20 U.S.C. § 1463 — Untitled legal text

Page 1011 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 1463 § 1463. Technical assistance, demonstration projects, dissemination of information, and implementation of scientifically based re- search (a) In general The Secretary shall make competitive grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agree- ments with, eligible entities to provide tech- nical assistance, support model demonstration projects, disseminate useful information, and implement activities that are supported by sci- entifically based research. (b) Required activities Funds received under this section shall be used to support activities to improve services provided under this chapter, including the prac- tices of professionals and others involved in pro- viding such services to children with disabil- ities, that promote academic achievement and improve results for children with disabilities through— (1) implementing effective strategies for ad- dressing inappropriate behavior of students with disabilities in schools, including strate- gies to prevent children with emotional and behavioral problems from developing emo- tional disturbances that require the provision of special education and related services; (2) improving the alignment, compatibility, and development of valid and reliable assess- ments and alternate assessments for assessing student academic achievement, as described under section 6311(b)(2) of this title; (3) providing training for both regular edu- cation teachers and special education teachers to address the needs of students with different learning styles; (4) disseminating information about innova- tive, effective, and efficient curricula designs, instructional approaches, and strategies, and identifying positive academic and social learn- ing opportunities, that— (A) provide effective transitions between educational settings or from school to post school settings; and (B) improve educational and transitional results at all levels of the educational sys- tem in which the activities are carried out and, in particular, that improve the progress of children with disabilities, as measured by assessments within the general education curriculum involved; and (5) applying scientifically based findings to facilitate systemic changes, related to the pro- vision of services to children with disabilities, in policy, procedure, practice, and the training and use of personnel. (c) Authorized activities Activities that may be carried out under this section include activities to improve services provided under this chapter, including the prac- tices of professionals and others involved in pro- viding such services to children with disabil- ities, that promote academic achievement and improve results for children with disabilities through— (1) applying and testing research findings in typical settings where children with disabil- ities receive services to determine the useful- ness, effectiveness, and general applicability of such research findings in such areas as im- proving instructional methods, curricula, and tools, such as textbooks and media; (2) supporting and promoting the coordina- tion of early intervention and educational services for children with disabilities with services provided by health, rehabilitation, and social service agencies; (3) promoting improved alignment and com- patibility of general and special education re- forms concerned with curricular and instruc- tional reform, and evaluation of such reforms; (4) enabling professionals, parents of chil- dren with disabilities, and other persons to learn about, and implement, the findings of scientifically based research, and successful practices developed in model demonstration projects, relating to the provision of services to children with disabilities; (5) conducting outreach, and disseminating information, relating to successful approaches to overcoming systemic barriers to the effec- tive and efficient delivery of early interven- tion, educational, and transitional services to personnel who provide services to children with disabilities; (6) assisting States and local educational agencies with the process of planning systemic changes that will promote improved early intervention, educational, and transitional re- sults for children with disabilities; (7) promoting change through a multistate or regional framework that benefits States, local educational agencies, and other partici- pants in partnerships that are in the process of achieving systemic-change outcomes; (8) focusing on the needs and issues that are specific to a population of children with dis- abilities, such as providing single-State and multi-State technical assistance and in-serv- ice training— (A) to schools and agencies serving deaf- blind children and their families; (B) to programs and agencies serving other groups of children with low incidence dis- abilities and their families; (C) addressing the postsecondary edu- cation needs of individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing; and (D) to schools and personnel providing spe- cial education and related services for chil- dren with autism spectrum disorders; (9) demonstrating models of personnel prepa- ration to ensure appropriate placements and services for all students and to reduce disproportionality in eligibility, placement, and disciplinary actions for minority and lim- ited English proficient children; and (10) disseminating information on how to re- duce inappropriate racial and ethnic disproportionalities identified under section 1418 of this title. (d) Balance among activities and age ranges In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall ensure that there is an appropriate balance across all age ranges of children with disabil- ities. Page 1012 TITLE 20—EDUCATION § 1464 (e) Linking States to information sources In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall support projects that link States to tech- nical assistance resources, including special edu- cation and general education resources, and shall make research and related products avail- able through libraries, electronic networks, par- ent training projects, and other information sources, including through the activities of the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance established under part D of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 [20 U.S.C. 9561 et seq.]. (f) Applications (1) In general An eligible entity that wishes to receive a grant, or enter into a contract or cooperative agreement, under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. (2) Standards To the maximum extent feasible, each eligi- ble entity shall demonstrate that the project described in the eligible entity’s application is supported by scientifically valid research that has been carried out in accordance with the standards for the conduct and evaluation of all relevant research and development established by the National Center for Education Re- search. (3) Priority As appropriate, the Secretary shall give pri- ority to applications that propose to serve teachers and school personnel directly in the school environment. (Pub. L. 91–230, title VI, § 663, as added Pub. L. 108–446, title I, § 101, Dec. 3, 2004, 118 Stat. 2781; amended Pub. L. 114–95, title IX, § 9215(ss)(10), Dec. 10, 2015, 129 Stat. 2183.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, referred to in subsec. (e), is title I of Pub. L. 107–279, Nov. 5, 2002, 116 Stat. 1941. Part D of the Act is classified generally to part D (§ 9561 et seq.) of subchapter I of chapter 76 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 9501 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 2015—Subsec. (b)(2). Pub. L. 114–95, which directed amendment of subsec. (b)(2) by ‘‘striking and inserting the following:’’ followed by the text of a new par. (2), was executed by substituting the new par. (2) for the existing par. (2) to reflect the probable intent of Con- gress. Prior to amendment, par. (2) read as follows: ‘‘improving the alignment, compatibility, and develop- ment of valid and reliable assessments and alternate assessments for assessing adequate yearly progress, as described under section 6311(b)(2)(B) of this title;’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2015 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 114–95 effective Dec. 10, 2015, except with respect to certain noncompetitive pro- grams and competitive programs, see section 5 of Pub. L. 114–95, set out as a note under section 6301 of this title. § 1464. Studies and evaluations (a) Studies and evaluations (1) Delegation The Secretary shall delegate to the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences respon- sibility to carry out this section, other than subsections (d) and (f). (2) Assessment The Secretary shall, directly or through grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements awarded to eligible entities on a competitive basis, assess the progress in the implementa- tion of this chapter, including the effective- ness of State and local efforts to provide— (A) a free appropriate public education to children with disabilities; and (B) early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities, and infants and toddlers who would be at risk of having substantial developmental delays if early intervention services were not provided to the infants and toddlers. (b) Assessment of national activities (1) In general The Secretary shall carry out a national as- sessment of activities carried out with Federal funds under this chapter in order— (A) to determine the effectiveness of this chapter in achieving the purposes of this chapter; (B) to provide timely information to the President, Congress, the States, local edu- cational agencies, and the public on how to implement this chapter more effectively; and (C) to provide the President and Congress with information that will be useful in de- veloping legislation to achieve the purposes of this chapter more effectively. (2) Scope of assessment The national assessment shall assess activi- ties supported under this chapter, including— (A) the implementation of programs as- sisted under this chapter and the impact of such programs on addressing the develop- mental needs of, and improving the aca- demic achievement of, children with disabil- ities to enable the children to reach chal- lenging developmental goals and challenging State academic content standards based on State academic assessments; (B) the types of programs and services that have demonstrated the greatest likelihood of helping students reach the challenging State academic content standards and develop- mental goals; (C) the implementation of the professional development activities assisted under this chapter and the impact on instruction, stu- dent academic achievement, and teacher qualifications to enhance the ability of spe- cial education teachers and regular edu- cation teachers to improve results for chil- dren with disabilities; and (D) the effectiveness of schools, local edu- cational agencies, States, other recipients of