South Carolina General Assembly
110th Session, 1993-1994

Bill 939


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


                    Current Status

Introducing Body:               Senate
Bill Number:                    939
Primary Sponsor:                Bryan
Committee Number:               04
Type of Legislation:            GB
Subject:                        Extended school year program,
                                disabled children
Residing Body:                  Senate
Current Committee:              Education
Companion Bill Number:          4395
Computer Document Number:       NO5/7518BDW.94
Introduced Date:                19940111
Last History Body:              Senate
Last History Date:              19940111
Last History Type:              Introduced, read first time,
                                referred to Committee
Scope of Legislation:           Statewide
All Sponsors:                   Bryan
                                Washington
Type of Legislation:            General Bill



History


Bill  Body    Date          Action Description              CMN  Leg Involved
____  ______  ____________  ______________________________  ___  ____________

939   Senate  19940111      Introduced, read first time,    04
                            referred to Committee
939   Senate  19931220      Prefiled, referred to                04
                            Committee

View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTIONS 59-33-120 THROUGH 59-33-200 SO AS TO REQUIRE AN EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR PROGRAM FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES TO BE ESTABLISHED IN EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT, DEFINE TERMS, AND PROVIDE FOR PURPOSES, SCREENING, QUALIFICATION, DEVELOPMENT OF AN ADDENDUM TO THE INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATIONAL PLAN, REVIEW BY THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY EVALUATION TEAM, RESPONSIBILITIES FOR DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, REFUSAL TO PARTICIPATE, AND TRANSPORTATION.

Whereas, extended school year programs for children with disabilities were required to be established in certain school districts in South Carolina pursuant to a temporary proviso in the 1990-91 General Appropriations Act; and

Whereas, the State Department of Education, through Programs for the Handicapped, developed procedures for the placement of children with disabilities in the extended school year programs in the participating school districts of Beaufort, Cherokee, and Chesterfield; and

Whereas, over twelve hundred students with disabilities have been served by the Department of Education since completion of the two-year pilot project; and

Whereas, the General Assembly finds that it is necessary and proper that extended school year programs be offered in each school district in South Carolina to provide an appropriate education for children with disabilities; and

Whereas, the extended school year program is designed for the purpose of maintaining each student's mastered competencies in critical skill areas so a summer break period will not render the previous year's program of no meaningful educational benefit; and

Whereas, the General Assembly intends that funding for implementation of extended school year programs be based on resources it makes available to the school districts. Now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. The 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 59-33-120. (A) An extended school year program for children with disabilities must be established in each school district to meet the unique needs of special education students.

(B) As used in this section and Sections 59-33-130 through 59-33-200:

(1) Communication is the ability to receive, understand, organize, and express language.

(2) Critical skills areas include, but are not limited to, personal hygiene and grooming, living independently, vocational experience, functional academics, communication, motor development, and social behavior.

(3) Extended school year is an individualized instructional program or related service, or both, which is extended beyond the regular one hundred eighty day school year for students with disabilities who are enrolled in special education. The provision of extended school year services is based on the individual educational plan requirements of Public Law 94-142, subsequent amendments, and Section 504 of the 1973 Vocational Rehabilitation Act and is determined on a case by case basis.

(4) Mastery is the successful demonstration of an acquired skill at the designated level of proficiency specified in the evaluation criteria defined for that skill in the student's individual educational plan.

(5) Motor development is the ability of a child to control his bodily movements. This includes gross motor, fine motor, and mobility.

(6) Regression is the loss, as a result of a scheduled break in instruction, of one or more mastered skills specified in the short term objectives of the student's individual educational plan.

(7) Social behavior is both interpersonal and intrapersonal skills that enable students to interact effectively with others and to achieve personal satisfaction. This includes, but is not limited to, capacity to relate to others, impulse and attention control, self-concept, and anger management.

Section 59-33-130. (A) The purpose of extended school year services is to ensure that the child derives meaningful educational benefit or to forestall serious regression of previously learned skills, or both. The extended school year program is designed to maintain each student's mastered competencies in critical skills areas as determined by the pupil's individual educational plan committee so that a summer break period will not render the previous year's program of no meaningful educational benefit. Extended school year services necessarily do not mean twelve months services but only those extended services required to enable the child to derive a meaningful educational benefit from his program. Failure to maintain acquired skills as a result of an extended interruption of special education or related services to the extent that a period of nine weeks of instruction is required to regain previous competence will be considered evidence of the need for extended school year services.

(B) The extended school year is not:

(1) a mandated twelve-month school program for all children with disabilities;

(2) required to be provided just because children with disabilities could benefit from it;

(3) required in order that child care be available for children with disabilities during the summer;

(4) required in order to maximize the educational opportunities for children with disabilities;

(5) necessarily a continuation of the instructional program provided during the regular school year;

(6) required to be provided all day, every day, nor each day during the week or month;

(7) necessarily a traditional teacher/classroom/child model.

Section 59-33-140. (A) All children with disabilities must be screened for potential eligibility for extended school year services. The decision as to which children qualify for the services and the amount and kind of programming needed must be determined on an individual basis.

(B) Referrals for review and determination of eligibility for extended school year services must follow these procedures:

(1) review all individual educational plans by special education and related services staff and document screening results;

(2) consider referrals made by parents, school staff, advocates, or outside agencies;

(3) refer potentially eligible extended school year students to multidisciplinary evaluation team with documented reasons for referral.

Section 59-33-150. The student's individual educational plan committee must include all the required members. The parents must be invited to attend this meeting. The district shall ensure that a member of the multidisciplinary team is present to explain the results of the evaluation for potential extended school year services. During the individual educational plan meeting, the individual educational plan committee shall review the multidisciplinary team's recommendation and relevant information and determine appropriateness of extended school year program services.

Section 59-33-160. The individual educational plan committee shall develop an addendum to the individual educational plan which specifies extended school year services. The extended school year individual educational plan addendum must include the following:

(1) short-term objectives from the student's current individual educational plan which will be continued during the extension of the school year;

(2) type of special education services to be provided, location where these services will be delivered, amount of time to be spent in special education, and projected beginning and ending dates of the extended services;

(3) type of related services to be provided, if any, location where these services will be delivered, amount of time to be spent in related services, and projected beginning and ending dates of the extended services;

(4) transportation, if necessary.

Section 59-33-170. (A) Members of the multidisciplinary evaluation team must include, but are not limited to, the student's special education teacher, related services providers, the school psychologist, the local education authority representative, and others at the discretion of the district.

(B) The multidisciplinary evaluation team shall review appropriate data related to progress toward identified critical goals and objectives which may include, but are not limited to:

(1) current and previous individual educational plans;

(2) checklists and curricula showing when skills were mastered;

(3) attendance information;

(4) recommendations from professionals;

(5) behavioral logs;

(6) video and audio tape information;

(7) parent interview;

(8) other assessment data.

(C) The multidisciplinary evaluation team shall assess the student's progress to determine whether the extended break has caused or may cause the loss of progress toward critical skills and objectives.

(D) The multidisciplinary evaluation team shall forward written recommendations, with a copy of the current individual educational plan, to the designated district administrator.

Section 59-33-180. The Department of Education may develop necessary internal procedures and forms for the implementation of the extended school year program in each district. These procedures must include, but are not limited to, the specific responsibilities of teachers, principals, district personnel, and state department staff.

Section 59-33-190. A parent or guardian may refuse to allow his child to participate in the extended school year program without the need for a due process hearing.

Section 59-33-200. Transportation, if necessary, to and from extended school year services must be provided at no cost to participants."

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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