Report Title:

Scholarships for Students with Disabilities Program; DOE

Description:

Establishes the scholarships for students with disabilities program in order to provide a scholarship to a private school of choice for students with disabilities for whom an individual education plan has been written. Defines "students with disabilities".

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

2180

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to students with disabilities.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 302A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new subpart to part II to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"  . Scholarships for students with disabilities

§302A-A Scholarships for students with disabilities program. (a) The scholarships for students with disabilities program is established in the department in order to provide a scholarship to a private school of choice for students with disabilities, for whom an individual education plan has been written in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to chapter 91.

(b) "Students with disabilities", "student with a disability", and "students with a disability" include kindergarten through grade twelve students who meet the criteria for autism, deaf-blindness, deafness, developmental delay, emotional disturbance, hearing impairment, mental retardation, multiple disability, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, specific learning disability, speech-language impairment, traumatic brain injury, and visual impairment including blindness.

§302A-B Scholarship eligibility. (a) The parent of a public school student with a disability who is dissatisfied with the student's progress may request and receive a scholarship for the child to enroll in and attend a private school in accordance with this subpart if:

(1) By geographic attendance area or educational placement, the student has spent the prior school year in attendance at a public school.

"Prior school year in attendance" means that the student was enrolled and reported by a school for resource allocation purposes during the preceding July, August, and September enrollment surveys in kindergarten through grade twelve; and

(2) The parent has obtained acceptance for admission of the student to a private school that is eligible for the scholarship program under section 302A-D and has notified the superintendent of the request for a scholarship at least sixty days prior to the date of the first scholarship payment. The parental notification shall be through a communication directly to the superintendent or through the complex area superintendent to the superintendent in a manner that creates a written or electronic record of the notification and the date of receipt of the notification.

(b) This subpart does not apply to a student who is enrolled in a school operating for the purpose of providing educational services to youth who are detained by the office of youth services. For purposes of continuity of educational choice, a scholarship shall remain in force unless:

(1) The student's eligibility for special education is rescinded; or

(2) The student returns to a public school, graduates from high school, is excepted from compulsory attendance, or is excluded from school.

A student's parent, at any time, may remove the student from one private school and place the student in another private school that is eligible for the scholarship program under section 302A-D.

§302A-C School complex and department obligations. (a) A complex area superintendent shall timely notify the parent of a student of all options available pursuant to this subpart and offer the student's parent an opportunity to enroll the student in another public school, subject to the availability of space and the capability of the receiving school to provide reasonable accommodations for the student. A parent is not required to accept this offer in lieu of requesting a scholarship to a private school. If a parent chooses the public school option, then the student may continue attending the public school chosen by the parent, unless the student departs for a private school, graduates from high school, is excepted from compulsory attendance, or is excluded from school. If a parent chooses a public school within the school complex or the departmental school district, then the department shall provide transportation to the public school selected by the parent; provided that nothing in this subpart shall be construed to require the department to provide interisland transportation to the public school selected by the parent. A parent shall be responsible for providing transportation for the child to a public school selected that is not in the same departmental school district or not on the island, or both.

(b) The individualized education program team for a student with disabilities shall determine and, as needed, reevaluate the appropriate placement and level of support for the student, but not less than once every three years. The complex area superintendent shall:

(1) Approve or disapprove, but not change, the individualized education program team's determination for a student who is participating in the scholarship program; and

(2) Notify the superintendent of the student's placement and level of support within thirty days after receiving notification by the student's parent of intent to participate in the scholarship program.

The superintendent shall notify the private school of the amount of the scholarship within ten days after receiving a complex area superintendent's notification of the student's placement and level of support. Within ten school days after a complex area superintendent receives notification of a parent's intent to apply for a scholarship, the complex area superintendent shall: notify the parent if the placement and level of service determination has not been completed; and provide the parent with the date for completion of the determination.

(c) If a parent chooses the private school option and the student is accepted by the private school pending the availability of a space for the student, then the parent shall notify the complex area superintendent sixty days prior to the first scholarship payment and before entering the private school in order to be eligible for the scholarship when a space becomes available for the student in the private school.

(d) The parent of a student may choose, as an alternative, to enroll the student in and transport the student to a public school in another departmental school district or on another island, or both, that:

(1) Has available space; and

(2) Has a program with the services agreed to in the student's individual education plan already in place; or

(3) Has the capability of providing reasonable accommodations for the student.

(e) For a student who participates in the scholarship program whose parent requests that the student take the statewide assessments required under section 302A-1004, the complex area superintendent shall provide locations and times to take the statewide assessments.

(f) A complex area superintendent shall notify the superintendent within ten days after the complex area superintendent receives notification of a parent's intent to apply for a scholarship. A complex area superintendent shall provide the parent with the student's placement and level of service determination within ten school days after its completion.

§302A-D Private school eligibility. To be eligible to participate in the scholarship program, a private school may be sectarian or nonsectarian and shall:

(1) Demonstrate fiscal soundness by:

(A) Being in operation for more than one school year; or

(B) Providing the superintendent with a statement by a certified public accountant confirming that the private school desiring to participate is insured and the owners have sufficient capital or credit to operate the school for the upcoming school year, serving the number of students anticipated with expected revenues from tuition and other sources that may be reasonably expected. In lieu of such a statement, a surety bond or letter of credit for the amount equal to the scholarship funds for any quarter may be filed with the superintendent;

(2) Notify the superintendent of its intent to participate in the scholarship program. The notice shall specify the grade levels and services that the private school has available for students with disabilities who are participating in the scholarship program;

(3) Comply with federal and state anti-discrimination laws;

(4) Meet state and county health and safety laws and rules;

(5) Be academically accountable to the parent for meeting the educational needs of the student;

(6) Employ or contract with teachers who:

(A) Hold baccalaureate or higher degrees;

(B) Have at least three years of teaching experience in public or private schools; or

(C) Have special skills, knowledge, or expertise that qualifies them to provide instruction in subjects taught;

(7) Comply with all state laws and rules relating to the general regulation of private schools; and

(8) Adhere to the tenets of the private school's published disciplinary procedures prior to the expulsion of a scholarship student.

§302A-E Obligation of scholarship program participants. (a) A parent who applies for a scholarship shall be deemed to be exercising the parental option to place the parent's child in a private school. A parent shall select the private school and apply for the admission of the parent's child.

(b) A parent shall request a scholarship at least sixty days prior to the date of the first scholarship payment.

(c) A student participating in the scholarship program shall:

(1) Remain in attendance throughout the school year, unless excused by the private school for illness or other good cause; and

(2) Comply fully with the private school's code of conduct.

(d) The parent of each student participating in the scholarship program shall comply fully with the private school's parental involvement requirements, unless excused by the school for illness or other good cause.

(e) If a parent requests that the student take the statewide assessments required under section 302A-1004, then:

(1) The complex area superintendent shall provide locations and times to take the statewide assessments; and

(2) The parent shall be responsible for transporting the student to the assessment sites provided by the complex area superintendent.

(f) Upon receipt of a scholarship warrant, the parent to whom the warrant is made shall restrictively endorse the warrant to the private school for deposit into the account of the school.

(g) A parent, student, or private school that fails to comply with the requirements of this subpart shall forfeit a scholarship.

§302A-F Scholarship funding and payment. (a) The maximum scholarship granted for an eligible student with disabilities shall be a calculated amount equal to the per pupil allocation for special education students in section 302A-1185 multiplied by the appropriate support weight for the educational program that would have been provided to the student in the public school where the student was assigned, based on the student's placement and level of service; provided that nothing in this subpart shall be construed to prevent:

(1) The amount of a scholarship from being increased or decreased following a reevaluation of the student; or

(2) A scholarship from being discontinued following the rescission of a student's eligibility for special education.

Until a complex area superintendent completes the determination required by section 302A-C(b), the calculated amount shall be based on the educational program that existed for the student at the end of the previous school year. When the complex area superintendent completes the determination, the amount of the payment shall be adjusted as needed.

(b) The amount of a scholarship shall be the calculated amount or the amount of the private school's tuition and fees, whichever is less. The amount of any assessment fee required by a participating private school may be paid from the total amount of the scholarship.

(c) If a participating private school requires partial payment of tuition prior to the start of the school year to reserve space for students admitted to the school, then the partial payment may be:

(1) Paid by the superintendent prior to the first quarterly payment of the school year in which the scholarship is awarded, up to a maximum of $1,000; and

(2) Deducted from subsequent scholarship payments.

If a student decides not to attend a participating private school, then the reservation payment shall be returned to the superintendent by the participating private school. The superintendent may not pay more than one reservation payment per student per school year.

(d) The complex area superintendent shall report all students who are attending a private school under the scholarship program. Students attending private schools under the scholarship program shall be reported separately from students placed in private schools under the rules governing the provision of a free appropriate public education for a student with a disability.

(e) Following notification on July 31, August 31, and September 30 of the number of participants in the scholarship program, the superintendent, using general funds only, shall transfer the amount calculated under subsection (b) to a separate account for making quarterly disbursements to the parents of students participating in the scholarship program. The superintendent shall receive all documentation required for a student's participation in the scholarship program, including the private school's and the student's fee schedules, at least thirty days before the first quarterly scholarship payment is made for the student. The superintendent may not make any retroactive payments.

(f) Upon proper documentation reviewed and approved by the superintendent, the comptroller shall make scholarship payments in four equal amounts no later than September 1, December 1, March 1, and June 1 of each school year in which the scholarship is in force. The initial payment shall be made after the superintendent's verification of admission acceptance, and subsequent payments shall be made upon verification of continued enrollment and attendance at the private school. Payment shall be by individual warrant made payable to the student's parent and mailed by the comptroller to the private school of the parent's choice, and the parent shall restrictively endorse the warrant to the private school for deposit into the account of the school.

§302A-G Liability. No liability shall arise on the part of the State based on the award or use of a scholarship.

§302A-H Applicability. This subpart shall not apply to the educational placement or referral of a student with a disability:

(1) In a public school outside the student's geographic area; or

(2) In a private school,

if the educational placement or referral is made by the department as a means of providing a student with a disability with a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.

§302A-I Rules. The board may adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to administer this subpart. The inclusion of eligible private schools within options available to public school students shall not be construed to expand the authority of the State or the counties to impose additional regulations on private schools beyond those regulations reasonably necessary to enforce the requirements set forth in this subpart."

SECTION 2. In codifying the new sections added by section 1 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2004.

INTRODUCED BY:

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