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Senate Engrossed
special education; cost studies |
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State of Arizona Senate Fifty-fifth Legislature Second Regular Session 2022
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SENATE BILL 1519 |
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An Act
amending section 15-236, Arizona Revised Statutes; appropriating monies; relating to the department of education.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 15-236, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
15-236. Special education programs; program and fiscal audits; cost studies; appropriations; exemption
A. The department of education shall conduct program and fiscal audits of selected district special education programs. The audits shall be designed to determine the degree of compliance with existing statutes and regulations and the appropriate placement of students in special education programs. A report of the findings of such audits shall be completed on or before February 3 of each year. If the department of education determines that a child has been inappropriately placed in a special education program of a school district, the district's weighted student count for educational support services for students in group B as provided in section 15-943 shall be recomputed and the district's entitlement to state aid adjusted accordingly.
B. For each fiscal year the department of education shall request a separate line item appropriation for program and fiscal audits of special education programs in the budget estimate submitted pursuant to section 35-113.
C. On or before June 30, 2023 and every four years thereafter, the department of education shall complete a cost study of special education programs. This study shall include the cost of providing special education programs to students pursuant to chapter 7, article 4 of this title. The sum of $500,000 is appropriated from the state general fund in fiscal year 2026-2027 and every four fiscal years thereafter to the department of education for the purposes of completing the cost study of special education programs required by this subsection. The appropriations made in this subsection are exempt from the provisions of section 35-190 relating to lapsing of appropriations.