BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 1369 (Block) - Community Colleges: Disability Services
Program
Amended: May 1, 2014 Policy Vote: Education 8-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: May 12, 2014 Consultant: Jacqueline
Wong-Hernandez
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 1369 requires that the Board of Governors (BOG)
rules and regulations provide for the use of Disability Service
Program (DSP) funds to ensure students receive academic
adjustments, auxiliary aids, and services required by federal
and state nondiscrimination laws, clarifies the educational
programs for which the funding can be used, expands program
evaluation requirements, and requires the California Community
Colleges Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) to request annual budget
funding for the DSP sufficient to meet the requirements
established by the bill on a statewide basis.
Fiscal Impact:
Program evaluation expansion: Up to $250,000 in CCCCO
personnel costs for 2 PYs to conduct the required
evaluations, and annual travel costs of approximately
$25,000 (General Fund).
Local "costs": Setting a statutory minimum (of .5%) that
the CCCCO must spend on evaluations, could result in reduced
discretionary funding (within the DSP program) for CCDs. See
staff comments.
Cost pressure: Codifying legislative intent that adequate
finding be provided in the annual Budget Act for each CCC to
provide specified services and for the CCCCO to request
annual funding, as specified, creates substantial cost
pressure to fund the DSP accordingly.
Background: Existing law requires the BOG of the California
Community Colleges (CCC) to adopt rules and regulations for the
administration and funding of educational programs and support
services to be provided to disabled students by community
college districts (CCDs). These regulations are required to
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provide for the apportionment of funding to districts to offset
the direct excess cost of providing specialized support services
or instruction, or both, to disabled students enrolled in state
supported educational programs or courses.
Existing law defines "direct excess costs" as those which exceed
the combined total of the average cost to the district of
providing services to non-disabled students times the number of
students served in the disabled students program, the indirect
cost of providing facilities and administrative support, the
revenue from ADA in special classes, and other funds received
from federal, state or local sources. The BOG is authorized to
allow the CCC Chancellor to designate up to 3% of the funds
allocated for this purpose for program development and program
accountability. (Education Code � 84850)
Proposed Law: This bill renames the program for serving students
with disabilities as the "Disability Services Program," makes
corresponding changes throughout the bill, and makes the
following additional changes to the current program:
1) Changes the purpose of the funds provided to each
district from offsetting the direct excess cost of
"providing specialized support services and instruction" to
"ensuring that these students receive academic adjustments,
auxiliary aids, and services required under federal and
state non-discrimination laws" including, among others, the
Americans with Disabilities Act.
2) Enhances the definition of direct excess costs to be
those exceeding the cost of the district to provide
"comparable" services to nondisabled students and replaces
"special classes with "educational assistance courses."
3) Modifies the types of services and courses for which
this funding can be used.
4) Modifies program evaluation, development, and
accountability authorities and requirements, by: a)
requiring the CCCCO to use at least half of a percent of
the allocated funds for purposes of conducting, or
contracting to conduct, an evaluation of program
effectiveness, as specified; b) requiring each CCC
operating a DSP to participate in a peer-based onsite
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evaluation during the self-study year of each accreditation
cycle; c) authorizing the use of these funds to compensate
and reimburse onsite evaluation teams; and, d) reducing the
maximum amount that the CCCCO is authorized to designate
for program development and accountability from 3% to 2.5%.
5) Requires the CCCCO to annually request sufficient budget
funding for the Disability Services Program to carry the
purposes and requirements outlined by the bill on a
statewide basis.
6) Declares the Legislature's intent that adequate funding
be provided through the annual budget process to the DSP to
ensure each college can provide students with the services
needed to meet federal and state nondiscrimination law
requirements and to further their participation in the
Student Success and Support Program.
Related Legislation: SB 705 (Block) 2013 would have appropriated
$50 million, from an unspecified source, to the California
Community Colleges to be allocated: $25 million for Disabled
Students Programs and Services, and $25 million for Extended
Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS). That bill was held
under submission in this Committee.
Staff Comments: Under existing law, the CCCCO can spend up to 3%
of the total DSPS appropriation on "special projects" which
include accountability and program development. The CCCCO
indicates, however, it is currently only spending 1.3%, and
passing through the remaining 1.7% to CCDs in the local
apportionments. This bill creates a required "floor" for
evaluation spending that is $450,000 higher than what the CCCCO
currently spends on special projects (which evaluations could be
a part of). The CCCCO has made the decision to give more money
to CCDs to provide services instead of conducting evaluations.
If the CCCCO were required to spend .5%, that decreases by
$450,000 the amount that goes to the college through the
allocation process.
Staff notes that there is an existing state mandate and
BOG-adopted regulations to establish a program of DSP
evaluations in which every CCC is evaluated at least once every
five years. However, the CCCCO has indicated it is not meeting
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that mandate because of its budget limitations.