BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
AB 2785 (O'Donnell) - Special education: English learners:
manual
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|Version: August 1, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: August 1, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill requires, by July 1, 2018, the California
Department of Education (CDE) to develop a manual providing
guidance to local educational agencies (LEAs) on identifying,
assessing, supporting, and reclassifying English learners (EL)
who may qualify for special education services.
Fiscal
Impact:
Contract for manual: CDE indicates that it would contract for
the development of the manual for such activities as
subcontracting with experts, compiling and analyzing resources
from other states, conducting stakeholder meetings, printing
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necessary materials, filming stakeholder meetings, and travel.
The total amount of the contract is anticipated to be
$450,000 to cover the period from January 1, 2017 to July 1,
2018. (Federal funds)
Contract monitoring: In addition, the CDE cites the need for
one limited-term position until July 1, 2018 at a cost of
$229,000 to oversee the contract and to act as the liaison
with the EL Division within the department. (Federal funds)
Manual Implementation: This bill requires the state and LEAs
to collaborate in meeting the objectives of disseminating the
manual and providing professional development on its contents.
This creates a cost pressure to implement this plan which the
CDE indicates would result in ongoing costs of $154,000 for
one position to provide training and technical assistance to
LEAs. However, staff notes that the need for this activity is
likely to diminish over time. In addition, this creates a
local and state cost pressure to fund professional development
and other activities necessary to implement the guidance in
the manual. Staff notes that the bill makes implementation of
that guidance contingent upon funding provided for that
purpose.
The CDE indicates that one-time and ongoing federal special
education carryover funds would be available to support its
activities required by this bill. This would require approval
through the annual budget process to ensure the availability of
funds and a subsequent increase the CDE's federal fund spending
authority.
Background: Existing law requires LEAs to actively seek out all
individuals with exceptional needs, from birth to age 21.
Existing state law also 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.
Federal law requires assessments and other evaluation materials
used for determining whether a child is eligible for special
education services to be provided in the child's native language
or other mode of communication and in the form most likely to
yield accurate information on what the child knows and can do
academically, developmentally, and functionally, unless it is
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clearly not feasible to do so. Federal law also requires that
an IEP team, in the case of an English learner, consider the
language needs of the student as they relate to his or her IEP.
It prohibits a determination that a student is eligible for
special education if the determining factor is limited English
proficiency.
A recent study by the Regional Educational Laboratory West
(WestEd), Identifying and Supporting English Learner Students
with Learning Disabilities: Key Issues in the Literature and
State Practice, states that there is evidence of English learner
students being both over- and underrepresented in special
education programs. According to the author, "Students may
mistakenly be identified as requiring special education services
when their language learning needs are mistaken for a
disability. Conversely, English learners may be prevented from
receiving needed special education services when disabilities
are mistaken for language learning needs. Both programs can
result in inappropriate placements and services which hold
students back from academic progress."
Proposed Law:
This bill requires, by July 1, 2018, the CDE to develop a
manual providing guidance to LEAs on identifying, assessing,
supporting, and reclassifying ELs who may qualify for special
education services and students with disabilities who may be
classified as ELs. The goal of the manual is to provide
guidance to LEAs on evidence-based practices for the
identification, assessment, support, and reclassification of ELs
who may have disabilities and to promote a collaborative
approach in determining the most appropriate academic placements
and services for these students.
In developing the manual, the CDE is required to review other
manuals and resources developed by various entities, including
other state and the federal government and consult with a
stakeholder group, as specified.
This bill also requires the CDE to post the manual on its
website and develop a plan for disseminating the manual and
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providing professional development on its contents.
Implementation of the plan is contingent upon funding provided.
The plan is required to be submitted to the State Board of
Education, the Department of Finance, the Legislative Analyst's
Office, the Collaborative for Educational Excellence, the
Advisory Commission on Special Education, and the Legislature by
July 1, 2018.
The manual is required to cover various topics, including, but
not limited to:
Identifying ELs who may have disabilities and accurately
classifying students with disabilities as ELs;
Second language acquisition and progress;
Examples of early interventions and processes used by
LEAs for continuous evaluation and review;
Guidance on referral processes, use of assessments,
consideration of extrinsic factors in the identification of
students, the development of IEPs for ELs, types of
supports, special education exit and EL reclassification
process; meeting the needs of nonnative English speaking
parents; and
Laws and guidance related to the rights of ELs and
students with disabilities.
Related
Legislation: AB 2091 (Lopez, 2016) requires local educational
agencies to provide parents with a translated copy of an
individualized education program and other documents, upon
request. AB 2091 is pending in this committee.
AB 2350 (O'Donnell, 2016) prohibits a middle or high school EL
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students from being prevented from enrolling in courses required
for graduation, grade promotion, or meeting the A-G subject
requirements for admission to the University of California or
California State University. AB 2350 is pending in this
committee.
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