The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, announced June 21 the release of proposed regulations to implement the recently amended Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, P.L. 108-446) and is seeking public comment from occupational therapy practitioners as well as parents, teachers, students, and all interested parties.
It is vital that the U.S. Department of Education hear from AOTA members during the 75-day comment period about occupational therapy's role in helping children in schools and early childhood programs to grow, develop, and succeed.
AOTA has developed suggested messages and talking points for use in developing your comments.
The proposed regulations were published in the June 21 edition of the Federal Register. The comment period closes 75 days after the regulations are published. AOTA will be reviewing and analyzing the draft regulations and preparing comments to submit to OSERS, and will post these comments on the AOTA Web site.
Interested occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants are encouraged to submit comments and/or attend upcoming public meetings in their area and provide testimony. Written comments should be addressed to Troy R. Justesen, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Potomac Center Plaza, Room 5126, Washington, DC 20202-2641.
You can also submit your comments through the Internet at www.regulations.gov or IDEAcomments@ed.gov. You must include "IDEA-Part B" in the subject line of your electronic message.
Members can also attend and provide comments at one of the informal public meetings in Nashville, Sacramento, Las Vegas, New York, Chicago, San Antonio and Washington, DC.
7/06/05