ELIGIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
SEC. 105. Section 609 of the IDEA is amended to
read as follows:
‘‘ELIGIBILITY FOR FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
‘‘SEC. 609. The Secretary shall not make a grant
under parts C through G of this Act to a State, or to
any local educational agency or other public institution or
agency in the State, that relates exclusively to programs,
projects, and activities pertaining to children aged three
through five unless the State is eligible to receive a grant
under section 619.’’.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO PARTS C
THROUGH G
SEC. 106. Except as otherwise provided, effective on
October 1, 1996, section 610 of the IDEA is amended to
read as follows:
‘‘ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO PARTS C
THROUGH G
‘‘SEC. 610. (a) FINDINGS.—With respect to this sec-
tion and parts D through G, the Congress finds as follows:
‘‘(1)(A) The Federal Government must be re-
sponsive to the growing needs of an increasingly
more diverse society. A more equitable allocation of
resources is essential for the Federal Government to
meet its responsibility to provide an equal edu-
cational opportunity for all individuals.
‘‘(B) America’s racial profile is rapidly chang-
ing. Between 1980 and 1990, the rate of increase in
the population for white Americans was 6.0 percent,
while the rate of increase for racial and ethnic mi-
norities was much higher: 53.0 percent for His-
panics, 13.2 percent for African Americans, and
107.8 percent for Asians.
‘‘(C) By the year 2000, this Nation will have
260 million people, one of every three of whom will
be either African American, Hispanic, or Asian
American.
‘‘(D) Taken together as a group, minority chil-
dren are comprising an ever larger percentage of
public school students. Large city school populations
are overwhelmingly minority; for example, for school
year 1992–1993, the figure for Miami is 83 percent;
for Chicago, 88 percent; for Philadelphia, 77 per-
cent; for Baltimore, 83.5 percent; for Houston, 87
percent; and for Los Angeles, 87 percent.
‘‘(E) The population of individuals with limited
English proficiency is the fastest growing in our Na-
tion, and the growth is occurring in many parts of
our Nation. In the Nation’s two largest school dis-
tricts, nearly half of the children entering kinder-
garten have limited English proficiency. Children
with disabilities who are also limited-English-pro-
ficient face very significant obstacles in seeking to
take advantage of their opportunity to receive an
education that will enable them to participate fully
in American society. These obstacles include inap-
propriate referral and evaluation procedures for spe-
cial education services; the limited English pro-
ficiency of their parents, which hinders the parents’
ability to fully participate in the education of their
children; and a shortage of teachers and other staff
who are professionally qualified to serve these chil-
dren.
‘‘(2)(A) Greater efforts are needed to prevent
the intensification of problems connected with
mislabeling and to improve post-school results
among minority children with disabilities.
‘‘(B) More minority children continue to be
served in special education than would be expected
from the percentage of minority students in the gen-
eral school population.
‘‘(C) Poor African American children are 2.5
times more likely to be identified by their school as
mentally retarded than are their white counterparts.
‘‘(D) Although African Americans represent 16
percent of elementary and secondary enrollments,
they constitute 24 percent of total enrollments in
special education.
‘‘(E) The percentage of students with disabil-
ities who are white who go on to college is 18; for
African American students with disabilities, that
percentage is 11; and for Hispanic students with
disabilities, 14 percent.
‘‘(F) Up to five years after leaving high school,
over 46 percent of white youth with disabilities were
employed at jobs paying over six dollars per hour,
while less than 14 percent of African American
youth with disabilities and just 25 percent of His-
panic youth with disabilities were employed at or
above that rate.
‘‘(3)(A) There is a compelling national interest
in aiding those institutions of higher education that
have historically served students who have been de-
nied access to postsecondary education because of
race or national origin and whose participation in
the American system of higher education is in the
Nation’s interest so that equality of access and the
quality of postsecondary education is enhanced for
all students.
‘‘(B) As recently as 1991, Historically Black
Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) enrolled 44 per-
cent of the African American teacher trainees in the
Nation. However, in 1993, HBCUs received only
four percent of the discretionary funds for special
education and related services personnel training
under this Act.
‘‘(C) HBCUs and other institutions of higher
education with substantial minority enrollments have
played an important role in preparing special edu-
cation teachers and other professionals who provide
services to children with disabilities in inner-city
urban and rural areas that have experienced signifi-
cant shortages in qualified teachers and service pro-
viders. In 1990–91, 38 percent of all schools had
teaching vacancies in special education; schools that
were 20 percent of more minority were more likely
to have teaching vacancies than those with lower
percentages of minority enrollments.
‘‘(D) HBCUs and other institutions of higher
education with substantial minority enrollments play
an important role in the development of a profes-
sional workforce in special education that reflects
the full participation of all members of society by
providing access and high-quality education to low-
income and minority students who will enter special
education and related fields.
‘‘(E) As the number of African American and
Hispanic students in schools, and in special edu-
cation, continues to rise, the number of minority
teachers and related service personnel produced in
our colleges and universities continues to decrease.
In 1992–1993, 90 percent of those receiving bach-
elor’s degrees in education were white, while only
five percent were African American and less than
three percent were Hispanic. In 1980–81, when al-
most the same total number of bachelor’s degrees in
education were conferred, 87 percent of those receiv-
ing education degrees were white, 9 percent were Af-
rican American, and three percent were Hispanic.
‘‘(b) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.—(1) The Secretary
shall develop and implement a comprehensive plan for ac-
tivities under parts D through G of this Act in order to
assist States and local educational agencies in providing
educational, related, and early intervention services to
children with disabilities under parts B and H of this Act.
‘‘(2) In developing the plan described in paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall involve individuals with disabil-
ities; parents of children with disabilities; appropriate pro-
fessionals; and representatives of State and local edu-
cational agencies, private school, institutions of higher
education, other Federal agencies, the National Council on
Disabilities, and national organizations with an interest in,
and expertise in, providing services to children with dis-
abilities and their families.
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS.—(1) Except as other-
wise provided, those eligible to apply for awards under
parts D through G are—
‘‘(A) institutions of higher education;
‘‘(B) State educational agencies;
‘‘(C) local educational agencies;
‘‘(D) other public agencies;
‘‘(E) private nonprofit organizations;
‘‘(F) Indian tribes, the Bureau of Indian Af-
fairs (when acting on behalf of schools operated by
the Bureau for children and students on Indian res-
ervations), and tribally controlled schools funded by
the Bureau; and
‘‘(G) when the Secretary finds it appropriate in
light of the purposes of a particular competition, for-
profit organizations.
‘‘(2) The Secretary may limit individual competitions
to one or more categories of eligible entities listed in para-
graph (1).
‘‘(d) SPECIAL POPULATIONS.—(1) In making awards
under parts D through G, the Secretary shall, as appro-
priate, require applicants to demonstrate how they will ad-
dress the needs of children with disabilities from minority
backgrounds.
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
beginning with fiscal year 1996, the Secretary—
‘‘(A) shall ensure that at least one percent of
the total amount of funds appropriated for parts D
through G (and, for fiscal year 1996, for parts C
through G) is used—
‘‘(i) for outreach and technical assistance
to Historically Black Colleges and Universities
(HBCUs), and to institutions of higher edu-
cation with minority enrollments of at least 25
percent, to promote their participation in activi-
ties under those parts; and
‘‘(ii) to enable those HBCUs and institu-
tions to assist others in improving educational
results for children with disabilities; and
‘‘(B) may reserve funds appropriated under
parts D through G (and, for fiscal year 1996, for
parts C through G) to meet the requirement of sub-
paragraph (A).
‘‘(e) PRIORITIES.—In making awards under parts D
through G, the Secretary may, without rulemaking under
section 553 of title 5, United States Code, limit competi-
tions to, or otherwise give priority to—
‘‘(1) projects that address one or more—
‘‘(A) age ranges;
‘‘(B) disabilities;
‘‘(C) grades in school;
‘‘(D) types of educational placements or
early intervention environments;
‘‘(E) types of services; or
‘‘(F) content areas such as reading;
‘‘(2) projects that address the needs of children
with disabilities who are of a single gender;
‘‘(3) projects that address the needs of children
based on the severity of their disability;
‘‘(4) projects that address the needs of—
‘‘(A) low-achieving students;
‘‘(B) underserved populations;
‘‘(C) children from low-income families;
‘‘(D) children with limited English pro-
ficiency;
‘‘(E) unserved and underserved areas; or
‘‘(F) particular types of geographic areas,
such as inner-city and rural areas;
‘‘(5) projects in particular areas of the country,
to ensure broad geographic coverage; and
‘‘(6) any activity that is expressly authorized in
the applicable part.
‘‘(f) APPLICANT
AND
RECIPIENT
RESPONSIBIL-
ITIES.—(1) The Secretary shall require that applicants
for, and recipients of, awards under parts D through G—
‘‘(A) involve individuals with disabilities and
parents of individuals with disabilities in planning,
implementing, and evaluating projects; and
‘‘(B) 
where 
appropriate, 
determine 
their
projects’ potential for replication and widespread
adoption.
‘‘(2) The Secretary may require that applicants for,
and recipients of, awards under parts D through G—
‘‘(A) share in the cost of projects;
‘‘(B) prepare their findings and products in for-
mats useful for specific audiences, including parents,
administrators, teachers, early intervention person-
nel, related services personnel, and individuals with
disabilities;
‘‘(C) disseminate their findings and products;
and
‘‘(D) collaborate with other recipients.
‘‘(g) PEER REVIEW.—(1) The Secretary shall use
panels of experts who are competent, by virtue of their
training, expertise, or experience, to evaluate applications
under parts D through G that request more than $75,000.
‘‘(2) A majority of each panel under paragraph (1)
shall be individuals who are not employees of the Federal
Government.
‘‘(3) The Secretary may use funds available under
parts D through G to pay the expenses and fees of non-
Federal panel members.
‘‘(h) PROGRAM EVALUATION.—The Secretary may
use funds appropriated to carry out parts C through G
to evaluate activities carried out under those parts.
‘‘(i) INDIRECT COSTS.—The Secretary—
‘‘(1) shall not permit any recipient of funds
under parts C through G to use more than 25 per-
cent of those funds for indirect costs; and
‘‘(2) may further limit the extent to which any
such recipient may use those funds for those costs.
‘‘(j) MINIMUM FUNDING REQUIRED.—(1) The Sec-
retary shall ensure that, for each fiscal year, at least the
following amounts are provided for activities under parts
D through G:
‘‘(A) $12,832,000 to address the educational,
related services, transitional, and early intervention
needs of children with deaf-blindness.
‘‘(B) $4,147,000 to address the educational, re-
lated services, transitional, and early intervention
needs of children with an emotional disturbance, and
to prevent children with behavioral problems from
developing an emotional disturbance.
‘‘(C) $10,030,000 to address the educational,
related services, transitional, and early intervention
needs of children with sever disabilities.
‘‘(D) $4,000,000 to address the postsecondary,
vocational, technical, continuing, and adult edu-
cation needs of individuals with deafness.
‘‘(2) If the total amount appropriated for any fiscal
year for parts C through G is less than $254,034,000,
the amounts listed in paragraph (1) shall be proportion-
ately reduced.’’.
TITLE II—AMENDMENTS TO PART B OF THE
IDEA
ALLOCATIONS
SEC. 201. (a) ALLOCATIONS.—Subsections (a)
through (e) of section 611 of the IDEA are amended to
read as follows:
‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATES.—
‘‘(1) PURPOSE
OF
GRANTS.—The Secretary
shall make grants to States and the outlying areas,
and provide funds to the Secretary of the Interior,
to assist them to provide special education and relat-
ed services to children with disabilities in accordance
with this part.
‘‘(2) OUTLYING AREAS.—(A) From the amount
appropriated for any fiscal year under subsection
(g), the Secretary shall reserve not more than one
percent to provide assistance to the outlying areas in
accordance with their respective populations of indi-
viduals aged three through 21.
‘‘(B) The provisions of Public Law 95–134,
permitting the consolidation of grants to the outly-
ing areas, shall not apply to funds those areas re-
ceive under this section.
‘‘(3) SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.—From the
amount appropriated for any fiscal year under sub-
section (g), the Secretary shall reserve 1.25 percent
to provide assistance to the Secretary of the Interior
in accordance with subsection (f).
‘‘(4) HOLD-HARMLESS
PAYMENTS.—(A) After
reserving funds for studies and evaluations under
section 646(b), and for payments to the outlying
areas and the Secretary of the Interior under para-
graphs (2) and (3), the Secretary shall allocate to
each State an amount equal to the amount it re-
ceived under this section for fiscal year 1995, as
then in effect.
‘‘(B) If a State received any funds under this
section for fiscal year 1995 on the basis of children
tion for administration and other State-level activi-
ties in accordance with paragraphs (2) and (3).
‘‘(B) A State may use funds it retains under
subparagraph (A) without regard to—
‘‘(i) the prohibition on commingling of
funds in section 612(a)(18)(B); and
‘‘(ii) the prohibition on supplanting other
funds in section 612(a)(18)(C)(i).
‘‘(2) STATE
ADMINISTRATION.—(A) For the
purpose of administering this part, including section
619 (including the coordination of activities under
this part with, and providing technical assistance to,
other programs that provide services to children with
disabilities)—
‘‘(i) each State may use up to five percent
of the amount it receives under this section for
any fiscal year or $450,000, whichever is great-
er; and
‘‘(ii) each outlying area may use up to five
percent of the amount it receives under this
section for any fiscal year or $35,000, which-
ever is greater.
‘‘(B) Funds described in subparagraph (A) may
also be used for the administration of part H of this
Act, if the State educational agency is the lead agen-
cy for the State under that part.
‘‘(3) OTHER STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—Each
State shall use any funds it retains under paragraph
(1) and does not use for administration under para-
graph (2)—
‘‘(A) for support and direct services;
‘‘(B) for administrative costs of monitoring
and complaint investigation, but only to the ex-
tent that those costs exceed the costs incurred
for those activities during fiscal year 1985;
‘‘(C) to establish and implement the medi-
ation process required by section 615(d);
‘‘(D) to develop a State Improvement Plan
under part C of this Act;
‘‘(E) for activities at the State and local
levels to meet the performance goals established
by the State under section 612(a)(16) and to
support implementation of the State Improve-
ment Plan under part C if the State receives
funds under that part; or
‘‘(F) to supplement other funds used to de-
velop and implement a Statewide coordinated
services system designed to improve results for
children and families, including children with
disabilities and their families, but not to exceed
one percent of the amount received by the State
under this section. This system shall be coordi-
nated with and, to the extent appropriate, build
on the system of coordinated services developed
by the State under part H of this Act.
‘‘(c) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN-
CIES.—
‘‘(1) SUBGRANTS REQUIRED.—Each State that
receives a grant under this section for any fiscal
year shall distribute at least 75 percent of the grant
funds to local educational agencies in the State that
have established their eligibility under section 613,
and to State agencies that received funds under sec-
tion 614A(a) of this Act for fiscal year 1995 and
have established their eligibility under section 613,
for use in accordance with this part.
‘‘(2) METHODS
OF
DISTRIBUTION.—A State
may distribute funds under paragraph (1) on the
basis of—
‘‘(A) population;
‘‘(B) school enrollment;
‘‘(C) numbers of children with disabilities
receiving a free appropriate public education;
‘‘(D) allocations for previous fiscal years;
‘‘(E) any two or more of the factors de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (D); or
‘‘(F) poverty, in combination with one or
more of the factors described in subparagraphs
(A) through (D).
‘‘(3) FORMER CHAPTER 1 STATE AGENCIES.—
To the extent necessary, the State—
‘‘(i) shall use funds that are available
under subsection (b)(1)(A) to ensure that each
State agency that received fiscal year 1994
funds under subpart 2 of part D of chapter 1
of title I of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 receives, from the com-
bination of funds under subsection (b)(1)(A)
and funds provided under paragraph (1) of this
subsection, an amount equal to—
‘‘(I) the number of children with dis-
abilities, aged 6 through 21, to whom the
agency was providing special education and
related services on December 1 of the fis-
cal year for which the funds were appro-
priated, subject to the limitation in sub-
paragraph (B); multiplied by
‘‘(II) the per-child amount provided
under such subpart for fiscal year 1994;
and
‘‘(ii) may use those funds to ensure that
each local educational agency that received fis-
cal year 1994 funds under that subpart for chil-
dren who had transferred from a State-operated
or State-supported school or program assisted
under that subpart receives, from the combina-
tion of funds available under subsection
(b)(1)(A) and funds provided under paragraph
(1) of this subsection, an amount for each such
child, aged 3 through 21 to whom the agency
was providing special education and related
services on December 1 of the fiscal year for
which the funds were appropriated, equal to the
per-child amount the agency received under
that subpart for fiscal year 1994.
‘‘(B) The number of children counted
under subparagraph (A)(i)(I) shall not exceed
the number of children aged 3 through 21 for
whom the agency received fiscal year 1994
funds under subpart 2 of part D of chapter 1
of title I of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965.
‘‘(4) REALLOCATION
OF
FUNDS.—If a State
educational agency determines that a local edu-
cational agency is adequately providing a free appro-
priate public education to all children with disabil-
ities residing in the area served by that agency with
State and local funds, the State educational agency
may reallocate any portion of the funds under this
part that are not needed by that local agency to pro-
vide a free appropriate public education to other
local educational agencies in the State that are not
adequately providing special education and related
services to all children with disabilities residing in
the areas they serve.
‘‘(d) MINIMUM SUBGRANTS.—(1) A State may elect
not to distribute funds to any local educational agency
under this section or under section 619 for any fiscal year
if the total amount it would receive, from the combination
of funds under this section and section 619, is less than
$7,500.
‘‘(2) When a State elects to use its authority under
paragraph (1), it shall use the funds that would otherwise
be provided to the local educational agency to ensure the
provision of a free appropriate public education to children
with disabilities residing in the area served by that agency.
‘‘(3) A State’s authority under paragraph (1) does
not apply to a State agency that is eligible for a payment
under section 611(c) or section 619(i).
‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—For the purpose of this section,
the term ‘State’ means each of the 50 States, the District
of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.’’.
(b) SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.—Section 611(f)
of the IDEA is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking out ‘‘aggre-
gate amounts’’ and all that follows through ‘‘sec-
tion’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘amount appro-
priated under subsection (g)’’;
(2) in paragraph (3)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘an application’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘information’’;
(B) in subparagraph (A)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘demonstrates that
the Department of the Interior’’ before
‘‘meets’’; and
(ii) by striking out ‘‘activities), 613,
and 614(a)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘activities) and 613’’;
(C) in subparagraph (D), by striking out
‘‘section 618(b)(1)’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘section 618(g)’’ and inserting in lieu
thereof ‘‘section 618 or part E of this Act’’; and
(D) in the sentence following subparagraph
(F), by striking out ‘‘any such application’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the information de-
scribed in this paragraph’’;
(3) in paragraph (4)—
(A) in subparagraph (a)—
(i) by striking out ‘‘Beginning with’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘With’’;
(ii) by striking out ‘‘section 611(a) for
fiscal year 1992’’ and inserting in lieu
thereof ‘‘section 611’’; and
(iii) 
by 
striking 
out 
‘‘aggregate
amounts’’ and all that follows through
‘‘section’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘amount appropriated under subsection
(g)’’; and
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking out
‘‘in the following manner’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘shall receive’’ in clause (ii) thereof
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘by allocating to
each tribe or tribal organization’’; and
(4) in paragraph (6), by striking out ‘‘section
613(a)(12)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section
612(a)(20)’’.
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section
611 of the IDEA is further amended—
(1) by striking out subsection (g);
(2) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub-
section (g); and
(3) by amending subsection (g), as so redesig-
nated, to read as follows:
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the
purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary.’’.
STATE ELIGIBILITY
SEC. 202. (a) Section 612 of the IDEA is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘STATE ELIGIBILITY
‘‘SEC. 612. (a) STATE ELIGIBILITY.—A State is eligi-
ble for assistance under this part for any fiscal year if
it demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that
it has in effect policies and procedures to ensure that it
meets each of the following conditions:
‘‘(1) 
FREE
APPROPRIATE
PUBLIC
EDU-
CATION.—(A) A free appropriate public education is
available to all children with disabilities residing in
the State between the ages of 3 and 21, inclusive.
‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply with re-
spect to children aged 3 through 5 and 18 through
21 in a State to the extent that its application to
those children would be inconsistent with State law
or practice, or the order of any court, respecting the
provision of public education to children in those age
ranges.
‘‘(2) 
FULL
EDUCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITY
GOAL.—The State has established a goal of provid-
ing full educational opportunity to all children with
disabilities, and a detailed timetable for accomplish-
ing that goal.
‘‘(3) CHILD FIND.—All children with disabilities
residing in the State are identified, located, and
evaluated, regardless of the severity of their disabil-
ity.
‘‘(4) INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAM.—
An individualized education program, or an individ-
ualized family service plan that meets the require-
ments of section 676(d) of this Act, is developed, re-
viewed, and revised for each child with a disability
in accordance with section 614(d).
‘‘(5) LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT.—(A)
To the maximum extent appropriate—
‘‘(i) children with disabilities, including
children in public or private institutions or
other care facilities, are educated with children
who are not disabled; and
‘‘(ii) special classes, separate schooling, or
other removal of children with disabilities from
the regular educational environment occurs only
when the nature or severity of a child’s disabil-
ity means that education in regular classes with
the use of supplementary aids and services can-
not be achieved satisfactorily.
‘‘(B)(i) If the State distributes State funds on
the basis of the type of setting in which a child is
served, that funding mechanism does not result in
placements that violate the requirements of subpara-
graph (A).
‘‘(ii) If the State does not have policies and pro-
cedures to ensure compliance with clause (i), the
State shall provide the Secretary an assurance that
it will revise that funding mechanism as soon as fea-
sible to ensure that it does not result in such place-
ments.’’.
‘‘(6) 
PROCEDURAL
SAFEGUARDS.—Children
with disabilities and their parents are afforded the
procedural safeguards required by section 615.
‘‘(7) EVALUATION.—Children with disabilities
are evaluated in accordance with section 614 (a)
through (c).
‘‘(8) CONFIDENTIALITY.—Agencies in the State
comply with section 617(c), relating to the confiden-
tiality of records and information.
‘‘(9) TRANSITION FROM PART H TO PRESCHOOL
PROGRAMS.—(A) Children participating in early-
intervention programs assisted under part H of this
Act, and who will participate in preschool programs
assisted under this part, experience a smooth transi-
tion to those preschool programs; and
‘‘(B) by the child’s third birthday, an individ-
ualized education program or, if consistent with sec-
tions 614(d)(1)(B) and 676(d), an individualized
family service plan, has been developed and is being
implemented.
‘‘(10) CHILDREN IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS.—
‘‘(A) CHILDREN
PLACED
IN
PRIVATE
SCHOOLS BY THEIR PARENTS.—To the extent
consistent with the number and location of chil-
dren with disabilities in the State who are en-
rolled by their parents in private elementary
and secondary schools, those children partici-
pate in the program assisted under this part by
providing them special education and related
services, except when the Secretary has ar-
ranged for services to those children under sub-
section (f) of this section.
‘‘(B) CHILDREN PLACED IN, OR REFERRED
TO, PRIVATE SCHOOLS BY PUBLIC AGENCIES.—
(i) Children with disabilities in private schools
and facilities are provided special education and
related services, in accordance with an individ-
ualized education program, at no cost to their
parents, if they are placed in, or referred to,
those schools or facilities by the State or a local
educational agency in order to comply with this
part or with any other law requiring the provi-
sion of special education and related services to
all children with disabilities in the State; and
‘‘(ii) in all cases described in clause (i),
children with disabilities are placed in, or re-
ferred to, only those private schools and facili-
ties that the State educational agency deter-
mines meet standards that apply to State and
local educational agencies, and children served
in private schools or facilities have all the rights
they would have if served by those agencies.
‘‘(11) SEA RESPONSIBLE
FOR
GENERAL
SU-
PERVISION.—(A) The State educational agency is re-
sponsible for ensuring that—
‘‘(i) the requirements of this part are car-
ried out; and
‘‘(ii) all educational programs for children
with disabilities in the State, including all such
programs administered by any other State or
local agency—
‘‘(I) are under the general supervision
of the persons in the State educational
agency who are responsible for educational
programs for children with disabilities; and
‘‘(II) meet educational standards of
the State educational agency.
‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) does not limit the re-
sponsibility of agencies other than educational agen-
cies 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.
‘‘(12) METHODS OF ENSURING SERVICES.—(A)
If any public agency other than an educational agen-
cy 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 an effective
mechanism for interagency coordination, in order to
ensure that all required services are provided, which
shall include—
‘‘(i) an identification of, or a method for
defining, the financial responsibility of each
agency for providing a free appropriate public
education to children with disabilities; and
‘‘(ii) procedures for resolving interagency
disputes, including procedures under which
local educational agencies may obtain reim-
bursement from other agencies.
‘‘(B) The requirements of subparagraph (A)
may be met through—
‘‘(i) State statute or regulation;
‘‘(ii) signed agreements between respective
agency officials; or
‘‘(iii) other appropriate methods.
‘‘(13) LOCAL
EDUCATIONAL
AGENCY
ELIGI-
BILITY.—The State educational agency will not fi-
nally determine that a local educational agency is
not eligible under this part without first affording
that agency reasonable notice and an opportunity for
a hearing.
‘‘(14) COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF PERSONNEL
DEVELOPMENT.—The State has in effect, consistent
with the purposes of this Act and with section
676(b)(8), a comprehensive system of personnel de-
velopment that is designed to ensure an adequate
supply of qualified special education and related
services personnel necessary to carry out this part,
including—
‘‘(A) a statewide, coordinated personnel-de-
velopment plan that meets the personnel devel-
opment requirements of a State Improvement
Plan under section 624 of this Act, as amended
by section 302 of the Individuals with Disabil-
ities Education Act Amendments of 1995; or
‘‘(B) a personnel-development plan devel-
oped in consultation with parents of children
with disabilities, State and local educational
agencies, institutions of higher education, and
professional associations that—
‘‘(i) addresses current and projected
needs for special education and related
services personnel throughout the State;
‘‘(ii) addresses the need for the pre-
service and in-service preparation of per-
sonnel throughout the State, including reg-
ular education personnel, to provide edu-
cational services to children with disabil-
ities;
‘‘(iii) includes a system or procedures
for recruiting, preparing, and retaining
qualified personnel, including personnel
with disabilities and personnel from groups
that are underrepresented in the field of
special education and related services; and
‘‘(iv) is integrated, to the maximum
extent possible, with other professional de-
velopment plans and activities, including
those developed or carried out under titles
I and II of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 and title III of the
Goals 2000: Educate America Act.
‘‘(15) PERSONNEL STANDARDS.—(A) The State
educational agency has established and maintains
standards to ensure that personnel necessary to
carry out this part, including paraprofessional per-
sonnel, are appropriately and adequately prepared
and trained, including—
‘‘(i) standards that are consistent with any
State-approved or State-recognized certification,
licensing, registration, or other comparable re-
quirements that apply to the area in which
those personnel are providing special education
or related services; and
‘‘(ii) to the extent the standards described
in clause (i) are not based on the highest re-
quirements in the State applicable to a specific
profession or discipline, the State is taking
steps to require the retraining or hiring of per-
sonnel that meet appropriate professional re-
quirements in the State.
‘‘(B) Nothing in this Act, including subpara-
graph (A) of this paragraph, prohibits the use of
paraprofessionals who are appropriately trained and
supervised, in meeting the requirements of this part.
‘‘(16) 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 national policy
stated in section 601(b) and the purposes
of this Act stated in section 601(d)(1); and
‘‘(ii) are consistent, to the maximum
extent appropriate, with other goals and
standards established by the State, includ-
ing those established under the Goals
2000: Educate America Act, the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of
1965, the School-to-Work Opportunities
Act of 1994, and other relevant programs;
‘‘(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 report to the Secretary and the
public on the progress of the State, and of chil-
dren with disabilities in the State, toward meet-
ing the goals established under subparagraph
(A) every two years; and
‘‘(D) based on its assessment of that
progress, will revise its State Improvement Plan
under part C as may be needed to improve its
performance, if it receives funds under that
part.
‘‘(17) PARTICIPATION IN ASSESSMENTS.—(A)(i)
Children with disabilities are included in general
State and district-wide assessment programs, with
appropriate accommodations, where necessary; and
‘‘(ii) as appropriate, the State or local edu-
cational agency—
‘‘(I) develops guidelines for the participa-
tion of children with disabilities in alternate as-
sessments for those children who cannot partici-
pate in State and district-wide assessment pro-
grams; and
‘‘(II) develops and, beginning no later than
July 1, 1999, conducts those alternate assess-
ments.
‘‘(B) The State educational agency makes avail-
able to the public, and reports to the public with the
same frequency and in the same detail as it reports
on the assessment of nondisabled children—
‘‘(i) the number of children with disabil-
ities participating in regular assessments;
‘‘(ii) the number of those children partici-
pating in alternate assessments; and
‘‘(iii) the performance of those children on
regular assessments (beginning no later than
July 1, 1997) and on alternate assessments (no
later than July 1, 1999), when doing so would
be statistically sound and would not result in
the disclosure of performance results identifi-
able to individual children.
‘‘(18) USE
OF
FUNDS.—Funds paid to the
State under this part—
‘‘(A) will be expended in accordance with
all provisions of this part;
‘‘(B) will not be commingled with State
funds; and
‘‘(C)(i) except as provided in clause (ii),
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 re-
lated services, and not to supplant those funds.
‘‘(ii) The Secretary may waive, in part, the
requirements of clause (i) if the Secretary de-
termines that the State has provided clear and
convincing evidence that all children with dis-
abilities in the State have available a free ap-
propriate public education.
‘‘(19) PUBLIC
PARTICIPATION.—Before the
adoption of any policies and procedures needed to
comply with this section (including any amendments
to those policies and procedures), there are public
hearings, adequate notice of the hearings, and an
opportunity for comment available to the general
public, including individuals with disabilities and
parents of children with disabilities.
‘‘(20) STATE ADVISORY PANEL.—(A) The State
has an advisory panel, appointed by the Governor or
any other official authorized under State law to
make such appointments, that is representative of
the State population and that is composed of indi-
viduals involved in, or concerned with, the education
of children with disabilities, including—
‘‘(i) parents of children with disabilities;
‘‘(ii) individuals with disabilities;
‘‘(iii) teachers;
‘‘(iv) representatives of institutions of
higher education that prepare special education
and related services personnel;
‘‘(v) State and local education officials;
‘‘(vi) administrators of programs for chil-
dren with disabilities;
‘‘(vii) representatives of other State agen-
cies involved in the financing or delivery of re-
lated services to children with disabilities; and
‘‘(viii) at least one representative of a voca-
tional, community, or business organization
concerned with the provision of transition serv-
ices to children with disabilities.
‘‘(B) A majority of the members of the panel
are individuals with disabilities or parents of chil-
dren with disabilities.
‘‘(C) The advisory panel—
‘‘(i) advises the State educational agency
of unmet needs within the State in the edu-
cation of children with disabilities;
‘‘(ii) comments publicly on any rules or
regulations proposed by the State regarding—
‘‘(I) the education of children with
disabilities; and
‘‘(II) the procedures for distribution
of funds received by the State under this
part;
‘‘(iii) advises the State educational agency
in developing evaluations and reporting on data
to the Secretary under section 618;
‘‘(iv) advises the State educational agency
in developing corrective action plans to address
findings identified in Federal monitoring re-
ports under this part; and
‘‘(v) advises the State educational agency
in developing and implementing policies relating
to the coordination of services for children with
disabilities.
‘‘(b) SEA AS PROVIDER OF FAPE OR DIRECT SERV-
ICES.—If the State educational agency provides free ap-
propriate public education to children with disabilities, or
provides them direct services, it—
‘‘(1) shall comply with any additional require-
ments of section 613(a) as if it were a local edu-
cational agency; and
‘‘(2) may use funds that are otherwise available
to it under this part to serve those children without
regard to section 613(a)(3)(B) relating to excess
costs.
‘‘(c) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION; PRIOR STATE
PLANS.—(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a State
that wishes to establish its eligibility under this section
shall submit to the Secretary such information as the Sec-
retary may reasonably require.
‘‘(2) If a State has on file with the Secretary policies
and procedures that demonstrate that it meets any re-
quirement of this section, including any policies and proce-
dures filed under this part as in effect before enactment
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amend-
ments of 1995, the Secretary shall treat the State as meet-
ing that requirement.
‘‘(d) SECRETARIAL APPROVAL.—(1) If the Secretary
determines that a State is eligible under this section, the
Secretary shall notify the State of that determination.
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall not finally determine that
a State is not eligible under this section until after provid-
ing the State—
‘‘(A) reasonable notice; and
‘‘(B) an opportunity for a hearing.
‘‘(e) ASSISTANCE UNDER OTHER FEDERAL PRO-
GRAMS.—Nothing in this Act 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.’’.
(b)(1) Section 613(d) of the IDEA is redesignated
as subsection (f) of section 612.
(2) Section 612(f) of the IDEA, as redesignated by
paragraph (1), is amended—
(A) by inserting the subsection heading ‘‘BY-
PASS FOR CHILDREN IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS.’’ after
‘‘(f)’’;
(B) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by striking out ‘‘by subsection (a)(4)’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘by subsection
(a)(10)’’; and
(ii) by striking out ‘‘of subsection (a)(4)’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘of that sub-
section’’; and
(C) in paragraph (2)—
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking out
‘‘which may not exceed’’ and all that follows
through the end thereof and inserting in lieu
thereof ‘‘that does not exceed the amount deter-
mined by dividing—
(i) the total amount received by the
State under this part; by
‘‘(ii) the number of children with dis-
abilities served in the prior year as re-
ported to the Secretary under section
618.’’; and
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking
out ‘‘subsection (a)(4)’’ and inserting in
lieu thereof ‘‘subsection (a)(10)’’.
LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ELIGIBILITY
SEC. 203 (a) Section 613 of the IDEA is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ELIGIBILITY
‘‘SEC. 613 (a) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY ELIGI-
BILITY.—A local educational agency is eligible for assist-
ance under this part for any fiscal year if it demonstrates
to the satisfaction of the State educational agency that
it meets each of the following conditions:
‘‘(1) CONSISTENCY
WITH
STATE
POLICIES.—
The local educational agency, in providing for the
education of children with disabilities within its ju-
risdiction, has in effect policies, procedures, and pro-
grams that are consistent with the State policies and
procedures established under section 612 relating
to—
‘‘(A) the availability of a free appropriate
public education, under section 612(a)(1);
‘‘(B) the goal of providing full educational
opportunity to all children with disabilities,
under section 612(a)(2);
‘‘(C) child find, under section 612(a)(3);
‘‘(D) individualized education programs,
under section 612(a)(4);
‘‘(E) education of children in the least re-
strictive environment, under section 612(a)(5);
‘‘(F) procedural safeguards, under section
612(a)(6);
‘‘(G) evaluation, under section 612(a)(7);
‘‘(H) 
confidentiality, 
under 
section
612(a)(8);
‘‘(I) transition from part H to preschool
programs, under section 612(a)(9); and
‘‘(J) children in private schools, under sec-
tion 612(a)(10).
‘‘(2) COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEM OF PERSONNEL
DEVELOPMENT.—The local educational agency has
in effect procedures for the implementation and use
of the State’s comprehensive system of personnel de-
velopment established under section 612(a)(14) or
under the State Improvement Plan developed under
part C of this Act, as in effect beginning with fiscal
year 1997.
‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds paid to the local
educational agency under this part—
‘‘(A) will be expended in accordance with
all applicable provisions of this part;
‘‘(B) will be used only to pay the excess
costs of providing special education and related
services to children with disabilities;
‘‘(C) will be used to supplement State,
local, and other Federal funds and not to sup-
plant those funds;
‘‘(D) will not be used to reduce the level of
expenditures for the education of children with
disabilities made by the local educational agen-
cy from State or local funds below the level of
those expenditures for the preceding fiscal year;
‘‘(E) may be used, notwithstanding sub-
paragraph (B) or any other provision of this
part, for the costs of special education and re-
lated services provided in a regular class to a
child with a disability in accordance with the
child’s individualized education program, even if
one or more nondisabled children benefit from
those services; and
‘‘(F) may be used, in accordance with sub-
section (f) and notwithstanding subparagraph
(B) or any other provision of this part, to de-
velop and implement a coordinated services sys-
tem.
‘‘(4) INFORMATION FOR STATE EDUCATIONAL
AGENCY.—The local educational agency provides the
State educational agency information necessary to
enable the State educational agency to perform its
duties under this part, including, with respect to sec-
tion 612(a) (16) and (17), information relating to
State educational agency may treat the agency as meeting
that requirement.
‘‘(c) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY APPROVAL.—
(1)(A) If the State educational agency determines that a
local educational agency or State agency is eligible under
this section, the State educational agency shall notify the
agency of that determination.
‘‘(B) A State educational agency shall not give the
notice described in subparagraph (A) until the Secretary
has notified the State educational agency that the State
is eligible under section 612.
‘‘(2) The State educational agency shall not finally
determine that a local educational agency or State agency
is not eligible under this section until after providing the
agency—
‘‘(A) reasonable notice; and
‘‘(B) an opportunity for a hearing.
‘‘(d) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY COMPLIANCE.—
(1) If the State educational agency, after reasonable notice
and an opportunity for a hearing, finds that a local edu-
cational agency or State agency that has been found eligi-
ble under this section is failing to comply with any require-
ment described in subsection (a), it shall make no further
payments to the agency under section 620 until the State
educational agency is satisfied that the agency is comply-
ing with that requirement.
‘‘(2) The last sentence of section 616(a) applies to
any agency that receives a notice from the State edu-
cational agency under this subsection.
‘‘(3) In carrying out its responsibilities under para-
graph (1), the State educational agency shall consider any
decision made in a hearing held under section 615 that
is adverse to the local educational agency or State agency
involved in that decision.
‘‘(e) JOINT ESTABLISHMENT OF ELIGIBILITY.—(1)
A State educational agency may require a local edu-
cational agency to establish its eligibility jointly with an-
other local educational agency if the State educational
agency determines that the local educational agency would
be ineligible under this section because—
‘‘(A) it would not be able to establish and main-
tain programs of sufficient size and scope to effec-
tively meet the needs of children with disabilities; or
‘‘(B) it does not qualify for the minimum grant
under section 611(d)(1), if the State elects to use its
authority under that section.
‘‘(2)(A) If a State educational agency requires the
joint establishment of eligibility under paragraph (1), the
total amount of funds made available to the affected local
educational agencies shall equal the sum of the payments
that each such local educational agency would have re-
ceived under section 611(c) if they were eligible for such
payments.
‘‘(B) Local educational agencies that establish joint
eligibility under this subsection shall—
‘‘(i) adopt policies and procedures that are con-
sistent with the State’s policies and procedures
under section 612(a); and
‘‘(ii) be jointly responsible for implementing
programs receiving assistance under this part.
‘‘(C)(i) If an intermediate educational unit is re-
quired by State law to carry out this part, the joint re-
sponsibilities given to local educational agencies under
subparagraph (B)(ii) shall—
‘‘(I) not apply to the administration and dis-
bursement of any payments received by that unit;
and
‘‘(II) be carried out only by that unit.
‘‘(ii) Nothing in clause (i) or elsewhere in this sub-
section relieves an intermediate educational unit of its re-
sponsibility to provide for the education of children with
disabilities in the least restrictive environment, as required
by section 612(a)(5) and subsection (a)(1)(E) of this sec-
tion.
‘‘(f) COORDINATED SERVICES SYSTEM.—(1) A local
educational agency may use up to five percent of the
amount it receives under this part for any fiscal year, in
combination with other funds (which shall include funds
other than education funds), to develop and implement a
coordinated services system designed to improve results
for children and families, including children with disabil-
ities and their families.
‘‘(2) Activities that a local educational agency may
carry out under this subsection include—
‘‘(A) improving the effectiveness and efficiency
of service delivery, including developing strategies
that promote accountability for results;
‘‘(B) service coordination and case management
that facilitates the linkage of individualized edu-
cation programs under this part and individualized
family service plans under part H with individual-
ized service plans under multiple Federal and State
programs, such as title I of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 (vocational rehabilitation), title XIX of the
Social Security Act (Medicaid), and title XVI of the
Social Security Act (supplemental security income);
‘‘(C) developing and implementing interagency
financing strategies for the provision of education,
health, mental health, and social services, including
transition services and related services under this
Act; and
‘‘(D) interagency personnel development for
those working on coordinated services.
‘‘(3) If a local educational agency is carrying out a
coordinated services project under title XI of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and a coordi-
nated services project under this part in the same schools,
it shall use funds under this subsection in accordance with
that title.
‘‘(g) DIRECT
SERVICES
BY
THE
STATE
EDU-
CATIONAL AGENCY.—(1) A State educational agency shall
use the payments that would otherwise have been available
to a local educational agency or to a State agency to pro-
vide special education and related services directly to chil-
dren with disabilities residing in the area served by that
local agency, or for whom that State agency is responsible,
if the State educational agency determines that the agen-
cy—
‘‘(A) has not provided the information needed
to establish its eligibility under this section;
‘‘(B) is unable to establish and maintain pro-
grams of free appropriate public education that meet
the requirements of subsection (a) of this section;
‘‘(C) is unable or unwilling to be consolidated
with other local educational agencies in order to es-
tablish and maintain such programs; or
‘‘(D) has one or more children with disabilities
who can best be served by a regional or State pro-
gram or service delivery system designed to meet the
needs of those children.
‘‘(2) The State educational agency may provide spe-
cial education and related services under paragraph (1)
in such manner and at such locations (including regional
or State centers) as it considers appropriate, so long as
the education and services are provided in accordance with
this part.
‘‘(h) STATE AGENCY ELIGIBILITY.—Any State agen-
cy that desires to receive a subgrant for any fiscal year
under section 611(c) or section 619(i) shall demonstrate
to the satisfaction of the State educational agency that—
‘‘(1) all children with disabilities who are par-
ticipating in programs and projects funded under
this part receive a free appropriate public education,
and that those children and their parents are pro-
vided all the rights and procedural safeguards de-
scribed in this part; and
‘‘(2) the agency meets such other conditions of
this section as the Secretary finds appropriate.’’.
(b) Section 614A of the IDEA is repealed.
EVALUATIONS, REEVALUATIONS, INDIVIDUALIZED
EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENTS
SEC. 204. Section 614 of the IDEA is amended to
read as follows:
‘‘EVALUATIONS REEVALUATIONS, INDIVIDUALIZED
EDUCATION PROGRAMS, AND EDUCATIONAL PLACEMENTS
‘‘SEC. 614. (a) EVALUATIONS.—
‘‘(1) INITIAL EVALUATIONS.—(A) A State edu-
cational agency, other State agency, or local edu-
cational agency shall conduct an initial evaluation, in
accordance with this paragraph and subsection (b),
before the initial provision of special education and
related services to a child with a disability.
‘‘(B) An initial evaluation shall consist of proce-
dures to—
‘‘(i) determine whether a child is a child
with a disability as defined in section 602(3);
and
‘‘(ii) determine the child’s educational
needs.
‘‘(2) REEVALUATIONS.—(A) A local educational
agency shall ensure that a reevaluation of each child
with a disability is conducted—
‘‘(i) whenever conditions warrant a re-
evaluation;
‘‘(ii) whenever the child’s parent or teacher
requests a reevaluation; and
‘‘(iii) at least once every three years.
‘‘(B) Each reevaluation shall be conducted in
accordance with subsections (b) and (c) of this sec-
tion.
‘‘(b) EVALUATION PROCEDURES.—(1) The local edu-
cational agency shall provide notice to the parents of a
child with a disability, in accordance with section
615(b)(3), (b)(4), and (c), that describes any evaluation
procedures it proposes to conduct.
‘‘(2) In conducting the evaluation, the local edu-
cational agency shall—
‘‘(A) use a variety of assessment tools and
strategies to gather relevant functional and devel-
opmental information that may assist in determining
whether the child is a child with a disability and the
content of the child’s individualized education pro-
gram, including information related to enabling the
child to participate and achieve in the general cur-
riculum or, for preschool children, in developmen-
tally appropriate activities; and
‘‘(B) not use any single procedure as the sole
criterion for determining—
‘‘(i) whether a child is a child with a dis-
ability; or
‘‘(ii) an appropriate educational program
for the child.
‘‘(3) Each local educational agency shall ensure
that—
‘‘(A) tests and other evaluation materials used
to assess a child under this section are—
‘‘(i) selected and administered so as not to
be racially or culturally discriminatory; and
‘‘(ii) provided and administered in the
child’s native language or other mode of com-
munication, unless it is clearly not feasible to
do so; and
‘‘(B) any standardized tests that are given to
the child—
‘‘(i) have been validated for the specific
purpose for which they are used;
‘‘(ii) are administered by trained person-
nel; and
‘‘(iii) are administered in accordance with
any instructions provided by their producer.
‘‘(c) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR REEVALUA-
TIONS.—(1) As part of any reevaluation under this sec-
tion, the evaluation team shall—
‘‘(A) review existing evaluation data on the
child, including current classroom-based assessments
and teacher observation; and
‘‘(B) on the basis of that review, the team’s
professional judgment, and input from the child’s
parents, identify what additional data, if any, are
needed to determine—
‘‘(i) whether the child continues to have an
impairment under section 602 (3) (A) (i);
‘‘(ii) the child’s present levels of perform-
ance and educational needs; and
‘‘(iii)(I) whether the child continues to
need special education and related services; and
‘‘(II) if so, any additions or modifications
to the special education and related services to
enable the child to meet the objectives set out
in the child’s individualized education program
and to participate, as appropriate, in the gen-
eral curriculum.
‘‘(2) The local educational agency shall administer
such tests and other evaluation materials as may be need-
ed to produce the data identified by the evaluation team
under paragraph (1)(B).
‘‘(3) If the evaluation team determines that no addi-
tional data are needed to determine whether the child con-
tinues to be a child with a disability, the local educational
agency—
‘‘(A) shall notify the child’s parents of—
‘‘(i) that determination and the reasons for
it; and
‘‘(ii) their right to request an assessment
to determine whether the child continues to be
a child with a disability; and
‘‘(B) is not required to conduct such an assess-
ment unless requested to by the parents.
‘‘(d) INDIVIDUALIZED
EDUCATION
PROGRAMS.—
(1)(A) At the beginning of each school year, each public
agency shall have in effect, for each child with a disability
in its jurisdiction, an individualized education program
(hereafter in this section referred to as an ‘‘IEP’’), as de-
fined in section 602(11).
‘‘(B) In the case of a child with a disability aged
three, four, or five, an individualized family service plan
that contains the material described in section 676(d), and
that is developed in accordance with this section, may
serve as the child’s IEP if using that plan as the IEP
is—
‘‘(i) consistent with State policy; and
‘‘(ii) agreed to by the agency and the child’s
parents.
‘‘(2) Each IEP referred to in paragraph (1) shall be
developed in a meeting by a team (hereafter in this section
referred to as the ‘‘IEP team’’), composed of—
‘‘(A) a representative of the local educational
agency who is—
‘‘(i) qualified to provide, or supervise the
provision of, specially designed instruction to
meet the unique needs of children with disabil-
ities; and
‘‘(ii) knowledgeable about the general cur-
riculum;
‘‘(B) at least one special education provider;
‘‘(C) at least one regular education teacher, if
the student is, or may be, participating in the regu-
lar education environment;
‘‘(D) the child’s parents;
‘‘(E) whenever appropriate, the child; and
‘‘(F) other individuals, at the discretion of the
parent or the agency.
‘‘(3) In developing an IEP, the IEP team shall—
‘‘(A) consider the child’s strengths and the par-
ents’ concerns for enhancing their child’s education;
‘‘(B) consider the results of the initial evalua-
tion or most recent reevaluation;
‘‘(C) in the case of a child whose behavior im-
pedes his or her learning or that of others, consider
strategies, including behavioral management plans,
to address that behavior;
‘‘(D) in the case of a child with limited English
proficiency, consider the language needs of the child
as they relate to the child’s IEP;
‘‘(E) in the case of a child who is blind or vis-
ually impaired, consider whether the child needs in-
struction in braille or in the use of braille; and
‘‘(F) in the case of a child who is deaf or hard
of hearing, consider the communication needs of the
child.
‘‘(4) The local educational agency shall ensure that
the IEP team—
‘‘(A) reviews each IEP at least once a year to
determine whether the annual objectives for the
child are being achieved; and
‘‘(B) revises the IEP to address any lack of ex-
pected progress toward the annual objectives and in
the general curriculum, where appropriate; the re-
sults of any reevaluation conducted under this sec-
tion; information about the child provided to the
parents under section 602(11)(G)(ii); the child’s an-
ticipated needs; or as otherwise appropriate.
‘‘(5) If a participating agency, other than the local
educational agency, fails to provide the transition services
described in the IEP in accordance with section
602(11)(F)(ii), the local educational agency shall recon-
vene the IEP team to identify alternative strategies to
meet the transition objectives for the student set out in
that program.
‘‘(e) PLACEMENTS.—Each public agency shall ensure
that the parents of each child with a disability are mem-
bers of any group that makes decisions on the educational
placement of their child.’’.
PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS
SEC. 205. (a) Section 615 of the IDEA is amended—
(1) by redesignating subsections (c) through (f)
as subsections (f) through (i), respectively; and
(2) by redesignating subsection (b)(2) as sub-
section (e).
(b) Section 615(a) of the IDEA is amended—
(1) by striking out ‘‘Any State educational
agency, any local educational agency, and any inter-
mediate educational unit which’’ and inserting in
lieu thereof ‘‘Any State educational agency or local
educational agency that’’;
(2) by striking out ‘‘subsection (b) through sub-
section (e) of’’;
(3) by striking out ‘‘or guardians’’; and
(4) by striking out ‘‘and units’’.
(c) Section 615(b) of the IDEA is amended—
(1) by striking out the paragraph designation
‘‘(1)’’;
(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) through
(E) as paragraphs (1) through (4) and (6), respec-
tively;
(3) in paragraph (1), as so redesignated, by
striking out ‘‘our guardian’’;
(4) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by para-
graph (2)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘or guardian’’ each
place it appears;
(B) by striking out ‘‘unavailable’’ and in-
serting in lieu thereof ‘‘the agency cannot, after
reasonable efforts, locate the parents’’;
(C) by inserting ‘‘the’’ before ‘‘local edu-
cational agency’’; and
(D) by striking out ‘‘intermediate edu-
cational unit’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘any
other agency that is’’;
(5) in paragraph (3), as redesignated by para-
graph (2)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘our guardian’’;
(B) by striking out ‘‘or unit’’;
(C) by inserting a comma and ‘‘in accord-
ance with subsection (c),’’ after ‘‘of the child’’;
and
(D) by redesignating clauses (i) and (ii) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B);
(6) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by para-
graph (2)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘clause (C)’’ and all
that follows through ‘‘or guardian,’’ and insert-
ing in lieu thereof ‘‘paragraph (3) and sub-
section (c) is’’;
(B) by striking out ‘‘or guardian’s’’; and
(C) by striking out ‘‘so,’’ and all that fol-
lows through the end thereof and inserting in
lieu thereof ‘‘so;’’ and
(7) by inserting after paragraph (4) a new
paragraph (5) to read as follows:
‘‘(5) an opportunity for mediation in accordance
with subsection (d); and’’.
(d) Section 615 of the IDEA is further amended by
inserting, after subsection (b), new subsections (c) and (d)
to read as follows:
‘‘(c) CONTENT OF NOTICE.—
‘‘(1) BASIC NOTICE.—The notice required by
subsection (b)(3) shall—
‘‘(A) include—
‘‘(i) a description of the action pro-
posed or refused by the agency;
(ii) an explanation of why the agency
proposed or refuses to take the action; and
‘‘(iii) a description of any other op-
tions that the agency considered and the
reasons why those options were rejected;
‘‘(B) describe each evaluation procedure,
test, record, or report the agency used as a
basis for the proposed or refused action;
‘‘(C) describe any other factors that are
relevant to the agency’s proposal or refusal;
‘‘(D) include a full explanation of the pro-
cedural safeguards available under this section,
and under the Secretary’s regulations, relating
to independent educational evaluations, notice,
parental consent, mediation, and the child’s
placement during the pendency of due-process
proceedings;
‘‘(E) include at least a brief summary of
the procedural safeguards under this section re-
lating to due-process hearings, State-level ap-
peals (if applicable in that State), civil actions,
and attorney fees; and
‘‘(F) include a statement that the agency
will provide a full explanation of the procedural
safeguards available to parents under this sec-
tion, and under the Secretary’s regulations, re-
lating to—
‘‘(i) access to educational records,
whenever requested by the parents; and
‘‘(ii) the subjects described in sub-
paragraph (E) whenever the parents re-
quest that notice or present a complaint
under subsection (b)(6).
‘‘(2) SUPPLEMENTAL
NOTICES.—Each State
educational agency and local educational agency that
receives assistance under this part shall provide the
notices described in paragraph (1)(F) in the situa-
tions described in that provision.
‘‘(d) MEDIATION.—(1) Whenever a hearing has been
requested on any matter in dispute under this section and
the dispute has not been finally resolved, the parents shall
be offered an opportunity for mediation to resolve the dis-
pute.
‘‘(2) Each State educational agency shall—
‘‘(A) ensure that impartial mediation is pro-
vided at no cost to parents when requested under
paragraph (1);
‘‘(B) compile and maintain a list of individuals
who are—
‘‘(i) trained in mediation; and
‘‘(ii) knowledgeable about—
‘‘(I) the educational needs of children
with disabilities; and
‘‘(II) applicable statutes and regula-
tions relating to the educational rights of
those children, including the requirements
of this part and the Secretary’s regulations
under this part; and
‘‘(C) ensure that mediators are appointed from
that list.
‘‘(3) No statements made by either party during me-
diation under this subsection shall be offered or used as
evidence in any hearing, review of a hearing decision, or
civil action under this section.
‘‘(4) A public agency may not use mediation to deny
or delay the parents’ right to a due-process hearing under
subsection (e) or to deny the parents any other rights af-
forded under this part.
‘‘(5) Mediation may be ended—
‘‘(A) by the parents at any time; and
‘‘(B) by the participating agency at any time
after the first mediation session.
‘‘(6) The mediator shall ensure that any agreement
that is reached as a result of mediation is put in writing.’’.
(e) Subsection (e) of section 615 of the IDEA, as re-
designated by subsection (a)(2), is amended—
(1) by striking out ‘‘paragraph (1) of this sub-
section,’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsection
(b)(6)’’;
(2) by striking out ‘‘or guardian’’;
(3) by striking out ‘‘or intermediate educational
unit’’;
(4) by striking out ‘‘this paragraph’’ and insert-
ing in lieu thereof ‘‘this subsection’’; and
(5) by striking out ‘‘or unit’’.
(f) Subsection (f) of section 615 of the IDEA, as re-
designated by subsection (a)(1), is amended—
(1) by striking out ‘‘paragraph (2) of subsection
(b)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsection (e)’’;
and
(2) by striking out ‘‘or an intermediate edu-
cational unit’’.
(g) Subsection (g) of section 615 of the IDEA, as
redesignated by subsection (a)(1), is amended—
(1) by striking out ‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsections (e) and
(f)’’; and
(2) by striking out ‘‘section 613(a)(12)’’ and in-
serting in lieu thereof ‘‘section 612(a)(20)’’.
(h) Subsection (h) of section 615 of the IDEA, as
redesignated by subsection (a)(1), is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘paragraph (2) of sub-
section (b)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sub-
section (e)’’; and
(B) by striking out ‘‘subsection (c)’’ each
place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘subsection (f)’’;
(2) in paragraph (2)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘subsection (b)’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘subsection (e)’’; and
(B) by striking out ‘‘subsection (c)’’ each
place it appears and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘subsection (f)’’;
(3) in paragraph (3)—
(A) in subparagraph (A)—
(i) by striking out ‘‘subparagraph
(B)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sub-
paragraphs (B) and (C)’’; and
(ii) by striking out ‘‘or guardian’’
each place it appears;
(B) in subparagraph (B)—
(i) in clause (ii), by striking out ‘‘indi-
viduals described in section 602(a)(20)’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘IEP team
described in section 614(d)(2)’’;
(ii) in clause (iii)—
(I) by striking out ‘‘or guardian’’;
(II) by striking out ‘‘paragraph
(2) of subsection (b)’’ and inserting in
lieu thereof ‘‘subsection (e)’’; and
(III) by inserting ‘‘State or’’ be-
fore ‘‘local educational agency’’; and
(iii) in clause (iv)—
(I) by striking out ‘‘a firearm’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘a dan-
gerous weapon’’; and
(II) by striking out ‘‘section 921’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section
930(g)(2)’’; and
(C) by adding at the end thereof a new
subparagraph (C) to read as follows:
‘‘(C)(i) A hearing officer under this section
may, to the same extent as a court, order a
change in the placement of a child with a dis-
ability to an interim alternative educational set-
ting for not more than 45 days, if the public
agency demonstrates, by substantial evidence,
that maintaining the child in his or her current
placement is substantially likely to result in in-
jury to himself or herself, or to others.
‘‘(ii) The State or local educational agency
shall arrange for an expedited hearing in any
case described in clause (i).
‘‘(iii) If a parent of a child described in
clause (i) requests a hearing pursuant to sub-
section (e), the child shall remain in the alter-
native educational setting described in that
clause during the pendency of any proceedings
under this section, unless the parents and the
State or local educational agency agree other-
wise.’’; and
(4) in paragraph (4)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘or guardian’’ each
place it appears; and
(B) in subparagraph (G), by striking out
‘‘section 615 of this Act’’ and inserting in lieu
thereof ‘‘this section’’.
(i) Subsection (i) of section 615 of the IDEA, as re-
designated by subsection (a)(1), is amended by striking
out ‘‘subsections (b)(2) and (c)’’ and inserting in lieu
thereof ‘‘subsections (e) and (f)’’.
(j) Section 615 of the IDEA is further amended by
adding at the end thereof a new subsection (j) to read
as follows:
‘‘(j) TRANSFER OF PARENTAL RIGHTS AT AGE OF
MAJORITY.—Any State that receives funds under this part
may provide that, when an individual with a disability
reaches the age of majority under State law—
‘‘(1) the public agency shall provide any notice
required by this section to both the individual and
the parents;
‘‘(2) all other rights accorded to parents under
this part transfer to the child; and
‘‘(3) the agency shall notify the individual and
the parents of the transfer of rights.’’.
(k) Section 314(a)(2) of the Improving America’s
Schools Act of 1994 is repealed.
WITHHOLDING AND JUDICIAL REVIEW
SEC. 206. (a) Section 616(a) of the IDEA is amend-
ed—
(1) in the first sentence thereof—
(A) by striking out ‘‘or intermediate edu-
cational unit’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘or
State agency’’;
(B) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by inserting ‘‘by the State’’ after
‘‘failure’’; and
(ii) by striking out ‘‘section 612 or
section 613’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘this part’’; and
(C) by striking out paragraph (2) and all
that follows through the end of that sentence
and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
‘‘(2) that there is a failure to comply with any
condition of a local educational agency’s or State
agency’s eligibility under this part, the Secretary
shall, after notifying the State educational agency,
withhold any further payments to the State under
this part.’’;
(2) in the second sentence thereof—
(A) by striking out ‘‘clause (A) or clause
(B)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘the previous
sentence,’’;
(B) by striking out ‘‘under the State
plan’’; and
(C) by striking out ‘‘intermediate edu-
cational units’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘State agencies’’;
(3) in the third sentence thereof—
(A) by striking out ‘‘or under’’ and all that
follows through ‘‘with disabilities’’; and
(B) by striking out ‘‘intermediate edu-
cational units’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘State agencies’’; and
(4) in the fourth sentence thereof—
(A) by striking out ‘‘State educational
agency, local educational agency, or intermedi-
ate educational unit’’ and inserting in lieu
thereof ‘‘State educational agency, State agen-
cy, or local educational agency’’; and
(B) by striking out ‘‘or unit’’.
(b) Section 616(b)(1) of the IDEA is amended by
striking out ‘‘State plan submitted under section 613’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘eligibility under section 612’’.
ADMINISTRATION
SEC. 207. (a) Section 617(a) of the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) SECRETARY’S RESPONSIBILITIES.—In carrying
out this part, the Secretary shall—
‘‘(1) cooperate with, and (directly or by grant
or contract) furnish technical assistance necessary
to, the State in matters relating to—
‘‘(A) the education of children with disabil-
ities;
‘‘(B) carrying out this part; and
‘‘(2) provide short-term training programs and
institutes; and
‘‘(3) disseminate information about, and other-
wise promote, the education of all children with dis-
abilities in the States.’’.
(b) Section 617(c) of the IDEA is amended by strik-
ing out ‘‘section 438’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘sec-
tion 444’’.
(c) Section 617(d) of the IDEA is amended by strik-
ing out ‘‘required by subsections’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘this subsection’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘authorized by subsection (a) of this section, section 618,
and part E of this Act’’.
EVALUATION AND PROGRAM INFORMATION
SEC. 208. (a) FISCAL YEAR 1996.—Section 618 of
the IDEA is amended—
(1) in subsection (e)(2), by striking out ‘‘1994’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘1996’’; and
(2) in subsection (h), by striking out ‘‘1994’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘1996’’.
(b) FISCAL YEARS BEGINNING WITH FISCAL YEAR
1997.—Effective on October 1, 1996, section 618 of the
IDEA is amended to read as follows:
‘‘PROGRAM INFORMATION
‘‘SEC. 618. Each State that receives assistance under
this part, and the Secretary of the Interior, shall provide
data each year to the Secretary on—
‘‘(1) the number of children who are receiv-
ing—
‘‘(A) a free appropriate public education;
‘‘(B) early intervention services because—
‘‘(i) they have developmental delays;
or
‘‘(ii) they have a diagnosed physical or
mental condition that has a high prob-
ability of resulting in developmental delay;
or
‘‘(C) early intervention services because
they are at risk of having substantial devel-
opmental delays if those services are not pro-
vided and—
‘‘(i) they are being served as infants
and toddlers with disabilities under part
H; or
‘‘(ii) they are being served as at-risk
infants and toddlers under section 677;
‘‘(2) the types of early intervention services pro-
vided, which may be based on a sampling of data;
‘‘(3) the number of children with disabilities—
‘‘(A) participating in regular education
programs;
‘‘(B) in separate classes, separate schools
or facilities, or public or private residential fa-
cilities;
‘‘(C) who have been otherwise removed
from the regular education environment; and
‘‘(D) in various early intervention settings;
‘‘(4) for each year of age from 14 through 21,
the number of children with disabilities who, because
of program completion or for other reasons, stopped
receiving special education;
‘‘(5) the number of children with disabilities,
from birth through two, who, because of program
completion or for other reasons, stopped receiving
early intervention services; and
‘‘(6) other information required by the Sec-
retary.’’.
PRESCHOOL GRANTS
SEC. 209. Section 619 of the Individuals with Dis-
abilities Education Act is amended to read as follows:
‘‘PRESCHOOL GRANTS
‘‘SEC. 619. (a) PURPOSE OF GRANTS.—The Sec-
retary shall make grants under this section to assist
States and the outlying areas to provide special education
and related services, in accordance with this part—
‘‘(1) to children with disabilities aged three,
four, and five; and
‘‘(2) at the State’s discretion, to 2-year-old chil-
dren with disabilities who will turn three during the
school year.
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A State or outlying area is eligi-
ble for a grant under this section if it—
‘‘(1) has established its eligibility under section
612; and
‘‘(2) makes a free appropriate public education
available to all children with disabilities, aged three
through five, residing in its jurisdiction.
‘‘(c) HOLD-HARMLESS PAYMENTS.—(1) From the
amount appropriated for any fiscal year under subsection
(m), the Secretary shall allocate to each eligible State and
outlying area the amount it received for fiscal year 1995
under this section, as then in effect.
‘‘(2)(A) If the sums available to make allocations to
States and outlying areas under this section are insuffi-
cient to make the full allocations described in paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall—
‘‘(i) first, reduce the allocation of any State
whose number of children aged three through five is
less than the number of those children in fiscal year
1995 by the same percentage by which that number
declined from 1995; and
‘‘(ii) second, if necessary, ratably reduce the al-
locations of all States, including those allocations re-
duced under clause (i).
‘‘(B) If additional funds become available to make al-
locations under this section, the allocations that were re-
duced under subparagraph (A) shall be increased on the
same basis as they were reduced.
‘‘(d) ALLOCATION OF REMAINING FUNDS.—(1) After
making allocations under subsection (c), the Secretary
shall allocate any remaining funds to eligible States and
outlying areas on the basis of their relative population of
children aged 3 through 5.
‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this sec-
tion, the percentage of funds appropriated under this sec-
tion for any fiscal year that is allocated to the Common-
wealth of Puerto Rico shall not exceed the percentage allo-
cated to Puerto Rico of all funds appropriated under this
section for fiscal year 1995, as then in effect.
‘‘(e) DETERMINATION OF POPULATION FIGURES.—
For the purpose of making grants under this section, the
Secretary shall use the most recent population data that
are available and satisfactory to the Secretary.
‘‘(f) STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—
(1) GENERAL.—Each State may retain up to
25 percent of the grant it receives under this section
for administration and other State-level activities in
accordance with subsections (g) and (h).
‘‘(2) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN REQUIRE-
MENTS.—A State may use funds it retains under
paragraph (1) without regard to—
‘‘(A) the prohibition on commingling of
funds in section 612(a)(18)(B); and
‘‘(B) the prohibition on supplanting other
funds in section 612(a)(18)(C)(i).
‘‘(g) STATE ADMINISTRATION.—(1) Each State and
outlying area may use up to five percent of the grant it
receives under this section for any fiscal year for the pur-
pose of administering this part, including the coordination
of activities under this part with, and providing technical
assistance to, other programs that provide services to chil-
dren with disabilities.
‘‘(2) Funds described in paragraph (1) may also be
used for the administration of part H of this Act, if the
State educational agency is the lead agency for the State
under that part.
‘‘(h) OTHER STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.—Each State
shall use any funds it retains under subsection (f) and
does not use for administration under subsection (g)—
‘‘(1) for support services (including establishing
and implementing the mediation process required by
section 615(d)), which may benefit children with dis-
abilities younger than three and older than five as
long as those services also benefit children with dis-
abilities aged three through five;
‘‘(2) for direct services for children eligible for
services under this section;
‘‘(3) to develop a State Improvement Plan
under part C;
‘‘(4) for activities at the State and local levels
to meet the performance goals established by the
State under section 612(a)(16) and to support im-
plementation of the State Improvement Plan under
part C if the State receives funds under that part;
or
‘‘(5) to supplement other funds used to develop
and implement a Statewide coordinated services sys-
tem designed to improve results for children and
families, including children with disabilities and their
families, but not to exceed one percent of the
amount received by the State under this section.
‘‘(i) SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGEN-
CIES.—
(1) REQUIREMENT
TO
MAKE
SUBGRANTS.—
Each State that receives a grant under this section
for any fiscal year shall distribute at least 75 per-
cent of the grant funds to local educational agencies
in the State, and to State agencies that received
funds under section 614A(a) for fiscal year 1995,
that have established their eligibility under section
613 of this part.
‘‘(2) METHODS
OF
DISTRIBUTION.—A State
may distribute funds under paragraph (1) on the
basis of—
‘‘(A) population;
‘‘(B) school enrollment;
‘‘(C) numbers of children with disabilities
aged three through five receiving a free appro-
priate public education;
‘‘(D) allocations for previous fiscal years;
‘‘(E) any two or more of the factors de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (D); or
‘‘(F) poverty, in combination with one or
more of the factors described in subparagraphs
(A) through (D).
‘‘(j) PART H INAPPLICABLE.—Part H of this Act
does not apply to any child with a disability receiving a
free appropriate public education, in accordance with this
part, with funds received under this section.
‘‘(k) OUTLYING AREAS.—The provisions of Public
Law 95–134, permitting the consolidation of grants to the
outlying areas, shall not apply to funds those areas receive
under this section.
‘‘(l) DEFINITION OF ‘STATE’.—For the purpose of
this section, the term ‘State’ means each of the 50 States,
the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puer-
to Rico.
‘‘(m) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For
the purpose of carrying out this section, there are author-
ized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary.’’.
PAYMENTS
SEC. 210. Section 620 of the IDEA is amended to
read as follows:
‘‘PAYMENTS
‘‘SEC. 620. (a) PAYMENTS TO STATES.—The Sec-
retary shall make payments to each State that has dem-
onstrated its eligibility under section 612, in amounts that
the Secretary determines under sections 611 and 619.
‘‘(b) PAYMENTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES
AND STATE AGENCIES.—Any State educational agency re-
ceiving payments under this section shall distribute pay-
ments to local educational agencies (and to State agencies
that received funds under section 614A for fiscal year
1995) in the State that the State educational agency has
determined are eligible under section 613, in amounts de-
termined under sections 611 and 619.’’.
100
TITLE III—DISCRETIONARY PROGRAMS
ONE-YEAR EXTENSION
SEC. 301. (a) PART C—CENTERS AND SERVICES TO
MEET SPECIAL NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABIL-
ITIES.—Part C of the IDEA is amended—
(1) in section 625(a)(6)—
(A) in the second sentence thereof, by
striking out ‘‘1994’’ and inserting in lieu there-
of ‘‘1996’’; and
(B) by striking out the third sentence
thereof; and
(2) in each of subsections (a) through (h) of
section 628, by striking out ‘‘fiscal year 1994’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘each of the fiscal years
1994 through 1996’’.
(b) PART D—TRAINING PERSONNEL FOR THE EDU-
CATION OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.—(1) Each
of paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 635(a) of the
IDEA is amended by striking out ‘‘fiscal year 1994’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘each of the fiscal years 1994
through 1996’’.
(2) Section 635(a) of the IDEA is further amended
in each of paragraphs (1) and (3) by striking out
‘‘631(d)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘631(e)’’.
101
(c) PART E—RESEARCH IN THE EDUCATION OF IN-
DIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES.—Section 643 of the
IDEA is amended by striking out ‘‘fiscal year 1994’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘each of the fiscal years 1994
through 1996’’.
(d) PART F—INSTRUCTIONAL MEDIA FOR INDIVID-
UALS WITH DISABILITIES.—Section 653 of the IDEA is
amended by striking out ‘‘fiscal year 1994’’ and inserting
in lieu thereof ‘‘each of the fiscal years 1994 through
1996’’.
(e) PART G—TECHNOLOGY, EDUCATIONAL MEDIA,
AND
MATERIALS
FOR
INDIVIDUALS
WITH
DISABIL-
ITIES.—Section 662 of the IDEA is amended by striking
out ‘‘fiscal year 1994’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘each
of the fiscal years 1994 through 1996’’.
(f) CROSS-REFERENCES.—For the purpose of carry-
ing out parts C through G of the IDEA with funds appro-
priated for fiscal year 1996, references in those parts to
any provision of parts A, B, or H of the IDEA shall be
regarded as references to those provisions as in effect be-
fore enactment of this Act.
REAUTHORIZATION OF DISCRETIONARY PROGRAMS
SEC. 302. Effective October 1, 1996, parts C through
G of the IDEA are amended to read as follows:
102
‘‘PART C—STATE IMPROVEMENT
‘‘FINDINGS
‘‘SEC. 621. The Congress finds as follows:
‘‘(1) Many of the critical barriers to improving
educational results for children with disabilities are
caused by statewide and systemic problems, such as
the exclusion of children with disabilities from State-
wide assessments, lack of access to regular education
programs, and finance systems that promote inap-
propriate placements;
‘‘(2) Previous efforts to improve the education
of children with disabilities have achieved some good
results. However, federally funded efforts have fo-
cused either on specific disabilities or programs and
have not focused on improvement of results for chil-
dren with all disabilities at all age levels. Further,
most Federal categorical program resources have not
concentrated on State and local agencies’ efforts to
improve implementation of parts B and H of this
Act.
‘‘(3) State and local agencies are generally in
the best position to develop their own comprehensive
strategies for improving results for children with dis-
abilities in the context of their overall State edu-
cation improvement efforts.
103
‘‘(4) Educational systems that effectively serve
children with disabilities—
‘‘(A) have goals for the performance of
children with disabilities and performance indi-
cators to measure progress toward those goals;
identify the needs that must be addressed to
meet those goals; and develop effective strate-
gies to address those needs;
‘‘(B) consider the needs of all students, in-
cluding students with disabilities, in planning,
evaluation, and educational reform activities
such as those supported under titles I and II of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965, the Goals 2000: Educate America Act,
and the School-to-Work Opportunities Act of
1994;
‘‘(C) have adequate numbers of appro-
priately prepared personnel with the skills and
knowledge necessary to enable children with
disabilities to meet developmental goals and, to
the maximum extent possible, those challenging
standards that have been established for all
children;
‘‘(D) hold school districts and schools ac-
countable for the academic progress of children
104
with disabilities in the same manner as they do
for all children;
‘‘(E) develop IEPs that reflect high expec-
tations and promote access to the general cur-
riculum for children with disabilities;
‘‘(F) support family involvement to im-
prove learning;
‘‘(G) have financing systems that encour-
age prevention and early intervention and dis-
courage inappropriately placing students in re-
strictive settings;
‘‘(H) support successful transition from
early intervention services to preschool edu-
cation, from preschool education to elementary
school, and from secondary school to adult life;
‘‘(I) provide for the participation of chil-
dren with disabilities, including those with sig-
nificant and multiple disabilities, in the least re-
strictive environments;
‘‘(J) promote the use of special education
as services and supports for students in the
least restrictive environment rather than as a
place to send children;
‘‘(K) have unified education system ap-
proaches that promote individualization, flexibil-
105
ity, and responsibility for all children at the
school-building level;
‘‘(L) coordinate education services with
each other and with health, social, and other
services (including mental health and vocational
rehabilitation services), and with the juvenile
justice system, to meet the needs of children
with disabilities and their families; and
‘‘(M) provide technical assistance to school
districts and schools on how to improve results
for children with disabilities in the context of
comprehensive technical assistance efforts and
ensure that research and other knowledge re-
garding best practices reaches personnel serving
children with disabilities;
‘‘(5) the principles of professional development
disseminated by the Secretary in 1995 provide use-
ful guidance for States and local educational agen-
cies in their efforts to provide high-quality profes-
sional development for individuals who work with
children with disabilities; and
‘‘(6) peer review of State efforts to address the
needs of children with disabilities can provide both
an incentive for systems change and a valuable re-
source for information that States may draw on in
106
seeking solutions to problems in serving those chil-
dren.
‘‘PURPOSE
‘‘SEC. 622. The purpose of this part is to assist
States in reforming and improving systems for providing
educational and early intervention services, including their
systems for professional development, to help children
with disabilities—
‘‘(1) meet developmental goals and, to the max-
imum extent possible, those challenging standards
that have been established for all children; and
‘‘(2) be prepared to lead productive, independ-
ent adult lives to the maximum extent possible.
‘‘ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS
‘‘SEC. 623. Each State educational agency may apply
for a grant under this part.
‘‘STATE IMPROVEMENT PLANS
‘‘SEC. 624. (a) GENERAL.—Any State desiring to re-
ceive a grant under this part shall submit to the Secretary
a State Improvement Plan that—
‘‘(1) is developed in consultation with parents
of children with disabilities; parents of non-disabled
children; individuals with disabilities; organizations
representing individuals with disabilities and their
parents; early intervention agencies; local edu-
cational agencies; general and special education
107
teachers; early intervention and related services pro-
viders; administrators of general and special edu-
cation; individuals knowledgeable about vocational
education; the State agency for higher education; in-
stitutions of higher education and schools of edu-
cation; the State vocational rehabilitation agency;
public agencies with jurisdiction in the areas of
health, mental health, social services, and juvenile
justice; community-based and other nonprofit orga-
nizations; the State advisory panel established under
part B; the State Interagency Coordinating Council
established under part H; and interested members of
the general public; and
‘‘(2) is integrated, to the maximum extent pos-
sible, with State plans under title III of the Goals
2000: Educate America Act, the School-to-Work Op-
portunities Act of 1994, the Elementary and Sec-
ondary Education Act of 1965, the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, and other Act, as appropriate.
‘‘(b) DETERMINING CHILD AND PROGRAM NEEDS.—
(1) Each State Improvement Plan shall—
‘‘(A) identify those critical aspects of early
intervention, general education, and special edu-
cation programs (including professional development,
based on an assessment of State and local needs)
108
that must be improved to enable children with dis-
abilities to meet the goals established by the State
under section 612(a)(16); and
‘‘(B) address the major findings of the Sec-
retary’s most recent State compliance reviews as
they relate to improving results for children with
disabilities.
‘‘(2) To meet the requirements of paragraph (1)(A),
the State Improvement Plan shall include at least—
‘‘(A) an analysis of all information, reasonably
available to the State, on the performance of chil-
dren with disabilities in the State, including—
‘‘(i) their performance on State assess-
ments and other performance indicators estab-
lished for all children, including drop-out rates
and graduation rates;
‘‘(ii) their participation in postsecondary
education and employment; and
‘‘(iii) how their performance compares to
that of other children;
‘‘(B) an analysis of State and local needs for
professional development for personnel to serve chil-
dren with disabilities that includes, at a minimum—
109
‘‘(i) the State’s assessment of personnel
needs under the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965; and
(ii) relevant information on current and
anticipated personnel shortages, and on the ex-
tent of certification or retraining necessary for
those providing services to children with disabil-
ities; and
‘‘(C) an analysis of all other information, rea-
sonably available to the State, on the effectiveness of
its systems of early intervention, special education,
and general education in meeting the needs of chil-
dren with disabilities, including the extent to which
children with disabilities are receiving a free appro-
priate public education with appropriate supple-
mentary aids and services in regular education envi-
ronments.
‘‘(c) IMPROVEMENT STRATEGIES.—Each State im-
provement plan shall—
‘‘(1) describe the strategies the State will use to
address the needs identified under subsection (b), in-
cluding—
‘‘(A) how it will hold school districts and
schools accountable for educational progress of
children with disabilities;
110
‘‘(B) how it will provide high-quality tech-
nical assistance to school districts and schools
to improve results for children with disabilities
in the context of comprehensive technical assist-
ance efforts and ensure that research and other
knowledge regarding best practices reaches per-
sonnel servicing children with disabilities;
‘‘(C) if the State is developing a statewide
system of coordinated services under section
611(b)(3)(F), how it will implement and evalu-
ate the results of that effort;
‘‘(D) how it will change State policies and
procedures to address systemic barriers to im-
proving results for students with disabilities,
such as—
‘‘(i) a lack of knowledge about best
practices;
‘‘(ii) the failure to provide smooth
transitions from one type of service or pro-
gram to the next, such as from pre-school
to school, or from school to employment;
‘‘(iii) the lack of coordinated services;
‘‘(iv) criteria and procedures for de-
termining eligibility for special education;
111
‘‘(v) a dual general education-special
education administrative structure;
‘‘(vi) the exclusion of children with
disabilities from reforms in general edu-
cation;
‘‘(vii) credentialing of teachers and
other personnel; and
‘‘(viii) financing of general and special
education;
‘‘(E) how it will address the identified
needs for pre-service and in-service preparation
to ensure that all personnel who will work with
children with disabilities (including both profes-
sional and paraprofessional personnel who pro-
vide or will provide early intervention services,
special education, regular education, or related
services) have the skills and knowledge nec-
essary to enable children with disabilities to
meet developmental goals and, to the maximum
extent possible, those challenging standards
that have been established for all children, and
be prepared to lead productive, independent
adult lives to the maximum extent possible, in-
cluding a description of how—
112
‘‘(i) the State will work with institu-
tions of higher education and other entities
that prepare personnel who work with chil-
dren with disabilities on both a pre-service
and in-service basis to ensure that those
institutions and entities develop the capac-
ity to support sustained, intensive, and
high-quality professional development pro-
grams;
‘‘(ii) the State’s requirements for li-
censure of teachers and administrators, in-
cluding certification and recertification,
support an adequate supply of personnel
with the necessary skills and knowledge
(including, where appropriate, strategies
for 
developing 
reciprocal 
certification
agreements and common certification re-
quirements with other States);
‘‘(iii) the State will address State and
local needs for personnel who meet certifi-
cation, licensing, or other State personnel
requirements;
‘‘(iv) the State will address State and
local needs for in-service education of early
113
intervention, general and special education,
and related services personnel;
‘‘(v) the State will prepare special
education and general education personnel
with the content knowledge and collabo-
rative skills needed to appropriately help
children with disabilities achieve to chal-
lenging standards; and
‘‘(vi) significant knowledge derived
from education research and other sources,
as well as promising practices, materials,
and technology, will be used in the profes-
sional development of teachers, administra-
tors, and early intervention and related
services personnel;
‘‘(F) strategies that will address systemic
problems identified in Federal compliance re-
views, including shortages of qualified person-
nel; and
‘‘(G) how the State will assess, on a regu-
lar basis, the extent to which the strategies im-
plemented under this part have been effective in
meeting the performance goals established by
the State under section 612(a)(16);
114
‘‘(2) describe the strategies and activities to be
supported under this part and how they will be co-
ordinated with—
‘‘(A) other activities conducted with Fed-
eral funds, especially those received under parts
B and H of this Act, titles I and II of the Ele-
mentary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,
the Goals 2000: Educate America Act, the
School-to-Work Opportunities Act of 1994, the
Head Start Act, and the Rehabilitation Act of
1973;
‘‘(B) other programs supported by State
and local funds;
‘‘(C) where appropriate, resources from
business and industry, to develop strategies to
meet the employment needs of disabled youth;
and
‘‘(D) other private-sector resources; and
‘‘(3) describe how the State will address im-
proving results for students with disabilities in the
areas of greatest need, including the State’s inner-
city and rural areas with the greatest needs as de-
termined by the State in its assessment under sub-
section (b).
115
‘‘(d) REPORTING PROCEDURES.—Each State edu-
cational agency that receives a grant under this part shall
submit a performance report to the Secretary every two
years that—
‘‘(1) describes the progress of the State and of
children with disabilities in relation to the perform-
ance goals and performance indicators established
under section 612(a)(16);
‘‘(2) analyzes the effectiveness of the State’s
strategies in meeting those goals; and
‘‘(3) identifies the strategies that need revision
in order to improve its performance.
‘‘(e) PEER REVIEW AND PLAN APPROVAL.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ap-
prove a State Improvement Plan under this section
if it—
‘‘(A) meets the requirements of this sec-
tion; and
‘‘(B) holds reasonable promise of enabling
the State to meet its performance goals under
section 612(a)(16).
‘‘(2) PEER
REVIEW.—(A) In reviewing State
Improvement Plans under this section, the Secretary
shall obtain the advice of non-Federal experts (in-
cluding individuals with disabilities and individuals
116
knowledgeable about the needs of children from mi-
nority backgrounds) on personnel development and
systems change in education, including early inter-
vention.
‘‘(B) The peer review process for subsequent
submissions of State Improvement Plans shall in-
clude consideration of the effectiveness of the State’s
improvement efforts, as described in the State’s Im-
provement Plan.
‘‘(3) AVAILABLE FUNDS.—The Secretary may
use funds available under this part to pay the ex-
penses and fees of non-Federal peer reviewers.
‘‘(f) DURATION OF PLANS.—(1) Each State Improve-
ment Plan under this section shall be for a period deter-
mined by the State, but not longer than four years.
‘‘(2) The Secretary may require amendments to a
State’s plan at any time as a result of the Secretary’s com-
pliance reviews under parts B and H of this Act, and shall
not provide further funding under this part to the State
until such amendments are submitted and approved.
‘‘(3) If the State makes significant changes in its
plan, it shall submit that information to the Secretary for
approval.
‘‘DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS
‘‘SEC. 625. (a) ALLOCATIONS.—The Secretary shall
allocate funds available to carry out this part for any fiscal
117
year to eligible States on the basis of their relative total
populations of—
‘‘(1) all children aged birth through two, if the
State receives a grant under part H of this Act; and
‘‘(2) all children aged three through 21 who are
of the same age as children with disabilities for
whom the State ensures the availability of a free ap-
propriate public education under part B of this Act.
‘‘(b) MINIMUM
STATE
ALLOCATIONS.—Notwith-
standing subsection (a), the Secretary shall make a grant
under paragraph (1) of—
‘‘(1) at least $400,000 to each of the 50 States,
the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico; and
‘‘(2) at least $40,000 to each outlying area.
‘‘(c) OUTLYING AREAS.—The provisions of Public
Law 95–134, permitting the consolidation of grants to the
outlying areas, shall not apply to funds those areas receive
under this section.
‘‘MANDATORY USE OF FUNDS FOR PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
‘‘SEC. 626. (a) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GEN-
ERALLY.—Each State shall use at least 50 percent of the
funds it receives under this part for any fiscal year to en-
sure that there is a sufficient supply of personnel who have
the skills and knowledge necessary to enable children with
118
disabilities to meet developmental goals and, to the maxi-
mum extent possible, those challenging standards that
have been established for all children, including working
with other States on common certification criteria.
‘‘(b) EARLY INTERVENTION PROFESSIONAL DEVEL-
OPMENT.—(1) Each State shall use at last 15 percent of
the funds it uses for personnel development under this
part to address personnel development needs in the area
of early intervention.
‘‘(2) Funds reserved under paragraph (1) shall be
made available to the lead agency under part H of this
Act or, at the lead agency’s discretion, shall be retained
by the State educational agency.
‘‘AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES
‘‘SEC. 627. Authorized activities under this part are
any activities, described in the State Improvement Plan,
that are consistent with the purpose of this part, which
may include the award of subgrants to local educational
agencies and other appropriate entities.
‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
‘‘SEC. 628. For the purpose of carrying out this part,
there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may
be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1997 through
2001.
119
‘‘PART D—PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
‘‘FINDINGS
‘‘SEC. 631. The Congress finds that—
‘‘(1) in order to serve children with disabilities
appropriately, both general and special education
personnel must be prepared to meet the special
needs of those children, and they must be prepared
in how to work together effectively to meet those
needs;
‘‘(2) in order to assist children with disabilities
to meet developmental goals and, to the maximum
extent possible, those challenging standards that
have been established for all children, personnel
working with children with disabilities must have the
knowledge and skills necessary to address each
child’s individual needs;
‘‘(3) the Federal Government can play a critical
role in assisting States in meeting the need for high-
ly-qualified personnel by—
‘‘(A) supporting models of professional de-
velopment that reflect best practices, including
strategies for recruiting, preparing, and retain-
ing personnel;
120
‘‘(B) supporting the development of, and
dissemination of information about, teaching
standards; and
‘‘(C) promoting the coordination and inte-
gration of professional development for teachers
of children with disabilities with professional
development supported under the Goals 2000:
Educate America Act and the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965;
‘‘(4) national activities that promote greater
consistency in certification standards among States
and reciprocity in accepting teaching credentials can
help reduce personnel shortages and improve serv-
ices;
‘‘(5) institutions of higher education and indi-
vidual States are reluctant to support professional
development programs for personnel needed to serve
children with low-incidence disabilities because of the
small number of these personnel needed in each
State; therefore, Federal support is needed to ensure
an adequate supply of those personnel; and
‘‘(6) Federal support is needed to ensure an
adequate supply of leadership personnel in edu-
cation, related services, and early intervention, in-
cluding teacher-preparation faculty, administrators,
121
researchers, supervisors, and principals who have the
professional development they need to help children
with disabilities—
‘‘(A) meet developmental goals and, to the
maximum extent possible, those challenging
standards that have been established for all
children; and
‘‘(B) be prepared to lead productive, inde-
pendent adult lives to the maximum extent pos-
sible.
‘‘PURPOSES
‘‘SEC. 632. The purposes of this part are to help en-
sure that—
‘‘(1) personnel responsible for serving children
with disabilities, including general and special edu-
cation personnel, related services personnel, and
early intervention personnel, have the knowledge and
skills necessary to help those children—
‘‘(A) meet developmental goals and, to the
maximum extent possible, those challenging
standards that have been established for all
children; and
‘‘(B) be prepared to lead productive, inde-
pendent adult lives to the maximum extent pos-
sible;
122
‘‘(2) there are adequate numbers of those per-
sonnel to meet the needs of children with disabilities;
and
‘‘(3) the skills and knowledge of personnel re-
sponsible for serving children with disabilities reflect
the best practices as determined through research
and experience, particularly with respect to the in-
clusion of children with disabilities in the regular
education environment.
‘‘NATIONAL ACTIVITIES
‘‘SEC. 633. (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Sec-
retary may make grants to, and enter into contracts and
cooperative agreements with, eligible entities to support
activities of national significance that—
‘‘(1) have broad applicability; and
‘‘(2) will help ensure that the purposes of this
part are met.
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out this
section, the Secretary may support any activities that are
consistent with subsection (a), including—
‘‘(1) the development, evaluation, demonstra-
tion, or dissemination of effective personnel prepara-
tion practices for personnel to work with children
with disabilities;
124
‘‘(B) related models of high-quality profes-
sional development;
‘‘(8) efforts to prepare teachers and other per-
sonnel in innovative instructional methodologies for
children with disabilities that are designed to meet
the diverse learning needs of individual students;
‘‘(9) disseminating models of high-quality pro-
fessional development activities that prepare person-
nel in strategies, techniques, methods, and practices
for meeting the educational needs of individuals with
disabilities from different economic, cultural, and
linguistic backgrounds, in order to ensure that all
students have the opportunity to meet challenging
standards;
‘‘(10) promoting the transferability of licensure
and certification of teachers and administrators
among State and local jurisdictions;
‘‘(11) supporting the development of voluntary
teaching standards;
‘‘(12) developing activities to prepare teachers,
and, where appropriate, paraprofessionals, pupil-
services personnel, and other staff in the collabo-
rative skills needed to appropriately teach children
with disabilities;
125
‘‘(13) developing, evaluating, and disseminating
innovative models for recruitment, induction, reten-
tion, and assessment of new, highly-qualified teach-
ers, especially such teachers from groups that are
underrepresented in the teaching profession;
‘‘(14) developing and disseminating models that
prepare teachers with strategies, including behav-
ioral management techniques, for addressing the
conduct of children with disabilities that impedes
their learning and that of others in the classroom;
and
‘‘(15) supporting Historically Black Colleges
and Universities and institutions of higher education
with minority enrollments of at least 25 percent for
the purpose of preparing personnel.
‘‘PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR PERSONNEL
SERVING LOW-INCIDENCE POPULATIONS
‘‘SEC. 634. (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Sec-
retary may make grants to, and enter into contracts and
cooperative agreements with, eligible entities to meet the
purposes of this part by supporting preparation for per-
sonnel who will provide educational and related services
to children with low-incidence disabilities, and personnel
who will provide early intervention services to infants and
toddlers with disabilities.
126
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—(1) Individuals who
may be prepared under this section include personnel who
are—
‘‘(A) currently prepared in the fields of edu-
cational, related, or early intervention services; and
‘‘(B) studying to—
‘‘(i) obtain degrees, certification, licensure,
or endorsements in these fields; or
‘‘(ii) meet competency requirements in
these fields.
‘‘(2) The Secretary may include funds for scholar-
ships, with necessary stipends and allowances, in awards
under this section.
‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—(1) Any eligible entity that
wishes to receive a grant under this section shall submit
an application to the Secretary at such time, in such man-
ner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
require.
‘‘(2) Each such application shall propose to provide
preparation that addresses a significant need, as shown
by letters from one or more States stating that—
‘‘(A) they intend to accept successful comple-
tion of the proposed personnel preparation as meet-
ing State personnel standards for serving children
127
with low-incidence disabilities, or for serving infants
and toddlers with disabilities; and
‘‘(B) they need personnel in the area or areas
in which the applicant proposes to provide prepara-
tion, as identified in their comprehensive systems of
personnel development under parts B and H, or in
their State Improvement Plan under part C.
‘‘(d) SELECTION
OF
RECIPIENTS.—In making
awards under this section, the Secretary—
‘‘(1) shall apply such criteria as the Secretary
finds appropriate, including—
‘‘(A) the impact of the proposed project in
meeting the need for personnel identified by the
States under subsection (b)(2); and
‘‘(B) the extent to which applicants pro-
pose to conduct training that incorporates best
practices in both—
‘‘(i) the preparation of personnel; and
‘‘(ii) the provision of educational, re-
lated, or early intervention services;
‘‘(2) may give preference to applications that
propose to prepare personnel in more than one low-
incidence disability, such as deafness and blindness;
128
‘‘(3) may consider past performance of the ap-
plicant in carrying out previous projects under this
Act; and
‘‘(4) may ensure broad geographic coverage of
activities assisted under this section.
‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term
‘low incidence disability’ means—
‘‘(1) a visual or hearing impairment, or simulta-
neous visual and hearing impairments;
‘‘(2) a significant cognitive impairment; or
‘‘(3) any impairment for which a small number
of personnel with highly specialized skills and knowl-
edge are needed in order for children with that im-
pairment to receive early intervention services or a
free appropriate public education.
‘‘LEADERSHIP PERSONNEL
‘‘SEC. 635. (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Sec-
retary may make grants to, and enter into contracts and
cooperative agreements with, eligible entities to meet the
purposes of this part by preparing educational, related
service, and early intervention leadership personnel (in-
cluding teacher-preparation faculty, administrators, re-
searchers, supervisors, and principals) so that they are
prepared to help children with disabilities—
129
‘‘(1) meet developmental goals and, to the max-
imum extent possible, those challenging standards
that have been established for all children; and
‘‘(2) be prepared to lead productive, independ-
ent adult lives to the maximum extent possible.
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—(1) In carrying out
this section, the Secretary may support any activities that
are consistent with subsection (a), including—
‘‘(A) preparation of personnel at the advanced
graduate, doctoral, or post-doctoral levels; and
‘‘(B) professional development of leadership
personnel.
‘‘(2) The Secretary may include funds for scholar-
ships, with necessary stipends and allowances, in awards
under this section.
‘‘(c) PREFERENCES.—In making awards under this
section, the Secretary—
‘‘(1) shall give preference to projects at institu-
tions of higher education that have successfully inte-
grated the professional development of general and
special education personnel;
‘‘(2) may give preference to projects at institu-
tions of higher education that—
130
‘‘(A) are making progress toward integrat-
ing the professional development of general and
special education personnel; or
‘‘(B) have achieved coordination of their
professional development programs for general
and special education personnel; and
‘‘(3) shall give preference to applicants that are
successfully recruiting and preparing individuals
with disabilities and individuals from groups that
are underrepresented in education leadership posi-
tions.
‘‘SERVICE OBLIGATION
‘‘SEC. 636. Each application for funds under sections
634 and 635 shall include an assurance that the applicant
will ensure that individuals who are prepared under the
proposed project will subsequently perform work related
to their preparation or repay all or part of the cost of
that preparation.
‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
‘‘SEC. 637. For the purpose of carrying out this part,
there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may
be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1997 through
2001.
‘‘PART E—RESEARCH TO PRACTICE
‘‘FINDINGS
‘‘SEC. 641. FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
131
‘‘(1) as a result of more than 20 years of Fed-
eral support for research, demonstrations, and relat-
ed activities, there is an important knowledge base
for enhancing educational opportunities for children
with disabilities, and research in such areas as in-
structional and behavioral management interven-
tions, learning strategies, and teaching has led to
significant improvements in professional practice
and educational results for children with disabilities;
‘‘(2) Federal support for a coordinated and
high-quality program of research, demonstrations,
dissemination, and technical assistance is essential
to enabling State and local educational agencies to
improve educational results for children with disabil-
ities;
‘‘(3) States, local educational agencies, institu-
tions of higher education, schools, and Indian tribes,
as well as parents of children with disabilities, need
information that is based on current research, that
is easily accessible, and that is integrated with infor-
mation that—
‘‘(A) helps administrators and teachers to
serve all children;
‘‘(B) helps families to improve educational
results for their children; and
132
‘‘(C) helps providers of various services ef-
fectively coordinate those services;
‘‘(4) there is an important Federal role in en-
suring that technical assistance is available to State
and local educational agencies, both through—
‘‘(A) directly providing technical assist-
ance; and
‘‘(B) helping State and local educational
agencies identify and benefit from effective non-
Federal sources of technical assistance;
‘‘(5) modern technology related to storing, gain-
ing access to, and distributing information provides
unprecedented opportunities for putting information
into the hands of individuals, including individuals
working with children with disabilities, families of
children with disabilities, and individuals with dis-
abilities; and
‘‘(6) a national assessment of general and spe-
cial education, related services, and early interven-
tion services for children with disabilities is needed
in order to determine the impact and effectiveness of
Federal, State, and local efforts supported under
this Act, and to improve results for children with
disabilities.
‘‘PURPOSES
‘‘SEC. 642. The purposes of this part are to—
133
‘‘(1) identify and produce knowledge to improve
early intervention and educational opportunities for
children with disabilities so that they can—
‘‘(A) meet developmental goals and, to the
maximum extent possible, those challenging
standards that have been established for all
children; and
‘‘(B) be prepared to lead productive, inde-
pendent adult lives to the maximum extent pos-
sible;
‘‘(2) advance the use of knowledge by adminis-
trators, teachers, parents, and others who work with
children with disabilities, as well as by individuals
with disabilities;
‘‘(3) identify, produce, and promote the use of
knowledge to address the special needs of children
with a high likelihood of needing special education
and related services in order to reduce, through
early intervention, the need for special education
services later in life; and
‘‘(4) assist institutions of higher education to
appropriately serve individuals with disabilities, in-
cluding individuals who are deaf, in postsecondary
programs.
134
‘‘RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT ACTIVITIES
‘‘SEC. 643. The Secretary may make grants to, and
enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with, eli-
gible entities to support activities that will help meet the
purposes of this part, including—
‘‘(1) research and development projects that ad-
vance knowledge about—
‘‘(A) the developmental and learning char-
acteristics of children with disabilities that will
improve the design and effectiveness of inter-
ventions and instruction;
‘‘(B) assessment techniques, instruments
(including tests, inventories, and scales), and
strategies for measuring the progress of chil-
dren with disabilities in meeting developmental
goals and, to the maximum extent possible,
those challenging standards that have been es-
tablished for all children;
‘‘(C) identifying and evaluating children
with disabilities for the purpose of determin-
ing—
‘‘(i) their eligibility for services under
this Act; and
135
‘‘(ii) the appropriate education, relat-
ed services, and early intervention services
to be provided to eligible children;
‘‘(D) identifying organizational, resource,
and other conditions necessary for effective pro-
fessional practice;
‘‘(E) the coordination of education with
health and social services in order to improve
educational results for children with disabilities;
‘‘(F) helping families improve educational
results for their children; and
‘‘(G) strategies to address the behavior of
children with disabilities that impedes their
learning or that of others;
‘‘(2) large-scale longitudinal studies designed to
produce information on the long-term impact of
early intervention and education on results for indi-
viduals with disabilities;
‘‘(3) model demonstration projects to apply and
field-test research findings in typical service settings
to determine the applicability, usability, effective-
ness, and general applicability of such research find-
ings in such areas as improving instructional meth-
ods, curricula, and instructional tools such as text-
books, media, and materials;
136
‘‘(4) projects to assist institutions of higher
education in appropriately serving their students
with disabilities, including deaf students, such as
demonstrating and disseminating effective strategies
to address the needs of those students;
‘‘(5) outreach projects to support the replica-
tion of proven strategies and practices that will im-
prove educational, related, and early intervention
services for children with disabilities;
‘‘(6) assisting researchers, program developers,
and others to produce, evaluate, and make available
information that will be useful to a variety of audi-
ences seeking to improve educational results for chil-
dren with disabilities;
‘‘(7) helping apply research and other knowl-
edge to improve educational results for children with
disabilities by—
‘‘(A) identifying useful research and other
products;
‘‘(B) ensuring that these products are in
appropriate formats for distribution to adminis-
trators, teachers, parents, and individuals with
disabilities; and
‘‘(C) making those products available
through clearinghouses, libraries, electronic net-
138
‘‘(A) linking to other technical assistance
resources, including special and general edu-
cation resources;
‘‘(B) gaining access to information, includ-
ing information on research and best practices;
and
‘‘(C) developing, implementing, and evalu-
ating their State Improvement Plans under part
C of this Act; and
‘‘(12) technical assistance to State educational
agencies, State lead agencies for serving infants and
toddlers with disabilities under part H, and other or-
ganizations and agencies that play a critical role in
serving children with disabilities in such areas as—
‘‘(A) providing for the participation of chil-
dren with disabilities in State and local assess-
ments;
‘‘(B) the financing of special education;
‘‘(C) the coordination of education, health,
and social services; and
‘‘(D) 
promoting 
safe 
and 
disciplined
schools.
‘‘STUDIES AND EVALUATIONS; ANNUAL REPORT
‘‘SEC. 644. (a) STUDIES AND EVALUATIONS.—The
Secretary may, directly or through grants to, and con-
tracts and cooperative agreements with, eligible entities—
139
‘‘(1) assess progress in the implementation of
this Act;
‘‘(2) assess, through performance indicators
and other means, the impact and effectiveness of
State and local efforts, and efforts by the Secretary
of the Interior, to—
‘‘(A) provide a free appropriate public edu-
cation to children with disabilities; and
‘‘(B) provide early intervention services to
infant and toddlers with disabilities and those
at risk for developmental delay;
‘‘(3) assess the placement of children with dis-
abilities, by disability;
‘‘(4) provide Congress with information relevant
to policy-making and to provide State, local, and
Federal agencies, including the Department of the
Interior, with information relevant to program man-
agement, administration, service delivery, and effec-
tiveness with respect to education and early inter-
vention services; and
‘‘(5) conduct the national assessment described
in section 645.
‘‘(b) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall report
annually to the Congress on—
140
‘‘(1) the results of activities conducted under
subsection (a);
‘‘(2) an analysis and summary of the data re-
ported by the States and the Secretary of the Inte-
rior under section 618; and
‘‘(3) the findings and determinations resulting
from reviews of State implementation of this Act.
‘‘NATIONAL ASSESSMENT
‘‘SEC. 645. (a) PURPOSE
OF ASSESSMENT.—The
Secretary shall carry out a national assessment of the im-
plementation of this Act in order to—
‘‘(1) determine the impact of this Act on help-
ing individuals with disabilities—
‘‘(A) meet developmental goals and, to the
maximum extent possible, those challenging
standards that have been established for all
children; and
‘‘(B) be prepared to lead productive, inde-
pendent adult lives to the maximum extent pos-
sible;
‘‘(2) provide information to Congress, the Exec-
utive Branch, the States, local educational agencies,
and others on how to more effectively implement the
Act; and
141
‘‘(3) provide Congress and the Executive
Branch information useful in developing legislation
to more effectively meet the purposes of this Act.
‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall plan, re-
view, and conduct the national assessment in consultation
with researchers, State practitioners, local practitioners,
parents of children with disabilities, individuals with dis-
abilities, and other appropriate individuals.
‘‘(c) SCOPE OF ASSESSMENT.—(1) The national as-
sessment shall examine how well schools, local educational
agencies, and States, in carrying out parts B, C, and H,
are—
‘‘(A) helping children served under this Act, in-
cluding children from minority backgrounds and
children with limited English proficiency—
‘‘(i) meet developmental goals and, to the
maximum extent possible, those challenging
standards that have been established for all
children; and
‘‘(ii) be prepared to lead productive, inde-
pendent adult lives to the maximum extent pos-
sible;
‘‘(B) providing for the participation of children
with disabilities in the general education curriculum;
142
‘‘(C) helping children with disabilities make
successful transitions from—
‘‘(i) early intervention services to preschool
education;
‘‘(ii) preschool education to elementary
school; and
‘‘(iii) secondary school to adult life;
‘‘(D) providing for the participation of children
with disabilities in State and district-wide assess-
ments;
‘‘(E) placing and serving children with disabil-
ities, including children from minority backgrounds
and children with limited English proficiency, in the
least restrictive environment appropriate;
‘‘(F) preventing children with disabilities, espe-
cially children with emotional disturbances and spe-
cific learning disabilities, from dropping out of
school;
‘‘(G) addressing the need for personnel with the
knowledge and skills necessary to help children with
disabilities reach developmental goals and challeng-
ing standards;
‘‘(H) coordinating services provided under this
Act with each other, with other educational and
pupil services (including preschool services), and
143
with health and social services funded from other
sources;
‘‘(I) affording parents of children served under
this Act meaningful opportunities to participate in
the education of their children; and
‘‘(J) resolving disagreements between education
personnel and parents through activities such as me-
diation.
‘‘(2) The assessment shall also examine how effective
the activities authorized under parts D through G of this
Act have been in achieving their purposes.
‘‘(d) SOURCES
OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary
shall use information gathered from a variety of sources,
including the National Assessment of Educational
Progress, State evaluations, and available research stud-
ies, in carrying out this section.
‘‘(e) INTERIM AND FINAL REPORTS.—The Secretary
shall submit to the President and the appropriate commit-
tees of the Congress—
‘‘(1) an interim report that summarizes the pre-
liminary findings of the assessment by October 1,
1998; and
‘‘(2) a final report of the findings of the assess-
ment by October 1, 2000.
144
‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; RESERVATION
FOR STUDIES AND EVALUATIONS
‘‘SEC. 646. (a) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—For the purpose of carrying out this part, there
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be
necessary for each of the fiscal years 1997 through 2001.
‘‘(b) RESERVATION
FOR STUDIES
AND EVALUA-
TIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act,
the Secretary may reserve, in addition to any funds appro-
priated under subsection (a), up to one-half of one percent
of the amount appropriated for each fiscal year for section
611 and for part H to carry out sections 644 and 645
of this part.
‘‘PART F—PARENT TRAINING AND INFORMATION
‘‘FINDINGS
‘‘SEC. 651. The Congress finds that—
‘‘(1) parental involvement in the education of
their children improves the emotional well-being of
families, enhances parenting skills, and improves
educational results for children with disabilities, ena-
bling them to lead productive, independent adult
lives to the maximum extent possible;
‘‘(2) parents of children with disabilities need
training to develop the skills they need to participate
effectively in the education of their children, and to
145
understand the nature of their children’s disabilities
and their need for accommodations and special edu-
cation and related services in order to achieve their
educational goals;
‘‘(3) parents of children with disabilities need
information on their rights and protections under
this Act to ensure improved educational results;
‘‘(4) parents of children with disabilities who
have limited access to services and supports due to
economic, cultural, or linguistic barriers have the
greatest need for community-based approaches to
providing parent training and information;
‘‘(5) parental involvement in school-site reform
initiatives, such as under the Goals 2000: Educate
America Act, leads to improved educational results
for their children; and
‘‘(6) students with disabilities need training so
that they can assume the rights of their parents
under part B of this Act when they reach the age
of majority, if the State provides for the transfer of
those rights under section 615(j).
‘‘PURPOSES
‘‘SEC. 652. The purposes of this part are to ensure
that—
‘‘(1) parents of children with disabilities have
training and information provided in a manner that
146
is meaningful and accessible to enable them to par-
ticipate effectively in helping their children—
‘‘(A) meet developmental goals and, to the
maximum extent possible, those challenging
standards that have been established for all
children; and
‘‘(B) be prepared to lead productive, inde-
pendent adult lives to the maximum extent pos-
sible; and
‘‘(2) students with disabilities understand their
rights and responsibilities under part B of this Act
on reaching the age of majority, if the State pro-
vides for the transfer of parental rights under sec-
tion 615(j) of that part.
‘‘PARENT TRAINING AND INFORMATION CENTERS
‘‘SEC. 653. (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Sec-
retary may make grants to, and enter into contracts and
cooperative agreements with, parent organizations to sup-
port parent training and information centers to carry out
the purposes of this part.
‘‘(b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Each parent training
and information center receiving assistance under this sec-
tion shall—
‘‘(1) provide training and information that
meets the training and information needs of parents
147
of children with disabilities living in the area to be
served by the award;
‘‘(2) serve the parents of children with the full
range of disabilities;
‘‘(3) assist parents to—
‘‘(A) better understand the nature of their
children’s disabilities and their educational and
developmental needs;
‘‘(B) communicate effectively with early
intervention personnel, special and regular edu-
cators, administrators, related services person-
nel, and other relevant professionals;
‘‘(C) participate in decision-making proc-
esses, including the development of individual-
ized education programs under part B of this
Act and individualized family service plans
under part H of this Act for children with dis-
abilities;
‘‘(D) obtain appropriate information about
the range of options, programs, services, and
resources available at the national, State, and
local levels to assist children with disabilities
and their families;
‘‘(E) understand the provisions for the
education of, and for early intervention services
148
for, children with disabilities under this Act;
and
‘‘(F) participate in school reform activities;
‘‘(4) assist students with disabilities to under-
stand their rights and responsibilities under section
615(j) of this Act on reaching the age of majority,
if the State provides for the transfer of parental
rights to the student under that section;
‘‘(5) report to the Secretary on—
‘‘(A) the number of parents to whom it
provided information and training; and
‘‘(B) the effectiveness of strategies used to
reach and serve parents, including low-income
parents from inner-city and rural areas, parents
of children with limited English proficiency, and
parents with disabilities; and
‘‘(6) establish cooperative partnerships with the
community parent resource centers funded under
section 654.
‘‘(c) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—Each applica-
tion for assistance under this section shall identify with
specificity the special efforts that the applicant will under-
take to—
‘‘(1) ensure that the needs of low-income par-
ents from inner-city and rural areas, parents of chil-
149
dren with limited English proficiency, and parents
with disabilities in the area to be served are effec-
tively met; and
‘‘(2) work with community-based organizations.
‘‘(d) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—(1)(A) The Sec-
retary shall allocate the funds available to carry out this
section for each fiscal year for awards in each State based
on the State’s population from birth through age 21, ex-
cept that—
‘‘(i) each of the 50 States, the District of Co-
lumbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico shall
be allocated at least $150,000 or the amount that it
was allocated under this section for the previous fis-
cal year, whichever is greater; and
‘‘(ii) each outlying area shall be allocated at
least $50,000 or the amount that it was allocated
under this section for the previous fiscal year, which-
ever is greater.
‘‘(B) If the sums available to make allocations under
subparagraph (A) are insufficient to make the minimum
allocations described in that subparagraph, the Secretary
shall ratably reduce those allocations.
‘‘(C) If additional funds become available to make al-
locations under subparagraph (A), the allocations that
150
were reduced under subparagraph (B) shall be increased
on the same basis as they were reduced.
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall make at least one award in
each State from which the Secretary receives an applica-
tion of sufficient quality to warrant approval.
‘‘(3) The Secretary may select applications in a man-
ner that ensures the most effective coverage of parents,
including parents in urban and rural areas, in the affected
State.
‘‘(4) If the Secretary determines that the applications
received from a State do not warrant the award of the
State’s entire allocation under paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary may use all or part of that allocation, as the case
may be—
‘‘(A) to increase the number or amount of
awards in other States under this section; or
‘‘(B) for other activities, authorized by this part
or other provisions of this Act, to provide parents
with training and information or to provide technical
assistance to those providing that training and infor-
mation.
‘‘COMMUNITY PARENT RESOURCE CENTERS
‘‘SEC. 654. (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Sec-
retary may make grants to, and enter into contracts and
cooperative agreements with, local parent organizations to
support parent training and information centers that will
151
help ensure that underserved parents of children with dis-
abilities, including low-income parents, parents of children
with limited English proficiency, and parents with disabil-
ities, have the training and information they need to en-
able them to participate effectively in helping their chil-
dren with disabilities—
‘‘(1) meet developmental goals and, to the max-
imum extent possible, those challenging standards
that have been established for all children; and
‘‘(2) be prepared to lead productive, independ-
ent adult lives to the maximum extent possible.
‘‘(b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Each parent training
and information center assisted under this section shall—
‘‘(1) provide training and information that
meets the training and information needs of parents
of children with disabilities proposed to be served by
the award;
‘‘(2) carry out the activities required of parent
training and information centers under paragraphs
(2) through (5) of section 653(b);
‘‘(3) establish cooperative partnerships with the
parent training and information centers funded
under section 653; and
153
‘‘(C) secondary school to postsecondary en-
vironments; and
‘‘(10) alternative methods of dispute resolution.
‘‘DEFINITIONS
‘‘SEC. 656. (a) PARENT ORGANIZATION.—As used in
this part, the term ‘parent organization’ means a private
nonprofit organization (but not including an institution of
higher education) that either—
‘‘(1) has a board of directors—
‘‘(A) the majority of whom are parents of
children with disabilities;
‘‘(B) that includes—
‘‘(i) individuals working in the fields
of special education, related services, and
early intervention; and
‘‘(ii) individuals with disabilities; and
‘‘(C) the parent and professional members
of which are broadly representative of the popu-
lation to be served; or
‘‘(2) represents the interests of individuals with
disabilities and has established a special governing
committee to administer the proposed project that
meets the requirements of subparagraphs (A), (B),
and (C) of paragraph (1).
‘‘(b) LOCAL PARENT ORGANIZATION.—As used in
this part, the term ‘local parent organization’ means a
154
parent organization, as defined in subsection (a), that ei-
ther—
‘‘(1) has a board of directors the majority of
whom are from the community to be served by the
proposed project; or
‘‘(2)(A) has the interests of individuals with
disabilities from that community as a part of its
mission; and
‘‘(B) has a special governing committee to
administer the project, a majority of the mem-
bers of which are from that community.
‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
‘‘SEC. 657. (a) GENERAL.—For the purpose of carry-
ing out this part, there are authorized to be appropriated
such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years
1997 through 2001.
‘‘(b) COMMUNITY PARENT RESOURCE CENTERS.—
For any fiscal year for which the amount appropriated for
this part is at least $13,535,000, the Secretary shall make
at least five awards for community parent resource centers
under section 654.
‘‘PART G—TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND
EDUCATIONAL MEDIA SERVICES
‘‘FINDINGS
‘‘SEC. 661. The Congress finds that—
155
‘‘(1) Federal support for technology research
and development has resulted in major innovations
that have significantly improved the lives of individ-
uals with disabilities;
‘‘(2) Federal support for the development and
application of technology to address the needs of in-
dividuals with disabilities is needed because of the
small size of the potential markets;
‘‘(3) Federal support is needed to stimulate the
development of software, inter-active learning tools,
and devices to address the educational needs of chil-
dren with certain disabilities;
‘‘(4) individuals involved in the education of
children with disabilities need to be more aware of,
and competent in the use of, technology for children
with disabilities; and
‘‘(5) more information is needed on professional
development and organizational arrangements that
support the integration of technology into the cur-
riculum to improve educational results for children
with disabilities.
‘‘PURPOSES
‘‘SEC. 662. The purposes of this part are to—
‘‘(1) support research on, and the development
of, advanced technology, and promote the expanded
use of existing technology, that will help improve
156
early intervention and education services for children
with disabilities so that they can—
‘‘(A) meet developmental goals and, to the
maximum extent possible, those challenging
standards that have been established for all
children; and
‘‘(B) be prepared to lead productive, inde-
pendent adult lives to the maximum extent pos-
sible;
‘‘(2) address the educational needs and promote
the general welfare of deaf and hard-of-hearing indi-
viduals through media; and
‘‘(3) address the educational needs of visually
impaired (including blind) and print-disabled individ-
uals and the general welfare of visually impaired in-
dividuals through media.
‘‘TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT
‘‘SEC. 663. (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Sec-
retary may make grants to, and enter into contracts and
cooperative agreements with, eligible entities to support
activities that will carry out the purpose of this part stated
in section 662(1).
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out this
section, the Secretary may support any activities that are
consistent with subsection (a), including—
157
‘‘(1) conducting research and development on
the use of innovative and emerging technologies for
children with disabilities;
‘‘(2) promoting the use of innovative and
emerging technologies for children with disabilities
by improving and expanding the transfer of tech-
nology from research and development to practice;
‘‘(3) conducting research on, and developing,
assistive and instructional technologies to improve
learning;
‘‘(4) conducting research on effective models of
professional development and school policies that
support the use of technology in the school, the
home, the workplace, and community settings;
‘‘(5) providing technical assistance to recipients
under this section in the development of accessible,
effective, and usable products;
‘‘(6) communicating information on—
‘‘(A) available technology; and
‘‘(B) models described in paragraph (4);
‘‘(7) conducting research on captioning or video
description; and
‘‘(8) supporting research and development of
technology with universal design features, so that it
158
is accessible to individuals with disabilities without
further modification or adaptation.
‘‘EDUCATIONAL MEDIA SERVICES
‘‘SEC. 664. (a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Sec-
retary may make grants to, and enter into contracts and
cooperative agreements with, eligible entities to support
the use of media to—
‘‘(1) address the educational needs and promote
the general welfare of deaf and hard-of-hearing indi-
viduals through media; and
‘‘(2) address the educational needs of visually
impaired (including blind) and print-disabled individ-
uals and the general welfare of visually impaired in-
dividuals through media.
‘‘(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out this
section, the Secretary may support any activities that are
consistent with subsection (a), including—
‘‘(1) video description, open captioning, or
closed captioning of television programs, videos, or
educational materials;
‘‘(2) distributing captioned and described videos
or educational materials;
‘‘(3) recording free educational materials, in-
cluding textbooks, for visually impaired and print-
disabled students in elementary, secondary, post-
secondary, and graduate schools; and
159
‘‘(4) providing, through the National Theatre of
the Deaf and other means, cultural experiences to—
‘‘(A) enrich the lives of deaf and hard-of-
hearing children and adults;
‘‘(B) increase public awareness and under-
standing of deafness and of the artistic and in-
tellectual achievements of deaf and hard-of-
hearing individuals; and
‘‘(C) promote the integration of hearing,
deaf, and hard-of-hearing individuals through
shared cultural, educational, and social experi-
ences.
‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS
‘‘SEC. 665. For the purpose of carrying out this part,
there are authorized to appropriated such sums as may
be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1997 through
2001.’’.
TITLE IV—AMENDMENTS TO PART H OF THE
IDEA
DEFINITIONS
SEC. 401. Section 672 of the IDEA is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘—’’ after ‘‘toddlers with
disabilities’’;
(B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A)
and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii);
160
(C) by designating ‘‘means individuals’’
and all that follows through the end of the first
sentence thereof as subparagraph (A);
(D) by designating the second sentence
thereof as subparagraph (B);
(E) in subparagraph (A)(ii), as redesig-
nated, by striking out the period following ‘‘de-
velopmental delay’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
a semicolon and ‘‘and’’; and
(F) by amending subparagraph (B), as
designated by subparagraph (D), to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(B) may also include, at a State’s discre-
tion, at-risk infants and toddlers, as defined in
paragraph (5).’’; and
(2) by adding at the end thereof a new para-
graph (5) to read as follows:
‘‘(5) The term ‘at-risk infants and toddlers’
means individuals from birth through age two who
are at risk of having substantial developmental
delays if early intervention services are not pro-
vided.’’.
GENERAL AUTHORITY
SEC. 402. Section 673 of the IDEA is amended by
striking out ‘‘develop’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘im-
plement’’.
161
ELIGIBILITY
SEC. 403. (a) The heading for section 674 of the
IDEA is amended by striking out ‘‘GENERAL’’.
(b) Section 674 of the IDEA is further amended by
striking out ‘‘that the State’’ and all that follows through
the end thereof and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘that the
State—
‘‘(A) has adopted a policy that appropriate
early intervention services are available to all infants
and toddlers in the State who are eligible under this
part and their families; and
‘‘(B) has in effect the statewide system required
by section 675.’’.
CONTINUING ELIGIBILITY
SEC. 404. (a) REPEAL OF SECTION 675.—Section
675 of the IDEA is repealed.
(b) REDESIGNATION
OF SECTIONS.—Sections 676
and 677 of the IDEA are redesignated as sections 675
and 676, respectively.
REQUIREMENTS FOR STATEWIDE SYSTEM
SEC. 405. Subsection (b) of section 675 of the IDEA,
as redesignated by section 404(b), is amended—
(1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(2) a statement of—
162
‘‘(A) which infants and toddlers will be
served under section 676; and
‘‘(B) which infants and toddlers will be
served under section 677,’’;
(2) in paragraph (3)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘to appropriately assist
in the development of the infant or toddler with
a disability’’;
(B) by designating the remaining text as
subparagraph (A);
(C) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the comma at
the end thereof; and
(D) by adding at the end thereof a new
subparagraph (B) to read a follows:
‘‘(B) a timely assessment of each at-risk
infant and toddler to be served under section
677,’’;
(3) in paragraph (4)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after the paragraph
number;
(B) by striking out ‘‘section 677’’ and in-
serting in lieu thereof ‘‘section 676’’;
(C) by adding ‘‘and’’ after the comma at
the end thereof; and
163
(D) by adding at the end thereof a new
subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
‘‘(B) for each at-risk infant and toddler to
be served under section 677, a statement of
services to be provided, including service coordi-
nation, in accordance with that section,’’;
(4) in paragraph (6)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘identification of in-
fants and toddlers with disabilities’’ and insert-
ing in lieu thereof ‘‘identification of infants and
toddlers served under this part’’; and
(B) by striking out ‘‘parents of infants
with disabilities’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘parents of infants and toddlers’’;
(5) in paragraph (8)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘section 613(a)(3) and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section 612(a)(14) (or
with the personnel development requirements
for State Improvement Plans under section
624, as amended by section 302 of the Individ-
uals with Disabilities Education Act Amend-
ment of 1995)’’;
(B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting
‘‘and innercity’’ after ‘‘rural’’; and
(C) in subparagraph (D)—
164
(i) by striking out ‘‘with disabilities’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘served under
this part’’; and
(ii) by striking out ‘‘a preschool pro-
gram under section 619 of part B.’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘preschool or
other services,’’;
(6) in paragraph (9)(D), by striking out ‘‘in-
fants and toddlers with disabilities and their fami-
lies’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘infants and tod-
dlers and their families under this part’’;
(7) in paragraph (13)—
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking out
‘‘and’’ at the end thereof and inserting in lieu
thereof ‘‘except that’’; and
(B) by adding at the end thereof a new
subparagraph (C) to read as follows:
‘‘(C) nothing in this Act, including sub-
paragraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph, pro-
hibits the use of paraprofessionals who are ap-
propriately trained and supervised, in meeting
the requirements of this part,’’;
(8) by amending paragraph (14) to read as fol-
lows:
165
‘‘(14) a system for compiling data requested by
the Secretary under section 618 that relates to this
part, and’’;
(9) by adding at the end thereof a new para-
graph (15) to read as follows:
‘‘(15) a State Interagency Coordinating Council
that meets the requirements of section 682.’’;
(10) by redesignating paragraph (13) as para-
graph (9); and
(11) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through
(12) as paragraphs (10) through (13), respectively.
INDIVIDUALIZED FAMILY SERVICE PLANS
SEC. 406. Subsection (d) of section 676 of the IDEA,
as redesignated by section 404(b), is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking out ‘‘accept-
able’’; and
(2) in paragraph (8)—
(A) by striking out ‘‘supporting’’ and in-
serting in lieu thereof ‘‘to support’’; and
(B) by striking out ‘‘services provided’’
and all that follows through ‘‘appropriate’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘preschool or other ap-
propriate services’’.
166
STATEMENT OF SERVICES FOR AT-RISK INFANTS AND
TODDLERS
SEC. 407. Part H of the IDEA is further amended
by inserting after section 676, as redesignated by section
404(b), a new section 677 to read as follows:
‘‘STATEMENT OF SERVICES FOR AT-RISK INFANTS AND
TODDLERS
‘‘SEC. 677. (a) APPLICABILITY; ASSESSMENT AND
PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.—Any State that, in accord-
ance with section 678(a)(4), elects to provide services
under this part to at-risk infants and toddlers in accord-
ance with this section shall provide each at-risk infant and
toddler, and the infant’s or toddler’s family—
‘‘(1) a timely assessment of the unique
strengths and needs of the infant or toddler;
‘‘(2) at the discretion of the family, a timely
family-directed assessment of the resources, prior-
ities, and concerns of the family, including the iden-
tification of supports and services needed to enhance
the family’s capacity to meet the infant’s or tod-
dler’s developmental needs; and
‘‘(3) a written statement of services to be pro-
vided the infant or toddler through programs as-
sisted under this part which, at a minimum, shall in-
clude service coordination.
167
‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT OF STATEMENT OF SERVICES.—
(1) The child’s service coordinator, together with the par-
ents of the infant or toddler, and others as appropriate,
shall develop the statement of services described in sub-
section (a)(3) within a reasonable time after the assess-
ments required by subsections (a) (1) and (2) are com-
pleted.
‘‘(2) If the parent consents, services may be provided
before the statement of services is completed.
‘‘(c) CONTENTS
OF
THE STATEMENT
OF SERV-
ICES.—The statement of services for each at-risk infant
and toddler shall contain—
‘‘(1) a statement of the infant’s or toddler’s
present levels of development based on objective cri-
teria;
‘‘(2) at the discretion of the family, a statement
of the family’s resources, priorities, and concerns re-
lating to enhancing the development of the infant or
toddler;
‘‘(3) a statement of services needed by the in-
fant or toddler and the family, including a statement
of the service coordination and any other early inter-
vention services to be provided under this part and
referrals to, or linkages with, other public or private
resources;
168
‘‘(4) the name of the service coordinator; and
‘‘(5) in the case of a toddler, the steps to be
taken to support transition to preschool or other
services, as appropriate.
‘‘(d) PERIODIC REVIEW.—(1) The child’s service co-
ordinator, together with the parents of the infant or tod-
dler, and others as appropriate, shall review (and revise,
as appropriate) the statement of services—
‘‘(A) every six months;
‘‘(B) whenever requested by the family; or
‘‘(C) whenever a review would be appropriate
based on the needs of the infant or toddler and the
family.
‘‘(2) The review shall determine whether—
‘‘(A) the infant or toddler is an infant or tod-
dler with a disability; and
‘‘(B) whether a reassessment of the child or
family is needed.
‘‘(e) PARENTAL CONSENT.—(1) The contents of the
statement of services shall be fully explained to the par-
ents in their native language or other mode of communica-
tion.
‘‘(2) Informed written consent from the parents shall
be obtained before any early intervention services are pro-
vided under this part.
169
‘‘(3) If the parents do not consent to the provision
of a particular early intervention service, only the services
to which they have consented shall be provided.’’.
STATE APPLICATIONS AND ASSURANCES
SEC. 408. (a) Section 678(a) of the IDEA is amend-
ed—
(1) in paragraph (3), by adding after the
comma at the end thereof ‘‘including—
‘‘(A) information demonstrating to the
Secretary’s satisfaction that the State has in ef-
fect the statewide system required by section
675; and
‘‘(B) a description of services to be pro-
vided to infants and toddlers with disabilities
and their families under this part,’’;
(2) by amending paragraph (4) to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(4)(A) a statement of whether the State will
serve at-risk infants and toddlers as infants and tod-
dlers with disabilities; and
‘‘(B) if not, but if it will serve at-risk infants
and toddlers under section 677—
‘‘(i) a description of the services it will pro-
vide;
170
‘‘(ii) an assurance that, at a minimum, the
State will provide service coordination for those
infants and toddlers; and
‘‘(iii) an assurance that the parents of each
such infant and toddler with be provided a
statement of services in accordance with section
677,’’; and
(3) by amending paragraph (8) to read as fol-
lows:
‘‘(8) a description of the policies and procedures
to be used—
‘‘(A) to ensure a smooth transition for tod-
dlers receiving early intervention services under
this part to preschool or other appropriate serv-
ices, including a description of—
‘‘(i) how the families of toddlers will
be included in the transition plans required
by subparagraph (C); and
‘‘(ii) how the lead agency under this
part will—
‘‘(I) notify the local education
agency in which the toddler resides;
‘‘(II) with the approval of the
family, convene a conference among
the lead agency, the family, and the
172
USES OF FUNDS
SEC. 409. Section 679 of the IDEA is amended—
(1) by striking out ‘‘plan, develop, and’’;
(2) in paragraph (1), by striking out ‘‘with dis-
abilities and their families’’ and inserting in lieu
thereof ‘‘and their families under this part’’; and
(3) in paragraph (2), by striking out ‘‘with dis-
abilities and their families’’ and inserting in lieu
thereof ‘‘and their families under this part’’.
PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS
SEC. 410. Section 680 of the IDEA is amended—
(1) in paragraphs (5) and (6), by striking out
‘‘with a disability’’;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as sub-
section (b);
(3) by designating the remaining text as sub-
section (a);
(4) in subsection (a), as so designated, by in-
serting the heading ‘‘MINIMUM PROCEDURES.’’ after
‘‘(a)’’;
(5) by adding a new paragraph (8) at the end
of subsection (a), as designated by paragraph (3), to
read as follows:
‘‘(8) The right of parents to use mediation in
accordance with section 615(d), except that—
173
‘‘(A) references in that section to the State
educational agency shall be understood to refer
to the State’s lead agency under this part; and
‘‘(B) references in that section to a public
agency shall be understood to refer to a local
service provider or the State’s lead agency
under this part, as the case may be.’’; and
(6) in subsection (b), as redesignated by para-
graph (2), by inserting the heading ‘‘SERVICES DUR-
ING PENDENCY OF PROCEEDINGS.’’ after ‘‘(b)’’.
STATE INTERAGENCY COORDINATING COUNCIL
SEC. 411. Section 682(b)(1) of the IDEA is amended
by adding at the end thereof new subparagraphs (H) and
(I) to read as follows:
‘‘(H) A representative from a Head Start
agency or program in the State.
‘‘(I) A representative from a State agency
responsible for child care.’’.
ALLOCATION OF FUNDS
SEC. 412. Section 684 of the IDEA is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) by inserting ‘‘up to’’ before ‘‘1 per-
cent’’;
(B) by striking out ‘‘the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Mi-
cronesia, the Republic of Palau,’’;
174
(C) by redesignating subsection (a) as
paragraph (1) of subsection (a); and
(D) by adding at the end thereof a new
paragraph (2) to read as follows:
‘‘(2) The provisions of Public Law 95–134, permit-
ting the consolidation of grants to the outlying areas, shall
not apply to funds those areas receive under this part.’’;
(2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as
subsections (e) and (f), respectively;
(3) by inserting, after subsection (b), new sub-
sections (c) and (d) to read as follows:
‘‘(c) The Secretary shall reserve up to .05 of one per-
cent of the amount appropriated under section 687 for any
fiscal year for the operations of the Federal Interagency
Coordinating Council under section 685, other than activi-
ties of the panel of experts under section 686.
‘‘(d) The Secretary may reserve up to $100,000 for
the expenses of the panel of experts established under sec-
tion 686.’’;
(4) in subsection (e), as redesignated by para-
graph (2)—
(A) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by striking out ‘‘paragraphs (3),
(4), and (5)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘paragraphs (2), (3), and (4),’’; and
175
(ii) by striking out ‘‘subsections (a)
and (b)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘subsections (a) through (d) and section
646(b)’’;
(B) by striking out paragraph (2);
(C) 
by 
redesignating 
paragraphs 
(3)
through (6) as paragraphs (2) through (5), re-
spectively;
(D) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated—
(i) by striking out ‘‘paragraphs (4)
and (5)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof
‘‘paragraphs (3) and (4)’’;
(ii) by striking out ‘‘greater’’ and in-
serting in lieu thereof ‘‘greatest’’;
(iii) in subparagraph (A), by striking
out 
‘‘paragraph 
(1), 
excluding 
any
amounts allotted under paragraph (2); or’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘paragraph
(1);’’;
(iv) in subparagraph (B), by striking
out the period at the end thereof and in-
serting in lieu thereof a semicolon and
‘‘or’’; and
(v) by adding at the end thereof a new
subparagraph (C) to read as follows:
176
‘‘(C) for any fiscal year for which the total
amount appropriated to carry out this part ex-
ceeds the total amount appropriated to carry
out this part for the preceding fiscal year by a
percentage greater than the most recent per-
centage change in the Fixed Weight Gross Na-
tional Product price index, an amount equal to
the State’s allotment for the preceding fiscal
year increased by the percentage change in the
Fixed Weight Gross National Product price
index.’’;
(E) in paragraph (3), as redesignated by
subparagraph (C), by striking out ‘‘paragraph
(5)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘paragraph
(4)’’ and
(F) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by
subparagraph (C)—
(i) by striking out ‘‘paragraph (1)’’
and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘this sub-
section’’; and
(ii) by amending subparagraph (B) to
read as follows:
‘‘(B) the term ‘State’ means each of the 50
States, the District of Columbia, and the Com-
monwealth of Puerto Rico.’’; and