View FileJune 26, 2003 to Maryland Disability Law Center Managing Attorney Leslie S. Margolis (MS Word)
Dated June 26, 2003Leslie S. Margolis, Esq.Managing AttorneyMaryland Disability Law Center1800 North Charles Street, Suite 4000Baltimore, Maryland 21201Dear Ms. Margolis:This is in response to your letter dated March 27, 2003 regarding the Maryland Disability Law Center's concern about the Maryland State Department of Education's (MSDE) decision to support the construction of a separate, single-use facility to replace Cedar Lane School. Specifically, you are asking that the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) determine if MSDE has taken the necessary steps to conclude that there is no viable alternative to construction of a new separate facility. As you noted in your letter, while OSEP requires the State to develop corrective actions in response to findings of noncompliance, OSEP does not intervene in State decisions regarding construction of new schools. Further, there are no statutory or regulatory provisions that require a State to take certain steps before concluding that there is no viable alternative to construction of a new separate facility. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) requires each public agency to ensure that, to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are non-disabled and that special classes, separate schooling or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only if the nature and severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. 20 USC 1412(a)(5)(A); 34 CFR 300.550(b)(1)-(2). Therefore, before a child with a disability can be placed outside the regular educational environment, the group of persons making the placement decision, which includes the parents and other persons knowledgeable about the child, the meaning of the evaluation data, and the placement options, must consider whether supplementary aids and services could be provided that would enable education of the student in the regular classroom setting to be achieved. 34 CFR 300.550, 552(a)(1). If a determination is made that a particular student with a disability cannot be educated satisfactorily in the regular educational environment, ev
