The McGraw-Hill Companies



                                                                    Exhibit 99.1

    October 28, 2005



         Notice of Imposition of Blackout Period Pursuant to Section 306
              of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ("Sarbanes-Oxley")

         Over the next few weeks, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (the
"Company") will be transitioning the record keeping services in its qualified
defined contribution plans (the "Plans")(1) from ACS HR Solutions, LLC to Hewitt
Associates, LLC. As a result of these changes, participants in the Plans
temporarily will be unable to change the rate of future contributions, obtain a
loan or request an early loan repayment, transfer rollover contributions into
the Plans and obtain a withdrawal or distribution from the Plans. This period,
during which participants in the Plans will be unable to exercise these rights
otherwise available under the Plans, is called a "blackout period". The blackout
period for the Plans is expected to begin on 11/30/2005, and end on 01/03/2006.
During this period, you can determine whether the blackout period has started or
ended by contacting me, by telephone at 212-512-3473 (between 9:00 a.m. and 5:30
p.m. (New York City time)), by mail at 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York,
New York, 10020 or by e-mail at marty_martin@mcgraw-hill.com.

         Section 306(a) of Sarbanes-Oxley requires that, during the blackout
period, all executive officers and directors of the Company be prohibited from
trading in all Company equity securities ("Service Securities") acquired by
them in connection with their service and/or employment with the Company in such
capacities. As a result, during the blackout period, you will not be able to
directly or indirectly, acquire, dispose of or transfer any Service Securities,
subject to certain limited exceptions. To determine whether an exception applies
to a transaction by you in Service Securities, you must contact Kenneth Vittor
at 212-512-2564 or Scott Bennett at 212-512-3998 (the "Designated Company
Officers").

         Please note that only your Service Securities will be affected by this
blackout period. You will remain able to acquire, dispose of or transfer any
Company equity securities that do not qualify as Service Securities to the
extent that you are not prohibited from doing so under any Company policy. Prior
to effecting any acquisition, disposition or transfer of Company equity
securities during the blackout period, you should confirm with one of the
Designated Company Officers that such transaction is permissible.

         If you have any questions concerning this notice, you should contact
the Designated Company Officers.

                                     The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.



                                  By:   /s/ Marty Martin
                                     -----------------------------------
                                     Name:  Marty Martin
                                     Title: Vice President, Employee Benefits


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(1)       The Plans are:
          o    The Savings Incentive Plan of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and
               Its Subsidiaries;
          o    The Employee Retirement Account Plan of The McGraw-Hill
               Companies, Inc. and Its Subsidiaries;
          o    The Standard & Poor's Savings Incentive Plan for Represented
               Employees; and
          o    The Standard & Poor's Employee Retirement Account Plan for
               Represented Employees.

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