BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 2785
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|Author: |O'Donnell |
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|Version: |April 27, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: June 22, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Olgalilia Ramirez |
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Subject: Special education: English learners: manual
SUMMARY
This bill requires, by July 1, 2018, the California Department
of Education (CDE) to develop a manual for the purpose of
providing guidance to local educational agencies (LEA) on
identifying, assessing, and supporting, English learners who may
qualify for special education services.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
1) Requires local educational agencies to actively and
systematically seek out all individuals with exceptional
needs, from birth to 21 years of age.
(Education code § 56300)
2) Requires the determination of a student's primary
language upon enrollment and assessment of the language
skills of all students whose primary language is other than
English. (EC § 52164.1)
3) Requires, under federal law, that an individualized
education program (IEP) team, in the case of an English
learner, consider the language needs of the student as such
needs relate to his or her IEP. (34, CFR § 300.346)
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4) Requires LEAs to take any action necessary to ensure
that, in an IEP team meeting, the parent or guardian
understands the proceeding, including arranging for an
interpreter for parents or guardians with deafness or whose
native language is a language other than English. (EC §
56341.5)
5) Requires proposed special education assessment plans to
be provided to parents in the native language of the parent
or other mode of communication used by the parent, unless
it is clearly not feasible to do so. (EC § 56321)
6) Requires LEAs to give the parent or guardian a copy of
the individualized education program, at no cost to the
parent or guardian. (EC § 56341.5)
7) Defines "consent" in special education proceedings to
include situations in which the parent or guardian has been
fully informed of all information relevant to the activity
for which consent is sought, in his or her native language,
or other mode of communication. (EC § 56021.1)
8) Prohibits, through federal law, a determination that a
student is eligible for special education if the
determining factor is limited English proficiency.
(34 CFR 300.309)
9) Requires, through federal law, the California Department
of Education (CDE) to report annually to the federal
government on the number of students with disabilities,
including the number who have disabilities, and the
incidence and duration of disciplinary actions by race,
ethnicity, and limited English proficiency status. (34 CFR
§ 300.600)
ANALYSIS
This bill:
1) Requires CDE to develop a manual for the purpose of
providing guidance to local educational agencies (LEAs) on
identifying, assessing and supporting English learners who
may qualify for special education services.
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2) Specifies that the goal is to provide guidance for
voluntary use by LEAs on evidence-based and promising
practices for the identification, assessment and support of
English learners who may have disabilities, and to promote
collaboration as specified, in determining the most
appropriate academic placements and services for these
students.
3) Requires CDE to do all of the following in the development
of the manual:
a) Review manuals and other resources provided on
this topic by the
specified public entities and organizations.
b) Establish and consult with stakeholder groups,
comprised of experts and
practitioners in either special education, English
learner education, or in both.
4) Requires the manual to include all of the following topics:
a) Guidance for accurately identifying English
learners who may have
disabilities, including on avoiding the
over-identification and under-
identification of these students for special education
services and in
different disability categories and in different grade
spans.
b) Information on second language acquisition and
progress, including
guidance on distinguishing between language
acquisition and disabilities.
c) Information on the role of culture and
acculturation, to the extent it is
related to the process of identifying English learner
reclassification
process for English learners with disabilities.
d) Examples of pre-referral strategies, early
interventions, and early
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intervening strategies specifically addressing the
needs of English
learners, as specified.
e) 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.
f) Guidance on all of the following areas:
i) Referral processes and use of
assessments.
ii) Consideration of extrinsic factors,
such as vision and health, in the
identification of students.
iii) Development of individualized education
programs for English
learners.
iv) How to support the language and content
learning needs of English
learners who may have disabilities.
v) Placement or continued placement in
bilingual programs and on
providing services and instruction in primary
languages.
vi) Special education exit and English
learner reclassification process
for English learners with disabilities.
vii) Working with families including meeting
the needs of nonnative
English speaking parents, guardians, and
educational rights
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holders in special education proceedings.
g) State and federal law, regulations, and guidance
related to the rights of
English learners and students with disabilities.
5) Requires that the manual be:
i) Consistent with state and federal law,
regulations, and guidance
regarding English learners and special education.
ii) Written for ease of use by educators.
The department is
encouraged to incorporate graphic organizers and
other helpful
features such as flowcharts, checklists, sample
forms and case
examples.
6) Requires the California Department of Education to:
a) Post the manual on its Internet Web site and on
its professional
development Internet Web site.
b) Develop a plan with input from the stakeholder
group, 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.
7) Requires that the plan 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.
8) Defines, for the purpose of this bill, the following terms:
a) "English learners" includes pupils who have been
classified as English
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learners and those who may later be classified as
English learners.
b) "Pupils with disabilities" includes pupils who
have been or may be
identified as individuals with exceptional needs, as
defined in section
56026 of the Education Code, including pupils who have
been or may be
identified as having a low incidence disability, as
defined in section
56020.5, or a severe disability, as defined in Section
56030.5
9) States the intent of the Legislature that these activities
be paid for with federal funds.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill: According to the author, "the
inappropriate identification of English learners for
special education services is a long-standing problem, with
serious consequences for student learning. Research
indicates that this problem, first identified in the
1960's, persists today. Students may mistakenly be
identified as requiring special education services when
their language proficiency is mistaken for a disability.
Conversely, English learners may be prevented from
receiving needed special education services when
disabilities are mistaken for language learning needs."
This bill seeks to promote accurate identification of
English learners who may qualify for special education
services by requiring the California Department of
Education (CDE) to provide evidence based guidance to
educators in the form of a manual.
2) Identifying English learners for special education services
at a higher rate.
According to the CDE, while 10% of California students
qualify for special education services, 9.1% of English
proficient students and 14.4% of English learners qualify
for these services. This shows that English learners are
identified for special education services at a higher rate
than for non-English learners. Compared to other states,
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California has an above average percentage of English
learners in special education and 35% of all English
learners in special education in the country. The
identification, assessment and instruction of English
learners who may qualify for special education services is
a complex process and inappropriate placements may cause a
spike in rates. This bill seeks to assist educators to
distinguish between language acquisition and disability.
Part of the strategy to help educators improve in this area
is sharing information on pre-referral and early
intervention strategies; a process for continuous
evaluation and systemic review; as well as providing
information on the role of culture and acculturation in the
process of identifying English learner reclassification for
English learners with disabilities.
3) Related research. This bill implements recommendations from
multiple reports on English learners and special education
identification. It primarily draws from two reports issued
in 2015, Identifying and Supporting English Learner
Students with Learning Disabilities: Key Issues in the
Literature and State Practice, by the Regional Educational
Laboratory West (WestEd) and Improving the Opportunities
and Outcomes of California's Student Learning English
released by Policy Analysis for Education (PACE). The
following are key issues raised by these reports that are
related to the provisions of the bill:
a) Inability to distinguish between a language
learning need and a disability. Educators often face
challenges determining whether a student's difficulty
progressing academically is a result of a disability
or a language barrier. For example, in the area of
English language arts, teachers may confuse the signs
of learning disabilities with the development of
pronunciation, syntax, or semantic development.
Educators may also be hesitant to refer a student with
a possibility disability until their English
proficiency improves. This is a key factor in both the
over identification and under identification of
English learners for special education services.
b) Insufficient use of assessment accommodations.
Assessment accommodations, such as primary language
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support, English language reference materials, and the
option for oral response in English are a few of the
ways in which educators can get more accurate picture
of English learners' abilities. Overreliance on
standardized tests for English learners with
disabilities results in under-identification in the
early elementary grades and over-identification in
subsequent grades.
c) Poorly designed and implemented referral
strategies. Poorly designed referral strategies are a
major barrier for accurate identification and
designating appropriate services. A systematic
referral process is needed. This process would allow
educators to know when and under which circumstances
to refer, establish protocols for review of multiple
factors and create a process for interpretation and
translation for parents in special education
proceedings. Referral teams should include English
learner specialist and special education specialist
who are trained to assess English learner students.
d) Lack of intervention strategies. Early
intervention can reduce referrals for special
education services and strategies such as response to
intervention are increasingly employed by schools.
Some schools also use pre-referral strategies such as
a child study team to make instructional modifications
and provide supports before a student is referred for
assessment.
e) Inappropriate instructional practices. English
learners with disabilities require specialized
instruction in order to progress academically both
prior to referral and after qualifying for services.
However, educators have difficulty providing
consistent, adequate services to English learners with
disabilities, in part due to gaps in skills required
to meet both sets of needs.
The guidance manual established by the provisions of this bill
aims to address each of these points by incorporating the wide
array of resources produced on this topic, bringing together a
stakeholder group comprised of experts in both special education
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and English learner education to guide educators in
appropriately addressing the needs of this unique student
population.
4) Related legislation.
AB 2091 ( Lopez, 2016) would require local educational agencies
to provide parents with a translated copy of an individualized
education program (IEP) and other specified documents, upon
request, and requires that the IEP and related documents be
translated by a qualified translator. AB 2091 was heard by this
Committee and approved by a vote of 8-0.
AB 1876 (Lopez, 2016) prohibits the California Department of
Education from approving or renewing approval of a contractor or
testing center to administer tests for a high school equivalency
certificate unless the contractor or testing center provides the
tests in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and provides that an
examinee shall be permitted to take the test in any of these
three languages. AB 1876 is set to be heard June 22, 2016.
SUPPORT
Association of California School Administrators
California Association for Bilingual Education
California Federation of Teachers
California School Boards Association
California State PTA
California Teachers Association
Californians Together
Disability Rights California
Public Counsel
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools
Santa Clara County Office of Education
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
The Education Trust-West
The State Council on Developmental Disabilities
OPPOSITION
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None received.
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