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There is established, as a public organization, the special education service agency.
If under a provision of this chapter the consent of the parent is required, the parent may withdraw the parent's consent.
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The agency shall be governed by the Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education (AS 47.80.030 ).
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A person may not be employed as a teacher of children with disabilities unless that person possesses a valid teacher certificate and, in addition, the training that the department requires by regulation.
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The governing body of a school district, including a regional educational attendance area, shall establish procedures to prevent and reduce truancy.
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A person may not be employed as an administrator of a program of special education and related services unless that person possesses a valid administrative certificate and, in addition, such training as the department may require by regulation.
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AS 14.30.250 does not prohibit the employment of a person, otherwise qualified to serve as a substitute teacher, to serve as a substitute teacher of children with disabilities.
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Article 02. PHYSICAL EXAMINATIONS AND SCREENING EXAMINATIONS
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If in the judgment of the commissioner of health and social services it is necessary for the welfare of the children or the general public in an area, the governing body of the school district shall require the children attending school in that area to be immunized against the diseases the commissioner of health and social services may specify.
(a) [Repealed, Sec. 12 ch 42 SLA 1997].
(b) The department shall adopt regulations for the determination of entitlement and the distribution of bilingual-bicultural funds to city and borough school districts and regional educational attendance areas.
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A person who knowingly fails to comply with AS 14.30.010 is guilty of a violation. Each five days of unlawful absence under AS 14.30.010 is a separate violation.
In AS 14.30.600 - 14.30.660, unless the context otherwise requires, 'agency' means the special education service agency.
Article 10. RECORDS OF CERTAIN MISSING OR TRANSFERRED CHILDREN
The Governor's Council on Disabilities and Special Education established under AS 47.80 shall serve as the state advisory panel, the function of which is to provide information and guidance for the development of appropriate programs of special education and related services for children with disabilities.
A child who is hospitalized or confined to home and who receives at least 10 hours of special education and related services per week may be counted as a pupil in average daily membership when computing state support under the public school funding program.
A school district shall develop an individualized education program for special education and related services for each eligible child with a disability. The plan must be completed not later than 30 days after the determination of the child's eligibility. Each individualized education program shall be developed and periodically reviewed and revised as necessary in conformance with federal requirements, including 34 C.F.R. 300.340 - 350.
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The program of physical examination and immunizations prescribed by AS 14.30.065 - 14.30.127 shall be under the general supervision and in accordance with regulations of the Department of Health and Social Services.
Each school district shall establish and implement written procedures to ensure that all children with disabilities under the age of 22 for whom the agency is responsible under AS 14.30.186 to provide special education and related services are identified and located for the purpose of establishing their need for special education and related services.
(1) 'child' means a person under 18 years of age;
(2) 'school district' means a municipal school district or a regional educational attendance area.
Article 11. ALASKA CHALLENGE YOUTH ACADEMY
The board shall encourage each school board to initiate and conduct a program of environmental education for kindergarten through grade 12. The program should include, but is not limited to, education regarding the need to balance resource development with environmental safeguards, the dependence of the state on resource development, and the opportunity for pollution prevention, waste reduction, and recycling. A school board may implement environmental education as a part of regular classroom studies.
Article 07. BILINGUAL-BICULTURAL EDUCATION
Employees of the agency are not in the state service and are not subject to AS 39.25 (State Personnel Act). However, employees of the agency shall be members of either the Teachers' Retirement System (AS 14.25) or the Public Employees' Retirement System (AS 39.35).
Notwithstanding any other provision of AS 14.30.180 - 14.30.350, the department may do all things necessary to qualify for federal funds that are available to the state for the education of children with disabilities.
The services of the agency shall be available to school districts that serve children whose special education needs occur infrequently, who require specialized services not normally available in the school district, and who cannot be easily served by local school district personnel because of the low number of students in the district in need of the particular service. The agency may provide services to a child with a disability, as that term is defined in AS 14.30.350 .
(a) The department shall by regulation provide for the appointment of surrogate parents to represent a child with a disability in matters relating to the provision of an appropriate public education.
(b) A surrogate parent is not liable for civil damages as a result of an act or omission committed in the surrogate parent's official capacity, except that a surrogate parent may be liable for civil damages as a result of gross negligence or intentional misconduct.
Each school district shall ensure that, to the maximum extent appropriate, children with disabilities, including children in public or private institutions or other care facilities, are educated with children who are not children with disabilities and that special classes, separate schooling, or other removal of children with disabilities from the regular educational environment occurs only when the nature or severity of the child's disability is such that education in regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily.
The school board, when physical examinations are made, shall deliver to the parent, guardian, or other person having the responsibility for or control of the child a report signed by the physician or nurse making the examination, specifying the findings with respect to the health and physical well-being of the child. For purposes of this subsection, physician examinations, within the scope of chiropractic practice, may be conducted by a chiropractor.
Health education programs conducted under AS 14.30.360 shall be evaluated by the department in the same manner as other curriculum programs are evaluated, except that the evaluation shall also include changes in the health status of the pupils as determined by physical and dental examinations conducted under AS 14.30.070 and 14.30.120.
City or borough district school boards and regional educational attendance area boards shall provide a bilingual-bicultural education program for each school in a city or borough school district or regional educational attendance area that is attended by at least eight pupils of limited English-speaking ability and whose primary language is other than English. A bilingual-bicultural education program shall be provided under a plan of service that has been developed in accordance with regulations adopted by the department. Nothing in this section precludes a bilingual-bicultural education program from being provided for less than eight pupils in a school.
Repealed or Renumbered
Article 03. EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES
Upon notification by the Department of Public Safety of a child's disappearance, a school or school district in which the child is currently or was previously enrolled shall flag the school record of that child in a manner that, when a copy or information regarding the record is requested, the school or school district shall be alerted to the fact that the record is that of a missing child. The school or school district shall immediately report to the Department of Public Safety a request regarding flagged records, including any knowledge as to the whereabouts of the child. Upon notification by the Department of Public Safety that the person who was listed as a missing child has been found, the school or school district shall remove the flag from the person's record.
(a) Every school district shall establish educational services for gifted children that provide for student identification, student eligibility, student learning plans, and parental and student participation, including an appropriate review process, consistent with regulations adopted by the department.
(b) State reimbursement for transportation of gifted children shall be as provided for transportation of all other pupils, except that eligibility for reimbursement is not limited to transportation between the child's residence and the school, but shall also include transportation between a school and another location of instruction as routinely required by the gifted education program of the district.
Article 05. HEALTH AND SAFETY EDUCATION
When transportation is required to be provided as a related service, a child with a disability shall be transported with children who are not children with disabilities if the district provides transportation to children in the district, except when the nature of the physical or mental disability is such that it is in the best interest of the child with a disability, as provided in the child's individualized education program, that the child be transported separately. State reimbursement for transportation of children with disabilities shall be as provided for transportation of all other pupils except that eligibility for reimbursement is not subject to restriction based on the minimum distance between the school and the residence of the child with a disability.
It is the purpose of AS 14.30.180 - 14.30.350 to
(1) provide an appropriate public education for each child with a disability in the state who is at least three years of age but less than 22 years of age;
(2) allow procedures and actions necessary to comply with the requirements of federal law, including 20 U.S.C. 1400 - 1487 (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).
Each fiscal year the department shall allocate to the agency not less than $15.75 times the number of students in the state in average daily membership in the preceding fiscal year as determined under AS 14.17.600. Money to carry out the provisions of this section may be appropriated annually by the legislature. If amounts are insufficient to meet the allocation authorized under this section for a fiscal year, the allocation shall be reduced pro rata. The amount allocated to the agency shall be reduced each fiscal year by the amount contributed by the department to the Teachers' Retirement System (AS 14.25) or the Public Employees' Retirement System (AS 39.35) on behalf of employees of the agency.
(a) The department shall, by regulation, establish and implement a voluntary mediation process in conformance with the requirements of federal law, including 34 C.F.R. 300.506. The department shall encourage the use of mediation for settlement of disputes under AS 14.30.180 - 14.30.350.
(b) The department shall
(1) maintain a list of individuals who are qualified mediators knowledgeable in the federal and state statutes and regulations relating to the provision of special education and related services; and
(2) provide for qualification of mediators through a training program that is open to all individuals who meet the criteria set by the department by regulation.
(a) A vision and hearing screening examination shall be given to each child attending school in the state. The examination shall be made when the child enters school or as soon thereafter as is practicable, and at regular intervals specified by regulation by the governing body of the district.
(b) The Department of Health and Social Services shall
(1) set standards for the performance of vision and hearing screening;
(2) train and certify public health nurses and school district employees to conduct hearing and vision screening tests;
(3) assist with referral and follow-up of children needing professional examination or treatment; and
(4) assist with maintenance and repair of screening equipment.
(a) A child who has been suspended from or denied admittance to a school under AS 14.30.045 (3) or (4) shall be permitted to attend school when the child is obviously recovered or presents to the governing body a statement in writing from a competent medical authority that the child is no longer afflicted with, or suffering from, the physical or mental condition to the extent that it is a cause for suspension or denial of admission under AS 14.30.045 (3) or (4).
(b) A child who has been suspended from or denied admittance to a school for any other cause provided by AS 14.30.045 shall be permitted to attend school when it reasonably appears that the cause has been remedied.
A school age child may be suspended from or denied admission to the public school that the child is otherwise entitled to attend only for the following causes:
(1) continued wilful disobedience or open and persistent defiance of reasonable school authority;
(2) behavior that is inimicable to the welfare, safety, or morals of other pupils or a person employed or volunteering at the school;
(3) a physical or mental condition that in the opinion of a competent medical authority will render the child unable to reasonably benefit from the programs available;
(4) a physical or mental condition that in the opinion of a competent medical authority will cause the attendance of the child to be inimicable to the welfare of other pupils;
(5) conviction of a felony that the governing body of the district determines will cause the attendance of the child to be inimicable to the welfare or education of other pupils.
(a) A school district shall inform the parent of a child with a disability of the right
(1) to review the child's educational record;
(2) to review evaluation tests and procedures;
(3) to refuse to permit evaluation or a change in the child's educational placement;
(4) to be informed of the results of evaluation;
(5) to obtain an independent evaluation by choosing a person from a list provided by the school district or by choosing a person by agreement between the parent and school district;
(6) to request a due process hearing;
(7) to appeal a hearing officer's decision; and
(8) to give consent or deny access to others to the child's educational record.
(b) The department shall establish, by regulation, impartial procedures for a school district to follow for due process hearings to comply with requirements necessary to participate in federal grant-in-aid programs, including 20 U.S.C. 1400 - 1487 (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).
(a) Each fiscal year, the department shall allocate funding for the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy program in an amount equal to the base student allocation multiplied by seven for each residential student and the base student allocation multiplied by 6/10 for each nonresidential student, minus the amount received by the program in federal matching grant funds. The determination of the number of residential and nonresidential students shall be made by the department on October 1 of the prior year.
(b) In this section,
(1) 'base student allocation' means the amount established under AS 14.17.470;
(2) 'nonresidential student' means a student who receives services but does not reside at the program site;
(3) 'program' means the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy program;
(4) 'residential student' means a student who resides at the program site.
Within 14 days after enrolling a child as a transfer student from this or another state in an elementary or secondary school, the school or school district shall request directly from the child's previous school a certified copy of the child's record. An elementary or secondary school or a school district in this state requested to forward a copy of a transferring child's record to another school shall comply with the request within 10 days after receiving the request unless the record has been flagged under AS 14.30.700 . Upon receipt of a request for a record that has been flagged, the school or school district shall immediately notify the Department of Public Safety. Unless directed to do so by the Department of Public Safety, a school or a school district may not forward a copy of a flagged record. In this section, 'record' includes information about the child's commission of an offense that is punishable as a felony or that involved the use of a deadly weapon, as that term is defined in AS 11.81.900 (b).
(a) The governing body of each school district shall provide for and require a physical examination of every child attending school in the district. The examination shall be made when the child enters school or, in areas where no physician resides, as soon thereafter as is practicable, and thereafter at regular intervals considered advisable by the governing body of the district. For purposes of this subsection, physical examinations, within the scope of chiropractic practice, may be conducted by a chiropractor.
(b) The Department of Health and Social Services may require the district to conduct additional physical examinations that it considers necessary, and may reimburse the district for the additional examinations on the basis and to the extent the commissioner of health and social services prescribes by regulation.
(c) Examinations shall be made by a competent physician or, within the scope of chiropractic practice, by a chiropractor, except that if the services of a physician or chiropractor cannot be obtained or if authorized by the commissioner of health and social services examinations may be made by a nurse.
(a) Each district in the state public school system shall be encouraged to initiate and conduct a program in health education for kindergarten through grade 12. The program should include instruction in physical health and personal safety including alcohol and drug abuse education, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), early cancer prevention and detection, dental health, family health including infant care, environmental health, the identification and prevention of child abuse, child abduction, neglect, sexual abuse, and domestic violence, and appropriate use of health services.
(b) The state board shall establish guidelines for a health and personal safety education program. Personal safety guidelines shall be developed in consultation with the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Upon request, the Department of Education and Early Development, the Department of Health and Social Services, and the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault shall provide technical assistance to school districts in the development of personal safety curricula. A school health education specialist position shall be established and funded in the department to coordinate the program statewide. Adequate funds to enable curriculum and resource development, adequate consultation to school districts, and a program of teacher training in health and personal safety education shall be provided.
(a) If a parent of a child with a disability enrolls the child in a private school, including a religious school, at the parent's expense or teaches the child at home, the school district in which the child resides shall make special education and related services available in conformance with federal requirements, including 34 C.F.R. 300.450 - 462. A parent teaching the parent's child at home may refuse special education and related services for the child.
(b) If a physician certifies in writing, and if the child's individualized education program under AS 14.30.278 provides that a child's bodily, mental, or emotional condition does not permit attendance at a school and the child's parents do not elect to teach the child at home as permitted under AS 14.30.010 (b), the school district in which the child is located shall enroll the child in public school and provide the child with special education and related services in conformance with the child's individualized education program at the child's home or at a medical treatment facility.
(a) The agency may
(1) receive and expend public and private funds to carry out the purposes of the agency;
(2) contract with the department and other public or private agencies for the provision of special education or related services;
(3) do whatever is necessary to carry out the purposes of AS 14.30.600 - 14.30.660.
(b) The agency shall
(1) provide special education services including
(A) itinerant outreach services to deaf, deaf-blind, mentally retarded, hearing impaired, blind and visually impaired, orthopedically handicapped, other health-impaired, severely emotionally disturbed, and multi-handicapped students;
(B) special education instructional support and training of local school district special education personnel; and
(C) other services appropriate to special education needs;
(2) provide for an annual audit of the agency;
(3) provide the department with a two-year plan of operation including a description of the services to be offered by the agency, the method by which the services will be evaluated, information on the number of students and school district personnel to be served, a schedule of funds available to the agency from all sources, and other information that may be required by the department by regulation;
(4) present an annual budget to the department.
An adventure-based education program is a program designed to bring adventure-based education to high school students and appropriate juvenile offenders. A program shall include provisions for the following phases:
(1) Phase I: Basic Skills Learning
(A) physical conditioning: running, hiking, swimming, and other related activities;
(B) technical training: the use of specialized tools and equipment, camping, cooking, map reading, navigation, life saving, drown proofing, and solo survival;
(C) safety training: first aid skills, emergency care, preventive medicine, nutrition, health, and personal hygiene care;
(D) team training: rescue techniques, evacuation exercises, and fire fighting;
(E) solo: solitary living for a short period with minimal equipment;
(F) interpersonal skills training: coping skills, individual and group problem solving, and societal communication skills;
(G) culturally relevant activities: traditional modes of subsistence living, travelling and surviving in wilderness areas and communities in Alaska, and cross-cultural experiences.
(2) Phase II: Skills Generalization
(A) vocational counseling and placement;
(B) family and interpersonal counseling;
(C) community systems utilization:
(i) transportation,
(ii) community services systems,
(iii) community problem solving.
Article 09. SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICE AGENCY
(a) A school board shall establish a local Native language curriculum advisory board for each school in the district in which a majority of the students are Alaska Natives and any school district with Alaska Native students may establish a local Native language curriculum advisory board for each school with Alaska Native students in their district. If the local Native language curriculum advisory board recommends the establishment of a Native language education curriculum for a school, the school board may initiate and conduct a Native language education curriculum within grades K through 12 at that school. The program, if established, must include Native languages traditionally spoken in the community in which the school is located. Each school board conducting a program of Native language education shall implement the program as a part of regular classroom studies and shall use
(1) instructors who are certified under AS 14.20.020 or 14.20.025; and
(2) to the maximum extent possible
(A) instructors and instructional materials available through the University of Alaska; and
(B) audio-visual, computer, and satellite technology.
(b) In this section,
(1) 'district' has the meaning given in AS 14.17.990 ;
(2) 'Native' means a person of one-fourth degree or more Alaskan Indian, Eskimo, or Aleut blood.
Article 08. ADVENTURE-BASED EDUCATION
(a) Special education and related services shall be provided by
(1) a borough or city school district for a child with a disability residing within the district;
(2) the board of a regional educational attendance area operating a school in the area for a child with a disability residing in the area served by the school;
(3) the borough, city school district, or regional educational attendance area in which a treatment facility or a correctional or youth detention facility is located for a child with a disability placed at the facility;
(4) a state boarding school established under AS 14.16 for a child with a disability enrolled at a state boarding school; or
(5) a school district that provides a statewide correspondence study program for a child with a disability who is enrolled in the program.
(b) [Repealed, Sec. 41 ch 67 SLA 2001].
(c) [Repealed, Sec. 19 ch 147 SLA 1984].
(d) [Repealed, Sec. 19 ch 147 SLA 1984].
(e) If the parent of a child with a disability elects to educate the child as allowed under AS 14.30.010 (b), the child may not be compelled to receive the special education and related services provided under AS 14.30.180 - 14.30.350.
(f) The department shall, by regulation, establish standards for the allocation of financial responsibilities and the coordination of the provision of special education and related services among the educational agencies listed in (a) of this section when more than one educational agency is responsible for providing those services.
(a) The department shall institute a statewide program for the education of children with disabilities to ensure that whenever possible children are educated in the state at locations in or near their resident school district.
(b) An identified child with a disability may be sent to an educational program or residential school outside the child's community or school district if the child resides in a community or school district where an appropriate educational program cannot reasonably be made available and if the school district determines that provision of special education and related services in another educational program or residential school is appropriate. If the school district approves the enrollment of a child with a disability in another educational program or residential school outside the child's community or school district and the child is enrolled, the child's education expenses shall be paid as follows:
(1) except as otherwise provided by (2) of this subsection, the sending district shall pay all costs associated with the transfer;
(2) the department may provide financial assistance to the school district for a child's education provided for in (1) of this subsection under regulations adopted by the department.
(c) [Repealed, Sec. 19 ch 147 SLA 1984].
(d) For the purposes of this section a child's education expenses are limited to the actual cost of necessary care, transportation, and special education and related services, including room and board.
(e) The educational assessment of a child with a disability that indicates that the educational program that is locally available is inappropriate for the needs of the child must conform to the standards set out in AS 14.30.191 .
(f) A school district shall obtain informed consent of the child's parent before a child may be transferred to a school outside the district in which the child resides.
(g) The withholding of informed consent by a parent for the transfer of a child with a disability under this section does not relieve a school district of the obligation to provide special education and related services to the child.
(a) A school district shall obtain the written informed consent of the child's parent before an initial evaluation or placement of a child with a disability in a program of special education and related services.
(b) After initial placement in a program of special education and related services and not less than once every three years for as long as the child is assigned to the program, a child with a disability shall receive an educational evaluation.
(c) Before a school district initiates or refuses a change in the placement or educational program of a child with a disability, the district shall notify the child's parent.
(d) Upon completion of an evaluation or reevaluation under this section, the school district shall provide to the parent of each child evaluated under this section an opportunity to participate in the determination of the
(1) child's eligibility for special education and related services; and
(2) educational placement of the child if the child is determined to be eligible for special education and related services.
(e) A parent may obtain an independent educational evaluation by choosing a person from a list provided by the district or by choosing a person by agreement between the parent and the school district, at the expense of the school district, if the parent disagrees with an evaluation obtained by the school district. The school district may initiate a hearing to show that its evaluation is appropriate. If the hearing officer determines that the evaluation is appropriate, the school district may not be required to pay for the independent educational evaluation.
(f) If the parent obtains an independent educational evaluation at private expense, the results of the evaluation
(1) must be considered by the school district in a decision made with respect to the provision of an appropriate public education to the child;
(2) may be presented as evidence at a hearing regarding the child.
(g) If a hearing officer requests an independent educational evaluation as part of a hearing, the school district shall pay for the evaluation.
(h) A school district shall provide written notice of its decision under this section to the parent of the child. The notice must include a description of the procedural safeguards available to the parent and child under federal law.
(i) In this section, 'hearing' means a due process hearing under AS 14.30.193.
(1) 'appropriate education' means personalized instruction with sufficient support services to permit a child to benefit educationally from the instruction;
(2) 'child with a disability' means a child with one or more of the following:
(A) mental retardation;
(B) learning disabilities;
(C) emotional disturbance;
(D) deafness;
(E) deaf-blindness;
(F) hearing impairment;
(G) orthopedic impairment;
(H) other health impairment;
(I) speech or language impairment;
(J) visual impairment;
(K) multiple disabilities;
(L) early childhood development delay;
(M) autism;
(N) traumatic brain injury;
(3) 'due process hearing' means a hearing conducted under AS 14.30.193;
(4) 'educational records' means those files, documents, records, and other material that contain information directly related to a student and are maintained by a school district or a person acting for a school district; the term 'educational records' does not include the personnel records of the school district, maintained in the normal course of business, that relate exclusively to a person's capacity as an employee, or other records as designated by the department in regulation;
(5) 'informed consent' means that
(A) a child's parent has been fully informed, in the parent's native language or other mode of communication, of all information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought;
(B) the parent understands and agrees in writing to the carrying out of the activity for which the parent's consent is sought;
(C) the consent describes that activity and lists any records that will be released and to whom; and
(D) the parent understands that the granting of consent is voluntary on the part of the parent and may be revoked at any time.
(6) 'parent' means a
(A) child's natural or adoptive parent;
(B) child's guardian, but not the state if the child is in the legal custody of the state;
(C) person who is acting in the place of a child's natural or adoptive parent, such as a grandparent or stepparent with whom the child lives, or a person who is legally responsible for the child's welfare; and
(D) child's surrogate parent who has been appointed under AS 14.30.325;
(7) 'related services' means services described in 34 C.F.R. 300.24;
(8) 'school district' means a borough school district, a city school district, a regional educational attendance area, a state boarding school, and the state centralized correspondence study program;
(9) 'special education' means an educational program described in 34 C.F.R. 300.26;
Article 04. EDUCATION FOR GIFTED CHILDREN
(a) A school district or a parent of a child with a disability may request a due process hearing on any issue related to identification, evaluation, or educational placement of the child, or the provision of a free, appropriate, public education to the child. A request is made by providing written notice to the other party to the hearing. A parent shall make a request for a due process hearing under this section not later than 12 months after the date that the school district provides the parent with written notice of the decision with which the parent disagrees. A school district shall make its request for a due process hearing in accordance with the time limit established by the department by regulation.
(b) If a due process hearing is requested by either a school district or a parent, the school district shall contact the department to request appointment of a hearing officer. The department shall select a hearing officer through a random selection process, from a list maintained by the department under (g) of this section. Within five working days after receipt of the request, the department shall provide to the school district and the parent a notice of appointment, including the name and a statement of qualifications, of the hearing officer that the department determines is available to conduct the hearing.
(c) The school district and the parent each have the right to reject, without stating a reason, one hearing officer appointed under this section. The rejecting party shall notify the department of that rejection in writing within five days after receipt of the department's notice of appointment. If a hearing officer is rejected under this subsection, the department shall, within five working days after receipt of the written rejection, provide a notice of appointment, including the name and a statement of qualifications, of another hearing officer that the department determines is available to conduct the hearing. Each appointment is subject to a right of rejection under this subsection by a party who has not previously rejected an appointment.
(d) After a hearing officer is appointed and the time for rejection under (c) of this section has expired, the hearing officer shall immediately inform the parent and the school district of the availability of the mediation process provided under AS 14.30.194 and encourage use of that process to attempt to resolve the disagreement between the parent and the school district. If the mediation process does not result in settlement of all of the issues, the hearing officer shall conduct a hearing in conformance with the requirements of federal law, including 34 C.F.R. 300.507 - 509. After the hearing is completed, the hearing officer shall issue a written decision that
(1) upholds the school district's decision; or
(2) overturns the school district's decision with specific instructions for modification of the identification, evaluation, educational placement, or provision of the education program by the district.
(e) A hearing officer's decision under this section is final and binding on the school district and parent unless appealed under (f) of this section. Notwithstanding a decision by the hearing officer, a child may not be evaluated, placed, transferred, or compelled to receive special education or related services from the school district until the period for filing an appeal under (f) of this section has expired or, if an appeal is filed, until the appellate review process has been completed.
(f) A hearing officer's decision under this section is a final administrative order, subject to appeal to the superior court for review in the manner provided under AS 44.62.560 .
(g) The department shall maintain a list of qualified hearing officers and shall provide for qualification of hearing officers through a training program that is open to all individuals who meet the criteria set by the department by regulation. The list of qualified hearing officers shall be maintained as a public record.
(h) For purposes of this section, a student with a disability aged 18 - 21 has the same rights and obligations under this section as a parent of a child with a disability.
(a) Every child between seven and 16 years of age shall attend school at the public school in the district in which the child resides during each school term. Every parent, guardian or other person having the responsibility for or control of a child between seven and 16 years of age shall maintain the child in attendance at a public school in the district in which the child resides during the entire school term, except as provided in (b) of this section.
(b) This section does not apply if a child
(1) is provided an academic education comparable to that offered by the public schools in the area, either by
(A) attendance at a private school in which the teachers are certificated according to AS 14.20.020 ;
(B) tutoring by personnel certificated according to AS 14.20.020 ; or
(C) attendance at an educational program operated in compliance with AS 14.45.100 - 14.45.200 by a religious or other private school;
(2) attends a school operated by the federal government;
(3) has a physical or mental condition that a competent medical authority determines will make attendance impractical;
(4) is in the custody of a court or law enforcement authorities;
(5) is temporarily ill or injured;
(6) has been suspended or expelled under AS 14.03.160 or suspended or denied admittance under AS 14.30.045 ;
(7) resides more than two miles from either a public school or a route on which transportation is provided by the school authorities, except that this paragraph does not apply if the child resides within two miles of a federal or private school that the child is eligible and able to attend;
(8) is excused by action of the school board of the district at a regular meeting or by the district superintendent subject to approval by the school board of the district at the next regular meeting;
(9) has completed the 12th grade;
(10) is enrolled in
(A) a state boarding school established under AS 14.16; or
(B) a full-time program of correspondence study approved by the department; in those school districts providing an approved correspondence study program, a student may be enrolled either in the district correspondence program or in the centralized correspondence study program;
(11) is equally well-served by an educational experience approved by the school board as serving the child's educational interests despite an absence from school, and the request for excuse is made in writing by the child's parents or guardian and approved by the principal or administrator of the school that the child attends;
(12) is being educated in the child's home by a parent or legal guardian.
(c) If a parent, legal guardian, or other person having the responsibility for or control of the child elects to enroll a child who is six years of age in first grade at a public school, after enrollment, the child is subject to the provisions of (a) and (b) of this section. If the parent or guardian of a child who is six years of age and is enrolled in first grade at a public school determines, within 60 days after the child is enrolled, that the best interests of the child are not being served by enrollment in the first grade, the child may be withdrawn from school, and the provisions of (a) and (b) of this section do not apply to the child until the child is seven years of age.
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