FR Doc 05-5157
[Federal Register: March 16, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 50)]
[Notices]
[Page 12857-12858]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr16mr05-49]
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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 October 1, 2004 through December
31, 2004.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary is publishing the following list pursuant to
section 607(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as
amended (IDEA). Under section 607(d) of the 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 (Department) of the IDEA
or the regulations that implement the IDEA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melisande Lee or JoLeta Reynolds.
Telephone: (202) 245-7459 (press 3).
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 October 1, 2004 through December 31,
2004.
Included on the list are those letters that contain interpretations
of the requirements of the 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 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. Pursuant to the effective dates set forth in section 302
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004
(the Act), which amended and reauthorized the IDEA, the changes in IDEA
that were made by the Act, with certain enumerated exceptions, will
take effect on July 1, 2005. Accordingly, statutory citations in this
list, as well as those contained in the letters referenced in this
list, refer to the provisions of the IDEA that were in effect at the
time the letters were issued.
Part A, General Provision
Section 605--Acquisition of Equipment; Construction or Alteration of
Facilities
Topic Addressed: Construction or alteration of facilities.
[cir] Letter dated October 25, 2004 to Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands Commissioner of Education Rita Hocog Inos, regarding
the general principles for determining whether expenditures for
construction of new facilities or alteration of existing facilities are
allowable under the IDEA.
Part B--Assistance for Education of All Children With Disabilities
Section 611--Authorization; Allotment; Use of Funds; Authorization of
Appropriations
Topic Addressed: Use of funds.
[cir] Letter dated November 10, 2004 to New Hampshire Disabilities
Rights Center Executive Director Richard A. Cohen, regarding the use of
grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for capacity building and
improvement and funds retained by the State for State level activities
to pay for expenses related to statewide assessments for grades three,
six, and ten.
Topic Addressed: Part B Grant Awards.
[cir] OSEP memorandum 05-01 dated October 1, 2004 to Chief State
School Officers and State Directors of Special Education, transmitting
additional Part B Grant Awards under Section 611 of IDEA that became
available on October 1, 2004 and clarifying that any special conditions
that applied to Part B funds that became available on July 1, 2004 also
apply to these additional funds.
Section 612--State Eligibility
Topic Addressed: Free appropriate public education.
[cir] Letter dated November 3, 2004 to Advocate Louis H. Geigerman,
regarding the provision of physical therapy and occupational therapy as
a related service for students with disabilities under Part B of IDEA.
Topic Addressed: Local educational agency compliance.
[cir] Letter dated October 28, 2004 to Interim Illinois State
Superintendent of Education Randy J. Dunn, regarding (1) procedures
that a State educational agency (SEA) must follow in withholding funds
under Part B of IDEA from an LEA or State agency that is not in
compliance with a requirement of Part B of IDEA, including the right of
the affected LEA or State agency to a hearing before the SEA terminates
funds, and (2) how an SEA can satisfy its obligation to provide direct
services to students with disabilities under Part B of IDEA.
Topic Addressed: State educational agency general supervisory
authority.
[cir] Letter dated December 20, 2004 to New Jersey Commissioner of
Education William L. Librera, reiterating the Department's position
that the New Jersey Department of Education must afford parents of
children with disabilities living in New Jersey and attending school in
New York under a contract between New Jersey and New York school
districts access to New Jersey's due process procedures and clarifying
applicable procedures if parents request changes to educational
programs for children with disabilities who live in New Jersey and
attend school in New York.
[[Page 12858]]
Section 614--Evaluations, Eligibility Determinations, Individualized
Education Programs, and Educational Placements
Topic Addressed: Individualized education programs.
[cir] Letter dated December 15, 2004 to Utah State Director of
Special Education Karl A. Wilson, responding to the State's
interpretation of Utah State Office of Education Special Education Rule
III.I.10, regarding documentation of accommodations necessary for
students to have access to regular education, and clarifying that those
accommodations must be included in the individualized education
programs of students with disabilities who are eligible for services
under Part B of IDEA.
Topic Addressed: Educational placements.
[cir] Letter dated November 3, 2004 to Ohio Attorney Helen S.
Carroll, regarding grade level assignments for students with
disabilities and clarifying that Part B of IDEA does not address
whether a child has a right to experience each grade level in sequence.
Other Letters That Do Not Interpret the IDEA But May Be of Interest to
Readers
Topic Addressed: Confidentiality.
[cir] Letter dated November 18, 2004 to Tennessee Department of
Education Policy Analyst Matthew J. Pepper from Family Policy
Compliance Office Director LeRoy S. Rooker, regarding the applicability
of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to the release of
student level records to researchers and clarifying that education
records, with the removal of all personally identifiable information,
may be released without prior consent.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara.index.html.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.027, Assistance to
States for Education of Children with Disabilities)
Dated: March 11, 2005.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 05-5157 Filed 3-15-05; 8:45 am]
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