[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 74 (Wednesday, April 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18436-18438]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07857]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


List of Correspondence From July 1, 2015, Through September 30, 
2015, and October 1, 2015, Through December 31, 2015

AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, 
Department of Education.

[[Page 18437]]


ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary is publishing the following list of 
correspondence from the U.S. Department of Education (Department) 
received by individuals during the third and fourth quarters of 2015. 
The correspondence describes the Department's interpretations of the 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or the regulations 
that implement the IDEA. This list and the letters or other documents 
described in this list, with personally identifiable information 
redacted, as appropriate, can be found at: www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/index.html.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jessica Spataro or Mary Louise 
Dirrigl. Telephone: (202) 245-7605.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), you can call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll 
free, at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of this list and 
the letters or other documents described in this list in an accessible 
format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) by 
contacting Jessica Spataro or Mary Louise Dirrigl at (202) 245-7605.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following list identifies correspondence 
from the Department issued from July 1, 2015, through September 30, 
2015, and October 1, 2015, through December 31, 2015. Under section 
607(f) of the IDEA, the Secretary is required to publish this list 
quarterly in the Federal Register. The list includes 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. The list identifies the date and topic of each 
letter and provides summary information, 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

Topics Addressed: Individualized Education Program; Individualized 
Family Service Plan
    [cir] Dear Colleague Letter dated July 6, 2015, regarding the role 
of speech language pathologists and other professionals in determining 
appropriate services for infants, toddlers, and children with autism 
spectrum disorder.

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

Section 612--State Eligibility

Topic Addressed: Free Appropriate Public Education
    [cir] Dear Colleague Letter dated November 16, 2015, clarifying 
that individualized education program (IEP) Teams must ensure that 
annual IEP goals are aligned with the State's academic content 
standards for the grade in which the child is enrolled.
Topic Addressed: Confidentiality
    [cir] Letter dated November 23, 2015, to Alabama attorney Julie J. 
Weatherly, regarding requirements that govern the destruction of 
information collected, maintained, or used under Part B of the IDEA.
Topic Addressed: Children Enrolled in Private Schools by Their Parents
    [cir] Letter dated July 6, 2015, to New York attorney Edward 
Sarzynski, regarding the requirements in Part B of the IDEA that apply 
when parents from other countries enroll their children with 
disabilities in private schools.
    [cir] Letter dated November 23, 2015, to New Jersey attorney 
Michael I. Inzelbuch, clarifying whether a local educational agency 
(LEA) may use a portion of the funds it must spend to provide equitable 
services to children with disabilities placed by their parents in 
private schools to pay the costs of a settlement agreement.
Topic Addressed: State Educational Agency (SEA) General Supervisory 
Authority
    [cir] Letter dated July 16, 2015, to Michigan Protection and 
Advocacy Services, Inc., Director of Public Policy Mark McWilliams, 
regarding the resolution of State complaints under Part B of the IDEA 
that allege that a public agency has not implemented a behavioral 
intervention plan.
    [cir] Letter dated September 18, 2015, to education advocate Marcie 
Lipsett, clarifying an SEA's responsibility to issue a written decision 
on a State complaint under Part B of the IDEA even if the SEA accepts 
an LEA's proposed resolution of the complaint.

Section 613--Local Educational Agency Eligibility

Topic Addressed: Maintenance of Effort
    [cir] Letter dated November 23, 2015, to New Mexico Public 
Education Department, Director of Special Education Michael Lovato, 
regarding the exception to the LEA maintenance of effort requirement 
due to the voluntary or just cause departure of special education or 
related services personnel.

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

Topic Addressed: Eligibility Determinations
    [cir] Dear Colleague Letter dated October 23, 2015, regarding 
evaluations, eligibility determinations, and IEPs for children with 
dyslexia, dyscalculia, or dysgraphia.

Section 615--Procedural Safeguards

Topic Addressed: Impartial Due Process Hearings
    [cir] Letter dated September 16, 2015, to Illinois attorney Matthew 
D. Cohen, regarding various issues arising in due process complaints, 
resolution sessions, and due process hearings, including whether an LEA 
can unilaterally amend a child's IEP during a resolution meeting on a 
due process complaint and present that IEP as evidence in a subsequent 
due process hearing on that complaint.
    [cir] Letter dated December 9, 2015, to Lehigh University Professor 
of Education and Law Perry A. Zirkel, regarding the statute of 
limitations for filing a request for a due process hearing.
    [cir] Letter dated December 13, 2015, to California attorney 
Colleen A. Snyder, regarding the application of the expedited due 
process hearing procedures.
    Electronic Access to This Document: 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 via the Federal Digital System 
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well 
as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF you 
must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the site.
    You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.


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    Dated: April 13, 2017.
Ruth E. Ryder,
Deputy Director, Office of Special Education Programs, delegated the 
duties of the Assistant Secretary for Special Education and 
Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2017-07857 Filed 4-18-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P