S04197 Summary:
BILL NO | S04197A |
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SAME AS | No same as |
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SPONSOR | STAVISKY |
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COSPNSR | |
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MLTSPNSR | |
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Rpld S4410 sub 6, amd S4410, add S6503-a, Ed L | |
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Relates to the practice of licensed professions by special education schools and early intervention agencies and their employees. |
S04197 Actions:
BILL NO | S04197A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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04/16/2009 | REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
05/29/2009 | AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO HIGHER EDUCATION | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
05/29/2009 | PRINT NUMBER 4197A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
01/06/2010 | REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION |
S04197 Floor Votes:
There are no votes for this bill in this legislative session.
Go to topS04197 Text:
Go to top STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4197--A 2009-2010 Regular Sessions IN SENATE April 16, 2009 ___________ Introduced by Sen. STAVISKY -- (at request of the State Education Department) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the practice of licensed professions by special education schools and early inter- vention agencies and their employees; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 4410 of the education law is 2 REPEALED and a new subdivision 6 is added to read as follows: 3 6. Professional practice issues. a. Approved programs operated by 4 private providers shall be subject to registration to the extent 5 provided in section sixty-five hundred three-a of this chapter, and, if 6 required to be registered, shall be authorized to employ licensed 7 professionals or contract with licensed professionals or entities legal- 8 ly authorized to provide professional services in accordance with such 9 section sixty-five hundred three-a of this chapter. 10 b. An approved program may be formed as an education corporation, or, 11 with the consent of the commissioner, as a not-for-profit corporation, 12 business corporation or limited liability company. In addition, an 13 approved program or group of appropriately licensed or certified profes- 14 sionals may be formed as a professional service limited liability compa- 15 ny or as a foreign professional service limited liability company in 16 accordance with the applicable provisions of article twelve or thirteen 17 of the limited liability company law or as a registered limited liabil- 18 ity partnership in accordance with section 121-1500 of the partnership 19 law or as a New York registered foreign limited liability partnership in 20 accordance with section 121-1502 of the partnership law. An approved EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02397-05-9S. 4197--A 2 1 program formed as such a professional service limited liability company 2 or registered limited liability partnership may be authorized to provide 3 special education itinerant services or other educational services not 4 involving practice of a profession under title eight of this chapter. An 5 approved program or group of professionals formed as such a professional 6 service limited liability company or registered limited liability part- 7 nership may contract with individuals licensed or otherwise authorized 8 to practice, or a professional service corporation, partnership or other 9 entity legally authorized to practice, any profession under title eight 10 of this chapter in which the company would not be authorized to provide 11 professional services under the applicable provisions of section twelve 12 hundred three or subdivision (a) of section thirteen hundred one of the 13 limited liability company law or sections 121-1500 or 121-1502 of the 14 partnership law, solely for the purposes of conducting a multi-discipli- 15 nary evaluation of a preschool child suspected of having a disability or 16 a preschool child with a disability or providing related services speci- 17 fied in the individualized education program of a preschool child. 18 c. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the 19 exemption in subdivision two of section eighty-two hundred seven of this 20 chapter shall apply to persons employed by a center-based program 21 approved pursuant to subdivision nine of this section to perform the 22 duties of a speech-language pathologist, audiologist, teacher of the 23 speech and hearing impaired or teacher of the deaf to students enrolled 24 in such approved center-based program in the course of their employment. 25 d. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the 26 exemption in subdivision one of section seventy-six hundred five of this 27 chapter shall apply to persons employed by a center-based program 28 approved pursuant to subdivision nine of this section as a school 29 psychologist to provide activities, services and use of the title 30 psychologist to students enrolled in such approved center-based program 31 in the course of their employment. 32 § 2. Paragraphs b and d of subdivision 9 of section 4410 of the educa- 33 tion law, as amended by chapter 705 of the laws of 1992, are amended to 34 read as follows: 35 b. As part of an application submitted pursuant to paragraph a of this 36 subdivision, a provider of special services or programs shall submit a 37 description of its multi-disciplinary evaluation component, if any, 38 which shall be subject to the approval of the commissioner in accordance 39 with regulations adopted for such purpose after consultation with the 40 appropriate advisory committee. Such components or program may rely in 41 part on formal written agreements or affiliations with appropriately 42 certified or licensed professionals, or agencies employing such profes- 43 sionals, provided that such professionals or agencies perform their 44 responsibilities in conformance with regulations of the commissioner and 45 that providers fully disclose any such arrangements on all applications 46 for program approval, and provided further that the provider certifies 47 that it shall apply for and obtain registration pursuant to section 48 sixty-five hundred three-a of this chapter prior to providing evaluation 49 services pursuant to such written agreements or affiliations. Nothing 50 herein shall require a provider of special services or programs to have 51 a multidisciplinary evaluation program. 52 d. Providers may make application to conduct a program that relies on 53 formal written agreements or affiliations with other approved programs 54 or appropriately certified or licensed professionals, provided that such 55 arrangements are fully disclosed on all applications to the commissioner 56 for program approval, and provided further that the provider certifiesS. 4197--A 3 1 that it shall apply for and obtain registration pursuant to section 2 sixty-five hundred three-a of this chapter prior to providing related 3 services pursuant to any such written agreements or affiliations involv- 4 ing licensed professionals. 5 § 3. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 9-a of section 4410 of the education 6 law, as added by chapter 82 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as 7 follows: 8 (a) A school district or a group of appropriately licensed and/or 9 certified professionals associated with a public or private agency may 10 apply to the commissioner for approval as an evaluator on a form 11 prescribed by the commissioner. The commissioner shall approve evalu- 12 ators pursuant to this subdivision consistent with the approval process 13 for the multi-disciplinary evaluation component of programs approved 14 pursuant to subdivision nine of this section consistent with regulations 15 adopted pursuant to such subdivision. 16 Such application shall include, but not be limited to, a description 17 of the multi-disciplinary evaluation services proposed to be provided 18 and a demonstration that all agency employees and staff who provide such 19 evaluation services shall have appropriate licensure and/or certif- 20 ication and that the individual who shall have direct supervision 21 responsibilities over such staff shall have an appropriate level of 22 experience in providing evaluation or services to preschool or kinder- 23 garten-aged children with [handicapping conditions] disabilities. To be 24 eligible for approval as an evaluator on and after July first, two thou- 25 sand nine, a group of appropriately licensed or certified professionals 26 shall be formed as a professional service limited liability company, 27 foreign professional service limited liability company, registered 28 limited liability partnership or New York foreign registered limited 29 liability partnership. The approval of any groups of licensed or certi- 30 fied professionals that are in existence on July first, two thousand 31 nine and would not be eligible for approval thereafter shall terminate 32 on July first, two thousand ten. 33 § 4. The education law is amended by adding a new section 6503-a to 34 read as follows: 35 § 6503-a. Registration of certain special education schools. 1. Defi- 36 nitions. As used in this section: 37 a. "Special education school" means an approved program as defined in 38 paragraph a of subdivision one of section forty-four hundred ten of this 39 chapter that is lawfully operated by a private corporation, limited 40 liability company, registered limited liability partnership, or other 41 private entity; an approved private nonresidential or residential school 42 for the education of students with disabilities that is located within 43 the state; a child care institution as defined in section four thousand 44 one of this chapter that operates a private school for the education of 45 students with disabilities or an institution for the deaf or blind oper- 46 ating pursuant to article eighty-five of this chapter that either: (1) 47 conducts a multi-disciplinary evaluation for purposes of articles 48 eighty-one or eighty-nine of this chapter that involves the practice of 49 one or more professions for which a license is required pursuant to this 50 title and no exception from corporate practice restrictions applies, or 51 (2) provides related services to students enrolled in the school or 52 approved program that involves the practice of one or more professions 53 for which a license is required pursuant to this title and no exception 54 from practice restrictions applies. Such term shall not include a school 55 district, board of cooperative educational services, municipality, state 56 agency or other public entity. Nothing in this section shall beS. 4197--A 4 1 construed to require registration of a child care institution that 2 conducts multi-disciplinary evaluations or provides related services 3 through an approved private nonresidential school operated by such child 4 care institution, provided that such school is registered pursuant to 5 this section. 6 b. "Early intervention agency" for purposes of this section means an 7 agency which is approved or is seeking approval in accordance with title 8 two-A of article twenty-five of the public health law to deliver early 9 intervention program multidisciplinary evaluations, service coordination 10 services and early intervention program services, and is lawfully oper- 11 ated by a not-for-profit corporation, private corporation, limited 12 liability company, registered limited liability partnership, or other 13 private entity. 14 c. "Early intervention program services" means early intervention 15 services as defined in subdivision seven of section twenty-five hundred 16 forty-one of the public health law that are provided under the early 17 intervention program and authorized in an eligible child's individual- 18 ized family services plan. 19 d. "Multi-disciplinary evaluation" for purposes of a special education 20 school means a multi-disciplinary evaluation of a preschool child 21 suspected of having a disability or a preschool child with a disability 22 that is conducted pursuant to section forty-four hundred ten of this 23 chapter or an evaluation of a school-age child suspected of having a 24 disability or with a disability which is conducted by a child care 25 institution that operates a special education school or the special 26 education school operated by such institution pursuant to subdivision 27 three of section four thousand two of this chapter or by an institution 28 for the deaf or blind operating pursuant to article eighty-five of this 29 chapter or an evaluation of a school-age child suspected of having a 30 disability or with a disability that is authorized to be conducted by a 31 special education school pursuant to any other provision of this chapter 32 and the regulations of the commissioner for purposes of identification 33 of the child as a child with a disability or the development of an indi- 34 vidualized education program for the child. 35 e. "Multi-disciplinary evaluation" for purposes of the early inter- 36 vention program means a professional, objective assessment conducted by 37 appropriately qualified personnel in accordance with section twenty-five 38 hundred forty-four of the public health law and its implementing regu- 39 lations to determine a child's eligibility for early intervention 40 program services. 41 f. "Related services" means related services as defined in paragraph g 42 of subdivision two of section four thousand two, paragraph k of subdivi- 43 sion two of section forty-four hundred one, or paragraph j of subdivi- 44 sion one of section forty-four hundred ten of this chapter provided to a 45 child with a disability pursuant to such child's individualized educa- 46 tion program. 47 2. Registration. a. No special education school may employ individuals 48 licensed pursuant to this article to conduct components of a multi-dis- 49 ciplinary evaluation of a child with a disability or a child suspected 50 of having a disability or to provide related services to children with 51 disabilities enrolled in the school, and no special education school may 52 provide such an evaluation component or related services by contract 53 with an individual licensed or otherwise authorized to practice pursuant 54 to this article or a professional service corporation, professional 55 service limited liability company, or registered limited liability part- 56 nership authorized by law to provide professional services, unless suchS. 4197--A 5 1 school is registered pursuant to this section. All special education 2 schools approved by the commissioner as of the effective date of this 3 section shall be deemed registered pursuant to this section for a period 4 commencing on such effective date and ending on July first, two thousand 5 ten. 6 b. No early intervention agency may employ or contract with individ- 7 uals licensed pursuant to this article or with a professional service 8 corporation, professional service limited liability company, partnership 9 or registered limited liability partnership authorized by law to provide 10 the applicable professional services, to conduct an early intervention 11 program multidisciplinary evaluation, provide service coordination 12 services or early intervention program services unless such agency is 13 registered pursuant to this section and approved in accordance with 14 title two-A of article twenty-five of the public health law as an early 15 intervention program provider. All early intervention agencies in exist- 16 ence as of the effective date of this section shall be deemed registered 17 pursuant to this section for a period commencing on such effective date 18 and ending on July first, two thousand ten. Nothing in this section 19 shall be construed to require an early intervention agency to register 20 in accordance with this section provided that it is otherwise authorized 21 by law to provide the applicable professional services. 22 3. Obtaining a registration. A special education school and early 23 intervention agency shall be registered as follows: 24 a. Application for registration shall be made on a form prescribed by 25 the department. 26 b. The application for initial registration shall be accompanied by a 27 fee of three hundred forty-five dollars. 28 c. Where the applicant simultaneously applies for approval as a 29 special education school and early intervention agency the total regis- 30 tration fee shall be three hundred forty-five dollars. 31 4. Renewal of registration. a. All special education school and early 32 intervention agency registrations shall be renewed on dates set by the 33 department. The triennial registration fee shall be two hundred sixty 34 dollars or a pro-rated portion thereof as determined by the department. 35 An early intervention agency's registration shall not be renewed unless 36 the agency is approved to provide early intervention program multi-dis- 37 ciplinary evaluations, service coordination or early intervention 38 program services in accordance with title two-A of article twenty-five 39 of the public health law. 40 b. Where the applicant simultaneously renews its registration as a 41 special education school and early intervention agency, the total 42 renewal fee shall be two hundred sixty dollars. 43 5. Change of location. In the event that a change in the location of 44 the chief administrative offices of a special education school or early 45 intervention agency is contemplated, the owner shall notify the office 46 of professions of the department of the change of location at least 47 thirty days prior to relocation. 48 6. Applicant registration. An applicant for registration as a special 49 education school or early intervention agency shall be of good moral 50 character, as determined by the department. In the case of a corporate 51 applicant, the requirement shall extend to all officers and directors 52 and to stockholders having a ten percent or greater interest in the 53 corporation. 54 7. Professional practice. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of 55 law to the contrary, a registered special education school may employ 56 individuals licensed or otherwise authorized to practice any professionS. 4197--A 6 1 pursuant to this article to conduct components of a multi-disciplinary 2 evaluation of a child with a disability or a child suspected of having a 3 disability or to provide related services to children with disabilities 4 enrolled in the school or may provide components of such an evaluation 5 or such related services by contract with an individual licensed or 6 otherwise authorized to practice pursuant to this article or a profes- 7 sional service corporation, professional service limited liability 8 company, partnership or registered limited liability partnership author- 9 ized by law to provide the applicable professional services. 10 b. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a 11 registered early intervention agency that is approved in accordance with 12 title two-A of article twenty-five of the public health law may employ 13 or contract with individuals licensed or otherwise authorized to prac- 14 tice any profession pursuant to this article or with a professional 15 service corporation, professional service limited liability company, 16 partnership or registered limited liability partnership authorized to 17 conduct early intervention program multi-disciplinary evaluations, 18 provide service coordination services and early intervention program 19 services. 20 c. A registered special education school or early intervention agency 21 shall not practice any profession licensed pursuant to this title or 22 hold itself out to the public as authorized to provide professional 23 services pursuant to this title except as authorized by this section or 24 otherwise authorized by law. 25 8. Supervision of professional practice. A special education school or 26 early intervention agency shall be under the supervision of the regents 27 of the university of the state of New York and the department pursuant 28 to this title and be subject to disciplinary proceedings and penalties 29 in the same manner and to the same extent as is provided with respect to 30 individuals and their licenses, certificates, and registrations in the 31 provisions of this title relating to the applicable profession, and the 32 registration of a special education school or early intervention agency 33 shall be subject to suspension, revocation or annulment for cause. 34 Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, a special education 35 school or early intervention agency that conducts or contracts for a 36 component of a multi-disciplinary evaluation that involves the practice 37 of medicine shall be subject to the pre-hearing procedures and hearing 38 procedures as is provided with respect to individual physicians and 39 their licenses in title two-A of article two of the public health law. 40 Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, upon revoca- 41 tion or other termination by the commissioner of approval of the special 42 education school pursuant to article eighty-nine of this chapter and the 43 regulations of the commissioner implementing such article or of the 44 early intervention agency pursuant to title two-A of article twenty-five 45 of the public health law and implementing regulations, the school's or 46 early intervention agency's registration pursuant to this section shall 47 be deemed revoked and annulled. 48 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.