BILL NUMBER: AB 1841	CHAPTERED
	BILL TEXT

	CHAPTER  243
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  SEPTEMBER 24, 2010
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  SEPTEMBER 23, 2010
	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 11, 2010
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 16, 2010
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 3, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 6, 2010
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 18, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Buchanan

                        FEBRUARY 12, 2010

   An act to amend Sections 56021.1 and 56346 of the Education Code,
relating to special education.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1841, Buchanan. Special education: parental consent.
   (1) Existing law, in defining the term "consent" for purposes of
the provision of special education and related services to
individuals with exceptional needs, includes in that definition a
statement that a parent or guardian understands that granting consent
is voluntary and he or she may revoke that consent at any time.
Existing law provides that revocation of consent is not retroactive
to negate an action that occurred after consent was given and prior
to the revocation.
   This bill, in addition, would provide that a public agency is not
required to amend the education records of a child to remove any
reference to the child's receipt of special education and services if
the child's parent or guardian submits a written revocation of
consent after the initial provision of special education and related
services to the child.
    (2) Existing law requires a local educational agency that is
responsible for providing a free appropriate public education and
related services to a child with a disability to make reasonable
efforts to obtain informed consent from the parent of the child
before providing special education and related services to the child,
as specified. Existing law requires a local educational agency to
file a request for due process, as specified, if the parent or
guardian of a child who is an individual with exceptional needs
refuses all services in the individualized education program after
having consented to those services in the past.
   This bill would delete that latter requirement and, pursuant to a
specified federal regulation, instead would prohibit a public agency,
in the event that the parent or guardian of a child submits a
written revocation of his or her consent at any time subsequent to
the initial provision of special education and related services to
the child, from continuing to provide special education and related
services to the child or from using specified procedural safeguards
to obtain agreement or a ruling that the services may be provided to
the child. The bill would require the public agency to provide prior
written notice to the child's parent or guardian, as specified,
before ceasing the provision of the special education and related
services. The bill would require that a public agency be deemed in
compliance with the requirement to make a free appropriate public
education available to a child if the agency ceases to provide the
child with further special education and related services pursuant to
these provisions. The bill would provide that a public agency is not
required to convene an individualized education program team meeting
or develop an individualized education program for the child for
further provision of special education and related services.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 56021.1 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
   56021.1.  "Consent," as provided in Section 300.9 of Title 34 of
the Code of Federal Regulations, means all of the following:
   (a) The parent or guardian has been fully informed of all
information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought, in
his or her native language, or other mode of communication.
   (b) The parent or guardian understands and agrees in writing to
the carrying out of the activity for which his or her consent is
sought; and the consent describes that activity and lists the
records, if any, that will be released and to whom.
   (c) The parent or guardian understands that the granting of
consent is voluntary on the part of the parent or guardian and may be
revoked at any time. If a parent or guardian revokes consent, that
revocation is not retroactive to negate an action that has occurred
after the consent was given and before the consent was revoked. A
public agency is not required to amend the education records of a
child to remove any reference to the child's receipt of special
education and services if the child's parent or guardian submits a
written revocation of consent after the initial provision of special
education and related services to the child.
  SEC. 2.  Section 56346 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   56346.  (a) A public agency, as defined in Section 56028.5, that
is responsible for making a free appropriate public education and
related services to the child with a disability under this part shall
seek to obtain informed consent from the parent of the child before
providing special education and related services to the child
pursuant to Section 1414(a)(1)(D)(i)(II) of Title 20 of the United
States Code. The public agency shall make reasonable efforts to
obtain informed consent from the parent for the initial provision of
special education and related services to the child in accordance
with Section 300.300(b)(2) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.
   (b) If the parent of the child fails to respond or refuses to
consent to the initiation of services pursuant to subdivision (a),
the public agency shall not provide special education and related
services to the child by utilizing the procedures in Section 1415 of
Title 20 of the United States Code or the procedures in subdivision
(e) of Section 56506 in order to obtain agreement or a ruling that
the services may be provided to the child.
   (c) If the parent of the child refuses to consent to the initial
provision of special education and related services, or the parent
fails to respond to a request to provide the consent, both of the
following are applicable:
   (1) The public agency shall not be considered to be in violation
of the requirement to make available a free appropriate public
education to the child for the failure to provide the child with the
special education and related services for which the public agency
requests consent.
   (2) The public agency shall not be required to convene an
individualized education program team meeting or develop an
individualized education program under this part for the child for
the special education and related services for which the public
agency requests consent.
   (d) (1) Pursuant to Section 300.300(b)(4) of Title 34 of the Code
of Federal Regulations, if the parent or guardian of a child submits
a written revocation of his or her consent pursuant to this section
at any time subsequent to the initial provision of special education
and related services to the child, the public agency shall not do
either of the following:
   (A) Continue to provide special education and related services to
the child, but shall provide prior written notice to the child's
parent or guardian in accordance with Section 56500.4 before ceasing
the provision of the special education and related services.
   (B) Use the procedural safeguards specified in Chapter 5
(commencing with Section 56500), including mediation and the due
process complaint procedures, to obtain agreement or a ruling that
the services may be provided to the child.
   (2) A public agency shall be deemed in compliance with the
requirement to make a free appropriate public education available to
a child if the agency ceases to provide the child with further
special education and related services pursuant to this subdivision.
A public agency is not required to convene an individualized
education program team meeting or develop an individualized education
program pursuant to this article for the child for further provision
of special education and related services.
   (e) If the parent of the child consents in writing to the receipt
of special education and related services for the child but does not
consent to all of the components of the individualized education
program, those components of the program to which the parent has
consented shall be implemented so as not to delay providing
instruction and services to the child.
   (f) With the exception of a parent of a child who fails to respond
pursuant to subdivision (b), or refuses to consent to services
pursuant to subdivision (b), if the public agency determines that the
proposed special education program component to which the parent
does not consent is necessary to provide a free appropriate public
education to the child, a due process hearing shall be initiated in
accordance with Section 1415(f) of Title 20 of the United States
Code. If a due process hearing is held, the hearing decision shall be
the final administrative determination and shall be binding upon the
parties. While a resolution session, mediation conference, or due
process hearing is pending, the child shall remain in his or her
current placement, unless the parent and the public agency agree
otherwise.
   (g) In accordance with Section 300.300(d)(4)(i) of Title 34 of the
Code of Federal Regulations, if the parent of a child who is home
schooled or placed in a private school by the parents at their own
expense does not provide consent for the initial assessment or the
reassessment, or the parent fails to respond to a request to provide
consent, the public agency shall not use the consent override
procedures described in Section 300.300(a)(3) and (c)(1) of Title 34
of the Code of Federal Regulations. The public agency is not required
to consider the child as eligible for services under Article 5.6
(commencing with Section 56170) of Chapter 2.