[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 246 (Thursday, December 23, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76928-76929]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-3798]



[[Page 76928]]

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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 July 1, 2004 through September 30, 
2004.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary is publishing the following list pursuant to 
section 607(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as 
amended (IDEA). Under section 607(d) of the 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 (Department) of the IDEA 
or the regulations that implement the IDEA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melisande Lee or JoLeta Reynolds. 
Telephone: (202) 245-7459 (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 under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following list identifies correspondence 
from the Department issued from July 1, 2004 through September 30, 
2004.
    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 B--Assistance for Education of All Children With Disabilities

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

    Topic Addressed: Use of funds.
     Letter dated August 17, 2004 to Washington Office of 
Public Instruction Director of Agency Financial Services Renoe Lewis, 
regarding the treatment of program income, generated from registration 
fees charged to participants at professional development conferences
     Letter dated July 22, 2004 to individual (personally 
identifiable information redacted), regarding whether a local 
educational agency (LEA) can use funds under Part B of IDEA to pay the 
salary of a reading specialist, who may or may not meet the State 
qualification standards for employment, to provide direct instruction 
to students with disabilities.
    Topic Addressed: Subgrants to local educational agencies.
     Letter dated September 13, 2004 to Ohio Department of 
Education Associate Director of Federal and State Grants Management 
Jeffrey M. Jordan, responding to a specific request for guidance, 
pursuant to 34 CFR 81.33 of the Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations, for clarification on how a State 
educational agency (SEA) satisfies the requirement under Part B of IDEA 
relating to the portion of its grant that must flow through to its 
LEAs.

Section 612--State Eligibility

    Topic Addressed: Procedural safeguards.
     Letter dated July 13, 2004 to individual (personally 
identifiable information redacted), clarifying that Part B of IDEA does 
not provide for the Office of Special Education Programs' review of 
individual State-level complaint decisions or due process hearings, and 
that depending on State law, a complainant may be able to appeal a 
State complaint decision to an appropriate State court.
    Topic Addressed: Confidentiality.
     Letter dated August 13, 2004 to individual (personally 
identifiable information redacted), from Family Policy Compliance 
Office Director LeRoy S. Rooker, regarding the applicability and scope 
of hearing procedures under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy 
Act (FERPA) and Part B of IDEA for parents seeking to challenge the 
content of the education records of a student with a disability and 
clarifying that a public agency may not bypass a parent's right to a 
hearing under FERPA by requiring the parent to request an impartial due 
process hearing under Part B of IDEA.

Section 613--Local Educational Agency Eligibility

    Topic Addressed: Schoolwide programs.
     Letter dated August 24, 2004 to Washington, DC Attorney 
Leigh M. Manasevit, regarding the use of funds awarded under Part B of 
IDEA for a schoolwide program under Title I of the Elementary and 
Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended, and clarifying the 
requirements that apply if Part B of IDEA funds are not consolidated 
with other funds in a schoolwide plan.

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

    Topic Addressed: Evaluations and reevaluations.
     Letter dated July 14, 2004 to Santa Monica, California 
Attorney Howard J. Fulfrost, regarding a parent's refusal to consent to 
the initial provision of special education and related services, 
including the relationship of the requirements of Part B of IDEA to 
California law, and clarifying (1) how a school district can meet its 
obligation to make a free appropriate public education (FAPE) available 
and protect itself against possible future claims of a denial of FAPE; 
and (2) that a student with a disability whose parent has refused 
consent is not provided the discipline protections under Part B of IDEA 
and may be disciplined in the same manner as nondisabled students.
     Letter dated July 19, 2004 to Washington, DC Attorney 
Leigh M. Manasevit, written on behalf of the North Carolina Department 
of Public Instruction, regarding a parent's refusal to consent to the 
initial provision of special education and related services and 
clarifying (1) how a school district can meet its obligation to make 
FAPE available and protect itself against possible future claims of a 
denial of FAPE; and (2) that a student with a disability whose parent 
has refused consent does not have the right under Part B of IDEA to 
compensatory services, is not provided the discipline protections under 
Part B of IDEA, and may be disciplined in the same manner as 
nondisabled students.

Section 615--Procedural Safeguards

    Topic Addressed: Appeals.
     Letter dated August 12, 2004 to individual (personally 
identifiable information redacted), regarding the appeal rights that 
Part B of IDEA affords to any party aggrieved by the findings and 
decisions of a hearing in a one-tier system, and clarifying that 
certain provisions in the Florida statute and regulations giving an 
aggrieved party the right to appeal to a specific State court are 
inconsistent with section 615(i)(1) and (2) of IDEA because that State 
court

[[Page 76929]]

does not have authority to hear additional evidence at the request of a 
party.
     Letter dated July 22, 2004 to California Assembly 
Legislative Director David Heckler, regarding proposed legislation that 
would impose conditions other than those contained in Part B of IDEA 
that would limit the ability of a court or a hearing officer to fashion 
appropriate relief, including awarding full reimbursement for a 
nonpublic placement where FAPE is not made available to a child with a 
disability in a timely manner.

Part C--Infants And Toddlers With Disabilities

Section 635--Requirements For Statewide System

    Topic Addressed: Child find.
     Letter dated July 12, 2004 to California Department of 
Developmental Services Part C Coordinator Rick Ingraham, clarifying 
that Part C does not set forth any specific percentage of children that 
each State must serve in its Part C program, but that States that 
establish numerical goals must ensure that only eligible children are 
identified and that eligible children and families are not denied 
services under Part C of IDEA.

Part D--National Activities To Improve Education of Children With 
Disabilities

Subpart 2--Coordinated Research, Personnel Preparation, Technical 
Assistance, Support, and Dissemination of Information

Section 687--Technology Development, Demonstration, and Utilization; 
and Media Services

    Topic Addressed: Captioning.
     Letter dated August 30, 2004 from U. S. Secretary of 
Education Rod Paige to U.S. Congressman Maurice Hinchey and other 
members of Congress, regarding the Department's decision to use IDEA 
funds to support captioning and video description only for programming 
that clearly fits within the ``educational, informational, and news'' 
categories.

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/index.html.
    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.

    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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.027, Assistance to 
States for Education of Children with Disabilities)
    Dated: December 20, 2004.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
 [FR Doc. E4-3798 Filed 12-22-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P