally constituted within a State

20 for either administrative control or direction of,

21 or to perform a service function for, public ele22 mentary or secondary schools in a city, county,

23 township, school district, or other political sub24 division of a State, or for such combination of

25 school districts or counties as are recognized in
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1 a State as an administrative agency for its pub2 lic elementary or secondary schools.

3 ‘‘(B) The term includes—

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

5 defined in paragraph (4); and

6 ‘‘(ii) any other public institution or

7 agency having administrative control and

8 direction of a public elementary or second9 ary school.

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

11 secondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian

12 Affairs, but only to the extent that such inclusion

13 makes the school eligible for programs for which

14 specific eligibility is not provided to the school in

15 another provision of law and the school does not

16 have a student population that is smaller than

17 the student population of the local educational

18 agency receiving assistance under this Act with

19 the smallest student population, except that the

20 school shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of

21 any State educational agency other than the Bu22 reau of Indian Affairs.

23 ‘‘(16) NATIVE LANGUAGE.—The term ‘native lan24 guage’, when used with reference to an individual of

25 limited English proficiency, means the language nor-
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1 mally used by the individual, or in the case of a

2 child, the language normally used by the parents of

3 the child.

4 ‘‘(17) NONPROFIT.—The term ‘nonprofit’, as ap5 plied to a school, agency, organization, or institution,

6 means a school, agency, organization, or institution

7 owned and operated by one or more nonprofit cor8 porations or associations no part of the net earnings

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

10 of any private shareholder or individual.

11 ‘‘(18) OUTLYING AREA.—The term ‘outlying

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

13 American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the

14 Northern Mariana Islands.

15 ‘‘(19) PARENT.—The term ‘parent’—

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

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

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

19 under either of those sections to be a surrogate

20 parent.

21 ‘‘(20) PARENT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘par22 ent organization’ has the meaning given that term in

23 section 682(g).

24 ‘‘(21) PARENT TRAINING AND INFORMATION CEN25 TER.—The term ‘parent training and information
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1 center’ means a center assisted under section 682 or

2 683.

3 ‘‘(22) RELATED SERVICES.—The term ‘related

4 services’ means transportation, and such developmen5 tal, corrective, and other supportive services (includ6 ing speech-language pathology and audiology services,

7 psychological services, physical and occupational ther8 apy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, so9 cial work services, counseling services, including reha10 bilitation counseling, orientation and mobility serv11 ices, and medical services, except that such medical

12 services shall be for diagnostic and evaluation pur13 poses only) as may be required to assist a child with

14 a disability to benefit from special education, and in15 cludes the early identification and assessment of dis16 abling conditions in children.

17 ‘‘(23) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘second18 ary school’ means a nonprofit institutional day or

19 residential school that provides secondary education,

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

21 include any education beyond grade 12.

22 ‘‘(24) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means

23 the Secretary of Education.

24 ‘‘(25) SPECIAL EDUCATION.—The term ‘special

25 education’ means specially designed instruction, at no
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1 cost to parents, to meet the unique needs of a child

2 with a disability, including—

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

4 in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and

5 in other settings; and

6 ‘‘(B) instruction in physical education.

7 ‘‘(26) SPECIFIC LEARNING DISABILITY.—

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

9 learning disability’ means a disorder in one or

10 more of the basic psychological processes involved

11 in understanding or in using language, spoken

12 or written, which disorder may manifest itself in

13 imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read,

14 write, spell, or do mathematical calculations.

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

16 includes such conditions as perceptual disabil17 ities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction,

18 dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.

19 ‘‘(C) DISORDERS NOT INCLUDED.—Such

20 term does not include a learning problem that is

21 primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor

22 disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional

23 disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or

24 economic disadvantage.
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1 ‘‘(27) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means each of

2 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Common3 wealth of Puerto Rico, and each of the outlying areas.

4 ‘‘(28) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY.—The term

5 ‘State educational agency’ means the State board of

6 education or other agency or officer primarily respon7 sible for the State supervision of public elementary

8 and secondary schools, or, if there is no such officer

9 or agency, an officer or agency designated by the Gov10 ernor or by State law.

11 ‘‘(29) SUPPLEMENTARY AIDS AND SERVICES.—

12 The term ‘supplementary aids and services’ means,

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

14 regular education classes or other education-related

15 settings to enable children with disabilities to be edu16 cated with nondisabled children to the maximum ex17 tent appropriate in accordance with section

18 612(a)(5).

19 ‘‘(30) TRANSITION SERVICES.—The term ‘transi20 tion services’ means a coordinated set of activities for

21 a student with a disability that—

22 ‘‘(A) are designed within an outcome-ori23 ented process, which promotes movement from

24 school to post-school activities, including post25 secondary education, vocational training, inte-
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1 grated employment (including supported employ2 ment), continuing and adult education, adult

3 services, independent living, or community par4 ticipation;

5 ‘‘(B) are based upon the individual stu6 dent’s needs, taking into account the student’s

7 preferences and interests; and

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

9 community experiences, the development of em10 ployment and other post-school adult living ob11 jectives, and, when appropriate, acquisition of

12 daily living skills and functional vocational

13 evaluation.

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

15 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There shall be, within the Of16 fice of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the

17 Department of Education, an Office of Special Education

18 Programs, which shall be the principal agency in such De19 partment for administering and carrying out this Act and

20 other programs and activities concerning the education of

21 children with disabilities.

22 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Office established under sub23 section (a) shall be headed by a Director who shall be se24 lected by the Secretary and shall report directly to the As-
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1 sistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative

2 Services.

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

4 Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, United States

5 Code, the Secretary is authorized to accept voluntary and

6 uncompensated services in furtherance of the purposes of

7 this Act.

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

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

10 under the eleventh amendment to the Constitution of the

11 United States from suit in Federal court for a violation

12 of this Act.

13 ‘‘(b) REMEDIES.—In a suit against a State for a viola14 tion of this Act, remedies (including remedies both at law

15 and in equity) are available for such a violation to the same

16 extent as those remedies are available for such a violation

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

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

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

20 the date of the enactment of the Education of the Handi21 capped Act Amendments of 1990.

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

23 OR ALTERATION OF FACILITIES.

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

25 a program authorized under this Act would be improved
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1 by permitting program funds to be used to acquire appro2 priate equipment, or to construct new facilities or alter ex3 isting facilities, the Secretary is authorized to allow the use

4 of those funds for those purposes.

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

6 Any construction of new facilities or alteration of existing

7 facilities under subsection (a) shall comply with the require8 ments of—

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

10 Federal Regulations (commonly known as the ‘Ameri11 cans with Disabilities Accessibility Guidelines for

12 Buildings and Facilities’); or

13 ‘‘(2) appendix A of part 101-19.6 of title 41,

14 Code of Federal Regulations (commonly known as the

15 ‘Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards’).

16 ‘‘SEC. 606. EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABIL17 ITIES.

18 ‘‘The Secretary shall ensure that each recipient of as19 sistance under this Act makes positive efforts to employ and

20 advance in employment qualified individuals with disabil21 ities in programs assisted under this Act.

22 ‘‘SEC. 607. REQUIREMENTS FOR PRESCRIBING REGULA23 TIONS.

24 ‘‘(a) PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD.—The Secretary shall

25 provide a public comment period of at least 90 days on
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1 any regulation proposed under part B or part C of this

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

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

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

6 regulation prescribed pursuant to this Act that would proce7 durally or substantively lessen the protections provided to

8 children with disabilities under this Act, as embodied in

9 regulations in effect on July 20, 1983 (particularly as such

10 protections relate to parental consent to initial evaluation

11 or initial placement in special education, least restrictive

12 environment, related services, timelines, attendance of eval13 uation personnel at individualized education program

14 meetings, or qualifications of personnel), except to the extent

15 that such regulation reflects the clear and unequivocal in16 tent of the Congress in legislation.

17 ‘‘(c) POLICY LETTERS AND STATEMENTS.—The Sec18 retary may not, through policy letters or other statements,

19 establish a rule that is required for compliance with, and

20 eligibility under, this part without following the require21 ments of section 553 of title 5, United States Code.

22 ‘‘(d) CORRESPONDENCE FROM DEPARTMENT OF EDU23 CATION DESCRIBING INTERPRETATIONS OF THIS PART.—

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

25 quarterly basis, publish in the Federal Register, and
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1 widely disseminate to interested entities through var2 ious additional forms of communication, a list of cor3 respondence from the Department of Education re4 ceived by individuals during the previous quarter

5 that describes the interpretations of the Department of

6 Education of this Act or the regulations implemented

7 pursuant to this Act.

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

9 of correspondence published in a list under paragraph

10 (1), the Secretary shall identify the topic addressed by

11 the correspondence and shall include such other sum12 mary information as the Secretary determines to be

13 appropriate.

14 ‘‘(e) ISSUES OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE.—If the Sec15 retary receives a written request regarding a policy, ques16 tion, or interpretation under part B of this Act, and deter17 mines that it raises an issue of general interest or applica18 bility of national significance to the implementation of part

19 B, the Secretary shall—

20 ‘‘(1) include a statement to that effect in any

21 written response;

22 ‘‘(2) widely disseminate that response to State

23 educational agencies, local educational agencies, par24 ent and advocacy organizations, and other interested
31

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1 organizations, subject to applicable laws relating to

2 confidentiality of information; and

3 ‘‘(3) not later than one year after the date on

4 which the Secretary responds to the written request,

5 issue written guidance on such policy, question, or in6 terpretation through such means as the Secretary de7 termines to be appropriate and consistent with law,

8 such as a policy memorandum, notice of interpreta9 tion, or notice of proposed rulemaking.

10 ‘‘(f) EXPLANATION.—Any written response by the Sec11 retary under subsection (e) regarding a policy, question, or

12 interpretation under part B of this Act shall include an

13 explanation that the written response—

14 ‘‘(1) is provided as informal guidance and is not

15 legally binding; and

16 ‘‘(2) represents the interpretation by the Depart17 ment of Education of the applicable statutory or regu18 latory requirements in the context of the specific facts

19 presented.

20 ‘‘PART B—ASSISTANCE FOR EDUCATION OF ALL

21 CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

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

23 AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

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

2 make grants to States and the outlying areas, and

3 provide funds to the Secretary of the Interior, to as4 sist them to provide special education and related

5 services to children with disabilities in accordance

6 with this part.

7 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNTS.—The maximum

8 amount of the grant a State may receive under this

9 section for any fiscal year is—

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

13 ‘‘(i) aged three through five if the State

14 is eligible for a grant under section 619;

15 and

16 ‘‘(ii) aged six through 21; multiplied

17 by

18 ‘‘(B) 40 percent of the average per-pupil ex19 penditure in public elementary and secondary

20 schools in the United States.

21 ‘‘(b) OUTLYING AREAS AND FREELY ASSOCIATED

22 STATES.—

23 ‘‘(1) FUNDS RESERVED.—From the amount ap24 propriated for any fiscal year under subsection (j),
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1 the Secretary shall reserve not more than one percent,

2 which shall be used—

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

4 areas in accordance with their respective popu5 lations of individuals aged three through 21; and

6 ‘‘(B) for fiscal years 1998 through 2001, to

7 carry out the competition described in para8 graph (2), except that the amount reserved to

9 carry out that competition shall not exceed the

10 amount reserved for fiscal year 1996 for the com11 petition under part B of this Act described under

12 the heading ‘‘SPECIAL EDUCATION’’ in Pub13 lic Law 104–134.

14 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION FOR FREELY ASSOCIATED

15 STATES.—

16 ‘‘(A) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.—The Secretary

17 shall use funds described in paragraph (1)(B) to

18 award grants, on a competitive basis, to Guam,

19 American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the

20 Northern Mariana Islands, and the freely associ21 ated States to carry out the purposes of this

22 part.

23 ‘‘(B) AWARD BASIS.—The Secretary shall

24 award grants under subparagraph (A) on a com25 petitive basis, pursuant to the recommendations
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1 of the Pacific Region Educational Laboratory in

2 Honolulu, Hawaii. Those recommendations shall

3 be made by experts in the field of special edu4 cation and related services.

5 ‘‘(C) ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS.—Any

6 freely associated State that wishes to receive

7 funds under this part shall include, in its appli8 cation for assistance—

9 ‘‘(i) information demonstrating that it

10 will meet all conditions that apply to States

11 under this part;

12 ‘‘(ii) an assurance that, notwithstand13 ing any other provision of this part, it will

14 use those funds only for the direct provision

15 of special education and related services to

16 children with disabilities and to enhance its

17 capacity to make a free appropriate public

18 education available to all children with dis19 abilities;

20 ‘‘(iii) identify the source and amount

21 of funds, in addition to funds under this

22 part, that it will make available to ensure

23 that a free appropriate public education is

24 available to all children with disabilities

25 within its jurisdiction; and
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1 ‘‘(iv) such other information and as2 surances as the Secretary may require.

3 ‘‘(D) TERMINATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Not4 withstanding any other provision of law, the

5 freely associated States shall not receive any

6 funds under this part for any program year that

7 begins after September 30, 2001.

8 ‘‘(E) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Sec9 retary may provide not more than five percent

10 of the amount reserved for grants under this

11 paragraph to pay the administrative costs of the

12 Pacific Region Educational Laboratory under

13 subparagraph (B).

14 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—An outlying area is not eligi15 ble for a competitive award under paragraph (2) un16 less it receives assistance under paragraph (1)(A).

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

18 Law 95–134, permitting the consolidation of grants

19 by the outlying areas, shall not apply to funds pro20 vided to those areas or to the freely associated States

21 under this section.

22 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBILITY FOR DISCRETIONARY PRO23 GRAMS.—The freely associated States shall be eligible

24 to receive assistance under subpart 2 of part D of this

25 Act until September 30, 2001.
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1 ‘‘(6) DEFINITION.—As used in this subsection,

2 the term ’freely associated States’ means the Republic

3 of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Mi4 cronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

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

6 amount appropriated for any fiscal year under subsection

7 (j), the Secretary shall reserve 1.226 percent to provide as8 sistance to the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with

9 subsection (i).

10 ‘‘(d) ALLOCATIONS TO STATES.—

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

12 studies and evaluations under section 674(e), and for

13 payments to the outlying areas and the Secretary of

14 the Interior under subsections (b) and (c), the Sec15 retary shall allocate the remaining amount among the

16 States in accordance with paragraph (2) or sub17 section (e), as the case may be.

18 ‘‘(2) INTERIM FORMULA.—Except as provided in

19 subsection (e), the Secretary shall allocate the amount

20 described in paragraph (1) among the States in ac21 cordance with section 611(a)(3), (4), and (5) and

22 (b)(1), (2), and (3) of this Act, as in effect prior to

23 the enactment of the Individuals with Disabilities

24 Education Act Amendments of 1997, except that the

25 determination of the number of children with disabil-
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1 ities receiving special education and related services

2 under such section 611(a)(3) may, at the State’s dis3 cretion, be calculated as of the last Friday in October

4 or as of December 1 of the fiscal year for which the

5 funds are appropriated.

6 ‘‘(e) PERMANENT FORMULA.—

7 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT OF BASE YEAR.—The Sec8 retary shall allocate the amount described in sub9 section (d)(1) among the States in accordance with

10 this subsection for each fiscal year beginning with the

11 first fiscal year for which the amount appropriated

12 under subsection (j) is more than $4,924,672,200.

13 ‘‘(2) USE OF BASE YEAR.—

14 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—As used in this sub15 section, the term ‘base year’ means the fiscal

16 year preceding the first fiscal year in which this

17 subsection applies.

18 ‘‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR USE OF BASE

19 YEAR AMOUNT.—If a State received any funds

20 under this section for the base year on the basis

21 of children aged three through five, but does not

22 make a free appropriate public education avail23 able to all children with disabilities aged three

24 through five in the State in any subsequent fiscal

25 year, the Secretary shall compute the State’s base
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1 year amount, solely for the purpose of calculat2 ing the State’s allocation in that subsequent year

3 under paragraph (3) or (4), by subtracting the

4 amount allocated to the State for the base year

5 on the basis of those children.

6 ‘‘(3) INCREASE IN FUNDS.—If the amount avail7 able for allocations to States under paragraph (1) is

8 equal to or greater than the amount allocated to the

9 States under this paragraph for the preceding fiscal

10 year, those allocations shall be calculated as follows:

11 ‘‘(A)(i) Except as provided in subparagraph

12 (B), the Secretary shall—

13 ‘‘(I) allocate to each State the amount

14 it received for the base year;

15 ‘‘(II) allocate 85 percent of any re16 maining funds to States on the basis of

17 their relative populations of children aged 3

18 through 21 who are of the same age as chil19 dren with disabilities for whom the State

20 ensures the availability of a free appro21 priate public education under this part;

22 and

23 ‘‘(III) allocate 15 percent of those re24 maining funds to States on the basis of

25 their relative populations of children de-
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1 scribed in subclause (II) who are living in

2 poverty.

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

4 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall use the

5 most recent population data, including data on

6 children living in poverty, that are available and

7 satisfactory to the Secretary.

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

9 allocations under this paragraph shall be subject

10 to the following:

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

12 than its allocation for the preceding fiscal

13 year.

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

15 than the greatest of—

16 ‘‘(I) the sum of—

17 ‘‘(aa) the amount it received

18 for the base year; and

19 ‘‘(bb) one third of one percent

20 of the amount by which the

21 amount appropriated under sub22 section (j) exceeds the amount ap23 propriated under this section for

24 the base year;

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

2 for the preceding fiscal year; and

3 ‘‘(bb) that amount multiplied

4 by the percentage by which the in5 crease in the funds appropriated

6 from the preceding fiscal year ex7 ceeds 1.5 percent; or

8 ‘‘(III) the sum of—

9 ‘‘(aa) the amount it received

10 for the preceding fiscal year; and

11 ‘‘(bb) that amount multiplied

12 by 90 percent of the percentage

13 increase in the amount appro14 priated from the preceding fiscal

15 year.

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

17 State’s allocation under this paragraph

18 shall exceed the sum of—

19 ‘‘(I) the amount it received for the

20 preceding fiscal year; and

21 ‘‘(II) that amount multiplied by

22 the sum of 1.5 percent and the percent23 age increase in the amount appro24 priated.
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1 ‘‘(C) If the amount available for allocations

2 under this paragraph is insufficient to pay those

3 allocations in full, those allocations shall be rat4 ably reduced, subject to subparagraph (B)(i).

5 ‘‘(4) DECREASE IN FUNDS.—If the amount avail6 able for allocations to States under paragraph (1) is

7 less than the amount allocated to the States under

8 this section for the preceding fiscal year, those alloca9 tions shall be calculated as follows:

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

11 is greater than the amount allocated to the

12 States for the base year, each State shall be allo13 cated the sum of—

14 ‘‘(i) the amount it received for the base

15 year; and

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

17 relation to any remaining funds as the in18 crease the State received for the preceding

19 fiscal year over the base year bears to the

20 total of all such increases for all States.

21 ‘‘(B)(i) If the amount available for alloca22 tions is equal to or less than the amount allo23 cated to the States for the base year, each State

24 shall be allocated the amount it received for the

25 base year.
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1 ‘‘(ii) If the amount available is insufficient

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

3 those allocations shall be ratably reduced.

4 ‘‘(f) STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—

5 ‘‘(1) GENERAL.—

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

7 the amount described in subparagraph (B) for

8 administration and other State-level activities in

9 accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).

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

11 shall determine and report to the State edu12 cational agency an amount that is 25 percent of

13 the amount the State received under this section

14 for fiscal year 1997, cumulatively adjusted by

15 the Secretary for each succeeding fiscal year by

16 the lesser of—

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

18 from the preceding fiscal year in the State’s

19 allocation under this section; or

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

21 by the percentage increase, if any, from the

22 preceding fiscal year in the Consumer Price

23 Index For All Urban Consumers, published

24 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the De25 partment of Labor.
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1 ‘‘(C) A State may use funds it retains

2 under subparagraph (A) without regard to—

3 ‘‘(i) the prohibition on commingling of

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

5 ‘‘(ii) the prohibition on supplanting

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

7 ‘‘(2) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—

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

9 part, including section 619 (including the co10 ordination of activities under this part with,

11 and providing technical assistance to, other pro12 grams that provide services to children with dis13 abilities)—

14 ‘‘(i) each State may use not more than

15 twenty percent of the maximum amount it

16 may retain under paragraph (1)(A) for any

17 fiscal year or $500,000 (adjusted by the cu18 mulative rate of inflation since fiscal year

19 1998, as measured by the percentage in20 crease, if any, in the Consumer Price Index

21 For All Urban Consumers, published by the

22 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Depart23 ment of Labor), whichever is greater; and

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

25 five percent of the amount it receives under
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1 this section for any fiscal year or $35,000,

2 whichever is greater.

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

4 may also be used for the administration of part

5 C of this Act, if the State educational agency is

6 the lead agency for the State under that part.

7 ‘‘(3) OTHER STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—Each

8 State shall use any funds it retains under paragraph

9 (1) and does not use for administration under para10 graph (2) for any of the following:

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

12 technical assistance and personnel development

13 and training.

14 ‘‘(B) Administrative costs of monitoring

15 and complaint investigation, but only to the ex16 tent that those costs exceed the costs incurred for

17 those activities during fiscal year 1985.

18 ‘‘(C) To establish and implement the medi19 ation process required by section 615(e), includ20 ing providing for the costs of mediators and sup21 port personnel.

22 ‘‘(D) To assist local educational agencies in

23 meeting personnel shortages.

24 ‘‘(E) To develop a State Improvement Plan

25 under subpart 1 of part D.
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1 ‘‘(F) Activities at the State and local levels

2 to meet the performance goals established by the

3 State under section 612(a)(16) and to support

4 implementation of the State Improvement Plan

5 under subpart 1 of part D if the State receives

6 funds under that subpart.

7 ‘‘(G) To supplement other amounts used to

8 develop and implement a Statewide coordinated

9 services system designed to improve results for

10 children and families, including children with

11 disabilities and their families, but not to exceed

12 one percent of the amount received by the State

13 under this section. This system shall be coordi14 nated with and, to the extent appropriate, build

15 on the system of coordinated services developed

16 by the State under part C of this Act.

17 ‘‘(H) For subgrants to local educational

18 agencies for the purposes described in paragraph

19 (4)(A).

20 ‘‘(4)(A) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

21 AGENCIES FOR CAPACITY-BUILDING AND IMPROVE22 MENT.—In any fiscal year in which the percentage

23 increase in the State’s allocation under this section

24 exceeds the rate of inflation (as measured by the per25 centage increase, if any, from the preceding fiscal
46

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1 year in the Consumer Price Index For All Urban

2 Consumers, published by the Bureau of Labor Statis3 tics of the Department of Labor), each State shall re4 serve, from its allocation under this section, the

5 amount described in subparagraph (B) to make sub6 grants to local educational agencies, unless that

7 amount is less than $100,000, to assist them in pro8 viding direct services and in making systemic change

9 to improve results for children with disabilities

10 through one or more of the following:

11 ‘‘(i) Direct services, including alternative

12 programming for children who have been ex13 pelled from school, and services for children in

14 correctional facilities, children enrolled in State15 operated or State-supported schools, and children

16 in charter schools.

17 ‘‘(ii) Addressing needs or carrying out im18 provement strategies identified in the State’s Im19 provement Plan under subpart 1 of part D.

20 ‘‘(iii) Adopting promising practices, mate21 rials, and technology, based on knowledge derived

22 from education research and other sources.

23 ‘‘(iv) Establishing, expanding, or imple24 menting interagency agreements and arrange25 ments between local educational agencies and
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1 other agencies or organizations concerning the

2 provision of services to children with disabilities

3 and their families.

4 ‘‘(v) Increasing cooperative problem-solving

5 between parents and school personnel and pro6 moting the use of alternative dispute resolution.

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

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

9 is—

10 ‘‘(i) the maximum amount the State was al11 lowed to retain under paragraph (1)(A) for the

12 prior fiscal year, or for fiscal year 1998, 25 per13 cent of the State’s allocation for fiscal year 1997

14 under this section; multiplied by

15 ‘‘(ii) the difference between the percentage

16 increase in the State’s allocation under this sec17 tion and the rate of inflation, as measured by

18 the percentage increase, if any, from the preced19 ing fiscal year in the Consumer Price Index For

20 All Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau

21 of Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor.

22 ‘‘(5) REPORT ON USE OF FUNDS.—As part of

23 the information required to be submitted to the Sec24 retary under section 612, each State shall annually

25 describe—
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1 ‘‘(A) how amounts retained under para2 graph (1) will be used to meet the requirements

3 of this part;

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

5 among the activities described in paragraphs (2)

6 and (3) to meet State priorities based on input

7 from local educational agencies; and

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

9 any, that will be distributed to local educational

10 agencies by formula.

11 ‘‘(g) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN12 CIES.—

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

14 receives a grant under this section for any fiscal year

15 shall distribute any funds it does not retain under

16 subsection (f) (at least 75 percent of the grant funds)

17 to local educational agencies in the State that have es18 tablished their eligibility under section 613, and to

19 State agencies that received funds under section

20 614A(a) of this Act for fiscal year 1997, as then in

21 effect, and have established their eligibility under sec22 tion 613, for use in accordance with this part.

23 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATIONS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL

24 AGENCIES.—
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1 ‘‘(A) INTERIM PROCEDURE.—For each fiscal

2 year for which funds are allocated to States

3 under subsection (d)(2), each State shall allocate

4 funds under paragraph (1) in accordance with

5 section 611(d) of this Act, as in effect prior to

6 the enactment of the Individuals with Disabil7 ities Education Act Amendments of 1997.

8 ‘‘(B) PERMANENT PROCEDURE.—For each

9 fiscal year for which funds are allocated to

10 States under subsection (e), each State shall allo11 cate funds under paragraph (1) as follows:

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

13 first award each agency described in para14 graph (1) the amount that agency would

15 have received under this section for the base

16 year, as defined in subsection (e)(2)(A), if

17 the State had distributed 75 percent of its

18 grant for that year under section 611(d), as

19 then in effect.

20 ‘‘(ii) ALLOCATION OF REMAINING

21 FUNDS.—After making allocations under

22 clause (i), the State shall—

23 ‘‘(I) allocate 85 percent of any re24 maining funds to those agencies on the

25 basis of the relative numbers of chil-
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1 dren enrolled in public and private ele2 mentary and secondary schools within

3 the agency’s jurisdiction; and

4 ‘‘(II) allocate 15 percent of those

5 remaining funds to those agencies in

6 accordance with their relative numbers

7 of children living in poverty, as deter8 mined by the State educational agency.

9 ‘‘(3) FORMER CHAPTER 1 STATE AGENCIES.—

10 ‘‘(A) To the extent necessary, the State—

11 ‘‘(i) shall use funds that are available

12 under subsection (f)(1)(A) to ensure that

13 each State agency that received fiscal year

14 1994 funds under subpart 2 of part D of

15 chapter 1 of title I of the Elementary and

16 Secondary Education Act of 1965 receives,

17 from the combination of funds under sub18 section (f)(1)(A) and funds provided under

19 paragraph (1) of this subsection, an amount

20 equal to—

21 ‘‘(I) the number of children with

22 disabilities, aged 6 through 21, to

23 whom the agency was providing spe24 cial education and related services on

25 December 1 of the fiscal year for which
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1 the funds were appropriated, subject to

2 the limitation in subparagraph (B);

3 multiplied by

4 ‘‘(II) the per-child amount pro5 vided under such subpart for fiscal

6 year 1994; and

7 ‘‘(ii) may use those funds to ensure

8 that each local educational agency that re9 ceived fiscal year 1994 funds under that

10 subpart for children who had transferred

11 from a State-operated or State-supported

12 school or program assisted under that sub13 part receives, from the combination of funds

14 available under subsection (f)(1)(A) and

15 funds provided under paragraph (1) of this

16 subsection, an amount for each such child,

17 aged 3 through 21 to whom the agency was

18 providing special education and related

19 services on December 1 of the fiscal year for

20 which the funds were appropriated, equal to

21 the per-child amount the agency received

22 under that subpart for fiscal year 1994.

23 ‘‘(B) The number of children counted under

24 subparagraph (A)(i)(I) shall not exceed the num25 ber of children aged 3 through 21 for whom the
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1 agency received fiscal year 1994 funds under

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

3 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of

4 1965.

5 ‘‘(4) REALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—If a State edu6 cational agency determines that a local educational

7 agency is adequately providing a free appropriate

8 public education to all children with disabilities re9 siding in the area served by that agency with State

10 and local funds, the State educational agency may re11 allocate any portion of the funds under this part that

12 are not needed by that local agency to provide a free

13 appropriate public education to other local edu14 cational agencies in the State that are not adequately

15 providing special education and related services to all

16 children with disabilities residing in the areas they

17 serve.

18 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this section—

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

20 public elementary and secondary schools in the Unit21 ed States’ means—

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

23 funds—

24 ‘‘(i) the aggregate current expenditures,

25 during the second fiscal year preceding the
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1 fiscal year for which the determination is

2 made (or, if satisfactory data for that year

3 are not available, during the most recent

4 preceding fiscal year for which satisfactory

5 data are available) of all local educational

6 agencies in the 50 States and the District of

7 Columbia); plus

8 ‘‘(ii) any direct expenditures by the

9 State for the operation of those agencies; di10 vided by

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

12 average daily attendance to whom those agencies

13 provided free public education during that pre14 ceding year; and

15 ‘‘(2) the term ‘State’ means each of the 50 States,

16 the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of

17 Puerto Rico.

18 ‘‘(i) USE OF AMOUNTS BY SECRETARY OF THE INTE19 RIOR.—

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 res-
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1 ervations aged 5 to 21, inclusive, enrolled in ele2 mentary and secondary schools for Indian chil3 dren operated or funded by the Secretary of the

4 Interior. The amount of such payment for any

5 fiscal year shall be equal to 80 percent of the

6 amount allotted under subsection (c) for that fis7 cal year.

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

10 5, inclusive, who are enrolled in programs affili11 ated with Bureau of Indian Affairs (hereafter in

12 this subsection referred to as ‘BIA’) schools and

13 that are required by the States in which such

14 schools are located to attain or maintain State

15 accreditation, and which schools have such ac16 creditation prior to the date of enactment of the

17 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

18 Amendments of 1991, the school shall be allowed

19 to count those children for the purpose of dis20 tribution of the funds provided under this para21 graph to the Secretary of the Interior. The Sec22 retary of the Interior shall be responsible for

23 meeting all of the requirements of this part for

24 these children, in accordance with paragraph

25 (2).
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1 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—With re2 spect to all other children aged 3 to 21, inclusive,

3 on reservations, the State educational agency

4 shall be responsible for ensuring that all of the

5 requirements of this part are implemented.

6 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec7 retary of Education may provide the Secretary of the

8 Interior amounts under paragraph (1) for a fiscal

9 year only if the Secretary of the Interior submits to

10 the Secretary of Education information that—

11 ‘‘(A) demonstrates that the Department of

12 the Interior meets the appropriate requirements,

13 as determined by the Secretary of Education, of

14 sections 612 (including monitoring and evalua15 tion activities) and 613;

16 ‘‘(B) includes a description of how the Sec17 retary of the Interior will coordinate the provi18 sion of services under this part with local edu19 cational agencies, tribes and tribal organiza20 tions, and other private and Federal service pro21 viders;

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

23 public hearings, adequate notice of such hear24 ings, and an opportunity for comment afforded

25 to members of tribes, tribal governing bodies, and
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1 affected local school boards before the adoption of

2 the policies, programs, and procedures described

3 in subparagraph (A);

4 ‘‘(D) includes an assurance that the Sec5 retary of the Interior will provide such informa6 tion as the Secretary of Education may require

7 to comply with section 618;

8 ‘‘(E) includes an assurance that the Sec9 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of

10 Health and Human Services have entered into a

11 memorandum of agreement, to be provided to the

12 Secretary of Education, for the coordination of

13 services, resources, and personnel between their

14 respective Federal, State, and local offices and

15 with State and local educational agencies and

16 other entities to facilitate the provision of serv17 ices to Indian children with disabilities residing

18 on or near reservations (such agreement shall

19 provide for the apportionment of responsibilities

20 and costs including, but not limited to, child

21 find, evaluation, diagnosis, remediation or thera22 peutic measures, and (where appropriate) equip23 ment and medical or personal supplies as needed

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

25 and
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1 ‘‘(F) includes an assurance that the Depart2 ment of the Interior will cooperate with the De3 partment of Education in its exercise of monitor4 ing and oversight of this application, and any

5 agreements entered into between the Secretary of

6 the Interior and other entities under this part,

7 and will fulfill its duties under this part.

8 Section 616(a) shall apply to the information de9 scribed in this paragraph.

10 ‘‘(3) PAYMENTS FOR EDUCATION AND SERVICES

11 FOR INDIAN CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES AGED 3

12 THROUGH 5.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With funds appro14 priated under subsection (j), the Secretary of

15 Education shall make payments to the Secretary

16 of the Interior to be distributed to tribes or tribal

17 organizations (as defined under section 4 of the

18 Indian Self-Determination and Education As19 sistance Act) or consortia of the above to provide

20 for the coordination of assistance for special edu21 cation and related services for children with dis22 abilities aged 3 through 5 on reservations served

23 by elementary and secondary schools for Indian

24 children operated or funded by the Department

25 of the Interior. The amount of such payments
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1 under subparagraph (B) for any fiscal year shall

2 be equal to 20 percent of the amount allotted

3 under subsection (c).

4 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The Sec5 retary of the Interior shall distribute the total

6 amount of the payment under subparagraph (A)

7 by allocating to each tribe or tribal organization

8 an amount based on the number of children with

9 disabilities ages 3 through 5 residing on reserva10 tions as reported annually, divided by the total

11 of those children served by all tribes or tribal or12 ganizations.

13 ‘‘(C) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—To re14 ceive a payment under this paragraph, the tribe

15 or tribal organization shall submit such figures

16 to the Secretary of the Interior as required to de17 termine the amounts to be allocated under sub18 paragraph (B). This information shall be com19 piled and submitted to the Secretary of Edu20 cation.

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

22 by a tribe or tribal organization shall be used to

23 assist in child find, screening, and other proce24 dures for the early identification of children aged

25 3 through 5, parent training, and the provision
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1 of direct services. These activities may be carried

2 out directly or through contracts or cooperative

3 agreements with the BIA, local educational agen4 cies, and other public or private nonprofit orga5 nizations. The tribe or tribal organization is en6 couraged to involve Indian parents in the devel7 opment and implementation of these activities.

8 The above entities shall, as appropriate, make re9 ferrals to local, State, or Federal entities for the

10 provision of services or further diagnosis.

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

12 receive a grant pursuant to subparagraph (A),

13 the tribe or tribal organization shall provide to

14 the Secretary of the Interior a biennial report of

15 activities undertaken under this paragraph, in16 cluding the number of contracts and cooperative

17 agreements entered into, the number of children

18 contacted and receiving services for each year,

19 and the estimated number of children needing

20 services during the 2 years following the one in

21 which the report is made. The Secretary of the

22 Interior shall include a summary of this infor23 mation on a biennial basis in the report to the

24 Secretary of Education required under this sub25 section. The Secretary of Education may require
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1 any additional information from the Secretary

2 of the Interior.

3 ‘‘(F) PROHIBITIONS.—None of the funds al4 located under this paragraph may be used by the

5 Secretary of the Interior for administrative pur6 poses, including child count and the provision of

7 technical assistance.

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

9 The Secretary of the Interior shall develop and imple10 ment a plan for the coordination of services for all

11 Indian children with disabilities residing on reserva12 tions covered under this Act. Such plan shall provide

13 for the coordination of services benefiting these chil14 dren from whatever source, including tribes, the In15 dian Health Service, other BIA divisions, and other

16 Federal agencies. In developing the plan, the Sec17 retary of the Interior shall consult with all interested

18 and involved parties. It shall be based on the needs

19 of the children and the system best suited for meeting

20 those needs, and may involve the establishment of co21 operative agreements between the BIA, other Federal

22 agencies, and other entities. The plan shall also be

23 distributed upon request to States, State and local

24 educational agencies, and other agencies providing
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1 services to infants, toddlers, and children with dis2 abilities, to tribes, and to other interested parties.

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

4 meet the requirements of section 612(a)(21), the Sec5 retary of the Interior shall establish, not later than 6

6 months after the date of the enactment of the Individ7 uals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of

8 1997, under the BIA, an advisory board composed of

9 individuals involved in or concerned with the edu10 cation and provision of services to Indian infants,

11 toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities, includ12 ing Indians with disabilities, Indian parents or

13 guardians of such children, teachers, service providers,

14 State and local educational officials, representatives

15 of tribes or tribal organizations, representatives from

16 State Interagency Coordinating Councils under sec17 tion 641 in States having reservations, and other

18 members representing the various divisions and enti19 ties of the BIA. The chairperson shall be selected by

20 the Secretary of the Interior. The advisory board

21 shall—

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

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

24 Federal agencies in the provision of education
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1 for infants, toddlers, and children with disabil2 ities;

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

4 Interior in the performance of the Secretary’s re5 sponsibilities described in this subsection;

6 ‘‘(C) develop and recommend policies con7 cerning effective inter- and intra-agency collabo8 ration, including modifications to regulations,

9 and the elimination of barriers to inter- and

10 intra-agency programs and activities;

11 ‘‘(D) provide assistance and disseminate in12 formation on best practices, effective program co13 ordination strategies, and recommendations for

14 improved educational programming for Indian

15 infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities;

16 and

17 ‘‘(E) provide assistance in the preparation

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

19 ‘‘(6) ANNUAL REPORTS.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The advisory board es21 tablished under paragraph (5) shall prepare and

22 submit to the Secretary of the Interior and to the

23 Congress an annual report containing a descrip24 tion of the activities of the advisory board for the

25 preceding year.
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1 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary of the

2 Interior shall make available to the Secretary of

3 Education the report described in subparagraph

4 (A).

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

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

7 there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may

8 be necessary.

9 ‘‘SEC. 612. STATE ELIGIBILITY.

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

11 under this part for a fiscal year if the State demonstrates

12 to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the State has in

13 effect policies and procedures to ensure that it meets each

14 of the following conditions:

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

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A free appropriate pub17 lic education is available to all children with

18 disabilities residing in the State between the ages

19 of 3 and 21, inclusive, including children with

20 disabilities who have been suspended or expelled

21 from school.

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

23 a free appropriate public education available to

24 all children with disabilities does not apply with

25 respect to children:
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1 ‘‘(i) aged 3 through 5 and 18 through

2 21 in a State to the extent that its applica3 tion to those children would be inconsistent

4 with State law or practice, or the order of

5 any court, respecting the provision of public

6 education to children in those age ranges;

7 and

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

9 that State law does not require that special

10 education and related services under this

11 part be provided to children with disabil12 ities who, in the educational placement

13 prior to their incarceration in an adult cor14 rectional facility:

15 ‘‘(I) were not actually identified

16 as being a child with a disability

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

18 ‘‘(II) did not have an Individual19 ized Education Program under this

20 part.

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

22 The State has established a goal of providing full edu23 cational opportunity to all children with disabilities

24 and a detailed timetable for accomplishing that goal.

25 ‘‘(3) CHILD FIND.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—All children with dis2 abilities residing in the State, including children

3 with disabilities attending private schools, re4 gardless of the severity of their disabilities, and

5 who are in need of special education and related

6 services, are identified, located, and evaluated

7 and a practical method is developed and imple8 mented to determine which children with disabil9 ities are currently receiving needed special edu10 cation and related services.

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

12 requires that children be classified by their dis13 ability so long as each child who has a disability

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

15 disability, needs special education and related

16 services is regarded as a child with a disability

17 under this part.

18 ‘‘(4) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM.—

19 An individualized education program, or an individ20 ualized family service plan that meets the require21 ments of section 636(d), is developed, reviewed, and

22 revised for each child with a disability in accordance

23 with section 614(d).

24 ‘‘(5) LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To the maximum ex2 tent appropriate, children with disabilities, in3 cluding children in public or private institutions

4 or other care facilities, are educated with chil5 dren who are not disabled, and special classes,

6 separate schooling, or other removal of children

7 with disabilities from the regular educational en8 vironment occurs only when the nature or sever9 ity of the disability of a child is such that edu10 cation in regular classes with the use of supple11 mentary aids and services cannot be achieved

12 satisfactorily.

13 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—

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

15 funding mechanism by which the State dis16 tributes State funds on the basis of the type

17 of setting in which a child is served, the

18 funding mechanism does not result in place19 ments that violate the requirements of sub20 paragraph (A).

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

22 not have policies and procedures to ensure

23 compliance with clause (i), the State shall

24 provide the Secretary an assurance that it

25 will revise the funding mechanism as soon
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1 as feasible to ensure that such mechanism

2 does not result in such placements.

3 ‘‘(6) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Children with disabil5 ities and their parents are afforded the proce6 dural safeguards required by section 615.

7 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL PROCEDURAL SAFE8 GUARDS.—Procedures to ensure that testing and

9 evaluation materials and procedures utilized for

10 the purposes of evaluation and placement of chil11 dren with disabilities will be selected and admin12 istered so as not to be racially or culturally dis13 criminatory. Such materials or procedures shall

14 be provided and administered in the child’s na15 tive language or mode of communication, unless

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

17 procedure shall be the sole criterion for determin18 ing an appropriate educational program for a

19 child.

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

21 are evaluated in accordance with subsections (a)

22 through (c) of section 614.

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

24 comply with section 617(c) (relating to the confiden25 tiality of records and information).
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1 ‘‘(9) TRANSITION FROM PART C TO PRESCHOOL

2 PROGRAMS.—Children participating in early-inter3 vention programs assisted under part C, and who will

4 participate in preschool programs assisted under this

5 part, experience a smooth and effective transition to

6 those preschool programs in a manner consistent with

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

8 child, an individualized education program or, if con9 sistent with sections 614(d)(2)(B) and 636(d), an in10 dividualized family service plan, has been developed

11 and is being implemented for the child. The local edu12 cational agency will participate in transition plan13 ning conferences arranged by the designated lead

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

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

16 ‘‘(A) CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE

17 SCHOOLS BY THEIR PARENTS.—

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To the extent con19 sistent with the number and location of

20 children with disabilities in the State who

21 are enrolled by their parents in private ele22 mentary and secondary schools, provision is

23 made for the participation of those children

24 in the program assisted or carried out

25 under this part by providing for such chil-
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1 dren special education and related services

2 in accordance with the following require3 ments, unless the Secretary has arranged for

4 services to those children under subsection

5 (f):

6 ‘‘(I) Amounts expended for the

7 provision of those services by a local

8 educational agency shall be equal to a

9 proportionate amount of Federal funds

10 made available under this part.

11 ‘‘(II) Such services may be pro12 vided to children with disabilities on

13 the premises of private, including pa14 rochial, schools, to the extent consistent

15 with law.

16 ‘‘(ii) CHILD-FIND REQUIREMENT.—The

17 requirements of paragraph (3) of this sub18 section (relating to child find) shall apply

19 with respect to children with disabilities in

20 the State who are enrolled in private, in21 cluding parochial, elementary and second22 ary schools.

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

24 TO, PRIVATE SCHOOLS BY PUBLIC AGENCIES.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Children with dis2 abilities in private schools and facilities are

3 provided special education and related serv4 ices, in accordance with an individualized

5 education program, at no cost to their par6 ents, if such children are placed in, or re7 ferred to, such schools or facilities by the

8 State or appropriate local educational agen9 cy as the means of carrying out the require10 ments of this part or any other applicable

11 law requiring the provision of special edu12 cation and related services to all children

13 with disabilities within such State.

14 ‘‘(ii) STANDARDS.—In all cases de15 scribed in clause (i), the State educational

16 agency shall determine whether such schools

17 and facilities meet standards that apply to

18 State and local educational agencies and

19 that children so served have all the rights

20 they would have if served by such agencies.

21 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT FOR EDUCATION OF CHIL22 DREN ENROLLED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS WITHOUT

23 CONSENT OF OR REFERRAL BY THE PUBLIC

24 AGENCY.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graph (A), this part does not require a local

3 educational agency to pay for the cost of

4 education, including special education and

5 related services, of a child with a disability

6 at a private school or facility if that agency

7 made a free appropriate public education

8 available to the child and the parents elect9 ed to place the child in such private school

10 or facility.

11 ‘‘(ii) REIMBURSEMENT FOR PRIVATE

12 SCHOOL PLACEMENT.—If the parents of a

13 child with a disability, who previously re14 ceived special education and related services

15 under the authority of a public agency, en16 roll the child in a private elementary or sec17 ondary school without the consent of or re18 ferral by the public agency, a court or a

19 hearing officer may require the agency to

20 reimburse the parents for the cost of that en21 rollment if the court or hearing officer finds

22 that the agency had not made a free appro23 priate public education available to the

24 child in a timely manner prior to that en25 rollment.
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1 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION ON REIMBURSE2 MENT.—The cost of reimbursement described

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

4 ‘‘(I) if—

5 ‘‘(aa) at the most recent IEP

6 meeting that the parents attended

7 prior to removal of the child from

8 the public school, the parents did

9 not inform the IEP team that

10 they were rejecting the placement

11 proposed by the public agency to

12 provide a free appropriate public

13 education to their child, including

14 stating their concerns and their

15 intent to enroll their child in a

16 private school at public expense;

17 or

18 ‘‘(bb) 10 business days (in19 cluding any holidays that occur

20 on a business day) prior to the re21 moval of the child from the public

22 school, the parents did not give

23 written notice to the public agen24 cy of the information described in

25 division (aa);
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1 ‘‘(II) if, prior to the parents’ re2 moval of the child from the public

3 school, the public agency informed the

4 parents, through the notice require5 ments described in section 615(b)(7), of

6 its intent to evaluate the child (includ7 ing a statement of the purpose of the

8 evaluation that was appropriate and

9 reasonable), but the parents did not

10 make the child available for such eval11 uation; or

12 ‘‘(III) upon a judicial finding of

13 unreasonableness with respect to ac14 tions taken by the parents.

15 ‘‘(iv) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding

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

17 cost of reimbursement may not be reduced

18 or denied for failure to provide such notice

19 if—

20 ‘‘(I) the parent is illiterate and

21 cannot write in English;

22 ‘‘(II) compliance with clause

23 (iii)(I) would likely result in physical

24 or 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 parents had not received

4 notice, pursuant to section 615, of the

5 notice requirement in clause (iii)(I).

6 ‘‘(11) 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) shall

24 not limit the responsibility of agencies in the

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

2 free appropriate public education for any child

3 with a disability in the State.

4 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub5 paragraphs (A) and (B), the Governor (or an6 other individual pursuant to State law), consist7 ent with State law, may assign to any public

8 agency in the State the responsibility of ensuring

9 that the requirements of this part are met with

10 respect to children with disabilities who are con11 victed as adults under State law and incarcer12 ated in adult prisons.

13 ‘‘(12) OBLIGATIONS RELATED TO AND METHODS

14 OF ENSURING SERVICES.—

15 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHING RESPONSIBILITY FOR

16 SERVICES.—The Chief Executive Officer or des17 ignee of the officer shall ensure that an inter18 agency agreement or other mechanism for inter19 agency coordination is in effect between each

20 public agency described in subparagraph (B)

21 and the State educational agency, in order to en22 sure that all services described in subparagraph

23 (B)(i) that are needed to ensure a free appro24 priate public education are provided, including

25 the provision of such services during the pend-
76

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1 ency of any dispute under clause (iii). Such

2 agreement or mechanism shall include the follow3 ing:

4 ‘‘(i) AGENCY FINANCIAL RESPONSIBIL5 ITY.—An identification of, or a method for

6 defining, the financial responsibility of each

7 agency for providing services described in

8 subparagraph (B)(i) to ensure a free appro9 priate public education to children with

10 disabilities, provided that the financial re11 sponsibility of each public agency described

12 in subparagraph (B), including the State

13 Medicaid agency and other public insurers

14 of children with disabilities, shall precede

15 the financial responsibility of the local edu16 cational agency (or the State agency re17 sponsible for developing the child’s IEP).

18 ‘‘(ii) CONDITIONS AND TERMS OF RE19 IMBURSEMENT.—The conditions, terms, and

20 procedures under which a local educational

21 agency shall be reimbursed by other agen22 cies.

23 ‘‘(iii) INTERAGENCY DISPUTES.—Pro24 cedures for resolving interagency disputes

25 (including procedures under which local
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1 educational agencies may initiate proceed2 ings) under the agreement or other mecha3 nism to secure reimbursement from other

4 agencies or otherwise implement the provi5 sions of the agreement or mechanism.

6 ‘‘(iv) COORDINATION OF SERVICES

7 PROCEDURES.—Policies and procedures for

8 agencies to determine and identify the

9 interagency coordination responsibilities of

10 each agency to promote the coordination

11 and timely and appropriate delivery of

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

13 ‘‘(B) OBLIGATION OF PUBLIC AGENCY.—

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If any public agen15 cy other than an educational agency is oth16 erwise obligated under Federal or State law,

17 or assigned responsibility under State pol18 icy or pursuant to subparagraph (A), to

19 provide or pay for any services that are also

20 considered special education or related serv21 ices (such as, but not limited to, services de22 scribed in sections 602(1) relating to

23 assistive technology devices, 602(2) relating

24 to assistive technology services, 602(22) re25 lating to related services, 602(29) relating
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1 to supplementary aids and services, and

2 602(30) relating to transition services) that

3 are necessary for ensuring a free appro4 priate public education to children with

5 disabilities within the State, such public

6 agency shall fulfill that obligation or re7 sponsibility, either directly or through con8 tract or other arrangement.

9 ‘‘(ii) REIMBURSEMENT FOR SERVICES

10 BY PUBLIC AGENCY.—If a public agency

11 other than an educational agency fails to

12 provide or pay for the special education and

13 related services described in clause (i), the

14 local educational agency (or State agency

15 responsible for developing the child’s IEP)

16 shall provide or pay for such services to the

17 child. Such local educational agency or

18 State agency may then claim reimburse19 ment for the services from the public agency

20 that failed to provide or pay for such serv21 ices and such public agency shall reimburse

22 the local educational agency or State agency

23 pursuant to the terms of the interagency

24 agreement or other mechanism described in

25 subparagraph (A)(i) according to the proce-
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1 dures established in such agreement pursu2 ant to subparagraph (A)(ii).

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

4 subparagraph (A) may be met through—

5 ‘‘(i) STATE STATUTE OR REGULATION;

6 ‘‘(ii) signed agreements between respec7 tive agency officials that clearly identify the

8 responsibilities of each agency relating to

9 the provision of services; or

10 ‘‘(iii) other appropriate written meth11 ods as determined by the Chief Executive

12 Officer of the State or designee of the officer.

13 ‘‘(13) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS RELATING

14 TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ELIGIBILITY.—The

15 State educational agency will not make a final deter16 mination that a local educational agency is not eligi17 ble for assistance under this part without first afford18 ing that agency reasonable notice and an opportunity

19 for a hearing.

20 ‘‘(14) COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF PERSONNEL

21 DEVELOPMENT.—The State has in effect, consistent

22 with the purposes of this Act and with section

23 635(a)(8), a comprehensive system of personnel devel24 opment that is designed to ensure an adequate supply

25 of qualified special education, regular education, and
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1 related services personnel that meets the requirements

2 for a State improvement plan relating to personnel

3 development in subsections (b)(2)(B) and (c)(3)(D) of

4 section 653.

5 ‘‘(15) PERSONNEL STANDARDS.—

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

7 agency has established and maintains standards

8 to ensure that personnel necessary to carry out

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

11 ‘‘(B) STANDARDS DESCRIBED.—Such stand12 ards shall—

13 ‘‘(i) be consistent with any State-ap14 proved or State-recognized certification, li15 censing, registration, or other comparable

16 requirements that apply to the professional

17 discipline in which those personnel are pro18 viding special education or related services;

19 ‘‘(ii) to the extent the standards de20 scribed in subparagraph (A) are not based

21 on the highest requirements in the State ap22 plicable to a specific profession or dis23 cipline, the State is taking steps to require

24 retraining or hiring of personnel that meet
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1 appropriate professional requirements in

2 the State; and

3 ‘‘(iii) allow paraprofessionals and as4 sistants who are appropriately trained and

5 supervised, in accordance with State law,

6 regulations, or written policy, in meeting

7 the requirements of this part to be used to

8 assist in the provision of special education

9 and related services to children with disabil10 ities under this part.

11 ‘‘(C) POLICY.—In implementing this para12 graph, a State may adopt a policy that includes

13 a requirement that local educational agencies in

14 the State make an ongoing good-faith effort to re15 cruit and hire appropriately and adequately

16 trained personnel to provide special education

17 and related services to children with disabilities,

18 including, in a geographic area of the State

19 where there is a shortage of such personnel, the

20 most qualified individuals available who are

21 making satisfactory progress toward completing

22 applicable course work necessary to meet the

23 standards described in subparagraph (B)(i), con24 sistent with State law, and the steps described in

25 subparagraph (B)(ii) within three years.
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1 ‘‘(16) PERFORMANCE GOALS AND INDICATORS.—

2 The State—

3 ‘‘(A) has established goals for the perform4 ance of children with disabilities in the State

5 that—

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

7 Act, as stated in section 601(d); and

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

9 extent appropriate, with other goals and

10 standards for children established by the

11 State;

12 ‘‘(B) has established performance indicators

13 the State will use to assess progress toward

14 achieving those goals that, at a minimum, ad15 dress the performance of children with disabil16 ities on assessments, drop-out rates, and gradua17 tion rates;

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

19 Secretary and the public on the progress of the

20 State, and of children with disabilities in the

21 State, toward meeting the goals established under

22 subparagraph (A); and

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

24 progress, will revise its State improvement plan

25 under subpart 1 of part D as may be needed to
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1 improve its performance, if the State receives as2 sistance under that subpart.

3 ‘‘(17) PARTICIPATION IN ASSESSMENTS.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Children with disabil5 ities are included in general State and district6 wide assessment programs, with appropriate ac7 commodations, where necessary. As appropriate,

8 the State or local educational agency—

9 ‘‘(i) develops guidelines for the partici10 pation of children with disabilities in alter11 nate assessments for those children who can12 not participate in State and district-wide

13 assessment programs; and

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

15 than July 1, 2000, conducts those alternate

16 assessments.

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

18 agency makes available to the public, and reports

19 to the public with the same frequency and in the

20 same detail as it reports on the assessment of

21 nondisabled children, the following:

22 ‘‘(i) The number of children with dis23 abilities participating in regular assess24 ments.
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1 ‘‘(ii) The number of those children par2 ticipating in alternate assessments.

3 ‘‘(iii)(I) The performance of those chil4 dren on regular assessments (beginning not

5 later than July 1, 1998) and on alternate

6 assessments (not later than July 1, 2000), if

7 doing so would be statistically sound and

8 would not result in the disclosure of per9 formance results identifiable to individual

10 children.

11 ‘‘(II) Data relating to the performance

12 of children described under subclause (I)

13 shall be disaggregated—

14 ‘‘(aa) for assessments conducted

15 after July 1, 1998; and

16 ‘‘(bb) for assessments conducted

17 before July 1, 1998, if the State is re18 quired to disaggregate such data prior

19 to July 1, 1998.

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

21 OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—

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

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

3 will not be commingled with State funds.

4 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITION AGAINST SUPPLANTATION

5 AND CONDITIONS FOR WAIVER BY SECRETARY.—

6 Except as provided in section 613, funds paid to

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

9 (including funds that are not under the direct

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

12 provided to children with disabilities under this

13 part and in no case to supplant such Federal,

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

15 State provides clear and convincing evidence

16 that all children with disabilities have available

17 to them a free appropriate public education, the

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

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

21 State.

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

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

4 children, below the amount of that support for

5 the preceding fiscal year.

6 ‘‘(B) REDUCTION OF FUNDS FOR FAILURE

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

9 any fiscal year following the fiscal year in which

10 the State fails to comply with the requirement of

11 subparagraph (A) by the same amount by which

12 the State fails to meet the requirement.

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

15 may waive the requirement of subparagraph (A)

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

17 Secretary determines that—

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

20 circumstances such as a natural disaster or

21 a precipitous and unforeseen decline in the

22 financial resources of the State; or

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

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

25 waiver of the requirement to supplement,
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1 and not to supplant, funds received under

2 this part.

3 ‘‘(D) SUBSEQUENT YEARS.—If, for any

4 year, a State fails to meet the requirement of

5 subparagraph (A), including any year for which

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

8 State in future years under subparagraph (A)

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

11 reduced level of the State’s support.

12 ‘‘(E) REGULATIONS.—

13 (i) The Secretary shall, by regulation,

14 establish procedures (including objective cri15 teria and consideration of the results of

16 compliance reviews of the State conducted

17 by the Secretary) for determining whether

18 to grant a waiver under subparagraph

19 (C)(ii).

20 ‘‘(ii) The Secretary shall publish pro21 posed regulations under clause (i) not later

22 than 6 months after the date of the enact23 ment of the Individuals with Disabilities

24 Education Act Amendments of 1997, and

25 shall issue final regulations under clause (i)
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1 not later than 1 year after such date of en2 actment.

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

4 adoption of any policies and procedures needed to

5 comply with this section (including any amendments

6 to such policies and procedures), the State ensures

7 that there are public hearings, adequate notice of the

8 hearings, and an opportunity for comment available

9 to the general public, including individuals with dis10 abilities and parents of children with disabilities.

11 ‘‘(21) STATE ADVISORY PANEL.—

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

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

16 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 officials;

9 ‘‘(vi) administrators of programs for

10 children with disabilities;

11 ‘‘(vii) representatives of other State

12 agencies involved in the financing or deliv13 ery of related services to children with dis14 abilities;

15 ‘‘(viii) representatives of private

16 schools and public charter schools;

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

18 vocational, community, or business organi19 zation concerned with the provision of tran20 sition services to children with disabilities;

21 and

22 ‘‘(x) representatives from the State ju23 venile and adult corrections agencies.

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

25 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 regarding

9 the education of children with disabilities;

10 ‘‘(iii) advise the State educational

11 agency in developing evaluations and re12 porting on data to the Secretary under sec13 tion 618;

14 ‘‘(iv) advise the State educational

15 agency in developing corrective action plans

16 to address findings identified in Federal

17 monitoring reports under this part; and

18 ‘‘(v) advise the State educational agen19 cy in developing and implementing policies

20 relating to the coordination of services for

21 children with disabilities.

22 ‘‘(22) SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION RATES.—

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

24 agency examines data to determine if significant

25 discrepancies are occurring in the rate of long-
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1 term suspensions and expulsions of children with

2 disabilities—

3 ‘‘(i) among local educational agencies

4 in the State; or

5 ‘‘(ii) compared to such rates for non6 disabled children within such agencies.

7 ‘‘(B) REVIEW AND REVISION OF POLICIES.—

8 If such discrepancies are occurring, the State

9 educational agency reviews and, if appropriate,

10 revises (or requires the affected State or local

11 educational agency to revise) its policies, proce12 dures, and practices relating to the development

13 and implementation of IEPs, the use of behav14 ioral interventions, and procedural safeguards,

15 to ensure that such policies, procedures, and

16 practices comply with this Act.

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

18 FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION OR DIRECT SERV19 ICES.—If the State educational agency provides free appro20 priate public education to children with disabilities, or pro21 vides direct services to such children, such agency—

22 ‘‘(1) shall comply with any additional require23 ments of section 613(a), as if such agency were a local

24 educational agency; and
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1 ‘‘(2) may use amounts that are otherwise avail2 able to such agency under this part to serve those chil3 dren without regard to section 613(a)(2)(A)(i) (relat4 ing to excess costs).

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

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

7 the Secretary policies and procedures that dem8 onstrate that such State meets any requirement of

9 subsection (a), including any policies and procedures

10 filed under this part as in effect before the effective

11 date of the Individuals with Disabilities Education

12 Act Amendments of 1997, the Secretary shall consider

13 such State to have met such requirement for purposes

14 of receiving a grant under this part.

15 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATIONS MADE BY STATE.—Subject

16 to paragraph (3), an application submitted by a

17 State in accordance with this section shall remain in

18 effect until the State submits to the Secretary such

19 modifications as the State deems necessary. This sec20 tion shall apply to a modification to an application

21 to the same extent and in the same manner as this

22 section applies to the original plan.

23 ‘‘(3) MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY THE SEC24 RETARY.—If, after the effective date of the Individuals

25 with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997,
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1 the provisions of this Act are amended (or the regula2 tions developed to carry out this Act are amended),

3 or there is a new interpretation of this Act by a Fed4 eral or State Supreme court, or there is an official

5 finding of noncompliance with Federal law or regula6 tions, the Secretary may require a State to modify its

7 application only to the extent necessary to ensure the

8 State’s compliance with this part.

9 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL BY THE SECRETARY.—

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

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

12 part, the Secretary shall notify the State of that deter13 mination.

14 ‘‘(2) NOTICE AND HEARING.—The Secretary shall

15 not make a final determination that a State is not

16 eligible to receive a grant under this part until after

17 providing the State—

18 ‘‘(A) with reasonable notice; and

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

20 ‘‘(e) ASSISTANCE UNDER OTHER FEDERAL PRO21 GRAMS.—Nothing in this title permits a State to reduce

22 medical and other assistance available, or to alter eligi23 bility, under titles V and XIX of the Social Security Act

24 with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public

25 education for children with disabilities in the State.
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1 ‘‘(f) BY-PASS FOR CHILDREN IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, on the date of enactment

3 of the Education of the Handicapped Act Amend4 ments of 1983, a State educational agency is prohib5 ited by law from providing for the participation in

6 special programs of children with disabilities enrolled

7 in private elementary and secondary schools as re8 quired by subsection (a)(10)(A), the Secretary shall,

9 notwithstanding such provision of law, arrange for

10 the provision of services to such children through ar11 rangements which shall be subject to the requirements

12 of such subsection.

13 ‘‘(2) PAYMENTS.—

14 ‘‘(A) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNTS.—If the

15 Secretary arranges for services pursuant to this

16 subsection, the Secretary, after consultation with

17 the appropriate public and private school offi18 cials, shall pay to the provider of such services

19 for a fiscal year an amount per child that does

20 not exceed the amount determined by dividing—

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

22 State under this part for such fiscal year;

23 by

24 ‘‘(ii) the number of children with dis25 abilities served in the prior year, as re-
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1 ported to the Secretary by the State under

2 section 618.

3 ‘‘(B) WITHHOLDING OF CERTAIN

4 AMOUNTS.—Pending final resolution of any in5 vestigation or complaint that could result in a

6 determination under this subsection, the Sec7 retary may withhold from the allocation of the

8 affected State educational agency the amount the

9 Secretary estimates would be necessary to pay

10 the cost of services described in subparagraph

11 (A).

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

13 under which payments are made under subpara14 graph (A) shall continue until the Secretary de15 termines that there will no longer be any failure

16 or inability on the part of the State educational

17 agency to meet the requirements of subsection

18 (a)(10)(A).

19 ‘‘(3) NOTICE AND HEARING.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not

21 take any final action under this subsection until

22 the State educational agency affected by such ac23 tion has had an opportunity, for at least 45 days

24 after receiving written notice thereof, to submit

25 written objections and to appear before the Sec-
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1 retary or the Secretary’s designee to show cause

2 why such action should not be taken.

3 ‘‘(B) REVIEW OF ACTION.—If a State edu4 cational agency is dissatisfied with the Sec5 retary’s final action after a proceeding under

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

7 than 60 days after notice of such action, file with

8 the United States court of appeals for the circuit

9 in which such State is located a petition for re10 view of that action. A copy of the petition shall

11 be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of the court

12 to the Secretary. The Secretary thereupon shall

13 file in the court the record of the proceedings on

14 which the Secretary based the Secretary’s action,

15 as provided in section 2112 of title 28, United

16 States Code.

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

18 findings of fact by the Secretary, if supported by

19 substantial evidence, shall be conclusive, but the

20 court, for good cause shown, may remand the

21 case to the Secretary to take further evidence,

22 and the Secretary may thereupon make new or

23 modified findings of fact and may modify the

24 Secretary’s previous action, and shall file in the

25 court the record of the further proceedings. Such
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1 new or modified findings of fact shall likewise be

2 conclusive if supported by substantial evidence.

3 ‘‘(D) JURISDICTION OF COURT OF APPEALS;

4 REVIEW BY UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT.—

5 Upon the filing of a petition under subpara6 graph (B), the United States court of appeals

7 shall have jurisdiction to affirm the action of the

8 Secretary or to set it aside, in whole or in part.

9 The judgment of the court shall be subject to re10 view by the Supreme Court of the United States

11 upon certiorari or certification as provided in

12 section 1254 of title 28, United States Code.

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

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A local educational agency is eli15 gible for assistance under this part for a fiscal year if such

16 agency demonstrates to the satisfaction of the State edu17 cational agency that it meets each of the following condi18 tions:

19 ‘‘(1) CONSISTENCY WITH STATE POLICIES.—The

20 local educational agency, in providing for the edu21 cation of children with disabilities within its jurisdic22 tion, has in effect policies, procedures, and programs

23 that are consistent with the State policies and proce24 dures established under section 612.

25 ‘‘(2) USE OF AMOUNTS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts provided to

2 the local educational agency under this part

3 shall be expended in accordance with the appli4 cable provisions of this part and—

5 ‘‘(i) shall be used only to pay the excess

6 costs of providing special education and re7 lated services to children with disabilities;

8 ‘‘(ii) shall be used to supplement State,

9 local, and other Federal funds and not to

10 supplant such funds; and

11 ‘‘(iii) shall not be used, except as pro12 vided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), to re13 duce the level of expenditures for the edu14 cation of children with disabilities made by

15 the local educational agency from local

16 funds below the level of those expenditures

17 for the preceding fiscal year.

18 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding the re19 striction in subparagraph (A)(iii), a local edu20 cational agency may reduce the level of expendi21 tures where such reduction is attributable to—

22 ‘‘(i) the voluntary departure, by retire23 ment or otherwise, or departure for just

24 cause, 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 a

6 particular child with a disability that is an

7 exceptionally costly program, as determined

8 by the State educational agency, because the

9 child—

10 ‘‘(I) has left the jurisdiction of the

11 agency;

12 ‘‘(II) has reached the age at which

13 the obligation of the agency to provide

14 a free appropriate public education to

15 the child has terminated; or

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

18 ‘‘(iv) the termination of costly expendi19 tures for long-term purchases, such as the

20 acquisition of equipment or the construction

21 of school facilities.

22 ‘‘(C) TREATMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDS IN

23 CERTAIN FISCAL YEARS.—

24 (i) Notwithstanding clauses (ii) and

25 (iii) of subparagraph (A), for any fiscal
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1 year for which amounts appropriated to

2 carry out section 611 exceeds

3 $4,100,000,000, a local educational agency

4 may treat as local funds, for the purpose of

5 such clauses, up to 20 percent of the amount

6 of funds it receives under this part that ex7 ceeds the amount it received under this part

8 for the previous fiscal year.

9 ‘‘(ii) Notwithstanding clause (i), if a

10 State educational agency determines that a

11 local educational agency is not meeting the

12 requirements of this part, the State edu13 cational agency may prohibit the local edu14 cational agency from treating funds re15 ceived under this part as local funds under

16 clause (i) for any fiscal year, only if it is

17 authorized to so by the State constitution or

18 a State statute.

19 ‘‘(D) SCHOOLWIDE PROGRAMS UNDER TITLE

20 I OF THE ESEA.—Notwithstanding subparagraph

21 (A) or any other provision of this part, a local

22 educational agency may use funds received under

23 this part for any fiscal year to carry out a

24 schoolwide program under section 1114 of the

25 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
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1 1965, except that the amount so used in any

2 such program shall not exceed—

3 ‘‘(i) the number of children with dis4 abilities participating in the schoolwide

5 program; multiplied by

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

7 local educational agency under this part for

8 that fiscal year; divided by

9 ‘‘(II) the number of children with dis10 abilities in the jurisdiction of that agency.

11 ‘‘(3) PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT.—The local edu12 cational agency—

13 ‘‘(A) shall ensure that all personnel nec14 essary to carry out this part are appropriately

15 and adequately prepared, consistent with the re16 quirements of section 653(c)(3)(D); and

17 ‘‘(B) to the extent such agency determines

18 appropriate, shall contribute to and use the com19 prehensive system of personnel development of

20 the State established under section 612(a)(14).

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

23 (relating to commingled funds), funds provided to the

24 local educational agency under this part may be used

25 for the following activities:
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1 ‘‘(A) SERVICES AND AIDS THAT ALSO BENE2 FIT NONDISABLED CHILDREN.—For the costs of

3 special education and related services and sup4 plementary aids and services provided in a regu5 lar class or other education-related setting to a

6 child with a disability in accordance with the

7 individualized education program of the child,

8 even if one or more nondisabled children benefit

9 from such services.

10 ‘‘(B) INTEGRATED AND COORDINATED SERV11 ICES SYSTEM.—To develop and implement a

12 fully integrated and coordinated services system

13 in accordance with subsection (f).

14 ‘‘(5) TREATMENT OF CHARTER SCHOOLS AND

15 THEIR STUDENTS.—In carrying out this part with re16 spect to charter schools that are public schools of the

17 local educational agency, the local educational agen18 cy—

19 ‘‘(A) serves children with disabilities at20 tending those schools in the same manner as it

21 serves children with disabilities in its other

22 schools; and

23 ‘‘(B) provides funds under this part to those

24 schools in the same manner as it provides those

25 funds to its other schools.
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1 ‘‘(6) INFORMATION FOR STATE EDUCATIONAL

2 AGENCY.—The local educational agency shall provide

3 the State educational agency with information nec4 essary to enable the State educational agency to carry

5 out its duties under this part, including, with respect

6 to paragraphs (16) and (17) of section 612(a), infor7 mation relating to the performance of children with

8 disabilities participating in programs carried out

9 under this part.

10 ‘‘(7) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—The local edu11 cational agency shall make available to parents of

12 children with disabilities and to the general public all

13 documents relating to the eligibility of such agency

14 under this part.

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

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a local educational agency

17 or State agency has on file with the State educational

18 agency policies and procedures that demonstrate that

19 such local educational agency, or such State agency,

20 as the case may be, meets any requirement of sub21 section (a), including any policies and procedures

22 filed under this part as in effect before the effective

23 date of the Individuals with Disabilities Education

24 Act Amendments of 1997, the State educational agen25 cy shall consider such local educational agency or
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1 State agency, as the case may be, to have met such

2 requirement for purposes of receiving assistance under

3 this part.

4 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATION MADE BY LOCAL EDU5 CATIONAL AGENCY.—Subject to paragraph (3), an ap6 plication submitted by a local educational agency in

7 accordance with this section shall remain in effect

8 until it submits to the State educational agency such

9 modifications as the local educational agency deems

10 necessary.

11 ‘‘(3) MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY STATE EDU12 CATIONAL AGENCY.—If, after the effective date of the

13 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amend14 ments of 1997, the provisions of this Act are amended

15 (or the regulations developed to carry out this Act are

16 amended), or there is a new interpretation of this Act

17 by Federal or State courts, or there is an official find18 ing of noncompliance with Federal or State law or

19 regulations, the State educational agency may require

20 a local educational agency to modify its application

21 only to the extent necessary to ensure the local edu22 cational agency’s compliance with this part or State

23 law.

24 ‘‘(c) NOTIFICATION OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY

25 OR STATE AGENCY IN CASE OF INELIGIBILITY.—If the
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1 State educational agency determines that a local edu2 cational agency or State agency is not eligible under this

3 section, the State educational agency shall notify the local

4 educational agency or State agency, as the case may be,

5 of that determination and shall provide such local edu6 cational agency or State agency with reasonable notice and

7 an opportunity for a hearing.

8 ‘‘(d) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY COMPLIANCE.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the State educational

10 agency, after reasonable notice and an opportunity

11 for a hearing, finds that a local educational agency

12 or State agency that has been determined to be eligi13 ble under this section is failing to comply with any

14 requirement described in subsection (a), the State

15 educational agency shall reduce or shall not provide

16 any further payments to the local educational agency

17 or State agency until the State educational agency is

18 satisfied that the local educational agency or State

19 agency, as the case may be, is complying with that

20 requirement.

21 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Any State

22 agency or local educational agency in receipt of a no23 tice described in paragraph (1) shall, by means of

24 public notice, take such measures as may be necessary

25 to bring the pendency of an action pursuant to this
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1 subsection to the attention of the public within the ju2 risdiction of such agency.

3 ‘‘(3) CONSIDERATION.—In carrying out its re4 sponsibilities under paragraph (1), the State edu5 cational agency shall consider any decision made in

6 a hearing held under section 615 that is adverse to

7 the local educational agency or State agency involved

8 in that decision.

9 ‘‘(e) JOINT ESTABLISHMENT OF ELIGIBILITY.—

10 ‘‘(1) JOINT ESTABLISHMENT.—

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

12 agency may require a local educational agency

13 to establish its eligibility jointly with another

14 local educational agency if the State educational

15 agency determines that the local educational

16 agency would be ineligible under this section be17 cause the local educational agency would not be

18 able to establish and maintain programs of suffi19 cient size and scope to effectively meet the needs

20 of children with disabilities.

21 ‘‘(B) CHARTER SCHOOL EXCEPTION.—A

22 State educational agency may not require a

23 charter school that is a local educational agency

24 to jointly establish its eligibility under subpara-
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1 graph (A) unless it is explicitly permitted to do

2 so under the State’s charter school statute.

3 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.—If a State edu4 cational agency requires the joint establishment of eli5 gibility under paragraph (1), the total amount of

6 funds made available to the affected local educational

7 agencies shall be equal to the sum of the payments

8 that each such local educational agency would have

9 received under section 611(g) if such agencies were el10 igible for such payments.

11 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Local educational agen12 cies that establish joint eligibility under this sub13 section shall—

14 ‘‘(A) adopt policies and procedures that are

15 consistent with the State’s policies and proce16 dures under section 612(a); and

17 ‘‘(B) be jointly responsible for implementing

18 programs that receive assistance under this part.

19 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL SERVICE

20 AGENCIES.—

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an educational serv22 ice agency is required by State law to carry out

23 programs under this part, the joint responsibil24 ities given to local educational agencies under

25 this subsection shall—
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1 ‘‘(i) not apply to the administration

2 and disbursement of any payments received

3 by that educational service agency; and

4 ‘‘(ii) be carried out only by that edu5 cational service agency.

6 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—Not7 withstanding any other provision of this sub8 section, an educational service agency shall pro9 vide for the education of children with disabil10 ities in the least restrictive environment, as re11 quired by section 612(a)(5).

12 ‘‘(f) COORDINATED SERVICES SYSTEM.—

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

14 may not use more than 5 percent of the amount such

15 agency receives under this part for any fiscal year, in

16 combination with other amounts (which shall include

17 amounts other than education funds), to develop and

18 implement a coordinated services system designed to

19 improve results for children and families, including

20 children with disabilities and their families.

21 ‘‘(2) ACTIVITIES.—In implementing a coordi22 nated services system under this subsection, a local

23 educational agency may carry out activities that in24 clude—
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1 ‘‘(A) improving the effectiveness and effi2 ciency of service delivery, including developing

3 strategies that promote accountability for results;

4 ‘‘(B) service coordination and case manage5 ment that facilitates the linkage of individual6 ized education programs under this part and in7 dividualized family service plans under part C

8 with individualized service plans under multiple

9 Federal and State programs, such as title I of

10 the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (vocational reha11 bilitation), title XIX of the Social Security Act

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

13 Act (supplemental security income);

14 ‘‘(C) developing and implementing inter15 agency financing strategies for the provision of

16 education, health, mental health, and social serv17 ices, including transition services and related

18 services under this Act; and

19 ‘‘(D) interagency personnel development for

20 individuals working on coordinated services.

21 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH CERTAIN PROJECTS

22 UNDER ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

23 ACT OF 1965.—If a local educational agency is carry24 ing out a coordinated services project under title XI

25 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
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1 1965 and a coordinated services project under this

2 part in the same schools, such agency shall use

3 amounts under this subsection in accordance with the

4 requirements of that title.

5 ‘‘(g) SCHOOL-BASED IMPROVEMENT PLAN.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each local educational agen7 cy may, in accordance with paragraph (2), use funds

8 made available under this part to permit a public

9 school within the jurisdiction of the local educational

10 agency to design, implement, and evaluate a school11 based improvement plan that is consistent with the

12 purposes described in section 651(b) and that is de13 signed to improve educational and transitional re14 sults for all children with disabilities and, as appro15 priate, for other children consistent with subpara16 graphs (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(4) in that public

17 school.

18 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY.—

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

20 agency may grant authority to a local edu21 cational agency to permit a public school de22 scribed in paragraph (1) (through a school-based

23 standing panel established under paragraph

24 (4)(B)) to design, implement, and evaluate a
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1 school-based improvement plan described in

2 paragraph (1) for a period not to exceed 3 years.

3 ‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITY OF LOCAL EDU4 CATIONAL AGENCY.—If a State educational agen5 cy grants the authority described in subpara6 graph (A), a local educational agency that is

7 granted such authority shall have the sole re8 sponsibility of oversight of all activities relating

9 to the design, implementation, and evaluation of

10 any school-based improvement plan that a public

11 school is permitted to design under this sub12 section.

13 ‘‘(3) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—A school-based im14 provement plan described in paragraph (1) shall—

15 ‘‘(A) be designed to be consistent with the

16 purposes described in section 651(b) and to im17 prove educational and transitional results for all

18 children with disabilities and, as appropriate,

19 for other children consistent with subparagraphs

20 (A) and (B) of subsection (a)(4), who attend the

21 school for which the plan is designed and imple22 mented;

23 ‘‘(B) be designed, evaluated, and, as appro24 priate, implemented by a school-based standing
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1 panel established in accordance with paragraph

2 (4)(B);

3 ‘‘(C) include goals and measurable indica4 tors to assess the progress of the public school in

5 meeting such goals; and

6 ‘‘(D) ensure that all children with disabil7 ities receive the services described in the individ8 ualized education programs of such children.

9 ‘‘(4) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE LOCAL EDU10 CATIONAL AGENCY.—A local educational agency that

11 is granted authority under paragraph (2) to permit

12 a public school to design, implement, and evaluate a

13 school-based improvement plan shall—

14 ‘‘(A) select each school under the jurisdic15 tion of such agency that is eligible to design, im16 plement, and evaluate such a plan;

17 ‘‘(B) require each school selected under sub18 paragraph (A), in accordance with criteria es19 tablished by such local educational agency under

20 subparagraph (C), to establish a school-based

21 standing panel to carry out the duties described

22 in paragraph (3)(B);

23 ‘‘(C) establish—
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1 ‘‘(i) criteria that shall be used by such

2 local educational agency in the selection of

3 an eligible school under subparagraph (A);

4 ‘‘(ii) criteria that shall be used by a

5 public school selected under subparagraph

6 (A) in the establishment of a school-based

7 standing panel to carry out the duties de8 scribed in paragraph (3)(B) and that shall

9 ensure that the membership of such panel

10 reflects the diversity of the community in

11 which the public school is located and in12 cludes, at a minimum—

13 ‘‘(I) parents of children with dis14 abilities who attend such public school,

15 including parents of children with dis16 abilities from unserved and under17 served populations, as appropriate;

18 ‘‘(II) special education and gen19 eral education teachers of such public

20 school;

21 ‘‘(III) special education and gen22 eral education administrators, or the

23 designee of such administrators, of

24 such public school; and
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1 ‘‘(IV) related services providers

2 who are responsible for providing serv3 ices to the children with disabilities

4 who attend such public school; and

5 ‘‘(iii) criteria that shall be used by

6 such local educational agency with respect

7 to the distribution of funds under this part

8 to carry out this subsection;

9 ‘‘(D) disseminate the criteria established

10 under subparagraph (C) to local school district

11 personnel and local parent organizations within

12 the jurisdiction of such local educational agency;

13 ‘‘(E) require a public school that desires to

14 design, implement, and evaluate a school-based

15 improvement plan to submit an application at

16 such time, in such manner, and accompanied by

17 such information as such local educational agen18 cy shall reasonably require; and

19 ‘‘(F) establish procedures for approval by

20 such local educational agency of a school-based

21 improvement plan designed under this sub22 section.

23 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION.—A school-based improvement

24 plan described in paragraph (1) may be submitted to

25 a local educational agency for approval only if a con-
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1 sensus with respect to any matter relating to the de2 sign, implementation, or evaluation of the goals of

3 such plan is reached by the school-based standing

4 panel that designed such plan.

5 ‘‘(6) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—

6 ‘‘(A) PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT.—In carry7 ing out the requirements of this subsection, a

8 local educational agency shall ensure that the

9 parents of children with disabilities are involved

10 in the design, evaluation, and, where appro11 priate, implementation of school-based improve12 ment plans in accordance with this subsection.

13 ‘‘(B) PLAN APPROVAL.—A local educational

14 agency may approve a school-based improvement

15 plan of a public school within the jurisdiction of

16 such agency for a period of 3 years, if—

17 ‘‘(i) the approval is consistent with the

18 policies, procedures, and practices estab19 lished by such local educational agency and

20 in accordance with this subsection; and

21 ‘‘(ii) a majority of parents of children

22 who are members of the school-based stand23 ing panel, and a majority of other members

24 of the school-based standing panel, that de-
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1 signed such plan agree in writing to such

2 plan.

3 ‘‘(7) EXTENSION OF PLAN.—If a public school

4 within the jurisdiction of a local educational agency

5 meets the applicable requirements and criteria de6 scribed in paragraphs (3) and (4) at the expiration

7 of the 3-year approval period described in paragraph

8 (6)(B), such agency may approve a school-based im9 provement plan of such school for an additional 3-

10 year period.

11 ‘‘(h) DIRECT SERVICES BY THE STATE EDUCATIONAL

12 AGENCY.—

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

14 shall use the payments that would otherwise have been

15 available to a local educational agency or to a State

16 agency to provide special education and related serv17 ices directly to children with disabilities residing in

18 the area served by that local agency, or for whom that

19 State agency is responsible, if the State educational

20 agency determines that the local education agency or

21 State agency, as the case may be—

22 ‘‘(A) has not provided the information need23 ed to establish the eligibility of such agency

24 under this section;
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1 ‘‘(B) is unable to establish and maintain

2 programs of free appropriate public education

3 that meet the requirements of subsection (a);

4 ‘‘(C) is unable or unwilling to be consoli5 dated with one or more local educational agen6 cies in order to establish and maintain such pro7 grams; or

8 ‘‘(D) has one or more children with disabil9 ities who can best be served by a regional or

10 State program or service-delivery system de11 signed to meet the needs of such children.

12 ‘‘(2) MANNER AND LOCATION OF EDUCATION AND

13 SERVICES.—The State educational agency may pro14 vide special education and related services under

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

16 (including regional or State centers) as the State

17 agency considers appropriate. Such education and

18 services shall be provided in accordance with this

19 part.

20 ‘‘(i) STATE AGENCY ELIGIBILITY.—Any State agency

21 that desires to receive a subgrant for any fiscal year under

22 section 611(g) shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the

23 State educational agency that—

24 ‘‘(1) all children with disabilities who are par25 ticipating in programs and projects funded under this
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1 part receive a free appropriate public education, and

2 that those children and their parents are provided all

3 the rights and procedural safeguards described in this

4 part; and

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

6 this section as the Secretary determines to be appro7 priate.

8 ‘‘(j) DISCIPLINARY INFORMATION.—The State may re9 quire that a local educational agency include in the records

10 of a child with a disability a statement of any current or

11 previous disciplinary action that has been taken against the

12 child and transmit such statement to the same extent that

13 such disciplinary information is included in, and transmit14 ted with, the student records of nondisabled children. The

15 statement may include a description of any behavior en16 gaged in by the child that required disciplinary action, a

17 description of the disciplinary action taken, and any other

18 information that is relevant to the safety of the child and

19 other individuals involved with the child. If the State

20 adopts such a policy, and the child transfers from one school

21 to another, the transmission of any of the child’s records

22 must include both the child’s current individualized edu23 cation program and any such statement of current or pre24 vious disciplinary action that has been taken against the

25 child.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 614. EVALUATIONS, ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATIONS,

2 INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS,

3 AND EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENTS.

4 ‘‘(a) EVALUATIONS AND REEVALUATIONS.—

5 ‘‘(1) INITIAL EVALUATIONS.—

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

7 agency, other State agency, or local educational

8 agency shall conduct a full and individual ini9 tial evaluation, in accordance with this para10 graph and subsection (b), before the initial pro11 vision of special education and related services to

12 a child with a disability under this part.

13 ‘‘(B) PROCEDURES.—Such initial evalua14 tion shall consist of procedures—

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

16 child with a disability (as defined in sec17 tion 602(3)); and

18 ‘‘(ii) to determine the educational

19 needs of such child.

20 ‘‘(C) PARENTAL CONSENT.—

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The agency propos22 ing to conduct an initial evaluation to de23 termine if the child qualifies as a child with

24 a disability as defined in section 602(3)(A)

25 or 602(3)(B) shall obtain an informed con26 sent from the parent of such child before the
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1 evaluation is conducted. Parental consent

2 for evaluation shall not be construed as con3 sent for placement for receipt of special edu4 cation and related services.

5 ‘‘(ii) REFUSAL.—If the parents of such

6 child refuse consent for the evaluation, the

7 agency may continue to pursue an evalua8 tion by utilizing the mediation and due

9 process procedures under section 615, except

10 to the extent inconsistent with State law re11 lating to parental consent.

12 ‘‘(2) REEVALUATIONS.—A local educational

13 agency shall ensure that a reevaluation of each child

14 with a disability is conducted—

15 ‘‘(A) if conditions warrant a reevaluation

16 or if the child’s parent or teacher requests a re17 evaluation, but at least once every 3 years; and

18 ‘‘(B) in accordance with subsections (b) and

19 (c).

20 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION PROCEDURES.—

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

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

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

24 (b)(4), and (c) of section 615, that describes any eval25 uation procedures such agency proposes to conduct.
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1 ‘‘(2) CONDUCT OF EVALUATION.—In conducting

2 the evaluation, the local educational agency shall—

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

4 strategies to gather relevant functional and de5 velopmental information, including information

6 provided by the parent, that may assist in deter7 mining whether the child is a child with a dis8 ability and the content of the child’s individual9 ized education program, including information

10 related to enabling the child to be involved in

11 and progress in the general curriculum or, for

12 preschool children, to participate in appropriate

13 activities;

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

15 sole criterion for determining whether a child is

16 a child with a disability or determining an ap17 propriate educational program for the child; and

18 ‘‘(C) use technically sound instruments that

19 may assess the relative contribution of cognitive

20 and behavioral factors, in addition to physical

21 or developmental factors.

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

23 educational agency shall ensure that—

24 ‘‘(A) tests and other evaluation materials

25 used to assess a child under this section—
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1 ‘‘(i) are selected and administered so

2 as not to be discriminatory on a racial or

3 cultural basis; and

4 ‘‘(ii) are provided and administered in

5 the child’s native language or other mode of

6 communication, unless it is clearly not fea7 sible to do so; and

8 ‘‘(B) any standardized tests that are given

9 to the child—

10 ‘‘(i) have been validated for the specific

11 purpose for which they are used;

12 ‘‘(ii) are administered by trained and

13 knowledgeable personnel; and

14 ‘‘(iii) are administered in accordance

15 with any instructions provided by the pro16 ducer of such tests;

17 ‘‘(C) the child is assessed in all areas of sus18 pected disability; and

19 ‘‘(D) assessment tools and strategies that

20 provide relevant information that directly assists

21 persons in determining the educational needs of

22 the child are provided.

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

24 completion of administration of tests and other eval25 uation materials—
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1 ‘‘(A) the determination of whether the child

2 is a child with a disability as defined in section

3 602(3) shall be made by a team of qualified pro4 fessionals and the parent of the child in accord5 ance with paragraph (5); and

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

7 documentation of determination of eligibility

8 will be given to the parent.

9 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULE FOR ELIGIBILITY DETER10 MINATION.—In making a determination of eligibility

11 under paragraph (4)(A), a child shall not be deter12 mined to be a child with a disability if the deter13 minant factor for such determination is lack of in14 struction in reading or math or limited English pro15 ficiency.

16 ‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EVALUATION

17 AND REEVALUATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(1) REVIEW OF EXISTING EVALUATION DATA.—

19 As part of an initial evaluation (if appropriate) and

20 as part of any reevaluation under this section, the

21 IEP Team described in subsection (d)(1)(B) and other

22 qualified professionals, as appropriate, shall—

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

24 child, including evaluations and information

25 provided by the parents of the child, current
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1 classroom-based assessments and observations,

2 and teacher and related services providers obser3 vation; and

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

5 from the child’s parents, identify what addi6 tional data, if any, are needed to determine—

7 ‘‘(i) whether the child has a particular

8 category of disability, as described in sec9 tion 602(3), or, in case of a reevaluation of

10 a child, whether the child continues to have

11 such a disability;

12 ‘‘(ii) the present levels of performance

13 and educational needs of the child;

14 ‘‘(iii) whether the child needs special

15 education and related services, or in the

16 case of a reevaluation of a child, whether

17 the child continues to need special education

18 and related services; and

19 ‘‘(iv) whether any additions or modi20 fications to the special education and relat21 ed services are needed to enable the child to

22 meet the measurable annual goals set out in

23 the individualized education program of the

24 child and to participate, as appropriate, in

25 the general curriculum.
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1 ‘‘(2) SOURCE OF DATA.—The local educational

2 agency shall administer such tests and other evalua3 tion materials as may be needed to produce the data

4 identified by the IEP Team under paragraph (1)(B).

5 ‘‘(3) PARENTAL CONSENT.—Each local edu6 cational agency shall obtain informed parental con7 sent, in accordance with subsection (a)(1)(C), prior to

8 conducting any reevaluation of a child with a disabil9 ity, except that such informed parent consent need not

10 be obtained if the local educational agency can dem11 onstrate that it had taken reasonable measures to ob12 tain such consent and the child’s parent has failed to

13 respond.

14 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS IF ADDITIONAL DATA ARE

15 NOT NEEDED.—If the IEP Team and other qualified

16 professionals, as appropriate, determine that no addi17 tional data are needed to determine whether the child

18 continues to be a child with a disability, the local

19 educational agency—

20 ‘‘(A) shall notify the child’s parents of—

21 ‘‘(i) that determination and the rea22 sons for it; and

23 ‘‘(ii) the right of such parents to re24 quest an assessment to determine whether
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1 the child continues to be a child with a dis2 ability; and

3 ‘‘(B) shall not be required to conduct such

4 an assessment unless requested to by the child’s

5 parents.

6 ‘‘(5) EVALUATIONS BEFORE CHANGE IN ELIGI7 BILITY.—A local educational agency shall evaluate a

8 child with a disability in accordance with this section

9 before determining that the child is no longer a child

10 with a disability.

11 ‘‘(d) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS.—

12 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this title:

13 ‘‘(A) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PRO14 GRAM.—The term ‘individualized education pro15 gram’ or ‘IEP’ means a written statement for

16 each child with a disability that is developed, re17 viewed, and revised in accordance with this sec18 tion and that includes—

19 ‘‘(i) a statement of the child’s present

20 levels of educational performance, includ21 ing—

22 ‘‘(I) how the child’s disability af23 fects the child’s involvement and

24 progress in the general curriculum; or
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1 ‘‘(II) for preschool children, as

2 appropriate, how the disability affects

3 the child’s participation in appro4 priate activities;

5 ‘‘(ii) a statement of measurable annual

6 goals, including benchmarks or short-term

7 objectives, related to—

8 ‘‘(I) meeting the child’s needs that

9 result from the child’s disability to en10 able the child to be involved in and

11 progress in the general curriculum;

12 and

13 ‘‘(II) meeting each of the child’s

14 other educational needs that result

15 from the child’s disability;

16 ‘‘(iii) a statement of the special edu17 cation and related services and supple18 mentary aids and services to be provided to

19 the child, or on behalf of the child, and a

20 statement of the program modifications or

21 supports for school personnel that will be

22 provided for the child—

23 ‘‘(I) to advance appropriately to24 ward attaining the annual goals;
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1 ‘‘(II) to be involved and progress

2 in the general curriculum in accord3 ance with clause (i) and to participate

4 in extracurricular and other nonaca5 demic activities; and

6 ‘‘(III) to be educated and partici7 pate with other children with disabil8 ities and nondisabled children in the

9 activities described in this paragraph;

10 ‘‘(iv) an explanation of the extent, if

11 any, to which the child will not participate

12 with nondisabled children in the regular

13 class and in the activities described in

14 clause (iii);

15 ‘‘(v)(I) a statement of any individual

16 modifications in the administration of

17 State or districtwide assessments of student

18 achievement that are needed in order for the

19 child to participate in such assessment; and

20 ‘‘(II) if the IEP Team determines that

21 the child will not participate in a particu22 lar State or districtwide assessment of stu23 dent achievement (or part of such an assess24 ment), a statement of—
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1 ‘‘(aa) why that assessment is not

2 appropriate for the child; and

3 ‘‘(bb) how the child will be as4 sessed;

5 ‘‘(vi) the projected date for the begin6 ning of the services and modifications de7 scribed in clause (iii), and the anticipated

8 frequency, location, and duration of those

9 services and modifications;

10 ‘‘(vii)(I) beginning at age 14, and up11 dated annually, a statement of the transi12 tion service needs of the child under the ap13 plicable components of the child’s IEP that

14 focuses on the child’s courses of study (such

15 as participation in advanced-placement

16 courses or a vocational education program);

17 ‘‘(II) beginning at age 16 (or younger,

18 if determined appropriate by the IEP

19 Team), a statement of needed transition

20 services for the child, including, when ap21 propriate, a statement of the interagency re22 sponsibilities or any needed linkages; and

23 ‘‘(III) beginning at least one year be24 fore the child reaches the age of majority

25 under State law, a statement that the child
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1 has been informed of his or her rights under

2 this title, if any, that will transfer to the

3 child on reaching the age of majority under

4 section 615(m); and

5 ‘‘(viii) a statement of—

6 ‘‘(I) how the child’s progress to7 ward the annual goals described in

8 clause (ii) will be measured; and

9 ‘‘(II) how the child’s parents will

10 be regularly informed (by such means

11 as periodic report cards), at least as

12 often as parents are informed of their

13 nondisabled children’s progress, of—

14 ‘‘(aa) their child’s progress

15 toward the annual goals described

16 in clause (ii); and

17 ‘‘(bb) the extent to which that

18 progress is sufficient to enable the

19 child to achieve the goals by the

20 end of the year.

21 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM

22 TEAM.—The term ‘individualized education pro23 gram team’ or ‘IEP Team’ means a group of in24 dividuals composed of—
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1 ‘‘(i) the parents of a child with a dis2 ability;

3 ‘‘(ii) at least one regular education

4 teacher of such child (if the child is, or may

5 be, participating in the regular education

6 environment);

7 ‘‘(iii) at least one special education

8 teacher, or where appropriate, at least one

9 special education provider of such child;

10 ‘‘(iv) a representative of the local edu11 cational agency who—

12 ‘‘(I) is qualified to provide, or su13 pervise the provision of, specially de14 signed instruction to meet the unique

15 needs of children with disabilities;

16 ‘‘(II) is knowledgeable about the

17 general curriculum; and

18 ‘‘(III) is knowledgeable about the

19 availability of resources of the local

20 educational agency;

21 ‘‘(v) an individual who can interpret

22 the instructional implications of evaluation

23 results, who may be a member of the team

24 described in clauses (ii) through (vi);
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1 ‘‘(vi) at the discretion of the parent or

2 the agency, other individuals who have

3 knowledge or special expertise regarding the

4 child, including related services personnel as

5 appropriate; and

6 ‘‘(vii) whenever appropriate, the child

7 with a disability.

8 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT THAT PROGRAM BE IN EF9 FECT.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the beginning of

11 each school year, each local educational agency,

12 State educational agency, or other State agency,

13 as the case may be, shall have in effect, for each

14 child with a disability in its jurisdiction, an in15 dividualized education program, as defined in

16 paragraph (1)(A).

17 ‘‘(B) PROGRAM FOR CHILD AGED 3

18 THROUGH 5.—In the case of a child with a dis19 ability aged 3 through 5 (or, at the discretion of

20 the State educational agency, a 2 year-old child

21 with a disability who will turn age 3 during the

22 school year), an individualized family service

23 plan that contains the material described in sec24 tion 636, and that is developed in accordance
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1 with this section, may serve as the IEP of the

2 child if using that plan as the IEP is—

3 ‘‘(i) consistent with State policy; and

4 ‘‘(ii) agreed to by the agency and the

5 child’s parents.

6 ‘‘(3) DEVELOPMENT OF IEP.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In developing each

8 child’s IEP, the IEP Team, subject to subpara9 graph (C), shall consider—

10 ‘‘(i) the strengths of the child and the

11 concerns of the parents for enhancing the

12 education of their child; and

13 ‘‘(ii) the results of the initial evalua14 tion or most recent evaluation of the child.

15 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATION OF SPECIAL FAC16 TORS.—The IEP Team shall—

17 ‘‘(i) in the case of a child whose behav18 ior impedes his or her learning or that of

19 others, consider, when appropriate, strate20 gies, including positive behavioral interven21 tions, strategies, and supports to address

22 that behavior;

23 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a child with limited

24 English proficiency, consider the language
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1 needs of the child as such needs relate to the

2 child’s IEP;

3 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a child who is

4 blind or visually impaired, provide for in5 struction in Braille and the use of Braille

6 unless the IEP Team determines, after an

7 evaluation of the child’s reading and writ8 ing skills, needs, and appropriate reading

9 and writing media (including an evalua10 tion of the child’s future needs for instruc11 tion in Braille or the use of Braille), that

12 instruction in Braille or the use of Braille

13 is not appropriate for the child;

14 ‘‘(iv) consider the communication

15 needs of the child, and in the case of a child

16 who is deaf or hard of hearing, consider the

17 child’s language and communication needs,

18 opportunities for direct communications

19 with peers and professional personnel in the

20 child’s language and communication mode,

21 academic level, and full range of needs, in22 cluding opportunities for direct instruction

23 in the child’s language and communication

24 mode; and
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1 ‘‘(v) consider whether the child requires

2 assistive technology devices and services.

3 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT WITH RESPECT TO

4 REGULAR EDUCATION TEACHER.—The regular

5 education teacher of the child, as a member of

6 the IEP Team, shall, to the extent appropriate,

7 participate in the development of the IEP of the

8 child, including the determination of appro9 priate positive behavioral interventions and

10 strategies and the determination of supple11 mentary aids and services, program modifica12 tions, and support for school personnel consistent

13 with paragraph (1)(A)(iii).

14 ‘‘(4) REVIEW AND REVISION OF IEP.—

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

16 agency shall ensure that, subject to subparagraph

17 (B), the IEP Team—

18 ‘‘(i) reviews the child’s IEP periodi19 cally, but not less than annually to deter20 mine whether the annual goals for the child

21 are being achieved; and

22 ‘‘(ii) revises the IEP as appropriate to

23 address—
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1 ‘‘(I) any lack of expected progress

2 toward the annual goals and in the

3 general curriculum, where appropriate;

4 ‘‘(II) the results of any reevalua5 tion conducted under this section;

6 ‘‘(III) information about the child

7 provided to, or by, the parents, as de8 scribed in subsection (c)(1)(B);

9 ‘‘(IV) the child’s anticipated

10 needs; or

11 ‘‘(V) other matters.

12 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT WITH RESPECT TO

13 REGULAR EDUCATION TEACHER.—The regular

14 education teacher of the child, as a member of

15 the IEP Team, shall, to the extent appropriate,

16 participate in the review and revision of the IEP

17 of the child.

18 ‘‘(5) FAILURE TO MEET TRANSITION OBJEC19 TIVES.—If a participating agency, other than the

20 local educational agency, fails to provide the transi21 tion services described in the IEP in accordance with

22 paragraph (1)(A)(vii), the local educational agency

23 shall reconvene the IEP Team to identify alternative

24 strategies to meet the transition objectives for the

25 child set out in that program.
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1 ‘‘(6) CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES IN ADULT

2 PRISONS.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The following require4 ments do not apply to children with disabilities

5 who are convicted as adults under State law and

6 incarcerated in adult prisons:

7 ‘‘(i) The requirements contained in sec8 tion 612(a)(17) and paragraph (1)(A)(v) of

9 this subsection (relating to participation of

10 children with disabilities in general assess11 ments).

12 ‘‘(ii) The requirements of subclauses (I)

13 and (II) of paragraph (1)(A)(vii) of this

14 subsection (relating to transition planning

15 and transition services), do not apply with

16 respect to such children whose eligibility

17 under this part will end, because of their

18 age, before they will be released from prison.

19 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—If a

20 child with a disability is convicted as an adult

21 under State law and incarcerated in an adult

22 prison, the child’s IEP team may modify the

23 child’s IEP or placement notwithstanding the re24 quirements of sections 612(a)(5)(A) and

25 614(d)(1)(A) if the State has demonstrated a
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1 bona fide security or compelling penological in2 terest that cannot otherwise be accommodated.

3 ‘‘(e) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section shall be

4 construed to require the IEP team to include information

5 under one component of a child’s IEP that is already con6 tained under another component of such IEP.

7 ‘‘(f) EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENTS.—Each local edu8 cational agency or State educational agency shall ensure

9 that the parents of each child with a disability are members

10 of any group that makes decisions on the educational place11 ment of their child.

12 ‘‘SEC. 615. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.

13 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCEDURES.—Any State

14 educational agency, State agency, or local educational

15 agency that receives assistance under this part shall estab16 lish and maintain procedures in accordance with this sec17 tion to ensure that children with disabilities and their par18 ents are guaranteed procedural safeguards with respect to

19 the provision of free appropriate public education by such

20 agencies.

21 ‘‘(b) TYPES OF PROCEDURES.—The procedures re22 quired by this section shall include—

23 ‘‘(1) an opportunity for the parents of a child

24 with a disability to examine all records relating to

25 such child and to participate in meetings with respect
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1 to the identification, evaluation, and educational

2 placement of the child, and the provision of a free ap3 propriate public education to such child, and to ob4 tain an independent educational evaluation of the

5 child;

6 ‘‘(2) procedures to protect the rights of the child

7 whenever the parents of the child are not known, the

8 agency cannot, after reasonable efforts, locate the par9 ents, or the child is a ward of the State, including the

10 assignment of an individual (who shall not be an em11 ployee of the State educational agency, the local edu12 cational agency, or any other agency that is involved

13 in the education or care of the child) to act as a sur14 rogate for the parents;

15 ‘‘(3) written prior notice to the parents of the

16 child whenever such agency—

17 ‘‘(A) proposes to initiate or change; or

18 ‘‘(B) refuses to initiate or change;

19 the identification, evaluation, or educational place20 ment of the child, in accordance with subsection (c),

21 or the provision of a free appropriate public edu22 cation to the child;

23 ‘‘(4) procedures designed to ensure that the notice

24 required by paragraph (3) is in the native language
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1 of the parents, unless it clearly is not feasible to do

2 so;

3 ‘‘(5) an opportunity for mediation in accordance

4 with subsection (e);

5 ‘‘(6) an opportunity to present complaints with

6 respect to any matter relating to the identification,

7 evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or

8 the provision of a free appropriate public education

9 to such child;

10 ‘‘(7) procedures that require the parent of a child

11 with a disability, or the attorney representing the

12 child, to provide notice (which shall remain confiden13 tial)—

14 ‘‘(A) to the State educational agency or

15 local educational agency, as the case may be, in

16 the complaint filed under paragraph (6); and

17 ‘‘(B) that shall include—

18 ‘‘(i) the name of the child, the address

19 of the residence of the child, and the name

20 of the school the child is attending;

21 ‘‘(ii) a description of the nature of the

22 problem of the child relating to such pro23 posed initiation or change, including facts

24 relating to such problem; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) a proposed resolution of the

2 problem to the extent known and available

3 to the parents at the time; and

4 ‘‘(8) procedures that require the State edu5 cational agency to develop a model form to assist par6 ents in filing a complaint in accordance with para7 graph (7).

8 ‘‘(c) CONTENT OF PRIOR WRITTEN NOTICE.—The no9 tice required by subsection (b)(3) shall include—

10 ‘‘(1) a description of the action proposed or re11 fused by the agency;

12 ‘‘(2) an explanation of why the agency proposes

13 or refuses to take the action;

14 ‘‘(3) a description of any other options that the

15 agency considered and the reasons why those options

16 were rejected;

17 ‘‘(4) a description of each evaluation procedure,

18 test, record, or report the agency used as a basis for

19 the proposed or refused action;

20 ‘‘(5) a description of any other factors that are

21 relevant to the agency’s proposal or refusal;

22 ‘‘(6) a statement that the parents of a child with

23 a disability have protection under the procedural

24 safeguards of this part and, if this notice is not an

25 initial referral for evaluation, the means by which a
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1 copy of a description of the procedural safeguards can

2 be obtained; and

3 ‘‘(7) sources for parents to contact to obtain as4 sistance in understanding the provisions of this part.

5 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS NOTICE.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A copy of the procedural

7 safeguards available to the parents of a child with a

8 disability shall be given to the parents, at a mini9 mum—

10 ‘‘(A) upon initial referral for evaluation;

11 ‘‘(B) upon each notification of an individ12 ualized education program meeting and upon re13 evaluation of the child; and

14 ‘‘(C) upon registration of a complaint

15 under subsection (b)(6).

16 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—The procedural safeguards no17 tice shall include a full explanation of the procedural

18 safeguards, written in the native language of the par19 ents, unless it clearly is not feasible to do so, and

20 written in an easily understandable manner, avail21 able under this section and under regulations promul22 gated by the Secretary relating to—

23 ‘‘(A) independent educational evaluation;

24 ‘‘(B) prior written notice;

25 ‘‘(C) parental consent;
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1 ‘‘(D) access to educational records;

2 ‘‘(E) opportunity to present complaints;

3 ‘‘(F) the child’s placement during pendency

4 of due process proceedings;

5 ‘‘(G) procedures for students who are subject

6 to placement in an interim alternative edu7 cational setting;

8 ‘‘(H) requirements for unilateral placement

9 by parents of children in private schools at pub10 lic expense;

11 ‘‘(I) mediation;

12 ‘‘(J) due process hearings, including re13 quirements for disclosure of evaluation results

14 and recommendations;

15 ‘‘(K) State-level appeals (if applicable in

16 that State);

17 ‘‘(L) civil actions; and

18 ‘‘(M) attorneys’ fees.

19 ‘‘(e) MEDIATION.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any State educational agen21 cy or local educational agency that receives assistance

22 under this part shall ensure that procedures are estab23 lished and implemented to allow parties to disputes

24 involving any matter described in subsection (b)(6) to

25 resolve such disputes through a mediation process
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1 which, at a minimum, shall be available whenever a

2 hearing is requested under subsection (f) or (k).

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Such procedures shall

4 meet the following requirements:

5 ‘‘(A) The procedures shall ensure that the

6 mediation process—

7 ‘‘(i) is voluntary on the part of the

8 parties;

9 ‘‘(ii) is not used to deny or delay a

10 parent’s right to a due process hearing

11 under subsection (f), or to deny any other

12 rights afforded under this part; and

13 ‘‘(iii) is conducted by a qualified and

14 impartial mediator who is trained in effec15 tive mediation techniques.

16 ‘‘(B) A local educational agency or a State

17 agency may establish procedures to require par18 ents who choose not to use the mediation process

19 to meet, at a time and location convenient to the

20 parents, with a disinterested party who is under

21 contract with—

22 ‘‘(i) a parent training and informa23 tion center or community parent resource

24 center in the State established under section

25 682 or 683; or
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1 ‘‘(ii) an appropriate alternative dis2 pute resolution entity;

3 to encourage the use, and explain the benefits, of

4 the mediation process to the parents.

5 ‘‘(C) The State shall maintain a list of in6 dividuals who are qualified mediators and

7 knowledgeable in laws and regulations relating

8 to the provision of special education and related

9 services.

10 ‘‘(D) The State shall bear the cost of the me11 diation process, including the costs of meetings

12 described in subparagraph (B).

13 ‘‘(E) Each session in the mediation process

14 shall be scheduled in a timely manner and shall

15 be held in a location that is convenient to the

16 parties to the dispute.

17 ‘‘(F) An agreement reached by the parties to

18 the dispute in the mediation process shall be set

19 forth in a written mediation agreement.

20 ‘‘(G) Discussions that occur during the me21 diation process shall be confidential and may

22 not be used as evidence in any subsequent due

23 process hearings or civil proceedings and the

24 parties to the mediation process may be required
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1 to sign a confidentiality pledge prior to the com2 mencement of such process.

3 ‘‘(f) IMPARTIAL DUE PROCESS HEARING.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever a complaint has

5 been received under subsection (b)(6) or (k) of this

6 section, the parents involved in such complaint shall

7 have an opportunity for an impartial due process

8 hearing, which shall be conducted by the State edu9 cational agency or by the local educational agency, as

10 determined by State law or by the State educational

11 agency.

12 ‘‘(2) DISCLOSURE OF EVALUATIONS AND REC13 OMMENDATIONS.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At least 5 business days

15 prior to a hearing conducted pursuant to para16 graph (1), each party shall disclose to all other

17 parties all evaluations completed by that date

18 and recommendations based on the offering par19 ty’s evaluations that the party intends to use at

20 the hearing.

21 ‘‘(B) FAILURE TO DISCLOSE.—A hearing of22 ficer may bar any party that fails to comply

23 with subparagraph (A) from introducing the rel24 evant evaluation or recommendation at the hear25 ing without the consent of the other party.
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1 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON CONDUCT OF HEARING.—A

2 hearing conducted pursuant to paragraph (1) may

3 not be conducted by an employee of the State edu4 cational agency or the local educational agency in5 volved in the education or care of the child.

6 ‘‘(g) APPEAL.—If the hearing required by subsection

7 (f) is conducted by a local educational agency, any party

8 aggrieved by the findings and decision rendered in such a

9 hearing may appeal such findings and decision to the State

10 educational agency. Such agency shall conduct an impar11 tial review of such decision. The officer conducting such re12 view shall make an independent decision upon completion

13 of such review.

14 ‘‘(h) SAFEGUARDS.—Any party to a hearing conducted

15 pursuant to subsection (f) or (k), or an appeal conducted

16 pursuant to subsection (g), shall be accorded—

17 ‘‘(1) the right to be accompanied and advised by

18 counsel and by individuals with special knowledge or

19 training with respect to the problems of children with

20 disabilities;

21 ‘‘(2) the right to present evidence and confront,

22 cross-examine, and compel the attendance of wit23 nesses;
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1 ‘‘(3) the right to a written, or, at the option of

2 the parents, electronic verbatim record of such hear3 ing; and

4 ‘‘(4) the right to written, or, at the option of the

5 parents, electronic findings of fact and decisions

6 (which findings and decisions shall be made available

7 to the public consistent with the requirements of sec8 tion 617(c) (relating to the confidentiality of data, in9 formation, and records) and shall also be transmitted

10 to the advisory panel established pursuant to section

11 612(a)(21)).

12 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

14 ‘‘(A) DECISION MADE IN HEARING.—A deci15 sion made in a hearing conducted pursuant to

16 subsection (f) or (k) shall be final, except that

17 any party involved in such hearing may appeal

18 such decision under the provisions of subsection

19 (g) and paragraph (2) of this subsection.

20 ‘‘(B) DECISION MADE AT APPEAL.—A deci21 sion made under subsection (g) shall be final, ex22 cept that any party may bring an action under

23 paragraph (2) of this subsection.

24 ‘‘(2) RIGHT TO BRING CIVIL ACTION.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any party aggrieved by

2 the findings and decision made under subsection

3 (f) or (k) who does not have the right to an ap4 peal under subsection (g), and any party ag5 grieved by the findings and decision under this

6 subsection, shall have the right to bring a civil

7 action with respect to the complaint presented

8 pursuant to this section, which action may be

9 brought in any State court of competent jurisdic10 tion or in a district court of the United States

11 without regard to the amount in controversy.

12 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—In any

13 action brought under this paragraph, the court—

14 ‘‘(i) shall receive the records of the ad15 ministrative proceedings;

16 ‘‘(ii) shall hear additional evidence at

17 the request of a party; and

18 ‘‘(iii) basing its decision on the pre19 ponderance of the evidence, shall grant such

20 relief as the court determines is appro21 priate.

22 ‘‘(3) JURISDICTION OF DISTRICT COURTS; ATTOR23 NEYS’ FEES.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The district courts of

25 the United States shall have jurisdiction of ac-
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1 tions brought under this section without regard

2 to the amount in controversy.

3 ‘‘(B) AWARD OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—In

4 any action or proceeding brought under this sec5 tion, the court, in its discretion, may award rea6 sonable attorneys’ fees as part of the costs to the

7 parents of a child with a disability who is the

8 prevailing party.

9 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF AT10 TORNEYS’ FEES.—Fees awarded under this para11 graph shall be based on rates prevailing in the

12 community in which the action or proceeding

13 arose for the kind and quality of services fur14 nished. No bonus or multiplier may be used in

15 calculating the fees awarded under this sub16 section.

17 ‘‘(D) PROHIBITION OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES

18 AND RELATED COSTS FOR CERTAIN SERVICES.—

19 ‘‘(i) Attorneys’ fees may not be award20 ed and related costs may not be reimbursed

21 in any action or proceeding under this sec22 tion for services performed subsequent to the

23 time of a written offer of settlement to a

24 parent if—
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1 ‘‘(I) the offer is made within the

2 time prescribed by Rule 68 of the Fed3 eral Rules of Civil Procedure or, in the

4 case of an administrative proceeding,

5 at any time more than ten days before

6 the proceeding begins;

7 ‘‘(II) the offer is not accepted

8 within 10 days; and

9 ‘‘(III) the court or administrative

10 hearing officer finds that the relief fi11 nally obtained by the parents is not

12 more favorable to the parents than the

13 offer of settlement.

14 ‘‘(ii) Attorneys’ fees may not be award15 ed relating to any meeting of the IEP Team

16 unless such meeting is convened as a result

17 of an administrative proceeding or judicial

18 action, or, at the discretion of the State, for

19 a mediation described in subsection (e) that

20 is conducted prior to the filing of a com21 plaint under subsection (b)(6) or (k) of this

22 section.

23 ‘‘(E) EXCEPTION TO PROHIBITION ON AT24 TORNEYS’ FEES AND RELATED COSTS.—Notwith25 standing subparagraph (D), an award of attor-
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1 neys’ fees and related costs may be made to a

2 parent who is the prevailing party and who was

3 substantially justified in rejecting the settlement

4 offer.

5 ‘‘(F) REDUCTION IN AMOUNT OF ATTOR6 NEYS’ FEES.—Except as provided in subpara7 graph (G), whenever the court finds that—

8 ‘‘(i) the parent, during the course of

9 the action or proceeding, unreasonably pro10 tracted the final resolution of the con11 troversy;

12 ‘‘(ii) the amount of the attorneys’ fees

13 otherwise authorized to be awarded unrea14 sonably exceeds the hourly rate prevailing

15 in the community for similar services by at16 torneys of reasonably comparable skill, rep17 utation, and experience;

18 ‘‘(iii) the time spent and legal services

19 furnished were excessive considering the na20 ture of the action or proceeding; or

21 ‘‘(iv) the attorney representing the par22 ent did not provide to the school district the

23 appropriate information in the due process

24 complaint in accordance with subsection

25 (b)(7);
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1 the court shall reduce, accordingly, the amount of

2 the attorneys’ fees awarded under this section.

3 ‘‘(G) EXCEPTION TO REDUCTION IN AMOUNT

4 OF ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—The provisions of sub5 paragraph (F) shall not apply in any action or

6 proceeding if the court finds that the State or

7 local educational agency unreasonably protracted

8 the final resolution of the action or proceeding or

9 there was a violation of this section.

10 ‘‘(j) MAINTENANCE OF CURRENT EDUCATIONAL

11 PLACEMENT.—Except as provided in subsection (k)(7), dur12 ing the pendency of any proceedings conducted pursuant

13 to this section, unless the State or local educational agency

14 and the parents otherwise agree, the child shall remain in

15 the then-current educational placement of such child, or, if

16 applying for initial admission to a public school, shall,

17 with the consent of the parents, be placed in the public

18 school program until all such proceedings have been com19 pleted.

20 ‘‘(k) PLACEMENT IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL SET21 TING.—

22 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY OF SCHOOL PERSONNEL.—

23 ‘‘(A) School personnel under this section

24 may order a change in the placement of a child

25 with a disability—
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1 ‘‘(i) to an appropriate interim alter2 native educational setting, another setting,

3 or suspension, for not more than 10 school

4 days (to the extent such alternatives would

5 be applied to children without disabilities);

6 and

7 ‘‘(ii) to an appropriate interim alter8 native educational setting for the same

9 amount of time that a child without a dis10 ability would be subject to discipline, but

11 for not more than 45 days if—

12 ‘‘(I) the child carries a weapon to

13 school or to a school function under the

14 jurisdiction of a State or a local edu15 cational agency; or

16 ‘‘(II) the child knowingly possesses

17 or uses illegal drugs or sells or solicits

18 the sale of a controlled substance while

19 at school or a school function under the

20 jurisdiction of a State or local edu21 cational agency.

22 ‘‘(B) Either before or not later than 10 days

23 after taking a disciplinary action described in

24 subparagraph (A)—
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1 ‘‘(i) if the local educational agency did

2 not conduct a functional behavioral assess3 ment and implement a behavioral interven4 tion plan for such child before the behavior

5 that resulted in the suspension described in

6 subparagraph (A), the agency shall convene

7 an IEP meeting to develop an assessment

8 plan to address that behavior; or

9 ‘‘(ii) if the child already has a behav10 ioral intervention plan, the IEP Team shall

11 review the plan and modify it, as necessary,

12 to address the behavior.

13 ‘‘(2) AUTHORITY OF HEARING OFFICER.—A

14 hearing officer under this section may order a change

15 in the placement of a child with a disability to an

16 appropriate interim alternative educational setting

17 for not more than 45 days if the hearing officer—

18 ‘‘(A) determines that the public agency has

19 demonstrated by substantial evidence that main20 taining the current placement of such child is

21 substantially likely to result in injury to the

22 child or to others;

23 ‘‘(B) considers the appropriateness of the

24 child’s current placement;
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1 ‘‘(C) considers whether the public agency

2 has made reasonable efforts to minimize the risk

3 of harm in the child’s current placement, includ4 ing the use of supplementary aids and services;

5 and

6 ‘‘(D) determines that the interim alternative

7 educational setting meets the requirements of

8 paragraph (3)(B).

9 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION OF SETTING.—

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The alternative edu11 cational setting described in paragraph

12 (1)(A)(ii) shall be determined by the IEP Team.

13 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—Any

14 interim alternative educational setting in which

15 a child is placed under paragraph (1) or (2)

16 shall—

17 ‘‘(i) be selected so as to enable the child

18 to continue to participate in the general

19 curriculum, although in another setting,

20 and to continue to receive those services and

21 modifications, including those described in

22 the child’s current IEP, that will enable the

23 child to meet the goals set out in that IEP;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(ii) include services and modifications

2 designed to address the behavior described

3 in paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) so that

4 it does not recur.

5 ‘‘(4) MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION RE6 VIEW.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a disciplinary action

8 is contemplated as described in paragraph (1) or

9 paragraph (2) for a behavior of a child with a

10 disability described in either of those para11 graphs, or if a disciplinary action involving a

12 change of placement for more than 10 days is

13 contemplated for a child with a disability who

14 has engaged in other behavior that violated any

15 rule or code of conduct of the local educational

16 agency that applies to all children—

17 ‘‘(i) not later than the date on which

18 the decision to take that action is made, the

19 parents shall be notified of that decision

20 and of all procedural safeguards accorded

21 under this section; and

22 ‘‘(ii) immediately, if possible, but in

23 no case later than 10 school days after the

24 date on which the decision to take that ac25 tion is made, a review shall be conducted of
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1 the relationship between the child’s disabil2 ity and the behavior subject to the discipli3 nary action.

4 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUALS TO CARRY OUT RE5 VIEW.—A review described in subparagraph (A)

6 shall be conducted by the IEP Team and other

7 qualified personnel.

8 ‘‘(C) CONDUCT OF REVIEW.—In carrying

9 out a review described in subparagraph (A), the

10 IEP Team may determine that the behavior of

11 the child was not a manifestation of such child’s

12 disability only if the IEP Team—

13 ‘‘(i) first considers, in terms of the be14 havior subject to disciplinary action, all rel15 evant information, including—

16 ‘‘(I) evaluation and diagnostic re17 sults, including such results or other

18 relevant information supplied by the

19 parents of the child;

20 ‘‘(II) observations of the child;

21 and

22 ‘‘(III) the child’s IEP and place23 ment; and

24 ‘‘(ii) then determines that—
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1 ‘‘(I) in relationship to the behav2 ior subject to disciplinary action, the

3 child’s IEP and placement were appro4 priate and the special education serv5 ices, supplementary aids and services,

6 and behavior intervention strategies

7 were provided consistent with the

8 child’s IEP and placement;

9 ‘‘(II) the child’s disability did not

10 impair the ability of the child to un11 derstand the impact and consequences

12 of the behavior subject to disciplinary

13 action; and

14 ‘‘(III) the child’s disability did

15 not impair the ability of the child to

16 control the behavior subject to discipli17 nary action.

18 ‘‘(5) DETERMINATION THAT BEHAVIOR WAS NOT

19 MANIFESTATION OF DISABILITY.—

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the result of the re21 view described in paragraph (4) is a determina22 tion, consistent with paragraph (4)(C), that the

23 behavior of the child with a disability was not

24 a manifestation of the child’s disability, the rel25 evant disciplinary procedures applicable to chil-
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1 dren without disabilities may be applied to the

2 child in the same manner in which they would

3 be applied to children without disabilities, except

4 as provided in section 612(a)(1).

5 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT.—If the

6 public agency initiates disciplinary procedures

7 applicable to all children, the agency shall ensure

8 that the special education and disciplinary

9 records of the child with a disability are trans10 mitted for consideration by the person or persons

11 making the final determination regarding the

12 disciplinary action.

13 ‘‘(6) PARENT APPEAL.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—

15 ‘‘(i) If the child’s parent disagrees with

16 a determination that the child’s behavior

17 was not a manifestation of the child’s dis18 ability or with any decision regarding

19 placement, the parent may request a hear20 ing.

21 ‘‘(ii) The State or local educational

22 agency shall arrange for an expedited hear23 ing in any case described in this subsection

24 when requested by a parent.

25 ‘‘(B) REVIEW OF DECISION.—
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1 ‘‘(i) In reviewing a decision with re2 spect to the manifestation determination,

3 the hearing officer shall determine whether

4 the public agency has demonstrated that the

5 child’s behavior was not a manifestation of

6 such child’s disability consistent with the

7 requirements of paragraph (4)(C).

8 ‘‘(ii) In reviewing a decision under

9 paragraph (1)(A)(ii) to place the child in

10 an interim alternative educational setting,

11 the hearing officer shall apply the standards

12 set out in paragraph (2).

13 ‘‘(7) PLACEMENT DURING APPEALS.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—When a parent requests

15 a hearing regarding a disciplinary action de16 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)(ii) or paragraph (2)

17 to challenge the interim alternative educational

18 setting or the manifestation determination, the

19 child shall remain in the interim alternative

20 educational setting pending the decision of the

21 hearing officer or until the expiration of the time

22 period provided for in paragraph (1)(A)(ii) or

23 paragraph (2), whichever occurs first, unless the

24 parent and the State or local educational agency

25 agree otherwise.
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1 ‘‘(B) CURRENT PLACEMENT.—If a child is

2 placed in an interim alternative educational set3 ting pursuant to paragraph (1)(A)(ii) or para4 graph (2) and school personnel propose to change

5 the child’s placement after expiration of the in6 terim alternative placement, during the pend7 ency of any proceeding to challenge the proposed

8 change in placement, the child shall remain in

9 the current placement (the child’s placement

10 prior to the interim alternative educational set11 ting), except as provided in subparagraph (C).

12 ‘‘(C) EXPEDITED HEARING.—

13 ‘‘(i) If school personnel maintain that

14 it is dangerous for the child to be in the

15 current placement (placement prior to re16 moval to the interim alternative education

17 setting) during the pendency of the due

18 process proceedings, the local educational

19 agency may request an expedited hearing.

20 ‘‘(ii) In determining whether the child

21 may be placed in the alternative edu22 cational setting or in another appropriate

23 placement ordered by the hearing officer, the

24 hearing officer shall apply the standards set

25 out in paragraph (2).
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1 ‘‘(8) PROTECTIONS FOR CHILDREN NOT YET ELI2 GIBLE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION AND RELATED SERV3 ICES.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A child who has not

5 been determined to be eligible for special edu6 cation and related services under this part and

7 who has engaged in behavior that violated any

8 rule or code of conduct of the local educational

9 agency, including any behavior described in

10 paragraph (1), may assert any of the protections

11 provided for in this part if the local educational

12 agency had knowledge (as determined in accord13 ance with this paragraph) that the child was a

14 child with a disability before the behavior that

15 precipitated the disciplinary action occurred.

16 ‘‘(B) BASIS OF KNOWLEDGE.—A local edu17 cational agency shall be deemed to have knowl18 edge that a child is a child with a disability if—

19 ‘‘(i) the parent of the child has ex20 pressed concern in writing (unless the par21 ent is illiterate or has a disability that pre22 vents compliance with the requirements con23 tained in this clause) to personnel of the ap24 propriate educational agency that the child
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1 is in need of special education and related

2 services;

3 ‘‘(ii) the behavior or performance of the

4 child demonstrates the need for such serv5 ices;

6 ‘‘(iii) the parent of the child has re7 quested an evaluation of the child pursuant

8 to section 614; or

9 ‘‘(iv) the teacher of the child, or other

10 personnel of the local educational agency,

11 has expressed concern about the behavior or

12 performance of the child to the director of

13 special education of such agency or to other

14 personnel of the agency.

15 ‘‘(C) CONDITIONS THAT APPLY IF NO BASIS

16 OF KNOWLEDGE.—

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a local edu18 cational agency does not have knowledge

19 that a child is a child with a disability (in

20 accordance with subparagraph (B)) prior to

21 taking disciplinary measures against the

22 child, the child may be subjected to the same

23 disciplinary measures as measures applied

24 to children without disabilities who engaged
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1 in comparable behaviors consistent with

2 clause (ii).

3 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATIONS.—If a request is

4 made for an evaluation of a child during

5 the time period in which the child is sub6 jected to disciplinary measures under para7 graph (1) or (2), the evaluation shall be

8 conducted in an expedited manner. If the

9 child is determined to be a child with a dis10 ability, taking into consideration informa11 tion from the evaluation conducted by the

12 agency and information provided by the

13 parents, the agency shall provide special

14 education and related services in accordance

15 with the provisions of this part, except that,

16 pending the results of the evaluation, the

17 child shall remain in the educational place18 ment determined by school authorities.

19 ‘‘(9) REFERRAL TO AND ACTION BY LAW EN20 FORCEMENT AND JUDICIAL AUTHORITIES.—

21 ‘‘(A) Nothing in this part shall be construed

22 to prohibit an agency from reporting a crime

23 committed by a child with a disability to appro24 priate authorities or to prevent State law en25 forcement and judicial authorities from exercis-
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1 ing their responsibilities with regard to the ap2 plication of Federal and State law to crimes

3 committed by a child with a disability.

4 ‘‘(B) An agency reporting a crime commit5 ted by a child with a disability shall ensure that

6 copies of the special education and disciplinary

7 records of the child are transmitted for consider8 ation by the appropriate authorities to whom it

9 reports the crime.

10 ‘‘(10) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub11 section, the following definitions apply:

12 ‘‘(A) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE.—The term

13 ‘controlled substance’ means a drug or other sub14 stance identified under schedules I, II, III, IV, or

15 V in section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances

16 Act (21 U.S.C. 812(c)).

17 ‘‘(B) ILLEGAL DRUG.—The term ‘illegal

18 drug’—

19 ‘‘(i) means a controlled substance; but

20 ‘‘(ii) does not include such a substance

21 that is legally possessed or used under the

22 supervision of a licensed health-care profes23 sional or that is legally possessed or used

24 under any other authority under that Act
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1 or under any other provision of Federal

2 law.

3 ‘‘(C) SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE.—The term

4 ‘substantial evidence’ means beyond a preponder5 ance of the evidence.

6 ‘‘(D) WEAPON.—The term ‘weapon’ has the

7 meaning given the term ‘dangerous weapon’

8 under paragraph (2) of the first subsection (g) of

9 section 930 of title 18, United States Code.

10 ‘‘(l) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this part

11 shall be construed to restrict or limit the rights, procedures,

12 and remedies available under the Constitution, the Ameri13 cans with Disabilities Act of 1990, title V of the Rehabilita14 tion Act of 1973, or other Federal laws protecting the rights

15 of children with disabilities, except that before the filing of

16 a civil action under such laws seeking relief that is also

17 available under this part, the procedures under subsections

18 (f) and (g) shall be exhausted to the same extent as would

19 be required had the action been brought under this part.

20 ‘‘(m) TRANSFER OF PARENTAL RIGHTS AT AGE OF

21 MAJORITY.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that receives

23 amounts from a grant under this part may provide

24 that, when a child with a disability reaches the age

25 of majority under State law (except for a child with
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1 a disability who has been determined to be incom2 petent under State law)—

3 ‘‘(A) the public agency shall provide any

4 notice required by this section to both the indi5 vidual and the parents;

6 ‘‘(B) all other rights accorded to parents

7 under this part transfer to the child;

8 ‘‘(C) the agency shall notify the individual

9 and the parents of the transfer of rights; and

10 ‘‘(D) all rights accorded to parents under

11 this part transfer to children who are incarcer12 ated in an adult or juvenile Federal, State, or

13 local correctional institution.

14 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—If, under State law, a

15 child with a disability who has reached the age of

16 majority under State law, who has not been deter17 mined to be incompetent, but who is determined not

18 to have the ability to provide informed consent with

19 respect to the educational program of the child, the

20 State shall establish procedures for appointing the

21 parent of the child, or if the parent is not available,

22 another appropriate individual, to represent the edu23 cational interests of the child throughout the period of

24 eligibility of the child under this part.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 616. WITHHOLDING AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.

2 (a) WITHHOLDING OF PAYMENTS.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whenever the Secretary,

4 after reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing to

5 the State educational agency involved (and to any

6 local educational agency or State agency affected by

7 any failure described in subparagraph (B)), finds—

8 ‘‘(A) that there has been a failure by the

9 State to comply substantially with any provision

10 of this part; or

11 ‘‘(B) that there is a failure to comply with

12 any condition of a local educational agency’s or

13 State agency’s eligibility under this part, includ14 ing the terms of any agreement to achieve com15 pliance with this part within the timelines speci16 fied in the agreement;

17 the Secretary shall, after notifying the State edu18 cational agency, withhold, in whole or in part, any

19 further payments to the State under this part, or refer

20 the matter for appropriate enforcement action, which

21 may include referral to the Department of Justice.

22 ‘‘(2) NATURE OF WITHHOLDING.—If the Sec23 retary withholds further payments under paragraph

24 (1), the Secretary may determine that such withhold25 ing will be limited to programs or projects, or por26 tions thereof, affected by the failure, or that the State
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1 educational agency shall not make further payments

2 under this part to specified local educational agencies

3 or State agencies affected by the failure. Until the

4 Secretary is satisfied that there is no longer any fail5 ure to comply with the provisions of this part, as

6 specified in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph

7 (1), payments to the State under this part shall be

8 withheld in whole or in part, or payments by the

9 State educational agency under this part shall be lim10 ited 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 educational

13 agency, State agency, or local educational agency that

14 has received notice under paragraph (1) shall, by

15 means of a public notice, take such measures as may

16 be necessary to bring the pendency of an action pur17 suant to this subsection to the attention of the public

18 within the jurisdiction of such agency.

19 ‘‘(b) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If any State is dissatisfied

21 with the Secretary’s final action with respect to the

22 eligibility of the State under section 612, such State

23 may, not later than 60 days after notice of such ac24 tion, file with the United States court of appeals for

25 the circuit in which such State is located a petition
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1 for review of that action. A copy of the petition shall

2 be forthwith transmitted by the clerk of the court to

3 the Secretary. The Secretary thereupon shall file in

4 the court the record of the proceedings upon which the

5 Secretary’s action was based, as provided in section

6 2112 of title 28, United States Code.

7 ‘‘(2) JURISDICTION; REVIEW BY UNITED STATES

8 SUPREME COURT.—Upon the filing of such petition,

9 the court shall have jurisdiction to affirm the action

10 of the Secretary or to set it aside, in whole or in part.

11 The judgment of the court shall be subject to review

12 by the Supreme Court of the United States upon cer13 tiorari or certification as provided in section 1254 of

14 title 28, United States Code.

15 ‘‘(3) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The findings of

16 fact by the Secretary, if supported by substantial evi17 dence, shall be conclusive, but the court, for good

18 cause shown, may remand the case to the Secretary

19 to take further evidence, and the Secretary may there20 upon make new or modified findings of fact and may

21 modify the Secretary’s previous action, and shall file

22 in the court the record of the further proceedings.

23 Such new or modified findings of fact shall likewise

24 be conclusive if supported by substantial evidence.
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1 ‘‘(c) DIVIDED STATE AGENCY RESPONSIBILITY.—For

2 purposes of this section, where responsibility for ensuring

3 that the requirements of this part are met with respect to

4 children with disabilities who are convicted as adults under

5 State law and incarcerated in adult prisons is assigned to

6 a public agency other than the State educational agency

7 pursuant to section 612(a)(11)(C), the Secretary, in in8 stances where the Secretary finds that the failure to comply

9 substantially with the provisions of this part are related

10 to a failure by the public agency, shall take appropriate

11 corrective action to ensure compliance with this part, ex12 cept—

13 ‘‘(1) any reduction or withholding of payments

14 to the State is proportionate to the total funds allotted

15 under section 611 to the State as the number of eligi16 ble children with disabilities in adult prisons under

17 the supervision of the other public agency is propor18 tionate to the number of eligible individuals with dis19 abilities in the State under the supervision of the

20 State educational agency; and

21 ‘‘(2) any withholding of funds under paragraph

22 (1) shall be limited to the specific agency responsible

23 for the failure to comply with this part.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 617. ADMINISTRATION.

2 ‘‘(a) RESPONSIBILITIES OF SECRETARY.—In carrying

3 out this part, the Secretary shall—

4 ‘‘(1) cooperate with, and (directly or by grant or

5 contract) furnish technical assistance necessary to, the

6 State in matters relating to—

7 ‘‘(A) the education of children with disabil8 ities; and

9 ‘‘(B) carrying out this part; and

10 ‘‘(2) provide short-term training programs and

11 institutes.

12 ‘‘(b) RULES AND REGULATIONS.—In carrying out the

13 provisions of this part, the Secretary shall issue regulations

14 under this Act only to the extent that such regulations are

15 necessary to ensure that there is compliance with the spe16 cific requirements of this Act.

17 ‘‘(c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Secretary shall take ap18 propriate action, in accordance with the provisions of sec19 tion 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (20

20 U.S.C. 1232g), to assure the protection of the confidentiality

21 of any personally identifiable data, information, and

22 records collected or maintained by the Secretary and by

23 State and local educational agencies pursuant to the provi24 sions of this part.

25 ‘‘(d) PERSONNEL.—The Secretary is authorized to hire

26 qualified personnel necessary to carry out the Secretary’s
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1 duties under subsection (a) and under sections 618, 661 and

2 673 (or their predecessor authorities through October 1,

3 1997) without regard to the provisions of title 5, United

4 States Code, relating to appointments in the competitive

5 service and without regard to chapter 51 and subchapter

6 III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and

7 general schedule pay rates, except that no more than twenty

8 such personnel shall be employed at any time.

9 ‘‘SEC. 618. PROGRAM INFORMATION.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Each State that receives assist11 ance under this part, and the Secretary of the Interior, shall

12 provide data each year to the Secretary—

13 ‘‘(1)(A) on—

14 ‘‘(i) the number of children with disabil15 ities, by race, ethnicity, and disability category,

16 who are receiving a free appropriate public edu17 cation;

18 ‘‘(ii) the number of children with disabil19 ities, by race and ethnicity, who are receiving

20 early intervention services;

21 ‘‘(iii) the number of children with disabil22 ities, by race, ethnicity, and disability category,

23 who are participating in regular education;

24 ‘‘(iv) the number of children with disabil25 ities, by race, ethnicity, and disability category,
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1 who are in separate classes, separate schools or

2 facilities, or public or private residential facili3 ties;

4 ‘‘(v) the number of children with disabil5 ities, by race, ethnicity, and disability category,

6 who, for each year of age from age 14 to 21,

7 stopped receiving special education and related

8 services because of program completion or other

9 reasons and the reasons why those children

10 stopped receiving special education and related

11 services;

12 ‘‘(vi) the number of children with disabil13 ities, by race and ethnicity, who, from birth

14 through age two, stopped receiving early inter15 vention services because of program completion

16 or for other reasons; and

17 ‘‘(vii)(I) the number of children with dis18 abilities, by race, ethnicity, and disability cat19 egory, who under subparagraphs (A)(ii) and (B)

20 of section 615(k)(1), are removed to an interim

21 alternative educational setting;

22 ‘‘(II) the acts or items precipitating those

23 removals; and
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1 ‘‘(III) the number of children with disabil2 ities who are subject to long-term suspensions or

3 expulsions; and

4 ‘‘(B) on the number of infants and toddlers, by

5 race and ethnicity, who are at risk of having substan6 tial developmental delays (as described in section

7 632), and who are receiving early intervention serv8 ices under part C; and

9 ‘‘(2) on any other information that may be re10 quired by the Secretary.

11 ‘‘(b) SAMPLING.—The Secretary may permit States

12 and the Secretary of the Interior to obtain the data de13 scribed in subsection (a) through sampling.

14 ‘‘(c) DISPROPORTIONALITY.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State that receives as16 sistance under this part, and the Secretary of the In17 terior, shall provide for the collection and examina18 tion 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, PRAC4 TICES, AND PROCEDURES.—In the case of a deter5 mination of significant disproportionality with re6 spect to the identification of children as children with

7 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 Inte10 rior, as the case may be, shall provide for the review

11 and, if appropriate, revision of the policies, proce12 dures, 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 grants

18 under this section to assist States to provide special edu19 cation and related services, in accordance with this part—

20 ‘‘(1) to children with disabilities aged 3 to 5, in21 clusive; and

22 ‘‘(2) at the State’s discretion, to 2-year-old chil23 dren with disabilities who will turn 3 during the

24 school year.
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1 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A State shall be eligible for a grant

2 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

7 through 5, residing in the State.

8 ‘‘(c) ALLOCATIONS TO STATES.—

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

10 studies and evaluations under section 674(e), the Sec11 retary shall allocate the remaining amount among the

12 States in accordance with paragraph (2) or (3), as

13 the case may be.

14 ‘‘(2) INCREASE IN FUNDS.—If the amount avail15 able for allocations to States under paragraph (1) is

16 equal to or greater than the amount allocated to the

17 States under this section for the preceding fiscal year,

18 those allocations shall be calculated as follows:

19 ‘‘(A)(i) Except as provided in subparagraph

20 (B), the Secretary shall—

21 ‘‘(I) allocate to each State the amount

22 it received for fiscal year 1997;

23 ‘‘(II) allocate 85 percent of any re24 maining funds to States on the basis of
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1 their relative populations of children aged 3

2 through 5; and

3 ‘‘(III) allocate 15 percent of those re4 maining funds to States on the basis of

5 their relative populations of all children

6 aged 3 through 5 who are living in poverty.

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

8 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall use the

9 most recent population data, including data on

10 children living in poverty, that are available and

11 satisfactory to the Secretary.

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

13 allocations under this paragraph shall be subject

14 to the following:

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

16 than its allocation for the preceding fiscal

17 year.

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

19 than the greatest of—

20 ‘‘(I) the sum of—

21 ‘‘(aa) the amount it received

22 for fiscal year 1997; and

23 ‘‘(bb) one third of one percent

24 of the amount by which the

25 amount appropriated under sub-
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1 section (j) exceeds the amount ap2 propriated under this section for

3 fiscal year 1997;

4 ‘‘(II) the sum of—

5 ‘‘(aa) the amount it received

6 for the preceding fiscal year; and

7 ‘‘(bb) that amount multiplied

8 by the percentage by which the in9 crease in the funds appropriated

10 from the preceding fiscal year ex11 ceeds 1.5 percent; or

12 ‘‘(III) the sum of—

13 ‘‘(aa) the amount it received

14 for the preceding fiscal year; and

15 ‘‘(bb) that amount multiplied

16 by 90 percent of the percentage

17 increase in the amount appro18 priated from the preceding fiscal

19 year.

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

21 State’s allocation under this paragraph

22 shall exceed the sum of—

23 ‘‘(I) the amount it received for the

24 preceding fiscal year; and
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1 ‘‘(II) that amount multiplied by

2 the sum of 1.5 percent and the percent3 age increase in the amount appro4 priated.

5 ‘‘(C) If the amount available for allocations

6 under this paragraph is insufficient to pay those

7 allocations in full, those allocations shall be rat8 ably reduced, subject to subparagraph (B)(i).

9 ‘‘(3) DECREASE IN FUNDS.—If the amount

10 available for allocations to States under paragraph

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

12 under this section for the preceding fiscal year, those

13 allocations shall be calculated as follows:

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

15 is greater than the amount allocated to the

16 States for fiscal year 1997, each State shall be

17 allocated the sum of—

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

19 year 1997; and

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

21 relation to any remaining funds as the in22 crease the State received for the preceding

23 fiscal year over fiscal year 1997 bears to the

24 total of all such increases for all States.
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1 ‘‘(B) If the amount available for allocations

2 is equal to or less than the amount allocated to

3 the States for fiscal year 1997, each State shall

4 be allocated the amount it received for that year,

5 ratably reduced, if necessary.

6 ‘‘(4) OUTLYING AREAS.—The Secretary shall in7 crease the fiscal year 1998 allotment of each outlying

8 area under section 611 by at least the amount that

9 that area received under this section for fiscal year

10 1997.

11 ‘‘(d) RESERVATION FOR STATE ACTIVITIES.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State may retain not

13 more than the amount described in paragraph (2) for

14 administration and other State-level activities in ac15 cordance with subsections (e) and (f).

16 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT DESCRIBED.—For each fiscal year,

17 the Secretary shall determine and report to the State

18 educational agency an amount that is 25 percent of

19 the amount the State received under this section for

20 fiscal year 1997, cumulatively adjusted by the Sec21 retary for each succeeding fiscal year by the lesser

22 of—

23 ‘‘(A) the percentage increase, if any, from

24 the preceding fiscal year in the State’s allocation

25 under this section; or
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1 ‘‘(B) the percentage increase, if any, from

2 the preceding fiscal year in the Consumer Price

3 Index For All Urban Consumers published by the

4 Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Department of

5 Labor.

6 ‘‘(e) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of admin8 istering this section (including the coordination of ac9 tivities under this part with, and providing technical

10 assistance to, other programs that provide services to

11 children with disabilities) a State may use not more

12 than 20 percent of the maximum amount it may re13 tain under subsection (d) for any fiscal year.

14 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION OF PART C.—Funds de15 scribed in paragraph (1) may also be used for the ad16 ministration of part C of this Act, if the State edu17 cational agency is the lead agency for the State under

18 that part.

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

20 shall use any funds it retains under subsection (d) and does

21 not use for administration under subsection (e)—

22 ‘‘(1) for support services (including establishing

23 and implementing the mediation process required by

24 section 615(e)), which may benefit children with dis25 abilities younger than 3 or older than 5 as long as
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1 those services also benefit children with disabilities

2 aged 3 through 5;

3 ‘‘(2) for direct services for children eligible for

4 services under this section;

5 ‘‘(3) to develop a State improvement plan under

6 subpart 1 of part D;

7 ‘‘(4) for activities at the State and local levels to

8 meet the performance goals established by the State

9 under section 612(a)(16) and to support implementa10 tion of the State improvement plan under subpart 1

11 of part D if the State receives funds under that sub12 part; or

13 ‘‘(5) to supplement other funds used to develop

14 and implement a Statewide coordinated services sys15 tem designed to improve results for children and fam16 ilies, including children with disabilities and their

17 families, but not to exceed one percent of the amount

18 received by the State under this section for a fiscal

19 year.

20 ‘‘(g) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN21 CIES.—

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

23 receives a grant under this section for any fiscal year

24 shall distribute any of the grant funds that it does not

25 reserve under subsection (d) to local educational agen-
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1 cies in the State that have established their eligibility

2 under section 613, as follows:

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

4 first award each agency described in paragraph

5 (1) the amount that agency would have received

6 under this section for fiscal year 1997 if the

7 State had distributed 75 percent of its grant for

8 that year under section 619(c)(3), as then in ef9 fect.

10 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION OF REMAINING FUNDS.—

11 After making allocations under subparagraph

12 (A), the State shall—

13 ‘‘(i) allocate 85 percent of any remain14 ing funds to those agencies on the basis of

15 the relative numbers of children enrolled in

16 public and private elementary and second17 ary schools within the agency’s jurisdiction;

18 and

19 ‘‘(ii) allocate 15 percent of those re20 maining funds to those agencies in accord21 ance with their relative numbers of children

22 living in poverty, as determined by the

23 State educational agency.

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

25 educational agency determines that a local edu-
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1 cational agency is adequately providing a free

2 appropriate public education to all children with

3 disabilities aged three through five residing in

4 the area served by that agency with State and

5 local funds, the State educational agency may

6 reallocate any portion of the funds under this

7 section that are not needed by that local agency

8 to provide a free appropriate public education to

9 other local educational agencies in the State that

10 are not adequately providing special education

11 and related services to all children with disabil12 ities aged three through five residing in the areas

13 they serve.

14 ‘‘(h) PART C INAPPLICABLE.—Part C of this Act does

15 not apply to any child with a disability receiving a free

16 appropriate public education, in accordance with this part,

17 with funds received under this section.

18 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION.—For the purpose of this section, the

19 term ‘State’ means each of the 50 States, the District of

20 Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

21 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the

22 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized

23 to be appropriated to the Secretary $500,000,000 for fiscal

24 year 1998 and such sums as may be necessary for each sub25 sequent fiscal year.
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1 ‘‘PART C—INFANTS AND TODDLERS WITH

2 DISABILITIES

3 ‘‘SEC. 631. FINDINGS AND POLICY.

4 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that there is an

5 urgent and substantial need—

6 ‘‘(1) to enhance the development of infants and

7 toddlers with disabilities and to minimize their po8 tential for developmental delay;

9 ‘‘(2) to reduce the educational costs to our soci10 ety, including our Nation’s schools, by minimizing

11 the need for special education and related services

12 after infants and toddlers with disabilities reach

13 school age;

14 ‘‘(3) to minimize the likelihood of institutional15 ization of individuals with disabilities and maximize

16 the potential for their independently living in society;

17 ‘‘(4) to enhance the capacity of families to meet

18 the special needs of their infants and toddlers with

19 disabilities; and

20 ‘‘(5) to enhance the capacity of State and local

21 agencies and service providers to identify, evaluate,

22 and meet the needs of historically underrepresented

23 populations, particularly minority, low-income,

24 inner-city, and rural populations.

25 ‘‘(b) POLICY.—It is therefore the policy of the United

26 States to provide financial assistance to States—
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1 ‘‘(1) to develop and implement a statewide, com2 prehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, inter3 agency system that provides early intervention serv4 ices for infants and toddlers with disabilities and

5 their families;

6 ‘‘(2) to facilitate the coordination of payment for

7 early intervention services from Federal, State, local,

8 and private sources (including public and private in9 surance coverage);

10 ‘‘(3) to enhance their capacity to provide quality

11 early intervention services and expand and improve

12 existing early intervention services being provided to

13 infants and toddlers with disabilities and their fami14 lies; and

15 ‘‘(4) to encourage States to expand opportunities

16 for children under 3 years of age who would be at risk

17 of having substantial developmental delay if they did

18 not receive early intervention services.

19 ‘‘SEC. 632. DEFINITIONS.

20 ‘‘As used in this part:

21 ‘‘(1) AT-RISK INFANT OR TODDLER.—The term

22 ‘at-risk infant or toddler’ means an individual under

23 3 years of age who would be at risk of experiencing

24 a substantial developmental delay if early interven25 tion services were not provided to the individual.
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1 ‘‘(2) COUNCIL.—The term ‘council’ means a

2 State interagency coordinating council established

3 under section 641.

4 ‘‘(3) DEVELOPMENTAL DELAY.—The term ‘devel5 opmental delay’, when used with respect to an indi6 vidual residing in a State, has the meaning given

7 such term by the State under section 635(a)(1).

8 ‘‘(4) EARLY INTERVENTION SERVICES.—The term

9 ‘early intervention services’ means developmental

10 services that—

11 ‘‘(A) are provided under public supervision;

12 ‘‘(B) are provided at no cost except where

13 Federal or State law provides for a system of

14 payments by families, including a schedule of

15 sliding fees;

16 ‘‘(C) are designed to meet the developmental

17 needs of an infant or toddler with a disability

18 in any one or more of the following areas—

19 ‘‘(i) physical development;

20 ‘‘(ii) cognitive development;

21 ‘‘(iii) communication development;

22 ‘‘(iv) social or emotional development;

23 or

24 ‘‘(v) adaptive development;
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1 ‘‘(D) meet the standards of the State in

2 which they are provided, including the require3 ments of this part;

4 ‘‘(E) include—

5 ‘‘(i) family training, counseling, and

6 home visits;

7 ‘‘(ii) special instruction;

8 ‘‘(iii) speech-language pathology and

9 audiology services;

10 ‘‘(iv) occupational therapy;

11 ‘‘(v) physical therapy;

12 ‘‘(vi) psychological services;

13 ‘‘(vii) service coordination services;

14 ‘‘(viii) medical services only for diag15 nostic or evaluation purposes;

16 ‘‘(ix) early identification, screening,

17 and assessment services;

18 ‘‘(x) health services necessary to enable

19 the infant or toddler to benefit from the

20 other early intervention services;

21 ‘‘(xi) social work services;

22 ‘‘(xii) vision services;

23 ‘‘(xiii) assistive technology devices and

24 assistive technology services; and
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1 ‘‘(xiv) transportation and related costs

2 that are necessary to enable an infant or

3 toddler and the infant’s or toddler’s family

4 to receive another service described in this

5 paragraph;

6 ‘‘(F) are provided by qualified personnel,

7 including—

8 ‘‘(i) special educators;

9 ‘‘(ii) speech-language pathologists and

10 audiologists;

11 ‘‘(iii) occupational therapists;

12 ‘‘(iv) physical therapists;

13 ‘‘(v) psychologists;

14 ‘‘(vi) social workers;

15 ‘‘(vii) nurses;

16 ‘‘(viii) nutritionists;

17 ‘‘(ix) family therapists;

18 ‘‘(x) orientation and mobility special19 ists; and

20 ‘‘(xi) pediatricians and other physi21 cians;

22 ‘‘(G) to the maximum extent appropriate,

23 are provided in natural environments, including

24 the home, and community settings in which chil25 dren without disabilities participate; and
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1 ‘‘(H) are provided in conformity with an

2 individualized family service plan adopted in

3 accordance with section 636.

4 ‘‘(5) INFANT OR TODDLER WITH A DISABILITY.—

5 The term ‘infant or toddler with a disability’—

6 ‘‘(A) means an individual under 3 years of

7 age who needs early intervention services because

8 the individual—

9 ‘‘(i) is experiencing developmental

10 delays, as measured by appropriate diag11 nostic instruments and procedures in one or

12 more of the areas of cognitive development,

13 physical development, communication devel14 opment, social or emotional development,

15 and adaptive development; or

16 ‘‘(ii) has a diagnosed physical or men17 tal condition which has a high probability

18 of resulting in developmental delay; and

19 ‘‘(B) may also include, at a State’s discre20 tion, at-risk infants and toddlers.

21 ‘‘SEC. 633. GENERAL AUTHORITY.

22 ‘‘The Secretary shall, in accordance with this part,

23 make grants to States (from their allocations under section

24 643) to assist each State to maintain and implement a

25 statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary,
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1 interagency system to provide early intervention services for

2 infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families.

3 ‘‘SEC. 634. ELIGIBILITY.

4 ‘‘In order to be eligible for a grant under section 633,

5 a State shall demonstrate to the Secretary that the State—

6 ‘‘(1) has adopted a policy that appropriate early

7 intervention services are available to all infants and

8 toddlers with disabilities in the State and their fami9 lies, including Indian infants and toddlers with dis10 abilities and their families residing on a reservation

11 geographically located in the State; and

12 ‘‘(2) has in effect a statewide system that meets

13 the requirements of section 635.

14 ‘‘SEC. 635. REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEWIDE SYSTEM.

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A statewide system described in

16 section 633 shall include, at a minimum, the following com17 ponents:

18 ‘‘(1) A definition of the term ‘developmental

19 delay’ that will be used by the State in carrying out

20 programs under this part.

21 ‘‘(2) A State policy that is in effect and that en22 sures that appropriate early intervention services are

23 available to all infants and toddlers with disabilities

24 and their families, including Indian infants and tod-
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1 dlers and their families residing on a reservation geo2 graphically located in the State.

3 ‘‘(3) A timely, comprehensive, multidisciplinary

4 evaluation of the functioning of each infant or toddler

5 with a disability in the State, and a family-directed

6 identification of the needs of each family of such an

7 infant or toddler, to appropriately assist in the devel8 opment of the infant or toddler.

9 ‘‘(4) For each infant or toddler with a disability

10 in the State, an individualized family service plan in

11 accordance with section 636, including service coordi12 nation services in accordance with such service plan.

13 ‘‘(5) A comprehensive child find system, consist14 ent with part B, including a system for making refer15 rals to service providers that includes timelines and

16 provides for participation by primary referral

17 sources.

18 ‘‘(6) A public awareness program focusing on

19 early identification of infants and toddlers with dis20 abilities, including the preparation and dissemina21 tion by the lead agency designated or established

22 under paragraph (10) to all primary referral sources,

23 especially hospitals and physicians, of information

24 for parents on the availability of early intervention

25 services, and procedures for determining the extent to
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1 which such sources disseminate such information to

2 parents of infants and toddlers.

3 ‘‘(7) A central directory which includes informa4 tion on early intervention services, resources, and ex5 perts available in the State and research and dem6 onstration projects being conducted in the State.

7 ‘‘(8) A comprehensive system of personnel devel8 opment, including the training of paraprofessionals

9 and the training of primary referral sources respect10 ing the basic components of early intervention serv11 ices available in the State, that is consistent with the

12 comprehensive system of personnel development de13 scribed in section 612(a)(14) and may include—

14 ‘‘(A) implementing innovative strategies

15 and activities for the recruitment and retention

16 of early education service providers;

17 ‘‘(B) promoting the preparation of early

18 intervention providers who are fully and appro19 priately qualified to provide early intervention

20 services under this part;

21 ‘‘(C) training personnel to work in rural

22 and inner-city areas; and

23 ‘‘(D) training personnel to coordinate tran24 sition services for infants and toddlers served

25 under this part from an early intervention pro-
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1 gram under this part to preschool or other ap2 propriate services.

3 ‘‘(9) Subject to subsection (b), policies and proce4 dures relating to the establishment and maintenance

5 of standards to ensure that personnel necessary to

6 carry out this part are appropriately and adequately

7 prepared and trained, including—

8 ‘‘(A) the establishment and maintenance of

9 standards which are consistent with any State10 approved or recognized certification, licensing,

11 registration, or other comparable requirements

12 which apply to the area in which such personnel

13 are providing early intervention services; and

14 ‘‘(B) to the extent such standards are not

15 based on the highest requirements in the State

16 applicable to a specific profession or discipline,

17 the steps the State is taking to require the re18 training or hiring of personnel that meet appro19 priate professional requirements in the State;

20 except that nothing in this part, including this para21 graph, prohibits the use of paraprofessionals and as22 sistants who are appropriately trained and super23 vised, in accordance with State law, regulations, or

24 written policy, to assist in the provision of early
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1 intervention services to infants and toddlers with dis2 abilities under this part.

3 ‘‘(10) A single line of responsibility in a lead

4 agency designated or established by the Governor for

5 carrying out—

6 ‘‘(A) the general administration and super7 vision of programs and activities receiving as8 sistance under section 633, and the monitoring

9 of programs and activities used by the State to

10 carry out this part, whether or not such pro11 grams or activities are receiving assistance made

12 available under section 633, to ensure that the

13 State complies with this part;

14 ‘‘(B) the identification and coordination of

15 all available resources within the State from

16 Federal, State, local, and private sources;

17 ‘‘(C) the assignment of financial respon18 sibility in accordance with section 637(a)(2) to

19 the appropriate agencies;

20 ‘‘(D) the development of procedures to en21 sure that services are provided to infants and

22 toddlers and their families under this part in a

23 timely manner pending the resolution of any

24 disputes among public agencies or service pro25 viders;
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1 ‘‘(E) the resolution of intra- and inter2 agency disputes; and

3 ‘‘(F) the entry into formal interagency

4 agreements that define the financial responsibil5 ity of each agency for paying for early interven6 tion services (consistent with State law) and pro7 cedures for resolving disputes and that include

8 all additional components necessary to ensure

9 meaningful cooperation and coordination.

10 ‘‘(11) A policy pertaining to the contracting or

11 making of other arrangements with service providers

12 to provide early intervention services in the State,

13 consistent with the provisions of this part, including

14 the contents of the application used and the condi15 tions of the contract or other arrangements.

16 ‘‘(12) A procedure for securing timely reimburse17 ments of funds used under this part in accordance

18 with section 640(a).

19 ‘‘(13) Procedural safeguards with respect to pro20 grams under this part, as required by section 639.

21 ‘‘(14) A system for compiling data requested by

22 the Secretary under section 618 that relates to this

23 part.

24 ‘‘(15) A State interagency coordinating council

25 that meets the requirements of section 641.
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1 ‘‘(16) Policies and procedures to ensure that,

2 consistent with section 636(d)(5)—

3 ‘‘(A) to the maximum extent appropriate,

4 early intervention services are provided in natu5 ral environments; and

6 ‘‘(B) the provision of early intervention

7 services for any infant or toddler occurs in a set8 ting other than a natural environment only

9 when early intervention cannot be achieved satis10 factorily for the infant or toddler in a natural

11 environment.

12 ‘‘(b) POLICY.—In implementing subsection (a)(9), a

13 State may adopt a policy that includes making ongoing

14 good-faith efforts to recruit and hire appropriately and ade15 quately trained personnel to provide early intervention

16 services to infants and toddlers with disabilities, including,

17 in a geographic area of the State where there is a shortage

18 of such personnel, the most qualified individuals available

19 who are making satisfactory progress toward completing

20 applicable course work necessary to meet the standards de21 scribed in subsection (a)(9) within 3 years.

22 ‘‘SEC. 636. INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLAN.

23 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENT AND PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.—A

24 statewide system described in section 633 shall provide, at
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1 a minimum, for each infant or toddler with a disability,

2 and the infant’s or toddler’s family, to receive—

3 ‘‘(1) a multidisciplinary assessment of the

4 unique strengths and needs of the infant or toddler

5 and the identification of services appropriate to meet

6 such needs;

7 ‘‘(2) a family-directed assessment of the re8 sources, priorities, and concerns of the family and the

9 identification of the supports and services necessary

10 to enhance the family’s capacity to meet the devel11 opmental needs of the infant or toddler; and

12 ‘‘(3) a written individualized family service plan

13 developed by a multidisciplinary team, including the

14 parents, as required by subsection (e).

15 ‘‘(b) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The individualized family

16 service plan shall be evaluated once a year and the family

17 shall be provided a review of the plan at 6-month intervals

18 (or more often where appropriate based on infant or toddler

19 and family needs).

20 ‘‘(c) PROMPTNESS AFTER ASSESSMENT.—The individ21 ualized family service plan shall be developed within a rea22 sonable time after the assessment required by subsection

23 (a)(1) is completed. With the parents’ consent, early inter24 vention services may commence prior to the completion of

25 the assessment.
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1 ‘‘(d) CONTENT OF PLAN.—-The individualized family

2 service plan shall be in writing and contain—

3 ‘‘(1) a statement of the infant’s or toddler’s

4 present levels of physical development, cognitive devel5 opment, communication development, social or emo6 tional development, and adaptive development, based

7 on objective criteria;

8 ‘‘(2) a statement of the family’s resources, prior9 ities, and concerns relating to enhancing the develop10 ment of the family’s infant or toddler with a disabil11 ity;

12 ‘‘(3) a statement of the major outcomes expected

13 to be achieved for the infant or toddler and the fam14 ily, and the criteria, procedures, and timelines used

15 to determine the degree to which progress toward

16 achieving the outcomes is being made and whether

17 modifications or revisions of the outcomes or services

18 are necessary;

19 ‘‘(4) a statement of specific early intervention

20 services necessary to meet the unique needs of the in21 fant or toddler and the family, including the fre22 quency, intensity, and method of delivering services;

23 ‘‘(5) a statement of the natural environments in

24 which early intervention services shall appropriately

25 be provided, including a justification of the extent, if
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1 any, to which the services will not be provided in a

2 natural environment;

3 ‘‘(6) the projected dates for initiation of services

4 and the anticipated duration of the services;

5 ‘‘(7) the identification of the service coordinator

6 from the profession most immediately relevant to the

7 infant’s or toddler’s or family’s needs (or who is oth8 erwise qualified to carry out all applicable respon9 sibilities under this part) who will be responsible for

10 the implementation of the plan and coordination with

11 other agencies and persons; and

12 ‘‘(8) the steps to be taken to support the transi13 tion of the toddler with a disability to preschool or

14 other appropriate services.

15 ‘‘(e) PARENTAL CONSENT.—-The contents of the indi16 vidualized family service plan shall be fully explained to

17 the parents and informed written consent from the parents

18 shall be obtained prior to the provision of early intervention

19 services described in such plan. If the parents do not pro20 vide consent with respect to a particular early intervention

21 service, then the early intervention services to which consent

22 is obtained shall be provided.

23 ‘‘SEC. 637. STATE APPLICATION AND ASSURANCES.

24 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION.—A State desiring to receive a

25 grant under section 633 shall submit an application to the
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1 Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary

2 may reasonably require. The application shall contain—

3 ‘‘(1) a designation of the lead agency in the

4 State that will be responsible for the administration

5 of funds provided under section 633;

6 ‘‘(2) a designation of an individual or entity re7 sponsible for assigning financial responsibility among

8 appropriate agencies;

9 ‘‘(3) information demonstrating eligibility of the

10 State under section 634, including—

11 ‘‘(A) information demonstrating to the Sec12 retary’s satisfaction that the State has in effect

13 the statewide system required by section 633;

14 and

15 ‘‘(B) a description of services to be provided

16 to infants and toddlers with disabilities and

17 their families through the system;

18 ‘‘(4) if the State provides services to at-risk in19 fants and toddlers through the system, a description

20 of such services;

21 ‘‘(5) a description of the uses for which funds

22 will be expended in accordance with this part;

23 ‘‘(6) a description of the procedure used to en24 sure that resources are made available under this part

25 for all geographic areas within the State;
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1 ‘‘(7) a description of State policies and proce2 dures that ensure that, prior to the adoption by the

3 State of any other policy or procedure necessary to

4 meet the requirements of this part, there are public

5 hearings, adequate notice of the hearings, and an op6 portunity for comment available to the general public,

7 including individuals with disabilities and parents of

8 infants and toddlers with disabilities;

9 ‘‘(8) a description of the policies and procedures

10 to be used—

11 ‘‘(A) to ensure a smooth transition for tod12 dlers receiving early intervention services under

13 this part to preschool or other appropriate serv14 ices, including a description of how—

15 ‘‘(i) the families of such toddlers will

16 be included in the transition plans required

17 by subparagraph (C); and

18 ‘‘(ii) the lead agency designated or es19 tablished under section 636(a)(10) will—

20 ‘‘(I) notify the local educational

21 agency for the area in which such a

22 child resides that the child will shortly

23 reach the age of eligibility for preschool

24 services under part B, as determined

25 in accordance with State law;
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1 ‘‘(II) in the case of a child who

2 may be eligible for such preschool serv3 ices, with the approval of the family of

4 the child, convene a conference among

5 the lead agency, the family, and the

6 local educational agency at least 90

7 days (and at the discretion of all such

8 parties, up to 6 months) before the

9 child is eligible for the preschool serv10 ices, to discuss any such services that

11 the child may receive; and

12 ‘‘(III) in the case of a child who

13 may not be eligible for such preschool

14 services, with the approval of the fam15 ily, make reasonable efforts to convene

16 a conference among the lead agency,

17 the family, and providers of other ap18 propriate services for children who are

19 not eligible for preschool services under

20 part B, to discuss the appropriate serv21 ices that the child may receive;

22 ‘‘(B) to review the child’s program options

23 for the period from the child’s third birthday

24 through the remainder of the school year; and

25 ‘‘(C) to establish a transition plan; and
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1 ‘‘(9) such other information and assurances as

2 the Secretary may reasonably require.

3 ‘‘(b) ASSURANCES.—The application described in sub4 section (a)—

5 ‘‘(1) shall provide satisfactory assurance that

6 Federal funds made available under section 643 to the

7 State will be expended in accordance with this part;

8 ‘‘(2) shall contain an assurance that the State

9 will comply with the requirements of section 640;

10 ‘‘(3) shall provide satisfactory assurance that the

11 control of funds provided under section 643, and title

12 to property derived from those funds, will be in a

13 public agency for the uses and purposes provided in

14 this part and that a public agency will administer

15 such funds and property;

16 ‘‘(4) shall provide for—

17 ‘‘(A) making such reports in such form and

18 containing such information as the Secretary

19 may require to carry out the Secretary’s func20 tions under this part; and

21 ‘‘(B) keeping such records and affording

22 such access to them as the Secretary may find

23 necessary to ensure the correctness and verifica24 tion of those reports and proper disbursement of

25 Federal funds under this part;
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1 ‘‘(5) provide satisfactory assurance that Federal

2 funds made available under section 643 to the

3 State—

4 ‘‘(A) will not be commingled with State

5 funds; and

6 ‘‘(B) will be used so as to supplement the

7 level of State and local funds expended for in8 fants and toddlers with disabilities and their

9 families and in no case to supplant those State

10 and local funds;

11 ‘‘(6) shall provide satisfactory assurance that

12 such fiscal control and fund accounting procedures

13 will be adopted as may be necessary to ensure proper

14 disbursement of, and accounting for, Federal funds

15 paid under section 643 to the State;

16 ‘‘(7) shall provide satisfactory assurance that

17 policies and procedures have been adopted to ensure

18 meaningful involvement of underserved groups, in19 cluding minority, low-income, and rural families, in

20 the planning and implementation of all the require21 ments of this part; and

22 ‘‘(8) shall contain such other information and

23 assurances as the Secretary may reasonably require

24 by regulation.
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1 ‘‘(c) STANDARD FOR DISAPPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—

2 The Secretary may not disapprove such an application un3 less the Secretary determines, after notice and opportunity

4 for a hearing, that the application fails to comply with the

5 requirements of this section.

6 ‘‘(d) SUBSEQUENT STATE APPLICATION.—If a State

7 has on file with the Secretary a policy, procedure, or assur8 ance that demonstrates that the State meets a requirement

9 of this section, including any policy or procedure filed

10 under part H (as in effect before July 1, 1998), the Sec11 retary shall consider the State to have met the requirement

12 for purposes of receiving a grant under this part.

13 ‘‘(e) MODIFICATION OF APPLICATION.—An application

14 submitted by a State in accordance with this section shall

15 remain in effect until the State submits to the Secretary

16 such modifications as the State determines necessary. This

17 section shall apply to a modification of an application to

18 the same extent and in the same manner as this section

19 applies to the original application.

20 ‘‘(f) MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY THE SEC21 RETARY.—The Secretary may require a State to modify its

22 application under this section, but only to the extent nec23 essary to ensure the State’s compliance with this part, if—

24 ‘‘(1) an amendment is made to this Act, or a

25 Federal regulation issued under this Act;
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1 ‘‘(2) a new interpretation of this Act is made by

2 a Federal court or the State’s highest court; or

3 ‘‘(3) an official finding of noncompliance with

4 Federal law or regulations is made with respect to the

5 State.

6 ‘‘SEC. 638. USES OF FUNDS.

7 ‘‘In addition to using funds provided under section

8 633 to maintain and implement the statewide system re9 quired by such section, a State may use such funds—

10 ‘‘(1) for direct early intervention services for in11 fants and toddlers with disabilities, and their fami12 lies, under this part that are not otherwise funded

13 through other public or private sources;

14 ‘‘(2) to expand and improve on services for in15 fants and toddlers and their families under this part

16 that are otherwise available;

17 ‘‘(3) to provide a free appropriate public edu18 cation, in accordance with part B, to children with

19 disabilities from their third birthday to the beginning

20 of the following school year; and

21 ‘‘(4) in any State that does not provide services

22 for at-risk infants and toddlers under section

23 637(a)(4), to strengthen the statewide system by initi24 ating, expanding, or improving collaborative efforts

25 related to at-risk infants and toddlers, including es-
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1 tablishing linkages with appropriate public or private

2 community-based organizations, services, and person3 nel for the purposes of—

4 ‘‘(A) identifying and evaluating at-risk in5 fants and toddlers;

6 ‘‘(B) making referrals of the infants and

7 toddlers identified and evaluated under subpara8 graph (A); and

9 ‘‘(C) conducting periodic follow-up on each

10 such referral to determine if the status of the in11 fant or toddler involved has changed with respect

12 to the eligibility of the infant or toddler for serv13 ices under this part.

14 ‘‘SEC. 639. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS.

15 ‘‘(a) MINIMUM PROCEDURES.—-The procedural safe16 guards required to be included in a statewide system under

17 section 635(a)(13) shall provide, at a minimum, the follow18 ing:

19 ‘‘(1) The timely administrative resolution of

20 complaints by parents. Any party aggrieved by the

21 findings and decision regarding an administrative

22 complaint shall have the right to bring a civil action

23 with respect to the complaint in any State court of

24 competent jurisdiction or in a district court of the

25 United States without regard to the amount in con-
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1 troversy. In any action brought under this paragraph,

2 the court shall receive the records of the administra3 tive proceedings, shall hear additional evidence at the

4 request of a party, and, basing its decision on the

5 preponderance of the evidence, shall grant such relief

6 as the court determines is appropriate.

7 ‘‘(2) The right to confidentiality of personally

8 identifiable information, including the right of par9 ents to written notice of and written consent to the

10 exchange of such information among agencies consist11 ent with Federal and State law.

12 ‘‘(3) The right of the parents to determine wheth13 er they, their infant or toddler, or other family mem14 bers will accept or decline any early intervention

15 service under this part in accordance with State law

16 without jeopardizing other early intervention services

17 under this part.

18 ‘‘(4) The opportunity for parents to examine

19 records relating to assessment, screening, eligibility

20 determinations, and the development and implemen21 tation of the individualized family service plan.

22 ‘‘(5) Procedures to protect the rights of the infant

23 or toddler whenever the parents of the child are not

24 known or cannot be found or the child is a ward of

25 the State, including the assignment of an individual
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1 (who shall not be an employee of the State lead agen2 cy, or other State agency, and who shall not be any

3 person, or any employee of a person, providing early

4 intervention services to the infant or toddler or any

5 family member of the infant or toddler) to act as a

6 surrogate for the parents.

7 ‘‘(6) Written prior notice to the parents of the

8 infant or toddler with a disability whenever the State

9 agency or service provider proposes to initiate or

10 change or refuses to initiate or change the identifica11 tion, evaluation, or placement of the infant or toddler

12 with a disability, or the provision of appropriate

13 early intervention services to the infant or toddler.

14 ‘‘(7) Procedures designed to ensure that the no15 tice required by paragraph (6) fully informs the par16 ents, in the parents’ native language, unless it clearly

17 is not feasible to do so, of all procedures available

18 pursuant to this section.

19 ‘‘(8) The right of parents to use mediation in ac20 cordance with section 615(e), except that—

21 ‘‘(A) any reference in the section to a State

22 educational agency shall be considered to be a

23 reference to a State’s lead agency established or

24 designated under section 635(a)(10);
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1 ‘‘(B) any reference in the section to a local

2 educational agency shall be considered to be a

3 reference to a local service provider or the State’s

4 lead agency under this part, as the case may be;

5 and

6 ‘‘(C) any reference in the section to the pro7 vision of free appropriate public education to

8 children with disabilities shall be considered to

9 be a reference to the provision of appropriate

10 early intervention services to infants and tod11 dlers with disabilities.

12 ‘‘(b) SERVICES DURING PENDENCY OF PROCEED13 INGS.—During the pendency of any proceeding or action

14 involving a complaint by the parents of an infant or toddler

15 with a disability, unless the State agency and the parents

16 otherwise agree, the infant or toddler shall continue to re17 ceive the appropriate early intervention services currently

18 being provided or, if applying for initial services, shall re19 ceive the services not in dispute.

20 ‘‘SEC. 640. PAYOR OF LAST RESORT.

21 ‘‘(a) NONSUBSTITUTION.—Funds provided under sec22 tion 643 may not be used to satisfy a financial commitment

23 for services that would have been paid for from another pub24 lic or private source, including any medical program ad25 ministered by the Secretary of Defense, but for the enact-
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1 ment of this part, except that whenever considered necessary

2 to prevent a delay in the receipt of appropriate early inter3 vention services by an infant, toddler, or family in a timely

4 fashion, funds provided under section 643 may be used to

5 pay the provider of services pending reimbursement from

6 the agency that has ultimate responsibility for the payment.

7 ‘‘(b) REDUCTION OF OTHER BENEFITS—Nothing in

8 this part shall be construed to permit the State to reduce

9 medical or other assistance available or to alter eligibility

10 under title V of the Social Security Act (relating to mater11 nal and child health) or title XIX of the Social Security

12 Act (relating to medicaid for infants or toddlers with dis13 abilities) within the State.

14 ‘‘SEC. 641. STATE INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL.

15 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State that desires to re17 ceive financial assistance under this part shall estab18 lish a State interagency coordinating council.

19 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The council shall be ap20 pointed by the Governor. In making appointments to

21 the council, the Governor shall ensure that the mem22 bership of the council reasonably represents the popu23 lation of the State.

24 ‘‘(3) CHAIRPERSON.—The Governor shall des25 ignate a member of the council to serve as the chair-
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1 person of the council, or shall require the council to

2 so designate such a member. Any member of the coun3 cil who is a representative of the lead agency des4 ignated under section 635(a)(10) may not serve as the

5 chairperson of the council.

6 ‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The council shall be com8 posed as follows:

9 ‘‘(A) PARENTS.—At least 20 percent of the

10 members shall be parents of infants or toddlers

11 with disabilities or children with disabilities

12 aged 12 or younger, with knowledge of, or experi13 ence with, programs for infants and toddlers

14 with disabilities. At least one such member shall

15 be a parent of an infant or toddler with a dis16 ability or a child with a disability aged 6 or

17 younger.

18 ‘‘(B) SERVICE PROVIDERS.—At least 20

19 percent of the members shall be public or private

20 providers of early intervention services.

21 ‘‘(C) STATE LEGISLATURE.—At least one

22 member shall be from the State legislature.

23 ‘‘(D) PERSONNEL PREPARATION.—At least

24 one member shall be involved in personnel prepa25 ration.
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1 ‘‘(E) AGENCY FOR EARLY INTERVENTION

2 SERVICES.—At least one member shall be from

3 each of the State agencies involved in the provi4 sion of, or payment for, early intervention serv5 ices to infants and toddlers with disabilities and

6 their families and shall have sufficient authority

7 to engage in policy planning and implementa8 tion on behalf of such agencies.

9 ‘‘(F) AGENCY FOR PRESCHOOL SERVICES.—

10 At least one member shall be from the State edu11 cational agency responsible for preschool services

12 to children with disabilities and shall have suffi13 cient authority to engage in policy planning and

14 implementation on behalf of such agency.

15 ‘‘(G) AGENCY FOR HEALTH INSURANCE.—At

16 least one member shall be from the agency re17 sponsible for the State governance of health in18 surance.

19 ‘‘(H) HEAD START AGENCY.—A representa20 tive from a Head Start agency or program in

21 the State.

22 ‘‘(I) CHILD CARE AGENCY.—A representa23 tive from a State agency responsible for child

24 care.
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1 ‘‘(2) OTHER MEMBERS.—The council may in2 clude other members selected by the Governor, includ3 ing a representative from the Bureau of Indian Af4 fairs, or where there is no BIA-operated or BIA-fund5 ed school, from the Indian Health Service or the tribe

6 or tribal council.

7 ‘‘(c) MEETINGS.—The council shall meet at least quar8 terly and in such places as it deems necessary. The meetings

9 shall be publicly announced, and, to the extent appropriate,

10 open and accessible to the general public.

11 ‘‘(d) MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY.—Subject to the ap12 proval of the Governor, the council may prepare and ap13 prove a budget using funds under this part to conduct hear14 ings and forums, to reimburse members of the council for

15 reasonable and necessary expenses for attending council

16 meetings and performing council duties (including child

17 care for parent representatives), to pay compensation to a

18 member of the council if the member is not employed or

19 must forfeit wages from other employment when performing

20 official council business, to hire staff, and to obtain the serv21 ices of such professional, technical, and clerical personnel

22 as may be necessary to carry out its functions under this

23 part.

24 ‘‘(e) FUNCTIONS OF COUNCIL.—

25 ‘‘(1) DUTIES.—The council shall—
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1 ‘‘(A) advise and assist the lead agency des2 ignated or established under section 635(a)(10)

3 in the performance of the responsibilities set

4 forth in such section, particularly the identifica5 tion of the sources of fiscal and other support for

6 services for early intervention programs, assign7 ment of financial responsibility to the appro8 priate agency, and the promotion of the inter9 agency agreements;

10 ‘‘(B) advise and assist the lead agency in

11 the preparation of applications and amendments

12 thereto;

13 ‘‘(C) advise and assist the State educational

14 agency regarding the transition of toddlers with

15 disabilities to preschool and other appropriate

16 services; and

17 ‘‘(D) prepare and submit an annual report

18 to the Governor and to the Secretary on the sta19 tus of early intervention programs for infants

20 and toddlers with disabilities and their families

21 operated within the State.

22 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITY.—The council may

23 advise and assist the lead agency and the State edu24 cational agency regarding the provision of appro25 priate services for children from birth through age 5.
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1 The council may advise appropriate agencies in the

2 State with respect to the integration of services for in3 fants and toddlers with disabilities and at-risk in4 fants and toddlers and their families, regardless of

5 whether at-risk infants and toddlers are eligible for

6 early intervention services in the State.

7 ‘‘(f) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—No member of the coun8 cil shall cast a vote on any matter that would provide direct

9 financial benefit to that member or otherwise give the ap10 pearance of a conflict of interest under State law.

11 ‘‘SEC. 642. FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION.

12 ‘‘Sections 616, 617, and 618 shall, to the extent not

13 inconsistent with this part, apply to the program author14 ized by this part, except that—

15 ‘‘(1) any reference in such sections to a State

16 educational agency shall be considered to be a ref17 erence to a State’s lead agency established or des18 ignated under section 635(a)(10);

19 ‘‘(2) any reference in such sections to a local

20 educational agency, educational service agency, or a

21 State agency shall be considered to be a reference to

22 an early intervention service provider under this

23 part; and

24 ‘‘(3) any reference to the education of children

25 with disabilities or the education of all children with
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1 disabilities shall be considered to be a reference to the

2 provision of appropriate early intervention services to

3 infants and toddlers with disabilities.

4 ‘‘SEC. 643. ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.

5 ‘‘(a) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR OUTLYING

6 AREAS.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From the sums appropriated

8 to carry out this part for any fiscal year, the Sec9 retary may reserve up to one percent for payments to

10 Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the

11 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in

12 accordance with their respective needs.

13 ‘‘(2) CONSOLIDATION OF FUNDS.—The provisions

14 of Public Law 95–134, permitting the consolidation of

15 grants to the outlying areas, shall not apply to funds

16 those areas receive under this part.

17 ‘‘(b) PAYMENTS TO INDIANS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, subject

19 to this subsection, make payments to the Secretary of

20 the Interior to be distributed to tribes, tribal organi21 zations (as defined under section 4 of the Indian Self22 Determination and Education Assistance Act), or

23 consortia of the above entities for the coordination of

24 assistance in the provision of early intervention serv25 ices by the States to infants and toddlers with disabil-
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1 ities and their families on reservations served by ele2 mentary and secondary schools for Indian children

3 operated or funded by the Department of the Interior.

4 The amount of such payment for any fiscal year shall

5 be 1.25 percent of the aggregate of the amount avail6 able to all States under this part for such fiscal year.

7 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION.—For each fiscal year, the Sec8 retary of the Interior shall distribute the entire pay9 ment received under paragraph (1) by providing to

10 each tribe, tribal organization, or consortium an

11 amount based on the number of infants and toddlers

12 residing on the reservation, as determined annually,

13 divided by the total of such children served by all

14 tribes, tribal organizations, or consortia.

15 ‘‘(3) INFORMATION.—To receive a payment

16 under this paragraph, the tribe, tribal organization,

17 or consortium shall submit such information to the

18 Secretary of the Interior as is needed to determine the

19 amounts to be allocated under paragraph (2).

20 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds received by a

21 tribe, tribal organization, or consortium shall be used

22 to assist States in child-find, screening, and other

23 procedures for the early identification of Indian chil24 dren under 3 years of age and for parent training.

25 Such funds may also be used to provide early inter-
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1 vention services in accordance with this part. Such

2 activities may be carried out directly or through con3 tracts or cooperative agreements with the BIA, local

4 educational agencies, and other public or private non5 profit organizations. The tribe, tribal organization, or

6 consortium is encouraged to involve Indian parents

7 in the development and implementation of these ac8 tivities. The above entities shall, as appropriate, make

9 referrals to local, State, or Federal entities for the

10 provision of services or further diagnosis.

11 ‘‘(5) REPORTS.—To be eligible to receive a grant

12 under paragraph (2), a tribe, tribal organization, or

13 consortium shall make a biennial report to the Sec14 retary of the Interior of activities undertaken under

15 this subsection, including the number of contracts and

16 cooperative agreements entered into, the number of

17 children contacted and receiving services for each

18 year, and the estimated number of children needing

19 services during the 2 years following the year in

20 which the report is made. The Secretary of the Inte21 rior shall include a summary of this information on

22 a biennial basis to the Secretary of Education along

23 with such other information as required under section

24 611(i)(3)(E). The Secretary of Education may require
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1 any additional information from the Secretary of the

2 Interior.

3 ‘‘(6) PROHIBITED USES OF FUNDS.—None of the

4 funds under this subsection may be used by the Sec5 retary of the Interior for administrative purposes, in6 cluding child count, and the provision of technical as7 sistance.

8 ‘‘(c) STATE ALLOTMENTS.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graphs (2), (3), and (4), from the funds remaining for

11 each fiscal year after the reservation and payments

12 under subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary shall first

13 allot to each State an amount that bears the same

14 ratio to the amount of such remainder as the number

15 of infants and toddlers in the State bears to the num16 ber of infants and toddlers in all States.

17 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM ALLOTMENTS.—Except as pro18 vided in paragraphs (3) and (4), no State shall re19 ceive an amount under this section for any fiscal year

20 that is less than the greatest of—

21 ‘‘(A) one-half of one percent of the remain22 ing amount described in paragraph (1); or

23 ‘‘(B) $500,000.

24 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE FOR 1998 AND 1999.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

2 paragraph (4), no State may receive an amount

3 under this section for either fiscal year 1998 or

4 1999 that is less than the sum of the amounts

5 such State received for fiscal year 1994 under—

6 ‘‘(i) part H (as in effect for such fiscal

7 year); and

8 ‘‘(ii) subpart 2 of part D of chapter 1

9 of title I of the Elementary and Secondary

10 Education Act of 1965 (as in effect on the

11 day before the date of the enactment of the

12 Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994)

13 for children with disabilities under 3 years

14 of age.

15 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If, for fiscal year 1998

16 or 1999, the number of infants and toddlers in

17 a State, as determined under paragraph (1), is

18 less than the number of infants and toddlers so

19 determined for fiscal year 1994, the amount de20 termined under subparagraph (A) for the State

21 shall be reduced by the same percentage by which

22 the number of such infants and toddlers so de23 clined.

24 ‘‘(4) RATABLE REDUCTION.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the sums made avail2 able under this part for any fiscal year are in3 sufficient to pay the full amounts that all States

4 are eligible to receive under this subsection for

5 such year, the Secretary shall ratably reduce the

6 allocations to such States for such year.

7 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—If additional

8 funds become available for making payments

9 under this subsection for a fiscal year, alloca10 tions that were reduced under subparagraph (A)

11 shall be increased on the same basis they were re12 duced.

13 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—For the purpose of this sub14 section—

15 ‘‘(A) the terms ‘infants’ and ‘toddlers’ mean

16 children under 3 years of age; and

17 ‘‘(B) the term ‘State’ means each of the 50

18 States, the District of Columbia, and the Com19 monwealth of Puerto Rico.

20 ‘‘(d) REALLOTMENT OF FUNDS.—If a State elects not

21 to receive its allotment under subsection (c), the Secretary

22 shall reallot, among the remaining States, amounts from

23 such State in accordance with such subsection.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 644. FEDERAL INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUN2 CIL.

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish

5 a Federal Interagency Coordinating Council in order

6 to—

7 ‘‘(A) minimize duplication of programs and

8 activities across Federal, State, and local agen9 cies, relating to—

10 ‘‘(i) early intervention services for in11 fants and toddlers with disabilities (includ12 ing at-risk infants and toddlers) and their

13 families; and

14 ‘‘(ii) preschool or other appropriate

15 services for children with disabilities;

16 ‘‘(B) ensure the effective coordination of

17 Federal early intervention and preschool pro18 grams and policies across Federal agencies;

19 ‘‘(C) coordinate the provision of Federal

20 technical assistance and support activities to

21 States;

22 ‘‘(D) identify gaps in Federal agency pro23 grams and services; and

24 ‘‘(E) identify barriers to Federal inter25 agency cooperation.
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1 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENTS.—The council established

2 under paragraph (1) (hereafter in this section referred

3 to as the ‘‘Council’’) and the chairperson of the Coun4 cil shall be appointed by the Secretary in consultation

5 with other appropriate Federal agencies. In making

6 the appointments, the Secretary shall ensure that each

7 member has sufficient authority to engage in policy

8 planning and implementation on behalf of the depart9 ment, agency, or program that the member represents.

10 ‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—The Council shall be composed

11 of—

12 ‘‘(1) a representative of the Office of Special

13 Education Programs;

14 ‘‘(2) a representative of the National Institute on

15 Disability and Rehabilitation Research and a rep16 resentative of the Office of Educational Research and

17 Improvement;

18 ‘‘(3) a representative of the Maternal and Child

19 Health Services Block Grant Program;

20 ‘‘(4) a representative of programs administered

21 under the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and

22 Bill of Rights Act;

23 ‘‘(5) a representative of the Health Care Financ24 ing Administration;
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1 ‘‘(6) a representative of the Division of Birth De2 fects and Developmental Disabilities of the Centers for

3 Disease Control;

4 ‘‘(7) a representative of the Social Security Ad5 ministration;

6 ‘‘(8) a representative of the special supplemental

7 nutrition program for women, infants, and children

8 of the Department of Agriculture;

9 ‘‘(9) a representative of the National Institute of

10 Mental Health;

11 ‘‘(10) a representative of the National Institute

12 of Child Health and Human Development;

13 ‘‘(11) a representative of the Bureau of Indian

14 Affairs of the Department of the Interior;

15 ‘‘(12) a representative of the Indian Health

16 Service;

17 ‘‘(13) a representative of the Surgeon General;

18 ‘‘(14) a representative of the Department of De19 fense;

20 ‘‘(15) a representative of the Children’s Bureau,

21 and a representative of the Head Start Bureau, of the

22 Administration for Children and Families;

23 ‘‘(16) a representative of the Substance Abuse

24 and Mental Health Services Administration;
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1 ‘‘(17) a representative of the Pediatric AIDS

2 Health Care Demonstration Program in the Public

3 Health Service;

4 ‘‘(18) parents of children with disabilities age 12

5 or under (who shall constitute at least 20 percent of

6 the members of the Council), of whom at least one

7 must have a child with a disability under the age of

8 6;

9 ‘‘(19) at least 2 representatives of State lead

10 agencies for early intervention services to infants and

11 toddlers, one of whom must be a representative of a

12 State educational agency and the other a representa13 tive of a non-educational agency;

14 ‘‘(20) other members representing appropriate

15 agencies involved in the provision of, or payment for,

16 early intervention services and special education and

17 related services to infants and toddlers with disabil18 ities and their families and preschool children with

19 disabilities; and

20 ‘‘(21) other persons appointed by the Secretary.

21 ‘‘(c) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at least quar22 terly and in such places as the Council deems necessary.

23 The meetings shall be publicly announced, and, to the extent

24 appropriate, open and accessible to the general public.
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1 ‘‘(d) FUNCTIONS OF THE COUNCIL.—The Council

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(1) advise and assist the Secretary of Edu4 cation, the Secretary of Health and Human Services,

5 the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior,

6 the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Commissioner of

7 Social Security in the performance of their respon8 sibilities related to serving children from birth

9 through age 5 who are eligible for services under this

10 part or under part B;

11 ‘‘(2) conduct policy analyses of Federal programs

12 related to the provision of early intervention services

13 and special educational and related services to infants

14 and toddlers with disabilities and their families, and

15 preschool children with disabilities, in order to deter16 mine areas of conflict, overlap, duplication, or inap17 propriate omission;

18 ‘‘(3) identify strategies to address issues de19 scribed in paragraph (2);

20 ‘‘(4) develop and recommend joint policy memo21 randa concerning effective interagency collaboration,

22 including modifications to regulations, and the elimi23 nation of barriers to interagency programs and ac24 tivities;
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•HR 5 RH

1 ‘‘(5) coordinate technical assistance and dissemi2 nate information on best practices, effective program

3 coordination strategies, and recommendations for im4 proved early intervention programming for infants

5 and toddlers with disabilities and their families and

6 preschool children with disabilities; and

7 ‘‘(6) facilitate activities in support of States’

8 interagency coordination efforts.

9 ‘‘(e) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—No member of the

10 Council shall cast a vote on any matter that would provide

11 direct financial benefit to that member or otherwise give

12 the appearance of a conflict of interest under Federal law.

13 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—The Fed14 eral Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not

15 apply to the establishment or operation of the Council.

16 ‘‘SEC. 645. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

17 ‘‘For the purpose of carrying out this part, there are

18 authorized to be appropriated $400,000,000 for fiscal year

19 1998 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the

20 fiscal years 1999 through 2002.
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1 ‘‘PART D—NATIONAL ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE

2 EDUCATION OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

3 ‘‘Subpart 1—State Program Improvement Grants for

4 Children with Disabilities

5 ‘‘SEC. 651. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

6 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

7 ‘‘(1) States are responding with some success to

8 multiple pressures to improve educational and transi9 tional services and results for children with disabil10 ities in response to growing demands imposed by

11 ever-changing factors, such as demographics, social

12 policies, and labor and economic markets.

13 ‘‘(2) In order for States to address such demands

14 and to facilitate lasting systemic change that is of

15 benefit to all students, including children with dis16 abilities, States must involve local educational agen17 cies, parents, individuals with disabilities and their

18 families, teachers and other service providers, and

19 other interested individuals and organizations in car20 rying out comprehensive strategies to improve edu21 cational results for children with disabilities.

22 ‘‘(3) Targeted Federal financial resources are

23 needed to assist States, working in partnership with

24 others, to identify and make needed changes to ad25 dress the needs of children with disabilities into the

26 next century.
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1 ‘‘(4) State educational agencies, in partnership

2 with local educational agencies and other individuals

3 and organizations, are in the best position to identify

4 and design ways to meet emerging and expanding de5 mands to improve education for children with disabil6 ities and to address their special needs.

7 ‘‘(5) Research, demonstration, and practice over

8 the past 20 years in special education and related

9 disciplines have built a foundation of knowledge on

10 which State and local systemic-change activities can

11 now be based.

12 ‘‘(6) Such research, demonstration, and practice

13 in special education and related disciplines have dem14 onstrated that an effective educational system now

15 and in the future must—

16 ‘‘(A) maintain high academic standards

17 and clear performance goals for children with

18 disabilities, consistent with the standards and

19 expectations for all students in the educational

20 system, and provide for appropriate and effective

21 strategies and methods to ensure that students

22 who are children with disabilities have maxi23 mum opportunities to achieve those standards

24 and goals;
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•HR 5 RH

1 ‘‘(B) create a system that fully addresses the

2 needs of all students, including children with

3 disabilities, by addressing the needs of children

4 with disabilities in carrying out educational re5 form activities;

6 ‘‘(C) clearly define, in measurable terms,

7 the school and post-school results that children

8 with disabilities are expected to achieve;

9 ‘‘(D) promote service integration, and the

10 coordination of State and local education, social,

11 health, mental health, and other services, in ad12 dressing the full range of student needs, particu13 larly the needs of children with disabilities who

14 require significant levels of support to maximize

15 their participation and learning in school and

16 the community;

17 ‘‘(E) ensure that children with disabilities

18 are provided assistance and support in making

19 transitions as described in section 674(b)(3)(C);

20 ‘‘(F) promote comprehensive programs of

21 professional development to ensure that the per22 sons responsible for the education or a transition

23 of children with disabilities possess the skills and

24 knowledge necessary to address the educational

25 and related needs of those children;
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1 ‘‘(G) disseminate to teachers and other per2 sonnel serving children with disabilities research3 based knowledge about successful teaching prac4 tices and models and provide technical assistance

5 to local educational agencies and schools on how

6 to improve results for children with disabilities;

7 ‘‘(H) create school-based disciplinary strate8 gies that will be used to reduce or eliminate the

9 need to use suspension and expulsion as discipli10 nary options for children with disabilities;

11 ‘‘(I) establish placement-neutral funding

12 formulas and cost-effective strategies for meeting

13 the needs of children with disabilities; and

14 ‘‘(J) involve individuals with disabilities

15 and parents of children with disabilities in plan16 ning, implementing, and evaluating systemic17 change activities and educational reforms.

18 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subpart is to as19 sist State educational agencies, and their partners referred

20 to in section 652(b), in reforming and improving their sys21 tems for providing educational, early intervention, and

22 transitional services, including their systems for profes23 sional development, technical assistance, and dissemination

24 of knowledge about best practices, to improve results for

25 children with disabilities.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 652. ELIGIBILITY AND COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.

2 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—A State educational

3 agency may apply for a grant under this subpart for a

4 grant period of not less than 1 year and not more than

5 5 years.

6 ‘‘(b) PARTNERS.—

7 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED PARTNERS.—

8 ‘‘(A) CONTRACTUAL PARTNERS.—In order

9 to be considered for a grant under this subpart,

10 a State educational agency shall establish a

11 partnership with local educational agencies and

12 other State agencies involved in, or concerned

13 with, the education of children with disabilities.

14 ‘‘(B) OTHER PARTNERS.—In order to be

15 considered for a grant under this subpart, a

16 State educational agency shall work in partner17 ship with other persons and organizations in18 volved in, and concerned with, the education of

19 children with disabilities, including—

20 ‘‘(i) the Governor;

21 ‘‘(ii) parents of children with disabil22 ities;

23 ‘‘(iii) parents of nondisabled children;

24 ‘‘(iv) individuals with disabilities;

25 ‘‘(v) organizations representing indi26 viduals with disabilities and their parents,
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1 such as parent training and information

2 centers;

3 ‘‘(vi) community-based and other non4 profit organizations involved in the edu5 cation and employment of individuals with

6 disabilities;

7 ‘‘(vii) the lead State agency for part C;

8 ‘‘(viii) general and special education

9 teachers, and early intervention personnel;

10 ‘‘(ix) the State advisory panel estab11 lished under part C;

12 ‘‘(x) the State interagency coordinating

13 council established under part C; and

14 ‘‘(xi) institutions of higher education

15 within the State.

16 ‘‘(2) OPTIONAL PARTNERS.—A partnership

17 under subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1) may

18 also include—

19 ‘‘(A) individuals knowledgeable about voca20 tional education;

21 ‘‘(B) the State agency for higher education;

22 ‘‘(C) the State vocational rehabilitation

23 agency;
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1 ‘‘(D) public agencies with jurisdiction in

2 the areas of health, mental health, social services,

3 and juvenile justice; and

4 ‘‘(E) other individuals.

5 ‘‘SEC. 653. APPLICATIONS.

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

7 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.—A State educational agency

8 that desires to receive a grant under this subpart

9 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such

10 time, in such manner, and including such informa11 tion as the Secretary may require.

12 ‘‘(2) STATE IMPROVEMENT PLAN.—The applica13 tion shall include a State improvement plan that—

14 ‘‘(A) is integrated, to the maximum extent

15 possible, with State plans under the Elementary

16 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and the

17 Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as appropriate; and

18 ‘‘(B) meets the requirements of this section.

19 ‘‘(b) DETERMINING CHILD AND PROGRAM NEEDS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each State improvement

21 plan shall identify those critical aspects of early

22 intervention, general education, and special education

23 programs (including professional development, based

24 on an assessment of State and local needs) that must

25 be improved to enable children with disabilities to
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1 meet the goals established by the State under section

2 612(a)(16).

3 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED ANALYSES.—To meet the re4 quirement of paragraph (1), the State improvement

5 plan shall include at least—

6 ‘‘(A) an analysis of all information, reason7 ably available to the State educational agency,

8 on the performance of children with disabilities

9 in the State, including—

10 ‘‘(i) their performance on State assess11 ments and other performance indicators es12 tablished for all children, including drop13 out rates and graduation rates;

14 ‘‘(ii) their participation in postsecond15 ary education and employment; and

16 ‘‘(iii) how their performance on the as17 sessments and indicators described in clause

18 (i) compares to that of non-disabled chil19 dren;

20 ‘‘(B) an analysis of State and local needs

21 for professional development for personnel to

22 serve children with disabilities that includes, at

23 a minimum—

24 ‘‘(i) the number of personnel providing

25 special education and related services; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) relevant information on current

2 and anticipated personnel vacancies and

3 shortages (including the number of individ4 uals described in clause (i) with temporary

5 certification), and on the extent of certifi6 cation or retraining necessary to eliminate

7 such shortages, that is based, to the maxi8 mum extent possible, on existing assess9 ments of personnel needs;

10 ‘‘(C) an analysis of the major findings of

11 the Secretary’s most recent reviews of State com12 pliance, as they relate to improving results for

13 children with disabilities; and

14 ‘‘(D) an analysis of other information, rea15 sonably available to the State, on the effective16 ness of the State’s systems of early intervention,

17 special education, and general education in

18 meeting the needs of children with disabilities.

19 ‘‘(c) IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES.—Each State im20 provement plan shall—

21 ‘‘(1) describe a partnership agreement that—

22 ‘‘(A) specifies—

23 ‘‘(i) the nature and extent of the part24 nership among the State educational agen25 cy, local educational agencies, and other
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1 State agencies involved in, or concerned

2 with, the education of children with disabil3 ities, and the respective roles of each mem4 ber of the partnership; and

5 ‘‘(ii) how such agencies will work in

6 partnership with other persons and organi7 zations involved in, and concerned with, the

8 education of children with disabilities, in9 cluding the respective roles of each of these

10 persons and organizations; and

11 ‘‘(B) is in effect for the period of the grant;

12 ‘‘(2) describe how grant funds will be used in un13 dertaking the systemic-change activities, and the

14 amount and nature of funds from any other sources,

15 including part B funds retained for use at the State

16 level under sections 611(f) and 619(d), that will be

17 committed to the systemic-change activities;

18 ‘‘(3) describe the strategies the State will use to

19 address the needs identified under subsection (b), in20 cluding—

21 ‘‘(A) how the State will change State poli22 cies and procedures to address systemic barriers

23 to improving results for children with disabil24 ities;
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1 ‘‘(B) how the State will hold local edu2 cational agencies and schools accountable for

3 educational progress of children with disabilities;

4 ‘‘(C) how the State will provide technical

5 assistance to local educational agencies and

6 schools to improve results for children with dis7 abilities;

8 ‘‘(D) how the State will address the identi9 fied needs for in-service and pre-service prepara10 tion to ensure that all personnel who work with

11 children with disabilities (including both profes12 sional and paraprofessional personnel who pro13 vide special education, general education, related

14 services, or early intervention services) have the

15 skills and knowledge necessary to meet the needs

16 of children with disabilities, including a descrip17 tion of how—

18 ‘‘(i) the State will prepare general and

19 special education personnel with the content

20 knowledge and collaborative skills needed to

21 meet the needs of children with disabilities,

22 including how the State will work with

23 other States on common certification cri24 teria;
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1 ‘‘(ii) the State will prepare profes2 sionals and paraprofessionals in the area of

3 early intervention with the content knowl4 edge and collaborative skills needed to meet

5 the needs of infants and toddlers with dis6 abilities;

7 ‘‘(iii) the State will work with institu8 tions of higher education and other entities

9 that (on both a pre-service and an in-service

10 basis) prepare personnel who work with

11 children with disabilities to ensure that

12 those institutions and entities develop the

13 capacity to support quality professional de14 velopment programs that meet State and

15 local needs;

16 ‘‘(iv) the State will work to develop col17 laborative agreements with other States for

18 the joint support and development of pro19 grams to prepare personnel for which there

20 is not sufficient demand within a single

21 State to justify support or development of

22 such a program of preparation;

23 ‘‘(v) the State will work in collabora24 tion with other States, particularly neigh25 boring States, to address the lack of uni-
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1 formity and reciprocity in the credentialing

2 of teachers and other personnel;

3 ‘‘(vi) the State will enhance the ability

4 of teachers and others to use strategies, such

5 as behavioral interventions, to address the

6 conduct of children with disabilities that

7 impedes the learning of children with dis8 abilities and others;

9 ‘‘(vii) the State will acquire and dis10 seminate, to teachers, administrators, school

11 board members, and related services person12 nel, significant knowledge derived from edu13 cational research and other sources, and

14 how the State will, when appropriate, adopt

15 promising practices, materials, and tech16 nology;

17 ‘‘(viii) the State will recruit, prepare,

18 and retain qualified personnel, including

19 personnel with disabilities and personnel

20 from groups that are underrepresented in

21 the fields of regular education, special edu22 cation, and related services;

23 ‘‘(ix) the plan is integrated, to the

24 maximum extent possible, with other profes25 sional development plans and activities, in-
245

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1 cluding plans and activities developed and

2 carried out under other Federal and State

3 laws that address personnel recruitment

4 and training; and

5 ‘‘(x) the State will provide for the joint

6 training of parents and special education,

7 related services, and general education per8 sonnel;

9 ‘‘(E) strategies that will address systemic

10 problems identified in Federal compliance re11 views, including shortages of qualified personnel;

12 ‘‘(F) how the State will disseminate results

13 of the local capacity-building and improvement

14 projects funded under section 611(f)(4);

15 ‘‘(G) how the State will address improving

16 results for children with disabilities in the geo17 graphic areas of greatest need; and

18 ‘‘(H) how the State will assess, on a regular

19 basis, the extent to which the strategies imple20 mented under this subpart have been effective;

21 and

22 ‘‘(4) describe how the improvement strategies de23 scribed in paragraph (3) will be coordinated with

24 public and private sector resources.

25 ‘‘(d) COMPETITIVE AWARDS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make

2 grants under this subpart on a competitive basis.

3 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary may give prior4 ity to applications on the basis of need, as indicated

5 by such information as the findings of Federal com6 pliance reviews.

7 ‘‘(e) PEER REVIEW.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use a

9 panel of experts who are competent, by virtue of their

10 training, expertise, or experience, to evaluate applica11 tions under this subpart.

12 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION OF PANEL.—A majority of a

13 panel described in paragraph (1) shall be composed of

14 individuals who are not employees of the Federal

15 Government.

16 ‘‘(3) PAYMENT OF FEES AND EXPENSES OF CER17 TAIN MEMBERS.—The Secretary may use available

18 funds appropriated to carry out this subpart to pay

19 the expenses and fees of panel members who are not

20 employees of the Federal Government.

21 ‘‘(f) REPORTING PROCEDURES.—Each State edu22 cational agency that receives a grant under this subpart

23 shall submit performance reports to the Secretary pursuant

24 to a schedule to be determined by the Secretary, but not

25 more frequently than annually. The reports shall describe
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1 the progress of the State in meeting the performance goals

2 established under section 612(a)(16), analyze the effective3 ness of the State’s strategies in meeting those goals, and

4 identify any changes in the strategies needed to improve

5 its performance.

6 ‘‘SEC. 654. USE OF FUNDS.

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

8 ‘‘(1) ACTIVITIES.—A State educational agency

9 that receives a grant under this subpart may use the

10 grant to carry out any activities that are described in

11 the State’s application and that are consistent with

12 the purpose of this subpart.

13 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTS AND SUBGRANTS.—Each such

14 State educational agency—

15 ‘‘(A) shall, consistent with its partnership

16 agreement under section 652(b), award contracts

17 or subgrants to local educational agencies, insti18 tutions of higher education, and parent training

19 and information centers, as appropriate, to

20 carry out its State improvement plan under this

21 subpart; and

22 ‘‘(B) may award contracts and subgrants to

23 other public and private entities, including the

24 lead agency under part C, to carry out such

25 plan.
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1 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOP2 MENT.—A State educational agency that receives a grant

3 under this subpart—

4 ‘‘(1) shall use not less than 75 percent of the

5 funds it receives under the grant for any fiscal year—

6 ‘‘(A) to ensure that there are sufficient regu7 lar education, special education, and related

8 services personnel who have the skills and knowl9 edge necessary to meet the needs of children with

10 disabilities and developmental goals of young

11 children; or

12 ‘‘(B) to work with other States on common

13 certification criteria; or

14 ‘‘(2) shall use not less than 50 percent of such

15 funds for such purposes, if the State demonstrates to

16 the Secretary’s satisfaction that it has the personnel

17 described in paragraph (1)(A).

18 ‘‘(c) GRANTS TO OUTLYING AREAS.—Public Law 95–

19 134, permitting the consolidation of grants to the outlying

20 areas, shall not apply to funds received under this subpart.

21 ‘‘SEC. 655. MINIMUM STATE GRANT AMOUNTS.

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make a grant

23 to each State educational agency whose application the Sec24 retary has selected for funding under this subpart in an

25 amount for each fiscal year that is—
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1 ‘‘(1) not less than $500,000, nor more than

2 $2,000,000, in the case of the 50 States, the District

3 of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;

4 and

5 ‘‘(2) not less than $80,000, in the case of an out6 lying area.

7 ‘‘(b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Beginning with fiscal

8 year 1999, the Secretary may increase the maximum

9 amount described in subsection (a)(1) to account for infla10 tion.

11 ‘‘(c) FACTORS.—The Secretary shall set the amount of

12 each grant under subsection (a) after considering—

13 ‘‘(1) the amount of funds available for making

14 the grants;

15 ‘‘(2) the relative population of the State or outly16 ing area; and

17 ‘‘(3) the types of activities proposed by the State

18 or outlying area.

19 ‘‘SEC. 656. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

20 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

21 this subpart such sums as may be necessary for each of the

22 fiscal years 1998 through 2002.
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1 ‘‘Subpart 2—Coordinated Research, Personnel Prepa2 ration, Technical Assistance, Support, and Dis3 semination of Information

4 ‘‘SEC. 661. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

5 ‘‘(a) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.—

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop

7 and implement a comprehensive plan for activities

8 carried out under this subpart in order to enhance the

9 provision of educational, related, transitional, and

10 early intervention services to children with disabil11 ities under parts B and C. The plan shall include

12 mechanisms to address educational, related services,

13 transitional, and early intervention needs identified

14 by State educational agencies in applications submit15 ted for State program improvement grants under sub16 part 1.

17 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPANTS IN PLAN DEVELOPMENT.—In

18 developing the plan described in paragraph (1), the

19 Secretary shall consult with—

20 ‘‘(A) individuals with disabilities;

21 ‘‘(B) parents of children with disabilities;

22 ‘‘(C) appropriate professionals; and

23 ‘‘(D) representatives of State and local edu24 cational agencies, private schools, institutions of

25 higher education, other Federal agencies, the Na26 tional Council on Disability, and national orga-
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1 nizations with an interest in, and expertise in,

2 providing services to children with disabilities

3 and their families.

4 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC COMMENT.—The Secretary shall

5 take public comment on the plan.

6 ‘‘(4) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—In implement7 ing the plan, the Secretary shall, to the extent appro8 priate, ensure that funds are awarded to recipients

9 under this subpart to carry out activities that benefit,

10 directly or indirectly, children with disabilities of all

11 ages.

12 ‘‘(5) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary

13 shall periodically report to the Congress on the Sec14 retary’s activities under this subsection, including an

15 initial report not later than the date that is 18

16 months after the date of the enactment of the Individ17 uals with Disabilities Act Amendments of 1997.

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided

20 in this subpart, the following entities are eligible to

21 apply for a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement

22 under this subpart:

23 ‘‘(A) A State educational agency.

24 ‘‘(B) A local educational agency.

25 ‘‘(C) An institution of higher education.
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1 ‘‘(D) Any other public agency.

2 ‘‘(E) A private nonprofit organization.

3 ‘‘(F) An outlying area.

4 ‘‘(G) An Indian tribe or a tribal organiza5 tion (as defined under section 4 of the Indian

6 Self-Determination and Education Assistance

7 Act).

8 ‘‘(H) A for-profit organization, if the Sec9 retary finds it appropriate in light of the pur10 poses of a particular competition for a grant,

11 contract, or cooperative agreement under this

12 subpart.

13 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—The Secretary may limit

14 the entities eligible for an award of a grant, contract,

15 or cooperative agreement to one or more categories of

16 eligible entities described in paragraph (1).

17 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS BY SECRETARY.—Notwithstand18 ing any other provision of law, and in addition to any au19 thority granted the Secretary under chapter 1 or chapter

20 2, the Secretary may use up to 20 percent of the funds

21 available under either chapter 1 or chapter 2 for any fiscal

22 year to carry out any activity, or combination of activities,

23 subject to such conditions as the Secretary determines are

24 appropriate effectively to carry out the purposes of such

25 chapters, that—
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1 ‘‘(A) is consistent with the purposes of chapter 1,

2 chapter 2, or both; and

3 ‘‘(B) involves—

4 ‘‘(i) research;

5 ‘‘(ii) personnel preparation;

6 ‘‘(iii) parent training and information;

7 ‘‘(iv) technical assistance and dissemina8 tion;

9 ‘‘(v) technology development, demonstration,

10 and utilization; or

11 ‘‘(vi) media services.

12 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL POPULATIONS.—

13 ‘‘(1) APPLICATION REQUIREMENT.—In making

14 an award of a grant, contract, or cooperative agree15 ment under this subpart, the Secretary shall, as ap16 propriate, require an applicant to demonstrate how

17 the applicant will address the needs of children with

18 disabilities from minority backgrounds.

19 ‘‘(2) OUTREACH AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—

20 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding any

21 other provision of this Act, the Secretary shall

22 ensure that at least one percent of the total

23 amount of funds appropriated to carry out this

24 subpart is used for either or both of the following

25 activities:
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1 ‘‘(i) To provide outreach and technical

2 assistance to Historically Black Colleges

3 and Universities, and to institutions of

4 higher education with minority enrollments

5 of at least 25 percent, to promote the par6 ticipation of such colleges, universities, and

7 institutions in activities under this subpart.

8 ‘‘(ii) To enable Historically Black Col9 leges and Universities, and the institutions

10 described in clause (i), to assist other col11 leges, universities, institutions, and agencies

12 in improving educational and transitional

13 results for children with disabilities.

14 ‘‘(B) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—The Sec15 retary may reserve funds appropriated under

16 this subpart to satisfy the requirement of sub17 paragraph (A).

18 ‘‘(e) PRIORITIES.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise explic20 itly authorized in this subpart, the Secretary shall en21 sure that a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement

22 under chapter 1 or 2 is awarded only—

23 ‘‘(A) for activities that are designed to bene24 fit children with disabilities, their families, or
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1 the personnel employed to work with such chil2 dren or their families; or

3 ‘‘(B) to benefit other individuals with dis4 abilities who such chapter is intended to benefit.

5 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY FOR PARTICULAR ACTIVITIES.—

6 Subject to paragraph (1), the Secretary, in making

7 an award of a grant, contract, or cooperative agree8 ment under this subpart, may, without regard to the

9 rule making procedures under section 553 of title 5,

10 United States Code, limit competitions to, or other11 wise give priority to—

12 ‘‘(A) projects that address one or more—

13 ‘‘(i) age ranges;

14 ‘‘(ii) disabilities;

15 ‘‘(iii) school grades;

16 ‘‘(iv) types of educational placements

17 or early intervention environments;

18 ‘‘(v) types of services;

19 ‘‘(vi) content areas, such as reading; or

20 ‘‘(vii) effective strategies for helping

21 children with disabilities learn appropriate

22 behavior in the school and other commu23 nity-based educational settings;

24 ‘‘(B) projects that address the needs of chil25 dren based on the severity of their disability;
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1 ‘‘(C) projects that address the needs of—

2 ‘‘(i) low-achieving students;

3 ‘‘(ii) underserved populations;

4 ‘‘(iii) children from low-income fami5 lies;

6 ‘‘(iv) children with limited English

7 proficiency;

8 ‘‘(v) unserved and underserved areas;

9 ‘‘(vi) particular types of geographic

10 areas; or

11 ‘‘(vii) children whose behavior inter12 feres with their learning and socialization;

13 ‘‘(D) projects to reduce inappropriate iden14 tification of children as children with disabil15 ities, particularly among minority children;

16 ‘‘(E) projects that are carried out in par17 ticular areas of the country, to ensure broad geo18 graphic coverage; and

19 ‘‘(F) any activity that is expressly author20 ized in chapter 1 or 2.

21 ‘‘(f) APPLICANT AND RECIPIENT RESPONSIBILITIES.—

22 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF

23 PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall require that an ap24 plicant for, and a recipient of, a grant, contract, or
257

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1 cooperative agreement for a project under this sub2 part—

3 ‘‘(A) involve individuals with disabilities or

4 parents of individuals with disabilities in plan5 ning, implementing, and evaluating the project;

6 and

7 ‘‘(B) where appropriate, determine whether

8 the project has any potential for replication and

9 adoption by other entities.

10 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Sec11 retary may require a recipient of a grant, contract,

12 or cooperative agreement for a project under this sub13 part—

14 ‘‘(A) to share in the cost of the project;

15 ‘‘(B) to prepare the research and evaluation

16 findings and products from the project in for17 mats that are useful for specific audiences, in18 cluding parents, administrators, teachers, early

19 intervention personnel, related services personnel,

20 and individuals with disabilities;

21 ‘‘(C) to disseminate such findings and prod22 ucts; and

23 ‘‘(D) to collaborate with other such recipi24 ents in carrying out subparagraphs (B) and (C).

25 ‘‘(g) APPLICATION MANAGEMENT.—
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1 ‘‘(1) STANDING PANEL.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall es3 tablish and use a standing panel of experts who

4 are competent, by virtue of their training, exper5 tise, or experience, to evaluate applications

6 under this subpart that, individually, request

7 more than $75,000 per year in Federal financial

8 assistance.

9 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The standing panel

10 shall include, at a minimum—

11 ‘‘(i) individuals who are representa12 tives of institutions of higher education that

13 plan, develop, and carry out programs of

14 personnel preparation;

15 ‘‘(ii) individuals who design and carry

16 out programs of research targeted to the im17 provement of special education programs

18 and services;

19 ‘‘(iii) individuals who have recognized

20 experience and knowledge necessary to inte21 grate and apply research findings to im22 prove educational and transitional results

23 for children with disabilities;
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1 ‘‘(iv) individuals who administer pro2 grams at the State or local level in which

3 children with disabilities participate;

4 ‘‘(v) individuals who prepare parents

5 of children with disabilities to participate

6 in making decisions about the education of

7 their children;

8 ‘‘(vi) individuals who establish policies

9 that affect the delivery of services to chil10 dren with disabilities;

11 ‘‘(vii) individuals who are parents of

12 children with disabilities who are benefit13 ing, or have benefited, from coordinated re14 search, personnel preparation, and technical

15 assistance; and

16 ‘‘(viii) individuals with disabilities.

17 ‘‘(C) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall pro18 vide training to the individuals who are selected

19 as members of the standing panel under this

20 paragraph.

21 ‘‘(D) TERM.—No individual shall serve on

22 the standing panel for more than 3 consecutive

23 years, unless the Secretary determines that the

24 individual’s continued participation is necessary

25 for the sound administration of this subpart.
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1 ‘‘(2) PEER-REVIEW PANELS FOR PARTICULAR

2 COMPETITIONS.—

3 ‘‘(A) COMPOSITION.—The Secretary shall

4 ensure that each sub-panel selected from the

5 standing panel that reviews applications under

6 this subpart includes—

7 ‘‘(i) individuals with knowledge and

8 expertise on the issues addressed by the ac9 tivities authorized by the subpart; and

10 ‘‘(ii) to the extent practicable, parents

11 of children with disabilities, individuals

12 with disabilities, and persons from diverse

13 backgrounds.

14 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL EMPLOYMENT LIMITATION.—

15 A majority of the individuals on each sub-panel

16 that reviews an application under this subpart

17 shall be individuals who are not employees of the

18 Federal Government.

19 ‘‘(3) USE OF DISCRETIONARY FUNDS FOR ADMIN20 ISTRATIVE PURPOSES.—

21 ‘‘(A) EXPENSES AND FEES OF NON-FED22 ERAL PANEL MEMBERS.—The Secretary may use

23 funds available under this subpart to pay the ex24 penses and fees of the panel members who are not

25 officers or employees of the Federal Government.
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1 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT.—The Sec2 retary may use not more than 1 percent of the

3 funds appropriated to carry out this subpart to

4 pay non-Federal entities for administrative sup5 port related to management of applications sub6 mitted under this subpart.

7 ‘‘(C) MONITORING.—The Secretary may use

8 funds available under this subpart to pay the ex9 penses of Federal employees to conduct on-site

10 monitoring of projects receiving $500,000 or

11 more for any fiscal year under this subpart.

12 ‘‘(h) PROGRAM EVALUATION.—The Secretary may use

13 funds appropriated to carry out this subpart to evaluate

14 activities carried out under the subpart.

15 ‘‘(i) MINIMUM FUNDING REQUIRED.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the

17 Secretary shall ensure that, for each fiscal year, at

18 least the following amounts are provided under this

19 subpart to address the following needs:

20 ‘‘(A) $12,832,000 to address the edu21 cational, related services, transitional, and early

22 intervention needs of children with deaf-blind23 ness.
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1 ‘‘(B) $4,000,000 to address the postsecond2 ary, vocational, technical, continuing, and adult

3 education needs of individuals with deafness.

4 ‘‘(C) $4,000,000 to address the educational,

5 related services, and transitional needs of chil6 dren with an emotional disturbance and those

7 who are at risk of developing an emotional dis8 turbance.

9 ‘‘(2) RATABLE REDUCTION.—If the total amount

10 appropriated to carry out sections 672, 673, and 685

11 for any fiscal year is less than $130,000,000, the

12 amounts listed in (1) shall be ratably reduced.

13 ‘‘(j) ELIGIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—Effec14 tive for fiscal years for which the Secretary may make

15 grants under section 619(b), no State or local educational

16 agency or educational service agency or other public insti17 tution or agency may receive a grant under this subpart

18 which relates exclusively to programs, projects, and activi19 ties pertaining to children aged three to five, inclusive, un20 less the State is eligible to receive a grant under section

21 619(b).
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1 ‘‘Chapter 1—Improving Early Intervention, Edu2 cational, and Transitional Services and Results

3 for Children with Disabilities through Coordi4 nated Research and Personnel Preparation

5 ‘‘SEC. 671. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

6 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:

7 ‘‘(1) The Federal Government has an ongoing ob8 ligation to support programs, projects, and activities

9 that contribute to positive results for children with

10 disabilities, enabling them—

11 ‘‘(A) to meet their early intervention, edu12 cational, and transitional goals and, to the max13 imum extent possible, educational standards that

14 have been established for all children; and

15 ‘‘(B) to acquire the skills that will empower

16 them to lead productive and independent adult

17 lives.

18 ‘‘(2)(A) As a result of more than 20 years of

19 Federal support for research, demonstration projects,

20 and personnel preparation, there is an important

21 knowledge base for improving results for children with

22 disabilities.

23 ‘‘(B) Such knowledge should be used by States

24 and local educational agencies to design and imple25 ment state-of-the-art educational systems that con26 sider the needs of, and include, children with disabil-
264

•HR 5 RH

1 ities, especially in environments in which they can

2 learn along with their peers and achieve results meas3 ured by the same standards as the results of their

4 peers.

5 ‘‘(3)(A) Continued Federal support is essential

6 for the development and maintenance of a coordinated

7 and high-quality program of research, demonstration

8 projects, dissemination of information, and personnel

9 preparation.

10 ‘‘(B) Such support—

11 ‘‘(i) enables State educational agencies and

12 local educational agencies to improve their edu13 cational systems and results for children with

14 disabilities;

15 ‘‘(ii) enables State and local agencies to im16 prove early intervention services and results for

17 infants and toddlers with disabilities and their

18 families; and

19 ‘‘(iii) enhances the opportunities for general

20 and special education personnel, related services

21 personnel, parents, and paraprofessionals to par22 ticipate in pre-service and in-service training, to

23 collaborate, and to improve results for children

24 with disabilities and their families.
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1 ‘‘(4) The Federal Government plays a critical

2 role in facilitating the availability of an adequate

3 number of qualified personnel—

4 ‘‘(A) to serve effectively the over 5,000,000

5 children with disabilities;

6 ‘‘(B) to assume leadership positions in ad7 ministrative and direct-service capacities related

8 to teacher training and research concerning the

9 provision of early intervention services, special

10 education, and related services; and

11 ‘‘(C) to work with children with low-inci12 dence disabilities and their families.

13 ‘‘(5) The Federal Government performs the role

14 described in paragraph (4)—

15 ‘‘(A) by supporting models of personnel de16 velopment that reflect successful practice, includ17 ing strategies for recruiting, preparing, and re18 taining personnel;

19 ‘‘(B) by promoting the coordination and in20 tegration of—

21 ‘‘(i) personnel-development activities

22 for teachers of children with disabilities;

23 and
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1 ‘‘(ii) other personnel-development ac2 tivities supported under Federal law, in3 cluding this chapter;

4 ‘‘(C) by supporting the development and

5 dissemination of information about teaching

6 standards; and

7 ‘‘(D) by promoting the coordination and in8 tegration of personnel-development activities

9 through linkage with systemic-change activities

10 within States and nationally.

11 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this chapter is to pro12 vide Federal funding for coordinated research, demonstra13 tion projects, outreach, and personnel-preparation activities

14 that—

15 ‘‘(1) are described in sections 672 through 674;

16 ‘‘(2) are linked with, and promote, systemic

17 change; and

18 ‘‘(3) improve early intervention, educational,

19 and transitional results for children with disabilities.

20 ‘‘SEC. 672. RESEARCH AND INNOVATION TO IMPROVE SERV21 ICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DIS22 ABILITIES.

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make competi24 tive grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agree-
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1 ments with, eligible entities to produce, and advance the

2 use of, knowledge—

3 ‘‘(1) to improve—

4 ‘‘(A) services provided under this Act, in5 cluding the practices of professionals and others

6 involved in providing such services to children

7 with disabilities; and

8 ‘‘(B) educational results for children with

9 disabilities;

10 ‘‘(2) to address the special needs of preschool11 aged children and infants and toddlers with disabil12 ities, including infants and toddlers who would be at

13 risk of having substantial developmental delays if

14 early intervention services were not provided to them;

15 ‘‘(3) to address the specific problems of over-iden16 tification and under-identification of children with

17 disabilities;

18 ‘‘(4) to develop and implement effective strategies

19 for addressing inappropriate behavior of students

20 with disabilities in schools, including strategies to

21 prevent children with emotional and behavioral prob22 lems from developing emotional disturbances that re23 quire the provision of special education and related

24 services;
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1 ‘‘(5) to improve secondary and postsecondary

2 education and transitional services for children with

3 disabilities; and

4 ‘‘(6) to address the range of special education, re5 lated services, and early intervention needs of chil6 dren with disabilities who need significant levels of

7 support to maximize their participation and learning

8 in school and in the community.

9 ‘‘(b) NEW KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION; AUTHORIZED

10 ACTIVITIES.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

12 the Secretary shall support activities, consistent with

13 the objectives described in subsection (a), that lead to

14 the production of new knowledge.

15 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that

16 may be carried out under this subsection include ac17 tivities such as the following:

18 ‘‘(A) Expanding understanding of the rela19 tionships between learning characteristics of chil20 dren with disabilities and the diverse ethnic, cul21 tural, linguistic, social, and economic back22 grounds of children with disabilities and their

23 families.

24 ‘‘(B) Developing or identifying innovative,

25 effective, and efficient curricula designs, instruc-
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1 tional approaches, and strategies, and developing

2 or identifying positive academic and social

3 learning opportunities, that—

4 ‘‘(i) enable children with disabilities to

5 make effective transitions described in sec6 tion 674(b)(3)(C) or transitions between

7 educational settings; and

8 ‘‘(ii) improve educational and transi9 tional results for children with disabilities

10 at all levels of the educational system in

11 which the activities are carried out and, in

12 particular, that improve the progress of the

13 children, as measured by assessments within

14 the general education curriculum involved.

15 ‘‘(C) Advancing the design of assessment

16 tools and procedures that will accurately and ef17 ficiently determine the special instructional,

18 learning, and behavioral needs of children with

19 disabilities, especially within the context of gen20 eral education.

21 ‘‘(D) Studying and promoting improved

22 alignment and compatibility of general and spe23 cial education reforms concerned with curricular

24 and instructional reform, evaluation and ac-
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1 countability of such reforms, and administrative

2 procedures.

3 ‘‘(E) Advancing the design, development,

4 and integration of technology, assistive tech5 nology devices, media, and materials, to improve

6 early intervention, educational, and transitional

7 services and results for children with disabilities.

8 ‘‘(F) Improving designs, processes, and re9 sults of personnel preparation for personnel who

10 provide services to children with disabilities

11 through the acquisition of information on, and

12 implementation of, research-based practices.

13 ‘‘(G) Advancing knowledge about the coordi14 nation of education with health and social serv15 ices.

16 ‘‘(H) Producing information on the long17 term impact of early intervention and education

18 on results for individuals with disabilities

19 through large-scale longitudinal studies.

20 ‘‘(c) INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE; AU21 THORIZED ACTIVITIES.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

23 the Secretary shall support activities, consistent with

24 the objectives described in subsection (a), that inte25 grate research and practice, including activities that
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1 support State systemic-change and local capacity2 building and improvement efforts.

3 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that

4 may be carried out under this subsection include ac5 tivities such as the following:

6 ‘‘(A) Model demonstration projects to apply

7 and test research findings in typical service set8 tings to determine the usability, effectiveness,

9 and general applicability of such research find10 ings in such areas as improving instructional

11 methods, curricula, and tools, such as textbooks

12 and media.

13 ‘‘(B) Demonstrating and applying research14 based findings to facilitate systemic changes, re15 lated to the provision of services to children with

16 disabilities, in policy, procedure, practice, and

17 the training and use of personnel.

18 ‘‘(C) Promoting and demonstrating the co19 ordination of early intervention and educational

20 services for children with disabilities with serv21 ices provided by health, rehabilitation, and social

22 service agencies.

23 ‘‘(D) Identifying and disseminating solu24 tions that overcome systemic barriers to the effec25 tive and efficient delivery of early intervention,
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1 educational, and transitional services to children

2 with disabilities.

3 ‘‘(d) IMPROVING THE USE OF PROFESSIONAL KNOWL4 EDGE; AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

6 the Secretary shall support activities, consistent with

7 the objectives described in subsection (a), that improve

8 the use of professional knowledge, including activities

9 that support State systemic-change and local capac10 ity-building and improvement efforts.

11 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that

12 may be carried out under this subsection include ac13 tivities such as the following:

14 ‘‘(A) Synthesizing useful research and other

15 information relating to the provision of services

16 to children with disabilities, including effective

17 practices.

18 ‘‘(B) Analyzing professional knowledge

19 bases to advance an understanding of the rela20 tionships, and the effectiveness of practices, relat21 ing to the provision of services to children with

22 disabilities.

23 ‘‘(C) Ensuring that research and related

24 products are in appropriate formats for distribu-
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1 tion to teachers, parents, and individuals with

2 disabilities.

3 ‘‘(D) Enabling professionals, parents of

4 children with disabilities, and other persons, to

5 learn about, and implement, the findings of re6 search, and successful practices developed in

7 model demonstration projects, relating to the

8 provision of services to children with disabilities.

9 ‘‘(E) Conducting outreach, and disseminat10 ing information relating to successful approaches

11 to overcoming systemic barriers to the effective

12 and efficient delivery of early intervention, edu13 cational, and transitional services, to personnel

14 who provide services to children with disabilities.

15 ‘‘(e) BALANCE AMONG ACTIVITIES AND AGE

16 RANGES.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall

17 ensure that there is an appropriate balance—

18 ‘‘(1) among knowledge production, integration of

19 research and practice, and use of professional knowl20 edge; and

21 ‘‘(2) across all age ranges of children with dis22 abilities.

23 ‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity that wishes to

24 receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative

25 agreement, under this section shall submit an application
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1 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and contain2 ing such information as the Secretary may require.

3 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

4 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

5 such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years

6 1998 through 2002.

7 ‘‘SEC. 673. PERSONNEL PREPARATION TO IMPROVE SERV8 ICES AND RESULTS FOR CHILDREN WITH DIS9 ABILITIES.

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, on a competi11 tive basis, make grants to, or enter into contracts or cooper12 ative agreements with, eligible entities—

13 ‘‘(1) to help address State-identified needs for

14 qualified personnel in special education, related serv15 ices, early intervention, and regular education, to

16 work with children with disabilities; and

17 ‘‘(2) to ensure that those personnel have the skills

18 and knowledge, derived from practices that have been

19 determined, through research and experience, to be

20 successful, that are needed to serve those children.

21 ‘‘(b) LOW-INCIDENCE DISABILITIES; AUTHORIZED AC22 TIVITIES.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

24 the Secretary shall support activities, consistent with
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1 the objectives described in subsection (a), that benefit

2 children with low-incidence disabilities.

3 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that

4 may be carried out under this subsection include ac5 tivities such as the following:

6 ‘‘(A) Preparing persons who—

7 ‘‘(i) have prior training in educational

8 and other related service fields; and

9 ‘‘(ii) are studying to obtain degrees,

10 certificates, or licensure that will enable

11 them to assist children with disabilities to

12 achieve the objectives set out in their indi13 vidualized education programs described in

14 section 614(d), or to assist infants and tod15 dlers with disabilities to achieve the out16 comes described in their individualized fam17 ily service plans described in section 636.

18 ‘‘(B) Providing personnel from various dis19 ciplines with interdisciplinary training that will

20 contribute to improvement in early intervention,

21 educational, and transitional results for children

22 with disabilities.

23 ‘‘(C) Preparing personnel in the innovative

24 uses and application of technology to enhance

25 learning by children with disabilities through
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1 early intervention, educational, and transitional

2 services.

3 ‘‘(D) Preparing personnel who provide serv4 ices to visually impaired or blind children to

5 teach and use Braille in the provision of services

6 to such children.

7 ‘‘(E) Preparing personnel to be qualified

8 educational interpreters, to assist children with

9 disabilities, particularly deaf and hard-of-hear10 ing children in school and school-related activi11 ties and deaf and hard-of-hearing infants and

12 toddlers and preschool children in early interven13 tion and preschool programs.

14 ‘‘(F) Preparing personnel who provide serv15 ices to children with significant cognitive dis16 abilities and children with multiple disabilities.

17 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the

18 term ‘low-incidence disability’ means—

19 ‘‘(A) a visual or hearing impairment, or si20 multaneous visual and hearing impairments;

21 ‘‘(B) a significant cognitive impairment; or

22 ‘‘(C) any impairment for which a small

23 number of personnel with highly specialized

24 skills and knowledge are needed in order for chil25 dren with that impairment to receive early
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1 intervention services or a free appropriate public

2 education.

3 ‘‘(4) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—In selecting

4 recipients under this subsection, the Secretary may

5 give preference to applications that propose to pre6 pare personnel in more than one low-incidence dis7 ability, such as deafness and blindness.

8 ‘‘(5) PREPARATION IN USE OF BRAILLE.—The

9 Secretary shall ensure that all recipients of assistance

10 under this subsection who will use that assistance to

11 prepare personnel to provide services to visually im12 paired or blind children that can appropriately be

13 provided in Braille will prepare those individuals to

14 provide those services in Braille.

15 ‘‘(c) LEADERSHIP PREPARATION; AUTHORIZED AC16 TIVITIES.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

18 the Secretary shall support leadership preparation ac19 tivities that are consistent with the objectives de20 scribed in subsection (a).

21 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that

22 may be carried out under this subsection include ac23 tivities such as the following:

24 ‘‘(A) Preparing personnel at the advanced

25 graduate, doctoral, and postdoctoral levels of
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1 training to administer, enhance, or provide serv2 ices for children with disabilities.

3 ‘‘(B) Providing interdisciplinary training

4 for various types of leadership personnel, includ5 ing teacher preparation faculty, administrators,

6 researchers, supervisors, principals, and other

7 persons whose work affects early intervention,

8 educational, and transitional services for chil9 dren with disabilities.

10 ‘‘(d) PROJECTS OF NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE; AUTHOR11 IZED ACTIVITIES.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

13 the Secretary shall support activities, consistent with

14 the objectives described in subsection (a), that are of

15 national significance and have broad applicability.

16 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that

17 may be carried out under this subsection include ac18 tivities such as the following:

19 ‘‘(A) Developing and demonstrating effective

20 and efficient practices for preparing personnel to

21 provide services to children with disabilities, in22 cluding practices that address any needs identi23 fied in the State’s improvement plan under part

24 C;
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1 ‘‘(B) Demonstrating the application of sig2 nificant knowledge derived from research and

3 other sources in the development of programs to

4 prepare personnel to provide services to children

5 with disabilities.

6 ‘‘(C) Demonstrating models for the prepara7 tion of, and interdisciplinary training of, early

8 intervention, special education, and general edu9 cation personnel, to enable the personnel—

10 ‘‘(i) to acquire the collaboration skills

11 necessary to work within teams to assist

12 children with disabilities; and

13 ‘‘(ii) to achieve results that meet chal14 lenging standards, particularly within the

15 general education curriculum.

16 ‘‘(D) Demonstrating models that reduce

17 shortages of teachers, and personnel from other

18 relevant disciplines, who serve children with dis19 abilities, through reciprocity arrangements be20 tween States that are related to licensure and

21 certification.

22 ‘‘(E) Developing, evaluating, and dissemi23 nating model teaching standards for persons

24 working with children with disabilities.
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1 ‘‘(F) Promoting the transferability, across

2 State and local jurisdictions, of licensure and

3 certification of teachers and administrators

4 working with such children.

5 ‘‘(G) Developing and disseminating models

6 that prepare teachers with strategies, including

7 behavioral interventions, for addressing the con8 duct of children with disabilities that impedes

9 their learning and that of others in the class10 room.

11 ‘‘(H) Institutes that provide professional de12 velopment that addresses the needs of children

13 with disabilities to teachers or teams of teachers,

14 and where appropriate, to school board members,

15 administrators, principals, pupil-service person16 nel, and other staff from individual schools.

17 ‘‘(I) Projects to improve the ability of gen18 eral education teachers, principals, and other ad19 ministrators to meet the needs of children with

20 disabilities.

21 ‘‘(J) Developing, evaluating, and dissemi22 nating innovative models for the recruitment, in23 duction, retention, and assessment of new, quali24 fied teachers, especially from groups that are
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1 underrepresented in the teaching profession, in2 cluding individuals with disabilities.

3 ‘‘(K) Supporting institutions of higher edu4 cation with minority enrollments of at least 25

5 percent for the purpose of preparing personnel to

6 work with children with disabilities.

7 ‘‘(e) HIGH-INCIDENCE DISABILITIES; AUTHORIZED

8 ACTIVITIES.—

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

10 the Secretary shall support activities, consistent with

11 the objectives described in subsection (a), to benefit

12 children with high-incidence disabilities, such as chil13 dren with specific learning disabilities, speech or lan14 guage impairment, or mental retardation.

15 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that

16 may be carried out under this subsection include the

17 following:

18 ‘‘(A) Activities undertaken by institutions

19 of higher education, local educational agencies,

20 and other local entities—

21 ‘‘(i) to improve and reform their exist22 ing programs to prepare teachers and relat23 ed services personnel—

24 ‘‘(I) to meet the diverse needs of

25 children with disabilities for early
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1 intervention, educational, and transi2 tional services; and

3 ‘‘(II) to work collaboratively in

4 regular classroom settings; and

5 ‘‘(ii) to incorporate best practices and

6 research-based knowledge about preparing

7 personnel so they will have the knowledge

8 and skills to improve educational results for

9 children with disabilities.

10 ‘‘(B) Activities incorporating innovative

11 strategies to recruit and prepare teachers and

12 other personnel to meet the needs of areas in

13 which there are acute and persistent shortages of

14 personnel.

15 ‘‘(C) Developing career opportunities for

16 paraprofessionals to receive training as special

17 education teachers, related services personnel,

18 and early intervention personnel, including

19 interdisciplinary training to enable them to im20 prove early intervention, educational, and tran21 sitional results for children with disabilities.

22 ‘‘(f) APPLICATIONS.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any eligible entity that

24 wishes to receive a grant, or enter into a contract or

25 cooperative agreement, under this section shall submit
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1 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such

2 manner, and containing such information as the Sec3 retary may require.

4 ‘‘(2) IDENTIFIED STATE NEEDS.—

5 ‘‘(A) REQUIREMENT TO ADDRESS IDENTI6 FIED NEEDS.—Any application under subsection

7 (b), (c), or (e) shall include information dem8 onstrating to the satisfaction of the Secretary

9 that the activities described in the application

10 will address needs identified by the State or

11 States the applicant proposes to serve.

12 ‘‘(B) COOPERATION WITH STATE EDU13 CATIONAL AGENCIES.—Any applicant that is not

14 a local educational agency or a State edu15 cational agency shall include information dem16 onstrating to the satisfaction of the Secretary

17 that the applicant and one or more State edu18 cational agencies have engaged in a cooperative

19 effort to plan the project to which the application

20 pertains, and will cooperate in carrying out and

21 monitoring the project.

22 ‘‘(3) ACCEPTANCE BY STATES OF PERSONNEL

23 PREPARATION REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may

24 require applicants to provide letters from one or more

25 States stating that the States—
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1 ‘‘(A) intend to accept successful completion

2 of the proposed personnel preparation program

3 as meeting State personnel standards for serving

4 children with disabilities or serving infants and

5 toddlers with disabilities; and

6 ‘‘(B) need personnel in the area or areas in

7 which the applicant proposes to provide prepara8 tion, as identified in the States’ comprehensive

9 systems of personnel development under parts B

10 and C.

11 ‘‘(g) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IMPACT OF PROJECT.—In selecting recipi13 ents under this section, the Secretary may consider

14 the impact of the project proposed in the application

15 in meeting the need for personnel identified by the

16 States.

17 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT ON APPLICANTS TO MEET

18 STATE AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS.—The Sec19 retary shall make grants under this section only to el20 igible applicants that meet State and professionally21 recognized standards for the preparation of special

22 education and related services personnel, if the pur23 pose of the project is to assist personnel in obtaining

24 degrees.
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1 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCES.—In selecting recipients

2 under this section, the Secretary may—

3 ‘‘(A) give preference to institutions of higher

4 education that are educating regular education

5 personnel to meet the needs of children with dis6 abilities in integrated settings and educating

7 special education personnel to work in collabora8 tion with regular educators in integrated set9 tings; and

10 ‘‘(B) give preference to institutions of higher

11 education that are successfully recruiting and

12 preparing individuals with disabilities and indi13 viduals from groups that are underrepresented in

14 the profession for which they are preparing indi15 viduals.

16 ‘‘(h) SERVICE OBLIGATION.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Each application for funds

18 under subsections (b) and (e), and to the extent ap19 propriate subsection (d), shall include an assurance

20 that the applicant will ensure that individuals who

21 receive a scholarship under the proposed project will

22 subsequently provide special education and related

23 services to children with disabilities for a period of 2

24 years for every year for which assistance was received
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1 or repay all or part of the cost of that assistance, in

2 accordance with regulations issued by the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(2) LEADERSHIP PREPARATION.—Each appli4 cation for funds under subsection (c) shall include an

5 assurance that the applicant will ensure that individ6 uals who receive a scholarship under the proposed

7 project will subsequently perform work related to their

8 preparation for a period of 2 years for every year for

9 which assistance was received or repay all or part of

10 such costs, in accordance with regulations issued by

11 the Secretary.

12 ‘‘(i) SCHOLARSHIPS.—The Secretary may include

13 funds for scholarships, with necessary stipends and allow14 ances, in awards under subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e).

15 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

16 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such

17 sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1998

18 through 2002.

19 ‘‘SEC. 674. STUDIES AND EVALUATIONS.

20 ‘‘(a) STUDIES AND EVALUATIONS.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, directly

22 or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agree23 ments, assess the progress in the implementation of

24 this Act, including the effectiveness of State and local

25 efforts to provide—
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1 ‘‘(A) a free appropriate public education to

2 children with disabilities; and

3 ‘‘(B) early intervention services to infants

4 and toddlers with disabilities and infants and

5 toddlers who would be at risk of having substan6 tial developmental delays if early intervention

7 services were not provided to them.

8 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out

9 this subsection, the Secretary may support studies,

10 evaluations, and assessments, including studies that—

11 ‘‘(A) analyze measurable impact, outcomes,

12 and results achieved by State educational agen13 cies and local educational agencies through their

14 activities to reform policies, procedures, and

15 practices designed to improve educational and

16 transitional services and results for children with

17 disabilities;

18 ‘‘(B) analyze State and local needs for pro19 fessional development, parent training, and other

20 appropriate activities that can reduce the need

21 for disciplinary actions involving children with

22 disabilities;

23 ‘‘(C) assess educational and transitional

24 services and results for children with disabilities

25 from minority backgrounds, including—
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1 ‘‘(i) data on—

2 ‘‘(I) the number of minority chil3 dren who are referred for special edu4 cation evaluation;

5 ‘‘(II) the number of minority chil6 dren who are receiving special edu7 cation and related services and their

8 educational or other service placement;

9 and

10 ‘‘(III) the number of minority

11 children who graduated from secondary

12 and postsecondary education programs;

13 and

14 ‘‘(ii) the performance of children with

15 disabilities from minority backgrounds on

16 State assessments and other performance in17 dicators established for all students;

18 ‘‘(D) measure educational and transitional

19 services and results of children with disabilities

20 under this Act, including longitudinal studies

21 that—

22 ‘‘(i) examine educational and transi23 tional services and results for children with

24 disabilities who are 3 through 17 years of

25 age and are receiving special education and
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1 related services under this Act, using a na2 tional, representative sample of distinct age

3 cohorts and disability categories; and

4 ‘‘(ii) examine educational results, post5 secondary placement, and employment sta6 tus of individuals with disabilities, 18

7 through 21 years of age, who are receiving

8 or have received special education and re9 lated services under this Act; and

10 ‘‘(E) identify and report on the placement

11 of children with disabilities by disability cat12 egory.

13 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL ASSESSMENT.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry

15 out a national assessment of activities carried out

16 with Federal funds under this Act in order—

17 ‘‘(A) to determine the effectiveness of this

18 Act in achieving its purposes;

19 ‘‘(B) to provide information to the Presi20 dent, the Congress, the States, local educational

21 agencies, and the public on how to implement the

22 Act more effectively; and

23 ‘‘(C) to provide the President and the Con24 gress with information that will be useful in de-
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1 veloping legislation to achieve the purposes of

2 this Act more effectively.

3 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall plan,

4 review, and conduct the national assessment under

5 this subsection in consultation with researchers, State

6 practitioners, local practitioners, parents of children

7 with disabilities, individuals with disabilities, and

8 other appropriate individuals.

9 ‘‘(3) SCOPE OF ASSESSMENT.—The national as10 sessment shall examine how well schools, local edu11 cational agencies, States, other recipients of assistance

12 under this Act, and the Secretary are achieving the

13 purposes of this Act, including—

14 ‘‘(A) improving the performance of children

15 with disabilities in general scholastic activities

16 and assessments as compared to nondisabled

17 children;

18 ‘‘(B) providing for the participation of chil19 dren with disabilities in the general curriculum;

20 ‘‘(C) helping children with disabilities make

21 successful transitions from—

22 ‘‘(i) early intervention services to pre23 school education;

24 ‘‘(ii) preschool education to elementary

25 school; and
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1 ‘‘(iii) secondary school to adult life;

2 ‘‘(D) placing and serving children with dis3 abilities, including minority children, in the

4 least restrictive environment appropriate;

5 ‘‘(E) preventing children with disabilities,

6 especially children with emotional disturbances

7 and specific learning disabilities, from dropping

8 out of school;

9 ‘‘(F) addressing behavioral problems of chil10 dren with disabilities as compared to non11 disabled children;

12 ‘‘(G) coordinating services provided under

13 this Act with each other, with other educational

14 and pupil services (including preschool services),

15 and with health and social services funded from

16 other sources;

17 ‘‘(H) providing for the participation of par18 ents of children with disabilities in the education

19 of their children; and

20 ‘‘(I) resolving disagreements between edu21 cation personnel and parents through activities

22 such as mediation.

23 ‘‘(4) INTERIM AND FINAL REPORTS.—The Sec24 retary shall submit to the President and the Con25 gress—
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1 ‘‘(A) an interim report that summarizes the

2 preliminary findings of the assessment not later

3 than October 1, 1999; and

4 ‘‘(B) a final report of the findings of the as5 sessment not later than October 1, 2001.

6 ‘‘(c) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall report an7 nually to the Congress on—

8 ‘‘(1) an analysis and summary of the data re9 ported by the States and the Secretary of the Interior

10 under section 618;

11 ‘‘(2) the results of activities conducted under sub12 section (a);

13 ‘‘(3) the findings and determinations resulting

14 from reviews of State implementation of this Act.

15 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO LEAS.—The Sec16 retary shall provide directly, or through grants, contracts,

17 or cooperative agreements, technical assistance to local edu18 cational agencies to assist them in carrying out local capac19 ity-building and improvement projects under section

20 611(f)(4) and other LEA systemic improvement activities

21 under this Act.

22 ‘‘(e) RESERVATION FOR STUDIES AND TECHNICAL AS23 SISTANCE.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (2) and notwithstanding any other provision of
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1 this Act, the Secretary may reserve up to one-half of

2 one percent of the amount appropriated under parts

3 B and C for each fiscal year to carry out this section.

4 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—For the first fiscal

5 year in which the amount described in paragraph (1)

6 is at least $20,000,000, the maximum amount the

7 Secretary may reserve under paragraph (1) is

8 $20,000,000. For each subsequent fiscal year, the

9 maximum amount the Secretary may reserve under

10 paragraph (1) is $20,000,000, increased by the cumu11 lative rate of inflation since the fiscal year described

12 in the previous sentence.

13 ‘‘(3) USE OF MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—In any fiscal

14 year described in paragraph (2) for which the Sec15 retary reserves the maximum amount described in

16 that paragraph, the Secretary shall use at least half

17 of the reserved amount for activities under subsection

18 (d).

19 ‘‘Chapter 2—Improving Early Intervention, Edu20 cational, and Transitional Services and Results

21 for Children With Disabilities Through Coordi22 nated Technical Assistance, Support, and Dis23 semination of Information

24 ‘‘SEC. 681. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

25 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Congress finds as follows:
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1 ‘‘(1) National technical assistance, support, and

2 dissemination activities are necessary to ensure that

3 parts B and C are fully implemented and achieve

4 quality early intervention, educational, and transi5 tional results for children with disabilities and their

6 families.

7 ‘‘(2) Parents, teachers, administrators, and relat8 ed services personnel need technical assistance and in9 formation in a timely, coordinated, and accessible

10 manner in order to improve early intervention, edu11 cational, and transitional services and results at the

12 State and local levels for children with disabilities

13 and their families.

14 ‘‘(3) Parent training and information activities

15 have taken on increased importance in efforts to as16 sist parents of a child with a disability in dealing

17 with the multiple pressures of rearing such a child

18 and are of particular importance in—

19 ‘‘(A) ensuring the involvement of such par20 ents in planning and decisionmaking with re21 spect to early intervention, educational, and

22 transitional services;

23 ‘‘(B) achieving quality early intervention,

24 educational, and transitional results for children

25 with disabilities;
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1 ‘‘(C) providing such parents information on

2 their rights and protections under this Act to en3 sure improved early intervention, educational,

4 and transitional results for children with dis5 abilities;

6 ‘‘(D) assisting such parents in the develop7 ment of skills to participate effectively in the

8 education and development of their children and

9 in the transitions described in section

10 674(b)(3)(C); and

11 ‘‘(E) supporting the roles of such parents as

12 participants within partnerships seeking to im13 prove early intervention, educational, and tran14 sitional services and results for children with

15 disabilities and their families.

16 ‘‘(4) Providers of parent training and informa17 tion activities need to ensure that such parents who

18 have limited access to services and supports, due to

19 economic, cultural, or linguistic barriers, are pro20 vided with access to appropriate parent training and

21 information activities.

22 ‘‘(5) Parents of children with disabilities need

23 information that helps the parents to understand the

24 rights and responsibilities of their children under

25 part B.
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1 ‘‘(6) The provision of coordinated technical as2 sistance and dissemination of information to State

3 and local agencies, institutions of higher education,

4 and other providers of services to children with dis5 abilities is essential in—

6 ‘‘(A) supporting the process of achieving

7 systemic change;

8 ‘‘(B) supporting actions in areas of priority

9 specific to the improvement of early intervention,

10 educational, and transitional results for children

11 with disabilities;

12 ‘‘(C) conveying information and assistance

13 that are—

14 ‘‘(i) based on current research (as of

15 the date the information and assistance are

16 conveyed);

17 ‘‘(ii) accessible and meaningful for use

18 in supporting systemic-change activities of

19 State and local partnerships; and

20 ‘‘(iii) linked directly to improving

21 early intervention, educational, and transi22 tional services and results for children with

23 disabilities and their families; and
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1 ‘‘(D) organizing systems and information

2 networks for such information, based on modern

3 technology related to—

4 ‘‘(i) storing and gaining access to in5 formation; and

6 ‘‘(ii) distributing information in a sys7 tematic manner to parents, students, profes8 sionals, and policymakers.

9 ‘‘(7) Federal support for carrying out technology

10 research, technology development, and educational

11 media services and activities has resulted in major

12 innovations that have significantly improved early

13 intervention, educational, and transitional services

14 and results for children with disabilities and their

15 families.

16 ‘‘(8) Such Federal support is needed—

17 ‘‘(A) to stimulate the development of soft18 ware, interactive learning tools, and devices to

19 address early intervention, educational, and

20 transitional needs of children with disabilities

21 who have certain disabilities;

22 ‘‘(B) to make information available on tech23 nology research, technology development, and

24 educational media services and activities to indi25 viduals involved in the provision of early inter-
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1 vention, educational, and transitional services to

2 children with disabilities;

3 ‘‘(C) to promote the integration of tech4 nology into curricula to improve early interven5 tion, educational, and transitional results for

6 children with disabilities;

7 ‘‘(D) to provide incentives for the develop8 ment of technology and media devices and tools

9 that are not readily found or available because

10 of the small size of potential markets;

11 ‘‘(E) to make resources available to pay for

12 such devices and tools and educational media

13 services and activities;

14 ‘‘(F) to promote the training of personnel—

15 ‘‘(i) to provide such devices, tools, serv16 ices, and activities in a competent manner;

17 and

18 ‘‘(ii) to assist children with disabilities

19 and their families in using such devices,

20 tools, services, and activities; and

21 ‘‘(G) to coordinate the provision of such de22 vices, tools, services, and activities—

23 ‘‘(i) among State human services pro24 grams; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) between such programs and pri2 vate agencies.

3 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this chapter are to

4 ensure that—

5 ‘‘(1) children with disabilities, and their parents,

6 receive training and information on their rights and

7 protections under this Act, in order to develop the

8 skills necessary to effectively participate in planning

9 and decisionmaking relating to early intervention,

10 educational, and transitional services and in sys11 temic-change activities;

12 ‘‘(2) parents, teachers, administrators, early

13 intervention personnel, related services personnel, and

14 transition personnel receive coordinated and acces15 sible technical assistance and information to assist

16 such persons, through systemic-change activities and

17 other efforts, to improve early intervention, edu18 cational, and transitional services and results for

19 children with disabilities and their families;

20 ‘‘(3) appropriate technology and media are re21 searched, developed, demonstrated, and made avail22 able in timely and accessible formats to parents,

23 teachers, and all types of personnel providing services

24 to children with disabilities to support their roles as

25 partners in the improvement and implementation of
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1 early intervention, educational, and transitional serv2 ices and results for children with disabilities and

3 their families;

4 ‘‘(4) on reaching the age of majority under State

5 law, children with disabilities understand their rights

6 and responsibilities under part B, if the State pro7 vides for the transfer of parental rights under section

8 615(m); and

9 ‘‘(5) the general welfare of deaf and hard-of-hear10 ing individuals is promoted by—

11 ‘‘(A) bringing to such individuals under12 standing and appreciation of the films and tele13 vision programs that play an important part in

14 the general and cultural advancement of hearing

15 individuals;

16 ‘‘(B) providing, through those films and tel17 evision programs, enriched educational and cul18 tural experiences through which deaf and hard19 of-hearing individuals can better understand the

20 realities of their environment; and

21 ‘‘(C) providing wholesome and rewarding

22 experiences that deaf and hard-of-hearing indi23 viduals may share.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 682. PARENT TRAINING AND INFORMATION CENTERS.

2 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may

3 make grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative

4 agreements with, parent organizations to support parent

5 training and information centers to carry out activities

6 under this section.

7 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Each parent training

8 and information center that receives assistance under this

9 section shall—

10 ‘‘(1) provide training and information that

11 meets the training and information needs of parents

12 of children with disabilities living in the area served

13 by the center, particularly underserved parents and

14 parents of children who may be inappropriately iden15 tified;

16 ‘‘(2) assist parents to understand the availability

17 of, and how to effectively use, procedural safeguards

18 under this Act, including encouraging the use, and

19 explaining the benefits, of alternative methods of dis20 pute resolution, such as the mediation process de21 scribed in section 615(e);

22 ‘‘(3) serve the parents of infants, toddlers, and

23 children with the full range of disabilities;

24 ‘‘(4) assist parents to—
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1 ‘‘(A) better understand the nature of their

2 children’s disabilities and their educational and

3 developmental needs;

4 ‘‘(B) communicate effectively with personnel

5 responsible for providing special education, early

6 intervention, and related services;

7 ‘‘(C) participate in decisionmaking proc8 esses and the development of individualized edu9 cation programs under part B and individual10 ized family service plans under part C;

11 ‘‘(D) obtain appropriate information about

12 the range of options, programs, services, and re13 sources available to assist children with disabil14 ities and their families;

15 ‘‘(E) understand the provisions of this Act

16 for the education of, and the provision of early

17 intervention services to, children with disabil18 ities; and

19 ‘‘(F) participate in school reform activities;

20 ‘‘(5) in States where the State elects to contract

21 with the parent training and information center, con22 tract with State educational agencies to provide, con23 sistent with subparagraphs (B) and (D) of section

24 615(e)(2), individuals who meet with parents to ex25 plain the mediation process to them;
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1 ‘‘(6) network with appropriate clearinghouses,

2 including organizations conducting national dissemi3 nation activities under section 685(d), and with other

4 national, State, and local organizations and agencies,

5 such as protection and advocacy agencies, that serve

6 parents and families of children with the full range

7 of disabilities; and

8 ‘‘(7) annually report to the Secretary on—

9 ‘‘(A) the number of parents to whom it pro10 vided information and training in the most re11 cently concluded fiscal year; and

12 ‘‘(B) the effectiveness of strategies used to

13 reach and serve parents, including underserved

14 parents of children with disabilities.

15 ‘‘(c) OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES.—A parent training and

16 information center that receives assistance under this sec17 tion may—

18 ‘‘(1) provide information to teachers and other

19 professionals who provide special education and relat20 ed services to children with disabilities;

21 ‘‘(2) assist students with disabilities to under22 stand their rights and responsibilities under section

23 615(m) on reaching the age of majority; and

24 ‘‘(3) assist parents of children with disabilities

25 to be informed participants in the development and
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1 implementation of the State’s State improvement

2 plan under subpart 1.

3 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Each applica4 tion for assistance under this section shall identify with

5 specificity the special efforts that the applicant will under6 take—

7 ‘‘(1) to ensure that the needs for training and in8 formation of underserved parents of children with dis9 abilities in the area to be served are effectively met;

10 and

11 ‘‘(2) to work with community-based organiza12 tions.

13 ‘‘(e) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make at

15 least 1 award to a parent organization in each State,

16 unless the Secretary does not receive an application

17 from such an organization in each State of sufficient

18 quality to warrant approval.

19 ‘‘(2) SELECTION REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary

20 shall select among applications submitted by parent

21 organizations in a State in a manner that ensures the

22 most effective assistance to parents, including parents

23 in urban and rural areas, in the State.

24 ‘‘(f) QUARTERLY REVIEW.—

25 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS.—
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1 ‘‘(A) MEETINGS.—The board of directors or

2 special governing committee of each organization

3 that receives an award under this section shall

4 meet at least once in each calendar quarter to re5 view the activities for which the award was

6 made.

7 ‘‘(B) ADVISING BOARD.—Each special gov8 erning committee shall directly advise the orga9 nization’s governing board of its views and rec10 ommendations.

11 ‘‘(2) CONTINUATION AWARD.—When an organi12 zation requests a continuation award under this sec13 tion, the board of directors or special governing com14 mittee shall submit to the Secretary a written review

15 of the parent training and information program con16 ducted by the organization during the preceding fiscal

17 year.

18 ‘‘(g) DEFINITION OF PARENT ORGANIZATION.—As

19 used in this section, the term ‘parent organization’ means

20 a private nonprofit organization (other than an institution

21 of higher education) that—

22 ‘‘(1) has a board of directors—

23 ‘‘(A) the majority of whom are parents of

24 children with disabilities;

25 ‘‘(B) that includes—
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1 ‘‘(i) individuals working in the fields

2 of special education, related services, and

3 early intervention; and

4 ‘‘(ii) individuals with disabilities; and

5 ‘‘(C) the parent and professional members of

6 which are broadly representative of the popu7 lation to be served; or

8 ‘‘(2) has—

9 ‘‘(A) a membership that represents the in10 terests of individuals with disabilities and has

11 established a special governing committee that

12 meets the requirements of paragraph (1); and

13 ‘‘(B) a memorandum of understanding be14 tween the special governing committee and the

15 board of directors of the organization that clearly

16 outlines the relationship between the board and

17 the committee and the decisionmaking respon18 sibilities and authority of each.

19 ‘‘SEC. 683. COMMUNITY PARENT RESOURCE CENTERS.

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants

21 to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements

22 with, local parent organizations to support parent training

23 and information centers that will help ensure that under24 served parents of children with disabilities, including low25 income parents, parents of children with limited English
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1 proficiency, and parents with disabilities, have the training

2 and information they need to enable them to participate

3 effectively in helping their children with disabilities—

4 ‘‘(1) to meet developmental goals and, to the

5 maximum extent possible, those challenging standards

6 that have been established for all children; and

7 ‘‘(2) to be prepared to lead productive independ8 ent adult lives, to the maximum extent possible.

9 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Each parent training

10 and information center assisted under this section shall—

11 ‘‘(1) provide training and information that

12 meets the training and information needs of parents

13 of children with disabilities proposed to be served by

14 the grant, contract, or cooperative agreement;

15 ‘‘(2) carry out the activities required of parent

16 training and information centers under paragraphs

17 (2) through (7) of section 682(b);

18 ‘‘(3) establish cooperative partnerships with the

19 parent training and information centers funded

20 under section 682; and

21 ‘‘(4) be designed to meet the specific needs of

22 families who experience significant isolation from

23 available sources of information and support.
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1 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—As used is this section, the term

2 ‘local parent organization’ means a parent organization,

3 as defined in section 682(g), that either—

4 ‘‘(1) has a board of directors the majority of

5 whom are from the community to be served; or

6 ‘‘(2) has—

7 ‘‘(A) as a part of its mission, serving the

8 interests of individuals with disabilities from

9 such community; and

10 ‘‘(B) a special governing committee to ad11 minister the grant, contract, or cooperative

12 agreement, a majority of the members of which

13 are individuals from such community.

14 ‘‘SEC. 684. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR PARENT TRAINING

15 AND INFORMATION CENTERS.

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, directly or

17 through awards to eligible entities, provide technical assist18 ance for developing, assisting, and coordinating parent

19 training and information programs carried out by parent

20 training and information centers receiving assistance under

21 sections 682 and 683.

22 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary may

23 provide technical assistance to a parent training and infor24 mation center under this section in areas such as—
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1 ‘‘(1) effective coordination of parent training ef2 forts;

3 ‘‘(2) dissemination of information;

4 ‘‘(3) evaluation by the center of itself;

5 ‘‘(4) promotion of the use of technology, includ6 ing assistive technology devices and assistive tech7 nology services;

8 ‘‘(5) reaching underserved populations;

9 ‘‘(6) including children with disabilities in gen10 eral education programs;

11 ‘‘(7) facilitation of transitions from—

12 ‘‘(A) early intervention services to preschool;

13 ‘‘(B) preschool to school; and

14 ‘‘(C) secondary school to postsecondary en15 vironments; and

16 ‘‘(8) promotion of alternative methods of dispute

17 resolution.

18 ‘‘SEC. 685. COORDINATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND

19 DISSEMINATION.

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, by competi21 tively making grants or entering into contracts and cooper22 ative agreements with eligible entities, provide technical as23 sistance and information, through such mechanisms as in24 stitutes, Regional Resource Centers, clearinghouses, and

25 programs that support States and local entities in building
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1 capacity, to improve early intervention, educational, and

2 transitional services and results for children with disabil3 ities and their families, and address systemic-change goals

4 and priorities.

5 ‘‘(b) SYSTEMIC TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; AUTHORIZED

6 ACTIVITIES.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

8 the Secretary shall carry out or support technical as9 sistance activities, consistent with the objectives de10 scribed in subsection (a), relating to systemic change.

11 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that

12 may be carried out under this subsection include ac13 tivities such as the following:

14 ‘‘(A) Assisting States, local educational

15 agencies, and other participants in partnerships

16 established under subpart 1 with the process of

17 planning systemic changes that will promote im18 proved early intervention, educational, and tran19 sitional results for children with disabilities.

20 ‘‘(B) Promoting change through a

21 multistate or regional framework that benefits

22 States, local educational agencies, and other par23 ticipants in partnerships that are in the process

24 of achieving systemic-change outcomes.
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1 ‘‘(C) Increasing the depth and utility of in2 formation in ongoing and emerging areas of pri3 ority need identified by States, local educational

4 agencies, and other participants in partnerships

5 that are in the process of achieving systemic6 change outcomes.

7 ‘‘(D) Promoting communication and infor8 mation exchange among States, local educational

9 agencies, and other participants in partnerships,

10 based on the needs and concerns identified by the

11 participants in the partnerships, rather than on

12 externally imposed criteria or topics, regard13 ing—

14 ‘‘(i) the practices, procedures, and poli15 cies of the States, local educational agencies,

16 and other participants in partnerships; and

17 ‘‘(ii) accountability of the States, local

18 educational agencies, and other participants

19 in partnerships for improved early inter20 vention, educational, and transitional re21 sults for children with disabilities.

22 ‘‘(c) SPECIALIZED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; AUTHOR23 IZED ACTIVITIES.—

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

25 the Secretary shall carry out or support activities,
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1 consistent with the objectives described in subsection

2 (a), relating to areas of priority or specific popu3 lations.

4 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Examples of ac5 tivities that may be carried out under this subsection

6 include activities that—

7 ‘‘(A) focus on specific areas of high-priority

8 need that—

9 ‘‘(i) are identified by States, local edu10 cational agencies, and other participants in

11 partnerships;

12 ‘‘(ii) require the development of new

13 knowledge, or the analysis and synthesis of

14 substantial bodies of information not read15 ily available to the States, agencies, and

16 other participants in partnerships; and

17 ‘‘(iii) will contribute significantly to

18 the improvement of early intervention, edu19 cational, and transitional services and re20 sults for children with disabilities and their

21 families;

22 ‘‘(B) focus on needs and issues that are spe23 cific to a population of children with disabilities,

24 such as the provision of single-State and multi-
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1 State technical assistance and in-service train2 ing—

3 ‘‘(i) to schools and agencies serving

4 deaf-blind children and their families; and

5 ‘‘(ii) to programs and agencies serving

6 other groups of children with low-incidence

7 disabilities and their families; or

8 ‘‘(C) address the postsecondary education

9 needs of individuals who are deaf or hard of

10 hearing.

11 ‘‘(d) NATIONAL INFORMATION DISSEMINATION; AU12 THORIZED ACTIVITIES.—

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

14 the Secretary shall carry out or support information

15 dissemination activities that are consistent with the

16 objectives described in subsection (a), including ac17 tivities that address national needs for the prepara18 tion and dissemination of information relating to

19 eliminating barriers to systemic-change and improv20 ing early intervention, educational, and transitional

21 results for children with disabilities.

22 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Examples of ac23 tivities that may be carried out under this subsection

24 include activities relating to—
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1 ‘‘(A) infants and toddlers with disabilities

2 and their families, and children with disabilities

3 and their families;

4 ‘‘(B) services for populations of children

5 with low-incidence disabilities, including deaf6 blind children, and targeted age groupings;

7 ‘‘(C) the provision of postsecondary services

8 to individuals with disabilities;

9 ‘‘(D) the need for and use of personnel to

10 provide services to children with disabilities, and

11 personnel recruitment, retention, and prepara12 tion;

13 ‘‘(E) issues that are of critical interest to

14 State educational agencies and local educational

15 agencies, other agency personnel, parents of chil16 dren with disabilities, and individuals with dis17 abilities;

18 ‘‘(F) educational reform and systemic

19 change within States; and

20 ‘‘(G) promoting schools that are safe and

21 conducive to learning.

22 ‘‘(3) LINKING STATES TO INFORMATION

23 SOURCES.—In carrying out this subsection, the Sec24 retary may support projects that link States to tech25 nical assistance resources, including special education
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1 and general education resources, and may make re2 search and related products available through librar3 ies, electronic networks, parent training projects, and

4 other information sources.

5 ‘‘(e) APPLICATIONS.—An eligible entity that wishes to

6 receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative

7 agreement, under this section shall submit an application

8 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and contain9 ing such information as the Secretary may require.

10 ‘‘SEC. 686. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

12 sections 681 through 685 such sums as may be necessary

13 for each of the fiscal years 1998 through 2002.

14 ‘‘SEC. 687. TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION,

15 AND UTILIZATION, AND MEDIA SERVICES.

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall competitively

17 make grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative

18 agreements with, eligible entities to support activities de19 scribed in subsections (b) and (c).

20 ‘‘(b) TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT, DEMONSTRATION,

21 AND UTILIZATION; AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this section,

23 the Secretary shall support activities to promote the

24 development, demonstration, and utilization of tech25 nology.
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1 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Activities that

2 may be carried out under this subsection include ac3 tivities such as the following:

4 ‘‘(A) Conducting research and development

5 activities on the use of innovative and emerging

6 technologies for children with disabilities.

7 ‘‘(B) Promoting the demonstration and use

8 of innovative and emerging technologies for chil9 dren with disabilities by improving and expand10 ing the transfer of technology from research and

11 development to practice.

12 ‘‘(C) Providing technical assistance to re13 cipients of other assistance under this section,

14 concerning the development of accessible, effec15 tive, and usable products.

16 ‘‘(D) Communicating information on avail17 able technology and the uses of such technology

18 to assist children with disabilities.

19 ‘‘(E) Supporting the implementation of re20 search programs on captioning or video descrip21 tion.

22 ‘‘(F) Supporting research, development, and

23 dissemination of technology with universal-de24 sign features, so that the technology is accessible
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1 to individuals with disabilities without further

2 modification or adaptation.

3 ‘‘(G) Demonstrating the use of publicly4 funded telecommunications systems to provide

5 parents and teachers with information and

6 training concerning early diagnosis of, interven7 tion for, and effective teaching strategies for,

8 young children with reading disabilities.

9 ‘‘(c) EDUCATIONAL MEDIA SERVICES; AUTHORIZED

10 ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary

11 shall support—

12 ‘‘(1) educational media activities that are de13 signed to be of educational value to children with dis14 abilities;

15 ‘‘(2) providing video description, open caption16 ing, or closed captioning of television programs, vid17 eos, or educational materials through September 30,

18 2001; and after fiscal year 2001, providing video de19 scription, open captioning, or closed captioning of

20 educational, news, and informational television, vid21 eos, or materials;

22 ‘‘(3) distributing captioned and described videos

23 or educational materials through such mechanisms as

24 a loan service;
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1 ‘‘(4) providing free educational materials, in2 cluding textbooks, in accessible media for visually im3 paired and print-disabled students in elementary, sec4 ondary, postsecondary, and graduate schools;

5 ‘‘(5) providing cultural experiences through ap6 propriate nonprofit organizations, such as the Na7 tional Theater of the Deaf, that—

8 ‘‘(A) enrich the lives of deaf and hard-of9 hearing children and adults;

10 ‘‘(B) increase public awareness and under11 standing of deafness and of the artistic and in12 tellectual achievements of deaf and hard-of-hear13 ing persons; or

14 ‘‘(C) promote the integration of hearing,

15 deaf, and hard-of-hearing persons through shared

16 cultural, educational, and social experiences; and

17 ‘‘(6) compiling and analyzing appropriate data

18 relating to the activities described in paragraphs (1)

19 through (5).

20 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.—Any eligible entity that wishes

21 to receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative

22 agreement, under this section shall submit an application

23 to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and contain24 ing such information as the Secretary may require.
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1 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such

3 sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1998

4 through 2002.’’.

5 TITLE II—MISCELLANEOUS

6 PROVISIONS

7 SEC. 201. EFFECTIVE DATES.

8 (a) PARTS A AND B.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), parts A and B of the Individuals with Dis11 abilities Education Act, as amended by title I, shall

12 take effect upon the enactment of this Act.

13 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Sections 612(a)(4),

15 612(a)(14), 612(a)(16), 614(d) (except for para16 graph (6)), and 618 of the Individuals with Dis17 abilities Education Act, as amended by title I,

18 shall take effect on July 1, 1998.

19 (B) SECTION 617.—Section 617 of the Indi20 viduals with Disabilities Education Act, as

21 amended by title I, shall take effect on October

22 1, 1997.

23 (C) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS

24 AND COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF PERSONNEL

25 DEVELOPMENT.—Section 618 of the Individuals
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1 with Disabilities Education Act, as in effect on

2 the day before the date of the enactment of this

3 Act, and the provisions of parts A and B of the

4 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act re5 lating to individualized education programs and

6 the State’s comprehensive system of personnel de7 velopment, as so in effect, shall remain in effect

8 until July 1, 1998.

9 (b) PART C.—Part C of the Individuals with Disabil10 ities Education Act, as amended by title I, shall take effect

11 on July 1, 1998.

12 (c) PART D.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (2), part D of the Individuals with Disabilities

15 Education Act, as amended by title I, shall take effect

16 on October 1, 1997.

17 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraphs (1) and (2) of sec18 tion 661(g) of the Individuals with Disabilities Edu19 cation Act, as amended by title I, shall take effect on

20 January 1, 1998.

21 SEC. 202. TRANSITION.

22 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, beginning

23 on October 1, 1997, the Secretary of Education may use

24 funds appropriated under part D of the Individuals with

25 Disabilities Education Act to make continuation awards for
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1 projects that were funded under section 618 and parts C

2 through G of such Act (as in effect on September 30, 1997).

3 SEC. 203. REPEALERS.

4 (a) PART I.—Effective October 1, 1998, part I of the

5 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act is hereby re6 pealed.

7 (b) PART H.—Effective July 1, 1998, part H of such

8 Act is hereby repealed.

9 (c) PARTS C, E, F, AND G.—Effective October 1, 1997,

10 parts C, E, F, and G of such Act are hereby repealed.