The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) - Part C: Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities - Updated February 24, 2026

Oct 15, 2026

Summarizes the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the specific requirements of Part C, which supports early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. Explains how federal grant conditions require free appropriate public education (FAPE) and an accessible early intervention system, including procedural safeguards covering identification, evaluation, placement, mediation, and complaints. Details Part C implementation through state systems, eligibility, public awareness and child find, assessments, and transition planning, including recent funding levels and child age-based timelines.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

State Requirements

Lead Agency

State Interagency Coordinating Council

Services for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities

Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities

Accessing and Entering the Early Intervention System

Pre-Referral: Public Awareness Program and Child Find

Referral Activities: Screening, Evaluations, and Assessment

Individualized Family Services Plan (IFSP)

Timeframes

Transition/Exiting Part C

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part C: Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Updated February 24, 2026 Congressional Research Service [https://crsreports.congress.gov](https://crsreports.congress.gov)[ ](https://crsreports.congress.gov)R43631 Summary The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a statute that authorizes grant programs that support special education services. Under the IDEA, a series of conditions are attached to the receipt of grant funds. These conditions aim to provide certain educational and procedural guarantees for students with disabilities and their families. The grant programs authorized under the IDEA provide federal funding for special education and early intervention services for children with disabilities (birth through 21 years old) and require, as a condition for the receipt of such funds, the provision of a free appropriate public education (FAPE) (i.e., specially designed instruction provided at no cost to parents that meets the needs of a child with a disability) and an accessible early intervention system (a statewide system to provide and coordinate early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families). The IDEA also outlines and requires the use of procedural safeguards pertaining to the identification, evaluation, and placement of students in special education services that are intended to protect the rights of parents and children with disabilities. These procedures include parental rights to resolve disputes through a mediation process, and present and resolve complaints through a due process complaint procedure and through state complaint procedures. Originally enacted in 1975, the IDEA has been the subject of numerous reauthorizations to extend services and rights to children with disabilities. The 1986 reauthorization of the IDEA created a grants program that would provide early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, what is now known as Part C, Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities. The most recent reauthorization of the IDEA was P.L. 108-446, enacted in 2004. Funding for Part B of the IDEA, Assistance for Education of all Children with Disabilities, the largest part of the act, is permanently authorized. Funding for Part C, Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities, and Part D, National Activities, was authorized through FY2011. Funding for Part Cand Part D programs continues to be authorized through annual appropriations. Part C of the IDEA authorizes a grant program to aid each state in implementing a system of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families. In 2023, approximately 463,000 infants and toddlers with disabilities received early intervention services under Part C of the IDEA. Annual funding to each state for Part C programs is based upon the state’s proportion of the number of children, birth through two years old, in the general population. In FY2025, approximately $15.4 billion was appropriated for the IDEA, $540 million of which was appropriated for Part C, representing 3.5% of total IDEA funding. Part C requires each state to implement a public awareness program and “child find” activities to identify infants and toddlers who may be eligible for early intervention services. To be eligible for early intervention services under Part C of the IDEA, an infant or toddler must meet his or her state’s definition of an infant or toddler with a disability or developmental delay. Once a child is determined to be an infant or toddler with a disability, the early intervention system is to provide an assessment of the needs of both the child and the child’s family. Early intervention coordinators are then to either help the family coordinate services for their child through outside service providers or directly provide early intervention services to the child and the child’s

FAQs

What does IDEA Part C authorize and require for states?

Part C authorizes states to implement a system of early intervention services for eligible infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, supported by federal grant funding.

How do children become eligible for Part C early intervention services?

Eligibility is based on the state’s definition of a child with a disability or developmental delay, reached through child find and referral activities such as screening, evaluations, and assessment.

What procedural safeguards does IDEA cover for children and parents?

IDEA requires safeguards tied to identification, evaluation, and placement, including parental rights to resolve disputes through mediation and to use due process complaint and state complaint procedures.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by WPS_1786070896