COMPARISON OF ELIGIBILITY POLICIES FOR INFANT TODDLER PROGRAMS AND PRESCHOOL SPECIAL-EDUCATION PROGRAMS/

The purpose of this study was to address three concerns expressed by p arents, professionals, and policymakers about eligibility continuity f or children moving from early intervention programs for infants and to ddlers (Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDE A]) to preschool special education programs (Part B of IDEA). Three qu estions were used to guide the analysis: (a) Does discontinuity exist between the two policies? (b) What is the nature of the discontinuity? (c) What types of children are most likely to be affected by the disc ontinuity? Each of these questions was applied to the Part H and Part B eligibility policies of all the 50 states and the District of Columb ia. Analysis revealed that the policies fell into three groups: States in which all children eligible under Part H would remain eligible und er Part B (n = 14); states in which Part H eligible children would pro bably continue to be eligible for services under Part B (n = 10); and states in which the differences in Part H and Part B eligibility crite ria caused some concern and doubt that all children eligible under Par t H would be eligible under Part B (n = 27). The study also revealed t hat the eligibility policy variables have interactive effects and cann ot be examined independently of one another.