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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7353
January Session, 2019
AN ACT CONCERNING THE PROVISION OF SPECIAL EDUCATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 10-76q of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 2
(a) The State Board of Education, in accordance with regulations 3
adopted by said board, shall: (1) Provide the professional services 4
necessary to identify, in accordance with section 10-76a, children 5
requiring special education who are enrolled at a technical education 6
and career school; (2) identify each such child; (3) determine the 7
appropriateness of the technical education and career school for the 8
educational needs of each such child; (4) provide an appropriate 9
educational program for each such child; (5) maintain a record thereof; 10
and (6) annually evaluate the progress and accomplishments of special 11
education programs provided by the Technical Education and Career 12
System. 13
(b) Where it is deemed appropriate that a child enrolled in a 14
technical education and career school receive special education, the 15
parents or guardian of such child shall have a right to the hearing and 16
appeal process as provided for in section 10-76h. 17
[(c) If a planning and placement team determines that a student 18 Substitute Bill No. 7353
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requires special education services which preclude such student's 19
participation in the vocational education program offered by a 20
technical education and career school, the student shall be referred to 21
the board of education in the town in which the student resides for the 22
development of an individualized educational program and such 23
board of education shall be responsible for the implementation and 24
financing of such program.] 25
Sec. 2. Section 10-76d of the general statutes is amended by adding 26
subsection (i) as follows (Effective July 1, 2019): 27
(NEW) (i) No local or regional board of education shall discipline, 28
suspend, terminate or otherwise punish any member of a planning and 29
placement team employed by such board who discusses or makes 30
recommendations concerning the provision of special education and 31
related services for a child during a planning and placement team 32
meeting for such child. Nothing in this subsection shall limit or 33
prevent a supervisor conducting a performance evaluation for a 34
member of a planning and placement team from evaluating such 35
member's professional conduct during a planning and placement team 36
meeting. 37
Sec. 3. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a working 38
group to study issues relating to the gap of services for children three 39
to five years of age, inclusive, during the period in which such children 40
are no longer eligible for services provided by the birth-to-three 41
program, established pursuant to section 17a-248d of the general 42
statutes, and not yet eligible to receive special education and related 43
services pursuant to sections 10-76a to 10-76h, inclusive, of the general 44
statutes until such children are enrolled in kindergarten. As part of 45
such study, the working group shall review and evaluate the eligibility 46
criteria for special education and related services that creates such gap 47
and prevents children from experiencing a continuity of services. 48
(b) The working group shall consist of the following members: 49 Substitute Bill No. 7353
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(1) The Commissioner of Early Childhood, or the commissioner's 50
designee; 51
(2) The Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee; 52
(3) The Child Advocate; 53
(4) A representative designated by the Connecticut Association of 54
Public School Superintendents; 55
(5) Three birth-to-three program service providers, selected by the 56
Commissioner of Early Childhood; and 57
(6) A representative from each regional educational service center 58
who is responsible for the provision of special education services for 59
the center, designated by the center. 60
(c) All member selections to the working group pursuant to 61
subdivision (5) of subsection (b) of this section shall be made not later 62
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy 63
shall be filled by the Commissioner of Early Childhood. 64
(d) The first meeting of the working group shall be scheduled by the 65
Commissioner of Early Childhood and held not later than sixty days 66
after the effective date of this section. The chairperson of the working 67
group shall be elected from among the members of the working group 68
at the first meeting. 69
(e) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 70
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education 71
shall serve as administrative staff of the working group. 72
(f) Not later than January 1, 2020, the working group shall submit a 73
report on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing 74
committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters 75
relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-76
4a of the general statutes. The working group shall terminate on the 77 Substitute Bill No. 7353
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date that it submits such report or January 1, 2020, whichever is later. 78
Sec. 4. Section 10-76jj of the general statutes is repealed and the 79
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019): 80
The individualized education program or plan pursuant to Section 81
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended from time to time, for 82
any child identified as deaf or hard of hearing shall include a language 83
and communication plan. In the case of a child with an individualized 84
education program, the language and communication plan shall be 85
developed by the planning and placement team for such child. Such 86
language and communication plan shall address: (1) The primary 87
language or mode of communication chosen for the child, (2) 88
opportunities for direct communication with peers and professional 89
personnel in the primary language or mode of communication for the 90
child, (3) educational options available to the child, (4) the 91
qualifications of teachers and other professional personnel 92
administering such plan for the child, including such teacher's or 93
personnel's proficiency in the primary language or mode of 94
communication for the child, (5) the accessibility of academic 95
instruction, school services and extracurricular activities to the child, 96
(6) assistive devices and services for the child, [and] (7) communication 97
and physical environment accommodations for the child, and (8) an 98
emergency communication plan that includes procedures for alerting 99
the child of an emergency situation and ensuring that the specific 100
needs of the child are met during the emergency situation. 101
Sec. 5. (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section, "emergency 102
communication plan" means a plan developed for a student identified 103
as deaf, hard of hearing or both blind or visually impaired and deaf, 104
that includes procedures for alerting such student of an emergency 105
situation and ensuring that the specific needs of the student are met 106
during the emergency situation. 107
(b) Not later than October 1, 2019, the Department of Emergency 108
Services and Public Protection, in consultation with the Department of 109 Substitute Bill No. 7353
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Education, shall revise the school security and safety plan standards, 110
developed pursuant to section 10-222n of the general statutes, to 111
include provisions relating to emergency communication plans. 112
(c) Not later than January 1, 2020, each local and regional board of 113
education shall revise the school security and safety plan for each 114
school under the jurisdiction of such board, developed pursuant to 115
section 10-222m of the general statutes, to include provisions relating 116
to emergency communication plans. 117
Sec. 6. (Effective from passage) Not later than October 1, 2019, the 118
School Safety Infrastructure Council shall revise the school safety 119
infrastructure criteria for school building projects, developed pursuant 120
to section 10-292r of the general statutes, to include provisions relating 121
to emergency communication plans. As used in this section, 122
"emergency communication plan" means a plan developed for a 123
student identified as deaf, hard of hearing or both blind or visually 124
impaired and deaf, that includes procedures for alerting such student 125
of an emergency situation and ensuring that the specific needs of the 126
student are met during the emergency situation. 127
Sec. 7. (Effective July 1, 2019) The Departments of Education and 128
Public Health and the Office of Early Childhood shall develop a 129
process for collecting and sharing data to ensure that students with an 130
individualized education program or a plan pursuant to Section 504 of 131
the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended from time to time, and 132
whose primary disability is identified as being deaf, hard of hearing or 133
both blind or visually impaired and deaf, have the necessary language 134
skills to acquire knowledge that will assist them to be successful in 135
school and after graduation. Not later than January 1, 2020, the 136
Department of Education shall submit a report on such process to the 137
joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance 138
of matters relating to education, in accordance with the provisions of 139
section 11-4a of the general statutes. 140
Sec. 8. (Effective July 1, 2019) The Department of Education shall 141 Substitute Bill No. 7353
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establish a working group, within the department, on language 142
assessment for students identified as deaf, hard of hearing or both 143
blind or visually impaired and deaf. The working group shall develop 144
guidelines concerning appropriate language assessments, practices 145
and programs and the provision of immediate interventions when a 146
student does not demonstrate progress in age-appropriate expressive 147
and receptive language skills. 148
Sec. 9. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) A local or regional board of 149
education shall, upon the identification of a student as gifted and 150
talented, provide written notice of such identification to the parent or 151
guardian of such student. Such notice shall include, but need not be 152
limited to, (1) an explanation of how such student was identified as 153
gifted and talented, and (2) the contact information for (A) the 154
employee at the Department of Education who has been designated as 155
responsible for providing information and assistance to boards of 156
education and parents or guardians of students related to gifted and 157
talented students, pursuant to section 10-3e of the general statutes, and 158
(B) any associations in the state that provide support to gifted and 159
talented students. 160
Sec. 10. Subsection (h) of section 10-264l of the general statutes is 161
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 162
1, 2019): 163
(h) (1) In the case of a student identified as requiring special 164
education, the school district in which the student resides shall: [(1)] 165
(A) Hold the planning and placement team meeting for such student 166
and shall invite representatives from the interdistrict magnet school to 167
participate in such meeting; and [(2)] (B) pay the interdistrict magnet 168
school an amount equal to the difference between the reasonable cost 169
of educating such student and the sum of the amount received by the 170
interdistrict magnet school for such student pursuant to subsection (c) 171
of this section and amounts received from other state, federal, local or 172
private sources calculated on a per pupil basis. Such school district 173
shall be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to section 10-76g. If a 174 Substitute Bill No. 7353
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student requiring special education attends an interdistrict magnet 175
school on a full-time basis, such interdistrict magnet school shall be 176
responsible for ensuring that such student receives the services 177
mandated by the student's individualized education program whether 178
such services are provided by the interdistrict magnet school or by the 179
school district in which the student resides. 180
(2) In the case of a student with a plan pursuant to Section 504 of the 181
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended from time to time, the school 182
district in which the student resides shall pay the interdistrict magnet 183
school an amount equal to the difference between the reasonable cost 184
of educating such student and the sum of the amount received by the 185
interdistrict magnet school for such student pursuant to subsection (c) 186
of this section and amounts received from other state, federal, local or 187
private sources calculated on a per pupil basis. If a student with a plan 188
pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended 189
from time to time, attends an interdistrict magnet school on a full-time 190
basis, such interdistrict magnet school shall be responsible for ensuring 191
that such student receives the services mandated by the student's plan, 192
whether such services are provided by the interdistrict magnet school 193
or by the school district in which the student resides. 194
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 10-76q
Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 10-76d
Sec. 3 from passage New section
Sec. 4 July 1, 2019 10-76jj
Sec. 5 from passage New section
Sec. 6 from passage New section
Sec. 7 July 1, 2019 New section
Sec. 8 July 1, 2019 New section
Sec. 9 July 1, 2019 New section
Sec. 10 July 1, 2019 10-264l(h)
Substitute Bill No. 7353
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Statement of Legislative Commissioners:
In Section 3(a), the reference to "section 17a-248b" was changed to
"section 17a-248d" for accuracy.
ED Joint Favorable Subst.