BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 462 (Blakeslee)
Hearing Date: 05/16/2011 Amended: 05/04/2011
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 9-0
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 462 would require special education local plan
areas (SELPAs), in collaboration with the California Department
of Education (CDE) and in consultation with the Office of
Administrative Hearings (OAH), to develop a voluntary special
education advocate certification program and charge fees, as
specified. This bill also requires OAH to administer a
certification test and charge fees, as specified.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Mandate: SELPAs Potentially substantial
reimbursable costs General*
OAH test administration $450
$900 $700 General*
CDE oversight and coordination $400-$600 $900 -$1,200
$900 -$1,200 General
*Costs offset by fees over time.
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
This bill would require SELPAs in collaboration with the CDE and
in consultation with the OAH, to develop a voluntary special
education advocate certification program, including a test, as
specified. Requiring SELPAs both to develop the program and
implement aspects of it constitutes a new reimbursable mandate.
The mandate cost cannot be determined, as it will depend on the
parameters and requirements of the program created. This bill
SB 462 (Blakeslee)
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would allow for some amount of fee recovery for providing
training, which could mitigate some mandate costs. However, at a
minimum, the costs to develop the test and program would be
reimbursable.
This bill requires the OAH to administer the test, to certify a
person who has successfully passed the test and fulfilled the
SELPA training requirements, and to post a registry of certified
special education advocates on its website. The OAH does not
administer tests currently, and lacks appropriate staff to
fulfill this function, and would require five new positions, and
may require an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to provide initial
guidance to test administrators, depending on the type of test
that is ultimately developed. The OAH estimates that five
positions to implement the provisions of this bill would cost
$700,000. A limited-term ALJ would cost $200,000 (including
benefits).
This bill would give fee authority to the OAH to charge a fee to
a person seeking certification as a special education advocate
that shall not exceed the reasonable costs of administering the
test and maintaining the registry. The fee level necessary would
depend on the number of people seeking certification. Because
certification would be voluntary, it is unclear how long it
would take to recover the initial and ongoing costs through fee
collection.
The CDE believes that the measure will also create new workload
for the department to work with SELPAs to develop the test and
certification program, and ongoing oversight of the program. The
CDE estimates needing 4.5 to 5.5 new positions, at a cost of
$900,000 to $1.2 million.
SB 462 (Blakeslee)
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