Amended in Assembly April 14, 2016

Amended in Assembly March 17, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2521

Introduced by Assembly Member Cooley

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(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Medina)

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February 19, 2016

An act to add begin insert and repeal end insert Article 4 (commencing with Section 78050) begin delete to end delete begin insert of end insert 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. 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 begin delete would end delete begin insert would, until June 30, 2022, end insert 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: 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
begin delete prepares end delete begin insert prepare end insert 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 begin delete Asperger Syndrome, end delete begin insert Aspergers syndrome, end insert
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 begin delete advisors, end delete
begin insert advisers, end insert 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.

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begin insert 78055. end insert   

This article shall become inoperative on June 30, 2022,
and, as of January 1, 2023, is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2023,
deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and
is repealed.

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