(a) The lead agency must—

(1) Monitor the implementation of this part;

(2) Make determinations annually about the performance of each EIS program using the categories identified in § 303.703(b);

(3) Enforce this part consistent with § 303.704, using appropriate enforcement mechanisms, which must include, if applicable, the enforcement mechanisms identified in § 303.704(a)(1) (technical assistance) and § 303.704(a)(2) (imposing conditions on the lead agency's funding of an EIS program or, if the lead agency does not provide part C funds to the EIS program, an EIS provider), § 303.704(b)(2)(i) (corrective action or improvement plan) and § 303.704(b)(2)(iv) (withholding of funds, in whole or in part by the lead agency), and § 303.704(c)(2) (withholding of funds, in whole or in part by the lead agency); and

(4) Report annually on the performance of the State and of each EIS program under this part as provided in § 303.702.

(b) The primary focus of the State's monitoring activities must be on—

(1) Improving early intervention results and functional outcomes for all infants and toddlers with disabilities; and

(2) Ensuring that EIS programs meet the program requirements under part C of the Act, with a particular emphasis on those requirements that are most closely related to improving early intervention results for infants and toddlers with disabilities.

(c) As a part of its responsibilities under paragraph (a) of this section, the State must use quantifiable indicators and such qualitative indicators as are needed to adequately measure performance in the priority areas identified in paragraph (d) of this section, and the indicators established by the Secretary for the State performance plans.

(d) The lead agency must monitor each EIS program located in the State, using quantifiable indicators in each of the following priority areas, and using such qualitative indicators as are needed to adequately measure performance in those areas:

(1) Early intervention services in natural environments.

(2) State exercise of general supervision, including child find, effective monitoring, the use of resolution sessions (if the State adopts part B due process hearing procedures under § 303.430(d)(2)), mediation, and a system of transition services as defined in section 637(a)(9) of the Act.

(e) In exercising its monitoring responsibilities under paragraph (d) of this section, the State must ensure that when it identifies noncompliance with the requirements of this part by EIS programs and providers, the noncompliance is corrected as soon as possible and in no case later than one year after the State's identification of the noncompliance.

(Approved by Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0578) (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1416(a), 1442)

(a) General. Each State must have in place a performance plan that meets the requirements described in section 616 of the Act; is approved by the Secretary; and includes an evaluation of the State's efforts to implement the requirements and purposes of part C of the Act, a description of how the State will improve implementation, and measurable and rigorous targets for the indicators established by the Secretary under the priority areas described in § 303.700(d).

(b) Review of State performance plan. Each State must review its State performance plan at least once every six years and submit any amendments to the Secretary.

(c) Data collection. (1) Each State must collect valid and reliable information as needed to report annually to the Secretary under § 303.702(b)(2) on the indicators established by the Secretary for the State performance plans.

(2) If the Secretary permits States to collect data on specific indicators through State monitoring or sampling, and the State collects data for a particular indicator through State monitoring or sampling, the State must collect and report data on those indicators for each EIS program at least once during the six-year period of a State performance plan.

(3) Nothing in part C of the Act or these regulations may be construed to authorize the development of a nationwide database of personally identifiable information on individuals involved in studies or other collections of data under part C of the Act.

(Approved by Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0578) (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1416(b), 1442)

(a) General. Each State must use the targets established in the State's performance plan under § 303.701 and the priority areas described in § 303.700(d) to analyze the performance of each EIS program in implementing part C of the Act.

(b) Public reporting and privacy. (1) Public report. (i) Subject to paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section, the State must—

(A) Report annually to the public on the performance of each EIS program located in the State on the targets in the State's performance plan as soon as practicable but no later than 120 days following the State's submission of its annual performance report to the Secretary under paragraph (b)(2) of this section; and

(B) Make the State's performance plan under § 303.701(a), annual performance reports under paragraph (b)(2) of this section, and the State's annual reports on the performance of each EIS program under paragraph (b)(1)(i)(A) of this section available through public means, including by posting on the Web site of the lead agency, distribution to the media, and distribution to EIS programs.

(ii) If the State, in meeting the requirements of paragraph (b)(1)(i)(A) of this section, collects data through State monitoring or sampling, the State must include in its public report on EIS programs under paragraph (b)(1)(i)(A) of this section the most recently available performance data on each EIS program and the date the data were collected.

(2) State performance report. The State must report annually to the Secretary on the performance of the State under the State's performance plan.

(3) Privacy. The State must not report to the public or the Secretary any information on performance that would result in the disclosure of personally identifiable information about individual children, or where the available data are insufficient to yield statistically reliable information.

(Approved by Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0578) (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1416(b)(2)(B)-(C), 1442)

(a) Review. The Secretary annually reviews the State's performance report submitted pursuant to § 303.702(b)(2).

(b) Determination. (1) General. Based on the information provided by the State in the State's annual performance report, information obtained through monitoring visits, and any other public information made available, the Secretary determines if the State—

(i) Meets the requirements and purposes of part C of the Act;

(ii) Needs assistance in implementing the requirements of part C of the Act;

(iii) Needs intervention in implementing the requirements of part C of the Act; or

(iv) Needs substantial intervention in implementing the requirements of part C of the Act.

(2) Notice and opportunity for a hearing. (i) For determinations made under paragraphs (b)(1)(iii) and (b)(1)(iv) of this section, the Secretary provides reasonable notice and an opportunity for a hearing on those determinations.

(ii) The hearing described in paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section consists of an opportunity to meet with the Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services to demonstrate why the Secretary should not make the determination described in paragraph (b)(1)(iii) or (b)(1)(iv) of this section.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1416(d), 1442)

(a) Needs assistance. If the Secretary determines, for two consecutive years, that a State needs assistance under § 303.703(b)(1)(ii) in implementing the requirements of part C of the Act, the Secretary takes one or more of the following actions:

(1) Advises the State of available sources of technical assistance that may help the State address the areas in which the State needs assistance, which may include assistance from the Office of Special Education Programs, other offices of the Department of Education, other Federal agencies, technical assistance providers approved by the Secretary, and other federally funded nonprofit agencies, and requires the State to work with appropriate entities. This technical assistance may include—

(i) The provision of advice by experts to address the areas in which the State needs assistance, including explicit plans for addressing the areas of concern within a specified period of time;

(ii) Assistance in identifying and implementing professional development, early intervention service provision strategies, and methods of early intervention service provision that are based on scientifically based research;

(iii) Designating and using administrators, service coordinators, service providers, and other personnel from the EIS program to provide advice, technical assistance, and support; and

(iv) Devising additional approaches to providing technical assistance, such as collaborating with institutions of higher education, educational service agencies, national centers of technical assistance supported under part D of the Act, and private providers of scientifically based technical assistance.

(2) Identifies the State as a high-risk grantee and imposes special conditions on the State's grant under part C of the Act.

(b) Needs intervention. If the Secretary determines, for three or more consecutive years, that a State needs intervention under § 303.703(b)(1)(iii) in implementing the requirements of part C of the Act, the following apply:

(1) The Secretary may take any of the actions described in paragraph (a) of this section.

(2) The Secretary takes one or more of the following actions:

(i) Requires the State to prepare a corrective action plan or improvement plan if the Secretary determines that the State should be able to correct the problem within one year.

(ii) Requires the State to enter into a compliance agreement under section 457 of the General Education Provisions Act, as amended (GEPA), 20 U.S.C. 1234f, if the Secretary has reason to believe that the State cannot correct the problem within one year.

(iii) Seeks to recover funds under section 452 of GEPA, 20 U.S.C. 1234a.

(iv) Withholds, in whole or in part, any further payments to the State under part C of the Act.

(v) Refers the matter for appropriate enforcement action, which may include referral to the Department of Justice.

(c) Needs substantial intervention. Notwithstanding paragraph (a) or (b) of this section, at any time that the Secretary determines that a State needs substantial intervention in implementing the requirements of part C of the Act or that there is a substantial failure to comply with any requirement under part C of the Act by the lead agency or an EIS program in the State, the Secretary takes one or more of the following actions:

(1) Recovers funds under section 452 of GEPA, 20 U.S.C. 1234a.

(2) Withholds, in whole or in part, any further payments to the State under part C of the Act.

(3) Refers the case to the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Education.

(4) Refers the matter for appropriate enforcement action, which may include referral to the Department of Justice.

(d) Report to Congress. The Secretary reports to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate within 30 days of taking enforcement action pursuant to paragraph (a), (b), or (c) of this section, on the specific action taken and the reasons why enforcement action was taken.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1416(e)(1)-(3), 1416(e)(5), 1442)

(a) Opportunity for hearing. Prior to withholding any funds under part C of the Act, the Secretary provides reasonable notice and an opportunity for a hearing to the lead agency involved, pursuant to the procedures in §§ 303.231 through 303.236.

(b) Suspension. Pending the outcome of any hearing to withhold payments under paragraph (a) of this section, the Secretary may suspend payments to a recipient, suspend the authority of the recipient to obligate funds under part C of the Act, or both, after the recipient has been given reasonable notice and an opportunity to show cause why future payments or authority to obligate funds under part C of the Act should not be suspended.

(c) Nature of withholding. (1) Limitation. If the Secretary determines that it is appropriate to withhold further payments under section 616(e)(2) or (e)(3) of the Act, the Secretary may determine—

(i) That such withholding will be limited to programs or projects, or portions of programs or projects, that affected the Secretary's determination under § 303.703(b)(1); or

(ii) That the lead agency must not make further payments of funds under part C of the Act to specified State agencies, EIS programs or, if the lead agency does not provide part C funds to the EIS program, EIS providers that caused or were involved in the Secretary's determination under § 303.703(b)(1).

(2) Withholding until rectified. Until the Secretary is satisfied that the condition that caused the initial withholding has been substantially rectified—

(i) Payments to the State under part C of the Act must be withheld in whole or in part; and

(ii) Payments by the lead agency under part C of the Act must be limited to State agencies and EIS providers whose actions did not cause or were not involved in the Secretary's determination under § 303.703(b)(1).

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1416(e)(4), 1416(e)(6), 1442)

Whenever a State receives notice that the Secretary is proposing to take or is taking an enforcement action pursuant to § 303.704, the State must, by means of a public notice, take such measures as may be necessary to bring the pendency of an action pursuant to section 616(e) of the Act and § 303.704 of the regulations to the attention of the public within the State, including by posting the notice on the Web site of the lead agency and distributing the notice to the media and to EIS programs.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1416(e)(7), 1442)

Nothing in this subpart may be construed to restrict the Secretary from utilizing any authority under GEPA, 20 U.S.C. 1221 et seq., the regulations in 34 CFR parts 76, 77, and 81, and 2 CFR part 200, to monitor and enforce the requirements of the Act, including the imposition of special or high-risk conditions under 2 CFR 200.207 and 3474.5(e).

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1416(g), 1442) [79 FR 76097, Dec. 19, 2014]

Nothing in this subpart may be construed to restrict a State from utilizing any other authority available to it to monitor and enforce the requirements of the Act.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1416(a)(1)(C), 1442)

(a) The lead agency must annually report to the Secretary and to the public on the information required by section 618 of the Act at the times specified by the Secretary.

(b) The lead agency must submit the report to the Secretary in the manner prescribed by the Secretary.

(Approved by Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0557) (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1418, 1435(a)(14), 1442)

(a) For the purposes of the annual report required by section 618 of the Act and § 303.720, the lead agency must count and report the number of infants and toddlers receiving early intervention services on any date between October 1 and December 1 of each year. The report must include—

(1) The number and percentage of infants and toddlers with disabilities in the State, by race, gender, and ethnicity, who are receiving early intervention services (and include in this number any children reported to it by tribes, tribal organizations, and consortia under § 303.731(e)(1));

(2) The number and percentage of infants and toddlers with disabilities, by race, gender, and ethnicity, who, from birth through age two, stopped receiving early intervention services because of program completion or for other reasons; and

(3) The number and percentage of at-risk infants and toddlers (as defined in section 632(1) of the Act), by race and ethnicity, who are receiving early intervention services under part C of the Act.

(b) If a State adopts the option under section 635(c) of the Act and § 303.211 to make services under this part available to children ages three and older, the State must submit to the Secretary a report on the number and percentage of children with disabilities who are eligible for services under section 619 of the Act but whose parents choose for those children to continue to receive early intervention services.

(c) The number of due process complaints filed under section 615 of the Act, the number of hearings conducted and the number of mediations held, and the number of settlement agreements reached through such mediations.

(Approved by Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0557) (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1418(a)(1)(B), (C), (F), (G), and (H), 1435(a)(14), 1435(c)(3), 1442)

(a) Protection of identifiable data. The data described in section 618(a) of the Act and in § 303.721 must be publicly reported by each State in a manner that does not result in disclosure of data identifiable to individual children.

(b) Sampling. The Secretary may permit States and outlying areas to obtain data in section 618(a) of the Act through sampling.

(Approved by Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0557) (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1418(b), 1435(a)(14), 1442)

The lead agency must include in its report a certification signed by an authorized official of the agency that the information provided under § 303.721 is an accurate and unduplicated count of infants and toddlers with disabilities receiving early intervention services.

(Approved by Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0557) (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1418(a)(3), 1435(a)(14), 1442)

In addition to meeting the requirements of §§ 303.721 through 303.723, the lead agency must conduct its own child count or use EIS providers to complete its child count. If the lead agency uses EIS providers to complete its child count, then the lead agency must—

(a) Establish procedures to be used by EIS providers in counting the number of children with disabilities receiving early intervention services;

(b) Establish dates by which those EIS providers must report to the lead agency to ensure that the State complies with § 303.721(a);

(c) Obtain certification from each EIS provider that an unduplicated and accurate count has been made;

(d) Aggregate the data from the count obtained from each EIS provider and prepare the report required under §§ 303.721 through 303.723; and

(e) Ensure that documentation is maintained to enable the State and the Secretary to audit the accuracy of the count.

(Approved by Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0557) (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1418(a), 1435(a)(14), 1442)

(a) Reservation of funds for outlying areas. From the sums appropriated to carry out part C of the Act for any fiscal year, the Secretary may reserve not more than one percent for payments to American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands in accordance with their respective needs for assistance under part C of the Act.

(b) Consolidation of funds. The provisions of the Omnibus Territories Act of 1977, Pub. L. 95-134, permitting the consolidation of grants to the outlying areas, do not apply to the funds provided under part C of the Act.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1443(a))

(a) General. (1) The Secretary makes payments to the Secretary of the Interior under part C of the Act, which the Secretary of the Interior must distribute to tribes or tribal organizations (as defined under section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, as amended, 25 U.S.C. 450b), or consortia of those entities, for the coordination of assistance in the provision of early intervention services by States to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families on reservations served by elementary and secondary schools for Indian children operated or funded by the Secretary of the Interior.

(2) A tribe, tribal organization, or consortium of those entities is eligible to receive a payment under this section if the tribe, tribal organization, or consortium of those entities is on a reservation that is served by an elementary or secondary school operated or funded by the Secretary of the Interior.

(3) The amount of the payment to the Secretary of the Interior under this section for any fiscal year is 1.25 percent of the aggregate amount available to all States under part C of the Act.

(b) Allocation. For each fiscal year, the Secretary of the Interior must distribute the entire payment received under paragraph (a)(1) of this section by providing to each tribe, tribal organization, or consortium an amount based on the number of infants and toddlers residing on the reservation, as determined annually, divided by the total number of those children served by all tribes, tribal organizations, or consortia.

(c) Information. To receive a payment under this section, the tribe, tribal organization, or consortium must submit the appropriate information to the Secretary of the Interior to determine the amounts to be distributed under paragraph (b) of this section.

(d) Use of funds. (1) The funds received by a tribe, tribal organization, or consortium must be used to assist States in child find, screening, and other procedures for the early identification of Indian children under three years of age and for parent training. The funds also may be used to provide early intervention services in accordance with part C of the Act. These activities may be carried out directly or through contracts or cooperative agreements with the Bureau of Indian Education, local educational agencies, and other public or private nonprofit organizations. The tribe, tribal organization, or consortium is encouraged to involve Indian parents in the development and implementation of these activities.

(2) The tribe, tribal organization, or consortium must, as appropriate, make referrals to local, State, or Federal entities for the provision of services or further diagnosis.

(e) Reports. (1) To be eligible to receive a payment under paragraph (b) of this section, a tribe, tribal organization, or consortium must make a biennial report to the Secretary of the Interior of activities undertaken under this section, including the number of contracts and cooperative agreements entered into, the number of infants and toddlers contacted and receiving services for each year, and the estimated number of infants and toddlers needing services during the two years following the year in which the report is made. This report must include an assurance that the tribe, tribal organization, or consortium has provided the lead agency in the State child find information (including the names and dates of birth and parent contact information) for infants or toddlers with disabilities who are included in the report in order to meet the child find coordination and child count requirements in sections 618 and 643 of the Act.

(2) The Secretary of the Interior must provide a summary of this information (including confirmation that each tribe, tribal organization, or consortium has provided to the Secretary of the Interior the assurance required under paragraph (e)(1) of this section) on a biennial basis to the Secretary along with such other information as required of the Secretary of the Interior under part C of the Act. The Secretary may require additional information from the Secretary of the Interior.

(3) Within 90 days after the end of each fiscal year the Secretary of the Interior must provide the Secretary with a report on the payments distributed under this section. The report must include—

(i) The name of each tribe, tribal organization, or combination of those entities that received a payment for the fiscal year;

(ii) The amount of each payment; and

(iii) The date of each payment.

(f) Prohibited uses of funds. None of the funds under this section may be used by the Secretary of the Interior for administrative purposes, including child count and the provision of technical assistance.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1443(b))

(a) General. Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, for each fiscal year, from the aggregate amount of funds available under part C of the Act for distribution to the States, the Secretary allots to each State an amount that bears the same ratio to the aggregate amount as the number of infants and toddlers in the State bears to the number of infants and toddlers in all States.

(b) Minimum allocations. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, no State may receive less than 0.5 percent of the aggregate amount available under this section or $500,000, whichever is greater.

(c) Ratable reduction. (1) If the sums made available under part C of the Act for any fiscal year are insufficient to pay the full amount that all States are eligible to receive under this section for that year, the Secretary ratably reduces the allotments to those States for such year.

(2) If additional funds become available for making payments under this section, allotments that were reduced under paragraph (c)(1) of this section will be increased on the same basis the allotments were reduced.

(d) Definitions. For the purpose of allotting funds to the States under this section—

(1) Aggregate amount means the amount available for distribution to the States after the Secretary determines the amount of payments to be made to the Secretary of the Interior under § 303.731, to the outlying areas under § 303.730, and any amount to be reserved for State incentive grants under § 303.734;

(2) Infants and toddlers means children from birth through age two in the general population, based on the most recent satisfactory data as determined by the Secretary; and

(3) State means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1443(c))

If a State (as defined in § 303.35) elects not to receive its allotment, the Secretary reallots those funds among the remaining States (as defined in § 303.732(d)(3)), in accordance with § 303.732(c)(2).

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1443(d))

(a) General. For any fiscal year for which the amount appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under section 644 of the Act exceeds $460,000,000, the Secretary reserves 15 percent of the appropriated amount exceeding $460,000,000 to provide grants to States that are carrying out the policy described in section 635(c) of the Act and in § 303.211 (including a State that makes part C services available under § 303.211(a)(2)), in order to facilitate the implementation of that policy.

(b) Amount of grant. (1) General. Notwithstanding section 643(c)(2) and (c)(3) of the Act, the Secretary provides a grant to each State under this section in an amount that bears the same ratio to the amount reserved under paragraph (a) of this section as the number of infants and toddlers in the State bears to the number of infants and toddlers in all States receiving grants under paragraph (a) of this section.

(2) Maximum amount. No State may receive a grant under paragraph (a) of this section for any fiscal year in an amount that is greater than 20 percent of the amount reserved under that paragraph for the fiscal year.

(c) Carryover of amounts pursuant to section 643(e)(3) of the Act. (1) First succeeding fiscal year. Pursuant to section 421(b) of GEPA, 20 U.S.C. 1221 et seq., amounts under a grant provided under paragraph (a) of this section that are not obligated and expended prior to the beginning of the first fiscal year succeeding the fiscal year for which those amounts were appropriated must remain available for obligation and expenditure during the first succeeding fiscal year.

(2) Second succeeding fiscal year. Amounts under a grant provided under paragraph (a) of this section that are not obligated and expended prior to the beginning of the second fiscal year succeeding the fiscal year for which those amounts were appropriated must be returned to the Secretary and used to make grants to States under section 633 of the Act (from their allotments identified in §§ 303.731 through 303.733) during the second succeeding fiscal year.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1443)