Letter

EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: (4831) 1875-New Revised: XX/XX/XXXX

RIN Number: XXXX-XXXX (if applicable)

Appendix A. District Introduction Letter

[Date]

[Name of District Special Education or EL Director]

[Address of District Special Education or EL Director]

[Name of District Superintendent]

Re: Exploratory Study on the Identification of English Learners with Disabilities

Dear [District Special Education or EL Director],

The Policy and Program Studies Service (PPSS) of the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) would like to request your district’s participation in an important study being conducted on the identification of English learners (ELs) with disabilities. This study is designed to provide the Department, other policymakers, and educators with important information on current processes and challenges related to the identification of ELs for special education, as well as the strategies that schools and districts are using to overcome such challenges.

As part of this study, Westat is conducting site visits in six public school districts with three schools per district across the U.S. The Department requests your participation in this study through a site visit to your district between January and February 2013. Project director Dr. Tamara Nimkoff will contact you shortly to explain the site visit in detail and discuss participation of your district. For further information about the study and its data collection procedures, please consult the attached document.

Thank you very much in advance for your cooperation. We recognize that you are busy serving the students of your community and we appreciate your willingness to provide the time and expertise needed for the success of this important study. Should you have any questions about the study, please contact the Department project officer for the study, Dr. Jean Yan, at Jean.yan@ed.gov or at (202) 205-6212 or the project director for the study, Dr. Tamara Nimkoff at Westat, at tamaranimkoff@westat.com or at (919) 474-0719.

Sincerely,

Tom Weko

Director

Policy and Program Studies Service

Enclosure: Q&A about Exploratory Study