Substitute House Bill No. 7353
Public Act No. 19-184
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E PROVISION OF SPECI AL
EDUCATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 10-76d of the general statutes is amended by
adding subsection (i) as follows (Effective July 1, 2019):
(NEW) (i) No local or regional board of education shall discipline,
suspend, terminate or otherwise punish any member of a planning and
placement team employed by such board who discusses or makes
recommendations concerning the provision of special education and
related services for a child during a planning and placement team
meeting for such child.
Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a working
group to study issues relating to the provision of special education and
related services during the period in which a child is no longer eligible
for services provided by the birth-to-three program, established
pursuant to section 17a-248d of the general statutes, and is not yet
enrolled in kindergarten. As part of such study, the working group
shall review and evaluate any practices or policies of the Office of
Early Childhood or local or regional boards of education that may
result in a child experiencing a disruption in or cessation of services Substitute House Bill No. 7353
Public Act No. 19-184 2 of 7
during such period.
(b) The working group shall consist of the following members:
(1) The Commissioner of Early Childhood, or the commissioner's
designee;
(2) The Commissioner of Education, or the commissioner's designee;
(3) The Child Advocate;
(4) A representative designated by the Connecticut Association of
Public School Superintendents;
(5) Three birth-to-three program service providers, selected by the
Commissioner of Early Childhood; and
(6) A representative from each regional educational service center
who is responsible for the provision of special education services for
the center, designated by the center.
(c) All member selections to the working group pursuant to
subdivision (5) of subsection (b) of this section shall be made not later
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy
shall be filled by the Commissioner of Early Childhood.
(d) The first meeting of the working group shall be scheduled by the
Commissioner of Early Childhood and held not later than sixty days
after the effective date of this section. The chairperson of the working
group shall be elected from among the members of the working group
at the first meeting.
(e) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education
shall serve as administrative staff of the working group. Substitute House Bill No. 7353
Public Act No. 19-184 3 of 7
(f) Not later than January 1, 2020, the working group shall submit a
report on its findings and 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. The working group shall terminate on the
date that it submits such report or January 1, 2020, whichever is later.
Sec. 3. Section 10-76jj of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2019):
The individualized education program or plan pursuant to Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended from time to time, for
any child identified as deaf or hard of hearing shall include a language
and communication plan. In the case of a child with an individualized
education program, the language and communication plan shall be
developed by the planning and placement team for such child. Such
language and communication plan shall address: (1) The primary
language or mode of communication chosen for the child, (2)
opportunities for direct communication with peers and professional
personnel in the primary language or mode of communication for the
child, (3) educational options available to the child, (4) the
qualifications of teachers and other professional personnel
administering such plan for the child, including such teacher's or
personnel's proficiency in the primary language or mode of
communication for the child, (5) the accessibility of academic
instruction, school services and extracurricular activities to the child,
(6) assistive devices and services for the child, [and] (7) communication
and physical environment accommodations for the child, and (8) an
emergency communication plan that includes procedures for alerting
the child of an emergency situation and ensuring that the specific
needs of the child are met during the emergency situation.
Sec. 4. (Effective from passage) (a) As used in this section, "emergency
communication plan" means a plan developed for a student identified Substitute House Bill No. 7353
Public Act No. 19-184 4 of 7
as deaf, hard of hearing or both blind or visually impaired and deaf,
that includes procedures for alerting such student of an emergency
situation and ensuring that the specific needs of the student are met
during the emergency situation.
(b) Not later than October 1, 2019, the Department of Emergency
Services and Public Protection, in consultation with the Department of
Education, shall revise the school security and safety plan standards,
developed pursuant to section 10-222n of the general statutes, to
include provisions relating to emergency communication plans.
(c) Not later than January 1, 2020, each local and regional board of
education shall revise the school security and safety plan for each
school under the jurisdiction of such board, developed pursuant to
section 10-222m of the general statutes, to include provisions relating
to emergency communication plans.
Sec. 5. (Effective from passage) Not later than October 1, 2019, the
School Safety Infrastructure Council shall revise the school safety
infrastructure criteria for school building projects, developed pursuant
to section 10-292r of the general statutes, to include provisions relating
to emergency communication plans. As used in this section,
"emergency communication plan" means a plan developed for a
student identified as deaf, hard of hearing or both blind or visually
impaired and deaf, that includes procedures for alerting such student
of an emergency situation and ensuring that the specific needs of the
student are met during the emergency situation.
Sec. 6. (Effective July 1, 2019) The Department of Education shall
establish a working group, within the department, on language
assessment for students identified as deaf, hard of hearing or both
blind or visually impaired and deaf. The working group shall develop
guidelines concerning appropriate language assessments, practices
and programs and the provision of immediate interventions when a Substitute House Bill No. 7353
Public Act No. 19-184 5 of 7
student does not demonstrate progress in age-appropriate expressive
and receptive language skills.
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) A local or regional board of
education shall, upon the identification of a student as gifted and
talented, provide electronic notice of such identification to the parent
or guardian of such student. Such notice shall include, but need not be
limited to, (1) an explanation of how such student was identified as
gifted and talented, and (2) the contact information for (A) the
employee of the school district in charge of the provision of services to
gifted and talented students, or, if there is no such employee, the
employee of the school district in charge of the provision of special
education and related services, (B) the employee at the Department of
Education who has been designated as responsible for providing
information and assistance to boards of education and parents or
guardians of students related to gifted and talented students, pursuant
to section 10-3e of the general statutes, and (C) any associations in the
state that provide support to gifted and talented students.
Sec. 8. Subsection (h) of section 10-264l of the general statutes is
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July
1, 2019):
(h) (1) In the case of a student identified as requiring special
education, the school district in which the student resides shall: [(1)]
(A) Hold the planning and placement team meeting for such student
and shall invite representatives from the interdistrict magnet school to
participate in such meeting; and [(2)] (B) pay the interdistrict magnet
school an amount equal to the difference between the reasonable cost
of educating such student and the sum of the amount received by the
interdistrict magnet school for such student pursuant to subsection (c)
of this section and amounts received from other state, federal, local or
private sources calculated on a per pupil basis. Such school district
shall be eligible for reimbursement pursuant to section 10-76g. If a Substitute House Bill No. 7353
Public Act No. 19-184 6 of 7
student requiring special education attends an interdistrict magnet
school on a full-time basis, such interdistrict magnet school shall be
responsible for ensuring that such student receives the services
mandated by the student's individualized education program whether
such services are provided by the interdistrict magnet school or by the
school district in which the student resides.
(2) In the case of a student with a plan pursuant to Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended from time to time, the school
district in which the student resides shall pay the interdistrict magnet
school an amount equal to the difference between the reasonable cost
of educating such student and the sum of the amount received by the
interdistrict magnet school for such student pursuant to subsection (c)
of this section and amounts received from other state, federal, local or
private sources calculated on a per pupil basis. If a student with a plan
pursuant to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended
from time to time, attends an interdistrict magnet school on a full-time
basis, such interdistrict magnet school shall be responsible for ensuring
that such student receives the services mandated by the student's plan,
whether such services are provided by the interdistrict magnet school
or by the school district in which the student resides.
Sec. 9. (Effective from passage) Not later than July 1, 2020, the IEP
Advisory Council established within the Department of Education
shall conduct a study concerning the authorization of private
therapists to provide special education and related services directly to
students at school during the regular school day. Such study shall
examine issues relating to the inclusion of such authorization in a
child's individualized education program and the use of a parent or
guardian's private insurance to cover the cost of such services. The
Department of Education shall submit such study and any
recommendations to the joint standing committee of the General
Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to education, in Substitute House Bill No. 7353
Public Act No. 19-184 7 of 7
accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes.
Sec. 10. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2019) Any private provider of special
education services, as defined in section 10-91g of the general statutes,
that has entered into a contract with a local or regional board of
education, pursuant to section 10-91j of the general statutes, shall
inform such board of (1) all complaints received against such private
provider concerning the mistreatment of students receiving special
education services from such private provider, (2) the resolution or
outcome of such complaints and any corrective action taken as a result
of such complaints, and (3) any programming or service changes for
students under the jurisdiction of such board as a result of a complaint.