BILL NUMBER: S3366A

SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act providing that a student enrolled in an individualized education
program during certain school years may continue to receive educational
services until the student completes the services pursuant to the indi-
vidualized education program or the end of the school year during which
the student turns twenty-two years old, whichever is sooner; and provid-
ing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To ensure that those students with disabilities who "age out" during the
2023-24 school year receive instruction and other services required by
their individual education programs to compensate for the ongoing legal
dispute, including remote instruction and transition services.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 states that notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or
              

regulation to the contrary, a school district shall provide educational
services in the 2024-25 school year to a student who turned twenty-one
years old during the 2023-24 school year and was enrolled in the school
district and receiving special education services pursuant to an indi-
vidualized education program (EEP). Such student may continue to receive
such educational services until the student completes the services
pursuant to the individualized education program or the end of the
school year during which the student turns twenty-two years old, which-
ever is sooner.

Section 2 states the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Initially, this bill was drafted to extend protections for students with
disabilities 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:,11.WWW.PI 2.NYSED.GOVISEDCARLGOAL2DATALITM). The
appeal(s) may take a year or more, and the 2023-2024 school year is
nearly over, 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 for 1 year 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. Similar legislation A8021/S7192 was signed into law and
enacted June 29, 2021 to provide these services to students who turned
21 during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.  Amended spring of 2024
to combat a different threat to IEPs and Transition Planning.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed
repealed June 30, 2025.