(a) The superintendent shall establish and maintain an emergency fund for the purpose of providing relief to special education local plan areas when a licensed children’s institution, foster family home, residential medical facility, or other similar facility serving individuals with exceptional needs opens or expands in a special education local plan area during the course of the school year which impacts the special education local plan area, or when a pupil is placed in a facility for which no public or state-certified nonpublic program exists within the special education local plan area in which the pupil’s individualized education program can be implemented during the course of the school year and impacts the educational program.

(b) The special education local plan area in which the impaction occurs shall be responsible for submitting a written request to the superintendent for emergency funding. The written request shall contain, at a minimum, all of the following:

(1) Specific information on the new or expanded licensed children’s institution, foster family home, residential medical facility, or other similar facility described in subdivision (a), including information on the new unserved or underserved pupils residing in the facility, or specific information relating to the new unserved or underserved pupils residing in those facilities.

(2) The identification of the steps undertaken demonstrating that no public special education program exists within the special education local plan area capable of programmatically meeting the needs of the identified pupils.

(3) A plan from the special education local plan area describing the services to be provided.

(c) The superintendent shall approve, modify, or disapprove the written request for emergency funding within 30 days of the receipt of the written request and shall notify the special education local plan area administrator, in writing, of the final decision.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that appropriations necessary to fund these emergency situations shall be included in the Budget Act for each fiscal year.

(Added by Stats. 1997, Ch. 854, Sec. 65. Effective January 1, 1998.)