HB 1373

Office of Children's Services; assessment; feasibility of establishing a regional public day school in Planning District 16; report. Requires the Office of Children's Services, in collaboration with the Department of Education, each school board that governs a local school division in Planning District 16, and such other stakeholders as OCS deems appropriate, to assess the feasibility of establishing a regional public day school in Planning District 16 for the purpose of providing special education and related services to students with disabilities who would otherwise be placed in a private day school pursuant to the student's individualized education program but for the availability of such public day school, and report its findings and recommendations to the Chairs of the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Committee on Education, the Senate Committee on Education and Health, and the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations no later than November 1, 2026. The bill provides that in the event that OCS fails to report such findings and recommendations by November 1, 2026, the school boards that govern the local school divisions in Planning District 16 may procure a comparable feasibility assessment from a qualified private entity identified by such school boards.