United States Department of Education
Notice of Public Hearing
July 16, 2014
1:00 pm-3:00 pm and 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
New York State Education Department
Office of Professional Discipline
1411 Broadway
Regents Room 10th Floor
New York, New York
On Wednesday, July 16, 2014, the United States Department of Education (the Department) will conduct public hearings, pursuant to section 457 of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), 20 U.S.C. § 1234f to determine whether it should enter into a Compliance Agreement with the New York State Education Department (NYSED). Written public comments on this issue will also be accepted through July 26, 2014. NYSED has requested that the Department allow NYSED to enter into a Compliance Agreement to resolve its noncompliance with a specific requirement under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Since April 2012, NYSED has not been in compliance with the IDEA Part B requirement to issue within thirty (30) days, unless a party requests and is granted a specific extension, the State-level independent decision in an appeal of an impartial due process hearing officer’s decision. (20 U.S.C. § 1415(g); 34 CFR §§ 300.514(b) and 300.515(b)). NYSED has stated that it is not able to correct this noncompliance within one year due to the significant and unanticipated increase in the number of appeals of due process hearing decisions under Part B of the IDEA.
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You must have a photo ID and should arrive early to process through security. To facilitate security processing, all individuals planning to attend must notify the Department by July 7, 2014 so that a list of attendees can be provided to Building Security. In addition, please indicate if you plan to give testimony. Participation notification and requests for reasonable accommodations should be submitted to: Jocelyn Logan-Friend with the Department at OSEPnysedhearinginfo@ed.gov by July 7, 2014.
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n consideration of information provided through this public comment process, the Department will determine whether it is feasible for NYSED to reach compliance within one year and, based on that determination, will issue Written Findings and a Decision to that effect, which will be published in the Federal Register along with the substance of any Compliance Agreement.
To obtain a copy of this notice, please contact Jocelyn Logan-Friend atOSEPnysedhearinginfo@ed.gov.
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