From Laura.Allran at state.or.us Wed Dec 3 11:23:35 2008 From: Laura.Allran at state.or.us (ALLRAN Laura) Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2008 11:23:35 -0800 Subject: [SE-Dir] FW: OSL&P: IDEA Part B Regulations Message-ID: TO: All District and ESD Special Education Directors The message below is being sent to you on behalf of: Nancy Latini, PhD Assistant Superintendent Student Learning & Partnerships ______________________________________________ December 3, 2008 RE: IDEA Part B Regulations I know that many of you have heard about the revised IDEA Part B regulations that were published on Sunday. These regulations are effective December 31 and not before. The federal staff will be conducting a conference call for state leaders next week. I want to assure you that the ODE is on top of these changes and will be sharing the expectations immediately after the federal call. I will be talking about them with our State Special Education Director Advisory committee next week as well. To quickly summarize, there are five major changes; one of which I consider extremely major: 1. Allows parent to terminate special education services whenever they choose to. The request must be in writing from the parent and the district must send a prior written notice to confirm request. No other record revisions will be necessary -- this is the major change we need to address. Section 300.300(b)(4) has been revised to require that parental revocation of consent for the continued provision of special education and related services must be in writing and that upon revocation of consent a public agency must provide the parent with prior written notice in accordance with Sec. 300.503. 2. State assurance of hiring people with disabilities (state issue only). 3. The exception clause in Sec. 300.512(a)(1), regarding the right to be represented by non-attorneys, has been revised to apply to any party to a hearing, not just parents. 4. An extension to the timeline for the state special education public reporting (this change will not affect school district timelines). The timeline in Sec. 300.602(b)(1)(i)(A), regarding the state's public reporting on the performance of each LEA located in the state, has been changed from 60 days to 120 days following the state's submission of the annual performance report to the Secretary. 5. Clarification on the distribution and reallocation of IDEA funds where districts have no child count (limited change). I am aware that you may be getting guidance and comments from your own advisors. Please know that the official ODE response will be prepared, vetted and sent to you in a timely manner. Thank you. If you have any difficulty viewing this document, please contact Laura Allran at laura.allran at state.or.us or 503-947-5674. Messages to and from this e-mail address may be made available to the public under Oregon law. ===========End of Message============ ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender immediately and delete the communication and any attachments. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses. ********************************************************************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Laura.Allran at state.or.us Mon Dec 8 10:08:31 2008 From: Laura.Allran at state.or.us (ALLRAN Laura) Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2008 10:08:31 -0800 Subject: [SE-Dir] OSL&P: Tax Exemption for Parents of Children with Disabilities Message-ID: TO: All District and ESD Special Education Directors The message below is being sent to you on behalf of: Nancy Latini, PhD Assistant Superintendent Student Learning & Partnerships ______________________________________________ December 8, 2008 RE: Tax Exemption for Parents of Children with Disabilities The following information is a resource for you to assist parents in obtaining information concerning the Oregon tax exemption for parents of children with disabilities. This basic information will provide you and your staff an understanding of the exemption. Feel free to share this information as appropriate in your district. The Oregon Tax Code provides an additional tax exemption for parents of children with disabilities in Oregon. The procedure for claiming an exemption for the 2008 tax year is explained in the Oregon Individual Income Tax Return and Instructions, Nonresident and Part-Year Resident, and the Full-Year Resident booklets. Who qualifies for the exemption? A child qualifies if he or she meets all of the following: * Qualify as your dependent for tax year 2008; and * Be eligible for "early intervention services" or receive special education as defined by the State Board of Education of the state where the child attends school, however, learning disabilities or communication disorders alone do not qualify; and * Be considered to have a disability as of December 31, 2008 under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and related Oregon laws. Eligible disabilities include: * Autism * Visual Impairment * Mental retardation * Serious emotional disturbance * Traumatic brain injury * Hearing impairment * Orthopedic impairment * Other health impairment * Multiple disabilities * Deafblind What documentation must be submitted with a tax return? The tax booklet explains that your child must have an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) and an eligibility statement for one of the disabilities listed above. A copy of the IEP or IFSP coversheet and a copy of the student's eligibility statement may be obtained from the school district. The coversheet and copy of the eligibility statement should be kept with the child's permanent health records, as maintained by the family - they DO NOT need to be sent with the tax return. Write the child's name on line 6c for "All dependents" as well as line 6d (see page 10 of the Oregon Department of Revenue Full-Year Resident Instructions or page 15 of the Nonresident and Part-Year Resident Instructions at the link below for complete instructions. Oregon Department of Revenue On-Line Instructions and Forms You may want to reference the Oregon Department of Revenue Forms 40S and 40 with Instructions. They are available at the following link: http://egov.oregon.gov/DOR/PERTAX/formspit.shtml#2008_Tax_Year More Questions? For general information you may contact Eric Richards, Director of Operations, Office of Student Learning & Partnerships, at the Department of Education at 503-947-5786. For advice or individual assistance in completing the tax form, consult a tax professional or the Department of Revenue at 1-800-356-4222. Nancy J. Latini, Ph.D. Assistant Superintendent Office of Student Learning & Partnerships If you have any difficulty viewing this document, please contact Laura Allran at laura.allran at state.or.us or 503-947-5674. Messages to and from this e-mail address may be made available to the public under Oregon law. ===========End of Message============ ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the sender immediately and delete the communication and any attachments. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses. ********************************************************************** -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Laura.Allran at state.or.us Tue Dec 9 11:45:30 2008 From: Laura.Allran at state.or.us (ALLRAN Laura) Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2008 11:45:30 -0800 Subject: [SE-Dir] OSL&P: New on ODE Website Message-ID: TO: All District and ESD Special Education Directors The message below is being forwarded to you on behalf of: Nancy Latini, PhD Assistant Superintendent Student Learning & Partnerships ______________________________________________ December 9, 2008 RE: New on ODE Website There is now new guidance information from the Oregon Department of Justice on FERPA and school health records. Find the letter of advice at: http://www.ode.state.or.us/groups/supportstaff/hklb/schoolnurses/hippaferpaadvice.pdf Find the FAQ memo at: http://www.ode.state.or.us/groups/supportstaff/hklb/schoolnurses/hipaaferpafaq.pdf For any questions, please contact: Leslie Currin RN Health Services Specialist Student Learning and Partnerships Oregon Department of Education Telephone 503-947-5812 or leslie.currin at state.or.us If you have any difficulty viewing this document, please contact Laura Allran at laura.allran at state.or.us or 503-947-5674. Messages to and from this e-mail address may be made available to the public under Oregon law. ===========End of Message============ ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. 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