[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 120 (Monday, June 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37141-37142]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-15807]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: List of correspondence from January 2, 2003 through March 31,
2003.
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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: Melisande Lee or JoLeta Reynolds.
Telephone: (202) 205-5507.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call (202) 205-5637 or the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) 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 Katie Mincey, Director of the
Alternate Format Center. Telephone: (202) 205-8113.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following list identifies correspondence
from the Department issued from January 2, 2003 through March 31, 2003.
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 B
Assistance for education of All Children With Disabilities Section
611--Authorization; Allotment; Use of Funds; Authorization of
Aappropriations Section 619--Preschool Grants
Topic Addressed: Use of funds
[sbull] Letter dated March 25, 2003 to American Samoa Special
Education Division Director Moeolo Vaatausili, regarding whether the
purchase of vehicles to meet the transportation needs of children with
disabilities using Part B funds is an allowable cost.
[sbull] Letter dated March 21, 2003 to Louisiana Department of
Education Director Virginia Beridon, regarding criteria for determining
whether use of Part B funds for international travel is an allowable
cost.
[[Page 37142]]
Section 612--State Eligibility.
Topic Addressed: Confidentiality of Education Records
[sbull] Letter dated February 14, 2003 to Bergen County, New Jersey
Freeholder Louis A. Tedesco, clarifying that rights under the
confidentiality provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act (FERPA) and the IDEA vest with the parent or eligible student and
that FERPA does not provide for these rights to be vested in a third
party that has not suffered an alleged violation.
Topic Addressed: Procedural Safeguards
[sbull] Letter dated February 26, 2003 to Vermont Director of
Special Education Dennis Kane, regarding issues the State needs to
review and resolve pursuant to State complaint procedures and the
complaint requirements in the part B regulations at 34 CFR 300.660-
300.662.
[sbull] Letter dated March 6, 2003 to individual, (personally
identifiable information redacted), regarding the change in the Part B
regulations that removed the Secretarial review process under the State
complaint procedures effective May 11, 1999.
Topic Addressed: State Education Agency General Supervisory Authority
[sbull] Letter dated March 24, 2003 to Connecticut Commissioner of
Education Theodore S. Sergi, regarding the State's due process hearing
procedures and compliance with the Special Conditions on its Federal
fiscal year 2002 grant award under Part B.
Section 614--Evaluations, Eligibility Determinations, Individualized
Education Programs, and Educational Placements
Topic Addressed: Evaluations and Reevaluations
[sbull] Letter dated March 20, 2003 to Vermont Department of
Education Legal Counsel Geoffrey A. Yudien, clarifying (1) that a
school district may not override parental consent for the initial
provision of special education and related services, (2) that a school
district is not required to obtain separate parental consent for
additional services that the individualized education programs team
deems necessary or for a continuation of services after the parent has
previously consented to the initial provision of services, and (3) that
the protections under the IDEA, including the discipline procedures at
34 CFR 300.520-300.529, would not apply to children whose parents have
refused consent for the initial provision of special education and
related services.
[sbull] Letter dated February 11, 2003 to New Jersey Director of
Special Education Barbara Gantwerk, clarifying (1) the ways in which
school districts can document efforts to obtain parental consent for
the initial provision of special education and related services and
reevaluations, and (2) that school districts are not required to
provide the Part B discipline protections to children who are not
receiving special education because their parents have refused to
consent.
Topic Addressed: Individualized Education Programs
[sbull] Letter dated February 4, 2003 to West Virginia Advocate
Susan Given, regarding factors that States may use in determining when
extended school year services are appropriate under Part B.
Section 615--Procedural Safeguards
Topic Addressed: Independent Educational Evaluations
[sbull] Letter dated March 20, 2003 to Arkansas Volunteer
Educational Advocate David Young, clarifying that a school district's
practice of maintaining and requiring a parent to use a list of
qualified independent educational evaluation (IEE) examiners is not
inconsistent with the parent's right to an IEE.
Topic Addressed: Surrogate Parents
[sbull] Letter dated March 11, 2003 to Vermont Department of
Education Legal Counsel Geoffrey A. Yudien, regarding the authority of
the State and the role of the surrogate parent in making educational
decisions for children with disabilities placed in State custody.
Part C
Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities
Section 636--Individualized Family Service Plan
Topic Addressed: Early Intervention Services
[sbull] Letter dated March 25, 2003 to Connecticut Birth to Three
System Director Linda Goodman, regarding whether assistive technology
can be provided under Part C.
[sbull] Letter dated March 13, 2003 to South Carolina Part C
Coordinator David K. Steele, clarifying that although the provision of
respite or other care arrangements may be necessary for some families
to participate in appropriate early intervention activities, the term
``respite'' is not intended to serve as child-care or ``baby-sitting''
assistance in ordinary circumstances.
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/legislation/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 1-800-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is 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.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.027, Assistance to
States for Education of Children with Disabilities)
Dated: June 18, 2003.
Robert H. Pasternack,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 03-15807 Filed 6-20-03; 8:45 am]
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