The rules of procedure in this part supplement §§ 100.9 and 100.10 of this subtitle and govern the practice for hearings, decisions, and administrative review conducted by the Department of Education, pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (section 602, 78 Stat. 252) and part 100 of this subtitle.

All pleadings, correspondence, exhibits, transcripts, of testimony, exceptions, briefs, decisions, and other documents filed in the docket in any proceeding may be inspected and copied in the office of the Civil Rights hearing clerk. Inquiries may be made at the Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20202.

As used in this part, words importing the singular number may extend and be applied to several persons or things, and vice versa. Words importing the masculine gender may be applied to females or organizations.

A party may appear in person or by counsel and participate fully in any proceeding. A State agency or a corporation may appear by any of its officers or by any employee it authorizes to appear on its behalf. Counsel must be members in good standing of the bar of a State, Territory, or possession of the United States or of the District of Columbia or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Any individual acting in a representative capacity in any proceeding may be required to show his authority to act in such capacity.

Disrespectful, disorderly, or contumacious language or contemptuous conduct, refusal to comply with directions, or continued use of dilatory tactics by any person at any hearing before a presiding officer shall constitute grounds for immediate exclusion of such person from the hearing by the presiding officer.

(a) The term party shall include an applicant or recipient or other person to whom a notice of hearing or opportunity for hearing has been mailed naming him a respondent.

(b) The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the Department of Education, shall be deemed a party to all proceedings.

(a) Any interested person or organization may file a petition to participate in a proceeding as an amicus curiae. Such petition shall be filed prior to the prehearing conference, or if none is held, before the commencement of the hearing, unless the petitioner shows good cause for filing the petition later. The presiding officer may grant the petition if he finds that the petitioner has a legitimate interest in the proceedings, that such participation will not unduly delay the outcome, and may contribute materially to the proper disposition thereof. An amicus curiae is not a party and may not introduce evidence at a hearing.

(b) An amicus curiae may submit a statement of position to the presiding officer prior to the beginning of a hearing, and shall serve a copy on each party. The amicus curiae may submit a brief on each occasion a decision is to be made or a prior decision is subject to review. His brief shall be filed and served on each party within the time limits applicable to the party whose position he deems himself to support; or if he does not deem himself to support the position of any party, within the longest time limit applicable to any party at that particular stage of the proceedings.

(c) When all parties have completed their initial examination of a witness, any amicus curiae may request the presiding officer to propound specific questions to the witness. The presiding officer, in his discretion, may grant any such request if he believes the proposed additional testimony may assist materially in elucidating factual matters at issue between the parties and will not expand the issues.

A person submitting a complaint pursuant to § 100.7(b) of this title is not a party to the proceedings governed by this part, but may petition, after proceedings are initiated, to become an amicus curiae.

In computing any period of time under the rules in this part or in an order issued hereunder, the time begins with the day following the act, event, or default, and includes the last day of the period, unless it is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday observed in the District of Columbia, in which event it includes the next following business day. When the period of time prescribed or allowed is less than 7 days, intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays shall be excluded from the computation.

For good cause, the reviewing authority or the presiding officer, with respect to matters pending before them, may reduce any time limit prescribed by the rules in this part, except as provided by law or in part 80 of this title.

Proceedings are commenced by mailing a notice of hearing or opportunity for hearing to an affected applicant or recipient, pursuant to § 100.9 of this title.

The respondent, applicant or recipient may file an answer to the notice within 20 days after service thereof. Answers shall admit or deny specifically and in detail each allegation of the notice, unless the respondent party is without knowledge, in which case his answer should so state, and the statement will be deemed a denial. Allegations of fact in the notice not denied or controverted by answer shall be deemed admitted. Matters alleged as affirmative defenses shall be separately stated and numbered. Failure of the respondent to file an answer within the 20-day period following service of the notice may be deemed an admission of all matters of fact recited in the notice.

The Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights may amend the notice of hearing or opportunity for hearing once as a matter of course before an answer thereto is served, and each respondent may amend his answer once as a matter of course not later than 10 days before the date fixed for hearing but in no event later than 20 days from the date of service of his original answer. Otherwise a notice or answer may be amended only by leave of the presiding officer. A respondent shall file his answer to an amended notice within the time remaining for filing the answer to the original notice or within 10 days after service of the amended notice, whichever period may be the longer, unless the presiding officer otherwise orders.

Within 20 days after service of a notice of opportunity for hearing which does not fix a date for hearing the respondent, either in his answer or in a separate document, may request a hearing. Failure of the respondent to request a hearing shall be deemed a waiver of the right to a hearing and to constitute his consent to the making of a decision on the basis of such information as is available.

The responsible Department official may provide for proceedings in the Department to be joined or consolidated for hearing with proceedings in other Federal departments or agencies, by agreement with such other departments or agencies. All parties to any proceeding consolidated subsequently to service of the notice of hearing or opportunity for hearing shall be promptly served with notice of such consolidation.

Motions and petitions shall state the relief sought, the authority relied upon, and the facts alleged. If made before or after the hearing, these matters shall be in writing. If made at the hearing, they may be stated orally; but the presiding officer may require that they be reduced to writing and filed and served on all parties in the same manner as a formal motion. Motions, answers, and replies shall be addressed to the presiding officer, if the case is pending before him. A repetitious motion will not be entertained.

Within 8 days after a written motion or petition is served, or such other period as the reviewing authority or the presiding officer may fix, any party may file a response thereto. An immediate oral response may be made to an oral motion.

The reviewing authority or the presiding officer may not sustain or grant a written motion or petition prior to expiration of the time for filing responses thereto, but may overrule or deny such motion or petition without awaiting response: Provided, however, That prehearing conferences, hearings and decisions need not be delayed pending disposition of motions or petitions. Oral motions and petitions may be ruled on immediately. Motions and petitions submitted to the reviewing authority or the presiding officer, respectively, and not disposed of in separate rulings or in their respective decisions will be deemed denied. Oral arguments shall not be held or written motions or petitions unless the presiding officer in his discretion expressly so orders.

A hearing examiner assigned under 5 U.S.C. 3105 or 3344 (formerly section 11 of the Administrative Procedure Act) shall preside over the taking of evidence in any hearing to which these rules of procedure apply.

The designation of the hearing examiner as presiding officer shall be in writing, and shall specify whether the examiner is to make an initial decision or to certify the entire record including his recommended findings and proposed decision to the reviewing authority, and may also fix the time and place of hearing. A copy of such order shall be served on all parties. After service of an order designating a hearing examiner to preside, and until such examiner makes his decision, motions and petitions shall be submitted to him. In the case of the death, illness, disqualification or unavailability of the designated hearing examiner, another hearing examiner may be designated to take his place.

The presiding officer shall have the duty to conduct a fair hearing, to take all necessary action to avoid delay, and to maintain order. He shall have all powers necessary to these ends, including (but not limited to) the power to:

(a) Arrange and issue notice of the date, time, and place of hearings, or, upon due notice to the parties, to change the date, time, and place of hearings previously set.

(b) Hold conferences to settle, simplify, or fix the issues in a proceeding, or to consider other matters that may aid in the expeditious disposition of the proceeding.

(c) Require parties and amici curiae to state their position with respect to the various issues in the proceeding.

(d) Administer oaths and affirmations.

(e) Rule on motions, and other procedural items on matters pending before him.

(f) Regulate the course of the hearing and conduct of counsel therein.

(g) Examine witnesses and direct witnesses to testify.

(h) Receive, rule on, exclude or limit evidence.

(i) Fix the time for filing motions, petitions, briefs, or other items in matters pending before him.

(j) Issue initial or recommended decisions.

(k) Take any action authorized by the rules in this part or in conformance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 551-559 (the Administrative Procedure Act).

The Department will designate the official reporter for all hearings. The official transcripts of testimony taken, together with any exhibits, briefs, or memoranda of law filed therewith shall be filed with the Department. Transcripts of testimony in hearings may be obtained from the official reporter by the parties and the public at rates not to exceed the maximum rates fixed by the contract between the Department and the reporter. Upon notice to all parties, the presiding officer may authorize corrections to the transcript which involve matters of substance.

The transcript of testimony, exhibits, and all papers and requests filed in the proceedings, except the correspondence section of the docket, including rulings and any recommended or initial decision shall constitute the exclusive record for decision.

(a) The presiding officer shall fix the time for filing posthearing briefs, which may contain proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, and, if permitted, reply briefs.

(b) Briefs should include a summary of the evidence relied upon together with references to exhibit numbers and pages of the transcript, with citations of the authorities relied upon.

When the time for submission of posthearing briefs has expired, the presiding officer shall certify the entire record, including his recommended findings and proposed decision, to the responsible Department official; or if so authorized he shall make an initial decision. A copy of the recommended findings and proposed decision, or of the initial decision, shall be served upon all parties, and amici, if any.

Within 20 days after the mailing of an initial or recommended decision, any party may file exceptions to the decision, stating reasons therefor, with the reviewing authority. Any other party may file a response thereto within 30 days after the mailing of the decision. Upon the filing of such exceptions, the reviewing authority shall review the decision and issue its own decision thereon.

(a) Where the hearing is conducted by a hearing examiner who makes an initial decision, if no exceptions thereto are filed within the 20-day period specified in § 101.103, such decision shall become the final decision of the Department, and shall constitute “final agency action” within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 704 (formerly section 10(c) of the Administrative Procedure Act), subject to the provisions of § 101.106.

(b) Where the hearing is conducted by a hearing examiner who makes a recommended decision, or upon the filing of exceptions to a hearing examiner's initial decision, the reviewing authority shall review the recommended or initial decision and shall issue its own decision thereon, which shall become the final decision of the Department, and shall constitute “final agency action” within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. 704 (formerly section 10(c) of the Administrative Procedure Act), subject to the provisions of § 101.106.

(c) All final decisions shall be promptly served on all parties, and amici, if any.

(a) If any party desires to argue a case orally on exceptions or replies to exceptions to an initial or recommended decision, he shall make such request in writing. The reviewing authority may grant or deny such requests in its discretion. If granted, it will serve notice of oral argument on all parties. The notice will set forth the order of presentation, the amount of time allotted, and the time and place for argument. The names of persons who will argue should be filed with the Department hearing clerk not later than 7 days before the date set for oral argument.

(b) The purpose of oral argument is to emphasize and clarify the written argument in the briefs. Reading at length from the brief or other texts is not favored. Participants should confine their arguments to points of controlling importance and to points upon which exceptions have been filed. Consolidations of appearances at oral argument by parties taking the same side will permit the parties' interests to be presented more effectively in the time allotted.

(c) Pamphlets, charts, and other written material may be presented at oral argument only if such material is limited to facts already in the record and is served on all parties and filed with the Department hearing clerk at least 7 days before the argument.

Within 20 days after an initial decision becomes a final decision pursuant to § 101.104(a) or within 20 days of the mailing of a final decision referred to in § 101.104(b), as the case may be, a party may request the Secretary to review the final decision. The Secretary may grant or deny such request, in whole or in part, or serve notice of his intent to review the decision in whole or in part upon his own motion. If the Secretary grants the requested review, or if he serves notice of intent to review upon his own motion, each party to the decision shall have 20 days following notice of the Secretary's proposed action within which to file exceptions to the decision and supporting briefs and memoranda, or briefs and memoranda in support of the decision. Failure of a party to request review under this paragraph shall not be deemed a failure to exhaust administrative remedies for the purpose of obtaining judicial review.

All briefs, exceptions, memoranda, requests, and decisions referred to in this subpart J shall be served upon amici curiae at the same times and in the same manner required for service on parties. Any written statements of position and trial briefs required of parties under § 101.71 shall be served on amici.

Parties and their representatives are expected to conduct themselves with honor and dignity and observe judicial standards of practice and ethics in all proceedings. They should not indulge in offensive personalities, unseemly wrangling, or intemperate accusations or characterizations. A representative of any party whether or not a lawyer shall observe the traditional responsibilities of lawyers as officers of the court and use his best efforts to restrain his client from improprieties in connection with a proceeding.

With respect to any proceeding it is improper for any interested person to attempt to sway the judgement of the reviewing authority by undertaking to bring pressure or influence to bear upon any officer having a responsibility for a decision in the proceeding, or his decisional staff. It is improper that such interested persons or any members of the Department's staff or the presiding officer give statements to communications media, by paid advertisement or otherwise, designed to influence the judgement of any officer having a responsibility for a decision in the proceeding, or his decisional staff. It is improper for any person to solicit communications to any such officer, or his decisional staff, other than proper communications by parties or amici curiae.

Only persons employed by or assigned to work with the reviewing authority who perform no investigative or prosecuting function in connection with a proceeding shall communicate ex parte with the reviewing authority, or the presiding officer, or any employee or person involved in the decisional process in such proceedings with respect to the merits of that or a factually related proceeding. The reviewing authority, the presiding officer, or any employee or person involved in the decisional process of a proceeding shall communicate ex parte with respect to the merits of that or a factually related proceeding only with persons employed by or assigned to work with them and who perform no investigative or prosecuting function in connection with the proceeding.

Requests for expeditious treatment of matters pending before the responsible Department official or the presiding officer are deemed communications on the merits, and are improper except when forwarded from parties to a proceeding and served upon all other parties thereto. Such communications should be in the form of a motion.

A request for information which merely inquires about the status of a proceeding without discussing issues or expressing points of view is not deemed an ex parte communication. Such requests should be directed to the Civil Rights hearing clerk. Communications with respect to minor procedural matters or inquiries or emergency requests for extensions of time are not deemed ex parte communications prohibited by § 101.113. Where feasible, however, such communications should be by letter with copies to all parties. Ex parte communications between a respondent and the responsible Department official or the Secretary with respect to securing such respondent's voluntary compliance with any requirement of part 100 of this title are not prohibited.

A prohibited communication in writing received by the Secretary, the reviewing authority, or by the presiding officer, shall be made public by placing it in the correspondence file of the docket in the case and will not be considered as part of the record for decision. If the prohibited communication is received orally a memorandum setting forth its substance shall be made and filed in the correspondence section of the docket in the case. A person referred to in such memorandum may file a comment for inclusion in the docket if he considers the memorandum to be incorrect.

(a) An applicant or recipient adversely affected by the order terminating, discontinuing, or refusing Federal financial assistance in consequence of proceedings pursuant to this title may request the responsible Department official for an order authorizing payment, or permitting resumption, of Federal financial assistance. Such request shall be in writing and shall affirmatively show that since entry of the order, it has brought its program or activity into compliance with the requirements of the Act, and with the Regulation thereunder, and shall set forth specifically, and in detail, the steps which it has taken to achieve such compliance. If the responsible Department official denies such request the applicant or recipient shall be given an expeditious hearing if it so requests in writing and specifies why it believes the responsible Department official to have been in error. The request for such a hearing shall be addressed to the responsible Department official and shall be made within 30 days after the applicant or recipient is informed that the responsible Department official has refused to authorize payment or permit resumption of Federal financial assistance.

(b) In the event that a hearing shall be requested pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section, the hearing procedures established by this part shall be applicable to the proceedings, except as otherwise provided in this section.

The definitions contained in § 100.13 of this subtitle apply to this part, unless the context otherwise requires, and the term “reviewing authority” as used herein includes the Secretary of Education, with respect to action by that official under § 101.106.

(b) These rules shall apply to any proceeding or part thereof to which part 100 of this title applies. In the case of any proceeding or part thereof governed by the provisions of 34 CFR, part 100 (Title VI regulations of the Department of Education) as that part existed prior to the amendments published in the Federal Register on Oct. 19, 1967 (effective on that date), the rules in this part 101 shall apply as if those amendments were not in effect.

The purpose of this part is to effectuate section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which is designed to eliminate discrimination on the basis of handicap in any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

This part applies to each recipient of Federal financial assistance from the Department of Education and to the program or activity that receives such assistance.

As used in this part, the term:

(a) The Act means the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Pub. L. 93-112, as amended by the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1974, Pub. L. 93-516, 29 U.S.C. 794.

(b) Section 504 means section 504 of the Act.

(c) Education of the Handicapped Act means that statute as amended by the Education for all Handicapped Children Act of 1975, Pub. L. 94-142, 20 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.

(d) Department means the Department of Education.

(e) Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the Department of Education.

(f) Recipient means any state or its political subdivision, any instrumentality of a state or its political subdivision, any public or private agency, institution, organization, or other entity, or any person to which Federal financial assistance is extended directly or through another recipient, including any successor, assignee, or transferee of a recipient, but excluding the ultimate beneficiary of the assistance.

(g) Applicant for assistance means one who submits an application, request, or plan required to be approved by a Department official or by a recipient as a condition to becoming a recipient.

(h) Federal financial assistance means any grant, loan, contract (other than a procurement contract or a contract of insurance or guaranty), or any other arrangement by which the Department provides or otherwise makes available assistance in the form of:

(1) Funds;

(2) Services of Federal personnel; or

(3) Real and personal property or any interest in or use of such property, including:

(i) Transfers or leases of such property for less than fair market value or for reduced consideration; and

(ii) Proceeds from a subsequent transfer or lease of such property if the Federal share of its fair market value is not returned to the Federal Government.

(i) Facility means all or any portion of buildings, structures, equipment, roads, walks, parking lots, or other real or personal property or interest in such property.

(j) Handicapped person—(1) Handicapped persons means any person who (i) has a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities, (ii) has a record of such an impairment, or (iii) is regarded as having such an impairment.

(2) As used in paragraph (j)(1) of this section, the phrase:

(i) Physical or mental impairment means (A) any physiological disorder or condition, cosmetic disfigurement, or anatomical loss affecting one or more of the following body systems: neurological; musculoskeletal; special sense organs; respiratory, including speech organs; cardiovascular; reproductive, digestive, genito-urinary; hemic and lymphatic; skin; and endocrine; or (B) any mental or psychological disorder, such as mental retardation, organic brain syndrome, emotional or mental illness, and specific learning disabilities.

(ii) Major life activities means functions such as caring for one's self, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.

(iii) Has a record of such an impairment means has a history of, or has been misclassified as having, a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

(iv) Is regarded as having an impairment means (A) has a physical or mental impairment that does not substantially limit major life activities but that is treated by a recipient as constituting such a limitation; (B) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits major life activities only as a result of the attitudes of others toward such impairment; or (C) has none of the impairments defined in paragraph (j)(2)(i) of this section but is treated by a recipient as having such an impairment.

(k) Program or activity means all of the operations of—

(1)(i) A department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or of a local government; or

(ii) The entity of such State or local government that distributes such assistance and each such department or agency (and each other State or local government entity) to which the assistance is extended, in the case of assistance to a State or local government;

(2)(i) A college, university, or other postsecondary institution, or a public system of higher education; or

(ii) A local educational agency (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 8801), system of vocational education, or other school system;

(3)(i) An entire corporation, partnership, or other private organization, or an entire sole proprietorship—

(A) If assistance is extended to such corporation, partnership, private organization, or sole proprietorship as a whole; or

(B) Which is principally engaged in the business of providing education, health care, housing, social services, or parks and recreation; or

(ii) The entire plant or other comparable, geographically separate facility to which Federal financial assistance is extended, in the case of any other corporation, partnership, private organization, or sole proprietorship; or

(4) Any other entity which is established by two or more of the entities described in paragraph (k)(1), (2), or (3) of this section; any part of which is extended Federal financial assistance.

(l) Qualified handicapped person means:

(1) With respect to employment, a handicapped person who, with reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the job in question;

(2) With respect to public preschool elementary, secondary, or adult educational services, a handicappped person (i) of an age during which nonhandicapped persons are provided such services, (ii) of any age during which it is mandatory under state law to provide such services to handicapped persons, or (iii) to whom a state is required to provide a free appropriate public education under section 612 of the Education of the Handicapped Act; and

(3) With respect to postsecondary and vocational education services, a handicapped person who meets the academic and technical standards requisite to admission or participation in the recipient's education program or activity;

(4) With respect to other services, a handicapped person who meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of such services.

(m) Handicap means any condition or characteristic that renders a person a handicapped person as defined in paragraph (j) of this section.

(a) General. No qualified handicapped person shall, on the basis of handicap, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activitiy which receives Federal financial assistance.

(b) Discriminatory actions prohibited. (1) A recipient, in providing any aid, benefit, or service, may not, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, on the basis of handicap:

(i) Deny a qualified handicapped person the opportunity to participate in or benefit from the aid, benefit, or service;

(ii) Afford a qualified handicapped person an opportunity to participate in or benefit from the aid, benefit, or service that is not equal to that afforded others;

(iii) Provide a qualified handicapped person with an aid, benefit, or service that is not as effective as that provided to others;

(iv) Provide different or separate aid, benefits, or services to handicapped persons or to any class of handicapped persons unless such action is necessary to provide qualified handicapped persons with aid, benefits, or services that are as effective as those provided to others;

(v) Aid or perpetuate discrimination against a qualified handicapped person by providing significant assistance to an agency, organization, or person that discriminates on the basis of handicap in providing any aid, benefit, or service to beneficiaries of the recipients program or activity;

(vi) Deny a qualified handicapped person the opportunity to participate as a member of planning or advisory boards; or

(vii) Otherwise limit a qualified handicapped person in the enjoyment of any right, privilege, advantage, or opportunity enjoyed by others receiving an aid, benefit, or service.

(2) For purposes of this part, aids, benefits, and services, to be equally effective, are not required to produce the identical result or level of achievement for handicapped and nonhandicapped persons, but must afford handicapped persons equal opportunity to obtain the same result, to gain the same benefit, or to reach the same level of achievement, in the most integrated setting appropriate to the person's needs.

(3) Despite the existence of separate or different aid, benefits, or services provided in accordance with this part, a recipient may not deny a qualified handicapped person the opportunity to participate in such aid, benefits, or services that are not separate or different.

(4) A recipient may not, directly or through contractual or other arrangements, utilize criteria or methods of administration (i) that have the effect of subjecting qualified handicapped persons to discrimination on the basis of handicap, (ii) that have the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing accomplishment of the objectives of the recipient's program or activity with respect to handicapped persons, or (iii) that perpetuate the discrimination of another recipient if both recipients are subject to common administrative control or are agencies of the same State.

(5) In determining the site or location of a facility, an applicant for assistance or a recipient may not make selections (i) that have the effect of excluding handicapped persons from, denying them the benefits of, or otherwise subjecting them to discrimination under any program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance or (ii) that have the purpose or effect of defeating or substantially impairing the accomplishment of the objectives of the program or activity with respect to handicapped persons.

(6) As used in this section, the aid, benefit, or service provided under a program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance includes any aid, benefit, or service provided in or through a facility that has been constructed, expanded, altered, leased or rented, or otherwise acquired, in whole or in part, with Federal financial assistance.

(c) Aid, benefits, or services limited by Federal law. The exclusion of nonhandicapped persons from aid, benefits, or services limited by Federal statute or executive order to handicapped persons or the exclusion of a specific class of handicapped persons from aid, benefits, or services limited by Federal statute or executive order to a different class of handicapped persons is not prohibited by this part.

(a) Assurances. An applicant for Federal financial assistance to which this part applies shall submit an assurance, on a form specified by the Assistant Secretary, that the program or activity will be operated in compliance with this part. An applicant may incorporate these assurances by reference in subsequent applications to the Department.

(b) Duration of obligation. (1) In the case of Federal financial assistance extended in the form of real property or to provide real property or structures on the property, the assurance will obligate the recipient or, in the case of a subsequent transfer, the transferee, for the period during which the real property or structures are used for the purpose for which Federal financial assistance is extended or for another purpose involving the provision of similar services or benefits.

(2) In the case of Federal financial assistance extended to provide personal property, the assurance will obligate the recipient for the period during which it retains ownership or possession of the property.

(3) In all other cases the assurance will obligate the recipient for the period during which Federal financial assistance is extended.

(c) Covenants. (1) Where Federal financial assistance is provided in the form of real property or interest in the property from the Department, the instrument effecting or recording this transfer shall contain a covenant running with the land to assure nondiscrimination for the period during which the real property is used for a purpose for which the Federal financial assistance is extended or for another purpose involving the provision of similar services or benefits.

(2) Where no transfer of property is involved but property is purchased or improved with Federal financial assistance, the recipient shall agree to include the covenant described in paragraph (b)(2) of this section in the instrument effecting or recording any subsequent transfer of the property.

(3) Where Federal financial assistance is provided in the form of real property or interest in the property from the Department, the covenant shall also include a condition coupled with a right to be reserved by the Department to revert title to the property in the event of a breach of the covenant. If a transferee of real property proposes to mortgage or otherwise encumber the real property as security for financing construction of new, or improvement of existing, facilities on the property for the purposes for which the property was transferred, the Assistant Secretary may, upon request of the transferee and if necessary to accomplish such financing and upon such conditions as he or she deems appropriate, agree to forbear the exercise of such right to revert title for so long as the lien of such mortgage or other encumbrance remains effective.

(a) Remedial action. (1) If the Assistant Secretary finds that a recipient has discriminated against persons on the basis of handicap in violation of section 504 or this part, the recipient shall take such remedial action as the Assistant Secretary deems necessary to overcome the effects of the discrimination.

(2) Where a recipient is found to have discriminated against persons on the basis of handicap in violation of section 504 or this part and where another recipient exercises control over the recipient that has discriminated, the Assistant Secretary, where appropriate, may require either or both recipients to take remedial action.

(3) The Assistant Secretary may, where necessary to overcome the effects of discrimination in violation of section 504 or this part, require a recipient to take remedial action (i) with respect to handicapped persons who are no longer participants in the recipient's program or activity but who were participants in the program or activity when such discrimination occurred or (ii) with respect to handicapped persons who would have been participants in the program or activity had the discrimination not occurred.

(b) Voluntary action. A recipient may take steps, in addition to any action that is required by this part, to overcome the effects of conditions that resulted in limited participation in the recipient's program or activity by qualified handicapped persons.

(c) Self-evaluation. (1) A recipient shall, within one year of the effective date of this part:

(i) Evaluate, with the assistance of interested persons, including handicapped persons or organizations representing handicapped persons, its current policies and practices and the effects thereof that do not or may not meet the requirements of this part;

(ii) Modify, after consultation with interested persons, including handicapped persons or organizations representing handicapped persons, any policies and practices that do not meet the requirements of this part; and

(iii) Take, after consultation with interested persons, including handicapped persons or organizations representing handicapped persons, appropriate remedial steps to eliminate the effects of any discrimination that resulted from adherence to these policies and practices.

(2) A recipient that employs fifteen or more persons shall, for at least three years following completion of the evaluation required under paragraph (c)(1) of this section, maintain on file, make available for public inspection, and provide to the Assistant Secretary upon request:

(i) A list of the interested persons consulted,

(ii) A description of areas examined and any problems identified, and

(iii) A description of any modifications made and of any remedial steps taken.

(a) Designation of responsible employee. A recipient that employs fifteen or more persons shall designate at least one person to coordinate its efforts to comply with this part.

(b) Adoption of grievance procedures. A recipient that employs fifteen or more persons shall adopt grievance procedures that incorporate appropriate due process standards and that provide for the prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging any action prohibited by this part. Such procedures need not be established with respect to complaints from applicants for employment or from applicants for admission to postsecondary educational institutions.

(a) A recipient that employs fifteen or more persons shall take appropriate initial and continuing steps to notify participants, beneficiaries, applicants, and employees, including those with impaired vision or hearing, and unions or professional organizations holding collective bargaining or professional agreements with the recipient that it does not discriminate on the basis of handicap in violation of section 504 and this part. The notification shall state, where appropriate, that the recipient does not discriminate in admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its program or activity. The notification shall also include an identification of the responsible employee designated pursuant to § 104.7(a). A recipient shall make the initial notification required by this paragraph within 90 days of the effective date of this part. Methods of initial and continuing notification may include the posting of notices, publication in newspapers and magazines, placement of notices in recipients' publication, and distribution of memoranda or other written communications.

(b) If a recipient publishes or uses recruitment materials or publications containing general information that it makes available to participants, beneficiaries, applicants, or employees, it shall include in those materials or publications a statement of the policy described in paragraph (a) of this section. A recipient may meet the requirement of this paragraph either by including appropriate inserts in existing materials and publications or by revising and reprinting the materials and publications.

The Assistant Secretary may require any recipient with fewer than fifteen employees, or any class of such recipients, to comply with §§ 104.7 and 104.8, in whole or in part, when the Assistant Secretary finds a violation of this part or finds that such compliance will not significantly impair the ability of the recipient or class of recipients to provide benefits or services.

(a) The obligation to comply with this part is not obviated or alleviated by the existence of any state or local law or other requirement that, on the basis of handicap, imposes prohibitions or limits upon the eligibility of qualified handicapped persons to receive services or to practice any occupation or profession.

(b) The obligation to comply with this part is not obviated or alleviated because employment opportunities in any occupation or profession are or may be more limited for handicapped persons than for nonhandicapped persons.

(a) General. (1) No qualified handicapped person shall, on the basis of handicap, be subjected to discrimination in employment under any program or activity to which this part applies.

(2) A recipient that receives assistance under the Education of the Handicapped Act shall take positive steps to employ and advance in employment qualified handicapped persons in programs or activities assisted under that Act.

(3) A recipient shall make all decisions concerning employment under any program or activity to which this part applies in a manner which ensures that discrimination on the basis of handicap does not occur and may not limit, segregate, or classify applicants or employees in any way that adversely affects their opportunities or status because of handicap.

(4) A recipient may not participate in a contractual or other relationship that has the effect of subjecting qualified handicapped applicants or employees to discrimination prohibited by this subpart. The relationships referred to in this paragraph include relationships with employment and referral agencies, with labor unions, with organizations providing or administering fringe benefits to employees of the recipient, and with organizations providing training and apprenticeships.

(b) Specific activities. The provisions of this subpart apply to:

(1) Recruitment, advertising, and the processing of applications for employment;

(2) Hiring, upgrading, promotion, award of tenure, demotion, transfer, layoff, termination, right of return from layoff and rehiring;

(3) Rates of pay or any other form of compensation and changes in compensation;

(4) Job assignments, job classifications, organizational structures, position descriptions, lines of progression, and seniority lists;

(5) Leaves of absense, sick leave, or any other leave;

(6) Fringe benefits available by virtue of employment, whether or not administered by the recipient;

(7) Selection and financial support for training, including apprenticeship, professional meetings, conferences, and other related activities, and selection for leaves of absence to pursue training;

(8) Employer sponsored activities, including those that are social or recreational; and

(9) Any other term, condition, or privilege of employment.

(c) A recipient's obligation to comply with this subpart is not affected by any inconsistent term of any collective bargaining agreement to which it is a party.

(a) A recipient shall make reasonable accommodation to the known physical or mental limitations of an otherwise qualified handicapped applicant or employee unless the recipient can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of its program or activity.

(b) Reasonable accommodation may include:

(1) Making facilities used by employees readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons, and

(2) Job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, acquisition or modification of equipment or devices, the provision of readers or interpreters, and other similar actions.

(c) In determining pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section whether an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of a recipient's program or activity, factors to be considered include:

(1) The overall size of the recipient's program or activity with respect to number of employees, number and type of facilities, and size of budget;

(2) The type of the recipient's operation, including the composition and structure of the recipient's workforce; and

(3) The nature and cost of the accommodation needed.

(d) A recipient may not deny any employment opportunity to a qualified handicapped employee or applicant if the basis for the denial is the need to make reasonable accommodation to the physical or mental limitations of the employee or applicant.

(a) A recipient may not make use of any employment test or other selection criterion that screens out or tends to screen out handicapped persons or any class of handicapped persons unless:

(1) The test score or other selection criterion, as used by the recipient, is shown to be job-related for the position in question, and

(2) Alternative job-related tests or criteria that do not screen out or tend to screen out as many handicapped persons are not shown by the Director to be available.

(b) A recipient shall select and administer tests concerning employment so as best to ensure that, when administered to an applicant or employee who has a handicap that impairs sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the applicant's or employee's job skills, aptitude, or whatever other factor the test purports to measure, rather than reflecting the applicant's or employee's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where those skills are the factors that the test purports to measure).

(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, a recipient may not conduct a preemployment medical examination or may not make preemployment inquiry of an applicant as to whether the applicant is a handicapped person or as to the nature or severity of a handicap. A recipient may, however, make preemployment inquiry into an applicant's ability to perform job-related functions.

(b) When a recipient is taking remedial action to correct the effects of past discrimination pursuant to § 104.6 (a), when a recipient is taking voluntary action to overcome the effects of conditions that resulted in limited participation in its federally assisted program or activity pursuant to § 104.6(b), or when a recipient is taking affirmative action pursuant to section 503 of the Act, the recipient may invite applicants for employment to indicate whether and to what extent they are handicapped, Provided, That:

(1) The recipient states clearly on any written questionnaire used for this purpose or makes clear orally if no written questionnaire is used that the information requested is intended for use solely in connection with its remedial action obligations or its voluntary or affirmative action efforts; and

(2) The recipient states clearly that the information is being requested on a voluntary basis, that it will be kept confidential as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, that refusal to provide it will not subject the applicant or employee to any adverse treatment, and that it will be used only in accordance with this part.

(c) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a recipient from conditioning an offer of employment on the results of a medical examination conducted prior to the employee's entrance on duty, Provided, That:

(1) All entering employees are subjected to such an examination regardless of handicap, and

(2) The results of such an examination are used only in accordance with the requirements of this part.

(d) Information obtained in accordance with this section as to the medical condition or history of the applicant shall be collected and maintained on separate forms that shall be accorded confidentiality as medical records, except that:

(1) Supervisors and managers may be informed regarding restrictions on the work or duties of handicapped persons and regarding necessary accommodations;

(2) First aid and safety personnel may be informed, where appropriate, if the condition might require emergency treatment; and

(3) Government officials investigating compliance with the Act shall be provided relevant information upon request.

No qualified handicapped person shall, because a recipient's facilities are inaccessible to or unusable by handicapped persons, be denied the benefits of, be excluded from participation in, or otherwise be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity to which this part applies.

(a) Accessibility. A recipient shall operate its program or activity so that when each part is viewed in its entirety, it is readily accessible to handicapped persons. This paragraph does not require a recipient to make each of its existing facilities or every part of a facility accessible to and usable by handicapped persons.

(b) Methods. A recipient may comply with the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section through such means as redesign of equipment, reassignment of classes or other services to accessible buildings, assignment of aides to beneficiaries, home visits, delivery of health, welfare, or other social services at alternate accessible sites, alteration of existing facilities and construction of new facilities in conformance with the requirements of § 104.23, or any other methods that result in making its program or activity accessible to handicapped persons. A recipient is not required to make structural changes in existing facilities where other methods are effective in achieving compliance with paragraph (a) of this section. In choosing among available methods for meeting the requirement of paragraph (a) of this section, a recipient shall give priority to those methods that serve handicapped persons in the most integrated setting appropriate.

(c) Small health, welfare, or other social service providers. If a recipient with fewer than fifteen employees that provides health, welfare, or other social services finds, after consultation with a handicapped person seeking its services, that there is no method of complying with paragraph (a) of this section other than making a significant alteration in its existing facilities, the recipient may, as an alternative, refer the handicapped person to other providers of those services that are accessible.

(d) Time period. A recipient shall comply with the requirement of paragraph (a) of this section within sixty days of the effective date of this part except that where structural changes in facilities are necessary, such changes shall be made within three years of the effective date of this part, but in any event as expeditiously as possible.

(e) Transition plan. In the event that structural changes to facilities are necessary to meet the requirement of paragraph (a) of this section, a recipient shall develop, within six months of the effective date of this part, a transition plan setting forth the steps necessary to complete such changes. The plan shall be developed with the assistance of interested persons, including handicapped persons or organizations representing handicapped persons. A copy of the transition plan shall be made available for public inspection. The plan shall, at a minimum:

(1) Identify physical obstacles in the recipient's facilities that limit the accessibility of its program or activity to handicappped persons;

(2) Describe in detail the methods that will be used to make the facilities accessible;

(3) Specify the schedule for taking the steps necessary to achieve full accessibility in order to comply with paagraph (a) of this section and, if the time period of the transition plan is longer than one year, identify the steps of that will be taken during each year of the transition period; and

(4) Indicate the person responsible for implementation of the plan.

(f) Notice. The recipient shall adopt and implement procedures to ensure that interested persons, including persons with impaired vision or hearing, can obtain information as to the existence and location of services, activities, and facilities that are accessible to and usuable by handicapped persons.

(a) Design and construction. Each facility or part of a facility constructed by, on behalf of, or for the use of a recipient shall be designed and constructed in such manner that the facility or part of the facility is readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons, if the construction was commenced after the effective date of this part.

(b) Alteration. Each facility or part of a facility which is altered by, on behalf of, or for the use of a recipient after the effective date of this part in a manner that affects or could affect the usability of the facility or part of the facility shall, to the maximum extent feasible, be altered in such manner that the altered portion of the facility is readily accessible to and usable by handicapped persons.

(c) Conformance with Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards. (1) Effective as of January 18, 1991, design, construction, or alteration of buildings in conformance with sections 3-8 of the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS) (Appendix A to 41 CFR subpart 101-19.6) shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of this section with respect to those buildings. Departures from particular technical and scoping requirements of UFAS by the use of other methods are permitted where substantially equivalent or greater access to and usability of the building is provided.

(2) For purposes of this section, section 4.1.6(1)(g) of UFAS shall be interpreted to exempt from the requirements of UFAS only mechanical rooms and other spaces that, because of their intended use, will not require accessibility to the public or beneficiaries or result in the employment or residence therein of persons with phusical handicaps.

(3) This section does not require recipients to make building alterations that have little likelihood of being accomplished without removing or altering a load-bearing structural member.

Subpart D applies to preschool, elementary, secondary, and adult education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance and to recipients that operate, or that receive Federal financial assistance for the operation of, such programs or activities.

A recipient that operates a public elementary or secondary education program or activity shall annually:

(a) Undertake to identify and locate every qualified handicapped person residing in the recipient's jurisdiction who is not receiving a public education; and

(b) Take appropriate steps to notify handicapped persons and their parents or guardians of the recipient's duty under this subpart.

(a) General. A recipient that operates a public elementary or secondary education program or activity shall provide a free appropriate public education to each qualified handicapped person who is in the recipient's jurisdiction, regardless of the nature or severity of the person's handicap.

(b) Appropriate education. (1) For the purpose of this subpart, the provision of an appropriate education is the provision of regular or special education and related aids and services that (i) are designed to meet individual educational needs of handicapped persons as adequately as the needs of nonhandicapped persons are met and (ii) are based upon adherence to procedures that satisfy the requirements of §§ 104.34, 104.35, and 104.36.

(2) Implementation of an Individualized Education Program developed in accordance with the Education of the Handicapped Act is one means of meeting the standard established in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section.

(3) A recipient may place a handicapped person or refer such a person for aid, benefits, or services other than those that it operates or provides as its means of carrying out the requirements of this subpart. If so, the recipient remains responsible for ensuring that the requirements of this subpart are met with respect to any handicapped person so placed or referred.

(c) Free education—(1) General. For the purpose of this section, the provision of a free education is the provision of educational and related services without cost to the handicapped person or to his or her parents or guardian, except for those fees that are imposed on non-handicapped persons or their parents or guardian. It may consist either of the provision of free services or, if a recipient places a handicapped person or refers such person for aid, benefits, or services not operated or provided by the recipient as its means of carrying out the requirements of this subpart, of payment for the costs of the aid, benefits, or services. Funds available from any public or private agency may be used to meet the requirements of this subpart. Nothing in this section shall be construed to relieve an insurer or similar third party from an otherwise valid obligation to provide or pay for services provided to a handicapped person.

(2) Transportation. If a recipient places a handicapped person or refers such person for aid, benefits, or services not operated or provided by the recipient as its means of carrying out the requirements of this subpart, the recipient shall ensure that adequate transportation to and from the aid, benefits, or services is provided at no greater cost than would be incurred by the person or his or her parents or guardian if the person were placed in the aid, benefits, or services operated by the recipient.

(3) Residential placement. If a public or private residential placement is necessary to provide a free appropriate public education to a handicapped person because of his or her handicap, the placement, including non-medical care and room and board, shall be provided at no cost to the person or his or her parents or guardian.

(4) Placement of handicapped persons by parents. If a recipient has made available, in conformance with the requirements of this section and § 104.34, a free appropriate public education to a handicapped person and the person's parents or guardian choose to place the person in a private school, the recipient is not required to pay for the person's education in the private school. Disagreements between a parent or guardian and a recipient regarding whether the recipient has made a free appropriate public education available or otherwise regarding the question of financial responsibility are subject to the due process procedures of § 104.36.

(d) Compliance. A recipient may not exclude any qualified handicapped person from a public elementary or secondary education after the effective date of this part. A recipient that is not, on the effective date of this regulation, in full compliance with the other requirements of the preceding paragraphs of this section shall meet such requirements at the earliest practicable time and in no event later than September 1, 1978.

(a) Academic setting. A recipient to which this subpart applies shall educate, or shall provide for the education of, each qualified handicapped person in its jurisdiction with persons who are not handicapped to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the handicapped person. A recipient shall place a handicapped person in the regular educational environment operated by the recipient unless it is demonstrated by the recipient that the education of the person in the regular environment with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. Whenever a recipient places a person in a setting other than the regular educational environment pursuant to this paragraph, it shall take into account the proximity of the alternate setting to the person's home.

(b) Nonacademic settings. In providing or arranging for the provision of nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities, including meals, recess periods, and the services and activities set forth in § 104.37(a)(2), a recipient shall ensure that handicapped persons participate with nonhandicapped persons in such activities and services to the maximum extent appropriate to the needs of the handicapped person in question.

(c) Comparable facilities. If a recipient, in compliance with paragraph (a) of this section, operates a facility that is identifiable as being for handicapped persons, the recipient shall ensure that the facility and the services and activities provided therein are comparable to the other facilities, services, and activities of the recipient.

(a) Preplacement evaluation. A recipient that operates a public elementary or secondary education program or activity shall conduct an evaluation in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section of any person who, because of handicap, needs or is belived to need special education or related services before taking any action with respect to the initial placement of the person in regular or special education and any subsequent significant change in placement.

(b) Evaluation procedures. A recipient to which this subpart applies shall establish standards and procedures for the evaluation and placement of persons who, because of handicap, need or are believed to need special education or related services which ensure that:

(1) Tests and other evaluation materials have been validated for the specific purpose for which they are used and are administered by trained personnel in conformance with the instructions provided by their producer;

(2) Tests and other evaluation materials include those tailored to assess specific areas of educational need and not merely those which are designed to provide a single general intelligence quotient; and

(3) Tests are selected and administered so as best to ensure that, when a test is administered to a student with impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills, the test results accurately reflect the student's aptitude or achievement level or whatever other factor the test purports to measure, rather than reflecting the student's impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills (except where those skills are the factors that the test purports to measure).

(c) Placement procedures. In interpreting evaluation data and in making placement decisions, a recipient shall (1) draw upon information from a variety of sources, including aptitude and achievement tests, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social or cultural background, and adaptive behavior, (2) establish procedures to ensure that information obtained from all such sources is documented and carefully considered, (3) ensure that the placement decision is made by a group of persons, including persons knowledgeable about the child, the meaning of the evaluation data, and the placement options, and (4) ensure that the placement decision is made in conformity with § 104.34.

(d) Reevaluation. A recipient to which this section applies shall establish procedures, in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section, for periodic reevaluation of students who have been provided special education and related services. A reevaluation procedure consistent with the Education for the Handicapped Act is one means of meeting this requirement.

A recipient that operates a public elementary or secondary education program or activity shall establish and implement, with respect to actions regarding the identification, evaluation, or educational placement of persons who, because of handicap, need or are believed to need special instruction or related services, a system of procedural safeguards that includes notice, an opportunity for the parents or guardian of the person to examine relevant records, an impartial hearing with opportunity for participation by the person's parents or guardian and representation by counsel, and a review procedure. Compliance with the procedural safeguards of section 615 of the Education of the Handicapped Act is one means of meeting this requirement.

(a) General. (1) A recipient to which this subpart applies shall provide non-academic and extracurricular services and activities in such manner as is necessary to afford handicapped students an equal opportunity for participation in such services and activities.

(2) Nonacademic and extracurricular services and activities may include counseling services, physical recreational athletics, transportation, health services, recreational activities, special interest groups or clubs sponsored by the recipients, referrals to agencies which provide assistance to handicapped persons, and employment of students, including both employment by the recipient and assistance in making available outside employment.

(b) Counseling services. A recipient to which this subpart applies that provides personal, academic, or vocational counseling, guidance, or placement services to its students shall provide these services without discrimination on the basis of handicap. The recipient shall ensure that qualified handicapped students are not counseled toward more restrictive career objectives than are nonhandicapped students with similar interests and abilities.

(c) Physical education and athletics. (1) In providing physical education courses and athletics and similar aid, benefits, or services to any of its students, a recipient to which this subpart applies may not discriminate on the basis of handicap. A recipient that offers physical education courses or that operates or sponsors interscholastic, club, or intramural athletics shall provide to qualified handicapped students an equal opportunity for participation.

(2) A recipient may offer to handicapped students physical education and athletic activities that are separate or different from those offered to nonhandicapped students only if separation or differentiation is consistent with the requirements of § 104.34 and only if no qualified handicapped student is denied the opportunity to compete for teams or to participate in courses that are not separate or different.

A recipient to which this subpart applies that provides preschool education or day care or adult education may not, on the basis of handicap, exclude qualified handicapped persons and shall take into account the needs of such persons in determining the aid, benefits or services to be provided.

(a) A recipient that provides private elementary or secondary education may not, on the basis of handicap, exclude a qualified handicapped person if the person can, with minor adjustments, be provided an appropriate education, as defined in § 104.33(b)(1), within that recipient's program or activity.

(b) A recipient to which this section applies may not charge more for the provision of an appropriate education to handicapped persons than to nonhandicapped persons except to the extent that any additional charge is justified by a substantial increase in cost to the recipient.

(c) A recipient to which this section applies that provides special education shall do so in accordance with the provisions of §§ 104.35 and 104.36. Each recipient to which this section applies is subject to the provisions of §§ 104.34, 104.37, and 104.38.

The procedural provisions applicable to title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 apply to this part. These procedures are found in §§ 100.6-100.10 and part 101 of this title.

The purpose of this part is to effectuate title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended by Pub. L. 93-568, 88 Stat. 1855 (except sections 904 and 906 of those Amendments) which is designed to eliminate (with certain exceptions) discrimination on the basis of sex in any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, whether or not such program or activity is offered or sponsored by an educational institution as defined in this part. This part is also intended to effectuate section 844 of the Education Amendments of 1974, Pub. L. 93-380, 88 Stat. 484. The effective date of this part shall be July 21, 1975.

As used in this part, the term:

(a) Title IX means title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Pub. L. 92-318, as amended by section 3 of Pub. L. 93-568, 88 Stat. 1855, except sections 904 and 906 thereof; 20 U.S.C. 1681, 1682, 1683, 1685, 1686.

(b) Department means the Department of Education.

(c) Secretary means the Secretary of Education.

(d) Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights of the Department.

(e) Reviewing Authority means that component of the Department delegated authority by the Secretary to appoint, and to review the decisions of, administrative law judges in cases arising under this part.

(f) Administrative law judge means a person appointed by the reviewing authority to preside over a hearing held under this part.

(g) Federal financial assistance means any of the following, when authorized or extended under a law administered by the Department:

(1) A grant or loan of Federal financial assistance, including funds made available for:

(i) The acquisition, construction, renovation, restoration, or repair of a building or facility or any portion thereof; and

(ii) Scholarships, loans, grants, wages or other funds extended to any entity for payment to or on behalf of students admitted to that entity, or extended directly to such students for payment to that entity.

(2) A grant of Federal real or personal property or any interest therein, including surplus property, and the proceeds of the sale or transfer of such property, if the Federal share of the fair market value of the property is not, upon such sale or transfer, properly accounted for to the Federal Government.

(3) Provision of the services of Federal personnel.

(4) Sale or lease of Federal property or any interest therein at nominal consideration, or at consideration reduced for the purpose of assisting the recipient or in recognition of public interest to be served thereby, or permission to use Federal property or any interest therein without consideration.

(5) Any other contract, agreement, or arrangement which has as one of its purposes the provision of assistance to any education program or activity, except a contract of insurance or guaranty.

(h) Program or activity and program means all of the operations of—

(1)(i) A department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or local government; or

(ii) The entity of a State or local government that distributes such assistance and each such department or agency (and each other State or local government entity) to which the assistance is extended, in the case of assistance to a State or local government;

(2)(i) A college, university, or other postsecondary institution, or a public system of higher education; or

(ii) A local educational agency (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 8801), system of vocational education, or other school system;

(3)(i) An entire corporation, partnership, other private organization, or an entire sole proprietorship—

(A) If assistance is extended to such corporation, partnership, private organization, or sole proprietorship as a whole; or

(B) Which is principally engaged in the business of providing education, health care, housing, social services, or parks and recreation; or

(ii) The entire plant or other comparable, geographically separate facility to which Federal financial assistance is extended, in the case of any other corporation, partnership, private organization, or sole proprietorship; or

(4) Any other entity that is established by two or more of the entities described in paragraph (h)(1), (2), or (3) of this section; any part of which is extended Federal financial assistance.

(i) Recipient means any State or political subdivision thereof, or any instrumentality of a State or political subdivision thereof, any public or private agency, institution, or organization, or other entity, or any person, to whom Federal financial assistance is extended directly or through another recipient and which operates an education program or activity which receives such assistance, including any subunit, successor, assignee, or transferee thereof.

(j) Applicant means one who submits an application, request, or plan required to be approved by a Department official, or by a recipient, as a condition to becoming a recipient.

(k) Educational institution means a local educational agency (LEA) as defined by section 1001(f) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 3381), a preschool, a private elementary or secondary school, or an applicant or recipient of the type defined by paragraph (l), (m), (n), or (o) of this section.

(l) Institution of graduate higher education means an institution which:

(1) Offers academic study beyond the bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree, whether or not leading to a certificate of any higher degree in the liberal arts and sciences; or

(2) Awards any degree in a professional field beyond the first professional degree (regardless of whether the first professional degree in such field is awarded by an institution of undergraduate higher education or professional education); or

(3) Awards no degree and offers no further academic study, but operates ordinarily for the purpose of facilitating research by persons who have received the highest graduate degree in any field of study.

(m) Institution of undergraduate higher education means:

(1) An institution offering at least two but less than four years of college level study beyond the high school level, leading to a diploma or an associate degree, or wholly or principally creditable toward a baccalaureate degree; or

(2) An institution offering academic study leading to a baccalaureate degree; or

(3) An agency or body which certifies credentials or offers degrees, but which may or may not offer academic study.

(n) Institution of professional education means an institution (except any institution of undergraduate higher education) which offers a program of academic study that leads to a first professional degree in a field for which there is a national specialized accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary.

(o) Institution of vocational education means a school or institution (except an institution of professional or graduate or undergraduate higher education) which has as its primary purpose preparation of students to pursue a technical, skilled, or semiskilled occupation or trade, or to pursue study in a technical field, whether or not the school or institution offers certificates, diplomas, or degrees and whether or not it offers fulltime study.

(p) Administratively separate unit means a school, department or college of an educational institution (other than a local educational agency) admission to which is independent of admission to any other component of such institution.

(q) Admission means selection for part-time, full-time, special, associate, transfer, exchange, or any other enrollment, membership, or matriculation in or at an education program or activity operated by a recipient.

(r) Student means a person who has gained admission.

(s) Transition plan means a plan subject to the approval of the Secretary pursuant to section 901(a)(2) of the Education Amendments of 1972, under which an educational institution operates in making the transition from being an educational institution which admits only students of one sex to being one which admits students of both sexes without discrimination.

(a) Remedial action. If the Assistant Secretary finds that a recipient has discriminated against persons on the basis of sex in an education program or activity, such recipient shall take such remedial action as the Assistant Secretary deems necessary to overcome the effects of such discrimination.

(b) Affirmative action. In the absence of a finding of discrimination on the basis of sex in an education program or activity, a recipient may take affirmative action to overcome the effects of conditions which resulted in limited participation therein by persons of a particular sex. Nothing herein shall be interpreted to alter any affirmative action obligations which a recipient may have under Executive Order 11246.

(c) Self-evaluation. Each recipient education institution shall, within one year of the effective date of this part:

(1) Evaluate, in terms of the requirements of this part, its current policies and practices and the effects thereof concerning admission of students, treatment of students, and employment of both academic and non-academic personnel working in connection with the recipient's education program or activity;

(2) Modify any of these policies and practices which do not or may not meet the requirements of this part; and

(3) Take appropriate remedial steps to eliminate the effects of any discrimination which resulted or may have resulted from adherence to these policies and practices.

(d) Availability of self-evaluation and related materials. Recipients shall maintain on file for at least three years following completion of the evaluation required under paragraph (c) of this section, and shall provide to the Assistant Secretary upon request, a description of any modifications made pursuant to paragraph (c)(ii) of this section and of any remedial steps taken pursuant to paragraph (c)(iii) of this section.

(a) General. Every application for Federal financial assistance shall as condition of its approval contain or be accompanied by an assurance from the applicant or recipient, satisfactory to the Assistant Secretary, that the education program or activity operated by the applicant or recipient and to which this part applies will be operated in compliance with this part. An assurance of compliance with this part shall not be satisfactory to the Assistant Secretary if the applicant or recipient to whom such assurance applies fails to commit itself to take whatever remedial action is necessary in accordance with § 106.3(a) to eliminate existing discrimination on the basis of sex or to eliminate the effects of past discrimination whether occurring prior or subsequent to the submission to the Assistant Secretary of such assurance.

(b) Duration of obligation. (1) In the case of Federal financial assistance extended to provide real property or structures thereon, such assurance shall obligate the recipient or, in the case of a subsequent transfer, the transferee, for the period during which the real property or structures are used to provide an education program or activity.

(2) In the case of Federal financial assistance extended to provide personal property, such assurance shall obligate the recipient for the period during which it retains ownership or possession of the property.

(3) In all other cases such assurance shall obligate the recipient for the period during which Federal financial assistance is extended.

(c) Form. The Director will specify the form of the assurances required by paragraph (a) of this section and the extent to which such assurances will be required of the applicant's or recipient's subgrantees, contractors, subcontractors, transferees, or successors in interest.

If a recipient sells or otherwise transfers property financed in whole or in part with Federal financial assistance to a transferee which operates any education program or activity, and the Federal share of the fair market value of the property is not upon such sale or transfer properly accounted for to the Federal Government both the transferor and the transferee shall be deemed to be recipients, subject to the provisions of subpart B of this part.

(a) Effect of other Federal provisions. The obligations imposed by this part are independent of, and do not alter, obligations not to discriminate on the basis of sex imposed by Executive Order 11246, as amended; sections 704 and 855 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 292d and 298b-2); Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.); the Equal Pay Act (29 U.S.C. 206 and 206(d)); and any other Act of Congress or Federal regulation.

(b) Effect of State or local law or other requirements. The obligation to comply with this part is not obviated or alleviated by any State or local law or other requirement which would render any applicant or student ineligible, or limit the eligibility of any applicant or student, on the basis of sex, to practice any occupation or profession.

(c) Effect of rules or regulations of private organizations. The obligation to comply with this part is not obviated or alleviated by any rule or regulation of any organization, club, athletic or other league, or association which would render any applicant or student ineligible to participate or limit the eligibility or participation of any applicant or student, on the basis of sex, in any education program or activity operated by a recipient and which receives Federal financial assistance.

The obligation to comply with this part is not obviated or alleviated because employment opportunities in any occupation or profession are or may be more limited for members of one sex than for members of the other sex.

(a) Designation of responsible employee. Each recipient shall designate at least one employee to coordinate its efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under this part, including any investigation of any complaint communicated to such recipient alleging its noncompliance with this part or alleging any actions which would be prohibited by this part. The recipient shall notify all its students and employees of the name, office address and telephone number of the employee or employees appointed pursuant to this paragraph.

(b) Complaint procedure of recipient. A recipient shall adopt and publish grievance procedures providing for prompt and equitable resolution of student and employee complaints alleging any action which would be prohibited by this part.

(a) Notification of policy. (1) Each recipient shall implement specific and continuing steps to notify applicants for admission and employment, students and parents of elementary and secondary school students, employees, sources of referral of applicants for admission and employment, and all unions or professional organizations holding collective bargaining or professional agreements with the recipient, that it does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the educational program or activity which it operates, and that it is required by title IX and this part not to discriminate in such a manner. Such notification shall contain such information, and be made in such manner, as the Assistant Secretary finds necessary to apprise such persons of the protections against discrimination assured them by title IX and this part, but shall state at least that the requirement not to discriminate in the education program or activity extends to employment therein, and to admission thereto unless Subpart C does not apply to the recipient, and that inquiries concerning the application of title IX and this part to such recipient may be referred to the employee designated pursuant to § 106.8, or to the Assistant Secretary.

(2) Each recipient shall make the initial notification required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section within 90 days of the effective date of this part or of the date this part first applies to such recipient, whichever comes later, which notification shall include publication in:

(i) Local newspapers;

(ii) Newspapers and magazines operated by such recipient or by student, alumnae, or alumni groups for or in connection with such recipient; and

(iii) Memoranda or other written communications distributed to every student and employee of such recipient.

(b) Publications. (1) Each recipient shall prominently include a statement of the policy described in paragraph (a) of this section in each announcement, bulletin, catalog, or application form which it makes available to any person of a type, described in paragraph (a) of this section, or which is otherwise used in connection with the recruitment of students or employees.

(2) A recipient shall not use or distribute a publication of the type described in this paragraph which suggests, by text or illustration, that such recipient treats applicants, students, or employees differently on the basis of sex except as such treatment is permitted by this part.

(c) Distribution. Each recipient shall distribute without discrimination on the basis of sex each publication described in paragraph (b) of this section, and shall apprise each of its admission and employment recruitment representatives of the policy of nondiscrimination described in paragraph (a) of this section, and require such representatives to adhere to such policy.

Except as provided in this subpart, this part 106 applies to every recipient and to the education program or activity operated by such recipient which receives Federal financial assistance.

(a) Application. This part does not apply to an educational institution which is controlled by a religious organization to the extent application of this part would not be consistent with the religious tenets of such organization.

(b) Exemption. An educational institution which wishes to claim the exemption set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, shall do so by submitting in writing to the Assistant Secretary a statement by the highest ranking official of the institution, identifying the provisions of this part which conflict with a specific tenet of the religious organization.

This part does not apply to an educational institution whose primary purpose is the training of individuals for a military service of the United States or for the merchant marine.

(a) Social fraternities and sororities. This part does not apply to the membership practices of social fraternities and sororities which are exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, the active membership of which consists primarily of students in attendance at institutions of higher education.

(b) YMCA, YWCA, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls. This part does not apply to the membership practices of the Young Men's Christian Association, the Young Women's Christian Association, the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts and Camp Fire Girls.

(c) Voluntary youth service organizations. This part does not apply to the membership practices of voluntary youth service organizations which are exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and the membership of which has been traditionally limited to members of one sex and principally to persons of less than nineteen years of age.

(a) Application. This section applies to each educational institution to which subpart C applies which:

(1) Admitted only students of one sex as regular students as of June 23, 1972; or

(2) Admitted only students of one sex as regular students as of June 23, 1965, but thereafter admitted as regular students, students of the sex not admitted prior to June 23, 1965.

(b) Provision for transition plans. An educational institution to which this section applies shall not discriminate on the basis of sex in admission or recruitment in violation of subpart C unless it is carrying out a transition plan approved by the Secretary as described in § 106.17, which plan provides for the elimination of such discrimination by the earliest practicable date but in no event later than June 23, 1979.

(a) Submission of plans. An institution to which § 106.16 applies and which is composed of more than one administratively separate unit may submit either a single transition plan applicable to all such units, or a separate transition plan applicable to each such unit.

(b) Content of plans. In order to be approved by the Secretary a transition plan shall:

(1) State the name, address, and Federal Interagency Committee on Education (FICE) Code of the educational institution submitting such plan, the administratively separate units to which the plan is applicable, and the name, address, and telephone number of the person to whom questions concerning the plan may be addressed. The person who submits the plan shall be the chief administrator or president of the institution, or another individual legally authorized to bind the institution to all actions set forth in the plan.

(2) State whether the educational institution or administratively separate unit admits students of both sexes, as regular students and, if so, when it began to do so.

(3) Identify and describe with respect to the educational institution or administratively separate unit any obstacles to admitting students without discrimination on the basis of sex.

(4) Describe in detail the steps necessary to eliminate as soon as practicable each obstacle so identified and indicate the schedule for taking these steps and the individual directly responsible for their implementation.

(5) Include estimates of the number of students, by sex, expected to apply for, be admitted to, and enter each class during the period covered by the plan.

(c) Nondiscrimination. No policy or practice of a recipient to which § 106.16 applies shall result in treatment of applicants to or students of such recipient in violation of subpart C unless such treatment is necessitated by an obstacle identified in paragraph (b) (3) of this section and a schedule for eliminating that obstacle has been provided as required by paragraph (b) (4) of this section.

(d) Effects of past exclusion. To overcome the effects of past exclusion of students on the basis of sex, each educational institution to which § 106.16 applies shall include in its transition plan, and shall implement, specific steps designed to encourage individuals of the previously excluded sex to apply for admission to such institution. Such steps shall include instituting recruitment which emphasizes the institution's commitment to enrolling students of the sex previously excluded.

(a) General. No person shall, on the basis of sex, be denied admission, or be subjected to discrimination in admission, by any recipient to which this subpart applies, except as provided in §§ 106.16 and 106.17.

(b) Specific prohibitions. (1) In determining whether a person satisfies any policy or criterion for admission, or in making any offer of admission, a recipient to which this subpart applies shall not:

(i) Give preference to one person over another on the basis of sex, by ranking applicants separately on such basis, or otherwise;

(ii) Apply numerical limitations upon the number or proportion of persons of either sex who may be admitted; or

(iii) Otherwise treat one individual differently from another on the basis of sex.

(2) A recipient shall not administer or operate any test or other criterion for admission which has a disproportionately adverse effect on persons on the basis of sex unless the use of such test or criterion is shown to predict validly success in the education program or activity in question and alternative tests or criteria which do not have such a disproportionately adverse effect are shown to be unavailable.

(c) Prohibitions relating to marital or parental status. In determining whether a person satisfies any policy or criterion for admission, or in making any offer of admission, a recipient to which this subpart applies:

(1) Shall not apply any rule concerning the actual or potential parental, family, or marital status of a student or applicant which treats persons differently on the basis of sex;

(2) Shall not discriminate against or exclude any person on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or recovery therefrom, or establish or follow any rule or practice which so discriminates or excludes;

(3) Shall treat disabilities related to pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, or recovery therefrom in the same manner and under the same policies as any other temporary disability or physical condition; and

(4) Shall not make pre-admission inquiry as to the marital status of an applicant for admission, including whether such applicant is “Miss” or “Mrs.” A recipient may make pre-admission inquiry as to the sex of an applicant for admision, but only if such inquiry is made equally of such applicants of both sexes and if the results of such inquiry are not used in connection with discrimination prohibited by this part.

A recipient to which this subpart applies shall not give preference to applicants for admission, on the basis of attendance at any educational institution or other school or entity which admits as students only or predominantly members of one sex, if the giving of such preference has the effect of discriminating on the basis of sex in violation of this subpart.

(a) Nondiscriminatory recruitment. A recipient to which this subpart applies shall not discriminate on the basis of sex in the recruitment and admission of students. A recipient may be required to undertake additional recruitment efforts for one sex as remedial action pursuant to § 106.3(a), and may choose to undertake such efforts as affirmative action pursuant to § 106.3(b).

(b) Recruitment at certain institutions. A recipient to which this subpart applies shall not recruit primarily or exclusively at educational institutions, schools or entities which admit as students only or predominantly members of one sex, if such actions have the effect of discriminating on the basis of sex in violation of this subpart.

(a) General. Except as provided elsewhere in this part, no person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any academic, extracurricular, research, occupational training, or other education program or activity operated by a recipient which receives Federal financial assistance. This subpart does not apply to actions of a recipient in connection with admission of its students to an education program or activity of (1) a recipient to which subpart C does not apply, or (2) an entity, not a recipient, to which subpart C would not apply if the entity were a recipient.

(b) Specific prohibitions. Except as provided in this subpart, in providing any aid, benefit, or service to a student, a recipient shall not, on the basis of sex:

(1) Treat one person differently from another in determining whether such person satisfies any requirement or condition for the provision of such aid, benefit, or service;

(2) Provide different aid, benefits, or services or provide aid, benefits, or services in a different manner;

(3) Deny any person any such aid, benefit, or service;

(4) Subject any person to separate or different rules of behavior, sanctions, or other treatment;

(5) Apply any rule concerning the domicile or residence of a student or applicant, including eligibility for in-state fees and tuition;

(6) Aid or perpetuate discrimination against any person by providing significant assistance to any agency, organization, or person which discriminates on the basis of sex in providing any aid, benefit or service to students or employees;

(7) Otherwise limit any person in the enjoyment of any right, privilege, advantage, or opportunity.

(c) Assistance administered by a recipient educational institution to study at a foreign institution. A recipient educational institution may administer or assist in the administration of scholarships, fellowships, or other awards established by foreign or domestic wills, trusts, or similar legal instruments, or by acts of foreign governments and restricted to members of one sex, which are designed to provide opportunities to study abroad, and which are awarded to students who are already matriculating at or who are graduates of the recipient institution; Provided, a recipient educational institution which administers or assists in the administration of such scholarships, fellowships, or other awards which are restricted to members of one sex provides, or otherwise makes available reasonable opportunities for similar studies for members of the other sex. Such opportunities may be derived from either domestic or foreign sources.

(d) Aid, benefits or services not provided by recipient. (1) This paragraph applies to any recipient which requires participation by any applicant, student, or employee in any education program or activity not operated wholly by such recipient, or which facilitates, permits, or considers such participation as part of or equivalent to an education program or activity operated by such recipient, including participation in educational consortia and cooperative employment and student-teaching assignments.

(2) Such recipient:

(i) Shall develop and implement a procedure designed to assure itself that the operator or sponsor of such other education program or activity takes no action affecting any applicant, student, or employee of such recipient which this part would prohibit such recipient from taking; and

(ii) Shall not facilitate, require, permit, or consider such participation if such action occurs.

(a) Generally. A recipient shall not, on the basis of sex, apply different rules or regulations, impose different fees or requirements, or offer different services or benefits related to housing, except as provided in this section (including housing provided only to married students).

(b) Housing provided by recipient. (1) A recipient may provide separate housing on the basis of sex.

(2) Housing provided by a recipient to students of one sex, when compared to that provided to students of the other sex, shall be as a whole:

(i) Proportionate in quantity to the number of students of that sex applying for such housing; and

(ii) Comparable in quality and cost to the student.

(c) Other housing. (1) A recipient shall not, on the basis of sex, administer different policies or practices concerning occupancy by its students of housing other than provided by such recipient.

(2) A recipient which, through solicitation, listing, approval of housing, or otherwise, assists any agency, organization, or person in making housing available to any of its students, shall take such reasonable action as may be necessary to assure itself that such housing as is provided to students of one sex, when compared to that provided to students of the other sex, is as a whole:

(i) Proportionate in quantity and

(ii) Comparable in quality and cost to the student.

A recipient may provide separate toilet, locker room, and shower facilities on the basis of sex, but such facilities provided for students of one sex shall be comparable to such facilities provided for students of the other sex.

(a) General standard. Except as provided for in this section or otherwise in this part, a recipient shall not provide or otherwise carry out any of its education programs or activities separately on the basis of sex, or require or refuse participation therein by any of its students on the basis of sex.

(1) Contact sports in physical education classes. This section does not prohibit separation of students by sex within physical education classes or activities during participation in wrestling, boxing, rugby, ice hockey, football, basketball, and other sports the purpose or major activity of which involves bodily contact.

(2) Ability grouping in physical education classes. This section does not prohibit grouping of students in physical education classes and activities by ability as assessed by objective standards of individual performance developed and applied without regard to sex.

(3) Human sexuality classes. Classes or portions of classes in elementary and secondary schools that deal primarily with human sexuality may be conducted in separate sessions for boys and girls.

(4) Choruses. Recipients may make requirements based on vocal range or quality that may result in a chorus or choruses of one or predominantly one sex.

(b) Classes and extracurricular activities—(1) General standard. Subject to the requirements in this paragraph, a recipient that operates a nonvocational coeducational elementary or secondary school may provide nonvocational single-sex classes or extracurricular activities, if—

(i) Each single-sex class or extracurricular activity is based on the recipient's important objective—

(A) To improve educational achievement of its students, through a recipient's overall established policy to provide diverse educational opportunities, provided that the single-sex nature of the class or extracurricular activity is substantially related to achieving that objective; or

(B) To meet the particular, identified educational needs of its students, provided that the single-sex nature of the class or extracurricular activity is substantially related to achieving that objective;

(ii) The recipient implements its objective in an evenhanded manner;

(iii) Student enrollment in a single-sex class or extracurricular activity is completely voluntary; and

(iv) The recipient provides to all other students, including students of the excluded sex, a substantially equal coeducational class or extracurricular activity in the same subject or activity.

(2) Single-sex class or extracurricular activity for the excluded sex. A recipient that provides a single-sex class or extracurricular activity, in order to comply with paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section, may be required to provide a substantially equal single-sex class or extracurricular activity for students of the excluded sex.

(3) Substantially equal factors. Factors the Department will consider, either individually or in the aggregate as appropriate, in determining whether classes or extracurricular activities are substantially equal include, but are not limited to, the following: the policies and criteria of admission, the educational benefits provided, including the quality, range, and content of curriculum and other services and the quality and availability of books, instructional materials, and technology, the qualifications of faculty and staff, geographic accessibility, the quality, accessibility, and availability of facilities and resources provided to the class, and intangible features, such as reputation of faculty.

(4) Periodic evaluations. (i) The recipient must conduct periodic evaluations to ensure that single-sex classes or extracurricular activities are based upon genuine justifications and do not rely on overly broad generalizations about the different talents, capacities, or preferences of either sex and that any single-sex classes or extracurricular activities are substantially related to the achievement of the important objective for the classes or extracurricular activities.

(ii) Evaluations for the purposes of paragraph (b)(4)(i) of this section must be conducted at least every two years.

(5) Scope of coverage. The provisions of paragraph (b)(1) through (4) of this section apply to classes and extracurricular activities provided by a recipient directly or through another entity, but the provisions of paragraph (b)(1) through (4) of this section do not apply to interscholastic, club, or intramural athletics, which are subject to the provisions of §§ 106.41 and 106.37(c) of this part.

(c) Schools—(1) General Standard. Except as provided in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, a recipient that operates a public nonvocational elementary or secondary school that excludes from admission any students, on the basis of sex, must provide students of the excluded sex a substantially equal single-sex school or coeducational school.

(2) Exception. A nonvocational public charter school that is a single-school local educational agency under State law may be operated as a single-sex charter school without regard to the requirements in paragraph (c)(1) of this section.

(3) Substantially equal factors. Factors the Department will consider, either individually or in the aggregate as appropriate, in determining whether schools are substantially equal include, but are not limited to, the following: The policies and criteria of admission, the educational benefits provided, including the quality, range, and content of curriculum and other services and the quality and availability of books, instructional materials, and technology, the quality and range of extracurricular offerings, the qualifications of faculty and staff, geographic accessibility, the quality, accessibility, and availability of facilities and resources, and intangible features, such as reputation of faculty.

(4) Definition. For the purposes of paragraph (c)(1) through (3) of this section, the term “school” includes a “school within a school,” which means an administratively separate school located within another school.

A recipient shall not, on the basis of sex, exclude any person from admission to any institution of vocational education operated by that recipient.

(a) Counseling. A recipient shall not discriminate against any person on the basis of sex in the counseling or guidance of students or applicants for admission.

(b) Use of appraisal and counseling materials. A recipient which uses testing or other materials for appraising or counseling students shall not use different materials for students on the basis of their sex or use materials which permit or require different treatment of students on such basis unless such different materials cover the same occupations and interest areas and the use of such different materials is shown to be essential to eliminate sex bias. Recipients shall develop and use internal procedures for ensuring that such materials do not discriminate on the basis of sex. Where the use of a counseling test or other instrument results in a substantially disproportionate number of members of one sex in any particular course of study or classification, the recipient shall take such action as is necessary to assure itself that such disproportion is not the result of discrimination in the instrument or its application.

(c) Disproportion in classes. Where a recipient finds that a particular class contains a substantially disproportionate number of individuals of one sex, the recipient shall take such action as is necessary to assure itself that such disproportion is not the result of discrimination on the basis of sex in counseling or appraisal materials or by counselors.

(a) General. Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, in providing financial assistance to any of its students, a recipient shall not:

(1) On the basis of sex, provide different amount or types of such assistance, limit eligibility for such assistance which is of any particular type or source, apply different criteria, or otherwise discriminate;

(2) Through solicitation, listing, approval, provision of facilities or other services, assist any foundation, trust, agency, organization, or person which provides assistance to any of such recipient's students in a manner which discriminates on the basis of sex; or

(3) Apply any rule or assist in application of any rule concerning eligibility for such assistance which treats persons of one sex differently from persons of the other sex with regard to marital or parental status.

(b) Financial aid established by certain legal instruments. (1) A recipient may administer or assist in the administration of scholarships, fellowships, or other forms of financial assistance established pursuant to domestic or foreign wills, trusts, bequests, or similar legal instruments or by acts of a foreign government which requires that awards be made to members of a particular sex specified therein; Provided, That the overall effect of the award of such sex-restricted scholarships, fellowships, and other forms of financial assistance does not discriminate on the basis of sex.

(2) To ensure nondiscriminatory awards of assistance as required in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, recipients shall develop and use procedures under which:

(i) Students are selected for award of financial assistance on the basis of nondiscriminatory criteria and not on the basis of availability of funds restricted to members of a particular sex;

(ii) An appropriate sex-restricted scholarship, fellowship, or other form of financial assistance is allocated to each student selected under paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section; and

(iii) No student is denied the award for which he or she was selected under paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section because of the absence of a scholarship, fellowship, or other form of financial assistance designated for a member of that student's sex.

(c) Athletic scholarships. (1) To the extent that a recipient awards athletic scholarships or grants-in-aid, it must provide reasonable opportunities for such awards for members of each sex in proportion to the number of students of each sex participating in interscholastic or intercollegiate athletics.

(2) Separate athletic scholarships or grants-in-aid for members of each sex may be provided as part of separate athletic teams for members of each sex to the extent consistent with this paragraph and § 106.41.

(a) Assistance by recipient in making available outside employment. A recipient which assists any agency, organization or person in making employment available to any of its students:

(1) Shall assure itself that such employment is made available without discrimination on the basis of sex; and

(2) Shall not render such services to any agency, organization, or person which discriminates on the basis of sex in its employment practices.

(b) Employment of students by recipients. A recipient which employs any of its students shall not do so in a manner which violates subpart E of this part.

In providing a medical, hospital, accident, or life insurance benefit, service, policy, or plan to any of its students, a recipient shall not discriminate on the basis of sex, or provide such benefit, service, policy, or plan in a manner which would violate Subpart E of this part if it were provided to employees of the recipient. This section shall not prohibit a recipient from providing any benefit or service which may be used by a different proportion of students of one sex than of the other, including family planning services. However, any recipient which provides full coverage health service shall provide gynecological care.

(a) Status generally. A recipient shall not apply any rule concerning a student's actual or potential parental, family, or marital status which treats students differently on the basis of sex.

(b) Pregnancy and related conditions. (1) A recipient shall not discriminate against any student, or exclude any student from its education program or activity, including any class or extracurricular activity, on the basis of such student's pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy or recovery therefrom, unless the student requests voluntarily to participate in a separate portion of the program or activity of the recipient.

(2) A recipient may require such a student to obtain the certification of a physician that the student is physically and emotionally able to continue participation so long as such a certification is required of all students for other physical or emotional conditions requiring the attention of a physician.

(3) A recipient which operates a portion of its education program or activity separately for pregnant students, admittance to which is completely voluntary on the part of the student as provided in paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall ensure that the separate portion is comparable to that offered to non-pregnant students.

(4) A recipient shall treat pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy and recovery therefrom in the same manner and under the same policies as any other temporary disability with respect to any medical or hospital benefit, service, plan or policy which such recipient administers, operates, offers, or participates in with respect to students admitted to the recipient's educational program or activity.

(5) In the case of a recipient which does not maintain a leave policy for its students, or in the case of a student who does not otherwise qualify for leave under such a policy, a recipient shall treat pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy and recovery therefrom as a justification for a leave of absence for so long a period of time as is deemed medically necessary by the student's physician, at the conclusion of which the student shall be reinstated to the status which she held when the leave began.

(a) General. No person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, be treated differently from another person or otherwise be discriminated against in any interscholastic, intercollegiate, club or intramural athletics offered by a recipient, and no recipient shall provide any such athletics separately on such basis.

(b) Separate teams. Notwithstanding the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section, a recipient may operate or sponsor separate teams for members of each sex where selection for such teams is based upon competitive skill or the activity involved is a contact sport. However, where a recipient operates or sponsors a team in a particular sport for members of one sex but operates or sponsors no such team for members of the other sex, and athletic opportunities for members of that sex have previously been limited, members of the excluded sex must be allowed to try-out for the team offered unless the sport involved is a contact sport. For the purposes of this part, contact sports include boxing, wrestling, rugby, ice hockey, football, basketball and other sports the purpose or major activity of which involves bodily contact.

(c) Equal opportunity. A recipient which operates or sponsors interscholastic, intercollegiate, club or intramural athletics shall provide equal athletic opportunity for members of both sexes. In determining whether equal opportunities are available the Director will consider, among other factors:

(1) Whether the selection of sports and levels of competition effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of members of both sexes;

(2) The provision of equipment and supplies;

(3) Scheduling of games and practice time;

(4) Travel and per diem allowance;

(5) Opportunity to receive coaching and academic tutoring;

(6) Assignment and compensation of coaches and tutors;

(7) Provision of locker rooms, practice and competitive facilities;

(8) Provision of medical and training facilities and services;

(9) Provision of housing and dining facilities and services;

(10) Publicity.

(d) Adjustment period. A recipient which operates or sponsors interscholastic, intercollegiate, club or intramural athletics at the elementary school level shall comply fully with this section as expeditiously as possible but in no event later than one year from the effective date of this regulation. A recipient which operates or sponsors interscholastic, intercollegiate, club or intramural athletics at the secondary or post-secondary school level shall comply fully with this section as expeditiously as possible but in no event later than three years from the effective date of this regulation.

Nothing in this regulation shall be interpreted as requiring or prohibiting or abridging in any way the use of particular textbooks or curricular materials.

If use of a single standard of measuring skill or progress in physical education classes has an adverse effect on members of one sex, the recipient shall use appropriate standards that do not have that effect.

(a) General. (1) No person shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in employment, or recruitment, consideration, or selection therefor, whether full-time or part-time, under any education program or activity operated by a recipient which receives Federal financial assistance.

(2) A recipient shall make all employment decisions in any education program or activity operated by such recipient in a nondiscriminatory manner and shall not limit, segregate, or classify applicants or employees in any way which could adversely affect any applicant's or employee's employment opportunities or status because of sex.

(3) A recipient shall not enter into any contractual or other relationship which directly or indirectly has the effect of subjecting employees or students to discrimination prohibited by this subpart, including relationships with employment and referral agencies, with labor unions, and with organizations providing or administering fringe benefits to employees of the recipient.

(4) A recipient shall not grant preferences to applicants for employment on the basis of attendance at any educational institution or entity which admits as students only or predominantly members of one sex, if the giving of such preferences has the effect of discriminating on the basis of sex in violation of this part.

(b) Application. The provisions of this subpart apply to:

(1) Recruitment, advertising, and the process of application for employment;

(2) Hiring, upgrading, promotion, consideration for and award of tenure, demotion, transfer, layoff, termination, application of nepotism policies, right of return from layoff, and rehiring;

(3) Rates of pay or any other form of compensation, and changes in compensation;

(4) Job assignments, classifications and structure, including position descriptions, lines of progression, and seniority lists;

(5) The terms of any collective bargaining agreement;

(6) Granting and return from leaves of absence, leave for pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, leave for persons of either sex to care for children or dependents, or any other leave;

(7) Fringe benefits available by virtue of employment, whether or not administered by the recipient;

(8) Selection and financial support for training, including apprenticeship, professional meetings, conferences, and other related activities, selection for tuition assistance, selection for sabbaticals and leaves of absence to pursue training;

(9) Employer-sponsored activities, including those that are social or recreational; and

(10) Any other term, condition, or privilege of employment.

A recipient shall not administer or operate any test or other criterion for any employment opportunity which has a disproportionately adverse effect on persons on the basis of sex unless:

(a) Use of such test or other criterion is shown to predict validly successful performance in the position in question; and

(b) Alternative tests or criteria for such purpose, which do not have such disproportionately adverse effect, are shown to be unavailable.

(a) Nondiscriminatory recruitment and hiring. A recipient shall not discriminate on the basis of sex in the recruitment and hiring of employees. Where a recipient has been found to be presently discriminating on the basis of sex in the recruitment or hiring of employees, or has been found to have in the past so discriminated, the recipient shall recruit members of the sex so discriminated against so as to overcome the effects of such past or present discrimination.

(b) Recruitment patterns. A recipient shall not recruit primarily or exclusively at entities which furnish as applicants only or predominantly members of one sex if such actions have the effect of discriminating on the basis of sex in violation of this subpart.

A recipient shall not make or enforce any policy or practice which, on the basis of sex:

(a) Makes distinctions in rates of pay or other compensation;

(b) Results in the payment of wages to employees of one sex at a rate less than that paid to employees of the opposite sex for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions.

A recipient shall not:

(a) Classify a job as being for males or for females;

(b) Maintain or establish separate lines of progression, seniority lists, career ladders, or tenure systems based on sex; or

(c) Maintain or establish separate lines of progression, seniority systems, career ladders, or tenure systems for similar jobs, position descriptions, or job requirements which classify persons on the basis of sex, unless sex is a bona-fide occupational qualification for the positions in question as set forth in § 106.61.

(a) Fringe benefits defined. For purposes of this part, fringe benefits means: Any medical, hospital, accident, life insurance or retirement benefit, service, policy or plan, any profit-sharing or bonus plan, leave, and any other benefit or service of employment not subject to the provision of § 106.54.

(b) Prohibitions. A recipient shall not:

(1) Discriminate on the basis of sex with regard to making fringe benefits available to employees or make fringe benefits available to spouses, families, or dependents of employees differently upon the basis of the employee's sex;

(2) Administer, operate, offer, or participate in a fringe benefit plan which does not provide either for equal periodic benefits for members of each sex, or for equal contributions to the plan by such recipient for members of each sex; or

(3) Administer, operate, offer, or participate in a pension or retirement plan which establishes different optional or compulsory retirement ages based on sex or which otherwise discriminates in benefits on the basis of sex.

(a) General. A recipient shall not apply any policy or take any employment action:

(1) Concerning the potential marital, parental, or family status of an employee or applicant for employment which treats persons differently on the basis of sex; or

(2) Which is based upon whether an employee or applicant for employment is the head of household or principal wage earner in such employee's or applicant's family unit.

(b) Pregnancy. A recipient shall not discriminate against or exclude from employment any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, or recovery therefrom.

(c) Pregnancy as a temporary disability. A recipient shall treat pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy, and recovery therefrom and any temporary disability resulting therefrom as any other temporary disability for all job related purposes, including commencement, duration and extensions of leave, payment of disability income, accrual of seniority and any other benefit or service, and reinstatement, and under any fringe benefit offered to employees by virtue of employment.

(d) Pregnancy leave. In the case of a recipient which does not maintain a leave policy for its employees, or in the case of an employee with insufficient leave or accrued employment time to qualify for leave under such a policy, a recipient shall treat pregnancy, childbirth, false pregnancy, termination of pregnancy and recovery therefrom as a justification for a leave of absence without pay for a reasonable period of time, at the conclusion of which the employee shall be reinstated to the status which she held when the leave began or to a comparable position, without decrease in rate of compensation or loss of promotional opportunities, or any other right or privilege of employment.

(a) Prohibitory requirements. The obligation to comply with this subpart is not obviated or alleviated by the existence of any State or local law or other requirement which imposes prohibitions or limits upon employment of members of one sex which are not imposed upon members of the other sex.

(b) Benefits. A recipient which provides any compensation, service, or benefit to members of one sex pursuant to a State or local law or other requirement shall provide the same compensation, service, or benefit to members of the other sex.

A recipient shall not in any advertising related to employment indicate preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination based on sex unless sex is a bona-fide occupational qualification for the particular job in question.

(a) Marital status. A recipient shall not make pre-employment inquiry as to the marital status of an applicant for employment, including whether such applicant is “Miss or Mrs.”

(b) Sex. A recipient may make pre-employment inquiry as to the sex of an applicant for employment, but only if such inquiry is made equally of such applicants of both sexes and if the results of such inquiry are not used in connection with discrimination prohibited by this part.

The procedural provisions applicable to title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are hereby adopted and incorporated herein by reference. These procedures may be found at 34 CFR 100.6-100.11 and 34 CFR, part 101.

The purpose of these regulations is to set out ED's rules for implementing the Age Discrimination Act of 1975. The Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of age in programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance. The Act permits federally assisted programs or activities, and recipients of Federal funds, to continue to use age distinctions and factors other than age that meet the requirements of the Act.

(a) These regulations apply to any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance from ED.

(b) These regulations do not apply to—

(1) An age distinction contained in that part of a Federal, State, or local statute or ordinance adopted by an elected, general purpose legislative body that—

(i) Provides any benefits or assistance to persons based on age;

(ii) Establishes criteria for participation in age-related terms; or

(iii) Describes intended beneficiaries or target groups in age-related terms; or

(2) Any employment practice of any employer, employment agency, labor organization, or any labor-management joint apprenticeship training program, except any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance for employment under the Job Training Partnership Act (29 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.).

The following definitions apply to these regulations: Act means the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended (Title III of Pub. L. 94-135).

Action means any act, activity, policy, rule, standard, or method of administration, or the use of any policy, rule, standard, or method of administration.

Age means how old a person is, or the number of years from the date of a person's birth.

Age distinction means any action using age or an age-related term.

Age-related term means a word or words that necessarily imply a particular age or range of ages (e.g., “children,” “adult,” “older persons,” but not “student” or “grade”).

Agency means a Federal department or agency that is empowered to extend financial assistance.

Applicant for Federal financial assistance means one who submits an application, request, or plan required to be approved by a Department official or by a recipient as a condition to becoming a recipient or subrecipient.

Department means the United States Department of Education.

ED means the United States Department of Education.

Federal financial assistance means any grant, entitlement, loan, cooperative agreement, contract (other than a procurement contract or a contract of insurance or guaranty), or any other arrangement by which ED provides or otherwise makes available assistance in the form of—

(a) Funds;

(b) Services of Federal personnel; or

(c) Real and personal property or any interest in or use of property, including—

(1) Transfers or leases of property for less than fair market value or for reduced consideration; and

(2) Proceeds from a subsequent transfer or lease of property if the Federal share of its fair market value is not returned to the Federal Government.

Program or activity means all of the operations of—

(a)(1) A department, agency, special purpose district, or other instrumentality of a State or local government; or

(2) The entity of a State or local government that distributes such assistance and each such department or agency (and each other State or local government entity) to which the assistance is extended, in the case of assistance to a State or local government;

(b)(1) A college, university, or other postsecondary institution, or a public system of higher education; or

(2) A local educational agency (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 8801), system of vocational education, or other school system;

(c)(1) An entire corporation, partnership, other private organization, or an entire sole proprietorship—

(i) If assistance is extended to such corporation, partnership, private organization, or sole proprietorship as a whole; or

(ii) Which is principally engaged in the business of providing education, health care, housing, social services, or parks and recreation; or

(2) The entire plant or other comparable, geographically separate facility to which Federal financial assistance is extended, in the case of any other corporation, partnership, private organization, or sole proprietorship; or

(d) Any other entity that is established by two or more of the entities described in paragraph (a), (b), or (c) of this section; any part of which is extended Federal financial assistance.

Recipient means any State or its political subdivision, any instrumentality of a State or its political subdivision, any public or private agency, institution, organization, or other entity, or any person to which Federal financial assistance from ED is extended, directly or through another recipient. “Recipient” includes any successor, assignee, or transferee of a recipient, but excludes the ultimate beneficiary of the assistance.

Secretary means the Secretary of Education, or his or her designee.

Subrecipient means any of the entities in the definition of “recipient” to which a recipient extends or passes on Federal financial assistance. A subrecipient is generally regarded as a recipient of Federal financial assistance and has all the duties of a recipient in these regulations.

United States means the fifty States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Wake Island, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories and possessions of the United States.

The rules stated in this section are subject to the exceptions contained in §§ 110.12 and 110.13 of these regulations.

(a) General rule. No person in the United States shall, on the basis of age, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

(b) Specific rules. A recipient may not, in any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance, directly or through contractual, licensing, or other arrangements, use age distinctions or take any other actions that have the effect, on the basis of age, of—

(1) Excluding individuals from, denying them the benefits of, or subjecting them to discrimination under a program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance; or

(2) Denying or limiting individuals in their opportunity to participate in any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

(c) Other forms of discrimination. The specific forms of age discrimination listed in paragraph (b) of this section do not necessarily constitute a complete list.

For purposes of these regulations, the terms normal operation and statutory objective have the following meanings:

(a) Normal operation means the operation of a program or activity without significant changes that would impair its ability to meet its objectives.

(b) Statutory objective means any purpose of a program or activity expressly stated in any Federal statute, State statute, or local statute or ordinance adopted by an elected, general purpose legislative body.

A recipient is permitted to take an action otherwise prohibited by § 110.10 if the action reasonably takes into account age as a factor necessary to the normal operation or the achievement of any statutory objective of a program or activity. An action reasonably takes into account age as a factor necessary to the normal operation or the achievement of any statutory objective of a program or activity, if—

(a) Age is used as a measure or approximation of one or more other characteristics;

(b) The other characteristic or characteristics must be measured or approximated in order for the normal operation of the program or activity to continue, or to achieve any statutory objective of the program or activity;

(c) The other characteristic or characteristics can be reasonably measured or approximated by the use of age; and

(d) The other characteristic or characteristics are impractical to measure directly on an individual basis.

A recipient is permitted to take an action otherwise prohibited by § 110.10 that is based on a factor other than age, even though that action may have a disproportionate effect on persons of different ages. An action may be based on a factor other than age only if the factor bears a direct and substantial relationship to the normal operation of the program or activity or to the achievement of a statutory objective.

Even in the absence of a finding of discrimination, a recipient may take affirmative action to overcome the effects of conditions that resulted in limited participation in the recipient's program or activity on the basis of age.

If a recipient operating a program or activity provides special benefits to the elderly or to children, the use of age distinctions is presumed to be necessary to the normal operation of the program or activity, notwithstanding the provisions of § 110.12.

Any age distinction contained in regulations issued by ED is presumed to be necessary to the achievement of a statutory objective of the program or activity to which the regulations apply, notwithstanding the provisions of § 110.12.

Each ED recipient has primary responsibility for ensuring that its program or activity is in compliance with the Act and these regulations and shall take steps to eliminate violations of the Act. A recipient also has responsibility to maintain records, provide information, and to afford ED access to its records to the extent required for ED to determine whether the recipient is in compliance with the Act and these regulations.

If the recipient initially receiving funds makes the funds available to a subrecipient, the recipient shall notify the subrecipient of its obligations under the Act and these regulations.

Each recipient shall—

(a) Provide ED with information that ED determines is necessary to ascertain whether the recipient is in compliance with the Act and these regulations; and

(b) Permit reasonable access by ED to the books, records, accounts, reports, and other recipient facilities and sources of information to the extent ED determines is necessary to ascertain whether a recipient is in compliance with the Act and these regulations.

(a) Assurances. An applicant for Federal financial assistance to which these regulations apply shall sign a written assurance, on a form specified by ED, that the program or activity will be operated in compliance with these regulations. An applicant may incorporate this assurance by reference in subsequent applications to ED.

(b) Duration of obligation. (1) In the case of Federal financial assistance extended in the form of real property or to provide real property or structures on the property, the assurance will obligate the recipient or, in the case of a subsequent transfer, the transferee, for the period during which the real property or structures are used for the purpose for which Federal financial assistance is extended or for another purpose involving the provision of similar services or benefits.

(2) In the case of Federal financial assistance extended to provide personal property, the assurance will obligate the recipient for the period during which it retains ownership or possession of the property.

(3) In all other cases the assurance will obligate the recipient for the period during which Federal financial assistance is extended.

(c) Covenants. (1) If Federal financial assistance is provided in the form of real property or interest in the property from ED, the instrument effecting or recording this transfer must contain a covenant running with the land to assure nondiscrimination for the period during which the real property is used for a purpose for which the Federal financial assistance is extended or for another purpose involving the provision of similar services or benefits.

(2) If no transfer of property is involved but property is purchased or improved with Federal financial assistance, the recipient shall agree to include the covenant described in paragraph (b)(2) of this section in the instrument effecting or recording any subsequent transfer of the property.

(3) If Federal financial assistance is provided in the form of real property or interest in the property from ED, the covenant must also include a condition coupled with a right to be reserved by ED to revert title to the property in the event of a breach of the covenant. If a transferee of real property proposes to mortgage or otherwise encumber the real property as security for financing construction of new, or improvement of existing, facilities on the property for the purposes for which the property was transferred, ED may, upon request of the transferee and if necessary to accomplish that financing and upon conditions that ED deems appropriate, agree to forbear the exercise of the right to revert title for as long as the lien of the mortgage or other encumbrance remains effective.

(a) As part of a compliance review under § 110.30 or a complaint investigation under § 110.31, ED may require a recipient employing the equivalent of 15 or more full-time employees to complete a written self-evaluation, in a manner specified by ED, of any age distinction imposed in its program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance from ED to assess the recipient's compliance with the Act.

(b) Whenever an assessment indicates a violation of the Act or these regulations, the recipient shall take corrective action.

(a) Designation of responsible employee. Each recipient shall designate at least one employee to coordinate its efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under the Act and these regulations, including investigation of any complaints that the recipient receives alleging any actions that are prohibited by the Act and these regulations.

(b) Notice. A recipient shall notify its beneficiaries, in a continuing manner, of information regarding the provisions of the Act and these regulations. The notification must also identify the responsible employee by name or title, address, and telephone number.

(c) Grievance procedures. A recipient shall adopt and publish grievance procedures providing for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging any action that would be prohibited by the Act or these regulations.

(a) ED may conduct compliance reviews, pre-award reviews, and other similar procedures that permit ED to investigate and correct violations of the Act and of these regulations. ED may conduct these reviews in the absence of a complaint against a recipient. The review may be as comprehensive as necessary to determine whether a violation of these regulations occurred.

(b) If a compliance review or pre-award review indicates a violation of the Act or these regulations, ED attempts to achieve voluntary compliance with the Act. If voluntary compliance cannot be achieved, ED arranges for enforcement as described in § 110.35.

(a) Any person, individually or as a member of a class or on behalf of others, may file a complaint with ED alleging discrimination prohibited by the Act or by these regulations based on an action occurring on or after July 1, 1979. A complainant shall file a complaint within 180 days from the date the complainant first had knowledge of the alleged discrimination. However, for good cause shown, ED may extend this time limit.

(b) ED attempts to facilitate the filing of complaints, if possible, by—

(1) Accepting as a complete complaint any written statement that identifies the parties involved and the date the complainant first had knowledge of the alleged violation, describes generally the action or practice complained of, and is signed by the complainant;

(2) Freely permitting a complainant to add information to the complaint to meet the requirements of a complete complaint;

(3) Widely disseminating information regarding the obligations of recipients under the Act and these regulations;

(4) Notifying the complainant and the recipient of their rights and obligations under the complaint procedure, including the right to have a representative at all stages of the complaint procedure; and

(5) Notifying the complainant and the recipient (or their representatives) of their right to contact ED for information and assistance regarding the complaint resolution process.

(c) A complaint is considered to be complete on the date that ED receives all the information necessary to process it, as described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.

(d) ED returns to the complainant any complaint outside the jurisdiction of these regulations and states the reason or reasons why it is outside the jurisdiction of the regulations.

(a) ED promptly refers to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service or to the mediation agency designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, all complaints that—

(1) Fall within the jurisdiction of the Act and these regulations, unless the age distinction complained of is clearly within an exemption under § 110.2(b); and

(2) Contain all information necessary for further processing.

(b) Both the complainant and the recipient shall participate in the mediation process to the extent necessary to reach an agreement or to make an informed judgment that an agreement is not possible. The recipient and the complainant need not meet with the mediator at the same time, and the meeting may be conducted by telephone or other means of effective dialogue if a personal meeting between the party and the mediator is impractical.

(c) If the complainant and the recipient reach an agreement, the mediator shall prepare a written statement of the agreement and have the complainant and recipient sign it. The mediator shall send a copy of the agreement to ED. ED takes no further action on the complaint unless informed that the complainant or the recipient fails to comply with the agreement, at which time ED reinstates the complaint.

(d) The mediator shall protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of the mediation process. No mediator shall testify in any adjudicative proceeding, produce any document, or otherwise disclose any information obtained in the course of the mediation process without prior approval of the head of the mediation agency.

(e) The mediation will proceed for a maximum of 60 days after a complaint is filed with ED. Mediation ends if—

(1) 60 days elapse from the time the complaint is received;

(2) Prior to the end of the 60-day period, an agreement is reached; or

(3) Prior to the end of the 60-day period, the mediator determines that agreement cannot be reached.

(f) The mediator shall return unresolved complaints to ED.

(a) Initial investigation. ED investigates complaints that are unresolved after mediation or reopened because of a violation of the mediation agreement. ED uses methods during the investigation to encourage voluntary resolution of the complaint, including discussions with the complainant and recipient to establish the facts and, if possible, resolve the complaint to the mutual satisfaction of the parties. ED may seek the assistance of any involved State, local, or other Federal agency.

(b) Formal investigation, conciliation, and hearing. If ED cannot resolve the complaint during the early stages of the investigation, ED completes the investigation of the complaint and makes formal findings. If the investigation indicates a violation of the Act or these regulations, ED attempts to achieve voluntary compliance. If ED cannot obtain voluntary compliance, ED begins enforcement as described in § 110.35.

A recipient may not engage in acts of intimidation or retaliation against any person who—

(a) Attempts to assert a right protected by the Act or these regulations; or

(b) Cooperates in any mediation, investigation, hearing, or other part of ED's investigation, conciliation, and enforcement process.

(a) ED may enforce the Act and these regulations under § 110.35(a) (1) or (2) through—

(1) Termination of, or refusal to grant or continue, a recipient's Federal financial assistance from ED for a program or activity in which the recipient has violated the Act or these regulations. The determination of the recipient's violation may be made only after a recipient has had an opportunity for a hearing on the record before an administrative law judge.

(2) Any other means authorized by law, including, but not limited to—

(i) Referral to the Department of Justice for proceedings to enforce any rights of the United States or obligations of the recipient created by the Act or these regulations; or

(ii) Use of any requirement of or referral to any Federal, State, or local government agency that will have the effect of correcting a violation of the Act or of these regulations.

(b) ED limits any termination or refusal under § 110.35(a)(1) to the particular recipient and to the particular program or activity ED finds in violation of the Act or these regulations. ED will not base any part of a termination on a finding with respect to any program or activity that does not receive Federal financial assistance from ED.

(c) ED takes no action under paragraph (a) of this section until—

(1) ED has advised the recipient of its failure to comply with the Act or with these regulations and has determined that voluntary compliance cannot be obtained; and

(2) Thirty days have elapsed after the Secretary has sent a written report of the circumstances and grounds of the action to the committees of the Congress having legislative jurisdiction over the program or activity involved. The Secretary files a report if any action is taken under § 110.35(a)(1).

(d) The Secretary also may defer granting new Federal financial assistance from ED to a recipient if termination proceedings in § 110.35(a)(1) are initiated.

(1) New Federal financial assistance from ED includes all assistance for which ED requires an application or approval, including renewal or continuation of existing activities, or authorization of new activities, during the deferral period. New Federal financial assistance from ED does not include increases in funding as a result of changed computation of formula awards or assistance approved prior to the initiation of termination proceedings.

(2) ED does not begin a deferral until the recipient has received a notice of an opportunity for a hearing under § 110.35(a)(1). A deferral may not continue for more than 60 days unless a hearing has begun within that time or the time for beginning the hearing has been extended by mutual consent of the recipient and ED. A deferral may not continue for more than 30 days after the close of the hearing, unless the hearing results in a finding against the recipient.

(a) The following ED procedural provisions applicable to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also apply to ED's enforcement of these regulations: 34 CFR 100.9 and 100.10 and 34 CFR part 101.

(b) Action taken under section 305 of the Act is subject to judicial review as provided by section 306 of the Act.

(a) If the Secretary withholds funds from a recipient under these regulations, the Secretary may disburse the funds withheld directly to an alternate recipient: any public or nonprofit private organization or agency, or State or political subdivision of the State.

(b) The Secretary requires any alternate recipient to demonstrate—

(1) The ability to comply with the Act and these regulations; and

(2) The ability to achieve the goals of the Federal statute authorizing the Federal financial assistance.

If ED finds that a recipient has discriminated on the basis of age, the recipient shall take any remedial action that ED may require to overcome the effects of the discrimination. If another recipient exercises control over the recipient that has discriminated or if the entity that has discriminated is a subrecipient, both recipients or recipient and subrecipient may be required to take remedial action.

(a) A complainant may file a civil action following the exhaustion of administrative remedies under the Act. Administrative remedies are exhausted if—

(1) One hundred eighty days have elapsed since the complainant filed the complaint with ED, and ED has made no finding with regard to the complaint; or

(2) ED issues any finding in favor of the recipient.

(b) If ED fails to make a finding within 180 days or issues a finding in favor of the recipient, ED promptly—

(1) Advises the complainant of this fact;

(2) Advises the complainant of his or her right to bring a civil action for injunctive relief; and

(3) Informs the complainant—

(i) That a civil action can be brought only in a United States district court for the district in which the recipient is found or transacts business;

(ii) That a complainant prevailing in a civil action has the right to be awarded the costs of the action, including reasonable attorney's fees, but that these costs must be demanded in the complaint filed with the court;

(iii) That before commencing the action, the complainant shall give 30 days notice by registered mail to the Secretary, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Attorney General of the United States, and the recipient;

(iv) That the notice shall state the alleged violation of the Act, the relief requested, the court in which the action will be brought, and whether or not attorney's fees are demanded in the event the complainant prevails; and

(v) That the complainant may not bring an action if the same alleged violation of the Act by the same recipient is the subject of a pending action in any court of the United States.

The following definitions apply to programs and projects operated under subpart C of this part:

(a) Agricultural work means the production or initial processing of crops, dairy products, poultry, or livestock, as well as the cultivation or harvesting of trees. It consists of work performed for wages or personal subsistence.

(b) Fishing work means the catching or initial processing of fish or shellfish or the raising or harvesting of fish or shellfish at fish farms. It consists of work performed for wages or personal subsistence.

(c) In order to obtain, when used to describe why a worker moved, means that one of the purposes of the move is to seek or obtain qualifying work.

(1) If a worker states that a purpose of the move was to seek any type of employment, i.e., the worker moved with no specific intent to find work in a particular job, the worker is deemed to have moved with a purpose of obtaining qualifying work if the worker obtains qualifying work soon after the move.

(2) Notwithstanding the introductory text of this paragraph (c), a worker who did not obtain qualifying work soon after a move may be considered to have moved in order to obtain qualifying work only if the worker states that at least one purpose of the move was specifically to seek the qualifying work, and—

(i) The worker is found to have a prior history of moves to obtain qualifying work; or

(ii) There is other credible evidence that the worker actively sought qualifying work soon after the move but, for reasons beyond the worker's control, the work was not available.

(d) Migratory agricultural worker means a person who, in the preceding 36 months, has moved, as defined in paragraph (g), from one school district to another, or from one administrative area to another within a State that is comprised of a single school district, in order to obtain temporary employment or seasonal employment in agricultural work, including dairy work.

(e) Migratory child means a child—

(1) Who is a migratory agricultural worker or a migratory fisher; or

(2) Who, in the preceding 36 months, in order to accompany or join a parent, spouse, or guardian who is a migratory agricultural worker or a migratory fisher—

(i) Has moved from one school district to another;

(ii) In a State that is comprised of a single school district, has moved from one administrative area to another within such district; or

(iii) As the child of a migratory fisher, resides in a school district of more than 15,000 square miles, and migrates a distance of 20 miles or more to a temporary residence.

(f) Migratory fisher means a person who, in the preceding 36 months, has moved, as defined in paragraph (g), from one school district to another, or from one administrative area to another within a State that is comprised of a single school district, in order to obtain temporary employment or seasonal employment in fishing work. This definition also includes a person who, in the preceding 36 months, resided in a school district of more than 15,000 square miles and moved, as defined in paragraph (g), a distance of 20 miles or more to a temporary residence in order to obtain temporary employment or seasonal employment in fishing work.

(g) Move or Moved means a change from one residence to another residence that occurs due to economic necessity.

(h) Personal subsistence means that the worker and the worker's family, as a matter of economic necessity, consume, as a substantial portion of their food intake, the crops, dairy products, or livestock they produce or the fish they catch.

(i) Qualifying work means temporary employment or seasonal employment in agricultural work or fishing work.

(j) Seasonal employment means employment that occurs only during a certain period of the year because of the cycles of nature and that, by its nature, may not be continuous or carried on throughout the year.

(k) Temporary employment means employment that lasts for a limited period of time, usually a few months, but no longer than 12 months. It typically includes employment where the employer states that the worker was hired for a limited time frame; the worker states that the worker does not intend to remain in that employment indefinitely; or the SEA has determined on some other reasonable basis that the employment is temporary. The definition includes employment that is constant and available year-round only if, within 18 months after the effective date of this regulation and at least once every three years thereafter, the SEA documents that, given the nature of the work, of those workers whose children were previously determined to be eligible based on the State's prior determination of the temporary nature of such employment (or the children themselves if they are the workers), virtually no workers remained employed by the same employer more than 12 months.

An SEA may use the funds available from its State Migrant Education Program (MEP) to carry out other administrative activities, beyond those allowable under § 200.100(b)(4), that are unique to the MEP, including those that are the same or similar to administrative activities performed by LEAs in the State under subpart A of this part. These activities include but are not limited to—

(a) Statewide identification and recruitment of eligible migratory children;

(b) Interstate and intrastate coordination of the State MEP and its local projects with other relevant programs and local projects in the State and in other States;

(c) Procedures for providing for educational continuity for migratory children through the timely transfer of educational and health records, beyond that required generally by State and local agencies;

(d) Collecting and using information for accurate distribution of subgrant funds;

(e) Development of a statewide needs assessment and a comprehensive State plan for MEP service delivery;

(f) Supervision of instructional and support staff;

(g) Establishment and implementation of a State parent advisory council; and

(h) Conducting an evaluation of the effectiveness of the State MEP.

(a) An SEA that receives a grant of MEP funds must develop and update a written comprehensive State plan (based on a current statewide needs assessment that, at a minimum, has the following components:

(1) Performance targets. The plan must specify—

(i) Performance targets that the State has adopted for all children in reading and mathematics achievement, high school graduation, and the number of school dropouts, as well as the State's performance targets, if any, for school readiness; and

(ii) Any other performance targets that the State has identified for migratory children.

(2) Needs assessment. The plan must include an identification and assessment of—

(i) The unique educational needs of migratory children that result from the children's migratory lifestyle; and

(ii) Other needs of migratory students that must be met in order for migratory children to participate effectively in school.

(3) Measurable program outcomes. The plan must include the measurable program outcomes (i.e., objectives) that a State's migrant education program will produce to meet the identified unique needs of migratory children and help migratory children achieve the State's performance targets identified in paragraph (a)(1) of this section.

(4) Service delivery. The plan must describe the strategies that the SEA will pursue on a statewide basis to achieve the measurable program outcomes in paragraph (a)(3) of this section by addressing—

(i) The unique educational needs of migratory children consistent with paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section; and

(ii) Other needs of migratory children consistent with paragraph (a)(2)(ii) of this section.

(5) Evaluation. The plan must describe how the State will evaluate the effectiveness of its program.

(b) The SEA must develop its comprehensive State plan in consultation with the State parent advisory council or, for SEAs not operating programs for one school year in duration, in consultation with the parents of migratory children. This consultation must be in a format and language that the parents understand.

(c) Each SEA receiving MEP funds must ensure that its local operating agencies comply with the comprehensive State plan.

Each SEA must determine the effectiveness of its program through a written evaluation that measures the implementation and results achieved by the program against the State's performance targets in § 200.83(a)(1), particularly for those students who have priority for service as defined in section 1304(d) of the ESEA.

While the specific school improvement requirements of section 1116 of the ESEA do not apply to the MEP, SEAs and local operating agencies receiving MEP funds must use the results of the evaluation carried out under § 200.84 to improve the services provided to migratory children.

Funds available under part C of Title I of the ESEA may be used in a schoolwide program subject to the requirements of § 200.29(c)(1).

An SEA and its operating agencies must conduct programs and projects under subpart C of this part in a manner consistent with the basic requirements of section 9501 of the ESEA.

(a) Allocation of funds under the MEP for fiscal year (FY) 2006 and subsequent years. (1) For purposes of calculating the size of MEP allocations for each SEA for FY 2006 and subsequent years (as well as for supplemental MEP allocations for FY 2005), the Secretary determines each SEA's FY 2002 base allocation amount under section 1303(a)(2) and (b) of the Act by applying, to the counts of eligible migratory children that the SEA submitted for 2000-2001, the defect rate that the SEA reports to the Secretary and that the Secretary accepts based on a statewide retrospective re-interviewing process that the SEA has conducted.

(2)(i) The Secretary conditions an SEA's receipt of final FY 2007 and subsequent-year MEP awards on the SEA's completion of a thorough re-documentation of the eligibility of all children (and the removal of all ineligible children) included in the State's 2007-2008 MEP child counts.

(ii) To carry out this re-documentation, an SEA must examine its rolls of all currently identified migratory children and remove from the rolls all children it judges to be ineligible based on the types of problems identified in its statewide retrospective re-interviewing as causing defective eligibility determinations.

(b) Responsibilities of SEAs for re-interviewing to ensure the eligibility of children under the MEP—(1) Retrospective re-interviewing. (i) As a condition for the continued receipt of MEP funds in FY 2006 and subsequent years, an SEA that received such funds in FY 2005 but did not implement a statewide re-interviewing process prior to the enactment of this regulation, as well as an SEA with a defect rate that is not accepted by the Secretary under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, or an SEA under a corrective action issued by the Secretary under paragraph (b)(2)(vii) or (d)(7) of this section, must, within six months of the effective date of these regulations or as subsequently required by the Secretary,—

(A) Conduct a statewide re-interviewing process consistent with paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section; and

(B) Consistent with paragraph (b)(1)(iii) of this section, report to the Secretary on the procedures it has employed, its findings, its defect rate, and corrective actions it has taken or will take to avoid a recurrence of any problems found.

(ii) At a minimum, the re-interviewing process must include—

(A) Selection of a sample of identified migratory children (from the child counts of a particular year as directed by the Secretary) randomly selected on a statewide basis to allow the State to estimate the statewide proportion of eligible migratory children at a 95 percent confidence level with a confidence interval of plus or minus 5 percent.

(B) Use of independent re-interviewers (i.e., interviewers who are neither SEA or local operating agency staff members working to administer or operate the State MEP nor any other persons who worked on the initial eligibility determinations being tested) trained to conduct personal interviews and to understand and apply program eligibility requirements; and

(C) Calculation of a defect rate based on the number of sampled children determined ineligible as a percentage of those sampled children whose parent/guardian was actually re-interviewed.

(iii) At a minimum, the report must include—

(A) An explanation of the sample and procedures used in the SEA's re-interviewing process;

(B) The findings of the re-interviewing process, including the determined defect rate;

(C) An acknowledgement that, consistent with § 200.89(a), the Secretary may adjust the child counts for 2000-2001 and subsequent years downward based on the defect rate that the Secretary accepts;

(D) A summary of the types of defective eligibility determinations that the SEA identified through the re-interviewing process;

(E) A summary of the reasons why each type of defective eligibility determination occurred; and

(F) A summary of the corrective actions the SEA will take to address the identified problems.

(2) Prospective re-interviewing. As part of the system of quality controls identified in § 200.89(d), an SEA that receives MEP funds must, on an annual basis, validate current-year child eligibility determinations through the re-interview of a randomly selected sample of children previously identified as migratory. In conducting these re-interviews, an SEA must—

(i) Use, at least once every three years, one or more independent interviewers (i.e., interviewers who are neither SEA or local operating agency staff members working to administer or operate the State MEP nor any other persons who worked on the initial eligibility determinations being tested) trained to conduct personal interviews and to understand and apply program eligibility requirements;

(ii) Select a random sample of identified migratory children so that a sufficient number of eligibility determinations in the current year are tested on a statewide basis or within categories associated with identified risk factors (e.g., experience of recruiters, size or growth in local migratory child population, effectiveness of local quality control procedures) in order to help identify possible problems with the State's child eligibility determinations;

(iii) Conduct re-interviews with the parents or guardians of the children in the sample. States must use a face-to-face approach to conduct these re-interviews unless circumstances make face-to-face re-interviews impractical and necessitate the use of an alternative method such as telephone re-interviewing;

(iv) Determine and document in writing whether the child eligibility determination and the information on which the determination was based were true and correct;

(v) Stop serving any children found not to be eligible and remove them from the data base used to compile counts of eligible children;

(vi) Certify and report to the Department the results of re-interviewing in the SEA's annual report of the number of migratory children in the State required by the Secretary; and

(vii) Implement corrective actions or improvements to address the problems identified by the State (including the identification and removal of other ineligible children in the total population), and any corrective actions, including retrospective re-interviewing, required by the Secretary.

(c) Responsibilities of SEAs to document the eligibility of migratory children. (1) An SEA and its operating agencies must use the Certificate of Eligibility (COE) form established by the Secretary to document the State's determination of the eligibility of migratory children.

(2) In addition to the form required under paragraph (a) of this section, the SEA and its operating agencies must maintain any additional documentation the SEA requires to confirm that each child found eligible for this program meets all of the eligibility definitions in § 200.81.

(3) An SEA is responsible for the accuracy of all the determinations of the eligibility of migratory children identified in the State.

(d) Responsibilities of an SEA to establish and implement a system of quality controls for the proper identification and recruitment of eligible migratory children. An SEA must establish and implement a system of quality controls for the proper identification and recruitment of eligible migratory children on a statewide basis. At a minimum, this system of quality controls must include the following components:

(1) Training to ensure that recruiters and all other staff involved in determining eligibility and in conducting quality control procedures know the requirements for accurately determining and documenting child eligibility under the MEP.

(2) Supervision and annual review and evaluation of the identification and recruitment practices of individual recruiters.

(3) A formal process for resolving eligibility questions raised by recruiters and their supervisors and for ensuring that this information is communicated to all local operating agencies.

(4) An examination by qualified individuals at the SEA or local operating agency level of each COE to verify that the written documentation is sufficient and that, based on the recorded data, the child is eligible for MEP services.

(5) A process for the SEA to validate that eligibility determinations were properly made, including conducting prospective re-interviewing as described in paragraph (b)(2).

(6) Documentation that supports the SEA's implementation of this quality-control system and of a record of actions taken to improve the system where periodic reviews and evaluations indicate a need to do so.

(7) A process for implementing corrective action if the SEA finds COEs that do not sufficiently document a child's eligibility for the MEP, or in response to internal State audit findings and recommendations, or monitoring or audit findings of the Secretary.

(a) The following definitions apply to the programs authorized in part D, subparts 1 and 2 of Title I of the ESEA:

Children and youth means the same as “children” as that term is defined in § 200.103(a).

(b) The following definitions apply to the programs authorized in part D, subpart 1 of Title I of the ESEA:

Institution for delinquent children and youth means, as determined by the SEA, a public or private residential facility that is operated primarily for the care of children and youth who—

(1) Have been adjudicated to be delinquent or in need of supervision; and

(2) Have had an average length of stay in the institution of at least 30 days.

Institution for neglected children and youth means, as determined by the SEA, a public or private residential facility, other than a foster home, that is operated primarily for the care of children and youth who—

(1) Have been committed to the institution or voluntarily placed in the institution under applicable State law due to abandonment, neglect, or death of their parents or guardians; and

(2) Have had an average length of stay in the institution of at least 30 days.

Regular program of instruction means an educational program (not beyond grade 12) in an institution or a community day program for neglected or delinquent children that consists of classroom instruction in basic school subjects such as reading, mathematics, and vocationally oriented subjects, and that is supported by non-Federal funds. Neither the manufacture of goods within the institution nor activities related to institutional maintenance are considered classroom instruction.

(c) The following definitions apply to the local agency program authorized in part D, subpart 2 of Title I of the ESEA:

Immigrant children and youth and limited English proficiency have the same meanings as the term “immigrant children” is defined in section 3301 of the ESEA and the term “limited English proficient” is defined in section 9101 of the ESEA, except that the terms “individual” and “children and youth” used in those definitions mean “children and youth” as defined in this section.

Locally operated correctional facility means a facility in which persons are confined as a result of a conviction for a criminal offense, including persons under 21 years of age. The term also includes a local public or private institution and community day program or school not operated by the State that serves delinquent children and youth.

Migrant youth means the same as “migratory child” as that term is defined in § 200.81(d).

To receive an allocation under part D, subpart 1 of Title I of the ESEA, an SEA must provide the Secretary with a count of children and youth under the age of 21 enrolled in a regular program of instruction operated or supported by State agencies in institutions or community day programs for neglected or delinquent children and youth and adult correctional institutions as specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.

(a) Enrollment. (1) To be counted, a child or youth must be enrolled in a regular program of instruction for at least—

(i) 20 hours per week if in an institution or community day program for neglected or delinquent children; or

(ii) 15 hours per week if in an adult correctional institution.

(2) The State agency must specify the date on which the enrollment of neglected or delinquent children is determined under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, except that the date specified must be—

(i) Consistent for all institutions or community day programs operated by the State agency; and

(ii) Represent a school day in the calendar year preceding the year in which funds become available.

(b) Adjustment of enrollment. The SEA must adjust the enrollment for each institution or community day program served by a State agency by—

(1) Multiplying the number determined in paragraph (a) of this section by the number of days per year the regular program of instruction operates; and

(2) Dividing the result of paragraph (b)(1) of this section by 180.

(c) Date of submission. The SEA must annually submit the data in paragraph (b) of this section no later than January 31.

A State must reserve funds for school improvement, State administration, and State academic achievement awards as follows:

(a) School improvement. (1) To carry out school improvement activities authorized under sections 1116 and 1117 of the ESEA, an SEA must first reserve—

(i) Two percent from the sum of the amounts allocated to the State under section 1002(a) of the ESEA for fiscal years 2002 and 2003; and

(ii) Four percent from the sum of the amounts allocated to the State under section 1002(a) of the ESEA for fiscal year 2004 and succeeding years.

(2) In reserving funds under paragraph (a)(1) of this section, a State may not reduce the sum of the allocations an LEA receives under section 1002(a) of the ESEA below the sum of the allocations the LEA received under section 1002(a) for the preceding fiscal year.

(3) If funds under section 1002(a) are insufficient in a given fiscal year to implement both paragraphs (a)(1) and (2) of this section, a State is not required to reserve the full amount required under paragraph (a)(1) of this section.

(b) State administration. (1) An SEA may reserve for State administrative activities authorized in sections 1004 and 1903 of the ESEA no more than the greater of—

(i) One percent from each of the amounts allocated to the State or Outlying Area under section 1002(a), (c), and (d) of the ESEA; or

(ii) $400,000 ($50,000 for the Outlying Areas).

(2)(i) An SEA reserving $400,000 under paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section must reserve proportionate amounts from each of the amounts allocated to the State or Outlying Area under section 1002(a), but is not required to reserve proportionate amounts from section 1002(a), (c), and (d) of the ESEA.

(ii) If an SEA reserves funds from the amounts allocated to the State or Outlying Area under section 1002(c) or (d) of the ESEA, the SEA may not reserve from those allocations more than the amount the SEA would have reserved if it had reserved proportionate amounts from section 1002(a), (c), and (d) of the ESEA.

(3) If the sum of the amounts allocated to all the States under section 1002(a), (c), and (d) of the ESEA is greater than $14,000,000,000, an SEA may not reserve more than one percent of the amount the State would receive if $14,000,000,000 had been allocated among the States under section 1002(a), (c), and (d) of the ESEA.

(4) An SEA may use the funds it has reserved under paragraph (b) of this section to perform general administrative activities necessary to carry out, at the State level, any of the programs authorized under Title I, parts A, C, and D of the ESEA.

(c) State academic achievement awards program. To operate the State academic achievement awards program authorized under section 1117(b)(1) and (c)(2)(A) of the ESEA, an SEA may reserve up to five percent of the excess amount the State receives under section 1002(a) of the ESEA when compared to the amount the State received under section 1002(a) of the ESEA in the preceding fiscal year.

(d) Reservations and hold-harmless. In reserving funds under paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, an SEA may—

(1) Proportionately reduce each LEA's total allocation received under section 1002(a) of the ESEA while ensuring that no LEA receives in total less than the hold-harmless percentage under § 200.73(a)(4), except that, when the amount remaining is insufficient to pay all LEAs the hold-harmless amount provided in § 200.73, the SEA shall ratably reduce each LEA's hold-harmless allocation to the amount available; or

(2) Proportionately reduce each LEA's total allocation received under section 1002(a) of the ESEA even if an LEA's total allocation falls below its hold-harmless percentage under § 200.74(a)(3).

The following definitions apply to programs operated under this part:

(a) Children means—

(1) Persons up through age 21 who are entitled to a free public education through grade 12; and

(2) Preschool children below the age and grade level at which the agency provides free public education.

(b) Fiscal year means the Federal fiscal year—a period beginning on October 1 and ending on the following September 30—or another 12-month period normally used by the SEA for record-keeping.

(c) Student with a disability means child with a disability, as defined in section 602(3) of the IDEA.

(a) High School Equivalency Program. The High School Equivalency Program (HEP) is designed to assist persons who are eligible under § 206.3—to obtain the equivalent of a secondary school diploma and subsequently to gain employment or be placed in an institution of higher education (IHE) or other postsecondary education or training.

(b) College Assistance Migrant Program. The College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) is designed to assist persons who are eligible under § 206.3—who are enrolled or are admitted for enrollment on a full-time basis in the first academic year at an IHE.

(a) Eligibility. An IHE or a private nonprofit organization may apply for a grant to operate a HEP or CAMP project.

(b) Cooperative planning. If a private nonprofit organization other than an IHE applies for a HEP or a CAMP grant, that agency must plan the project in cooperation with an IHE and must propose to operate the project, or in the case of a HEP grant, some aspects of the project, with the facilities of that IHE.

(a) General. To be eligible to participate in a HEP or a CAMP project—

(1) A person, or his or her parent, must have spent a minimum of 75 days during the past 24 months as a migrant or seasonal farmworker; or

(2) The person must have participated (with respect to HEP within the last 24 months), or be eligible to participate, in programs under 34 CFR part 201 (Chapter 1-Migrant Education Program) or 20 CFR part 633 (Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor—Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Programs).

(b) Special HEP qualifications. To be eligible to participate in a HEP project, a person also must—

(1) Not have earned a secondary school diploma or its equivalent;

(2) Not be currently enrolled in an elementary or secondary school;

(3) Be 16 years of age or over, or beyond the age of compulsory school attendance in the State in which he or she resides; and

(4) Be determined by the grantee to need the academic and supporting services and financial assistance provided by the project in order to attain the equivalent of a secondary school diploma and to gain employment or be placed in an IHE or other postsecondary education or training.

(c) Special CAMP qualifications. To be eligible to participate in a CAMP project, a person also must—

(1) Be enrolled or be admitted for enrollment as a full-time student at the participating IHE;

(2) Not be beyond the first academic year of a program of study at the IHE, as determined under the standards of the IHE; and

(3) Be determined by the grantee to need the academic and supporting services and financial assistance provided by the project in order to complete an academic program of study at the IHE.

The following regulations apply to HEP and CAMP:

(a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) as follows:

(1) 34 CFR part 74 (Administration of Grants to Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Nonprofit Organizations).

(2) 34 CFR part 75 (Direct Grant Programs).

(3) 34 CFR part 77 (Definitions That Apply to Department Regulations).

(4) 34 CFR part 79 (Intergovernmental Review of Department of Education Programs and Activities).

(5) 34 CFR part 82 (New Restrictions on Lobbying).

(6) 34 CFR part 85 (Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) and Governmentwide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)).

(7) 34 CFR part 86 (Drug-Free Schools and Campuses).

(b) The regulations in this part 206.

(a) Definitions in EDGAR. The following terms used in this part are defined in 34 CFR 77.1(c) (EDGAR, Definitions):

Applicant

Application

Elementary school

EDGAR

Facilities

Minor remodeling

Nonprofit

Private

Project

Public

Secondary school

Secretary

State

(b) Definitions in the grants administration regulations. The following terms used in this part are defined in 34 CFR part 74 (Administration of Grants):

Budget

Equipment

Grant

Grantee

Supplies

(c) Program definitions. The following additional definitions apply specifically to HEP and CAMP:

(1) Act means the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.

(2) Agricultural activity means:

(i) Any activity directly related to the production of crops, dairy products, poultry, or livestock;

(ii) Any activity directly related to the cultivation or harvesting of trees; or

(iii) Any activity directly related to fish farms.

(3) Farmwork means any agricultural activity, performed for either wages or personal subsistence, on a farm, ranch, or similar establishment.

(4) Full-time, with respect to an individual, means a student who is carrying a full-time academic workload, as defined in 34 CFR part 690 (regulations for the Pell Grant Program).

(5) Institution of higher education means an educational institution that:

(i) Is in a State;

(ii) Is authorized by that State to provide a program of education beyond secondary school;

(iii) Is a public or nonprofit institution;

(iv) Admits as a regular student only a person who:

(A) Has a secondary school diploma;

(B) Has the recognized equivalent of a secondary school diploma; or

(C) Is beyond the age of compulsory school attendance in that State and has the ability to benefit from the training offered by the institution;

(v) Provides:

(A) An educational program for which it awards a bachelor's degree; or

(B) At least a two-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor's degree;

(vi)(A) Is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association;

(B) Has satisfactorily assured the Secretary that it will meet the accreditation standards of a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association within a reasonable time considering the resources available to the institution, the period of time, if any, it has operated, and its effort to meet accreditation standards; or

(C) Has its credits accepted on transfer by at least three accredited institutions on the same basis as those institutions accept transfer credits from fully accredited institutions.

(6) Migrant farmworker means a seasonal farmworker—as defined in paragraph (c)(7) of this section—whose employment required travel that precluded the farmworker from returning to his or her domicile (permanent place of residence) within the same day.

(7) Seasonal farmworker means a person who, within the past 24 months, was employed for at least 75 days in farmwork, and whose primary employment was in farmwork on a temporary or seasonal basis (that is, not a constant year-round activity).

(d) Other definitions. For purposes of determining program eligibility under § 206.3(a)(2), the definitions in 34 CFR 201.3 (Chapter 1—Migrant Education Program) and 20 CFR 633.104 (Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor—Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker Programs) apply.

(a) General. A grantee may use funds under HEP or CAMP to support approved projects designed to provide academic and supporting services and financial assistance to eligible participants as described in § 206.3.

(b) Types of services—(1) HEP projects. A HEP project may provide the following types of services to assist participants in obtaining the equivalent of a secondary school diploma, and as needed, to assure the success of the participants in meeting the project's objectives and in succeeding at the secondary school level and beyond:

(i) Recruitment services to reach persons who are eligible under § 206.3 (a) and (b).

(ii) Educational services that provide instruction designed to help students pass an examination and obtain a certificate that meets the guidelines for high school equivalency established by the State in which the project is located.

(iii) Supportive services that include the following:

(A) Personal, vocational, and academic counseling;

(B) Placement services designed to place students in a university, college, or junior college program, or in military services or career positions; and

(C) Health services.

(iv) Information concerning and assistance in obtaining available student financial aid.

(v) Weekly stipends for high school equivalency program participants.

(vi) Housing for those enrolled in residential programs.

(vii) Exposure to cultural events, academic programs, and other educational and cultural activities usually not available to migrant youth.

(viii) Other essential supportive services, as needed, to ensure the success of eligible students.

(2) CAMP projects. A CAMP project may provide the following types of services to assist the participants in meeting the project's objectives and in succeeding in an academic program of study at the IHE:

(i) Outreach and recruitment services to reach persons who are eligible under § 206.3 (a) and (c).

(ii) Supportive and instructional services, including:

(A) Personal, academic, and career counseling as an ongoing part of the program;

(B) Tutoring and academic-skillbuilding instruction and assistance;

(C) Assistance with special admissions;

(D) Health services; and

(E) Other services as necessary to assist students in completing program requirements.

(iii) Assistance in obtaining student financial aid that includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(A) Stipends.

(B) Scholarships.

(C) Student travel.

(D) Career-oriented work-study.

(E) Books and supplies.

(F) Tuition and fees.

(G) Room and board.

(H) Other assistance necessary to assist students in completing their first year of college or university.

(iv) Housing support for student living in institutional facilities and commuting students.

(v) Exposure to cultural events, academic programs, and other activities not usually available to migrant youth.

(vi) Other support services as necessary to ensure the success of eligible students.

(c) The health services, and other financial support services provided to participating students must:

(1) Be necessary to ensure their participation in the HEP or CAMP; and

(2) Not detract, because of the amount, from the basic educational services provided under those programs.

(a) In addition to the services provided in § 206.10(b)(2), CAMP projects must provide follow-up services for project participants after they have completed their first year of college.

(b) Follow-up services may include—

(1) Monitoring and reporting the academic progress of students who participated in the project during their first year of college and their subsequent years in college; and

(2) Referring these students to on- or off-campus providers of counseling services, academic assistance, or financial aid.

(c) Grantees may not use more than 10 percent of funds awarded to them for follow-up services.

In applying for a grant, an applicant shall:

(a) Follow the procedures and meet the requirements stated in subpart C of 34 CFR part 75 (EDGAR-Direct Grant Programs);

(b) Submit a grant application that:

(1) Covers a period of five years unless extraordinary circumstances warrant a shorter period; and

(2) Includes an annual budget of not less than $150,000;

(c) Include a management plan that contains:

(1) Assurances that the staff has a demonstrated knowledge of and will be sensitive to the unique characteristics and needs of the migrant and seasonal farmworker population; and

(2) Provisions for:

(i) Staff inservice training;

(ii) Training and technical assistance;

(iii) Staff travel;

(iv) Student travel;

(v) Interagency coordination; and

(vi) Project evaluation; and

(d) Provide the following assurances:

(1) The grantee will develop and implement a plan for identifying, informing, and recruiting eligible participants who are most in need of the academic and supporting services and financial assistance provided by the project.

(2) The grantee will develop and implement a plan for identifying and using the resources of the participating IHE and the community to supplement and enhance the services provided by the project.

The Secretary evaluates an application under the procedures in 34 CFR part 75.

Funds provided under HEP or CAMP may not be used for construction activities, other than minor construction-related activities such as the repair or minor remodeling or alteration of facilities.

The regulations in this part govern the provision of financial assistance under title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to local educational agencies (LEAs) in areas affected by Federal activities.

(a)(1) The following terms defined in section 8013 of the Act apply to this part:

(2) The following term defined in § 222.30 applies to this part:

(b) The following terms defined in section 14101 of the ESEA (General Provisions) also apply to this part:

(c) In addition, the following definitions apply to this part:

Act means title VIII of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended.

Applicant means any LEA that files an application for financial assistance under section 8002, 8003, or 8006 of the Act and the regulations in this part implementing those provisions. Except as provided in section 8005(d)(4) of the Act, an SEA may be an applicant for assistance under section 8003 only if the SEA directly operates and maintains facilities for providing free public education for the children it claims in its application.

Application means a complete and signed application in the form approved by the Secretary, filed by an applicant.

Federally connected children means children described in sections 8003(a)(1) and 8010(c)(2) of the Act.

Federal property. (1) The term means—

(i) Federal property described in section 8013; and

(ii) Ships that are owned by the United States and whose home ports are located upon Federal property described in this definition.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this definition, for the purpose of section 8002 the term does not include—

(i) Any real property that the United States does not own in fee simple, except for Indian lands described in section 8013(7), and transferred property described in section 8002(d); and

(ii) Real property described in section 8002(c) (real property with respect to which payments are being made under section 13 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933).

Fiscally dependent LEA means an LEA that does not have the final authority to determine the amount of revenue to be raised from local sources for current expenditure purposes.

Fiscally independent LEA means an LEA that has the final authority to determine the amount of revenue to be raised from local sources for current expenditure purposes within the limits established by State law.

Local educational agency (LEA) is defined in section 8013(9). Except for an SEA qualifying under section 8005(d)(4), the term includes an SEA only so long as—

(1) The SEA directly operates and maintains the facilities for providing free public education for the children it claims in its application;

(2) The children claimed by the SEA actually are attending those State-operated facilities; and

(3) The SEA does not, through a tuition arrangement, contract, or by any other means, pay another entity to operate and maintain facilities for those children.

Local real property tax rate for current expenditure purposes. (1) For a fiscally independent LEA, the term means the entire tax levied on real property within the LEA, if all but a de minimus amount of the total proceeds from the tax levy are available to that LEA for current expenditures (as defined in section 8013).

(2) For a fiscally dependent LEA, the term means the following:

(i) The entire tax levied by the general government on real property if all but a de minimus amount of the total proceeds from that tax levy are available to the LEA for current expenditures (as defined in section 8013);

(ii) That portion of a local real property tax rate designated by the general government for current expenditure purposes (as defined in section 8013); or

(iii) If no real property tax levied by the general government meets the criteria in paragraphs (2)(i) or (ii) of this definition, an imputed tax rate that the Secretary determines by—

(A) Dividing the total local real property tax revenue available for current expenditures of the general government by the total revenue from all local sources available for current expenditures of the general government;

(B) Multiplying the figure obtained in paragraph (2)(iii)(A) of this definition by the revenue received by the LEA for current expenditures (as defined in section 8013) from the general government; and

(C) Dividing the figure obtained in paragraph (2)(iii)(B) of this definition by the total current actual assessed value of all real property in the district.

(3) The term does not include any portion of a tax or revenue that is restricted to or dedicated for any specific purpose other than current expenditures (as defined in section 8013).

Membership means the following:

(1)(i) The definition given to the term by State law; or

(ii) If State law does not define the term, the number of children listed on an LEA's current enrollment records on its survey date(s).

(2) The term includes children for whom the applicant is responsible for providing a free public education, but who are attending schools other than those operated by the applicant under a tuition arrangement described in paragraph (4) of the definition of “free public education” in § 222.30.

(3) The term does not include children who—

(i) Have never attended classes in schools of the LEA or of another educational entity with which the LEA has a tuition arrangement;

(ii) Have permanently left the LEA;

(iii) Otherwise have become ineligible to attend classes there; or

(iv) Attend the schools of the applicant LEA under a tuition arrangement with another LEA that is responsible for providing them a free public education.

Parent employed on Federal property. (1) The term means the following:

(i) An employee of the Federal Government who reports to work on, or whose place of work is located on, Federal property.

(ii) A person not employed by the Federal Government but who spends more than 50 percent of his or her working time on Federal property (whether as an employee or self-employed) when engaged in farming, grazing, lumbering, mining, or other operations that are authorized by the Federal Government, through a lease or other arrangement, to be carried out entirely or partly on Federal property.

(iii) A proportion, to be determined by the Secretary, based on persons working on commingled Federal and non-Federal properties other than those persons covered under paragraph (1)(ii) of this definition.

(2) The term does not include a person who reports to work at a work station not on Federal property but spends more than 50 percent of his working time on Federal property providing services to operations or activities authorized to be carried out on Federal property.

Real property. (1) The term means—

(i) Land; and

(ii) Improvements (such as buildings and appurtenances to those buildings, railroad lines, utility lines, pipelines, and other permanent fixtures), except as provided in paragraph (2).

(2) The term does not include—

(i) Improvements that are classified as personal property under State law; or

(ii) Equipment and movable machinery, such as motor vehicles, movable house trailers, farm machinery, rolling railroad stock, and floating dry docks, unless that equipment or movable machinery is classified as real property or subject to local real property taxation under State law.

Revenues derived from local sources. (1) The term means—

(i) Tax funds derived from real estate; and

(ii) Other taxes or receipts that are received from the county, and any other local tax or miscellaneous receipts.

(2)(i) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(i) of this definition, the term tax funds derived from real estate means—

(A) Locally received funds that are derived from local taxation of real property;

(B) Tax funds that are received on account of Wherry-Spence housing projects (12 U.S.C. 1702 et seq.) located on private property; and

(C) All local real property tax funds that are received from either the county or the State, serving as a collecting agency, and that are returned to the LEA for expenditure by that agency.

(ii) The term does not include—

(A) Any payments under this Act or the Johnson-O'Malley Act (25 U.S.C. 452);

(B) Tax payments that are received on account of Wherry-Spence housing projects located on federally owned property; or

(C) Local real property tax funds that are received by the State and distributed to LEAs on a per-pupil or formula basis.

State aid means any contribution, no repayment of which is expected, made by a State to or on behalf of an LEA within the State for the support of free public education.

Uniformed services means the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Public Health Service.

An LEA must meet the following application requirements to be considered for a payment under section 8002 or 8003:

(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (d) of this section, on or before January 31 of the fiscal year for which the LEA seeks assistance under section 8002, or the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the LEA seeks assistance under section 8003, the LEA must—

(1) File with the Secretary a complete and signed application for payment under section 8002 or 8003; and

(2) Certify to the Secretary that it will file, and file, a copy of the application referred to in paragraph (a) of this section with its SEA.

(b)(1) If any of the following events that give rise to eligibility for payment occur after the filing deadline in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, an LEA must file a complete and signed application within the time limits required by paragraph (b)(2) of this section:

(i) The United States Government initiates or reactivates a Federal activity, or acquires real property.

(ii) The United States Congress enacts new legislation.

(iii) A reorganization of school districts takes place.

(iv) Property, previously determined by the Secretary not to be Federal property, is determined in writing by the Secretary to be Federal property.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, within 60 days after the applicable event occurs but not later than September 30 of the fiscal year for which the LEA seeks assistance under section 8002, or of the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the LEA seeks assistance under section 8003, the LEA must—

(i) File an application, as permitted by paragraph (b)(1) of this section, with the Secretary; and

(ii) File a copy of that application with its SEA.

(c)(1) If the SEA wishes to notify the Secretary of any inconsistencies or other concerns with an LEA's application, the SEA must do so—

(i) For an application subject to the filing deadlines in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, on or before February 15 of the fiscal year for which the LEA seeks assistance under section 8002, or of the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the LEA seeks assistance under section 8003; and

(ii) On or before fifteen days following the date by which an application subject to the filing deadlines in paragraph (b) of this section must be filed.

(2) The Secretary does not process for payment a timely filed application until any concerns timely raised by the SEA are resolved. If the Secretary does not receive comments or notification from the SEA by the applicable deadline set forth in paragraph (c)(1) of this section, the Secretary assumes that the data and statements in the application are, to the best of the SEA's knowledge, true, complete, and correct.

(d) If a filing date in this section falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal holiday, the deadline for filing is the next succeeding business day.

(a) To be timely filed under § 222.3, an application must be received by the Secretary, or mailed, on or before the applicable filing date.

(b) An applicant must show one of the following as proof of mailing:

(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.

(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the U.S. Postal Service.

(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial carrier.

(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary.

(c) If an application is mailed through the U.S. Postal Service, the Secretary does not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:

(1) A private metered postmark.

(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.

(a) An LEA may amend its application following any of the events described in § 222.3(b)(1) by submitting a written request to the Secretary and a copy to its SEA no later than the earlier of the following events:

(1) The 60th day following the applicable event.

(2) By the end of the Federal fiscal year—

(i) For which assistance is sought under section 8002; or

(ii) Preceding the fiscal year for which the LEA seeks assistance under section 8003.

(b) The LEA also may amend its application no later than the end of the Federal fiscal year for which assistance is sought under section 8002 or of the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the LEA seeks assistance under section 8003—

(1) For an adjustment to its payment based on data obtained from a second membership count; or

(2) For an adjustment to its payment based on actual satisfactory data regarding eligible Federal properties or federally connected children if those data were not available at the time the LEA filed its application.

(a) The Secretary accepts or approves for payment any otherwise approvable application under section 8002 or 8003 that is timely filed with the Secretary in accordance with §§ 222.3, 222.4, and 222.5, as applicable.

(b)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, the Secretary does not accept or approve for payment any application under section 8002 or 8003 that is not timely filed with the Secretary.

(2) The Secretary accepts and approves for payment any otherwise approvable application filed within 60 days of the applicable filing date established in § 222.3, but reduces the payment based on the application by 10 percent of the amount that would have been paid if the application had been filed by the applicable filing date established in that section.

(a) General. Except as indicated in paragraph (b) of this section, the Secretary does not consider information submitted by an applicant after the deadlines prescribed in this subpart for submission of applications and amendments to applications.

(b) Information solicited by the Secretary. The Secretary may solicit from an applicant at any time additional information to process an application.

(a) Any applicant that is a party to an annexation, consolidation, deconsolidation, merger, or other similar action affecting its boundaries, classification, control, governing authority, or identity must provide the following information to the Secretary as soon as practicable:

(1) A description of the character and extent of the change.

(2) The effective date of the change.

(3) Full identification of all predecessor and successor LEAs.

(4) Full information regarding the disposition of the assets and liabilities of all predecessor LEAs.

(5) Identification of the governing body of all successor LEAs.

(6) The name and address of each authorized representative officially designated by the governing body of each successor LEA for purposes of the Act.

(b) If a payment is made under section 8002 or 8003 to an LEA that has ceased to be a legally constituted entity during the regular school term due to an action described in paragraph (a) of this section, the LEA may retain that payment if—

(1) An adjustment is made in the payment of a successor LEA to account for the payment to the predecessor LEA; or

(2)(i) The payment amount does not exceed the amount the predecessor LEA would have been eligible to receive if the change in boundaries or organization had not taken place; and

(ii) A successor LEA is not an eligible applicant.

(c) A predecessor LEA receiving any portion of a payment under section 8002 or 8003 that exceeds the amount allowed by paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section must return the excessive portion to the Secretary, unless the Secretary determines otherwise under section 8012 of the Act.

Except as otherwise provided in § 222.10—

(a) An LEA must maintain adequate written records to support the amount of payment it received under the Act for any fiscal year;

(b) On request, the LEA must make its records available to the Secretary for the purpose of examination or audit; and

(c) Each applicant must submit such reports and information as the Secretary may require to determine the amount that the applicant may be paid under the Act.

An LEA must retain the records described in § 222.9 until the later of—

(a) Three years after the last payment for a fiscal year; or

(b) If the records have been questioned on Federal audit or review, until the question is finally resolved and any necessary adjustments to payments have been made.

Except as otherwise provided in §§ 222.12-222.18, the Secretary adjusts for and recovers overpayments as follows:

(a) If the Secretary determines that an LEA has received a payment in excess of what it should have received under the Act and this part, the Secretary deducts the amount of the overpayment from subsequent payments for which the LEA is eligible under the Act.

(b)(1) If the LEA is not eligible for subsequent payments under the Act, the LEA must promptly refund the amount of the overpayment to the Secretary.

(2) If the LEA does not promptly repay the amount of the overpayment or promptly enter into a repayment agreement with the Secretary, the Secretary may use the procedures in 34 CFR part 30 to offset that amount against payments from other Department programs or, under the circumstances permitted in part 30, to request that another agency offset the debt.

(a) The Secretary considers as eligible for forgiveness under section 8012 of the Act (“eligible overpayment”) any overpayment amount that is more than an LEA was eligible to receive for a particular fiscal year under Public Law 81-874, Public Law 81-815, or the Act (except for the types of overpayments listed in § 222.13), and that—

(1) Remains owing on or after July 31, 1997;

(2) Is the subject of a written request for forgiveness filed by the LEA before July 31, 1997; or

(3) Is the subject of a pending, timely written request for an administrative hearing or reconsideration, and has not previously been reviewed under §§ 222.12-222.18.

(b) The Secretary applies §§ 222.14-222.18 in forgiving, in whole or part, an LEA's obligation to repay an eligible overpayment that resulted from error either by the LEA or the Secretary.

The Secretary does not consider the following overpayments to be eligible for forgiveness under section 8012 of the Act:

(a) Any overpayment under section 7 of Public Law 81-874 or section 16 of Public Law 81-815.

(b) An amount received by an LEA, as determined under section 8003(g) of the Act (payments to LEAs for certain federally connected children with severe disabilities, implemented in subpart F of this part), that exceeds the LEA's maximum basic support payment under section 8003(b) of the Act.

(c) Any overpayment caused by an LEA's failure to expend or account for funds properly in accordance with the following laws and regulations:

(1) Section 8003(d) of the Act (implemented in subpart D of this part) or section 3(d)(2)(C) of Public Law 81-874 for certain federally connected children with disabilities.

(2) Section 8003(g) of the Act.

The Secretary forgives an eligible overpayment, in whole or part as described in § 222.18, if—

(a) An LEA submits to the Department's Impact Aid Program office a written request for forgiveness by the later of—

(1) Thirty days from the LEA's initial receipt of a written notice of the overpayment; or

(2) September 2, 1997;

(b) The LEA submits to the Department's Impact Aid Program office the information and documentation described in § 222.16 by the deadlines described in paragraph (a) of this section, or other time limit established in writing by the Secretary due to lack of availability of the information and documentation; and

(c) The Secretary determines under § 222.17 that—

(1) In the case either of an LEA's or the Department's error, repayment of the LEA's total eligible overpayments will result in an undue financial hardship on the LEA and seriously harm the LEA's educational program; or

(2) In the case of the Department's error, determined on a case-by-case basis, repayment would be manifestly unjust (“manifestly unjust repayment exception”).

Unless the Secretary (or the Secretary's delegatee) extends the applicable time limit in writing—

(a) A request for forgiveness of an overpayment under § 222.14 does not extend the time within which an applicant must file a request for an administrative hearing under § 222.151; and

(b) A request for an administrative hearing under § 222.151, or for reconsideration under § 222.152, does not extend the time within which an applicant must file a request for forgiveness under § 222.14.

(a) The Secretary determines that repayment of an eligible overpayment will result in undue financial hardship on an LEA and seriously harm its educational program if the LEA meets the requirements in paragraph (a)(1), (2), or (3) of this section.

(1) An LEA other than an LEA described in paragraphs (a)(2) and (3) of this section meets the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section if—

(i) The LEA's eligible overpayments on the date of its request total at least $10,000;

(ii) The LEA's local real property tax rate for current expenditure purposes, for the preceding fiscal year, is equal to or higher than the State average local real property tax rate for that preceding fiscal year; and

(iii) The LEA's average per pupil expenditure (APPE) (as described in § 222.16(a)(4)) for the preceding fiscal year is lower than the State APPE (as described in § 222.16(a)(5)) for that preceding fiscal year.

(2) The following LEAs qualify under paragraph (a) of this section if they meet the requirements in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section and their APPE (as described in § 222.16(a)(4)) for the preceding fiscal year does not exceed 125 percent of the State APPE (as described in § 222.16(a)(5)) for that preceding fiscal year:

(i) An LEA with boundaries that are the same as a Federal military installation.

(ii) Other LEAs with no local real property tax revenues, or with minimal local real property tax revenues per pupil due to substantial amounts of Federal property in the LEA as compared with the average amount of those revenues per pupil for all LEAs in the State.

(3) An LEA qualifies under paragraph (a) of this section if neither the successor nor the predecessor LEA has the present or prospective ability to repay the eligible overpayment.

(b) The Secretary uses the following methods to determine a tax rate for the purposes of paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section:

(1) If an LEA is fiscally independent, the Secretary uses actual tax rates if all the real property in the taxing jurisdiction of the LEA is assessed at the same percentage of true value. In the alternative, the Secretary computes a tax rate for fiscally independent LEAs by using the methods described in §§ 222.67-222.69.

(2) If an LEA is fiscally dependent, the Secretary imputes a tax rate using the method described in § 222.70(b).

(a) The following Federal statutes and regulations on nondiscrimination apply to assistance under this part:

(1) The provisions of title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub. L. 88-352) (prohibition of discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin), and the implementing regulations (34 CFR part 100).

(2) The provisions of title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Pub. L. 92-318) (prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex), and the implementing regulations (34 CFR part 106).

(3) The provisions of section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Pub. L. 93-112) (prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability), and the implementing regulations (34 CFR part 104).

(4) The provisions of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Pub. L. 101-336) (prohibition of discrimination on basis of disability), and any implementing regulations.

(5) The provisions of the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (Pub. L. 94-135) (prohibition of age discrimination), and any implementing regulations.

(b) The following Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR):

(1) Subparts A, E, F, and §§ 75.900 and 75.910 of 34 CFR part 75 (Direct Grant Programs) for payments under sections 8003(d) (payments for federally connected children with disabilities), 8007 (construction), and 8008 (school facilities), except for the following:

(i) Section 75.603 does not apply to payments under section 8007 (construction) or section 8008 (school facilities).

(ii) Section 75.605 does not apply to payments under section 8007 (construction).

(iii) Sections 75.600-602, 75.604, and 75.606-617 apply to payments under section 8007 (construction) only to the extent that funds received under that section are used for major renovations or to construct new school facilities.

(2) 34 CFR part 77 (Definitions that Apply to Department Regulations).

(3) 34 CFR part 80 (Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments), for payments under sections 8003(d) (payments for federally connected children with disabilities), 8007 (construction), and 8008 (school facilities).

(4) 34 CFR part 82 (New Restrictions on Lobbying).

(5) 34 CFR part 85 (Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement) and Governmentwide Requirements for Drug-free Workplace (Grants)).

In addition to the terms referenced or defined in § 222.2, the following definitions apply to this subpart:

Acquisition or acquired by the United States. (1) The term means—

(i) The receipt or taking by the United States of ownership in fee simple of real property by condemnation, exchange, gift, purchase, transfer, or other arrangement;

(ii) The receipt by the United States of real property as trustee for the benefit of individual Indians or Indian tribes; or

(iii) The imposition by the United States of restrictions on sale, transfer, or exchange of real property held by individual Indians or Indian tribes.

(2) The definition of “acquisition” in 34 CFR 77.1(c) (Definitions that Apply to Department Regulations) of this title does not apply to this subpart.

Assessed value. For the purpose of determining eligibility under section 8002(a)(1) and § 222.21, the following definition applies:

(1) The term means the value that is assigned to real property, for the purpose of generating local real property tax revenues for current expenditures (as defined in section 8013 of the Act), by a State or local official who is legally authorized to determine that assessed value.

(2) The term does not include—

(i) A value assigned to tax-exempt real property;

(ii) A value assigned to real property for the purpose of generating other types of revenues, such as payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs);

(iii) Fair market value, or a percentage of fair market value, of real property unless that value was actually used to generate local real property tax revenues for current expenditures (as defined in section 8013); or

(iv) A value assigned to real property in a condemnation or other court proceeding, or a percentage of that value, unless that value was actually used to generate local real property tax revenues for current expenditures (as defined in section 8013).

Eligible Federal property. (1) The term means “Federal property” as defined in § 222.2(c) for section 8002, which meets the following additional requirements:

(i) The United States has acquired the Federal property since 1938; and

(ii) The Federal property was not acquired by exchange for other Federal property that the United States owned within the school district before 1939.

(2) In addition, for local educational agencies (LEAs) that are eligible under § 222.21(a)(2), the term also means land acquired by the United States Forest Service between 1915 and 1990.

(a) For an LEA with an otherwise approvable application to be eligible to receive financial assistance under section 8002 of the Act, the LEA must meet the requirements in subpart A of this part and § 222.22. In addition, unless otherwise provided by statute as meeting the requirements in section 8002(a)(1)(C), the LEA must document—

(1) That the United States owns or has acquired “eligible Federal property” within the LEA, that has an aggregate assessed value of 10 percent or more of the assessed value of—

(i) All real property in that LEA, based upon the assessed values of the eligible Federal property and of all real property (including that Federal property) on the date or dates of acquisition of the eligible Federal property; or

(ii) All real property in the LEA as assessed in the first year preceding or succeeding acquisition, whichever is greater, only if—

(A) The assessment of all real property in the LEA is not made at the same time or times that the Federal property was so acquired and assessed; and

(B) State law requires an assessment be made of property so acquired; or

(2)(i) That, as demonstrated by written evidence from the United States Forest Service satisfactory to the Secretary, the LEA contains between 20,000 and 60,000 acres of land that has been acquired by the United States Forest Service between 1915 and 1990; and

(ii) That the LEA serves a county chartered by State law in 1875 or 1890.

(b) “Federal property” described in section 8002(d) (certain transferred property) is considered to be owned by the United States for the purpose of paragraph (a) of this section.

(c) If, during any fiscal year, the United States sells, transfers, is otherwise divested of ownership of, or relinquishes an interest in or restriction on, eligible Federal property, the Secretary redetermines the LEA's eligibility for the following fiscal year, based upon the remaining eligible Federal property, in accordance with paragraph (a) of this section. This paragraph does not apply to a transfer of real property by the United States described in section 8002(d).

(d) Except as provided under paragraph (a)(2) of this section, the Secretary's determinations and redeterminations of eligibility under this section are based on the following documents:

(1) For a new section 8002 applicant or newly acquired eligible Federal property, only upon—

(i) Original records as of the time(s) of Federal acquisition of real property, prepared by a legally authorized official, documenting the assessed value of that real property;

(ii) Facsimiles, such as microfilm, or other reproductions of those records; or

(iii) If the documents specified in paragraphs (d)(1)(i) and (ii) are unavailable, other records that the Secretary determines to be appropriate and reliable for establishing eligibility under section 8002(a)(1) of the Act, such as Federal agency records or local historical records.

(2) For a redetermination of an LEA's eligibility under section 8002(a)(1), only upon—

(i) Records described in paragraph (d)(1) of this section; or

(ii) Department records.

(e) The Secretary does not base the determination or redetermination of an LEA's eligibility under this section upon secondary documentation that is in the nature of an opinion, such as estimates, certifications, or appraisals.

(a) An LEA with an otherwise approvable application is eligible to receive assistance under section 8002 for a fiscal year only if the LEA meets the requirements in subpart A of these regulations and § 222.21, and is not substantially compensated, for the loss in revenue resulting from Federal ownership of real property by increases in revenue accruing to the LEA during the previous fiscal year from Federal activities with respect to the eligible Federal property in the LEA.

(b) The Secretary considers that an LEA is substantially compensated by increases in revenue from Federal activities with respect to the eligible Federal property if—

(1) The LEA received new or increased revenue during the preceding fiscal year that is generated directly from the eligible Federal property or activities in or on that property; and

(2) The revenue described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section equals or exceeds the maximum payment amount under section 8002(b) for the fiscal year for which the LEA seeks assistance.

(c) If an LEA described in paragraph (a) of this section received revenue described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section during the preceding fiscal year that is less than the maximum payment amount calculated under section 8002(b)(2) for the fiscal year for which the LEA seeks assistance, the Secretary reduces that maximum payment amount by the amount of that revenue received by the LEA.

(d) For purposes of this section, the amount of revenue that an LEA receives during the previous fiscal year from activities conducted on Federal property does not include the following:

(1) Payments received by the agency from the Secretary of Defense to support—

(i) The operation of a domestic dependent elementary or secondary school; or

(ii) The provision of a free public education to dependents of members of the Armed Forces residing on or near a military installation.

(2) Federal payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOTs or PILTs), including PILTs for Federal entitlement lands authorized by Public Law 97-258, 31 U.S.C. 6901-6906.

(a) General. A local educational agency (LEA) determines the aggregate assessed value of its eligible Federal property for its section 8002 payment as follows:

(1) A local official who is responsible for assessing the value of real property located in the jurisdiction of the LEA in order to levy a property tax makes the determination of the section 8002 aggregate assessed value, based on estimated assessed values (EAVs) for the eligible Federal property in the jurisdiction.

(2) The local official first categorizes the types of expected uses of the eligible Federal property in each Federal installation or area (e.g., Federal forest) based on the highest and best uses of taxable properties adjacent to the eligible Federal property (adjacent properties), and allocates a portion of the acres of the eligible Federal property to each of those expected uses, in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section.

(3) For each category of expected use of the eligible Federal property identified in accordance with paragraph (a)(2) of this section for each Federal installation or area, the local official then determines a base value in accordance with paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section.

(4) The local official next determines a section 8002 EAV for each category of expected use of the eligible Federal property in each Federal installation or area. The official determines that EAV by adjusting the base value for that category established in accordance with paragraph (a)(3) of this section, by any percentage, ratio, index, or other factor that the official would use to determine the assessed value (as defined in § 222.20) of the eligible Federal property to generate local real property tax revenues for current expenditures if that eligible Federal property were taxable. (This process is illustrated in Example 8 and Table 8-2 at the end of this section.)

(5) The local official then determines a total section 8002 EAV for each Federal installation or area in the LEA by adding together the assessed values determined pursuant to paragraph (a)(4) of this section for all property use categories of eligible Federal property in that Federal installation or area.

(6) The local official determines a section 8002 aggregate assessed value for the LEA as follows:

(i) If the LEA contains a single Federal installation or area with eligible Federal property, the total section 8002 EAV determined pursuant to paragraph (a)(5) of this section constitutes the section 8002 aggregate assessed value for the LEA.

(ii) If the LEA contains more than one Federal installation or area with eligible Federal property, the local official calculates the section 8002 aggregate assessed value for all of the eligible Federal property in the LEA by adding together the section 8002 total EAVs determined pursuant to paragraph (a)(5) of this section for all Federal installations and areas containing eligible Federal property within the LEA. (This process is illustrated in Example 8 and Table 8-2 at the end of this section.)

(b) Categorizing expected uses. (1) The local official categorizes the expected uses of the eligible Federal property, in accordance with paragraph (a)(2) of this section, by—

(i) Identifying the tax assessment classifications that represent the highest and best uses of the taxable adjacent property (e.g., residential, commercial, agricultural); and

(ii) Determining the relative proportions of taxable adjacent properties, based on acreage, that are devoted to each of those tax assessment classifications that represent the highest and best uses of the taxable adjacent property (e.g., agricultural—50 percent; residential—40 percent; commercial—10 percent).

(2) The local official then determines the allocation of each of those expected uses to the eligible Federal property acres by multiplying each of the proportions determined under paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section by the total acres of the eligible Federal property in that Federal installation or area.

(c) Determining the base value for expected use categories. The local official determines a base value for each category of expected use of the eligible Federal property in accordance with paragraph (a)(3) of this section as follows:

(1) The local official first identifies the taxable-use portion of the eligible Federal property acres in each expected use category as follows:

(i) The local official allocates a proportion (percentage) of the eligible Federal property acres identified for each expected use category under paragraph (b)(2) of this section to expected non-assessed or tax-exempt uses, such as public open space, schools, churches, and roads. The local official bases these proportions on the actual non-assessed or tax-exempt uses for each category of taxable property in the entire tax jurisdiction(s) where the selected taxable adjacent properties are located.

(ii) The local official then determines the number of acres attributable to non-assessed or tax-exempt uses for each expected use category by multiplying the non-assessed or tax-exempt proportions identified in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section by the number of acres in each expected-use category determined pursuant to paragraph (b)(2) of this section.

(2)(i) When selecting taxable adjacent properties for the base year in accordance with paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section, the local official may include taxable adjacent properties that are recent sales (as defined in paragraph (e)(3) of this section), among other taxable adjacent properties, up to the following proportion:

In addition to the terms defined in § 222.2, the following definition applies to this part:

Free public education. (1) The term means education that is provided—

(i) At public expense;

(ii)(A) As the complete elementary or secondary educational program as determined under State law through grade 12; and

(B) Preschool education, whether or not included as elementary education by State law;

(iii) In a school of the local educational agency (LEA) or under a tuition arrangement with another LEA or other educational entity; and

(iv) Under public supervision and direction, except with respect to children with disabilities.

(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(i) of this definition, education is provided at public expense if—

(i) There is no tuition charge to the child or the child's parents; and

(ii) Federal funds, other than funds under the Act, do not provide a substantial portion of the educational program.

(3) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(ii) of this definition, the complete elementary or secondary educational program is the program recognized by the State as meeting all requirements for elementary or secondary education for the children claimed and, except for preschool education, does not include a program that provides only—

(i) Supplementary services or instruction; or

(ii) A portion of the required educational program.

(4) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(iii) of this definition, a tuition arrangement must—

(i) Satisfy all applicable legal requirements in the State; and

(ii) Genuinely reflect the applicant LEA's responsibility to provide a free public education to the children claimed under section 8003.

(5) For the purpose of paragraph (1)(iv) of this definition, education provided under public supervision and direction means education that is provided—

(i) In a school of the applicant LEA or another LEA; or

(ii) By another educational entity, over which the applicant LEA, or other public agency, exercises authority with respect to the significant aspects of the educational program for the children claimed. The Secretary considers significant aspects of the educational program to include administrative decisions relating to teachers, instruction, and curriculum.

The Secretary makes payments to an LEA with an otherwise approvable application for children claimed under section 8003(b) of the Act if—

(a) The LEA meets the requirements in subpart A of these regulations and this subpart; and

(b)(1) The LEA is responsible under applicable State or Federal law for providing a free public education to those children;

(2) The LEA is providing a free public education to those children; and

(3) The State provides funds for the education of those children on the same basis as all other public school children in the State, unless permitted otherwise under section 8009 of the Act.

(a) The Secretary determines an LEA's payment under section 8003(b) on the basis of information in the LEA's application, including information regarding the membership of federally connected children.

(b) The LEA must supply information in its application regarding its federally connected membership on the basis of any count described in §§ 222.33 through 222.35.

(a)(1) An applicant must select a day in the current school year as the survey date for making the first membership count, which must be no earlier than the fourth day of the regular school year and on or before January 31.

(2) The applicant must use the same survey date for all schools in the LEA.

(b) As of the survey date, the applicant must—

(1) Count the membership of its federally connected children; and

(2) Count the total membership of its children—both federally connected and non-federally connected.

(a)(1) The applicant may, but is not required to, make a second count of membership.

(2) If the applicant chooses to make a second count of membership, the applicant must select a day after January 31, but no later than May 14, as the survey date for making the second membership count, and make that count in accordance with § 222.33(b).

(3) The applicant must use the same survey date for the second membership count for all schools in the LEA.

(b) The applicant may use the information obtained from a second membership count to amend its application for assistance as described in § 222.5(b)(1).

An applicant counts the membership of its federally connected children by using one or both of the following methods:

(a) Parent-pupil survey. An applicant may conduct a parent-pupil survey to count the membership of its federally connected children, which must be counted as of the survey date.

(1) The applicant shall conduct a parent-pupil survey by providing a form to a parent of each pupil enrolled in the LEA to substantiate the pupil's place of residence and the parent's place of employment. A parent-pupil survey form must include the following:

(i) Pupil enrollment information (this information may also be obtained from school records), including—

(A) Name of pupil;

(B) Date of birth of the pupil; and

(C) Name of public school and grade of the pupil.

(ii) Pupil residence and parent employment information, including—

(A) Address of the pupil's residence (or other location information for that residence, such as legal description), including the name of the Federal facility if the pupil's residence is on Federal property; and

(B) Name (as it appears on the employer's payroll record) of the parent (mother, father, legal guardian or other person standing in loco parentis) who is employed on Federal property and with whom the pupil resides (unless the parent is a member of the uniformed services on active duty);

(C) Name and address of the Federal property on which the parent is employed (or other location information, such as legal description), unless the parent is a member of the uniformed services on active duty;

(D) If the parent is a member of the uniformed services on active duty, the name, rank, and branch of service of that parent;

(E) If the parent is a civilian employed on a Federal vessel, the name of the vessel, hull number, and name of the controlling agency;

(F) The signature of the parent supplying the information and the date of such signature; and

(G) The name of the parent's employer and the employer's address (or other location information, such as legal description), unless a parent is a member of the uniformed services on active duty.

(2) An LEA may accept a parent-pupil survey form, or a parent-pupil survey form that is signed by a person other than a parent, only under unusual circumstances. In those instances, the parent-pupil survey form must show why the parent did not sign the survey form, and when, how, and from whom the residence and employment information was obtained.

(b) Source check. (1) An applicant may count the membership of its federally connected children by using a source check to substantiate a pupil's place of residence or parent's place of employment on the survey date.

(2) A source check is a form provided—

(i) To a parent's employer, on which the employer certifies as to the place of employment of a parent of a pupil claimed;

(ii) To a housing official, on which the official certifies as to the residence of each pupil claimed; or

(iii) To a tribal official, on which the official certifies as to the residence of each pupil claimed residing on Indian lands over which that tribal official has jurisdiction.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, an LEA is eligible to receive a payment under section 8003(b) (basic support and learning opportunity threshold) and (e) (hold harmless) for a fiscal year only if the total number of its eligible federally connected children for whom it provided a free public education for the preceding fiscal year was—

(1) At least 400 who were in average daily attendance (ADA); or

(2) At least 3 percent of the total number of children in ADA.

(b) Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, an applicant LEA is eligible to receive a payment under section 8003 for a fiscal year on behalf of federally connected children described in section 8003(a)(1)(F) or (G) only if the total number of those children for whom it provided a free public education for the preceding fiscal year was at least—

(1) 1,000 in ADA; or

(2) 10 percent of the total number of children in ADA.

(c) Children described in paragraph (b) of this section are counted for the purposes of paragraph (a) of this section only if the applicant LEA is eligible to receive a payment on behalf of those children under section 8003.

(d) This section does not apply to hold harmless payments under section 8003(e) for fiscal year 1995.

(a) This section describes how the Secretary computes the ADA of federally connected children for each category in section 8003 to determine an applicant's payment.

(b) If an LEA is in a State that collects actual ADA data for purposes of distributing State aid for education, the Secretary calculates the ADA of that LEA's federally connected children for the current fiscal year payment as follows:

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(3) of this section—

(i) By dividing the ADA of all the LEA's children for the second preceding fiscal year by the LEA's total membership on its survey date for the second preceding fiscal year (or, in the case of an LEA that conducted two membership counts in the second preceding fiscal year, by the average of the LEA's total membership on the two survey dates); and

(ii) By multiplying the figure determined in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section by the LEA's total membership of federally connected children in each subcategory described in section 8003 and claimed in the LEA's application for the current fiscal year payment (or, in the case of an LEA that conducts two membership counts, by the average of the LEA's total membership of federally connected children in each subcategory on the two survey dates).

(2)(i) For purposes of this section, actual ADA means raw ADA data that have not been weighted or adjusted to reflect higher costs for specific types of students for purposes of distributing State aid for education.

(ii) If an LEA provides a program of free public summer school, attendance data for the summer session are included in the LEA's ADA figure in accordance with State law or practice.

(iii) An LEA's ADA count includes attendance data for children for whom it makes tuition arrangements with other educational entities.

(3) Attendance data are not counted for any child—

(i) Who is not physically present at school for the daily minimum time period required by the State, unless the child is—

(A) Participating via telecommunication or correspondence course programs that meet State standards; or

(B) Being served by a State-approved homebound instruction program for the daily minimum time period appropriate for the child; or

(ii) Attending the applicant's schools under a tuition arrangement with another LEA.

(c) If an LEA is in a State that does not collect ADA data for purposes of distributing State aid for education, the LEA or SEA shall submit data necessary for the Secretary to calculate the ADA of the LEA's federally connected children as follows:

(1) If an LEA is in a State that formerly collected ADA data for purposes of distributing State aid for education, the SEA may submit the total ADA and total membership data for the State for each of the last three fiscal years that ADA data were collected. The Secretary uses these data to calculate the ADA of the LEA's federally connected children by—

(i) Dividing the total ADA data by the total membership data for each of the three fiscal years and averaging the results; and

(ii) Multiplying the average determined in paragraph (c)(1)(i) of this section by the LEA's total membership of federally connected children as described in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section.

(2) An LEA may submit attendance data based on sampling conducted during the previous fiscal year. The sampling must include attendance data for all children for at least 30 school days. The data must be collected during at least three periods evenly distributed throughout the school year. Each collection period must consist of at least five consecutive school days. The Secretary uses these data to calculate the ADA of the LEA's federally connected children by—

(i) Determining the ADA of all children in the sample;

(ii) Dividing the figure obtained in paragraph (c)(2)(i) of this section by the LEA's total membership for the previous fiscal year; and

(iii) Multiplying the figure determined in paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section by the LEA's total membership of federally connected children for the current fiscal year, as described in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section.

(3) If an LEA is in a State that distributes State aid for education based on data similar to attendance data, the SEA may request that the Secretary use those data to calculate the ADA of the LEA's federally connected children. If the Secretary determines that those data are, in effect, equivalent to attendance data, the Secretary allows use of the requested data and determines the method by which the ADA of the LEA's federally connected children will be calculated.

The maximum basic support payment that an LEA may receive under section 8003(b) for any fiscal year is the sum of its total weighted student units under section 8003(a)(2) for the federally connected children eligible to be counted as the basis for payment, multiplied by the greater of one of the following:

(a) One-half of the State average per pupil expenditure for the third fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the LEA seeks assistance.

(b) One-half of the national average per pupil expenditure for the third fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the LEA seeks assistance.

(c) The comparable local contribution rate (LCR) determined in accordance with §§ 222.39-222.41.

(d) The State average per pupil expenditure multiplied by the local contribution percentage as defined in section 8013(8) of the Act.

(a) In selecting an LCR based upon generally comparable LEAs, an LEA shall use the following steps:

(1) Step 1. The LEA shall select the factor or factors in § 222.39 the LEA wishes to use as the basis for general comparability.

(2) Step 2. Using State-supplied data, the LEA shall identify within the State the entire group of LEAs (containing at least 10 LEAs exclusive of significantly impacted LEAs described in § 222.39(b)(1)) that matches the factor or factors selected in Step 1 and that contains the applicant LEA or would contain the applicant LEA if it were not significantly impacted.

(3) Step 3. The LEA shall recommend to the Secretary the LCR, which the SEA has computed according to the provisions of § 222.39, based on the group identified in Step 2.

(b) A significantly impacted LEA described in § 222.39(b)(1) may—

(1) Apply for assistance under this program; and

(2) Under the generally comparable LEA method, recommend for itself the LCR of any group in which it would be included based on grade span/legal classification, size, location, or a combination of these factors, if it were not excluded as significantly impacted in § 222.39(b)(1).

Except as otherwise specified in the Act, the SEA, subject to the Secretary's review and approval, shall compute an LCR for each group of generally comparable LEAs within its State that was identified using the factors in § 222.39, as follows:

(a)(1) The SEA shall compile the aggregate local current expenditures of the comparable LEAs in each group for the third fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the LCR is being computed.

(2) For purposes of this section, the SEA shall consider only those aggregate current expenditures made by the generally comparable LEAs from revenues derived from local sources. No State or Federal funds may be included.

(b) The SEA shall compile the aggregate number of children in ADA to whom the generally comparable LEAs in each group provided a free public education during the third fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which the LCR is being computed.

(c) The SEA shall divide—

(1) The aggregate current expenditures determined under paragraph (a) of this section by;

(2) The aggregate number of children determined under paragraph (b) of this section.

(d) The SEA shall submit the resulting figure as the “comparable LCR” to be used by the Secretary under section 8003(b)(1)(C)(iii) in determining the LEA's maximum payment amount under section 8003.

In addition to the terms referenced or defined in § 222.2, the following definitions in 20 U.S.C. 1401 or 34 CFR § 77.1 apply to this subpart:

Children with disabilities means children—

(1)(i) With mental retardation, hearing impairments including deafness, speech or language impairments, visual impairments including blindness, serious emotional disturbance, orthopedic impairments, autism, traumatic brain injury, other health impairments, or specific learning disabilities; and

(ii) Who, by reason thereof, need special education and related services.

(2) The term children with disabilities for children aged 3 to 5, inclusive, may, at a State's discretion, include children—

(i) Experiencing developmental delays, as defined by the State and as measured by appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures, in one or more of the following areas: physical development, cognitive development, communication development, social or emotional development, or adaptive development; and

(ii) Who, by reason thereof, need special education and related services.

Children with specific learning disabilities means children who have a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which disorder may manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. These disorders include conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. This term does not include children who have learning problems which are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor disabilities, of mental retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.

Free appropriate public education means special education and related services that—

(1) Have been provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without charge;

(2) Meet the standards of the State educational agency;

(3) Include an appropriate preschool, elementary, or secondary school education in the State involved; and

(4) Are provided in conformity with the individualized education program (IEP) required under section 1414(a)(5) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Individualized education program (IEP) means—

(1) A written statement for each child with a disability developed in any meeting by a representative of the LEA or an intermediate educational unit who shall be qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, specially designed instruction to meet the unique needs of children with disabilities, the teacher, the parents or guardian of the child, and whenever appropriate, the child, which statement must include—

(i) A statement of the present levels of educational performance of the child;

(ii) A statement of annual goals, including short-term instructional objectives;

(iii) A statement of the specific educational services to be provided to the child, and the extent to which the child will be able to participate in regular educational programs;

(iv) A statement of the needed transition services for students beginning no later than age 16 and annually thereafter (and, when determined appropriate for the individual, beginning at age 14 or younger), including, when appropriate, a statement of the interagency responsibilities or linkages (or both) before the student leaves the school setting;

(v) The projected date for initiation and anticipated duration of these services; and

(vi) Appropriate objective criteria and evaluation procedures and schedules for determining, on at least an annual basis, whether instructional objectives are being achieved.

(2) In the case where a participating agency, other than the educational agency, fails to provide agreed upon services, the educational agency shall reconvene the IEP team to identify alternative strategies to meet the transition objectives.

Intermediate educational unit means any public authority, other than an LEA, that is under the general supervision of a State educational agency, that is established by State law for the purpose or providing free public education on a regional basis, and that provides special education and related services to children with disabilities within that State.

Preschool means the educational level from a child's birth to the time at which the State provides elementary education.

Related services means transportation and those developmental, corrective, and other supportive services (including speech pathology and audiology, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, social work services, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, and medical services, except that medical services must be for diagnostic and evaluation purposes only) as may be required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special education, and includes the early identification and assessment of disabling conditions in children.

Special education means specially designed instruction, at no cost to parents or guardians, to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability, including—

(1) Instruction conducted in the classroom, in the home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings; and

(2) Instruction in physical education.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b)(2) of this section, the children described in sections 8003(a)(1)(A)(ii), (a)(1)(B), (a)(1)(C), and (a)(1)(D) of the Act who are eligible for services under the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) may be counted by the local educational agency (LEA) for the purpose of computing a payment under section 8003(d).

(b)(1) An LEA may count a child or children described in paragraph (a) of this section who attend private schools or residential programs if the LEA has placed or referred the child or children in accordance with the provisions of section 613 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq. and 34 CFR part 300, subparts C and D.

(2) Children who are placed in private schools by their parents may not be counted under section 8003(d), but may participate in public school programs that use section 8003(d) funds.

To receive a payment under section 8003(d), an eligible LEA shall—

(a) State in its application the number of federally connected children with disabilities it claims for a payment under section 8003(d);

(b) Have in effect a written IEP for each federally connected child with disabilities claimed for a payment under section 8003(d); and

(c) Meet the requirements of subparts A and C of the regulations in this part.

(a) An LEA shall use funds provided under section 8003(d) in accordance with the provisions of section 8003(d)(2) and 34 CFR part 300.

(b) Obligations and expenditures of section 8003(d) funds may be incurred in either of the two following ways:

(1) An LEA may obligate or expend section 8003(d) funds for the fiscal year for which the funds were appropriated.

(2) An LEA may reimburse itself for obligations or expenditures of local and general State aid funds for the fiscal year for which the section 8003(d) funds were appropriated.

(c) An LEA shall use its section 8003(d) funds for the following types of expenditures:

(1) Expenditures that are reasonably related to the conduct of programs or projects for the free appropriate public education of federally connected children with disabilities. These expenditures may include program planning and evaluation but may not include construction of school facilities.

(2) Acquisition cost (net invoice price) of equipment required for the free appropriate public education of federally connected children with disabilities.

(i) If section 8003(d) funds are used for the acquisition of any equipment described in this paragraph (c)(2) of this section, the fair market value of any financial advantage realized through rebates, discounts, bonuses, free pieces of equi