BILL NUMBER: AB 2785 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 27, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 7, 2016
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 17, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member O'Donnell
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to add Section 56305 to the Education Code, relating to
special education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2785, as amended, O'Donnell. Special education: English
learners: manual.
Existing law requires local educational agencies to actively and
systematically seek out all individuals with exceptional needs, from
birth to 21 years of age, inclusive, including children not enrolled
in public school programs, who reside in a school district or are
under the jurisdiction of a special education local plan area or a
county office of education.
This bill would require the State Department of Education, on or
before July 1, 2018, to develop a manual providing guidance to local
educational agencies on identifying
identifying, assessing, and supporting English learners who
may qualify for special education services, as specified,
with the goal of providing state guidance to educators on
the identification guidance, for voluntary use by
local educational agencies, including charter schools, on
evidence-based and promising practices for the identification,
assessment, and support of English learners with
who may have disabilities and to promote a
collaborative approach among general education teachers,
special education teachers, school administrators, other
personnel, and parents in determining the most appropriate academic
placements and supports services for
these pupils. The bill would require the department to post the
manual on its Internet Web site and on its professional development
Internet Web site. In developing the manual, the bill would
require the department to review manuals and other resources
produced on this topic by other states
local educational agencies, special education administrators, other
organizations, other states, and the federal government, and to
establish and consult with a stakeholder group comprised of
specified experts and practitioners. As part of implementing these
provisions, the bill would require the department, with input from
the stakeholder group, to develop a plan for dissemination of the
manual and providing professional development for staff at
schoolsites and administrators of local educational agencies on
the content of the manual, as specified, and would require the
department to submit the plan to the State Board of Education, the
Department of Finance, the Legislative Analyst's Office, the
California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, the Advisory
Commission on Special Education, and the appropriate
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on or before July 1,
2018. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that its
provisions be funded with federal funds, to the extent permissible.
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 all of the
following:
(a) There are approximately 1.4 million English learners in
California public schools, representing 22 percent of the state's
enrollment. Some of these English learners are also pupils
with disabilities. who qualify for special education
services.
(b) The accurate identification of English learners for
who qualify for special education services,
and the determination of the best academic placement
appropriate services for these pupils
pupils, is in the interest of pupils, families,
educators, local educational agencies, and the state.
(c) The identification of English learners for
who qualify for special education services
involves complex and interrelated processes, and educators would
benefit from state guidance on how best to identify these pupils.
(d) Educators would also benefit from state guidance about how to
support the learning needs of English learners with
disabilities. who qualify for special education
services.
(e) Other states have provided their educators with such guidance
through manuals on the topic of English learners and
special education. The federal government recommends that states
develop guidance for educators on this topic.
(f) California, which enrolls one in every three English learners
in the country, and 35 percent of all English learners who
receive special education services in the United States, should
provide such guidance for its educators in the form of a manual and
professional development on identifying
identifying, assessing, and serving English learners
with disabilities. who qualify for special education
services.
SEC. 2. Section 56305 is added to the Education Code, to read:
56305. (a) On or before July 1, 2018, the department shall
develop a manual providing guidance to local educational agencies on
identifying identifying, assessing, and
supporting English learners who may qualify for special
education services.
(b) The goal of the manual shall be to provide state
guidance to educators on the identification guidance,
for voluntary use by local educational agencies, including charter
schools, on evidence-based and promising practices for the iden
tification, assessment, and support of English learners
with who may have disabilities and to
promote a collaborative approach among general education
teachers, special education teachers, school
administrators, other personnel, and parents in determining the most
appropriate academic placements and supports
services for these pupils.
(c) In developing the manual, the department shall do both of the
following:
(1) Review manuals and other resources produced on this
topic by other states. local educational
agencies, special education administrators, other organizations,
other states, and the federal government.
(2) Establish and consult with a stakeholder group comprised of
experts and practitioners. These individuals shall have expertise or
experience in either special education, English learner education, or
in both.
(d) The manual shall include all of the following topics:
(1) Guidance for accurately identifying English learners
with who may have disabilities, including
guidance on avoiding the over-identification and under-identification
of these pupils. pupils for special
education services and in different disability categories and in
different grade spans.
(2) Information on second language acquisition and
progress. progress, including guidance on
distinguishing between language acquisition and disabilities.
(3) A sample Examples of prereferral
or intervention program. strategies, early
interventions, and early intervening strategies specifically
addressing the needs of English learners, including
examples of early interventions for pupils in preschool and the
primary grades who are acquiring foundational language and literacy
skills.
(4) Guidance on referral processes.
(5) Guidance on the use of assessments, including the use of
multiple measures as well as assessment accommodations for both
language and disability. disability,
including assessment accommodations in primary languages.
(6) Guidance on the consideration of extrinsic factors, such as
vision and health, in the identification of pupils.
(6)
(7) Guidance on the development of individualized
education programs for English learners.
learners, including the composition of individualized education
program teams.
(7)
(8) Guidance on how to support the language and content
learning needs of English learners with who
may have disabilities, including how to do so in
inclusive settings. the least restrictive environment,
as described in Section 56040.1.
(9) Guidance regarding placement or continued placement in
bilingual programs and on providing services and instruction in
primary languages.
(10) Guidance on special education exit and English learner
reclassification processes for English learners with disabilities.
(8)
(11) Information on the role of culture and
acculturation. acculturation, to the extent it is
related to the process of identifying English learners for special
education services.
(9)
(12) Guidance for working with families, including
guidance on meeting the needs of nonnative English speakers
speaking parents, guardians, and educational rights
holders in special education proceedings.
(10) A sample plan
(13) Examples of any plans or processes
used by local educational agencies for continuous evaluation
and systemic review, including guidance on tracking effectiveness and
sharing information between special education and English learner
programs within local educational agencies, to the extent permitted
under state and federal law.
(11) Laws and regulations
(14) State and federal law ,
regulations, and guidance related to the rights of English
learners and pupils with disabilities.
(e) All guidance in the manual shall be consistent with state and
federal law, regulations, and guidance regarding English learners and
special education.
(e)
(f) The manual shall be written for ease of use by
educators and shall include educators. The
department is encouraged to incorporate graphic organizers and
other helpful features such as flowcharts, checklists, sample forms,
and case examples.
(g) The department shall post the manual on its Internet Web site
and on its professional development Internet Web site.
(h) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "English learners" includes pupils who have been classified as
English learners and those who may later be classified as English
learners.
(2) "Pupils with disabilities" includes pupils who have been or
may be identified as individuals with exceptional needs, as defined
in Section 56026, including pupils who have been or may be identified
as having a low incidence disability, as defined in Section 56026.5,
or a severe disability, as defined in Section 56030.5.
(f)
(i) (1) In implementing this section, the department,
with input from the stakeholder group, shall develop a plan for
dissemination of the manual and providing professional development
for staff at schoolsites and administrators of local educational
agencies on the content of the manual. The plan shall address
how the state and local educational agencies can
collaborate with the department in meeting both of
these objectives.
(2) The plan shall be submitted to the state board, the Department
of Finance, the Legislative Analyst's Office, the California
Collaborative for Educational Excellence, the Advisory
Commission on Special Education, and the appropriate policy and
fiscal committees of the Legislature on or before July 1, 2018.
(g)
(j) It is the intent of the Legislature that this
section be funded with federal funds, to the extent permissible.