[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 109 (Thursday, June 5, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32005-32006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12639]


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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, 2008 through March 31, 
2008.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary is publishing the following list pursuant to 
section 607(f) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 
(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 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, 2008 through March 31, 2008. 
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 each 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 redacted, as 
appropriate.

Part A--General Provisions

Section 602--Definitions

    Topic Addressed: Child With A Disability.
    [cir] Letter dated January 15, 2008 to Coalition of Learning 
Disabled Chief Executive Officer Allen Brumbaugh, regarding criteria 
used under Part B of IDEA for determining whether a child is a ``child 
with a disability'' and requirements for individualized education 
programs (IEPs).

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

    Section 612--State Eligibility
    Topic Addressed: Free Appropriate Public Education.
    [cir] Letter dated March 11, 2007 to Mountain Plains Regional 
Resource Center Director John Copenhaver, clarifying that the policy 
regarding making a free appropriate public education (FAPE) available 
to children with disabilities, contained in the Office of Special 
Education Programs' letter dated April 10, 1995 to Ms. Kathy Balkman, 
remains consistent with the requirements of the reauthorized IDEA.
    [cir] Letter dated March 17, 2008 to individual (personally 
identifiable information redacted), regarding the policy on the use of 
mechanical restraints or other aversive behavioral techniques for 
children with disabilities.
    Topic Addressed: Least Restrictive Environment.
    [cir] Letter dated February 1, 2008 to New Jersey Office of Special 
Education Programs Director Roberta Wohle, clarifying reporting on 
indicators in the State Performance Plan and Annual Performance Reports 
relating to the least restrictive environment provisions in Part B of 
IDEA.
    Topic Addressed: Confidentiality of Education Records.
    [cir] Letter dated March 7, 2008 to Texas Education Agency General 
Counsel David Anderson, regarding complaints that allege violations of 
the confidentiality of information provisions in Part B of IDEA and the 
Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
    Topic Addressed: Children in Private Schools.
    [cir] Letter dated March 17, 2008 to individual (personally 
identifiable information redacted), regarding the interpretation of the 
requirements of Part B of IDEA that are applicable when a public agency 
places a preschool-age child with a disability in a private preschool 
that is not a school that is exclusively for children with disabilities 
as a means of providing FAPE to that child.
    [cir] Letter dated January 25, 2008 to U.S. Senator Joseph I. 
Lieberman, regarding the obligations of States and local educational 
agencies (LEAs) to parentally-placed private school children with 
disabilities.
    Topic Addressed: State Educational Agency General Supervisory 
Authority.
    [cir] Letter dated February 4, 2008 to individual (personally 
identifiable information redacted), regarding a State complaint 
involving a public agency's obligation to provide private placements 
for children with disabilities at public expense.
    Topic Addressed: Methods of Ensuring Services.
    [cir] Letter dated January 24, 2008 to Mountain Plains Regional 
Resource Center Director John Copenhaver, clarifying that Impact Aid 
funds and Medicaid funds are considered Federal funds, and may not be 
treated as State and local funds for maintenance of effort 
calculations.
    Topic Addressed: State Advisory Panel.
    [cir] Letter dated March 11, 2008 to Mountain Plains Regional 
Resource Center Director John Copenhaver, regarding requirements for 
membership on the State Advisory Panel.
    Topic Addressed: Access to Instructional Materials.
    [cir] Letter dated January 30, 2008 to New Mexico State Director of 
Special

[[Page 32006]]

Education Denise Koscielniak, clarifying issues surrounding State and 
LEA implementation of the National Instructional Materials 
Accessibility Standard.

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

    Topic Addressed: Individualized Education Programs.
    [cir] Letter dated March 31, 2008 to individual (personally 
identifiable information redacted), clarifying that Part B of IDEA does 
not require that public agencies obtain parental consent within a 
specific time period when a child is referred for an evaluation.
    [cir] Letter dated March 31, 2008 to individuals (personally 
identifiable information redacted), regarding how public agencies meet 
the requirements for notifying parents of the individuals who will be 
attending meetings of their child's IEP Team.
    [cir] Letter dated March 17, 2008 to Howard County, Maryland Public 
School System Facilitator Ronald Caplan, regarding when it is 
appropriate to invite a representative of any participating agency 
likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition 
services to an IEP Team meeting involving the consideration of the 
child's postsecondary goals and the transition services needed to 
assist the child in reaching those goals.
    [cir] Letter dated March 17, 2008 to Utah At Risk and Special 
Education Services Director Nan Gray, regarding the requirement to 
obtain the consent of the parents or a child who has reached the age of 
majority prior to inviting a representative of any participating agency 
that is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition 
services to an IEP Team meeting involving the consideration of the 
child's postsecondary goals and the transition services needed to 
assist the child in reaching those goals.

Section 615--Procedural Safeguards

    Topic Addressed: Impartial Due Process Hearing.
    [cir] Letter dated March 17, 2008 to Mountain Plains Regional 
Resource Center Director John Copenhaver, regarding electronic mail 
filings of State complaints and due process complaints.
    [cir] Letter dated March 17, 2008 to New Jersey Office of the State 
Board of Appeals Acting Director John Worthington, clarifying when the 
due process hearing timeline would begin under specific circumstances 
after the 30-day resolution process has expired.

Section 618--Program Information

    Topic Addressed: Disproportionality.
    [cir] Letter dated February 1, 2008 to Nevada Office of Special 
Education and Diversity Programs Director Frankie McCabe, clarifying 
that OSEP continues to believe that the position set out in the April 
24, 2007 memorandum, requiring States to reserve funds for 
comprehensive coordinated early intervening services when there is a 
finding of significant disproportionality based on race and ethnicity 
in disciplinary actions, is correct.

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. 
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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: May 30, 2008.
Tracy R. Justesen,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. E8-12639 Filed 6-4-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P