CHAPTER 15.1-32 SPECIAL EDUCATION 15.1-32-01. Definitions

As used in this chapter: 1

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"Related services" means transportation and developmental and corrective or supportive services required to assist a student with disabilities to benefit from special education

"Special education" means instruction designed to meet the needs of a student with disabilities, transportation, and corrective and supporting services required to assist a student with disabilities in taking advantage of, or responding to, educational programs and opportunities

"Student who is gifted" means an individual who is identified by qualified professionals as being capable of high performance and who needs educational programs and services beyond those normally provided in a regular education program

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"Student with a disability" means an individual who is at least three years of age but who has not reached the age of twenty-one before August first of the year in which the individual turns twenty-one and who requires special education and related services because of: (1) An intellectual disability; (2) A hearing impairment, including deafness; (3) Deaf-blindness; (4) A speech or language impairment; (5) A visual impairment, including blindness; (6) An emotional disturbance; (7) An orthopedic impairment; (8) Autism; (9) A traumatic brain injury; (10) Other health impairment; or (11) A specific learning disability

"Student with a disability" includes a student age eighteen through twenty-one who is incarcerated in an adult correctional facility and who, in the last educational placement prior to incarceration, was identified as being a student with a disability and did not have an individualized education program or was identified as being a student with a disability and had an individualized education program

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15.1-32-02. Coordination of special education policies and programs

The superintendent of public instruction shall establish, within the provisions of this chapter, general state policy regarding special education and shall endeavor to ensure a cooperative special education program coordinating all available services. The superintendent of public instruction shall cooperate with private agencies and solicit their advice and cooperation in the establishment of policy and in the coordination and development of special education programs

15.1-32-03. Interagency cooperative agreements - Development and implementation

The superintendent of public instruction shall develop and implement interagency agreements with the department of corrections and rehabilitation, the department of human services, the state department of health, and other public and private entities to maximize the state resources available for fulfilling the educationally related service requirements of Public Law No. 94-142 [89 Stat. 773] and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended

15.1-32-04. Institutions not supervised by public school authorities - Rules

The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules governing special education programs in institutions that are supported in whole or in part by the state, but which are not Page No. 1 supervised by public school authorities. The rules must be similar to those established for the delivery of special education in a public school

15.1-32-05. Special education - Cooperation among agencies

The superintendent of public instruction, the state department of health, and the department of human services shall cooperate in planning and coordinating early intervention programs for individuals under the age of three

15.1-32-06. Director of special education

The superintendent of public instruction shall employ a qualified director of special education and any necessary assistants

15.1-32-07. Director of special education - Assistance to school districts

The director of special education shall assist school districts with the development and administration of special education programs

15.1-32-08. School districts - Provision of special education

Each school district shall provide special education and related services as a single district, as a member of a multidistrict special education unit in accordance with chapter 15.1-33, or as a participating district in a regional education association under chapter 15.1-09.1. Each school district and entity providing special education shall cooperate with the director of special education and with the institutions of this state in the provision of special education

15.1-32-09. Superintendent of public instruction - Rules

The superintendent of public instruction shall adopt rules for the provision of special education to students with disabilities and for the administration of this chapter

15.1-32-10. Gifted students

A school district may provide special education to students who are gifted

15.1-32-11. School district records - Students with disabilities

Each school district shall make and keep current a record of all students with disabilities who are residents of the district

plans

15.1-32-12. Multidisciplinary teams - Individualized education programs - Services If a school district has evidence of a student's disability, the school district shall convene a multidisciplinary team. The team must include educational professionals and the student's parent and may include medical professionals. The team shall share assessment information related to the student's suspected disability. If necessary, the team shall develop an individualized education program or services plan and make recommendations for the delivery of special education and related services to the student

15.1-32-13. Related services - Insurance options - School district responsibility

Each school district shall obtain parental consent before accessing any family insurance options, whether public or private, to pay for the cost of determining a student's medically related disability and to pay for the provision of related services to the student, provided there is no financial loss to the student or the student's parent. The school district is responsible for all costs not covered by the family's insurance

15.1-32-14. Special education students - Contracts for placement

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If in the opinion of an individualized education program team or a services plan team a student is unable to attend a public school in the special education unit to which the student's school district of residence belongs, the student's school district of residence shall contract with another public school that: Page No. 2 2

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Is located in this state; Is willing to admit the student; and Is able to provide appropriate services to the student

a. Does not belong to the same special education unit; b

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The superintendent of public instruction shall approve in advance the terms of the contract and the services to be provided by the admitting school

The contract must provide that the student's school district of residence is liable for the cost of educating the student

4. Upon being notified by the district in which the student receives services that the student's school district of residence has not paid for services that were provided to the student, the superintendent of public instruction, after verification, shall withhold all state aid payments to which the student's school district of residence is entitled, until the required payments have been made

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15.1-32-15. Student with disabilities - Attendance at private institution or out-of-state If in the opinion of an individualized education program team or an education services team a student is unable to attend a public school in the student's school district of residence because of a disability, and if no public school in the state will accept the student and provide the necessary services, the student's school district of residence shall contract with: a

A private, accredited, nonsectarian, nonprofit institution that is located within or outside of this state and which has the proper facilities for the education of the student; or A public school located outside of this state that has proper facilities for the education of the student

The superintendent of public instruction shall approve in advance the terms of the contract and the services to be provided by the admitting institution or school

The contract must provide that the student's school district of residence is liable for the cost of educating the student

A student who receives services under this section is deemed to be enrolled in the student's school district of residence for purposes of determining average daily membership

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15.1-32-16. Transportation services

If a student's individualized education program or services plan requires the provision of transportation services, the student's school district of residence shall provide the services by any reasonably prudent means, including a regularly scheduled schoolbus, public transit, commercial transportation, chartered or other contracted transportation, and transportation provided by the student's parent or other responsible party

15.1-32-17. Extended educational program

A student with disabilities is entitled to an educational program that extends beyond the normal school calendar if the student's individualized education program team or services team determines that regression would be caused by an interruption in the student's educational program and that the student's limited recoupment capacity makes it impossible or unlikely that the student will attain the level of self-sufficiency and independence from caretakers which the student would otherwise be expected to reach

15.1-32-18. Cost - Liability of school district for special education

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Each year the superintendent of public instruction shall identify the approximately one percent of special education students statewide who are not eligible for cost reimbursement under section 15.1-29-14 and who require the greatest school district expenditures in order to provide them with special education and related services. This Page No. 3 2

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percentage represents the number of students that would qualify for excess cost reimbursement beyond the multiplier that is established in subsection 3

The excess costs of providing special education and related services to these students are the responsibility of the state and the superintendent of public instruction shall reimburse the school districts for any excess costs incurred in the provision of special education and related services to the identified students

"Excess costs" are those that exceed four times the state average cost of education per student and which are incurred by the special education students identified in subsection 1

All costs of providing special education and related services to those students identified in subsection 1, other than excess costs reimbursed by the state, are the responsibility of the student's school district of residence

In addition to any other reimbursements provided under this section, if a school district expends more than two percent of its annual budget for the provision of special education and related services to one student, the district shall notify the superintendent of public instruction. Upon verification, the superintendent shall reimburse the district for the difference between: a

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Two percent of the district's annual budget; and The lesser of: (1) The amount actually expended by the district for the provision of special education and related services to that student; or (2) The amount representing four times the state average cost of education per student

15.1-32-19. Boarding care costs - Reimbursement of school district

The superintendent of public instruction shall reimburse a student's school district of residence an amount equal to eighty percent of the room and board costs paid by the district for a student with disabilities who is placed in a facility that is located either within or outside of the student's school district of residence in order to receive special education services. The student's school district of residence is liable for any room and board costs in excess of those reimbursed as provided in this section. The placement of a student with disabilities in a public or private facility will be made by a school district. The placement of a student with disabilities in congregate care will be made in a facility designated by the department of human services

15.1-32-20. School district financing - Levy

Repealed by S.L. 2015, ch. 137, ยง 38

15.1-32-21. Federal aid for special education

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The superintendent of public instruction may apply for, receive, and administer federal aid available for the provision of special education services to students

The superintendent may expend any federal aid received in the administration of this chapter within the limits of legislative appropriations

School districts and multidistrict special education units are deemed to be local education agencies for purposes related to the funding of special education services within the limits of legislative appropriations

4. North Dakota vision services - school for the blind, the school for the deaf, the life skills and transition center, the youth correctional center, and the state hospital may apply for, receive, and administer federal aid and may expend federal aid within the limits of legislative appropriations

15.1-32-22. Right to educational services - Attorney's fees

In any judicial proceeding to enforce the rights of an individual with disabilities to receive educational services, the court may award reasonable attorney's fees and costs to a prevailing parent or to the individual with disabilities

Page No. 4 15.1-32-23. Special education teachers - Credentialing process

Repealed by S.L. 2017, ch. 129, ยง 8

15.1-32-24. Noncategorical delay

If an individual who is at least three years of age but less than ten years of age exhibits a developmental profile in which cognitive, fine motor, vision, hearing, communication, preacademic, socialization, or adaptive skill acquisitions are significantly below that of same-age peers, and if the individual needs special education and related services, the school district may determine that the individual is a student with a disability as a result of a noncategorical delay

15.1-32-25. Reading screening

Each public elementary school shall include in the developing and processing of assessments and screening of reading, the core components of phonetic awareness, decoding, and spelling. The screening also must be offered if requested by a parent, legal guardian, or teacher

15.1-32-26. Dyslexia screening - Pilot program - Report to legislative management - Professional development

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"Dyslexia" means a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin and characterized by difficulties with accurate or fluent recognition of words and poor spelling and decoding abilities, independent of the individual's general intelligence level

"Specialist trained in dyslexia" means an individual who: (1) Has expertise providing training in phonological and phonemic awareness, sound and symbol relationships, alphabet knowledge, rapid naming skills, and encoding and decoding skills; Is fluent in the dyslexia intervention process; and (2) (3) Has training in identifying dyslexia

Beginning with the 2019-20 school year and continuing through the 2022-23 school year, the superintendent of public instruction shall establish and operate a pilot program to provide early screening and intervention services for children with risk factors for dyslexia, including low phonemic awareness

To be eligible to participate in the program, a school district, regional education association, or special education unit must submit an application to the superintendent which: a

Identifies a method of screening children for low phonemic awareness and other risk factors for dyslexia; Provides for the enrollment of children identified as having risk factors for dyslexia in a reading program staffed by specialists trained in dyslexia and multisensory structured language programs; and Includes a methodology for evaluating the effects of the reading program on the identified risk factors of the child

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Each grantee selected to participate in the program shall: a

Provide low phonemic awareness and other dyslexia risk factor screenings for children under seven years of age through a reading program established under subsection 3; Provide reading intervention services to students identified as having dyslexia; Administer assessments, approved by the superintendent of public instruction, to determine the effectiveness of the program in improving the reading and learning skills of children enrolled in the program; and Provide professional development on dyslexia identification and interventions to grant participants

The board of each participating grantee shall report annually to the superintendent of public instruction regarding the operation, results, and effectiveness of the pilot b

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Page No. 5 program in a manner prescribed by the superintendent. Before July 1, 2021, the superintendent of public instruction shall compile the information and report to the legislative management with a recommendation whether to continue the pilot program beyond the 2022-23 school year

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