Special Education Rulemaking is Happening.
Big change proposed.

Here is the Department of Education's proposed adverse effect definition in Adobe Acrobat format

Here is the federal definition of "child with a disability" at 34 Code of Fedederal Regulations Sec 300.8, which the Department of Education cites in their adverse effect definition. Note that the adverse effect test applies to autism, deafness, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, mental retardation, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, speech or language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment, but appears not to apply to deaf-blindness, multiple disabilities, specific learning disability, or developmental delay.

Here is the First Circuit Court of Appeals decision from the 3-judge federal panel in the case of Mr. and Mrs. I v. MSAD 55. Use your Adobe reader to search for the word "prong". You will find a "first prong" and a "second prong". You will not find a "third prong". Because there isn't a third prong...but the Maine Department of Education wants there to be. Because the "adverse effect" test doesn't apply to all disability categories...but the Maine Department of Education wants it to.

Here is Resolve 2007 chapter 138 (LD 1900 as passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor) Note that in Sec B-9 this law requires that if the Department proposes rule changes (which they have) that they "expressly consider the address the recommendations contained in the report of the stakeholder group" (which they haven't).

Here is the final report of the Stakeholder Group to Study Adverse Effect (the stakeholder group created by LD 1900 and whose recommendations the Department was required to "expressly consider and address"). Note that the proposed definition on page 6 was supported by a 16-3 margin. Note how the Department of Education nevertheless ignored it.

Here is the stakeholder group recommendation that is incorporated into the LD 2136 majority report.

Feel free to email me if you have something relevant that you'd like posted or linked to.

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Page maintained by Alan Cobo-Lewis.
Last updated 8:47 am 3/24/07.
The web address is www.geocities.com/helpkiddos
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