HF 3780

1st Engrossment - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/13/2024 12:44pm

A bill for an act
relating to education; special education; modifying requirements for developmental
adapted physical education assessments; requiring a report; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 125A.08.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2023 Supplement, section 125A.08, is amended to read:

125A.08 INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION PROGRAMS.

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Individualized education programs. new text end

(a) At the beginning of each school
year, each school district shall have in effect, for each child with a disability, an
individualized education program.

(b) As defined in this section, every district must ensure the following:

(1) all students with disabilities are provided the special instruction and services which
are appropriate to their needs. Where the individualized education program team has
determined appropriate goals and objectives based on the student's needs, including the
extent to which the student can be included in the least restrictive environment, and where
there are essentially equivalent and effective instruction, related services, or assistive
technology devices available to meet the student's needs, cost to the district may be among
the factors considered by the team in choosing how to provide the appropriate services,
instruction, or devices that are to be made part of the student's individualized education
program. The individualized education program team shall consider and may authorize
services covered by medical assistance according to section 256B.0625, subdivision 26.
Before a school district evaluation team makes a determination of other health disability
under Minnesota Rules, part 3525.1335, subparts 1 and 2, item A, subitem (1), the evaluation
team must seek written documentation of the student's medically diagnosed chronic or acute
health condition signed by a licensed physician or a licensed health care provider acting
within the scope of the provider's practice. The student's needs and the special education
instruction and services to be provided must be agreed upon through the development of
an individualized education program. The program must address the student's need to develop
skills to live and work as independently as possible within the community. The individualized
education program team must consider positive behavioral interventions, strategies, and
supports that address behavior needs for children. During grade 9, the program must address
the student's needs for transition from secondary services to postsecondary education and
training, employment, community participation, recreation, and leisure and home living. In
developing the program, districts must inform parents of the full range of transitional goals
and related services that should be considered. The program must include a statement of
the needed transition services, including a statement of the interagency responsibilities or
linkages or both before secondary services are concluded. If the individualized education
program meets the plan components in section 120B.125, the individualized education
program satisfies the requirement and no additional transition plan is needed;

(2) children with a disability under age five and their families are provided special
instruction and services appropriate to the child's level of functioning and needs;

(3) children with a disability and their parents or guardians are guaranteed procedural
safeguards and the right to participate in decisions involving identification, assessment
including assistive technology assessment, and educational placement of children with a
disability;

(4) eligibility and needs of children with a disability are determined by an initial
evaluation or reevaluation, which may be completed using existing data under United States
Code, title 20, section 33, et seq.;

(5) to the maximum extent appropriate, children with a disability, including those in
public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not
disabled, and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with a
disability from the regular educational environment occurs only when and to the extent that
the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in regular classes with the use
of supplementary services cannot be achieved satisfactorily;

(6) in accordance with recognized professional standards, testing and evaluation materials,
and procedures used for the purposes of classification and placement of children with a
disability are selected and administered so as not to be racially or culturally discriminatory;
and

(7) the rights of the child are protected when the parents or guardians are not known or
not available, or the child is a ward of the state.

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Paraprofessionals. new text end

deleted text begin (c) deleted text end For all paraprofessionals employed to work in programs
whose role in part is to provide direct support to students with disabilities, the school board
in each district shall ensure that:

(1) before or beginning at the time of employment, each paraprofessional must develop
sufficient knowledge and skills in emergency procedures, building orientation, roles and
responsibilities, confidentiality, vulnerability, and reportability, among other things, to begin
meeting the needs, especially disability-specific and behavioral needs, of the students with
whom the paraprofessional works;

(2) within five days of beginning to work alone with an individual student with a
disability, the assigned paraprofessional must be either given paid time, or time during the
school day, to review a student's individualized education program or be briefed on the
student's specific needs by appropriate staff;

(3) annual training opportunities are required to enable the paraprofessional to continue
to further develop the knowledge and skills that are specific to the students with whom the
paraprofessional works, including understanding disabilities, the unique and individual
needs of each student according to the student's disability and how the disability affects the
student's education and behavior, following lesson plans, and implementing follow-up
instructional procedures and activities; and

(4) a districtwide process obligates each paraprofessional to work under the ongoing
direction of a licensed teacher and, where appropriate and possible, the supervision of a
school nurse.

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Functional behavior assessment. new text end

deleted text begin (d) deleted text end A school district may conduct a functional
behavior assessment as defined in Minnesota Rules, part 3525.0210, subpart 22, as a
stand-alone evaluation without conducting a comprehensive evaluation of the student in
accordance with prior written notice provisions in section 125A.091, subdivision 3a. A
parent or guardian may request that a school district conduct a comprehensive evaluation
of the parent's or guardian's student.

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Developmental adapted physical education assessment. new text end

new text begin A school district
may conduct an assessment for developmental adapted physical education, as defined in
Minnesota Rules, part 3525.1352, as a stand-alone evaluation without conducting a
comprehensive evaluation of the student in accordance with prior written notice provisions
in section 125A.091, subdivision 3a. A parent or guardian may request that a school district
conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the parent's or guardian's student.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective July 1, 2024.
new text end

Sec. 2. new text begin SPECIAL EDUCATION FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS.
new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner of education must review special education delivery and costs in
Minnesota and submit a written report to the legislature recommending changes to reduce
costs. In developing the recommendations, the commissioner must consult with school
districts, charter schools, intermediate school districts, special education cooperatives,
education districts, and service cooperatives; special education teachers, administrators,
and unlicensed staff providing support to students with disabilities; families of students
with disabilities; advocacy organizations that provide support to students with disabilities;
and other stakeholders. The report must:
new text end

new text begin (1) review how school districts, charter schools, intermediate school districts, special
education cooperatives, education districts, and service cooperatives deliver special education
services, and comply with paperwork requirements, and the costs and benefits;
new text end

new text begin (2) compare relevant state and federal special education laws and regulations;
new text end

new text begin (3) analyze trends in special education enrollment;
new text end

new text begin (4) identify funding disparities that decrease inclusion;
new text end

new text begin (5) identify strategies or programs and universal interventions that are evidence-based
and would be effective in reducing the need for special education services; and
new text end

new text begin (6) analyze funding for nonresident children in accordance with Minnesota Statutes,
sections 125A.11 and 127A.47.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner must submit the report to the legislative committees with
jurisdiction over education policy and finance by January 5, 2025, and in accordance with
Minnesota Statutes, section 3.195.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end