and secondary schools, States and local edu-
cational agencies provide for the participation
of such children in the program assisted or car-
ried out under this part by providing for such
children special education and related services,
except if the Secretary has arranged for serv-
ices to such children under subsection (f).
‘‘(B) CHILDREN PLACED IN, OR REFERRED
TO, PRIVATE SCHOOLS BY PUBLIC AGENCIES.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Children with dis-
abilities in private schools and facilities are
provided special education and related
services, in accordance with an individual-
ized education program, at no cost to their
parents, if they are placed in, or referred
to, such schools or facilities by the State or
a local educational agency in order to com-
ply with this part or with any other provi-
sion of law requiring the provision of spe-
cial education and related services to all
children with disabilities in the State.
‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL
REQUIREMENTS.—
In all cases described in clause (i)—
‘‘(I) children with disabilities are
placed in, or referred to, only those
private schools and facilities that the
State educational agency determines
meet standards that apply to State
and local educational agencies; and
‘‘(II) children served in such pri-
vate schools or facilities retain access
to a free appropriate public education
in accordance with this part.
‘‘(C) PAYMENT FOR EDUCATION OF CHIL-
DREN PLACED IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS WITHOUT
CONSENT
OF
OR
REFERRAL
BY
THE
PUBLIC
AGENCY.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the parents of a
child with a disability that had previously
received special education and related serv-
ices under the authority of a public agency
have enrolled their child in a private ele-
mentary or secondary school without the
consent of or referral by the public agency,
as a result of mediation described in sec-
tion 615(d), or as a result of a decision
rendered under the procedural safeguards
of section 615, the public agency may be
required to reimburse the parents for the
cost of the enrollment, except that the cost
of the reimbursement may be reduced or
denied—
‘‘(I) if, at least 10 school days
prior to the removal of the child from
the public school, the parents did not
give a written statement of their con-
cerns to the public agency and notice
that they intend to place their child in
a private school at public expense;
‘‘(II) if, prior to the removal of
the child from the public school, the
parents did not make the child avail-
able for an initial assessment and
evaluation by the local educational
agency prior to enrollment in the pri-
vate school; or
‘‘(III) at the discretion of the
judge.
‘‘(ii) 
EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding
the notice requirement in clause (i)(I), the
cost of the reimbursement may not be re-
duced or denied for failure to provide such
notice if—
‘‘(I) the parent is illiterate or
cannot write in English;
‘‘(II) 
compliance 
with 
clause
(i)(I) would likely result in physical or
serious emotional harm to the child;
‘‘(III) the school prevented the
parent from providing such notice; or
‘‘(IV) the parent had not received
notice, pursuant to section 615(d), of
the notice requirement in clause (i)(I).
‘‘(10) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY RESPON-
SIBLE FOR GENERAL SUPERVISION.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State educational
agency is responsible for ensuring that—
‘‘(i) the requirements of this part are
met; and
‘‘(ii) all educational programs for chil-
dren with disabilities in the State, includ-
ing all such programs administered by any
other State or local agency—
‘‘(I) are under the general super-
vision of individuals in the State who
are responsible for educational pro-
grams for children with disabilities;
and
‘‘(II) meet the educational stand-
ards of the State educational agency.
‘‘(B) 
LIMITATION.—Subparagraph 
(A)
shall not limit the responsibility of agencies in
the State other than the State educational
agency to provide, or pay for some or all of the
costs of, a free appropriate public education for
any child with a disability in the State.
‘‘(11) METHODS OF ENSURING SERVICES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If any public agency
other than an educational agency is responsible
for providing, or paying for, any of the services
that are necessary for the provision of a free
appropriate public education to children with
disabilities within the State (such as mental
health services, transition services, and health
services for children with special needs), there
is a mechanism that has been developed and is
being implemented for interagency coordination,
in order to ensure that all required services are
provided, which shall include—
‘‘(i) an identification of, and a method
for defining, the financial responsibility of
each agency for providing a free appro-
priate public education to children with
disabilities; and
‘‘(ii) procedures for resolving inter-
agency 
disputes, 
including 
procedures
under which local educational agencies may
obtain reimbursement from other agencies.
‘‘(B) COMPLIANCE.—The requirements of
subparagraph (A) may be met through—
‘‘(i) State law or regulation;
‘‘(ii) signed agreements between re-
spective agency officials; or
‘‘(iii) other appropriate methods.
‘‘(12) PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS RELATING
TO
LOCAL
EDUCATIONAL
AGENCY
ELIGIBILITY.—
The State educational agency will not make a final
determination that a local educational agency is not
eligible for assistance under this part without first
affording that agency reasonable notice and an op-
portunity for a hearing.
‘‘(13) PERSONNEL STANDARDS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State educational
agency has established and maintains standards
to ensure that personnel necessary to carry out
this part are appropriately and adequately pre-
pared and trained.
‘‘(B) 
STANDARDS
DESCRIBED.—Such
standards shall—
‘‘(i) be consistent with any State-ap-
proved or State-recognized certification, li-
censing, registration, or other comparable
requirements that apply to the professional
discipline in which those personnel are pro-
viding special education or related services;
‘‘(ii) to the extent the standards de-
scribed in subparagraph (A) are not based
on the highest requirements in the State
applicable to a specific profession or dis-
cipline, the State is taking steps to require
retraining or hiring of personnel that meet
appropriate professional requirements in
the State; and
‘‘(iii) allow paraprofessionals and as-
sistants who are appropriately trained and
supervised, in accordance with State law,
regulations, or written policy, in meeting
the requirements of this part to be used to
assist in the provision of special education
and related services to children with dis-
abilities under this part.
‘‘(C) EXCEPTION.—If the State determines
that, within a geographic area of the State
there is a shortage of an appropriate number
and type of personnel to provide the special
education and related services to children with
disabilities within such area, and the appro-
priate public agency has taken steps to recruit
and hire such personnel, the State may, subject
to public comment and review, temporarily
modify the standards of subparagraph (B) for
any public agencies affected.
‘‘(14) PERFORMANCE
GOALS
AND
INDICA-
TORS.—The State—
‘‘(A) has established goals for the perform-
ance of children with disabilities in the State
that—
‘‘(i) will promote the purposes of this
title, as stated in section 601(d); and
‘‘(ii) are consistent, to the maximum
extent appropriate, with other goals and
standards established by the State;
‘‘(B) has established performance indica-
tors the State will use to assess progress toward
achieving those goals that, at a minimum, ad-
dress the performance of children with disabil-
ities on assessments, drop-out rates, and grad-
uation rates;
‘‘(C) will, every two years, report to the
Secretary and the public on the progress of the
State, and of children with disabilities in the
State, toward meeting the goals established
under subparagraph (A); and
‘‘(D) based on its assessment of that
progress, will revise its State improvement plan
under part D as may be needed to improve its
performance, if the State receives assistance
under such part.
‘‘(15) PARTICIPATION IN ASSESSMENTS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Children with disabil-
ities are included in general State and district-
wide assessment programs, with appropriate ac-
commodations, where necessary. As appro-
priate, the State or local educational agency—
‘‘(i) develops guidelines for the par-
ticipation of children with disabilities in al-
ternate assessments for those children who
cannot participate in State and district-
wide assessment programs; and
‘‘(ii) develops and, beginning not later
than July 1, 1999, conducts those alter-
nate assessments.
‘‘(B) REPORTS.—The State educational
agency makes available to the public, and re-
ports to the public with the same frequency and
in the same detail as it reports on the assess-
ment of nondisabled children, the following:
‘‘(i) The number of children with dis-
abilities participating in regular assess-
ments.
‘‘(ii) The number of those children
participating in alternate assessments.
‘‘(iii) The performance of those chil-
dren on regular assessments (beginning
not later than July 1, 1997) and on alter-
nate assessments (not later than July 1,
1999), if doing so would be statistically
sound and would not result in the disclo-
sure of performance results identifiable to
individual children.
‘‘(16) SUPPLEMENTATION
OF
STATE, LOCAL,
AND OTHER FEDERAL FUNDS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The State ensures
that amounts provided under a grant to the
State under this part, except as provided in
subparagraph (B), will be used to supplement
State, local, and other Federal funds (including
funds not under the direct control of State or
local educational agencies) expended for special
education and related services, and not to sup-
plant those funds.
‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive,
in whole or in part, the requirements of sub-
paragraph (A) if the Secretary determines that
the State has provided clear evidence that all
children with disabilities in the State have avail-
able a free appropriate public education or that,
such a waiver would allow the State to improve
the delivery of special education and related
services to children with disabilities in the
State.
‘‘(17) PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION.—Prior to the
adoption of any policies and procedures needed to
comply with this section (including any amendments
to such policies and procedures), the State ensures
that there are public hearings, adequate notice of
the hearings, and an opportunity for comment avail-
able to the general public, including individuals with
disabilities and parents of children with disabilities.
‘‘(18) STATE ADVISORY PANEL.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The State has estab-
lished and maintains an advisory panel for the
purpose of providing policy guidance with re-
spect to special education and related services
for children with disabilities in the State.
‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—Such advisory panel
shall consist of members appointed by the Gov-
ernor, or any other official authorized under
State law to make such appointments, that is
representative of the State population and that
is composed of individuals involved in, or con-
cerned with, the education of children with dis-
abilities, including—
‘‘(i) parents of children with disabil-
ities;
‘‘(ii) individuals with disabilities;
‘‘(iii) teachers;
‘‘(iv) representatives of institutions of
higher education that prepare special edu-
cation and related services personnel;
‘‘(v) State and local education offi-
cials;
‘‘(vi) administrators of programs for
children with disabilities;
‘‘(vii) representatives of other State
agencies involved in the financing or deliv-
ery of related services to children with dis-
abilities;
‘‘(viii) at least one representative of a
vocational, community, or business organi-
zation concerned with the provision of
transition services to children with disabil-
ities; and
‘‘(ix) representatives from the State
juvenile and adult corrections agencies.
‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE.—A majority of the
members of the panel shall be individuals with
disabilities or parents of children with disabil-
ities.
‘‘(D) DUTIES.—The advisory panel shall—
‘‘(i) advise the State educational agen-
cy of unmet needs within the State in the
education of children with disabilities;
‘‘(ii) comment publicly on any rules or
regulations proposed by the State regard-
ing—
‘‘(I) the education of children
with disabilities; and
‘‘(II) the procedures for distribu-
tion of amounts received by the State
under a grant under this part;
‘‘(iii) advise the State educational
agency in developing evaluations and re-
porting on data to the Secretary under sec-
tion 618;
‘‘(iv) advise the State educational
agency in developing corrective action
plans to address findings identified in Fed-
eral monitoring reports under this part;
and
‘‘(v) advise the State educational
agency in developing and implementing
policies relating to the coordination of serv-
ices for children with disabilities.
‘‘(b) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY AS PROVIDER OF
FREE APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION
OR DIRECT
SERVICES.—If the State educational agency provides free
appropriate public education to children with disabilities,
or provides direct services to such children, such agency—
‘‘(1) shall comply with any additional require-
ments of section 613(a), as if such agency were a
local educational agency; and
‘‘(2) may use amounts that are otherwise avail-
able to such agency under this part to serve those
children without regard to section 613(a)(2)(A)(i)
(relating to excess costs).
‘‘(c) EXCEPTION FOR PRIOR STATE PLANS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a State has on file with
the Secretary policies and procedures that dem-
onstrate that such State meets any requirement of
subsection (a), including any policies and procedures
filed under this part as in effect before the date of
the enactment of the IDEA Improvement Act of
1996, the Secretary shall consider such State to
have met such requirement for purposes of receiving
a grant under this part.
‘‘(2) MODIFICATIONS MADE BY STATE.—Sub-
ject to paragraph (3), an application submitted by a
State in accordance with this section shall remain in
effect until the State submits to the Secretary such
modifications as the State deems necessary. This
section shall apply to a modification to an applica-
tion to the same extent and in the same manner as
this section applies to the original plan.
‘‘(3) MODIFICATIONS REQUIRED BY THE SEC-
RETARY.—The Secretary may require a State to
amend its application at any time as a result of the
Secretary’s compliance reviews under parts B and C.
The Secretary shall reduce or shall not provide any
further payments to the State educational agency
until the Secretary is satisfied that the State edu-
cational agency is complying with that requirement.
‘‘(d) APPROVAL BY THE SECRETARY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines
that a State is eligible to receive a grant under this
part, the Secretary shall notify the State of that de-
termination.
‘‘(2) NOTICE
AND
HEARING.—The Secretary
shall not make a final determination that a State is
not eligible to receive a grant under this part until
after providing the State—
‘‘(A) with reasonable notice; and
‘‘(B) with an opportunity for a hearing.
‘‘(e) ASSISTANCE UNDER OTHER FEDERAL PRO-
GRAMS.—Nothing in this title permits a State to reduce
medical and other assistance available, or to alter eligi-
bility, under titles V and XIX of the Social Security Act
with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public
education for children with disabilities within the State.
‘‘(f) 
BY-PASS
FOR
CHILDREN
IN
PRIVATE
SCHOOLS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, on the date of enact-
ment of the Education of the Handicapped Act
Amendments of 1983, a State educational agency is
prohibited by law from providing for the participa-
tion in special programs of children with disabilities
enrolled in private elementary and secondary schools
as required by subsection (a)(9), the Secretary shall,
notwithstanding such provision of law, arrange for
the provision of services to such children through ar-
rangements which shall be subject to the require-
ments of such subsection.
‘‘(2) PAYMENTS.—
‘‘(A) DETERMINATION
OF
AMOUNTS.—If
the Secretary arranges for services pursuant to
this subsection, the Secretary, after consulta-
tion with the appropriate public and private
school officials, shall pay to the provider of such
services for a fiscal year an amount per child
that does not exceed the amount determined by
dividing—
‘‘(i) the total amount received by the
State under this part for such fiscal year;
by
‘‘(ii) the number of children with dis-
abilities served in the prior year, as re-
ported to the Secretary by the State under
section 618.
‘‘(B) 
WITHHOLDING
OF
CERTAIN
AMOUNTS.—Pending final resolution of any in-
vestigation or complaint that could result in a
determination under this subsection, the Sec-
retary may withhold from the allocation of the
affected State educational agency the amount
the Secretary estimates would be necessary to
pay the cost of services described in subpara-
graph (A).
‘‘(C) PERIOD OF PAYMENTS.—The period
under which payments are made under sub-
paragraph (A) shall continue until the Sec-
retary determines that there will no longer be
any failure or inability on the part of the State
educational agency to meet the requirements of
subsection (a)(9).
‘‘(3) NOTICE AND HEARING.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall
not take any final action under this subsection
until the State educational agency affected by
such action has had an opportunity, for at least
45 days after receiving written notice thereof,
to submit written objections and to appear be-
fore the Secretary or the Secretary’s designee
to show cause why such action should not be
taken.