Senate Bill sb2676

    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 2676

    By Senator Atwater





    25-1580-03                                          See HB 975

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to exceptional student

  3         instruction; amending s. 1003.57, F.S.;

  4         providing that hearings relating to

  5         identification, evaluation, and placement of

  6         exceptional students shall not be exempt from

  7         provisions relating to decisions affecting

  8         substantial interests and additional procedures

  9         applicable to hearings; providing an effective

10         date.

11  

12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

13  

14         Section 1.  Subsection (5) of section 1003.57, Florida

15  Statutes, is amended to read:

16         1003.57  Exceptional students instruction.--Each

17  district school board shall provide for an appropriate program

18  of special instruction, facilities, and services for

19  exceptional students as prescribed by the State Board of

20  Education as acceptable, including provisions that:

21         (5)  No student be given special instruction or

22  services as an exceptional student until after he or she has

23  been properly evaluated, classified, and placed in the manner

24  prescribed by rules of the State Board of Education. The

25  parent of an exceptional student evaluated and placed or

26  denied placement in a program of special education shall be

27  notified of each such evaluation and placement or denial. Such

28  notice shall contain a statement informing the parent that he

29  or she is entitled to a due process hearing on the

30  identification, evaluation, and placement, or lack thereof.

31  Such hearings shall not be exempt from the provisions of ss.

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2003                                  SB 2676
    25-1580-03                                          See HB 975




 1  120.569 and, 120.57, but shall be exempt from the provisions

 2  of and s. 286.011., except to the extent that The State Board

 3  of Education may adopt adopts rules establishing other

 4  procedures. and Any records created as a result of such

 5  hearings and the content of those records shall be

 6  confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1).

 7  The hearing must be conducted by an administrative law judge

 8  from the Division of Administrative Hearings of the Department

 9  of Management Services. The decision of the administrative law

10  judge shall be final, except that any party aggrieved by the

11  finding and decision rendered by the administrative law judge

12  shall have the right to bring a civil action in the circuit

13  court. In such an action, the court shall receive the records

14  of the administrative hearing and shall hear additional

15  evidence at the request of either party. In the alternative,

16  any party aggrieved by the finding and decision rendered by

17  the administrative law judge shall have the right to request

18  an impartial review of the administrative law judge's order by

19  the district court of appeal as provided by s. 120.68.

20  Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, during the pendency

21  of any proceeding conducted pursuant to this section, unless

22  the district school board and the parents otherwise agree, the

23  student shall remain in his or her then-current educational

24  assignment or, if applying for initial admission to a public

25  school, shall be assigned, with the consent of the parents, in

26  the public school program until all such proceedings have been

27  completed.

28         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2003.

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30  

31  

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.