FOR RELEASE: March 12,
1999 |
Contact: Jim Bradshaw (202)
401-2310 |
FINAL REGULATIONS PUBLISHED TO
IMPLEMENT SPECIAL EDUCATION AMENDMENTS
As part of the effort to strengthen educational
opportunities for America's six million students with disabilities,
the U.S. Department of Education today published in the Federal
Register final regulations to implement the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997.
"The new IDEA focuses on teaching and learning and
establishes high expectations for disabled children to achieve real
educational results," said U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W.
Riley. "Our package of regulations reflects the many good changes
Congress made to the law with the IDEA Amendments which passed with
overwhelming bipartisan support."
"The thrust of IDEA has changed from one that merely
provides disabled children access to an education to one that
improves quality for all children in our schools."
Judith E. Heumann, assistant secretary for special
education and rehabilitative services, said, "We have prepared a
user-friendly package of regulations. They are designed to help
parents, teachers and school administrators understand the federal
expectations for educating children with disabilities under the
law.
"Fundamentally, we have protected the basic rights
of children with disabilities to a free appropriate public education
while ensuring that schools have the flexibility and tools necessary
to offer a quality education in a safe environment."
In October 1997, the Department of Education
published proposed regulations based on the 1997 amendments to the
IDEA. Public comments were solicited, and almost 6,000 were
submitted to the department. Nearly two-thirds of the regulatory
package responds to the comments, while a quarter contains the
actual text of the regulations and statute.
Among the highlights:
- Students and the General Curriculum.
IDEA establishes the Individualized Education Program
(IEP) as the major tool in a student's involvement and progress in
the general curriculum. The regulations offer guidance on the
types of issues that the IEP should address to achieve the
statutory requirements.
- Student Assessment.
Students with
disabilities must be included in general state and district-wide
assessment programs, according to IDEA '97. The regulations offer
guidance about the participation of children with disabilities in
these assessments.
- Teacher Involvement.
The 1997
amendments provide that each IEP team includes at least one of the
child's regular education teachers if the child is or may be
participating in the regular education environment. The
regulations clarify that attendance of regular education teachers
at IEP meetings will be determined on a case by case basis in an
effort to be less time consuming.
- Graduation with a Diploma.
The final
regulations incorporate the department's long-standing policy that
a student's right to a "free appropriate public education" is
terminated upon graduation with a regular high school diploma, but
not ended by any other kind of graduation certificate or
diploma.
- Student Discipline.
IDEA '97
authorized schools to remove a student for up to 10 school days
for minor disciplinary infractions and for up to 45 days for
dangerous behavior involving weapons or drugs and gave schools the
ability to ask a hearing officer to remove students who are
serious threats to themselves or others. The final regulations
incorporate the statutory changes and clarify that services do not
need to be provided during the first 10 days in a school year that
a child with a disability is removed from his or her regular
placement. If a child is subsequently removed for up to 10 school
days for other violations of school conduct codes, services must
be provided to the extent necessary to enable the child to
continue to appropriately progress in the general curriculum and
appropriately advance toward the goals of the IEP. For example, if
a child is subsequently removed for only one or two more days and
is generally doing well in school, it could be that the only
service that might be necessary is that homework or make-up
assignments are sent home. For longer periods, more services will
likely be necessary. The regulations also clarify the number of
required meetings over disciplinary actions involving school
personnel and make clear that school personnel do have the
authority to remove children to preserve school safety.
"This regulatory package offers some much-needed
guidance to those working so hard to improve educational results for
all children," Riley said.
"We will be providing a lot of specific and ongoing
technical assistance," added Heumann. "For the next few months,
those technical assistance efforts will be specific to the statute
and accompanying regulations. Ongoing technical assistance
activities will incorporate specific and appropriate research-based
practices that work."
Congress overwhelmingly approved a bipartisan
reauthorization of the IDEA statute in May 1997, and President
Clinton signed the bill into law in June.
The regulations package was released today on the
Government Printing Office's website at:
http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/a990312c.html.
under "Education Department: Rules." Details of the
regulations can be found at the Education Department's website
at:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSERS/IDEA/.
Copies may also be ordered by calling the
department's publications center at 1-877-4-ED-PUBS. For TTY/TTD,
call 877-576-7734.
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