Sunday, August 06, 2006

Department Releases IDEA Part B Regulations

On August 3, the Department of Education released an unofficial version of the much anticipated final regulations for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 - legislation that reauthorizes the Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act (IDEA). The "official" version will be printed in the August 14 edition of the Federal Register.

According to the Department, the goal of the package of regulations is to turn the "promise" of IDEA into a "reality" for students with disabilities by emphasizing accountability and flexibility. While the regulations are comprehensive, the Department expects the majority of attention will be focused on the following four areas:

Highly qualified teacher requirements; Private school placement; Response to intervention; and Early intervention services. The regulations can be downloaded at
http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html.

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