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Secretary Spellings Announces Final IDEA Regulations
Mary Beth Klotz, PhD, NCSP, NASP Director of IDEA Projects
and Technical Assistance
August 3, 2006 - U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings announced
the long-awaited release of the final regulations for Part B of the IDEA
2004 law at a meeting held in Washington D.C. NASP staff were represented
at the IDEA event, in which John Hager, Assistant Secretary of the Office
of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS), and Alexa Posny,
Director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), gave remarks
outlining the content and changes contained in the regulations. The U.S.
Department of Education (ED) has posted an unofficial copy of the final
regulations on their website at www.ed.gov/idea. An
official copy of the final Part B regulations of the IDEA will be published
in the Federal Register on August 14, 2006. The final regulations
will become effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.
The release of the regulations concludes a process that began in January
of 2005 with a series of public meetings at which ED received input on
the development of these new rules. ED held another series of public
meetings last summer after the release of the proposed regulations on
June 21, 2005. More than 5,500 people gave comments on the proposed regulations,
the most ever received by ED. Secretary Spellings emphasized that every
comment was reviewed and analyzed by her staff and that the Department
appreciated the enormous participation of parents and the educational
community in the process. NASP leaders and staff gave input at the public
meetings and in writing on both the formulation and revision of the proposed
regulations.
Secretary Spellings provided a few highlights from the 1,705 pages of
the final regulations, noting that the top three issues that were commented
on and that received the greatest revisions by ED were Response to Intervention
(RTI), Highly Qualified Teachers, and Private Schools. The Preamble
to the regulations represents approximately 70 percent of the document
and includes: 1) a summary of the major changes to the proposed regulations,
2) a summary and discussion of the public comments and whether the Department
chose to make changes based on the comments, and 3) an analysis of the
costs and benefits of the law.
Other announcements at the meeting included that the proposed regulations
for Part C were not yet ready for release, and that the writing for the
regulations on the Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and paperwork
reduction demonstration projects was still in progress.
The Department of Education will be offering to the educational community
numerous activities, technical assistance, and guidance on the law and
regulations. These activities and resources include the OSEP leadership
conference in August; briefings at national and state conferences and
meetings; a video explaining the regulations; and a DVD and CD that contain
searchable copies of the regulations and explanations of the changes.
A set of model forms for IEPs, and notices of procedural safeguards and
prior written notices as required under IDEA will be posted on the ED
website. Topical briefs similar to those that were provided on the statute
will also be developed shortly. NASP will be participating with the IDEA
Partnership in the development of Dialogue Guides on the regulatory topical
briefs (see: www.ideapartnership.org/partnership5.cfm).
In addition, the Department will have a dedicated webpage for the regulations
with links to these supporting materials.
NASP will continue to provide members with updated information on the
IDEA regulations by providing timely news, articles, web resources, and
professional development opportunities at our annual convention and summer
conferences.
From the U.S. Department of
Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
(OSERS):
Press release for the August 3, 2006 IDEA event:
http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2006/08/08032006b.html
Fact sheet on the new regulations: http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/speced/ideafactsheet.html
Toolkit on Teaching and Assessing Students with Disabilities: www.osepideasthatwork.org/toolkit/index.asp