(a) Basis for placement. - A child with a disability who needs special education, and related services that cannot be provided in a public county, regional, or State program shall be placed in an appropriate nonpublic educational program that offers these services.

(b) Payment of cost - In general. - The cost of the nonpublic educational program shall be paid by the State and the county in which the child is domiciled in accordance with §8-415(d) of this subtitle, as appropriate.

(c) Same - Approval by Department. -

     (1) Payment or reimbursement for a nonpublic program may not be provided if the payment or reimbursement would require an additional contribution from the State under §8-415 (d)(2) of this subtitle unless the Department approves:
          (i) The nonpublic program;
          (ii) The placement of the child in the program;
          (iii) The cost of the program; and
          (iv) The amount of payment or reimbursement.

     (2) Department approval is not required for a nonpublic program if:
          (i) The local school system approves the placement of the child in the program; and
          (ii) The local school system makes the payment or reimbursement from local funds.

     (3) The State Board shall adopt regulations that establish standards and guidelines for approvals required by paragraph (2) of this subsection.

(d) Limitations on disapproval of placement recommended by local school system. - A nonpublic placement recommended by a local school system for approval under subsection (c)(1) of this section shall be approved or disapproved pursuant to the regulations of the State Board. However, the Department may not disapprove a nonpublic placement recommended by a local school system for a child unless the Department provides an appropriate alternative placement in conformity with the regulations of the State Board and applicable federal laws and regulations. The Department may not terminate funding for the last approved nonpublic placement of a child during the pendency of an administrative or judicial review of a recommended placement change.

(e) Funding approval. - In addition to meeting the requirements of this subtitle, a local school system seeking nonpublic tuition payment must also meet the requirements of Article 49D of the Code, as applicable, and obtain funding approval from the local coordinating council and the State coordinating council. (An. Code 1957, art. 77, §106D; 1978, ch. 22, §2; ch. 942, §§2, 3; 1979, ch. 224; 1980, ch. 265; 1982, ch. 260; 1985, ch. 10,
§3; 1996, ch. 10, §16; 1998, ch. 726.)

Effect of amendments. - Chapter 726, Acts 1998, effective July 1, 1998, rewrote (a); rewrote (c)(2); substituted "regulations" for "bylaws" in (c)(3); in (d), substituted "local school system" for "county board" twice and substituted "regulations" for "bylaws" twice; and rewrote (e).
Maryland Law Review. - For article, "Maryland's Exchangeable Children: A Critique of Maryland's System of Providing Services to Mentally Handicapped Children," see 42 Md. L. Rev. 823 (1983).

University of Baltimore Law Review. -For note on procedural guidelines for implementing the right to free public education for handicapped children in Maryland, see 4 U. Balt. L. Rev. 136 (1974).
For article, "Recent Changes in the Law Affecting Educational Hearing Procedures for Handicapped Children," see 7 U. BaIt. L. Rev. 41(1977).

Obligation of state receiving financial assistance under Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975. - A state availing itself of financial assistance under the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (see generally 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq.) is not thereby required to provide a handicapped child all services necessary to maximize his or her potential commensurate with the opportunity provided to other children in order to fulfill the statutory duty to offer a free "appropriate education." Rather, the obligation is to provide personalized instruction with sufficient support services to enable the handicapped child to benefit educationally from that instruction. Hessler ex rel. Britt v. Maryland Bd. of Educ., 700 F.2d 134 (4th Cir. 1983).

Nonpublic educational services used only when appropriate public services unavailable. - While the federal and State statutory schemes clearly contemplate the use of nonpublic educational services under some circumstances, such resort is limited to those instances in which public educational services appropriate for the handicapped child are not available. Hessler ex rel. Britt v. Maryland Bd. of Educ., 700 F.2d 134 (4th Cir. 1983).

Inappropriateness of given educational placement must be specifically alleged. -Because a given educational placement is allegedly more appropriate than another, it does not follow that the less appropriate program is not "appropriate" within the meaning of the Education of All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (see generally 20 U.S.C. §1400 et seq.); the inappropriateness must be specifically alleged. Hessler ex rel. Britt v. Maryland Bd. of Educ., 700 F.2d 134 (4th Cir. 1983).

Cost of raw food incurred by children. -It is the duty of the board to decide whether it will, within the limits of fiscal appropriations, fund the cost of raw food incurred by children placed in nonpublic residential educational placements. 62 Op. Att'y Gen. 353 (1977).