Provider Notice - Early Intervention Services Based on Scientific-Based Research

Printable Version (pdf)

TO:Early Intervention Service Providers

FROM:Bureau of Early Intervention

DATE:June 1, 2012

RE:Provider Notice - Early Intervention Services - Based on Scientific- BasedResearch

This Early Intervention provider notice is an Addendum to the Early Intervention Service Descriptions, Billing Codes and Rates document to inform Early Intervention providers about new guidance regarding early intervention services.

In compliance with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C final regulations (section 303.112), appropriate early intervention services are based on scientifically based research, to the extent practicable, and are available to all infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families, including:

(a) Indian infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families residing on a reservation geographically located in the State and

(b) Infants and toddlers with disabilities who are homeless children and their families.

In Section 303.32, 9101(37) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, (ESEA) is referenced for the definition of the term scientifically-based research. In applying the ESEA to the Early Intervention Program, any reference to "education activities and programs" refers to "early intervention services." Scientifically based research is defined as follows:

(a) means research that involves the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs; and

(b) includes research that -

(i) employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment;

(ii) involves rigorous data analysis that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn;

(iii) relies on measurements or observational methods that provide reliable and valid data across evaluators and observers, across multiple measurements and observations, and across studies by the same or different investigators;

(iv) is evaluated using experimental or quasi-experimental designs in which individuals, entities, programs, or activities are assigned to different conditions and with appropriate controls to evaluate the effects of the condition of interest, with a preference for random-assignment experiments, or other designs to the extent that those designs contain within-condition or across-condition controls;

(v) ensures that experimental studies are presented in sufficient detail and clarity to allow for replication or, at a minimum, offer the opportunity to build systematically on their findings; and

(vi) has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and scientific review.