BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2791| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONSENT Bill No: AB 2791 Author: Medina (D) Amended: 3/29/16 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/8/16 AYES: Liu, Block, Hancock, Huff, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan, Vidak SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Community colleges: Disability Services Program SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill expands the definition of "disabled students," for purposes of apportionments to community college districts to provide educational and support services for these students, to include students who have applied to a community college and who have exceptional needs due to a verified disability. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Requires the Board of Governors of the California Community AB 2791 Page 2 Colleges (CCC) to adopt rules and regulations for the administration and funding of educational programs and support services to be provided to disabled students by community college districts. These regulations are required to provide for the apportionment of funding to districts to offset the direct excess cost of providing specialized support services or instruction, or both, to disabled students enrolled in state supported educational programs or courses. 2)Defines "direct excess costs" as those which exceed the combined total of the average cost to the district of providing services to non-disabled students times the number of students served in the disabled students program, the indirect cost of providing facilities and administrative support, the revenue from average daily attendance in special classes, and other funds received from federal, state or local sources. (Education Code § 84850) This bill: 1)Expands the definition of disabled students beyond enrolled students with exceptional needs to include students with exceptional needs who have applied to a community college. 2)Authorizes the provisions of funding to districts to offset the direct excess costs of providing specialized support services or instruction, or both, for students who have applied to a community college. 3)Makes technical cross reference corrections. Comments 1)Need for the bill. According to the author, this bill clarifies what was, until recently the longstanding practice AB 2791 Page 3 at the CCC to provide Disability Services and Programs for Students (DSPS) services to students who have applied to a college DSPS program even though they may not yet have begun attending college courses. In January 2016, the Chancellor's Office issued revised guidelines for implementing Title 5 DSPS regulations. Although consistent with the language of the applicable statutes, proponents are concerned that the new guidance results in districts being unable to provide services to students who have applied, but not yet enrolled in courses. This bill aligns the statutory definition of a disabled student with the current practices of DSPS offices throughout the CCC. 2)Chancellor's Office revised guidelines. According to the Chancellor's Office, in its recent review and revision of guidelines, it was determined that existing law requires that a disabled student be enrolled in a class for a district to receive DSPS funding. The recent update to DSPS implementation guidelines reflects this requirement by having districts document verification of enrollment via submission of specified information in the state management information system. In some cases, this means students would be required to have attended for at least two weeks of one or more courses in order to be reported as "enrolled." According to the Chancellor's Office, these students often need services before they are enrolled in a class. The enactment of this bill ensures that colleges can continue to provide vital services like registration assistance, pre-term counseling, specialized orientation, and outreach to high schools, easing the transition into college for these students. AB 2791 Page 4 3)DSPS. DSPS provide support services and educational accommodations to students with disabilities so that they can have full and equal access to the community college experience. In addition, many colleges provide specialized instruction as part of their DSPS program. Examples of these services include: test-proctoring; assessment for learning disabilities; specialized counseling; interpreter or captioning services for hearing-impaired or deaf students; mobility assistance; note-taker services; reader services; speech services; transcription services; on-campus transportation; specialized tutoring; access to adaptive equipment; job development/placement; registration assistance; and special parking and specialized instruction. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified6/27/16) Board of Governors, California Community Colleges California Association for Postsecondary Education and Disability North Orange Community College District The Arc and United Cerebral Palsy California Collaboration OPPOSITION: (Verified6/27/16) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/12/16 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Arambula, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, AB 2791 Page 5 Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, 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 NO VOTE RECORDED: Burke, Jones-Sawyer Prepared by:Kathleen Chavira / ED. / (916) 651-4105 6/29/16 15:50:53 **** END ****