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Subject: IDEA 2004 Final Federal Regulations
Source: Pam Williams, Coordinator, Special Education Services
Intended Audience: Directors of Special Education
Date: September 14, 2006
This message is to update you on some resources that have recently become
available and on some activities undertaken by the Division of Special
Education to disseminate information regarding the final federal regulations
implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
The final federal regulations for IDEA 2004 will be effective on October 13,
2006. As was mentioned in a previous SELS message (August 11, 2006), the
Division of Special Education, U. S. Department of Education's Office of
Special Education Programs (OSEP), and several professional organizations
are currently preparing technical assistance and training materials to
assist responsible public agencies, parents, advocates, and other interested
parties in learning the provisions of the final regulations. Some of the
resources that will be coming out in the near future are topical briefs, a
video, policy papers, and CDs.
Whenever new information and resources are available, we will post it on our
IDEA 2004 website and inform the field via SELS.
OSEP has posted several "Topic Briefs" on their website at
http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html regarding
provisions in the final federal regulations. The topics that might be of
most interest to districts are:
Changes in Initial Evaluation and Reevaluation Children Enrolled by their
Parents in Private Schools Discipline Early Intervening Services Highly
Qualified Teachers Individualized Education Programs (IEP), Team Meetings
and Changes to the IEP Individualized Education Programs (IEP) National
Instructional Materials Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) Procedural
Safeguards: Surrogates, Notice and Consent Procedural Safeguards: Mediation
and Resolution Sessions Procedural Safeguards: Due Process Hearings
Secondary Transition Statewide and Districtwide Assessments
The National Association of State Directors of Special Education
(NASDSE) has published a side-by-side comparison of the 1999 regulations and
the new 2006 regulations. The Division of Special Education has purchased a
copy of this document for every agency in the state that provides services
to students with disabilities, including State Board Operated Programs,
Other State Agencies, Charter Schools, and Approved Private Agencies. As
soon as the copies arrive from NASDSE, we will be mailing them to the
agency's special education contact person. You are encouraged to use this
document as a resource in identifying those areas where there are changes in
the regulations and for in-service training with your staff regarding those
changes.
We have posted on our IDEA 2004 website
http://dese.mo.gov/divspeced/IDEA2004.html a "Quick List" of some
of the more substantive changes in the federal regulations. This list gives
a very brief description of the changes and districts are encouraged to use
the NASDSE side-by-side, the federal regulation document, and the OSEP Topic
Briefs for a complete description of the change.
The Division has again this year purchased NASDSE's satellite conference
series which is available to all districts in the state. The first two
broadcasts in the series are specific to IDEA 2004:
October 11, 2006 "The 2006 IDEA Regulations: What They Mean for Implementing
the Nation's Education Law for Individuals with Disabilities"
October 25, 2006 "The Implications of IDEA and NCLB for Learning: A
Conversation with the Director of the Office of Special Education Programs
at the U. S. Department of Education"
A SELS message will be sent prior to each NASDSE Teleconference giving
instructions for how to access the broadcast. Districts are encouraged to
view these broadcasts for current information on IDEA 2004 as well as NCLB. |
