Collapse to view only § 1400. Short title; findings; purposes
- § 1400. Short title; findings; purposes
- § 1401. Definitions
- § 1402. Office of Special Education Programs
- § 1403. Abrogation of State sovereign immunity
- § 1404. Acquisition of equipment; construction or alteration of facilities
- § 1405. Employment of individuals with disabilities
- § 1406. Requirements for prescribing regulations
- § 1407. State administration
- § 1408. Paperwork reduction
- § 1409. Freely associated States
This chapter may be cited as the “Individuals with Disabilities Education Act”.
The term “assistive technology device” means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of a child with a disability.
The term does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the replacement of such device.
The term “elementary school” means a nonprofit institutional day or residential school, including a public elementary charter school, that provides elementary education, as determined under State law.
The term “homeless children” has the meaning given the term “homeless children and youths” in section 11434a of title 42.
The term “Indian” means an individual who is a member of an Indian tribe.
The term “Indian tribe” means any Federal or State Indian tribe, band, rancheria, pueblo, colony, or community, including any Alaska Native village or regional village corporation (as defined in or established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)).
The term “individualized education program” or “IEP” means a written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with section 1414(d) of this title.
The term “individualized family service plan” has the meaning given the term in section 1436 of this title.
The term “infant or toddler with a disability” has the meaning given the term in section 1432 of this title.
The term “limited English proficient” has the meaning given the term “English learner” in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 [20 U.S.C. 7801].
The term “local educational agency” means a public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary schools or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a State, or for such combination of school districts or counties as are recognized in a State as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary schools.
The term includes an elementary school or secondary school funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but only to the extent that such inclusion makes the school eligible for programs for which specific eligibility is not provided to the school in another provision of law and the school does not have a student population that is smaller than the student population of the local educational agency receiving assistance under this chapter with the smallest student population, except that the school shall not be subject to the jurisdiction of any State educational agency other than the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The term “native language”, when used with respect to an individual who is limited English proficient, means the language normally used by the individual or, in the case of a child, the language normally used by the parents of the child.
The term “nonprofit”, as applied to a school, agency, organization, or institution, means a school, agency, organization, or institution owned and operated by 1 or more nonprofit corporations or associations no part of the net earnings of which inures, or may lawfully inure, to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.
The term “outlying area” means the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
The term “parent organization” has the meaning given the term in section 1471(g) of this title.
The term “parent training and information center” means a center assisted under section 1471 or 1472 of this title.
The term “related services” means transportation, and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services (including speech-language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, social work services, school nurse services designed to enable a child with a disability to receive a free appropriate public education as described in the individualized education program of the child, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation and mobility services, and medical services, except that such medical services shall be for diagnostic and evaluation purposes only) as may be required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes the early identification and assessment of disabling conditions in children.
The term does not include a medical device that is surgically implanted, or the replacement of such device.
The term “secondary school” means a nonprofit institutional day or residential school, including a public secondary charter school, that provides secondary education, as determined under State law, except that it does not include any education beyond grade 12.
The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Education.
The term “specific learning disability” means a disorder in 1 or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations.
Such term includes such conditions as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia.
Such term does not include a learning problem that is primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of intellectual disabilities, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.
The term “State” means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and each of the outlying areas.
The term “State educational agency” means the State board of education or other agency or officer primarily responsible for the State supervision of public elementary schools and secondary schools, or, if there is no such officer or agency, an officer or agency designated by the Governor or by State law.
The term “supplementary aids and services” means aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular education classes or other education-related settings to enable children with disabilities to be educated with nondisabled children to the maximum extent appropriate in accordance with section 1412(a)(5) of this title.
The term “universal design” has the meaning given the term in section 3002 of title 29.
The term “ward of the State” means a child who, as determined by the State where the child resides, is a foster child, is a ward of the State, or is in the custody of a public child welfare agency.
The term does not include a foster child who has a foster parent who meets the definition of a parent in paragraph (23).
There shall be, within the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services in the Department of Education, an Office of Special Education Programs, which shall be the principal agency in the Department for administering and carrying out this chapter and other programs and activities concerning the education of children with disabilities.
The Office established under subsection (a) shall be headed by a Director who shall be selected by the Secretary and shall report directly to the Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
Notwithstanding section 1342 of title 31, the Secretary is authorized to accept voluntary and uncompensated services in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter.
A State shall not be immune under the 11th amendment to the Constitution of the United States from suit in Federal court for a violation of this chapter.
In a suit against a State for a violation of this chapter, remedies (including remedies both at law and in equity) are available for such a violation to the same extent as those remedies are available for such a violation in the suit against any public entity other than a State.
Subsections (a) and (b) apply with respect to violations that occur in whole or part after October 30, 1990.
If the Secretary determines that a program authorized under this chapter will be improved by permitting program funds to be used to acquire appropriate equipment, or to construct new facilities or alter existing facilities, the Secretary is authorized to allow the use of those funds for those purposes.
The Secretary shall ensure that each recipient of assistance under this chapter makes positive efforts to employ and advance in employment qualified individuals with disabilities in programs assisted under this chapter.
In carrying out the provisions of this chapter, the Secretary shall issue regulations under this chapter only to the extent that such regulations are necessary to ensure that there is compliance with the specific requirements of this chapter.
The Secretary shall provide a public comment period of not less than 75 days on any regulation proposed under subchapter II or subchapter III on which an opportunity for public comment is otherwise required by law.
The Secretary shall, on a quarterly basis, publish in the Federal Register, and widely disseminate to interested entities through various additional forms of communication, a list of correspondence from the Department of Education received by individuals during the previous quarter that describes the interpretations of the Department of Education of this chapter or the regulations implemented pursuant to this chapter.
State rules, regulations, and policies under this chapter shall support and facilitate local educational agency and school-level system improvement designed to enable children with disabilities to meet the challenging State student academic achievement standards.
The purpose of this section is to provide an opportunity for States to identify ways to reduce paperwork burdens and other administrative duties that are directly associated with the requirements of this chapter, in order to increase the time and resources available for instruction and other activities aimed at improving educational and functional results for children with disabilities.
In order to carry out the purpose of this section, the Secretary is authorized to grant waivers of statutory requirements of, or regulatory requirements relating to, subchapter II for a period of time not to exceed 4 years with respect to not more than 15 States based on proposals submitted by States to reduce excessive paperwork and noninstructional time burdens that do not assist in improving educational and functional results for children with disabilities.
The Secretary shall not waive under this section any statutory requirements of, or regulatory requirements relating to, applicable civil rights requirements.
A State desiring to participate in the program under this section shall submit a proposal to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may reasonably require.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau shall continue to be eligible for competitive grants administered by the Secretary under this chapter to the extent that such grants continue to be available to States and local educational agencies under this chapter.