2003 Minnesota Statutes

     125A.515 Placement of students; approval of education 
  program. 

    Subdivision 1.    Approval of education programs.  The 
 commissioner shall approve education programs for placement of 
 children and youth in care and treatment facilities including 
 detention centers, before being licensed by the Department of 
 Human Services under Minnesota Rules, parts 9545.0905 to 
 9545.1125 and 9545.1400 to 9545.1480, or the Department of 
 Corrections under Minnesota Rules, chapters 2925, 2930, 2935, 
 and 2950.  Education programs in these facilities shall conform 
 to state and federal education laws including the Individuals 
 with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). 

    Subd. 2.    Definition of care and treatment placement.  
 Students placed in the following public or private facilities 
 are considered to be placed for care and treatment: 

    (1) group foster home, Department of Corrections; 

    (2) secure juvenile detention facilities, Department of 
 Corrections; 

    (3) juvenile residential facilities, Department of 
 Corrections; 

    (4) temporary holdover - eight day, Department of 
 Corrections; 

    (5) group homes, Department of Human Services; 

    (6) residential academies, Department of Human Services; 

    (7) transitional programs, Department of Human Services; 

    (8) shelter care, Department of Human Services and 
 Department of Corrections; 

    (9) shelter for homeless, Department of Human Services; 

    (10) adult facilities that admit persons under the age of 
 22; and 

    (11) residential treatment programs. 

    Subd. 3.    Responsibilities for providing education.  
 (a) The district in which the facility is located must provide 
 education services, including special education if eligible, to 
 all students placed in a facility for care and treatment. 

    (b) For education programs operated by the Department of 
 Corrections, the providing district shall be the Department of 
 Corrections.  For students remanded to the commissioner of 
 corrections, the providing and resident district shall be the 
 Department of Corrections.  

    (c) Placement for care and treatment does not automatically 
 make a student eligible for special education.  A student placed 
 in a care and treatment facility is eligible for special 
 education under state and federal law including the Individuals 
 with Disabilities Education Act under United States Code, title 
 20, chapter 33. 

    Subd. 4.    Education services required.  (a) Education 
 services must be provided to a student beginning within three 
 business days after the student enters the care and treatment 
 facility.  The first four days of the student's placement may be 
 used to screen the student for educational and safety issues. 

    (b) If the student does not meet the eligibility criteria 
 for special education, regular education services must be 
 provided to that student. 

    Subd. 5.    Education programs for students placed in 
 facilities for care and treatment.  (a) When a student is 
 placed in a care and treatment facility that has an on-site 
 education program, the providing district, upon notice from the 
 care and treatment facility, must contact the resident district 
 within one business day to determine if a student has been 
 identified as having a disability, and to request at least the 
 student's transcript, and for students with disabilities, the 
 most recent individualized education plan (IEP) and evaluation 
 report, and to determine if the student has been identified as a 
 student with a disability.  The resident district must send a 
 facsimile copy to the providing district within two business 
 days of receiving the request. 

    (b) If a student placed for care and treatment has been 
 identified as having a disability and has an individual 
 education plan in the resident district: 

    (1) the providing agency must conduct an individualized 
 education plan meeting to reach an agreement about continuing or 
 modifying special education services in accordance with the 
 current individualized education plan goals and objectives and 
 to determine if additional evaluations are necessary; and 

    (2) at least the following people shall receive written 
 notice or documented phone call to be followed with written 
 notice to attend the individualized education plan meeting: 

    (i) the person or agency placing the student; 

    (ii) the resident district; 

    (iii) the appropriate teachers and related services staff 
 from the providing district; 

    (iv) appropriate staff from the care and treatment 
 facility; 

    (v) the parents or legal guardians of the student; and 

    (vi) when appropriate, the student. 

    (c) For a student who has not been identified as a student 
 with a disability, a screening must be conducted by the 
 providing districts as soon as possible to determine the 
 student's educational and behavioral needs and must include a 
 review of the student's educational records. 

    Subd. 6.    Exit report summarizing educational progress. 
  If a student has been placed in a care and treatment facility 
 for 15 or more business days, the providing district must 
 prepare an exit report summarizing the regular education, 
 special education, evaluation, educational progress, and service 
 information and must send the report to the resident district 
 and the next providing district if different, the parent or 
 legal guardian, and any appropriate social service agency.  For 
 students with disabilities, this report must include the 
 student's IEP. 

    Subd. 7.    Minimum educational services required.  At a 
 minimum, the providing district is responsible for: 

    (1) the education necessary, including summer school 
 services, for a student who is not performing at grade level as 
 indicated in the education record or IEP; and 

    (2) a school day, of the same length as the school day of 
 the providing district, unless the unique needs of the student, 
 as documented through the IEP or education record in 
 consultation with treatment providers, requires an alteration in 
 the length of the school day. 

    Subd. 8.    Placement, services, and due process.  When 
 a student's treatment and educational needs allow, education 
 shall be provided in a regular educational setting.  The 
 determination of the amount and site of integrated services must 
 be a joint decision between the student's parents or legal 
 guardians and the treatment and education staff.  When 
 applicable, educational placement decisions must be made by the 
 IEP team of the providing district.  Educational services shall 
 be provided in conformance with the least restrictive 
 environment principle of the Individuals with Disabilities 
 Education Act.  The providing district and care and treatment 
 facility shall cooperatively develop discipline and behavior 
 management procedures to be used in emergency situations that 
 comply with the Minnesota Pupil Fair Dismissal Act and other 
 relevant state and federal laws and regulations. 

    Subd. 9.    Reimbursement for education services.  (a) 
 Education services provided to students who have been placed for 
 care and treatment are reimbursable in accordance with special 
 education and general education statutes. 

    (b) Indirect or consultative services provided in 
 conjunction with regular education prereferral interventions and 
 assessment provided to regular education students suspected of 
 being disabled and who have demonstrated learning or behavioral 
 problems in a screening are reimbursable with special education 
 categorical aids. 

    (c) Regular education, including screening, provided to 
 students with or without disabilities is not reimbursable with 
 special education categorical aids. 

    Subd. 10.    Students unable to attend school but not 
 placed in care and treatment facilities.  Students who are 
 absent from, or predicted to be absent from, school for 15 
 consecutive or intermittent days, at home or in facilities not 
 licensed by the Departments of Corrections or Human Services are 
 not students placed for care and treatment.  These students 
 include students with and without disabilities who are home due 
 to accident or illness, in a hospital or other medical facility, 
 or in a day treatment center.  These students are entitled to 
 education services through their district of residence. 

    HIST: 1999 c 241 art 2 s 19; 1Sp2001 c 6 art 3 s 11; 2002 c 
 375 art 3 s 2