POLICY LETTER: November 30, 2007 to Chapman Management Group member Tom Trigg

November 30, 2007Mr. Tom TriggChapman Management Group100 North Stone Avenue, Suite 1100Tucson, Arizona 85701Dear Mr. Trigg:This letter is in response to your correspondence received on September 28, 2007, inquiring about placement and location of services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). In your letter, you requested clarification of the Department's November 26, 2001 Letter to Veazey which states, The public agency should exercise caution in making such a determination [location of services] so that the placement of the child with a disability is not based on factors such as the category of disability, configuration of the service delivery system and the availability of staff and instead is based on the factors stated in 300.552. In particular, you asked, in the event the home school does not provide the required services, to what extent is a district required to provide the child with access to facilities that do, even if they are under-staffed? Is the district able to comply with 300.522(b)(3) if they have mandated the child travel past two or more schools to obtain the same services because of staffing availability or would they be required to remedy the staffing at one of the institutions in proximity? Lastly, you requested the authority under which the statement in the Letter to Veazey was made.The requirements for determining the placement of a child with a disability are included in the current Part B regulations at 34 CFR 300.116. This regulation requires placement decisions be made by a group of persons, including the parents, and other persons knowledgeable about the child, the meaning of the evaluation data, and the placement options. This decision also must be made in conformity with the least restrictive environment provisions, including 300.114 through 300.118. Additionally, a child's placement must be determined at least annually, be based on the child's individualized education program (IEP), and be as close as possible to the child's home. These requirements are consistent with section 612(a)(5) of IDEA which requires, to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, be educated with children who are not disabled. Special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment should occur only when the nature or severity of the disability of a child is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily. The overriding rule is that placement decisions must be determined on an individual, case-by-case basis, depending on each child's unique needs and circumstances and based on the child's IEP. In all cases, however, placement decisions must not be made solely on factors such as category of disability, severity of disability, availability of special education and related services, configuration of the service delivery system, availability of space, or administrative convenience. Historically, we have referred to placement as points along the continuum of placeActing DirectorOffice of Special Education Programs Section 300.552 refers to the IDEA Part B regulations issued on March 12, 1999. The most recent Part B regulations were issued on August 14, 2006. Section 300.116 of the current regulations provides the current placement procedures and will be referenced in this letter. There are no substantive changes between the procedures in 300.552 of the 1999 regulation and 300.116 of the current regulations. Page PAGE 2 Tom Trigg