# Title 15.1 — Elementary and Secondary Education

## Chapter 15.1-34 — Students With Disabilities Boarding Home Care

### § 15.1-34-01. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:
1. "Boarding home care for a student with disabilities" means the provision of food,
shelter, security, and safety, on a twenty-four-hour basis, to an individual who has
reached the age of three years but who has not reached the age of twenty-one before
September first of the year in which the individual turns twenty-one and who because
of mental, physical, emotional, or learning characteristics requires regular or special
education and related services designed to meet the individual's educational needs.
2. "Department" means the department of health and human services.
3. "Family boarding home" means a private residence at which boarding home care is
regularly provided by the owner or lessee to no more than four students with
disabilities. The limit of four students may be exceeded if all the students boarding at
the home are related to each other by blood or marriage.
4. "Registration" means the process by which the department maintains a record of all
family boarding homes, prescribes standards and adopts rules under section
15.1-34-14, and requires the operator of a home to certify that the operator has
complied with the prescribed standards and adopted rules.
5. "Registration certificate" means a document issued by the department to provide
public notice that the certificate holder is in compliance with this chapter and the
applicable rules and standards prescribed by the department.
6. "Relative" means a grandparent, brother, sister, stepparent, stepsister, stepbrother,
uncle, or aunt of the student by marriage, blood, or adoption.
### § 15.1-34-02. Students with disabilities - Boarding home care - Registration certificate.

A person may not establish or operate a family boarding home unless the person first
obtains a registration certificate from the department. This section does not apply if the student's
boarding and care are provided in:
1. The home of a relative.
2. A home or institution under the management and control of the state or the board of a
school district.
3. A home providing "foster care for children" as defined in section 50-11-00.1.
### § 15.1-34-03. Registration certificate - Application.

1. In order to obtain a registration certificate for a family boarding home, a person shall
complete an application form available from the department.
2. The department may investigate the applicant's activities and may inspect the home
for which the registration is sought.
3. The department shall grant the registration certificate within ten working days from the
date the department receives the application if:
a. The home is in sanitary condition;
b. The home is properly equipped to provide for the health and safety of student
boarders; and
c. The individual in charge of the home and all assistants are qualified to fulfill the
duties required of them under this chapter and under any rules or standards
prescribed by the department.
4. A registration certificate issued under this section is effective for up to two years.
### § 15.1-34-04. Boarding home fire inspection - Report.

The state fire marshal or a designee of the state fire marshal shall inspect any home for
which a registration certificate is sought if requested to do so by the department. The
department may inspect any home for which a registration certificate is sought. The entity

conducting the inspection under this section shall prepare an inspection report and present the
report to the department.
### § 15.1-34-05. Boarding home - Conditions - Inspection - Investigation of owner or

operator.
At any time, the department or its authorized agents may inspect the conditions of a family
boarding home and investigate the qualifications of the owner or operator.
### § 15.1-34-06. Conviction - Effect on registration - Exceptions.

A person who has been convicted of an offense may not be disqualified from registration
under this chapter, unless:
1. The department determines that the offense has a direct bearing upon the person's
ability to serve the public as an owner or operator of a boarding home for students with
disabilities; or
2. Following conviction for any offense, the department deems that the person is not
sufficiently rehabilitated under section 12.1-33-02.1.
### § 15.1-34-07. Registration certificate - Denial - Administrative hearing.

If after reviewing a person's application for a registration certificate the department elects to
deny the application, the department shall serve the applicant with notice of the denial and with
the reasons for the denial. The department shall hold an administrative hearing under
chapter 28-32 regarding the person's application and its subsequent denial if requested to do so
by the applicant within ten days from the date on which the department served the notice of
denial.
### § 15.1-34-08. Registration certificate - Information.

The registration certificate must indicate the name of the owner or operator of the boarding
home, the location of the boarding home, and the maximum number of students with disabilities
who, at any one time, may board at the home.
### § 15.1-34-09. Records - Maintenance - Examination.

Any person to whom a registration certificate has been issued shall:
1. Maintain records regarding each student for whom care is provided, as directed by the
department;
2. Submit forms and other information regarding each student for whom care is provided,
as directed by the department; and
3. Allow department personnel and authorized agents of the department to examine all
books, records, and reports regarding the home and each student for whom care is
provided.
### § 15.1-34-10. Records - Students - Confidentiality.

All records and information regarding a student for whom care is provided under this
chapter are confidential and may be disclosed only:
1. As part of a judicial proceeding;
2. To officers of the law;
3. To representatives of a governmental entity;
4. To the parent of a student for whom care is provided under this chapter; and
5. To any person who in the opinion of the department has, or may acquire, an advocacy
function on behalf of a student for whom care is provided under this chapter.
### § 15.1-34-11. Registration certificate - Revocation.

The department may revoke a registration certificate issued under this chapter if:
1. The home is in an unsanitary condition.
2. The home is not properly equipped to provide for the health and safety of the students.

3. The individual in charge of the home and all assistants are not qualified to fulfill the
duties required of them under this chapter and under any rules adopted by the
department.
4. The owner or operator does not comply with the standards prescribed by the
department.
5. The registration certificate was issued as a result of an application that contained
fraudulent information or an untrue representation.
6. The person to whom the registration certificate was issued violated a rule adopted by
the department.
7. The person to whom the registration certificate was issued is found guilty of an offense
which, in the determination of the department, has a direct bearing upon the person's
ability to serve the public as an owner or operator of a boarding home for students with
disabilities.
8. The person to whom the registration certificate was issued is found guilty of any
offense and the department determines that the person is not sufficiently rehabilitated
under section 12.1-33-02.1.
### § 15.1-34-12. Registration certificate - Revocation - Administrative hearing.

Before the department may revoke a person's registration certificate, the department shall
serve the holder of the registration certificate with notice of the revocation and the grounds for
the revocation. The department shall hold an administrative hearing under chapter 28-32
regarding the revocation of the person's registration certificate, if requested to do so by the
holder of the registration certificate within ten days from the date on which the department
served the notice of revocation.
### § 15.1-34-13. Student with disabilities - Placement by governmental entity -

Requirements.
A governmental entity may not provide for the placement of a student with disabilities in a
family boarding home unless the person operating the home:
1. Has obtained a registration certificate; or
2. Is exempt from the registration requirement under subsection 1 or 2 of section
department.
### § 15.1-34-14. Minimum standards - Rules - Inspection by governmental entity.

The department may:
1. Establish standards for the registration and operation of a family boarding home.
2. Allow the application of alternate standards, if appropriate.
3. Adopt rules governing the provision of boarding home care to students with disabilities.
4. Authorize a governmental entity to:
a. Inspect any home for which a registration certificate is sought under this chapter;
and
b. Certify that the home meets the requirements of this chapter and any standards
set by the department.
### § 15.1-34-15. Penalty.

A person who violates this chapter is guilty of a class B misdemeanor.
