From Our Government Relation Liaison-
Barbara Raimondo

U.S. Department of Education Guidance on "Natural Environment"

The Department has issued some guidance on the "natural environment" provisions of Part C through responses to letters from members of Congress and educators. For example, it sent a letter to U.S. Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey clarifying, in general, that providing services to an infant or toddler with a disability in a setting such as a center-based program that is limited exclusively to infants and toddlers with disabilities would not constitute a natural environment, but that early intervention serv-ices may be provided in a center-based program serving only children with disabilities, if the IFSP team justifies in the IFSP that this location is necessary to meet the individual needs of a child for a particular service.

In another letter to an educator, the Department again stated that, in general, providing infants and toddlers with disabilities with early intervention services in a setting limited exclusively to infants and toddlers with disabilities would not constitute a natu-ral environment. However, if a determination is made by the IFSP team that, based on a review of all relevant information regarding the unique needs of a particular infant or toddler, the child cannot satisfactorily achieve identified early intervention outcomes in natural environments, that infant or toddler could receive specific services outside of a natural environment. In the most basic terms, if a natural environment is not appropriate for a particular child, then it would not be an appropriate location for the service to be provided. In that case, the IFSP must include a justification of the extent to which services will not be provided in a natural environ-ment. The Department of Education has stated that the Part C Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) will be published in the Federal Register "soon." CEASD will be filing comments at that time, particularly in regard to the natural environment provisions.

Office of Special Education Programs Survey

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) is preparing a long-range plan for funding national activities to support individuals with disabilities. These activities include research, professional development, family involvement, demonstration projects, technical assistance and dis-semination. This survey is part of a nationwide outreach effort to engage the education community in the planning process. Please participate in the Department's planning process by completing its online Special Education Consumer Survey. This is an opportunity to help the Department shape national activities that link best practices to states, school systems, and families to improve results for infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities. The survey may be completed in just a few minutes at: http://www.osepplanning.org/index.htm

U.S. Department of Education State Monitoring

The Department of Education soon will be monitoring the following states: the District of Columbia, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Puerto Rico, Texas, Connecticut, Michigan, South Carolina, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, New Hampshire, Wyoming, and Virginia. Information about the monitoring process can be obtained from the Office of Special Education Programs monitoring web site at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/OSEP/#MONITOR

Children's Health Act of 2000

This legislation, which includes provisions covering a number of areas of children's health, including epilepsy, birth defects, adoption, and newborn hearing screening, passed the House and was sent to the Senate. This bill would extend through 2005 the provisions for the Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening and Intervention Act. Currently that legislation is authorized through 2002. The Senate is working on its own version of this bill, which received overwhelming support in the House.

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