[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 27 (Wednesday, February 10, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6768-6769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-3194]



[[Page 6767]]

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Part IV





Department of Education





_______________________________________________________________________



List of Correspondence; Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 27 / Wednesday, February 10, 1999 / 
Notices  

[[Page 6768]]



DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


List of Correspondence--Office of Special Education and 
Rehabilitative Services

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: List of Correspondence from July 1, 1998 through September 30, 
1998.

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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: JoLeta Reynolds or Rhonda Weiss. 
Telephone: (202) 205-5507. Individuals who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call (202) 205-5465 or the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8:00 a.m. 
and 8:00 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday, except Federal 
holidays.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of this notice in 
an alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to Katie Mincey, Director of the Alternate Formats 
Center. Telephone: (202) 205-8113.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    The following list identifies correspondence from the Department 
issued between July 1, 1998 and September 30, 1998.
    Included on the list are those letters that contain interpretations 
of the requirements of IDEA and its implementing regulations, as well 
as letters 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: Other Health Impairments
     Letter dated August 19, 1998 to Mr. Robert Sterner, 
Parents' Place of Maryland, Inc., regarding eligibility of children 
with multiple chemical sensitivity under the ``other health 
impairment'' category.

Section 607--Requirements for Prescribing Regulations

Topic Addressed: Applicable Regulations
     Memorandum dated July 1, 1998 to Chief State School 
Officers and State Directors of Special Education and Memorandum dated 
July 1, 1998 to Directors of Parent Training Institutes, regarding 
which regulations apply until final regulations are published.

Part B--Assistance for Education of All Children With Disabilities

Section 612--State Eligibility

Topic Addressed: Free Appropriate Public Education
     Letter dated August 21, 1998 to Kristin M. Reedy, Barre 
City Supervisory Union, regarding the responsibility of the State and 
its public agencies to ensure the provision of a free appropriate 
public education to a student with a disability placed by a State 
agency.
     Letter dated September 16, 1998 to Dr. Ellenmorris 
Tiegerman, School for Language and Communication Development, regarding 
when a State is responsible for paying tuition costs for integrated 
placements for preschool-aged children with disabilities.
Topic Addressed: Last Restrictive Environment
     Letter dated September 3, 1998 to Rodney J. Trahan, Member 
of Acadia Parish School Board, regarding distinctions between the term 
inclusion and the least restrictive environment provision in the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997.
Topic Addressed: Children in Private Schools
     Letter dated August 26, 1998 to U.S. Congressman Steven R. 
Rothman, regarding the requirements of the Individuals with 
Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 that govern the 
participation of children with disabilities placed in private schools 
by their parents in programs assisted or carried out under Part B of 
the Act.
Topic Addressed: State Advisory Panel
     Letter dated September 29, 1998 to U.S. Congressman 
Stephen Horn, regarding absence of Federal requirements for membership 
on local advisory boards.

Section 614--Evaluations, Eligibility Determinations, Individualized 
Education Programs, and Educational Placements

Topic Addressed: Individualized Education Programs
     Letter dated September 29, 1998 to Leslie A. Collins, 
Esq., Pennsylvania State Education Association, regarding who may serve 
as the local educational agency representative on the Individualized 
Education Program Team.
     Letter dated September 29, 1998 to U.S. Congressman Jerry 
Kleczka, regarding the role of the Individualized Education Program 
Team in determining whether a child with disabilities who has not 
achieved the goals in his or her IEP receives extended school year 
services.

Section 615--Procedural Safeguards

Topic Addressed: Finality of Hearing Decisions
     Letter dated September 18, 1998 to Gene Lenz, Texas 
Education Agency, regarding timely implementation of final hearing 
decisions.
     Letter dated August 13, 1998, to Ms. Candy Von Ruden, 
Special Education Advocates of Nevada, regarding Federal requirements 
for reporting of final hearing decisions.
Topic Addressed: Independent Educational Evaluation
     Letter dated August 14, 1998, to Mr. Robert W. Runkel, 
Montana Office of Public Instruction, and letter dated August 14, 1998, 
to individual, (personally identifiable information redacted), 
regarding a public agency's responsibility to respond to a request for 
an independent educational evaluation at public expense within a 
reasonable period of time.
Topic Addressed: Student Discipline
     Letter dated July 2, 1998 to Dr. Gus G. Spiropulos, Camas 
County School District, and letter dated July 10, 1998 to individual, 
(personally identifiable information redacted), regarding the provision 
of continued educational services to properly suspended or expelled 
disabled students.
     Letter dated August 13, 1998 to Jim Surratt, Wake County 
Public School System, regarding procedures governing placements for 
students with disabilities who potentially threaten school safety.
     Letter dated August 20, 1998 to U.S. Congressman Roscoe G. 
Bartlett, regarding options available to school authorities in 
disciplining students with disabilities.

[[Page 6769]]

     Letter dated September 10, 1998 to Sue Gamm, Chicago 
Public Schools, regarding an expedited hearing.
     Letter dated September 29, 1998 to Dr. Linda B. Eldridge 
and Ms. Peggy Trivelas, Aiken County Public Schools, regarding 
conditions that apply to the use of multiple suspensions of students 
with disabilities in the same school year.

Section 619--Preschool Grants

Topic Addressed: Distribution of Preschool Grants Funds
     Letter dated September 16, 1998 to Dr. Martha Fields, 
National Association of State Directors of Special Education, Inc., 
regarding allocations of preschool grants funds to local educational 
agencies.

Part C--Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities [previously PART H]

Sections 631-641

Topic Addressed: State Allocation Formula
     Letter dated July 27, 1998 to Dr. Howard K. Koh, 
Massachusetts Department of Public Health, regarding population basis 
for calculating State allocations of Part C funds.
Topic Addressed: Implementation of a System of Payments
     Letter dated June 5, 1998 to Dr. James T. Howell, 
Secretary, Florida Department of Health, regarding imposition of a 
system of payments in a State that uses Part B funds to pay for early 
intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities.

Section 636--Individualized Family Service Plan

Topic Addressed: Natural Environments
     Letter dated July 17, 1998 to Ms. Mary Elder, Texas 
Interagency Council on Early Childhood Intervention, regarding use of 
Part C and State funds to provide early intervention services to a 
child with a disability in a setting which has been determined by the 
child's Individualized Family Service Team not to be the child's 
natural environment.

Electronic Access to This Document

    Anyone may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or 
portable document format (pdf) on the World Wide Web at either of the 
following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the pdf you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with 
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you 
have questions about using the pdf, call the U.S. Government Printing 
Office at (202) 512-1530 or, toll free at 1-888-293-6498.
    Anyone may also view these documents in text copy only on an 
electronic bulletin board of the Department. Telephone: (202) 219-1511 
or, toll free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents are located under Option 
G--Files/Announcements, Bulletins, and Press Releases.

    Note: The official version of a document is the document 
published in the Federal Register.

    Dated: February 4, 1999.
Judith E. Heumann,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.027, Assistance to 
States for Education of Children with Disabilities)

[FR Doc. 99-3194 Filed 2-9-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P