Revision: Dec. 4, 2023, 9:02 a.m.
2024 SESSION
24-2460.0
11/05
HOUSE BILL [bill number]
AN ACT relative to special education support for military-connected students.
SPONSORS: [sponsors]
COMMITTEE: [committee]
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ANALYSIS
This bill creates special education support for military-connected transfer students and provides for reimbursement of witness fees in certain situations.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-2460.0
11/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
AN ACT relative to special education support for military-connected students.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Open Enrollment Schools; Special Education Support for Military-Connected Students. Amend RSA 194-D:2 by inserting after paragraph XII the following new paragraph:
XIII. Pursuant to 1414(d) of IDEA, school districts shall ensure that military-connected students as defined in RSA 110-E:1 who are transferring with individualized education programs receive comparable services when the military-connected student arrives at their new school district.
2 Individualized Education Programs; Military-Connected Students. Amend RSA 186-C:7 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
V. When a military-connected student, as defined in RSA 110-E:1, transfers from a school district in another state, that student shall receive the same in-state transfer rights as outlined in 34 CFR section 300.323(e), regardless of date of transfer. Comparable services to an IEP previously in effect at the sending school, at the time of transfer, shall be provided immediately until such time as a new IEP evaluation is completed. At the time the school district is notified of the student's transfer to the district, whether or not the district's schools are in session, an evaluation regarding the IEP shall be conducted within 30 days. A parent or legal guardian of the transferring student shall provide a copy of the student’s current IEP to the receiving district at the time the new IEP evaluation is initiated.
3 Special Education Hearing Officers. Amend RSA 186-C:16-a to read as follows:
186-C:16-a Special Education Hearing Officers. Hearing officers appointed by the department of education to hear special education impartial due process appeals shall have the authority to compel the attendance of witnesses in accordance with RSA 516:1 including issuing subpoenas for parents who are representing themselves. Any costs incurred in issuing a subpoena shall be the responsibility of the party requesting the subpoena, unless otherwise determined by the hearing officer. The state board of education may adopt rules pursuant to RSA 541-A to implement the provisions of this section, including guidelines to be used for consideration by the hearing officers in determining the responsibility of costs of the subpoena. Nothing in this section shall prohibit any justice from issuing a subpoena for such hearing in accordance with RSA 516:3. Witness fees incurred by parents who are members of the armed forces shall, in due process hearings, be reimbursed by the department of education if the hearing officer finds in favor of the parent.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.