BILL NUMBER: S4151
SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, the mental hygiene law and the social
services law, in relation to student age eligibility for certain
programs and benefits
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BELL:
To expand student age eligibility for certain educational, mental
health, and social service programs to ensure continued access to crit-
ical support and benefits.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subdivision 1 of section 112-a of the education law to
extend eligibility for students in certain facilities to receive a high
school diploma until the age of 22 if they have a disability, ensuring
continued access to education.
Section 2 amends subdivisions 13 and 14 of section 1102 of the education
law to allow vocational education and extension boards to transport
students with disabilities up to age 22 and to provide transportation
services accordingly.
Section 3: amends section 1106 of the education law to ensure transpor-
tation costs for students with disabilities up to age 22 are covered by
school districts or vocational education and extension boards.
Section 4: amends subdivision 2 of section 1125 of the education law to
redefine "child" to include students with disabilities up to age 22 for
purposes of educational provisions.
Section 5: amends section 2583 of the education law to require New York
City's board of education to include students with disabilities up to
age 22 in reporting on school enrollment and attendance.
Section 34: amends subdivisions (b) and (c) of section 13.37 of the
Mental Hygiene Law. Subdivision (b) requires the commissioner to review
reports and determine if a child is likely to need adult services. If
necessary, an evaluation will be conducted to assess medical, voca-
tional, social needs, and desires of the child and their family. A plan
for continued care must be developed and provided to the individual and
their family, if appropriate. Updates will be provided yearly. Subdivi-
sion (c) requires the commissioner to notify the child's parent or guar-
dian if no adult services are needed, with reasons for the determination
and the option to appeal.
Section 41: amends subdivisions 2 and 4 of section 169 to extend depend-
ency provisions to include children up to age twenty-two for students
with disabilities.
Section 48: this act takes effect immediately, with certain provisions
related to the education law set to revert according to specified sched-
ules.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill was drafted to extend protections for students with disabili-
ties receiving special education programs and transition services during
the Covid Pandemic. This policy laid dormant while a new threat to New
York's most vulnerable students and their families emerged in the form
of a frivolous lawsuit. As the NYS Dept of Education appeals, this bill
is realizing its purpose in protecting students with IEPs and ensuring
Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
Federal law (FAPE), stemming from the Civil Rights Act, requires that
students with disabilities receive educational services on par with all
other students. NYS offers a litany of public education programs to a
variety of students until and beyond their 22nd birthday, and the NYS
Education Department (NYSED) concurred with our federal circuit court in
holding that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
provides public education and services to such students until their 22nd
birthday. Although the black-letter law of NYS only guarantees special
education and services until a student's 21st birthday, most school
districts have followed the federal law and accommodated those students
until their 22nd birthday as a common practice. In defiance of NYSED and
federal law, a NY public school district filed a lawsuit to challenge
the obligation of providing an additional year of special education when
state statute reads "twenty-one." The school district's textual argument
is identical to the reasoning overturned by a federal court in A.R. v.
Connecticut Board of Education (2021); the same circuit as NYS, and the
same authority interpreting IDEA that NYSED concurred with. Astonishing-
ly, the trial court ruled in favor of the school district.
The vast majority of US states provide public special education and
services to students until 22 years of age, some by statute and others
by federal courts mirroring the ruling of the 2nd Circuit. NYS will
inevitably join those states, but taking the passive route will be cost-
ly. Around 150,000 students with disabilities receiving public special
education programs and services are 14 - 21 years of age, according to
Oct. 2022 data (https://wwvv.p12.nysed.govisedcar/goal2data.htm). The
appeal(s) may take a year or more, leaving thousands of students with
disabilities and their families without the services they're entitled to
and had planned to rely upon until recently. Moreover, Connecticut
schools were forced to provide compensatory education damages to an
entire class of students with disabilities they exiled.
This bill extending protection for special education and transition
services seeks to avoid harm to students on the verge of losing their
IEPs, while avoiding harm to school districts who will be liable to
students for compensatory education damages.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
TBD
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S4151: 112-a education law, 112-a(1) education law, 1106 education law, 1125 education law, 1125(2) education law, 2583 education law, 3028-a education law, 3202 education law, 3202(1) education law, 3202(8) education law, 3214 education law, 3214(2-a) education law, 3242 education law, 3602 education law, 3602(1) education law, 3602(11) education law, 4213 education law, 4355 education law, 4401 education law, 4401(1) education law, 4402 education law, 4402(1) education law, 4402(5) education law, 4402(8) education law, 4410-b education law, 4410-b(3) education law, 4410-b(8) education law, 4002 education law, 4002(1) education law, 4408 education law, 4408(1) education law, 7.37-a mental hygiene law, 7.38 mental hygiene law, 13.37-a mental hygiene law, 13.38 mental hygiene law, 29.15 mental hygiene law, 33.11 mental hygiene law, 118 social services law, 350-j social services law, 350-j(2) social services law, 386 social services law, 386(1) social services law, 398 social services law, 398(6) social services law, 409-a social services law, 409-a(1) social services law, 430 social services law, 430(5) social services law