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Date: August 15, 2006
Issue: 363
ISSN: 1538-3202

In this Issue

1. IDEA 2004 Regs in Federal Register!

* Effective Date

2. Model Forms: IEPs, Procedural Safeguards, Prior Written Notice

3. Online Training: IEPs Under IDEA 2004 Statute & Regs

4. Wrightslaw Programs in MI, WA, NC, WV, OH, PA, IL &
Boot Camps in FL & MD

5. Subscription & Contact Info


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At Wrightslaw, our mission is to help you gain the knowledge and skills you need to navigate the changing, confusing world of special education.

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Do you have a friend or co-worker who needs to learn how to advocate for a child with a disability? Please forward this issue or the subscription page to these folks so they can learn about special education law and advocacy too. Thanks from Pete and Pam Wright!


1. IDEA 2004 Regs in Federal Register

On August 14, the IDEA 2004 Regulations were published in the Federal Register. You may download the Regulations in the Federal Register (307 pages) from the GPO site at web address: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2006/pdf/06-6656.pdf

You will find commentary and explanations about why the proposed regulations were changed or not changed on pages 46540-46753. The actual IDEA 2004 regulations (Subparts A-H) begin on page 46753 and end on page 46813. Five appendices follow the regulations.

Regs Reformatted by Wrightslaw

We reformatted the IDEA 2004 Regulations and published them on the IDEA Law & Regulations page at https://www.wrightslaw.com/idea/law.htm The reformatted regulations (94 pages) are indented, making the regulations easier to read, print and study. You may also be interested in the Summary of Changes in the IDEA 2004 Regulations (10 pages, pdf)

Table of Regulations (5 pages, pdf)

Subpart A - General - Includes Purposes, Definitions (11 pages, pdf)

Subpart B - State Eligibility, General - Includes FAPE and LRE requirements, ESY, services to children in private schools, state and LEA eligibility (25 pages, pdf)

Subpart C - Local Educational Agency Eligibility - Includes Early Intervening Services (6 pages, pdf)

Subpart D - Evaluations, Reevaluations, Eligibility, Individualized Education Programs, and Educational Placements
(12 pages, pdf)

Subpart E - Procedural Safeguards - Includes due process procedures, procedural safeguards notice, mediation, due process hearings, model due process form, resolution process, timelines, attorneys fees, child's status during proceedings; discipline, manifestation determination; transfer of rights at age of majority, etc. (14 pages, pdf)

Subpart F - Monitoring, Enforcement, Confidentiality, and Program Information (8 pages, pdf)

Subpart G - Authorization; Allotment; Use of Funds; Authorization of Appropriations (10 pages, pdf)

Subpart H - Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities (3 pages, pdf)

Effective Date: The IDEA 2004 regulations go into effect 60 days after they are officially published in the Federal Register. The regulations were published in the Federal Register on August 14, 2006. Thus, the federal IDEA regulations will go into effect on October 14, 2006.


Learn more about IDEA 2004 and the new regulations at the IDEA 2004 Statute and Regulations page.


2. Model Forms for IEPs, Procedural Safeguards, and Prior Written Notice

Congress required that the Education Department shall publish model IEP, Procedural Safeguard Notice, and Prior Written Notice forms "no later than the date that the Secretary publishes final regulations ..." (20 USC Section 1417(e), page 124 of Wrightslaw: IDEA 2004.)

On August 14, the Education Department published these model forms, along with a one page document, Guidance on Required Content of Forms.

Here are links to the model forms. Do the IEP, Procedural Safeguards and Prior Written Notice forms used by your state and/or school district meet the requirements of IDEA 2004?

Model IEP Form (4 pages)

The IEP must include a statement of present levels of academic achievement and functional performance; a statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals. For children who take alternate assessments, a description of benchmarks or short-term objectives; a description of how the child's progress toward annual goals will be measured, and when periodic progress reports will be issued.
The IEP must include a statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer reviewed research, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided.
The IEP must also include an explanation of the extent, if any, that the child will not participate with nondisabled children in the regular classroom and in extracurricular and other non-academic areas; a statement of individual appropriate accommodations on State and district tests.
The IEP must include the date that services will begin, frequency, location, and duration of special education and related services and supplementary aides and services, and modifications and supports.

Notice of Procedural Safeguards (47 pages)

Includes general information, parental consent, electronic mail, independent educational evaluations (IEEs); confidentiality; state complaint procedures; due process complaint procedures; due process hearings; appeals; procedures when disciplining children with disabilities; requirements for unilateral placement by parents in private schools at public expense. (47 pages)

Prior Written Notice (2 pages)

The school district must give parents written notice whenever the district proposes to begin or change your child's identification, evaluation, or educational placement OR refuses to begin or change your child's identification, evaluation, or placement or provide your child with a free appropriate public education (FAPE). This "Prior Written Notice" includes several required components and the language must be easily understood.

These forms are also available on the IDEA 2004 page of the Department of Education site:

Model IEP Form - http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/modelform-iep.pdf

Model Procedural Safeguards Form - http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/modelform-iep.pdf

Prior Written Notice Form
- http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/modelform-notice.pdf

Download more publications and topics briefs from the
Guidance on IDEA 2004 page.


3. Online Training: New Requirements for IEPs Under the IDEA 2004 Statute and Regulations

Two online training programs about IEPs under the IDEA 2004 statute and regulations will be held on Friday, August 18, 2006.

Program: IEPs Under IDEA 2004 Regulations and Statute
Date: Friday, August 18, 2006
Time: 12:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)

This one-hour program is about new requirements for IEPs under IDEA 2004 statute and regulations. In addition to the IDEA 2004 statute, 20 USC Section 1414(d), the program will include the Education Department's commentary about the IEP regulations. The program will also include a discussion and analysis of the Model IEP Form published by the Education Department on August 14, as required by Congress.

In the program scheduled for 12 pm - 1 pm, we will have live telephone discussion and interaction during the event using a toll-free telephone call. The program is limited to the first 8 people who register.

Program: IEPs Under IDEA 2004 Regulations and Statute - VOIP
Date and time: Friday, August 18, 2006
Time: 2:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)

The one-hour Voice Over the Internet Protocol (VOIP) program is about the new IEP regulations under the IDEA 2004 statute and regulations. This program will also include a study of the IDEA 2004 IEP statute, 20 USC Section 1414(d) , the Department of Education's commentary about the IEP regs, and a discussion and analysis of the Model IEP Form published by the Education Department on August 14.

Unlike the 12 pm program, this session will not include a toll-free telephone number to call in and talk with me. The voice portion will be one way, from me to you, through your computer's speaker. You will be able to ask questions using a "Chat" WebEx feature. You must have DSL speed or faster. This program is limited to the first 5 people who register.

After attending one of these programs, you will have an excellent understanding about the law of IEPs. Learning how to draft SMART IEPs will be the subject of a later training session.

Learn more about these and other scheduled programs at the Wrightslaw WebEx Event Center at https://wrightslaw.webex.com/wrightslaw/


4. Special Ed Law & Advocacy Programs in MI, WA, NC, WV, OH, PA, IL - Boot Camps in FL & MD

Wrightslaw offers a variety of special education law and advocacy programs taught by nationally-known experts in the field.
Our Fall 2006 schedule includes these programs.

September 22: Stevensville, MI - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training by Wayne Steedman and Pat Howey, sponsored by Autism in Berrien County Speaks. * Register *

September 30: Seattle, WA - Special Education Advocacy Training by advocate and paralegal Pat Howey, sponsored by the
Snohomish County Developmental Disabilities Family Support Grant. * How to Register *

October 5: Winston-Salem, NC - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training sponsored by CenterPoint Human Services. Speakers: Pete and Pam Wright

October 13: Wheeling, WV - Special Education Law Training sponsored by Augusta Levy Learning Center. Speaker Wayne Steedman.

October 17: Cleveland, OH - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training sponsored by The Up Side of Downs of Greater Cleveland. Speakers Pete and Pam Wright.

October 19: Erie, PA - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training sponsored by Voices for Independence. Speakers: Pete and Pam Wright

October 28: Champaign, IL - Special Education Law & Advocacy Training sponsored by the C-U Autism Network. Speakers: Wayne Steedman and Pat Howey.

Boot Camps

November 4-5: Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Special Education Law & Advocacy Bootcamp sponsored by the Unicorn Children's Foundation. Speakers: Wayne Steedman and Pat Howey.

November 10-11: Columbia, MD - Special Education Law & Advocacy Boot Camp sponsored by the Howard County Autism Society. Speakers: Pete and Pam Wright.

2006-2007 Schedule
l Program Descriptions l
Online Training

We are now scheduling programs for 2007 and 2008. If you are interested in bringing a Wrightslaw program to your community, please read this Conference Information.


5. 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

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Contact Info

Pete and Pam Wright
Wrightslaw & The Special Ed Advocate
P. O. Box 1008
Deltaville, VA 23043
Website: https://www.wrightslaw.com
Email: newsletter@wrightslaw.com