[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 216 (Thursday, November 7, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67828-67830]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-28363]


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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, 2002 through June 30, 
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.

[[Page 67829]]

    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 April 1, 2002 through June 30, 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: Special Education AND Related Services
    [sbull] Letter dated April 19, 2002 to individual, (personally 
identifiable information redacted), regarding the circumstances under 
which transportation must be provided as a related service; and 
clarifying that IDEA does not address whether parents are entitled to 
reimbursement for transporting their child if transportation is not a 
required related service on the individualized education program.

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

Section 611--Authorization; Allotment; Use of Funds; Authorization of 
Appropriations.

Topic Addressed: Distribution of Funds
    [sbull] OSEP memorandum 02-06 dated April 26, 2002, regarding 
implementation of the new funding formula under IDEA, specifically the 
year of age cohorts for which a free appropriate public education 
(FAPE) is ensured.
Topic Addressed: Use of Funds
    [sbull] Letter dated May 22, 2002 to Louisiana Department of 
Education Division of Appropriation Control Director Kitty Littlejohn 
regarding the ability to add program income, generated from 
registration fees assessed on participants at conferences conducted by 
the State Department of Education, to the IDEA Part B grant award.

Section 612--State Eligibility.

Topic Addressed: Condition of Assistance and Annual Count
    [sbull] Letter dated April 2, 2002 to individual, (personally 
identifiable information redacted), clarifying that (1) the Florida 
Department of Education (FDE) operates a one-tier due process system; 
(2) the FDE is revising its eligibility documents which will be 
reviewed by the Office of Special Education Programs; (3) the FDE is 
developing a State Improvement Plan; and (4) a school district may 
include in its annual count children placed by their parents in private 
schools through Florida's program of Scholarships to Public or Private 
Schools of Choice for Students with Disabilities if these children are 
being provided special education or related services under 34 CFR 
300.452-300.462.
Topic Addressed: State Educational Agency General Supervisory Authority
    [sbull] Letter dated June 27, 2002 to Dina O. Harris, Esq., John F. 
Walsh, Esq. and Arizona Assistant Attorney General Kacey Gregson, 
regarding the ability of a State educational agency (SEA) to reduce or 
withhold funds from a local educational agency (LEA) that is not 
meeting its obligation to provide FAPE to all students with 
disabilities it is responsible for serving.
Topic Addressed: Personnel Standards
    [sbull] Letter dated April 2, 2002 to G. Emerson Dickman, Esquire, 
clarifying requirements regarding qualifications of personnel under 
both the IDEA and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB Act) and a 
parent's right to be informed about the qualifications of individuals 
providing services to a child.

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

Topic Addressed: Individualized Education Programs
    [sbull] Letter dated June 27, 2002 to Illinois State Board of 
Education Director of Special Education Dr. Anthony E. Sims, clarifying 
that, although the Part B ``at no cost'' requirement does not preclude 
incidental fees normally charged to nondisabled students or their 
parents as part of the regular education program, it would be 
impermissible for a public agency to charge parents a fee for extended 
school year services if summer school services, for which incidental 
fees are charged, are not a part of the extended school year services 
provided to the student.

Section 615--Procedural Safeguards

Topic Addressed: Timelines For Appeals
    [sbull] Letter dated June 26, 2002 to Connecticut Department of 
Education Bureau Chief George P. Dowaliby clarifying that to require 
that issues be raised at a planning and placement team meeting before 
they can be addressed at a due process hearing establishes 
impermissible notice and exhaustion burdens inconsistent with the IDEA 
and its implementing regulations.
    [sbull] Letters dated June 25, 2002 to Minnesota Department of 
Children Families and Learning Director of Special Education Norena A. 
Hale, Mississippi State Department of Education Program Improvement and 
Outreach Bureau Director Dr. Melody Bounds, and Missouri Department of 
Elementary and Secondary Education Coordinator of Special Education 
Services Melodie Friedebach, clarifying that the States must revise or 
delete their 30-day time limits because Circuit Court decisions 
applicable to these States have specifically rejected a 30-day time for 
appealing due process hearing decisions since it conflicts with the 
policies and purposes of the IDEA.
    [sbull] Letter dated June 4, 2002 to Arkansas Department of 
Education Associate Director of Special Education Marcia Harding, 
requesting that Arkansas revise its 30-day time limit for filing a 
civil action under IDEA to be consistent with a case involving the 
Arkansas time limit.
    [sbull] Letters dated June 4, 2002 to Minnesota Department of 
Children, Families and Learning Director of Special Education Norena A. 
Hale, Mississippi State Department of Education Program Improvement and 
Outreach Bureau Director Dr. Melody Bounds, Missouri Department of 
Elementary and Secondary Education Coordinator of Special Education 
Services Melodie Friedebach, and Nebraska Department of Education 
Special Populations Administrator Gary M. Sherman, requesting that the 
States either explain why case law rejecting a 30-day time limit for 
judicial review of IDEA claims is not applicable to civil actions in 
their States or revise their 30-day time limits.

[[Page 67830]]

Part C--Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities

Section 636--Individualized Family Service Plan

Topic Addressed: Early Intervention Services
    [sbull] Letter dated June 11, 2002 to Kentucky Acting Part C 
Coordinator Ms. Trish Howard, clarifying that (1) guidelines 
established by a State to assist teams in developing an individualized 
family service plan (IFSP) may not be implemented in a manner that 
restricts the authority and responsibility of the IFSP team and (2) 
that the IFSP team makes the final determination of the frequency and 
intensity of early intervention services needed by the child.

Other Letters Relevant to the Administration of IDEA Programs

Topic Addressed: Free Appropriate Public Education
    [sbull] Dear Colleague letter dated June 14, 2002 regarding 
preliminary guidance for programs which must be implemented by the 
2002-2003 school year on public school choice, supplemental education 
services, and collective bargaining agreements under the provisions of 
the NCLB Act.
    [sbull] Letter dated May 10, 2002 to Florida Department of 
Education Bureau of Instructional Support and Community Services Chief 
Shan Goff, regarding Florida's obligation under Federal civil rights 
laws to ensure that its Scholarship Program for Students with 
Disabilities is administered in a nondiscriminatory manner.
Topic Addressed: Personnel Standards
    [sbull] Letter dated April 30, 2002 to Alabama Superintendent of 
Education Edward R. Richardson, clarifying Title I paraprofessional 
requirements under the NCLB Act.

Electronic Access to This Document

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Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
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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: October 31, 2002.
Robert H. Pasternack,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 02-28363 Filed 11-6-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P