BILL ANALYSIS
SB 682
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Date of Hearing: July 1, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
SB 682 (Padilla) - As Amended: June 24, 2009
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:10-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes a county office of education (COE) or
consortium of COEs to establish and administer, to the extent
federal funds are available, a pilot program to provide combined
academic and occupational training to secondary school pupils
with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other exceptional
needs. This measure sunsets January 1, 2015 and requires a COE
or consortium of COEs that establishes a pilot program to submit
an evaluation to the State Department of Education (SDE) and the
Legislature by January 1, 2014, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Potential GF/98 costs, likely between $635,000 and $970,000 to
establish and administer pilot programs for pupils with
special needs, as specified. This assumes a total of five
programs are established. This bill authorizes these programs
to operate to the extent that federal funds are available.
2)Potential GF/98 costs, likely less than $50,000 to COEs to
complete the evaluation requirement in this measure.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . ASD is a developmental disorder characterized by
mild to severe deficits in social interaction and
communication, a limited range of activities and interests,
and repetitive behaviors. According to a study released in
January 2009 by the University of California, Davis MIND
Institute, the number of children born with autism has
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increased seven to eightfold since 1990. The study further
documents that the incidence of autism by age six in
California has increased from fewer than nine in 10,000 for
children born in 1990 to more than 44 in 10,000 for children
born in 2000. According to SDE, there a total of 678,105
pupils with special needs enrolled in California schools. Of
this number, 53,183 (8%) receive services for ADS.
AB 2513 (Pavley), Chapter 783, Statutes of 2006, established
the Legislative Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism (committee)
to develop recommendations identifying the means by which
public and nonpublic schools, including charter schools, can
better serve pupils with autism and their parents. As part of
this process, the committee established subcommittees,
including one for transitional services for ASD. This
subcommittee concluded that existing educational and support
systems were not designed to serve the ADS population. As a
result, "there is a dearth of training and professional
development, successful program models in vocational and adult
education, and the full range of higher educations systems
(e.g., community college, state universities and the
University of California) as it relates to persons with ASD.
There is a real need for developing models for how to test
skills and talents, how to assess strengths as well as
weaknesses on an individualized basis. There is also a need
for developing models for training and supportive employment
for the same reason."
This bill authorizes COEs to establish, to the extent federal
funds are available, a pilot program to provide combined
academic and occupational training to secondary school pupils
with ASD and other exceptional needs.
2)Existing law establishes the WorkAbility I program (WAI),
administered by SDE. This program provides comprehensive
pre-employment skills training, employment placement and
follow-up for high school students in special education who
are making the transition from school to work, independent
living and post secondary education or training. The WAI
program offers pupils with special needs the opportunity to
complete their secondary education while also obtaining
marketable job skills.
Funding is provided for the WAI program in the form of grants
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for school districts, county offices of education, Special
Education Local Plan Areas, Regional Occupation Programs, and
nonpublic schools to provide employment training and placement
services for pupils with special needs in middle schools and
high schools. Students must be enrolled in special education
programs with an Individualized Education Plan. The 2009
Budget Act (as passed in February 2009) allocates a total of
$39.5 million GF/98 for the WAI program.
3)Federal special education American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (ARRA) funds . In February 2009, the federal government
passed the ARRA, which allocated approximately $100 billion
nationwide for education programs with the purpose of
stimulating the economy. Of this amount, California is
expected to receive approximately $8 billion.
According to SDE, California is expected to receive $11.7
billion in one-time funds for services for students with
disabilities pursuant to Individual with Disabilities Act
(IDEA), based on the existing federal formula. Of this total,
$11.3 billion is for IDEA Part B for children ages 6 - 21 and
$400 million is for IDEA Part B, for children ages 3 - 5.
In April 2009, the Department of Finance (DOF) issued a
Section 28.00 letter to allocate $634 million in federal ARRA
IDEA funds. Section 28.00 is a provision in the annual budget
act that authorizes the Director of DOF to augment the
expenditure of unanticipated federal funds.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081