Dated June 20, 2000

The Honorable Charles W. Stenholm

United States Congress

Room 1211, Longworth House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Congressman Stenholm:

Thank you for your letter to Secretary Riley dated December 8, 1999,
expressing the concerns of a number of your constituents from DeLeon,
Texas. You stated that they were concerned that "federal regulations
administered by the U.S. Department of Education were causing the DeLeon
Independent School District (ISD) undue cost in defending lawsuits at
the state level that could best be remedied at the local level." You
specifically inquired about the flexibility federal regulations provide
to states and school districts in complying with the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and the adjudication of IDEA claims in
due process hearings.

As you know, Part B of the IDEA is a Federal program administered by the
Office of Special Education Programs. Part B authorizes the Federal
government to provide funds to States, and through the States, to local
school districts to meet the unique educational needs of eligible
children with one or more of the specified disabilities. If a child
qualifies for services under Part B, the school district must develop an
individualized education program (IEP) for the child.

Under Part B, a child's educational placement and services to be
received must be based on the child's IEP. When a local school district
conducts an IEP meeting, the child's parents must be invited to attend
and to play a key role, along with school personnel, in developing the
IEP.

At that time, the IEP team is responsible for developing, reviewing and
revising, if necessary, a child's IEP, to determine the child's specific
needs and the educational placement. Through the IEP process, a parent
should have the opportunity to discuss with school officials different
approaches that would appropriately meet their child's needs.

There are dispute resolution mechanisms to assist school districts and
parents if there are disputes between them regarding a child's
identification, evaluation, or educational placement or the provision of
a free appropriate public education for the child. Federal regulations
provide states flexibility in establishing these mechanisms. First, if
the parent and the local school district staff cannot agree on the
content of the IEP, the parent may request a due process hearing, and an
impartial hearing officer is then required to render an independent
decision in order to resolve any disagreements. 34 CFR
§§300.500-300.517. The Part B regulations specifically provide that a
due process hearing "must be conducted by the State Educational Agency
(SEA) or the public agency directly responsible for the education of the
child, [as determined under State statute, State regulation or a written
policy of the SEA]{.underline}." (Emphasis added.) 34 CFR §300.507(b).
Thus, states may choose to allow public agencies (including school
districts) to conduct due process hearings locally as long as the due
process procedures comply with the provisions of the IDEA.

In addition, the IDEA Amendments of 1997 added a provision to "ensure
that procedures are established . . . to allow parties to . . . resolve
such disputes through a mediation process which, at a minimum, shall be
available whenever a \[due process\] hearing is requested. 20 U.S.C.
§1615(e); 34 CFR §300.506. States may wish to expand the availability of
mediation to parties prior to a hearing being requested to enable
alternative dispute resolution. Many States, including Texas, have found
the mediation process to be an effective, timely, and less expensive way
of resolving disagreements for the parents and the school personnel
involved. While mediation is a viable and cost-saving alternative to
expensive due process hearings, it must be a voluntary choice by both of
the parties involved. States may wish to encourage school districts to
adopt policies encouraging participation in mediation. The DeLeon ISD
may wish to promote the use of the mediation process as a successful,
cost-saving method of resolving disputes at the local level.

Finally, the DeLeon ISD may wish to review the issues raised in parent
complaints that have resulted in the numerous due process hearings for
the district. Such proactive research may result in an in-depth review
of the district's policies and procedures in regard to their special
education program, and further help identify possible enhancements to
decrease the potential of future litigation.

Hopefully, the above information has been helpful to you. If we can be
of further assistance to you, please feel free to contact Ms. Diane
DeMaio, the Texas State Part B Contact, at (202) 205-5716.

Sincerely,

Signed Kenneth R. Warlick/pg

Kenneth R. Warlick

Director,

Office of Special Education Programs