Int. No. 1359

By Council Members Joseph and Louis

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring the department of education to report on manifestation determination reviews

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

Section 1. Title 21-A of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new chapter 40 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 40

REPORTING ON MANIFESTATION DETERMINATION REVIEWS

                     § 21-1012 Reporting on manifestation determination reviews. a. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

                     Committee on special education. The term “committee on special education” has the same meaning as set forth in section 201.2 of title 8 of the New York codes, rules and regulations, regarding procedural safeguards for students with disabilities subject to discipline, or a successor provision.

Manifestation determination review. The term “manifestation determination review” means a review to determine whether a student’s behavior that is subject to disciplinary action is a manifestation of the student’s disability, as required pursuant to subparagraph (E) of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of section 1415 of the United States code and section 201.4 of title 8 of the New York codes, rules and regulations, regarding manifestation determinations, or a successor provision.

Procedural safeguards notice. The term “procedural safeguards notice” means the notice required by subsection (d) of section 1415 of title 20 of the United States code and subsection (f) of section 200.5 of title 8 of the New York codes, rules and regulations, regarding due process procedures, or a successor provision.

Referral to a committee on special education. The term “referral to a committee on special education” means the act of notifying a committee on special education that a student requires a manifestation determination review, pursuant to chancellor’s regulation A-443, regarding student discipline procedures, or a successor provision.

b. No later than 120 days after the effective date of the local law that added this section, and by November 1 annually thereafter, the chancellor shall submit to the speaker of the council and post conspicuously on the department’s website a report regarding manifestation determination reviews conducted during the preceding academic year. Such report shall include the following information for each school, and shall also include such information aggregated by community school district, borough, and citywide:

                     1. The number of students referred to a committee on special education for a manifestation determination review, in total and disaggregated by:

(a) Race or ethnicity;

(b) Gender;

(c) English language learner status;

(d) Eligibility for the free and reduced price lunch program;

(e) Status as a student in temporary housing, and

(f) Status as a student in foster care;

                     2. The number of manifestation determination reviews conducted by a committee on special education, in total and disaggregated by:

(a) The number of such manifestation determination reviews in which the parent or guardian reported not receiving notice of the manifestation determination review or for which no documentation of such notice exists;

(b) The number of such manifestation determination reviews for which notice of the manifestation determination review was provided to the parent or guardian fewer than 5 days in advance of such review;

(c) The number of such manifestation determination reviews in which the parent or guardian did not attend the manifestation determination review;

(d) The number of such manifestation determination reviews in which translation services were requested by a parent or guardian and the number of instances in which such services were provided during the manifestation determination review;

(e) The number of such manifestation determination reviews for which the procedural safeguard notice was not provided on the same day as the date of referral to a committee on special education;

(f) The number of such manifestation determination reviews conducted more than 10 school days after the date of referral to a committee on special education;

(g) The number of such manifestation determination reviews resulting in a finding that the student’s behavior was a manifestation of the student’s disability; and

                     (h) The number of such manifestation determination reviews resulting in a finding that the student’s behavior was not a manifestation of the student’s disability; and

3. The number of students who received more than one manifestation determination review during the same academic year.

                     c. The report shall also include a summary of system-wide practices used by the department to inform parents and guardians about the manifestation determination review process.

                     d. No information that is otherwise required to be reported pursuant to this section shall be reported in a manner that would violate any applicable provision of federal, state, or local law relating to the privacy of student information, or that would interfere with law enforcement investigations or otherwise conflict with the interests of law enforcement. If a category to be reported contains between 1 and 5 students, or allows another category to be narrowed to between 1 and 5 students, the number shall be replaced with a symbol. If a category contains zero students, it shall be reported as zero, unless such reporting would violate any applicable provision of federal, state, or local law relating to the privacy of student information.

§ 2. This local law takes effect immediately.

NJF

LS # 19864

7/28/2025 12:28 PM