BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2785|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2785
Author: O'Donnell (D)
Amended: 8/1/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/22/16
AYES: Liu, Block, Hancock, Huff, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan,
Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/11/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 5/31/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Special education: English learners: manual
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: 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, supporting and reclassifying
English learners who may qualify for special education services
and students with disabilities who may be classified as English
learners.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
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1)Requires LEAs 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)
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
IEP, 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
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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)
This bill:
1)Requires CDE to develop a manual for the purpose of providing
guidance to LEAs on identifying, assessing, supporting and
reclassifying English learners who may qualify for special
education services and students with disabilities who may be
classified as English learners.
2)Specifies that the goal is to provide guidance for voluntary
use by LEAs on evidence-based and promising practices for the
identification, assessment, support and reclassification of
these students 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:
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a) Guidance for accurately identifying English learners who
may have disabilities and accurately classifying students
with disabilities as English learners, including on
avoiding overidentification and underidentification 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 intervening strategies
specifically addressing the needs of English learners, as
specified.
e) Examples of any plans or processes used by LEAs for
continuous evaluation and systemic review and guidance on
sharing information between special education and English
learner programs within LEAs for the purpose of tracking
effectiveness, 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, hearing and health, in the identification of
students.
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iii) Development of IEPs 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 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:
a) Consistent with state and federal law, regulations, and
guidance regarding English learners and special education.
b) Written for ease of use by educators. The department is
encouraged to incorporate features such as flowcharts,
checklists, sample forms and case examples.
6)Requires the CDE to:
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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
LEAs on the content of the manual, as specified.
Implementation of the plan is contingent upon funding
provided in the annual Budget Act for that purpose.
7)Requires that the plan be submitted 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.
8)Defines, for the purpose of this bill, the following terms:
a) "English learners" includes pupils who have been
classified as English 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 and also includes students with disabilities who
may be later classified as English learners.
9)States the intent of the Legislature that these activities be
paid for with federal funds.
Comments
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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 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,
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
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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 California Education. The following are key
issues raised by these reports that are related to the
provisions of this 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
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
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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
and English learner education to guide educators in
appropriately addressing the needs of this unique student
population.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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
necessary materials, filming stakeholder meetings, and travel.
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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 English Learners 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, Senate Appropriations 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.
SUPPORT: (Verified8/11/16)
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson
California Association for Bilingual Education
California Immigrant Policy Center
California State PTA
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California Teachers Association
Californians Together
Los Angeles Unified School District
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools
Santa Clara County Office of Education
Special Education Local Plan Area Administrators of California
The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration
The Education Trust-West
The State Council on Developmental Disabilities
OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/11/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 5/31/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke,
Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley,
Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper,
Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim,
Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis,
Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte,
O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Rendon
Prepared by:Olgalilia Ramirez / ED. / (916) 651-4105
8/15/16 20:30:05
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