2015 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 10 - Education and Culture
Chapter 164 - Educational Opportunities
Section 10-76d - Duties and powers of boards of education to provide special education programs and services. Determination of eligibility for Medicaid. Development of individualized education program. Planning and placement team meetings. Public agency placements; apportionment of costs. Relationship of insurance to special education costs.

(a)(1) In accordance with the regulations and procedures established by the Commissioner of Education and approved by the State Board of Education, each local or regional board of education shall provide the professional services requisite to identification of children requiring special education, identify each such child within its jurisdiction, determine the eligibility of such children for special education pursuant to sections 10-76a to 10-76h, inclusive, prescribe appropriate educational programs for eligible children, maintain a record thereof and make such reports as the commissioner may require. No child may be required to obtain a prescription for a substance covered by the Controlled Substances Act, 21 USC 801 et seq., as amended from time to time, as a condition of attending school, receiving an evaluation under section 10-76ff or receiving services pursuant to sections 10-76a to 10-76h, inclusive, or the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400 et seq., as amended from time to time.

(2) Any local or regional board of education, through the planning and placement team established in accordance with regulations adopted by the State Board of Education under this section, may determine a child’s Medicaid enrollment status. In determining Medicaid enrollment status, the planning and placement team shall: (A) Inquire of the parents or guardians of each such child whether the child is enrolled in or may be eligible for Medicaid; and (B) if the child may be eligible for Medicaid, request that the parent or guardian of the child apply for Medicaid. For the purpose of determining Medicaid rates for Medicaid eligible special education and related services based on a representative cost sampling method, the board of education shall make available documentation of the provision and costs of Medicaid eligible special education and related services for any students receiving such services, regardless of an individual student’s Medicaid enrollment status, to the Commissioner of Social Services or to the commissioner’s authorized agent at such time and in such manner as prescribed. For the purpose of determining Medicaid rates for Medicaid eligible special education and related services based on an actual cost method, the local or regional board of education shall submit documentation of the costs and utilization of Medicaid eligible special education and related services for all students receiving such services to the Commissioner of Social Services or to the commissioner’s authorized agent at such time and in such manner as prescribed. The commissioner or such agent may use information received from local or regional boards of education for the purposes of (i) ascertaining students’ Medicaid eligibility status, (ii) submitting Medicaid claims, (iii) complying with state and federal audit requirements, and (iv) determining Medicaid rates for Medicaid eligible special education and related services. No child shall be denied special education and related services in the event the parent or guardian refuses to apply for Medicaid.

(3) Beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, the Commissioner of Social Services shall make grant payments to local or regional boards of education in amounts representing fifty per cent of the federal portion of Medicaid claims processed for Medicaid eligible special education and related services provided to Medicaid eligible students in the school district. Beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, the commissioner shall exclude any enhanced federal medical assistance percentages in calculating the federal portion of such Medicaid claims processed. Such grant payments shall be made on at least a quarterly basis and may represent estimates of amounts due to local or regional boards of education. Any grant payments made on an estimated basis, including payments made by the Department of Education for the fiscal years prior to the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000, shall be subsequently reconciled to grant amounts due based upon filed and accepted Medicaid claims and Medicaid rates. If, upon review, it is determined that a grant payment or portion of a grant payment was made for ineligible or disallowed Medicaid claims, the local or regional board of education shall reimburse the Department of Social Services for any grant payment amount received based upon ineligible or disallowed Medicaid claims.

(4) Pursuant to federal law, the Commissioner of Social Services, as the state’s Medicaid agent, shall determine rates for Medicaid eligible special education and related services pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection. The Commissioner of Social Services may request and the Commissioner of Education and towns and regional school districts shall provide information as may be necessary to set such rates.

(5) Based on school district special education and related services expenditures, the state’s Medicaid agent shall report and certify to the federal Medicaid authority the state match required by federal law to obtain Medicaid reimbursement of eligible special education and related services costs.

(6) Payments received pursuant to this section shall be paid to the local or regional board of education which has incurred such costs in addition to the funds appropriated by the town to such board for the current fiscal year.

(7) The planning and placement team shall, in accordance with the provisions of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400, et seq., as amended from time to time, develop and update annually a statement of transition service needs for each child requiring special education.

(8) (A) Each local and regional board of education responsible for providing special education and related services to a child or pupil shall notify the parent or guardian of a child who requires or who may require special education, a pupil if such pupil is an emancipated minor or eighteen years of age or older who requires or who may require special education or a surrogate parent appointed pursuant to section 10-94g, in writing, at least five school days before such board proposes to, or refuses to, initiate or change the child’s or pupil’s identification, evaluation or educational placement or the provision of a free appropriate public education to the child or pupil.

(B) Upon request by a parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent, the responsible local or regional board of education shall provide such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent an opportunity to meet with a member of the planning and placement team designated by such board prior to the referral planning and placement team meeting at which the assessments and evaluations of the child or pupil who requires or may require special education is presented to such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent for the first time. Such meeting shall be for the sole purpose of discussing the planning and placement team process and any concerns such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent has regarding the child or pupil who requires or may require special education.

(C) Such parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent shall (i) be given at least five school days’ prior notice of any planning and placement team meeting conducted for such child or pupil, (ii) have the right to be present at and participate in all portions of such meeting at which an educational program for such child or pupil is developed, reviewed or revised, and (iii) have the right to have advisors of such person’s own choosing and at such person’s own expense, and to have the school paraprofessional assigned to such child or pupil, if any, to be present at and to participate in all portions of such meeting at which an educational program for such child or pupil is developed, reviewed or revised.

(D) Immediately upon the formal identification of any child as a child requiring special education and at each planning and placement team meeting for such child, the responsible local or regional board of education shall inform the parent or guardian of such child or surrogate parent or, in the case of a pupil who is an emancipated minor or eighteen years of age or older, the pupil of (i) the laws relating to special education, (ii) the rights of such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil under such laws and the regulations adopted by the State Board of Education relating to special education, including the right of a parent, guardian or surrogate parent to (I) withhold from enrolling such child in kindergarten, in accordance with the provisions of section 10-184, and (II) have advisors and the school paraprofessional assigned to such child or pupil to be present at, and to participate in, all portions of such meeting at which an educational program for such child or pupil is developed, reviewed or revised, in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph (C) of this subdivision, and (iii) any relevant information and resources relating to individualized education programs created by the Department of Education, including, but not limited to, information relating to transition resources and services for high school students. If such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil does not attend a planning and placement team meeting, the responsible local or regional board of education shall mail such information to such person.

(E) Each local and regional board of education shall have in effect at the beginning of each school year an educational program for each child or pupil who has been identified as eligible for special education.

(F) At each initial planning and placement team meeting for a child or pupil, the responsible local or regional board of education shall inform the parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil of the laws relating to physical restraint and seclusion pursuant to section 10-236b and the rights of such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil under such laws and the regulations adopted by the State Board of Education relating to physical restraint and seclusion.

(G) Upon request by a parent, guardian, pupil or surrogate parent, the responsible local or regional board of education shall provide the results of the assessments and evaluations used in the determination of eligibility for special education for a child or pupil to such parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil at least three school days before the referral planning and placement team meeting at which such results of the assessments and evaluations will be discussed for the first time.

(9) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, for purposes of Medicaid reimbursement, when recommended by the planning and placement team and specified on the individualized education program, a service eligible for reimbursement under the Medicaid program shall be deemed to be authorized by a practitioner of the healing arts under 42 CFR 440.130, provided such service is recommended by an appropriately licensed or certified individual and is within the individual’s scope of practice. Certain items of durable medical equipment, recommended pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision, may be subject to prior authorization requirements established by the Commissioner of Social Services. Diagnostic and evaluation services eligible for reimbursement under the Medicaid program and recommended by the planning and placement team shall also be deemed to be authorized by a practitioner of the healing arts under 42 CFR 440.130 provided such services are recommended by an appropriately licensed or certified individual and are within the individual’s scope of practice.

(10) The Commissioner of Social Services shall implement the policies and procedures necessary for the purposes of this subsection while in the process of adopting such policies and procedures in regulation form, provided notice of intent to adopt the regulations is published in the Connecticut Law Journal within twenty days of implementing the policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures shall be valid until the time final regulations are effective.

(b) In accordance with the regulations of the State Board of Education, each local and regional board of education shall: (1) Provide special education for school-age children requiring special education who are described in subparagraph (A) of subdivision (5) of section 10-76a. The obligation of the school district under this subsection shall terminate when such child is graduated from high school or reaches age twenty-one, whichever occurs first; and (2) provide special education for children requiring special education who are described in subparagraph (A) or (C) of subdivision (5) of section 10-76a. The State Board of Education shall define the criteria by which each local or regional board of education shall determine whether a given child is eligible for special education pursuant to this subdivision, and such determination shall be made by the board of education when requested by a parent or guardian, or upon referral by a physician, clinic or social worker, provided the parent or guardian so permits. To meet its obligations under this subdivision, each local or regional board of education may, with the approval of the State Board of Education, make agreements with any private school, agency or institution to provide the necessary preschool special education program, provided such private facility has an existing program which adequately meets the special education needs, according to standards established by the State Board of Education, of the preschool children for whom such local or regional board of education is required to provide such an education and provided such district does not have such an existing program in its public schools. Such private school, agency or institution may be a facility which has not been approved by the Commissioner of Education for special education, provided such private facility is approved by the commissioner as an independent school or licensed by the Department of Public Health as a day care or nursery facility or be both approved and licensed.

(c) Each local or regional board of education may provide special education for children requiring it who are described by subparagraph (B) of subdivision (5) of section 10-76a and for other exceptional children for whom provision of special education is not required by law.

(d) To meet its obligations under sections 10-76a to 10-76g, inclusive, any local or regional board of education may make agreements with another such board or subject to the consent of the parent or guardian of any child affected thereby, make agreements with any private school or with any public or private agency or institution, including a group home to provide the necessary programs or services, but no expenditures made pursuant to a contract with a private school, agency or institution for such special education shall be paid under the provisions of section 10-76g, unless (1) such contract includes a description of the educational program and other treatment the child is to receive, a statement of minimal goals and objectives which it is anticipated such child will achieve and an estimated time schedule for returning the child to the community or transferring such child to another appropriate facility, (2) subject to the provisions of this subsection, the educational needs of the child for whom such special education is being provided cannot be met by public school arrangements in the opinion of the commissioner who, before granting approval of such contract for purposes of payment, shall consider such factors as the particular needs of the child, the appropriateness and efficacy of the program offered by such private school, agency or institution, and the economic feasibility of comparable alternatives, and (3) commencing with the 1987-1988 school year and for each school year thereafter, each such private school, agency or institution has been approved for special education by the Commissioner of Education or by the appropriate agency for facilities located out of state, except as provided in subsection (b) of this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (2) of this subsection or any regulations adopted by the State Board of Education setting placement priorities, placements pursuant to this section and payments under section 10-76g may be made pursuant to such a contract if the public arrangements are more costly than the private school, institution or agency, provided the private school, institution or agency meets the educational needs of the child and its program is appropriate and efficacious. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection to the contrary, nothing in this subsection shall (A) require the removal of a child from a nonapproved facility if the child was placed there prior to July 7, 1987, pursuant to the determination of a planning and placement team that such a placement was appropriate and such placement was approved by the Commissioner of Education, or (B) prohibit the placement of a child at a nonapproved facility if a planning and placement team determines prior to July 7, 1987, that the child be placed in a nonapproved facility for the 1987-1988 school year. Each child placed in a nonapproved facility as described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subdivision (3) of this subsection may continue at the facility provided the planning and placement team or hearing officer appointed pursuant to section 10-76h determines that the placement is appropriate. Expenditures incurred by any local or regional board of education to maintain children in nonapproved facilities as described in said subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall be paid pursuant to the provisions of section 10-76g. Any local or regional board of education may enter into a contract with the owners or operators of any sheltered workshop or rehabilitation center for provision of an education occupational training program for children requiring special education who are at least sixteen years of age, provided such workshop or institution shall have been approved by the appropriate state agency. Whenever any child is identified by a local or regional board of education as a child requiring special education and said board of education determines that the requirements for special education could be met by a program provided within the district or by agreement with another board of education except for the child’s need for services other than educational services such as medical, psychiatric or institutional care or services, said board may meet its obligation to furnish special education for such child by paying the reasonable cost of special education instruction in a private school, hospital or other institution provided said board or the commissioner concurs that placement in such institution is necessary and proper and no state institution is available to meet such child’s needs.

(e) (1) Any local or regional board of education which provides special education pursuant to any mandates in this section shall provide transportation, to and from, but not beyond the curb of, the residence of the child, unless otherwise agreed upon by the board and the parent or guardian of the child, tuition, room and board and other items necessary to the provision of such special education except for children who are placed in a residential facility because they need services other than educational services, in which case the financial responsibility of the school district and payment to such district shall be limited to the reasonable costs of special education instruction as defined in the regulations of the State Board of Education. If a hearing board, pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-76h, rejects the educational program prescribed by the local or regional board of education and determines that a placement by a parent or guardian was appropriate, the local or regional board of education shall reimburse the parent or guardian for the reasonable costs incurred for the provision of special education pursuant to this section from the initiation of review procedures as provided by said section 10-76h.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, “public agency” includes the offices of a government of a federally recognized Native American tribe. Notwithstanding any other provisions of the general statutes, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1987, and each fiscal year thereafter, whenever a public agency, other than a local or regional board of education, the State Board of Education or the Superior Court acting pursuant to section 10-76h, places a child in a foster home, group home, hospital, state institution, receiving home, custodial institution or any other residential or day treatment facility, and such child requires special education, the local or regional board of education under whose jurisdiction the child would otherwise be attending school or, if no such board can be identified, the local or regional board of education of the town where the child is placed, shall provide the requisite special education and related services to such child in accordance with the provisions of this section. Within one business day of such a placement by the Department of Children and Families or offices of a government of a federally recognized Native American tribe, said department or offices shall orally notify the local or regional board of education responsible for providing special education and related services to such child of such placement. The department or offices shall provide written notification to such board of such placement within two business days of the placement. Such local or regional board of education shall convene a planning and placement team meeting for such child within thirty days of the placement and shall invite a representative of the Department of Children and Families or offices of a government of a federally recognized Native American tribe to participate in such meeting. (A) The local or regional board of education under whose jurisdiction such child would otherwise be attending school shall be financially responsible for the reasonable costs of such special education and related services in an amount equal to the lesser of one hundred per cent of the costs of such education or the average per pupil educational costs of such board of education for the prior fiscal year, determined in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of section 10-76f. The State Board of Education shall pay on a current basis, except as provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection, any costs in excess of such local or regional board’s basic contributions paid by such board of education in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision. (B) Whenever a child is placed pursuant to this subdivision, on or after July 1, 1995, by the Department of Children and Families and the local or regional board of education under whose jurisdiction such child would otherwise be attending school cannot be identified, the local or regional board of education under whose jurisdiction the child attended school or in whose district the child resided at the time of removal from the home by said department shall be responsible for the reasonable costs of special education and related services provided to such child, for one calendar year or until the child is committed to the state pursuant to section 46b-129 or 46b-140 or is returned to the child’s parent or guardian, whichever is earlier. If the child remains in such placement beyond one calendar year the Department of Children and Families shall be responsible for such costs. During the period the local or regional board of education is responsible for the reasonable cost of special education and related services pursuant to this subparagraph, the board shall be responsible for such costs in an amount equal to the lesser of one hundred per cent of the costs of such education and related services or the average per pupil educational costs of such board of education for the prior fiscal year, determined in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of section 10-76f. The State Board of Education shall pay on a current basis, except as provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection, any costs in excess of such local or regional board’s basic contributions paid by such board of education in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision. The costs for services other than educational shall be paid by the state agency which placed the child. The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to the school districts established within the Department of Children and Families, pursuant to section 17a-37 or the Department of Correction, pursuant to section 18-99a, provided in any case in which special education is being provided at a private residential institution, including the residential components of regional educational service centers, to a child for whom no local or regional board of education can be found responsible under subsection (b) of this section, Unified School District #2 shall provide the special education and related services and be financially responsible for the reasonable costs of such special education instruction for such children. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, to June 30, 2007, inclusive, and for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2010, to June 30, 2017, inclusive, the amount of the grants payable to local or regional boards of education in accordance with this subdivision shall be reduced proportionately if the total of such grants in such year exceeds the amount appropriated for the purposes of this subdivision for such year.

(3) Payment for children who require special education and who reside on state-owned or leased property, and who are not the educational responsibility of the unified school districts established pursuant to section 17a-37 or section 18-99a, shall be made in the following manner: The State Board of Education shall pay to the school district which is responsible for providing instruction for each such child pursuant to the provisions of this subsection one hundred per cent of the reasonable costs of such instruction. In the fiscal year following such payment, the State Board of Education shall deduct from the special education grant due the local or regional board of education under whose jurisdiction the child would otherwise be attending school, where such board has been identified, the amount for which such board would otherwise have been financially responsible pursuant to the provisions of subdivision (2) of this subsection. No such deduction shall be made for any school district which is responsible for providing special education instruction for children whose parents or legal guardians do not reside within such district. The amount deducted shall be included as a net cost of special education by the Department of Education for purposes of the state’s special education grant calculated pursuant to section 10-76g. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2005, and for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2012, and June 30, 2013, the amount of the grants payable to local or regional boards of education in accordance with this subdivision shall be reduced proportionately if the total of such grants in such year exceeds the amount appropriated for the purposes of this subdivision for such year.

(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services shall provide regular education and special education and related services to eligible residents in facilities operated by the department who are eighteen to twenty-one years of age. In the case of a resident who requires special education, the department shall provide the requisite identification and evaluation of such resident in accordance with the provisions of this section. The department shall be financially responsible for the provision of educational services to eligible residents. The Departments of Mental Health and Addiction Services, Children and Families and Education shall develop and implement an interagency agreement which specifies the role of each agency in ensuring the provision of appropriate education services to eligible residents in accordance with this section. The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services shall be responsible for one hundred per cent of the reasonable costs of such educational services provided to eligible residents of such facilities.

(5) Application for the grant to be paid by the state for costs in excess of the local or regional board of education’s basic contribution shall be made by such board of education by filing with the State Board of Education, in such manner as prescribed by the Commissioner of Education, annually on or before December first a statement of the cost of providing special education, as defined in subdivision (2) of this subsection, for a child of the board placed by a state agency in accordance with the provisions of said subdivision or, where appropriate, a statement of the cost of providing educational services other than special educational services pursuant to the provisions of subsection (b) or (g) of section 10-253, provided a board of education may submit, not later than March first, claims for additional children or costs not included in the December filing. Payment by the state for such excess costs shall be made to the local or regional board of education as follows: Seventy-five per cent of the cost in February and the balance in May. The amount due each town pursuant to the provisions of this subsection and the amount due to each town as tuition from other towns pursuant to this section shall be paid to the treasurer of each town entitled to such aid, provided the treasurer shall treat such grant or tuition received, or a portion of such grant or tuition, which relates to special education expenditures incurred pursuant to subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection in excess of such board’s budgeted estimate of such expenditures, as a reduction in expenditures by crediting such expenditure account, rather than town revenue. The state shall notify the local or regional board of education when payments are made to the treasurer of the town pursuant to this subdivision.

(f) No children placed out primarily for special education services shall be placed in a private school, agency or institution outside of the state, except when in the opinion of the Commissioner of Education it is determined that: (1) No public or approved private facility which can reasonably provide appropriate special education programs for such children is available in the state; (2) no public or approved private facility which can reasonably provide appropriate special education programs for such children is available in the state and the out-of-state placement is required for a period of time not to exceed two years, during which time the local or regional board of education responsible for providing such children with a special education shall develop an appropriate special education program or cause such program to be developed within the state; or (3) an out-of-state placement is more economically feasible than an existing special education program in the state or any such program that could be developed within the state within a reasonable period of time. No placement in an out-of-state private special education school, agency or facility shall be approved unless such school, agency or facility first agrees in writing to submit to the state Department of Education any such financial program and student progress reports as the commissioner may require for the purpose of making an annual determination as to the economic feasibility and program adequacy of the special education program provided. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to children placed out primarily for services other than educational services as described in subsection (d) of this section.

(g) (1) Each local or regional board of education shall review annually and make a report as to the progress of each child for whom such board is obligated to provide a special education and who receives special education services in any private school, agency or institution and shall, upon request of the commissioner, submit such reports to the State Board of Education.

(2) Whenever a local or regional board of education determines that a child who has for three years received special education services in private facilities pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-76d must receive such services from private facilities for an additional period of time, the State Board of Education, shall annually thereafter review the progress of such child prior to approving or disapproving for purposes of reimbursement, pursuant to subsection (d) of section 10-76d, any continuation of private placement, considering such factors as the educational and other needs of the child.

(h) The provisions of this section and sections 10-76a, 10-76b, 10-76c, 10-76f and 10-76g shall not be construed to relieve any insurer or provider of health or welfare benefits from paying any otherwise valid claim.

(1967, P.A. 627, S. 4, 11; 1969, P.A. 793, S. 2; P.A. 73-111; P.A. 75-255; 75-364; 75-521, S. 3, 6; 75-585; P.A. 76-310, S. 1, 2; 76-341; P.A. 77-36; 77-614, S. 302, 610; P.A. 78-218, S. 65; P.A. 79-128, S. 19, 36; P.A. 80-113, S. 1, 2; 80-138, S. 2, 3; P.A. 81-187; 81-432, S. 1, 11; P.A. 82-311, S. 1, 4; P.A. 83-169, S. 8; 83-265, S. 1, 2; P.A. 84-255, S. 7, 21; P.A. 85-473, S. 1, 3; 85-491, S. 1, 3; P.A. 86-333, S. 6, 32; P.A. 87-324, S. 1, 2; 87-499, S. 2, 25, 26, 34; P.A. 88-360, S. 11, 12, 63; P.A. 89-315, S. 1, 3; P.A. 90-230, S. 14, 101; P.A. 91-16, S. 1, 2; 91-277, S. 4, 6; P.A. 92-170, S. 8, 26; 92-262, S. 10, 11, 42; P.A. 93-91, S. 1, 2; 93-352, S. 1, 3; 93-353, S. 47, 52; 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 94-245, S. 29, 41, 46; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-6, S. 1, 28; P.A. 95-237, S. 1, 5, 7; 95-257, S. 11, 12, 21, 32, 58; 95-259, S. 10, 32; P.A. 96-146, S. 2–4, 12; P.A. 97-114, S. 1, 2; P.A. 98-168, S. 2, 3, 26; 98-252, S. 8, 80; P.A. 99-279, S. 4, 45; P.A. 00-48, S. 3, 10–12; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1, S. 39, 54; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3, S. 54; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 3, 4, 244, 245; P.A. 05-141, S. 3; 05-245, S. 18; P.A. 06-13, S. 4; 06-18, S. 1–3; 06-188, S. 26; P.A. 07-73, S. 2(a); 07-147, S. 5; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-5, S. 61; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-6, S. 45; P.A. 11-48, S. 179; 11-51, S. 29; P.A. 12-116, S. 67; 12-173, S. 1; P.A. 13-40, S. 9; 13-247, S. 161; P.A. 14-39, S. 3; 14-231, S. 64; P.A. 15-141, S. 8; 15-209, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 249, 277.)

History: 1969 act amended Subsec. (a) to delete reference to repealed Sec. 10-94a, to substitute Sec. 10-76g for 10-76h and to require school board to “prescribe suitable educational programs for eligible children”, amended Subsec. (b) to delete provisions concerning special classes for educable and trainable mentally retarded children, making former Subdiv. (2) applicable to all children requiring special education and renumbering Subdivs. (2) and (3) as (1) and (2), made minor changes to Subsecs. (c) and (d) and added provisions in Subsec. (d) concerning school board’s payments to meet child’s needs in private school, hospital or other institution and amended Subsec. (e) to add limitation on board’s financial responsibility toward expenses of children placed in residential facilities; P.A. 73-111 amended Subsec. (a) to replace Sec. 10-76g with 10-76h reference and to require boards to inform parents of children requiring special education of special education laws; P.A. 75-255 amended Subsec. (a) to require notice to parents of meeting to prepare educational program for child and to allow parent’s participation in meeting; P.A. 75-364 amended Subsec. (d) to clarify provisions concerning private schools which may supply child’s needs; P.A. 75-521 added Subsecs. (f) and (g); P.A. 75-585 added provisions in Subsec. (b) concerning preschool education supplied through private school; P.A. 76-310 required that contracts between school board and private school contain program description, goals and objectives of child’s progress and timetable for returning child to community or transferring him to another institution in order for expenses to be reimbursable; P.A. 76-341 added Subsec. (g)(2) re children in private facilities for more than three years; P.A. 77-36 amended Subsec. (a) to allow parents to have advisors at meetings to determine child’s educational program; P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of education for secretary of the state board of education, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 78-218 substituted “board of education” for “district” and “local” for “town”; P.A. 79-128 substituted “grant” for “reimbursement” in Subsec. (b) and “payment” for “reimbursement” in Subsecs. (d) and (e); P.A. 80-113 added Subsec. (h); P.A. 80-138 amended Subsec. (e) to provide for reimbursement of parent or guardian when parent’s placement preferred to board’s program by hearing board; P.A. 81-187 amended Subsec. (e) to specify transportation of children requiring special education be “curb-to-curb” transportation to and from child’s residence, unless otherwise agreed upon by the board and child’s parent or guardian; P.A. 81-432 added Subsec. (e)(2) and (3) clarifying educational and financial responsibility for children placed by public agencies; P.A. 82-311 amended Subsec. (e) clarifying provisions of P.A. 81-432 concerning state agency placements of children by: Limiting school board responsibility for transporting handicapped children “curb to curb” to mean not beyond the curb of their residence, clarifying that the educational and financial responsibility for children for whom no other board of education can be identified rests with the school district in which the child is placed, requiring the placing agency to provide to the district where the child is placed current and accurate information for the purpose of determining if a responsible school district exists, creating a uniform system of payments for towns which educate children who reside on state property, and clarifying that funding or tuition received by school boards for educating handicapped children placed by state agencies is credited to the school board’s accounts only when such payments exceed the receiving board’s budget estimates for educating these children; P.A. 83-169 amended Subsec. (e) to delete reference to “special” school districts; P.A. 83-265 clarified provisions relating to payment for children who reside on state-owned or leased property or in permanent family residences and who are not educational responsibility of unified school districts; P.A. 84-255 amended Subsec. (a) deleting obsolete provision relating to the exclusion or exemption from school privileges of any child requiring special education; P.A. 85-473 inserted new Subsec. (e)(4) re residents of department of mental health facilities who are between the ages of 18 and 21, renumbering former Subdiv. (4) accordingly; P.A. 85-491 amended Subsec. (e)(3) to provide that adoption of a child residing in a permanent family residence by a person providing foster care in the residence does not affect school district’s eligibility for reimbursement; P.A. 86-333 in Subsec. (e)(2) substituted 1987 for 1982 and added placements in day treatment facilities to types of placements to which the subdivision applies, in Subsec. (e)(4) provided that boards submit reports of expenditures and that grant adjustments be made for overpayments or underpayments, in Subsec. (e)(5) substituted October for September as the time on or before which estimates of the cost of providing special education must be filed and made other technical changes; P.A. 87-324, in Subsec. (a), provided for individual transition plans commencing with the 1988-1989 school year; P.A. 87-499 amended Subsec. (b) to describe when a private facility need not be approved by the commissioner of education, added Subsec. (d)(3) requiring, with phase-in provisions, that private facilities be approved and changed a payment date in Subsec. (e)(4) from August to September and the report submission date from January to August fifteenth; P.A. 88-360 in Subsec. (a) increased the minimum number of school days for prior notice of a planning and placement team meeting from 3 to 5 and in Subsec. (e)(4) added references to the Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission; P.A. 89-315 in Subsec. (a) added provisions re reimbursement from Medicaid for special education costs and made a technical change; P.A. 90-230 made a technical change in Subsec. (b); P.A. 91-16 divided Subsec. (a) into Subdivs., limited the determination of eligibility for Medicaid to towns in which the number of children receiving aid to families with dependent children exceeds 75, and added language requiring parents or guardians to be notified of the possible consequences of accessing private insurance and prohibiting the denial of special education due to refusal to access private insurance or Medicaid; P.A. 91-277 made a technical change in Subsec. (e)(1); the references in Subdivs. (2) and (3) of Subsec. (e) to “section 17a-38” were corrected editorially to “section 17a-37” in 1993; P.A. 92-170 amended Subsec. (e) to require that board of education be notified when payments are made to town treasurer; P.A. 92-262 amended Subsec. (a)(6) to add provisions concerning transition services and authorized transition services as part of a child’s program before his fifteenth birthday and amended Subsec. (d) to add the reference to group homes; P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-352 designated Subsec. (e)(4) as Subpara. (A) and deleted provisions dealing with the department of mental health and added separate Subpara. (B) concerning the department of mental health, effective August 15, 1993; P.A. 93-353 amended Subsec. (a) to specify in Subdiv. (7) that notice shall be given before the board proposes to or refuses to initiate or change the child’s identification, evaluation, or educational placement and added requirement that each board have in effect at the beginning of the school year an educational program for each child who has been identified as eligible for special education, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 93-381 replaced department and commissioner of health services and Connecticut alcohol and drug abuse commission and executive director with department and commissioner of public health and addiction services, respectively, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-245 amended Subsec. (b) to remove obsolete language concerning preschool special education, effective June 2, 1994, and amended Subsec. (e)(2) to add provisions dealing with school districts which have a large number of children placed in foster homes, effective July 1, 1994; May Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-6 amended Subsec. (a)(2) to change the criteria for towns to be required to determine Medicaid eligibility from any town in which the number of children exceeds 75 to any town in which the “average number of children ages three to twenty-one enrolled in the Medicaid program on October first of each of the previous three years equals or exceeds one thousand”, to remove requirement for the towns to request permission of the parent or guardian of such child to access private insurance and to notify them that accessing private insurance may affect benefits available through such insurance or costs to be paid to maintain such insurance, to replace the requirement for the board of education to request written permission of the parent or guardian to request Medicaid payment and to request such payment with a requirement, upon notification by the planning and placement team that the child is a recipient, to submit documentation of the provision and costs of Medicaid eligible special education and related services to the commissioner; added Subdivs. (4) to (7), inclusive, re Medicaid eligible payments and grants and renumbered Subdivs. (8) to (11), inclusive, in Subdiv. (8) requiring that payments be made to the town or regional school district which has incurred such costs and be deemed to be appropriated to the board of education and removed language limiting the districts use of such payments and in Subdiv. (9) changing the date for notification of whether a town will be required to comply from “by August 1, 1991” and “annually thereafter” to “by July 30, 1994, and by April first annually thereafter” and making the description of the children consistent with Subdiv. (2), effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 95-237 amended Subsec. (a)(11) to increase the requirements for notification and to make technical changes in said Subdiv. and amended Subsec. (e) to change the party who is financially liable for the cost of special education for children placed by the Department of Children and Families after July 1, 1995, in cases in which the local or regional board of education under whose jurisdiction the child would otherwise be attending school cannot be identified and to make numerous technical changes, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995 and deleted Subsec. (e)(4)(A) re services by the former Department of Public Health and Addiction Services and replaced Department of Mental Health with Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 95-259 amended Subsec. (a)(2) to raise the threshold for the determination of Medicaid eligibility from 1,000 to 5,000 children, effective July 6, 1995; P.A. 96-146 amended Subsec. (a)(2) to (4), inclusive, to substitute determination of a child’s Medicaid enrollment status for a determination of whether a child is eligible for Medicaid, to provide for the sharing of information with the state’s Medicaid agent for specified purposes, to add references to the commissioner’s authorized agent and to make technical changes and made technical changes in Subsecs. (b) and (c), effective July 1, 1996, and amended Subsec. (e)(2) to add the notification requirements for the Department of Children and Families and the requirement for the convening of a planning and placement team meeting within 30 days of placement and participation of said department at the meeting, to remove a requirement that said department meet with representatives of the board of education under whose jurisdiction the child attended school or in whose district the child resided at the time of removal to review the child’s individualized education plan, to cap the financial responsibility of a board of education during the period it is responsible for the cost of special education and related services and to provide for the payment of any costs in excess of such board’s basic contributions by the State Board of Education on a current basis, and to add provision concerning the responsibility of Unified School District #2 for the provision of special education and related services and the cost of such education and services provided at a private residential institution to a child for whom no local or regional board of education can be found responsible under Subsec. (b), effective May 29, 1996; P.A. 97-114 amended Subsec. (d) to add provision that notwithstanding Subdiv. (2) and regulations concerning placement priorities, placements and payment pursuant to Sec. 10-76g may be made if public arrangements are more costly and private facilities meet the educational needs of the child and their programs are suitable and efficacious, effective July 1, 1997; P.A. 98-168 amended Subsec. (b) to make a technical change and amended Subsec. (e)(2) to change one method for determining the financial responsibility of local and regional boards of education from “two and one-half times” the average to the average per pupil educational costs, effective July 1, 1998; P.A. 98-252 amended Subsec. (e)(5) to change the time frames for the original submission from October to December, for the claim for additional children or costs from April to February and for the payments from December and June to February and April, to increase the amount of the first payment from 50% to 75% and to make technical changes, effective July 1, 1998 (Revisor’s note: In Subsec. (a)(11) a reference to “... pupil who is an emaciated minor ...” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “... pupil who is an emancipated minor ...” to correct an error in the codification of P.A. 95-237); P.A. 99-279 amended Subsec. (a)(2) by deleting requirement that local or regional board of education determine Medicaid enrollment status of children for any town in which the average number of children ages 3 to 21 enrolled in the Medicaid program equals or exceeds 5,000 and by substituting in lieu thereof that any local or regional board of education may determine a child’s Medicaid enrollment status and by adding “For the purpose of determining Medicaid rates for Medicaid eligible special education and related services based on an actual cost method, the local or regional board of education shall submit documentation of the costs and utilization of Medicaid eligible special education and related services for all students receiving such services to the Commissioner of Social Services or to the commissioner’s authorized agent at such time and in such manner as prescribed.” and provision authorizing commissioner to use information received from local or regional boards of education for purposes of determining Medicaid rates for Medicaid eligible special education and related services, deleted all provisions in former Subsec. (a)(3) and (4), adding in new Subdiv. (3) provisions as follows: “Beginning with the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000, the Commissioner of Social Services shall make grant payments to local or regional boards of education in amounts representing 60% of the federal portion of Medicaid claims processed for Medicaid eligible special education and related services provided to Medicaid eligible students in the school district. Such grant payments shall be made on at least a quarterly basis and may represent estimates of amounts due to local or regional boards of education. Any grant payments made on an estimated basis, including payments made by the Department of Education for the fiscal years prior to the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000, shall be subsequently reconciled to grant amounts due based upon filed and accepted Medicaid claims and Medicaid rates. If, upon review, it is determined that a grant payment or portion of a grant payment was made for ineligible or disallowed Medicaid claims, the local or regional board of education shall reimburse the Department of Social Services for any grant payment amount received based upon ineligible or disallowed Medicaid claims.”, deleting from the new Subdiv. (4) (formerly Subdiv. (5)) requirement that rates for Medicaid eligible special education and related services be determined annually and that such rates reflect the reasonable average monthly cost per student of Medicaid eligible special education and related services for the current year, deleted all provisions in former Subsec. (a)(7), substituting in the new Subdiv. (6) (formerly Subdiv. (8)) “local or regional board of education” for “town or regional school district”, deleted all provisions in former Subdiv. (9), renumbering the remaining Subdivs. accordingly, added in new Subsec. (a)(9) provisions re regulations and made technical changes throughout, effective July 1, 1999; P.A. 00-48 rewrote Subsec. (a)(7), changing the time frame for the development of the statement of transition service needs from age 15 to age 14 and requiring the statement to focus on courses of study, made a technical change in Subsec. (d) and amended Subsec. (e)(4) to change the time for the payment of 85% of the estimated cost from September to July, effective July 1, 2000; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-1 amended Subsec. (e)(5) to change the submission deadline for claims from February to March first and to change the date for the payment of the balance from April to May, effective July 1, 2001; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-3 amended Subsec. (a)(3) to provide that beginning in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004, grant payments made by the Commissioner of Social Services to local or regional boards of education shall be reduced from 60% to 50% of the federal portion of Medicaid claims processed for Medicaid eligible special education and related services provided to Medicaid eligible students in the school district”, effective August 20, 2003; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by changing “school-age children” to “children”, amended Subsec. (a)(7) by adding provision re federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act and by deleting provisions re a student’s individualized education program and a detailed provision of transition services including interagency responsibilities, and amended Subsec. (e)(2) by making a technical change, adding language re proportional reductions in grants for fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, and June 30, 2005, in Subdivs. (2) and (3), effective August 20, 2003; P.A. 05-141 added new Subsec. (a)(9) re services deemed eligible for reimbursement under the Medicaid program, redesignating existing Subdiv. (9) as Subdiv. (10), effective June 24, 2005; P.A. 05-245 amended Subsec. (e)(2) to include offices of a government of a federally recognized Native American tribe as a public agency making placements and to extend the proportional reduction of grants through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, effective July 1, 2005; P.A. 06-13 made technical changes in Subsec. (e)(1), effective May 2, 2006; P.A. 06-18 amended Subsec. (a)(1) by replacing “suitable” with “appropriate” and adding language re the Controlled Substances Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, amended Subsec. (d) by changing “suitability” to “appropriateness” and “suitable” to “appropriate”, and amended Subsec. (f) by changing “suitable” to “appropriate”, effective July 1, 2006; P.A. 06-188 amended Subsec. (a)(9) to insert provision notwithstanding the general statutes, provide that certain recommended items of durable medical equipment, eligible for reimbursement under the Medicaid program, may be subject to prior authorization requirements established by the Commissioner of Social Services, delete requirement that diagnostic and evaluation services be specified on the individualized education program for Medicaid reimbursement purposes and make a technical change, effective July 1, 2006; pursuant to P.A. 07-73 “Department of Mental Retardation” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Developmental Services”, effective October 1, 2007; P.A. 07-147 amended Subsec. (a)(8) by designating existing language as Subpara. (A) and adding Subpara. (B) to require local or regional boards of education at each initial planning and placement team meeting to inform the parent, guardian, surrogate parent or pupil of laws relating to physical restraint and seclusion; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-5 amended Subsec. (a)(3) by adding provision requiring Commissioner of Social Services to exclude enhanced federal medical assistance percentages in calculating federal portion of Medicaid claims processed beginning with fiscal year 2009, effective October 5, 2009; Sept. Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-6 amended Subsec. (e)(2) to extend proportional reduction of grants through the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, effective October 5, 2009; P.A. 11-48 amended Subsec. (e)(2) and (3) to extend proportional reduction of grants through fiscal year ending June 30, 2013, effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 11-51 amended Subsec. (e)(5) to add reference to Sec. 10-253(g), effective July 1, 2011; P.A. 12-116 amended Subsec. (e)(4) by deleting “State Board of Education shall pay to the”, adding “shall be responsible for” re Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and deleting provision re payment schedule, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 12-173 amended Subsec. (a)(8) by adding “responsible for providing special education and related services to a child or pupil” in Subpara. (A), adding new Subpara. (B) re meeting to discuss planning and placement team process and concerns, designating existing provision re notice and participation at planning and placement team meeting as Subpara. (C), designating existing provision re board of education to provide information as Subpara. (D) and amending same to designate existing provisions re laws and rights as clauses (i) and (ii) and add clause (iii) re relevant information and resources, designating existing provision re education program in effect at beginning of school year as Subpara. (E) and making conforming changes in same, redesignating existing Subpara. (B) as Subpara. (F) and adding Subpara. (G) re results of assessments and evaluations to be provided prior to referral planning and placement team meeting, effective July 1, 2012; P.A. 13-40 amended Subsec. (e)(3) by deleting provisions re permanent family residences; P.A. 13-247 amended Subsec. (e)(2) to extend proportional reduction of grants through fiscal year ending June 30, 2015, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 14-39 amended Subsec. (a)(8)(D)(ii) by adding provision re right of parent, guardian or surrogate parent to withhold enrolling child in kindergarten, effective May 28, 2014; P.A. 14-231 amended Subsec. (e) by deleting references to Department of Developmental Services and Sec. 17a-240 in provision re applicability of subdivision in Subdiv. (2) and deleting reference to Sec. 17a-240 in Subdiv. (3), effective July 1, 2014; P.A. 15-141 amended Subsec. (a) by making a technical change in Subdiv. (2) and replacing reference to Ch. 814e with reference to Sec. 10-236b in Subdiv. (8)(F), effective July 1, 2015; P.A. 15-209 amended Subsec. (a)(8)(D)(iii) by adding provision re information relating to transition resources and services for high school students, effective July 1, 2015; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 amended Subsec. (a)(8) by designating existing language in Subpara. (C) as clauses (i) to (iii) and amending same to add “all portions of such meeting at which an educational program for such child or pupil is developed, reviewed or revised”, “have the right” and “and to have the school paraprofessional assigned to such child or pupil, if any”, designating existing language re withhold from enrolling child in kindergarten in Subpara. (D) as subclause (I) and adding subclause (II) re advisors and school paraprofessional to be present at and participate in all portions of meeting, and making conforming changes, amended Subsec. (e)(2) to extend proportional reduction of grants through fiscal year ending June 30, 2017, effective July 1, 2015.