New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 6A - EDUCATION › Chapter 23A - FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY, EFFICIENCY AND BUDGETING PROCEDURES › Subchapter 2 - EXECUTIVE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS › Section 6A:23A-2.7 - Shared special education services

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) The Executive
				County Superintendent shall promote and facilitate the sharing of special
				education services consistent with Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
				P.L.
				105-17, (IDEA) requirements as follows:
1. Coordinate with the Department to maintain
				a real time Statewide and districtwide database that tracks the types and
				capacity of special education programs being implemented by each school
				district and the number of students enrolled in each program to identify
				program availability and needs;
2.
				Coordinate with the Department to maintain a Statewide and districtwide list of
				all special education students served in out-of-district programs and a list of
				all public and private entities approved to receive special education students
				that includes pertinent information such as audit results and tuition
				charges;
3. Serve as a referral
				source by maintaining information on placement options available in other
				school districts and their tuition rates for school districts that do not have
				appropriate in-district programs for individual special education students;
i. When school personnel serving on an IEP
				team are considering that a student's IEP be implemented in a special class
				program that is not available in-district, they shall inform the executive
				county superintendent of the student's age and the class type being
				considered.
ii. The executive
				county superintendent shall identify whether special class programs are
				available in other school districts and if there are vacancies. The executive
				county superintendent shall inform the district of any available in-district
				programs for the IEP team's consideration.
iii. Prior to making a determination
				regarding the student's placement, the school district shall convene a meeting
				of the IEP team to consider all placement options, including placements
				identified by the executive county superintendent, and shall identify the
				appropriate placement in the least restrictive environment according to
				N.J.A.C. 6A:14.
iv. After an IEP
				team determines a placement other than one of the placement options identified
				by the executive county superintendent, the school district shall provide a
				written explanation as to why the placement option selected was the appropriate
				one for the purpose of identifying program gaps and needs within school
				district programs;
4.
				Conduct regional planning, identify the program needs of the county, and work
				with school districts in the development of in-district special education
				program options;
5. Identify
				special class programs within the county's school districts serving students
				with like IEPs that may be appropriately consolidated within legally
				permissible class size limits within one school or school district;
6. Maintain a list of appropriately licensed
				and/or certified professionals or appropriate county entities, and their fees,
				available to provide related services such as speech, physical therapy, or
				occupational therapy, on an as-needed basis;
7. Maintain a list of appropriately licensed
				or certified professionals or appropriate county entities, and their fees, able
				to participate or provide appropriately licensed and/or certified professionals
				to participate on or supplement school district child study teams;
8. With consideration of school districts'
				size, classification rates, types of classifications, caseloads, geographic
				proximity, staffing, budget constraints, or other available information,
				investigate the feasibility of two or more school districts sharing of special
				education staff members, including a director, child study teams, and related
				services providers, and make a formal written recommendation, as
				appropriate;
9. Prepare and
				circulate within the county an inventory by school district of surplus or idle
				equipment used by students with special needs; and
10. Provide assistance to school districts in
				budgetary planning for resource realignment and reallocation to direct special
				education resources into the classroom through shared service arrangements and
				other methods.