New York State Assembly

 
•  Summary 
 
•  Actions 
 
•  Floor Votes 
 
•  Memo 
 
•  Text 

S05568 Summary:

S05568 Actions:

S05568 Floor Votes:

S05568 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         5568--A
 
                               2013-2014 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                      May 21, 2013
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by Sen. FLANAGAN -- (at request of the State Comptroller) --
          read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to
          the  Committee  on  Education  --  committee discharged, bill amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the education law,  in  relation  to  special  education

          services  and  programs  for  preschool children with disabilities; to
          amend the education law, in relation to  audits  by  the  state  comp-
          troller  of  the  expenses  reported  by  program providers of special
          education services  for  preschool  children  with  disabilities;  and
          directing  the department of education to study alternative systems of
          reimbursement methodologies and monitoring protocols for  the  tuition
          and  maintenance components of special education services programs for
          preschool children with disabilities
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. Paragraph c of subdivision 4 of section 4410 of the educa-
     2  tion law, as amended by chapter 474 of the laws of 1996, is  amended  to
     3  read as follows:

     4    c.  The  documentation  of the evaluation shall include all assessment
     5  reports and a summary report of the findings of the evaluation on a form
     6  prescribed by the commissioner including a  detailed  statement  of  the
     7  preschool  child's  individual  needs. The summary report shall not make
     8  reference to any specific provider of special services or  programs.  In
     9  addition,  with  the  consent  of  the  parents, approved evaluators and
    10  committees shall be provided with the most recent evaluation report  for
    11  a  child  in  transition from programs and services provided pursuant to
    12  title two-a of article twenty-five of the  public  health  law.  Nothing
    13  shall  prohibit  an  approved  evaluator or the committee from reviewing
    14  other assessments or evaluations to determine  if  such  assessments  or
    15  evaluations  fulfill  the requirements of the regulations of the commis-

    16  sioner. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of this section, the
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10634-09-3
        S. 5568--A                          2
 
     1  committee, in its discretion, may obtain an evaluation of the child from
     2  another approved evaluator prior to making any recommendation that would
     3  place a child in the approved program that conducted the [initial] eval-
     4  uation  of the child.  If the committee recommends placing a child in an
     5  approved program that also conducted an  evaluation  of  such  child  it
     6  shall  indicate in writing that such placement is an appropriate one for

     7  the child. In addition,  the  committee  shall  provide  notice  to  the
     8  commissioner of such recommendation.
     9    §  2. Subdivision 9 of section 4410 of the education law is amended by
    10  adding a new paragraph g to read as follows:
    11    g. As part of an application submitted pursuant to paragraph a of this
    12  subdivision, a provider of special services or  programs  shall  certify
    13  pursuant  to  regulations  promulgated  by the commissioner that it will
    14  take measures to ensure its executive director or person performing  the
    15  duties of a chief executive officer:  (i) meets the criteria established
    16  by  the  commissioner to be an executive director; and (ii) if paid as a
    17  full time executive director, he or she is employed in a full time, full

    18  year position and shall not engage in activity that would interfere with
    19  or impair such executive director's ability to carry out and perform his
    20  or her duties, responsibilities and obligations.
    21    § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new  section  4410-c  to
    22  read as follows:
    23    §  4410-c.  Audits of special education services program providers for
    24  preschool children  with  disabilities.  1.  Notwithstanding  any  other
    25  provision  of  law  to  the  contrary  and within such funds as are made
    26  available for such purpose, the comptroller  shall  audit  the  expenses
    27  reported  to  the department by every program provider of special educa-
    28  tion services for preschool children with  disabilities  in  the  state.

    29  Pursuant  to  a  plan developed by the comptroller, such audits shall be
    30  conducted in a manner so as to cause every such provider to  be  audited
    31  by  the  comptroller  at  least once by March thirty-first, two thousand
    32  eighteen.
    33    2. a. The priority and  frequency  of  such  audits,  and  any  audits
    34  conducted  thereafter,  shall  be  based  upon a risk assessment process
    35  conducted by the comptroller which may include investigations of alleged
    36  improprieties, previous audit findings  and  recommendations,  or  other
    37  financial performance indicators.
    38    b.  In undertaking such audits the comptroller's review shall include,
    39  but not be limited  to,  examining,  auditing  and  evaluating  relevant

    40  financial  documents  and  records of providers for the particular years
    41  included within the scope of the audit.
    42    c. All audits shall include any appropriate findings  and  recommenda-
    43  tions of the comptroller regarding the propriety of the amounts reported
    44  as  expenses  to  the  department  as  well as any other findings deemed
    45  appropriate with respect to the public funding of the special  education
    46  services.
    47    d.  The  comptroller shall refer any findings of fraud, abuse or other
    48  conduct constituting a crime that are uncovered during the course of  an
    49  audit,  as  warranted  to  an  appropriate agency or agencies possessing
    50  jurisdiction.
    51    e. The final audit report resulting from audits performed pursuant  to

    52  this  section  shall  be posted to the department's internet website and
    53  otherwise made available to the public upon request for a period  of  at
    54  least five years. Furthermore, the audited provider shall be required to
    55  post the final audit report on its internet website, if any, for a peri-
    56  od of five years.
        S. 5568--A                          3
 
     1    f. The comptroller shall inform and advise the governor and the legis-
     2  lature  in  December  of  each  year  regarding  its  audits of expenses
     3  reported to the department by program  providers  of  special  education
     4  services  for  preschool children with disabilities conducted during the
     5  preceding  twelve  months  and regarding any other pertinent information

     6  the comptroller deems appropriate.
     7    § 4. The legislature finds that special  education  services  programs
     8  for  preschool children with disabilities have been susceptible to fraud
     9  and abuse.  Therefore, the New York state  department  of  education  is
    10  hereby  directed to conduct a comprehensive study of alternative systems
    11  of reimbursement methodologies and monitoring protocols for the  tuition
    12  and  maintenance  components  of special education services programs for
    13  preschool children with disabilities.
    14    The results of the study shall be published no  later  than  one  year
    15  following  the effective date of this act. A copy of the results of such
    16  study shall be submitted to the governor,  the  state  comptroller,  the
    17  temporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly.
    18    §  5.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that

    19  sections one and two of this act shall take effect on  the  one  hundred
    20  twentieth  day after it shall have become a law; provided, further, that
    21  effective immediately the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any  rule
    22  or  regulation necessary for implementation of this act on its effective
    23  date is authorized to be made on or before such effective date.