2016 -- H 7757

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LC004910

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2016

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION -- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

     Introduced By: Representatives O'Brien, Kazarian, Williams, McEntee, and Winfield

     Date Introduced: February 26, 2016

     Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 16-24-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 16-24 entitled "Children

With Disabilities [See Title 16 Chapter 97 - The Rhode Island Board of Education Act]" is hereby

amended to read as follows:

     16-24-1. Duty of school committee to provide special education. -- (a) In any city or

town where there is a child with a disability within the age range as designated by the regulations

of the state board of regents for elementary and secondary education Rhode Island board of

education, who is functionally limited to such an extent that normal educational growth and

development is prevented, the school committee of the city or town where the child resides shall

provide the type of special education that will best satisfy the needs of the child with a disability,

as recommended and approved by the state board of regents for elementary and secondary

education Rhode Island board of education in accordance with its regulations governing the

education of children with disabilities.

      (b) Notwithstanding any other federal or state law or regulation, the school committee

where a parentally placed child who has or develops a disability in private school resides, shall

provide the child with the same free and appropriate education as it provides to children in public

schools. These children shall have the same rights and remedies in the regulations of the board of

regents for elementary and secondary education Rhode Island board of education governing the

education of children with disabilities as children in public school relative to initially determining

eligibility, implementation and/or any other rights and remedies relative to any special education

services the child may be eligible or receive from the public school district.

      (c) For the purpose of this statute, a parentally placed child who has or develops a

disability in private school is defined as a child enrolled or placed in a private school by the

unilateral decision of his or her parents and without consolation of the public school district, who

either has, or at some point while at the private school is diagnosed with a learning disability.

Parents who unilaterally enroll their child in a private school are required to pay the tuition costs

related to the child's education that are unrelated to the child's disability, and the public school

district where the child resides is responsible for payment of the services related to the child's

disability as developed and determined in the child's individual education plan.

      (d) For the purpose of this statute, a free and appropriate education is defined as special

education services and related services that:

      (1) Are provided at public expense, under public supervision and direction, and without

charge;

      (2) Meet all of the standards and requirements of the state of Rhode Island department of

education and requirements of the regulations of the board of regents for elementary and

secondary education Rhode Island board of education governing the education of children with

disabilities, which shall include initial evaluation and determination procedures;

      (3) Include preschool, elementary school or secondary school education in the state; and

      (4) Are provided in conformity with an individualized education program that meets the

requirements of the regulations of the board of regents for elementary and secondary education

Rhode Island board of education governing the education of children with disabilities.

      (e) In those cases that an individual education plan has been adopted for a child and the

child moves to another town or city, the plan shall remain in effect until a new plan is adopted for

the child in the new town or city.

     (f) To ensure that parents can participate fully and effectively with school personnel in

the consideration and development of appropriate educational programs for their child, a school

committee shall, upon request by a parent, provide timely access to parents and parent-designated

independent evaluators and educational consultants for observations of a child's current program

and of any program proposed for the child, including both academic and non-academic

components of any such program. Parents and their designees shall be afforded access of

sufficient duration and extent to enable them to evaluate a child's performance in a current

program and the ability of a proposed program to enable such child to make effective progress.

The duration and extent of the observation shall be based on the individual needs of the child.

School committees shall impose no conditions or restrictions on such observations except those

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necessary to ensure the safety of children in a program or the integrity of the program while under

observation or to protect children in the program from disclosure by an observer of confidential

and personally identifiable education records in the event such education records are obtained in

the course of an observation by a parent or a designee. A school department may require a parent

or parent designee to sign an agreement to hold confidential any information the parent or parent

designee may observe or derive from tangible education records of any student other than the

parent's own child. The term "education records" as used in this agreement, means records and

other tangible materials that contain information directly related to a student, or any information

derived from tangible records, and are maintained by a school department or its agents and

employees. Failure to provide access to a parent and/or their representative under this section is

prima facie evidence that the school committee did not allow the parent and/or their

representative to meaningfully participate in the development of their child's educational

placement and/or programs.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO EDUCATION -- CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

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     This act would allow parents or guardians sufficient access to observe their child's special

education program in order to assess the child's performance in a current program.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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