[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 220 (Thursday, November 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67140-67141]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26986]


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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, 2008 through June 30, 
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 the 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 the IDEA or the regulations that 
implement the IDEA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurel Nishi or Mary Louise Dirrigl. 
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.

[[Page 67141]]

    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 April 1, 2008 through June 30, 2008. 
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 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: Special Education
    [cir] Letter dated May 6, 2008 to individual (personally 
identifiable information redacted), clarifying how the definition of 
``specially designed instruction'' applies to a child's access to the 
general education curriculum.

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

Section 612--State Eligibility

Topic Addressed: Child Find
    [cir] Letter dated April 22, 2008 to Texas Education Agency General 
Counsel David Anderson, reiterating that a State has no obligation 
under the IDEA to conduct child find or provide educational services to 
children residing in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 
residential family facilities, but encouraging a State or local school 
district to enter into a voluntary agreement for these purposes.
Topic Addressed: Confidentiality of Information
    [cir] Letter dated April 17, 2008 to Mountain Plains Regional 
Resource Center Director John Copenhaver, concerning the use of parents 
and other volunteers in State educational agency monitoring of local 
educational agencies.
Topic Addressed: Obligations Related to and Methods of Ensuring 
Services
    [cir] Letter dated May 7, 2008 to Kinney Management Services, LLC 
representative Joseph Kinney, concerning access to public insurance 
benefits and applicable parental consent requirements.
Topic Addressed: Personnel Qualifications
    [cir] Letter dated May 28, 2008 to American Speech-Language-Hearing 
Association Director of Education and Regulatory Advocacy Catherine D. 
Clarke, concerning the use of speech-language pathologists in a 
response to intervention model, and reiterating that State law governs 
the use of paraprofessionals and assistants in the provision of special 
education and related services and the scope of their responsibilities.

Section 613--Local Educational Agency Eligibility

Topic Addressed: Use of Federal Funds
    [cir] Letter dated April 8, 2008 to Washington, DC Attorney 
Christine Plagata-Neubauer, concerning certain fiscal requirements in 
Part B of the IDEA, including excess costs, maintenance of effort, and 
use of funds.

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

Topic Addressed: Evaluations, Parental Consent, and Reevaluations
    [cir] Letter dated April 8, 2008 to Lehigh University Professor 
Perry A. Zirkel, concerning the additional procedures for identifying 
children with specific learning disabilities.
    [cir] Letter dated May 6, 2008 to New York Attorney Edward J. 
Sarzynski, clarifying that public agencies must obtain parental consent 
before conducting evaluations to determine whether services should be 
increased or decreased and to determine a child's continued eligibility 
for services or changes to services.
    [cir] Letter dated June 3, 2008 to individual (personally 
identifiable information redacted), concerning the relationship of the 
child's evaluation to the IEP Team's determination of the special 
education and related services to be provided to the child.
Topic Addressed: Individualized Education Programs
    [cir] Letter dated June 3, 2008 to Indiana Attorney Joseph Daniel 
Thomas, clarifying the requirements for ensuring parent participation 
at IEP Team meetings when parents or their experts are unable to attend 
IEP Team meetings scheduled during regular school or business hours.

Section 615--Procedural Safeguards

Topic Addressed: Student Discipline
    [cir] Letter dated May 1, 2008 to West Virginia Attorney James 
Gerl, clarifying that the time period for an expedited due process 
hearing commences on the date that the due process complaint requesting 
the hearing is filed and includes the resolution period.
    [cir] Letter dated June 5, 2008 to Austin Independent School 
District General Counsel Ylise Janssen, concerning requirements for 
functional behavioral assessments (FBAs), State personnel 
qualifications for individuals who conduct FBAs, and use of funds from 
Part B of the IDEA to assist LEAs in providing FBAs.

Section 618--Program Information

Topic Addressed: Disproportionality
    [cir] Letter dated June 3, 2008 to Michigan Office of Special 
Education and Early Intervention Services Supervisor of Program 
Improvement Frances F. Loose, reiterating the Department's position 
that the requirements in Part B of the IDEA governing significant 
disproportionality based on race and ethnicity apply to disciplinary 
actions.

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 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: November 7, 2008.
Tracy R. Justesen,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
 [FR Doc. E8-26986 Filed 11-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P