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State

Technical Assistance Checklist[1] – Eligibility Requirements found in 34 CFR Part 300
Related Assurances / Related Statutory or Regulatory Provisions / 
ConsistentState policies and procedures are in place.
Section I
NA / No Related Statutory or Regulatory Provisions Associated with this Section
Section II A
1 / FAPE Requirements
Sec. 300.101 Free appropriate public education (FAPE).
(a)General. A free appropriate public education must be available to all children residing in the State between the ages of 3 and 21, inclusive, including children with disabilities who have been suspended or expelled from school, as provided for in Sec. 300.530(d).
(b)FAPE for children beginning at age 3.
(1)Each State must ensure that--
(i)The obligation to make FAPE available to each eligible child residing in the State begins no later than the child's third birthday; and
(ii)An IEP or an IFSP is in effect for the child by that date, in accordance with Sec. 300.323(b).
(2)If a child's third birthday occurs during the summer, the child's IEP Team shall determine the date when services under the IEP or IFSP will begin.
(c)Children advancing from grade to grade.
(1)Each State must ensure that FAPE is available to any individual child with a disability who needs special education and related services, even though the child has not failed or been retained in a course or grade, and is advancing from grade to grade.
(2)The determination that a child described in paragraph (a) of this section is eligible under this part, must be made on an individual basis by the group responsible within the child's LEA for making eligibility determinations.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0030)
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(1)(A))
Sec. 300.102 Limitation--exception to FAPE for certain ages.
(a)General. The obligation to make FAPE available to all children with disabilities does not apply with respect to the following:
(1)Children aged 3, 4, 5, 18, 19, 20, or 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 of those ages.
(2)(i)Children aged 18 through 21 to the extent that State law does not require that special education and related services under Part B of the Act be provided to students with disabilities who, in the last educational placement prior to their incarceration in an adult correctional facility--
(A)Were not actually identified as being a child with a disability under Sec. 300.8; and
(B)Did not have an IEP under Part B of the Act.
(ii)The exception in paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section does not apply to children with disabilities, aged 18 through 21, who--
(A)Had been identified as a child with a disability under Sec. 300.8 and had received services in accordance with an IEP, but who left school prior to their incarceration; or
(B)Did not have an IEP in their last educational setting, but who had actually been identified as a child with a disability under Sec. 300.8.
(3)(i)Children with disabilities who have graduated from high school with a regular high school diploma.
(ii)The exception in paragraph (a)(3)(i) of this section does not apply to children who have graduated from high school but have not been awarded a regular high school diploma.
(iii)Graduation from high school with a regular high school diploma constitutes a change in placement, requiring written prior notice in accordance with Sec. 300.503.
(iv)As used in paragraphs (a)(3)(i) through (a)(3)(iii) of this section, the term regular high school diploma does not include an alternative degree that is not fully aligned with the State's academic standards, such as a certificate or a general educational development credential (GED).
(4)Children with disabilities who are eligible under subpart H of this part, but who receive early intervention services under Part C of the Act.
(b)Documents relating to exceptions. The State must assure that the information it has provided to the Secretary regarding the exceptions in paragraph (a) of this section, as required by Sec. 300.700 (for purposes of making grants to States under this part), is current and accurate.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0030)
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(1)(B)-(C))
Other FAPE Requirements
Sec. 300.103 FAPE--methods and payments.
(a)Each State may use whatever State, local, Federal, and private sources of support are available in the State to meet the requirements of this part. For example, if it is necessary to place a child with a disability in a residential facility, a State could use joint agreements between the agencies involved for sharing the cost of that placement.
(b)Nothing in this part relieves an insurer or similar third party from an otherwise valid obligation to provide or to pay for services provided to a child with a disability.
(c)Consistent with Sec. 300.323(c), the State must ensure that there is no delay in implementing a child's IEP, including any case in which the payment source for providing or paying for special education and related services to the child is being determined.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0030)
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(8), 1412(a)(1)).
Sec. 300.104 Residential placement
If placement in a public or private residential program is necessary to provide special education and related services to a child with a disability, the program, including non-medical care and room and board, must be at no cost to the parents of the child.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0030)
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(1), 1412(a)(10)(B))
Sec. 300.105 Assistive technology.
(a)Each public agency must ensure that assistive technology devices or assistive technology services, or both, as those terms are defined in Sections 300.5 and 300.6, respectively, are made available to a child with a disability if required as a part of the child's--
(1)Special education under Sec. 300.36;
(2)Related services under Sec. 300.34; or
(3)Supplementary aids and services under Sections 300.38 and 300.114(a)(2)(ii).
(b)On a case-by-case basis, the use of school-purchased assistive technology devices in a child's home or in other settings is required if the child's IEP Team determines that the child needs access to those devices in order to receive FAPE.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0030)
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(1), 1412(a)(12)(B)(i))
Sec. 300.106 Extended school year services.
(a)General.
(1) Each public agency must ensure that extended school year services are available as necessary to provide FAPE, consistent with paragraph (a)(2) of this section.
(2)Extended school year services must be provided only if a child's IEP Team determines, on an individual basis, in accordance with Sections 300.320 through 300.324, that the services are necessary for the provision of FAPE to the child.
(3)In implementing the requirements of this section, a public agency may not--
(i)Limit extended school year services to particular categories of disability; or
(ii)Unilaterally limit the type, amount, or duration of those services.
(b)Definition. As used in this section, the term extended school year services means special education and related services that--
(1)Are provided to a child with a disability--
(i)Beyond the normal school year of the public agency;
(ii)In accordance with the child's IEP; and
(iii)At no cost to the parents of the child; and
(2)Meet the standards of the SEA.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0030)
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(1))
Sec. 300.107 Nonacademic services.
The State must ensure the following:
(a)Each public agency must take steps, including the provision of supplementary aids and services determined appropriate and necessary by the child's IEP Team, to provide nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities in the manner necessary to afford children with disabilities an equal opportunity for participation in those services and activities.
(b)Nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities may include counseling services, athletics, transportation, health services, recreational activities, special interest groups or clubs sponsored by the public agency, referrals to agencies that provide assistance to individuals with disabilities, and employment of students, including both employment by the public agency and assistance in making outside employment available.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0030)
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(1))
Sec. 300.108 Physical education.
The State must ensure that public agencies in the State comply with the following:
(a)General. Physical education services, specially designed if necessary, must be made available to every child with a disability receiving FAPE, unless the public agency enrolls children without disabilities and does not provide physical education to children without disabilities in the same grades.
(b)Regular physical education. Each child with a disability must be afforded the opportunity to participate in the regular physical education program available to nondisabled children unless--
(1)The child is enrolled full time in a separate facility; or
(2)The child needs specially designed physical education, as prescribed in the child's IEP.
(c)Special physical education. If specially designed physical education is prescribed in a child's IEP, the public agency responsible for the education of that child must provide the services directly or make arrangements for those services to be provided through other public or private programs.
(d)Education in separate facilities. The public agency responsible for the education of a child with a disability who is enrolled in a separate facility must ensure that the child receives appropriate physical education services in compliance with this section.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0030)
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(5)(A))
2 / Sec. 300.109 Full educational opportunity goal (FEOG).
The State must have in effect policies and procedures to demonstrate that the State has established a goal of providing full educational opportunity to all children with disabilities, aged birth through 21, and a detailed timetable for accomplishing that goal.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0030)
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(2))Sec. 300.110 Program options.
The State must ensure that each public agency takes steps to ensure that its children with disabilities have available to them the variety of educational programs and services available to nondisabled children in the area served by the agency, including art, music, industrial arts, consumer and homemaking education, and vocational education.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0030)
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(2), 1413(a)(1))
3 / Sec. 300.111 Child find.
(a)General.
(1)The State must have in effect policies and procedures to ensure that--
(i)All children with disabilities residing in the State, including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are wards of the State, and children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of their disability, and who are in need of special education and related services, are identified, located, and evaluated; and
(ii)A practical method is developed and implemented to determine which children are currently receiving needed special education and related services.
(b)Use of term developmental delay. The following provisions apply with respect to implementing the child find requirements of this section:
(1)A State that adopts a definition of developmental delay under Sec. 300.8(b) determines whether the term applies to children aged three through nine, or to a subset of that age range (e.g., ages three through five).
(2)A State may not require an LEA to adopt and use the term developmental delay for any children within its jurisdiction.
(3)If an LEA uses the term developmental delay for children described in Sec. 300.8(b), the LEA must conform to both the State's definition of that term and to the age range that has been adopted by the State.
(4 If a State does not adopt the term developmental delay, an LEA may not independently use that term as a basis for establishing a child's eligibility under this part.
(c) Other children in child find. Child find also must include--
(1)Children who are suspected of being a child with a disability under Sec. 300.8 and in need of special education, even though they are advancing from grade to grade; and
(2)Highly mobile children, including migrant children.
(d) Construction. Nothing in the Act requires that children be classified by their disability so long as each child who has a disability that is listed in Sec. 300.8 and who, by reason of that disability, needs special education and related services is regarded as a child with a disability under Part B of the Act.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0030)
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(3)); 1412(a)(3))
4 / Sec. 300.112 Individualized education programs (IEP).
The State must ensure that an IEP, or an IFSP that meets the requirements of section 636(d) of the Act, is developed, reviewed, and revised for each child with a disability in accordance with Sec. 300.320 through 300.324, except as provided in Sec. 300.300(b)(3)(ii).
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0030)
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(4))
Sec. 300.320 Definition of individualized education program.
(a)General. As used in this part, the term individualized education program or IEP means a written statement for each child with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in a meeting in accordance with Sections 300.320 through 300.324, and that must include--
(1)A statement of the child's present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, including--
(i)How the child's disability affects the child's involvement and progress in the general education curriculum (i.e., the same curriculum as for nondisabled children); or
(ii)For preschool children, as appropriate, how the disability affects the child's participation in appropriate activities;
(2)(i)A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals designed to--
(A)Meet the child's needs that result from the child's disability to enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum; and
(B)Meet each of the child's other educational needs that result from the child's disability;
(ii)For children with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards, a description of benchmarks or short-term objectives;
(3) A description of--
(i)How the child's progress toward meeting the annual goals described in paragraph (2) of this section will be measured; and
(ii)When periodic reports on the progress the child is making toward meeting the annual goals (such as through the use of quarterly or other periodic reports, concurrent with the issuance of report cards) will be provided;
(4)A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable, to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided to enable the child--
(i)To advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals;
(ii)To be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum in accordance with paragraph (a)(1) of this section, and to participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities; and
(iii)To be educated and participate with other children with disabilities and nondisabled children in the activities described in this section;
(5)An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the child will not participate with nondisabled children in the regular class and in the activities described in paragraph (a)(4) of this section;
(6)(i)A statement of any individual appropriate accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the child on State and districtwide assessments consistent with section 612(a)(16) of the Act; and
(ii)If the IEP Team determines that the child must take an alternate assessment instead of a particular regular State or districtwide assessment of student achievement, a statement of why--
(A)The child cannot participate in the regular assessment; and
(B)The particular alternate assessment selected is appropriate for the child; and
(7)The projected date for the beginning of the services and modifications described in paragraph (a)(4) of this section, and the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those services and modifications.
(b)Transition services. Beginning not later than the first IEP to be in effect when the child turns 16, or younger if determined appropriate by the IEP Team, and updated annually, thereafter, the IEP must include--
(1)Appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills; and
(2)The transition services (including courses of study) needed to assist the child in reaching those goals.
(c)Transfer of rights at age of majority. Beginning not later than one year before the child reaches the age of majority under State law, the IEP must include a statement that the child has been informed of the child's rights under Part B of the Act, if any, that will transfer to the child on reaching the age of majority under Sec. 300.520.
(d)Construction. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require--
(1)That additional information be included in a child's IEP beyond what is explicitly required in section 614 of the Act; or
(2)The IEP Team to include information under one component of a child's IEP that is already contained under another component of the child's IEP.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1414(d)(1)(A) and (d)(6))
Sec. 300.321 IEP Team.
(a) General. The public agency must ensure that the IEP Team for each child with a disability includes--
(1)The parents of the child;
(2)Not less than one regular education teacher of the child (if the child is, or may be, participating in the regular education environment);
(3)Not less than one special education teacher of the child, or where appropriate, not less then one special education provider of the child;
(4)A representative of the public agency who--
(i) Is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities;
(ii) Is knowledgeable about the general education curriculum; and
(iii) Is knowledgeable about the availability of resources of the public agency.
(5)An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, who may be a member of the team described in paragraphs (a)(2) through (a)(6) of this section;