|
 Alert!
IDEA Regulations on Fast Track, Expected in June
The Special Ed Advocate Newsletter, Wrightslaw, May 20,
2005
For more articles like this
visit
https://www.bridges4kids.org.
On May 18,
2005, Troy Justesen, Acting Director of the Office of Special
Education Programs, was interviewed by Rachel Kosoy of the
Disability Law Resource Project.
During this interview, Dr. Justesen said he expects the proposed
regulations for Part B of IDEA to be available in the
first or second week of June. Read
Proposed IDEA Regulations on Fast Track, Expected in Early June.
Proposed regulations for Parts C and D will be issued
separately.
In this
wide-ranging interview, Dr. Justesen answered questions on a
variety of topics, including:
* Full
Inclusion of Children with Disabilities & Accountability for
Children with Disabilities in the Regular Education Setting
* How
Regulations Are Written, Published, Revised, Published
* Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) and Final Rule: Proposed
Regulations & Final Regulations Are Published in the
Federal Register
* IDEA
Regulations Will Include Language of the IDEA Statute
* Proposed
Regulations for Part B Expected in Early June
* Public
Comment Period: Not Less Than 75 Days
*
Department of Ed Using Database to Track Comments & Concerns
* New
Preamble to Regulations
* New Index
of Regulations
*
Regulations Will Be Reorganized to Track IDEA Statute
* Public
Meetings in Summer of 2005
* How to
Comment: Be Specific and Give Your Reasons
* Form
Emails and Form Letters Are "Not Useful"
* IDEA
Regulations Will Mirror the Statute
* Effective
Date of IDEA 2004 is July 1, 2005 - "The law is the law"
* Current
IDEA Regulations Provide Guidance & Answer Questions
*
Conference Report Will Answer Questions
* How IDEA Is Aligned with No Child Left Behind
According to
Dr. Justesen, the Department of Education expects to publish the
Final Regulations
within six or seven months after
IDEA goes into effect on July 1,
2005 (December 2005- January 2006).
To learn more about the IDEA regulations, read
Proposed IDEA Regulations on Fast Track, Expected in Early June.
Public Comments
When the
proposed regulations are published, we will send out an Alert
that includes a link (or links) to the proposed regulations.
You need to read these regulations. They will have a profound
impact on how children with disabilities are educated. If you
want a regulation changed or think a regulation is not clear,
you need to advise the Department of Education about the
specific changes you want made and why. To learn more about this
process, please
read this article.
After the
Department of Education reviews public comments (they expect to
receive between 10,000 and 50,000 comments), they will revise
the regulations and publish the Final Regulations in the Federal
Register.
Dr. Justesen indicated that the Department of Education has
already received 6,500 comments, although proposed regulations
have not been published. Most comments and concerns focused on
the following issues:
* Due
Process: Legal Assistance Unavailable to Parents
* If Parents Lose at Due Process, Do They Have to Pay School's
Attorney Fees?
* Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Assessments
* Requirements for Alternate Assessments
* Accessible Textbooks
* Early Intervening Services
* Research Based Instruction & Essential Components of Reading
Instruction
* Practices for Homeless Children
* Services to Students Who Attend Private Schools
* Requirements for Highly Qualified Special Education Teachers
* Discipline - "Still a major area of concern"
* Evaluation for Specific Learning Disabilities - "Moving Away
from the Discrepancy Model"
* IQ Tests: Not Intended to Be Used to Determine if Child Has
a Learning Disability
* Maintenance of Effort
* 3-Year IEP Option
* New Appendix A
To learn how
you can be involved - and how the Department of Education deals
with comments by the public - read
Proposed IDEA Regulations on Fast Track, Expected in Early June.
IDEA 2004 Information & Resources
The Law
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of
2004: Overview, Explanation and Comparison of IDEA 2004 & IDEA
97 by Peter W. D. Wright, Esq. describes the substantive
changes to the five key statutes of IDEA 2004 by section and
subsection. Text added to IDEA 2004 is in
italics. Text
deleted from IDEA 97 has been struck through.
We are using this publication in our
training programs as a supplement to
Wrightslaw: Special
Education Law and
Wrightslaw: From Emotions to
Advocacy. If you have either of these books, we
encourage you to download and print
this publication and attach it to your book.
Guidance from Dept of Ed
Changes in IDEA 2004: Documents from OSEP - Since the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 takes effect
on July 1, 2005,
the Department of Education is publishing documents about
changes in IDEA 2004. Each document focuses on a specific topic
(IEPs, assessments, discipline, etc.)
List of documents
Publications & Reports
Many legal, educational and disability organizations are
publishing reports about the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA 2004).
IDEA 2004 Publications, Reports & Resources Page includes
links to these reports and publications.
Subscription & Contact Info
The Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about
special education legal and advocacy issues, cases, and tactics
and strategies. Newsletter subscribers also receive "alerts"
about new cases, events, and special offers on Wrightslaw books.
Subscribe
Contact Info
Pete and Pam
Wright
Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate
P. O. Box 1008
Deltaville, VA 23043
Website:
http://www.wrightslaw.com
Email:
newsletter@wrightslaw.com
back to the top ~
back to Breaking News
~ back to
What's New
| 