Bill Text: NY A07786 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Requires parental appeal of placement and educational program to be provided to a child with a handicapping condition to be determined within 90 days; requires continued implementation of a unilateral parental placement, once such a placement has been judged to be appropriate.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - referred to education [A07786 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-A07786-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         7786
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                     June 4, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced by M. of A. WEINSTEIN, SILVER, CYMBROWITZ, GOLDFEDER, HIKIND,
         JACOBS,  KELLNER,  LENTOL,  SIMANOWITZ,  TITONE,  WEISENBERG,  WEPRIN,
         TITUS, BRENNAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
       AN ACT to amend the education law,  in  relation  to  determinations  of
         appropriate educational programs for certain students
         THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section 1. Item (i) of clause (b) of subparagraph 3 of paragraph b  of
    2  subdivision  1 of section 4402 of the education law, as amended by chap-
    3  ter 378 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
    4    (i) Make recommendations based upon a written evaluation setting forth
    5  the reasons for the recommendations, to the child's parent or person  in
    6  parental  relation  and board of education or trustees as to appropriate
    7  educational programs and placement in accordance with the provisions  of
    8  subdivision six of section forty-four hundred one-a of this article, and
    9  as  to the advisability of continuation, modification, or termination of
   10  special class or program placements which evaluation shall be  furnished
   11  to  the  child's parent or person in parental relation together with the
   12  recommendations provided, however that the  committee  may  recommend  a
   13  placement  in a school which uses psychotropic drugs only if such school
   14  has a written policy pertaining to such  use  that  is  consistent  with
   15  subdivision  four-a  of section thirty-two hundred eight of this chapter
   16  and that the parent or person in parental relation is given such written
   17  policy at the time such recommendation is made. If  such  recommendation
   18  is  not  acceptable  to  the parent or person in parental relation, such
   19  parent or person in parental relation may appeal such recommendation  as
   20  provided  for in section forty-four hundred four of this [chapter] ARTI-
   21  CLE. PROVIDED, FURTHER, THAT A PARENT'S APPEAL  OF  SUCH  RECOMMENDATION
   22  SHALL  BE  RESOLVED, EITHER THROUGH THE GRANTING OR DENIAL OF THE APPEAL
   23  BY AN IMPARTIAL HEARING OFFICER, OR THE SIGNING OF A  SETTLEMENT  AGREE-
   24  MENT  BETWEEN THE PARENT OR PERSON IN PARENTAL RELATION AND THE BOARD OF
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD11316-03-3
       A. 7786                             2
    1  EDUCATION OR TRUSTEES OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR  A  STATE  AGENCY,  WITHIN
    2  NINETY  DAYS FROM THE DATE OF THE APPEAL, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, SUCH PERIOD
    3  OF NINETY DAYS MAY BE EXTENDED BY AN IMPARTIAL HEARING  OFFICER  FOR  NO
    4  MORE  THAN  A PERIOD OF SIXTY DAYS UPON REQUEST BY EITHER PARTY AND ONLY
    5  AFTER FULLY CONSIDERING THE CUMULATIVE IMPACT OF THE FOLLOWING: (A)  THE
    6  IMPACT  ON THE CHILD'S EDUCATIONAL INTEREST OR WELL-BEING WHICH MIGHT BE
    7  OCCASIONED BY THE DELAY; (B) THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL TIME BY A PARTY  TO
    8  PREPARE  OR  PRESENT  THE  PARTY'S POSITION AT THE HEARING IN ACCORDANCE
    9  WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF DUE PROCESS; (C) ANY FINANCIAL OR OTHER  DETRI-
   10  MENTAL  CONSEQUENCES  LIKELY  TO  BE SUFFERED BY A PARTY IN THE EVENT OF
   11  DELAY; AND (D) WHETHER THERE HAS ALREADY BEEN A DELAY IN THE  PROCEEDING
   12  THROUGH THE ACTIONS OF ONE OF THE PARTIES.
   13    UPON  THE  SIGNING OF A WRITTEN SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN A CHILD'S
   14  PARENT OR PERSON IN PARENTAL RELATION AND  THE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION  OR
   15  TRUSTEES  OF  A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR A STATE AGENCY, OR THE DECISION OF AN
   16  IMPARTIAL HEARING OFFICER, STATE REVIEW OFFICER OR A COURT FINDING  THAT
   17  A UNILATERAL PARENTAL PLACEMENT WAS APPROPRIATE AND THAT TUITION PAYMENT
   18  SHOULD  BE GRANTED FOR SUCH UNILATERAL PLACEMENT, AS PROVIDED BY SECTION
   19  1412(A)(10)(C) OF TITLE 20 OF THE UNITED STATES CODE AND THE  IMPLEMENT-
   20  ING  FEDERAL REGULATIONS, THE AMOUNT OF SUCH PAYMENT SHOULD BE SET FORTH
   21  IN ANY SUCH SETTLEMENT OR DECISION OR FINDING, AND SUCH PAYMENT MUST  BE
   22  MADE WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF SUCH SETTLEMENT, DECISION OR FINDING.
   23    S 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 4404 of the education law
   24  is amended by adding a new closing paragraph to read as follows:
   25    NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW, RULE OR REGULATION TO THE
   26  CONTRARY, UPON THE SIGNING OF A WRITTEN SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT  BETWEEN  A
   27  CHILD'S PARENT OR PERSON IN PARENTAL RELATION AND THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
   28  OR  TRUSTEES  OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT OR A STATE AGENCY, OR THE DECISION OF
   29  AN IMPARTIAL HEARING OFFICER, STATE REVIEW OFFICER OR  A  COURT  FINDING
   30  THAT  A  UNILATERAL  PARENTAL PLACEMENT WAS APPROPRIATE AND THAT TUITION
   31  PAYMENT SHOULD BE GRANTED FOR SUCH UNILATERAL  PLACEMENT,  SUCH  TUITION
   32  PAYMENT    SHALL CONTINUE IN FUTURE YEARS, AT THE SAME PERCENTAGE OF THE
   33  TOTAL TUITION COST AS THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S PAYMENT, UNTIL  THE  COMMITTEE
   34  ON SPECIAL EDUCATION DETERMINES, BASED ON AN EVALUATION, THAT THE PLACE-
   35  MENT IS INAPPROPRIATE.
   36    S  3.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
   37  the amendments to clause (b) of subparagraph 3 of paragraph b of  subdi-
   38  vision  1  of  section 4402 of the education law, made by section one of
   39  this act, shall not affect the  expiration  of  such  clause  and  shall
   40  expire  therewith; provided, further, that the amendments to subdivision
   41  1 of section 4404 of the education law, made by section two of this act,
   42  shall not affect the expiration of such  subdivision  and  shall  expire
   43  therewith.