EARLY EDUCATION FOR HANDICAPPED CHILDREN.

SEC. 303. EARLY EDUCATION FOR HANDICAPPED CHILDREN. (a) Amendments to Subsection (a).— Section 623(a)(1) (20 U.S.C. 1423(a)(1)) is amended— (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), in the first sentence, by striking ‘problems of such children.” and inserting “needs of these children.”; (2) in subparagraph (A), by inserting “or other communication mode and” after “speech”; and (3) in subparagraph (B), by inserting before “encourage” the following: “provide family education and include a parent or their representative of such child, as well as”; (4) in subparagraph (C), by striking “problems” and inserting “special needs”; (5) in subparagraph (D)— (A) by inserting after “practices” the following: “, including interdisciplinary models and practices,”; and (B) by inserting before the comma the following: “and to the parents of such children”; (6) in subparagraph (E), by inserting before the period the following: “, including the involvement of adult role models with disabilities at all levels of the program”; and (7) by striking out “and” at the end of subparagraph (D), by striking out the period at the end of subparagraph (E) and inserting in lieu thereof a comma, and by adding after subparagraph (E) the following: “(F) facilitate and improve the early identification of infants and toddlers with disabilities or those infants and toddlers at risk of having developmental disabilities, “(G) facilitate the transition of infants with disabilities or infants at risk of having developmental delays, from medical care to early intervention services, and the transition from early intervention services to preschool special education or regular education services (especially where the lead agency for early intervention programs under part H is not the State educational agency), “(H) promote the use of assistive technology devices and assistive technology services, where appropriate, to enhance the development of infants and toddlers with disabilities, and “(I) increase the understanding of, and address, the early intervention and preschool needs of children exposed prenatally to maternal substance abuse.”. (b) Amendments to Subsection (b).— Section 623(b) (20 U.S.C. 1423(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “This technical assistance development system shall provide assistance to parents of and advocates for infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities, as well as direct service and administrative personnel involved with such children. Information from the system should be104 STAT. 1122 aggressively disseminated through established information networks and other mechanisms to ensure both an impact and benefits at the community level. The Secretary shall ensure that the technical assistance provided under this subsection includes assistance to part H State agencies on procedures for use by primary referral sources in referring a child to the appropriate agency within the system for evaluation, assessment, or service.”. (c) Amendments to Subsection (c).— Section 623(c) (20 U.S.C. 1423(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: “Such institutes shall disseminate this information in the manner prescribed in section 610(g).”. (d) Amendments to Subsection (d).— Section 623(d) (20 U.S.C. 1423(d)) is amended by inserting before the period the following: “, including programs to integrate children with disabilities into regular preschool programs”. (e) Amendments to Subsection (f).— Section 623(f) (20 U.S.C. 1423(f)) is amended by inserting before the period the following: “, including infants and toddlers with disabilities”. (f) New Subsection (g).— Section 623 (20 U.S.C. 1423) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(g) The Secretary may make grants to, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with, institutions of higher education and nonprofit private organizations to synthesize the knowledge developed under this section and organize, integrate, and present such knowledge so it can be incorporated and imparted to parents, professionals, and others providing or preparing to provide preschool or early intervention services and to persons designing preschool or early intervention programs.”.