freely associated States
(1) Outlying areas and freely associated States (A) Funds reserved From the amount appropriated for any fiscal year under subsection (i), the Secretary shall reserve not more than 1 percent, which shall be used as follows: (i) To provide assistance to the outlying areas in accordance with their respective populations of individuals aged 3 through 21. (ii) (I) To provide each freely associated State a grant so that no freely associated State receives a lesser share of the total funds reserved for the freely associated State than the freely associated State received of those funds for fiscal year 2023. (II) Each freely associated State shall establish its eligibility under this subparagraph consistent with the requirements for a State under section 1412 of this title . (III) The funds provided to each freely associated State under this subchapter may be used to provide, to each infant or toddler with a disability (as defined in section 1432 of this title ), either a free appropriate public education, consistent with section 1412 of this title , or early intervention services consistent with subchapter III, notwithstanding the application and eligibility requirements of sections 1431(2), 1435, and 1437 of this title. (B) Special rule The provisions of Public Law 95–134 , permitting the consolidation of grants by the outlying areas, shall not apply to funds provided to the outlying areas or the freely associated States under this section. (C) Definition In this paragraph, the term “freely associated States” means the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.