Summary

This document provides an overview of the major statutory and regulatory requirements for IDEA Part B and Part C. Supplemental funding made available by the ARP is subject to the same requirements as Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2021 IDEA funding made available under Public Law 116-260 (The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021).

Part B and Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) authorize assistance to States to support the provision of special education and related services to children with disabilities and the provision and coordination of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, respectively. Section 2014(a) of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) provided more than $3 billion in supplemental funding for Fiscal Year 2021 for the three IDEA formula grant programs described below:

• $2,580,000,000 for IDEA Part B Grants to States (Section 611)
• $200,000,000 for IDEA Part B Preschool Grants (Section 619)
• $250,000,000 for IDEA Part C Grants for Infants and Families

This document provides an overview of the major statutory and regulatory requirements for IDEA Part B and Part C. Supplemental funding made available by the ARP is subject to the same requirements as Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2021 IDEA funding made available under Public Law 116-260 (The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021).

Part B of the IDEA provides funds to eligible States and entities under the Grants to States program authorized by section 611 of IDEA for children with disabilities aged three through 21 and the Preschool Grants program authorized by section 619 of IDEA for children with disabilities aged three through five. The IDEA Part B funds assist States, and through them, eligible local educational agencies (LEAs), in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. Part B funds are awarded to each State educational agency (SEA) that has established its eligibility under section 612 of IDEA for IDEA Part B funds to assist in providing special education and related services to eligible children with disabilities.[1]. States are required to distribute any IDEA section 611 and section 619 funds that the State does not reserve for State-level activities[2] to LEAs that have established their eligibility under section 613 of IDEA under a statutory formula and must be used only to pay the excess costs of providing special education and related services in accordance with part B of IDEA.[3] All IDEA Part B ARP funds must be used consistently with the current IDEA Part B statutory and regulatory requirements.

Part C of the IDEA provides funds to each State lead agency designated by the Governor to implement statewide systems of coordinated, comprehensive, multidisciplinary, interagency programs to make early intervention services available to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. All IDEA Part C ARP funds must be used consistently with the current IDEA Part C statutory and regulatory requirements. IDEA Part C ARP funds may be used for any allowable purpose under Part C of the IDEA, including the direct provision of early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, and implementing a statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system to provide early intervention services.

Under Public Law 116-260, (The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021) States may use IDEA Part C FFY 2021 and IDEA Part C ARP funds allotted under section 643(c) of the IDEA to make subgrants to LEAs, institutions of higher education, other public agencies, and private non-profit organizations to carry out activities authorized by section 638 of the IDEA. States may also apply for state incentive grants (SIGs) to fund the Part C extension option under IDEA sections 635(c) and 643(e) and 34 C.F.R. §§ 303.211 and 303.734.

The additional IDEA Part B and Part C funds that section 2014 of the ARP made available for States, in addition to State IDEA Part B and Part C formula grant awards for Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2021, are subject to all IDEA statutory requirements reflected in 20 U.S.C. 1401 et seq. and applicable regulatory requirements in 34 CFR Parts 300 and 303. These statutory and regulatory provisions apply to IDEA grant awards, and include requirements and provisions under IDEA, the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), applicable provisions of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), and the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). State allocation summary tables for FFY 2021 IDEA Part B and Part C grant awards (including both the regular formula grant funds and the supplemental IDEA grant funds provided under section 2014 of the ARP) are available on the IDEA ARP page in the linked locations.

The table below describes major statutory and regulatory requirements of IDEA Part B and C. These requirements apply equally to funds made available under the ARP and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. The table below is intended to highlight key topics with links to statutory and regulatory text, but is not a comprehensive list of all requirements.

For section 611, the amounts that States may reserve for State administration and other State-level activities are set in accordance with section 611(e) of the IDEA. Under these provisions the maximum amount that a State may reserve is subject to rate of inflation and not the total amount of IDEA funds made available. As a result, the additional IDEA funds made available by ARP do not increase the amount that can be reserved for State administration and other State level activities.

Note that SEAs will continue to have the authority, as the pass-through entity, to review and approve LEA requests to use IDEA Part B funds for the purchase of equipment, including the alteration of existing facilities. 2 C.F.R. § 200.439(b) (1)–(3).

1. A decrease in the number of infants and toddlers who are eligible to receive early intervention services under this part; and
2. Unusually large amounts of funds expended for such long-term purposes as the acquisition of equipment and the construction of facilities.

1. The voluntary departure, by retirement or otherwise, or departure for just cause, of special education or related services personnel (e.g., special education teachers, speech pathologists, paraprofessionals assigned to work with children with disabilities);
2. A decrease in the enrollment of children with disabilities;
3. The termination of the obligation of the agency, consistent with IDEA Part B, to provide a program of special education to a particular child with a disability that is an exceptionally costly program, as determined by the SEA, because the child—
   1. Has left the jurisdiction of the agency;
   2. Has reached the age at which the obligation of the agency to provide FAPE to the child has terminated; or
   3. No longer needs the program of special education;

   Note that an LEA may not take this reduction if the SEA determines that the LEA is unable to establish and maintain programs of free appropriate public education for eligible children with disabilities or the SEA has taken action against the LEA under section 616 of IDEA. Also, an LEA that is required to reserve the maximum 15 percent of its IDEA Part B allocation on Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervention Services (CCEIS) because the LEA is identified with significant disproportionality under 34 C.F.R. § 300.646 will not be able to take advantage of the MOE reduction in 34 C.F.R. § 300.205(a).

   [1] See also 34 C.F.R. § 300.100.

   [2] States are limited in the amount they may reserve for State-level activities by the formula in 34 C.F.R. § 300.704.

   [3] 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.705(a) and 300.815; see also 34 C.F.R. § 300.202(a)(2).

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   Last modified on August 9, 2021