Code of Maryland Regulations
Title 13A - STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Subtitle 13 - MARYLAND INFANTS AND TODDLERS PROGRAM
Chapter 13A.13.01 - Provision of Early Intervention Services to Infants and Toddlers and Their Families
Section 13A.13.01.03 - Definitions
Universal Citation: MD Code Reg 13A.13.01.03
Current through Register Vol. 52, No. 6, March 21, 2025
A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Act" means the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act as amended,
20 U.S.C. §
1400 et seq.
(2) "Adjusted age" means, for children born
before 37 weeks gestation, the number of weeks born prematurely subtracted from
the infant's chronological age. An infant's adjusted age is used until the
infant's adjusted age is 12 months.
(3) "Annual evaluation" means the meeting
conducted at least once a year to evaluate a child's IFSP and to revise its
provisions, as appropriate.
(4)
"Appropriate professional requirements" means entry-level requirements for
personnel providing early intervention services that:
(a) Are based on the highest requirements in
the State applicable to the profession or discipline in which a person is
providing early intervention services; and
(b) Establish suitable qualifications for
personnel providing early intervention services to eligible children and their
families, who are served by State, local, and private agencies.
(5) "Assessment" means ongoing
procedures used by qualified personnel throughout the period of a child's
eligibility to identify the:
(a) Child's
unique strengths and needs;
(b)
Services appropriate to meet those needs;
(c) Resources, priorities, and concerns of
the family; and
(d) Supports and
services necessary to enhance the family's capacity to meet the developmental
needs of the child.
(6)
Assistive Technology Device.
(a) "Assistive
technology device" means any item, piece of equipment, or product system,
whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is
used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of children
with disabilities.
(b) "Assistive
technology device" does not include:
(i) A
medical device that is surgically implanted, including a cochlear implant;
or
(ii) The optimization,
maintenance, or replacement of that device.
(7) Assistive Technology Service.
(a) "Assistive technology service" means a
service that directly assists a child with a disability in the selection,
acquisition, or use of an assistive technology device.
(b) "Assistive technology service" includes:
(i) Evaluation of the needs of a child with a
disability, including a functional evaluation of the child in the child's
customary environment;
(ii)
Purchasing, leasing, or otherwise providing for the acquisition of assistive
technology devices by children with disabilities;
(iii) Selecting, designing, fitting,
customizing, adapting, applying, maintaining, repairing, or replacing assistive
technology devices;
(iv)
Coordinating and using other therapies, interventions, or services with
assistive technology devices, such as those associated with existing education
and rehabilitation plans and programs;
(v) Training or technical assistance for a
child with disabilities or, if appropriate, that child's family; and
(vi) Training or technical assistance for
professionals, including individuals providing education and rehabilitation
services, or other individuals who provide services to or are otherwise
substantially involved in the major life functions of infants and toddlers with
disabilities.
(8) Audiology."Audiology" means services
which include:
(a) Identification of children
with auditory impairment, using at-risk criteria and appropriate audiologic
screening techniques;
(b)
Determination of the range, nature, and degree of hearing loss and
communication functions, by use of audiological evaluation
procedures;
(c) Referral for
medical and other services necessary for the habilitation or rehabilitation of
children with auditory impairment;
(d) Provision of auditory training, aural
rehabilitation, speech reading and listening devices, orientation and training,
and other services;
(e) Provision
of services for prevention of hearing loss; and
(f) Determination of the child's need for
individual amplification, including selecting, fitting, and dispensing
appropriate listening and vibrotactile devices, and evaluating the
effectiveness of those devices.
(9) Consent.
(a) "Consent" means a parent:
(i) Has been fully informed of all
information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought, in the
parent's native language or other mode of communication;
(ii) Understands and agrees in writing to the
carrying out of the activity for which the parent's consent is sought, and the
consent describes that activity and lists the early intervention records, if
any, that will be released and to whom; and
(iii) Understands that the granting of
consent is voluntary on the part of the parent and may be revoked at any
time.
(b) "Consent"
includes consent given to an action before a parent revokes consent, so that
revocation is not retroactive and does not negate an action that occurred after
the consent was given and before the consent was revoked.
(10) "Day" means a calendar day unless
otherwise specified.
(11)
"Department" means the Maryland State Department of Education.
(12) "Developmental Delay" means the presence
of:
(a) A 25 percent delay, using a child's
adjusted or chronological age and as measured and verified by appropriate
diagnostic instruments and procedures, in one or more of the following
developmental areas:
(i) Cognitive
development;
(ii) Physical
development, including vision and hearing;
(iii) Communication development;
(iv) Social or emotional development;
or
(v) Adaptive
development;
(b)
Atypical development or behavior, which:
(i)
Is demonstrated by abnormal quality of performance and function in one or more
of the above specified developmental areas; or
(ii) Interferes with current development, and
is likely to result in subsequent delay (even when diagnostic instruments or
procedures do not document a 25 percent delay); or
(c) A diagnosed physical or mental condition
that has a high probability of resulting in developmental delay, with examples
of these conditions including:
(i) Chromosomal
abnormalities;
(ii) Genetic or
congenital disorders;
(iii) Severe
sensory impairments;
(iv) Inborn
errors of metabolism;
(v) Disorders
reflecting disturbance of the development of the nervous system;
(vi) Congenital infections;
(vii) Disorders secondary to exposure to
toxic substances, including fetal alcohol syndrome; and
(viii) Severe attachment disorders.
(13) "Duration" means
the period of time over which services will be provided, such as when the child
is expected to achieve the results or outcomes in his or her IFSP.
(14) "Early intervention record" means any
personally identifiable information, as defined in §B(48) of this
regulation, about a child or the child's family generated by the early
intervention system which pertains to:
(a)
Evaluation and assessment;
(b)
Development of an individualized family service plan; or
(c) The delivery of early intervention
services.
(15) Early
Intervention Services (EIS).
(a) "Early
intervention services" means continuous developmental services designed to meet
the needs of an infant or toddler with a disability and the needs of the family
to appropriately assist in the child's development that:
(i) Are selected in collaboration with the
parents;
(ii) Meet the standards of
the State;
(iii) Are provided at no
cost; and
(iv) Are under public
supervision by qualified personnel.
(b) "Early intervention services" include,
but are not limited to:
(i) Assistive
technology;
(ii)
Audiology;
(iii) Family training,
counseling, and home visits;
(iv)
Health services;
(v) Medical
services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes;
(vi) Nursing services;
(vii) Nutrition services;
(viii) Occupational therapy;
(ix) Physical therapy;
(x) Psychological services;
(xi) Service Coordination;
(xii) Sign language and cued language
services;
(xiii) Social work
services;
(xiv) Special
instruction;
(xv) Speech-language
pathology;
(xvi) Transportation;
and
(xvii) Vision
services.
(16) Early Intervention Service (EIS)
Provider.
(a) "Early intervention service
provider" means a public, private, or nonprofit entity or individual that
provides early intervention services, consistent with
34 CFR §
303.12.
(b) "Early intervention service provider" may
include the Department as the lead public agency responsible for providing
early intervention services to infants and toddlers with disabilities in the
State.
(17) "Elementary
school" means a nonprofit institutional day or residential school, including a
public elementary charter school that provides elementary education.
(18) "Eligible child" or "eligible children"
means infants or toddlers with a disability as defined in §B(28) of this
regulation.
(19) Evaluation.
(a) "Evaluation" means the procedures used by
qualified personnel to determine a child's initial and continuing eligibility
for early intervention services as an infant or toddler with a disability as
defined in §B(28) of this regulation.
(b) "Evaluation" includes determining the
child's status in each of the following developmental areas:
(i) Cognitive development;
(ii) Physical development, including vision
and hearing;
(iii) Communication
development;
(iv) Social or
emotional development; and
(v)
Adaptive development.
(20) "Extended school year (ESY)" means the
individualized extension of specific special education and related services as
defined in COMAR 13A.05.01.03B(26).
(21) "Family training, counseling, and home
visits" means services provided, as appropriate, by social workers,
psychologists, and other qualified personnel to assist the family of an infant
or toddler with a disability in understanding the special needs of the child
and enhancing the child's development.
(22) "Free appropriate public education"
(FAPE) has the meaning stated in
34 CFR §
303.15 and COMAR 13A.05.01.03B(27).
(23) "Frequency" means the rate at which
services are provided, including the number of sessions over a particular
period of time, such as daily, weekly, or monthly.
(24) Health Services.
(a) "Health services" means services
necessary to enable a child to benefit from other early intervention services
during the time the child is receiving early intervention services, consistent
with 34 CFR §
303.16.
(b) "Health services" include, but are not
limited to:
(i) Clean intermittent
catheterization, tracheostomy care, tube feeding, the changing of dressings or
osteotomy collection bags, and other health services; and
(ii) Consultation by physicians with other
service providers concerning the special health care needs of eligible children
that will need to be addressed in the course of providing other early
intervention services.
(c) "Health services" do not include:
(i) Services which are surgical in nature
such as cleft palate surgery, surgery for club foot, or the shunting of
hydrocephalus;
(ii) Services purely
medical in nature such as hospitalization for management of congenital heart
ailments, or the prescribing of medicine or drugs for any purpose;
(iii) Services that are related to
implementation, optimization (e.g., mapping), maintenance, or replacement of a
medical device that is surgically implanted, including cochlear
implant;
(iv) Devices necessary to
control or treat a medical condition such as heart monitors, respirators and
oxygen, and gastrointestinal feeding tubes and pumps; and
(v) Medical health services such as
immunizations and regular well-baby care that are routinely recommended for all
children.
(25) "Homeless children" has the meaning
stated in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, as
amended, 42 U.S.C.
11431 et seq. for homeless children and
youths.
(26) "Include" means that
the items named are not all of the possible items that are covered, whether
like or unlike the ones named.
(27)
"Individualized education program (IEP)" means a written statement for a
student with a disability that is developed, reviewed, and revised in
accordance with 34 CFR §§ 300.320 -300 . 324 and COMAR 13A.05.01.08
and .09.
(28) "Individualized
family service plan" means a written plan for providing early intervention and
other services to an eligible child and the child's family, consistent with
34 CFR §
303.344 that is:
(a) Based on the multidisciplinary evaluation
and assessment of the child, and the assessment of the child's family, in
accordance with 34 CFR
§
303.321;
(b) Written to include the content specified
in 34 CFR § 300.344 ;
(c)
Implemented as soon as possible, but not more than 30 days following receipt of
parental consent, consistent with
34 CFR §
303.420; and
(d) Developed jointly by the family and
appropriate qualified personnel involved in the provision of early intervention
services, in accordance with 34 CFR §§
303.342,
303.343, and §
303.345.
(29) Infant or Toddler with a Disability.
(a) "Infant or toddler with a disability"
means a child, birth through 2 years old, who is eligible for early
intervention services, as documented by appropriate qualified personnel, as
having a developmental delay as defined by §B(11) of this regulation;
or
(b) A child, 3 years old until
the beginning of the school year following the child's fourth birthday, who:
(i) Previously received early intervention
services, in accordance with Part C of the Act and this chapter; and
(ii) Is identified as a child with a
developmental delay or disability, consistent with
34 CFR §
300.8 and COMAR 13A.05.01.06.
(30) "Intensity" means
whether a service is provided on an individual or group basis.
(31) "Interim service coordinator" means the
individual designated at the single point of entry to assist the referred child
and family through the initial multidisciplinary evaluation and assessment and
individualized family service plan process.
(32) "Length" means the length of time a
service is provided during each session of that service.
(33) "Local governing authority" means the
local elected official or officials with executive authority in each
jurisdiction.
(34) "Local lead
agency" means the public agency designated by the local governing authority in
each county and Baltimore City to administer the interagency system of early
intervention services under the direction of the Department, in accordance with
Education Article, §
8-416, Annotated Code of
Maryland.
(35) "Local school
system" means any of the 24 public school systems in the State responsible for
providing public elementary or secondary education.
(36) "Location" means the actual place or
places where a service will be provided.
(37) "Maryland Infants and Toddlers Program"
means the program within the Department responsible for the planning,
supervision, monitoring, and technical assistance for the implementation of
Part C of the Act and this chapter.
(38) "Medical services" means services
provided by a licensed physician for diagnostic or evaluation purposes to
determine a child's developmental status and need for early intervention
services.
(39) "Method" means how a
service is provided.
(40)
"Multidisciplinary" means the involvement of two or more disciplines or
professions in the provision of integrated and coordinated services, including
evaluation and assessment activities and the development of the IFSP consistent
with 34 CFR §
303.24.
(41) Native Language.
(a) "Native language" means the language or
mode of communication normally used by an individual who is limited English
proficient, or the language normally used by the parent of the child,
consistent with 34 CFR
§
303.25.
(b) "Native language" includes the language
of the child, if determined developmentally appropriate for the child by
qualified personnel conducting the evaluation or assessment.
(c) "Native language" includes the mode of
communication that is normally used by an individual:
(i) Who is blind or visually
impaired;
(ii) Who is deaf or hard
of hearing; or
(iii) With no
written language.
(41) "Natural environments" means settings
that are natural or typical for a same-aged infant or toddler without a
disability, including home or community settings, consistent with
34 CFR §
303.126.
(42) Nursing Services. "Nursing services"
means services which include the:
(a)
Assessment of health status for the purpose of providing nursing care,
including the identification of patterns of human response to actual or
potential health problems;
(b)
Provision of nursing care to prevent health problems, restore or improve
functioning, and promote optimal health and development; and
(c) Administration of medications,
treatments, and regimens prescribed by a licensed physician.
(44) "Nutritional services" means
services which include:
(a) Conducting
individual assessments in:
(i) Nutritional
history and dietary intake such as anthropometric, biochemical, and clinical
variables;
(ii) Feeding skills and
feeding problems; and
(iii) Food
habits and food preferences;
(b) Developing and monitoring appropriate
plans to address the nutritional needs of eligible children based on the
findings in (a) of this subsection; and
(c) Making referrals to appropriate community
resources to carry out nutrition goals.
(45) Occupational Therapy.
(a) "Occupational therapy" means services to
address the functional needs of a child related to:
(i) The performance of self-help
skills;
(ii) Adaptive behavior and
play; or
(iii) Sensory, motor, and
postural development.
(b) "Occupational therapy" is designed to
improve the child's functional ability to perform tasks in home, school, and
community settings, and includes:
(i)
Identification, assessment, and intervention;
(ii) Adaptations of the
environment;
(iii) Selection,
design, and fabrication of assistive and orthotic devices to facilitate
development and promote the acquisition of functional skills; and
(iv) Prevention or minimization of the impact
of initial or future impairment, delay in development, or loss of functional
ability.
(46)
Parent.
(a) "Parent" means:
(i) A biological or adoptive
parent;
(ii) A guardian authorized
to act as the child's parent, or authorized to make early intervention,
educational, health, or developmental decisions for the child;
(iii) An individual acting in the place of a
biological or adoptive parent including a grandparent, stepparent, or other
relative with whom the child lives, or an individual who is legally responsible
for the child's welfare;
(iv) A
foster parent with whom the student lives, if the foster parent has been
granted limited guardianship for educational decision-making purposes by the
court that has placed the child in foster care; or
(v) A surrogate parent who has been appointed
in accordance with 34 CFR
§
303.422 and consistent with Regulation
.13 of this chapter.
(b)
"Parent" does not include:
(i) An EIS
provider or public agency responsible for the provision of any service to a
child or any family member of the child; or
(ii) The State, if the child is a ward of the
State.
(47)
Participating Agency.
(a) "Participating
agency" means an individual, agency, entity, or institution that collects,
maintains, or uses personally identifiable information to implement Part C of
the Act and the regulations in this chapter with respect to a particular
child.
(b) "Participating agency"
includes the lead agency and EIS providers of services including service
coordination, evaluations, and assessments.
(c) "Participating agency" does not include
primary referral sources, or public agencies that act solely as funding sources
for Part C services.
(48) "Periodic review" means the
multidisciplinary review of the IFSP, conducted every 6 months, or more
frequently if conditions warrant, or at the family's request.
(49) "Personally identifiable information"
means information that includes:
(a) The name
of:
(i) The child;
(ii) The child's parent; or
(iii) Other family member;
(b) The address of the
child;
(c) A personal identifier
such as the child's Social Security number or child identification number;
and
(d) A list of personal
characteristics or other information that would make it possible to identify
the child with reasonable certainty.
(50) Physical Therapy Services.
(a) "Physical therapy services" means
services to address the promotion of sensorimotor function through enhancement
of:
(i) Musculoskeletal status;
(ii) Neurobehavioral organization;
(iii) Perceptual and motor
development;
(iv) Cardiopulmonary
status; or
(v) Effective
environmental adaptation.
(b) "Physical therapy services" includes:
(i) Screening, evaluation, and assessment of
infants and toddlers to identify movement dysfunction;
(ii) Obtaining, interpreting, and integrating
information appropriate to program planning to prevent, alleviate, or
compensate for movement dysfunction and related functional problems;
and
(iii) Providing individual and
group services or treatment to prevent, alleviate, or compensate for movement
dysfunction and related functional problems.
(51) Primary Referral Sources.
(a) "Primary referral sources" means an
individual, agency, entity, or institution that may suspect an infant or
toddler as having a developmental delay who may benefit from EIS.
(b) "Primary referral sources" include:
(i) Parents;
(ii) Physicians;
(iii) Child care programs;
(iv) Domestic violence shelters and
agencies;
(v) Early learning
programs;
(vi) Health care clinics
and providers;
(vii) Homeless
family shelters;
(viii) Hospitals,
including prenatal and postnatal care facilities;
(ix) Public agencies;
(x) Public health facilities; and
(xi) Staff in the State child welfare
system.
(52)
"Profession" means a specific occupational category that:
(a) Provides early intervention services to
eligible children and their families;
(b) Has been established or designated by the
State; and
(c) Has a required scope
of responsibility and degree of supervision.
(53) "Psychological services" means services
that include:
(a) Administering psychological
and developmental tests, and other assessment procedures;
(b) Interpreting assessment
results;
(c) Obtaining,
integrating, and interpreting information about child behavior and child and
family conditions related to learning, mental health, and development;
and
(d) Planning and managing a
program of psychological services including:
(i) Psychological counseling for children and
parents;
(ii) Family
counseling;
(iii) Consultation on
child development;
(iv) Parent
training; or
(v) Education
programs.
(54) "Public agency" means:
(a) The lead agency; or
(b) Any other agency or political
subdivision.
(55)
"Qualified personnel" means persons who have met State approved or recognized
certification, licensing, registration, or other comparable requirements that
apply to the area in which the personnel are conducting evaluations and
assessments or providing early intervention services, including:
(a) Audiologists;
(b) Family therapists;
(c) Nurses;
(d) Occupational therapists;
(e) Orientation and mobility
specialists;
(f) Pediatricians and
other physicians for diagnostic and evaluation purposes;
(g) Physical therapists;
(h) Psychologists;
(i) Registered dieticians;
(j) Social workers;
(k) Special educators, including teachers of
children with hearing impairments and teachers of children with visual
impairments;
(l) Speech and
language pathologists;
(m) Vision
specialists, including ophthalmologists and optometrists; and
(n) Other services and personnel as defined
in §B(15) and (58) of this regulation.
(56) "Scientifically based research" has the
meaning given in the term Section 9101(37) of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965, as amended.
(57) Screening.
(a) "Screening" means procedures or
activities carried out by, or under the supervision of, the local lead agency
or EIS provider to identify infants and toddlers suspected of having a
disability and in need of early intervention services, at the earliest possible
age, consistent with 34 CFR
§
303.320.
(b) "Screening" includes the administration
of appropriate instruments by qualified personnel.
(58) Service Coordination.
(a) "Service coordination" means activities
to assist and enable an eligible child and the child's family to receive the
rights, procedural safeguards, and services that are authorized to be provided
under the State's system of early intervention services.
(b) "Service coordination" includes:
(i) Assisting families in gaining access to,
and coordinating the provision of, the early intervention services;
(ii) Coordinating the performance of
evaluations and assessments;
(iii)
Facilitating and participating in the development, review, and evaluation of
individualized family service plans;
(iv) Coordinating, facilitating, and
monitoring the delivery of service across agencies to ensure that the services
are provided in a timely manner;
(v) Conducting follow-up activities to
determine that appropriate early intervention services are provided;
(vi) Informing families of their rights and
procedural safeguards;
(vii)
Coordinating the funding sources for early intervention services;
(viii) Facilitating the development of a
transition plan to preschool, school, or other services, if
appropriate;
(ix) Informing
families of the availability of advocacy services;
(x) Coordinating with medical and health
providers; and
(xi) Assisting
families to get required immunizations for eligible children, in compliance
with COMAR 10.06.04.
(59) "Service coordinator" means the
individual designated in the IFSP to carry out service coordination
activities.
(60) Sign Language and
Cued Language Services.
(a) "Sign language
and cued language services" means teaching:
(i) Sign language;
(ii) Cued language; or
(iii) Auditory oral language.
(b) "Sign language and cued
language services" includes providing:
(i)
Oral transliteration services;
(ii)
Sign language interpretation; or
(iii) Cued language interpretation.
(61) "Single point of
entry" means the contact point in the local jurisdiction designated by each
local lead agency to accept referrals from primary referral sources and others
who suspect a developmental delay in an infant or toddler.
(62) "Social work services" means services
that may include:
(a) Making home visits to
evaluate a child's living conditions and patterns of parent-child
interaction;
(b) Preparing a
psychosocial developmental assessment of the child within the family
context;
(c) Providing individual
and family-group counseling with parents and other family members and
appropriate social skill-building activities with the child and
parents;
(d) Working with those
problems in a child's and family's living situation, such as home, community,
and any center where early intervention services are provided that affect the
child's maximum utilization of early intervention services; and
(e) Identifying, mobilizing, and coordinating
community resources and services to enable the child and family to receive
maximum benefit from early intervention services.
(63) "Special instruction" means services
that may include:
(a) The design of learning
environments and activities that promote the child's acquisition of skills in a
variety of developmental areas including cognitive processes and social
interaction;
(b) Curriculum
planning including the planned interaction of personnel, materials, and time
and space that leads to achieving the outcomes in the child's individualized
family service plan;
(c) Providing
families with information, skills, and support related to enhancing the skill
development of the child; and
(d)
Working with the child to enhance the child's development.
(64) "Speech-language pathology" means
services which may include:
(a)
Identification of children with communicative, language, or oral pharyngeal
disorders and delays in development of communication skills;
(b) Diagnosis and appraisal of specific
speech language disorders and delays;
(c) Referral for medical or other
professional attention necessary for the habilitation or rehabilitation of
communicative, language, or oral pharyngeal disorders and delays in development
of communication skills; and
(d)
Provision of habilitative, rehabilitative, or preventative services for
communicative or oral pharyngeal disorders and delays in development of
communication skills.
(65) "Transportation" means the cost of
travel that are necessary to enable an eligible child and the child's family to
receive early intervention services and includes mileage, travel by taxi,
common carrier, or other means, and other related costs, such as tolls and
parking expenses.
(66) Vision
Services.
(a) "Vision services" means
services that include the evaluation and assessment of visual functioning,
including the diagnosis and appraisal of specific visual disorders, delays, and
abilities;
(b) "Vision services"
include referral for medical or other professional services necessary for the
habilitation or rehabilitation of visual functioning disorders, or both;
and
(c) "Vision services" include:
(i) Communication skills training;
(ii) Orientation and mobility training for
all environments;
(iii) Visual
training;
(iv) Independent living
skills training; and
(v) Additional
training necessary to activate visual motor abilities.
(67) Ward of the State.
(a) "Ward of the State" means a child:
(i) For whom a State or county agency or
official has been appointed legal guardian; or
(ii) Who has been committed by a court of
competent jurisdiction to the legal custody of a State or county agency or
official with the express authorization that the State or county agency or
official make educational decisions for the child.
(b) "Ward of the State" does not include a
foster child who has a foster parent who meets the definition of a parent as
defined in §B(45) of this regulation.
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