BILL ANALYSIS
AB 164
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 164 (Harman)
As Amended August 12, 2002
2/3 vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: | |(May 3, 2001) |SENATE: |39-0 |(August 27, |
| | | | | |2002) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(vote not relevant)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|COMMITTEE VOTE: |13-0 |(August 28, |RECOMMENDATION: |Concur |
| | |2002) | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(August 30, | | | |
| | |2002) | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Requires the State Department of Education (SDE) to
establish a statewide program of grant funding in support of
special education alternative dispute resolution programs that
meet specified criteria.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,
and instead:
1)Require SDE to establish a statewide program of grant funding
in support of special education alternative dispute resolution
programs that meet specified criteria (grant program).
2)Express the intent of the Legislature to fund SDE, only from
federal funds, $300,000 annually to carry out its
responsibilities under the bill.
3)Propose to fund grants for Special Education Local Plan Areas
(SELPAs) and multi-SELPA applicants at $50,000 annually for a
AB 164
Page 2
period of three years for initial alternative dispute
resolution program implementation.
4)Require that SELPAs and multi-SELPAs that continue to
implement alternative dispute resolution programs after the
initial three years receive $25,000 annually in ongoing
funding plus 25 cents per unit of average daily attendance.
5)Require that SELPAs and multi-SELPAs receiving funding under
this bill provide specified services, including parent
outreach, formal dispute resolution, training of parents and
local staff and data collection, among other activities.
6)Require SDE to administer a mentorship program that identifies
individuals with specified prerequisites to provide specified
support to implementers.
7)Specify that the provisions of this bill become inoperative on
July 1, 2008 and repealed as of January 1, 2009.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the parent and the public education agency involved
in a special education dispute to initiate due process hearing
procedures under any of the following circumstances:
a) There is a proposal to initiate or change the
identification, assessment, or educational placement of the
child, or the provision of a free, appropriate public
education to the child;
b) There is a refusal to initiate or change the
identification, assessment, or educational placement of the
child, or the provision of a free, appropriate public
education to the child; or,
c) The parent refuses to consent to an assessment of the
child.
2)Provides that the due process hearing rights include, but are
not limited to, all of the following:
AB 164
Page 3
a) The right to a mediation conference, as specified;
b) The right to request a mediation conference at any point
during the hearing process, as specified;
c) The right to examine pupil records, as specified; and,
d) The right to a fair and impartial administrative hearing
at the state level, before a person knowledgeable in the
laws governing special education and administrative
hearings, under contract with SDE.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill allowed local education
agencies to establish procedures, as specified, to require
parents involved in special education disputes 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.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
$300,000 annually from federal funds and unknown major ongoing
federal funding costs.
COMMENTS : The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of
this bill and insert new language. An Assembly policy committee
has not reviewed the contents of this bill.
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR): ADR is a framework for
people in local communities to solve their problems prior to
state intervention. Its purpose is to develop effective,
creative, and cost effective methods that ensure a preferable
means of resolving conflict at the local level. The ADR
framework is designed to handle conflict in a quick,
cost-effective, and satisfactory manner to each party.
Arguments in support: According to the author, this bill will
reduce the number of costly due process hearings without
compromising the right of the parents or the child, expand the
options available to the parent, take the adversarial aspect out
of the process, and shorten the time between filing a complaint
AB 164
Page 4
and resolution.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
This bill would require the State Department of
Education (SDE) to establish and administer a
statewide program of grant funding to establish
alternative dispute resolution (ADR) programs for
special education.
Although I support establishing ways to resolve
disputes, current law already allows for the
non-adversarial resolution of special education issues
through mediation prior to filing for due process.
This bill appropriates $300,000 to the SDE for
administration of the ADR program and could result in
local assistance costs between $17.8 and $13.1 million
for three years and ongoing costs of between $3.3
million and $4.4 million annually. Since the proposed
2002-03 budget appropriates $8.9 million for dispute
resolution services including medication and fair
hearing services, and this bill would redirect federal
funds, which are necessary to provide essential
services to students with disabilities, I am unable to
support his measure.
Analysis Prepared by : Mavonne Garrity / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0008088