BILL NUMBER: AB 164 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 6, 2002
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 30, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2001
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 15, 2001
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Harman
JANUARY 31, 2001
An act to amend Section 56500.3 of add
Section 56500.4 to the Education Code, relating to special
education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 164, as amended, Harman. Special education: due
process hearings alternative dispute resolution
.
Existing law provides procedural safeguards, including due process
hearings for the resolution of complaints regarding alleged
violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Act. Existing law
also authorizes parties to special education disputes to seek
resolution through mediation prior to filing a request for a due
process hearing.
This bill would authorize the local education agency to
establish procedures to require parents who choose not to use the
mediation process to meet, at a time and location convenient to the
parents, for the purpose of encouraging the use and explaining the
benefits of the mediation process to the parents, as specified
require the State Department of Education to establish
and administer a statewide program of grant funding, with specified
components, to support special education local plan areas (SELPAs) in
conducting alternative dispute resolution programs for resolving
special education disputes. The bill would state the intent of the
Legislature to make $300,000 available for purposes of the program,
on an annual basis, would prescribe the allocation of funds under the
program, and would require grant recipients to perform specified
services related to alternative dispute resolution. The bill would
prescribe other matters related to the grant program .
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:
no yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 56500.3 of the Education Code is
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(1) The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec
1400 et seq.) encourages the use of mediation to resolve disputes
between parents of children with disabilities and local education
agencies.
(2) The only statewide mediation process available to parents and
local education agencies is a prehearing mediation conference filed
with the state or a mediation conference scheduled after a request
for a due process hearing has been filed with the state.
(3) The number of requests for special education due process
hearings and complaints filed by parents of children with
disabilities against local education agencies have increased
significantly in recent years.
(4) The costs of litigation, state level mediation, and
investigation of complaints have likewise increased significantly in
recent years.
(5) The current system of dispute resolution often results in
adversarial relationships between parents and local education
agencies, thereby affecting the provision of an appropriate education
to children with disabilities.
(6) A limited number of special education local plan areas
(SELPAs) have implemented an alternative dispute resolution process
that has successfully resolved disputes at the local level, thereby
reducing the amount and cost of litigation and complaint
investigation at the state level.
(7) Parents of children with disabilities are entitled to other
options for dispute resolution that develop lasting relationships and
build trust.
(8) Through an alternative dispute resolution program, children
with disabilities may be provided appropriate services.
(b) It is, therefore, the intent of the Legislature to do the
following:
(1) New options to do the following for alternative dispute
resolution at the local level be created through coordination by the
SELPA system or collaboration of multiple SELPAs.
(2) These new options not interfere with a parent's right to
pursue other options at the state level, but work in conjunction with
these options to provide a greater variety of options to the parent.
(3) A program be established with funding to support the
development and implementation of alternative dispute resolution in
each SELPA throughout the state.
SEC. 2. Section 56500.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:
56500.4. (a) The State Department of Education shall establish
and administer a statewide program of grant funding to establish
alternative dispute resolution programs for special education that
includes the following:
(1) An advisory board that includes representatives from local
alternative dispute resolution projects to ensure ongoing
communication.
(2) An annual planning conference for new implementers of
alternative dispute resolution programs.
(3) An annual statewide conference for all implementers of
alternative dispute resolution programs.
(4) Criteria for awarding grants, funding, data collections, and
evaluating alternative dispute resolution projects.
(5) The selection of recipients and allocation of funding.
(6) The selection of individuals to serve as mentors to support
implementers.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Department
of Education shall be funded at three hundred thousand dollars
($300,000) annually, as adjusted annually by the cost of living, to
carry out its responsibilities under subdivision (a).
(c) Subject to the availability of funding for this purpose,
funding for grant recipients shall be at the following levels:
(1) SELPAs and multi-SELPA applicants selected by the State
Department of Education Shall receive fifty thousand dollars
($50,000) annually, as adjusted annually by the cost of living, for a
period not to exceed three years for initial implementation
purposes.
(2) SELPAs and multi-SELPA applicants that continue to implement
alternative dispute resolution programs after the initial three years
shall receive ongoing funding at ____ dollars ($____) annually plus
____ dollars ($____) per average daily attendance, as adjusted
annually by the cost of living and as recommended by the State
Department of Education for ongoing program maintenance.
(d) SELPAs and multi-SELPA collaboratives receiving funding under
this section shall provide the following services.
(1) Intake coordination and parent outreach.
(2) Prevention activities.
(3) Formal dispute resolution activities.
(4) Training of parents and local education agency staff.
(5) Data collection.
(6) Narrative reports of alternative dispute resolution training
and other activities.
(7) Expenditure reports.
(8) Evaluation activities.
(9) Participation in annual planning and implementation
conferences.
(e) The State Department of Education shall administer a
mentorship program that identifies individuals whose responsibility
is to provide support to implementers. These individuals shall be
responsible for the following activities:
(1) Participation on the alternative dispute resolution advisory
board.
(2) Participation in the planning and implementation of quarterly
meetings with assigned implementers.
(3) Participation in the planning and implementation of the annual
statewide alternative dispute resolution conference.
(4) Participation in the planning and implementation of the annual
alternative dispute resolution planning conference.
(5) A quarterly report of activities to the State Department of
Education.
(6) Consultation, training, and other technical assistance to
support the State Department of Education and SELPAs to implement the
provisions of this chapter.
(7) Contracting with individuals to mentor planning and
implementing. amended to read:
56500.3. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that parties to
special education disputes be encouraged to seek resolution through
mediation prior to filing a request for a due process hearing. It is
also the intent of the Legislature that these voluntary prehearing
request mediation conferences be an informal process conducted in a
nonadversarial atmosphere to resolve issues relating to the
identification, assessment, or educational placement of the child, or
the provision of a free, appropriate public education to the child,
to the satisfaction of both parties. Therefore, attorneys or other
independent contractors used to provide legal advocacy services shall
not attend or otherwise participate in the prehearing request
mediation conferences.
(b) Nothing in this part shall preclude the parent or the public
education agency from being accompanied and advised by nonattorney
representatives in the mediation conferences and consulting with an
attorney prior to or following a mediation conference. For purposes
of this section, "attorney" means an active, practicing member of the
State Bar of California or another independent contractor used to
provide legal advocacy services, but does not mean a parent of the
pupil who is also an attorney.
(c) Requesting or participating in a mediation conference is not a
prerequisite to requesting a due process hearing.
(d) The local education agency may, pursuant to subparagraph (B)
of paragraph (2) of subsection (e) of Section 1415 of Title 20 of the
United States Code, establish procedures to require parents who
choose not to use the mediation process to meet, at a time and
location convenient to the parents, for the purpose of encouraging
the use and explaining the benefits of the mediation process to the
parents. The local education agency may not deny or delay a parent's
right to a due process hearing under Section 56501 if the parent
fails to participate in the meeting described in this subdivision. A
meeting pursuant to this subdivision shall be with a disinterested
party who is under contract with either of the following:
(1) A parent training and information center or community parent
resource center established pursuant to Section 1482 or 1483 of Title
20 of the United States Code.
(2) An appropriate alternative dispute resolution entity.
(e) All requests for a mediation conference shall be filed with
the superintendent. The party initiating a mediation conference by
filing a written request with the superintendent shall provide the
other party to the mediation with a copy of the request at the same
time the request is filed with the superintendent. The mediation
conference shall be conducted by a person knowledgeable in the
process of reconciling differences in a nonadversarial manner and
under contract with the department pursuant to Section 56504.5. The
mediator shall be knowledgeable in the laws and regulations governing
special education.
(f) The prehearing mediation conference shall be scheduled within
15 days of receipt by the superintendent of the request for
mediation. The mediation conference shall be completed within 30
days after receipt of the request for mediation unless both parties
to the prehearing mediation conference agree to extend the time for
completing the mediation.
(g) Based upon the mediation conference, the district
superintendent, the county superintendent, or the director of the
public education agency, or his or her designee, may resolve the
issue or issues. However, this resolution shall not conflict with
state or federal law and shall be to the satisfaction of both
parties. A copy of the written resolution shall be mailed to each
party within 10 days following the mediation conference.
(h) If the mediation conference fails to resolve the issues to the
satisfaction of all parties, the party who requested the mediation
conference has the option of filing for a state-level hearing
pursuant to Section 56505. The mediator may assist the parties in
specifying any unresolved issues to be included in the hearing
request.
(i) Any mediation conference held pursuant to this section shall
be held at a time and place reasonably convenient to the parent and
pupil.
(j) The mediation conference shall be conducted in accordance with
regulations adopted by the board.
(k) Notwithstanding any procedure set forth in this chapter, a
public education agency and a parent may, if the party initiating the
mediation conference so chooses, meet informally to resolve any
issue or issues to the satisfaction of both parties prior to the
mediation conference.
(l) The procedures and rights contained in this section shall be
included in the notice of parent rights attached to the pupil's
assessment plan pursuant to Section 56321.