[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 16, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12857-12858]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5157]


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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 October 1, 2004 through December 
31, 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 Relay Service (FRS) 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 October 1, 2004 through December 31, 
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 of 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. Pursuant to the effective dates set forth in section 302 
of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 
(the Act), which amended and reauthorized the IDEA, the changes in IDEA 
that were made by the Act, with certain enumerated exceptions, will 
take effect on July 1, 2005. Accordingly, statutory citations in this 
list, as well as those contained in the letters referenced in this 
list, refer to the provisions of the IDEA that were in effect at the 
time the letters were issued.

Part A, General Provision

Section 605--Acquisition of Equipment; Construction or Alteration of 
Facilities

    Topic Addressed: Construction or alteration of facilities.
    [cir] Letter dated October 25, 2004 to Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands Commissioner of Education Rita Hocog Inos, regarding 
the general principles for determining whether expenditures for 
construction of new facilities or alteration of existing facilities are 
allowable under the IDEA.

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.
    [cir] Letter dated November 10, 2004 to New Hampshire Disabilities 
Rights Center Executive Director Richard A. Cohen, regarding the use of 
grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) for capacity building and 
improvement and funds retained by the State for State level activities 
to pay for expenses related to statewide assessments for grades three, 
six, and ten.
    Topic Addressed: Part B Grant Awards.
    [cir] OSEP memorandum 05-01 dated October 1, 2004 to Chief State 
School Officers and State Directors of Special Education, transmitting 
additional Part B Grant Awards under Section 611 of IDEA that became 
available on October 1, 2004 and clarifying that any special conditions 
that applied to Part B funds that became available on July 1, 2004 also 
apply to these additional funds.

Section 612--State Eligibility

    Topic Addressed: Free appropriate public education.
    [cir] Letter dated November 3, 2004 to Advocate Louis H. Geigerman, 
regarding the provision of physical therapy and occupational therapy as 
a related service for students with disabilities under Part B of IDEA.
    Topic Addressed: Local educational agency compliance.
    [cir] Letter dated October 28, 2004 to Interim Illinois State 
Superintendent of Education Randy J. Dunn, regarding (1) procedures 
that a State educational agency (SEA) must follow in withholding funds 
under Part B of IDEA from an LEA or State agency that is not in 
compliance with a requirement of Part B of IDEA, including the right of 
the affected LEA or State agency to a hearing before the SEA terminates 
funds, and (2) how an SEA can satisfy its obligation to provide direct 
services to students with disabilities under Part B of IDEA.
    Topic Addressed: State educational agency general supervisory 
authority.
    [cir] Letter dated December 20, 2004 to New Jersey Commissioner of 
Education William L. Librera, reiterating the Department's position 
that the New Jersey Department of Education must afford parents of 
children with disabilities living in New Jersey and attending school in 
New York under a contract between New Jersey and New York school 
districts access to New Jersey's due process procedures and clarifying 
applicable procedures if parents request changes to educational 
programs for children with disabilities who live in New Jersey and 
attend school in New York.

[[Page 12858]]

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

    Topic Addressed: Individualized education programs.
    [cir] Letter dated December 15, 2004 to Utah State Director of 
Special Education Karl A. Wilson, responding to the State's 
interpretation of Utah State Office of Education Special Education Rule 
III.I.10, regarding documentation of accommodations necessary for 
students to have access to regular education, and clarifying that those 
accommodations must be included in the individualized education 
programs of students with disabilities who are eligible for services 
under Part B of IDEA.
    Topic Addressed: Educational placements.
    [cir] Letter dated November 3, 2004 to Ohio Attorney Helen S. 
Carroll, regarding grade level assignments for students with 
disabilities and clarifying that Part B of IDEA does not address 
whether a child has a right to experience each grade level in sequence.

Other Letters That Do Not Interpret the IDEA But May Be of Interest to 
Readers

    Topic Addressed: Confidentiality.
    [cir] Letter dated November 18, 2004 to Tennessee Department of 
Education Policy Analyst Matthew J. Pepper from Family Policy 
Compliance Office Director LeRoy S. Rooker, regarding the applicability 
of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to the release of 
student level records to researchers and clarifying that education 
records, with the removal of all personally identifiable information, 
may be released without prior consent.

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.
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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 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.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.027, Assistance to 
States for Education of Children with Disabilities)

    Dated: March 11, 2005.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 05-5157 Filed 3-15-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P