§ 300.604 Enforcement.

Plain English summary

This section establishes a tiered federal enforcement framework under which the Secretary of Education takes escalating actions against states that fail to meet IDEA Part B requirements. Depending on whether a state is found to 'need assistance' (two consecutive years), 'need intervention' (three or more consecutive years), or 'need substantial intervention' (at any time), the Secretary may impose measures ranging from technical assistance and directed fund use to withholding payments and referral to the Department of Justice. The Secretary must also report any enforcement action to Congress within 30 days.

Key requirements

• If the Secretary determines, for two consecutive years, that a State needs assistance under § 300.603(b)(1)(ii), the Secretary takes one or more of the following actions: advises the State of available sources of technical assistance and requires the State to work with appropriate entities; directs the use of State-level funds under section 611(e) of the Act on the area or areas in which the State needs assistance; identifies the State as a high-risk grantee and imposes special conditions on the State's grant under Part B of the Act.
• If the Secretary determines, for three or more consecutive years, that a State needs intervention under § 300.603(b)(1)(iii), the Secretary may take any of the actions described in paragraph (a) and takes one or more of the following actions: requires the State to prepare a corrective action plan or improvement plan if the Secretary determines that the State should be able to correct the problem within one year; requires the State to enter into a compliance agreement under section 457 of GEPA if the Secretary has reason to believe that the State cannot correct the problem within one year; for each year of the determination, withholds not less than 20 percent and not more than 50 percent of the State's funds under section 611(e) of the Act; seeks to recover funds under section 452 of GEPA; withholds, in whole or in part, any further payments to the State under Part B of the Act; refers the matter for appropriate enforcement action, which may include referral to the Department of Justice.
• At any time that the Secretary determines that a State needs substantial intervention in implementing the requirements of Part B of the Act or that there is a substantial failure to comply with any condition of an SEA's or LEA's eligibility under Part B of the Act, the Secretary takes one or more of the following actions: recovers funds under section 452 of GEPA; withholds, in whole or in part, any further payments to the State under Part B of the Act; refers the case to the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Education; refers the matter for appropriate enforcement action, which may include referral to the Department of Justice.
• The Secretary reports to the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate within 30 days of taking enforcement action pursuant to paragraph (a), (b), or (c) of this section, on the specific action taken and the reasons why enforcement action was taken.

Affected parties

• Secretary of Education
• State Educational Agencies (SEAs)
• Local Educational Agencies (LEAs)
• Office of Special Education Programs
• Department of Education
• Department of Justice
• Office of the Inspector General
• Congress (House Committee on Education and the Workforce; Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions)
• Technical assistance providers
• Institutions of higher education

Official source

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/part-300/section-300.604