Alaska State Legislature

Home
Bill & Laws
Bills
SB 315 Detail
FullText

txt

SB 315: "An Act relating to education for exceptional children; to the Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education; and providing for an effective date."

00SENATE BILL NO. 315 01 "An Act relating to education for exceptional children; to the Governor's Council 02 on Disabilities and Special Education; and providing for an effective date." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 14.07.060 is amended to read: 05 Sec. 14.07.060. REGULATIONS. The board shall adopt regulations that are 06 necessary to carry out the provisions of this title, except as provided under 07 AS 14.31.040. All regulations shall be adopted under AS 44.62 (Administrative 08 Procedure Act). 09 * Sec. 2. AS 14.16.050(a)(4) is amended to read: 10 (4) requirements relating to students and educational programs: 11 (A) AS 14.31 [AS 14.30.180 - 14.30.350] (relating to 12 educational services for exceptional children); 13 (B) AS 14.30.360 - 14.30.370 (establishing health education 14 program standards);

01 (C) AS 14.30.400 - 14.30.410 (relating to bilingual and 02 bicultural education). 03 * Sec. 3. AS 14.17.045(a) is amended to read: 04 (a) An exceptional child, as defined in AS 14.31.900 [AS 14.30.350], who is 05 enrolled in a special education program, approved by the department, on the last day 06 of the counting period for which a determination is being made, generates 0.025 07 instructional units if the child receives gifted services, 0.056 instructional units if the 08 child receives resource services, 0.1 instructional units if the child receives 09 self-contained services, or 0.333 instructional units if the child receives intensive or 10 hospital/homebound services, as those categories of service are defined by the 11 department by regulation, in the funding community in which the child is served. A 12 child may be counted in one special education category only. 13 * Sec. 4. AS 14.30.640 is amended to read: 14 Sec. 14.30.640. ELIGIBILITY FOR SERVICE. The services of the agency 15 shall be available to school districts that serve children whose special education needs 16 occur infrequently, who require specialized services not normally available in the 17 school district, and who cannot be easily served by local school district personnel 18 because of the low number of students in the district in need of the particular service. 19 The agency may provide services to exceptional children, as that term is defined in 20 AS 14.31.900 [AS 14.30.350]. 21 * Sec. 5. AS 14.30.750(c) is amended to read: 22 (c) In this section, 23 (1) "counseling program" means personnel and materials, including 24 professional training in counseling program delivery, and in the use of counseling 25 materials; 26 (2) "school district" means a borough or city school district or a 27 regional educational attendance area [HAS THE MEANING GIVEN IN 28 AS 14.30.350]. 29 * Sec. 6. AS 14 is amended by adding a new chapter to read: 30 CHAPTER 31. EDUCATION FOR EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN. 31 ARTICLE 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

01 Sec. 14.31.010. PURPOSE. It is the purpose of this chapter to provide a free 02 appropriate public education for all exceptional children in the state. 03 Sec. 14.31.020. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. The Governor's Council on 04 Disabilities and Special Education established under AS 47.80.030 shall provide 05 information and guidance to the department regarding the development of appropriate 06 programs of special education and related services for exceptional children. 07 Sec. 14.31.030. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. (a) The provisions of this 08 chapter may not be construed to limit the benefits conferred upon exceptional children 09 under 20 U.S.C. 1400 - 1485 (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) but are an 10 extension of those benefits. 11 (b) A right afforded a parent under this chapter accrues to the child upon 12 reaching 18 years of age, unless otherwise provided by a court of competent 13 jurisdiction. 14 (c) Except as provided under AS 14.31.160(c), the provisions of this chapter 15 do not apply to a determination of whether a child is abandoned, neglected, or 16 otherwise in need of aid as described under the provisions of AS 47.10. 17 Sec. 14.31.040. REGULATIONS. The board or the department may not adopt 18 regulations with respect to a matter addressed by this chapter unless specifically 19 allowed by a provision of this chapter. 20 ARTICLE 2. QUALIFICATIONS. 21 Sec. 14.31.050. TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS. A person may not be 22 employed as a teacher of exceptional children unless that person possesses a valid 23 teacher certificate and, in addition, one or more endorsements in special education in 24 the category of exceptional children that the teacher will be serving. 25 Sec. 14.31.060. ADMINISTRATOR QUALIFICATIONS. A person may not 26 be employed as an administrator of a program of special education and related services 27 unless that person possesses a valid administrative certificate and, in addition, an 28 endorsement in special education. A district shall employ an administrator of special 29 education. 30 Sec. 14.31.070. SUBSTITUTE QUALIFICATIONS. A district may not 31 employ a person to serve as a substitute for a teacher of exceptional children unless

01 the person possesses the teacher qualifications required under AS 14.31.050. 02 Sec. 14.31.080. SPECIAL EDUCATION AIDES. (a) A person employed as 03 a special education aide shall be trained by a special education teacher or specialist 04 qualified to provide the services the aide will be required to perform. 05 (b) A district may not employ a person as a special education aide unless the 06 person has received a minimum of 36 hours of training, documented by the district, 07 regarding 08 (1) the child's exceptionalities; 09 (2) the content of the child's individualized education plan; 10 (3) the instructional and safety procedures to be used; and 11 (4) confidentiality procedures. 12 (c) A special education aide employed by the district to assist in providing 13 special education to a child shall be supervised on-site on a daily basis by the teacher 14 responsible for the child's program and shall be supervised on a weekly basis by a 15 licensed specialist identified by the individualized education plan as being responsible 16 for any specialized service. 17 Sec. 14.31.090. PSYCHOLOGIST QUALIFICATIONS. A psychologist who 18 provides services to a person with regard to an exceptional child must be licensed by 19 the state to provide general clinical services to the public and must also document at 20 least 12 credit hours at an accredited university in evaluating and serving children with 21 needs similar to the child receiving specialized services. 22 Sec. 14.31.100. INTERPRETERS. An interpreter provided as part of a 23 program of special education and related services for an exceptional child who is deaf 24 must be certified by the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, or must meet 25 requirements established by the department under AS 14.31.020(c) or (d). 26 Sec. 14.31.110. OTHER QUALIFICATIONS. A person providing special 27 education services not otherwise identified in this chapter must possess at least a 28 master's degree from an accredited university in the specialty area of the services to 29 be provided and must be licensed as required by this state. 30 Sec. 14.31.120. SPECIAL EDUCATION CATEGORIES. (a) The department 31 shall adopt regulations establishing standards for endorsing special education teachers

01 in the following categories: 02 (1) early childhood; 03 (2) learning disabled; 04 (3) emotionally disturbed; and 05 (4) gifted. 06 (b) A teacher may not receive a special education endorsement unless the 07 teacher has fully complied with the standards set by the department. The department 08 may not offer or provide a waiver of required endorsement standards to a teacher. 09 (c) A standard adopted by the department under (a) of this section must be 10 stringent and comprehensive. 11 Sec. 14.31.125. APPLICATION OF EMPLOYMENT QUALIFICATIONS. 12 A district may not use a person to perform work in an area for which employment 13 qualifications are imposed under AS 14.31.050 - 14.31.110, unless the person has the 14 required employment qualifications. 15 ARTICLE 3. DISTRICT PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS. 16 Sec. 14.31.130. REQUIRED DISTRICT PROGRAMS. (a) The school board 17 of a district shall annually adopt a program for serving all exceptional children in the 18 district. The program shall be filed with the department by July 1 of each year. 19 (b) A district may not receive federal or state funds from the department unless 20 the program required under (a) of this section is timely filed and accepted by the 21 department. A district that fails to comply with (a) of this section shall be assumed 22 to be inoperative and the department shall assume the obligations of the district until 23 the district complies with (a) of this section. A district that fails to comply with (a) 24 of this section shall have its total state funding reduced for that school year by $1,000 25 a day for each school day the district was in noncompliance. 26 (c) The department shall hold in reserve funds necessary to enforce the 27 penalties described in this section. 28 (d) The department shall accept or reject a proposed program within 30 days 29 after receipt. The department shall accept a program if it meets the standards set by 30 law. A district may set standards higher than that required by state and federal 31 requirements and all programs shall be liberally construed to provide the exceptional

01 child with the greatest benefits. A program must require segregation of all funding 02 received on account of the exceptionality of a student and must further prohibit the 03 expenditure of funds on other than the special education, related services, and support 04 services afforded to exceptional children. 05 (e) A program must include a compliance component that provides for yearly 06 compliance review of the program in its entirety by an independent agent retained by 07 the district. An independent agent may not be a recipient or grantee of state funds and 08 must be approved by a district parent advisory committee. A district shall be assessed 09 a penalty of $1,000 for each violation of an adopted program. Each day of violation 10 constitutes a separate violation for the purpose of assessment of a penalty under this 11 subsection. 12 Sec. 14.31.140. COVERAGE; RESIDENCY. (a) A district shall provide 13 special education, related services, and support services for all the exceptional children 14 who reside in the district. 15 (b) Residency within a district is determined by the parents' residency. The 16 right to be served by the district of residence shall remain in force until the time that 17 the parent acts intentionally to specifically change residence. 18 Sec. 14.31.150. IDENTIFICATION OF EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN. (a) 19 A district shall establish and implement written program procedures for identifying all 20 exceptional children who reside within the district and who need special education and 21 related or support services. 22 (b) The procedures established under (a) of this section must include 23 (1) annual screening of all children, which may be in cooperation with 24 other agencies, to include an assessment of not less than the child's 25 (A) health; 26 (B) vision; 27 (C) hearing; 28 (D) general development or general basic skills; 29 (E) primary language and culture; and 30 (F) daily living skills in home and community obtained through 31 parental input;

01 (2) mandatory referral for evaluation of children suspected, upon 02 screening, to be exceptional children; and 03 (3) annual public notice of the educational needs of gifted and 04 handicapped children, the right to a free appropriate public education, and the special 05 services available to them within the district; the notice must be reasonably calculated 06 to reach all persons within the district and must include the dissemination of 07 information through public meetings, posters, newspapers, radio, and television; a 08 district shall provide notice in each language in which a bilingual program must be 09 offered in the district. 10 Sec. 14.31.160. REFERRAL. (a) A district shall establish and implement 11 written procedures for receiving referrals for evaluation of all children who are 12 suspected of being exceptional children. The school district shall inform parents, 13 interested agencies, and school personnel of the referral procedures. 14 (b) Referral procedures must 15 (1) ensure that anyone can refer a child and require that all referrals are 16 promptly and accurately documented in writing and filed in a child's records kept 17 under this chapter; and 18 (2) provide that referrals may be made orally or in writing, can be 19 anonymous, and may not require the utterance or use of specific expressions; a 20 communication received by a district expressing a concern that a child is exceptional 21 shall be treated as a referral. 22 (c) The district shall inform the parent of the referral in writing within five 23 days after receipt and shall request consent to evaluate. If the parent has not 24 responded within 15 days to the request to evaluate, the district shall consider the child 25 neglected and shall take the necessary action to determine if the child is a child in 26 need of aid. In this subsection, "child in need of aid" has the meaning given in 27 AS 47.10.990. 28 (d) A district's program shall ensure that within 45 days after referral the child 29 is provided with special education, related services, and support services where each 30 of these services is permitted by the parent. 31 Sec. 14.31.170. EVALUATION. (a) A referred child shall be evaluated

01 within 30 days of referral if the parent consents to evaluation. 02 (b) Tests and other evaluation procedures shall 03 (1) be selected and administered to eliminate racial and cultural bias; 04 (2) be administered in the child's native language or other mode of 05 communication; 06 (3) have been statistically validated for the specific purpose for which 07 the tests or procedures are being used in the subject evaluation; 08 (4) be administered by trained personnel in conformity with instructions 09 of the test producer; and 10 (5) assess the effect of the child's environment including the child's 11 living conditions, family strengths and needs, effect of past or present programming 12 or involvement in any activities, and the effect of the various interactive and 13 instructional styles employed by the adults, including teachers, and peers significant 14 in the child's life. 15 (c) An evaluation shall be conducted by the child study team and must include 16 at least one specialist with expertise in each of the suspected exceptionalities. 17 (d) A child shall be assessed in all functions that may be related in any way 18 to the suspected exceptionality, including health, vision, hearing, intelligence, academic 19 performance, communication status, motor abilities, emotional adjustment, social skills, 20 creative talent, and ability. 21 (e) A test used in an evaluation shall be selected and administered to 22 accurately reflect a child's aptitude or achievement level, or any other factors the test 23 is designed to measure. A test used to measure a child's impaired sensory, manual, 24 or speaking skills must be designed to measure those skills. 25 (f) A single procedure may not be the sole criterion for determining the 26 eligibility of a child for services under this chapter. 27 (g) An evaluation of every referred child, whether or not eligible, certified, or 28 served, shall be conducted at reasonable intervals determined in light of the child's 29 progress, but not less often than once every year until a child reaches the age of six 30 and not less often than once every three years for a child six years or older. 31 Sec. 14.31.180. ELIGIBILITY. (a) A child's eligibility for special education

01 services shall be determined by a child study team. 02 (b) A child study team shall include a district representative qualified to 03 administer and supervise the provision of special education, one or more of the child's 04 teachers, if the child is already receiving services from teachers qualified to provide 05 special education services, one or more of the special education teachers, one or both 06 of the child's parents, the child unless otherwise determined by the child's parents, and 07 persons qualified and licensed to assess each of the child's suspected exceptionalities. 08 A child study team meeting may not take place unless all of the required participants 09 are present. The parents or the district may invite other individuals to attend a 10 meeting. 11 (c) A child study team shall be chaired by a parent of the child or a person 12 designated by the parent. 13 (d) In evaluating the child, the child study team shall 14 (1) draw upon information from a variety of sources, including aptitude 15 and achievement tests, teacher recommendations, physical condition, social or cultural 16 background, and adaptive behavior; and 17 (2) provide a written and dated statement confirming the determination 18 of eligibility signed by every member of the child study team. 19 (e) To be eligible for special education a child must be certified by a child 20 study team as an exceptional child. 21 Sec. 14.31.190. INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PLAN MEETINGS. (a) 22 A school district shall call a child study team meeting to develop, review, and revise 23 a written individualized education plan for each child who is eligible for services. 24 (b) A child study team meeting shall be called as soon as possible but not later 25 than 20 days after determination of eligibility for special education services and shall 26 be held at a time and place mutually convenient to the district and parents. 27 (c) A child study team shall review, and revise if necessary, each 28 individualized education plan on an annual basis or more frequently if conditions 29 warrant or a parent requests the evaluation. An individualized education plan may 30 only be developed or revised by a child study team in a child study team meeting. 31 (d) An action required by a school district under (a) of this section does not

01 preclude a parent from calling a meeting of the child study team. 02 Sec. 14.31.200. INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PLAN. An individualized 03 education plan for an exceptional child may not be prepared upon a preprinted form 04 and must include 05 (1) a specific statement of the child's present levels of educational 06 performance including detailed reference to the child's prior classroom performance 07 and the extent to which the child has performed under the curriculum presently in 08 place for the child; 09 (2) a specific statement of the measurable physical constraints on the 10 child's performance; 11 (3) a specific statement describing the child's learning style; 12 (4) a statement of long-term goals including transition plans and 13 services for and in anticipation of grade promotion, graduation, transfer to or from a 14 school or program, termination of services by way of age, or other factors; 15 (5) for every long-term goal, a statement of annual goals that would be 16 milestones in accomplishing the long-term goals; 17 (6) for each annual goal, a schedule of short-term instructional 18 objectives that if met will lead to accomplishing the annual goals; 19 (7) a statement of the entire curriculum, including full scope and 20 sequence, methodologies, and teaching approaches that will be used with respect to 21 that curriculum; a description of the child's participation in the regular education 22 program including academic and nonacademic areas; physical education, adapted as 23 necessary; and extracurricular activities. 24 (8) the projected dates for initiation of services and the anticipated 25 duration of the program; 26 (9) with respect to each element of a program required in this section, 27 appropriate objective criteria and evaluation procedures and schedules for determining, 28 on at least a monthly basis, whether the short-term instructional objectives are being 29 achieved as well as additional information, including credentials, experience, and 30 amenability of all instructors involved in the program; 31 (10) criteria for the child's movement to a less restrictive environment;

01 (11) a statement providing for an individualized disciplinary code if the 02 child is not expected to conform with the regular discipline code; 03 (12) a description of the related services to be provided with details as 04 to time, place, purpose, duration, and function of the service; 05 (13) any necessary instruction for the parent or child regarding the 06 time, place, purpose, duration, and function of the special education service; 07 (14) a statement of all the child's transportation and support service 08 needs and a detailed plan to meet these needs; 09 (15) a statement of the number of days a year that services will be 10 provided and, if the number of days are less than 200, an explanation as to why an 11 extended school program would be harmful to the child; 12 (16) for children under four years of age, a statement that all services 13 will be provided in the child's home and a description of how this will be 14 accomplished. 15 Sec. 14.31.210. TRANSFERS OF EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN. (a) The 16 department shall ensure that children are educated in the state at locations in their 17 resident school district where they would attend school if they were not exceptional. 18 (b) If the parent of an exceptional child enrolls the child in an educational 19 program other than a program that the child would normally attend if the child were 20 not exceptional, and the district cannot demonstrate that it is in full compliance with 21 respect to all obligations to the child or the child's parents under this chapter, the 22 child's education expenses shall be paid as follows: 23 (1) the district of residence shall pay all costs associated with the 24 enrollment, including costs of regular transportation to and from the residence, costs 25 of interim room and board, and other expenses that ordinarily are to be expected when 26 a child attends school away from the child's residence whether or not the specific 27 expenditures are necessary under the child's individualized education plan; and 28 (2) the department may provide financial assistance to the district for 29 a child's education provided for in (1) of this subsection under regulations adopted by 30 the department. 31 (c) For the purposes of this section, a child's education expenses are not

01 limited to the actual cost of necessary care, transportation, and special education and 02 related services, where a limitation would result in an increase to the parents of the 03 total costs of caring for the child while the child is enrolled. 04 (d) A child may not be required to attend a school outside the district and the 05 school attendance area in which the child resides without the consent of the parent. 06 Sec. 14.31.220. PRIVATE AND CORRESPONDENCE SCHOOLS. (a) A 07 district shall make special education and related services available to all resident 08 children without regard to whether they attend a private school, a correspondence 09 school, or a school located outside the resident school district. 10 (b) A district may not condition provision of special education and related 11 services, for children attending a private or correspondence school, to attendance at any 12 district facility or restrict access or availability of special education services to the type 13 or location provided by the district. 14 (c) Special education and related services provided in a public facility for an 15 exceptional child enrolled at a private or correspondence school may not include 16 classes that are separated on the basis of public or private school enrollment or the 17 religious affiliation of the children. 18 (d) A district may not substitute its personnel for the personnel identified by 19 this chapter as required members of a child study team required for an exceptional 20 child attending a private or correspondence school. 21 Sec. 14.31.230. LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT. (a) A school 22 district shall ensure that exceptional children, including children in public or private 23 institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not exceptional 24 and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of exceptional children 25 from the regular educational environment in which the child is enrolled occurs only 26 when the nature or severity of the child's exceptionality is of a degree that education 27 in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved. 28 (b) This section does not preclude placement of a child with other children 29 learning at a similar academic level in a particular subject matter when this placement 30 is approved in the individualized education plan. 31 Sec. 14.31.240. MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS. (a) A district shall

01 maintain records that demonstrate to a reasonable certainty, as determined by the 02 department, that the district is in compliance with the requirements of this chapter. 03 (b) Records required under (a) of this section must include for each child at 04 least the 05 (1) child's name, date of birth, and sex; 06 (2) category of eligibility under this chapter; 07 (3) date of referral; 08 (4) tests and other documents demonstrating eligibility under this 09 chapter; 10 (5) individualized education plan; 11 (6) services provided, including dates of initiation and termination; 12 (7) class and grade attendance records; 13 (8) grade level; 14 (9) name, address, and telephone number of each parent; 15 (10) correspondence and other communications with a parent required 16 by this chapter; and 17 (11) the complete credentials of all persons providing services. 18 (c) A district shall maintain the records required under (a) of this section until 19 the records are no longer needed to provide educational services, but not less than five 20 years. The records, with the exception of attendance records, shall be maintained in a 21 single file. 22 (d) If the child's residence is changed from one district to another, the district 23 that has provided special education and related services shall, subject to the 24 requirements of this chapter, transmit copies of records maintained as required by this 25 section to the other district upon request of that district or a parent of the child. 26 Sec. 14.31.250. PERSONNEL DEVELOPMENT. (a) A school district shall 27 provide for or endorse a program of ongoing training for all personnel employed as 28 special education teachers, providers of related services, and special education teacher 29 aides. The program must assure, implement, and use a system of personnel 30 development not less comprehensive than that required under 20 U.S.C. 1411 - 1420 31 on July 1, 1983.

01 (b) A training program shall provide for pre- and post-training testing with 02 respect to the material covered by each module of the training program. The test 03 results and all other records and data obtained or maintained under a plan shall be 04 maintained by the district for not less than two years after the employee has terminated 05 service with the district. A parent of an exceptional child shall be informed of the 06 existence of these materials and provided access to the materials, as required under 07 AS 14.31.310. 08 ARTICLE 4. DUE PROCESS REQUIREMENTS. 09 Sec. 14.31.260. PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS. A district shall inform the 10 parent of an exceptional child of the right to 11 (1) review the child's educational record; 12 (2) review evaluation tests and procedures; 13 (3) refuse to permit evaluation or a change in the child's educational 14 placement; 15 (4) be informed of the results of evaluation; 16 (5) obtain an independent evaluation; 17 (6) request an impartial hearing; 18 (7) make unilateral transfer to any other school at the district's expense 19 if the district is not in total compliance; and 20 (8) give consent or deny access to the child's educational record. 21 Sec. 14.31.270. WRITTEN NOTICE TO PARENT. (a) A district shall 22 provide written notice to a parent a reasonable time before it initiates or changes the 23 identification, evaluation, or educational placement of a child under this chapter and 24 when it refuses a parental request to initiate or change the identification, evaluation, 25 or educational placement of a child under this chapter. 26 (b) The notice required by (a) of this section must include 27 (1) a copy of this chapter; 28 (2) a detailed description of the action proposed or refused by the 29 district, along with a detailed explanation of why the district proposes or refuses to 30 take the action, a detailed description of any alternatives considered by the district, and 31 a detailed statement of the reasons why those alternatives were rejected;

01 (3) a detailed description of each evaluation procedure, test, record, or 02 report the district relied on as a basis for the proposal or refusal together with any 03 informative literature offered by the publisher of the instruments employed describing 04 the use and interpretation of the materials; 05 (4) a detailed description of any other factors that are relevant to the 06 action proposed or refused by the district; and 07 (5) a comprehensive statewide directory of persons, firms, and agencies 08 that provide legal, educational, and evaluation services. 09 (c) The notice required by (a) of this section must be written in language 10 understandable to the general public and written in the native language of the parent 11 or in another mode of communication used by the parent, unless it is not reasonably 12 feasible to do so. If the native language or other mode of communication of the parent 13 is not a written language, the district shall take reasonable steps to assure that the 14 notice is translated orally or by other means to the parent in the parent's native 15 language or other mode of communication, and that the parent understands the content 16 of the notice. 17 Sec. 14.31.280. PARENTAL CONSENT. (a) Consent of a parent shall be 18 obtained before 19 (1) an evaluation is conducted under this chapter; 20 (2) placement of a child in a program providing special education; or 21 (3) an individualized education plan is established. 22 (b) If a parent withdraws consent to an activity described under (a) of this 23 section, the district may not undertake that activity until consent is again obtained by 24 the district. 25 (c) In this section, "consent" means that the parent 26 (1) has received written notice as required by AS 14.31.270; 27 (2) has been fully informed, in the parent's native language or other 28 mode of communication, of all information relevant to the activity for which consent 29 is sought; 30 (3) agrees in writing to the carrying out of the activity for which 31 consent is sought; the written consent required under this paragraph must describe the

01 activity in detail and list any records that will be released and identify the person who 02 will receive the records; and 03 (4) understands that the granting of consent is voluntary on the part of 04 the parent and may be revoked at any time. 05 Sec. 14.31.290. PROTECTION OF RECORDS. (a) A district shall 06 (1) protect the confidentiality of a child's personally identifiable 07 information contained in records collected, maintained, or used by the district under 08 this chapter; 09 (2) assign to a single employee the duty to protect the confidentiality 10 of personally identifiable information contained in records collected, maintained, or 11 used by the district under this chapter; 12 (3) provide each employee who collects, maintains, or uses personally 13 identifiable information with instruction regarding the obligations of the district under 14 this section; 15 (4) maintain, for public inspection, a list of the names and positions of 16 current employees within the district who have access to personally identifiable 17 information contained in records collected, maintained, or used by the district under 18 this chapter; the list required under this paragraph shall identify the person responsible 19 under (2) of this subsection and provide the complete credentials for each listed 20 person; 21 (5) maintain a record of persons other than parents and persons listed 22 under (4) of this subsection who are provided access to records that are subject to this 23 section, including the name of the person, agency affiliation, date of access, and the 24 purpose for which access is provided. 25 (b) If a record containing personally identifiable information is not needed by 26 the district to comply with this chapter, the district shall make reasonable efforts to 27 notify the parent and offer the parent a copy of the record. The district shall destroy 28 a record described in this subsection upon request of the parent. 29 (c) A record of the child's name, address, telephone number, grades, 30 attendance record, classes attended, grade level completed, and year completed shall 31 be maintained indefinitely.

01 Sec. 14.31.300. COMPLAINT PROCEDURE. (a) The department shall 02 review, investigate, and take the action required by this chapter on complaints alleging 03 that a district or other educational agency is acting contrary to the requirements of this 04 chapter. 05 (b) A person may file a complaint under this section with the department. The 06 department shall provide the appropriate address to file a complaint, upon request. 07 Sec. 14.31.310. PARENTAL ACCESS TO RECORDS. (a) Except as 08 provided in (c) of this section, a district shall permit a parent to inspect and review a 09 record relating to the parent's child that is collected, maintained, or used by the district 10 under this chapter. 11 (b) A district shall 12 (1) provide a parent, within three days of request, a list of types and 13 locations of all records collected, maintained, or used by the district; 14 (2) comply with any reasonable request of a parent for explanation and 15 interpretation of a record; 16 (3) provide a parent with a copy of all records requested within five 17 days of receipt of the request; 18 (4) permit a representative of the parent to inspect and review a record. 19 (c) A district shall presume that a parent has authority to inspect and review 20 a record relating to the parent's child unless the district has been provided reasonable 21 grounds to believe that the parent does not have that authority. 22 (d) If a record includes information on more than one child, a parent may 23 inspect and review the information relating only to the parent's child. 24 Sec. 14.31.320. PARENTAL REQUEST FOR AMENDMENT OF RECORDS. 25 (a) A parent who believes that information in a record relating to the parent's child 26 that is collected, maintained, or used by a district under this chapter is inaccurate, 27 misleading, or otherwise in violation of rights of the child may request that the district 28 amend the record. 29 (b) The district shall, within a reasonable period of time following receipt of 30 a request under (a) of this section, decide whether to amend the record. If the district 31 refuses to amend the record, it shall inform the parent of the refusal and advise the

01 parent of the right to a hearing under this chapter. 02 (c) If a parent requests a hearing and the hearing officer decides that the 03 information is inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of rights of the child, 04 the district shall amend the record. 05 (d) If a parent requests a hearing and the hearing officer decides that the 06 information is not inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of rights of the 07 child, the district shall inform the parent that the parent may place with the record a 08 statement commenting on the information, that must be accompanied by a copy of the 09 decision of the hearing officer and attached to the disputed record. 10 (e) A statement placed with a record under (d) of this section must accompany 11 the record as long as the record is maintained by the district. If the record is disclosed 12 by the district to any person, the statement must also be disclosed. 13 Sec. 14.31.330. PARENTAL CONSENT FOR RELEASE OF RECORDS. A 14 district shall obtain written consent of a parent before disclosing personally identifiable 15 information relating to the parent's child to a person other than 16 (1) a school official, including a teacher, who has a legitimate 17 educational interest; 18 (2) an official of a school or school system in which the student intends 19 to enroll, upon condition that a parent be notified of the disclosure, offered a copy of 20 the record, and notified of the parent's right to request amendment of the record under 21 this chapter; 22 (3) a representative of the federal comptroller general, United States 23 Department of Education, or the department; and 24 (4) a person performing an audit of the district. 25 Sec. 14.31.340. PARENTAL RIGHT TO INDEPENDENT EVALUATION. 26 (a) The results of an independent educational evaluation must be considered by the 27 district in any decision made concerning the provision of a free appropriate public 28 education to the child. 29 (b) The district shall pay for the independent educational evaluation within 10 30 days of receipt of the evaluator's report. However, the district may initiate a hearing 31 under this chapter to show that the independent evaluation is totally redundant. If the

01 hearing officer decides that the independent evaluation is totally redundant, the 02 independent educational evaluation must be paid for by the parent. If a hearing officer 03 requests an independent educational evaluation as part of a hearing, the district shall 04 pay for the evaluation. 05 Sec. 14.31.350. HEARINGS. (a) A parent may initiate a hearing by filing a 06 written request with the department for a hearing regarding 07 (1) an action or refusal to initiate or change the identification, 08 evaluation, program, or educational placement of a child, or the provision of free 09 appropriate public education to the child; 10 (2) a refusal to honor the request of a parent to amend a record under 11 this chapter; or 12 (3) an alleged violation of this chapter. 13 (b) A district may initiate a hearing by filing with the department, within 10 14 days of the receipt of an independent evaluation, written notice of the district's 15 challenge to the district's payment for an independent educational evaluation under this 16 chapter. 17 (c) A hearing shall be conducted by a hearing officer appointed by the child's 18 parents. The department shall promptly provide a list of qualified hearing officers to 19 the child's parents. Within 10 days after receiving a list of qualified hearing officers, 20 the child's parents shall select a hearing officer and provide notice of the selection to 21 the department. 22 (d) The hearing officer shall deliver or mail a notice of the hearing to the 23 parents and the district at least 10 days before the hearing. The notice must be worded 24 substantially as follows: 25 You are notified that a hearing will be held before (insert 26 name of hearing officer) at (insert place of hearing) upon the 27 ____ day of ____, 19____ at the hour of ____, in response to 28 the request of ____ for a hearing on the following issue: 29 You may be represented by counsel, may present any 30 relevant evidence, and may cross-examine any witnesses 31 testifying against you.

01 (e) In the notice provided under (d) of this section, the hearing officer shall 02 inform the parent of any free or low cost legal services and other relevant services 03 available in the state. 04 (f) A hearing shall be recorded and be conducted according to the following 05 rules: 06 (1) a party may be represented by counsel or by a person of the party's 07 choice; 08 (2) oral evidence may be taken only on oath or affirmation; 09 (3) a party may call and examine witnesses, introduce exhibits, 10 cross-examine opposing witnesses on matters relevant to the issues even though those 11 matters were not covered in the direct examination, impeach a witness regardless of 12 which party first called the witness to testify, and rebut the evidence against the party; 13 (4) a hearing need not be conducted according to technical rules 14 relating to evidence and witnesses; however, relevant evidence may be admitted if it 15 is the sort of evidence on which responsible persons are accustomed to rely in the 16 conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of a court rule that makes 17 improper the admission of the evidence over objection in a civil action; hearsay 18 evidence may be used to supplement or explain direct evidence but is not sufficient 19 by itself to support a finding unless it would be admissible over objection in a civil 20 action; the rules of privilege are effective to the same extent that they are recognized 21 in a civil action; irrelevant and unduly repetitious evidence may be excluded; 22 (5) a party shall disclose any evidence to be offered at a hearing for 23 other than rebuttal purposes at least five days before the hearing; 24 (6) an employee of the district may be called as a witness by a party 25 and the hearing officer shall issue subpoenas for appearance at the hearing upon 26 request of either party; 27 (7) a parent may have the parent's child present and may open the 28 hearing to the public; and 29 (8) the burden of proof is upon the district; and the burden of 30 persuasion is by clear and convincing evidence. 31 (g) A hearing officer shall render a final decision and mail a copy to each

01 party and a copy, with all personally identifiable information obscured, to the 02 Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education not later than 45 days after 03 receipt of a parent's request for a hearing or 45 days after a district sends a written 04 notice under (b) of this section. The decision must be in writing and must include a 05 statement of the facts on which it is based. 06 (h) The department shall bear all the costs of the hearing including the costs 07 of compensating the hearing officer. Upon request of a parent, the department shall 08 provide at no cost to the parent a written or electronic verbatim record of the hearing, 09 whichever the parent elects. The department may charge the district for costs of a 10 hearing if the parent is the prevailing party. 11 (i) The decision of a hearing officer is final unless a party to the hearing 12 appeals the decision to the commissioner under AS 14.31.370. 13 (j) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, all hearings under this chapter 14 are subject to the provisions of AS 44.62.330 - 44.62.630. 15 Sec. 14.31.360. IMPARTIAL HEARING OFFICER. (a) A hearing officer 16 (1) may not have personal or professional interests that could affect 17 objectivity in a hearing; 18 (2) may not be employed by a public agency that is involved in the 19 education or care of the child; 20 (3) shall pass an examination to be offered at least quarterly by the 21 department for the purpose of evidencing comprehension of the rights and duties under 22 this chapter; 23 (4) shall be at least 18 years of age; 24 (5) shall otherwise comply with the provisions of AS 44.62.350 25 regarding appointment and qualifications of hearing officers. 26 (b) A person who is qualified to conduct a hearing under (a) of this section is 27 not considered an employee of a public agency solely because the person is paid on 28 a case-by-case basis by the department as a hearing officer. 29 (c) A hearing officer shall disclose to all parties any personal or professional 30 interests that could give the appearance of affecting objectivity in the hearing and 31 voluntarily disqualify and withdraw from a hearing in which the hearing officer cannot

01 conduct a fair and impartial hearing. A party may request the disqualification of a 02 hearing officer by filing with the hearing officer an affidavit, before the taking of 03 evidence at a hearing, that states the grounds for a belief that the hearing officer 04 cannot conduct a fair and impartial hearing. The issue will be determined by the 05 hearing officer. 06 (d) The department shall place a person meeting the qualifications set out in 07 (a)(2) - (5) of this section on the department's list of eligible hearing officers. 08 Sec. 14.31.370. APPEAL TO THE COMMISSIONER. (a) A party aggrieved 09 by the decision of a hearing officer under this chapter may appeal to the commissioner 10 by filing a notice of appeal with the commissioner within 30 days after the decision. 11 (b) A notice of appeal must identify the parties to the hearing, include a copy 12 of the decision, and state the grounds for the appeal. 13 (c) Upon receipt of a notice of appeal, the commissioner shall notify any other 14 parties of the pendency of the appeal and shall appoint an impartial hearing officer to 15 conduct an impartial review of the hearing and render a decision on the appeal on 16 behalf of the department. 17 (d) A hearing officer conducting a review on behalf of the department shall 18 (1) examine the entire hearing record; 19 (2) ensure that the procedures at the hearing were consistent with the 20 requirements of due process; 21 (3) afford the parties an opportunity for oral or written argument, or 22 both, at the discretion of the reviewing official; and 23 (4) make an independent written recommendation, stating the facts on 24 which it is based, on completion of the review and present the recommendation to the 25 attorney general, the parties, and the commissioner. 26 (e) The parties shall have 10 days in which to file objections to the hearing 27 officers recommendations made under (d) of this section. 28 (f) The commissioner, after considering the recommendations of the hearing 29 officer and any objections, shall mail a copy of the commissioner's final written 30 decision to each party, and a copy, with personally identifiable information obscured, 31 to the Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education, not later than 30 days

01 after receipt of the notice of appeal, unless an extension of time is granted by the 02 commissioner upon the stipulation of the parties. 03 (g) A decision of the commissioner is final, unless a party to the appeal files 04 an original action in the federal district court within 12 months or appeals to the 05 superior court as provided under AS 44.62.560. 06 Sec. 14.31.380. COSTS AND FEES. (a) A hearing officer shall determine 07 the prevailing party in any matter presented for adjudication. If the parents are 08 prevailing parties, then the hearing officer shall award full costs and attorney fees to 09 the parents. 10 (b) The parents shall be considered the prevailing parties if the parents prevail 11 on any issue raised on the hearing. 12 (c) The provisions of the Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure regarding an offer 13 of judgment apply to an administrative proceeding under this chapter and to an award 14 of costs and fees; however, an offer may not be found more favorable to a party where 15 resolution of an alleged noncompliance is at issue and not subject to the offer. 16 Sec. 14.31.390. PLACEMENT OF CHILD DURING PROCEEDINGS. (a) 17 During the pendency of an administrative or judicial proceeding concerning the 18 identification, evaluation, or educational placement of a child, unless the parties agree 19 otherwise, the child shall remain in an educational placement that has the current 20 approval of the parents. 21 (b) If the administrative proceedings concern an application by a parent for 22 admission to school, the child shall be admitted to school during the pendency of the 23 proceeding. 24 ARTICLE 5. FUNDING AND ENTITLEMENT. 25 Sec. 14.31.400. APPLICATION FOR ASSISTANCE FROM THE 26 DEPARTMENT. (a) A district's application for additional financial assistance under 27 this chapter shall be submitted to the department. 28 (b) An application for assistance shall be in writing and must include for each 29 child 30 (1) diagnostic information regarding the child's exceptionality; 31 (2) the child's individualized education plan;

01 (3) a statement of reasons why assistance is necessary; 02 (4) a description of how the requested assistance will be used to 03 implement the individualized education plan; 04 (5) a declaration that all funds for education of exceptional students 05 obtained under this chapter have already been encumbered. 06 (c) The department shall review an application, and may, within 30 days after 07 receipt of the original application, request additional information or schedule a site 08 visit to obtain additional information. 09 (d) If the department denies assistance under this section, a parent or the 10 district may initiate a hearing in the manner provided under AS 14.31.350. 11 (e) The department may not refuse assistance unless the district has failed to 12 fully expend or encumber all funds made available under this chapter for special 13 education, has expended special education funds for purposes other than special 14 education, or is not in compliance with the requirements of this chapter. 15 Sec. 14.31.410. PUBLIC SCHOOL FOUNDATION PROGRAM. (a) A 16 district providing special education to an exceptional child may apply for state 17 financial aid under AS 14.17. 18 (b) Public school foundation reports shall be submitted to the department on 19 forms provided by the department. 20 (c) The department shall notify a district of the action taken on a public school 21 foundation report. 22 (d) A district may not receive financial aid under this section for special 23 education provided by the department. 24 (e) If the department determines that an overpayment has occurred, it shall 25 require repayment or withhold all or part of future payments. The decision to require 26 repayment or withhold future payments is subject to appeal under this chapter. 27 Sec. 14.31.420. FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID. (a) A district providing 28 special education and related services may apply for federal financial aid. An 29 application for federal financial aid must be submitted on a form provided by the 30 department. 31 (b) An application must contain, in addition to other information determined

01 necessary by the department, a statement of assurance that the district will perform the 02 services described in the application in accordance with this chapter and applicable 03 state and federal law. 04 (c) The department shall notify a district of the action taken on its application 05 within 30 days after receipt of the application. Approval by the department must be 06 received before commencement of activities. 07 (d) A district applying for financial aid under this section shall submit, on a 08 form provided by the department, a statement of the number of children receiving 09 special education and related services in each of the categories set out in this chapter. 10 In addition, a district applying under 11 (1) 20 U.S.C. 238 - 241 shall submit the statement before October 16 12 of the school year preceding the school year for which application is made and shall 13 include information as of October 1 of that year; 14 (2) 20 U.S.C. 1411 - 1420 shall submit the statement before 15 December 16 of the school year preceding the school year for which application is 16 made and shall include information as of December 1 of that year. 17 (e) A district that has been determined eligible for financial aid shall submit, 18 on a form provided by the department, a quarterly financial report within 30 days after 19 the end of each quarter, and a project description report within 30 days after the close 20 of any activity for which financial aid is provided under this section. 21 (f) A district that has been determined eligible for financial aid under 20 22 U.S.C. 238 - 241 shall submit, on a form provided by the department, a report of 23 children who received special education and related services and who have also 24 received, or are expected to receive, special education and related services from a 25 district before July 1 following the school year for which financial aid is provided 26 under this section. 27 ARTICLE 6. GENERAL PROVISIONS. 28 Sec. 14.31.500. PROGRAM REVIEW. (a) The department shall review 29 school district programs to ensure compliance with the requirements of this chapter. 30 (b) Upon request by the department but not less often than every six months, 31 a district shall provide

01 (1) a list of students receiving services under this chapter, including 02 each student's name, age, exceptionality, type of service, related services, entry date, 03 exit date, and placement; 04 (2) a list of all administrators, teachers, teacher aides, and related 05 services personnel who provide special education services in the district, including, for 06 certificated staff, the teacher certificate numbers; 07 (3) a list of persons or agencies in the district from which independent 08 evaluations can be obtained; 09 (4) a statement of the criteria used to determine eligibility for services 10 as a gifted student under this chapter; and 11 (5) any other information required by the department. 12 (c) The department shall submit written results of program monitoring to the 13 district within 30 days after completion of a review under (a) of this section. The 14 written results must include a statement of necessary corrective action. 15 (d) If the department or a hearing officer determines that a district is not in 16 compliance with the requirements of this chapter, the department shall impose the 17 sanctions provided for in this chapter. Imposition of sanctions does not in any way 18 relieve a district of its obligation to provide services under this chapter. 19 Sec. 14.31.510. CIVIL DAMAGES. Notwithstanding any other provision of 20 law, the state and a district are strictly liable for civil damages that result from a 21 failure either to meet a duty to properly identify, evaluate, classify, certify, afford 22 required programming, instruction, and services, or provide necessary placement of a 23 student. 24 Sec. 14.31.520. DESIGNATION OF PARENTAL AUTHORITY. If the legal 25 custody of a child is divided between two or more persons, the department may require 26 that the people with legal custody designate one person to act on behalf of all people 27 with legal custody when parental consent is required under this chapter. 28 Sec. 14.31.900. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter, 29 (1) "age and ability" means the conjunctive or both age and ability 30 levels; 31 (2) "appropriate public education" means special education, related

01 services, and support services that are provided at no cost, meet state educational 02 standards, and are provided in conformity with an individualized educational plan that 03 meets the requirements of this chapter, that assures personalized instruction with 04 sufficient support services to permit the child to benefit educationally from that 05 instruction, and assures maximum possible development; 06 (3) "at no cost" means that all services are provided without charge but 07 does not preclude incidental fees that are normally charged to a person who is not an 08 exceptional child or the parents of the exceptional child as a part of the regular 09 education program; 10 (4) "autism" means a developmental disability significantly affecting 11 verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction, generally evident before 12 age three, that adversely affects a child's educational performance; the term does not 13 apply to a child's educational performance that is adversely affected because the child 14 has a serious emotional disturbance; 15 (5) "child study team" means a team responsible for assessing and 16 evaluating a child and for writing and reviewing an individualized education plan; 17 (6) "customized instruction" means the child's total educational 18 placement as identified in an individualized education plan; 19 (7) "day" means calendar day and is not limited to a school day; 20 (8) "deaf-blindness" means concomitant hearing and visual impairments, 21 the combination of which causes communication and other developmental and 22 educational problems that cannot be accommodated in special education programs 23 solely for children with deafness or children with blindness; 24 (9) "deafness" means a hearing impairment that hinders the child's 25 ability to process linguistic information through hearing, with or without amplification, 26 and that adversely affects educational performance; 27 (10) "developmentally delayed" means for children under the age of six 28 that as measured by validated and appropriate diagnostic instruments and procedures 29 the child is not physically, cognitively, communicatively, socially, emotionally, or 30 adaptively developing as would be expected under national norms for the development; 31 (11) "district" means a city and borough school district and a regional

01 educational attendance area; 02 (12) "educational performance" means performance in school, or, in the 03 case of a preschool child, physical, cognitive, social, communicative, emotional, and 04 adaptive performance in an age appropriate setting; 05 (13) "exceptional children" means all persons under the age of 23 who 06 differ markedly from their peers to the degree that special facilities, equipment, or 07 methods are required to make their educational program effective or to make their 08 development maximal; these children may be identified in the following categories: 09 developmentally delayed, autism, deaf-blindness, deafness, hearing impairment, mental 10 retardation, multiple disabilities, orthopedic impairment, other health impairment, 11 serious emotional disturbance, specific learning disability, speech or language 12 impairment, traumatic brain injury, visual impairment including blindness, and gifted; 13 (14) "gifted" means children that exhibit outstanding intellect, ability, 14 or creative talent to a degree that the district's age appropriate curriculum fails to 15 provide an appropriate educational program; 16 (15) "hearing impairment" means an impairment in hearing, whether 17 permanent or fluctuating, that adversely affects a child's educational performance but 18 that is not deafness; 19 (16) "individualized educational plan" means a plan containing the 20 elements and providing for the services required in this chapter; 21 (17) "mentally retarded" means significantly subaverage general 22 intellectual functioning typically reflected in scores two or more standard deviations 23 below the national norm on an individual standardized test of intelligence and existing 24 concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior manifested during the developmental 25 period, that adversely affect children's educational performance and that is diagnosed 26 as mentally retarded by a psychiatrist or by a psychologist who is licensed under 27 AS 08.86; 28 (18) "multiple disabilities" mean concomitant impairments the 29 combination of which causes severe educational problems that cannot be 30 accommodated in special education programs solely for one of the impairments; the 31 term does not include deaf-blindness;

01 (19) "orthopedic impairment" means a severe orthopedic impairment, 02 including impairments caused by congenital anomaly, disease, or other causes that 03 adversely affects educational performance; 04 (20) "other health impairment" means having limited strength, vitality, 05 or alertness due to chronic or acute health problems including heart condition, 06 tuberculosis, rheumatic fever, nephritis, asthma, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, 07 epilepsy, lead poisoning, leukemia, or diabetes that adversely affects educational 08 performance; 09 (21) "parent" means a natural or adoptive parent or a person acting in 10 locus parentis by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, but does not include a 11 person whose parental rights have been terminated by a court of competent 12 jurisdiction; 13 (22) "personally identifiable information" means information that 14 includes the name of a child, the child's parent, or other family member; the address 15 of the child; a personal identifier, including the child's social security number or 16 student number; or a list of personal characteristics or other information that would 17 make it possible to identify the child with reasonable certainty; 18 (23) "physical education" means the development of physical and 19 motor fitness, fundamental motor skills and patterns, skills in aquatics, dance, 20 individual and group games, and sports, including intramural and lifetime sports; and 21 special physical education, adapted physical education, movement education, and 22 motor development; 23 (24) "related services" means transportation and developmental, 24 corrective, and other supportive services required to assist an exceptional child to 25 benefit from special education and includes speech pathology and audiology, 26 psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, counseling 27 services, and medical services for diagnostic or evaluation purposes; school health 28 services, school social work services, and parent counseling and training; 29 (25) "screening" means a brief procedure for identifying children who 30 should receive a more comprehensive diagnostic assessment, and may include informal, 31 nonstandardized procedures, or formal, standardized procedures;

01 (26) "seriously emotionally disturbed" 02 (A) means a child that has been diagnosed as seriously 03 emotionally disturbed by a psychiatrist or psychologist licensed to practice in 04 this state; that, to a marked degree, the child's educational performance is 05 substantially and adversely affected; there is no educational benefit to the child 06 despite an educational program appropriate to the child's age and ability and 07 the child exhibits one or more of the following characteristics over a long 08 period of time: 09 (i) an inability to learn that cannot be explained by 10 intellectual, sensory, or health factors; 11 (ii) an inability to build or maintain satisfactory 12 interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers; 13 (iii) inappropriate types of behavior or feelings under 14 normal circumstances; 15 (iv) a general pervasive mood of unhappiness or 16 depression; or 17 (v) a tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears 18 associated with personal or school problems; 19 (B) includes children who are schizophrenic but does not 20 include children who are only socially maladjusted; 21 (27) "special education" means personally customized instruction, at no 22 cost to the parent, to meet the unique needs of an exceptional child and maximize the 23 child's development, including classroom instruction, instruction in physical education, 24 home instruction, and instruction in hospitals and institutions; 25 (28) "specific learning disability" 26 (A) means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological 27 processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, 28 that may manifest itself in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, 29 write, spell, or do mathematical calculations and includes perceptual 30 disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, attention deficient 31 disorders, hyperactivity, and developmental aphasia;

01 (B) does not include children who have learning problems that 02 are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor handicaps, of mental 03 retardation, of emotional disturbance, or of environmental, cultural, or 04 economic disadvantage; 05 (29) "speech or language impairment" means a communication disorder, 06 including stuttering, impaired articulation, a language impairment, or a voice 07 impairment, that adversely affects educational performance; 08 (30) "support services" means all services necessary to ensure the 09 exceptional child is maintained in an environment that will assure maximum 10 development while being provided special education or related services and includes 11 the costs to the child's family of maintaining a second household where the child 12 attends school away from the child's residence, costs of transportation to and from the 13 child's residence and domicile on a regular basis, or the costs of a residential program, 14 whether or not any of the services described in this paragraph are educationally 15 mandated; 16 (31) "traumatic brain injury" means an injury to the brain caused by an 17 external physical force, resulting in total or partial functional disability or psychosocial 18 impairment, or both, that adversely affects a child's educational performance; 19 (32) "visual impairment including blindness" means an impairment in 20 vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child's educational performance 21 and includes both partial sight and blindness; 22 (33) "vocational education" means organized educational programs that 23 are directly related to the preparation of individuals for paid or unpaid employment, 24 or for additional preparation for a career requiring other than a baccalaureate or 25 advanced degree. 26 * Sec. 7. AS 14.31.050 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 27 (b) A person may not be employed as a teacher of exceptional children or 28 endorsed by the department as a special education teacher unless the person has 29 obtained a master's degree in special education and a category endorsement as required 30 by the department. 31 * Sec. 8. AS 47.80.040(f) is amended to read:

01 (f) In the appointment of all members other than state agency members, due 02 regard shall be given to geographically balanced representation of areas of the state 03 and to representation of persons with a variety of different mental and physical 04 handicaps. A person who received or who resides in a household that received 05 more than 25 percent in annual gross income in the previous year from a 06 government source or under a government contract may not be appointed to the 07 council as a voting member. 08 * Sec. 9. AS 47.80.090 is amended to read: 09 Sec. 47.80.090. RESPONSIBILITIES. The council shall 10 (1) serve as a forum by which issues and benefits regarding current and 11 potential services to disabled and gifted persons may be discussed by consumer, public, 12 private, professional, and lay interests; 13 (2) advocate the needs of disabled and gifted persons before the 14 executive and legislative branches of the state government and before the public; 15 (3) advise the executive and legislative branches of the state 16 government and the private sector on programs and policies pertaining to current and 17 potential services to disabled or gifted persons and their families; 18 (4) submit periodic reports to the commissioner of health and social 19 services, the commissioner of education, and to other appropriate departments, on the 20 effects of current federal and state programs regarding services to disabled or gifted 21 persons; these reports must include program performance reports to the governor, the 22 federal government, and to state agencies as required under 20 U.S.C. 1482 and 42 23 U.S.C. 6024; 24 (5) in conjunction with the Departments of Health and Social Services 25 and Education, develop, prepare, adopt, periodically review, and revise as necessary 26 an annual state plan prescribing programs that meet the needs of persons with 27 developmental disabilities as required under 42 U.S.C. 6022; 28 (6) review and comment to commissioners of state departments on all 29 state plans and proposed regulations relating to programs for persons who are 30 experiencing disabilities before the adoption of a plan or regulation; for this purpose, 31 the appropriate departments shall submit the plans and proposed regulations to the

01 council; 02 (7) recommend the priorities and specifications for the use of funds 03 received by the state under 20 U.S.C. 1471 - 1485 and 42 U.S.C. 6000 - 6083; 04 (8) submit annually to the commissioner of health and social services, 05 the commissioner of education, and the commissioner of community and regional 06 affairs a proposed interdepartmental program budget for services to disabled or gifted 07 persons that includes, insofar as possible, projected revenues and expenditures for 08 programs implemented by state agencies, local governmental agencies, and private 09 organizations; the interdepartmental program budget is an informational supplement 10 to the regular annual budgetary submissions of the departments to the Office of the 11 Governor; 12 (9) provide information and guidance for the development of 13 appropriate special educational programs and services for exceptional children as 14 defined in AS 14.31.900 [AS 14.30.350]; 15 (10) monitor and evaluate budgets or other implementation plans and 16 programs for disabled and gifted persons to assure nonduplication of services and 17 encourage efficient and coordinated use of federal, state, and private resources in the 18 provision of services; members of the council, with the approval of the council, have 19 access to information in the possession of state agencies subject to disclosure 20 restrictions imposed by state or federal confidentiality or privacy laws; 21 (11) perform other duties required under applicable federal laws or 22 AS 14.31 [AS 14.30.231] and as the governor may assign; and 23 (12) govern the special education service agency and may hire 24 personnel necessary to operate the agency. 25 * Sec. 10. AS 47.80.290 is amended to read: 26 Sec. 47.80.290. DEFINITIONS. In AS 47.80.200 - 47.80.290, 27 (1) "mental illness" has the meaning given in AS 47.30.915; 28 (2) "person with a handicap" has the meaning given in AS 47.80.900, 29 except that it does not include "gifted children" as defined in AS 14.31.900 30 [AS 14.30.350]; 31 (3) "self-sufficiency trust" means a trust established by a nonprofit

01 organization that 02 (A) has as its purpose the provision or care or treatment of 03 persons with handicaps or mental illnesses; 04 (B) is incorporated under AS 10.20; and 05 (C) meets the requirements of 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3); 06 (4) "trust fund" means the fund established under AS 47.80.200. 07 * Sec. 11. AS 47.80.900(6) is amended to read: 08 (6) "person with a handicap" means a person with a developmental 09 disability as defined in (7) of this section or a person who is hard of hearing, deaf, 10 speech impaired, visually handicapped, seriously emotionally disturbed, orthopedically 11 or otherwise health impaired, or who has a specific learning disability; the term 12 includes but is not limited to "exceptional children" as defined in AS 14.31.900 13 [AS 14.30.350]; 14 * Sec. 12. AS 14.30.180, 14.30.186, 14.30.191, 14.30.193, 14.30.195, 14.30.231, 14.30.235, 15 14.30.250, 14.30.255, 14.30.270. 14.30.272, 14.30.274, 14.30.276, 14.30.278, 14.30.285, 16 14.30.305, 14.30.315, 14.30.325, 14.30.335, 14.30.340, 14.30.347, 14.30.350, and AS 47.20 17 are repealed. 18 * Sec. 13. TRANSITION. A child who has been determined by a district to be eligible 19 for special education and related services before the effective date of this chapter shall 20 continue to receive special education and related services pending reevaluation of the child 21 under AS 14.31. 22 * Sec. 14. Section 7 of this Act takes effect April 15, 1996. 23 * Sec. 15. Except as provided in sec. 14 of this Act, this Act takes effect July 1, 1994.