Current Status Introducing Body:House Bill Number:3328 Primary Sponsor:Beasley Committee Number:30 Type of Legislation:GB Subject:Preschool age handicapped children, programs Residing Body:House Current Committee:Ways and Means Companion Bill Number:632 Computer Document Number:CYY/18067.SD Introduced Date:Jan 24, 1991 Last History Body:House Last History Date:Jan 24, 1991 Last History Type:Introduced, read first time, referred to Committee Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:Beasley Waites Fair Wright Cromer Type of Legislation:General Bill
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN
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3328 House Jan 24, 1991 Introduced, read first time, 30
referred to Committee
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TO AMEND CHAPTER 137 OF TITLE 59, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS FOR PRESCHOOL-AGE HANDICAPPED CHILDREN, SO AS TO FURTHER PROVIDE FOR THESE PROGRAMS; TO AMEND SECTION 59-63-20, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO PUPILS AND AGE OF ATTENDANCE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THREE-YEAR OLD, FOUR-YEAR-OLD, AND FIVE-YEAR-OLD HANDICAPPED CHILDREN ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY PRESCHOOL HANDICAPPED PROGRAM RATHER THAN JUST IN EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS, AND TO AMEND SECTION 59-20-40, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA EDUCATION FINANCE ACT AND THE DETERMINATION OF ANNUAL ALLOCATIONS AND WEIGHTINGS, SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR CERTAIN ADDITIONAL WEIGHTINGS IN REGARD TO PRESCHOOL HANDICAPPED PUPILS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. The General Assembly recognizes that it has long been the public policy of this State to provide free appropriate public education for school-age handicapped children.
Further, the General Assembly recognizes that there is an urgent and substantial need to enhance the development of young handicapped children and to minimize their potential for developmental delay; to reduce the educational costs to society, including this State's schools, by minimizing the need for special education and related services after preschoolers reach school age; to minimize the likelihood of institutionalization of handicapped individuals and maximize the potential for independent living; and to enhance the capacity of families to meet the special needs of their young children.
The General Assembly finds it necessary and proper to provide a comprehensive statewide coordinated system of special education and related services to all handicapped children ages three, four, and five. The purpose of this act is to provide for the mandatory establishment of special education and related services for preschool handicapped children at age three, to accord them the rights and protections held by school-age handicapped children under state and federal law.
SECTION 2. Chapter 137 of Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
Section 59-137-10. As used in this chapter:
(1) `Preschool handicapped program' means the specialized education and related services provided in accordance with Public Law 94-142, as amended.
(2) `Preschool handicapped children' means all those children ages three, four, and five whose developmental progress substantially deviates from the norm to the extent that a program of special education is required to ensure their adequate preparation for school-age experiences, including those children who meet the State Board of Education's eligibility criteria for participation. Eligibility criteria shall provide for children with significant deficits in cognitive ability, language ability, motor ability, perceptual ability, social or emotional maturity, visual ability, hearing ability, orthopedic functioning, speech or language ability, and other health impairments.
Section 59-137-20. The State Board of Education and the State Department of Education are responsible for assuring that the requirements of Public Law 94-142, as amended, are carried out and that all public educational programs for handicapped children within the State, including all these programs administered by any other state or local agency, are under the general supervision of the persons responsible for educational programs for handicapped children in the State Department of Education and meet the standards of the State Board of Education. This section must not be construed to limit the responsibilities of agencies other than the Department of Education from providing or paying for some or all of the cost of public education to be provided the state's handicapped children.
Section 59-137-30. The State Board of Education shall establish a program of specialized education for all preschool handicapped children in this State, as defined in this chapter, utilizing the personnel and facilities of, and administered by, the State Department of Education under the direction of the State Superintendent of Education and shall prescribe standards and approve the procedures under which the facilities are furnished and the services provided. The Department of Education shall employ a full-time consultant in preschool handicapped education. The board shall establish evaluation and placement procedures for handicapped students who participate in the programs established under this chapter and shall determine certification requirements for teachers in these programs.
Section 59-137-40. The board of trustees of each school district shall establish preschool handicapped programs for all preschool handicapped children residing in the district. Districts may contract with other districts or agencies, public or private, which maintain approved special education programs in order to facilitate the implementation of this responsibility. Each district shall provide transportation for all children enrolled in preschool handicapped programs who request transportation, and regulations of the State Board of Education governing the operation of school buses shall apply.
Preschool handicapped children meeting the criteria for inclusion are eligible for enrollment in special education programs upon their third birthday.
Section 59-137-50. No provision of this chapter may be construed to limit the responsibility of state agencies currently providing services to preschool handicapped children or their families.
Section 59-137-60. (A) Annually by January first each state agency named in subsection (B) shall present to the Interagency Coordinating Council for Early Childhood Development and Education an approvable plan which:
(1) describes the agency's specific services to preschool handicapped children and their families;
(2) supplements the special education and related services provided under this chapter;
(3) defines the maintenance or increase of fiscal effort to this segment of the State's population;
(4) sets forth the policies and procedures for communicating and cooperating with local school districts in the planning and provision of programs for preschool handicapped children.
(B) The state agencies with responsibility under subsection (A) are the Department of Mental Retardation, the School for the Deaf and the Blind, the Commission for the Blind, the Department of Health and Environmental Control, the Department of Mental Health, the State Department of Social Services, and the State Department of Education.
(C) The Interagency Coordinating Council for Early Childhood Development and Education shall submit annually by February first a report to the Joint Legislative Committee on Children, the Senate Education Committee, and the House Education and Public Works Committee summarizing services provided for preschool handicapped children."
SECTION 3. Section 59-63-20(6) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(6) Four-year-olds may attend optional child development programs and all three-year-old, four-year-old, and five-year-old handicapped children may participate in early intervention programs, in accordance with their individual education program, are eligible to participate in any public education preschool handicapped program."
SECTION 4. The first paragraph of Section 59-20-40(1)(c) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Weightings, used to provide for relative cost differences, between programs for different students are established in order that funds may be equitably distributed on the basis of pupil needs. The criteria for qualifications for each special classification must be established by the State Board of Education according to definitions established in this article and in accordance with Sections 59-21-510, 59-35-10, 59-53-1860, and 59-53-1900. Cost factors enumerated in this section must be used to fund programs approved by the State Board of Education. Pupil data received by the Department of Education is subject to audit by the department. Cost factors or weightings are as follows:
Pupil Classification Weightings
(1) Kindergarten pupils 1.30
(2) Primary pupils (grades 1
through 3) 1.24
(3) Elementary pupils (grades 4
through 8) --base students 1.00
(4) High school pupils (grades 9
through 12) 1.25
Special Programs for Exceptional
Students Weightings (5) Handicapped 1.74
a. Educable mentally handicapped
pupils
b. Learning disabilities pupils
(6) Handicapped2.04
a. Trainable mentally handicapped
pupils
b. Emotionally handicapped pupils
c. Orthopedically handicapped pupils
(7) Handicapped2.57
a. Visually handicapped pupils
b. Hearing handicapped pupils
(8) Preschool handicapped pupils
(a) Self-contained 0.99
(b) Itinerant 1.17
(c) Homebased 1.42
(d) Speech 0.27
For those children who are classified as Itinerant or Speech and are also served in a kindergarten setting, the preschool handicapped pupils weighting is an add on to the kindergarten weighting.
(8)(9) Speech handicapped pupils 1.90
(9)(10) Homebound pupils 2.10
Vocational Technical Programs Weightings (10)(11) Pre-vocational 1.20 (11)(12) Vocational 1.29
Add-on Weights for Compensatory and
Remediation Weightings (12)(13) Grades 1-6 Compensatory 0.39 (13)(14) Grades 2-6 Remediation 0.10 (14)(15) Grades 7-12 Remediation 0.12 Adult Education
(15)(16) Adult education 0.15."
SECTION 5. The provisions of this act must be implemented beginning with the 1991-92 school year.
SECTION 6. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.