POLICY LETTER: December 8, 2009 to New York Attorney Lawrence Weinberg

December 8, 2009Lawrence D. WeinbergSusan Luger Associates, Inc.155 West 72nd Street, Suite 201New York, NY 10023Dear Mr. Weinberg:This is in response to your August 4, 2009 letter to me in which you pose two specific questions regarding whether parents can obtain reimbursement under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for the costs of a private placement for a child not previously found eligible for special education and related services. As background, you state that the parents requested an evaluation in March 2008, enrolled the student in a private residential facility in April 2008, and that due to various reasons the CSE [Committee on Special Education] did not meet until February 2009, and did not find the student eligible as a student with emotional disturbance at that time.Your specific questions and the responses from the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) follow. Should the CSE have considered whether the child met criteria fo Sincerely,/s/Alexa PosnyActing DirectorOffice of Special Education Programscc: Rebecca Cort We are interpreting your statement that the CSE came to the conclusion that he was did not meet those criteria at that time as a typographical error.Page PAGE * MERGEFORMAT 2 Lawrence D. Weinberg