FR Doc E8-448
[Federal Register: January 14, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 9)]
[Notices]
[Page 2230-2232]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr14ja08-45]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; List of
Correspondence
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: List of Correspondence from July 1, 2007 through September 30,
2007.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary is publishing the following list pursuant to
section 607(f) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as
amended by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
of 2004 (IDEA). Under section 607(f) of IDEA, the Secretary is
required, on a quarterly basis, to publish in the Federal Register a
list of correspondence from the U.S. Department of Education
(Department) received by individuals during the previous quarter that
describes the interpretations of the Department of IDEA or the
regulations that implement IDEA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melisande Lee or JoLeta Reynolds.
Telephone: (202) 245-7468.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of this notice in
an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or
computer diskette) on request to the contact persons listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following list identifies correspondence
from the Department issued from July 1, 2007 through September 30,
2007. Included on the list are those letters that contain
interpretations of the requirements of IDEA and its implementing
regulations, as well as
[[Page 2231]]
letters and other documents that the Department believes will assist
the public in understanding the requirements of the law and its
regulations. The date of 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 602--Definitions
Topic Addressed: Child With a Disability
[cir] Letter dated September 11, 2007 to individual (personally
identifiable information redacted), regarding how a local educational
agency (LEA) may address the needs of a child with a neurological
impairment.
Part B--Assistance for Education of All Children With Disabilities
Section 612--State Eligibility
Topic Addressed: Methods of Ensuring Services
[cir] Letter dated August 15, 2007 to New Zion, South Carolina
Walker Gamble Elementary School official Carlette Morris, regarding use
of an interagency agreement between a State or LEA and a State Medicaid
Agency to obtain Medicaid reimbursement for Medicaid-covered services
included in a Medicaid-eligible child's individualized education
program (IEP).
Topic Addressed: Confidentiality of Education Records
[cir] Letter dated August 7, 2007 to U.S. Representative Bill
Shuster, restating the Department's policy that test protocols that do
not contain personally identifiable information are not education
records under either Part B of IDEA or the Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act.
Topic Addressed: Children With Disabilities Enrolled by Their Parents
in Private Schools
[cir] Letter dated August 22, 2007 to Arizona Director of
Exceptional Student Services Colette Chapman, clarifying that children
with disabilities placed by their parents in for-profit private schools
are not considered ``parentally-placed private school children with
disabilities,'' are not included in the proportionate share calculation
and are not eligible for equitable services.
[cir] Letter dated August 29, 2007 to Scarsdale, New York Public
Schools Director of Special Education Dr. Michael Mendelson, regarding
requirements in Part B of IDEA that are applicable to the LEA where the
private school is located when a child with a disability is parentally-
placed in a special education private school.
Section 614--Evaluations, Eligibility Determinations, Individualized
Education Programs, and Educational Placements
Topic Addressed: Evaluations and Reevaluations
[cir] Letter dated July 27, 2007 to individual (personally
identifiable information redacted) and letter dated September 24, 2007
to Mountain Plains Regional Resource Center Co-Director Dr. Carol
Massanari, regarding the use of response to intervention in evaluating
children suspected of having specific learning disabilities.
[cir] Letter dated August 15, 2007 to Lehigh University Professor
Perry A. Zirkel, regarding an LEA's use of its State-adopted criteria
for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability.
[cir] Letter dated September 5, 2007 to New York Attorney Edward J.
Sarzynski, regarding whether written parental consent is required for
all evaluations that are not standardized tests administered to all
students.
Topic Addressed: Individualized Education Programs
[cir] Letter dated July 19, 2007 to individual (personally
identifiable information redacted), regarding a State's proposed rules
that relate to IEPs and other requirements in Part B of IDEA.
[cir] Letter dated August 24, 2007 to Disability Rights Advocate
Pat Kelly, clarifying when benchmarks or short-term objectives must be
included in the IEPs of students with disabilities who take alternate
assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards.
[cir] Letter dated August 22, 2007 to Trident Literacy Association
official Suzy Arents, clarifying that a private nonprofit entity has no
obligation to develop IEPs for students with disabilities who have
withdrawn from the public school program and who seek literacy services
directly from a private nonprofit entity.
[cir] Letter dated September 4, 2007 to Conway, Arkansas Public
Schools official Linda Boswell, regarding translation of IEP documents
into a parent's native language.
Section 615--Procedural Safeguards
Topic Addressed: Impartial Due Process Hearing
[cir] Letter dated August 15, 2007 to Kentucky School Boards
Association Senior Attorney Teresa T. Combs, regarding the Department's
current position on whether a local school district must or may file a
request for a due process hearing to attempt to force a child to return
to the district's special education program when the parent revokes
consent for the child's receipt of special education and related
services.
[cir] Letter dated August 15, 2007 to Massachusetts Bureau of
Special Education Appeals Director Richard E. Connelly, clarifying the
obligation of a public agency to provide, at no cost, a copy of a
written, or at the option of the parent, an electronic, verbatim record
from a due process hearing, even though the applicable appeal period
has expired.
[cir] Letter dated September 11, 2007 to Puerto Rico Special
Education Attorney Roberto Maldonado, clarifying that any party to a
due process hearing has the right to either a free copy of a written,
or at the option of the parents, an electronic, verbatim record of the
hearing, not both.
Topic Addressed: Maintenance of Current Educational Placement
[cir] Letter dated September 4, 2007 to Partnership for Children's
Rights Attorney Michael D. Hampden, clarifying the applicability of the
requirement regarding a child's status during the pendency of
administrative or judicial proceedings in a single tier or two-tier due
process system when no subsequent appeals are filed.
Topic Addressed: Protections for Children Not Yet Eligible for Special
Education and Related Services
[cir] Letter dated September 5, 2007 to individual (personally
identifiable information redacted), clarifying whether an expulsion
hearing may occur before the hearing officer determines whether the LEA
had knowledge that the child was a child with a disability.
Part C--Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities
Section 636--Individualized Family Service Plan
Topic Addressed: Content of Plan
[cir] Letter dated September 4, 2007 to Florida Early Steps Bureau
Chief Janice M. Kane, clarifying the State's obligation to provide any
services that meet the Part C definition of early intervention
[[Page 2232]]
services through an individualized family service plan (IFSP).
[cir] Letter dated September 24, 2007 to individual (personally
identifiable information redacted), clarifying that the IFSP Team,
which includes the child's parents, makes an individualized
determination of whether a particular method of providing services is
needed for a child to achieve the outcomes in the child's IFSP.
Other Letters That Do Not Interpret Idea But May Be of Interest to
Readers
Topic Addressed: Transition
[cir] Rehabilitation Services Administration Information Memorandum
RSA-IM-07-08, regarding a comprehensive transition program that uses a
variety of activities and innovative approaches to expose transition-
age youth with disabilities (ages 14 to 24) to careers in science,
technology, engineering, and math and other technology-based
professions.
Electronic Access to This Document
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Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
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Regulations is available on GPO Access at:
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(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.027, Assistance to
States for Education of Children with Disabilities)
Dated: January 8, 2008.
Tracy R. Justesen,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. E8-448 Filed 1-11-08; 8:45 am]
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