BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1369
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|Author: |Frazier |
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|Version: |May 4, 2015 Hearing |
| |Date: July 8, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant: |Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: Special education: dyslexia
SUMMARY
This bill expands the description of psychological processes to
include "phonological processing," and requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop program
guidelines for dyslexia to assist teachers and parents to
identify and assess students with dyslexia, and to plan,
provide, evaluate and improve educational services for students
with dyslexia.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1)Defines a specific learning disability as a disorder in one or
more of the basic psychological processes involved in
understanding or in using language, spoken or written, which
may manifest itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think,
speak, read, write, spell, or perform mathematical
calculations.
(United States Code, Title 20, § 1401, and Education Code §
56337)
2)Includes in the definition of a specific learning disability
conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury,
minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental
aphasia. Existing regulations specify that the basic
psychological processes include attention, visual processing,
AB 1369 (Frazier) Page 2
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auditory processing, sensory-motor skills, cognitive abilities
(including association), conceptualization and expression.
(California Code of Regulations, Title 5, § 3030)
3)Provides that a student who is assessed as being dyslexic and
meets eligibility criteria for the category of specific
learning disabilities is entitled to special education and
related services. (EC § 56337.5)
4)Provides that if a student who exhibits the characteristics of
dyslexia or another related reading dysfunction is not found
to be eligible for special education and related services, the
student's instructional program is to be provided in the
regular education program. (EC § 56337.5)
5)Encourages institutions of higher education to provide, in
teacher training programs, increased emphasis on the
recognition of, and teaching strategies for, specific learning
disabilities, including dyslexia and related disorders. (EC §
44227.7)
6)Encourages the inclusion of a component on the recognition of,
and teaching strategies for, specific learning disabilities,
including dyslexia and related disorders, in local in-service
training programs for regular education teachers and special
education teachers in local educational agencies. (EC §
56245)
7)Requires, in an uncodified section, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction to develop program guidelines for specific
learning disabilities, including dyslexia and related
disorders, for use by regular and special educators and
parents to assist them in identifying, assessing, planning,
providing, evaluating, and improving educational services to
students. (AB 3040, Speier, Ch. 1501, 1990)
8)States Legislative intent that the program guidelines for
specific learning disabilities, including dyslexia and other
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related disorders, be available for use by teachers and
parents in order for them to have knowledge of the strategies
that can be utilized with pupils for the remediation of the
various types of specific learning disabilities. (EC §
56337.5)
ANALYSIS
This bill expands the description of psychological processes to
include "phonological processing," and requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to develop program
guidelines for dyslexia to assist teachers and parents to
identify and assess students with dyslexia, and to plan,
provide, evaluate and improve educational services for students
with dyslexia. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the State Board of Education to include "phonological
processing" in the description of basic psychological
processes in regulations.
2)Requires the SPI to develop program guidelines for dyslexia to
be used to assist regular education teachers, special
education teachers, and parents to identify and assess
students with dyslexia, and to plan, provide, evaluate, and
improve educational services to students with dyslexia.
3)Defines "educational services" as an evidence-based,
multisensory, direct, explicit, structured, and sequential
approach to instructing students who have dyslexia.
4)Requires the program guidelines to:
a) Include characteristics typical of students with
dyslexia and strategies for their remediation, as well as
information to assist educators in distinguishing between
characteristics of dyslexia and characteristics of normal
growth and development.
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b) Be developed in consultation with teachers, school
administrators, other educational professionals, medical
professionals, parents, and other professionals involved in
the identification and education of students with dyslexia.
c) Be completed in time for use by the beginning of the
2017-18 academic year.
5)Requires the SPI to disseminate the program guidelines through
the California Department of Education's website and provide
technical assistance regarding their use and implementation to
parents, teachers, school administrators, and faculty members
in teacher training programs of institutions of higher
education.
STAFF COMMENTS
1)Need for the bill. According to the author, "Currently the law
states that a child qualifies for special education services
if they have an auditory or visual processing disorder.
However, many students are missed and not qualified for
services because dyslexia is a phonological processing
disorder. California code 'encourages' districts to use an
appropriate program for a student with dyslexia or suspected
of having dyslexia. However, districts have failed to put the
encouragement into action. For children with dyslexia to be
successful students and citizens that they are capable of
becoming, schools have the responsibility to use the
intervention that science has showed time and time again is
effective."
2)Phonological processing. Existing regulations specify that the
basic psychological processes include attention, visual
processing, auditory processing, sensory-motor skills,
cognitive abilities (including association), conceptualization
and expression. This bill requires the State Board of
Education to include "phonological processing" in the
description of basic psychological processes in regulations.
Phonological processing is related to the ability to recognize
and understand (process) units of words, and is distinct from
visual or auditory processing. It appears expanding
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regulations to include phonological processing could result in
the use of additional measures and areas of consideration when
assessing a student who is suspected of having dyslexia or
other specific learning disabilities. This bill may result in
the provision of support for students who are not currently
identified as being eligible for special education, thereby
expanding eligibility for special education and related
services.
3)Program guidelines. Legislation passed in 1990 required the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to develop program
guidelines for specific learning disabilities, including
dyslexia and related disorders, for use by regular and special
educators and parents to assist them in identifying,
assessing, planning, providing, evaluating, and improving
educational services to students. Those program guidelines
where developed but are no longer readily available and are
certainly outdated. This bill requires the SPI to once again
develop program guidelines, which are not mandatory for local
educational agencies (LEA) to follow.
4)Fiscal impact. According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill would impose:
a) One-time General Fund (GF) administrative costs to the
California Department of Education of approximately
$170,000 and ongoing GF costs of approximately $110,000.
This includes staff support to the State Board of Education
for regulatory reform, and the development and
dissemination of guidelines.
b) Potential Proposition 98/GF reimbursable state mandated
costs to LEA to the extent expanded services are provided
as a result of the revised definition of psychological
processes. This bill requires the California Code of
Regulations to be updated to include "phonological
processing" in the description of basic psychological
processes. This definition appears to exceed federal law
and
could trigger state mandated costs if services are expanded
beyond that which is authorized under the federal
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
SUPPORT
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California Lieutenant Governor, Gavin Newsom
California State PTA
Charles Armstrong School
Children's Health Council
Children's Health Council, Sand Hill School
Children's Health Council, The Center, Evaluation, Therapy,
Learning
Decoding Dyslexia California
Dyslexia Training Institute
Headstrong Nation
International Dyslexia Association, So CA Tri-Counties Branch
Learn 2 Read, Orange County
Literate Nation California Coalition
Parental Advocacy for Children in Exceptional Situations
State Council on Developmental Disabilities
The International Dyslexia Association, Northern California
Branch
University of California San Francisco
Numerous individuals
OPPOSITION
Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) Administrators of
California
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