TITLE IV--AMENDMENTS TO PART H OF THE IDEA

Title IV of the bill would make amendments to Part H of the IDEA, which assists States in developing and implementing statewide systems of coordinated, comprehensive, multidisciplinary interagency programs to provide early intervention services to all children with disabilities, from birth through age 2, and their families.

Section 401, definitions. Section 401(1) of the bill would amend the definition of "infants and toddlers with disabilities" in section 672(1) of the IDEA to make its components easier to cite and to cross-reference the definition of the new term "at-risk infants and toddlers", which would be added by paragraph (2), discussed below.

Section 401(2) would add, as paragraph (5) of section 672 of the Act, a definition of the term "at-risk infants and toddlers". The term would mean those individuals from birth through age two who are at risk of having substantial developmental delays if early intervention services are not provided. These children are now covered, at a State's option, by the definition of "infants and toddlers with disabilities" in section 672(1), and that discretion would be retained. The new term "at-risk infants and toddlers" would be used in several places throughout Part H, as amended, most significantly in those provisions that would permit States to serve those children without having to provide the full array of services that it makes available to infants and toddlers with disabilities. See, in particular, proposed section 677, and amended section 678(a)(4), discussed below.

Section 402, general authority. Section 402 of the bill would amend section 673 of the IDEA to provide that States are to use their Part H grants to implement, and no longer to develop, their Part H systems. Each State has been participating in the Part H program for several years, and Federal funds should now be devoted to implementation.

Section 403, eligibility. Section 403(a) of the bill would amend the heading of section 674 to make it more accurate.

Section 403(b) would amend section 674 to provide that a State is eligible for a Part H grant if it demonstrates in its application to the Secretary that it has adopted a policy that appropriate early intervention services are available to all infants and toddlers in the State who are eligible under Part H and their families, and it has in effect the statewide system required by section 675 (current section 676). This amendment would not alter the current eligibility requirements, but would provide a single, concise statement of those requirements that the current statute lacks.

Section 404, continuing eligibility. Section 404(a) of the bill would repeal current section 675, which lays out the progressively more rigorous requirements that applied to the first five years of State participation in the Part H program, and governed the allocation of program funds for fiscal years 1990 through 1992. These provisions are now obsolete by their terms or because all States have participated for at least five years. The substantive requirements that States now must meet would be retained in section 676, which would be redesignated as section 675.

Section 404(b) would redesignate sections 676 (requirements for Statewide system) and 677 (individualized family service plans) as sections 675 and 676, respectively.

Section 405, requirements for Statewide system. Section 405 of the bill would amend the list of the minimum elements of a State's Part H system, set out in subsection (b) of current 676 (to be redesignated as section 675), as follows:

Section 405(1) would replace paragraph (2), which contains an obsolete requirement for States to develop certain timetables before the fifth year of their participation, with a requirement that each State's Part H system include a statement of which infants and toddlers will be fully served in accordance with all Part H requirements, and which ones will be served under the new section 677, discussed below.

Section 405(2) would delete some unhelpful (and potentially limiting) language in paragraph (3), relating to the evaluation of infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, and add a requirement for a timely assessment of each at-risk infant and toddler to be served under the new section 677.

Section 405(3) would amend paragraph (4) to conform an internal cross-reference and to add a requirement to prepare a statement of services to be provided to each at-risk infant and toddler to be served under the new section 677.

Section 405(4) would make editorial changes to paragraph (6) so that the public-awareness program described in that paragraph would focus on at-risk infants and toddlers, as well as on infants and toddlers with disabilities.

Section 405(5) would amend paragraph (8), which requires the State's system to include a comprehensive system of personnel development (CSPD), to conform a cross-reference to the analogous provision in Part B; allow the State to meet the CSPD requirement by complying with the personnel development requirements for State Improvement Plans under the new Part C; add a reference to personnel who work in inner-city areas to the current reference to those working in rural areas; expand the reference to transition services to include at-risk infants and toddlers; and amend the reference to the Part B preschool program to reflect the fact that infants and toddlers who receive services under Part H will not necessarily need services under Part B when they reach the age of three.

Section 405(6) would amend paragraph (9)(D), relating to the timely provision of services pending the resolution of disputes among public agencies or service providers, to cover at-risk infants and toddlers, as well as infants and toddlers with disabilities.

Section 405(7) would add language to paragraph (13), relating to personnel standards, to make explicit that nothing in the IDEA, including the other provisions of paragraph (13), prohibits the use of paraprofessionals who are appropriately trained and supervised, in meeting the requirements of Part H.

Section 405(8) would replace the description of data that States must provide the Secretary, in paragraph (14), with a cross-reference to section 618 of the Act. As revised by the bill, section 618 would describe this data, along with other data that States must provide under Part B.

Section 405(9) would add a reference to the State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC) (required by section 682) to the list of minimum elements of a State's Part H system. This would provide a more logical placement than the current reference to the SICC in section 674.

Section 405(10) would redesignate paragraph (13) as paragraph (9), so that the provisions relating to personnel development and personnel standards would be in consecutive paragraphs.

Section 405(11) would redesignate paragraphs (9) through (12) as paragraphs (10) through (13), respectively.

Section 406, individualized family service plans (IFSPs). Section 406(1) of the bill would delete the vague term "acceptable" from the requirement in subsection (d)(1) of current section 677 (to be redesignated as section 676) that the statement of each infant's or toddler's development included in the IFSP be based on "acceptable objective criteria".

Section 406(2) would amend subsection (d)(8) to improve its wording and to extend the requirement that the IFSP address the eventual transition from Part H services to also apply to those toddlers for whom something other than services under Part B will be appropriate.

Section 407, statement of services for at-risk infants and toddlers. Section 407 of the bill would add a new section 677 to Part H of the IDEA, which would describe the State's responsibilities if it chooses to provide services to at-risk infants and toddlers, but elects not to provide them the full range of Part H services.

Section 677(a) would require that a State that elects to provide services to at-risk infants and toddlers in accordance with section 677 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, priorities, and concerns of the family, including the identification of supports and services needed to enhance the family's capacity to meet the infant's or toddler's developmental needs; and (3) a written statement of services to be provided the infant or toddler through programs assisted under Part H. At a minimum, those services would have to include service coordination.

Section 677(b) would direct the child's service coordinator, together with the parents of the infant or toddler, and others as appropriate, to develop the statement of services within a reasonable time after the assessments required by subsections (a)(1) and (2) are completed. If the parent consents, services could be provided before the statement of services is completed.

Section 677(c) would require the statement of services for each at-risk infant and toddler to contain: (1) a statement of the infant's or toddler's present levels of development based on objective criteria; (2) at the discretion of the family, a statement of the family's resources, priorities, and concerns relating to enhancing the development of the infant or toddler; (3) a statement of services needed by the infant or toddler and the family; (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.

Section 677(d) would require the child's service coordinator, together with the parents of the infant or toddler, and others as appropriate, to review (and revise, as appropriate) the statement of services every six months, whenever requested by the family, or whenever a review would be appropriate based on the needs of the infant or toddler and the family. The review would determine whether the infant or toddler is an infant or toddler with a disability (as that term is defined in section 672(1)), and whether a reassessment of the child or family is needed.

Section 677(e) would require that the contents of the statement of services be fully explained to the parents in their native language or other mode of communication. Informed written consent from the parents would have to be obtained before any early intervention services, including service coordination, are provided. If the parents do not consent to the provision of a particular early intervention service, only the services to which they have consented could be provided.

Section 408, State application and assurances. Section 408 of the bill would amend section 678 of the IDEA, which prescribes the contents of a State's application under Part H. Subsection (a)(1) would provide that the information demonstrating the State's eligibility, required by section 678(a)(3), is to include information demonstrating to the Secretary's satisfaction that the State has in effect the statewide system required by section 675, and a description of services to be provided to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families under Part H. This addition to paragraph (3) would replace the obsolete requirement of paragraph (4) that the State provide information to demonstrate its eligibility for the particular year of its participation in the program.

Section 408(a)(2) would insert a new paragraph (4) to require that a State's application include a statement of whether it will serve at-risk infants and toddlers as infants and toddlers with disabilities (i.e., provide them the full range of Part H services). If not, but if it will serve at-risk infants and toddlers under section 677, the application would have to describe the services it will provide those infants and toddlers, and include assurances that, at a minimum, the State will provide service coordination for those infants and toddlers, and that the parents of each of those infants and toddlers will be provided a statement of services in accordance with new section 677.

Section 408(a)(3) would restate paragraph (8) in its entirety to improve its readability and structure, and to add, as subparagraph (A)(ii)(III), a requirement that, if the family approves, the State's lead agency for Part H make reasonable efforts to convene a conference among the lead agency, the family, and providers of other appropriate services for children who are not eligible for preschool services under Part B. Paragraph (8) currently requires a conference among the lead agency, the family, and the school district for children who will be eligible for preschool services under Part B, but there is no comparable provision for other children, who could benefit greatly from such a conference.

Section 408(b) would amend section 678(b) to make the prohibition on supplanting other funds apply to funds expended for at-risk infants and toddlers, as well as those expended for infants and toddlers with disabilities; remove the irrelevant term "traditionally" as applied to underserved groups in paragraph (7); and add inner-city families to the examples in that paragraph of the types of families that may be underserved.

Section 409, uses of funds. Section 409(1) of the bill would amend section 679 of the IDEA to end the authority of States to use Part H funds to plan and develop their Part H systems, while retaining their authority to use those funds to implement those systems. Each State's system is now developed and Federal funds should be devoted to implementation.

Section 409(2) and (3) would amend paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 679 to authorize the use of Part H funds for at-risk infants and toddlers whom the State will serve under new section 677, as well as for infants and toddlers with disabilities.

Section 410, procedural safeguards. Section 410 of the bill would amend section 680 of the IDEA, which provides procedural safeguards analogous to those afforded under Part B of the Act, to conform internal cross-references; conform to other provisions of the bill; add subsection headings; and add the right to mediation, in accordance with the mediation provisions that would be added to Part B by the bill.

Section 411, State Interagency Coordinating Council. Section 411 of the bill would require that, in addition to the members listed in current section 682 of the IDEA, each State's Interagency Coordinating Council include a representative from a Head Start agency or program in the State and a representative from a State agency responsible for child care.

Section 412, allocation of funds. Section 412(1)(A) of the bill would provide the Secretary greater flexibility in reserving Part H funds for the outlying areas, by amending section 684(a) of the IDEA to permit the reservation of up to one percent of available funds. The current statute gives the Secretary the choice of reserving no funds at all, but directs that any reservation be precisely one percent. Additional flexibility on this point could help improve the allocation of funds and is also warranted because the number of jurisdictions that share in this reservation has been reduced by the ineligibility of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

Because the education of children with disabilities in the outlying areas continues to be plagued by inadequate services and numerous other problems, section 412(1)(D) would add paragraph (2) to section 684(a) to prohibit those areas from using Part H funds for other purposes, as they are otherwise permitted to do by Public Law 95-134. (The bill includes similar provisions applicable to Part B funds under sections 611 and 619 and funds for State Improvement Plans under Part C.) As a result, the outlying areas will be subject to the same requirements in using Part H funds as are the States that receive those funds.

Section 412(2) would redesignate subsections (c) and (d) of section 684 as subsections (e) and (f), respectively.

Section 412(3) would add new subsections (c) and (d) to section 684. Section 684(c) would permit the Secretary to reserve up to one-twentieth of one percent of each year's Part H appropriation to pay for the operations of the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council under section 685 (other than activities of the panel of experts to be appointed under new section 686). Section 684(d) would allow the Secretary to reserve up to $100,000 for the expenses of that panel.

Section 412(4) would amend redesignated subsection (e) (currently subsection (c)) of section 684 to conform to other provisions of the bill; delete paragraph (2), which applies only to fiscal year 1995; add an inflation factor to the provisions describing the minimum grant for each State; and make the definition of "State" more understandable.

Section 412(5) would conform an internal cross-reference in current subsection (d) (to be redesignated as subsection (f)) of section 684.

Section 413, Federal Interagency Coordinating Council. Section 413 of the bill would amend section 685 of the IDEA, which directs the Secretary to establish a Federal Interagency Coordinating Council, to add a reference to at-risk infants and toddlers; require that parents of children with disabilities constitute at least 20 percent of the Council members; provide that, in addition to advising the Secretary of Education, the Council would give advice to the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Defense, Agriculture, and the Interior, and to the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration in the performance of their responsibilities related to serving children aged birth through five who are eligible for services under Part H or under Part B of the IDEA; and make the Federal Advisory Committee Act inapplicable to the Council's establishment and operations.

Section 414, study of definition of "developmental delay". Section 414(a) of the bill would redesignate current section 686 of the IDEA (authorization of appropriations) as section 687.

Section 414(b) would add a new section 686 to the IDEA to provide for a study of a definition of the term "developmental delay", as used in Part H, as follows:

Section 686(a) would direct the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council, within three months of the enactment of the bill, to convene a panel of experts to develop recommendations to the Secretary for a uniform national definition of the term "developmental delay" as that term is used in Part H. The panel would include recognized experts in health and child development, the administration of disability programs for young children, and other fields that the Secretary finds appropriate. The panel would have no more than 12 members and would include at least one parent of a child with a disability under the age of six.

Section 686(b) would direct the panel to report its recommendations to the Secretary not later than nine months after the enactment of the bill.

Section 686(c) would permit the Secretary, after receiving the panel's recommendations, to publish a proposed regulatory definition of the term "developmental delay" for the purposes of Part H, and to publish a final regulation after taking public comment on the proposed regulation. Any final regulation could not take effect until at least one year after it is published.

Section 686(d) would make the Federal Advisory Committee Act inapplicable to the establishment and operation of the panel.

Section 415, authorization of appropriations. Section 415 of the bill would amend redesignated section 687 (current section 686) to authorize the appropriation of such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 1996 through 2001 to carry out Part H.

Section 416, technical and conforming amendments. Section 416 of the bill would make a variety of technical and conforming amendments to Part H of the Act.

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