BILL NUMBER: AB 2785	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  AUGUST 17, 2016
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  AUGUST 23, 2016
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 1, 2016
	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, 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, assessing, supporting, and
reclassifying English learners who may qualify for special education
services and pupils with disabilities who may be classified as
English learners, as specified, with the goal of providing guidance,
for voluntary use by local educational agencies, charter schools, and
the state special schools on evidence-based and promising practices
for the identification, assessment, support, and reclassification of
those pupils and to promote a collaborative approach among general
education teachers, special education teachers, school
administrators, paraprofessionals, other involved personnel, and
parents in determining the most appropriate academic placements and
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 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 the
dissemination of the manual and the means of providing professional
development on the content of the manual, as specified, but would
condition the actual implementation of the plan on an appropriation
for that purpose in the annual Budget Act or another enacted statute.
The bill 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.


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 who
qualify for special education services.
   (b) There are approximately 734,000 pupils with disabilities in
California public schools, representing 12 percent of the state's
enrollment. Some of these pupils with disabilities are also English
learners.
   (c) The accurate identification of English learners who qualify
for special education services, the classification of pupils with
disabilities as English learners, and the determination of
appropriate services for these pupils is in the interest of pupils,
families, educators, local educational agencies, and the state.
   (d) The identification, assessment, support, reclassification, and
special education exit of these pupils involve complex and
interrelated processes, and educators would benefit from state
guidance on how best to identify these pupils.
   (e) Educators would also benefit from state guidance about how to
support the learning needs of these pupils.
   (f) 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.
   (g) 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, assessing, supporting, and reclassifying
these pupils.
  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, assessing, supporting, and reclassifying English
learners who may qualify for special education services and pupils
with disabilities who may be classified as English learners.
   (b) The goal of the manual shall be to provide guidance, for
voluntary use by local educational agencies, charter schools, and the
state special schools, on evidence-based and promising practices for
the identification, assessment, support, and reclassification of
these pupils and to promote a collaborative approach among general
education teachers, special education teachers, school
administrators, paraprofessionals, other involved personnel, and
parents in determining the most appropriate academic placements and
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
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 who may
have disabilities and accurately classifying pupils with disabilities
as English learners, including guidance on avoiding
overidentification and underidentification of these pupils for
special education services and in different disability categories and
in different grade spans.
   (2) Information on second language acquisition and progress,
including guidance on distinguishing between language acquisition and
disabilities.
   (3) Examples of prereferral 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, including assessment accommodations in
primary languages.
   (6) Guidance on the consideration of extrinsic factors, such as
vision, hearing, and health, in the identification of pupils.
   (7) Guidance on the development of individualized education
programs for English learners, including the composition of
individualized education program teams.
   (8) Guidance on how to support the language and content learning
needs of English learners who may have disabilities, including how to
do so in the least restrictive environment, as described in Section
56040.1, and in a manner that enables access to the core curriculum.
   (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.
   (11) Information on the role of culture and acculturation, to the
extent it is related to the process of identifying English learners
for special education services.
   (12) Guidance for working with families, including guidance on
meeting the needs of nonnative English speaking parents, guardians,
and educational rights holders in special education proceedings.
   (13) Examples of any plans or processes used by local educational
agencies for continuous evaluation and systemic review and guidance
on sharing information between special education and English learner
programs within local educational agencies for the purpose of
tracking effectiveness, to the extent permitted under state and
federal law regarding the privacy of pupil information.
   (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.
   (f) The manual shall be written for ease of use by educators. The
department is encouraged to incorporate 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 later be identified as individuals with exceptional needs, as
defined in Section 56026, including pupils who have been or may later
be identified as having a low incidence disability, as defined in
Section 56026.5, or a severe disability, as defined in Section
56030.5, and also includes pupils with disabilities who may be later
classified as English learners.
   (i) (1) (A) In implementing this section, the department, with
input from the stakeholder group, shall develop a plan for the
dissemination of the manual and the means of providing professional
development on the content of the manual. The plan shall address how
the state and local educational agencies can collaborate in meeting
both of these objectives in a cost-effective manner.
   (B) Implementation of the plan developed pursuant to subparagraph
(A) shall be contingent upon an appropriation for that purpose in the
annual Budget Act or another enacted statute.
   (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.
   (j) It is the intent of the Legislature that this section be
funded with federal funds, to the extent permissible.