1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to education; providing for the payment of 
  1.3             all special education aid directly to the serving 
  1.4             district; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 
  1.5             124D.11, subdivision 5; 125A.11, subdivisions 1, 3; 
  1.6             125A.15. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 124D.11, 
  1.9   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 5.  [SPECIAL EDUCATION AID.] Except as provided in 
  1.11  subdivision 2, special education aid must be paid to a charter 
  1.12  school according to section sections 125A.76 and 125A.79, as 
  1.13  though it were a school district.  The charter school may charge 
  1.14  tuition to the district of residence as provided in section 
  1.15  125A.11.  
  1.16     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective for revenue for 
  1.17  fiscal year 2005. 
  1.18     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 125A.11, 
  1.19  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.20     Subdivision 1.  [NONRESIDENT TUITION RATE; OTHER COSTS.] 
  1.21  When a school district provides instruction and services outside 
  1.22  the district of residence, board and lodging, and any tuition to 
  1.23  be paid, shall be paid by the district of residence service.  
  1.24  The tuition rate to be charged for any child with a disability 
  1.25  must be the actual cost of providing special instruction and 
  1.26  services to the child including a proportionate amount for 
  2.1   capital outlay and debt service but not including any amount for 
  2.2   transportation, minus the amount of special aid for children 
  2.3   with a disability received on behalf of that child.  If the 
  2.4   boards involved do not agree upon the tuition rate, either board 
  2.5   may apply to the commissioner to fix the rate.  The commissioner 
  2.6   must then set a date for a hearing, giving each board at least 
  2.7   ten days' notice, and after the hearing the commissioner must 
  2.8   make an order fixing the tuition rate, which is binding on both 
  2.9   school districts. 
  2.10     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective for revenue for 
  2.11  fiscal year 2005. 
  2.12     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 125A.11, 
  2.13  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.14     Subd. 3.  [AGREEMENT BETWEEN DISTRICTS TO PROVIDE SPECIAL 
  2.15  INSTRUCTION AND SERVICES.] For the purposes of this section, any 
  2.16  school district may enter into an agreement, upon mutually 
  2.17  agreed upon terms and conditions, to provide special instruction 
  2.18  and services for children with a disability.  In that event, one 
  2.19  of the participating units may employ and contract with 
  2.20  necessary qualified personnel to offer services in the several 
  2.21  districts.  Each participating unit must reimburse the employing 
  2.22  unit a proportionate amount of the actual cost of providing the 
  2.23  special instruction and services, less the amount of state 
  2.24  special education aid.  If no agreement is reached, the cost of 
  2.25  providing special instructions and services must be borne by the 
  2.26  serving district. 
  2.27     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective for revenue for 
  2.28  fiscal year 2005. 
  2.29     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 125A.15, is 
  2.30  amended to read: 
  2.31     125A.15 [PLACEMENT IN ANOTHER DISTRICT; RESPONSIBILITY.] 
  2.32     The responsibility for special instruction and services for 
  2.33  a child with a disability temporarily placed in another district 
  2.34  for care and treatment shall be determined in the following 
  2.35  manner: 
  2.36     (a) The district of residence of a child shall be the 
  3.1   district in which the child's parent resides, if living, or the 
  3.2   child's guardian, or the district designated by the commissioner 
  3.3   if neither parent nor guardian is living within the state child 
  3.4   receives services. 
  3.5      (b) When a child is temporarily placed for care and 
  3.6   treatment in a day program located in another district and the 
  3.7   child continues to live within the district of residence during 
  3.8   the care and treatment, the district of residence is responsible 
  3.9   for providing transportation to and from the care and treatment 
  3.10  facility and an appropriate educational program for the child.  
  3.11  Transportation shall only be provided by the district during 
  3.12  regular operating hours of the district.  The district may 
  3.13  provide the educational program at a school within the district 
  3.14  of residence, at the child's residence, or in the district in 
  3.15  which the day treatment center is located by paying tuition to 
  3.16  that district. 
  3.17     (c) When a child is temporarily placed in a residential 
  3.18  program for care and treatment, the nonresident district in 
  3.19  which the child is placed is responsible for providing an 
  3.20  appropriate educational program for the child and necessary 
  3.21  transportation while the child is attending the educational 
  3.22  program; and must bill the district of the child's residence for 
  3.23  the actual cost of providing the program, as outlined in section 
  3.24  125A.11, except as provided in paragraph (d).  However, the 
  3.25  board, lodging, and treatment costs incurred in behalf of a 
  3.26  child with a disability placed outside of the school district of 
  3.27  residence by the commissioner of human services or the 
  3.28  commissioner of corrections or their agents, for reasons other 
  3.29  than providing for the child's special educational needs must 
  3.30  not become the responsibility of either the district providing 
  3.31  the instruction or the district of the child's residence.  For 
  3.32  the purposes of this section, the state correctional facilities 
  3.33  operated on a fee-for-service basis are considered to be 
  3.34  residential programs for care and treatment. 
  3.35     (d) A privately owned and operated residential facility may 
  3.36  enter into a contract to obtain appropriate educational programs 
  4.1   for special education children and services with a joint powers 
  4.2   entity.  The entity with which the private facility contracts 
  4.3   for special education services shall be the district responsible 
  4.4   for providing students placed in that facility an appropriate 
  4.5   educational program in place of the district in which the 
  4.6   facility is located.  If a privately owned and operated 
  4.7   residential facility does not enter into a contract under this 
  4.8   paragraph, then paragraph (c) applies. 
  4.9      (e) The district of residence shall pay tuition and other 
  4.10  program costs, not including transportation costs, to the 
  4.11  district providing the instruction and services.  The district 
  4.12  of residence may claim general education aid for the child as 
  4.13  provided by law.  Transportation costs must be paid by the 
  4.14  district responsible for providing the transportation and the 
  4.15  state must pay transportation aid to that district. 
  4.16     <b>[EFFECTIVE DATE.]</b> This section is effective for revenue for 
  4.17  fiscal year 2005.