[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 52 (Thursday, March 18, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13109-13110]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5977]


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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 July 1, 2009 through September 30, 
2009.

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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: 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 July 1, 2009 through September 30, 
2009. 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 B--Assistance for Education of All Children With Disabilities

Section 612--State Eligibility

Topic Addressed: Children in Private Schools
    [cir] Letter dated September 25, 2009 to Impartial Hearing Officer 
Sinai Halberstam, clarifying that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in 
Forest Grove School District v. T.A., 129 S.Ct. 2484 (2009) is 
consistent with the Department's regulations governing children with 
disabilities enrolled in private schools by their parents.
Topic Addressed: Participation in Assessments
    [cir] Letter dated August 25, 2009 to individual (personally 
identifiable information redacted), regarding the use of a portfolio 
assessment as an alternate assessment.
    [cir] Letter dated September 23, 2009 to Texas Education Agency 
General Counsel David Anderson, clarifying when students with 
disabilities incarcerated in State and local juvenile or adult 
correctional facilities must participate in Statewide assessments.

Section 613--Local Educational Agency Eligibility

Topic Addressed: Use of Federal Funds
    [cir] Letter dated September 25, 2009 to Fiscal and Policy Advisor 
for Greater California Special Education Fiscal Support Alliance J. 
Sarge Kennedy, regarding the excess costs, supplement not supplant, and 
local educational agency (LEA) maintenance of effort requirements in 
Part B of the IDEA.

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

Topic Addressed: Evaluations, Parental Consent, and Reevaluations
    [cir] Letter dated August 24, 2009 to New York attorney Tara 
Moffett,

[[Page 13110]]

regarding whether a school district is required to conduct additional 
testing of a child with a disability in order for that child to receive 
accommodations on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) or American 
College Test (ACT).
Topic Addressed: Revocation of Consent
    [cir] Letter dated August 21, 2009 to Virginia Assistant 
Superintendent for Special Education and Student Services H. Douglas 
Cox, regarding what LEAs are required to do when parents, both of whom 
have legal authority to make educational decisions for their child, 
disagree on the revocation of consent for special education and related 
services.
Topic Addressed: Individualized Education Programs
    [cir] Letter dated August 21, 2009 to Maryland Assistant State 
Superintendent for the Division of Special Education/Early Intervention 
Services Carol Ann Heath, denying the request to waive the requirement 
for a measurable postsecondary goal in employment for students with 
disabilities who have severe medical conditions and developmental needs 
and denying the State's request to exclude data on this population of 
students when reporting on the relevant State Performance Plan/Annual 
Performance Report indicator.

Section 615--Procedural Safeguards

Topic Addressed: Discipline Procedures
    [cir] Letter dated August 21, 2009 to New Jersey attorney Rotimi 
Owoh, clarifying when a LEA is required to conduct a manifestation 
determination review prior to a short-term disciplinary removal of a 
child with a disability.

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

Topic Addressed: Seclusion and Restraints
    [cir] Letter dated July 31, 2009 to Chief State School Officers 
from Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, encouraging schools to review 
and, if appropriate, revise their current policies and guidelines on 
the use of seclusion and restraints in schools to ensure that every 
student is safe and protected from unnecessary or inappropriate 
restraint or seclusion.

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.

    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 12, 2010.
Alexa Posny,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2010-5977 Filed 3-17-10; 8:45 am]
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