SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 927
90TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR STOLL.
Read 1st time January 27, 2000, and 1,000 copies ordered printed.
TERRY L. SPIELER, Secretary.
4221S.01I
AN ACT
To amend chapter 162, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to special education services.
Section A. Chapter 162, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 162.952, to read as follows:
162.952. 1. The division of special education within the department of elementary and secondary education, in consultation with a state-level advisory panel, shall administer a grant program, subject to appropriations, designed to expand the availability of training and information to support the needs of parents of children with disabilities. The core content of the training and information shall include:
(1) School and parent responsibilities, including an understanding of the statement of procedural safeguards;
(2) State regulations for special education with emphasis on the individualized education plan (IEP) process, as that term is defined in section 162.1130;
(3) The methods of interacting and communicating effectively with educators and other service providers.
2. The following products shall be collaboratively designed by equitable representation from the Missouri grantee for the parent training and information center as defined and funded by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Missouri council for administrators in special education:
(1) The core content for the training program;
(2) The content of the application;
(3) The selection process for the grant awards to local districts;
(4) A measurable outcome-based evaluation;
(5) The parent advisory council guidebook.
Staff from the division of special education will act as consultants and have final review of the products generated.
3. The following activities shall be collaboratively implemented by the division of special education and the parent training and information center.
(1) The state-level training for district teams;
(2) The review and awarding of the application;
(3) The yearly outcome evaluation of the parent training program at both the state and local level.
4. The parent training and information center and the Missouri council for administrators in special education shall receive funds from the appropriation to support their collaboration with the division in the design of products and implementation of activities as described in subsections 2 and 3 of this section.
5. The division shall provide grants through a competitive application process to local school districts. To be eligible for a grant, the local school district shall agree to form a parent advisory council to support the development and implementation of the parent training effort in the district, use the core content for such training with additions as may be necessary to reflect local needs, utilize parent and educator teams from the local district to provide the training, and have teams participate in the core training offered by the division and the parent training and information center.
6. Each district applying for grant funds must have in place a parent advisory council. At least sixty percent of the members of the parent advisory council must be parents of children with disabilities who are not employed by the district or providing services to the district through a contractual arrangement. The remaining forty percent of the council membership shall be district administrators and teachers or community representatives. The chair of the council must be a parent of a child with a disability. Upon the establishment of a parent advisory council by a school district, the school board shall appoint both the parent members and the other members of the parent advisory council. The appointed parent members shall serve until the next possible county or municipal general election, at which time the parent members of the parent advisory council shall be elected. Such election shall be conducted pursuant to chapter 115, RSMo. At the first election, one-half, or an amount as close as possible to one-half, of the parent members of the parent advisory council shall be elected to two-year terms, and the other half shall be elected to four-year terms. At every subsequent election, the parent members shall be elected to four-year terms. Vacancies in parent member positions on the parent advisory council shall be filled by appointment of the school board for the remainder of the term. The other members of the parent advisory council shall serve four-year appointed terms, with one-half, or an amount as close as possible to one-half, of the initial terms to be for two years and with all subsequent terms to be for four years. Functions of the parent advisory council include, but are not limited to:
(1) Conducting a survey to identify training needs of the community on disability issues;
(2) Identifying training to be offered through the grant;
(3) Identifying outcomes and evaluation measures for the training;
(4) Identification of the parent and educator who will attend the state-level core training and then conduct that core training in the district;
(5) Assisting in the development of the application; and
(6) Providing oversight to all aspects of the grant.
7. Local school district applications shall include, but are not limited to:
(1) The procedures by which the parent and educator will be selected to form the training team to provide the core training described in this section;
(2) The composition of parent advisory council formed to assist in the implementation of the training and support involved in the local school district application;
(3) The anticipated amount of funds that will be used to support the costs associated with training the parent and educator team in the core content;
(4) The anticipated amount of funds that will be used to support training supplies and costs including child-care costs associated with the parent training;
(5) A letter of support signed by the parent advisory council; and
(6) A description of how the district and the parent advisory council will notify all parents of children with disabilities of the training and formation of the parent advisory council.
8. Any dispute related to the collaborative activities identified in subsections 2 and 3 of this section shall be resolved by a mutually agreed upon mediator.
9. Local applications may be submitted by single districts or multiple districts. Multiple district applications must demonstrate parent representation from each participating district or document how such representation was sought. Parents of children with disabilities who receive educational services in out-of-district placements must be informed of all parent advisory council activities.
10. Funds not allocated to local districts under the special education parental training fund will be awarded to the parent training and information center for training parents in districts where parent advisory councils are not established.
11. Each year, the division shall designate a portion of the state appropriation to the lead agency of the state's early intervention system administered pursuant to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The early intervention system shall use these funds for training and information dissemination to families of infants and toddlers who are receiving services from the early intervention system. The appropriation to the early intervention system shall be based on the proportionate number of children served in the early intervention system compared to the number of children with disabilities served by school districts.
12. There is hereby created in the state treasury the "Special Education Parental Training Fund" which shall be administered by the division of special education within the department of elementary and secondary education. Moneys in the fund shall, upon appropriation, be used to establish and maintain the special education parental training program pursuant to subsection 1 of this section.
13. The provisions of section 33.080, RSMo, to the contrary notwithstanding, all moneys in the fund created in subsection 12 of this section shall not be transferred and placed to the credit of the general revenue fund at the end of each biennium.
14. The department shall promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of this section. No rule or portion of a rule promulgated pursuant to the authority of this section shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to the provisions of chapter 536, RSMo.