§ 53A-25b-103. Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind created -- Designated LEA -- Services statewide.

(1) The Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind is created as a single public school agency that includes:

(a) the Utah School for the Deaf;

(b) the Utah School for the Blind;

(c) programs for students who are deafblind; and

(d) the Parent Infant Program.

(2) Under the general control and supervision of the board, consistent with the board's constitutional authority, the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind:

(a) may provide services to students statewide:

(i) who are deaf, blind, or deafblind; or

(ii) who are neither deaf, blind, nor deafblind, if allowed under rules of the board established pursuant to Section 53A-25b-301; and

(b) shall serve as the designated LEA for a student and assume the responsibilities of providing services as prescribed through the student's IEP or Section 504 accommodation plan when the student's LEA of record, parent or legal guardian, and the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind determine that the student be placed at the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.

(3) When the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind becomes a student's designated LEA, the LEA of record and the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind shall ensure that all rights and requirements regarding individual student assessment, eligibility, services, placement, and procedural safeguards provided through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq. and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, remain in force.

(4) Nothing in this section diminishes the responsibility of a student's LEA of record for the education of the student as provided in Title 53A, Chapter 15, Part 3, Education of Children with Disabilities.

Enacted by Chapter 294, 2009 General Session