[Federal Register: December 19, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 242)]
[Notices]
[Page 75161-75165]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19de05-51]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
RIN 1820-ZA42
The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act Paperwork Waiver
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 Paperwork Waiver Demonstration
Program (Paperwork Waiver Program). State proposals approved under this
program would create opportunities for participating States to reduce
paperwork burdens and other administrative duties in order to increase
time for instruction and other activities to improve educational and
functional results for children with disabilities. The proposed
requirements and selection criteria focus on an identified national
need to reduce the paperwork burden associated with the requirements of
Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as amended,
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.
[[Page 75162]]
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 ``Paperwork Waiver 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 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.
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 Paperwork Waiver 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 Paperwork Waiver Program is one of two demonstration programs
authorized under the new law that is designed to address parents',
special educators' and States' desire to reduce excessive and
repetitious paperwork, administrative burden, and non-instructional
teacher time and, at the same time, to increase the resources and time
available for classroom instruction and other activities focused on
improving educational and functional results of children with
disabilities.
Paperwork burden in special education affects (1) the time school
staff can devote to instruction or service provision and (2) retention
of staff, particularly special education teachers. In 2002, the Office
of Special Education Programs (OSEP) funded a nationally representative
study of teachers' perceptions of sources of paperwork burden, the
hours devoted to these activities, and possible explanations for
variations among teachers in the hours devoted to these tasks. Among
the findings related to the Individualized Education Program (IEP),
student evaluations, progress reporting, and case management was that
teachers whose administrative duties and paperwork exceeded four hours
per week were more likely to perceive these responsibilities as
interfering with their job of teaching. Moreover, the study found that
the mean number of hours reported by teachers to be devoted to these
tasks was 6.3 hours per week.
Through the Paperwork Waiver Program, established under section
609(a) of the Act, the Secretary may grant waivers of certain statutory
and regulatory requirements under Part B of the Act to not more than 15
States, including Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and the
outlying areas (States) based on State proposals to reduce excessive
paperwork and non-instructional time burdens that do not assist in
improving educational and functional results for children with
disabilities. The Secretary is authorized to grant these waivers for a
period of up to four years.
Although the purpose of the Paperwork Waiver Program is to reduce
the paperwork burden associated with the Act, not all statutory and
regulatory requirements under Part B of the Act may be waived.
Specifically, the Secretary may not waive any statutory or regulatory
provisions relating to applicable civil rights requirements or
procedural safeguards. Furthermore, waivers may not affect the right of
a child with a disability to receive FAPE. In short, State proposals
must preserve the basic rights of students with disabilities.
Statutory Requirements for Paperwork Waiver Program
The Act establishes the following requirements to govern the
Paperwork Waiver Program proposals:
1. States applying for approval under this program must submit a
proposal to reduce excessive paperwork and non-instructional time
burdens that do not assist in improving educational and functional
results for children with disabilities.
2. A State submitting a proposal for the Paperwork Waiver Program
must include in its proposal a list of any statutory requirements of,
or regulatory requirements relating to, Part B of the Act that the
State desires the Secretary to waive, in whole or in part (not
including civil rights requirements and procedural safeguards as noted
elsewhere in this notice); and a list of any State requirements that
the State proposes to waive or change, in whole or in part, to carry
out the waiver granted to the State by the Secretary. Waivers may be
granted for a period of up to four years.
3. The Secretary is prohibited from waiving any statutory
requirements of, or regulatory requirements relating to applicable
civil rights requirements or procedural requirements under section 615
of the Act. A waiver may not affect the right of a child with a
disability to receive FAPE (as defined in section 602(9) of the Act).
4. The Secretary will not grant any waiver to a State if the
Secretary has determined 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.
[[Page 75163]]
5. The Secretary will terminate a State's waiver granted as part of
this program if the Secretary determines that the State (a) needs
assistance under section 616(d)(2)(A)(ii) of the Act and that the
waiver has contributed to or caused the need for assistance; (b) needs
intervention under section 616(d)(2)(A)(iii) of the Act or needs
substantial intervention under section 616(d)(2)(A)(iv) of the Act; or
(c) fails to appropriately implement its waiver.
Background for Proposed Requirements and Selection Criteria
Although the Act sets out the previously-described situations in
which requirements cannot be waived, it does not provide specificity as
to the particular requirements that are not subject to waiver or
provide for other requirements that are necessary for implementation of
this program. For instance, the Act does not address what requirements
States may propose to waive without affecting the right of a child with
a disability to receive FAPE. The Act also does not establish the
selection criteria for the Department to use to evaluate State
proposals. Thus, in this notice, we are proposing additional Paperwork
Waiver Program requirements to address these and other implementation
issues and selection criteria that we will use to evaluate State
proposals.
Under section 609(b) of the Act, the Department is required to
report on the effectiveness of the waiver program. In this notice, we
are 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: (a) Educational and functional results
for students with disabilities, (b) allocation and engagement of
instructional time for students with disabilities, (c) administrative
duties, paperwork requirements, and resources by teaching and related
services personnel, (d) quality of special education services and plans
incorporated in IEPs, and (e) teacher, parent and administrator
satisfaction. These outcomes will be compared for students who
participate in the Paperwork Waiver Demonstration Program, and students
who are matched on disability and prior educational outcomes who do not
participate in the paperwork waiver program. Specifics of the design
will be confirmed during discussion 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 evaluation
plan, assure that districts participating in the Paperwork Waiver
Demonstration Program will collaborate with the evaluation, provide
background information on relevant State policies and practices, and
supply data relevant to the outcomes from State data sources (e.g.,
student achievement and functional performance data, complaint
numbers), provide access to current student IEPs (if appropriate and
paperwork waiver affects an IEP) during Year 1 of the evaluation, and
complete questionnaires, surveys, 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 minimum during Year 1 to assist with planning the
details of the evaluation, ensuring 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 Paperwork Waiver Program
does not preclude application and award for the Multi-Year
Individualized Education Program 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 Paperwork Waiver Program
The Secretary proposes the following additional requirements for
the Paperwork Waiver Program.
1. A State submitting a proposal under the Paperwork Waiver Program
must include the following material in its proposal:
(a) A description of how the State obtained input from school and
district personnel and parents in selecting the requirements it is
proposing for waiver and a description of any specific proposals for
changing those requirements to reduce paperwork.
(b) A detailed description of how the State obtained broad
stakeholder input on the proposal.
(c) A description of the procedures the State will employ to ensure
that, if the waiver is granted, it will not result in a denial of the
right to FAPE to any child with a disability.
(d) Assurances that parents will be given notice of any statutory
requirements that will be waived.
(e) If a State is applying for a waiver of any paperwork
requirements related to IEPs, assurances that the State will require
that (i) any participating local educational agency (LEA) obtain
informed consent from the parents before an IEP that does not meet the
requirements of 614(d) of the Act is developed for a child; and (ii)
before an LEA requests a parent's informed consent, the LEA inform the
parent in writing of (A) Any differences between the requirements of
section 614(d) of the Act relating to the content, development, review
and revision of IEPs and the requirements relating to the content,
development, review and revision of IEPs under the State's approved
Paperwork Waiver Program proposal; (B) the parent's right to revoke
consent to the use of the IEP under the Paperwork Waiver Program
proposal at any time; and (C) the LEA's responsibility to conduct,
within 30 calendar days after revocation by the parent, an IEP meeting
to develop an IEP that meets all the requirements of section 614(d) of
the Act.
(f) Assurances that the State will cooperate fully, if selected, in
a national evaluation of the Paperwork Waiver Program. Cooperation
includes devoting a minimum of 4 months between the award and the
implementation of the State's waiver to conduct joint planning with the
evaluator. It also includes participation by the State educational
agency (SEA) in the following evaluation activities:
(i) For each item in the list of statutory, regulatory, or State
requirements submitted pursuant to paragraph 2 in the Statutory
Requirements for Paperwork Waiver Program section of this notice,
ensuring that the evaluator will have access to the original and all
subsequent new versions of the associated documents for each child
involved in the evaluation, together with a general description of the
process for completing each of the documents. For example, if elements
of the IEP process are waived, the evaluator shall have access to the
most recent IEP created under previous guidelines for each
participating child,
[[Page 75164]]
as well as all of the new IEPs created under the waiver, along with a
description of the process for completing both types of IEPs.
(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 Paperwork Waiver 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 timeline specified in the evaluation design.
(v) Providing assistance to the evaluator with the collection of
data from parents, including obtaining informed consent, for parent
interviews and responses to surveys and questionnaires, if necessary to
the final design of the evaluation.
(vi) Designating a coordinator for the project who will monitor the
implementation of the project and work with the evaluator. This
coordinator also will serve as the primary point of contact for the
OSEP project officer.
2. For purposes of the statutory requirement prohibiting the
Secretary from waiving any statutory requirements of, or regulatory
requirements relating to, but not limited to, applicable civil rights
requirements, the term applicable civil rights requirements as used in
this notice includes all civil rights requirements in: (a) Section 504
of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; (b) Title VI of the
Civil Rights Act of 1964; (c) Title IX of the Education Amendments of
1972; (d) Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; and
(e) Age Discrimination Act of 1975 and their implementing regulations.
The term does not include other requirements under the Act.
3. Each State receiving approval to participate in the Paperwork
Waiver 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
evaluation contractor to support evaluation activities in the State.
Incentive payments may also be provided to participating districts to
offset the cost of their participation in the evaluation of the
Paperwork Waiver Demonstration 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 reduce the
paperwork burden and increase instructional time and improve academic
achievement.
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
successfully reduce excessive paperwork and increase instructional
time.
(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 waiver 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, school
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.
[[Page 75165]]
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. 1408.
Dated: December 14, 2005.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. E5-7507 Filed 12-16-05; 8:45 am]
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