to be provided in a subsequent project phase. The final evaluation of the multiyear project follows its last project phase, and assesses the impact of the direct instructional services component on the educational achievement of the participating handicapped children. Such evaluation should also show how other major objectives of each project phase have been met and how each has contributed to the principal child-centered instructional objectives. (1) Related services. Projects which include only related services but which supplement or augment an otherwise comprehensive educational program provided by State, local, or other Federal funds may assess the impact of the project on the instructional services of the program which is supplemented by the project. Such an evaluation, however, should also explain how the major objectives of the related services of the project have been met. (g) Supplementary projects which modify existing programs. Projects which provide related services to existing programs (e.g., inservice training of teachers, or the procurement of special equipment) should be evaluated in two parts, quantitative and qualitative. A quantitative evaluation would, for example, indicate the number of staff members trained and the number receiving special State certificates as a result of the coursework; or the equipment and materials ordered and the extent to which delivery of such items had been completed. A qualitative evaluation (e.g., in the case of summer projects) would be made during the school year following the end of project activities by evaluating the impact of the training or materials on the educational achievement of the participating handicapped children. (b) Supplementary projects that initiate new programs or extend services to additional children. There are certain types of projects which are designed to initiate new special education programs or to include children not receiving special education in existing programs, through the provision of related services to handicapped children rather than direct instructional services. These projects (e.g., diagnostic, placement services, pupil transportation to an educational program, etc.) often lend themselves more to a "quantitative" evaluation in terms of the actual services provided, than do the projects discussed above. The educational achievement of the children involved, however, can be satisfied by a certification from the State educational agency that the children have been placed in an appropriate special education program which meets State standards for such a program. ((20 U.S.C. 1413(a) (5)); 45 CFR 1218.11, 1218.26) Sec. 4.7 Dissemination. (a) The best exemplary programs and projects, the best evaluation instruments and methods, and the most promising research findings may have only limited effect if they are known only to those directly involved in their discovery or application. Dissemination of information about successes and failures of project activities will increase and speed the impact of this program on special education for handicapped children. A wide variety of dissemination media should be considered, such as: newspapers, radio, television, magazines, professional journals, and newsletters. (b) Organized and planned observations of model demonstration projects and programs, lectures, workshops, inservice education, and participation in national and regional conferences of professional organizations are other approaches to dissemination which are encouraged. Demonstrations of new instructional techniques and materials within schools and classrooms throughout the local district, region, or State, have been found very effective in encouraging replication. (c) "Before and after" pictures, slides, and movies often help capture the spirit as well as the substantive results of many projects. Emphasis should be placed on the dissemination of information that can be related to the assessment of needs and to project design and implementation of projects. (20 U.S.C. 1413(a)(10); 45 CFR 1218.11(c), (f), 1218.26) (a) Training of project personnel may be provided. Such personnel might include teachers, teacher aides, attendants, and other personnel considered essential to the success of the project. (b) The basic types of training are: Workshops and institutes, summer coursework, and evening and Saturday classes during the academic year. Training activities may be provided as a phase of a multiphase or multiyear project, as a component of a project which includes direct instructional services, or as a component of a project which does not include within itself direct instructional services but which supplements a program providing such services. When projects are designed and approved in principle to extend over more than a one-year period, it is possible that they may be devoted entirely to the training of personnel during one of the years. (c) Agencies conducting projects under Part B of the Act may hire and pay personnel to carry out the training activities and may also pay trainees on the basis of the amount of time they spend in these activities. Payments to personnel on the basis of time spent in training, either during the school year or during the summer, generally should not exceed the amounts commonly paid for such training activities funded through the U.S. Office of Education. (d) Payment may be made to trainees or on their behalf to institutions of higher education for tuition and fees for courses whether or not college credit is granted. (e) Teachers and others who are regularly employed in private schools may receive training under Part B of the Act when they are employed or are preparing for employment in Part B projects. The payment of stipends (including tuition and fees) to employees of private schools for training for participation in Part B projects is not precluded. (f) Projects may provide for the training of personnel in the use of equipment. Assistance in the planning, conducting, and evaluation of such training should be sought from institutions of higher education. (20 U.S.C. 1411, 1413; 45 CFR 121a.25) PART 5-PROJECT PARTICIPANTS (a) State educational agencies sometimes support programs for children with a broader range of problems that can be supported under Part B of the Act. States should differentiate carefully between the types of children and the nature of programs which are eligible for support under Part B and those which are not. One example is that of children receiving home instruction because of temporary illnesses or injury as compared to those receiving special instruction because of handicapping conditions. Another example is that of pregnant girls who would not be eligible under Part B except when they have been diagnosed and classified as handicapped under one of the categories listed in the law, such as seriously emotionally disturbed. (b) Once a project has been approved and is under way, additional handicapped children for whose benefit the project was not originally designed may be included on a space available basis. Care should be taken to ensure that the addition of such children does not alter the basic objectives or in any way serve to dilute the project effectiveness for the children for whom the project was designed. (c) Projects may extend or improve services to very young handicapped children prior to their school entrance and to those of school age who were not formerly included in a school program. Recent research has demonstrated that many such children respond to early stimulation and that mental retardation in infants with birth defects may be greatly reduced or even prevented with appropriate techniques. (d) Many severely retarded children who have been offered, until recently, only custodial care are now found to benefit from such techniques as music therapy, operant conditioning, etc. These severely and profoundly retarded children, if they meet the qualifications of age and are not excluded by State law, are eligible for project participation. (20 U.S.C. 1413; 45 CFR 121a.25) Sec. 5.2 Handicapping conditions. (a) Mentally retarded. Children who are classified by the State educational agency as educable (mildly) mentally retarded to trainable (moderately) mentally retarded are eligible to participate in programs and projects supported under this funding authority. Participating agencies are encouraged by the Bureau of Education for the Handicapped to include in programs—at the discretion of their State educational agency-other more severely mentally retarded children who show promise of benefiting from such programs. (b) Seriously emotionally disturbed. The legislative history of Part B of the Act and other Federal programs makes a distinction between emotionally disturbed and socially maladjusted children. Those children classified by the State as seriously emotionally disturbed are eligible to participate under these programs. (c) Other health impaired. Children who are learning disabled are considered hand!capped to the extent they are "other health impaired." (See definitions of "children with specific learning disabilities" and "handicapped children" in 45 CFR 121.2). Children with these disabilities, if their disabilities prevent them from learning or functioning in the regular educational program and by reason thereof require special educational and related services, may be considered by a State educational agency to be eligible for participation in programs and projects funded under Part B of the Act. If these children have disabilities which are based on psychological or physiological factors (which can be medically diagnosed), rather than sociological factors, they may be classified and reported as "other health impaired." Conditions which result in such disabilities might include, for example, asthma, rheu matic fever, epilepsy, diabetes, and cardiac disease. ((20 U.S.C. 1401(1), 1413); 45 CFR 1218.25) 121a.25) Sec. 5.3 Parental participation. (a) Pursuant to section 121a.27 of the regulations, projects funded under Part B of the Act must be designed to provide for the involvement of parents of handicapped children. An example of this type of involvement would be the conducting of special seminars or workshops designed to acquaint parents with problems faced by their children, and the procedures planned in the project to meet the problems. Individual visits to children's homes by project staff members would provide additional supportive assistance in carrying out project objectives. (b) Counseling and training of parents to enable them to work more effectively with their handicapped children and to have a greater understanding of their needs is permissible, where appropriate. Training or other educational materials may be provided by mail or made available through an in structional materials center, day care center, or local parents' council. ((20 U.S.C. 1231d, 1413); 45 CFR 121a.27) PART 6-EXPENDITURES Sec. 6.1 Instructional materials centers. (a) The use of Part B funds for the development of instructional materials centers (IMC) within States or within regions of a State is encouraged, Ordinarily a statewide central coordinating system for IMC's could be provided through the use of Part B administrative funds. (b) The use of Part B program funds to support media and media-related services for handicapped children is contingent upon project design. (1) The use of program funds would be Justified where a target population (such as all mentally retarded students and their teachers in one local district) is to be furnished appropriate materials. (2) Another of the many patterns that might be followed would be to have one IMC serve a geographical region encompassing several, most, or all local educational agencies in the State. Local educational agencies (LEA's) wishing to use the central IMC could design a Part B project utilizing its services. Each could then pay its proportionate share of the operating costs of the center. All projects conducted by LEA's of course, would have to meet the usual Part B project requirements. (3) Under some circumstances such projects conducted by LEA's could be justified if the target population for which they are designed is limited to a particular type of handicapped child and a very substantial amount of services is provided. The provision of services in such projects should be stated in child-centered terms, reflecting the Intent of such a project to affect achievement. For example, in a situation where a large metropolitan area has assessed the achievement of visually handicapped children enrolled in high schools and found these students to be well below grade level in social studies and science, project funds could be expended to provide services and instructional materials, the utilization of which could accelerate the learning rate of such students. Child-centered objectives for such a project could include: (1) Increasing by a specified amount the reading rate and comprehension of blind children through training them in the proper use of compressed speech recording, providing compressed recordings of appropriate textbooks and supplementary reading materials, and portable tape recorders; (11) improving the grades and rate of achievement of a specified number of blind students enrolled in science Courses by providing them with additional individualized instruction and with programmed workbooks in braille; and (iii) increasing the achievement rate and grades of pupils in social studies courses through the use of specially prepared compressed re cordings, the provision of compact tape recorders for note taking, and portable typewriters on which themes and homework are prepared. (20 U.S.C. 1413; 45 CFR 121a.55) (a) Projects may provide for the payment of wages for work satisfactorily performed by students. An example of such a project would be one in which deaf students, being taught kitchen operations and food preparation, actually work an hour each week day in a school's cafeteria or kitchen, thereby assisting the school in its need for food services. (b) State officials should check with their own State authorities (labor-educational) regarding State youth employment laws. They should also check with the local office of the U.S. Department of Labor regarding Federal youth employment regulations. (c) Project funds may be used, if so provided for in the project application or design, to give monetary awards to handicapped children participating in a project to the extent that it is determined that such a disposition of funds is designed to meet the special educational needs of such children. For example, emotionally disturbed students participating in a project receiving on-theJob experience utilizing operant conditioning techniques may be given a monetary award as a reinforcement of learning when their performance in a given situation meets the requirements or expectation established in the project for such a recognition of accomplishment. (20 U.S.C. 1413; 45 CFR 1218.55) Sec. 6.3 Equipment. (a) Expenditures. There are no regulations concerning the percentage of Part B project funds which may be expended for equipment. Since equipment is particularly important in the education of certain types of handicapped children, and because the population of schools served by Part B projects and their educational needs remain relatively constant for a period of years, State educational agenIcles have tended to be less restrictive with equipment purchases. Under special circumstances, considerable expenditures for equipment have been allowed, particularly where it is known that equipment purchased for a project would have many years of service in the project school for handicapped children. (b) Exchange. Equipment purchased with project funds may be exchanged, in any appropriate manner, for more recent models as long as the use of the new equipment remains the same as that of the old equipment. (c) Replacement. Requests for approval of replacement equipment should be kept to a minimum and should be studied just as carefully as requests for initial equipment. It is permissible to trade previously purchased equipment if the new item is to replace the one traded in. (a) Training of project personnel in use of equipment. Assurance should be given by the project applicant of the participation in the project of staff members trained in the use of any equipment purchased with Part B project funds, or that arrangements for such training will be made in sufficient time so that the equipment may be effectively used during the duration of the project. (e) Insurance for equipment. Where State agencies, local educational agencies, and participating schools carry insurance against theft, fire, and vandalism, items purchased with project funds normally are included automatically under the terms of such insurance. If equipment purchased is not covered by such a policy, expenditures for suitable insurance are permitted. (20 U.S.C. 1404, 1413; 45 CFR 1218.55, 1218.58) Sec. 6.4 Transportation. (a) Expenditures for transportation of handicapped pupils are allowed under certain conditions. Ordinarily, the transportation involved is that of pupils from their school to such educational sites as museums, places of historical or scientific importance, or the location of off-campus project activities. State educational agencies that receive Part B allocations have considerable discretion in determining what activities may be included in a project. However, all such activities should be evaluated in terms of how they contribute to the project's childcentered objectives, and how they meet the basic project requirements. (b) The mass transportation of children from a special school to or from their homes on weekends ordinarily does not constitute a valid project expenditure. However, a State agency may consider the merits of a project in which such an expenditure is requested, on the basis of the unique educational needs of the individual children who are to be involved in the proposed service. Transportation on a regular basis from a pupil's home to school and return, however, is usually regarded as a State or local responsibility, and would not, except under unusual circumstances, be an approvable expense. (c) Usually pupil transportation funds are requested as components of projects, with direct services to handicapped children being provided through other project funds. It is possible, however, for a project to consist wholly of expenditures for equipment, pupil transportation, or construction, if such an expenditure is essential to the success of a given project, and providing that project supplements a program which does provide direct instructional services to handicapped children. (20 U.S.C. 1413; 45 CFR 121a.55) PART 7-PRIVATE SCHOOL PARTICIPATION made for consulting with officials in the private school for purposes of identifying the children to be served and determining the types of services to be provided for them. This assessment might also involve screening and diagnosis of individual handicapped children in the private schools, and other routine procedures which are used in identifying public school handicapped pupils. (20 U.S.C. 1413(a) (2); 45 CFR 1218.35) Sec. 7.2 Services based on comprehensive assessment. (a) Assessment of the needs of all children in a State is an essential first step in planning programs for projects under Part B of the Act. In many instances, the services required by private school handicapped children will be identical to those of the public school pupils. In such instances, every effort should be made to develop a single, inclusive program in lieu of establishing separate, piecemeal services. (b) When it is determined, however, that the needs of the private school handicapped pupils differ from those of children with similar handicaps in public schools, steps must be taken to provide appropriate services for the private school pupils. There might, for example, be a case in which public schools have an urgent need to extend and improve high school programs for mentally retarded children while the more acute need for such children in nonpublic schools is at the preschool and elementary school levels. In such cases, provision should be made to make appropriate services available to both groups of children. (20 U.S.C. 1413(a) (2); 45 CFR 1218.36) Sec. 7.3 Services provided through con tracts. (a) State and local public school agencies conducting Part B programs and projects may obtain part of the services provided in such programs and projects by contracts with other public or private agencies including hospitals, clinics, colleges and universities, and elementary and secondary schools. (b) Such services must be administered by or under the supervision of the applicant agency. The public agency would not be considered to have complete administrative control and direction of a project if all of the services furnished the participating handicapped children are provided through contracts with other agencies. Therefore, the payment of tuition for a handicapped child to attend a private school would not be an allowable expenditure of Part B funds. (20 U.S.C. 1413; 45 CFR Part 100b, Subpart I, 121a.36) for use by State educational agencies in (a) developing a comprehensive, statewide plan of appropriate special education services to all handicapped children within the State, and (b) reporting the major problems and objectives, along with specific action steps for implementation of such a plan. It provides a means of describing the relationships existing within the State among Federal, State, and local resources, and of reporting on the role that each of these resources will play in the implementation of the plan. (20 U.S.C. 1413, 45 CFR 1218.12) § 121b.3 Definition. As used in this part: "Educational program" means a curriculum prescribed for a handicapped child, designed to meet the needs of that child as determined through testing and other methods of educational evaluation. The term includes: (a) Long-range plans which generalize the sequence and content of educational experiences a child should have, over a period of years, through various schools, clinics, tutorial programs, and/or other kinds of broad units of teaching/learning situations; (b) Short-range plans which generalize the sequence and content of educational experiences a child should have for the next few months, school year, or several years; and (c) Plans for the immediate future which detail specific sets of teaching strategies, prescribed skill-building aotivities, or other specific curricular activities a child should have for the next few days, weeks, or month. Parties eligible to receive assistance under this part are (a) institutions of higher education, (b) State educational agencies, or (c) combinations of such agencies or institutions (which combinations may include one or more local educational agencies), within particular regions of the United States. (20 U.S.C. 1421(a)) Subpart B-Services and Activities § 121b.10 Need and capability. (a) In providing assistance under this part, the Commissioner will take into consideration (1) the need for a regional center in the region to be served (including the number of handicapped children in the State or region to be served), and (2) the capability of the applicant to develop and apply, with the assistance of funds under this part, new methods, techniques, devices, or facilities relating to educational evaluation or education of handicapped children. (b) Each regional center assisted under this part shall work with the State educational agencies in its region toward assuring effective educational evaluation and program placement for all handicapped children. (20 U.S.C. 1421(b)) |