Bill Text: MN HF2693 | 2013-2014 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed

---

Bill Title: Special Education Case Load and Rule Alignment Task Force (2014) recommendations implemented, and commissioner of education authorized to use expedited rulemaking to implement the rule recommendations of the task force.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-04-03 - Author added Hortman [HF2693 Detail]

Download: Minnesota-2013-HF2693-Engrossed.html

---

A bill for an act

relating to education; implementing recommendations of the 2014 Special
Education Case Load and Rule Alignment Task Force; authorizing the
commissioner of education to use expedited rulemaking to implement the rule
recommendations of the task force;amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections
121A.582, subdivision 1; 125A.08; Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement,
sections 125A.0942, subdivision 2; 626.556, subdivision 2.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

    Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 121A.582, subdivision 1, is amended to
read:
    Subdivision 1. Reasonable force standard. (a) A teacher or school principal, in
exercising the person's lawful authority, may use reasonable force when it is necessary
under the circumstances to correct or restrain a student or prevent bodily harm or death
to another.
(b) A school employee, school bus driver, or other agent of a district, in exercising
the person's lawful authority, may use reasonable force when it is necessary under the
circumstances to restrain a student or prevent bodily harm or death to another.
(c) Paragraphs (a) and (b) do not authorize conduct prohibited under sections
121A.58 and 121A.67 section 125A.0942.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

    Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 125A.08, is amended to read:
125A.08 INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS.
(a) At the beginning of each school year, each school district shall have in effect, for
each child with a disability, an individualized education program.
(b) As defined in this section, every district must ensure the following:
(1) all students with disabilities are provided the special instruction and services
which are appropriate to their needs. Where the individualized education program team
has determined appropriate goals and objectives based on the student's needs, including
the extent to which the student can be included in the least restrictive environment,
and where there are essentially equivalent and effective instruction, related services, or
assistive technology devices available to meet the student's needs, cost to the district may
be among the factors considered by the team in choosing how to provide the appropriate
services, instruction, or devices that are to be made part of the student's individualized
education program. The individualized education program team shall consider and
may authorize services covered by medical assistance according to section 256B.0625,
subdivision 26 . The student's needs and the special education instruction and services to
be provided must be agreed upon through the development of an individualized education
program. The program must address the student's need to develop skills to live and work
as independently as possible within the community. The individualized education program
team must consider positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and supports that address
behavior for children with attention deficit disorder or attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder. During grade 9, the program must address the student's needs for transition from
secondary services to postsecondary education and training, employment, community
participation, recreation, and leisure and home living. In developing the program, districts
must inform parents of the full range of transitional goals and related services that should
be considered. The program must include a statement of the needed transition services,
including a statement of the interagency responsibilities or linkages or both before
secondary services are concluded;
(2) children with a disability under age five and their families are provided special
instruction and services appropriate to the child's level of functioning and needs;
(3) children with a disability and their parents or guardians are guaranteed procedural
safeguards and the right to participate in decisions involving identification, assessment
including assistive technology assessment, and educational placement of children with a
disability;
(4) eligibility and needs of children with a disability are determined by an initial
assessment or reassessment evaluation and re-evaluation, which may be completed using
existing data under United States Code, title 20, section 33, et seq.;
(5) to the maximum extent appropriate, children with a disability, including those
in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who
are not disabled, and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children
with a disability from the regular educational environment occurs only when and to the
extent that the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes
with the use of supplementary services cannot be achieved satisfactorily;
(6) in accordance with recognized professional standards, testing and evaluation
materials, and procedures used for the purposes of classification and placement of children
with a disability are selected and administered so as not to be racially or culturally
discriminatory; and
(7) the rights of the child are protected when the parents or guardians are not known
or not available, or the child is a ward of the state.
(c) For paraprofessionals employed to work in programs for students with
disabilities, the school board in each district shall ensure that:
(1) before or immediately upon employment, each paraprofessional develops
sufficient knowledge and skills in emergency procedures, building orientation, roles and
responsibilities, confidentiality, vulnerability, and reportability, among other things, to
begin meeting the needs of the students with whom the paraprofessional works;
(2) annual training opportunities are available to enable the paraprofessional to
continue to further develop the knowledge and skills that are specific to the students with
whom the paraprofessional works, including understanding disabilities, following lesson
plans, and implementing follow-up instructional procedures and activities; and
(3) a districtwide process obligates each paraprofessional to work under the ongoing
direction of a licensed teacher and, where appropriate and possible, the supervision of a
school nurse.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

    Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, section 125A.0942, subdivision 2,
is amended to read:
    Subd. 2. Restrictive procedures. (a) Restrictive procedures may be used only
by a licensed special education teacher, school social worker, school psychologist,
behavior analyst certified by the National Behavior Analyst Certification Board, a person
with a master's degree in behavior analysis, other licensed education professional,
paraprofessional under section 120B.363, or mental health professional under section
245.4871, subdivision 27 , who has completed the training program under subdivision 5.
(b) A school shall make reasonable efforts to notify the parent on the same day a
restrictive procedure is used on the child, or if the school is unable to provide same-day
notice, notice is sent within two days by written or electronic means or as otherwise
indicated by the child's parent under paragraph (d) (f).
(c) The district must hold a meeting of the individualized education program team,
conduct or review a functional behavioral analysis, review data, consider developing
additional or revised positive behavioral interventions and supports, consider actions to
reduce the use of restrictive procedures, and modify the individualized education program
or behavior intervention plan as appropriate. The district must hold the meeting: within
ten calendar days after district staff use restrictive procedures on two separate school
days within 30 calendar days or a pattern of use emerges and the child's individualized
education program or behavior intervention plan does not provide for using restrictive
procedures in an emergency; or at the request of a parent or the district after restrictive
procedures are used. The district must review use of restrictive procedures at a child's
annual individualized education program meeting when the child's individualized
education program provides for using restrictive procedures in an emergency.
(d) If the individualized education program team under paragraph (c) determines
that existing interventions and supports are ineffective in reducing the use of restrictive
procedures or the district uses restrictive procedures on a child on ten or more school days
during the same school year, the team, as appropriate, either must consult with other
professionals working with the child; consult with experts in behavior analysis, mental
health, communication, or autism; consult with culturally competent professionals;
review existing evaluations, resources, and successful strategies; or consider whether to
reevaluate the child.
(e) At the individualized education program meeting under paragraph (c), the team
must review any known medical or psychological limitations, including any medical
information the parent provides voluntarily, that contraindicate the use of a restrictive
procedure, consider whether to prohibit that restrictive procedure, and document any
prohibition in the individualized education program or behavior intervention plan.
(f) An individualized education program team may plan for using restrictive
procedures and may include these procedures in a child's individualized education
program or behavior intervention plan; however, the restrictive procedures may be used
only in response to behavior that constitutes an emergency, consistent with this section.
The individualized education program or behavior intervention plan shall indicate how the
parent wants to be notified when a restrictive procedure is used.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

    Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2013 Supplement, section 626.556, subdivision 2, is
amended to read:
    Subd. 2. Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms have the meanings
given them unless the specific content indicates otherwise:
    (a) "Family assessment" means a comprehensive assessment of child safety, risk
of subsequent child maltreatment, and family strengths and needs that is applied to a
child maltreatment report that does not allege substantial child endangerment. Family
assessment does not include a determination as to whether child maltreatment occurred
but does determine the need for services to address the safety of family members and the
risk of subsequent maltreatment.
    (b) "Investigation" means fact gathering related to the current safety of a child
and the risk of subsequent maltreatment that determines whether child maltreatment
occurred and whether child protective services are needed. An investigation must be used
when reports involve substantial child endangerment, and for reports of maltreatment in
facilities required to be licensed under chapter 245A or 245B; under sections 144.50 to
144.58 and 241.021; in a school as defined in sections 120A.05, subdivisions 9, 11, and
13, and 124D.10; or in a nonlicensed personal care provider association as defined in
sections 256B.04, subdivision 16, and 256B.0625, subdivision 19a.
    (c) "Substantial child endangerment" means a person responsible for a child's care,
and in the case of sexual abuse includes a person who has a significant relationship to the
child as defined in section 609.341, or a person in a position of authority as defined in
section 609.341, who by act or omission commits or attempts to commit an act against a
child under their care that constitutes any of the following:
    (1) egregious harm as defined in section 260C.007, subdivision 14;
    (2) sexual abuse as defined in paragraph (d);
    (3) abandonment under section 260C.301, subdivision 2;
    (4) neglect as defined in paragraph (f), clause (2), that substantially endangers the
child's physical or mental health, including a growth delay, which may be referred to as
failure to thrive, that has been diagnosed by a physician and is due to parental neglect;
    (5) murder in the first, second, or third degree under section 609.185, 609.19, or
609.195 ;
    (6) manslaughter in the first or second degree under section 609.20 or 609.205;
    (7) assault in the first, second, or third degree under section 609.221, 609.222, or
609.223 ;
    (8) solicitation, inducement, and promotion of prostitution under section 609.322;
    (9) criminal sexual conduct under sections 609.342 to 609.3451;
    (10) solicitation of children to engage in sexual conduct under section 609.352;
    (11) malicious punishment or neglect or endangerment of a child under section
609.377 or 609.378;
    (12) use of a minor in sexual performance under section 617.246; or
    (13) parental behavior, status, or condition which mandates that the county attorney
file a termination of parental rights petition under section 260C.503, subdivision 2.
    (d) "Sexual abuse" means the subjection of a child by a person responsible for the
child's care, by a person who has a significant relationship to the child, as defined in
section 609.341, or by a person in a position of authority, as defined in section 609.341,
subdivision 10, to any act which constitutes a violation of section 609.342 (criminal sexual
conduct in the first degree), 609.343 (criminal sexual conduct in the second degree),
609.344 (criminal sexual conduct in the third degree), 609.345 (criminal sexual conduct
in the fourth degree), or 609.3451 (criminal sexual conduct in the fifth degree). Sexual
abuse also includes any act which involves a minor which constitutes a violation of
prostitution offenses under sections 609.321 to 609.324 or 617.246. Sexual abuse includes
threatened sexual abuse which includes the status of a parent or household member
who has committed a violation which requires registration as an offender under section
243.166, subdivision 1b, paragraph (a) or (b), or required registration under section
243.166, subdivision 1b, paragraph (a) or (b).
    (e) "Person responsible for the child's care" means (1) an individual functioning
within the family unit and having responsibilities for the care of the child such as a
parent, guardian, or other person having similar care responsibilities, or (2) an individual
functioning outside the family unit and having responsibilities for the care of the child
such as a teacher, school administrator, other school employees or agents, or other lawful
custodian of a child having either full-time or short-term care responsibilities including,
but not limited to, day care, babysitting whether paid or unpaid, counseling, teaching,
and coaching.
    (f) "Neglect" means the commission or omission of any of the acts specified under
clauses (1) to (9), other than by accidental means:
    (1) failure by a person responsible for a child's care to supply a child with necessary
food, clothing, shelter, health, medical, or other care required for the child's physical or
mental health when reasonably able to do so;
    (2) failure to protect a child from conditions or actions that seriously endanger the
child's physical or mental health when reasonably able to do so, including a growth delay,
which may be referred to as a failure to thrive, that has been diagnosed by a physician and
is due to parental neglect;
    (3) failure to provide for necessary supervision or child care arrangements
appropriate for a child after considering factors as the child's age, mental ability, physical
condition, length of absence, or environment, when the child is unable to care for the
child's own basic needs or safety, or the basic needs or safety of another child in their care;
    (4) failure to ensure that the child is educated as defined in sections 120A.22 and
260C.163, subdivision 11 , which does not include a parent's refusal to provide the parent's
child with sympathomimetic medications, consistent with section 125A.091, subdivision 5;
    (5) nothing in this section shall be construed to mean that a child is neglected solely
because the child's parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the child's care in
good faith selects and depends upon spiritual means or prayer for treatment or care of
disease or remedial care of the child in lieu of medical care; except that a parent, guardian,
or caretaker, or a person mandated to report pursuant to subdivision 3, has a duty to report
if a lack of medical care may cause serious danger to the child's health. This section does
not impose upon persons, not otherwise legally responsible for providing a child with
necessary food, clothing, shelter, education, or medical care, a duty to provide that care;
    (6) prenatal exposure to a controlled substance, as defined in section 253B.02,
subdivision 2, used by the mother for a nonmedical purpose, as evidenced by withdrawal
symptoms in the child at birth, results of a toxicology test performed on the mother at
delivery or the child at birth, medical effects or developmental delays during the child's
first year of life that medically indicate prenatal exposure to a controlled substance, or the
presence of a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder;
    (7) "medical neglect" as defined in section 260C.007, subdivision 6, clause (5);
    (8) chronic and severe use of alcohol or a controlled substance by a parent or
person responsible for the care of the child that adversely affects the child's basic needs
and safety; or
    (9) emotional harm from a pattern of behavior which contributes to impaired
emotional functioning of the child which may be demonstrated by a substantial and
observable effect in the child's behavior, emotional response, or cognition that is not
within the normal range for the child's age and stage of development, with due regard to
the child's culture.
    (g) "Physical abuse" means any physical injury, mental injury, or threatened injury,
inflicted by a person responsible for the child's care on a child other than by accidental
means, or any physical or mental injury that cannot reasonably be explained by the child's
history of injuries, or any aversive or deprivation procedures, or regulated interventions,
that have not been authorized under section 121A.67 125A.0942 or 245.825.
    Abuse does not include reasonable and moderate physical discipline of a child
administered by a parent or legal guardian which does not result in an injury. Abuse does
not include the use of reasonable force by a teacher, principal, or school employee as
allowed by section 121A.582. Actions which are not reasonable and moderate include,
but are not limited to, any of the following that are done in anger or without regard to the
safety of the child:
    (1) throwing, kicking, burning, biting, or cutting a child;
    (2) striking a child with a closed fist;
    (3) shaking a child under age three;
    (4) striking or other actions which result in any nonaccidental injury to a child
under 18 months of age;
    (5) unreasonable interference with a child's breathing;
    (6) threatening a child with a weapon, as defined in section 609.02, subdivision 6;
    (7) striking a child under age one on the face or head;
    (8) purposely giving a child poison, alcohol, or dangerous, harmful, or controlled
substances which were not prescribed for the child by a practitioner, in order to control or
punish the child; or other substances that substantially affect the child's behavior, motor
coordination, or judgment or that results in sickness or internal injury, or subjects the
child to medical procedures that would be unnecessary if the child were not exposed
to the substances;
    (9) unreasonable physical confinement or restraint not permitted under section
609.379 , including but not limited to tying, caging, or chaining; or
    (10) in a school facility or school zone, an act by a person responsible for the child's
care that is a violation under section 121A.58.
    (h) "Report" means any report received by the local welfare agency, police
department, county sheriff, or agency responsible for assessing or investigating
maltreatment pursuant to this section.
    (i) "Facility" means:
    (1) a licensed or unlicensed day care facility, residential facility, agency, hospital,
sanitarium, or other facility or institution required to be licensed under sections 144.50 to
144.58 , 241.021, or 245A.01 to 245A.16, or chapter 245D;
    (2) a school as defined in sections 120A.05, subdivisions 9, 11, and 13; and
124D.10 ; or
    (3) a nonlicensed personal care provider organization as defined in sections 256B.04,
subdivision 16, and 256B.0625, subdivision 19a.
    (j) "Operator" means an operator or agency as defined in section 245A.02.
    (k) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of human services.
    (l) "Practice of social services," for the purposes of subdivision 3, includes but is
not limited to employee assistance counseling and the provision of guardian ad litem and
parenting time expeditor services.
    (m) "Mental injury" means an injury to the psychological capacity or emotional
stability of a child as evidenced by an observable or substantial impairment in the child's
ability to function within a normal range of performance and behavior with due regard to
the child's culture.
    (n) "Threatened injury" means a statement, overt act, condition, or status that
represents a substantial risk of physical or sexual abuse or mental injury. Threatened
injury includes, but is not limited to, exposing a child to a person responsible for the
child's care, as defined in paragraph (e), clause (1), who has:
    (1) subjected a child to, or failed to protect a child from, an overt act or condition
that constitutes egregious harm, as defined in section 260C.007, subdivision 14, or a
similar law of another jurisdiction;
    (2) been found to be palpably unfit under section 260C.301, subdivision 1, paragraph
(b), clause (4), or a similar law of another jurisdiction;
    (3) committed an act that has resulted in an involuntary termination of parental rights
under section 260C.301, or a similar law of another jurisdiction; or
    (4) committed an act that has resulted in the involuntary transfer of permanent
legal and physical custody of a child to a relative under Minnesota Statutes 2010, section
260C.201, subdivision 11 , paragraph (d), clause (1), section 260C.515, subdivision 4, or a
similar law of another jurisdiction.
A child is the subject of a report of threatened injury when the responsible social
services agency receives birth match data under paragraph (o) from the Department of
Human Services.
(o) Upon receiving data under section 144.225, subdivision 2b, contained in a
birth record or recognition of parentage identifying a child who is subject to threatened
injury under paragraph (n), the Department of Human Services shall send the data to the
responsible social services agency. The data is known as "birth match" data. Unless the
responsible social services agency has already begun an investigation or assessment of the
report due to the birth of the child or execution of the recognition of parentage and the
parent's previous history with child protection, the agency shall accept the birth match
data as a report under this section. The agency may use either a family assessment or
investigation to determine whether the child is safe. All of the provisions of this section
apply. If the child is determined to be safe, the agency shall consult with the county
attorney to determine the appropriateness of filing a petition alleging the child is in need
of protection or services under section 260C.007, subdivision 6, clause (16), in order to
deliver needed services. If the child is determined not to be safe, the agency and the county
attorney shall take appropriate action as required under section 260C.503, subdivision 2.
    (p) Persons who conduct assessments or investigations under this section shall take
into account accepted child-rearing practices of the culture in which a child participates
and accepted teacher discipline practices, which are not injurious to the child's health,
welfare, and safety.
    (q) "Accidental" means a sudden, not reasonably foreseeable, and unexpected
occurrence or event which:
    (1) is not likely to occur and could not have been prevented by exercise of due
care; and
    (2) if occurring while a child is receiving services from a facility, happens when the
facility and the employee or person providing services in the facility are in compliance
with the laws and rules relevant to the occurrence or event.
(r) "Nonmaltreatment mistake" means:
(1) at the time of the incident, the individual was performing duties identified in the
center's child care program plan required under Minnesota Rules, part 9503.0045;
(2) the individual has not been determined responsible for a similar incident that
resulted in a finding of maltreatment for at least seven years;
(3) the individual has not been determined to have committed a similar
nonmaltreatment mistake under this paragraph for at least four years;
(4) any injury to a child resulting from the incident, if treated, is treated only with
remedies that are available over the counter, whether ordered by a medical professional or
not; and
(5) except for the period when the incident occurred, the facility and the individual
providing services were both in compliance with all licensing requirements relevant to the
incident.
This definition only applies to child care centers licensed under Minnesota
Rules, chapter 9503. If clauses (1) to (5) apply, rather than making a determination of
substantiated maltreatment by the individual, the commissioner of human services shall
determine that a nonmaltreatment mistake was made by the individual.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

    Sec. 5. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY; SPECIAL EDUCATION TASK FORCE
RECOMMENDATIONS.
The commissioner of education must use the expedited rulemaking process under
Minnesota Statutes, section 14.389, including subdivision 5, to make the rule changes
recommended by the Special Education Case Load and Rule Alignment Task Force in
its 2014 report entitled "Recommendations for Special Education Case Load and Rule
Alignment" submitted to the legislature on February 15, 2014.
EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.