Individuals With Disabilities Education Act 2004  (IDEA)

Special Education Services for Students in Private and Religious Schools

• IDEA provisions for private school students
• Final Regulations
• Q&As Guide for Serving Children in Private Schools
• Helpful Hints for Accessing IDEA services  

  IDEA 2004 Provisions in the Law - Section 612(a)(10)  
  Children In Private Schools

  Summary
  The 2004 authorized version of IDEA (Individuals With Disabilities Education Act) retains the basic premise of earlier versions:

  • FAPE (the entitlement to a free and appropriate public education) does not apply to children who are parentally placed in private schools
  • Children parentally placed in private schools are served with a proportionate share of the federal dollars generated under the provisions of IDEA

  There are some important provisions that are incorporated into the new law that should help students with disabilities who are in private schools obtain more equitable treatment than in the past. Some of these changes include:

  Child Find

  • the obligation to serve students is based on their attendance area
  • the local public school district in which the private school is located is responsible for identifying, counting and serving the students
  • the activities used to identify private school children with disabilities should be the same as those undertaken for the public school children and in the same time period
  • the cost of carrying out child find activities cannot be paid for from the proportionate share of funds; it is an administrative responsibility under the LEAs' administrative funding

  Consultation Requirements

  • Timely and meaningful consultation is described: LEA must consult with the private school representatives and a representative of the parents during the design and development of the services to be provided.
  • Consultation must include:
    a) how parents/school will be informed about serving the students
    b) how children can participate equitably in the program
    c) how the proportionate share of the funding dollars has been determined
    d) if direct services or the use of a third party contractor to serve children are requested by the private schools officials but are denied, a written explanation from the LEA is required
    e) requires the LEA to obtain a written affirmation from the private school officials that required consultation has occurred

  Reporting requirements
  LEAS must record and report to the state education department the number of private school children:

  • referred for evaluation
  • the number evaluated
  • the number determined to have a disability
  • the number served.

  Complaint provisions

  • A private school official shall have the right to submit a complaint to the State educational agency that the local educational agency did not engage in consultation that was meaningful and timely, or did not give due consideration to the views of the private school official.
  • If the private school official is dissatisfied with the decision of the State educational agency, such official may submit a complaint to the U.S. Secretary of Education.

  By-pass provision
  Requires the U.S. Department of Education to arrange for children to be served if the LEA or SEA is unwilling or substantially fails to provide for the equitable participate of private school students.

  Click here to read the full text of the provisions of the new IDEA law pertaining specifically to children parentally placed in private schools. The complete text of the IDEA 2004 law (162 pages) can be found by clicking here.

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  IDEA Final Regulations

  • The final regulations governing the implementation of IDEA 2004 have been published by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS).  Click here to obtain the  full text of the regulations published in the Code of Federal Regulations (34 CFR Parts 300 and 301).

  • The regs are quite lengthy; the section referring specifically to children in private schools is found on pages 46766-46776.

  • The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Non-Public Schools had prepared this list of IDEA Regulations that pertain specifically to students with disabilities who are placed by their parents in a private or religious school.  The numerals refer to the specific regulation.   The complete text of the regulations can be found at  the OSERS website inidcated above.

  • These regulations are now in effect.

     

    IDEA 2004 Regulations of Interest to the Nonpublic School Community
    Subpart A		Subpart B (cont.)
    §300.2	Applicability of this part to State and local agencies.	§300.195	Decision.
    §300.9	Consent.	§300.196	Filing requirements.
    §300.18	Highly qualified special education teacher.	§300.197	Judicial review.
    §300.37	Services plan.	§300.198	Continuation of a by-pass.
    Subpart B		Subpart C
    §300.111	Child find.	§300.207	Personnel development.
    §300.116	Placements.	§300.208	Permissive use of funds.
    §300.118	Children in public or private institutions.	Subpart D
    §300.129	State responsibility regarding children in private schools.	§300.300	Parental consent.
    §300.130	Definition of parentally-placed private school children with disabilities.	§300.301	Initial evaluations.
    §300.131	Child find for parentally-placed private school children with disabilities.	§300.302	Screening for instructional purposes is not evaluation.
    §300.132	Provision of services for parentally-placed private school children with disabilities--basic requirement.	§300.303	Reevaluations.
    §300.133	Expenditures.	§300.304	Evaluation procedures.
    §300.134	Consultation.	§300.305	Additional requirements for evaluations and reevaluations.
    §300.135	Written affirmation.	§300.306	Determination of eligibility.
    §300.136	Compliance.	§300.307	Specific learning disabilities.
    §300.137	Equitable services determined.	§300.308	Additional group members.
    §300.138	Equitable Services provided.	§300.309	Determining the existence of a specific learning disability.
    §300.139	Location of services and transportation.	§300.310	Observation.
    §300.140	Due process complaints and State complaints.	§300.311	Specific documentation for the eligibility determination.
    §300.141	Requirement that funds not benefit a private school.	§300.320	Definition of individualized education program.
    §300.142	Use of personnel.	§300.321	IEP Team.
    §300.143	Separate classes prohibited.	§300.322	Parent participation.
    §300.144	Property, equipment, and supplies.	§300.323	When IEPs must be in effect.
    §300.145	Applicability of §§300.146-300.147.	§300.324	Development, review, and revision of IEP.
    §300.146	Responsibility of SEA.	§300.325	Private school placements by public agencies.
    §300.147	Implementation by SEA.	Subpart E
    §300.148	Placement of children by parents when FAPE is at issue.	§300.501	Opportunity to examine records; parent participation in meetings.
    §300.149	SEA responsibility for general supervision.	§300.502	Independent educational evaluation.
    §300.150	SEA implementation of procedural safeguards.	§300.503	Prior notice by the public agency; content of notice.
    §300.156	Personnel qualifications.	§300.504	Procedural safeguards notice.
    §300.168	Membership.	Subpart F
    §300.174	Prohibition on mandatory medication.	§300.644	Annual report of children served--criteria for counting children.
    §300.190	By-pass—general.	Subpart G
    §300.191	Provisions for services under a by‑pass.	§300.705	Subgrants to LEAs.
    §300.192	Notice of intent to implement a by‑pass.	Subpart H
    §300.193	Request to show cause.	§300.800	In general.
    §300.194	Show cause hearing.	§300.816	Allocation to LEAs.

     

     

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    IDEA Questions and Answers For Serving Children in Private Schools

  The U.S. Department of Education has released a document that provides answers to commonly asked questions about serving students with disabilities who are in private and religious schools.  This is a useful document for both private and public school administrators.  Click here to dowload this document.

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  Helpful Hints for Accesssing IDEA Services

The following are some ideas to assist school and diocesan administrators in the process of obtaining IDEA services for students in Catholic schools

Administrators should be familiar with the provisions of the law pertaining to students int heir schools.  They should bring copies of the section of the law and finalk regulations that deal with private schools as well as the Q and As prepared by the U.S. Department of Education.  All of these documents are available for downloading using the index at the top of this page.