1997 Minnesota Code
Chapters 120 - 129B Education Code: Prekindergarten - Grade 12
Chapter 120 Definitions; Attendance; Special Education; Fees; Cqe
Section 120.1701 Interagency early childhood intervention system.

120.1701 Interagency early childhood intervention system.

Subdivision 1. Purpose. It is the policy of the state to develop and implement comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary interagency programs of early intervention services for children with disabilities and their families.

Subd. 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this section the following terms have the meaning given them.

(a) "Coordinate" means to provide ready access to a community's services and resources to meet child and family needs.

(b) "Core early intervention services" means services that are available at no cost to children and families. These services include:

(1) identification and referral;

(2) screening;

(3) evaluation;

(4) assessment;

(5) service coordination;

(6) special education and related services provided under section 120.17, subdivision 3a, and United States Code, title 20, section 1401; and

(7) protection of parent and child rights by means of procedural safeguards.

(c) "County board" means a county board established under chapter 375.

(d) "Early intervention record" means any personally identifiable information about a child or the child's family that is generated by the early intervention system, and that pertains to evaluation and assessment, development of an individualized family service plan, and the delivery of early intervention services.

(e) "Early intervention services" means services provided in conformity with an individualized family service plan that are designed to meet the special developmental needs of a child eligible under Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, part 303, and the needs of the child's family related to enhancing the child's development and that are selected in collaboration with the parent. These services include core early intervention services and additional early intervention services listed in subdivision 4 and services defined in Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, section 303, et seq.

(f) "Early intervention system" means the total effort in the state to meet the needs of eligible children and their families, including, but not limited to:

(1) any public agency in the state that receives funds under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, United States Code, title 20, sections 1471 to 1485 (Part H, Public Law Number 102-119);

(2) other state and local agencies administering programs involved in the provision of early intervention services, including, but not limited to:

(i) the Maternal and Child Health program under title V of the Social Security Act, United States Code, title 42, sections 701 to 709;

(ii) the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, United States Code, title 20, sections 1411 to 1420 (Part B);

(iii) medical assistance under the Social Security Act, United States Code, title 42, section 1396 et seq.;

(iv) the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act, United States Code, title 42, sections 6021 to 6030 (Part B); and

(v) the Head Start Act, United States Code, title 42, sections 9831 to 9852; and

(3) services provided by private groups or third-party payers in conformity with an individualized family service plan.

(g) "Eligibility for Part H" means eligibility for early childhood special education under section 120.03 and Minnesota Rules, part 3525.2335, subpart 1, items A and B.

(h) "Facilitate payment" means helping families access necessary public or private assistance that provides payment for services required to meet needs identified in a service plan, individual education plan (IEP), individual service plan (ISP), or individualized family service plan (IFSP), according to time frames required by the plan. This may also include activities to collect fees for services provided on a sliding fee basis, where permitted by state law.

(i) "Individualized family service plan" or "IFSP" means a written plan for providing services to a child and the child's family.

(j) "Interagency child find systems" means activities developed on an interagency basis with the involvement of interagency early intervention committees and other relevant community groups to actively seek out, identify, and refer infants and young children with, or at risk of, disabilities, and their families.

(k) "Local primary agency" means the agency designated jointly by the school and county board under subdivision 4.

(l) "Parent" means the biological parent with parental rights, adoptive parent, legal guardian, or surrogate parent.

(m) "Part H state plan" means the annual state plan application approved by the federal government under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, United States Code, title 20, section 1471 et seq. (Part H, Public Law Number 102-119).

(n) "Pay for" means using federal, state, local, and private dollars available for early intervention services.

(o) "Respite" means short-term, temporary care provided to a child with a disability due to the temporary absence or need for relief of the family member or members or primary caregiver, normally providing the care.

(p) "State lead agency" means the state agency receiving federal funds under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, United States Code, title 20, section 1471 et seq. (Part H, Public Law Number 102-119).

(q) "Surrogate parent" means a person appointed by the local education agency to assure that the rights of the child to early intervention services are protected.

Subd. 3. State interagency coordinating council. An interagency coordinating council of at least 17, but not more than 25 members is established, in compliance with Public Law Number 102-119, section 682. The members shall be appointed by the governor. Council members shall elect the council chair. The representative of the commissioner of children, families, and learning may not serve as the chair. The council shall be composed of at least five parents, including persons of color, of children with disabilities under age 12, including at least three parents of a child with a disability under age seven, five representatives of public or private providers of services for children with disabilities under age five, including a special education director, county social service director, and a community health services or public health nursing administrator, one member of the senate, one member of the house of representatives, one representative of teacher preparation programs in early childhood-special education or other preparation programs in early childhood intervention, at least one representative of advocacy organizations for children with disabilities under age five, one physician who cares for young children with special health care needs, one representative each from the commissioners of commerce, children, families, and learning, health, human services, and economic security, and a representative from Indian health services or a tribal council. Section 15.059, subdivisions 2 to 5, apply to the council. The council shall meet at least quarterly.

The council shall address methods of implementing the state policy of developing and implementing comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary interagency programs of early intervention services for children with disabilities and their families.

The duties of the council include recommending policies to ensure a comprehensive and coordinated system of all state and local agency services for children under age five with disabilities and their families. The policies must address how to incorporate each agency's services into a unified state and local system of multidisciplinary assessment practices, individual intervention plans, comprehensive systems to find children in need of services, methods to improve public awareness, and assistance in determining the role of interagency early intervention committees.

Each year by June 1, the council shall recommend to the governor and the commissioners of children, families, and learning, health, human services, commerce, and economic security policies for a comprehensive and coordinated system.

Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the state interagency coordinating council shall expire on June 30, 2001.

Subd. 4. Responsibilities of county boards and school boards. (a) It is the joint responsibility of county boards and school boards to coordinate, provide, and pay for appropriate services, and to facilitate payment for services from public and private sources. Appropriate services for children eligible under section 120.03 must be determined in consultation with parents, physicians, and other educational, medical, health, and human services providers. The services provided must be in conformity with an IFSP for each eligible infant and toddler from birth through age two and its family, or an individual education plan (IEP) or individual service plan (ISP) for each eligible child ages three through four.

(b) Appropriate services include family education and counseling, home visits, occupational and physical therapy, speech pathology, audiology, psychological services, special instruction, nursing, respite, nutrition, assistive technology, transportation and related costs, social work, vision services, case management including service coordination under subdivision 8, medical services for diagnostic and evaluation purposes, early identification, and screening, assessment, and health services necessary to enable children with disabilities to benefit from early intervention services.

(c) School and county boards shall coordinate early intervention services. In the absence of agreements established according to subdivision 13, service responsibilities for children birth through age two are as follows:

(1) school boards are required to provide, pay for, and facilitate payment for special education and related services required under section 120.17, subdivision 2;

(2) county boards are required to provide, pay for, and facilitate payment for noneducational services of social work, psychology, transportation and related costs, nursing, respite, and nutrition services not required under clause (1).

(d) School and county boards may develop an interagency agreement according to subdivision 13 to establish agency responsibility that assures that early intervention services are coordinated, provided, paid for, and that payment is facilitated from public and private sources.

(e) County and school boards shall jointly determine the primary agency in this cooperative effort and must notify the commissioner of the state lead agency of their decision.

Subd. 5. Interagency early intervention committees. (a) A school district, group of districts, or special education cooperative, in cooperation with the health and human service agencies located in the county or counties in which the district or cooperative is located, shall establish an interagency early intervention committee for children with disabilities under age five and their families. Committees shall include representatives of local and regional health, education, and county human service agencies; county boards; school boards; early childhood family education programs; parents of young children with disabilities under age 12; current service providers; and may also include representatives from other private or public agencies. The committee shall elect a chair from among its members and shall meet at least quarterly.

(b) The committee shall develop and implement interagency policies and procedures concerning the following ongoing duties:

(1) develop public awareness systems designed to inform potential recipient families of available programs and services;

(2) implement interagency child find systems designed to actively seek out, identify, and refer infants and young children with, or at risk of, disabilities and their families;

(3) establish and evaluate the identification, referral, child and family assessment systems, procedural safeguard process, and community learning systems to recommend, where necessary, alterations and improvements;

(4) assure the development of individualized family service plans for all eligible infants and toddlers with disabilities from birth through age two, and their families, and individual education plans and individual service plans when necessary to appropriately serve children with disabilities, age three and older, and their families and recommend assignment of financial responsibilities to the appropriate agencies. Agencies are encouraged to develop individual family service plans for children with disabilities, age three and older;

(5) implement a process for assuring that services involve cooperating agencies at all steps leading to individualized programs;

(6) facilitate the development of a transitional plan if a service provider is not recommended to continue to provide services;

(7) identify the current services and funding being provided within the community for children with disabilities under age five and their families;

(8) develop a plan for the allocation and expenditure of additional state and federal early intervention funds under United States Code, title 20, section 1471 et seq. (Part H, Public Law Number 102-119) and United States Code, title 20, section 631, et seq. (Chapter I, Public Law Number 89-313); and

(9) develop a policy that is consistent with section 13.05, subdivision 9, and federal law to enable a member of an interagency early intervention committee to allow another member access to data classified as not public.

(c) The local committee shall also:

(1) participate in needs assessments and program planning activities conducted by local social service, health and education agencies for young children with disabilities and their families;

(2) review and comment on the early intervention section of the total special education system for the district, the county social service plan, the section or sections of the community health services plan that address needs of and service activities targeted to children with special health care needs, and the section of the maternal and child health special project grants that address needs of and service activities targeted to children with chronic illness and disabilities; and

(3) prepare a yearly summary on the progress of the community in serving young children with disabilities, and their families, including the expenditure of funds, the identification of unmet service needs identified on the individual family services plan and other individualized plans, and local, state, and federal policies impeding the implementation of this section.

(d) The summary must be organized following a format prescribed by the commissioner of the state lead agency and must be submitted to each of the local agencies and to the state interagency coordinating council by October 1 of each year.

The departments of children, families, and learning, health, and human services must provide assistance to the local agencies in developing cooperative plans for providing services.

Subd. 6. Local primary agency. (a) The local primary agency shall:

(1) facilitate the development of annual fund requests that identify arrangements with other local and regional agencies providing services as part of the state's early childhood intervention system and that result in service availability on a year-round basis, as necessary;

(2) administer funds received through the annual fund request;

(3) provide oversight for data collection efforts;

(4) facilitate completion of interagency early intervention committee duties as indicated in subdivision 5;

(5) request mediation from the state lead agency, if necessary;

(6) request assistance from the state lead agency when disputes between agencies cannot be resolved within 20 calendar days; and

(7) receive written requests from parents for matters that may be resolved through due process hearings.

(b) When the local primary agency is not an education agency, resources distributed under the early intervention fund shall be transferred from a local educational agency to a noneducation agency using a state provided contract. A local primary agency may budget for indirect costs at an amount not to exceed five percent of the amount allocated from the early intervention fund.

Subd. 7. Individualized family service plan. (a) A team must participate in IFSP meetings to develop the individualized family service plan. The team shall include:

(1) a parent or parents of the child;

(2) other family members, as requested by the parent, if feasible to do so;

(3) an advocate or person outside of the family, if the parent requests that the person participate;

(4) the service coordinator who has been working with the family since the initial referral, or who has been designated by the public agency to be responsible for implementation of the IFSP; and

(5) a person or persons involved in conducting evaluations and assessments.

(b) The IFSP must include:

(1) information about the child's developmental status;

(2) family information, with the consent of the family;

(3) major outcomes expected to be achieved by the child and the family, that include the criteria, procedures, and timelines;

(4) specific early intervention services necessary to meet the unique needs of the child and the family to achieve the outcomes;

(5) payment arrangements, if any;

(6) medical and other services that the child needs, but that are not required under the Individual with Disabilities Education Act, United States Code, title 20, section 1471 et seq. (Part H, Public Law Number 102-119) including funding sources to be used in paying for those services and the steps that will be taken to secure those services through public or private sources;

(7) dates and duration of early intervention services;

(8) name of the service coordinator;

(9) steps to be taken to support a child's transition from early intervention services to other appropriate services; and

(10) signature of the parent and authorized signatures of the agencies responsible for providing, paying for, or facilitating payment, or any combination of these, for early intervention services.

Subd. 8. Service coordination. (a) The team developing the individualized family service plan under subdivision 7 shall select a service coordinator to carry out service coordination activities on an interagency basis. Service coordination must actively promote a family's capacity and competency to identify, obtain, coordinate, monitor, and evaluate resources and services to meet the family's needs. Service coordination activities include:

(1) coordinating the performance of evaluations and assessments;

(2) facilitating and participating in the development, review, and evaluation of individualized family service plans;

(3) assisting families in identifying available service providers;

(4) coordinating and monitoring the delivery of available services;

(5) informing families of the availability of advocacy services;

(6) coordinating with medical, health, and other service providers;

(7) facilitating the development of a transition plan at least six months prior to the time the child is no longer eligible for early intervention services, if appropriate;

(8) managing the early intervention record and submitting additional information to the local primary agency at the time of periodic review and annual evaluations; and

(9) notifying a local primary agency when disputes between agencies impact service delivery required by an individualized family service plan.

(b) A service coordinator must be knowledgeable about children and families receiving services under this section, requirements of state and federal law, and services available in the interagency early childhood intervention system.

Subd. 8a. Early intervention respite. The provision of respite services for an eligible child and family shall be determined in the context of the IFSP development based on the individual needs of the child and family and with consideration given to the following criteria:

(1) severity of the child's disability and needs;

(2) potential risk of out-of-home placement for the child if respite services are not provided;

(3) parental lack of access to informal support systems, including, but not limited to, extended family, supportive friends, and community supports;

(4) presence of factors known to increase family stress, including, but not limited to, family size and presence of another child or family member with a disability;

(5) the availability of other public services provided to the family which assist the parent or primary caretaker in obtaining relief from caretaking responsibilities; and

(6) the perceived and expressed level of need for respite services by the parent.

Counties are encouraged to make a variety of respite service models available, which may include in or out-of-home respite, family reimbursement programs, and parent-to-parent respite projects.

Subd. 9. Early intervention flow-through dollars. (a) The state lead agency shall administer the early intervention account which consists of federal allocations. The Part H state plan shall state the amount of federal resources in the early intervention account available for use by local agencies. The state lead agency shall distribute the funds to the local primary agency based on a December 1 count of the prior year of Part H eligible children for the following purposes:

(1) as provided in Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, part 303.425, to arrange for payment for early intervention services not elsewhere available, or to pay for services during the pendency of a conflict procedure, including mediation, complaints, due process hearings, and interagency disputes; and

(2) to support interagency child find system activities.

(b) The priority purpose for this fund is paragraph (a), clause (1). The local primary agency shall reallocate resources from the early intervention fund as necessary in order to meet this priority.

(c) Nothing in this subdivision shall limit the state lead agency's authority to allocate discretionary federal funds for any purpose consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, United States Code, title 20, sections 1471 to 1485 (Part H, Public Law Number 102-119) and regulations adopted under United States Code, title 20, sections 1471 to 1485.

(d) Each county board must continue to spend for early intervention services under subdivision 2, paragraph (e), an amount equal to the total county expenditure during the period from January 1, 1993, to December 31, 1993, for these same services. The commissioner of human services, in consultation with the commissioner of health and the association of Minnesota counties, shall establish a process for determining base year 1993 expenditures.

(e) County boards that have submitted base year 1993 expenditures as required under paragraph (d) are not required to pay any increased cost over the base year 1993 for early intervention services resulting from implementing the early intervention system. Increased costs to county boards may be paid for with early intervention flow-through dollars.

(f) School boards are not required to pay for services defined in subdivision 4, paragraph (c), clause (2).

Subd. 10. Payment for services. Core early intervention services shall be provided at public expense with no cost to parents. Parents shall be requested to assist in the cost of additional early intervention services by using third-party payment sources and applying for available resources. Payment structures permitted under state law shall be used to pay for additional early intervention services. Parental financial responsibility shall be clearly defined in the individualized family service plan. A parent's inability to pay shall not prohibit a child from receiving needed early intervention services.

Subd. 11. Payor of last resort. (a) For fiscal years 1995 and 1996, the state lead agency shall establish a reserve account from federal sources to pay for services in dispute or to pay for early intervention services when local agencies have exhausted all other public and private funds available for Part H eligible children.

(b) The lead agency shall report to the legislature by January 1, 1996, regarding county board expenditures for early intervention services and the continuing need and funding of the reserve account.

Subd. 12. Maintenance of effort. A county human services agency or county board shall continue to provide services set forth in their county social service agency plan. The county human services agency or county board shall serve children with disabilities under age five, and their families, or as specified in the individualized family service plan for children with disabilities, birth through age two, or the individual service plan of each child. Special instruction and related services for which a child with a disability is eligible under this section are the responsibility of the local school board. It is the joint responsibility of county boards and school boards to coordinate, provide, and pay for all appropriate services required in subdivision 11b and to facilitate payment for services from public and private sources.

Subd. 13. Local interagency agreements. School boards and the county board may enter into agreements to cooperatively serve and provide funding for children with disabilities, under age five, and their families within a specified geographic area.

The local interagency agreement must address, at a minimum, the following issues:

(1) responsibilities of local agencies on local interagency early intervention committees (IEIC's), consistent with subdivision 12;

(2) assignment of financial responsibility for early intervention services;

(3) methods to resolve intraagency and interagency disputes;

(4) identification of current resources and recommendations about the allocation of additional state and federal early intervention funds under the auspices of United States Code, title 20, section 1471 et seq. (Part H, Public Law Number 102-119) and United States Code, title 20, section 631, et seq. (Chapter I, Public Law Number 89-313);

(5) data collection; and

(6) other components of the local early intervention system consistent with Public Law Number 102-119.

Subd. 14. Third-party payment. Nothing in this section relieves an insurer or similar third party from an otherwise valid obligation to pay, or changes the validity of an obligation to pay, for services rendered to a child with a disability, and the child's family.

Subd. 15. Benefits coordination. The department of health shall provide technical assistance in a timely manner to service coordinators, parents of children with disabilities, and agencies in situations requiring the coordination of health insurance benefits, or the identification of third-party payor responsibilities to provide necessary health benefits.

Subd. 16. Procedural safeguards; parent and child rights. (a) This subdivision applies to local school and county boards for children from birth through age two who are eligible for Part H, Public Law Number 102-119, and their families. This subdivision must be consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, United States Code, title 20, sections 1471 to 1485 (Part H, Public Law Number 102-119), regulations adopted under United States Code, title 20, sections 1471 to 1485, and this section.

(b) A parent has the right to:

(1) inspect and review early intervention records;

(2) prior written notice of a proposed action in the parents' native language unless it is clearly not feasible to do so;

(3) give consent to any proposed action;

(4) selectively accept or decline any early intervention service; and

(5) resolve issues regarding the identification, evaluation, or placement of the child, or the provision of appropriate early intervention services to the child and the child's family through an impartial due process hearing pursuant to subdivision 20.

(c) The eligible child has the right to have a surrogate parent appointed by a school district as required by section 120.17, subdivision 3.

Subd. 17. Mediation procedure. The commissioner of the state lead agency shall use federal funds to provide mediation for the activities in paragraphs (a) and (b).

(a) A parent may resolve a dispute regarding issues in subdivision 16, paragraph (b), clause (5), through mediation. If the parent chooses mediation, all public agencies involved in the dispute shall participate in the mediation process. The parent and the public agencies must complete the mediation process within 20 calendar days of the date the commissioner receives a parent's written request for mediation. The mediation process may not be used to delay a parent's right to a due process hearing. The resolution of the mediation is not binding on any party.

(b) The local primary agency may request mediation on behalf of involved agencies when there are disputes between agencies regarding responsibilities to coordinate, provide, pay for, or facilitate payment for early intervention services.

Subd. 18. Complaint procedure. (a) An individual or organization may file a written signed complaint with the commissioner of the state lead agency alleging that one or more requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, part 303, is not being met. The complaint must include:

(1) a statement that the state has violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, United States Code, title 20, section 1471 et seq. (Part H, Public Law Number 102-119) or Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, section 303; and

(2) the facts on which the complaint is based.

(b) The commissioner of the state lead agency shall receive and coordinate with other state agencies the review and resolution of a complaint within 60 calendar days according to the state interagency agreement required under subdivision 22.

Subd. 19. Interagency dispute procedure. (a) A dispute between a school board and a county board that is responsible for implementing the provisions of subdivision 4 regarding early identification, child and family assessment, service coordination, and IFSP development and implementation shall be resolved according to this subdivision when the dispute involves services provided to children and families eligible under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, United States Code, title 20, section 1471 et seq. (Part H, Public Law Number 102-119).

(b) A dispute occurs when the school board and county board are unable to agree as to who is responsible to coordinate, provide, pay for, or facilitate payment for services from public and private sources.

(c) Written and signed disputes shall be filed with the local primary agency.

(d) The local primary agency shall have attempted to resolve the matter with the involved school board and county board and may request mediation from the commissioner of the state lead agency for this purpose.

(e) When interagency disputes have not been resolved within 30 calendar days, the local primary agency shall request the commissioner of the state lead agency to review the matter with the commissioners of health and human services and make a decision. The commissioner shall provide a consistent process for reviewing those procedures. The commissioners' decision is binding subject to the right of an aggrieved party to appeal to the state court of appeals.

(f) The local primary agency shall ensure that eligible children and their families receive early intervention services during resolution of a dispute. While a local dispute is pending, the local primary agency shall either assign financial responsibility to an agency or pay for the service from the early intervention account under subdivision 9. If in resolving the dispute, it is determined that the assignment of financial responsibility was inappropriate, the responsibility for payment must be reassigned to the appropriate agency and the responsible agency shall make arrangements for reimbursing any expenditures incurred by the agency originally assigned financial responsibility.

Subd. 20. Due process hearings. The procedures for due process hearings and appeals shall be the same as those in section 120.17, subdivision 3b. The responsibility for payment of costs and conducting due process hearings and appeals shall be allocated to the appropriate agency in accordance with subdivisions 5, 13, and 16.

Subd. 21. Data collection. By July 1, 1994, the departments of children, families, and learning, health, and human services shall develop a plan to collect data about which early intervention services are being provided to children and families eligible under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, United States Code, title 20, section 1471 et seq. (Part H, Public Law Number 102-119) and sources of payment for those services.

Subd. 22. State interagency agreement. (a) The commissioners of the departments of children, families, and learning, health, and human services shall enter into an agreement to implement this section and Part H, Public Law Number 102-119, and as required by Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, section 303.523, to promote the development and implementation of interagency, coordinated, multidisciplinary state and local early childhood intervention service systems for serving eligible young children with disabilities, birth through age two, and their families. The agreement must be reviewed annually.

(b) The state interagency agreement shall outline at a minimum the conditions, procedures, purposes, and responsibilities of the participating state and local agencies for the following:

(1) membership, roles, and responsibilities of a state interagency committee for the oversight of priorities and budget allocations under Part H, Public Law Number 102-119, and other state allocations for this program;

(2) child find;

(3) establishment of local interagency agreements;

(4) review by a state interagency committee of the allocation of additional state and federal early intervention funds by local agencies;

(5) fiscal responsibilities of the state and local agencies;

(6) intraagency and interagency dispute resolution;

(7) payor of last resort;

(8) maintenance of effort;

(9) procedural safeguards, including mediation;

(10) complaint resolution;

(11) quality assurance;

(12) data collection;

(13) an annual summary to the state interagency coordinating council regarding conflict resolution activities including disputes, due process hearings, and complaints; and

(14) other components of the state and local early intervention system consistent with Public Law Number 102-119.

Written materials must be developed for parents, IEIC's, and local service providers that describe procedures developed under this section as required by Code of Federal Regulations, title 34, section 303.

HIST: 1994 c 647 art 3 s 9,34; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 16 s 13; 1996 c 412 art 3 s 4,5; 1Sp1997 c 4 art 2 s 1

* NOTE: Subdivision 3 was also amended by Laws 1997, chapter *192, section 19, and the last paragraph of that subdivision had *the state interagency coordinating council expiring on June 30, *1999.