Document

Notice of Public Meeting of the Advisory Board for Exceptional Children

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) of 1972, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is publishing this notice to announce that the Advisory Board for Exce...

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Indian Affairs
  1. [267A2100DD/AAKC001030/A0A501010.000000]

AGENCY:

Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior.

ACTION:

Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) of 1972, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is publishing this notice to announce that the Advisory Board for Exceptional Children (Advisory Board) will hold a two-day in-person and virtual meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to meet the mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 (IDEA) for Indian children with disabilities.

DATES:

The BIE Advisory Board meeting will be held Thursday, April 30, 2026, from 12:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Mountain Daylight Time (MDT) and Friday, May 1, 2026, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (MDT).

ADDRESSES:

The Advisory Board meetings will be conducted in-person and online. The onsite meeting location will be located at the National Indian ( printed page 21834) Programs Training Center, 1011 Indian School Rd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87104. To attend virtually, participants may use this link to register: https://www.zoomgov.com/​meeting/​register/​ADahVSYgQm2KnSdJZPOmtg.

Attendees register once and can attend one or both meeting events. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Comments: Public comments can be emailed to the Designated Federal Officer (DFO), Jennifer Davis, at ; or faxed to (602) 265-0293 Attention: Jennifer Davis, DFO; or mailed or hand delivered to the Bureau of Indian Education, Attention: Jennifer Davis, DFO, 2600 N Central Ave., 12th floor, Suite 250, Phoenix, AZ 85004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jennifer Davis, Designated Federal Officer, Bureau of Indian Education, 2600 N Central Ave., 12th floor, Suite 250, Phoenix, AZ 85004; ; or (202) 860-7845. Individuals in the United States who are deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability may dial 711 (TTY, TDD, or TeleBraille) to access telecommunications relay services. Individuals outside the United States should use the relay services offered within their country to make international calls to the point-of-contact in the United States.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This meeting is being held under the provisions of the FACA of 1972 (5 U.S.C. Ch. 10), the Government in the Sunshine Act of 1976 (5 U.S.C. 552b, as amended), and 41 CFR part 102-3. The Advisory Board was established under the Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004 (20 U.S.C. 1400 et seq.) to advise the Secretary of the Interior, through the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs, on the needs of Indian children with disabilities. All meetings, including virtual sessions, are open to the public in their entirety.

Prior to the start of the public meeting on April 30, 2026, the Advisory Board members will be provided with an orientation and Department of the Interior Ethics Training from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (MDT). This presentation is for Advisory Board members only.

Meeting Agenda Items

The following agenda items will be for the April 30, 2026, and May 1, 2026, meetings:

○ Roll call, new business, and old business.

○ The Sovereignty in Indian Education Office will provide Special Education, Part C, Early Childhood Program information regarding trends, strengths and challenges.

○ The BIE's Division of Performance and Accountability will provide BIE Special Education updates about: Special Education Handbook rollout update and the FFY 2024 SPP/APR Update and participant input. In conclusion, the Advisory Board will be provided work time, and there will be one public comment session provided.

○ Roll call, new business, and old business.

○ The Advisory Board will be provided with time to work on priorities and the next meeting logistics.

○ Public comments can be provided verbally via webinar or in writing using the chat box. Please use the online access codes as listed below.

Public comments can also be emailed to the DFO (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT ).

Request for Accommodations: Please make requests in advance for sign language interpreter services, assistive listening devices, or other reasonable accommodations. Please contact the person listed in the section (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT ) at least seven (7) business days prior to the meeting to give the Department of the Interior sufficient time to process your request. All reasonable accommodation requests are managed on a case-by-case basis.

Public Disclosure of Comments: Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Authority:5 U.S.C. Ch. 10.

William Henry Kirkland, III,

Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs.

[FR Doc. 2026-07856 Filed 4-22-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4337-15-P

Legal Citation

Federal Register Citation

Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.

91 FR 21833

Web Citation

Suggested Web Citation

Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.

“Notice of Public Meeting of the Advisory Board for Exceptional Children,” thefederalregister.org (April 23, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-07856/notice-of-public-meeting-of-the-advisory-board-for-exceptional-children.