New York Laws
Article 89 - Children With Handicapping Conditions
4403 - Duties of Education Department.

(a) consistent with appropriate collective bargaining agreements and
applicable provisions of the civil service law, the review and
evaluation of the backgrounds of and the information supplied by any
person applying to be an employee, a volunteer or consultant, which
shall include but not be limited to the following requirements: that the
applicant set forth his or her employment history, provide personal and
employment references, and relevant experiential and educational
qualifications and, sign a sworn statement indicating whether the
applicant, to the best of his or her knowledge has ever been convicted
of a crime in this state or any other jurisdiction;
(b) establishing, for employees, relevant minimal experiential and
educational qualifications, consistent with appropriate collective
bargaining agreements and applicable provisions of the civil service
law;
(c) assuring adequate and appropriate supervision of employees,
volunteers and consultants;
(d) demonstrating by a residential facility or program that
appropriate action is taken to assure the safety of the child who is
alleged to have been subjected to a reportable incident in a report to
the vulnerable persons' central register in accordance with section four
hundred ninety-two of the social services law as well as other children
in care, immediately upon notification that such a report of an
allegation of a reportable incident has been made with respect to a
child in such residential facility or program;
(e) removing a child when it is determined that there is risk to such
child if he or she continues to remain within a residential facility or
program; and
(f) appropriate preventive and remedial action to be taken including
legal actions, consistent with appropriate collective bargaining
agreements and applicable provisions of the civil service law.
Such standards shall also establish as a priority requirements that:
(A) subject to amounts appropriated therefor, administrators,
employees, volunteers and consultants receive training in at least the
following: child abuse prevention and identification, safety and
security procedures, the principles of child development, the
characteristics of children in care, and techniques of group and child
management including crisis intervention, the laws, regulations and
procedures governing the protection of children from reportable
incidents, and other appropriate topics, provided however, that the
department may exempt administrators and consultants from such
requirements upon demonstration of substantially equivalent knowledge or
experience; and
(B) subject to the amounts appropriated therefor, children receive
instruction, consistent with their age, needs and circumstances as well
as the needs and circumstances within the program, in techniques and
procedures which will enable such children to advocate for and protect
themselves from reportable incidents.
The department shall take all reasonable and necessary actions to
assure that employees, volunteers and consultants in residential
facilities and programs are kept apprised on a current basis of all
department policies and procedures relating to the protection of
children from reportable incidents and shall monitor and supervise the
provision of training to such administrators, employees, volunteers,
children and consultants. Regulations and standards developed pursuant
to this subdivision shall, to the extent possible, be consistent with
those promulgated by other state agencies for such purposes.
(g) consistent with applicable collective bargaining agreements,
assuring that an individual who has committed a category one offense, as
defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision four of section four hundred
ninety-three of the social services law, that is included on the
vulnerable persons' central register is not hired or otherwise used in
any position in which such individual would have regular and substantial
contact with a service recipient in any program described in paragraph
(e) of subdivision four of section four hundred eighty-eight of the
social services law.
12. To provide for the development and implementation of a plan of
prevention and remediation with respect to a substantiated report of
abuse or neglect. Such action shall include: (a) within ten days of

receipt of such a substantiated report, development and implementation
of a plan of prevention and remediation to be taken with respect to a
custodian or the residential facility in order to assure the continued
health and safety of children and to provide for the prevention of
future acts constituting reportable incidents; and (b) development and
implementation of a plan of prevention and remediation, in the event an
investigation of an allegation of abuse or neglect determines that a
preponderance of the evidence of such allegation exists and such
substantiated allegation may be attributed in whole or in part to
noncompliance by the residential facility or program with provisions of
this chapter or regulations of the department applicable to the
operation of such residential facility or program. Any plan of
prevention and remediation required to be developed pursuant to this
subdivision by a facility supervised by the department shall be
submitted to and approved by the department in accordance with time
limits established by regulations of the department. Implementation of
the plan shall be monitored by the department. In reviewing the
continued qualifications of a residential facility or program for an
operating certificate, the department shall evaluate such facility's
compliance with plans of prevention and remediation developed and
implemented pursuant to this subdivision.
13. To provide technical assistance to school districts for
appropriate evaluation and assessment.
14. To provide technical assistance to school districts to assist in
the adaptation of curriculum for the instruction of children with
handicapping conditions.
15. To provide technical assistance to school districts to assist in
developing criteria for placement in special education and criteria for
reviewing the ability of a pupil to participate in regular education.
16. Commencing with the nineteen hundred eighty-seven--eighty-eight
school year, to provide for instruction during the months of July and
August of students with handicapping conditions who have received state
appointments pursuant to article eighty-five, eighty-seven or
eighty-eight of this chapter and whose handicapping conditions, in the
judgment of the commissioner, are severe enough to exhibit the need for
a structured learning environment of twelve months duration to maintain
developmental levels, by making such appointments for twelve months;
provided that the initial term of appointment of a student with a
handicapping condition who is the minimum age eligible for such a state
appointment shall not commence during the months of July or August.
18. To establish guidelines for determining when a child is at risk of
a future placement in a residential school, and for the provision by
committees on special education of information to parents and other
persons in parental relationship concerning the availability of
community support services to meet the needs of the family. The
guidelines shall be developed by the department after consultation with
the office of mental health, the office for people with developmental
disabilities, the office of alcoholism and substance abuse services, the
department of health, the department of social services and the division
for youth.
* 19. To adopt regulations prescribing the state complaint procedures
pursuant to sections 300.151 through 300.153 of title thirty-four of the
code of federal regulations, where an individual or organization files a
written complaint alleging that a public agency has violated part B of
the individuals with disabilities education act. Such regulations shall
include, but not be limited to, remedies for denial of appropriate
services, including, as appropriate, the awarding of monetary

reimbursement, compensatory services or other corrective action
appropriate to the needs of the child.
* NB Effective until June 30, 2024
* 20. To adopt regulations prescribing the state complaint procedures
pursuant to sections 300.660 through 300.662 of title thirty-four of the
code of federal regulations, where an individual or organization files a
written complaint alleging that a public agency has violated part B of
the individuals with disabilities education act. Such regulations shall
include, but not be limited to, remedies for denial of appropriate
services, including, as appropriate, the awarding of monetary
reimbursement or other corrective action appropriate to the needs of the
child.
* NB Effective June 30, 2024
21. (a) To require special act school districts listed in chapter five
hundred sixty-six of the laws of nineteen hundred sixty-seven, as
amended, to provide, on an annual basis or more frequently, as needed,
enrollment reports, including current and projected enrollments,
proposed budgets and any financial information the commissioner deems
appropriate, which shall include, but not be limited to, outstanding
revenue anticipation notes as defined in paragraph (a) of subdivision
one of section fifty-five of the state finance law, balance owed to
employee benefit systems, outstanding bonds, lease costs, and any other
debts to monitor the fiscal stability of special act school districts.
(b) Upon receiving the information identified in paragraph (a) of this
subdivision, the department shall determine if any special act district
is in need of financial guidance and assistance upon a comprehensive
review of such information provided. Upon a determination that a special
act district is in need of financial guidance and assistance, the
department shall, as soon as practicable, provide the district with
specific recommendations to improve the special act district's financial
standing in the short and long-term.