SB357 - Revises provisions relating to the education of pupils with disabilities. (BDR 34-73)

S.B. 357 - *SB357* SENATE BILL NO. 357–SENATORS KRASNER, STONE, OHRENSCHALL AND DOÑATE MARCH 17, 2025 ____________ Referred to Committee on Education SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to the education of pupils with disabilities. (BDR 34-73) FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact. Effect on the State: Yes. ~ EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. AN ACT relating to education; requiring the State Board of Education to prescribe certain standards for programs of instruction or special services for pupils with visual impairments; requiring the individualized education program team for a pupil with a hearing impairment or a pupil with a visual impairment to include certain provisions in the pupils individualized education program; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act governs how states and 1 public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to 2 pupils with disabilities. (20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq.) Existing law requires the State 3 Board of Education to prescribe minimum standards for the special education of 4 pupils with disabilities, including pupils with visual impairments, including, 5 without limitation, blindness. (NRS 388.419) Section 1 of this bill requires the 6 minimum standards prescribed by the State Board for such pupils to include: (1) 7 standards for the provision of instruction in Braille and the use of Braille; and (2) 8 guidelines for providing for and integrating assistive technology and assistive 9 technology services into instruction. 10 Existing law requires an individualized education program team for a pupil 11 with a hearing impairment or a pupil with a hearing or visual impairment who is 12 less than 6 years of age to take certain factors into consideration and include certain 13 provisions when developing an individualized education program for the pupil. 14 (NRS 388.437) Section 2 of this bill requires the individualized education program 15 team, when developing an individualized education program for a pupil with a 16 visual impairment, including, without limitation, blindness, to: (1) if the parent or 17 legal guardian of the pupil requests that the pupil receive instruction in Braille and 18 the use of Braille, provide for such instruction; (2) provide that the pupil receive 19 – 2 – - *SB357* any assistive technology and assistive technology services necessary to provide the 20 pupil with a free appropriate public education; and (3) prohibit an employee of a 21 school district or charter school from interfering with the ability of a pupil to carry 22 a cane or walking stick. 23 The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires, to the 24 maximum extent that is appropriate, children with disabilities to be educated with 25 children without disabilities in the least restrictive environment. The Act 26 additionally prohibits the removal of children with disabilities from a regular 27 educational environment unless the nature or severity of the child’s disability 28 prevents the satisfactory education of the child in such an environment, even with 29 the provision of supplementary aids and services. (20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(5)) Section 30 2 provides that, when developing an individualized education program for a pupil 31 with a hearing impairment or a pupil with a visual impairment, the individualized 32 education program team is required to adhere to such provisions of federal law and 33 include the basis for the placement of the pupil in the individualized education plan. 34 THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. NRS 388.419 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1 388.419 1. The Department shall: 2 (a) Prescribe a form that contains the basic information 3 necessary for the uniform development, review and revision of an 4 individualized education program for a pupil with a disability in 5 accordance with 20 U.S.C. § 1414(d); and 6 (b) Make the form available on a computer disc for use by 7 school districts and, upon request, in any other manner deemed 8 reasonable by the Department. 9 2. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, each school 10 district shall ensure that the form prescribed by the Department is 11 used for the development, review and revision of an individualized 12 education program for each pupil with a disability who receives 13 special education in the school district. A school district may use an 14 expanded form that contains additions to the form prescribed by the 15 Department if the basic information contained in the expanded form 16 complies with the form prescribed by the Department. 17 3. The State Board: 18 (a) Shall prescribe minimum standards for the special education 19 of pupils with disabilities. 20 (b) May prescribe minimum standards for the provision of early 21 intervening services. 22 4. The minimum standards prescribed by the State Board must 23 include standards for programs of instruction or special services 24 maintained for the purpose of serving pupils with: 25 (a) Hearing impairments, including, but not limited to, deafness. 26 (b) Visual impairments, including, but not limited to, blindness. 27 (c) Orthopedic impairments. 28 – 3 – - *SB357* (d) Speech and language impairments. 1 (e) Intellectual disabilities. 2 (f) Multiple impairments. 3 (g) Emotional disturbances. 4 (h) Other health impairments. 5 (i) Specific learning disabilities. 6 (j) Autism spectrum disorders. 7 (k) Traumatic brain injuries. 8 (l) Developmental delays. 9 5. The minimum standards prescribed by the State Board for 10 pupils with hearing impairments, including, without limitation, 11 deafness, pursuant to paragraph (a) of subsection 4 must comply 12 with: 13 (a) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. 14 §§ 1400 et seq., and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto; 15 (b) The effective communication requirement of Title II of the 16 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131 et 17 seq., and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto; and 18 (c) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 19 794, and the regulations adopted pursuant thereto. 20 6. The minimum standards prescribed by the State Board for 21 pupils with visual impairments, including, without limitation, 22 blindness, pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 4 must include, 23 without limitation: 24 (a) Standards for the provision of instruction in Braille and 25 the use of Braille; and 26 (b) Guidelines for providing for and integrating assistive 27 technology and assistive technology services into instruction 28 pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 2 of NRS 388.437. 29 7. The minimum standards prescribed by the State Board for 30 pupils with dyslexia pursuant to paragraph (i) of subsection 4 must 31 include, without limitation, standards for instruction on: 32 (a) Phonemic awareness to enable a pupil to detect, segment, 33 blend and manipulate sounds in spoken language; 34 (b) Graphonomic knowledge for teaching the sounds associated 35 with letters in the English language; 36 (c) The structure of the English language, including, without 37 limitation, morphology, semantics, syntax and pragmatics; 38 (d) Linguistic instruction directed toward proficiency and 39 fluency with the patterns of language so that words and sentences 40 are carriers of meaning; and 41 (e) Strategies that a pupil may use for decoding, encoding, word 42 recognition, fluency and comprehension. 43 [7.] 8. No apportionment of state money may be made to any 44 school district or charter school for the instruction of pupils with 45 – 4 – - *SB357* disabilities until the program of instruction maintained therein for 1 such pupils is approved by the Superintendent of Public Instruction 2 as meeting the minimum standards prescribed by the State Board. 3 [8.] 9. The Department shall, upon the request of the board of 4 trustees of a school district, provide information to the board of 5 trustees concerning the identification and evaluation of pupils with 6 disabilities in accordance with the standards prescribed by the State 7 Board. 8 [9.] 10. The Department shall post on the Internet website 9 maintained by the Department the data that is submitted to the 10 United States Secretary of Education pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1418 11 within 30 days after submission of the data to the Secretary in a 12 manner that does not result in the disclosure of data that is 13 identifiable to an individual pupil. 14 11. As used in this section: 15 (a) “Assistive technology” has the meaning ascribed to the 16 term “assistive technology device” in 20 U.S.C. § 1401(1) and 17 includes, without limitation, a laptop computer or tablet device. 18 (b) “Assistive technology services” has the meaning ascribed 19 to it in 20 U.S.C. § 1401(2). 20 Sec. 2. NRS 388.437 is hereby amended to read as follows: 21 388.437 1. When developing an individualized education 22 program for a pupil with a hearing impairment in accordance with 23 NRS 388.419, the pupil’s individualized education program team 24 shall consider, without limitation: 25 (a) The related services and program options that provide the 26 pupil with an appropriate and equal opportunity for communication 27 access; 28 (b) The pupil’s primary communication mode; 29 (c) The availability to the pupil of a sufficient number of age, 30 cognitive, academic and language peers of similar abilities; 31 (d) The availability to the pupil of adult models who are deaf or 32 hearing impaired and who use the pupil’s primary communication 33 mode; 34 (e) The availability of special education teachers, interpreters 35 and other special education personnel who are proficient in the 36 pupil’s primary communication mode; 37 (f) The provision of academic instruction, school services and 38 direct access to all components of the educational process, 39 including, without limitation, advanced placement courses, career 40 and technical education courses, recess, lunch, extracurricular 41 activities and athletic activities; 42 (g) The preferences of the parent or guardian of the pupil 43 concerning the best feasible services, placement and content of the 44 pupil’s individualized education program; and 45 – 5 – - *SB357* (h) The appropriate assistive technology necessary to provide 1 the pupil with an appropriate and equal opportunity for 2 communication access. 3 2. When developing an individualized education program for 4 a pupil with a visual impairment, including, without limitation, 5 blindness, in accordance with NRS 388.419, the pupil’s 6 individualized education program team shall, without limitation: 7 (a) If the parent or legal guardian of the pupil requests that 8 the pupil receive instruction in Braille and the use of Braille, 9 provide for instruction in Braille and the use of Braille; 10 (b) Provide that the pupil receive any assistive technology and 11 assistive technology services necessary to provide the pupil with a 12 free appropriate public education pursuant to the Individuals with 13 Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq.; and 14 (c) Include in the individualized education program a 15 requirement that the ability of the pupil to carry a cane or walking 16 stick must not be interfered with or disturbed by any employee of 17 the school district or charter school in which the pupil is enrolled. 18 3. When developing an individualized education program for a 19 pupil with a hearing or visual impairment who is less than 6 years of 20 age, including, without limitation, such a pupil with both hearing 21 and visual impairments, in accordance with NRS 388.419, the 22 pupil’s individualized education program team shall use the criteria 23 prescribed pursuant to NRS 388.519, in addition to any methods of 24 assessment required by federal law, to evaluate the pupil’s 25 development of language and literacy skills and to determine 26 whether to modify the individualized education program. If the team 27 determines that the pupil is not making adequate progress in the 28 development of language and literacy skills, the team must include 29 in the plan: 30 (a) A detailed explanation of the reasons that the pupil is not 31 making adequate progress; and 32 (b) Recommendations for services and programs to assist the 33 pupil’s development of language and literacy skills. 34 [3.] 4. When developing an individualized education program 35 for a pupil pursuant to this section, the pupil’s individualized 36 education program team shall, to the maximum extent 37 appropriate, provide for the placement of the pupil in the least 38 restrictive environment pursuant to the Individuals with 39 Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(5). In making this 40 determination of placement, the team shall: 41 (a) Consider any potentially harmful effects on the pupil and 42 the quality of any special education services required by the pupil 43 if the pupil is placed in a general education classroom; 44 – 6 – - *SB357* (b) Provide for the placement of the pupil in a general 1 education classroom unless the team determines that the pupil 2 cannot receive a free appropriate public education in the least 3 restrictive environment in a general education classroom, even 4 with the provision of supplementary aids and services and assistive 5 technology and assistive technology services; 6 (c) Include the basis for the determination of placement in the 7 individualized education program for the pupil; and 8 (d) Comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education 9 Act, 20 U.S.C. §§ 1400 et seq. 10 5. When determining the best feasible instruction to be 11 provided to the pupil in his or her primary communication mode, the 12 pupil’s individualized education program team may consider, 13 without limitation: 14 (a) Changes in the pupil’s hearing or vision; 15 (b) Development in or availability of assistive technology; 16 (c) The physical design and acoustics of the learning 17 environment; and 18 (d) The subject matter of the instruction to be provided. 19 6. As used in th [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]