Revision: Dec. 3, 2019, 10:12 a.m.
HB 1473 - AS INTRODUCED
2020 SESSION
20-2514
06/04
HOUSE BILL 1473
AN ACT requiring schools to have a special education parent advisory council.
SPONSORS: Rep. St. John, Hills. 27; Rep. Grote, Rock. 24; Rep. Murphy, Hills. 21; Rep. French, Graf. 14; Rep. Grossman, Rock. 18; Rep. Bouchard, Hills. 11; Rep. Stevens, Hills. 34; Rep. Petrigno, Hills. 23; Rep. Rice, Hills. 37; Rep. Schultz, Merr. 18; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21
COMMITTEE: Education
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires a school administrative unit to establish a special education parent advisory council.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20-2514
06/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
AN ACT requiring schools to have a special education parent advisory council.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Responsibility of School Districts; Special Education Parent Advisory Council. Amend RSA 186-C:10 to read as follows:
186-C:10 Responsibility of School District.
I. A school district shall establish an approved program or programs for children with disabilities, or shall enter into cooperative agreements with other districts to provide approved programs for children with disabilities, or shall pay tuition to such an approved program maintained by another school district or by a private organization.
II. Each school administrative unit shall establish, for the districts comprising the school administrative unit, a special education parent advisory council for parents of a student with disabilities and other interested parties to work with administrators to ensure that the needs of the students with disabilities are met. The duties of the council shall include but not be limited to:
(a) Advising the district on matters that pertain to the education, safety, and full inclusion of students with disabilities, including full inclusion in school-sponsored extracurricular activities.
(b) Meeting at least biannually with school officials to participate in the planning, development, and evaluation of the school district's special education programs.
III. The district shall conduct, in cooperation with the special education parent advisory council, or independently if no parent volunteers to be a member of the advisory council, or in cooperation with the New Hampshire Parent Information Center, at least one workshop annually within the school district on the rights of students and their parents and guardians under state and federal special education laws. At the workshop, the district shall inform parents about the special education parent advisory council and invite them to participate.
IV. The council shall annually elect a representative to the district school board and shall notify the school board within 30 days of such election. Such representative shall be subject to all school board rules and shall serve without compensation.
2 School Boards; Additional Members. Amend RSA 189:1-c to read as follows:
189:1-c [Student Member] Additional Members.
I. In addition to the school board members authorized in RSA 671:4, the members of the school board may choose by a simple majority to add one or more nonvoting student members from a high school within its district to the board. The powers and duties of a student member shall be as described in RSA 194:23-f. In districts having more than one public high school, the school board may rotate the student member representation as determined by the board.
II. The members of the school board shall provide an ex officio, non-voting seat on the school board to a member of the special education parent advisory council under RSA 186-C:10, without the right to attend executive sessions unless such right is expressly granted by the school board.
3 New Section; School Administrative Unit Advisory Council. Amend RSA 186-C by inserting after section 3-b the following new section:
186-C:3-c School Administrative Unit Special Education Advisory Council. The department may request a school administrative unit special education parent advisory council under RSA 186-C:10 to provide local information to the advisory committee established in RSA 186-C:3-a.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.