BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 2160
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 14, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                     AB 2160 (Bass) - As Amended:  April 6, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                              Education  
          Vote:9-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill extends the authorization, until October 1, 2013, for  
          teachers who hold a credential allowing them to teach students  
          with mild to moderate disabilities to serve students with autism  
          spectrum disorder (ASD), as specified.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor, absorbable GF costs to the Commission on Teacher  
          Credentialing to implement this measure.  

           COMMENTS  

           Purpose  .  Existing law authorizes teachers who hold a credential  
          allowing them to teach students with mild to moderate  
          disabilities to serve students with ASD until July 2011.   
          Teachers assigned utilizing this statute must meet one of the  
          following requirements: 

          (a)Provided full-time instruction for at least one year prior to  
            September 1, 2007, in a special education program that serves  
            pupils with autism pursuant to their individualized education  
            programs and received a favorable evaluation or recommendation  
            to teach pupils with autism from the local educational agency  
            or school; or  

          (b)   Has completed a minimum of three semester units of  
            coursework in the subject of autism offered by a regionally  
            accredited institution of higher education.

          According to a 2007 report entitled, A Call for Action: Improved  








                                                                  AB 2160
                                                                  Page  2

          Services for Children with ASD (Superintendent of Public  
          Instruction, Autism Advisory Committee), "research studies  
          indicate that nationwide one out of every 150 children has an  
          ASD.  [There is a] lack of coherent, universally accepted  
          effective educational practices; an overall lack of knowledge  
          and training at all levels; and a shortage of personnel in key  
          positions, coupled with inadequate local financial resources to  
          meet immediate needs, especially for preschool children with  
          ASD."  

          According to the State Department of Education, there were  
          53,183 children with autism enrolled in California schools in  
          2008-09.  This represents eight percent of the total special  
          education enrollment in the state's schools.  This bill extends  
          the authorization for teachers with a specified credential to  
          provide services to students with ASD until October 1, 2013.  

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081