[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 34, Volume 1]
[Revised as of July 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 34CFR21.1]

[Page 40]
 
                           TITLE 34--EDUCATION
 
PART 21--EQUAL ACCESS TO JUSTICE--Table of Contents
 
                           Subpart A--General
 
Sec.  21.1  Equal Access to Justice Act.


    (a) The Equal Access to Justice Act (the Act) provides for the award 
of fees and other expenses to applicants that--
    (1) Are prevailing parties in adversary adjudications before the 
Department of Education; and
    (2) Meet all other conditions of eligibility contained in this part.
    (b) An eligible applicant, as described in paragraph (a) of this 
section, is entitled to receive an award unless--
    (1) The adjudicative officer, the Civil Rights Reviewing Authority 
(CRRA), or the Secretary on review, determines that--
    (i) The Department's position was substantially justified; or
    (ii) Special circumstances make an award unjust; or
    (2) The adversary adjudication is under judicial review, in which 
case the applicant may receive an award only as described in Sec.  
21.11.
    (c) The determination under paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section is 
based on the administrative record, as a whole, made during the 
adversary adjudication for which fees and other expenses are sought.

(Authority: 5 U.S.C. 504(a)(1) and (c)(1))