General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1009
January Session, 2017 LCO No. 5009
*05009_______ED_*
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
Introduced by:
(ED)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 1009
January Session, 2017
LCO No. 5009
*05009_______ED_*
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
Introduced by:
(ED)
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 Subsection (b) of section 10-76h of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2017):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 Subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of section 10-76h of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2017):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 optimal percentage of students receiving special education and related services in a classroom that is not specifically dedicated to special education students, and (3) the optimal 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.
Sec. 4. (Effective from passage) The Department of Education shall develop recommended standards for social worker-to-student ratios in school districts. Such recommended standards shall consider the varying needs of and resources available to rural, suburban and urban school districts. No local or regional board of education shall be responsible for implementing any ratio identified in such recommendations. Not later than January 1, 2018, the department shall submit such recommendations 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
Sec. 4 from passage New section
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
Sec. 4
from passage
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require training for all special education hearing officers, to require the Advisory Council for Special Education to conduct a study about the administration and provision of special education in schools, and to require the Department of Education to develop recommendations regarding an optimal ratio of social workers to students in a school district.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]