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Proposed Rule Amendments, Chapter 101- Maine Unified Special Education Regulation

INFORMATIONAL LETTER: 43
POLICY CODE: FE

To: Superintendents of Schools, Special Education Directors, CDS Site Directors, CDS Board Chairs
From: Susan A. Gendron, Commissioner
Date: November 5, 2007
RE: Proposed Rule Amendments, Chapter 101- Maine Unified Special Education Regulation

The current rule and the proposed amendments are available on line at:http://www.maine.gov/education/rulechanges.htm . Hard copies may be obtained from my office through Jaci Holmes by phone at 207/624-6999 or by email at: jaci.holmes@maine.gov

The Department of Education is proposing amendments to provide consistency with regard to the 60 calendar days provision, the transition at age 14, the stay put provision, and the statute of limitations of four years in appropriate sections. In addition, clarification has been made with regard to the observation in the learning environment/classroom setting, highly qualified personnel in the middle and high schools, comparable facilities language with regard to least restrictive environment, and the method for determination of adverse effect. The full list of additions and corrections is as follows:

Page
 Section Item
2
 I.2  Add “sexual orientation” to paragraph 2 after national origin
7
 II.20 Add the sentence “In cases when parents unilaterally placed their child in a private school when FAPE is at issue, the district of residence remains responsible for offering an IEP for the child and the district where the private school is located is obligated to offer an individual service plan.” to the end of the definition.
10
 II.32 B Add on line two after ‘Children’s , ‘Behavioral Health’ and before ‘Services”
19
 IV.2A Add “or” between school and through in the second paragraph
19
 IV.2.A(1) Add a new “(c) For children who are non-adjudicated at State facilities under the Department of Corrections the responsibility shall rest with the school administrative unit in which the child resided prior to being detained.”
20
 IV.2.D In the second paragraph ‘as defined in’ should be “Appendix 1”rather than ‘Section XVI.2’
21
 IV.2.E Add the phrase “when fully implemented” after pre-referral.
24
 IV.4.D Between (2) and (3) add “When a state ward is reunified with their family, that child shall be considered a state agency client for a period of 6 months after the child returns to his biological or kinship family. The Department of Education will cover 100% of special education costs during this period in order to support the reunification efforts.”
35
 IV.4.H(2) Move the second sentence of (2) to IV.2 on page 18
35
 IV.4.H(3) Add to the second sentence after ‘instruction program’ “who chooses to enroll in specific day school classes at the public school”
38
 V.1.A(4)(b)(iii)(II) Delete the second ‘team meeting’
40
 V.1.B(3)(a)(ii) The last letter in the citation at the end of the sentence should be (b)
46
 V.4.B ’40 school days’ to be changed to ‘55 calendar days’
46
 V.4.C After ‘Observation in the learning environment’ add “(which could be completed by another evaluator or an IEP team member and be incorporated into the report) “ and add to VII.2 on page 64 ‘Has been observed in the learning environment/classroom setting’
53
 VI.2.A Change the ‘16’ to ‘14’ in line 15
58
 VI.2.H(2)(b) Change ‘16’ to ‘14’ in the second line
64
 VII.2 Add to the second paragraph “Has been observed in the learning environment/classroom setting.”
73
 VII.2.L(2)(ii) Change ‘phonological’ processing to ‘psychological’
78
 VII.3 Add procedural guidance on determination of adverse effect
82
 VIII intro and 2.A The birth date span is now July 1 to October 15th
101
 X.2.A(2) Delete after goals ‘and objectives’
106
 X.2.A(5) In the chart regarding highly qualified in middle and high school deleted the phrases ‘determined by’ and ‘if hired before 2005-2006’ in the first sentence and replaced with ‘if eligible’. The second sentence was deleted and replaced by ‘Those special education teachers teaching multiple subjects(who, if they are new to the profession and highly qualified in language arts, mathematics, or science at the time of hire) may use the HOUSSE to demonstrate competence in additional subjects within two years.”
110
 X.2.B Add to the end of the second paragraph “ Comparable Facilities - facilities in which special education services are provided to children with disabilities shall be comparable to those in which regular education is provided to children in regular education and located in chronologically age appropriate settings.”
164
 XVI.13.E Change within ‘two’ years to ‘four’
171
 XVI.20.A Add in the first line after ‘any’ ,‘mediation, or State complaint investigation request or’ and  Before ‘administrative or judicial proceeding’
191
 XVIII.1.C(3)(b)(iii) Delete the first paragraph
193
 XVIII.1.H In the second paragraph add ‘early intervention’ between ‘pay for and ‘special education’
223
 App. 1 Change to Timeline for requesting a hearing ‘two’ years to ‘four’ years of the date you or the SAU knew

The Department of Education encourages public participation in this rulemaking process as follows:

Ø      The public hearing on these proposed amendments has been scheduled for in person participation on:

Monday, November 26, 2007

9:00a.m. – 10:30a.m.

Room 103 of the Cross Office Building

111 Sewall Street, Augusta, Maine

Ø      The public hearing will also be available via ATM at the following locations on Monday, November 26, 2007 from 9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. at:

Gorham High School ATM Studio

Bangor High School ATM Studio

Presque Isle High School ATM Studio

Ø      Written comments will be accepted by the Department of Education until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, December 10, 2007. Please direct your comments to: Jaci Holmes, Federal Liaison, Maine Department of Education, State House Station 23, Augusta, Maine 04333 or via email: jaci.holmes@maine.gov .