[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 150 (Monday, August 6, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43634-43636]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-15226]


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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, 2007 through March 31, 
2007.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary is publishing the following list pursuant to 
section 607(f) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as 
amended by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act 
of 2004 (IDEA). Under section 607(f) of IDEA, the Secretary is 
required, on a quarterly basis, to publish in the Federal Register a 
list of correspondence from the U.S. Department of Education 
(Department) received by individuals during the previous quarter that 
describes the interpretations of the Department of IDEA or the 
regulations that implement IDEA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melisande Lee or JoLeta Reynolds. 
Telephone: (202) 245-7468.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call

[[Page 43635]]

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 January 2, 2007 through March 31, 2007. 
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 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.

Part A--General Provisions

Section 602--Definitions

    Topic Addressed: Child With a Disability.
    [cir] Letter dated March 8, 2007 to American Speech-Language-
Hearing Association Director Catherine D. Clark, regarding criteria for 
determining whether a speech or language impairment adversely affects a 
child's educational performance, how public agencies may respond when 
speech/language pathology sessions are missed due to the student's 
absence or the provider's absence, and an explanation of the 
requirements governing the continuum of alternative placements.

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

Section 612--State Eligibility

    Topic Addressed: Methods of Ensuring Services.
    [cir] Letter dated January 23, 2007 to Volusia County, Florida 
Superintendent of Schools Margaret A. Smith, and letter dated February 
9, 2007 to Houston, Texas Independent School District Staff Member 
Carolyn Guess, clarifying requirements for obtaining parental consent 
when a public agency seeks access to a child's public benefits or 
public insurance to pay for required special education and related 
services for Medicaid-eligible children.
    [cir] Letter dated March 8, 2007 to Indiana Department of Education 
Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman John D. Hill, clarifying 
requirements for obtaining parental consent when a public agency seeks 
access to a child's public benefits or public insurance to pay for 
required special education and related services for Medicaid-eligible 
children and explaining that the local educational agency (LEA) does 
not have to obtain a separate parental consent if parental consent is 
given directly to another agency, such as a State's Medicaid Agency.
    Topic Addressed: Children With Disabilities Enrolled by Their 
Parents in Private Schools.
    [cir] Letter dated March 9, 2007 to Massachusetts Department of 
Education State Director of Special Education Marsha Mittnacht, 
regarding parentally-placed children with disabilities who reside out-
of-State and attend private schools located in school districts in 
Massachusetts.
    [cir] Letter dated March 23, 2007 to Association of Educational 
Service Agencies Executive Director Brian L. Talbot and letter dated 
March 23, 2007 to Association of Educational Services Agencies 
President Lee Warne, regarding the role of sending and receiving LEAs 
in completing child find activities and implementing equitable services 
for children with disabilities enrolled by their parents in private 
schools.
    Topic Addressed: Access to Instructional Materials.
    [cir] Letter dated March 16, 2007 to Recording for the Blind and 
Dyslexic President and CEO John Kelly, regarding the benefits of giving 
all qualified accessible media producers anticipatory access to the 
National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard files sets 
deposited at the National Instructional Materials Access Center.

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

    Topic Addressed: Evaluations and Reevaluations.
    [cir] Letter dated February 6, 2007 to individual (personally 
identifiable information redacted), regarding the relationship of the 
requirements for review of existing evaluation data to the requirements 
for reevaluation.
    [cir] Letter dated March 1, 2007 to Harcourt Assessment Inc. 
Publisher Aurelio Prifitera, responding to Harcourt Assessment's 
overview of the requirements in the final regulations for Part B of 
IDEA for evaluating children suspected of having specific learning 
disabilities.
    [cir] Letter dated March 6, 2007 to Wyoming Protection and Advocacy 
for Individual Rights Program Attorney Buck Gwyn, regarding State 
criteria for determining whether a child has a specific learning 
disability.
    [cir] Letter dated March 6, 2007 to Lehigh University Professor 
Perry A. Zirkel, regarding new requirements in the final regulations 
for Part B of IDEA that govern whether States may use the severe 
discrepancy model and clarifying the role of response to intervention 
in determining whether a child has a specific learning disability.

Section 615--Procedural Safeguards

    Topic Addressed: Maintenance of Current Educational Placement.
    [cir] Letter dated February 2, 2007 to Pennsylvania Department of 
Education Staff Member Gerald L. Zahorchak, regarding the child's 
status during the pendency of administrative or judicial proceedings 
when a child who is no longer eligible for services under Part C of 
IDEA seeks initial services under Part B of IDEA.
    Topic Addressed: Discipline Procedures.
    [cir] Letter dated March 8, 2007 to University of Utah Professor 
Dixie Snow Huefner, regarding when a parent or an LEA may request an 
expedited due process hearing and the child's placement during an 
appeal.
    [cir] Letter dated February 9, 2007 to Washoe County, Nevada 
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kris Christiansen, regarding whether a 
functional behavioral assessment (FBA) triggers the procedural 
safeguards applicable to an evaluation or an independent educational 
evaluation and whether parent consent is required prior to conducting 
an FBA.

Part C

Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities

Section 643--Allocation of Funds

    Topic Addressed: State Allocation Formula.
    [cir] Letter dated March 6, 2007 to Texas Governor Rick Perry, 
clarifying that allocations to each State under Part C of IDEA are made 
based on the ratio of the number of infants and toddlers in that State 
to the number of infants and toddlers in all States and that the 
calculations are based on the most recent data available from the 
Census Bureau. The Department cannot make adjustments in the formula 
allocations to States based on data provided by an individual State.

[[Page 43636]]

Other Letters that Do Not Interpret the Idea but May Be of Interest to 
Readers

    Topic Addressed: Assessment and Accountability.
    [cir] Letter dated February 7, 2007 to Chief State School Officers 
regarding the assessment and accountability requirements of Title I and 
extending flexibility for determining annual yearly progress for the 
students with disabilities subgroup.
    Topic Addressed: Transition to Postsecondary Education.
    [cir] Letters dated March 16, 2007 to Dear Colleague and Dear 
Parent from Office for Civil Rights Assistant Secretary Stephanie 
Monroe, regarding the legal rights and responsibilities of students 
with disabilities as they transition from secondary to postsecondary 
education settings.

Electronic Access To This Document

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    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: July 31, 2007.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
 [FR Doc. E7-15226 Filed 8-3-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P