§ 112. Children in care; responsibility for education. 1. The
department shall establish and enforce standards of instruction,
personnel qualifications and other requirements for education services
or programs, as determined by rules of the regents and regulations of
the commissioner, with respect to the individual requirements of
children who are in full-time residential care in facilities or homes
operated or supervised by any state department or agency or political
subdivision. The department shall cooperate with the office of children
and family services, the department of mental hygiene and local
departments of social services with respect to educational and
vocational training programs for children placed with, committed to or
under the supervision of such agencies. The department shall promulgate
regulations requiring the cooperation of local school districts in
facilitating the prompt enrollment of children who are released or
conditionally released from residential facilities operated by or under
contract with the office of children and family services, the department
of mental hygiene and local departments of social services and in
implementing plans for release or conditional release submitted to the
family court pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision seven of section
353.3 of the family court act and the educational components of
permanency hearing reports submitted pursuant to section one thousand
eighty-nine of the family court act. Such regulations regarding the
educational components of permanency hearing reports submitted pursuant
to section one thousand eighty-nine of the family court act shall be
developed in conjunction with the office of children and family
services. Nothing herein contained shall be deemed to apply to
responsibility for the provision or payment of care, maintenance or
other services subject to the provisions of the executive law, mental
hygiene law, social services law or any other law.

2. The commissioner shall prepare a report and submit it to the
governor, the speaker of the assembly and the temporary president of the
senate by December thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-six and on
December thirty-first of each successive year. Such report shall
contain, for each facility operated by or under contract with the office
of children and family services that provides educational programs, an
assessment of each facility's compliance with the rules of the board of
regents, the regulations of the commissioner, and this chapter. Such
report shall include, but not be limited to: the number of youth
receiving services under article eighty-nine of this chapter; the
office's activities undertaken as required by subdivisions one, two,
four and eight of section forty-four hundred three of this chapter; the
number of youth receiving bilingual education services; the number of
youth eligible to receive limited English proficient services;
interviews with facility residents conducted during site visits; library
services; the ratio of teachers to students; the curriculum; the length
of stay of each youth and the number of hours of instruction provided;
instructional technology utilized; the educational services provided
following the release and conditional release of the youth, including,
but not limited to, the implementation of requirements for the
enrollment of such youth in school contained in plans for release and
conditional release submitted to the family court pursuant to paragraph
(c) of subdivision seven of section 353.3 of the family court act and in
the educational components of permanency hearing reports submitted
pursuant to section one thousand eighty-nine of the family court act and
the compliance by local school districts with the regulations
promulgated pursuant to subdivision one of this section; and any
recommendations to ensure compliance with the rules of regents,
regulations of the commissioner, and this chapter.

3. The department shall conduct site visits every four years, with at
least one day's notice, of each facility operated by the office of
children and family services that provides educational programs to
ensure compliance with rules of the board of regents, regulations of the
commissioner, and this chapter. Such site visits shall include personal
interviews with facility residents.

* 4. The commissioner shall establish procedures for administrative
appeals to resolve interagency disputes between school districts and
state departments or agencies or political subdivisions over
responsibility for provision of, or payment for, special education
programs or services to children with disabilities in full-time
residential care in facilities or homes operated or supervised by such
state departments or agencies or political subdivisions. During the
pendency of any such appeal, the state department or agency responsible
for developing the student's individualized education program, or the
school district responsible for developing the student's individualized
education program where there is no state department or agency so
responsible, shall provide and pay for the special education programs
and services on the student's individualized education program and may
seek reimbursement in the appeal. The commissioner shall be authorized
to make all orders that in the commissioner's judgment are proper or
necessary to give effect to the decision in the appeal. Upon a
determination that a public agency has failed to provide or pay for such
special education programs and services, the commissioner shall certify
the amount of such costs to the state comptroller and the state
comptroller to deduct such amount from any state funds that become due
to such public agency.

* NB Repealed June 30, 2024