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Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities rule (2013)

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The Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities rule is a significant rule issued by the U.S. Department of Education effective March 18, 2013, that issued final regulations regarding parental consent requirements pursuant to the Assistance to States for Education of Children with Disabilities Program and the Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities Program. The regulations amended parental consent requirements for public agencies to meet before accessing a parent or child's public benefits to pay for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).[1]

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Name: Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities
  • Agency: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education
  • Type of significant rule: Economically significant rule
  • Timeline

    The following timeline details key rulemaking activity:

    Background

    The U.S. Department of Education issued regulations in the Federal Register in 2006 to govern the Assistance to States for the Education of Children with Disabilities Program and the Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities Program. The regulations were issued to implement changes to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The law aims to ensure access to public education and appropriate special education services to children with disabilities. The regulations were amended in 2008 regarding parental consent for special education, state monitoring, and the allocation of funds.[3][4]

    The Department of Education proposed regulations on September 28, 2011, to further the stated goals of IDEA concerning parental consent requirements that must be met to access a parent or child's public benefit or insurance.[2]

    The regulations governing the Assistance to States for the Education of Children with Disabilities Program and the Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities Program have been amended and revised following this rule. Further amendments were issued by the Obama administration in 2015 and 2016 regarding maintaining fiscal effort and modified academic achievement standards, and by the Trump administration in 2017 and 2018 regarding changes to certain definitions and state eligibility requirements.[5][6][7][8][9][10] The version of the regulations in 34 CFR Part 300 as of April 2023 can be read here.

    Summary of the rule

    The following is a summary of the rule from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:

    The Secretary of Education (Secretary) amends regulations for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA or Act). These regulations govern the Assistance to States for the Education of Children with Disabilities program, including the Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities program. These amendments revise the parental consent requirements a public agency must meet before it may access for the first time a child's or parent's public benefits or insurance (e.g., Medicaid) to pay for services required under the Act; ensure that parents of children with disabilities are specifically informed of all of their legal protections when public agencies seek to access public benefits or insurance (e.g., Medicaid) to pay for services required under the Act; and address the concerns expressed by State educational agencies (SEAs) and local educational agencies (LEAs) that requiring parental consent each time access to public benefits or insurance is sought, in addition to the parental consent required by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and section 617(c) of the IDEA, imposes unnecessary costs and administrative burdens.[1][11]

    Summary of provisions

    The following is a summary of the provisions from the rule's entry in the Federal Register:[1][2]

    We propose to amend current § 300.154(d)(2)(iv). Under the proposed change, the public agency responsible for providing special education and related services to a child would be required, before accessing a child's or parent's public benefits or insurance, to provide to the child's parents written notification consistent with current § 300.503(c). The notification would include: (1) A statement that parental consent must be obtained under 34 CFR part 99 and § 300.622 before the public agency discloses, for billing purposes, their child's personally identifiable information to the agency responsible for the administration of the State's public benefits or insurance program (e.g., Medicaid); (2) a statement repeating the no cost provisions in current § 300.154(d)(2)(i) through (iii); (3) a statement that the parents have the right under 34 CFR part 99 to withdraw their consent to disclosure of personally identifiable information to the agency responsible for the administration of the State's public benefits or insurance program (e.g., Medicaid) at any time; and (4) a statement that withdrawal of consent or refusal to provide consent under 34 CFR part 99 and § 300.622 to disclosure of personally identifiable information to the agency responsible for the administration of the State's public benefits or insurance program (e.g., Medicaid) does not relieve the public agency of its responsibility to ensure that all required services are provided at no cost to the parents.


    Thus, under these proposed regulations, the public agency would no longer be required to obtain parental consent each time that it seeks access to public benefits or insurance in order to provide a service to a child. Public agencies would provide the written notification to parents of children who receive special education and related services prior to seeking access to the child's or parent's public benefits or insurance. The exact timing and frequency of a public agency's provision of the one-time written notification to the parent would be at the discretion of the public agency, so long as the public agency provides the notification before the public agency seeks access to the child's or parent's public benefits or insurance.[11]

    Significant impact

    See also: Significant regulatory action

    The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) deemed this rule economically significant pursuant to Executive Order 12866. An agency rule can be deemed a significant rule if it has had or might have a large impact on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. The term was defined by E.O. 12866, which was issued in 1993 by President Bill Clinton.[1]

    Text of the rule

    The full text of the rule is available below:[1]

    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Federal Register, "Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities," February 14, 2013
    2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Federal Register, "Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities," September 28, 2011
    3. Federal Register, "Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities and Preschool Grants for Children With Disabilities," August 14, 2006
    4. U.S. Department of Education, "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act," accessed April 25, 2023
    5. Federal Register, "Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities," April 28, 2015
    6. Federal Register, "Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged; Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities," August 21, 2015
    7. Federal Register, "Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities; Preschool Grants for Children With Disabilities," March 2, 2016
    8. Federal Register, "Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities; Preschool Grants for Children With Disabilities," December 19, 2016
    9. Federal Register, "Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities and Preschool Grants for Children With Disabilities Program; Early Intervention Program for Infants and Toddlers With Disabilities," June 30, 2017
    10. Federal Register, "Assistance to States for the Education of Children With Disabilities; Preschool Grants for Children With Disabilities," July 3, 2018
    11. 11.0 11.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.