Florida Senate - 2009 CS for SB 2038
By the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability;
and Senator Detert
585-05759-09 20092038c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to exceptional students; amending s.
3 1003.57, F.S.; revising provisions relating to due
4 process hearings for exceptional students; requiring
5 that such hearings be conducted by an administrative
6 law judge from the Division of Administrative Hearings
7 pursuant to a contract with the Department of
8 Education; providing that any party to a hearing
9 related to gifted students may request that the
10 findings or decision be reviewed by the district court
11 of appeal; authorizing a district school board to
12 consider a change in placement for a student who has a
13 disability if the student engages in behavior that
14 violates the district school board’s code of student
15 conduct; providing for the removal and placement of
16 such student in an alternative educational setting for
17 a limited period; specifying the grounds for removal;
18 providing definitions for the terms “weapon” and
19 “controlled substance”; creating s. 1003.571, F.S.;
20 requiring that the State Board of Education comply
21 with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
22 after evaluating and determining that such act is
23 consistent with certain principles; requiring that the
24 State Board of Education adopt rules; amending s.
25 1003.58, F.S.; conforming a cross-reference; providing
26 an effective date.
27
28 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 1003.57, Florida
31 Statutes, is amended to read:
32 1003.57 Exceptional students instruction.—
33 (1)(a) Each district school board shall provide for an
34 appropriate program of special instruction, facilities, and
35 services for exceptional students as prescribed by the State
36 Board of Education as acceptable, including provisions that:
37 1.(a) The district school board provide the necessary
38 professional services for diagnosis and evaluation of
39 exceptional students.
40 2.(b) The district school board provide the special
41 instruction, classes, and services, either within the district
42 school system, in cooperation with other district school
43 systems, or through contractual arrangements with approved
44 private schools or community facilities that meet standards
45 established by the commissioner.
46 3.(c) The district school board annually provide
47 information describing the Florida School for the Deaf and the
48 Blind and all other programs and methods of instruction
49 available to the parent of a sensory-impaired student.
50 4.(d) The district school board, once every 3 years, submit
51 to the department its proposed procedures for the provision of
52 special instruction and services for exceptional students.
53 (b)(e) A student may not be given special instruction or
54 services as an exceptional student until after he or she has
55 been properly evaluated, classified, and placed in the manner
56 prescribed by rules of the State Board of Education. The parent
57 of an exceptional student evaluated and placed or denied
58 placement in a program of special education shall be notified of
59 each such evaluation and placement or denial. Such notice shall
60 contain a statement informing the parent that he or she is
61 entitled to a due process hearing on the identification,
62 evaluation, and placement, or lack thereof. Such hearings are
63 shall be exempt from the provisions of ss. 120.569, 120.57, and
64 286.011, except to the extent that the State Board of Education
65 adopts rules establishing other procedures. and Any records
66 created as a result of such hearings are shall be confidential
67 and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1). The hearing must
68 be conducted by an administrative law judge from the Division of
69 Administrative Hearings pursuant to a contract between the
70 Department of Education and the Division of Administrative
71 Hearings of the Department of Management Services. The decision
72 of the administrative law judge is shall be final, except that
73 any party aggrieved by the finding and decision rendered by the
74 administrative law judge has shall have the right to bring a
75 civil action in the state circuit court. In such an action, the
76 court shall receive the records of the administrative hearing
77 and shall hear additional evidence at the request of either
78 party. In the alternative, in hearings conducted on behalf of a
79 student who is identified as gifted, any party aggrieved by the
80 finding and decision rendered by the administrative law judge
81 has shall have the right to request a an impartial review of the
82 administrative law judge’s order by the district court of appeal
83 as provided in by s. 120.68.
84 (c) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, during the
85 pendency of any proceeding conducted pursuant to this section,
86 unless the district school board and the parents otherwise
87 agree, the student shall remain in his or her then-current
88 educational assignment or, if applying for initial admission to
89 a public school, shall be assigned, with the consent of the
90 parents, in the public school program until all such proceedings
91 have been completed.
92 (d)(f) In providing for the education of exceptional
93 students, the district school superintendent, principals, and
94 teachers shall utilize the regular school facilities and adapt
95 them to the needs of exceptional students to the maximum extent
96 appropriate. Segregation of exceptional students shall occur
97 only if the nature or severity of the exceptionality is such
98 that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary
99 aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
100 (e)(g) In addition to the services agreed to in a student’s
101 individual educational education plan, the district school
102 superintendent shall fully inform the parent of a student having
103 a physical or developmental disability of all available services
104 that are appropriate for the student’s disability. The
105 superintendent shall provide the student’s parent with a summary
106 of the student’s rights.
107 (f) School personnel may consider any unique circumstances
108 on a case-by-case basis when determining whether a change in
109 placement is appropriate for a student who has a disability and
110 violates a district school board’s code of student conduct.
111 School personnel may remove and place such student in an interim
112 alternative educational setting for not more than 45 school
113 days, without regard to whether the behavior is determined to be
114 a manifestation of the student’s disability, if the student:
115 1. Carries a weapon to or possesses a weapon at school, on
116 school premises, or at a school function under the jurisdiction
117 of the school district;
118 2. Knowingly possesses or uses illegal drugs, or sells or
119 solicits the sale of a controlled substance, while at school, on
120 school premises, or at a school function under the jurisdiction
121 of the school district; or
122 3. Has inflicted serious bodily injury upon another person
123 while at school, on school premises, or at a school function
124 under the jurisdiction of the school district.
125 (g) For purposes of paragraph (f), the term:
126 1. “Weapon” means a device, instrument, material, or
127 substance, animate or inanimate, which is used for, or is
128 readily capable of, causing death or serious bodily injury;
129 however, this definition does not include a pocketknife having a
130 blade that is less than 2 1/2 inches in length.
131 2. “Controlled substance” means a drug or other substance
132 identified under Schedule I, Schedule II, Schedule III, Schedule
133 IV, or Schedule V of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. s.
134 812(c) and s. 893.02(4).
135 Section 2. Section 1003.571, Florida Statutes, is created
136 to read:
137 1003.571 Instruction for exceptional students who have a
138 disability.—
139 (1) The State Board of Education shall comply with the
140 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), as amended,
141 and its implementing regulations after evaluating and
142 determining that the IDEA, as amended, and its implementing
143 regulations are consistent with the following principles:
144 (a) Ensuring that all children who have disabilities are
145 afforded a free and appropriate public education that emphasizes
146 special education and related services designed to meet their
147 unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment,
148 and independent living;
149 (b) Ensuring that the rights of children who have
150 disabilities and their parents are protected; and
151 (c) Assessing and ensuring the effectiveness of efforts to
152 educate children who have disabilities.
153 (2) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules pursuant
154 to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement this section.
155 Section 3. Subsection (3) of section 1003.58, Florida
156 Statutes, is amended to read:
157 1003.58 Students in residential care facilities.—Each
158 district school board shall provide educational programs
159 according to rules of the State Board of Education to students
160 who reside in residential care facilities operated by the
161 Department of Children and Family Services or the Agency for
162 Persons with Disabilities.
163 (3) The district school board shall have full and complete
164 authority in the matter of the assignment and placement of such
165 students in educational programs. The parent of an exceptional
166 student shall have the same due process rights as are provided
167 under s. 1003.57(1)(b) s. 1003.57(1)(e).
168
169 Notwithstanding the provisions herein, the educational program
170 at the Marianna Sunland Center in Jackson County shall be
171 operated by the Department of Education, either directly or
172 through grants or contractual agreements with other public or
173 duly accredited educational agencies approved by the Department
174 of Education.
175 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.