IDEA implementation in the Hillsborough County Public Schools LEA

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Florida Sunshine Law, 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) in the State of Florida must provide to the Florida Department of Education(SEA) “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 California Department of Education] and the [US Department of Education] to audit the accuracy of the count.”

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 the Hillsborough County Public Schools who have been referred to child-find.
• The total number of charter school students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools who have been referred to child-find.
• The total number of home-schooled students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools who have been referred to child-find.
• The total number of private school students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools LEA who have been referred to child-find.
__

• The total number of public school students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools who have been evaluated for disability(s).
• The total number of charter school students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools who have been evaluated for disability(s).
• The total number of home-schooled students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools who have been evaluated for disability(s).
• The total number of private school students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools LEA who have been evaluated for disability(s)
__

• The total number of public school students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools who have been determined to have a disability(s).
• The total number of charter school students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools who have been determined to have a disability(s).
• The total number of home-schooled students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools who have been determined to have a disability(s).
• The total number of private school students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools LEA who have been determined to have a disability(s).
__

• The total number of public school students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools who have been served.
• The total number of charter school students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools who have been served.
• The total number of home-schooled students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools who have been served.
• The total number of private school students in the Hillsborough County Public Schools LEA who have been served.

Under Sections 611 and 619 of IDEA, the Florida 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 Hillsborough County Public Schools.

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 10 business days.

Sincerely,

Thomas Olson

To whom it may concern,

To whom it may concern,

I am following up on my FOIA request, which I filed back on April 9, 2020.

The 10-day period during which time the law requires you to respond to my request has elapsed. Thus, I am respectfully requesting ASAP an update on the status of my request.

I will also be following up via the portal on your website (https://www.sdhc.k12.fl.us/pubrequest/).

Thank you.

--Tom

Hello Suzanne,

I responded to you via email on July 16, but did not receive a reply from you or anyone else from Hillsborough County Public Schools. The email address to which I responded was suzanne.ponder@sdhc.k12.fl.us. I will followup again via email also.

My response from 7/16 is as follows:

Hi Suzanne,

Thank you for your email.

Please advise as to how the ESE office calculated the $1,569.57 charge for the fulfillment of my request.

The Florida Sunshine Law is clear that public agencies may charge a "reasonable" charge that is reflective of the actual cost of staff time (Fla. Stat. § 119.07(4)). However, in light of the fact that the Hillsborough County Schools (and the Florida Department of Education) are required by federal statute to collect the specific information that I am requesting, I am unclear as to the reason(s) the required staff time would necessitate such a high charge. Please advise.

Thank you, Suzanne.

--Tom