CFR > Title 34 - Education > SUBTITLE B—Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education > CHAPTER III—OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (parts 300 to 397) > PART 303—EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOR INFANTS AND TODDLERS WITH DISABILITIES > SUBPART D—Program and Service Components of a Statewide System of Early Intervention Services (§303.300 to §303.361) > 303.300—State eligibility criteria and procedures.

303.300—State eligibility criteria and procedures.

Each statewide system of early intervention services must include the eligibility criteria and procedures, consistent with § 303.16, that will be used by the State in carrying out programs under this part.
(a) The State shall define developmental delay by—
(1) Describing, for each of the areas listed in § 303.16(a)(1), the procedures, including the use of informed clinical opinion, that will be used to measure a child's development; and
(2) Stating the levels of functioning or other criteria that constitute a developmental delay in each of those areas.
(b) The State shall describe the criteria and procedures, including the use of informed clinical opinion, that will be used to determine the existence of a condition that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay under § 303.16(a)(2).
(c) If the State elects to include in its system children who are at risk under § 303.16(b), the State shall describe the criteria and procedures, including the use of informed clinical opinion, that will be used to identify those children.
(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1820-0550)

Code of Federal Regulations

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1432(5), 1435(a)(1) )

Code of Federal Regulations

Note: Under this section and § 303.322(c)(2) , States are required to ensure that informed clinical opinion is used in determining a child's eligibility under this part. Informed clinical opinion is especially important if there are no standardized measures, or if the standardized procedures are not appropriate for a given age or developmental area. If a given standardized procedure is considered to be appropriate, a State's criteria could include percentiles or percentages of levels of functioning on standardized measures.