Revision: June 3, 2010, midnight
SB 520-FN-LOCAL – VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
03/24/10 1175s
12May2010… 1365h
06/02/10 2182CofC 2010 SESSION
04/09
SENATE BILL 520-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT relative to school district liability for special education costs.
SPONSORS: Sen. Bragdon, Dist 11
This bill clarifies school district financial liability for special education and related services provided to a child.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/24/10 1175s
12May2010… 1365h
06/02/10 2182CofC
10-2969
04/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Ten
AN ACT relative to school district liability for special education costs.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 School Attendance. Amend the section heading in RSA 193:3 to read as follows:
193:3 Change of School or Assignment[; Manifest Educational Hardship or Best Interest; Excusing Attendance].
2 New Paragraph; School Attendance. Amend RSA 193:3 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
IV.(a) Any person having custody of a child may apply to enroll that child in a public school or public academy outside the school district in which the person and child reside. If the non-resident school district or public academy agrees to enroll the child it may charge tuition to the parent or may enter into an agreement for payment of tuition with the school district in which the child resides.
(b) When a child is enrolled pursuant to subparagraph (a), the district in which the child is enrolled shall immediately notify the district in which the child resides of the name, date of birth, address, and grade assignment of the child. This same notification shall be made at the beginning of each school year for which the child is enrolled.
(c) When a child is enrolled pursuant to subparagraph (a), the district in which the child resides shall retain all responsibility for the provision of special education and related services pursuant to RSA 186-C.
(d) The decision by a school district or a public academy to deny enrollment of a non-resident pupil shall not be based, in whole or in part, on whether such pupil is a child with a disability as defined in RSA 186-C:2, I, or a child that requires an accommodation under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
(e) The decision of a parent to enroll a child in a charter school shall not be subject to the provisions of this section.
(f) Disputes related to the provision of special education services under this paragraph shall be governed by RSA 186-C.
3 New Paragraph; Special Education; Liability for Expenses. Amend RSA 186-C:13 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
IV. When a child is enrolled pursuant to 193:3, IV, the district in which the child resides shall retain the liability for expenses as set forth in this section.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
10-2969
Amended 05/27/10
SB 520 FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to school district liability for special education costs.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Educations states this bill, as amended by the House (Amendment #2010-1365h), will have no fiscal impact on state, county and local revenues and expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Education states this bill will have no fiscal impact on the state or its political subdivisions. Current law requires that a resident school district pay tuition to a non-resident school district if the resident district agrees to have one of its students educated in a public school in another school district. In cases of special education and related services, both state and federal law assign financial responsibility to the resident school district. The Department further states this bill requires a parent to pay tuition in a situation where the parent unilaterally places a child in a public school in a non-resident school district. The Department states this bill does not alter these legal obligations.