Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986

(Measure passed House, amended)

Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments of 1986 - Title I: Handicapped Infants and Toddlers - Amends the Education of the Handicapped Act (the Act) to add a new part H, Handicapped Infants and Toddlers. Establishes a program to address the needs of handicapped infants and toddlers (from birth to age two inclusive) and their families.

Defines "handicapped infants and toddlers" and "early intervention services."

Directs the Secretary of Education (the Secretary) to make grants to States for development of statewide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency systems to provide early intervention services for handicapped infants and toddlers and their families.

Requires a State, to be eligible for such a grant, to establish a State Interagency Coordinating Council which meets specified requirements.

Sets forth other requirements for continuing eligibility for such grants.

Sets forth the minimum components required for a statewide system.

Requires that each handicapped infant or toddler and their family receive: (1) a multidisciplinary assessment of unique needs and the identification of services appropriate to meet such needs; and (2) a written individualized family service plan developed by a multidisciplinary team, including the parent or guardian.

Sets forth State application requirements.

Allows States to also use grant funds for: (1) direct services for handicapped infants and toddlers that are not otherwise provided by other sources; and (2) expansion and improvement of services that are otherwise available.

Sets forth procedural safeguards required to be included in a statewide system.

Prohibits funds under part H from being used to satisfy a financial commitment for services which would have been paid for from another source but for the enactment of part H, except that to prevent delay in the receipt of appropriate early intervention services such funds may be used to pay the provider of services pending reimbursement from the agency with ultimate responsibility. Prohibits the State from construing part H as permitting reducing assistance or altering eligibility under Social Security Act provisions relating to maternal and child health or medicaid for handicapped infants and toddlers.

Sets forth requirements for State Interagency Coordinating Councils.

Sets forth provisions relating to Federal administration of part H.

Sets forth provisions for per capita allocation of grant funds, including reservations of funds for specified U.S. territories and possessions and Department of Interior Indian schools.

Authorizes appropriations to carry out part H for FY 1987 through 1991.

Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a joint study of Federal funding sources and services for early intervention programs currently available and to act jointly to facilitate interagency coordination of Federal resources for such programs and to ensure that funding available for handicapped infants, toddlers, children, and youth from Federal programs other than those under the Act is not being withdrawn or reduced. Requires the Secretaries, within 18 months after the enactment of this Act, to submit a joint report to the Congress.

Title II: Handicapped Children Aged 3 to 5 - Amends the Act to replace the incentive grant program with a pre-school grant program.

Establishes maximum levels of assistance which a State may receive under the pre-school grant program.

Sets forth provisions for apportionment of funds between the State educational agency and local educational agencies.

Sets forth acceptable uses of pre-school grant funds.

Sets forth circumstances under which a State may count handicapped children aged three through five for purposes of receiving basic State grant funds.

Conditions eligibility for specified grants which relate exclusively to programs, projects, and activities pertaining to children aged three through five upon the State's eligibility to receive a pre-school grant.

Provides that certain provisions placing ultimate responsibility on the State educational agency for ensuring compliance with specified requirements should not be construed as limiting the responsibility of agencies other than educational agencies for providing or paying some or all of the costs of a free appropriate public education to be provided to handicapped children.

Revises requirements that certain Federal funds supplement and not supplant other funds.

Requires States to set forth policies and procedures for developing and implementing interagency agreements between the State educational agency and other appropriate State and local agencies.

Provides that the Act shall not be construed to permit a State to reduce medical and other assistance under Social Security Act provisions for maternal and child health and medicaid with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public education for handicapped children.

Title III: Discretionary Programs - Amends the Act to permit regional resource centers to provide assistance with respect to early intervention services for handicapped infants and toddlers and their families.

Requires that regional resource center services be consistent with the priority needs identified by the States served and with the Secretary's findings in monitoring reports.

Includes among center functions information and training for submitting applications for grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under specified provisions of the Act.

Authorizes the Secretary to establish one coordinating technical assistance center focusing on national priorities to assist the regional resource centers in the delivery of technical assistance.

Authorizes the Secretary to make grants or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements for the development and operation of extended school year demonstration programs for severely handicapped children and youth, including deaf-blind children and youth.

Specifies that funds for early education of handicapped children may be used for pre-school and early intervention demonstration and outreach programs, as well as experimental programs.

Directs the Secretary to arrange for the establishment of a technical assistance development system to assist entities operating experimental, demonstration, and outreach programs and to assist State agencies to expand and improve services for handicapped children.

Directs the Secretary to arrange for the establishment of early childhood research institutes to generate and disseminate new information on preschool and early intervention for handicapped children and their families.

Revises provisions for research, innovation, training, and dissemination activities to focus on funding such programs for severely handicapped children.

Revises provisions for postsecondary education programs to require program operators to coordinate with and disseminate information about their activities to the clearinghouse on postsecondary programs.

Specifies that secondary and transitional services programs can also serve handicapped youth who recently left school. Adds to the list of authorized projects specifically designed physical education and therapeutic recreation programs to increase the potential of handicapped youths for community participation.

Authorizes the Secretary to make grants or contracts or cooperative agreements for the development or demonstration of new or improved methods, approaches, or techniques to contribute to the adjustment and education of handicapped children and youth and the dissemination of materials and information concerning practices found effective in working with such children and youth.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1989 for: (1) regional resource and Federal centers; (2) services for deaf-blind children and youth; (3) early education for handicapped children; (4) programs for severely handicapped children; (5) postsecondary education programs; and (6) secondary education and transitional services for handicapped youth.

Revises provisions for grants for personnel training to include training for careers in early intervention. Requires the Secretary, in making such grants, to base the determination on information relating to the present and projected need for the personnel to be trained based on identified State, regional, or national shortages, and the capacity of the institution or agency to train qualified personnel, and other appropriate information.

Includes the application of new technology among new approaches for training.

Revises provisions relating to parent training centers. Requires the Secretary to give priority to grants which involve unserved areas. Provides that parent training and information programs may, at a grant recipient's discretion, include State or local educational personnel where such participation will further a program objective.

Directs the Secretary to make grants to State educational agencies, and authorizes the Secretary to make grants to institutions of higher education, to assist in establishing and maintaining preservice and inservice programs to prepare personnel to meet the needs of handicapped infants, toddlers, children, and youth.

Directs the Secretary to arrange for a national clearinghouse designed to encourage students to seek careers and professional personnel to seek employment in the various fields relating to the education of handicapped children and youth.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1989 to carry out provisions for training personnel for the education of the handicapped and provisions for clearinghouses. Reserves specified portions of such funds for specified activities.

Revises provisions for research and demonstration projects in education of handicapped children to include issues related to early intervention for handicapped infants and toddlers. Adds to authorized uses of project funds the development of instruments, including tests, inventories, and scales, for measuring progress of handicapped infants, toddlers, children, and youth across a number of developmental domains.

Revises provisions for the convening of panels of experts. Requires such panels to include a majority of non-Federal members. Requires such panels to be convened when a grant application exceeds a specified amount.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1989 for research in the education of the handicapped.

Revises provisions for captioned films and educational media for handicapped persons to include the purpose of addressing problems of illiteracy among the handicapped. Specifies that public libraries may be used for the distribution of captioned films and other educational media and equipment.

Authorizes grants and contracts for education media and materials for the deaf.

Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with the National Theatre of the Deaf.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1989 for instructional media for the handicapped.

Adds a new part G, Technology, Educational Media, and Materials for the Handicapped. (Replaces certain provisions of part F.) Authorizes the Secretary to make grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to advance the use of new technology, media, and materials in the education of handicapped students and the provision of early intervention to handicapped infants and toddlers.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1989 to carry out such part G.

Title IV: Miscellaneous - Specifies that the Secretary may make grants to and cooperative agreements with the Secretary of the Interior to remove architectural barriers in schools serving Indians on reservations.

Specifies that community colleges receiving funding from the Secretary of the Interior are to be considered as institutions of higher education for purposes of grants under the Act.

Provides that the term "public or private nonprofit agency or organization" includes an Indian tribe.

Revises a formula for allocation of basic State grants.

Revises provisions relating to State administrative costs of monitoring and complaint investigation.

Increases the amount required to be reserved for use by the Secretary of the Interior for the education of handicapped children on reservations served by schools operated by the Department of the Interior. Requires the Secretary of the Interior to assure: (1) that all handicapped children aged three through five receive a free appropriate public education by or before the 1987-1988 school year; and (2) that there are public hearings with adequate notice and opportunity for comment afforded to members of tribes, tribal governing bodies, and designated local school boards before adoption of specified policies, programs, and procedures.

Requires States to include in their plans policies and procedures relating to the establishment and maintenance of standards to ensure that necessary personnel are appropriately and adequately prepared and trained.

Revises evaluation provisions to add language relating to early intervention for handicapped infants and toddlers. Provides that data collected shall be for the age group as a whole in the case of infants and toddlers birth through age two and handicapped children age three through five. Requires the Secretary, in the annual report for FY 1988 which is published in 1989, to include special sections addressing the provision of free appropriate public education to handicapped infants, toddlers, children, and youth in rural areas and to handicapped migrants, handicapped Indians, handicapped Native Hawaiian and other native Pacific basin children and youth, and handicapped infants, toddlers, children, and youth of limited English proficiency.

Authorizes appropriations for FY 1987 through 1989 to carry out evaluation provisions.

Repeals provisions relating to the National Advisory Committee on the Education of Handicapped Children and Youth.