BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1369
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 24, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Das Williams, Chair
SB 1369 (Block) - As Amended: May 27, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 35-0
SUBJECT : Community colleges: Disability Services Program.
SUMMARY : Requires that the Board of Governors (BOG) of the
California Community Colleges (CCC) rules and regulations
provide for the use of Disability Services 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 CCC Chancellor's Office (CCCCO) to request annual
budget funding for the DSP sufficient to meet the requirements
established by this bill on a statewide basis. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Names the CCC services for students with disabilities as DSP;
makes corresponding changes throughout this bill, and
references those served by the program as "students with
disabilities"; and, makes the following additional changes to
the current program:
a) 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 (ADA);
b) 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";
c) Modifies the types of services and courses for which
this funding can be used; more specifically it:
i) Requires that a CCC prioritize the use of funds
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received under the program to ensure that federal and
state nondiscrimination law requirements are satisfied
for students with disabilities who are enrolled to earn
degrees, career technical certificates, transfer
preparation, or career development or advancement;
ii) Declares the community college district's ongoing
responsibility for complying with federal and state
nondiscrimination laws with respect to students pursuing
educational objectives other than those delineated, as
specified;
iii) Authorizes the use of funds to provide other
specialized services or for educational assistance
courses if services and courses are consistent with the
BOG regulations, further specified statutory goals of
promoting student independence and maximum integration,
and they are provided in the most integrated setting
possible; and,
iv) Prohibits the use of these funds to provide services
to students in classes, courses, or programs that do not
receive state support.
d) Modifies program evaluation, development, and
accountability authorities and requirements; more
specifically it:
i) Expands the requirements to be met by a community
college district, as a condition of receiving these
funds, to include cooperation in the conduct of program
evaluations and to promptly take any corrective action
required by the CCC Chancellor;
ii) Requires the BOG to require the CCC Chancellor to
use at least 1/2 of 1% of the allocated funds for
purposes of conducting, or contracting to conduct, an
evaluation of program effectiveness and expands the
requirements of the evaluation to include a determination
as to whether the statutory requirements established by
this bill have been satisfied;
iii) Authorizes the use of these funds to compensate and
reimburse onsite evaluation teams; and,
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iv) Reduces the maximum amount that the CCC Chancellor
is authorized to designate for program development and
accountability from 3% to 2.5%.
2)Requires the CCCCO to annually request sufficient budget
funding for the DSP to execute the purposes and requirements,
as outlined, on a statewide basis.
3)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.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States the Legislature recognizes its responsibility to
provide and adequately fund postsecondary programs and
services for disabled students attending a public
postsecondary institution. To meet this responsibility, the
Legislature sets forth the following principles for public
postsecondary institutions and budgetary control agencies to
observe in providing postsecondary programs and services for
students with disabilities, including but not limited to:
a) The state funded activity shall be consistent with the
stated purpose of programs and services for disabled students
provided by the CCC, the California State University, or the
University of California (UC), as governed by the statutes,
regulations, and guidelines of the community colleges, state
university, or the UC; b) The state funded activity shall not
duplicate services or instruction that is available to all
students, either on campus or in the community; c) The state
funded activity shall be directly related to the functional
limitations of the verifiable disabilities of the students to
be served; d) The state funded activity shall be directly
related to these students' full access to and participation in
the educational process; e) The state funded activity shall
have as its goals the independence of disabled students and
the maximum integration of these students with other students;
and f) The state funded activity shall be provided in the most
integrated setting possible, consistent with state and federal
law, state policy and funding requirements, and missions and
policies of the postsecondary segment, and shall be based on
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identified student needs (EC � 67310 - 67312).
2)Requires the BOG 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. Existing law also specifies that these
regulations are required to 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.
Additionally, 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. Lastly, existing law also authorizes the BOG to
authorize the CCC Chancellor to designate up to 3% of the
funds allocated for this purpose for program development and
program accountability (Education Code � 84850).
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, the following cost factors are associated with this
measure:
1)Up to $250,000 for the evaluation of the program expansion for
CCCCO personnel costs for two personnel years to conduct the
required evaluations, and annual travel costs of approximately
$25,000 from the General Fund;
2)Local "costs": Setting a statutory minimum (of 0.5%) that the
CCCCO must spend on evaluations, could result in reduced
discretionary funding (within the DSP program) for community
college districts; and,
3)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.
COMMENTS : Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) . The
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DSPS programs provide support services and educational
accommodations to students with disabilities so that they can
have full and equal access to the community college experience.
Additionally, many colleges provide specialized instruction as
part of their DSPS program. Examples of these services include:
test-proctoring; assessment for learning disabilities;
specialized counseling; interpreter or captioning services for
hearing-impaired or deaf students; mobility assistance;
note-taker services; reader services; speech services;
transcription services; on-campus transportation; specialized
tutoring; access to adaptive equipment; job
development/placement; registration assistance; and, special
parking and specialized instruction.
This bill updates antiquated terminology and re-designates the
DSPS programs as the DSP.
Need for the bill . According to the author, this bill is
intended to align statutes regarding the provision of services
to students with disabilities with the federal ADA. It would
also align the DSPS program with the Seymour-Campbell Student
Success Act of 2012 by requiring colleges to give priority to
serving students with disabilities who enroll to earn degrees,
career technical certificates, transfer preparation or career
advancement. Finally, the objective of the legislation is to
ensure that colleges have the resources to provide students with
disabilities with the accommodations and services they need to
be successful in completing their educational objectives.
Current evaluation of DSPS . There is an existing state mandate
and BOG-adopted regulations to establish an evaluation system of
all DSPS programs in which every CCC is evaluated at least once
every five years. However, to note, the CCCCO has indicated it
is not meeting that mandate because of its budget limitations.
According to the CCCCO, there are four primary ways that the
CCCCO evaluates its DSPS programs: 1) Through management and
information systems data; 2) end of year fiscal reports; 3)
program audits; and 4) contracted technical assistance visits.
Prior legislation . SB 705 (Block) of 2013, which was held under
submission in the Senate Appropriations Committee, would have
appropriated $50 million, from an unspecified source, to the CCC
to be allocated as follows: 1) $25 million for DSPS programs;
and, 2) $25 million for Extended Opportunity Programs and
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Services (EOPS).
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Association of California State Employees with Disabilities
California Association for Postsecondary Education and
Disability
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
1 individual
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Jeanice Warden / HIGHER ED. / (916)
319-3960