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IDEA 2004:
Commentary

Law & RegsCommentary l  Guidance l Articles l News  
Publications  l Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition

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The reauthorization of any law brings differing interpretations and questions. The information in IDEA 2004 at Wrightslaw will help you find answers to your questions. How IDEA 2004 at Wrightslaw is organized:

Get Answers to Questions in the Commentary

When the Education Department published the federal special education regulations in August 2006, they also published the Analysis of Comments and Changes ("Commentary") and Model Forms.

In the Commentary, the Department explains why a regulation was changed, not changed, and often clarifies the "plain meaning" of a term. (Federal Register, Volume 71, pages 46540-46845, published on August 14, 2006).

This Analysis of Comments and Changes or Commentary provides definitions and discussions of legal terms in IDEA 2004 and the special education regulations. The document includes a Summary of the Major Changes in the Regulations." (pages 46540-46547) A very helpful Index begins on page 46817 and ends on page 46845.

The IDEA 2004 regulations (34 CFR Part 300) were published in the Federal Register (pages 46755 to 46817). (Click here to download the IDEA 2004 regulations that were reformatted into several easy-to-read files.)

The entire 307 page document is available as one very large pdf file.

Tip: If you want to download this document, right click the file, and save it to disk. Once you have saved the document on your computer, you can open it and print it.

Topics in Commentary

To make this information more accessible, we divided the large document into 15 files on different topics (i.e., evaluations, IEPs, ESY, etc). We recommend that you download these files on your computer, especially the Cover Page, Table of Contents, and Index.

Tip: You might want to download and print the Cover Page first. It makes a great bookmark in your brand new law book and will quickly become a "conversation piece" when you attend special education meetings. It looks very official, because it is!

Cover Page

Analysis and Commentary by topic


Definitions / Regs 1-100 (pages 46547 through 46579)

ESY, LRE, etc / Regs 101-230 (pages 46579 through 46629)

Evaluations / Regs 300-311 (pages 46629 through 46661)

IEPs / Regs 320-328 (pages 46661 through 46688)

Procedures / Regs 501-520 (pages 46688 through 46713)

Discipline / Regs 530-537 (pages 46713 through 46730)

Monitoring / Regs 600-815 (pages 46730 through 46743)

Additional information from the U.S. Department of Education

Summary of Changes (pages 46540 through 46547)

Discussion / Costs / Paperwork (pages 46743 through 46751)

Table of Contents (pages 46753 through 46755)

IDEA 2004 Regulations (pages 46755 through 46817)

Index of Regulations (pages 46817 through 46845)

Complete 307 page document


IDEA 2004 Regulations

Click here to download the federal special education regulations reformatted into several easy to read files.

Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition

Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd ed. by Peter W. D. Wright & Pamela Darr WrightWrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition (ISBN: 978-1-892320-16-2) by Peter Wright and Pamela Wright is available in two formats. The book includes:

* Full text of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 and IDEA 2004 regulations with analysis and commentary
* Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
* No Child Left Behind Act
* Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)
* McKinney-Vento Homeless Act
*
Decisions from the U. S. Supreme Court
* References and resources

Formats     How to Order  Discounts   The E-book

Synopsis   Table of Contents  
About the Authors    Early Reviews

Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition is designed to meet the needs of parents, teachers, advocates, attorneys, related services providers, school psychologists, administrators, college professors, hearing officers, and employees of district and state departments of education.

Use of Commentary in Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition

In Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition, we often refer to the Commentary as a guide to interpretations from the U.S. Department of Education. For example, if a child with an IEP moves from one jurisdiction to another, the child is entitled to "services comparable to those in the child's IEP from the previous public agency." (see Regulation 34 CFR 300.323, subsections (e) and (f)) The term "comparable" is not defined in the IDEA 2004 statute or in the special education regulations.

However, the Commentary includes a discussion about the word "comparable" (Federal Register, page 46681). The Department of Education explains, "we do not believe it is necessary to define ‘‘comparable services’’ in these regulations because the Department interprets ‘‘comparable’’ to have the plain meaning of the word, which is ‘‘similar’’ or ‘‘equivalent.’’

Tip: At a minimum, we recommend that you print 3 key files and keep them in your copy of Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 2nd Edition - the Cover Page, Table of Contents, and Index.

If you use the Cover Page as a bookmark in your special ed law book, it will quickly become a "conversation piece" when you attend special education meetings.


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Revised: 09/15/08
Created: 10/09/06



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