(a) General authority. —

(1)(A) The Board of Trustees of Gallaudet University is authorized, in accordance with the agreement under § 38-2401.05, to maintain and operate exemplary elementary and secondary education programs, projects, and activities for the primary purpose of developing, evaluating, and disseminating innovative curricula, instructional techniques and strategies, and materials that can be used in various educational environments serving individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing throughout the nation.

(B) The elementary and secondary education programs described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall serve students with a broad spectrum of needs, including students who are lower achieving academically, who come from non-English-speaking homes, who have secondary disabilities, who are members of minority groups, or who are from rural areas.

(C) The elementary and secondary education programs described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall include:

(i) The Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, to provide day facilities for elementary education for students who are deaf from the age of onset of deafness to age fifteen, inclusive, but not beyond the eighth grade or its equivalent, to provide such students with the vocational, transitional, independent living, and related services they need to function independently, and to prepare such students for high school and other secondary study; and

(ii) The Model Secondary School for the Deaf, to provide day and residential facilities for secondary education for students who are deaf from grades nine through twelve, inclusive, to provide such students with the vocational, transitional, independent living, and related services they need to function independently, and to prepare such students for college, other postsecondary opportunities, or the workplace.

(2) The Model Secondary School for the Deaf may provide residential facilities for students enrolled in the school:

(A) Who live beyond a reasonable commuting distance from the school; or

(B) For whom such residency is necessary for them to receive a free appropriate public education within the meaning of part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [20 U.S.C. § 1411 et seq.].

(b) Administrative requirements. —

(1) The elementary and secondary education programs shall:

(A) Provide technical assistance and outreach throughout the nation to meet the training and information needs of parents of infants, children, and youth who are deaf or hard of hearing;

(B) Provide technical assistance and training to personnel for use in teaching (i) students who are deaf or hard of hearing, in various educational environments, and (ii) students who are deaf or hard of hearing with a broad spectrum of needs as described in subsection (a); and

(C) Establish and publish priorities for research, development, and demonstration through a process that allows for public input.

(2) To the extent possible, the elementary and secondary education programs shall provide the services required under paragraph (1) in an equitable manner, based on the national distribution of students who are deaf or hard of hearing in educational environments as determined by the Secretary for purposes of § 618(b) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [20 U.S.C. § 1418(b)]. Such educational environments shall include:

(A) Regular classes;

(B) Resource rooms;

(C) Separate classes;

(D) Separate, public or private, nonresidential schools; and

(E) Separate, public or private, residential schools and homebound or hospital environments.

(3) If a local educational agency, intermediate educational unit, or state educational agency refers a child to, or places a child in, one of the elementary or secondary education programs to meet its obligation to make available a free appropriate public education under part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [20 U.S.C. § 1411 et seq.], the agency or unit shall be responsible for ensuring that the special education and related services provided to the child by the education program are in accordance with part B of that Act and that the child is provided the rights and procedural safeguards under § 615 of that Act [20 U.S.C. § 1415].

(4) If the parents or guardian places a child in one of the elementary or secondary education programs, the University shall:

(A) Notify the appropriate local educational agency, intermediate educational unit, or state educational agency of that child’s attendance in the program;

(B) Work with local educational agencies, intermediate educational units, and state educational agencies, where appropriate, to ensure a smooth transfer of the child to and from that program; and

(C) Provide the child a free appropriate public education in accordance with part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and procedural safeguards in accordance with the following provisions of § 615 of such Act:

(i) Subparagraphs (A), (C), (D), and (E) of paragraph (1) of subsection (b), and paragraph (2) of such subsection.

(ii) Subsection (d), except the portion of paragraph (4) requiring that findings and decisions be transmitted to a state advisory panel.

(iii) Paragraphs (1) through (3) of subsection (e). Paragraph (3) of such subsection is not applicable to a decision by the University to refuse to admit or to dismiss a child, except that, before dismissing any child, the University shall give at least 60 days notice to the child’s parents and to the local educational agency in which the child resides.

(iv) Subsection (f ).

(Aug. 4, 1986, Pub. L. 99-371, § 104; as added Oct. 1, 1992, 106 Stat. 2151, Pub. L. 102-421, § 112; Aug. 11, 1993, 107 Stat. 733, Pub. L. 103-73, § 203(d); Apr. 9, 1997, D.C. Law 11-255, § 35(a), 44 DCR 1271.)

1981 Ed., § 31-1841.3a.

“The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act” and “§ 615 of that Act”, referred to in (a)(2)(B), (b)(3) and (b)(4)(C) are codified at 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. and 20 U.S.C. § 1415, respectively.

“Section 618(b) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act”, referred to in (b)(2), is codified at 20 U.S.C. § 1418(b).