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Sponsor and Department press changes to special‑education definitions, citing audit; disability advocates urge delay for public review
Summary
Representative Caitlin Kuttab and Department of Education officials told the Senate Education Committee that House Bill 699 aligns New Hampshire definitions with federal IDEA and would require approved educational environments; advocates cautioned the bill relies on an unreleased audit and called for amendments and rulemaking.
Representative Caitlin Kuttab introduced House Bill 699 to the Senate Education Committee, saying the bill responds to observations from a special‑education audit and aims to bring state law into alignment with federal standards.
"House Bill 699 was put in at the request of the Department of Education following a special education audit so that we would be in compliance, federally," Representative Caitlin Kuttab said. She told the committee two central goals are to ensure students receive specialized instruction from appropriately qualified specialists and to require that the Department approve educational environments — not just programs. Kuttab said the change is intended to prevent students from receiving services in unsafe locations such as storage closets or boiler rooms.
Rebecca Ferdette, the Department of Education’s state director of special education, said the bill pulls existing definitions from state rules into statute, and references the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)…
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