Idea

Isaiah S. Greene

Summary of major IDEA changes 97-2004

The following is a summary of the major substantive changes in these final regulations from the regulations proposed in the NPRM prepared by the U. S. Department of Education.

SUBPART A—GENERAL

1. The definition of child with a disability in §300.8 has been revised as follows:

(1) Section 300.8(b) (Children aged three through nine experiencing developmental delays) has been changed to clarify that the use of the term “developmental delay” is subject to the conditions described in §300.111(b).

(2) The definition of other health impairment in §300.8(c)(9)(i) has been changed to add “Tourette Syndrome” to the list of chronic or acute health problems.

2. The definition of highly qualified special education teacher in §300.18 has been revised, as follows:

(1) Section 300.18(b), regarding requirements for highly qualified special education teachers in general, has been modified to clarify that, when used with respect to any special education teacher teaching in a charter school, highly qualified means that the teacher meets the certification or licensing requirements, if any, set forth in the State’s public charter school law.

3. The definition of parent in §300.30 has been revised to substitute “biological” for “natural” each time it appears in the definition, and to add language clarifying that to be considered a parent under this definition a “guardian” must be a person generally authorized to act as the child’s parent, or authorized to make educational decisions for the child.

4. The definition of related services in §300.34 has been revised as follows:

(5) The definition of orientation and mobility services in §300.34(c)(7) has been changed to remove the term “travel training instruction.” The term is under the definition of special education, and is defined in §300.39(b)(4).

5.(6) The definition of school nurse services in 300.34(c)(13) has been expanded and re-named school health services and school...