BILL NUMBER: AB 164 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 30, 2002
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 27, 2002
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 12, 2002
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 16, 2002
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 6, 2002
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 30, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 15, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Harman
JANUARY 31, 2001
An act to add and repeal Section 56509 of the Education Code,
relating to special education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 164, Harman. Special education: alternative dispute
resolution.
Existing law provides procedural safeguards, including due process
hearings for the resolution of complaints regarding alleged
violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Act. Existing law
also authorizes parties to special education disputes to seek
resolution through mediation prior to filing a request for a due
process hearing.
This bill would require the State Department of Education to
establish and administer a statewide program of grant funding, with
specified components, to support special education local plan areas
(SELPAs) in conducting alternative dispute resolution programs for
resolving special education disputes. The bill would state the
intent of the Legislature, subject to the availability of federal
funds, to make $300,000 available for purposes of the program, on an
annual basis, would prescribe the allocation of funds under the
program, and would require grant recipients to perform specified
services related to alternative dispute resolution. The bill would
prescribe other matters related to the grant program. The bill would
become inoperative on July 1, 2008.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(1) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C.
Sec. 1400 et seq.) encourages the use of mediation to resolve
disputes between parents of children with disabilities and local
education agencies.
(2) The only statewide mediation process available to parents and
local education agencies is a prehearing mediation conference filed
with the state or a mediation conference scheduled after a request
for a due process hearing has been filed with the state.
(3) The number of requests for special education due process
hearings and complaints filed by parents of children with
disabilities against local education agencies have increased
significantly in recent years.
(4) The costs of litigation, state level mediation, and
investigation of complaints have likewise increased significantly in
recent years.
(5) The current system of dispute resolution often results in
adversarial relationships between parents and local education
agencies, thereby affecting the provision of an appropriate education
to children with disabilities.
(6) A limited number of special education local plan areas
(SELPAs) have implemented an alternative dispute resolution process
that has successfully resolved disputes at the local level, thereby
reducing the amount and cost of litigation and complaint
investigation at the state level.
(7) Parents of children with disabilities are entitled to other
options for dispute resolution that develop lasting relationships and
build trust.
(8) Through an alternative dispute resolution program, children
with disabilities may be provided appropriate services.
(b) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to do the
following:
(1) To establish new options for alternative dispute resolution at
the local level through coordination by the SELPA system or
collaboration of multiple SELPAs.
(2) These new options not interfere with a parent's right to
pursue other options at the state level, but work in conjunction with
these options to provide a greater variety of options to the parent.
(3) A program be established with funding to support the
development and implementation of alternative dispute resolution in
each SELPA throughout the state.
SEC. 2. Section 56509 is added to the Education Code, to read:
56509. (a) The State Department of Education shall establish and
administer a statewide program of grant funding to establish
alternative dispute resolution programs for special education that
includes the following:
(1) An advisory board that includes representatives from local
alternative dispute resolution projects to ensure ongoing
communication.
(2) An annual planning and training conference for new
implementers of alternative dispute resolution programs.
(3) An annual statewide conference for all implementers of
alternative dispute resolution programs.
(4) Criteria for awarding grants, funding, data collections, and
evaluating alternative dispute resolution projects.
(5) The selection of recipients and allocation of funding.
(6) The selection of individuals to serve as mentors to support
implementers.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Department
of Education shall be funded only from federal funds at three hundred
thousand dollars ($300,000) annually, as adjusted annually by the
cost of living, to carry out its responsibilities under subdivision
(a).
(c) Subject to the availability of federal funding for this
purpose, funding for grant recipients shall be at the following
levels:
(1) SELPAs and multi-SELPA applicants selected by the State
Department of Education Shall receive fifty thousand dollars
($50,000) annually, as adjusted annually by the cost of living, for a
period not to exceed three years for initial implementation
purposes.
(2) SELPAs and multi-SELPA applicants that continue to implement
alternative dispute resolution programs after the initial three years
shall receive ongoing funding at twenty-five thousand dollars
($25,000) annually plus twenty-five cents ($0.25) per average daily
attendance, as adjusted annually by the cost of living and as
recommended by the State Department of Education for ongoing program
maintenance.
(d) SELPAs and multi-SELPA collaboratives receiving funding under
this section shall provide the following services:
(1) Intake coordination and parent outreach.
(2) Prevention activities.
(3) Formal dispute resolution activities.
(4) Training of parents and local education agency staff.
(5) Data collection.
(6) Narrative reports of alternative dispute resolution training
and other activities.
(7) Expenditure reports.
(8) Evaluation activities.
(9) Participation in annual planning and implementation
conferences.
(e) The State Department of Education shall administer a
mentorship program that identifies individuals whose responsibility
is to provide support to implementers. These individuals shall be
responsible for the following activities:
(1) Participation on the alternative dispute resolution advisory
board.
(2) Participation in the planning and implementation of quarterly
meetings with assigned implementers.
(3) Participation in the planning and implementation of the annual
statewide alternative dispute resolution conference.
(4) Participation in the planning and implementation of the annual
alternative dispute resolution planning conference.
(5) A quarterly report of activities to the State Department of
Education.
(6) Consultation, training, and other technical assistance to
support the State Department of Education and SELPAs to implement the
provisions of this chapter.
(7) Contracting with individuals to mentor planning and
implementing.
(f) The State Department of Education shall select grant
recipients from the northern, southern, and central regions of the
state, from urban, rural, and suburban areas, so that the recipients
are broadly representative of the state.
(g) Alternative dispute resolution programs conducted pursuant to
this section shall be coordinated with, and to the extent feasible,
operated through, the Family Empowerment Centers on Disability
established by Chapter 4.3 (commencing with Section 56400).
(h) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2008, and, as
of January 1, 2009, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
becomes operative on or before January 1, 2009, deletes or extends
the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.