Special Education Grants to States

To provide grants to States to assist them in providing special education and related services to all children with disabilities.

The Grants to States program provides formula grants to assist the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Department of the Interior, the Outlying Areas, and the Freely Associated States in meeting the excess costs of providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. In order to be eligible for funding, States must serve all children with disabilities between the ages of 3 through 21; they are not required to serve children aged three through five or 18 through 21 if services are inconsistent with State law or practice or the order of any court. A State that does not provide a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to children with disabilities aged three through five cannot receive base payment funds attributable to this age group.

State educational agencies in the 50 States, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and Virgin Islands, the Department of the Interior, and freely associated States. Local educational agencies apply to their State educational agency for subgrants.

Children with disabilities will benefit.

States must distribute all grant funds that the State does not reserve for administration of the program or other State-level activities to eligible local educational agencies. Funds are used by State and local educational agencies, in accordance with the IDEA, to help provide the special education and related services needed to make a free appropriate public education available to all eligible children and, in some cases, to provide early intervening services.

Grants are issued each fiscal year. The Federal obligation period is a 15-month period from July 1 through September 30. States and local education agencies have an additional 12-month period to obligate funds they receive.

An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.

States and other eligible entities qualify for funding based upon applications approved under IDEA, Section 612.

Once the State application has been approved, a grant award is forwarded to the State department of education. Notification of the award is made to Chief State School Officer. States make subgrants to eligible local educational agencies from their initial grant award after setting aside funds for administration and state-level activities.

The time for reviewing the State's application is determined by EDGAR (in 34 CFR §76.703) and ranges from 45 to 90 days.

The Department must not take final action to disapprove an application until the State is provided reasonable notice and an opportunity for a hearing. The State must request a hearing no later than 30 days after it receives notice of the proposed final determination that the State is not eligible to receive its award.