Bill Text: NY A03950 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides that a parent or person in parental relation to a student with a disability attending a nonpublic school has until April 1, 2025 to submit a request for the 2024-2025 school year to the committee on special education of the school district of location for educational services mandated by an individualized education services program if the previous request was denied on procedural grounds.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-30 - referred to education [A03950 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-A03950-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3950 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 30, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PHEFFER AMATO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the submission of requests to the committee on special education for the educational services mandated by an individualized education services program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 3602-c of the education law is amended by adding a 2 new subdivision 2-d to read as follows: 3 2-d. a. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, for the two 4 thousand twenty-four--two thousand twenty-five school year, a parent or 5 person in parental relation to a student with a disability attending a 6 nonpublic school shall have until April first, two thousand twenty-five 7 to submit a request to the committee on special education of the school 8 district of location for the educational services mandated by an indi- 9 vidualized education services program for the student. 10 b. For purposes of this subdivision, "procedural grounds" shall mean 11 administrative or procedural errors in the application process, includ- 12 ing, but not limited to, failure to meet submission deadlines, incom- 13 plete documentation, or other technical errors, and not the substantive 14 eligibility or needs of the student. 15 c. Within fourteen days of the effective date of this subdivision, the 16 committee on special education of the school district of location shall 17 provide written notice to each parent or person in parental relation to 18 a student with a disability attending a nonpublic school located in such 19 district whose request for services for the two thousand twenty-four-- 20 two thousand twenty-five school year was denied on procedural grounds 21 prior to the effective date of this subdivision. Such notice shall 22 afford such parent or person in parental relation a reasonable opportu- 23 nity to cure the procedural deficiencies. Such notice shall include: 24 (1) identification of all deficiencies in the original application; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03202-02-5A. 3950 2 1 (2) a description of the steps necessary to remedy such deficiencies; 2 and 3 (3) information regarding the extended submission deadline set forth 4 in paragraph a of this subdivision. 5 d. Services requested pursuant to this section for the two thousand 6 twenty-four--two thousand twenty-five school years shall be authorized 7 by the committee on special education of the school district of location 8 within fourteen days of receipt of a procedurally sufficient application 9 as determined by the committee on special education of such school 10 district. 11 e. Services requested for a student with a disability for the two 12 thousand twenty-four--two thousand twenty-five school year who has 13 previously been the subject of a due process hearing regarding the rate 14 for such services pursuant to section forty-four hundred four of this 15 chapter, shall be authorized at the hourly rate established in the most 16 recent prior due process determination without requiring the parent or 17 person in parental relation to initiate a new due process proceeding. 18 Such enhanced rate shall be authorized by the committee on special 19 education of the school district of location within fourteen days of 20 receipt of a request demonstrating the prior determination and eligibil- 21 ity for services. Parents or persons in parental relation to a student 22 with a disability may initiate a new due process hearing pursuant to 23 section forty-four hundred four of this chapter if they deem the previ- 24 ous rate no longer acceptable or wish to adjudicate other issues related 25 to the student's needs, services or eligibility. 26 f. Parents or persons in parental relation to a student with a disa- 27 bility who was otherwise eligible to receive special education services 28 but was denied provision of such services on procedural grounds, and who 29 thereafter submitted a request pursuant to this subdivision, shall be 30 entitled to payment for costs incurred in obtaining equivalent services 31 through other means. Such payment shall not exceed the cost of services 32 for which the student was previously determined to be eligible, at the 33 rate determined by the school district of location or at the rate deter- 34 mined by an impartial hearing officer appointed pursuant to section 35 forty-four hundred four of this chapter, whichever rate is higher. If 36 the student was previously the subject of a due process hearing regard- 37 ing the rate for equivalent services, the hourly rate established in 38 that hearing shall apply for purposes of this provision. Claims for 39 payment must be filed within two years of the end of the school year for 40 which the costs were incurred or within two years of the effective date 41 of this subdivision, whichever date is later. Claims shall be adjudi- 42 cated by an impartial hearing officer appointed pursuant to section 43 forty-four hundred four of this chapter and must include sufficient 44 documentation to demonstrate the student's eligibility for services and 45 the costs incurred. Payments under this paragraph shall only apply to 46 costs incurred during the two thousand twenty-three--two thousand twen- 47 ty-four and two thousand twenty-four--two thousand twenty-five school 48 years. 49 g. Parents or persons in parental relation to a student with a disa- 50 bility who was otherwise eligible to receive special education services 51 but was denied provision of such services on procedural grounds, and who 52 were unable to fully obtain such services through other means, may seek 53 compensatory services as a remedy for the harm caused by the lack of 54 services. Claims for compensatory services must be filed within two 55 years of the end of the school year for which the services were denied 56 or within two years of the effective date of this subdivision, whicheverA. 3950 3 1 date is later. Claims shall be adjudicated by an impartial hearing offi- 2 cer appointed pursuant to section forty-four hundred four of this chap- 3 ter and must include sufficient documentation to demonstrate the 4 student's eligibility for compensatory services. 5 h. Upon approval of a claim for compensatory services pursuant to this 6 subdivision, the committee on special education of the school district 7 of location shall review the student's needs and develop an individual- 8 ized education service program that incorporates the compensatory 9 services. If the student has an existing individualized education 10 service program, the committee on special education shall amend the 11 individualized education service program to include the compensatory 12 services, unless and until a new evaluation or review determines that 13 further amendments are necessary. The compensatory services shall be 14 provided during the school year for which the harm occurred and during 15 subsequent school years. The committee on special education shall notify 16 the parent or person in parental relation of the approval and inte- 17 gration of compensatory services into the individualized education 18 service program and provide a detailed description of how and when the 19 services will be delivered. 20 i. No services provided pursuant to this section shall be conditioned 21 upon the waiver of any procedural safeguards available pursuant to: (i) 22 this article; (ii) article eighty-nine of this chapter; or (iii) any 23 other or applicable state and federal law. Any agreement that purports 24 to waive such safeguards in violation of this paragraph shall be deemed 25 void as a matter of public policy. 26 j. Within fourteen days of the effective date of this subdivision, the 27 committee on special education of the school district of location shall 28 provide written notice to all parents or persons in parental relation to 29 students with disabilities attending nonpublic schools within such 30 district regarding the provisions of this subdivision. Such notice 31 shall: 32 (1) be provided in the native language of the parent or person in 33 parental relation; 34 (2) include a description of the extended deadline for requesting 35 services pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision; 36 (3) include a description of the eligibility criteria and process for 37 seeking payment for costs incurred in obtaining equivalent services 38 under paragraph f of this subdivision, including the documentation 39 required to demonstrate eligibility and costs incurred; 40 (4) include a description of the eligibility criteria and process for 41 seeking compensatory services under paragraph g of this subdivision, 42 including the documentation required to demonstrate eligibility, the 43 process for adjudication by an impartial hearing officer, and details 44 about how approved compensatory services will be incorporated into the 45 individualized education service program; and 46 (5) include an explanation of the procedural safeguards available 47 under paragraph i of this subdivision, with a clear statement that no 48 services provided under this subdivision shall be conditioned upon the 49 waiver of such safeguards and that any agreement purporting to waive 50 such safeguards is void as a matter of public policy. 51 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
