Ensures that preschoolers with disabilities living in temporary housing shall maintain enrollment in their preschool special education program in the district of origin.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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4833
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 27, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. FELDER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the education of a
preschool child with a handicapping condition
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraphs d, e and g of subdivision 1 of section 4410-a
2 of the education law, as amended by chapter 705 of the laws of 1992, are
3 amended and a new paragraph i is added to read as follows:
4 d. "Municipality of current location" for a child in foster care or a
5 child in residential care shall mean a municipality in which a child
6 lives which is different from the municipality in which a child or such
7 child's family lived at the time a social services district assumed
8 responsibility for the placement of such child or family, or at the time
9 such child was admitted for care and/or treatment in a facility licensed
10 or operated by another state agency. Provided, however, that for a
11 child who is homeless "municipality of current location" shall mean the
12 municipality in which the hotel, motel, shelter, or other temporary
13 housing arrangement of a homeless child is located, which is different
14 from the municipality of residence.
15 e. "Municipality of residence" for a child in foster care or a child
16 in residential care shall mean the municipality in which a child or such
17 child's family lived at the time the local social services district
18 assumed responsibility for the placement of such child or family, or at
19 the time such child was admitted for care and/or treatment in a facility
20 licensed or operated by another state agency. Provided, however, that
21 for a child who is homeless "municipality of residence" shall mean the
22 municipality in which a child or such child's family lived when circum-
23 stances arose which caused such child to become homeless.
24 g. "School district of current location" for a child in foster care or
25 a child in residential care shall mean a school district in which a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01053-01-9
S. 4833 2
1 child lives which is different from the school district in which a child
2 or such child's family lived at the time a social services district
3 assumed responsibility for the placement of such child or family, or at
4 the time such child was admitted for care and/or treatment in a facility
5 licensed or operated by another state agency. Provided, however, that
6 for a child who is homeless "school district of current location" shall
7 mean the school district in which the hotel, motel, shelter, or other
8 temporary housing arrangement of a homeless child is located, which is
9 different from the school district of residence.
10 i. "School district of residence" for a child in foster care or a
11 child in residential care shall mean the school district in which a
12 child or such child's family lived at the time the local social services
13 district assumed responsibility for the placement of such child or fami-
14 ly, or at the time such child was admitted for care and/or treatment in
15 a facility licensed or operated by another state agency, which is
16 different from the school district of current location. Provided, howev-
17 er, that for a child who is homeless "school district of residence"
18 shall mean the school district in which a child or such child's family
19 lived when circumstances arose which caused such child to become home-
20 less, which is different from the school district of current location.
21 § 2. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 4410-a of the education law, as
22 amended by chapter 280 of the laws of 1994, are amended to read as
23 follows:
24 2. School district evaluation and placement responsibility. a. Child
25 in residential care. The school district of current location of a
26 [foster care or homeless child or] child in residential care shall be
27 responsible for the evaluation and placement procedures prescribed for a
28 preschool child suspected of having a handicapping condition or for a
29 preschool child with a disability pursuant to section forty-four hundred
30 ten of this chapter.
31 b. Child in foster care. For a child in foster care, the school
32 district of residence shall be responsible for the evaluation and place-
33 ment procedures prescribed for a preschool child suspected of having a
34 handicapping condition or for a preschool child with a disability pursu-
35 ant to section forty-four hundred ten of this chapter, unless the child
36 welfare agency determines that it is in the child's best interests to
37 transfer such responsibilities to the school district of current
38 location.
39 c. Child who is homeless. For a child who is homeless, the parent or
40 the person in parental relation to the homeless child shall designate
41 either the school district of residence or the school district of
42 current location and such designated district shall be responsible for
43 the evaluation and placement procedures prescribed for a preschool child
44 suspected of having a handicapping condition or for a preschool child
45 with a disability pursuant to section forty-four hundred ten of this
46 chapter.
47 d. In issuing its written notice of determination of services, the
48 board of education of [such] the school district with evaluation and
49 placement responsibility as determined in paragraphs a, b, and c of this
50 subdivision shall identify the municipality of residence and the munici-
51 pality of current location of a preschool child with a handicapping
52 condition who is a foster care or homeless child or child in residential
53 care. Such notice of determination shall be transmitted to both the
54 municipality of residence and the municipality of current location.
55 3. Contract and payment responsibility. The municipality [of current
56 location] in which the school district that has evaluation and placement
S. 4833 3
1 responsibility is located shall be the municipality of record for a
2 preschool child with a handicapping condition who is a foster care or
3 homeless child or child in residential care for the purposes of section
4 forty-four hundred ten of this chapter provided, however, that, notwith-
5 standing the provision of paragraph b of subdivision eleven of such
6 section, the state shall reimburse one hundred percent of the approved
7 costs paid by such municipality which shall be offset by the local
8 contribution due pursuant to subdivision four of this section.
9 § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
10 have become a law.
