Annually, states must apply for IDEA funding to the United States Department of Education (USED). The state application asks for assurances the state meets certain provisions of IDEA, information about the funds the state makes available for the purposes of special education, and a spending plan for the state's IDEA administration and set-aside allocations. States must make the application content public and seek public input on the substance of the application for no less than 60 days prior to submission.
Applications are typically made public in March and submitted in May.