POLICY LETTER: April 12, 2007 to North Carolina Exceptional Children Division Director Mary D. Watson

Dated April 12, 2007Mary D. WatsonDirectorExceptional Children Division6356 Mail Service CenterRaleigh, NC 27699-6356Dear Ms. Watson:This is in response to your letter dated February 8, 2007, in which you seek clarification of the requirements of Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Part B) regarding annual review of a child's individualized education program (IEP) while administrative or judicial proceedings regarding a complaint are pending.In your letter, you indicate that your office has received a formal complaint from a parent alleging a local educational agency's (LEA's) violations of 34 CFR 300.323(a) and 300.324(b)(1) because of that agency's refusal to conduct an annual review of the child's IEP while administrative and judicial proceedings regarding a complaint are pending. Specifically, your letter asks:Does the IDEA require the IEP team to review and revise a student's present levels of academic achievement and functional performance and develop new goals during the pendency of a judicial proceeding?Section 300.518(a) provides that [e]xcept as provided in 300.533, during the pendency of any administrative or judicial proceeding regarding a due process complaint notice requesting a due process hearing under 300.507, unless the State or local educational agency and the parents of the child agree otherwise, the child involved in the complaint must remain in his or her current educational placement 34 CFR 300.518(a). The State and its public agencies must ensure that a free appropriate public education is made available to a child while administrative or judicial proceedings regarding a due process complaint are pending. 34 CFR 300.101 and 300.17. There is nothing in the regulation at 34 CFR 300.518 that relieves a public agency of its responsibility under 34 CFR 300.324(b)(1) to convene a meeting of the IEP Team, periodically, but not less than annually, to review, and if appropriat/s/ Patricia J. Guard forAlexa Posny, Ph.D.DirectorOffice of Special Education ProgramsPage PAGE 2 Mary D. Watson