Bill Text: CT SB01038 | 2011 | General Assembly | Comm Sub
Bill Title: An Act Concerning Individualized Education Programs And Other Issues Relating To Special Education.
Spectrum:
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2011-06-03 - House Calendar Number 601 [SB01038 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2011-SB01038-Comm_Sub.html
General Assembly |
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January Session, 2011 |
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AN ACT CONCERNING INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND OTHER ISSUES RELATING TO SPECIAL EDUCATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subdivision (8) of subsection (a) of section 10-76d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2011):
(8) (A) Each local and regional board of education responsible for providing special education and related services to a child or pupil shall notify the parent or guardian of a child who requires or who may require special education, a pupil if such pupil is an emancipated minor or eighteen years of age or older who requires or who may require special education or a surrogate parent appointed pursuant to section 10-94g, in writing, at least five school days before such board proposes to, or refuses to, initiate or change the child's or pupil's identification, evaluation or educational placement or the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child or pupil.
(B) The responsible local and regional board of education shall offer such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent an opportunity to meet with a member of the planning and placement team designated by such board prior to the post-assessment planning and placement team meeting at which the assessments and evaluations of the child or pupil who requires or may require special education is presented to such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent for the first time. Such meeting shall be for the sole purpose of discussing the planning and placement team process and any concerns such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent has regarding the child or pupil who requires or may require special education.
(C) Such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent shall be given at least five school days' prior notice of any planning and placement team meeting conducted for such child or pupil and shall have the right to be present at and participate in and to have advisors of such person's own choosing and at such person's own expense to be present at and to participate in all portions of such meeting at which an educational program for such child or pupil is developed, reviewed or revised.
(D) Immediately upon the formal identification of any child as a child requiring special education and at each planning and placement team meeting for such child, the responsible local or regional board of education shall inform the parent or guardian of such child or surrogate parent or, in the case of a pupil who is an emancipated minor or eighteen years of age or older, the pupil of (i) the laws relating to special education, [and] (ii) the rights of such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil under such laws and the regulations adopted by the State Board of Education relating to special education, and (iii) any relevant information and resources relating to individualized education programs created by the Department of Education. If such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil does not attend a planning and placement team meeting, the responsible local or regional board of education shall mail such information to such person.
(E) Each local and regional board of education shall have in effect at the beginning of each school year an educational program for each child or pupil who has been identified as eligible for special education.
[(B)] (F) At each initial planning and placement team meeting for a child or pupil, the responsible local or regional board of education shall inform the parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil of the laws relating to physical restraint and seclusion pursuant to chapter 814e and the rights of such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil under such laws and the regulations adopted by the State Board of Education relating to physical restraint and seclusion.
(G) The responsible local and regional board of education shall document in such child's or pupil's record that such board provided the assessments and evaluations used in the determination of eligibility for special education for such child or pupil to the parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil at least three school days before the planning and placement team meeting for such child or pupil at which such assessments and evaluations will be discussed for the first time. The parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil may waive the requirement that such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil receive such assessments and evaluations at least three school days before such planning and placement team meeting by delivering a signed, written waiver to the responsible local or regional board of education.
Sec. 2. Section 10-145a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2011):
(a) The State Board of Education may, in accordance with section 10-19 and such regulations and qualifications as it prescribes, issue certificates of qualification to teach, to administer, to supervise or to serve in other positions requiring certification pursuant to regulations adopted by the State Board of Education in any public school in the state and may revoke the same. Any such regulations shall provide that the qualifications to maintain any administrator, supervisor or special service certificate shall incorporate the continuing education provisions of subsection (i) of section 10-145b, as amended by this act. The certificates of qualification issued under this section shall be accepted by boards of education in lieu of any other certificate, provided additional qualifications may be required by a board of education, in which case the state certificate shall be accepted for such subjects as it includes.
(b) Any candidate in a program of teacher preparation leading to professional certification shall be encouraged to successfully complete an intergroup relations component of such a program which shall be developed with the participation of both sexes, and persons of various ethnic, cultural and economic backgrounds. Such intergroup relations program shall have the following objectives: (1) The imparting of an appreciation of the contributions to American civilization of the various ethnic, cultural and economic groups composing American society and an understanding of the life styles of such groups; (2) the counteracting of biases, discrimination and prejudices; and (3) the assurance of respect for human diversity and personal rights. The State Board of Education, the Board of Governors of Higher Education, the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women shall establish a joint committee composed of members of the four agencies, which shall develop and implement such programs in intergroup relations.
(c) Any candidate in a program of teacher preparation leading to professional certification shall be encouraged to complete a (1) health component of such a program, which includes, but need not be limited to, human growth and development, nutrition, first aid, disease prevention and community and consumer health, and (2) mental health component of such a program, which includes, but need not be limited to, youth suicide, child abuse and alcohol and drug abuse.
(d) Any candidate in a program of teacher preparation leading to professional certification shall be encouraged to complete a school violence, bullying and suicide prevention and conflict resolution component of such a program.
(e) On and after July 1, 1998, any candidate in a program of teacher preparation leading to professional certification shall complete a computer and other information technology skills component of such program, as applied to student learning and classroom instruction, communications and data management.
(f) On and after July 1, 2006, any program of teacher preparation leading to professional certification shall include, as part of the curriculum, instruction in literacy skills and processes that reflects current research and best practices in the field of literacy training. Such instruction shall be incorporated into requirements of student major and concentration.
(g) On and after July 1, 2006, any program of teacher preparation leading to professional certification shall include, as part of the curriculum, instruction in the concepts of second language learning and second language acquisition and processes that reflects current research and best practices in the field of second language learning and second language acquisition. Such instruction shall be incorporated into requirements of student major and concentration.
(h) On and after July 1, 2011, any program of teacher preparation leading to professional certification shall include, as part of the curriculum, instruction in the implementation of student individualized education programs as it relates to the provision of special education and related services.
[(h)] (i) On and after July 1, 2012, any candidate entering a program of teacher preparation leading to professional certification shall be required to complete training in competency areas contained in the professional teaching standards established by the State Board of Education, including, but not limited to, development and characteristics of learners, evidence-based and standards-based instruction, evidence-based classroom and behavior management, and assessment and professional behaviors and responsibilities.
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 10-220a of the general statutes is repealed and the follow is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2011):
(a) Each local or regional board of education shall provide an in-service training program for its teachers, administrators and pupil personnel who hold the initial educator, provisional educator or professional educator certificate. Such program shall provide such teachers, administrators and pupil personnel with information on (1) the nature and the relationship of drugs, as defined in subdivision (17) of section 21a-240, and alcohol to health and personality development, and procedures for discouraging their abuse, (2) health and mental health risk reduction education which includes, but need not be limited to, the prevention of risk-taking behavior by children and the relationship of such behavior to substance abuse, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV-infection and AIDS, as defined in section 19a-581, violence, teen dating violence, domestic violence, child abuse and youth suicide, (3) the growth and development of exceptional children, including handicapped and gifted and talented children and children who may require special education, including, but not limited to, children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or learning disabilities, and methods for identifying, planning for and working effectively with special needs children in a regular classroom, including, but not limited to, implementation of student individualized education programs, (4) school violence prevention, conflict resolution and prevention of bullying, as defined in subsection (a) of section 10-222d, except that those boards of education that implement an evidence-based model approach, consistent with subsection (d) of section 10-145a, as amended by this act, subsection (a) of section 10-220a, as amended by this act, sections 10-222d, 10-222g and 10-222h, subsection (g) of section 10-233c and sections 1 and 3 of public act 08-160, shall not be required to provide in-service training on prevention of bullying, (5) cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other emergency life saving procedures, (6) computer and other information technology as applied to student learning and classroom instruction, communications and data management, (7) the teaching of the language arts, reading and reading readiness for teachers in grades kindergarten to three, inclusive, and (8) second language acquisition in districts required to provide a program of bilingual education pursuant to section 10-17f. Each local and regional board of education may allow any paraprofessional or noncertified employee to participate, on a voluntary basis, in any in-service training program provided pursuant to this section. The State Board of Education, within available appropriations and utilizing available materials, shall assist and encourage local and regional boards of education to include: (A) Holocaust education and awareness; (B) the historical events surrounding the Great Famine in Ireland; (C) African-American history; (D) Puerto Rican history; (E) Native American history; (F) personal financial management; (G) domestic violence and teen dating violence; and (H) topics approved by the state board upon the request of local or regional boards of education as part of in-service training programs pursuant to this subsection.
Sec. 4. Subdivision (1) of subsection (i) of section 10-145b of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2011):
(i) (1) For certified employees of local and regional boards of education, except as provided in this subdivision, each professional educator certificate shall be valid for five years and continued every five years thereafter upon the successful completion of professional development activities which shall consist of not less than ninety hours of continuing education, as determined by the local or regional board of education in accordance with this section, or documented completion of a national board certification assessment in the appropriate endorsement area, during each successive five-year period. (A) Such continuing education completed by certified employees with an early childhood nursery through grade three or an elementary endorsement who hold a position requiring such an endorsement shall include at least fifteen hours of training in the teaching of reading and reading readiness and assessment of reading performance, including methods of teaching language skills necessary for reading, reading comprehension skills, phonics and the structure of the English language during each five-year period. (B) Such continuing education requirement completed by certified employees with elementary, middle grades or secondary academic endorsements who hold a position requiring such an endorsement shall include at least fifteen hours of training in the use of computers in the classroom during each five-year period unless such employees are able to demonstrate technology competency, in a manner determined by their local or regional board of education, based on state-wide standards for teacher competency in the use of technology for instructional purposes adopted pursuant to section 4d-85. (C) Such continuing education completed by (i) the superintendent of schools, and (ii) employees employed in positions requiring an intermediate administrator or supervisory certificate, or the equivalent thereof, and whose administrative or supervisory duties equal at least fifty per cent of their assigned time, shall include at least fifteen hours of training in the evaluation of teachers pursuant to section 10-151b during each five-year period. (D) In the case of certified employees with a bilingual education endorsement who hold positions requiring such an endorsement (i) in an elementary school and who do not hold an endorsement in elementary education, such continuing education taken on or after July 1, 1999, shall only count toward the ninety-hour requirement if it is in language arts, reading and mathematics, and (ii) in a middle or secondary school and who do not hold an endorsement in the subject area they teach, such continuing education taken on or after July 1, 1999, shall only count toward the ninety-hour requirement if it is in such subject area or areas. (E) Such continuing education completed by certified employees with an endorsement in special education who hold a position requiring such an endorsement shall include at least ten hours of training in the implementation of student individualized education programs and the communication of individualized education program procedures to parents or guardians of students who require special education and related services. On and after July 1, 2011, such continuing education shall be as determined by the local or regional board of education in full consideration of the provisions of this section and the priorities and needs related to student outcomes as determined by the State Board of Education. During each five-year period in which a professional educator certificate is valid, a holder of such certificate who has not completed the ninety hours of continuing education required pursuant to this subdivision, and who has not been employed while holding such certificate by a local or regional board of education for all or part of the five-year period, shall, upon application, be reissued such certificate for five years minus any period of time such holder was employed while holding such certificate by a local or regional board of education, provided there shall be only one such reissuance during each five-year period in which such certificate is valid. A certified employee of a local or regional board of education who is a member of the General Assembly and who has not completed the ninety hours of continuing education required pursuant to this subdivision for continuation of a certificate, upon application, shall be reissued a professional educator certificate for a period of time equal to six months for each year the employee served in the General Assembly during the previous five years. Continuing education hours completed during the previous five years shall be applied toward such ninety-hour requirement which shall be completed during the reissuance period in order for such employee to be eligible to have a certificate continued. The cost of the professional development activities required under this subsection for certified employees of local or regional boards of education shall be shared by the state and local or regional boards of education, except for those activities identified by the State Board of Education as the responsibility of the certificate holder. Each local and regional board of education shall make available, annually, at no cost to its certified employees not fewer than eighteen hours of professional development activities for continuing education credit. Such activities may be made available by a board of education directly, through a regional educational service center or cooperative arrangement with another board of education or through arrangements with any continuing education provider approved by the State Board of Education. Local and regional boards of education shall grant continuing education credit for professional development activities which the certified employees of the board of education are required to attend, professional development activities offered in accordance with the plan developed pursuant to subsection (b) of section 10-220a, or professional development activities which the board may approve for any individual certified employee. Each board of education shall determine the specific professional development activities to be made available with the advice and assistance of the teachers employed by such board, including representatives of the exclusive bargaining unit for such teachers pursuant to section 10-153b, and on and after July 1, 2011, in full consideration of priorities and needs related to student outcomes as determined by the State Board of Education. The time and location for the provision of such activities shall be in accordance with either an agreement between the board of education and the exclusive bargaining unit pursuant to said section 10-153b or, in the absence of such agreement or to the extent such agreement does not provide for the time and location of all such activities, in accordance with a determination by the board of education.
Sec. 5. Section 10-76h of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) (1) A parent or guardian of a child requiring special education and related services pursuant to sections 10-76a to 10-76g, inclusive, a pupil if such pupil is an emancipated minor or eighteen years of age or older requiring such services, a surrogate parent appointed pursuant to section 10-94g, or the Commissioner of Children and Families, or a designee of said commissioner, on behalf of any such child in the custody of said commissioner, may request a hearing of the local or regional board of education or the unified school district responsible for providing such services whenever such board or district proposes or refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation or educational placement of or the provision of a free appropriate public education to such child or pupil. Such request shall be made by sending a written request to such board or district with a copy to the Department of Education.
(2) The local or regional board of education or the unified school district responsible for providing special education and related services for a child or pupil requiring such services under sections 10-76a to 10-76g, inclusive, may request, upon written notice to the parent or guardian of such child, the pupil if such pupil is an emancipated minor or is eighteen years of age or older, the surrogate parent appointed pursuant to section 10-94g, or the Commissioner of Children and Families, or a designee of said commissioner, on behalf of any such child or pupil in the custody of said commissioner, a hearing concerning the decision of the planning and placement team established pursuant to section 10-76d, as amended by this act, whenever such board or district proposes or refuses to initiate or change the identification, evaluation or educational placement of or the provision of a free appropriate public education placement to such child or pupil, including, but not limited to, refusal of the parent or guardian, pupil if such pupil is an emancipated minor or is eighteen years of age or older or the surrogate parent appointed pursuant to section 10-94g, to give consent for initial evaluation or reevaluation or the withdrawal of such consent. The local or regional board of education or unified school district shall provide a copy of the request to the Department of Education. [In the event a planning and placement team proposes private placement for a child or pupil who requires or may require special education and related services and the parent, guardian, pupil if such pupil is an emancipated minor or is eighteen years of age or older or surrogate parent appointed pursuant to section 10-94g withholds or revokes consent for such placement, the local or regional board of education shall request a hearing in accordance with this section and may request mediation pursuant to subsection (f) of this section, provided such action may be taken only in the event such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent has consented to the initial receipt of special education and related services and subsequent to the initial placement of the child, the local or regional board of education seeks a private placement.] For purposes of this section, a "local or regional board of education or unified school district" includes any public agency which is responsible for the provision of special education and related services to children requiring special education and related services.
(3) The request for a hearing shall contain a statement of the specific issues in dispute.
(4) A party shall have two years to request a hearing from the time the board of education proposed or refused to initiate or change the identification, evaluation or educational placement or the provision of a free appropriate public education placement to such child or pupil provided, if the parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent is not given notice of the procedural safeguards, in accordance with regulations adopted by the State Board of Education, including notice of the limitations contained in this section, such two-year limitation shall be calculated from the time notice of the safeguards is properly given.
(b) Upon receipt of a written request for a special education hearing made in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, the Department of Education shall appoint an impartial hearing officer who shall schedule a hearing which shall be held and the decision written and mailed not later than forty-five days after the commencement of the hearing pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400 et seq., as amended from time to time. An extension of the forty-five-day time limit may be granted by the hearing officer at the request of either party to the hearing.
(c) (1) The Department of Education shall provide training to hearing officers in administrative hearing procedures, including due process, and in the special educational needs of children. Hearing officers and members of hearing boards shall not be employees of the Department of Education or any local or regional board of education, unified school district or public agency involved in the education or care of the child. A person who is paid to serve as a hearing officer is not deemed to be an employee of the Department of Education. No person who participated in the previous identification, evaluation or educational placement of or the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child or pupil nor any member of the board of education of the school district under review, shall be a hearing officer or a member of a hearing board.
(2) Both parties shall participate in a prehearing conference to resolve the issues in dispute, if possible and narrow the scope of the issues. Each party to the hearing shall disclose, not later than five business days prior to the date the hearing commences, (A) documentary evidence such party plans to present at the hearing and a list of witnesses such party plans to call at the hearing, and (B) all completed evaluations and recommendations based on the offering party's evaluations that the party intends to use at the hearing. Except for good cause shown, the hearing officer shall limit each party to such documentary evidence and witnesses as were properly disclosed and are relevant to the issues in dispute. A hearing officer may bar any party who fails to comply with the requirements concerning disclosure of evaluations and recommendations from introducing any undisclosed evaluation or recommendation at the hearing without the consent of the other party.
(3) The hearing officer or board shall hear testimony relevant to the issues in dispute offered by the party requesting the hearing and any other party directly involved, and may hear any additional testimony the hearing officer or board deems relevant. The hearing officer or board may require a complete and independent evaluation or prescription of educational programs by qualified persons, the cost of which shall be paid by the board of education or the unified school district. The hearing officer or board shall cause all formal sessions of the hearing and review to be recorded in order to provide a verbatim record.
(d) (1) The hearing officer or board shall have the authority (A) to confirm, modify, or reject the identification, evaluation or educational placement of or the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child or pupil, (B) to determine the appropriateness of an educational placement where the parent or guardian of a child requiring special education or the pupil if such pupil is an emancipated minor or eighteen years of age or older, has placed the child or pupil in a program other than that prescribed by the planning and placement team, or (C) to prescribe alternate special educational programs for the child or pupil. If the parent or guardian of such a child who previously received special education and related services from the district enrolls the child, or the pupil who previously received special education and related services from the district enrolls in a private elementary or secondary school without the consent of or referral by the district, a hearing officer may, in accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400 et seq., as amended from time to time, require the district to reimburse the parents or the pupil for the cost of that enrollment if the hearing officer finds that the district had not made a free appropriate public education available to the child or pupil in a timely manner prior to that enrollment. In the case where a parent or guardian, or pupil if such pupil is an emancipated minor or is eighteen years of age or older, or a surrogate parent appointed pursuant to section 10-94g, has refused consent for initial evaluation or reevaluation, the hearing officer or board may order an initial evaluation or reevaluation without the consent of such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent except that if the parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent appeals such decision pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection, the child or pupil may not be evaluated or placed pending the disposition of the appeal. The hearing officer or board shall inform the parent or guardian, or the emancipated minor or pupil eighteen years of age or older, or the surrogate parent appointed pursuant to section 10-94g, or the Commissioner of Children and Families, as the case may be, and the board of education of the school district or the unified school district of the decision in writing and mail such decision not later than forty-five days after the commencement of the hearing pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400 et seq., as amended from time to time, except that a hearing officer or board may grant specific extensions of such forty-five-day period in order to comply with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section. The hearing officer may include in the decision a comment on the conduct of the proceedings. The findings of fact, conclusions of law and decision shall be written without personally identifiable information concerning such child or pupil, so that such decisions may be available for public inspections pursuant to sections 4-167 and 4-180a.
(2) If the local or regional board of education or the unified school district responsible for providing special education for such child or pupil requiring special education does not take action on the findings or prescription of the hearing officer or board within fifteen days after receipt thereof, the State Board of Education shall take appropriate action to enforce the findings or prescriptions of the hearing officer or board. Such action may include application to the Superior Court for injunctive relief to compel such local or regional board or school district to implement the findings or prescription of the hearing officer or board without the necessity of establishing irreparable harm or inadequate remedy at law.
(3) If the hearing officer or board upholds the local or regional board of education or the unified school district responsible for providing special education and related services for such child or pupil who requires or may require special education on the issue of evaluation [,] or reevaluation, [or placement in a private school or facility,] such board or district may evaluate [or provide such services to] the child or pupil without the consent of the parent or guardian, pupil if such pupil is an emancipated minor or is eighteen years of age or older, or the surrogate parent appointed pursuant to section 10-94g, subject to an appeal pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection.
(4) Appeals from the decision of the hearing officer or board shall be taken in the manner set forth in section 4-183, except the court shall hear additional evidence at the request of a party. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4-183, such appeal shall be taken to the judicial district wherein the child or pupil resides. In the event of an appeal, upon request and at the expense of the State Board of Education, said board shall supply a copy of the transcript of the formal sessions of the hearing officer or board to the parent or guardian or the emancipated minor or pupil eighteen years of age or older or surrogate parent or said commissioner and to the board of education of the school district or the unified school district.
(e) Hearing officers and members of the hearing board shall be paid reasonable fees and expenses as established by the State Board of Education.
(f) (1) In lieu of proceeding directly to a hearing, pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the parties may agree in writing to request the Commissioner of Education to appoint a state mediator. Upon the receipt of a written request for mediation, signed by both parties, the commissioner shall appoint a mediator knowledgeable in the fields and areas significant to the review of the special educational needs of the child or pupil. The mediator shall attempt to resolve the issues in a manner which is acceptable to the parties. The mediator shall certify in writing to the Department of Education and to the parties whether the mediation was successful or unsuccessful.
(2) If the dispute is not resolved through mediation, either party may proceed to a hearing.
Sec. 6. Section 10-184a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):
(a) The provisions of sections 10-76a to 10-76h, inclusive, as amended by this act, shall not be construed to require any local, regional or state board of education to provide special education programs or services for any child whose parent or guardian has chosen to educate such child in a home or private school in accordance with the provisions of section 10-184 and who refuses to consent to such programs or services.
(b) If any such board of education provides special education programs or services for any child whose parent or guardian has chosen to educate such child in a private school in accordance with the provisions of section 10-184, such programs or services shall be in compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400 et seq., as amended from time to time.
Sec. 7. Subsections (a) and (b) of section 17a-16a of the general statutes are repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2011):
(a) For purposes of this section:
(1) "Child" means (A) any school-aged child, (B) any child ages three to five, inclusive, who has been identified as eligible for special education pursuant to sections 10-76a to 10-76d, inclusive, as amended by this act, or under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400 et seq., as amended from time to time, or (C) any child twenty-seven months to five years of age, inclusive, who has been referred to a planning and placement team to determine eligibility for special education and related services pursuant to sections 10-76a to 10-76d, inclusive, as amended by this act, or under said Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, who is placed in out-of-home care by the commissioner pursuant to an order of temporary custody or an order of commitment, in accordance with section 46b-129.
(2) "School of origin" means the school that the child is attending at the time the department places the child in out-of-home care or the school the child is attending at the time of any change of out-of-home care, by the commissioner.
(3) "Receiving school" means the school that a child is attending following a school placement decision by the department in cases in which remaining in the school of origin is determined not to be in the child's best interests.
(4) "School placement decision" means a decision made by the department regarding the school in which the child will attend while the child is in out-of-home care and does not refer to the provision of a free, appropriate public education to children eligible for special education.
(5) "Department" means the Department of Children and Families.
(6) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Children and Families.
(7) "Nexus school district" means the school district of a local or regional board of education under whose jurisdiction a child would otherwise be attending school.
(b) (1) Whenever a child is placed in out-of-home care by the department pursuant to an emergency order under subsection (e) of section 17a-101g or an order of temporary custody or an order of commitment under section 46b-129, and at any subsequent change in out-of-home care, any such child may, if it is in the best interests of the child, as determined pursuant to subdivision (3) of this subsection, continue to attend his or her school of origin. Such child shall continue to be a resident of the school district in which such school is located during such attendance for purposes of chapters 168 to 170, inclusive, 172 and 173. The board of education for the school of origin shall continue to provide free school privileges to the child and any services provided by such board shall be in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 10-76d and section 10-253. If the child continues to attend his or her school of origin following placement in out-of-home care by the department, the local or regional board of education of the school of origin shall not be eligible to receive an excess cost grant pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 10-76d for the cost of such education, including, but not limited to, tuition and transportation costs. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012, and each fiscal year thereafter, an excess cost grant pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 10-76d shall be available to the nexus school district when the nexus school district pays the child's tuition to the local or regional board of education of the school of origin. If the nexus school district placed the child in a private school or regional educational service center program prior to the child being removed from the home by the department and the child continues to attend such prior placement, the nexus school district, or, if the nexus school district cannot be identified, the town where the child resides, shall be eligible to receive the excess cost grant pursuant to section 10-76g.
(2) Every decision by the department to place a child into out-of-home care under the provisions of subsection (e) of section 17a-101g and section 46b-129, and any subsequent change in out-of-home care, shall take into account the appropriateness of the school setting and the proximity to the school of origin.
(3) (A) Whenever a child is placed in out-of-home care by the department pursuant to an emergency order under subsection (e) of section 17a-101g or an order of temporary custody or an order of commitment under section 46b-129, and at any subsequent change in out-of-home care, the department shall immediately determine whether it is in the best interests of the child to remain in the school of origin. There shall be a presumption that it is in the child's best interests to remain in the school of origin. The department shall provide written notice of its decision to the parties not later than three business days after the date on which the decision is made. Such notice shall identify the factors that form the basis of the department's decision. Any party may object to the department's decision not later than three business days after receipt of such notice. The child shall remain in the school of origin until the time for objection has passed and until any disagreement is resolved, except as provided in subparagraph (C) of this subdivision. The child shall be transported to the school of origin pursuant to subsection (c) of this section during any such disagreement except as provided in subparagraph (C) of this subdivision. Such disagreements shall be expeditiously resolved. The department shall bear the burden of proof that the school placement decision is in the child's best interests.
(B) The school placement decision may be revisited at any time during the child's out-of-home care, if circumstances change, in order to ensure that the school placement decision remains in the best interests of the child. Notice of any subsequent decision to change the child's school placement decision shall be provided in accordance with subparagraph (A) of this subdivision. Any school placement decision made pursuant to this section may be challenged through the dispute resolution process for treatment plans. The child shall remain in the school of origin until any such disagreement is resolved, except as provided in subparagraph (C) of this subdivision and shall be provided with transportation in accordance with subsection (c) of this section.
(C) If at any time the department determines that continued placement in the school of origin will jeopardize the child's immediate physical safety, the department may immediately remove the child from the school and shall notify the child's attorney, parents, guardian ad litem and surrogate parent, if any, by phone or by facsimile on the same business day. Any party may object to the decision to change the child's school placement not later than three business days after receipt of such notice. If any party objects to the change in school placement, the department shall hold an administrative hearing not later than three business days after the objection.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
July 1, 2011 |
10-76d(a)(8) |
Sec. 2 |
July 1, 2011 |
10-145a |
Sec. 3 |
July 1, 2011 |
10-220a(a) |
Sec. 4 |
July 1, 2011 |
10-145b(i)(1) |
Sec. 5 |
from passage |
10-76h |
Sec. 6 |
from passage |
10-184a |
Sec. 7 |
July 1, 2011 |
17a-16a(a) and (b) |
ED |
Joint Favorable Subst. |
|
APP |
Joint Favorable |