Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 37 - EDUCATION (§§ 37-NEW-001 — 37-NEW01-004) › Chapter 23 - EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN (§§ 37-23-1 — 37-23-205) › STATE-SUPPORTED COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR SPECIAL CHILDREN (§§ 37-23-31 — 37-23-35) › Section 37-23-31 - Establishment of education program for children with significant developmental disabilities, complex communication needs, significant language or learning deficits or any combination thereof; rights of parents or guardians regarding placement or education programs

(1)
(a)
When five (5) or more children under twenty-one (21) years of age who, because of significant developmental disabilities, complex communication needs, significant language or learning deficits or any combination of either, are unable to have their educational needs met appropriately in a regular or special education public school program within their local public school districts, a state-supported university or college shall be authorized and empowered, in its discretion, to provide a program of education, instruction and training to such children, provided that such program shall operate under rules, regulations, policies and standards adopted by the State Department of Education, as provided for in Section
37-23-33
. The opinion of a parent or guardian in regard to the provision of an appropriate special education program in or by their respective local public school district shall be considered before a placement decision is finalized. Parents of students enrolled in a local education agency (LEA) shall have any and all rights as provided in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, including, but not limited to, the right to equal participation in their child's Individualized Education Program (IEP), the right to require review of their child's IEP, and the right to appeal an IEP Committee decision immediately. The parent or guardian or local educational agency shall have the right to audio record the proceedings of individualized education program team meetings. The parent or guardian or local educational agency shall notify the members of the individualized education program team of his, her, or its intent to audio record a meeting at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the meeting.
(b)
Instructors, including speech-language pathologists, educational audiologists and special and early childhood educators are qualified and empowered to serve as the lead teacher for children enrolled within the state-supported university's or college's university-based program (UBP) through the IDEA-Part C and IDEA-Part B eligibility and placement process upon completing instructional licensure requirements for the purposes of funding MAEP special education teacher units.
(c)
Due to the significance of the needs of the children served through the UBP, general education setting requirements may not be applicable as the least restrictive environment. Students enrolled in a UBP by a LEA shall meet all state educational requirements, including participation in statewide assessments. Justification for placement decisions is determined in conjunction with the LEA through each child's IEP for ages three (3) to twenty-one (21). The UBP shall submit to the local education agency and the parents of the student in the program a progress report each semester on all IEP goals and objectives. The UBP and local education agency shall confer annually to develop the IEP for each student enrolled in the UBP.
(2)
Any state-supported university or college conducting a full-time medical teaching program acceptable to the State Board of Education may, at its discretion, enter into such contracts or agreements with any private school or nonprofit corporation-supported institution, the Mississippi School for the Deaf, or any state-supported institution, providing the special education contemplated by this section for such services, provided the private school or institution offering such services shall have conducted a program of such services at standards acceptable to the State Department of Education for a period of at least one (1) year prior to the date at which the university or college proposes to enter into an agreement or contract for special educational services as described above.
Codes, 1942, § 6631-21; Laws, 1966, ch. 430, § 1; Laws, 1978, ch. 461, § 5; Laws, 1995, ch. 574, § 1, eff. 7/1/1995; Laws, 2012, ch. 548, § 2, eff. 7/1/2012.
Amended by Laws, 2022, ch. 404, HB 881,§ 1, eff. 7/1/2022.