CI's under the new IDEA04 regs released today

[Guest guest]

The following web site has a pd of the newly released IDEA 04 regulations for

part B. This is an unofficial release as only the regulations published in the

Federal Register on Aug 14 are official. But there should be no difference.

http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea2004.html#regulations

I searched in the following pdf files for the term implant to find the

regulations regarding the CI. As you may recall the preliminary version had

some ambiguity about whether they were just eliminating mapping services or if

they were eliminating the need to provide any assistive tech to CI users. The

final (unofficial) regulations seem to be clearer and say that CI mappings and

replacements are not required, but that other assistive tech is still covered.

This is obviously a preliminary review, but I am encouraged.

Terri

Mother of Kathy, 11, bilateral CIs

http://www.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/idea-partb-regs-regsonly.pdf

Assistive technology device means any item, piece of

equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially

off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to

increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities

of a child with a disability. The term does not include a

medical device that is surgically implanted, or the

replacement of such device.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(1))

( Exception; services that apply to children with

surgically implanted devices, including cochlear implants.

(1) Related services do not include a medical device

that is surgically implanted, the optimization of that

device’s functioning (e.g., mapping), maintenance of that

device, or the replacement of that device.

(2) Nothing in paragraph ((1) of this section-- (i)

Limits the right of a child with a surgically implanted

device (e.g., cochlear implant) to receive related services

(as listed in paragraph (a) of this section) that are

determined by the IEP Team to be necessary for the child to

receive FAPE.

(ii) Limits the responsibility of a public agency to

appropriately monitor and maintain medical devices that are

needed to maintain the health and safety of the child,

including breathing, nutrition, or operation of other

bodily functions, while the child is transported to and

from school or is at school; or

(iii) Prevents the routine checking of an external

component of a surgically-implanted device to make sure it

is functioning properly, as required in §300.113(.

§300.113 Routine checking of hearing aids and external

components of surgically implanted medical devices.

(a) Hearing aids. Each public agency must ensure

that hearing aids worn in school by children with hearing

impairments, including deafness, are functioning properly.

( External components of surgically implanted

medical devices. (1) Subject to paragraph ((2) of this

section, each public agency must ensure that the externalcomponents of

surgically implanted medical devices are functioning properly.

(2) For a child with a surgically implanted medical

device who is receiving special education and related

services under this part, a public agency is not

responsible for the post-surgical maintenance, programming,

or replacement of the medical device that has been

surgically implanted (or of an external component of the

surgically implanted medical device).

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under

control number 1820-0030)

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1401(1), 1401(26)()