48924 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 180 / Wednesday, September 17, 1997 / Proposed Rules

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Parts 300, 301, and 303

IDEA Amendments of 1997

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of public meetings.

SUMMARY: The Secretary announces a

series of seven public meetings to obtain

public comment on the anticipated

Notice of Proposed Rule Making

(NPRM) for 34 CFR Parts 300, 301, and

303 to implement the statutory

requirements of the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act Amendments

of 1997 (IDEA Amendments of 1997),

Pub. L. 105–17. In the alternative,

should the NPRM not be published by

the time a meeting or meetings are held,

the Secretary will use the meeting or

meetings as an opportunity to receive

public comment on how to regulate to

implement the statutory provisions of

IDEA Amendments of 1997.

DATES: See Supplementary Information

section for meeting dates.

ADDRESSES: See Supplementary

Information section for meeting

addresses.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For information regarding the statutory

requirements of IDEA Amendments of

1997, call JoLeta Reynolds or Thomas

Irvin at 202–205–5507. Persons wishing

to obtain additional information

regarding the regional meetings should

call Laura Black Price at 202–205–8969

(voice) or 202–205–5467 (TDD).

Individuals who use a

telecommunication device for the deaf

(TDD) may call the Federal Information

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern time,

Monday through Friday.

Individuals who cannot attend the

meetings are invited to send written

comments. Comments on the NPRM

should be directed to Thomas Irvin,

Office of Special Education and

Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department

of Education, Room 4607, MES

Building, 330 C Street, SW, Washington,

DC 20202, or fax your comments to 202–

260–0416. Comments should

specifically reference the section or

sections of the NPRM being referred to

and must be received not later than 90

days after the publication of the NPRM

in the Federal Register.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Department anticipates in the near

future publishing a Notice of Proposed

Rule Making (NPRM) for 34 CFR Parts

300, 301, and 303 to implement changes

occasioned by the IDEA Amendments

1997. The purpose of the meetings is to

take public comment on the NPRM, if it

has been published by the date of the

meeting or meetings, or, if the NPRM

has not been published by that meeting

date, to receive public comment on how

to regulate to implement the statutory

provisions of IDEA Amendments of

1997. This effort is part of a broader

initiative to provide opportunities for

full and open input from the various

constituencies interested in the

programs administered by the Office of

Special Education and Rehabilitative

Services (OSERS).

Regional Meetings

Individuals who wish to make a

statement at any of the regional

meetings are encouraged to do so. Time

allotted for each individual to testify

will be limited and will depend on the

number of speakers wishing to testify at

each session. It is likely that each

participant choosing to comment will be

limited to four minutes. Persons

interested in making oral public

comment will be able to sign-up to make

a statement on the day of the regional

meeting at the Department’s public

meeting on-site registration desk on a

first-come-first-served basis. If no time

slots remain, then the Department will

reserve a limited amount of additional

time at the end of each hearing to

accommodate those individuals. (Every

effort will be made to have ample time

to hear all individuals who wish to

make a statement.)

Any individual who will need

accommodations for a disability in order

to participate in a regional meeting (e.g.,

interpreting services, assistive listening

devices, materials in alternate format)

should notify Laura Black Price at 202–

205–8969 (voice) 205–5465 (TDD), or

202–260–0416 (fax) by no later than 14

days prior to the meeting the individual

will attend. We will attempt to meet

requests received after this date, but

cannot guarantee availability of the

requested accommodation. All regional

meeting sites are accessible to

individuals with disabilities.

The dates and location of the seven

regional meeting appear below. The U.S.

Department of Education is announcing

these public meetings in advance of the

publication of the NPRM so as to allow

interested parties sufficient time to

schedule travel and accommodations, as

necessary. The Department has made

arrangements for a limited number of

rooms at a special government per diem

room rate that participants may reserve

at their own expense. All costs for these

rooms will be the participant’s own. To

reserve a room at these rates you must

inform the hotel that you are attending

the regional meeting of the U.S.

Department of Education and make

reservations prior to the reservation

expiration date indicated below. When

making reservations, individuals must

indicate the need for any special

accommodations.

Individuals from OSERS and other

offices of the Department of Education

will be available at the meetings to

receive public comment on the NPRM,

if it has been published by the date of

the meeting, or if the NPRM has not

been published by the date of the

meeting, to receive public comment on

how to regulate to implement the

statutory requirements. Participants are

particularly encouraged to express their

support for or raise concerns about

specific sections of the proposed

regulations and, if possible, to provide

recommendations for specific regulatory

language. A copy of the IDEA

Amendments of 1997 is available on the

world wide web at (www.ed.gov/

offices/OSERS/OSEP/).

Dates, Time, and Location of Meetings:

Boston:

Thursday, October 23, 1997, 2:00 pm–

7:00 pm.

Logan Ramada Hotel

75 Service Road

Logan International Airport

Boston, MA 02128

Reservations: Call toll-free 1–800–

272–6232 or 617–569–9300. Cut-off

date for discounted room rate:

October 1.

Atlanta:

Monday, October 27, 1997, 2:00 pm–

7:00 pm.

Radisson Hotel Atlanta

165 Courtland & International Blvd.

Atlanta, GA 30303

Reservations: Call toll-free 1–800–

833–8624 or 404–659–6500. Cut-off

date for discounted room rate:

September 26.

Dallas:

Tuesday, October 28, 1997, 2:00 pm–

7:00 pm.

Radisson Hotel Dallas

1893 West Mockingbird Lane

Dallas, TX 75235

Reservations: Call toll-free 1–888–

588–9846 or 214–634–8850. Cut-off

date for discounted room rate:

October 13.

Washington:

Tuesday, November 4, 1997, 1:00 pm–

5:00 pm.

(No hotel rooms have been reserved

for this regional meeting)

Government Services

Administration (GSA) Building,

Auditorium, first floor, 7th & D

Streets, SW (Use main entrance off

D Street) Washington, DC 20407

Contact Laura Black Price at 202–205–
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 180 / Wednesday, September 17, 1997 / Proposed Rules 48925

8969 (voice), 205–5465 (TDD), or

202–260–0416 (fax) by Friday,

October 31 to place your name on

the list of attendees for entrance

into the building.

Denver:

Tuesday, November 18, 1997, 2:00

pm–7:00 pm.

Four Points Hotel

3535 Quebec Street

Denver, CO 80207

Reservations: Call toll-free 1–800–

328–2268 or 303–333–7711. Cut-off

date for discounted room rate:

October 26.

San Francisco:

Friday, November 24, 1997, 2:00 pm–

7:00 pm.

Holiday Inn Select/Chinatown

750 Kearny Street

San Francisco, CA 84108

415–433–6600

Reservations: Call toll-free 1–800–

243–1135 or 415–433–6600. Cut-off

date for discounted room rate:

October 16.

Chicago:

Monday, November 24, 1997 2:00

pm–7:00 pm.

Sheraton North Shore

933 Skokie Boulevard

Northbrook, IL 60062

Reservations: Call toll-free 1–800–

535–9131 or 847–498–6500. Cut-off

date for discounted room rate:

November 3.

Dated: September 12, 1997.

Howard R. Moses,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Special

Education and Rehabilitative Services.

[FR Doc. 97–24703 Filed 9–16–97; 8:45 am]

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