Dear Local Educational Agency and Special Education Local Plan Area Directors:

Updates to Part C Responsibilities

The purpose of this notice is to inform local educational agencies (LEAs) of upcoming changes of responsibilities for the California Department of Education (CDE) under Part C of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and to provide updated contact information related to these changes.

Under IDEA Part C (United States Code, Title 20, Section 1431 et seq.), infants and toddlers with disabilities from birth to under three years of age receive Early Start services. These services may be provided through a regional center, LEA, or through dual service delivery. The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) is the lead agency for IDEA Part C in California and provides services to most Early Start eligible children and their families through regional centers statewide. The CDE and LEAs are responsible for providing Early Start services to children with solely low incidence disabilities; specifically, visual, hearing, or severe orthopedic impairment, or any combination of these impairments.

Effective January 1, 2026, certain Part C responsibilities will transfer from the CDE to the DDS. Updated email contacts for the relevant program areas are provided for reference.

The CDE will continue to:

• Monitor and allocate the State Early Intervention Grant, Infant Discretionary Funds, and Special Education Infant Entitlement;
• Process Infant Reallocation and Growth Reports and corresponding Infant Waivers, as needed;
• Complete allocation of the federal Part C Early Education Program Grant for the 2025–26 fiscal year; and,
• Collect data for solely low incidence programs. LEAs reporting to the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) for Part C will see no changes to reporting procedures.

All provisions for serving children under IDEA Part C remain unchanged.

The DDS assumed responsibility for Part C program monitoring beginning in the 2023–24 fiscal year. Effective January 1, 2026, DDS will assume responsibility of conducting federal fiscal monitoring, providing technical assistance, and addressing complaint investigations. Beginning in the fiscal year 2026–27, DDS will also assume responsibility for allocating the federal Part C Early Education Program Grant.

Please direct any DDS inquiries to Reyna Ambriz, Early Start Branch Manager, at 916-651-0364, or by email at Reyna.Ambriz@dds.ca.gov. For questions regarding Early Start complaints, please direct inquiries to Appeals@dds.ca.gov.

For questions related to CDE responsibilities or any of the information provided above, please contact the Early Childhood Support Unit in the Special Education Division, by email at: ECSU@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Rachel Heenan, Ed. D., Director
Special Education Division
California Department of Education

RH:ck