POLICY LETTER: August 24, 2007 to Disability Rights Advocate Pat Kelly
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POLICY LETTER: August 24, 2007 to Disability Rights Advocate Pat Kelly MS Word
Dated August 24, 2007Pat KellyDisability Rights Advocate131 W. Wilson StreetMadison, Wisconsin 53703Dear Ms. Kelly:Thank you for your letter dated July 9, 2007, in which you request clarification from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) regarding the requirement in Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Part B) and the final Part B regulations for including a description of benchmarks or short-term objectives in the individualized education programs (IEPs) of students with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards. Your letter questions the policy of the Madison Metropolitan School District requiring that the IEPs of students with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards include benchmarks or short-term objectives only during the years that other students are required to take State or district-wide assessments. Your letter further expresses your understanding that the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction supports this interpretation. As explained below, we believe that the policy adopted by the State and school district in this regard is consistent with Part B.The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the final Part B regulations require that each child's IEP include a statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals. 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2)(i). In addition, the final Part B regulation at 34 CFR 300.320(a)(2)(ii), consistent with section 614(d)(1)(A)(i)(I)(cc) of the IDEA, requires an IEP to include a description of benchmarks or short-term objectives only for children with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards. The requirement that IEPs of all children with disabilities include benchmarks or short-term objectives was removed in the 2004 reauthorization of the IDEA. Following the 2004 reauthorization of the IDEA and publication of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) implementing those statutory changes in the Federal Register at 70 Fed. Reg. 35782 (Jun. 21, 2005), the Department received a number of public comments opposing the removal of benchmarks and short-term objectives as required components of the IEP. In the Analysis of Comments and Changes accompanying publication of the final Part B regulations in the Federal Register, the Department declined commenters' requests to reinstate this provision and explained as follows:Benchmarks and short-term objectives were specifically removed from section 614(d)(1)(A)(i)(II) of the Act. However, because benchmarks and short-term objectives were originally intended to assist parents in monitoring their child's progress toward meeting /s/Patricia J. GuardActing DirectorOffice of Special Education ProgramsPage PAGE 2 Pat Kelly
TOPIC ADDRESSED: Individualized Education Programs
SECTION OF IDEA: Part B—Assistance for Education of All Children With Disabilities; Section 614—Evaluations, Eligibility Determinations, Individualized Education Programs, and Educational Placements
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Last modified on April 26, 2017