20 U.S.C. § 1463 — Technical assistance, demonstration projects, dissemination of information, and implementation of scientifically based research

(a) In general. The Secretary must award competitive grants to eligible entities, or enter into contracts or cooperative agreements with them. The entities must provide technical assistance, support model demonstration projects, share useful information, and carry out activities supported by scientifically based research. (b) Required activities. Money received under this section must support activities that improve services under this chapter, including the practices of professionals and others involved in providing those services to children with disabilities. The activities must promote academic achievement and improve results for children with disabilities through the following: (1) implementing effective strategies for addressing inappropriate behavior of students with disabilities in schools, including strategies to prevent children with emotional and behavioral problems from developing emotional disturbances that require special education and related services; (2) improving the alignment, compatibility, and development of valid and reliable assessments and alternate assessments for assessing student academic achievement, as described under section 6311(b)(2) of this title; (3) providing training for both regular-education teachers and special-education teachers to address the needs of students with different learning styles; (4) disseminating information about innovative, effective, and efficient curriculum designs, instructional approaches, and strategies, and identifying positive academic and social learning opportunities that: (A) provide effective transitions between educational settings or from school to settings after school; and (B) improve educational and transition results at every level of the educational system where the activities occur. In particular, they must improve the progress of children with disabilities, as measured by assessments within the general-education curriculum involved; and (5) applying scientifically based findings to facilitate system-wide changes related to providing services to children with disabilities in policy, procedure, practice, and the training and use of personnel. (c) Authorized activities. Activities allowed under this section may improve services under this chapter, including the practices of professionals and others involved in providing those services to children with disabilities. They may promote academic achievement and improve results for children with disabilities through the following: (1) applying and testing research findings in typical settings where children with disabilities receive services to determine the usefulness, effectiveness, and general applicability of those findings in areas such as improving instructional methods, curricula, and tools such as textbooks and media; (2) supporting and promoting coordination between early-intervention and educational services for children with disabilities and services provided by health, rehabilitation, and social-service agencies; (3) promoting improved alignment and compatibility of general- and special-education reforms concerned with curricular and instructional reform, and evaluating those reforms; (4) enabling professionals, parents of children with disabilities, and other persons to learn about and implement scientifically based research findings and successful practices developed in model demonstration projects relating to providing services to children with disabilities; (5) conducting outreach and disseminating information about successful approaches to overcoming system-wide barriers to the effective and efficient delivery of early-intervention, educational, and transition services to personnel who provide services to children with disabilities; (6) assisting States and local educational agencies with planning system-wide changes that will promote improved early-intervention, educational, and transition results for children with disabilities; (7) promoting change through a multistate or regional framework that benefits States, local educational agencies, and other participants in partnerships that are working toward system-wide-change outcomes; (8) focusing on needs and issues specific to a population of children with disabilities, such as providing single-State and multistate technical assistance and in-service training: (A) to schools and agencies serving deaf-blind children and their families; (B) to programs and agencies serving other groups of children with low-incidence disabilities and their families; (C) addressing the postsecondary-education needs of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing; and (D) to schools and personnel providing special education and related services for children with autism spectrum disorders; (9) demonstrating models of personnel preparation to ensure appropriate placements and services for all students and to reduce disproportionality in eligibility, placement, and disciplinary actions for minority and limited-English-proficient children; and (10) disseminating information on how to reduce inappropriate racial and ethnic disproportionalities identified under section 1418 of this title. (d) Balance among activities and age ranges. In carrying out this section, the Secretary must ensure an appropriate balance across all age ranges of children with disabilities. (e) Linking States to information sources. In carrying out this section, the Secretary must support projects that link States to technical-assistance resources, including special-education and general-education resources. The Secretary must make research and related products available through libraries, electronic networks, parent-training projects, and other information sources, including through the activities of the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance established under part D of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 [20 U.S.C. 9561 et seq.]. (f) Applications. (1) In general. An eligible entity seeking a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this section must submit an application to the Secretary at the time, in the manner, and containing the information the Secretary requires. (2) Standards. To the maximum extent feasible, each eligible entity must demonstrate that the project described in its application is supported by scientifically valid research carried out in accordance with the standards for conducting and evaluating all relevant research and development established by the National Center for Education Research. (3) Priority. As appropriate, the Secretary must give priority to applications that propose to serve teachers and school personnel directly in the school environment.