April 29, 2014
and
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), Division of Specialized Education (DSE), will hold public hearings to discuss a proposed regulation found at Subtitle A, Title 5, Chapter 28 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (5 DCMR §A-2800-2899) entitled “Certificates of Approval for Nonpublic Special Education Schools and Programs Serving Students with Disabilities Funded by the District of Columbia and Special Education Rates” and a proposed policy entitled “Individualized Education Program (IEP) Implementation for Transfer Students Policy.”
The proposed policies will be posted for a 60 day public comment period commencing Friday, March 28, 2014 and closing Tuesday, May 27, 2014. Two public hearings will be held. The first hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29, 2014 from 1:30pm – 3:30pm. The second and final hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, 2014 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm. All comments received by 5:00pm Tuesday, May 27, 2014 will be considered.
Individuals wishing to testify at the hearing should contact Christie Weaver, Policy Analyst, at 202- 481-3870 or by e-mail at [email protected], no later than 5:00pm on Thursday, April 24, 2014, to be added to the witness list for the public hearing scheduled for the Tuesday, April 29, 2014 hearing or no later than 5:00 pm Thursday, May 1, 2014 for the hearing scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, 2014. An individual presenting will be limited to five (5) minutes in an effort to allow all individuals an opportunity to be heard. Individuals representing an organization will be limited to a total presentation time of seven (7) minutes scheduled for each public hearing.
Certificates of Approval For Nonpublic Special Education Schools and Programs Serving Students with Disabilities Funded by the District of Columbia and Special Education Rates (5 DCMR §2800-2899):
- Establishes OSSE as the state-level monitoring and certifying body;
- Governs nonpublic special education schools and programs serving District of Columbiastudents;
- Delineates between local education agency (LEA) responsibilities and nonpublic programresponsibilities;
- Establishes certification standards compliant with applicable laws and regulations, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); and
- Establishes payment rates for tuition and related services;
Individualized Education Program (IEP) Implementation for Transfer Students Policy:
- Establishes procedures and timelines for the necessary transfer of student records between LEAs;
- Clarifies LEA responsibilities to follow-up on existing referrals for evaluation and complete pending evaluations;
- Defines the timeline and parameters of comparable services implementation, including equitable services;
- Establishes procedures and timelines for determining the appropriateness of an existing IEP, including the implementation of adopted, updated, and newly developed IEPs; and
- Addresses the continuing responsibility of LEAs to implement IEPs until students formally exit special education or graduate with a high school diploma.
Individuals and organizations wishing to submit comments as part of the official record should send copies of the comments and any written testimony and statements no later than 5:00pm on Tuesday, May 27, for the proposed policies to:
Dr. Amy Maisterra, Assistant Superintendent of Specialized Education c/o Grace Chien, Director of Policy Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Division of Specialized Education 810 1st St. NE - 5th Floor Washington, DC 20002or
email to [email protected]
Proposed Individualized Education Program (IEP) Implementation for Transfer Students Policy