HOUSE BILL 414
48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2008
INTRODUCED BY
Thomas A. Garcia
FOR THE LEGISLATIVE EDUCATION STUDY COMMITTEE
AN ACT
RELATING TO SPECIAL EDUCATION; CLARIFYING THE STATE'S RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVIDE SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES; REQUIRING PUBLIC EDUCATION DEPARTMENT PARTICIPATION IN DEVELOPMENT OF AGREEMENTS BETWEEN SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND PRIVATE TRAINING CENTERS AND RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT PROGRAMS; REQUIRING STUDENT IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS FOR STUDENTS ATTENDING TRAINING CENTERS AND RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT PROGRAMS; REQUIRING TRAINING CENTERS AND RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT PROGRAMS TO PROVIDE REASONABLE PHYSICAL SPACE FOR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 22-13-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1972, Chapter 95, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
"22-13-8. SPECIAL EDUCATION--PRIVATE.--
A. The responsibility of school districts, state institutions and the state to provide a free public education for [exceptional children] school-age persons who need special education is not diminished by the availability of private schools and services. [Whenever such schools or services are utilized, it continues to be] It is a state responsibility to [assure] ensure that all [exceptional children] special education students receive the education to which the laws of the state entitle them whether provided by public or private schools and services.
B. A school district in which a private, nonsectarian, nonprofit training center or residential treatment center is located shall not be considered a special education student's resident school district if residency is based solely on the student's enrollment at the facility and the student would not otherwise be considered a resident of the state.
C. For a student placed in a private, nonsectarian, nonprofit training center or residential treatment center by a school district or by a due process decision, the school district where the student lives, whether in-state or out-of-state, is responsible for the educational costs of that placement.
D. For a special education student placed in a private, nonsectarian, nonprofit training center or residential treatment center not as a result of a due process decision but by a parent who assumes the responsibility for such placement, the department shall ensure that the school district where the facility is located is allocating and distributing that student's proportionate share of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B funds.
E. The department shall determine which school district is responsible for the cost of educating a special education student who has been placed in a private, nonsectarian, nonprofit training center or residential treatment center outside the student's resident school district. The department shall determine the reasonable reimbursement owed to the receiving district.
[B.] F. A local school board, in consultation with the department, may make an agreement with a private, nonsectarian, nonprofit educational training [centers] center or residential treatment center for educating [exceptional children] special education students for whom the school district is responsible for providing a free appropriate public education and for providing [for] payment for [such] that education. All financial agreements between local school boards and private, nonsectarian, nonprofit educational training centers and residential treatment centers must be negotiated in accordance with [regulations] rules promulgated by the [director] department. Payment for education and services under [such] those agreements shall be made by the local school board [of education] where the student lives from available funds. [available
C.] G. All agreements between local school boards and private, nonsectarian, nonprofit educational training centers and residential treatment centers must be reviewed and approved by the [state superintendent] secretary. The agreements shall ensure that all special education students placed in a private, nonsectarian, nonprofit training center or residential treatment center receive the education to which the laws of the state entitle them. All agreements must provide for:
(1) diagnosis [and];
(2) an educational program for each [child which] public school student that meets state standards for such programs, except that teachers employed by private schools are not required to be highly qualified;
(3) special education and related services in conformance with an individualized education program that meets the requirements of federal and state law; and
(4) adequate classroom and other physical space provided at the training center or residential treatment center that allows the school district to provide an appropriate education.
H. The agreements must also acknowledge the authority and responsibility of the local school board and the department [of education] to conduct on-site evaluations of programs and [pupil] student progress to [insure] ensure that the education provided to the public school student is meeting state standards.
[D. Exceptional children] I. A special education student for whom the state is required by federal law to provide a free appropriate public education and who is attending a private, nonsectarian, nonprofit training center or a residential treatment center is a public school student and shall be counted in the special education membership of the school district [as enrolled in the Class D special education program] that is responsible for the costs of educating the student and in the class level identified as appropriate in the individualized educational plan for the student.
J. The department shall adopt the format to report individual student data and costs for any school-age person attending public or private training centers or residential treatment programs and shall include those reports in the student teacher accountability reporting system by using the same student identification number issued to a public school student pursuant to Section 22-2C-11 NMSA 1978 or by assigning a unique student identifier for a school-age person who is not a resident of this state but who is attending a private training center or residential treatment program in this state. Every public and private training center and every public and private residential treatment program that serves school-age persons in this state shall comply with this provision.
K. The department shall promulgate rules to carry out the provisions of this section."
Section 2. Section 32A-12-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1979, Chapter 227, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"32A-12-2. RESIDENTIAL TREATMENT PROGRAMS--[REGULATIONS] RULES.--The secretary of children, youth and families shall adopt [regulations] rules to provide for:
A. minimum standards that shall be met by a residential treatment program, including a requirement that the program make reasonable provisions for adequate physical space for a school district to provide the required free appropriate public education;
B. procedures and forms for applying for a departmental grant or contract;
C. procedures and criteria for review and approval or denial of such applications;
D. procedures for approval of facilities and programs in or through which services are to be performed;
E. procedures and specifications of programmatic and financial information to be reported by residential treatment programs to the children, youth and families department for purposes of evaluating the effectiveness of programs funded by the department; and
F. procedures for review of potential clients for residential treatment or therapeutic group home care."
Section 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2008.
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