IDEA Proposed Regulations
June, 2005

Troy R. Justesen, acting director of the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education, would like to share with you an important message about issuance of draft regulations to implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA).

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I'm pleased to inform you that the U.S. Department of Education has announced that proposed regulations to implement the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) are available for public review and comment. The IDEA, passed late last year by Congress, updates the statute, which provides special education and related services for America's 6.8 million children with disabilities.

The revised law aligns IDEA with No Child Left Behind (NCLB), making NCLB and the IDEA partners in serving our nation's children with disabilities, their parents and their schools.

Changes in the law require a new set of regulations to guide the states in implementing IDEA 2004. The official copy of these proposed regulations will be published in the Federal Register within a few days. So that members of the public will have as much time as possible to review the proposed regulations, the Department is posting an unofficial copy on its Website. Using that link, members of the public can also view the dates and locations for a series of public meetings where comments on the proposed regulations will be received by OSERS. Information on submitting written comments on the proposed regulations can also be found using that link.

Having feedback on the draft regulations from parents, teachers, students, state officials and other interested persons is critical for us. We want the final regulations to reflect the dialogue we've been having with the public since the President signed the law last December.

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