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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7353
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 5959
Referred to Committee on EDUCATION
Introduced by:
(ED)
AN ACT CONCERNING VA RIOUS ISSUES RELATING TO SPECIAL
EDUCATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 10-76a of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 2
Whenever used in sections 10-76a to 10-76i, inclusive: 3
(1) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Education. 4
(2) "Child" means any person under twenty-one years of age. 5
(3) An "exceptional child" means a child who deviates either 6
intellectually, physically or emotionally so markedly from normally 7
expected growth and development patterns that he or she is or will be 8
unable to progress effectively in a regular school program and needs a 9
special class, special instruction or special services. 10
(4) "Special education" means specially designed instruction 11
developed in accordance with the regulations of the commissioner, 12 Raised Bill No. 7353
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subject to approval by the State Board of Education offered at no cost 13
to parents or guardians, to meet the unique needs of a child with a 14
disability, including instruction conducted in the classroom, in the 15
home, in hospitals and institutions, and in other settings and 16
instruction in physical education and special classes, programs or 17
services, including related services, designed to meet the educational 18
needs of exceptional children. 19
(5) "A child requiring special education" means any exceptional 20
child who (A) meets the criteria for eligibility for special education 21
pursuant to the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 22
1400, et seq., as amended from time to time, (B) has extraordinary 23
learning ability or outstanding talent in the creative arts, the 24
development of which requires programs or services beyond the level 25
of those ordinarily provided in regular school programs but which 26
may be provided through special education as part of the public school 27
program, or (C) is age three to five, inclusive, and is experiencing 28
developmental delay that causes such child to require special 29
education. 30
(6) "Developmental delay" means significant delay in one or more of 31
the following areas: (A) Physical development; (B) communication 32
development; (C) cognitive development; (D) social or emotional 33
development; or (E) adaptive development, as measured by 34
appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures and demonstrated 35
by scores obtained on an appropriate norm-referenced standardized 36
diagnostic instrument. 37
(7) "Related services" means related services, as defined in the 38
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400 et seq., as 39
amended from time to time. 40
(8) "Extraordinary learning ability" and "outstanding creative talent" 41
shall be defined by regulation, adopted in accordance with the 42
provisions of chapter 54, by the commissioner, subject to the approval 43
of the State Board of Education, after consideration by said 44 Raised Bill No. 7353
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commissioner of the opinions of appropriate specialists and of the 45
normal range of ability and rate of progress of children in the 46
Connecticut public schools. 47
(9) "Local or regional board of education" means a local or regional 48
board of education, an interdistrict magnet school operator, the 49
governing council of a state or local charter school, the Technical 50
Education and Career System, an operator of a regional agricultural 51
science and technology education center, established pursuant to 52
section 10-64, a regional educational service center, a cooperative 53
arrangement committee established pursuant to section 10-158a, or the 54
board of trustees of an incorporated or endowed high school or 55
academy approved pursuant to section 10-34. 56
Sec. 2. Subsection (d) of section 10-76b of the general statutes is 57
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 58
1, 2019): 59
(d) The State Board of Education shall ensure that a local [and] or 60
regional [boards] board of education [are] is providing the information 61
described in subparagraph (D) of subdivision (10) of subsection (a) of 62
section 10-76d, as amended by this act, to the parent or guardian of a 63
child requiring special education or the surrogate parent appointed 64
pursuant to section 10-94g and, in the case of a pupil who is an 65
emancipated minor or eighteen years of age or older, the pupil. 66
Sec. 3. Subparagraph (D) of subdivision (10) of subsection (a) of 67
section 10-76d of the general statutes is repealed and the following is 68
substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 69
(D) Immediately upon the formal identification of any child as a 70
child requiring special education and at each planning and placement 71
team meeting for such child, the responsible local or regional board of 72
education shall inform the parent or guardian of such child or 73
surrogate parent or, in the case of a pupil who is an emancipated 74
minor or eighteen years of age or older, the pupil of (i) the laws 75
relating to special education, (ii) the rights of such parent, guardian, 76 Raised Bill No. 7353
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surrogate parent or pupil under such laws and the regulations adopted 77
by the State Board of Education relating to special education, including 78
the right of a parent, guardian or surrogate parent to (I) withhold from 79
enrolling such child in kindergarten, in accordance with the provisions 80
of section 10-184, [and] (II) have advisors and the school 81
paraprofessional assigned to such child or pupil to be present at, and 82
to participate in, all portions of such meeting at which an educational 83
program for such child or pupil is developed, reviewed or revised, in 84
accordance with the provisions of subparagraph (C) of this 85
subdivision, and (III) maintain such child's enrollment at his or her 86
current school and to require that such local or regional board of 87
education provide special education to such child at such school, and 88
(iii) any relevant information and resources relating to individualized 89
education programs created by the Department of Education, 90
including, but not limited to, information relating to transition 91
resources and services for high school students. If such parent, 92
guardian, surrogate parent or pupil does not attend a planning and 93
placement team meeting, the responsible local or regional board of 94
education shall mail such information to such person. 95
Sec. 4. Section 10-76q of the general statutes is repealed and the 96
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 97
(a) The State Board of Education, in accordance with regulations 98
adopted by said board, shall: (1) Provide the professional services 99
necessary to identify, in accordance with section 10-76a, as amended 100
by this act, children requiring special education who are enrolled at a 101
technical education and career school; (2) identify each such child; (3) 102
determine the appropriateness of the technical education and career 103
school for the educational needs of each such child; (4) provide an 104
appropriate educational program for each such child; (5) maintain a 105
record thereof; and (6) annually evaluate the progress and 106
accomplishments of special education programs provided by the 107
Technical Education and Career System. 108
(b) Where it is deemed appropriate that a child enrolled in a 109 Raised Bill No. 7353
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technical education and career school receive special education, the 110
parents or guardian of such child shall have a right to the hearing and 111
appeal process as provided for in section 10-76h. 112
[(c) If a planning and placement team determines that a student 113
requires special education services which preclude such student's 114
participation in the vocational education program offered by a 115
technical education and career school, the student shall be referred to 116
the board of education in the town in which the student resides for the 117
development of an individualized educational program and such 118
board of education shall be responsible for the implementation and 119
financing of such program.] 120
Sec. 5. Section 10-76d of the general statutes is amended by adding 121
subsection (i) as follows (Effective July 1, 2019): 122
(NEW) (i) No local or regional board of education shall discipline, 123
suspend, terminate or otherwise punish any teacher, administrator or 124
school paraprofessional employed by such board who (1) discusses or 125
makes recommendations concerning the provision of special education 126
and related services for a child during a planning and placement team 127
meeting for such child, or (2) discusses or makes recommendations 128
outside of a planning and placement team meeting concerning the 129
provision of special education and related services to the parent or 130
guardian of a child who requires or who may require special 131
education, a pupil if such pupil is an emancipated minor or eighteen 132
years of age or older who requires or who may require special 133
education or a surrogate parent appointed pursuant to section 10-94g. 134
Sec. 6. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a working 135
group to study issues relating to the gap of services for children three 136
to five years of age, inclusive, during the period in which such children 137
are no longer eligible for services provided by the birth-to-three 138
program, established pursuant to section 17a-248b of the general 139
statutes, and not yet eligible to receive special education and related 140
services pursuant to sections 10-76a to 10-76h, inclusive, of the general 141 Raised Bill No. 7353
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statutes, as amended by this act, until such children are enrolled in 142
kindergarten. As part of such study, the working group shall review 143
and evaluate the eligibility criteria for special education and related 144
services that creates such gap and prevents children from experiencing 145
a continuity of services. 146
(b) The working group shall consist of the following members: 147
(1) The Commissioner of Early Childhood, or the commissioner's 148
designee; 149
(2) The Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee; 150
(3) The Child Advocate; 151
(4) A representative designated by the Connecticut Association of 152
Public School Superintendents; 153
(5) Three birth-to-three program service providers, selected by the 154
Commissioner of Early Childhood; and 155
(6) A representative from each regional educational service center 156
who is responsible for the provision of special education services for 157
the center, designated by the center. 158
(c) All member selections to the working group pursuant to 159
subdivision (5) of subsection (b) of this section shall be made not later 160
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy 161
shall be filled by the Commissioner of Early Childhood. 162
(d) The first meeting of the working group shall be scheduled by the 163
Commissioner of Early Childhood and held not later than sixty days 164
after the effective date of this section. The chairperson of the working 165
group shall be elected from among the members of the working group 166
at the first meeting. 167
(e) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 168
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education 169 Raised Bill No. 7353
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shall serve as administrative staff of the working group. 170
(f) Not later than January 1, 2020, the working group shall submit a 171
report on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing 172
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 173
relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-174
4a of the general statutes. The working group shall terminate on the 175
date that it submits such report or January 1, 2020, whichever is later. 176
Sec. 7. Section 10-76jj of the general statutes is repealed and the 177
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 178
The individualized education program for any child identified as 179
deaf or hard of hearing shall include a language and communication 180
plan developed by the planning and placement team for such child. 181
Such language and communication plan shall address: (1) The primary 182
language or mode of communication chosen for the child, (2) 183
opportunities for direct communication with peers and professional 184
personnel in the primary language or mode of communication for the 185
child, (3) educational options available to the child, (4) the 186
qualifications of teachers and other professional personnel 187
administering such plan for the child, including such teacher's or 188
personnel's proficiency in the primary language or mode of 189
communication for the child, (5) the accessibility of academic 190
instruction, school services and extracurricular activities to the child, 191
(6) assistive devices and services for the child, [and] (7) communication 192
and physical environment accommodations for the child, and (8) an 193
emergency communication plan that includes procedures for alerting 194
the child of an emergency situation and ensuring that the specific 195
needs of the child are met during the emergency situation. 196
Sec. 8. (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section, "emergency 197
communication plan" means a plan developed for a student identified 198
as deaf, hard of hearing or both blind or visually impaired and deaf, 199
that includes procedures for alerting such students of an emergency 200
situation and ensuring that the specific needs of the child are met 201 Raised Bill No. 7353
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during the emergency situation. 202
(b) Not later than October 1, 2019, the Department of Emergency 203
Services and Public Protection, in consultation with the Department of 204
Education, shall revise the school security and safety plan standards, 205
developed pursuant to section 10-222n of the general statutes, to 206
include provisions relating to emergency communication plans for 207
students identified as deaf, hard of hearing or both blind or visually 208
impaired and deaf. 209
(c) Not later than January 1, 2020, each local and regional board of 210
education shall revise the school security and safety plan for each 211
school under the jurisdiction of such board, developed pursuant to 212
section 10-222m of the general statutes, to include provisions relating 213
to emergency communication plans for students identified as deaf, 214
hard of hearing or both blind or visually impaired and deaf. 215
Sec. 9. (Effective from passage) Not later than October 1, 2019, the 216
School Safety Infrastructure Council shall revise the school safety 217
infrastructure criteria for school building projects, developed pursuant 218
to section 10-292r of the general statutes, to include provisions relating 219
to emergency communication plans for students identified as deaf, 220
hard of hearing or both blind or visually impaired and deaf. As used in 221
this section, "emergency communication plan" means a plan developed 222
for a student identified as deaf, hard of hearing or both blind or 223
visually impaired and deaf, that includes procedures for alerting such 224
students of an emergency situation and ensuring that the specific 225
needs of the child are met during the emergency situation. 226
Sec. 10. (Effective July 1, 2019) The Departments of Education and 227
Public Health and the Office of Early Childhood shall develop a 228
process for collecting and sharing data to ensure that students 229
identified as deaf, hard of hearing or both blind or visually impaired 230
and deaf, have the necessary language skills to acquire knowledge that 231
will assist them to be successful in school and after graduation. Not 232
later than January 1, 2020, the Department of Education shall submit a 233 Raised Bill No. 7353
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report on such process to the joint standing committee of the General 234
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, in 235
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes. 236
Sec. 11. (Effective July 1, 2019) The Department of Education shall 237
establish a working group, within the department, on language 238
assessment for students identified as deaf, hard of hearing or both 239
blind or visually impaired and deaf. The working group shall develop 240
guidelines concerning appropriate language assessments, practices 241
and programs and the provision of immediate interventions when a 242
student does not demonstrate progress in age-appropriate expressive 243
and receptive language skills. 244
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 10-76a
Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 10-76b(d)
Sec. 3 July 1, 2019 10-76d(a)(10)(D)
Sec. 4 July 1, 2019 10-76q
Sec. 5 July 1, 2019 10-76d
Sec. 6 from passage New section
Sec. 7 July 1, 2019 10-76jj
Sec. 8 from passage New section
Sec. 9 from passage New section
Sec. 10 July 1, 2019 New section
Sec. 11 July 1, 2019 New section
Statement of Purpose:
To address various issues relating to the provision of special education
in the state.
[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.]