[nfbmi-talk] the letter to educators from pdf

[joe harcz Comcast]

Dear Colleague Letter to Educators

(For those who can’t convert the pdf)

 

This was sent to educators across America and are very important for parents, and students with communications disabilities including, of course, blindness to understand as well.

 

 

Joe Harcz

 

 

Department of Justice sealU.S. Department of Justice U.S. Department of Education Civil Rights Division Office for Civil Rights 

Department of Education sealOffice of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services 

November 12, 2014 

Dear Colleague: 

Students with disabilities, like all students, must be provided the opportunity to fully participate 

in our public schools. A critical aspect of participation is communication with others. We have 

enclosed a document, entitled “Frequently Asked Questions on Effective Communication for 

Students with Hearing, Vision, or Speech Disabilities in Public Elementary and Secondary 

Schools” (FAQs), which explains the responsibility of public schools to ensure that 

communication with students with hearing, vision, or speech disabilities is as effective as 

communication with all other students. Three Federal laws – the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Title II of the 

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

1973 (Section 504) – address the obligations of all public schools to meet the communication 

needs of students with disabilities, but do so in different ways. In particular, the IDEA requires 

that schools make available a free appropriate public education (FAPE), consisting of special 

education and related services, to all eligible children with disabilities (including those with 

disabilities that result in communication needs). Title II requires schools to ensure that 

students with disabilities receive communication that is as effective as communication with 

others through the provision of appropriate auxiliary aids and services.1 

Public schools must apply both the IDEA analysis and the Title II effective communication 

analysis in determining how to meet the communication needs of an IDEA-eligible student with 

a hearing, vision, or speech disability. In many circumstances, an individualized education 

program under the IDEA will also meet the requirements of Title II. However, as a recent 

Federal court decision highlighted, the Title II effective communication requirement differs 

Page 2 – Dear Colleague Letter: Effective Communication 

from the requirements in the IDEA.2 In some instances, in order to comply with Title II, a school 

may have to provide the student with auxiliary aids or services that are not required under the 

IDEA. In other instances, the communication services provided under the IDEA will meet the 

requirements of both laws for an individual student. 

The FAQs address the interplay of these IDEA and Title II requirements. Our hope is that the 

FAQs are helpful to schools, parents, and others in explaining students’ rights and schools’ 

obligations to address the communication needs of students with hearing, vision, or speech 

disabilities. 

Thank you for your continued efforts to ensure that all students, including students with 

disabilities, have access to equal opportunities at school. 

Sincerely, 

/s/ /s/ /s/ 

Table with 3 columns and 6 rowsVanita Gupta Michael K. Yudin Catherine E. Lhamon Acting Assistant Attorney General Acting Assistant Secretary Assistant Secretary Civil Rights Division Office of Special Education and Office for Civil Rights U.S. Department of Justice Rehabilitative Services U.S. Department 

U.S. Department of Education of Education Attachment as stated 

 

Table end2 The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressed the IDEA and Title II effective communication 

obligations in K.M. v. Tustin Unified School District, 725 F.3d 1088 (9th Cir. 2013), cert. denied, 134 S. Ct. 1493 

(2014), available at http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2013/08/07/11­56259%20web%20revised.pdf. The United States government filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief in this 

case when it was before the Ninth Circuit; that brief can be found at http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/app/briefs/kmtustinbr.pdf. 1 Because compliance with the IDEA can satisfy Section 504’s requirement to provide FAPE to a student with a 

disability for the vast majority of students covered by the FAQs, and because, in general, a violation of Section 504 

is a violation of Title II, the focus of the FAQs is on the IDEA and the specific Title II regulatory requirements for