NYSED NOTICES

Here you can find memoranda and other technical assistance documents from the NYSED Office of Special Education as well as other information issued by NYS agencies and programs.

The Office of Special Education recently issued a revised mandatory New York State Procedural Safeguards Notice: Rights for Parents of Children with Disabilities, Ages 3-21. A a corrected cover memorandum that accompanied that revised document has been issued by NYSED. Please use this corrected memorandum in place of the of the one issued last week.  It is available at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/psgn-cover-jan12.htm. Please share as appropriate.

The Office of Special Education has revised the mandatory New York State Procedural Safeguards Notice: Rights for Parents of Children with Disabilities, Ages 3-21.  References to the Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID) were replaced with the Office of Special Education, the mailing address for filing of a State complaint was updated and website links were updated.  None of the changes are substantive, and therefore districts are not required to replace any previously duplicated copies to disseminate to parents, but should use this version when making new duplications of the notice. More information is available at:  http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/psgn-cover-jan12.htm

Annual State Application Under Part B of IDEA as Amended in 2004 for Federal Fiscal Year 2012

New York State's Annual State Application Under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for Federal Fiscal Year 2012 has been posted for public review for 60 days (through March 5, 2012).  The application includes the identification of State requirements that are not otherwise required by federal law and regulations pursuant to IDEA section 608(a)(2).  

Written public comment on the IDEA Part B Application will be accepted by the Office of Special Education for 30 calendar days as required by federal law, starting January 18, 2012 until February 17, 2012.  Written comments will be accepted by e-mail with the subject line NYS Part B Application Public Comment to spedpubliccomment@mail.nysed.gov or may be submitted by mail to:

New York State Education Department
Office of Special Education
89 Washington Avenue, Room 309 EB
Albany, NY 12234
Attention: NYS Part B Application Public Comment

Public Comment - Proposed Amendment to Sections 200.4 and 200.16

The State Education Department has proposed to amend sections 200.4 and 200.16 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education relating to preschool and school-age individual evaluations.  A copy of the proposed amendment may be accessed at the following website:
http://www.regents.nysed.gov/meetings/2011Meetings/December2011/1212p12d1.pdf

Written comments on the proposed amendment will be accepted for 45 days after its January 4, 2012 publication in the New York State Register (must be received by February 20, 2012) and may be submitted to: New York State Education Department, P-12: Office of Special Education, 89 Washington Avenue, Room 309 EB, Albany, New York 12234, Attention: Public Comment – Sections 200.4 and 200.16. 

Comments may also be faxed to 518-473-5387 or emailed to spedpubliccomment@mail.nysed.gov. We request that written public comment regarding the proposed regulations be provided using the Public Comment Submission Sheet.

It is anticipated that the proposed amendment will be submitted for adoption at the March 2012 Board of Regents meeting with a proposed effective date of April 11, 2012. 

The application by which local educational agencies may request an exception from the State Education Department to exceed the 1.0 percent cap in counting as proficient and advanced for accountability purposes, during the 2011-12 school year, the scores of students with the most significant cognitive disabilities based on alternate academic achievement standards is now available at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/applications/1percent-2012.htm

Mandate Relief Relating to Special Education Requirements

At the November 2011 meeting of the Board of Regents, several possible mandate relief recommendations relating to special education were discussed.  While the Regents voted to support development of legislative and regulatory proposals that are necessary to put any of these proposals into effect, their actions did not result in changes to any State policy for any of the mandates discussed.  Therefore, none of the mandate relief proposals that were discussed are in effect and the State’s current rules relating to Committee on Special Education and Committee on Preschool Special Education membership, evaluations, and planning and reporting requirements must be followed. 

At their December 2011 meeting, the Regents discussed a proposed amendment to State regulations relating to evaluations of preschool and school-age students.  A Notice of Proposed Rule Making will be published in the State Register on January 4, 2012.  Public comment on the proposed amendment will be accepted for 45 days from the date of publication in the State Register.  Following the receipt of public comment, the proposed amendment will be submitted for action at the March 2012 meeting with a proposed effective date of April 11, 2012.  A copy of the proposed amendment may be found at http://www.regents.nysed.gov/meetings/2011Meetings/December2011/1212p12d1.pdf.

The Department will advance a 2012 legislative proposal relating to the mandate relief recommendations that require changes to State law.  Information on the specific areas of special education mandate relief discussed and supported by the Board of Regents, can be found at http://www.regents.nysed.gov/meetings/2011Meetings/November2011/1111p12a2.pdf.

A new memorandum from the P-12 Office of Special Education is now available.  The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance to school districts regarding transition planning and services for students with disabilities and information about resources that can assist school districts to meet their responsibilities in this area.  Appropriate transition planning for students with disabilities is essential to prepare them for post-school living, learning and working.  This memorandum is available at: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/transitionplanning-2011.htm. 

The Office for People With Developmental Disabilities has posted on its People First Waiver Web page and published in the New York State Contract Reporter a Request for Information (RFI) that will solicit information that will contribute to the development of the People First Waiver pilot projects. All stakeholders in the developmental disabilities community – individuals, parents, service providers and advocates – are invited to participate in the RFI.

The RFI will allow broad sharing of best practices as well as ideas and background information that can support design of the pilot projects that will test and demonstrate the desired system improvements during the first years of the waiver. OPWDD staff will use the information gathered through the RFI process to inform the Request for Applications (RFA) that will occur in 2012 and establish the pilot projects.

To access the RFI and more information about the RFI process, visit the People First Waiver Web Page at http://www.opwdd.ny.gov/2011_waiver/waiver_request_for_information.jsp

A new memorandum from the P-12 Office of Special Education is now available.  The purpose of this memorandum is to provide guidance to school districts regarding transition planning and services for students with disabilities and information about resources that can assist school districts to meet their responsibilities in this area.  Appropriate transition planning for students with disabilities is essential to prepare them for post-school living, learning and working.  This memorandum is available at: http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/publications/transitionplanning-2011.htm. 

A  memorandum from the P-12: Office of Accountability provides information regarding the actions required by schools, districts and public charter schools based on the 2010-11 school year assessment results. The New York State Department of Education has taken a number of actions to integrate the No Child Left Behind Act Title I, Title III and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act accountability systems.

It can be found on the NYSED website.

A new memorandum from the NYSED Office of Special Education provides information regarding the requirements for processing reimbursement claims by counties for the costs of transporting preschool students with disabilities pursuant to section 4410 of Education Law and the Part 200 Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.  It also details the responsibilities of municipalities regarding the approval of certain transportation costs. It is available at the NYSED website.

A new memorandum notifying special education impartial hearing officers and school personnel of recent changes to the Impartial Hearing Reporting System (IHRS) is now available.  IHRS is a web-based data collection system designed to record information about the special education impartial hearing process at critical points, beginning with the initial written request for a hearing and ending with the issuance of the IHO’s decision.

Two new memorandums have been released from the P-12: Office of Special Education relating to technical assistance:

• Announcement of the establishment of the Intensive Teacher Institute for Teachers of the Blind and Visually Impaired (ITI-TVI)
• Announcement of the award of a five-year contract to establish a technical assistance center for the professional development of impartial hearing officers

NYSED has provided guidance concerning the official policy for the determination of heat-related cancellation for approved extended school year preschool and/or school-age special education programs. 

Each year the United States Department of Education makes a determination for each state under section 616(d) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The following are considered: the State's Annual Performance Report (APR)/State Performance Plan (SPP) submission; information from monitoring visits, including verification reviews, and other State compliance data under IDEA. The determination letter and criteria used for that determination for New York State are available at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/spp/osepdeterminations/2011-OSEPdetemination.htm

If you are not able to attend, but would like to provide public comment, please visit the NYSED website to submit your comments no later than July 25, 2011.

The Part 200 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education has been updated to include all amendments through March 2011.   The Part 201 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education has been updated to include all amendments to that Part through December 2010 as well. 

Two new policy memorandum from the Office of Special Education have been posted to the NYSED website:

• Local Diploma Safety Net Options for Students with Disabilities who Enter Grade 9 in September 2011 and Thereafter
• A Response to Intervention (RtI) Process Cannot Be Used to Delay or Deny an Evaluation for Eligibility under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

These memorandum are also on the News and Announcement page at http://www.p12.nysed.gov/specialed/timely.htm.