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OLR Bill Analysis
sHB 6883
AN ACT CONCERNING STUDENTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL
DISABILITIES.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
SUMMARY
§ 1 — OFFICE OF TRANSITION SERVICES
Creates OTS within SDE to oversee interagency coordination of transition services and
create minimum services standards, among other things; requires two full-time SDE staff
for the office
§ 2 — INTERAGENCY COORDINATION OF TRANSITION SERVICES
Adds OTS to the list of state entities that must collaboratively coordinate providing
transition services; requires the entities to maintain an online list of services and
programs
§§ 3 & 4 — TRAINING PROGRAM
Requires SDE to work with other state entities and RESCs to develop a training program
on public transition programs
§ 4 — DISTRICT TRANSITION COORDINATOR
Requires each board of education to appoint a transition coordinator for the district
§§ 5-9 — AGE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION ELIGIBILITY
Aligns special education statutes to a federal court ruling requiring boards of education to
provide special education until an eligible student graduates high school or until the end
of the school year when the student reaches age 22
§ 11 — COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM
Requires SDE to create a competitive grant program to help fund innovative public
transition programs
§§ 12 & 17 — REVIEW BY STATE ENTITIES
Requires SERC to conduct a program-level review and the state auditors to conduct an
interagency-level review
§ 13 — TRANSLATION SERVICES
Aligns state law with federal requirements for interpreters at PPT meetings and
translated IEP documents to ensure student, parent, and guardian understanding
§ 13 — INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND GUARD IANS
Requires boards of education to give parents, guardians, or surrogate parents information
about conservatorship and mediation services 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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§ 14 — PPT COORDINATION OF TRANSITION SERVICES
Requires a student’s PPT to coordinate transition services during meetings at two points
in the student’s high school career
§§ 15 & 16 — DDS-SPECIFIC STUDENT ASSISTANCE
Requires DDS to help eligible special education students with summer employment, case
management, and benefit counseling
§ 18 — OFFICE OF MEDIATION SERVICES
Creates a new Office of Mediation Services within SDE to coordinate and oversee special
education mediation services and approved mediators
§ 19 — MEDIATION REQUESTS
Specifies the parties that may submit a request to OMS for mediation services and
requires OMS to notify relevant parties
§ 20 — ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
Makes changes in the special education administrative hearing laws on (1) the order in
which the parties must testify, (2) publishing the hearing officers’ decisions, and (3) using
mediation in place of proceeding directly to a hearing
§ 21 — STATEWIDE SPECIAL EDUCATION OVERSIGHT PROGRAM
Requires SDE to start a program to oversee school districts’ implementation of federal
special education law
§ 22 — IN-SERVICE TRAINING
Expands required in-service training topics to include laws governing PPT meetings and
504 plans
BACKGROUND
SUMMARY
This bill makes various changes in the special education statutes,
specifically those that govern special education dispute resolution (i.e.,
mediation and administrative hearings) and transition services.
“Transition services” are for students who require special education to
facilitate their transition from school to postsecondary activities, such as
education and training, employment, or independent living. These
services are provided by “public transition programs,” operated by
boards of education or regional education service centers (RESCs) for
students ages 18 to 22, based on the goals in their individualized
education program (IEP).
The bill also creates two new offices within the State Department of
Education’s (SDE) Bureau of Special Education to oversee these areas of 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
Researcher: MGS Page 3 4/13/23
law: the Office of Transition Services and the Office of Mediation
Services. It also requires boards of education to create a districtwide
position to oversee transition services. This “transition coordinator”
helps parents and students navigate the transition resources, services,
and programs available for eligible students.
The bill also makes conforming changes. A section-by-section
analysis appears below.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2023, except the provisions on interagency
coordination of transition services (§ 2) take effect on January 1, 2024.
§ 1 — OFFICE OF TRANSITION SERVICES
Creates OTS within SDE to oversee interagency coordination of transition services and
create minimum services standards, among other things; requires two full-time SDE staff
for the office
The bill creates the Office of Transition Services (OTS) within SDE’s
Bureau of Special Education and requires the education commissioner
to hire at least two full-time staff, within available appropriations, to
carry out its duties. Specifically, the bill assigns the new office the
following duties:
1. overseeing the coordination of state agencies’ transition
resources, services, and programs, including SDE and the
Developmental Services (DDS), Aging and Disability Services
(ADS), Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), and
Children and Families (DCF) departments;
2. establishing minimum standards for public transition programs
and metrics for measuring them;
3. performing unannounced site visits of public transition
programs to (a) determine their effectiveness and suggest
improvements and (b) post data on its website about how the
program measured against the office’s minimum standards;
4. developing a course on SDE’s website for educators and school
staff who do not provide transition services to inform them about
the services and these programs’ purpose, essential 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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programming, and deadlines;
5. establishing minimum standards for training transition
coordinators;
6. maintaining a record of each transition coordinator’s training
program completion;
7. establishing best practices for providing transition services and
distributing them to each transition coordinator; and
8. developing, and updating as needed, an online and (in the
office’s discretion) in-person training program on the legal
requirements and best practice recommendations for special
education and transition services.
§ 2 — INTERAGENCY CO ORDINATION OF TRANSITION SERVICES
Adds OTS to the list of state entities that must collaboratively coordinate providing
transition services; requires the entities to maintain an online list of services and
programs
Under current law, the State Board of Education (SBE), in
collaboration with DDS, the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS),
and the Office of Workforce Strategy, must coordinate the provision of
transition resources, services, and programs to children requiring
special education and related services. The bill requires OTS to lead the
interagency coordination with SBE. It also makes the following
modifications to current law’s coordination requirements for these
agencies:
1. removes the requirement that they work together to create and
update a fact sheet listing and describing the state agencies’
transition resources, services, and programs they provide;
2. adds a requirement that they develop and maintain an easily
accessible and navigable online listing of the transition resources,
services, and programs each provides, including a plain language
description, eligibility requirements, and application deadlines
for each one; 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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3. requires that SBE, beginning with the 2024-25 school year,
annually distribute a notice to boards of education for parents,
teachers, administrators, and board members about the new
online listing, rather than distributing the discontinued fact
sheet; and
4. makes other related conforming changes.
The bill makes a corresponding change, requiring each local or
regional board of education to distribute the notice of the online listing
annually, instead of the discontinued fact sheet. Boards must distribute
it to parents, guardians, or surrogate parents at a planning and
placement team (PPT) meeting for each child in grades six through 12
requiring special education services.
§§ 3 & 4 — TRAINING PROGRAM
Requires SDE to work with other state entities and RESCs to develop a training program
on public transition programs
Development
The bill requires SDE, in consultation with DDS, BRS, and the RESCs,
to develop a training program that complies with OTS’s minimum
standards for public transition programs by January 1, 2024 (see § 1
above).
Providers
Under the bill, each RESC must provide the training program at no
cost to certain employees of its member school districts.
Enrollment
The bill requires the following individuals to enroll in the training
program:
1. transition coordinators, who must enroll within three years after
the district’s RESC begins offering it, so long as each new
appointee within this three-year period completes the program
within one year after being appointed, and
2. each educator and school staff who provides transition services, 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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who must enroll during the five years after the district’s RESC
begins offering it, so long as the person completes the program
within one year after being hired to provide these services.
Also, the bill allows, but does not require, any other educators or
school staff interested in becoming a transition coordinator or providing
these services to enroll in the program. It does not specify a required
timeline for their enrollment.
§ 4 — DISTRICT TRANSITION COORDINATOR
Requires each board of education to appoint a transition coordinator for the district
The bill requires each local and regional board of education to
appoint a transition coordinator by January 1, 2024. It allows either the
district’s pupil personnel director to serve in the position or another
board employee appointed by the director. Every transition coordinator
must ensure that the parents of students requiring special education (1)
receive information about transition resources, services, or programs
and (2) are aware of the eligibility requirements and application details
that specifically apply to their student.
§§ 5-9 — AGE FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION ELIGIBILITY
Aligns special education statutes to a federal court ruling requiring boards of education to
provide special education until an eligible student graduates high school or until the end
of the school year when the student reaches age 22
The bill makes changes in various special education laws to align
with the ruling in the class action lawsuit A.R. v. Connecticut State Board
of Education. In this case, the Second Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals
affirmed the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut’s ruling
that special education eligibility cannot end when a student turns 21 (5
F.4th 155 (2d Cir., 2021)).
Specifically, these conforming changes affect special education laws
by doing the following:
1. requiring local and regional boards of education to provide
special education until the student graduates from high school or
until the end of the school year when the child reaches age 22
(rather than until age 21 as under current law), whichever occurs 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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first (§§ 5 & 7);
2. requiring SBE to state in its “special education bill of rights for
parents” that they have the right to ask the board to consider
providing their child with transition services if the child is ages
18 to 22, rather than 18 to 21 (§ 6);
3. requiring that the liaison between a school district and the
criminal justice system assist all relevant educational service
providers in ensuring that people in justice system custody age
22 or younger, rather than 21 or younger, are promptly evaluated
for special education services eligibility (§ 8);
4. defining the term “child” in special education law to mean any
person age 22 or younger, rather than age 21 or younger (§ 9);
and
5. removing an obsolete reference to state regulations that limit a
student’s special education eligibility age to 21 years old (§ 10).
§ 11 — COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM
Requires SDE to create a competitive grant program to help fund innovative public
transition programs
The bill requires SDE to create a new competitive grant program to
help fund the development of innovative public transition programs by
local and regional boards of education and RESCs. Potential recipients
must submit their grant applications annually to the education
commissioner according to her chosen timeline and format. The
commissioner must consider at least the following factors when
determining grant awards:
1. the public transition program’s innovative nature,
2. the potential number of students the program could serve,
3. the applicant’s relative wealth, and
4. the number of school districts that the grant application includes. 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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The bill authorizes the commissioner to require grant repayment to
the state if she finds that any grant awarded is being used for purposes
other than developing or providing innovative public transition
services.
The bill also requires grantees to submit to SDE, in a manner she
provides, reports and financial statements, including an evaluation of
their own public transition program and any new recommendations for
best practices for this type of program.
§§ 12 & 17 — REVIEW BY STATE ENTITIES
Requires SERC to conduct a program-level review and the state auditors to conduct an
interagency-level review
Under the bill, the State Education Resource Center (SERC) must
conduct a program-level review of transition services, and the Auditors
of Public Accounts (“state auditors”) must conduct an interagency-level
review of the coordinated provision of services.
SERC Review (§ 12)
The bill requires SERC to review each public transition program by
examining at least the following aspects:
1. each program’s type of transition services,
2. staff numbers and qualifications,
3. program location relative to the student’s or student’s family’s
residence, and
4. any metrics for measuring the program’s performance (e.g.,
student and family feedback; student placement in jobs,
postsecondary education, or adult training or programs).
State Auditor Review (§ 17)
The bill requires the state auditors to study the cooperation level
between state agencies that provide transition services (i.e., SDE, DDS,
ADS, DMHAS, and DCF). The study must at least examine any (1)
barriers to state agency cooperation and (2) system inefficiencies for the
agencies providing transition services. The state auditors must report 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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suggestions for improving interagency cooperation and service
recipient outcomes to the Education Committee by January 1, 2024.
§ 13 — TRANSLATION SERVICES
Aligns state law with federal requirements for interpreters at PPT meetings and
translated IEP documents to ensure student, parent, and guardian understanding
Federal special education regulations require boards of education to
ensure that the parent understands the proceedings at a PPT meeting,
including arranging for an interpreter for parents whose native
language is not English (34 C.F.R. § 300.322(e)). The bill aligns state law
with this requirement by requiring local or regional boards of education
to provide these interpreters and translated documents for students,
parents, or guardians when needed or upon request.
Interpreters
The bill grants a student’s parents, guardians, or surrogate parents
the right to have a translator attend and participate in all portions of a
PPT meeting where the student’s educational program is developed,
reviewed, or revised. The board of education must automatically
provide a translator if there is an apparent need or if the parent,
guardian, surrogate parent, or student requests one.
Translated Documents
The bill also requires boards of education to provide translations of
the following documents in the primary language of the student, parent,
guardian, or surrogate parent: (1) a student’s IEP and any related
documents and (2) any relevant information about IEPs that SDE
creates, including information about transition resources and services
for high school students. Boards must supply translated documents
automatically if there is an apparent need or upon request.
§ 13 — INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND GUARD IANS
Requires boards of education to give parents, guardians, or surrogate parents information
about conservatorship and mediation services
The bill requires local or regional boards of education to give the
following information at the following times to parents, guardians, or
surrogate parents of students who are eligible for special education and 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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related services:
1. at the first PPT meeting after a student reaches age 17, laws
relating to becoming a conservator for a student who may have
an intellectual disability by applying to the probate court and
2. in writing at the beginning of the school year, and read aloud at
the end of each school year’s first PPT meeting, the notice created
by the Office of Mediation Services about available mediation
services (see § 18 below).
§ 14 — PPT COORDINATION OF TRANSITION SERVICES
Requires a student’s PPT to coordinate transition services during meetings at two points
in the student’s high school career
Meeting Post-Fourteenth Birthday
Under the bill, if a student’s IEP contains a statement of transition
service needs, then the student’s PPT must do the following at its first
meeting after the student’s fourteenth birthday:
1. notify each state agency that the student may be eligible, pending
parent, guardian, or student permission when applicable, for a
transition program or adult program that the agency offers and
2. give the parent, guardian, surrogate parent, or student a listing
of these agency programs that includes for each one a plain
language description, eligibility requirements, and application
deadlines and instructions.
Meeting Two Years Before Transfer of Services
Subsequently, at a meeting approximately two years before a
student’s anticipated graduation or the end of the school year when the
student will turn 22 years old, whichever comes first, the PPT must do
the following, pending parent, guardian, or student permission when
applicable:
1. re-notify each state agency about the student’s potential
eligibility for a transition program or adult program that it offers;
2. invite a representative from each of the applicable agencies to 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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attend the PPT meeting to establish contact with and counsel the
parent, guardian, surrogate parent, or student on the process for
the student’s anticipated services transfer; and
3. allow and facilitate contact and coordination between each
applicable agency and the above parties to ease the transfer of
services process.
At this meeting, the bill requires the PPT to also give these parties the
following: (1) a listing of each adult program for which the student may
be eligible, including a plain language description, eligibility
requirements, and application deadlines and instructions and (2) help
completing an application to any of these programs.
§§ 15 & 16 — DDS-SPECIFIC STUDENT ASSISTANCE
Requires DDS to help eligible special education students with summer employment, case
management, and benefit counseling
For any students whose PPT finds that they are potentially eligible
for DDS services, the bill requires (1) DDS to help them find and
maintain suitable summer employment and (2) DDS and BRS to employ
enough staff to give them case management and benefit counseling
services.
§ 18 — OFFICE OF MEDIATION SERVICES
Creates a new Office of Mediation Services within SDE to coordinate and oversee special
education mediation services and approved mediators
Creation
The bill creates the Office of Mediation Services (OMS) within SDE’s
Bureau of Special Education. The office must be separate and distinct
from any of the department’s investigatory or enforcement functions.
The SDE commissioner must hire, within available hiring
appropriations, one full-time staffer to carry out the office’s duties.
Duties
Under the bill, OMS must do the following:
1. expand SDE’s mediation services that are offered in place of
parties proceeding directly to a special education hearing; 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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2. oversee and coordinate these services for each school district
statewide;
3. maintain a list of special education mediators who (a) meet
minimum training requirements the bill sets and (b) are sufficient
in number to meet each district’s needs;
4. promote mediation’s benefits to each local and regional board of
education, parents, guardians, and special education advocacy
groups;
5. solicit feedback from school boards, parents, and guardians
about the mediation process (a) at an open annual meeting, (b)
after any mediation ends, and (c) in any other way the office
chooses; and
6. create (a) a statement on mediation impartiality and
confidentiality, (b) an explanation of the mediation process, and
(c) a notice of available mediation services, each further
explained below.
OMS-Created Resources
Impartiality and Confidentiality Statement. The bill requires OMS
to create and post on its website a statement that, at a minimum, must
prohibit office employees and special education mediators from sharing
information with the department tasked with investigatory or
enforcement functions unless state or federal law requires it.
The bill also requires mediators to remain impartial and maintain the
confidentiality of any matter discussed during mediation.
Process Explanation. The bill also requires OMS to create and post
on its website a resource that explains the mediation process in plain
language, including how to request and prepare for a mediation. This
resource must be translated into the state’s most commonly spoken
languages.
Notice of Available Services. The bill requires OMS to create a 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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notice that lists available mediation services and includes a link to the
plain-language process explanation described above. It also must be
translated into the state’s most commonly spoken languages and
distributed by local or regional boards of education to parents,
guardians, and surrogate parents of students requiring special
education.
Mediator Oversight
Pre-Service Training Requirements. The bill requires OMS to
verify that each mediator on its list has met the following requirements:
1. at least 40 hours of mediation skills training using an OMS-
approved module or course and
2. training in special education law using a module or course
provided by SDE or another OMS-approved provider for the
minimum hours the office requires.
The bill allows the office to waive one of these training requirements
for certain applicant mediators under the following conditions:
1. for the mediation skill training requirement, if the applicant
submits proof of completing (a) a 40-hour mediation skills
training or (b) an equivalent mediation skills course from a
higher education institution or
2. for the special education law training requirement, if the
applicant (a) has sufficient, direct professional experience in
special education law or (b) submits proof of completing a
comparable special education law course from a high er
education institution.
Additionally, the bill requires OMS to exempt five mediators from
the pre-service training requirements entirely. These mediators must
have conducted special education for SDE before July 1, 2023. They must
be added to the list of mediators that OMS maintains.
In-Service Education Requirements. The bill requires each 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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approved mediator on the office’s list to complete at least two hours of
continuing education every two years in subject areas the office
prescribes. SDE or any other OMS-approved office may provide the
continuing education.
§ 19 — MEDIATION REQUESTS
Specifies the parties that may submit a request to OMS for mediation services and
requires OMS to notify relevant parties
The bill allows the following parties to request mediation services at
any time through OMS for identification, evaluation, educational
placement, or IEP implementation, among other reasons:
1. a parent or guardian of a student requiring special education and
related services,
2. a student who requires these services and is either 18 years old
or an emancipated minor,
3. a surrogate parent,
4. the DCF commissioner or her designee on behalf of any child in
DCF custody, or
5. the local or regional board of education responsible for providing
special education and related services to a student.
After OMS receives a mediation request, the bill requires the office to
give the requester and other parties subject to the request the following:
1. notice that a conflict exists between the parties;
2. a statement that the mediation process is voluntary, facilitated by
a neutral mediator, and nonbinding; and
3. an invitation to all parties to participate.
OMS also must provide a translator at the mediation if any party
requests one.
§ 20 — ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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Makes changes in the special education administrative hearing laws on (1) the order in
which the parties must testify, (2) publishing the hearing officers’ decisions, and (3) using
mediation in place of proceeding directly to a hearing
By law, certain aggrieved parties may request an administrative
hearing before an SDE-provided hearing officer when the school district
responsible for providing special education services proposes or refuses
to initiate or change the (1) student’s identification, evaluation, or
educational placement or (2) free appropriate public education (FAPE)
given to the student. The bill modifies the order in which the parties
must testify and makes changes on publishing the hearing officers’
decisions and using mediation in place of proceeding directly to a
hearing.
Testimony Order
By law and unchanged by the bill, the hearing officer or board must
hear testimony relevant to the disputed issue by the requesting party
and any other party directly involved. In a dispute over providing
FAPE, the bill additionally requires that the hearing officer or board
hear the testimony of the party responsible for providing special
education to the student (e.g., the local or regional board of education
or unified school district) before hearing any other party’s testimony.
Decision Publishing
Current law requires that the hearing officer’s findings of fact,
conclusions of law, and decision be written without personally
identifiable information about the student who is the subject of the
dispute, so that the decisions may be available for public inspection. The
bill adds the requirement that the decisions be promptly indexed and
published (however, the bill does not define what is considered
“prompt”).
Mediation Prior to Hearing
By law and unchanged by the bill, mediation is available as a dispute
resolution process before seeking an administrative hearing. Current
law requires the parties to agree in writing to request a state mediator
from SDE. The bill instead allows any one party to request mediation
through OMS and does not require the request to be written or signed. 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
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When the mediation has concluded, the bill requires the appointed
mediator to certify in writing to OMS, rather than SDE, whether the
mediation was successful. It also makes conforming changes related to
the mediator’s appointment.
Additionally, the bill requires SDE to create and publish online a
plain language explanation of the department’s process for resolving
special education complaints, the administrative hearing process, and
how to request and prepare for a hearing. This explanation must be
translated into the state’s most commonly spoken languages.
§ 21 — STATEWIDE SPECIAL EDUCATION OVERS IGHT PROGRAM
Requires SDE to start a program to oversee school districts’ implementation of federal
special education law
The bill requires SDE to start a program to oversee the
implementation of federal special education law (i.e., the Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)) in school districts statewide.
The department must use the program to conduct audits of randomly
selected special education programs each year. The audits must at least
include the following components:
1. interviews of (a) teachers and staff who provide special education
services and (b) parents and guardians of children who require
these services,
2. unannounced on-site visits, and
3. a review of students’ IEPs with parent or guardian approval.
§ 22 — IN-SERVICE TRAINING
Expands required in-service training topics to include laws governing PPT meetings and
504 plans
By law, local and regional boards of education must provide in-
service training to their licensed teachers, administrators, and pupil
personnel that covers various topics, such as (1) health and mental
health risk reduction education, (2) school violence prevention, and (3)
cardiopulmonary resuscitation and other emergency life-saving
procedures. The bill expands these training topics to include the laws 2023HB-06883-R000592-BA.DOCX
Researcher: MGS Page 17 4/13/23
governing PPT meeting implementation and 504 plans (see
BACKGROUND) .
BACKGROUND
504 Plans
Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protects students
with mental or physical disabilities from discrimination in public
schools (29 U.S.C. § 794). Students who receive school accommodations
under this law have them memorialized in a written plan, commonly
known as a “504 plan.”
Related Bills
sSB 1200, § 4, favorably reported by the Education Committee, grants
parents, guardians, students, and surrogate parents the right to have
translation services at PPT meetings provided by either (1) a certified
interpreter who attends the meeting in-person or is available by phone
or through an online platform or (2) an internet website or other
electronic application.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Education Committee
Joint Favorable
Yea 44 Nay 0 (03/24/2023)