New guidance for serving young children with disabilities in Head Start programs

The Department’s Office of Special Education Programs and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Head Start have released the following new documents to encourage collaboration between State Education departments, local school districts, and Head Start programs to effectively meet the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requirements:

“Dear Colleague Letter on Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Services in Head Start”

“Guidance on Creating an Effective Memorandum of Understanding to Support High Quality Inclusive Early Childhood Systems”

These documents make clear that States, local districts and Head Start programs all have responsibilities for implementing IDEA to ensure that children with disabilities enrolled in Head Start programs receive a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.