FR Doc E5-7506
[Federal Register: December 19, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 242)]
[Notices]
[Page 75158-75161]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19de05-50]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
RIN 1820-ZA41
The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Multi-Year
Individualized Education Program Demonstration Program
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed requirements and selection criteria.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services proposes requirements and selection criteria
for a competition in which the Department will select up to 15 States
to participate in a pilot program, the Multi-Year Individualized
Education Program (IEP) Demonstration Program (Multi-Year IEP Program).
State proposals approved under this program would create opportunities
for participating local educational agencies (LEAs) to improve long-
term planning for children with disabilities through the development
and use of comprehensive multi-year IEPs. Additionally, the proposed
requirements and selection criteria focus on an identified national
need to reduce the paperwork burden associated with IEPs while
preserving students' civil rights and promoting academic achievement.
The requirements and selection criteria proposed in this notice
will be used for a single, one-time-only competition under this
program.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before March 6, 2006.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this notice to Troy Justesen,
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Potomac Center
Plaza, room 5126, Washington, DC 20202-2641. If you prefer to send your
comments through the Internet, you may address them to us at the
following address: comments@ed.gov.
You must include the term ``Multi-Year IEP Public Comment'' in the
subject line of your electronic message. Please submit your comments
only one time, in order to ensure that we do not receive duplicate
copies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Troy R. Justesen. 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 this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation To Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding the proposed
requirements and selection criteria. To ensure that your comments have
maximum effect in developing the notice of final requirements and
selection criteria, we urge you to identify clearly the specific
proposed requirement or selection criterion that each comment
addresses.
We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of
reducing regulatory burden that might result from the proposed
requirements and selection criteria. Please let us know of any further
opportunities we should take to reduce potential costs or increase
potential benefits while preserving the effective and efficient
administration of the program.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this notice in room 5126, 550 12th Street, SW.,
Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Eastern
time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.
[[Page 75159]]
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking
Record
On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public
rulemaking record for this notice. If you want to schedule an
appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Statutory Background of the Multi-Year IEP Program
On December 3, 2004, President Bush signed into law Public Law 108-
446, 118 Stat. 2647, the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act of 2004, reauthorizing and amending the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (Act). This new law reflects the
importance of strengthening our nation's efforts to ensure every child
with a disability has available a free appropriate public education
(FAPE) that is (1) of high quality and (2) designed to achieve the high
standards established in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
The Multi-Year IEP Program is one of two demonstration programs
authorized under the new law that is designed to increase the resources
and time available for classroom instruction and other activities
focused on improving educational and functional results of children
with disabilities. This program is also intended to enhance long-term
educational planning and collaboration among IEP team members.
Through the Multi-Year IEP Program, established under section
614(d)(5) of the Act, the Secretary may approve no more than 15
proposals from States, including Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia,
and outlying areas (States) to offer parents, in participating LEAs,
the option of comprehensive, multi-year IEPs to improve long-term
planning, which would cover natural transition points for participating
children. Under section 614(d)(5)(C) of the Act, the term ``natural
transition points'' means those periods that are close in time to the
transition of a child with a disability from preschool to elementary
grades, from elementary grades to middle or junior high school grades,
from middle or junior high school grades to secondary school grades,
and from secondary school grades to post-secondary activities, but in
no case a period longer than three years (for the full text of section
614(d)(5) of the Act, go to: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/plaws/index.html
).
These multi-year IEPs are intended to focus parents and teachers on
long-term planning for student achievement, reduce the paperwork
teachers must complete, and increase teacher instructional time. Under
the Multi-Year IEP Program, multi-year IEPs cannot exceed three years
and their development is optional for parents, requiring informed
parental consent.
Under the Act, an IEP must contain measurable annual goals for a
student's progress, and must be reviewed at least annually by the IEP
team. Many parents have indicated that they would like the opportunity
to engage their LEA in long-term planning for their child, rather than
focusing on only one year at a time. A multi-year IEP would include
long-term goals for academic achievement and functional performance,
coinciding with natural transition points, and the progression of
annual goals leading to achievement of the long-term goals.
Statutory Requirements for Multi-Year IEP Program
The Act establishes the following requirements that States must
follow in developing and implementing their Multi-Year IEP Program
proposals:
1. A State applying for approval under this program must propose to
conduct demonstrations using a comprehensive multi-year IEP (not to
exceed three years) that coincides with natural transition points for
each participating child.
2. Except as specifically provided for under this program, all of
the Act's requirements regarding provision of FAPE to children with
disabilities (including requirements related to the content,
development, review, and revision of the IEP under section 614(d) of
the Act and procedural safeguards under section 615 of the Act) apply
to participants in this Multi-Year IEP Program.
3. A State submitting a proposal under the Multi-Year IEP Program
must include the following material in its proposal:
(a) Assurances that if an LEA offers parents the option of a multi-
year IEP, development of the multi-year IEP is voluntary.
(b) Assurances that the LEA will obtain informed consent from
parents before a comprehensive multi-year IEP is developed for their
child.
(c) A list of all required elements for a comprehensive multi-year
IEP, including:
(i) Measurable long-term goals not to exceed three years,
coinciding with natural transition points for the child, that will
enable the child to be involved in and make progress in the general
education curriculum and that will meet the child's other needs that
result from the child's disability.
(ii) Measurable annual goals for determining progress toward
meeting the long-term goals, coinciding with natural transition points
for the child, that will enable the child to be involved in and make
progress in the general education curriculum and that will meet the
child's other needs that result from the child's disability.
(d) A description of the process for the review and revision of a
multi-year IEP, including:
(i) A review by the IEP team of the child's multi-year IEP at each
of the child's natural transition points.
(ii) In years other than a child's natural transition points, an
annual review of the child's IEP to determine the child's current
levels of progress and whether the annual goals for the child are being
achieved, and a requirement to amend the IEP, as appropriate, to enable
the child to continue to meet the measurable goals set forth in the
IEP.
(iii) If the IEP team determines, on the basis of a review, that
the child is not making sufficient progress toward the goals described
in the multi-year IEP, a requirement that within 30 calendar days of
the IEP team's determination, the LEA shall ensure that the IEP team
carries out a more thorough review of the IEP in accordance with
section 614(d)(4) of the Act.
(iv) A requirement that, at the request of the parent, the IEP team
will conduct an immediate review of the child's multi-year IEP, rather
than at the child's next transition point or annual review.
Background for Proposed Requirements and Selection Criteria
Although the Act sets out the previously-described requirements, it
does not provide for other requirements that are necessary for
implementation of this program. For instance, the Act does not address
the relationship among the content requirements of an IEP, the new
content requirements of the multi-year IEP, and informed parental
consent requirements. The Act also does not establish selection
criteria for the Department to use to evaluate State proposals. Thus,
in this notice, we are proposing additional Multi-Year IEP Program
requirements to address these and other implementation issues and
selection criteria that we will use to evaluate State proposals.
Under section 614(d)(5)(B) of the Act, the Department is required
to report on the effectiveness of the Multi-Year IEP Program. In this
notice, we also are
[[Page 75160]]
proposing requirements with which States must comply that will allow
the Department to evaluate the effectiveness of this program. To
accomplish this, the Institute of Education Sciences (Institute) will
conduct an evaluation using a quasi-experimental design that collects
data on the following outcomes: Educational and functional results for
students with disabilities, time and resource expenditures by IEP team
members and teachers, quality of long-term education plans incorporated
in IEPs, and degree of collaboration among IEP members. These outcomes
will be compared for students whose parents consent to their child's
participation in a multi-year IEP and students who are matched on type
of disability, age, prior educational outcomes, and to the extent
feasible, the nature of the special education services, who do not
participate in the multi-year IEP. Specifics of the design will be
confirmed during discussions with the evaluator, a technical workgroup,
and the participating States during the first several months of the
study.
Participating States will play a crucial supportive role in this
evaluation. They will, at minimum, assist in developing the specifics
of the evaluation plan, assure that districts participating in the
multi-year IEP will participate in the evaluation, supply data relevant
to the outcomes being measured from State data sources (e.g., student
achievement and functional outcome data, complaint numbers), provide
background information on relevant State policies and practices,
provide access to current student IEPs during Year 1 of the evaluation,
and complete questionnaires and participate in interviews. Data
collection and analysis will be the responsibility of the Institute
through its contractor.
States can expect to allocate resources for this purpose at a
minimum during Year 1 to assist with planning the details of the
evaluation, ensuring the participation of involved districts, providing
access to relevant State records, and completing questionnaires or
participating in interviews. Over the course of the evaluation,
participating States will receive an annual incentive payment
(described in the next section) that will offset the cost of
participating in the evaluation.
We will announce the final requirements and selection criteria in a
notice in the Federal Register. We will determine the final
requirements and selection criteria after considering responses to this
notice and other information available to the Department.
Note: An application and award for the Multi-Year IEP Program
does not preclude an application and award for the Paperwork Waiver
Demonstration Program, which is the subject of a separate notice of
proposed requirements and selection criteria.
Note: This notice does not solicit applications. We will invite
applications through a notice in the Federal Register at a later
date.
Proposed Additional Requirements for Multi-Year IEP Program
The Secretary proposes the following additional requirements for
the Multi-Year IEP Program:
1. The Secretary will not grant a State approval to participate in
this program if the Secretary determines that the State currently meets
the conditions under section 616(d)(2)(A)(iii) or (iv) of the Act
relative to its implementation of Part B of the Act.
2. The Secretary may terminate any Multi-Year IEP Program project
if the Secretary determines that the State (a) Needs assistance under
section 616(d)(2)(A)(ii) of the Act and the State's participation in
this program has contributed to or caused the need for assistance; (b)
needs intervention under 616(d)(2)(A)(iii) of the Act or needs
substantial intervention under section 616(d)(2)(A)(iv) of the Act; or
(c) failed to appropriately implement its project.
3. States submitting a proposal under the Multi-Year IEP Program
must include the following material in their proposal:
(a) Assurances that before an LEA requests a parent's informed
consent to the development of a multi-year IEP, the LEA will inform the
parent in writing of (i) any differences between the requirements
relating to the content, development, review, and revision of IEPs
under section 614(d) of the Act and the State's requirements relating
to the content, development, review, and revision of IEPs under the
State's approved Multi-Year IEP Program proposal; and (ii) the parent's
right to revoke consent and the LEA's responsibility to conduct, within
30 calendar days after revocation by the parent, an IEP meeting to
develop an IEP that meets the requirements of section 614(d)(1)(A) of
the Act.
(b) A description of how the State obtained input from school and
district personnel and parents in developing the list of required
elements for each multi-year IEP and the description of the process for
the review and revision of each multi-year IEP.
(c) A description of how the State obtained broad stakeholder input
on its Multi-Year IEP Program proposal.
(d) Assurances that the State will cooperate fully, if selected, in
a national evaluation of the Multi-Year IEP Program. Cooperation
includes devoting a minimum of 4 months between the State's award and
subsequent implementation of this program to conduct joint planning
with the evaluator. It also includes participation by the State
educational agency (SEA) in the following evaluation activities:
(i) Providing to the evaluator the list of required elements for
the multi-year IEP and the description of the process for the review
and revision of the multi-year IEP submitted as part of the State's
application for this program. Ensuring that the evaluator will have
access to the most recent IEP created before participating in the
Multi-Year IEP Program and the multi-year IEP(s) created during the
project for each participating child (multi-year IEP participants and
matched participants who not not have a multi-year IEP), together with
a general description of the process for completing both versions of
the IEP.
(ii) Recruiting districts or schools to participate in the
evaluation (as established in the evaluation design) and ensuring their
continued cooperation with the evaluation. Providing a list of
districts and schools that have been recruited and have agreed to
implement the proposed Multi-Year IEP Program, allow data collection to
occur, and cooperate fully with the evaluation. For each participating
school or district providing basic demographic information such as
student enrollment, district wealth and ethnicity breakdowns, the
number of children with disabilities by category, and the number or
type of personnel, as requested by the evaluator.
(iii) Serving in an advisory capacity to assist the evaluator in
identifying valid and reliable data sources and improving the design of
data collection instruments and methods.
(iv) Providing to the evaluator an inventory of existing State-
level data relevant to the evaluation questions or consistent with the
identified data sources. Supplying requested State-level data in
accordance with the timelines specified in the evaluation design.
(v) If necessary to the final design of the study, providing
assistance to the evaluator on the collection of data from parents,
including obtaining informed consent, for parents to participate in
interviews and respond to surveys and questionnaires.
(vi) Designating a coordinator for the project who will monitor the
implementation of the project and work
[[Page 75161]]
with the evaluator. This coordinator also will serve as the primary
point of contact for the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)
project officer.
4. Each State receiving approval to participate in the Multi-Year
IEP Program will be awarded an annual incentive payment of $10,000 to
be used exclusively to support program-related evaluation activities,
including one trip to Washington, DC, annually to meet with the project
officer and the evaluator. Each participating State will receive an
additional incentive payment of $15,000 annually from the contractor to
support evaluation activities in the State. Incentive payments may also
be provided to participating districts to offset the costs of their
participation in the evaluation of the Multi-Year IEP Program.
Proposed Selection Criteria
We propose that the following selection criteria be used to
evaluate State proposals submitted under this program. These particular
criteria were selected because they address the statutory requirements
and proposed program requirements and permit applicants to propose a
distinctive approach to addressing these requirements.
Note: The maximum score for all of these criteria will be 100
points. We will inform applicants of the points or weights assigned
to each criterion and sub-criterion in a notice published in the
Federal Register inviting States to submit applications for this
program.
1. Significance. The Secretary considers the significance of the
proposed project. In determining the significance of the proposed
project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
(a) The extent to which the proposed project involves the
development or demonstration of promising new strategies that build on,
or are alternatives to, existing strategies.
(b) The likelihood that the proposed project will result in
improvements in the IEP process, especially long-term planning for
children with disabilities.
2. Quality of the project design. The Secretary considers the
quality of the design of the proposed project. In determining the
quality of the design of the proposed project, the Secretary considers
the following factors:
(a) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified, measurable, and
address active participation in the program evaluation.
(b) The extent to which the design of the proposed project will
improve long-term planning and address the need to reduce the paperwork
burden associated with IEPs.
(c) The extent to which the proposed project encourages consumer
involvement, including parental involvement.
3. Quality of the management plan. The Secretary considers the
quality of the management plan for the proposed project. In determining
the quality of the management plan for the proposed project, the
Secretary considers the following factors:
(a) The adequacy of procedures for ensuring feedback and continuous
improvement in the operation of the proposed project.
(b) The extent to which the applicant has devoted sufficient
resources to the evaluation of the Multi-Year IEP Program.
(c) How the applicant will ensure that a diversity of perspectives
are brought to bear in the operation of the proposed project, including
those of parents, teachers, related services providers, administrators,
or others, as appropriate.
Executive Order 12866
This notice of proposed requirements and selection criteria has
been reviewed in accordance with Executive Order 12866. Under the terms
of the order, we have assessed the potential costs and benefits of this
regulatory action.
The potential costs associated with this regulatory action are
those resulting from statutory requirements and those we have
determined as necessary for administering this program effectively and
efficiently.
In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative
and qualitative--of the actions proposed in this notice, we have
determined that the benefits of the proposed requirements and selection
criteria justify the costs.
We have also determined that this regulatory action does not unduly
interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the exercise of
their governmental functions.
Intergovernmental Review
This program is not subject to Executive Order 12372 and the
regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
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
.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1414.
Dated: December 14, 2005.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. E5-7506 Filed 12-16-05; 8:45 am]
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