BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1841
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1841 (Buchanan)
As Amended June 3, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |71-0 |(April 12, |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 11, |
| | |2010) | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
1)SUMMARY : Makes changes to state special education statutes to
conform them to federal regulations governing Part B of the
Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act
(IDEA).
The Senate amendments are technical and insert a cross
reference.
EXISTING LAW requires :
1)A LEA that is responsible for providing a free appropriate
public education and related services to a child with a
disability to make reasonable efforts to obtain informed
consent from the parent of the child before providing special
education and related services to the child, as specified.
2)A LEA to file a request for due process, as specified, if the
parent or guardian of a child who is an individual with
exceptional needs refuses all services in the IEP after having
consented to those services in the past.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : The federal IDEA affords educational rights and
services to children with disabilities and requires that
children with disabilities be provided a free and appropriate
public education (FAPE). The IDEA was reauthorized in 2004 and
its implementing federal regulations became effective in
October, 2006. Clarifying amendments to the regulations were
subsequently adopted in December, 2008.
AB 1841
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This bill makes changes to special education statute relative to
parental consent for continued special education services to
conform to the revised federal regulations. The revised
regulations require that parental revocation of consent for the
continued provision of special education and related services to
a child must be made in writing; and that upon revocation of
consent, a public agency must provide the parent with prior
written notice before ceasing the provision of such services.
Additionally, the regulations stipulate that a public agency is
not required to amend the child's education records to remove
any references to the child's receipt of special education and
related services because of the revocation of consent. This
bill makes all of these changes in California special education
statutes.
Rationale for the changes: In the discussion regarding the
recent changes on parental revocation of consent for special
education services, several arguments were made to the United
States Department of Education (USDOE) in support of the
changes. It was argued that parents have a fundamental right to
direct the education of their children and that if a parent has
the right to initially consent to special education and related
services, that the parent also should have the right to revoke
consent for special education. It was further argued that
schools should not have the right to force evaluations or
services on a child through legal processes and that a student
should have every right to attempt to become independent and
take responsibility for his or her academic achievement without
the assistance of an IEP. The USDOE determined that allowing
parents to revoke consent for the continued provision of special
education at any time is consistent with IDEA's emphasis on the
role of parents in protecting their child's rights and the goal
of enhancing parent involvement and choice in their child's
education.
Regarding the changes relative to a child's education records,
it was determined that schools must have the ability to keep
accurate records pertaining to the child and the child's receipt
of special education and related services. The USDOE states
that a parent's revocation of consent is not retroactive, thus
the public agency is not required to amend the child's education
records to remove any references to the child's receipt of
special education and related services in the event the child's
parent revokes consent.
AB 1841
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Arguments in opposition were made regarding some of these
changes from those who argued that the decision to terminate
services should be made by the IEP team. It has also been
argued that if a parent believes special education services are
not needed that the parent should consult with the IEP team, as
the IEP team includes both the parent and professionals, rather
than make that determination unilaterally.
According to information provided by the author, "As a condition
of receiving more than $1.2 billion in federal grant funds under
the IDEA, California is required to comply with these new
regulations. If the state's Education Code is not brought into
compliance, the state could jeopardize its IDEA grant
eligibility. If California is found noncompliant, the US
Department of Education (US ED) could sanction the California
Department of Education (CDE), and reduce or withhold federal
funds the state receives for special education services."
The federal government has not given California an indication
that its IDEA grant is in jeopardy, but staff from the State
Superintendent of Public Instruction, the sponsor of this bill,
asserts that this bill has been introduced in anticipation of
the federal government taking such an action.
Arguments in support: Disability Rights California writes, "The
law historically distinguished situations in which parents seek
to withdraw their children from special education. Schools were
permitted to take parents to a hearing where a parent consented
to special education services in the past, but refused to
consent to all further special education. AB 1841 will bring
state law into conformity with recently amended federal law by
eliminating the aforementioned distinction. The bill will
prohibit a public agency from continuing to provide special
education and related services if a parent or guardian submits a
written revocation of consent. AB 1841 accurately adopts the
federal terms regarding parental consent and better protects the
rights of parents to make educational decisions for their
children."
Previous legislation: AB 1663 (Evans), Chapter 454, Statutes of
2007 makes various revisions to state special education statutes
to bring them in conformity with federal changes enacted through
the 2004 reauthorization of the IDEA and its implementing
federal regulations.
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AB 685 (Karnette), Chapter 56, Statutes of 2007 makes technical
changes to several provisions of the Education Code and the
Government Code regarding individuals with exceptional needs and
special education to conform to new federal regulations.
AB 1662 (Lieber), Chapter 653, Statutes of 2005 makes changes to
state special education statutes to bring them into conformity
with federal changes enacted through the 2004 reauthorization of
the IDEA.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avina / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0005209