Department of Education releases proposed requirements for Multi-Year Individualized Education Program (IEP) Demonstration Program
The Department of Education (ED) has proposed requirements and selection criteria for states interested in participating in the Multi-Year Individualized Education Program (IEP) Demonstration Program under the new authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The Multi-Year IEP Program will allow up to 15 states to develop IEPs that cover periods of up to three years. The proposed regulations address issues not covered in the statute, including the relationship among the content requirements of an IEP, the new content requirements of the multi-year IEP, informed parental consent, and the criteria ED will use in selecting states to participate in the program. Under the proposed regulations, no state that needs intervention or substantial intervention in implementing IDEA could participate in the Multi-Year IEP Program, and the program could be terminated if a state needs assistance, intervention, or substantial intervention in implementing IDEA or fails to appropriately implement its project. A state's proposal to participate in the Multi-Year IEP Program would have to contain the following elements: (1) assurances that before a school district requests a parent's informed consent to develop a multi-year IEP, the district will inform the parent in writing of differences between the multi-year IEP and a conventional IEP and the parent's right to revoke the multi-year IEP; (2) a description of how the state obtained input from the schools, school district employees, broad stakeholders, and parents when developing the list of required elements for each multi-year IEP, as well as a description of the review and revision process of each multi-year IEP; and (4) assurances that the state will cooperate with a national evaluation of the Multi-Year IEP Program. ED will use the following criteria to select states for participation: (1) significance, or the extent to which the proposal is based on the development or demonstration of promising new strategies and the likelihood the proposal will improve the IEP process; (2) quality of project design, or the extent to which project goals are measurable, will successfully improve long-term planning, and encourages consumer involvement; and (3) quality of management plan, or the adequacy of feedback and continuous improvement procedures, the extent to which the state has devoted sufficient resources to evaluation of the Multi-Year IEP Program, how the applicant will ensure that diverse perspectives are brought to bear on the operation of the project. Comments on the proposed regulations are due by March 6, 2006.
70 Fed. Reg. 75,158 (Dec. 19, 2006)
[ED Notice]