[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 171 (Friday, September 4, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45843-45844]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-21437]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; List of 
Correspondence

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: List of Correspondence from October 1, 2008 through December 
31, 2008.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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: Laura Duos or Mary Louise Dirrigl. 
Telephone: (202) 245-7468.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you can 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of this notice in 
an accessible 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, 2008 through December 31, 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: Highly Qualified
    [cir] Letter dated December 15, 2008 to National Association of 
Private Special Education Centers Executive Director and CEO Sherry 
Kolbe, concerning requirements for highly qualified special education 
teachers and assessments of children with disabilities.

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

Section 611--Authorization; Allotment; State-Level Activities; 
Authorization of Appropriations

Topic Addressed: State-Level Activities
    [cir] Letter dated December 11, 2008 to Louisiana State Department 
of Education Acting Director of Division of Educational Improvement and 
Assistance Susan W. Batson, concerning the use of funds reserved for 
State-level activities for professional development to implement 
Louisiana's Positive Behavior Supports Initiative.

Section 613--Local Educational Agency Eligibility

Topic Addressed: Use of Funds
    [cir] Letter dated October 31, 2008 to Fiscal and Policy Advisor 
for Rural and Sparsely Populated Consortium of California James 
Kennedy, concerning the excess cost and supplement-not-supplant 
requirements in Part B of the IDEA that apply to local educational 
agencies (LEAs).
Topic Addressed: Early Intervening Services
    [cir] Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) Memorandum 08-09, 
dated July 28, 2008 to Chief State School Officers, entitled 
Coordinated Early Intervening Services Under Part B of the Individuals 
with Disabilities Education Act.

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

Topic Addressed: Parental Consent
    [cir] Letter dated November 17, 2008 to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 
attorney Jeffrey F. Champagne, clarifying the parental consent 
requirements in Part B of the IDEA that apply when children with 
disabilities receive special education and related services in 
preschool from an intermediate educational unit and subsequently 
receive special education and related services in kindergarten from a 
school district.

Section 615--Procedural Safeguards

Topic Addressed: Due Process Complaints
    [cir] Letter dated October 30, 2008 to Maryland Assistant State 
Superintendent for the Division of Special Education/Early Intervention 
Services Carol Ann Baglin, clarifying that an LEA may not require a 
confidentiality agreement as a

[[Page 45844]]

precondition to holding a resolution meeting.
    [cir] Letter dated December 11, 2008 to individuals (personally 
identifiable information redacted), clarifying when a parent or an LEA 
may file a due process complaint regarding an individualized education 
program (IEP) that is not the child's most recent IEP.
Topic Addressed: Independent Educational Evaluations
    [cir] Letter dated December 11, 2008 to Lehigh University Professor 
Perry A. Zirkel, clarifying when a parent of a child suspected of 
having a specific learning disability has the right to an independent 
educational evaluation at public expense under Part B of the IDEA.

Section 616--Monitoring, Technical Assistance, and Enforcement

Topic Addressed: Correction Of Noncompliance
    [cir] OSEP Memorandum 09-02 dated October 17, 2008 to Chief State 
School Officers, entitled Reporting on Correction of Noncompliance in 
the Annual Performance Report Required under Sections 616 and 642 of 
the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
    [cir] Letter dated October 31, 2008 to Mountain Plains Regional 
Resource Center Director John Copenhaver, clarifying the Department's 
authority to require States to ensure that their LEAs correct all 
identified noncompliance with the requirements of the IDEA.

Section 618--Program Information

Topic Addressed: Significant Disproportionality
    [cir] Letter dated November 4, 2008 to Montana Office of Public 
Instruction Department of Special Education Services Assistant 
Superintendent Robert Runkel, concerning methods for the collection and 
examination of data in making determinations of significant 
disproportionality under Part B of the IDEA.

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

Section 674--Technology Development, Demonstration, and Utilization; 
Media Services; and Instructional Materials

Topic Addressed: National Instructional Materials Access Center
    [cir] Letter dated November 14, 2008 to American Printing House for 
the Blind, Inc. President Dr. Tuck Tinsley, concerning the National 
Instructional Materials Access Center's (NIMAC) eligibility 
requirements for authorized users of NIMAC's database.

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

Topic Addressed: Report Cards and Transcripts
    [cir] Dear Colleague Letter dated October 17, 2008 from former 
Assistant Secretary of the Department's Office for Civil Rights 
Stephanie J. Monroe, concerning whether information about students' 
disabilities and receipt of special education and related services may 
be disclosed on report cards and transcripts.
Topic Addressed: Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
    [cir] Dear Colleague letter dated December 17, 2008 from former 
Deputy Secretary Raymond Simon, providing a brief summary of the final 
regulations for the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act that were 
published in the Federal Register on December 9, 2008 (73 FR 74806).

Electronic Access to This Document

    You can 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)

    Delegation of Authority: The Secretary of Education has delegated 
authority to Andrew J. Pepin, Executive Administrator for Special 
Education and Rehabilitative Services to perform the functions of the 
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.

    Dated: August 31, 2009.
Andrew J. Pepin,
Executive Administrator for Special Education and Rehabilitative 
Services.
[FR Doc. E9-21437 Filed 9-3-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P