State and Jurisdictional Eligibility Definitions for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities Under IDEA Part C
- Alabama
- Alaska
- American Samoa
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Department of Defense
- District of Columbia
- Florida
- Georgia
- Guam
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Puerto Rico
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virgin Islands
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
New Mexico
Part C Developmental Delay Eligibility Criteria
25% or greater delay in one or more developmental areas using an approved tool; a domain-specific tool may be used to establish eligibility if the score is 1.5 SD below the mean or greater.
At-Risk Served Under Federal Part C Policies
Environmental and medical/biological risk:
- List of conditions with biological or medical risk for developmental delay (see section 8.9.8.10 G4c) includes: child has a diagnosed medical condition that increases the risk of developmental delay such as prematurity (<35 weeks gestation and more than 28 completed weeks gestation) or small for gestational age (less than 1750 grams); prenatal toxic exposures including alcohol, polydrug exposure, and fetal hydantoin syndrome; birth trauma including seizures, and intraventricular or periventricular hemorrhage); sensory abnormalities, including neurological visual processing concerns that affect visual functioning in daily activities as a result of neurological conditions, including seizures, infections (e.g., meningitis), and injuries including traumatic brain injury (TBI); and mild or intermittent hearing loss.
- Environmental risk for developmental delay includes (see section 8.9.8.10 G4d): a presence of adverse family factors in the child's environment that increases the risk for developmental delay in children. Eligibility determination shall be made using the tool approved by the FIT program.
State Part C Eligibility Policy
Additional Links
Selected Categories of Diagnosed Conditions
Hearing Impairment
List of established conditions includes chronic hearing loss
Medical/biological risk conditions include mild and/or intermittent hearing loss
Vision Impairment
List of established conditions includes:
- Visual impairment or blindness
- Congenital impairments including cataracts
- Acquired impairments including retinopathy of prematurity
- Cortical visual impairment
Medical/biological risk conditions include neurological visual processing concerns that affect visual functioning in daily activities as a result of neurological conditions
Prenatal Exposure to Substances
List of established conditions include prenatal toxic exposures including FAS. Other prenatal toxic exposures are covered under Medical/Biological Risk.
Prematurity
< 28 weeks GA
Low Birth Weight, Very Low Birth Weight, Small for Gestational Age
Medical/biological risk: prematurity <35 weeks gestation and more than 28 completed weeks GA, SGA <1750 g
Prenatal Exposure to Zika
Not included on state list of diagnosed/established conditions.
Summary of State and Jurisdictional Eligibility Definitions
- Eligibility for IDEA Part C Services
- Selected Diagnosed/Established Conditions
- Frequency of Developmental Delay Definitions
- Developmental Delay Eligibility Criteria
For questions, comments, or edits to the contents of these pages, contact Evelyn Shaw:
evelyn.shaw@unc.eduThe contents of this product were developed under grants from the U.S. Department of Education, #H373Z190002 and #H326P170001. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Project Officers: Meredith Miceli, Amy Bae, and Julia Martin Eile.