Idaho in Noncompliance Third Consecutive Year

Idaho in Noncompliance for Third Consecutive Year

November 12, 2024, Valerie Williams, Director of U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) announced that OSEP issued another Differentiated Monitoring and support (DMS) letter and report to Idaho State Department of Education (ISDE). This marks the third year in a row OSEP has found an Idaho agency in noncompliance with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Three Years of OSEP Findings

September 13, 2021, USDOE OSEP issued a Differentiated Monitoring and Support (DMS) fiscal letter, in which OSEP Acting Director David Cantrell stated the purpose of the letter is to inform Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (IDHW), of 1) OSEP’s IDEA Part C monitoring and 2) that OSEP identified one finding of noncompliance under Part C:

“OSEP finds that the State LA does not monitor early intervention service (EIS) providers used by the State to carry out Part C to identify and correct noncompliance, consistent with IDEA Section 635(a)(10) and 34 C.F.R. § 303.120(a) of the Part C regulations, related to fiscal requirements including the payor of last resort and system of payment requirements in 34 C.F.R. §§ 303.500 through 303.521.”

The following year, on November 3, 2022, OSEP's site states it issued a corrective action plan approval memo to Idaho. However, the link on OSEP’s site goes to a document related to Alaska. OSEP was contacted about the issues with its site. The incorrect link has remained for at least a year. As of the date of publication of this article, no notice of correction has been issued.

October 20, 2023, USDOE OSEP issued a DMS letter of findings regarding Part B of IDEA, after receiving an inquiry that “raised concerns” about Idaho State Department of Education’s (ISDE) “eligibility criteria for determining whether a child is eligible to receive special education and related services under” IDEA as a child with a Specific Learning Disability (SLD). OSEP’s preliminary review identified areas of concern that led OSEP to issue the following required next steps:

"The State must review and revise its definition of "school age" to ensure that children, including preschool-age children, who are also suspected of having a disability are included when determining whether a child has a SLD; and

"The State must review and revise, as appropriate, its eligibility criteria for identifying a child with an SLD under the IDEA. If the State determines that its eligibility criteria are consistent with the IDEA requirements described in this letter, the State must provide an explanation to OSEP of how the criteria detailed in its Special Education Manual are implemented in a manner consistent with IDEA’s procedures for identifying children with SLD. Specifically, the State must demonstrate that its criteria are consistent with 34 C.F.R. § 300.309 and do not impermissibly narrow IDEA’s eligibility criteria for SLD; and

"If the State determines that its eligibility criteria are inconsistent with the IDEA requirements described in this letter, the State must revise its policies and procedures for determining that a child is eligible to be identified as having an SLD and submit the revised policies and procedures to OSEP; and

"If the State revises its policies and procedures for determining that a child is eligible to be identified as having an SLD, the State must provide a copy of a notification issued to all public agencies, LEAs, parent advocacy groups, the State advisory panel, and other interested parties advising them of the State’s revised eligibility criteria; and

"The State must provide a written description of how it will ensure that its revised policies and procedures are being implemented in a manner consistent with IDEA, including the provision of training, technical assistance, and monitoring of its LEAs."

June 25, 2024, OSEP issued a DMS status letter to specifically “in response to the February 1, February 26, and April 17, 2024, information submitted to OSEP by ISDE, which included two letters addressed to OSEP Director Valerie Williams and an electronic mail correspondence addressed to OSEP staff. In addition, on May 22, 2024, the State provided updated information with its Federal Fiscal Year 2024 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B grant application.”
All four of the corrective actions identified October 23, 2023, remained open and in need of additional actions to come into compliance with IDEA.
September 17, 2024, OSEP issued a new DMS letter of findings following another monitoring investigation of IDSE.
OSEP identified the following noncompliance:
  • ISDE “is unable to ensure that all early intervention services addressing the unique needs of the child are included in the IFSP, with parent involvement; and all early intervention services are timely provided to all eligible infants and toddlers with disabilities and their families as required by 34 C.F.R. §§ 303.112, 303.340, and 303.342(e).”
  • ISDE “is unable to ensure that early intervention services that are needed by the child are identified on the IFSP based on the unique needs of the child as determined by the IFSP team, including the parent, as required by 34 C.F.R. §§ 303.13(a), 303.343, and 303.344(d), because decisions regarding initial services are made at the multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting, which does not necessarily include the parent.”
  • ISDE “does not ensure a timely comprehensive, multidisciplinary evaluation and assessment of each child under the age of three who is referred for evaluation or early intervention services under IDEA Part C and suspected of having a disability, as required under 34 C.F.R. §§ 303.24(a) and 303.321.”
  • ISDE’s “implementation of its general supervision system to monitor its EIS programs and providers does not ensure compliance with IDEA Part C requirements beyond the SPP/APR indictors, as required by 34 C.F.R. §§ 303.120, and 303.700 through 303.702.”
  • ISDE “does not have a general supervision system that is reasonably designed to identify noncompliance in a timely manner, as required, as required by 34 C.F.R. §§ 303.120 and 303.700 through 303.702.”
  • “On September 13, 2021, in a letter to DHW, OSEP found that the State LA did not monitor EIS providers used by the State to carry out IDEA Part C to identify and correct noncompliance, consistent with IDEA Section 635(a)(10) and 34 C.F.R. § 303.120(a) of the Part C regulations, related to fiscal requirements including the payor of last resort and system of payment requirements in Section 640 and 34 C.F.R. §§ 303.500 through 303.521.”
  • “Idaho Administrative (ID Admin) Code 16.05.03.502 through 16.05.03.503 contains provisions that are inconsistent with the requirements in 34 C.F.R. §§ 303.431 (mediation), 303.432 through 303.435 (State complaint), and 303.435 through 303.438 (due process).”
  • “OSEP finds the State does not have a Statewide system that includes written procedures for the timely administration of complaints through mediation, State complaint procedures, and due process hearings as required under 34 C.F.R. § 303.430(a).”

USDOE OSEP

OSEP monitors all IDEA Part B and C programs through its DMS system and "differentiates its approach for each state based on the state's unique strengths, progress, challenges, and needs." This cyclical monitoring process focuses on states' general supervision systems and, according to OSEP "will continue to provide support and technical assistance that is differentiated based on each state’s needs."

USDOE has a long history of posting letters and reports to its public-facing site months to years after issuing them to the state education agencies. The result is a wide range of letter and report dates.

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