FR Doc E7-15226
[Federal Register: August 6, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 150)]
[Notices]
[Page 43634-43636]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06au07-46]
Download: 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services; List of
Correspondence
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: List of correspondence from January 2, 2007 through March 31,
2007.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Secretary is publishing the following list pursuant to
section 607(f) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as
amended by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
of 2004 (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
[[Page 43635]]
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, 2007 through March 31, 2007.
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 a 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 deleted, as
appropriate.
Part A--General Provisions
Section 602--Definitions
Topic Addressed: Child With a Disability.
[cir] Letter dated March 8, 2007 to American Speech-Language-
Hearing Association Director Catherine D. Clark, regarding criteria for
determining whether a speech or language impairment adversely affects a
child's educational performance, how public agencies may respond when
speech/language pathology sessions are missed due to the student's
absence or the provider's absence, and an explanation of the
requirements governing the continuum of alternative placements.
Part B--Assistance for Education of All Children With Disabilities
Section 612--State Eligibility
Topic Addressed: Methods of Ensuring Services.
[cir] Letter dated January 23, 2007 to Volusia County, Florida
Superintendent of Schools Margaret A. Smith, and letter dated February
9, 2007 to Houston, Texas Independent School District Staff Member
Carolyn Guess, clarifying requirements for obtaining parental consent
when a public agency seeks access to a child's public benefits or
public insurance to pay for required special education and related
services for Medicaid-eligible children.
[cir] Letter dated March 8, 2007 to Indiana Department of Education
Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman John D. Hill, clarifying
requirements for obtaining parental consent when a public agency seeks
access to a child's public benefits or public insurance to pay for
required special education and related services for Medicaid-eligible
children and explaining that the local educational agency (LEA) does
not have to obtain a separate parental consent if parental consent is
given directly to another agency, such as a State's Medicaid Agency.
Topic Addressed: Children With Disabilities Enrolled by Their
Parents in Private Schools.
[cir] Letter dated March 9, 2007 to Massachusetts Department of
Education State Director of Special Education Marsha Mittnacht,
regarding parentally-placed children with disabilities who reside out-
of-State and attend private schools located in school districts in
Massachusetts.
[cir] Letter dated March 23, 2007 to Association of Educational
Service Agencies Executive Director Brian L. Talbot and letter dated
March 23, 2007 to Association of Educational Services Agencies
President Lee Warne, regarding the role of sending and receiving LEAs
in completing child find activities and implementing equitable services
for children with disabilities enrolled by their parents in private
schools.
Topic Addressed: Access to Instructional Materials.
[cir] Letter dated March 16, 2007 to Recording for the Blind and
Dyslexic President and CEO John Kelly, regarding the benefits of giving
all qualified accessible media producers anticipatory access to the
National Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard files sets
deposited at the National Instructional Materials Access Center.
Section 614--Evaluations, Eligibility Determinations, Individualized
Education Programs, and Educational Placements
Topic Addressed: Evaluations and Reevaluations.
[cir] Letter dated February 6, 2007 to individual (personally
identifiable information redacted), regarding the relationship of the
requirements for review of existing evaluation data to the requirements
for reevaluation.
[cir] Letter dated March 1, 2007 to Harcourt Assessment Inc.
Publisher Aurelio Prifitera, responding to Harcourt Assessment's
overview of the requirements in the final regulations for Part B of
IDEA for evaluating children suspected of having specific learning
disabilities.
[cir] Letter dated March 6, 2007 to Wyoming Protection and Advocacy
for Individual Rights Program Attorney Buck Gwyn, regarding State
criteria for determining whether a child has a specific learning
disability.
[cir] Letter dated March 6, 2007 to Lehigh University Professor
Perry A. Zirkel, regarding new requirements in the final regulations
for Part B of IDEA that govern whether States may use the severe
discrepancy model and clarifying the role of response to intervention
in determining whether a child has a specific learning disability.
Section 615--Procedural Safeguards
Topic Addressed: Maintenance of Current Educational Placement.
[cir] Letter dated February 2, 2007 to Pennsylvania Department of
Education Staff Member Gerald L. Zahorchak, regarding the child's
status during the pendency of administrative or judicial proceedings
when a child who is no longer eligible for services under Part C of
IDEA seeks initial services under Part B of IDEA.
Topic Addressed: Discipline Procedures.
[cir] Letter dated March 8, 2007 to University of Utah Professor
Dixie Snow Huefner, regarding when a parent or an LEA may request an
expedited due process hearing and the child's placement during an
appeal.
[cir] Letter dated February 9, 2007 to Washoe County, Nevada
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kris Christiansen, regarding whether a
functional behavioral assessment (FBA) triggers the procedural
safeguards applicable to an evaluation or an independent educational
evaluation and whether parent consent is required prior to conducting
an FBA.
Part C
Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities
Section 643--Allocation of Funds
Topic Addressed: State Allocation Formula.
[cir] Letter dated March 6, 2007 to Texas Governor Rick Perry,
clarifying that allocations to each State under Part C of IDEA are made
based on the ratio of the number of infants and toddlers in that State
to the number of infants and toddlers in all States and that the
calculations are based on the most recent data available from the
Census Bureau. The Department cannot make adjustments in the formula
allocations to States based on data provided by an individual State.
[[Page 43636]]
Other Letters that Do Not Interpret the Idea but May Be of Interest to
Readers
Topic Addressed: Assessment and Accountability.
[cir] Letter dated February 7, 2007 to Chief State School Officers
regarding the assessment and accountability requirements of Title I and
extending flexibility for determining annual yearly progress for the
students with disabilities subgroup.
Topic Addressed: Transition to Postsecondary Education.
[cir] Letters dated March 16, 2007 to Dear Colleague and Dear
Parent from Office for Civil Rights Assistant Secretary Stephanie
Monroe, regarding the legal rights and responsibilities of students
with disabilities as they transition from secondary to postsecondary
education settings.
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: July 31, 2007.
John H. Hager,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. E7-15226 Filed 8-3-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P