Thank you for your email inquiring as to the status of your records request of the Indiana Department of Education ("Department"). Please note the Department is diligent in responding to all records requests submitted under the Access to Public Records Act ("APRA"). The APRA provides a public agency shall provide records that are responsive to the request within a reasonable time. See I.C. § 5-14-3-3(b). The public access counselor has repeatedly opined that among the factors to be considered in determining if the requirements of section 3(b) have been met include, the nature of the requests (whether they are broad or narrow), how old the records are, and whether the records must be reviewed and redacted prior to disclosure. The APRA requires an agency to separate and/or redact confidential information in public records before making the disclosable information available for inspection and copying. See I.C. § 5-14-3-6(a). Section 7 of the APRA requires a public agency to regulate any material interference with the regular discharge of the functions or duties of the public agency or public employees. See I.C. § 5-14-3-7(a).

I have checked and currently your request is in queue with our Special ED data team to be pulled.

Sincerely,

Leslie-Ann M. James, M.A., J.D.
Staff Attorney
Indiana Department of Education
(317) 232-6647 | publicrecords@doe.in.gov<mailto:publicrecords@doe.in.gov>
www.doe.in.gov<http://www.doe.in.gov/> Feedback: How are we doing?<https://form.jotformpro.com/70474387441965>

Tom,

Please allow this email to serve as records responsive to your records request of the Indiana Department of Education (“Department”). There will be additional emails with the rest of the data requested. Please note the Department does not collect referral data.

Sincerely,

Leslie-Ann M. James, M.A., J.D.
Staff Attorney
Indiana Department of Education
(317) 232-6647 | publicrecords@doe.in.gov<mailto:publicrecords@doe.in.gov>
www.doe.in.gov<http://www.doe.in.gov/> Feedback: How are we doing?<https://form.jotformpro.com/70474387441965>

Tom,

Good morning, I hope to get you the remainder of the date by the end of next week. Thanks for your patience.

Sincerely,

Leslie-Ann

Tom,

Please allow this email to serve as records responsive to your records request of the Indiana Department of Education (“Department”). There is still one more email to come. Thanks for your patience.

Sincerely,
Leslie-Ann M. James, M.A., J.D.
Staff Attorney
Indiana Department of Education
(317) 232-6647 | publicrecords@doe.in.gov<mailto:publicrecords@doe.in.gov>
www.doe.in.gov<http://www.doe.in.gov/> Feedback: How are we doing?<https://form.jotformpro.com/70474387441965>

--

On April 22, 2020:
Subject: RE: Indiana Access to Public Records Act Request: IDEA implementation in Indiana
To whom it may concern,

I am following up on my request, which I initiated back on 4/9. Please advise ASAP as to the status of my request.

Thank you.

--Tom
---

On April 9, 2020:
Subject: Indiana Access to Public Records Act Request: IDEA implementation in Indiana

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Indiana Access to Public Records Act, I hereby request the following records:

According to 34 C.F.R, §300.211 and §300.645 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), each local public school district (LEA) must provide to the Indiana Department of Education “information relating to the performance of children with disabilities participating in programs carried out under Part B” of IDEA so that, among other actions, the SEA can (1) “obtain certification from each [LEA] that an unduplicated and accurate count [of students who have been identified as having a disability(s)] has been made,” (2) “[a]ggregate the data from the count obtained from each [LEA],” and (3) “[e]nsure that documentation is maintained that enables [the Indiana Department of Education ] and the [US Department of Education] to audit the accuracy of the count.”

Furthermore, according to 34 C.F.R, § 300.111, the Indiana Department of Education “must have in effect policies and procedures to ensure that [a]ll children with disabilities residing in the State, including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are wards of the State, and children with disabilities attending private schools, regardless of the severity of their disability, and who are in need of special education and related services, are identified, located, and evaluated.”

34 C.F.R, § 300.131 and 34 C.F.R, § 300.132(c) further mandate, respectively, that (1) “[e]ach LEA must locate, identify, and evaluate all children with disabilities who are enrolled by their parents in private, including religious, elementary schools and secondary schools located in the school district served by the LEA” and (2) “[e]ach LEA must maintain in its records, and provide to the SEA, the following information related to parentally-placed private school children covered under §§ 300.130 through 300.144: (1) The number of children evaluated; (2) The number of children determined to be children with disabilities; and (3) The number of children served.”

In light of 34 C.F.R, § 300.132(c) and the other above-quoted regulations, I respectfully request the following information for the past 5 years:

• The total number of public school students in each LEA who have been referred to child-find.
• The total number of charter school students in each LEA who have been referred to child-find.
• The total number of home-schooled students in each LEA who have been referred to child-find.
• As applicable, the total number of private school students in each LEA who have been referred to child-find.
__

• The total number of public school students in each LEA who have been evaluated for disability(s).
• The total number of charter school students in each LEA who have been evaluated for disability(s).
• The total number of home-schooled students in each LEA who have been evaluated for disability(s).
• As applicable, the total number of private school students in each LEA who have been evaluated for disability(s)
__

• The total number of public school students in each LEA who have been determined to have a disability(s).
• The total number of charter school students in each LEA who have been determined to have a disability(s).
• The total number of home-schooled students in each LEA who have been determined to have a disability(s).
• As applicable, the total number of private school students in each LEA who have been determined to have a disability(s).
__

• The total number of public school students in each LEA who have been served.
• The total number of charter school students in each LEA who have been served.
• The total number of home-schooled students in each LEA who have been served.
• As applicable, the total number of private school students in each LEA who have been served.

Under Sections 611 and 619 of IDEA, the Indiana Department of Education (SEA) receives each year grants from the federal government to provide special education and/or related services to eligible students. In accord with 34 C.F.R, § 300.705, the SEA then allocates subgrants to each LEA.

In light of Sections 611 and 619 and 34 C.F.R, § 300.705 and all other pertinent regulations, I respectfully request the following information for the past 5 years:

• The total IDEA allocation/grant received by the Indiana Department of Education (SEA)
• The total IDEA allocation/grant received by each LEA.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 7 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Thomas Olson

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PLEASE NOTE: This request is not filed by a MuckRock staff member, but is being sent through MuckRock by the above in order to better track, share, and manage public records requests. Also note that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than "MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as undeliverable.

Tom,

Good afternoon, our data team is working on the last part of your request so I hope to get the remaining portion to by the end of the week.

Sincerely,

Leslie-Ann M. James, M.A., J.D.
Staff Attorney
Indiana Department of Education
(317) 232-6647 | ljames@doe.in.gov<mailto:ljames@doe.in.gov>
www.doe.in.gov<http://www.doe.in.gov/> Feedback: How are we doing?<https://form.jotformpro.com/70474387441965>

Tom,

Please allow this email to serve as records responsive to records request of the Indiana Department of Education ("Department"). Please see attached two years of evaluation data. The data for the prior three years are still being pulled.

*Please note that evaluation is strictly a responsibility of the public schools and there is no difference in evalution for a public or nonpublic school student. The Department does not collect data on where the child was enrolled at the time of the evaluation.

Sincerely,

Leslie-Ann M. James, M.A., J.D.
Staff Attorney
Indiana Department of Education
(317) 232-6647 | publicrecords@doe.in.gov<mailto:publicrecords@doe.in.gov>
www.doe.in.gov<http://www.doe.in.gov/> Feedback: How are we doing?<https://form.jotformpro.com/70474387441965>