[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 17, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46966-46967]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-18031]


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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 January 2, 2002 through March 31, 
2002.

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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, 2002 through March 31, 2002.
    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 A--General Provisions

Section 602--Definitions

Topic Addressed: Child With a Disability
     Letter dated January 7, 2002 to individual, (personally 
identifiable information redacted), clarifying that (1) a State must 
make clear to the Office of Special Education Programs that it has the 
authority to enforce the requirements of IDEA under State law and (2) a 
State may adopt a definition of ``adverse effect'' provided that the 
State definition is not implemented in a manner that excludes otherwise 
eligible children.
Topic Addressed: Special Education
     Letter dated January 30, 2002 to Florida Department of 
Education Bureau of Instructional Support and Community Services Chief 
Shan Goff, clarifying that each State must ensure that any child with a 
disability who needs speech-language pathology services to benefit from 
special education receives those services, even if the child does not 
meet the State's criteria to receive speech-language pathology services 
as a special education service.

Section 603--Office of Special Education Programs

Topic Addressed: Responsibilities of the Office of Special Education 
Programs
     Letter dated January 18, 2002 to U.S. Congresswoman Patsy 
Mink clarifying that the U.S. Department of Education is not 
responsible for monitoring court-ordered decrees and explaining the 
discretionary grant awards process.

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

Section 612--State Eligibility

Topic Addressed: Condition of Assistance
     Letter dated January 18, 2002 to individual, (personally 
identifiable information redacted), regarding (1) a State's obligation 
to develop policies and procedures to resolve signed written complaints 
filed by individual parents of children with disabilities, other 
individuals, and organizations and (2) OSEP's obligation to monitor 
each State's compliance with the complaint resolution requirements in 
the final regulations implementing the IDEA through its continuous 
improvement monitoring process.
Topic Addressed: Free Appropriate Public Education
     Letter dated February 12, 2002 to individual, (personally 
identifiable information redacted), clarifying that decisions regarding 
the provision of services that are appropriate for an individual child 
must be based on the child's unique needs and not on the disability 
category in which the child is classified.

Section 613--Local Educational Agency Eligibility

Topic Addressed: Charter Schools
     Letter dated February 12, 2002 to Connecticut Department 
of Education Associate Commissioner George Coleman, regarding the 
categories of charter schools, the eligibility of charter schools for 
Federal funds, and the responsibilities of charter schools under Part B 
of IDEA.

Section 615--Procedural Safeguards

Topic Addressed: Prior Written Notice
     Letter dated March 6, 2002 to Texas Education Agency 
Division of Special Education Senior Director Eugene Lenz, regarding 
the circumstances under which a parent or a school district is required 
to provide prior notice and clarifying that no notice provisions other 
than those expressly contained in the IDEA can be applied to limit the 
statutory right to a due process hearing.

Section 618--Program Information

Topic Addressed: Disproportionality
     Letter dated January 14, 2002 to individual, (personally 
identifiable information redacted), regarding the ways in which OSEP 
and the Office for Civil Rights address the disproportionate 
representation of students from some racial and ethnic

[[Page 46967]]

minority backgrounds in special education programs and classes.

Part C--Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities

Section 631--Findings and Policy

Topic Addressed: Amendment of Regulations
     Letter dated February 13, 2002 to U.S. Congresswoman Judy 
Biggert, regarding the Department of Education's decision to delay the 
issuance of any new regulations for the Part C program until after the 
IDEA is reauthorized and to withdraw the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 
published in the Federal Register on September 5, 2000.

Section 636--Individualized Family Service Plan

Topic Addressed: Early Intervention Services
     Letter dated February 12, 2002 to Kelly C. Wilson, Esq., 
clarifying (1) that the individualized family service plan (IFSP) may 
include a particular methodology or instructional approach that is 
considered by the IFSP team to be integral to the design of an 
individualized program of services to meet the unique needs of the 
individual child and (2) that the State is required to provide all 
services identified in the IFSP and to ensure that those services are 
implemented according to the IFSP.

Other Letters Relevant to the Administration of Idea Programs

Topic Addressed: Assistance Under Other Federal Programs
     Letter dated February 22, 2002 to President Lee Grossman 
and Executive Director Rob Beck of the Autism Society of America, 
clarifying that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, as 
currently written, does not allow educational agencies and institutions 
to disclose information from student education records to the Centers 
for Disease Control without prior written consent of the parent.

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: July 11, 2002.
Robert H. Pasternack,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 02-18031 Filed 7-16-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P