[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 248 (Friday, December 27, 2024)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 105505-105506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-31187]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
34 CFR Part 300
[Docket ID ED-2022-OSERS-0052]
RIN 1820-AB82
Assistance to States for the Education of Children With
Disabilities; Withdrawal
AGENCY: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services,
Department of Education.
ACTION: Withdrawal of notice of proposed rulemaking.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary is withdrawing a notice of proposed rulemaking,
which proposed to amend regulations under Part B of the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (Part B of IDEA or the Act) that govern
the Assistance to States for the Education of Children with
Disabilities program, including the Preschool Grants program.
Specifically, the Secretary proposed to amend the IDEA Part B
regulations to remove the requirement for public agencies to obtain
parental consent prior to accessing for the first time a child's or
parent's public benefits or insurance to provide or pay for required
IDEA Part B services.
DATES: The notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal
Register at 88 FR 31659 on May 18, 2023, is withdrawn as of December
23, 2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rebecca Walawender, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, Room 5130, Potomac Center Plaza,
Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 245-7399. Email:
Rebecca.Walawender@ed.gov.
If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
On May 18, 2023, the Department published in the Federal Register a
notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) proposing to amend the IDEA
regulations at 34 CFR 300.154(d)(2)(iv), which requires a Local
Educational Agency to obtain informed written parental consent before
it accesses the child's or parent's public benefits or insurance (e.g.,
Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program) for the first time for
the provision of Medicaid-reimbursable services identified on a child's
individualized education program (IEP). 88 FR 31659. This consent
provision was initially added to
[[Page 105506]]
the 2006 final Part B regulations implementing the 2004 reauthorization
of IDEA and was further revised in 2013. A correction to the docket ID
for the May 18, 2023, NPRM was published on May 26, 2023. 88 FR 34100.
The comment period closed on August 1, 2023. The Department
received over 9,700 public comments in response to the NPRM. There were
two large write-in campaigns, including one from a national parents'
rights organization, totaling more than 8,000 comments opposing the
proposed change. Of the remaining 1,700 comments, in general, half
(including major national membership organizations representing
educators and service providers) were in support, and the other half
(including major disability rights organizations and parent
organizations) were in opposition.
Withdrawal of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
After publication of the NPRM, the Department carefully considered
the comments received. A number of commenters raised concerns about
instances where students with disabilities were denied reimbursement
for and access to Medicaid services provided outside of school as a
result of the student's school accessing the student's public benefits
for services provided in school. In light of these comments, the
Department decided to focus our time and attention on providing
technical assistance and working with Federal agencies, States and
other partners to improve implementation of school-based Medicaid
rather than engage in further rulemaking.
As part of our technical assistance efforts, the Department engaged
with stakeholders to better understand the existing implementation
challenges for school-based Medicaid, and we also worked closely with
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services within the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services to address the barriers related
to accessing Medicaid for services outside of school. However, at this
time, and with the limited time and resources remaining during this
administration, the Department has not been able to fully analyze and
develop responsive ways to address the State and local policies and
practices that may be contributing to barriers in accessing Medicaid
reimbursement for services provided outside of school.
For the above-stated independent reasons, the Department is
withdrawing the NPRM published in the Federal Register at 88 FR 31659
on May 18, 2023. Withdrawal of this NPRM does not preclude the
Department from issuing rulemaking on this subject in the future or
commit the Department to any future course of action.
Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file,
braille, large print, audiotape, compact disc, or other accessible
format.
Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can view this
document, as well as all other Department documents published in the
Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the
site.
You may also access Department documents published in the Federal
Register by using the article search feature at
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Miguel Cardona,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. 2024-31187 Filed 12-23-24; 4:15 pm]
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