4518083 Amends Section 3002 LEA Responsibilities regarding IDEA "Child Count" to facilitate conformity to District Annual Pupil Enrollment Count; Deletes Paragraphs 3019.3(f) and 3019.4(c) - Schedules Hearing on September 18, 2013.

THE OFFICE OF THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF EDUCATION

 

NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING

 

The State Superintendent of Education, pursuant to the authority set forth in Section 3(b) of the District of Columbia State Education Office Establishment Act of 2000, effective October 21, 2000 (D.C. Law 13-176; D.C. Official Code § 38-2602(b)(11) (2012 Supp.)); Section 107(d) of the Uniform Per Student Funding Formula for Public Schools and Public Charter Schools and Tax Conformity Clarification Amendment Act of 1998, effective March 26, 1999, as amended (D.C. Law 12-207; D.C. Official Code § 38-2906 (2012 Supp.)); Section 2002 of the District of Columbia School Reform Act of 1995, approved April 26, 1996 (110 Stat. 1321; D.C. Official Code § 38-1802.02(19) (2012 Supp.)); and Section 618 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, approved December 3, 2004 (118 Stat. 2738; 20 U.S.C. § 1418) (“IDEA”) and its implementing  regulations (34 C.F.R. §§ 300.640 through 300.644), hereby gives notice of her intent to adopt  an amendment to Section 3002 (LEA Responsibility) of Chapter 30 (Special Education Policy) of  Title 5-E (Education, Original Title 5) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (“DCMR”), and to delete Paragraphs 3019.3(f) and 3019.4(c) (Annual Reporting Requirements, Responsibilities of LEA Charters and Responsibilities of District Charters) in Section 3019 (Charter Schools) of Chapter 30 (Special Education Policy) of Title 5-E (Education, Original Title 5) DCMR, in not less than thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.

 

The purpose of this proposed rule is to establish the requirement for all local educational agencies (“LEAs”) in the District of Columbia to annually count the number of children enrolled in the LEA who receive special education and related services in accordance with Section 618 of the IDEA, on a date as determined by OSSE.  The IDEA requires States to count and report the number of children with disabilities receiving special education and related services on any date between October 1 and December 1 of each year.  This is known as the IDEA “child count,” which is used to determine the level of federal IDEA funding made available to States.    

 

Pursuant to current regulations and practice, LEAs in the District of Columbia have performed the IDEA child count on December 1.  District of Columbia law, however, requires an annual count by October 5 of all students enrolled in public schools for purposes of determining local per pupil funding.  The proposed rule will allow OSSE to align the annual IDEA child count to the annual enrollment count required by District of Columbia law. Failure to conform to the legal requirements of the IDEA, including the provision of information as required by OSSE as the State Education Agency (“SEA”), may subject LEAs to sanctions, including discontinuation of federal funding under IDEA.

 

This notice is being circulated throughout the District for a thirty (30) day period, including an opportunity to submit written comments and attend a public hearing on the proposal scheduled on September 18, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., at the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (“OSSE”), 3^rd Floor-Grand Hall, 810 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002.

 

Section 3002 (LEA Responsibility) of Chapter 30 (Special Education Policy) of Title 5, Subtitle E (Education, Original Title 5) of the DCMR is amended to read as follows:

 

3002.5            

(a)        DCPS and all public charter schools shall count the number of children with disabilities receiving special education and related services annually on a date between October 1 and December 1, as determined by OSSE.

 

(b)        DCPS and public charter schools that have not elected DCPS to serve as the public charter school’s LEA for special education purposes shall report the count to OSSE each year and provide the information required by the Section 618 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, approved December 3, 2004 (118 Stat. 2738; 20 U.S.C. § 1418) (“IDEA”), in accordance with a timeline specified by OSSE, and shall certify to OSSE that an unduplicated and accurate count has been made.

 

(c)        A public charter school that has elected DCPS to serve as its LEA for special education purposes shall report its count to DCPS and provide to DCPS the information required by Section 618 of the IDEA and its implementing regulations (34 C.F.R. §§ 300.640 through 300.644), in accordance with a timeline specified by OSSE, and shall certify to DCPS that an unduplicated and accurate count has been made.

 

Paragraphs 3019.3(f) and 3019.4(c) (Annual Reporting Requirements, Responsibilities of LEA Charters and Responsibilities of District Charters) of   Section 3019 (Charter Schools) of Chapter 30 (Special Education Policy) of Title 5-E (Education, Original Title 5) of the DCMR are deleted in their entirety, and Section 3019 (Charter Schools) is re-numbered to reflect their deletion.

 

Persons desiring to comment on the subject matter of this proposed rulemaking should attend the hearing scheduled at OSSE in the 3^rd Floor-Grand Hall on September 18, 2013, 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., or should file comments in writing by mail or hand delivery to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Attn: Jamai Deuberry re: “IDEA Child Count Regulations”, 810 First Street, NE 9^th Floor, Washington, DC 20002 [[phone]] or to [e-mail] with subject “Attn: Jamai Deuberry, IDEA Child Count”, or both, not later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.  Additional copies of this rule are available from the above address and on the Office of the State Superintendent of Education website at www.osse.dc.gov.