POLICY LETTER: January 6, 2011 to Lehigh University Professor of Education and Law Perry A. Zirkel

January 6, 2011Perry A. ZirkelUniversity Professor of Education and LawDepartment of Education and Human ServicesCollege of EducationMountaintop Campus, Lehigh University111 Research DriveBethlehem, Pennsylvania 18015-4794Dear Dr. Zirkel:This is in response to your electronic mail (email) communication to me dated October 3, 2010 in which you pose two questions. Your questions and the response of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) are below.1.How may a district, which has adopted RTI [response to intervention] for specific learning disability (SLD) identification, meet its child find obligations under the IDEA [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act] where state law does not include provisions specific to these two situations for parentally placed students in private schools: (a) the district where the private school is located has adopted RTI as its identification model for SLD and the private school personnel have suggested to the district's representatives that the student warrants evaluation under the districSincerely, /s/Melody Musgrove, Ed.D.DirectorOffice of Special Education ProgramsPage PAGE * MERGEFORMAT 2 Perry A. Zirkel