NY Educ L § 4308 (2021)
2021 New York Laws EDN - Education Title 6 - Special Schools and Instruction Article 87 - New York State School for the Blind 4308 - Admission.

§  4308.  Admission.  1.  All  blind  or  blind  and deaf or blind and cerebral palsied children of suitable age and capacity for  instruction, who  are legal residents of the state, shall be eligible for appointment to the New York State School for the Blind, without charge, and for such a 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 of the child's school district of residence;  or  (ii) where  the  child  is  placed  by a state agency in an intermediate care facility in such school pursuant to paragraph d of subdivision  five  of section  thirty-two  hundred two of this chapter, upon recommendation of the committee on special education of the school district in  which  the intermediate  care  facility is located; or (iii) where the parents 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 subdivision two of 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 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  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 the 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 the 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 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.