BILL NUMBER: AB 2521 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cooley
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 78050) to
Chapter 1 of Part 48 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code,
relating to community colleges.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2521, as amended, Cooley. Community colleges: support
for students with special needs: funding. Los Rios
Community College Pilot Program to Support Special Needs Students.
Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under
the administration of the Board of Governors of the California
Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary
education in this state. Existing law requires the board of governors
to adopt rules and regulations for the administration and funding of
educational programs and support services provided to disabled
students by community college districts.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to
enact legislation to fund personal, educational, and academic
supports for students with special needs attending community
colleges. authorize the Los Rios Community College
District to establish the Los Rios Community College Pilot
Program to Support Special Needs Students to provide various forms
of academic and personal support to students with special needs,
including autism spectrum disorders. The pilot program would require
specified individuals who provide support to these students to submit
progress reports to the district and would require the district to
compile this information and post it on its Internet Web site.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and
declares both of the following:
(a) Providing comprehensive support services to special needs
students empowers them to advocate for themselves, master the skills
needed to live independently, and make daily life decisions. In doing
so, these students also develop rewarding and appropriate
relationships with peers and adults.
(b) With coaching from an independent living skills instructor,
special needs students can learn to use public transportation, manage
their money, pay bills, shop for groceries, prepare meals, clean
their apartments, and do their laundry. These individualized supports
complement these students' higher education goals and prepares them
to transition confidently to independent living, employment, and
adulthood.
SEC . 2. Article
4 (commencing with Section 78050) is added to Chapter 1 of Part 48 of
Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code ,
to read:
Article 4. Los Rios Community College Pilot Program to Support
Special Needs Students
78050. This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Los
Rios Community College Pilot Program to Support Special Needs
Students.
78051. The Los Rios Community College Pilot Program to Support
Special Needs Students may be established by the Los Rios Community
College District to provide access to learning supports for students
with special needs, such as autism spectrum disorders, including
Asperger Syndrome, social and emotional maturation issues, and other
related disabilities. As part of the pilot program, the district may
contract with public or private programs that provide a network of
comprehensive services, including the support of resident advisors,
tutors, mentors, psychologists, academic liaisons, site directors,
and others to help special needs students become more
self-sufficient, independent, confident, and successful in their
academic endeavors.
78052. The pilot program shall provide special needs students
with all of the following:
(a) Comprehensive academic support that includes helping them
apply to community college and register and enroll in community
college classes.
(b) An independent living skills instructor and encouragement and
support in seeking apartments near campus with one or more roommates.
(c) An individually assigned mentor, ideally a graduate student in
psychology, to provide additional academic and personal support.
(d) (1) Additional support provided by a dedicated team that
includes the program's director, a psychologist, additional tutors
and mentors, and a resident assistant, as appropriate.
(2) Individuals who provide support pursuant to subdivisions (b)
to (d), inclusive, shall submit progress reports for their special
needs students participating in the pilot program to the Los Rios
Community College District. The district shall compile the
information in these reports and post it on the district's Internet
Web site for parents and teachers to access.
(3) The information posted pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be
posted in a manner that provides appropriate protections for the
privacy of students involved consistent with the federal Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g).
78053. The pilot program shall allow special needs students who
have not completed high school to simultaneously earn a high school
diploma, or its equivalent, and college credits at community colleges
within the district.
78054. Funding for the pilot program may be derived from any
source, including, but not limited to, state and nonstate funding
sources.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation to fund personal, educational, and academic
supports for students with special needs attending community
colleges.