N.Y. Education Law § 112: Children in care; responsibility for education

§ 112. Children in care; responsibility for education. 1. The

department shall establish and enforce standards of instruction,

personnel qualifications and other requirements for education services

or programs, as determined by rules of the regents and regulations of

the commissioner, with respect to the individual requirements of

children who are in full-time residential care in facilities or homes

operated or supervised by any state department or agency or political

subdivision. The department shall cooperate with the office of children

and family services, the department of mental hygiene and local

departments of social services with respect to educational and

vocational training programs for children placed with, committed to or

under the supervision of such agencies. The department shall promulgate

regulations requiring the cooperation of local school districts in

facilitating the prompt enrollment of children who are released or

conditionally released from residential facilities operated by or under

contract with the office of children and family services, the department

of mental hygiene and local departments of social services and in

implementing plans for release or conditional release submitted to the

family court pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision seven of section

353.3 of the family court act and the educational components of

permanency hearing reports submitted pursuant to section one thousand

eighty-nine of the family court act. Such regulations regarding the

educational components of permanency hearing reports submitted pursuant

to section one thousand eighty-nine of the family court act shall be

developed in conjunction with the office of children and family

services. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply to

responsibility for the provision or payment of care, maintenance or

other services subject to the provisions of the executive law, mental

hygiene law, social services law or any other law.

2. The commissioner shall prepare a report and submit it to the

governor, the speaker of the assembly and the temporary president of the

senate by December thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-six and on

December thirty-first of each successive year. Such report shall

contain, for each facility operated by or under contract with the office

of children and family services that provides educational programs, an

assessment of each facility's compliance with the rules of the board of

regents, the regulations of the commissioner, and this chapter. Such

report shall include, but not be limited to: the number of youth

receiving services under article eighty-nine of this chapter; the

office's activities undertaken as required by subdivisions one, two,

four and eight of section forty-four hundred three of this chapter; the

number of youth receiving bilingual education services; the number of

youth eligible to receive limited English proficient services;

interviews with facility residents conducted during site visits; library

services; the ratio of teachers to students; the curriculum; the length

of stay of each youth and the number of hours of instruction provided;

instructional technology utilized; the educational services provided

following the release and conditional release of the youth, including,

but not limited to, the implementation of requirements for the

enrollment of such youth in school contained in plans for release and

conditional release submitted to the family court pursuant to paragraph

(c) of subdivision seven of section 353.3 of the family court act and in

the educational components of permanency hearing reports submitted

pursuant to section one thousand eighty-nine of the family court act and

the compliance by local school districts with the regulations

promulgated pursuant to subdivision one of this section; and any

recommendations to ensure compliance with the rules of regents,

regulations of the commissioner, and this chapter.

3. The department shall conduct site visits every four years, with at

least one day's notice, of each facility operated by the office of

children and family services that provides educational programs to

ensure compliance with rules of the board of regents, regulations of the

commissioner, and this chapter. Such site visits shall include personal

interviews with facility residents.

* 4. The commissioner shall establish procedures for administrative

appeals to resolve interagency disputes between school districts and

state departments or agencies or political subdivisions over

responsibility for provision of, or payment for, special education

programs or services to children with disabilities in full-time

residential care in facilities or homes operated or supervised by such

state departments or agencies or political subdivisions. During the

pendency of any such appeal, the state department or agency responsible

for developing the student's individualized education program, or the

school district responsible for developing the student's individualized

education program where there is no state department or agency so

responsible, shall provide and pay for the special education programs

and services on the student's individualized education program and may

seek reimbursement in the appeal. The commissioner shall be authorized

to make all orders that in the commissioner's judgment are proper or

necessary to give effect to the decision in the appeal. Upon a

determination that a public agency has failed to provide or pay for such

special education programs and services, the commissioner shall certify

the amount of such costs to the state comptroller and the state

comptroller to deduct such amount from any state funds that become due

to such public agency.

* NB Repealed June 30, 2027