§ 303.704 Enforcement.

(a) Needs assistance. If the Secretary determines, for two consecutive years, that a State needs assistance under § 303.703(b)(1)(ii) in implementing the requirements of part C of the Act, the Secretary takes one or more of the following actions:

(1) Advises the State of available sources of technical assistance that may help the State address the areas in which the State needs assistance, which may include assistance from the Office of Special Education Programs, other offices of the Department of Education, other Federal agencies, technical assistance providers approved by the Secretary, and other federally funded nonprofit agencies, and requires the State to work with appropriate entities. This technical assistance may include—

(i) The provision of advice by experts to address the areas in which the State needs assistance, including explicit plans for addressing the areas of concern within a specified period of time;

(ii) Assistance in identifying and implementing professional development, early intervention service provision strategies, and methods of early intervention service provision that are based on scientifically based research;

(iii) Designating and using administrators, service coordinators, service providers, and other personnel from the EIS program to provide advice, technical assistance, and support; and

(iv) Devising additional approaches to providing technical assistance, such as collaborating with institutions of higher education, educational service agencies, national centers of technical assistance supported under part D of the Act, and private providers of scientifically based technical assistance.

(2) Identifies the State as a high-risk grantee and imposes special conditions on the State's grant under part C of the Act.

(b) Needs intervention. If the Secretary determines, for three or more consecutive years, that a State needs intervention under § 303.703(b)(1)(iii) in implementing the requirements of part C of the Act, the following apply:

(1) The Secretary may take any of the actions described in paragraph (a) of this section.

(2) The Secretary takes one or more of the following actions:

(i) Requires the State to prepare a corrective action plan or improvement plan if the Secretary determines that the State should be able to correct the problem within one year.

(ii) Requires the State to enter into a compliance agreement under section 457 of the General Education Provisions Act, as amended (GEPA), 20 U.S.C. 1234f, if the Secretary has reason to believe that the State cannot correct the problem within one year.

(iii) Seeks to recover funds under section 452 of GEPA, 20 U.S.C. 1234a.

(iv) Withholds, in whole or in part, any further payments to the State under part C of the Act.

(v) Refers the matter for appropriate enforcement action, which may include referral to the Department of Justice.

(c) Needs substantial intervention. Notwithstanding paragraph (a) or (b) of this section, at any time that the Secretary determines that a State needs substantial intervention in implementing the requirements of part C of the Act or that there is a substantial failure to comply with any requirement under part C of the Act by the lead agency or an EIS program in the State, the Secretary takes one or more of the following actions:

(1) Recovers funds under section 452 of GEPA, 20 U.S.C. 1234a.

(2) Withholds, in whole or in part, any further payments to the State under part C of the Act.

(3) Refers the case to the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Education.

(4) Refers the matter for appropriate enforcement action, which may include referral to the Department of Justice.

(d) Report to Congress. The Secretary reports to the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate within 30 days of taking enforcement action pursuant to paragraph (a), (b), or (c) of this section, on the specific action taken and the reasons why enforcement action was taken.