Gantwerk to Districts: Send Input
Parents
Respond to Gantwerk Letter
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
PO Box 500
TRENTON, NJ 08625-0500
RICHARD J . CODEY Acting Governor
WILLIAM L. LIBRERA Commissioner
March 23, 2005
TO :
Chief School Administrator
Director of Special Education
Administrator of a State Facility
Administrator of a Charter School
Administrator of an Approved Private School
for the Disabled
Administrator of a College-Operated Program
FROM:
Barbara Gantwerk, Director
Office of Special Education Programs
SUBJECT: Individuals
with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004
I am writing with respect to the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Improvement Act of
2004 (IDEIA 2004), enacted and signed into law on December 3, 2004. While not as
comprehensive in its amendatory scope as IDEA 1997, IDEIA 2004 contains several
provisions
that alter the procedures and mechanisms for providing special education and
related services .
Changes were made in several areas, including: procedures for evaluations and
the effect if a
parent refuses consent; objectives were eliminated as a requirement in most IEPs;
meeting
participants and the means to modify IEPs have been altered; several changes
were made in the
way dispute resolution proceedings are to be administered and decided; the
discipline rules have
once again been altered, including a change in the definition of a manifestation
determination ;
and pilot programs for paperwork reduction and multi-year IEPs were created.
We are placing links to IDEIA 2004 and the CRS Report for Congress, which
provides a detailed
analysis of the provisions of the law, on our website, at
http://www.nj.gov/njded/specialed/
under
"IDEIA Reauthorization." This will allow districts and other interested parties
easy access to the
provisions of the law and an explanation of the meaning and effect of the
amendments.
We are awaiting guidance from the United States Department of Education (USDOE)
with
respect to the changes in the law, and we will then provide detailed guidance to
districts as to
implementation of the law upon the effective date of the majority of its
provisions on July 1,
2005. Provisions governing highly qualified teachers were effective December 3,
2004 when
IDEIA 2004 was signed into law. At present, IDEA 1997 still governs in all other
areas, and
districts should proceed under the current law until that time. Prior to July 1,
2005 an
implementation schedule will be provided, as well as guidance as to the changes
in the law and
how districts must proceed with respect to all areas changed by IDEIA 2004.
Please remember,
certain provisions of IDEIA 2004 differ from current state regulation, and will
supersede state
regulation as of July 1, 2005 . Details of such changes will be provided in
future correspondence.
If you have suggestions as to how New Jersey should incorporate the provisions
of IDEIA 2004
in its regulations, or as to other regulatory amendments you believe should be
considered when
revising N.J.A.C. 6A:14, you may provide them to the department at your earliest
convenience. I
am especially interested in any suggestions you may have with respect to
identifying regulatory
barriers to inclusion of special education students, as this is an issue of
utmost importance and
concern to my office . Input as to regulatory barriers that are in place
inhibiting inclusion efforts
would greatly aid in our efforts to achieve greater inclusion of special
education students in
general education programs. In addition, suggestions as to the components of
paperwork
reduction or three-year IEP pilot program applications are also requested in
order to assist the
department in determining whether to apply for acceptance into those programs.
Timely and
pertinent input from districts will help assure a smooth implementation of the
provisions of
IDEIA 2004, and will assist us in determining whether to apply for the paperwork
or three-year
IEP pilots, each of which will include a maximum of 15 states .
I thank you in advance for your input with respect to the
implementation of IDEIA 2004 and the
components of any application to be part of the paperwork reduction or
three-year IEP pilots .
BG/CK/JW
cc:
Members, State Board of Education
Commissioner William L. Librera
Dwight Pfennig
Isaac Bryant
Senior Staff
Kathryn Forsyth
Rochelle Hendricks
Erika Leak
County Superintendent
County Supervisor of Child Study
State Special Education Advisory Council
Agencies or Organizations Concerned with Special Education
Clinics and Agencies
Members, NJ LEE Group
Garden State Coalition of Schools
Ask the Advocate
NJ Complaint Form (MS Word)
(PDF)
On Line Public Hearing on IDEIA 2004
Survey on NJ OSEP Complaint
Process
Past Activities
IEP Wkshp
Rec. Programs for
those w/ Disabilities
An Evening of Educational Advocacy
September 8, 2005 Edison, NJ
What The Student Advocate Has Done for Our Children
Lately . . .
NJ IDEIA 2004 Organizing Committee
Minutes of IDEIA 2004 meeting on Thu., May
26
Student Rights Radio
Discussion, October 31
Effort to
Reach Gubernatorial Hopefuls and Acting Governor / Candidates
IDEA: An Update
Dec. 5, 2005
Middletown
January 18,
2006: Hold a Candle Light for Our Children's Rights
50 Strong For Our
Children
No. Jersey Radio Interview Aired, 1/22
Petitioning for Rights Children: Legal in Princeton
Interview on NJ IDEIA Rights
- Racial Disparities in Sp-Ed
Call
is Heard in Montgomery Twp: Inclusive Recreation
NJSAU Minutes 2/18/2006
Playing and Singing for
Our Rights, 4/1/6
Better IDEA Laws for Special Education
Students?
Better IEPs? Anything is Possible!
April
1 Report: Student Advocacy Union - Fundraising Concert
Mobilization for Rights
of Our Children, May 17, 2006, Trenton
Nationwide Internet Radio Rally for Sp-Ed Parent Rights
9pm EST, Sat. May 20
Parents’ Rally @ Statehouse in Trenton Thursday, June 8, 2006
Piscataway Parents Mtg, June 19, 2006