20 U.S.C. § 7881 — Participation by private school children and teachers

(a) Private school participation.
(1) In general. Unless this chapter says otherwise, a State educational agency, local educational agency, educational service agency, consortium, or other funded entity must, after timely and meaningful consultation with appropriate private-school officials, provide special educational services or other benefits to eligible children enrolled in private elementary or secondary schools, and to their teachers or other educational personnel. The services must address their needs and be provided on an equitable basis, considering the number of eligible children in the areas served by the entity.
(2) Secular, neutral, and nonideological services or benefits. Services and benefits under this section, including materials and equipment, must be secular, neutral, and nonideological.
(3) Special rule. (A) Services and benefits for private-school children, teachers, and other educational personnel must be equitable compared with those for participating public-school people and must be provided on time. (B) The State educational agency must direct its ombudsman designated under section 6320 of this title to monitor and enforce this section’s requirements.
(4) Expenditures. (A) Spending for eligible private-school children, their teachers, and other personnel must equal spending for participating public-school children, taking account of the number and educational needs of the children served. (B) A local educational agency must obligate funds for private-school services in the fiscal year in which it receives them. (C) Each State educational agency must timely tell appropriate private-school officials how much funding local agencies determined is available for eligible private-school children under this subpart.
(5) Provision of services. The agency, consortium, or entity may provide the services itself or through contracts with public or private agencies, organizations, or institutions.
(b) Applicability. (1) This section applies to programs under (A) part C of subchapter I, (B) part A of subchapter II, (C) part A of subchapter III, (D) part A of subchapter IV, (E) part B of subchapter IV, and (F) section 7281 of this title regarding Project SERV. (2) “Eligible children” means children eligible for services under one of those programs.
(c) Consultation. (1) The agency, consortium, or entity must consult with appropriate private-school officials. Both sides must seek agreement on equitable and effective programs, including (A) identifying needs; (B) services offered; (C) how, where, and by whom services are delivered; (D) assessment and use of assessment results; (E) the size and scope of services, available funds, and how the amount is determined; (F) how and when delivery decisions will be made, including thorough consideration of private-school officials’ views on possible third-party providers; (G) whether services will be direct, through another government agency or consortium, or through a third-party contractor; and (H) whether services will use (i) one or more pools containing all funds allocated under subsection (a)(4)(C), based on all low-income children in a participating attendance area who attend private schools, or (ii) the proportion of those funds based on the number of low-income children attending private schools in the agency’s participating attendance area.
(2) If the agency, consortium, or entity rejects private-school officials’ views about using a contractor, it must give them a written explanation of why the local educational agency chose not to use one. (3) Consultation must happen before a decision affecting participation and continue during implementation and assessment. (4) It must include discussion of delivery methods for equitable services to private-school children, teachers, administrators, and other staff. (5) Each local educational agency must keep and send to the State educational agency a written affirmation, signed by each participating private school’s officials, that meaningful consultation occurred. The form must let officials say that consultation was not timely or meaningful or that the design was inequitable. If officials do not provide it within a reasonable time, the local agency must send documentation that consultation, or attempts to consult, occurred. (6) Compliance. (A) If consultation was with a local or educational service agency, a private-school official may complain to the State educational agency that consultation was not meaningful or timely, did not give due consideration to the official’s views, or did not produce equitable treatment. (B) The complaint must state the basis for noncompliance, and all parties must provide appropriate documents to appropriate officials. (C) The State educational agency must provide services directly or through public or private contracts if private-school officials request that and show, under State procedures, that the local agency failed to meet this section.
(d) Public control of funds. (1) A public agency must control funds used for these services and own materials, equipment, and property bought with them, for this chapter’s uses and purposes; it must administer the funds and property. (2) Services must be provided (A) by public-agency employees or (B) by a person, association, agency, organization, or other entity under a public-agency contract. The provider must be independent of the private school and every religious organization, and the public agency must control and supervise the employment or contract. (C) These funds may not be mixed with non-Federal funds.