AB674: Bill Text

AB674,29,2 (4) A local educational agency shall submit to the division, pursuant to a schedule and instructions established and published by the division, the agency's plan, including a program narrative, for the provision of special education and related services that includes all of the following:

AB674,29,4 (a) The extent to which special education and related services is or is not organized around particular disabilities.

AB674,29,5 (b) The licensure and other preparation or experience of special education staff.

AB674,29,6 (c) The age ranges of pupils who are children with disabilities.

AB674,29,7 (d) The range of severity of disability among children with disabilities.

AB674,29,10 (e) The ratio of pupils to full-time equivalent staff, including both the ratio of pupils assigned to special education instructional and related services staff and to total special education instructional, support and administrative staff.

AB674,29,11 (f) The way parents participate in the development and review of the plan.

AB674,29,13 (g) The extent to which children with disabilities receive special education or related services beyond the school term.

AB674,29,18 (h) The way the local educational agency provides for a continuum of alternative placements that addresses the unique needs of children with disabilities and ensures that such children receive their educational programming in the least restrictive environment, including the agency's use of placements out of the agency and out of the state and private placements.

AB674,29,21 (i) The local educational agency's plan for employing qualified special education and related services staff, evaluating its staff's special education in-service needs and the plan for meeting those needs.

AB674,29,24 (j) The local educational agency's plan for evaluating its system for the design and delivery of special education and related services and for addressing any needs that are identified by the evaluation, including all of the following:

AB674,30,2 1. The local educational agency's graduation rate for children with disabilities and how the rate compares to the agency's graduation rate for nondisabled children.

AB674,30,5 2. The local educational agency's rate of suspension and expulsion of children with disabilities and how the rate compares to the agency's rate of suspension and expulsion of nondisabled children.

AB674,30,7 3. The local educational agency's overall incidence rate of children with disabilities and the agency's incidence rates of particular disabilities.

AB674,30,10 4. The rate of participation of the local educational agency's children with disabilities in statewide and local educational agency-wide assessments and the results of those assessments.

AB674,30,12 5. The rate of participation of the local educational agency's children with disabilities in alternative assessments and the results of those assessments.

AB674,30,14 6. The number of referrals under s. 115.777 and the percentage of those referrals resulting in the provision of special education and related services.

AB674,30,16 7. The number of children with disabilities placed in appropriate, interim, alternative educational settings under 20 USC 1415 (k) (1) (A) (ii).

AB674,30,19 8. The satisfaction of parents of children with disabilities and adult pupils who are receiving special education and related services with special education and related services.

AB674,30,23 9. Information about persons who no longer attend high school and who received special education and related services provided by the local educational agency, such as whether they are employed, are living independently and are enrolled in postsecondary education.

AB674,31,3 10. If the local educational agency is a school district, the number of children with disabilities who attend the school district under s. 118.51, the disability of each such child and the special education or related services received by each such child.

AB674,31,5 (k) A roster of all of the agency's special education and related services staff, their function, their social security numbers and their special education licensure.

AB674,31,6 (L) Statements of assurance as required by applicable federal law.

AB674,31,8 (m) Information relating to access of private school pupils to the local educational agency's special education and related services.

AB674,31,10 (n) Any other information the division requires to permit its review and approval of the plan.

AB674,31,15 (7) Annually, the local educational agency shall provide a special education performance report to all parents of children enrolled in the local educational agency and to the division that includes the local educational agency's performance with regard to the factors referenced in the agency's evaluation of its plan under sub. (4) (j) as well as the statewide average with regard to factors in sub. (4) (j) 1. to 5.

AB674,31,21 (8) The local educational agency shall serve children with disabilities who are attending a charter school under contract with the local educational agency under s. 118.40 in the same manner as it serves children with disabilities attending schools of the local educational agency, and shall provide funds under this subchapter to such charter schools in the same manner as it provides funds under this subchapter to schools of the local educational agency.

AB674,31,23 (9) The local educational agency shall exercise its authority in compliance with 20 USC 1415 (k).

AB674,32,7 115.777 Special education referrals. (1) (a) A physician, nurse, psychologist, social worker or administrator of a social agency who reasonably believes that a child brought to him or her for services has a disability shall refer the child to the local educational agency. If the local educational agency to whom the referral is made is the school district in which the child resides but the child is attending a public school in a nonresident school district under s. 118.51, the school board of the school district in which the child resides shall provide the name of the child and related information to the school board of the school district that the child is attending.

AB674,32,15 (b) A person who is required to be licensed under s. 115.28 (7), who is employed by a local educational agency and who reasonably believes a child has a disability, shall refer the child to the local educational agency. If the local educational agency to whom the referral is made is the school district that the child is attending but the child is a nonresident attending a public school in that school district under s. 118.51, the school board of the school district that the child is attending shall provide the name of the child and related information to the school board of the child's school district of residence.

AB674,32,22 (c) Any person other than those specified under par. (a) or (b) who reasonably believes that a child is a child with a disability may refer the child to a local educational agency. If the local educational agency to whom the referral is made is the school district in which the child resides but the child is attending a public school in a nonresident school district under s. 118.51, the school board of the school district in which the child resides shall provide the name of the child and related information to the school board of the school district that the child is attending.

AB674,32,24 (2) (a) All referrals shall be in writing and shall include the name of the child and the reasons why the person believes that the child is a child with a disability.

AB674,33,3 (b) Before submitting a referral to a local educational agency under sub. (1) (a) or (b), a person required to make a referral under sub. (1) (a) or (b) shall inform the child's parent that he or she is going to submit the referral.

AB674,33,4 (3) A local educational agency shall do all of the following:

AB674,33,5 (a) Establish written procedures for accepting and processing referrals.

AB674,33,6 (b) Document and date the receipt of each referral.

AB674,33,8 (c) Provide information and in-service opportunities to all of its licensed staff to familiarize them with the agency's referral procedures.

AB674,33,10 (d) At least annually, inform parents and persons required to make referrals under sub. (1) (a) about the agency's referral and evaluation procedures.

AB674,33,14 115.78 Individualized education program team; timeline. (1) Definition. In this section, for a child who is attending a public school in a nonresident school district under s. 118.51, "local educational agency" means the school board of the school district that the child is attending.

AB674,33,17 (1m) Appointment of Team. The local educational agency shall appoint an individualized education program team for each child referred to it under s. 115.777. Each team shall consist of all of the following:

AB674,33,18 (a) The parents of the child.

AB674,33,20 (b) At least one regular education teacher of the child if the child is, or may be, participating in a regular educational environment.

AB674,33,22 (c) At least one special education teacher or, where appropriate, at least one special education provider of the child.

AB674,34,2 (d) A representative of the local educational agency who is qualified to provide, or supervise the provision of, special education, is knowledgeable about the general curriculum and is knowledgeable about and authorized to commit the available resources of the local educational agency.

AB674,34,4 (e) An individual who can interpret the instructional implications of evaluation results, who may be a team participant under pars. (b) to (d) or (f).

AB674,34,7 (f) At the discretion of the parent or the local educational agency, other individuals who have knowledge or special expertise about the child, including related services personnel as appropriate.

AB674,34,8 (g) Whenever appropriate, the child.

AB674,34,10 (2) Duties of Team. The individualized education program team shall do all of the following:

AB674,34,13 (a) Evaluate the child under s. 115.782 to determine the child's eligibility or continued eligibility for special education and related services and the educational needs of the child.

AB674,34,14 (b) Develop an individualized education program for the child under s. 115.787.

AB674,34,15 (c) Determine the special education placement for the child under s. 115.79.

AB674,34,19 (3) Timeline. (a) The local educational agency shall notify the parents of the educational placement of their child within 90 days after the local educational agency receives a special education referral for the child under s. 115.777 or initiates a reevaluation of the child under s. 115.782 (4).

AB674,34,23 (b) Before the expiration of the 90-day period, if a local educational agency needs an extension, it shall inform the child's parent of the need and reasons for an extension and request the child's parent to agree in writing to a specific extension of time beyond the 90-day period.

AB674,35,5 (c) If the parent does not agree to an extension, the local educational agency may request an extension from the division. The local educational agency shall inform the division of the reasons for the request. The division may grant a specific extension of time beyond the 90-day period if the local educational agency shows that it has acted in good faith and that there is good cause to grant the extension. If the division grants an extension, it shall notify the parent of the extension and the reasons for granting it.

AB674,35,10 (d) Subject to pars. (a) to (c), if the parents of the child or the local educational agency staff determines at any point during the process of the evaluation, development of the individualized education program or placement of the child that additional time is needed to permit meaningful parental participation, the local educational agency shall provide it.

AB674,35,15 (4) At the beginning of any meeting to address the evaluation, individualized education program or placement of a child, the local educational agency staff shall inform the child's parents of their right to be provided with additional time under sub. (3) (d) and their right to a copy of the evaluation report under s. 115.782 (3) (b) or (c).

AB674,35,19 115.782 Evaluations. (1) Notice; consent. (a) The local educational agency shall notify the parents of the child, in accordance with s. 115.792, of any evaluation procedures the agency proposes to conduct, the qualifications of the individuals who will conduct the evaluation and their names, if known.

AB674,35,25 (b) The local educational agency proposing to conduct an initial evaluation shall obtain informed consent from the child's parent before the evaluation is conducted. Parental consent for the evaluation does not constitute consent for placement for receipt of special education and related services. If the child's parents do not consent to the evaluation, the local educational agency may continue to pursue an evaluation by using the procedures under s. 115.797 or 115.80.

AB674,36,5 (2) Conduct of evaluation. (a) In conducting the evaluation, the individualized education program team shall not use any single procedure as the sole criterion for determining whether a child is a child with a disability or for determining an appropriate educational program for the child. The individualized education program team shall do all of the following:

AB674,36,11 1. Use a variety of assessment tools and strategies to gather relevant functional and developmental information, including information provided by the child's parent, that may assist in determining whether the child is a child with a disability and the content of the child's individualized education program, including information related to enabling the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum or, for preschool children, to participate in appropriate activities.

AB674,36,13 2. Use technically sound instruments that may assess the relative contribution of cognitive and behavioral factors, in addition to physical or developmental factors.

AB674,36,14 3. Ensure all of the following:

AB674,36,18 a. That tests and other evaluation materials used to assess a child under this section are selected and administered so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory and are provided and administered in the child's native language or other mode of communication, unless it is clearly not feasible to do so.

AB674,36,22 b. That any standardized tests that are given to the child have been validated for the specific purpose for which they are used, are administered by trained and knowledgeable personnel and are administered in accordance with any instructions provided by the producer of such tests.

AB674,36,23 c. That the child is assessed in all areas of suspected disability.

AB674,36,25 d. That assessment tools and strategies that provide relevant information that directly assists persons in determining the educational needs of the child are used.

AB674,37,4 (b) As part of an initial evaluation of a child and as part of any reevaluation of a child under sub. (4), the individualized education program team and other qualified professionals, as determined by the local educational agency, shall do all of the following:

AB674,37,8 1. Review existing evaluation data on the child, including evaluations and information provided by the child's parents, previous interventions and the effects of those interventions, current classroom-based assessments and observations, and observations by teachers and related services providers.

AB674,37,11 2. On the basis of that review and information provided by the child's parents, identify the additional data, if any, that are needed, and the qualifications of the evaluators that are needed, to determine all of the following:

AB674,37,13 a. Whether the child has a particular category of disability or, in case of a reevaluation of a child, whether the child continues to have such a disability.

AB674,37,14 b. The present levels of performance and educational needs of the child.

AB674,37,17 c. Whether the child needs special education and related services, or in the case of a reevaluation of a child, whether the child continues to need special education and related services.

AB674,37,21 d. Whether any additions or modifications to the special education and related services are needed to enable the child to meet the measurable, annual goals specified in the child's individualized education program and to participate, as appropriate, in the general curriculum.

AB674,37,24 (c) The local educational agency shall administer such tests and other evaluation materials as may be needed to produce the data identified under par. (b) 2.

AB674,38,5 (d) If the child being evaluated is attending a public school in a nonresident school district under s. 118.51, as part of its initial evaluation of the child and as part of any reevaluation of the child under sub. (4), the individualized education program team shall collaborate with appropriate personnel designated by the school board of the child's school district of residence.

AB674,38,12 (3) Determination of eligibility for special education. (a) Upon the completion of the administration of tests and other evaluation materials, the individualized education program team shall determine whether the child is a child with a disability. The individualized education program team may not determine that a child is a child with a disability solely because the child has received insufficient instruction in reading or math or because the child has limited proficiency in English.

AB674,38,21 (b) If the individualized education program team determines that a child is a child with a disability, the team shall prepare an evaluation report that includes documentation of determination of eligibility. If the child's parents request a copy of the evaluation report at any point in the process of developing the child's individualized education program or considering the child's educational placement, the local educational agency shall give a copy of the report to the child's parents before continuing with the process. If the child's parents do not request a copy of the evaluation report, the local educational agency shall give a copy to the child's parents with the notice of placement under s. 115.792 (2).

AB674,39,3 (c) If the individualized education program team determines that a child is not a child with a disability, the team shall prepare an evaluation report. The report shall identify any educational needs of the child and any services offered by the local educational agency from which the child may benefit and shall include information about any programs and services, other than those offered by the local educational agency, that may benefit the child. The local educational agency shall give a copy of the evaluation report to the child's parents with the notice under s. 115.792 (1) (b).

AB674,39,5 (4) Reevaluations. (a) A local educational agency shall ensure that the individualized education program team does all of the following:

AB674,39,7 1. Evaluates a child with a disability in accordance with this section before determining that the child is no longer a child with a disability.

AB674,39,10 2. Reevaluates a child with a disability in accordance with this section if the local educational agency determines that conditions warrant a reevaluation or if the child's parent or teacher requests a reevaluation, but at least once every 3 years.

AB674,39,14 (b) The local educational agency shall obtain informed consent from the child's parent before reevaluating a child with a disability, except that such consent need not be obtained if the local educational agency has taken reasonable measures to obtain such consent and the child's parents have failed to respond.

AB674,39,22 (c) If the individualized education program team and other qualified professionals, as determined by the local educational agency, find under sub. (2) (b) 2. that no additional data are needed to determine whether the child continues to be a child with a disability, the local educational agency shall notify the child's parents of that finding and the reasons for it and the right of the child's parents to request an assessment to determine whether the child continues to be a child with a disability. The local educational agency is not required to conduct such an assessment unless the child's parents request it.

AB674,40,2 115.787 Individualized education programs. (1) Requirement that program be in effect. At the beginning of each school year, each local educational agency shall have in effect, for each child with a disability, an individualized education program.

AB674,40,4 (2) Required components. An individualized education program shall include all of the following:

AB674,40,8 (a) A statement of the child's present level of educational performance, including how the child's disability affects the child's involvement and progress in the general curriculum or, for a preschool child, as appropriate, how the disability affects the child's participation in appropriate activities.

AB674,40,13 (b) A statement of measurable annual goals for the child, including benchmarks or short-term objectives, related to meeting the child's needs that result from the child's disability to enable the child to be involved in and progress in the general curriculum, and to meeting each of the child's other educational needs that result from the child's disability.

AB674,40,17 (c) A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services to be provided to the child, or on behalf of the child, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided for the child to do all of the following:

AB674,40,18 1. Advance appropriately toward the annual goals.