Pennsylvania Act 1975-129 — NONPUBLIC SCHOOL CHILDREN - SERVICES FOR SPEECH AND HEARING DEFECTS

Act text

NONPUBLIC SCHOOL CHILDREN - SERVICES FOR SPEECH AND HEARING DEFECTS
                 Act of Nov. 26, 1975, P.L. 460, No. 129              Cl. 24
                                  AN ACT

     Providing services for the diagnosis and correction of speech
        and hearing defects to nonpublic school children.

        The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
     hereby enacts as follows:

        Section 1.  Legislative Finding; Declaration of Policy.--
     Defects in speech and hearing are health-related. They are also
     the frequent cause of emotional instability in children and are
     vitally connected to behavior and to learning ability. Services
     to remedy these defects can best be conducted upon the premises
     of the school which the child regularly attends, and forcing
     children to go to other premises in order to have such needed
     services is found by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of
     Pennsylvania to be both inadequate and harmful. The General
     Assembly expressly finds and declares speech and hearing
     correctional services to be health services, and it is the
     intention of the General Assembly now to make these available,
     on a general and even-handed basis to all school children in the
     Commonwealth.
        Section 2.  Definition.--As used in this act:
        "Nonpublic school" means any nonprofit school, other than a
     public school within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, wherein a
     resident of the Commonwealth may legally fulfill the compulsory
     school attendance requirements and which meets the requirements
     of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Pub. L. 88-352).
        Section 3.  Provision of Services.--The Secretary of
     Education directly, or through the intermediate units out of
     their allocation under section 922.1A of the act of March 10,
     1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the "Public School Code of 1949,"
     shall have the power and duty to furnish free to nonpublic
     school students, upon the premises of the nonpublic schools
     which they regularly attend, services adequate for the diagnosis
     and correction of speech and hearing defects provided that such
     services are also afforded to public school students by the
     public school district in which such nonpublic school is
     located.
        Section 4.  Effective Date.--This act shall take effect
     immediately.