NY Educ L § 4355 (2021)
2021 New York Laws EDN - Education Title 6 - Special Schools and Instruction Article 88 - New York State School for the Deaf 4355 - Admission.

§ 4355. Admission. All deaf or blind and deaf children between the age of  three  years  and  twenty-one  years  and  of  suitable capacity for instruction who are legal residents of the state shall be  eligible  for appointment to the New York state school for the deaf without charge for such  period  of  time  in  each  individual  case  as may be set by the commissioner, either: (i) upon the recommendation of  the  committee  on special  education  or  committee  on preschool special education of the child's school district of residence, as applicable; or (ii)  where  the parents  of  a  school  age  child  make  application  directly  to  the commissioner  or  the  school,  upon  recommendation  of  the   school's multidisciplinary team in accordance with the joint placement procedures established in this section.   2.  a. Upon receipt of an application for admission of a child who has not been recommended for placement by the committee on special education or committee on  preschool  special  education  of  the  child's  school district  of  residence, the school shall immediately notify such school district of such application. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, the school shall make  available  to  such  school  district  of residence,  upon  request,  all  records  in its possession relating the evaluation, placement and educational performance of each child who  has applied  for admission or is attending the school, including the results of any current evaluations of such child.   b. Prior to any meeting of its multidisciplinary team  to  develop  an individualized  education  program  for  a school age child, either upon initial admission to the school or in an annual review, the school shall notify the school district of residence of such meeting and shall  offer the   district   the   opportunity   to  identify  and  present  to  the multidisciplinary team,  an  alternative  placement  recommendation  for services  in the least restrictive environment. In addition, such notice shall advise the school district of  its  right  to  appoint  additional members  to  the  multidisciplinary team pursuant to paragraph c of this subdivision. The multidisciplinary team shall consider such  alternative and,  if it rejects the alternative, shall include in its recommendation a statement of its reasons for doing so.   c. In addition to the members required  for  a  committee  on  special education  pursuant to subdivision one of section forty-four hundred two of  this  chapter,  the  school's  multidisciplinary  team  may  include additional  members  appointed  by  the board of education of the school district of residence pursuant to this paragraph, and shall include such members if appointed  by  such  board  of  education.  For  each  member appointed by the school, the school district may appoint a corresponding member, including a representative of the committee on special education who  is  qualified  to  teach  or  supervise special education, a school psychologist, the child's teacher, a parent member,  a  physician  where the parent requests attendance of the physician member, and, for a child who has been evaluated for the first time, a person who is knowledgeable about  the  evaluation  procedures used with the child and familiar with the results of the evaluation.  The  commissioner  shall  determine  the location  at  which  the multidisciplinary team meeting will be held. In the event of a tie vote on the multidisciplinary team, the parents shall cast the deciding vote.   d. The majority of the multidisciplinary team shall state the  reasons for   its   recommendation,   and  submit  such  recommendation  to  the commissioner for consideration in determining  whether  to  appoint  the child.  If  the  representatives  appointed  by  the  school district of residence disagree with  the  recommendation  of  the  multidisciplinary team,  they  shall  be  entitled  to prepare a dissenting opinion on the placement recommendation and to submit such opinion to the  commissioner  for  consideration  in  determining  whether to appoint the child to the school.   e. The commissioner, or his or her designee, in determining whether to appoint  a  school  age  child to the school, shall consider whether the placement at the state school is an appropriate placement in  the  least restrictive  environment,  taking  into  account  the  school district's recommended alternative placement. If the commissioner  or  his  or  her designee  determines  that  placement  in the state school is not in the least  restrictive  environment  or  otherwise   disagrees   with   such recommendation,  the  commissioner  shall  state  his  or her reasons in writing and shall send the recommendation back to the  multidisciplinary team   for   reconsideration,   with  notice  to  the  parents.  If  the commissioner refers the recommendation  back  to  the  multidisciplinary team for reconsideration, the commissioner shall also notify the parents and  the  multidisciplinary  team  in  writing of the need to schedule a meeting to ensure timely placement.   * f. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation  to  the contrary, a member of the multidisciplinary team, other than the parents or persons in parental relation to the student is not required to attend a  meeting  of the team, in whole or in part, if the parent or person in parental relation to the student and the department agree,  in  writing, that  the attendance of the member is not necessary because the member's area of the curriculum or related services  is  not  being  modified  or discussed at the meeting.   * NB Repealed June 30, 2024   * g.  Notwithstanding  any provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, a member of the multidisciplinary team, other than the parents or persons in parental relation to the  student,  may  be  excused  from attending  a  meeting of the team, in whole or in part, when the meeting involves a modification to or discussion of the  member's  area  of  the curriculum  or  related  services  if  the  parent or person in parental relation to the student and the department consent, in writing,  to  the excusal  and  the  excused  member  submits  to  the parent or person in parental relation to the student and the multidisciplinary team, written input into the development of the individualized education program,  and in  particular written input with respect to their area of curriculum or related services prior to the meeting.   * NB Repealed June 30, 2024   * h. Requests for excusal of a member of the multidisciplinary team as provided for in paragraphs f and g of this subdivision, and the  written input  as  provided  for  in  paragraph  g of this subdivision, shall be provided not less than five calendar days prior to the meeting date,  in order  to  afford the parent or person in parental relation a reasonable time to review and consider the request. Provided however, that a parent or person in parental relation shall retain the right to request  and/or agree  with  the department to excuse a multidisciplinary team member at any time including where the member is  unable  to  attend  the  meeting because  of  an  emergency  or  unavoidable  scheduling conflict and the department submits the written input for review and consideration by the parent or person in parental relation within a reasonable time prior  to the  meeting  and  prior  to  obtaining written consent of the parent or person in parental relation to such excusal.   * NB Repealed June 30, 2024   * i. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, in making changes to a student's individualized  education program after the annual review has been conducted, the parent or person in  parental relation to the student and the department may agree not to convene a multidisciplinary team meeting for the purpose of making those  changes, and instead may develop a written document to amend  or  modify the   student's  current  individualized  education  program  under  the following circumstances:  (i)  The  parent or person in parental relation makes a request to the department for an amendment to the individualized education program  and the  department  and such parent or person in parental relation agree in writing; or  (ii) The department provides the parent or person in parental relation with a written proposal to  amend  a  provision  or  provisions  of  the individualized   education   program   that   is  conveyed  in  language understandable to the parent or person  in  parental  relation  in  such parent's  or  such  person's  native  language or other dominant mode of communication, informs and allows  the  parent  or  person  in  parental relation  the  opportunity  to consult with the appropriate personnel or related service providers concerning the proposed changes and the parent or person in parental relation agrees in writing to such amendments.  (iii) If the parent or person in parental relation agrees to amend the individualized education program without a meeting, the parent or person in parental relation shall be  provided  prior  written  notice  of  the changes  to  the  individualized  education  program resulting from such written document and the multidisciplinary team  shall  be  notified  of such  changes.  If  the  department  makes such changes by rewriting the entire individualized education program, it shall provide the parent  or person  in parental relation with a copy of the rewritten individualized education program. If the department amends the individualized education program without rewriting the  entire  document,  the  department  shall provide  the  parent  or  person in parental relation with a copy of the document that amends or modifies the  individualized  education  program or, upon request of the parent or person in parental relation, a revised copy  of  the  individualized  education  program  with  the  amendments incorporated.   Amendments to an individualized education  program  pursuant  to  this paragraph  shall  not  affect the requirement that the multidisciplinary team review the individualized education program at the annual  meeting, or more often if necessary.   * NB Repealed June 30, 2024   3.   The   commissioner  shall  adopt  regulations  to  prescribe  the procedures for  evaluation,  placement  and  admission  of  children  in accordance  with this section, which shall include but not be limited to procedures to  ensure  that  the  due  process  rights  of  parents  are protected  and  that  placement  recommendations  are  made  in a timely manner.