US Code

Public Law 119-73 (01/23/2026)

20 U.S.C. § 1234f

Compliance agreements

(a)

Discretionary authority; purposes of agreement

section 1234c of this titleIn accordance with , the Secretary may enter into a compliance agreement with a recipient under an applicable program. The purpose of any compliance agreement under this section shall be to bring the recipient into full compliance with the applicable requirements of law as soon as feasible and not to excuse or remedy past violations of such requirements.

(b)

Procedures applicable

(1)
Before entering into a compliance agreement with a recipient, the Secretary shall hold a hearing at which the recipient, affected students and parents or their representatives, and other interested parties are invited to participate. The recipient shall have the burden of persuading the Secretary that full compliance with the applicable requirements of law is not feasible until a future date.
(2)
If the Secretary determines, on the basis of all the evidence presented, that full compliance is genuinely not feasible until a future date, the Secretary shall make written findings to that effect and shall publish those findings, along with the substance of any compliance agreement, in the Federal Register.
(c)

Contents

A compliance agreement under this section shall contain—
(1)
an expiration date not later than 3 years from the date of the written findings under subsection (b)(2), by which the recipient shall be in full compliance with the applicable requirements of law, and
(2)
those terms and conditions with which the recipient must comply until it is in full compliance.
(d)

Failure of recipient to comply with terms and conditions

If a recipient fails to comply with the terms and conditions of a compliance agreement under this section, the Secretary may consider that compliance agreement to be no longer in effect, and the Secretary may take any action authorized by law with respect to the recipient.

Pub. L. 90–247, title IV, § 457Pub. L. 100–297, title III, § 3501(a)102 Stat. 355(, as added , , .)

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

section 3501(b) of Pub. L. 100–297section 1234 of this titleSection effective 180 days after , but not applicable to recipients receiving written notice to return funds prior to that date, see , set out as an Effective Date of 1988 Amendment note under .