Sec. 10-76i. Advisory Council for Special Education.
Sec. 10-76i. Advisory Council for Special Education. (a) There shall be an Advisory Council for Special Education which shall advise the General Assembly, State
Board of Education and the Commissioner of Education, and which shall engage in
such other activities as described in this section. Said advisory council shall consist of
the following members: (1) Two appointed by the Commissioner of Education, one of
whom shall be an official of the Department of Education and one of whom shall be a
representative of an institution of higher education in the state that prepares teacher and
related services personnel; (2) two appointed by the Commissioner of Developmental
Services, one of whom shall be an official of the department and one of whom shall
be a person with disabilities or a parent of such a person; (3) two appointed by the
Commissioner of Children and Families, one of whom shall be an official of the department and one of whom shall be a person with disabilities or a parent or foster parent of
such a person; (4) one appointed by the Commissioner of Correction; (5) four who are
members of the General Assembly, one appointed by the majority leader of the House
of Representatives, one appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives, one appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate and one appointed by
the minority leader of the Senate; (6) three appointed by the president pro tempore of
the Senate, one of whom shall be a member of the Connecticut Association of Boards
of Education, one of whom shall be a member of the Connecticut Speech-Language-Hearing Association and one of whom shall be a person with disabilities or the parent
of such a person; (7) two appointed by the majority leader of the Senate one of whom
shall be a person with disabilities or the parent of such a person and one of whom shall
be a regular education teacher; (8) four appointed by the minority leader of the Senate,
one of whom shall be a representative of a vocational, community or business organization concerned with the provision of transitional services to children with disabilities,
one of whom shall be a member of the Connecticut Association of Private Special Education Facilities and two of whom shall be persons with disabilities or the parents of such
persons; (9) three appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one of
whom shall be a member of the Connecticut Association of School Administrators and
a local education official, one of whom shall be a person with disabilities or the parent
of such a person and one of whom shall be a member of the literacy coalition and a
person with disabilities or the parent of such a person; (10) two appointed by the majority
leader of the House of Representatives, one of whom shall be a person working in
the field of special-education-related services and one of whom shall be a person with
disabilities or the parent of such a person; (11) four appointed by the minority leader
of the House of Representatives, two of whom shall be persons with disabilities or the
parents of such persons, one of whom shall be a member of the Connecticut Association
of Pupil Personnel Administrators and an administrator of a program for children who
require special education, and one of whom shall be a special education teacher; (12)
eight appointed by the Governor, all of whom shall be persons with disabilities or parents
of such persons and one of whom shall also be associated with a charter school; and
(13) such other members as required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act,
20 USC 1400 et seq., as amended from time to time, appointed by the Commissioner
of Education. The terms of the present members shall expire on June 30, 1998. Appointments shall be made to the council by July 1, 1998. Members shall serve two-year terms,
except that members appointed pursuant to subdivisions (1) to (4), inclusive, and (12)
of this subsection whose terms commenced July 1, 1998, shall serve three-year terms
and the successors to such members appointed pursuant to said subdivisions shall serve
two-year terms.
(b) Said advisory council shall elect annually its own chairperson and other officers
as deemed necessary. The council shall meet at least once during each calendar quarter
and at such other times as the chairperson deems necessary or upon the request of a
majority of members in office. The State Board of Education shall meet at least annually
with the council to review the state plan for the provision of special education. A majority
of the members in office, but not less than ten, shall constitute a quorum. Any member
who fails to attend fifty per cent of all meetings held during any calendar year shall be
deemed to have resigned from office. The member appointed by the Commissioner of
Education who is an official of the department shall meet with and act as secretary to
the advisory council. Members of the advisory council shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for all reasonable expenses incurred in the performance
of their duties. The Department of Education shall provide secretarial and administrative
assistance to facilitate the activity of the advisory council. The Department of Higher
Education shall appoint a liaison person to the advisory council.
(c) The advisory council shall: (1) Advise the Department of Education of unmet
needs in educating children with disabilities and on the administration of the provisions
of sections 10-94f to 10-94k, inclusive; (2) review periodically the laws, regulations,
standards and guidelines pertaining to special education and recommend to the General
Assembly and the State Board of Education any changes which it finds necessary; (3)
comment on any new or revised regulations, standards and guidelines proposed for
issuance; (4) participate with the State Board of Education in the development of any
state eligibility documents for provision of special education; (5) comment publicly
on any procedures necessary for distributing federal funds received pursuant to the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC 1400 et seq., as from time to time
amended; (6) assist the Department of Education in developing and reporting such data
and evaluations as may be conducted pursuant to the provisions of said act; (7) report
to the General Assembly not later than January fifteenth in the odd-numbered years and
not later than February fifteenth in the even-numbered years, concerning recommendations for effecting changes in the special education laws; and (8) perform any other
activity that is required by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 USC
1400, et seq., as from time to time amended.
(1972, P.A. 167; P.A. 73-323; P.A. 77-402; 77-573, S. 24, 30; 77-614, S. 303, 610; P.A. 78-218, S. 68, 69, 212; P.A.
82-218, S. 38, 46; 82-314, S. 49, 63; P.A. 84-256, S. 1, 17; P.A. 91-277, S. 3, 6; P.A. 92-262, S. 13, 42; P.A. 93-91, S. 1,
2; P.A. 94-245, S. 34, 46; P.A. 95-312, S. 1, 2; P.A. 96-161, S. 10, 13; P.A. 97-98, S. 1, 2; P.A. 98-168, S. 12, 26; P.A.
00-220, S. 6, 43; P.A. 01-173, S. 12, 49, 67; P.A. 03-76, S. 41; P.A. 06-18, S. 7; P.A. 07-73, S. 2(b).)
History: P.A. 73-323 amended Subsec. (d) to require that review take place on or before February first; P.A. 77-402
required that advisory council include at least one handicapped person; P.A. 77-573 substituted board of higher education
for commission for higher education; P.A. 77-614 substituted commissioner of education for secretary of the state board
of education and replaced former provisions concerning terms of first appointees, filling of vacancies and two-term limit
on service with provision calling for four-year terms and setting expiration date of February 28, 1979, for present members,
effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 78-218 substituted "local or regional boards of education" for "town or regional school
districts" and "chairperson" for "chairman" and changed deadline for review in Subsec. (d) from February first to February
fifteenth; P.A. 82-218 replaced board of higher education with department of higher education pursuant to reorganization
of higher education system, effective March 1, 1983; P.A. 82-314 changed official name of education committee; P.A.
84-256 amended section to add attendance and quorum requirements and to require council to advise department re unmet
needs in educating handicapped children and administration of Secs. 10-94f to 10-94k, inclusive, comment on state plan
and procedures for distributing federal funds and assist department in developing and reporting data and evaluations and
to delete requirements concerning annual joint review with general assembly's education committee; P.A. 91-277 added
prohibition against serving more than two consecutive terms and removed obsolete language; P.A. 92-262 provided that
the committee also advise the general assembly and report to the general assembly on recommendations for changing
special education laws, and that the terms of members expire on June 20, 1992, and specified the membership of a new
larger committee; P.A. 93-91 substituted commissioner and department of children and families for commissioner and
department of children and youth services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-245 deleted provision prohibiting more than
two consecutive full terms, effective June 2, 1994; P.A. 95-312 amended Subsec. (a) to increase the membership from 25
to 28 and to add provisions concerning the early expiration of the terms of some members which were due to expire on
June 30, 1996, effective July 6, 1995; P.A. 96-161 amended Subsec. (c) to remove obsolete Subdiv. (5) and to renumber
remaining Subdivs. accordingly, effective July 1, 1996; P.A. 97-98 amended Subsec. (b) to delete provision that member
who fails to attend three consecutive meetings is deemed to have resigned and to make technical changes, effective June
6, 1997; P.A. 98-168 amended Subsec. (a) to specify that the terms of existing members expire on June 30, 1998 and to
change the membership of the council, amended Subsec. (b) to add the requirement for the State Board of Education to
meet at least annually with the council, and made technical changes, effective June 4, 1998; P.A. 00-220 amended Subsec.
(a)(10) to substitute person working in the field of special-education-related services for a member of the Connecticut
Association of Urban Schools, and added provision for staggered terms, effective July 1, 2000; P.A. 01-173 amended
Subsec. (a) to make a technical change, effective July 1, 2001, and amended Subsec. (c)(4) to substitute "eligibility documents" for "plan" and (c)(5) to update reference to the federal act and added Subsec. (c)(8) re other activity required by
the federal act, effective July 6, 2001; P.A. 03-76 made technical changes in Subsecs. (b) and (c), effective June 3, 2003;
P.A. 06-18 added Subsec. (a)(13) re members required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, effective
July 1, 2006; pursuant to P.A. 07-73 "Commissioner of Mental Retardation" was changed editorially by the Revisors to
"Commissioner of Developmental Services", effective October 1, 2007.
See title 2c re termination under "Sunset Law".
Cited. 179 C. 694. Cited. 228 C. 699. Cited. 229 C. 1.
Cited. 35 CS 501. Cited. 44 CS 527.