[Federal Register: September 19, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 182)]
[Notices]
[Page 54895-54897]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19se03-57]
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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 April 1, 2003 through June 30,
2003.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary is publishing the following list pursuant to
section 607(d) of the Individuals with
[[Page 54896]]
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 the IDEA or the
regulations that implement the IDEA.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melisande Lee or JoLeta Reynolds.
Telephone: (202) 205-5507 (press 3).
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call 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 the contact persons listed in the
preceding paragraph.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following list identifies correspondence
from the Department issued from April 1, 2003 through June 30, 2003
with the exception of two letters, one dated March 17, 2003, which was
inadvertently omitted from the 1st Quarter list, and one dated August
1, 2003, which relates to the subject matter of the March 17, 2003
letter.
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 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
[sbull] Letter dated June 30, 2003 to individual (personally
identifiable information redacted), clarifying that although neither
the IDEA nor its implementing regulations require that students who are
deaf or hard of hearing be assessed to determine their American Sign
Language (ASL) skills or proficiency, the individualized education
program (IEP) may specify that certain assessment methods be used to
assess the student's proficiency in ASL.
Section 603--Office of special education programs
Topic Addressed: Responsibilities of the Office of Special Education
Programs
[sbull] Letter dated April 16, 2003 to the National Council on
Disability General Counsel Jeff Rosen, regarding the efforts of the
Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) to focus its monitoring
system on better outcomes for infants, toddlers, children and youth
with disabilities and their families.
[sbull] OSEP memorandum 03-5 dated April 8, 2003 to Chief State
School Officers and Lead Agency Directors, regarding OSEP's
implementation of the Continuous Improvement and Focused Monitoring
System to target resources on those performance issues most closely
related to improved results for children with disabilities and to those
States most in need of improvement on those performance issues.
Part B--Assistance for Education of all Children with Disabilities
Section 611--Authorization; Allotment; Use of Funds; Authorization of
Appropriations
Section 619--Preschool Grants
Topic Addressed: Allocation of Grants
[sbull] OSEP memorandum 03-7 dated April 15, 2003 to State
Directors of Special Education, regarding calculating State grants and
the determination of the age cohort for which each State ensures the
availability of a free appropriate public education (FAPE).
Section 612--State Eligibility
Topic Addressed: Free Appropriate Public Education
[sbull] Letter dated June 27, 2003 to individual (personally
identifiable information redacted), clarifying whether Federal funds
provided under the IDEA can be used to pay tuition at public or private
State-approved special education programs designed to offer parents
alternate State-approved school placement options.
Topic Addressed: Least Restrictive Environment
[sbull] Letter dated June 26, 2003 to Maryland Disability Law
Center Managing Attorney Leslie S. Margolis, clarifying that OSEP does
not intervene in State decisions regarding construction of new schools
and that there are no statutory or regulatory provisions which require
a State to take certain steps before concluding there is no viable
alternative to construction of a new separate facility.
Topic Addressed: State Educational Agency General Supervisory Authority
[sbull] Letter dated June 25, 2003 to individual (personally
identifiable information redacted), clarifying the State Educational
Agency's general supervisory responsibilities and explaining that the
IDEA and its implementing regulations do not (1) specify the manner or
method in which a State educational agency (SEA) must conduct an
independent onsite-investigation of a complaint or (2) require that
students with disabilities attain particular graduation rates for a
State to meet its obligations under the IDEA.
Topic Addressed: Participation of Children with Disabilities in State
and District-Wide Assessments
[sbull] Letter dated June 26, 2003 to individual (personally
identifiable information redacted), regarding (a) participation by
students placed in private schools or facilities in State and district-
wide assessments and in alternate assessments; (b) the appropriate
configuration and authority of the IEP team; (c) the provision of
direct services by the SEA and remedies available under State complaint
procedures; (d) the filing of a State complaint in an alternative
format and the completeness of a complaint investigation; and (e)
procedural safeguards for parents with disabilities.
[sbull] Letter dated April 10, 2003 to New York State Education
Department Deputy Commissioner Lawrence Gloeckler, regarding a State's
ability to (1) determine what accommodations in administration
invalidate a test or a part thereof and (2) provide appropriate
direction to school districts and IEP teams on issues including the
design and constructs measured by various required tests, which
accommodations and modifications in administration are valid, and which
accommodations and modifications would invalidate the assessment or
part of the assessment.
Section 613--Local Educational Agency Eligibility
Topic Addressed: Charter Schools
[sbull] Letter dated April 4, 2003 to Hawaii Department of
Education Special Education Director Debra Farmer, clarifying the
State's obligations, under its unitary school system and parental
choice programs, to provide a FAPE to students with disabilities whose
parents choose to place them in a charter school.
[[Page 54897]]
Section 614--Evaluations, Eligibility Determinations, Individualized
Education Programs, and Educational Placements
Topic Addressed: Evaluations and Reevaluations
[sbull] Letter dated June 26, 2003 to Maryland Department of
Education Assistant State Superintendent Carol Ann Baglin, clarifying
that (1) the determination of whether a child suspected of having a
specific learning disability is a child with a disability must be made
by the parents and a team of qualified professionals and (2) it would
not be inconsistent with the IDEA for a State to require that the
child's parent be afforded the opportunity to provide a statement
presenting his or her conclusion regarding the determination of
eligibility.
[sbull] Letter dated April 10, 2003 to New York State Education
Department Deputy Commissioner Lawrence Gloeckler, clarifying that (1)
the IDEA statute and Part B regulations reflect the clear and
unequivocal intent of Congress to support parents' rights to choose
whether their children would be enrolled initially in special education
and (2) an individual parent's refusal to consent to the initial
provision of special education and related services relieves the
State's obligation to provide FAPE to that child until the parent
provides that consent.
Topic Addressed: Individualized Education Programs
[sbull] Letter dated June 4, 2003 to individual (personally
identifiable information redacted), regarding the audio or video
recording of IEP meetings.
[sbull] Letter dated April 2, 2003 to Sonja D. Kerr, Esq.,
clarifying that neither the IDEA nor the final regulations (1) address
the ``write-up'' of the IEP (whether or not parents must be physically
present when the IEP is written is a State issue) or (2) prohibit the
parties from using an IEP developed during a conciliation conference or
from making offers of settlement or submitting such settlement offers
to a hearing officer or court.
Section 615--Procedural Safeguards
Topic Addressed: Manifestation Determination Review
[sbull] Letter dated August 1, 2003 to Vermont Department of
Education Legal Counsel Geoffrey A. Yudien, clarifying that (1) nothing
in the IDEA statute or regulations limits a manifestation determination
review only to the disability that served as the basis for the
eligibility determination and (2) the ten-day timeline set forth in 34
CFR 300.523(a)(2) is not intended to preclude the IEP team from making
an appropriate determination that additional evaluations must be
completed in order to make a manifestation determination.
[sbull] Letter dated March 17, 2003 to New Hampshire Department of
Education Consultant Terry Brune, clarifying that, while the IDEA
statute and regulations do not address the issue of conducting more
than one manifestation determination review for the same incidence of
behavior, any new information regarding the incident could be used as a
basis for an IEP meeting to reexamine the student's program and
placement.
Part C--Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities
Section 636--Individualized Family Service Plan
Topic Addressed: Early Intervention Services
[sbull] Letter dated June 30, 2003 to individual (personally
identifiable information redacted), clarifying that the regulations
implementing Part C require that (1) written parental consent be
obtained before conducting the initial evaluation and placement of a
child and before initiating the provision of early intervention
services and (2) there is no provision authorizing public agencies to
use mediation or due process procedures to override a parent's refusal
to consent to the initial provision of early intervention or special
education and related services.
Section 641--State Interagency Coordinating Council
Topic Addressed: State Interagency Coordinating Council
[sbull] OSEP memorandum 03-6 dated April 15, 2003, regarding the
requirements for submitting annual performance reports, and clarifying
that a single report can be used to satisfy both the Education
Department General Regulations and the Part C Interagency Coordinating
Council reporting requirements.
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.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.027, Assistance to
States for Education of Children with Disabilities).
Dated: September 16, 2003.
Robert H. Pasternack,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 03-23975 Filed 9-18-03; 8:45 am]
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