Bill Text: CT SB01009 | 2017 | General Assembly | Comm Sub
Bill Title: An Act Concerning Training For Special Education Hearing Officers And The Administrative Responsibilities Of School Districts Regarding The Provision Of Special Education.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2017-05-05 - House Calendar Number 487 [SB01009 Detail]
Download: Connecticut-2017-SB01009-Comm_Sub.html
General Assembly |
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January Session, 2017 |
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AN ACT CONCERNING TRAINING FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION HEARING OFFICERS AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS REGARDING THE PROVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 10-76h of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2017):
(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] provided any person appointed to serve as an impartial hearing officer shall have completed the training described in subsection (c) of this section. The hearing officer 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.
Sec. 2. Subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of section 10-76h of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2017):
(c) (1) The Department of Education shall provide training to hearing officers in (A) administrative hearing procedures, including due process, [and in] (B) the special educational needs of children, and (C) state and federal special education laws, including the provision of updates concerning any changes made to such laws. 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.
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) The Advisory Council for Special Education, established in section 10-76i of the general statutes, shall conduct a study concerning the administration and provision of special education in schools. Such study shall examine and make recommendations on the following: (1) The assignment of at least one person at each school to serve as an individualized education program coordinator who is responsible for the administrative duties associated with the provision of special education and related services required under state and federal laws, (2) the percentage of students receiving special education and related services in a classroom that is not specifically dedicated to special education students, and (3) the caseload number of students receiving special education and related services for an individual teacher. Not later than January 1, 2018, the council shall submit such study and any recommendations to the State Board of Education and to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections: | ||
Section 1 |
July 1, 2017 |
10-76h(b) |
Sec. 2 |
July 1, 2017 |
10-76h(c)(1) |
Sec. 3 |
from passage |
New section |
ED |
Joint Favorable Subst. |