AN ACT CONCERNING FOSTER PLACEMENT AND EDUCATION.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2008) (a) Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, whenever the Department of Children and Families places a child in foster care, if it is in the best interest of such child, such child may continue to attend the school such child attended prior to placement, or change in placement, through the highest grade level of such school. Subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, such child shall be considered a resident of the school district in which such school is located during such attendance for purposes of chapters 168 to 170, inclusive, 172 and 173 of the general statutes.

(b) There shall be a presumption that it is in the best interest of the child to attend the school that the child attended prior to placement, or change in placement, by the Department of Children and Families. If there is any dispute as to whether continuation in such school is in the child's best interest, the court shall make the final determination.

(c) The Department of Children and Families shall be responsible for transportation, and the cost of such transportation, for such child from the district in which the child is placed to the school the child attended prior to placement.

Sec. 2. Subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 10-76d of the 2008 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2008):

(2) (A) For purposes of this subdivision, "public agency" includes the offices of a government of a federally recognized Native American tribe. [Notwithstanding any other provisions of the general statutes, for] For the fiscal year ending June 30, 1987, and each fiscal year thereafter, whenever a public agency, other than a local or regional board of education, the State Board of Education or the Superior Court acting pursuant to section 10-76h, places a child in a foster home, group home, hospital, state institution, receiving home, custodial institution or any other residential or day treatment facility, and such child requires special education, the local or regional board of education under whose jurisdiction the child would otherwise be attending school or, if no such board can be identified, the local or regional board of education of the town where the child is placed, shall provide the requisite special education and related services to such child in accordance with the provisions of this section. Within one business day of such a placement by the Department of Children and Families or offices of a government of a federally recognized Native American tribe, said department or offices shall orally notify the local or regional board of education responsible for providing special education and related services to such child of such placement. The department or offices shall provide written notification to such board of such placement within two business days of the placement. Such local or regional board of education shall convene a planning and placement team meeting for such child within thirty days of the placement and shall invite a representative of the Department of Children and Families or offices of a government of a federally recognized Native American tribe to participate in such meeting. [(A) The] (i) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, the local or regional board of education under whose jurisdiction such child would otherwise be attending school shall be financially responsible for the reasonable costs of such special education and related services in an amount equal to the lesser of one hundred per cent of the costs of such education or the average per pupil educational costs of such board of education for the prior fiscal year, determined in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of section 10-76f. The State Board of Education shall pay on a current basis, except as provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection, any costs in excess of such local or regional board's basic contributions paid by such board of education in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision. [(B) Whenever] (ii) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (B) of this subdivision, whenever a child is placed pursuant to this [subdivision] subparagraph, on or after July 1, 1995, by the Department of Children and Families and the local or regional board of education under whose jurisdiction such child would otherwise be attending school cannot be identified, the local or regional board of education under whose jurisdiction the child attended school or in whose district the child resided at the time of removal from the home by said department shall be responsible for the reasonable costs of special education and related services provided to such child, for one calendar year or until the child is committed to the state pursuant to section 46b-129 of the 2008 supplement to the general statutes or 46b-140 of the 2008 supplement to the general statutes or is returned to the child's parent or guardian, whichever is earlier. If the child remains in such placement beyond one calendar year the Department of Children and Families shall be responsible for such costs. During the period the local or regional board of education is responsible for the reasonable cost of special education and related services pursuant to this subparagraph, the board shall be responsible for such costs in an amount equal to the lesser of one hundred per cent of the costs of such education and related services or the average per pupil educational costs of such board of education for the prior fiscal year, determined in accordance with the provisions of subsection (a) of section 10-76f. The State Board of Education shall pay on a current basis, except as provided in subdivision (3) of this subsection, any costs in excess of such local or regional board's basic contributions paid by such board of education in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision. The costs for services other than educational shall be paid by the state agency which placed the child. The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to the school districts established within the Department of Children and Families, pursuant to section 17a-37, the Department of Correction, pursuant to section 18-99a, or the Department of Developmental Services, pursuant to section 17a-240 of the 2008 supplement to the general statutes, provided in any case in which special education is being provided at a private residential institution, including the residential components of regional educational service centers, to a child for whom no local or regional board of education can be found responsible under subsection (b) of this section, Unified School District #2 shall provide the special education and related services and be financially responsible for the reasonable costs of such special education instruction for such children. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subdivision, for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2004, to June 30, 2007, inclusive, the amount of the grants payable to local or regional boards of education in accordance with this subdivision shall be reduced proportionately if the total of such grants in such year exceeds the amount appropriated for the purposes of this subdivision for such year.

(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of the general statutes, on and after July 1, 2008, if the Department of Children and Families places a child in foster care who requires special education and related services and such child continues to attend the school such child attended prior to placement in accordance with the provisions of section 1 of this act, the local or regional board of education for the school district in which such child attends such school shall provide or continue to provide, as appropriate, the requisite special education and related services to such child.

Sec. 3. Subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 10-253 of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2008):

(2) Children in temporary shelters shall be entitled to free school privileges from either the school district in which the shelter is located or the school district in which the child would otherwise reside, if not for the need for temporary shelter. Upon notification from the school district in which the temporary shelter is located, the school district in which the child would otherwise reside, if identified, shall either pay tuition to the school district in which the temporary shelter is located for the child to attend school in that district or shall continue to provide educational services, including transportation, to such child. If the school district where the child would otherwise reside cannot be identified, the school district in which the temporary shelter is located shall be financially responsible for the educational costs for such child, except that in the case of a child who requires special education and related services and is placed by the Department of Children and Families in a temporary shelter on or after July 1, 1995, the school district in which the child resided immediately prior to such placement or the Department of Children and Families shall be responsible for the cost of such special education and related services, to the extent such board or department is responsible for such costs under subparagraph [(B)] (A)(ii) of subdivision (2) of subsection (e) of section 10-76d of the 2008 supplement to the general statutes, as amended by this act. If the school district where the child would otherwise reside declines to provide free school privileges, the school district where the temporary shelter is located shall provide free school privileges and may recover tuition from the school district where the child would otherwise reside. In the case of children requiring special education who have been placed in out-of-district programs by either a board of education or state agency, the school district in which the child would otherwise reside shall continue to be responsible for the child's education until such time as a new residence is established, notwithstanding the fact that the child or child's family resides in a temporary shelter.

Statement of Purpose:

To improve educational outcomes for youth committed to the Department of Children and Families by permitting them to attend their schools of origin while in foster care.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]