POLICY LETTER: March 6, 2007 to Wyoming Protection and Advocacy for Individual Rights Program Attorney Buck Gwyn

Dated March 6, 2007Buck Gwyn, Esq.Senior Staff AttorneyProtection and Advocacy for Individual Rights Program320 West 25th Street, 2nd FloorCheyenne, Wyoming 82001Dear Mr. Gwyn:This is in response to your letter dated January 16, 2007, regarding the Wyoming Department of Education's (WDE) interim special education form entitled Eligibility Criteria Learning Disability. In your letter, you ask whether WDE's form for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability is inconsistent with section 614(b)(6) of the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). IDEA provides that in determining whether a child has a specific learning disability, an LEA may not be required to take into consideration whether a child has a severe discrepancy between achievement and intellectual ability in oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skill, reading comprehension, mathematical calculation, or mathematical reasoning. 20 U.S.C. 1412(b)(6)(A). Under the final regulations for Part B of IDEA (Part B), a State must adopt criteria, consistent with 300.309, for determining whether a student has a specific learning disability, as defined in 300.8(c)(10). 34 CFR 300.307(a). In addition, the criteria adopted by the State must not require the use of a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement for determining whether a child has specific learning disability. 34 CFR 300.307(a)(1). The State criteria must permit the use of a process based on the child's response to scientific, research-based intervention and may permit the use of other alternative research-based procedures for determining whether a child has a specific learning disability, as defined in 300.8(c)(10). 34 CFR 300.307(a)(2)-(3). The criteria a publ