Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 6, March 18, 2024
(a) Each district board of education, independently or through joint agreements, shall employ or contract with child study teams, as set forth at N.J.A.C. 6A:14-3.1(b), speech-language specialists, and other school personnel in numbers sufficient to ensure provision of required programs and services pursuant to this chapter.
1. Joint agreements for child study team services may be entered into with local education agencies, including other district boards of education, educational services commissions, jointure commissions, and county special services school districts.
2. A district board of education may supplement child study team services with additional teams through contracts or joint agreements.
3. If a vacancy occurs on a child study team because of an absence of a member(s) of the team for an identified period of time, the district board of education may contract, for the duration of any such vacancy, with a clinic or agency approved by the Department of Education, an individual, or another district board of education for the services provided by the absent team member(s).
(b) When a district board of education provides its educational program through another New Jersey district board of education, responsibility for this chapter's requirements shall be according to the following:
1. In a sending-receiving relationship pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:38-1 et seq., when all the students of one or more grades of a district board of education attend a school(s) operated by another district board(s) of education, the receiving district board of education shall be responsible for determining the eligibility of the sending district board of education's students and developing and implementing their IEPs.
2. When individual students are placed by a district board of education in a school operated by another district board of education, a contractual agreement shall be made between district boards of education which specifies responsibility for providing instruction, related services, and child study team services to students with disabilities.
(c) For the services listed below, district boards of education may contract with private clinics and agencies approved by the Department of Education, private professional practitioners who are certified and licensed according to State statutes and rules, and agencies or programs that are certified, approved, or licensed by the Department of Human Services or by the Department of Health to provide counseling or mental health services. For the related services listed at (c)1iii and v below, approved private schools for students with disabilities may contract with private clinics and agencies approved by the Department of Education, private professional practitioners who are certified and licensed according to State statutes and rules, and agencies or programs that are certified, approved, or licensed by the Department of Human Services or by the Department of Health to provide counseling or mental health services. All instructional, child study team, and related services personnel provided by approved clinics and agencies and private professional practitioners shall be fully certified. No instructional, child study team, and related services personnel provided by approved clinics and agencies, or private professional practitioners, may, if a certification is required for the discipline under which they are providing services, provide services under this subsection if certified through the emergency certification process.
1. For public school students:
i. Independent child study team evaluations according to 6A:14-2.5;
ii. Child study team services to supplement existing district board of education services;
iii. Related services;
(1) Certified occupational therapy assistants, and others employed in a supportive role to licensed and, where applicable, certified providers of related services, shall work under the supervision of an appropriately licensed and, where applicable, certified provider of such services.
(2) Physical therapy assistants shall work in the presence and under the supervision of a certified physical therapist.
(3) Specialists in behavior modification or other disciplines for which there is no license or certification shall hold, at a minimum, a bachelor's degree in education, psychology, or a related field from an accredited institute of higher education and shall work under the supervision of certified district board of education personnel.
iv. Home instruction; and
v. Speech-language services provided by a speech-language specialist when a district board of education or private school for students with disabilities is unable to hire sufficient staff to provide the service.
2. For students attending nonpublic schools, the district board of education in which the facility is located may contract for the following services:
i. Evaluation, determination of eligibility, classification, and the development of a service plan;
ii. Supplementary instruction, speech-language services, and home instruction for students determined eligible for such services; and
iii. English as a second language pursuant to N.J.A.C. 6A:15 and compensatory education pursuant to N.J.S.A. 18A:46A-2.e for students eligible for such services.
(d) District boards of education may purchase services listed under (c)1 and 2 above from Department of Education approved clinics and agencies with prior written notice to the Department of Education through the county office of education according to the following:
1. Notice of the intent to purchase services shall include the proposed terms of the contract;
2. The notice shall be effective for one year; and
3. District boards of education are not required to provide prior notice to the Department of Education when contracting for an independent child study team evaluation in accordance with N.J. A.C. 6A:14-2.5.
(e) District boards of education may contract for medical diagnostic services with medical clinics and agencies approved by another New Jersey State agency or appropriate state agencies outside of New Jersey.
