BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1369|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1369
Author: Frazier (D), et al.
Amended: 5/4/15 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 9-0, 7/8/15
AYES: Liu, Runner, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning,
Pan, Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 6/1/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Special education: dyslexia
SOURCE: Decoding Dyslexia California
DIGEST: 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.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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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,
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
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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 (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. (AB 3040, Speier, Chapter 1501, Statutes of 1990)
8)States legislative intent that the program guidelines for
specific learning disabilities, including dyslexia and other
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)
This bill:
1)Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) 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.
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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.
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 (CDE)
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.
Comments
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 SBE 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,
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and is distinct from visual or auditory processing. It appears
expanding 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.
Program guidelines. Legislation passed in 1990 required the 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 to follow.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
According to the CDE, one-time costs of about $103,000 and
three partial staff to modify regulations and develop and
disseminate program guidelines on dyslexia. Costs also
include creating webinars to provide technical assistance, and
travel costs associated with stakeholder meetings. (General
Fund)
After year one, ongoing costs of about $130,000 for one
position and a partial position to provide technical
assistance to the field, update and disseminate information,
and respond to complaints of non-compliance with the new
guidelines. (General Fund)
Significant local cost pressures to implement the guidelines
developed by the CDE.
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SUPPORT: (Verified8/27/15)
Decoding Dyslexia California (source)
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
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Dyslexia Training Institute
Headstrong Nation
International Dyslexia Association, Southern California
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: (Verified8/27/15)
Association of California School Administrators
California Association of School Psychologists
Special Education Local Plan Area Administrators of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to Decoding Dyslexia
California, "Dyslexia was included in the federal Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act as a qualifying condition under
the special education eligibility category of Specific Learning
Disability. Since that time we have collected a tremendous
amount of evidence about how dyslexia manifests in the brain,
how it manifests in the classroom, the genetic component of
dyslexia, but more importantly, we know what type of instruction
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works for students with dyslexia. Despite this mountain of
research which has been well-documented and available to anyone
interested in laymen's terms, parents and advocates attend
individualized education program (IEP) and school meetings on a
regular basis where the IEP team repeatedly tells parents and
advocates that dyslexia does not exist, that it is a broad term,
that public schools do not work with dyslexia and the list of
unfounded comments goes on and on."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: According to the Special Education
Local Plan Area Administrators of California, "AB 1369 mandates
unique new special education requirements that will result in
substantial costs to the state. First, the bill requests that
the State Board of Education modify California regulations
regarding 'basic psychological processes' to include
'phonological processing.' This addition, which does not
conform to federal law, would create a new right in California
without compelling evidence for the need. In addition, the
revised standards would open the door for every student who may
be having any difficulty reading to request a new type of
special education assessment."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 6/1/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
Prepared by:Lynn Lorber / ED. / (916) 651-4105
8/31/15 9:05:51
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