STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7000
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 16, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. MANNION -- (at request of the State Education Depart-
ment) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be
committed to the Committee on Disabilities
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to the responsibility for
certain temporary-resident 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. Section 4410-a of the education law, as added by chapter 53
2 of the laws of 1990 and as renumbered by chapter 705 of the laws of
3 1992, paragraph b of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 569 of the laws
4 of 1994, paragraphs d, e and g of subdivision 1 as amended by chapter
5 705 of the laws of 1992, paragraph f of subdivision 1 as amended by
6 chapter 474 of the laws of 1996, paragraph h of subdivision 1 and subdi-
7 visions 2, 3, and 4 as amended by chapter 280 of the laws of 1994, is
8 amended to read as follows:
9 § 4410-a. Responsibility for certain temporary-resident preschool
10 children with [handicapping conditions] disabilities. 1. Definitions.
11 For the purpose of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
12 a. "[Foster care child] Child in foster care" shall mean a child
13 placed in foster care by a social services district.
14 b. "[Homeless child] Child who is homeless" shall mean a homeless
15 child as defined in paragraph a of subdivision one of section thirty-two
16 hundred nine of this chapter.
17 c. "Municipality" shall mean a county outside the city of New York or
18 the city, in the case of a county in the city of New York.
19 d. "Municipality of current location" shall mean a municipality in
20 which a child lives which is different from the municipality [in which a
21 child or such child's family lived at the time a social services
22 district assumed responsibility for the placement of such child or fami-
23 ly, or at the time such child was admitted for care and/or treatment in
24 a facility licensed or operated by another state agency] of origin.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03197-01-3
S. 7000 2
1 e. "Municipality of [residence] origin" shall mean:
2 (i) for a child in foster care, the municipality within the state of
3 New York in which a child or such child's [family lived] parent or
4 person in parental relation resided at the time [the local social
5 services district assumed responsibility for the placement of such child
6 or family, or at the time] of placement into foster care when the social
7 services district assumed care and custody or custody and guardianship
8 of such child;
9 (ii) for a child who is homeless, the municipality within the state of
10 New York in which a child or such child's parent or person in parental
11 relation resided when circumstances arose which caused such child to
12 become homeless; and
13 (iii) for a child in residential care, the municipality within the
14 state of New York in which a child or such child's parent or person in
15 parental relation resided at the time such child was admitted for care
16 and/or treatment in a facility licensed or operated by [another] a state
17 agency, other than the office of children and family services.
18 f. "Preschool child with a disability" shall mean a child eligible for
19 services pursuant to section forty-four hundred ten of this [chapter]
20 article. A "preschool child with a handicapping condition" means a
21 preschool child with a disability.
22 g. "School district of current location" for a child who is homeless
23 or in residential care shall mean a school district in which a child
24 lives which is different from the school district [in which a child or
25 such child's family lived at the time a social services district assumed
26 responsibility for the placement of such child or family, or at the time
27 such child was admitted for care and/or treatment in a facility licensed
28 or operated by another state agency] of origin. For a child in foster
29 care such terms shall mean "school district residence" as defined in
30 section thirty-two hundred forty-four of this chapter.
31 h. "Child in residential care" shall mean a child residing in a facil-
32 ity, hospital or institution licensed or operated by [another] a state
33 agency, other than the office of children and family services, as
34 defined by subdivision six of section 1.03 of the mental hygiene law or
35 by paragraph (m) of subdivision one of section two of the public health
36 law.
37 i. "School district of origin" shall mean:
38 (i) for a child in foster care, the school district within the state
39 of New York in which the child in foster care was attending a public
40 preschool on a tuition-free basis or was entitled to attend, or would
41 have been entitled to attend had the child been the eligible age to
42 attend, at the time of placement into foster care when the social
43 services district assumed care and custody or custody and guardianship
44 of such child;
45 (ii) for a child who is homeless, the school district within the
46 state of New York in which a child who is homeless was attending a
47 public preschool on a tuition-free basis or was entitled to attend, or
48 would have been entitled to attend had the child been the eligible age
49 to attend, when circumstances arose which caused such child to become
50 homeless; and
51 (iii) for a child in residential care, the school district within the
52 state of New York in which a child was attending a public preschool on a
53 tuition-free basis or was entitled to attend, or would have been enti-
54 tled to attend had the child been the eligible age to attend, at the
55 time such child was admitted for care and/or treatment in a facility
S. 7000 3
1 licensed or operated by a state agency, other than the office of chil-
2 dren and family services.
3 2. School district evaluation and placement responsibility. a. The
4 school district of current location of a [foster care or homeless child
5 or] child in residential care shall be responsible for the evaluation
6 and placement procedures prescribed for a preschool child suspected of
7 having or who has a [handicapping condition] disability pursuant to
8 section forty-four hundred ten of this [chapter] article.
9 b. The school district of origin or the school district of current
10 location of a child in foster care designated pursuant to paragraph (a)
11 of subdivision two of section thirty-two hundred forty-four of this
12 chapter shall be responsible for the evaluation and placement procedures
13 prescribed for a preschool child suspected of having or who has a disa-
14 bility pursuant to section forty-four hundred ten of this article,
15 subject to a best interest determination pursuant to paragraph (a) of
16 subdivision two of section thirty-two hundred forty-four of this chap-
17 ter.
18 c. The school district of origin or the school district of current
19 location of a child who is homeless designated pursuant to subdivision
20 two of section thirty-two hundred nine of this chapter shall be respon-
21 sible for the evaluation and placement procedures prescribed for a
22 preschool child suspected of having or who has a disability pursuant to
23 section forty-four hundred ten of this article, subject to a best inter-
24 est determination pursuant to subparagraph three of paragraph f of
25 subdivision two of section thirty-two hundred nine of this chapter.
26 d. In issuing its written notice of determination of services, the
27 board of education of [such] the school district with evaluation and
28 placement responsibility as determined pursuant to paragraphs a, b, and
29 c of this subdivision shall identify the municipality of [residence]
30 origin and the municipality of current location, of a preschool child
31 with a [handicapping condition] disability who is a child in foster care
32 or [homeless] child who is homeless or child in residential care. Such
33 notice of determination shall be transmitted to both the municipality of
34 [residence] origin and the municipality of current location.
35 3. Contract and payment responsibility. The municipality of [current
36 location] the school district which is determined to be responsible for
37 the evaluation and placement of such child, pursuant to subdivision two
38 of this section, shall be the municipality of record for a preschool
39 child with a [handicapping condition] disability who is a child in
40 foster care or a child who is homeless [child] or a child in residential
41 care for the purposes of section forty-four hundred ten of this [chap-
42 ter] article provided, however, that, notwithstanding the provision of
43 paragraph b of subdivision eleven of such section, if the municipality
44 of record is the municipality of current location, the state shall reim-
45 burse one hundred percent of the approved costs paid by such munici-
46 pality which shall be offset by the local contribution due pursuant to
47 subdivision four of this section.
48 4. Local contribution. [The] If the municipality of record as
49 described in subdivision three of this section is the municipality of
50 current location, the municipality of [residence] origin shall be finan-
51 cially responsible for the local contribution which shall equal that
52 portion of the approved costs of services to a child in foster care or a
53 child who is homeless [child] or child in residential care with a
54 [handicapping condition] disability which would not be reimbursed pursu-
55 ant to the schedule set out in paragraph b of subdivision eleven of
56 section forty-four hundred ten of this [chapter] article. The commis-
S. 7000 4
1 sioner shall certify to the comptroller the amount of the local contrib-
2 ution owed by each municipality to the state. The comptroller shall
3 deduct the amount of such local contribution first from any moneys due
4 the municipality pursuant to such section and then from any other moneys
5 due or to become due such municipality.
6 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
7 have become a law.