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The Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness

by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES

OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS

DIRECTOR

August 3, 2022 

Honorable Catherine Truitt 

Superintendent of Public Instruction

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction 

6301 Mail Service Center 

Raleigh, North Carolina 27699 

catherine.truitt@dpi.nc.gov 

Dear Superintendent Truitt: 

This letter addresses the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction’s (NCDPI’s) 

submissions dated August 13 and 31, 2021, October 22, 2021, November 30, 2021, January 31, 

2022, and April 11, 2022 in response to the Office of Special Education Programs’ (OSEP’s) 

required actions under the following sections in OSEP’s May 14, 2021 differentiated monitoring 

and support (DMS) report: a) Fiscal Accountability; b) Compliance; and c) Other Areas 

Addressed, including Specific Learning Disability (SLD) Eligibility Determinations; General 

Supervision: Implementation of Dispute Resolution Decisions; and Free Appropriate Public 

Education (FAPE) to Eligible Students with Disabilities in Private Psychiatric Residential 

Treatment Facilities (PRTFs) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). 

OSEP’s DMS report required NCDPI to take the following corrective actions within 90 days 

from the date of the DMS report: 

FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY

A. Base Payment Adjustments

1. Develop and submit to OSEP its revised policies and procedures that demonstrate that 

NCDPI will adjust the base payment for the first fiscal year after the first annual child 

count in which a local educational agency (LEA) that received a base payment of zero in 

its first year of operation reports that it is serving any children with disabilities (for 

Section 611 base payments) or any children with disabilities ages three through five (for 

Section 619 base payments), in accordance with 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.705(b)(2)(iv) and 

300.816(b)(4). 

2. Develop and submit to OSEP its revised policies and procedures that demonstrate that 

NCDPI will adjust the base payment for a charter school LEA that experiences a 

significant expansion in its enrollment in a subsequent year, in accordance with 34 C.F.R. 

§§ 300.705(b)(2)(i) and 300.816(b)(1) and 34 C.F.R. Part 76 Subpart H. 

3. For any LEA whose Section 611 and/or Section 619 allocation was less than the amount 

to which it was entitled in Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2018, FFY 2019, and/or FFY 2020, 

because it did not receive a base payment to which it was entitled, determine the 
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difference between the amount the LEA actually received and the amount of the 

allocation that the LEA should have received. 

4. For any LEA that received less than the amount of Section 611 and/or Section 619 funds 

to which it was entitled in FFY 2018, FFY 2019 and/or FFY 2020, submit documentation 

demonstrating that the LEA was made whole, in accordance with 34 C.F.R. 

§§ 300.705(b)(2)(i), 300.705(b)(2)(iv), 300.816(b)(1), and 300.816(b)(4), or a plan 

outlining how the State will make these LEAs whole during FFY 2020. 

B. Reallocation of Funds

Develop and submit to OSEP its revised policies and procedures that demonstrate the State 

educational agency (SEA) will conduct any reallocations of IDEA Part B funds in 

accordance with the requirements in IDEA Sections 611(f)(3) and 619(g)(2) and 34 C.F.R. 

§§ 300.705(c) and 300.817, and will use funds that would otherwise have been available to 

an LEA that does not accept or apply for IDEA Part B funds to provide direct services in 

accordance with 34 C.F.R. § 300.227.

C. Subrecipient Monitoring

Submit to OSEP a sample grant award notification (GAN) template that includes the 

information as required by 2 C.F.R. § 200.332(a). NCDPI must also demonstrate that the 

GAN is provided to each of its LEAs on an annual basis.

OTHER AREAS ADDRESSED

A. Specific Learning Disability Eligibility Determinations

1. A report detailing the status of the implementation of the corrective actions identified in 

NCDPI’s written decision on Complaint 20-043, with quarterly updates thereafter until 

NCDPI demonstrates that the revised policies and procedures ensure compliance with the 

IDEA child find and FAPE requirements in accordance with IDEA Sections 612(a)(1), 

612(a)(11) and 616(a)(1)(C), and their implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.149 

and 300.600, along with 20 U.S.C. 1232d(b)(3)(A); 

2. Policies and procedures that demonstrate that the NCDPI-imposed requirement for 

“problem-solving teams to meet to discuss any child currently served in Tier 3 at the time 

of school building closures (March 16, 2020) and [to determine] whether a disability is 

suspected based on the information available to the team at the time of school building 

closures,” applies to any child currently in any tier of intervention, regardless of which 

tier or the length of time he or she has been receiving interventions in the tier; and 

3. Policies and procedures that demonstrate that, if the child’s parent has not been provided 

an opportunity to participate in the problem-solving team’s discussion, NCDPI ensures 

that the LEA has informed the parent: (1) of the problem-solving team’s discussion and 

decision of whether a referral for an initial evaluation of the child is appropriate; and (2) 

their right to request an initial evaluation of their child if the parent suspects their child 

may be a child with a disability under IDEA.
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B. General Supervision: Implementation of Dispute Resolution Decisions

Develop and submit to OSEP its revised policies and procedures that demonstrate that the 

SEA has a mechanism to ensure due process hearing decisions are implemented within 

the timeframe prescribed by the hearing officer, or if there is no timeframe prescribed by 

the hearing officer, within a reasonable timeframe set by the State in accordance with the 

requirements in 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.511–300.514, 300.149, and 300.600. 

C. FAPE to Eligible Students with Disabilities in Private Psychiatric Residential Treatment 

Facilities (PRTFs)

1. Revised policies and procedures that demonstrate that NCDPI will: 

a. Identify, locate, and evaluate students with disabilities residing in the State who are 

attending PRTFs or other educational facilities outside the State; 

b. Determine if these students are publicly placed; and 

c. Make FAPE available to any students with disabilities publicly placed outside the 

State; and 

2. A detailed description of: 

a. The steps NCDPI has taken to identify, locate, and evaluate all eligible children with 

disabilities residing in the State who are placed by a public agency in a PRTF or other 

educational facility located outside the State; 

b. The impact of those steps on ensuring that all such children are identified, located, 

evaluated, and FAPE is made available to them; and 

c. The additional steps (with timelines) that NCDPI will take to ensure that all such 

children are identified, located, evaluated, and FAPE is made available to them. 

Upon reviewing the State’s submissions, OSEP has determined that NCDPI has met the above 

required actions for the areas related to Fiscal Accountability and General Supervision: 

Implementation of Dispute Resolution Decisions, and no further action is required with respect 

to those findings. The findings related to SLD determinations and FAPE to eligible students with 

disabilities in PRTFs remain open, as detailed below:

1) In its November 30, 2021 response to OSEP regarding the first corrective action, A.1, 

related to SLD eligibility determinations, NCDPI indicated that the identification of 

children with SLD as a statewide priority monitoring area was scheduled to begin with 

the 2021-2022 Exceptional Children Division Program Monitoring cycle and continue 

until each LEA is monitored. NCDPI noted that monitoring would start in July 2021; 

however, the State’s April 11, 2022 corrective action submission indicated that the 

cyclical monitoring had been delayed until Spring 2022. NCDPI subsequently clarified 

that the monitoring activity to receive and review LEAs’ assurances specific to the 

findings related to the State complaint at issue began in July 2021 and that cyclical 

monitoring for program compliance would begin in Spring 2022, including review of the 

LEAs’ implementation of the assurances. NCDPI further indicated that it will provide 
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OSEP with a summary and overview of the monitoring planning (dates, number of LEAs, 

etc.), including a draft monitoring protocol. 

In response to the actions NCDPI has taken regarding corrective action A.1 related to 

SLD eligibility determinations, within 30 days of the date of this letter, NCDPI must 

submit to OSEP a summary and overview of the monitoring planning and the monitoring 

protocol related to identification of children with SLD. Thereafter, NCDPI must provide 

OSEP with quarterly updates until the State demonstrates that it has implemented the 

revised policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the IDEA child find and FAPE 

requirements in accordance with IDEA Sections 612(a)(1), 612(a)(11) and 616(a)(1)(C), 

and their implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. §§ 300.149 and 300.600, along with 20 

U.S.C. 1232d(b)(3)(A). 

With respect to the second and third corrective actions related to SLD eligibility 

determinations – A.2 and A.3 – OSEP has reviewed NCDPI’s submissions and 

determined that the State has met those required actions and no further action is required 

with respect to those corrective actions at this time.

2) Because the State’s submissions in response to the corrective actions regarding FAPE to 

eligible students with disabilities in PRTFs raise novel and complex issues, OSEP is 

continuing to work with the State to analyze the relevant facts and determine what, if any, 

additional corrective or other actions should be taken. OSEP will continue to follow up 

with NCDPI to resolve this finding.

OSEP appreciates the cooperation and assistance provided by your State staff in addressing the 

above requirements related to Part B of the IDEA. If you have any questions, please do not 

hesitate to call your OSEP State Lead, Lynne Fairfax, at Lynne.Fairfax@ed.gov or 202-245-

7337. 

Sincerely, 

Valerie C. Williams 

cc: Sherry Thomas, Part B State Director