HB 1439 - AS INTRODUCED
2018 SESSION
18-2115
06/05
HOUSE BILL 1439
AN ACT relative to requirements for private schools that contract with school districts.
SPONSORS: Rep. T. Le, Rock. 31; Rep. Myler, Merr. 10; Rep. Heath, Hills. 14; Rep. Tanner, Sull. 9; Rep. Pantelakos, Rock. 25; Rep. P. Gordon, Rock. 29; Rep. M. MacKay, Hills. 30; Rep. K. Rice, Hills. 37; Rep. Leishman, Hills. 24; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21
COMMITTEE: Education
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ANALYSIS
This bill provides that any private school that contracts with a school district to provide for the education of a child who resides in the school district shall comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and New Hampshire standards for the education of children with disabilities.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
18-2115
06/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eighteen
AN ACT relative to requirements for private schools that contract with school districts.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; School Attendance; Change of School or Assignment. Amend RSA 193:3 by inserting after paragraph VII the following new paragraph:
VIII.(a) When a child with a disability is enrolled by the child's resident district's school board in a nonsectarian private school that has been approved as a school tuition program by the school board pursuant to RSA 189:1-a, IV, the child's resident district shall have the responsibility, including financial responsibility, to ensure the availability to such child of a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws, and to ensure that such child and his or her parents retain all rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. section 1400 et seq., RSA 186-C, and New Hampshire standards for the education of children with disabilities.
(b) If a school board has contracted with a nonsectarian private school pursuant to paragraph VI to provide for the education of one or more children who reside in the school district, the school board shall enact policies to ensure that a child with a disability as defined by RSA 186-C:2, I has the same opportunity to enroll in and attend the private school as he or she would have if he or she was not a child with a disability.
(c) Consistent with the requirements of 34 C.F.R. section 300.116(c), the school district shall ensure that, unless the child's individualized education program (IEP) cannot be implemented in a general education setting or in a general education setting supplemented with part-time placement in a resource room or special education classroom with or without supplemental aids and services, the child is educated in the school that he or she would attend if he or she was not a child with a disability.
(d) The school board of the child's resident district shall:
(1) Meet with the child's IEP team and representatives of the nonsectarian private school. The IEP team shall determine how to ensure that the child receives a free appropriate public education, including the provision of all the special education and related services in the child's individualized education program, and how to ensure that all such services are provided in the least restrictive environment; and
(2) Include in any contract with a nonsectarian private school provisions (i) prohibiting discrimination against any child based on the child's disability, (ii) requiring cooperation with the child's resident district in the provision of a free, appropriate public education to the child, (iii) requiring that a representative of the nonsectarian private school attend any IEP team meeting to which a representative of the nonsectarian private school has been invited, and (iv) for providing sufficient space for the child to receive the special education and related services required by the child's IEP.
(e) If the nonsectarian private school receives federal funds, including any it may receive through its contractual arrangement with the school district, the nonsectarian private school shall be responsible for providing any reasonable accommodations, services, and other supports needed by a child who is an eligible child with a disability under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. section 701 et seq., but who is not a child with a disability as defined by RSA 186-C:2. If a nonsectarian private school is not required to comply with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the child's resident school shall provide reasonable accommodations, services, and other supports needed by such a child.
2 School Attendance; Change of School or Assignment. Amend RSA 193:3, VII to read as follows:
VII. In this section, "approved as a school tuition program'' means a school that has been approved and contracted by the school board to provide students with the opportunity to acquire an adequate education as defined in RSA 193-E:2. Upon approval by the school board, the school shall receive status as an approved school tuition program, shall be deemed in compliance with the provisions of RSA 193-E:3-b, I(a) and (b), and shall qualify as a school approved to provide the opportunity for an adequate education. The school shall be required to submit to the school board an annual student performance progress report in a format selected by the school board, which may include reporting of aggregate achievement data to protect student privacy, and that demonstrates that students are afforded educational opportunities that are substantially equal in quality to state performance standards for determining an adequate education. A private school that receives tuition program students shall:
(a) Comply with statutes and regulations relating to agency approvals such as health, fire safety, and sanitation;
(b) Comply with federal and state special education and civil rights statutes and rules;
(c) Be a nonsectarian school;
[(c)] (d) Be incorporated under the laws of New Hampshire or the United States; and
[(d)] (e) Administer an annual assessment in reading and language arts, mathematics, and science as defined in RSA 193-C:6 to tuition program students. The assessment may be any nationally recognized standardized assessment used to measure student academic achievement, shall be aligned to the school's academic standards, and shall satisfy the requirements of RSA 193-C:6 for school tuition program students. The school's annual assessment results for tuition program students shall be submitted to the commissioner and school board. If the school enrolls 10 or more publicly-funded tuition program students and if the school's group assessment percentile score for tuition program students is less than the 40th percentile, the commissioner may require a site visit to determine if the school provides the opportunity for an adequate education in accordance with RSA 193-E:3-b. After the third consecutive year of a tuition program school being unable to demonstrate that it provides an opportunity for an adequate education, the school may be subject to revocation of tuition program status.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 23, 2018 | House | Hearing |
| Feb. 14, 2018 | House | Exec Session |
March 6, 2018: Refer for Interim Study: MA VV 03/06/2018 HJ 6 P. 23
: Committee Report: Refer for Interim Study (Vote 19-1; CC)
March 6, 2018: Committee Report: Refer for Interim Study for 03/06/2018 (Vote 19-1; CC) HC 9 P. 13
Feb. 14, 2018: Executive Session: 02/14/2018 10:00 AM LOB 207
Jan. 23, 2018: Public Hearing: 01/23/2018 11:00 AM LOB 207
Jan. 3, 2018: Introduced 01/03/2018 and referred to Education HJ 1 P. 10