[Federal Register: October 20, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 202)]
[Notices]
[Page 56645-56647]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20oc99-129]
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Part V
Department of Education
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List of Correspondence--Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services; Notice
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
List of Correspondence--Office of Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: List of correspondence from October 1, 1998 through December
31, 1998.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary is publishing the following list pursuant to
section 607(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA). Under section 607(d) of IDEA, the Secretary is required, on a
quarterly basis, to publish in the Federal Register a list of
correspondence from the Department of Education received by individuals
during the previous quarter that describes the interpretations of the
Department of Education of IDEA or the regulations that implement IDEA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: JoLeta Reynolds or Rhonda Weiss.
Telephone: (202) 205-5507. Individuals who use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD) may call (202) 205-5465 or the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8
p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of this notice in
an alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to Katie Mincey, Director of the Alternate Formats
Center. Telephone: (202) 205-8113.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following list identifies correspondence
from the Department issued between October 1, 1998 and December 31,
1998.
Included on the list are those letters that contain interpretations
of the requirements of IDEA and its implementing regulations, as well
as letters and other documents that the Department believes will assist
the public in understanding the requirements of the law and its
regulations. The date and topic addressed by a letter are identified,
and summary information is also provided, as appropriate. To protect
the privacy interests of the individual or individuals involved,
personally identifiable information has been deleted, as appropriate.
Part A
General Provisions
Section 607--Requirements for Prescribing Regulations
Topic Addressed: Applicability of Regulations
Letter dated November 13, 1998 to U.S. Congresswoman Jo Ann
Emerson, regarding (1) States' and school districts' obligations,
pending publication of final regulations, to comply with all applicable
provisions of the IDEA Amendments of 1997 and provisions of the then
current regulations that were not in conflict with the IDEA Amendments
of 1997, and (2) the importance of a new requirement governing the
development of individualized education programs for deaf and hard of
hearing children under Part B of IDEA.
Part B
Assistance for Education of all Children With Disabilities
Section 612--State Eligibility
Topic Addressed: Free Appropriate Public Education
Letter dated November 20, 1998 to Arizona Department of Education
Superintendent Lisa Graham Keegan and Mr. Terry Stewart, Arizona
Department of Corrections, regarding the responsibility of the Arizona
Department of Education under Part B of IDEA, Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title II of the Americans With
Disabilities Act of 1990 to ensure the availability of a free
appropriate public education to eligible youth with disabilities
incarcerated in adult prisons and correctional facilities.
Letter dated December 4, 1998 to Dr. Ellenmorris Tiegerman, School
for Language and Communication Development, explaining that a public
agency is not obligated to reimburse for tuition costs for nondisabled
preschool aged children in order to provide integrated settings to
implement the individualized education programs of preschool aged
children with disabilities.
Topic Addressed: Least Restrictive Envrionment
Letter dated October 7, 1998 to Daniel Kinley, New York State
School Boards Association, regarding New York State's responsibility to
ensure placements of disabled children that meet the least restrictive
environment requirements of the IDEA in light of the State's funding
formula that distributes State funds on the basis of the type of
setting in which a child is served.
Topic Addressed: State Education Agency General Supervisory
Responsibility
Letter dated October 19, 1998 to U.S. Congressman William F.
Goodling, regarding special conditions placed on Pennsylvania's Federal
Fiscal Year 1998 Part B State grant concerning exercise of State
Educational Agency's general supervisory responsibility, including
effective monitoring of public agencies and securing correction of
noncompliance.
Topic Addressed: Children Enrolled by Their Parents in Private Schools
Letter dated October 20, 1998, to U.S. Congressman Robert T.
Matsui, regarding the extent of public agencies' obligations to provide
special education and related services under Part B of IDEA to children
with disabilities enrolled by their parents in private schools.
Letter dated November 13, 1998 to Helen Walter, Advocate for Hard
of Hearing People, regarding limited scope of due process rights for
parents who enroll their children in private schools.
Section 613--Local Educational Agency Eligibility
Topic Addressed: Treatment of Charter Schools and Their Students
Letter dated October 8, 1998 to Wisconsin Department of Public
Instruction State Superintendent John T. Benson, regarding (1) the
Department's deference to, and agreement with, the State's
interpretation that schools chartered by the City of Milwaukee, like
all other charter schools in the State, are public schools, (2) the
obligation of charter schools to ensure the provision of a free
appropriate public education to children with disabilities and the
obligation of the State to ensure compliance with the IDEA, and (3)
consequences of noncompliance with related Federal civil rights laws.
Letter dated November 4, 1999 to B. J. Stockton, Missouri
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, regarding the
Department's view that charter schools generally should be presumed to
be public schools which are subject to requirements regarding a free
appropriate public education in Part B of IDEA, and clarifying that in
order to be eligible for funds under the Federal Public Charter Schools
Program, the participating charter schools must be public schools that
comply with Part B of IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, and Title II
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of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990.
Memorandum dated August 10, 1998, to Chief State School Officers
from former Assistant Secretary for the Office of Elementary and
Secondary Education Gerald N. Tirozzi, regarding allocation of state-
administered federal education funds to public charter schools.
Section 614--Evaluations, Eligibility Determinations, Individualized
Education Programs, and Educational Placements
Topic Addressed: Evaluations and Reevaluations
Letter dated November 18, 1998 to individual, (personally
identifiable information redacted), regarding specific provisions in
the IDEA Amendments of 1997 that reduce paperwork requirements, as well
as the importance of ensuring local flexibility in the implementation
of the IDEA Amendments of 1997.
Section 615--Procedural Safeguards
Topic Addressed: Timelines for Appeals
Letter dated November 13, 1998 to individual, (personally
identifiable information redacted), regarding absence of timelines in
Part B of IDEA for appealing due process hearing decisions or bringing
of civil actions.
Topic Addressed: Student Discipline
Letter dated October 20, 1998 to U.S. Senator Ted Stevens,
regarding options available to school authorities under the Individuals
With Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 in disciplining
students with disabilities.
Letter dated November 18, 1998 to South Carolina State
Representative J. Roland Smith, regarding circumstances under which
students with disabilities can be subjected to more than one removal
from school for ten consecutive school days or less in the same school
year.
Letter dated November 5, 1998, to Mr. Dick Buscher, Paradise Valley
Unified School District, regarding options available to school
authorities in disciplining students with disabilities and clarifying
that students with disabilities are not automatically exempt from
disciplinary sanctions because of their status as disabled students.
Letter dated October 20, 1998 to individual, (personally
identifiable information redacted), letter dated December 8, 1998 to
individual, (personally identifiable information redacted), and letter
dated December 8, 1998 to individual, (personally identifiable
information redacted), regarding options available to school
authorities in disciplining students with disabilities.
Topic Addressed: Transfer of Rights
Letter dated December 21, 1998 to individual, (personally
identifiable information redacted), regarding the special rule under
which a State is required to appoint the parent or another appropriate
individual to represent the educational interests of the student
throughout his or her eligibility under the Act if the State has a
mechanism to, and determines that, an individual with a disability who
has reached the age of majority under State law and has not been
declared incompetent, but cannot provide informed consent with respect
to his or her educational program.
Part C
Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities (Previously Part H)
Sections 631-641
Topic Addressed: Implementation of a Statewide System
Letter dated December 16, 1998, to Mary Miller, Illinois Bureau of
Part C/Early Intervention, regarding the obligation to ensure that
early intervention services are available to all eligible infants and
toddlers and their families.
Topic Addressed: Evaluations
Letter dated December 30, 1998, to Ms. Ginny Duncan, Parent
Education Network, regarding the role of a service coordinator on the
Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team and the exclusion of service
providers from initial evaluations.
Topic Addressed: State Interagency Coordinating Council
Letter dated October 5, 1998, to Ms. Mary Alice Leonard-Heath and
Mr. Wayne Fox, Co-Chairs of the Vermont Interagency Coordinating
Council, regarding ICC membership of a representative of a State lead
agency.
Topic Addressed: Administration of Part C Funds
OSEP Memorandum dated December 30, 1998, to Lead Agency Directors
and Part C Coordinators, regarding Restricted Indirect Cost Rate for
Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
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Note: The official version of this document is the document
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nara/index.html
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.027, Assistance to
States for Education of Children with Disabilities)
Dated: October 13, 1999.
Judith E. Heumann,
Assistant Secretary for Special, Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 99-27314 Filed 10-19-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P