regional resource centers, services for deaf-blind children, recruitment of personnel

regional resource centers, services for deaf-blind children, recruitment of personnel Sec. 151. Title VI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 is amended by— (1) inserting immediately below the heading of such title “Part A— Assistance to States for Education of Handicapped Children”; (2) inserting immediately above the heading of section 608 “Part E— General Provisions”; (3) redesignating sections 608, 609, and 610 and references thereto as sections 611, 612, and 613, respectively; (4) striking out the words “this title” wherever they occur in sections 601, and 603 through 607, and inserting in lieu thereof “this part”; and (5) inserting immediately after section 607 the following: 81 Stat. 801 “Part B— Regional Resource Centers for Improvement of the Education of Handicapped Children “regional resource centers “Sec. 608. (a) For the purpose of aiding in the establishment and operation of regional centers which will develop and apply the best methods of appraising the special educational needs of handicapped children referred to them and will provide other services to assist in meeting such needs, there are authorized to be appropriated $7,500,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1968, $7,750,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1969, and $10,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1970. “(b) Appropriations under this section shall be available to the Commissioner for grants to or contracts with institutions of higher education, State educational agencies, or combinations of such agencies or institutions (which combinations may include one or more local educational agencies), within particular regions of the United States, to pay all or part of the cost of establishment (including construction) or operation of regional resource centers for the improvement of education of the handicapped in such regions. Centers established or operated under this section shall (1) provide testing and educational evaluation to determine the special educational needs of handicapped children referred to such centers, (2) develop educational programs to meet those needs, and (3) assist schools and other appropriate agencies, organizations, and institutions in providing such educational programs through services such as consultation (including, in appropriate cases, consultation with parents or teachers of handicapped children at such regional centers), periodic reexamination and reevaluation of special educational programs, and other technical services. “(c) In determining whether to approve an application for a project under this section, the Commissioner shall consider the need for such a center in the region to be served by the applicant and the capability of the applicant to develop and apply, with the assistance of funds under this section, new methods, techniques, devices, or facilities relating to educational evaluation or education of handicapped children. “(d) Payment pursuant to grants or contracts under this section may be made (after necessary adjustments on account of previously made underpayments or overpayments) in advance or by reimbursement, and in such installments and on such conditions as the Commissioner may determine. “Part C— Centers and Services for Deaf-Blind Children “Sec. 609. (a) It is the purpose of this part to provide, through a limited number of model centers for deaf-blind children, a program designed to develop and bring to bear upon such children, beginning as early as feasible in life, those specialized, intensive professional and allied services, methods, and aids that are found to be most effective to enable them to achieve their full potential for communication with and adjustment to the world around them, for useful and meaningful-participation in society, and for self-fulfillment. “(b) The Secretary is authorized, upon such terms and conditions (subject to the provisions of subsection (d)(1) of this section) as he deems appropriate to carry out the purposes of this part, to make grants to or contracts with public or nonprofit private agencies, organizations, or institutions to pay all or part of the cost of establishment (including, when necessary, construction) or operation, or both, of centers for deaf-blind children. 81 Stat. 802 “(c) In determining whether to make a grant or contract under subsection (b), the Secretary shall take into consideration the need for a center for deaf-blind children in the light of the general availability and quality of existing services for such children in the part of the country involved. “(d) (1) A grant or contract pursuant to subsection (b) shall be made only if the Secretary determines that there is satisfactory assurance that the center will provide such services as he has by regulation prescribed, including at least— “(A) comprehensive diagnostic and evaluative services for deaf-blind children; “(B) a program for the adjustment, orientation, and education of deaf-blind children which integrates all the professional and allied services necessary therefor; and “(C) effective consultative services for parents, teachers, and others who play a direct role in the lives of deaf-blind children to enable them to understand the special problems of such children and to assist in the process of their adjustment, orientation, and education. “(2) Any such services may be provided to deaf-blind children (and, where applicable, other persons) regardless of whether they reside in the center, may be provided at some place other than the center, and may include the provision of transportation for any such children (including an attendant) and for parents. “(e) The Secretary is further authorized, either as part of any grant or contract under subsection (b), or by separate grant to or contract with an agency, organization, or institution operating a center meeting the requirements prescribed by or pursuant to subsection (d), to provide for the payment of all or part of the cost of such activities as— “(1) research to identify and meet the full range of special needs of deaf-blind children; “(2) development or demonstration of new, or improvements in existing, methods, approaches, or techniques which would contribute to the adjustment and education of deaf-blind children; “(3) training (either directly or otherwise) of professional and allied personnel engaged or preparing to engage in programs specifically designed for deaf-blind children, including payment of stipends for trainees and allowances for travel and other expenses for them and their dependents; and “(4) dissemination of materials and information about practices found effective in working with deaf-blind children. “(f) For purposes of this part, the term ‘construction’ includes, in addition to those matters set forth in section 701(b), construction of residential facilities; and the cost of construction shall be deemed to include the cost of acquisition of land in connection with any of the foregoing, but not the cost of offsite improvements. “(g) If within twenty years after the completion of any construction (except minor remodeling or alteration) for which funds have been paid pursuant to a grant or contract under this part the facility constructed ceases to be used for the purposes for which it was constructed, the United States, unless the Secretary determines that there is good cause for releasing the recipient of the funds from its obligation, shall be entitled to recover from the applicant or other owner of the facility an amount which bears the same ratio to the then value of the facility as the amount of such Federal funds bore to the cost of the portion of the facility financed with such funds. Such value shall be determined by agreement of the parties or by action brought in the United States district court for the district in which the facility is situated. 81 Stat. 803 “(h) For purposes of this part, the determination of children who are both deaf and blind shall be made in accordance with regulations of the Secretary. “(i) Payments pursuant to grants or contracts under this part may be made (after necessary adjustment on account of previously made overpayments or underpayments) in advance or by way of reimbursements, and in such installments and on such conditions as the Secretary may determine. “(j) For the purpose of carrying out this part, there are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1968, $3,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1969, and $7,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1970. “Part D— Recruitment of Personnel and Information on Education of the Handicapped “grants or contracts to improve recruiting of educational personnel, and to improve dissemination of information concerning educational opportunities for the handicapped “Sec. 610. (a) The Commissioner is authorized to make grants to public or nonprofit private agencies, organizations, or institutions, or to enter into contracts with public or private agencies, organizations, or institutions, for projects for— “(1) encouraging students and professional personnel to work in various fields of education of handicapped children and youth through, among other ways, developing and distributing imaginative or innovative materials to assist in recruiting personnel for such careers, or publicizing existing forms of financial aid which might enable students to pursue such careers, or “(2) disseminating information about the programs, services, and resources for the education of handicapped children, or providing referral services, to parents, teachers, and other persons especially interested in the handicapped. “(b) To carry out the purposes of this section, there are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1968, and for each of the two succeeding fiscal years.”