Title EDC — California Educ. Code

It is the intent of the Legislature that special education programs provide all of the following: (a) Each individual with exceptional needs is assured an education appropriate to his or her needs in publicly supported programs through completion of his or her prescribed course o…

As used in this part, the definitions prescribed by this article apply unless the context otherwise requires.

“Assistive technology device,” as provided in paragraph (1) of Section 1401 of Title 20 of the United States Code, means any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially without the need for modification, modified, or customized, that is used to incr…

“Board” means the State Board of Education.

“Consent,” as provided in Section 300.9 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, means all of the following: (a) The parent or guardian has been fully informed of all information relevant to the activity for which consent is sought, in his or her native language, or other …

“County office” means office of the county superintendent of schools.

“Day” means a calendar day.

“Department” means the Department of Education.

“District” means school district.

“Individuals with exceptional needs” means those persons who satisfy all the following: (a) Identified by an individualized education program team as a child with a disability, as that phrase is defined in Section 1401(3)(A) of Title 20 of the United States Code. (b) Their impair…

(a) As provided in Section 300.102(a)(3)(i) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, an individual with exceptional needs who graduates from high school with a regular high school diploma is no longer eligible for special education and related services. (b) For purposes of…

“Language mode” means the method of communication used by hard-of-hearing and deaf children that may include the use of sign language to send or receive messages or the use of spoken language, with or without visual signs or cues.

“Local educational agency” means a school district, a county office of education, a nonprofit charter school participating as a member of a special education local plan area, or a special education local plan area.

“Low incidence disability” means a severe disabling condition with an expected incidence rate of less than one percent of the total statewide enrollment in kindergarten through grade 12. For purposes of this definition, severe disabling conditions are hearing impairments, vision …

“Local plan” means a plan that meets the requirements of Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 56195) and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 56205) and that is submitted by a single school district, two or more school districts, or one or more school districts together with one or…

(a) “Parent” means any of the following: (1) A biological or adoptive parent of a child. (2) A foster parent if the authority of the biological or adoptive parents to make educational decisions on the child’s behalf specifically has been limited by court order in accordance with …

“Prone restraint” means the application of a behavioral restraint on a pupil in a facedown position for any period of time and includes the procedure known as prone containment.

“Public agency” means a school district, county office of education, special education local plan area, a nonprofit public charter school that is not otherwise included as a local educational agency and is not a school within a local educational agency, or any other public agency…

“Referral for assessment” means any written request for assessment to identify an individual with exceptional needs made by any of the following: (a) A parent or guardian of the individual. (b) A teacher or other service provider of the individual. (c) A foster parent of the indi…

“Responsible local agency” means the school district or county office of education designated in the local plan as the administrative entity the duties of which shall include, but are not limited to, receiving and distributing regionalized services funds, providing administrative…

“Severely disabled” means individuals with exceptional needs who require intensive instruction and training in programs serving pupils with the following profound disabilities: autism, blindness, deafness, severe orthopedic impairments, serious emotional disturbances, severe inte…

(a) “Special education,” in accordance with Section 1401(29) of Title 20 of the United States Code, means specially designed instruction, at no cost to the parent, to meet the unique needs of individuals with exceptional needs, including instruction conducted in the classroom, in…

“Individualized education program” means a written document described in Sections 56345 and 56345.1 for an individual with exceptional needs that is developed, reviewed, and revised in a meeting in accordance with Sections 300.320 to 300.328, inclusive, of Title 34 of the Code of…

“Superintendent” means the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

“Supplementary aids and services,” as provided in Section 1401(33) of Title 20 of the United States Code and in Section 300.42 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, means aids, services, and other supports that are provided in regular education classes or other educatio…

“Nonpublic, nonsectarian school” means a private, nonsectarian school that enrolls individuals with exceptional needs pursuant to an individualized education program and is certified by the department. It does not include an organization or agency that operates as a public agency…

“Nonpublic, nonsectarian agency” means a private, nonsectarian establishment or individual that provides related services necessary for an individual with exceptional needs to benefit educationally from the pupils’ educational program pursuant to an individualized education progr…

(a) Every individual with exceptional needs who is eligible to receive special education instruction and related services under this part, shall receive that instruction and those services at no cost to his or her parents or, as appropriate, to him or her. A free appropriate publ…

In accordance with Section 1412(a)(5) of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 300.114 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, each public agency shall ensure the following to address the least restrictive environment for individuals with exceptional needs: (a) T…

(a) Pursuant to Section 300.105 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, a local educational agency shall provide, on a case-by-case basis, the use of school-purchased assistive technology devices in a child’s home or in other settings if the child’s individualized educati…

(a) State and local educational agency personnel are prohibited, pursuant to paragraph (25) of subsection (a) of Section 1412 of Title 20 of the United States Code, from requiring an individual with exceptional needs to obtain a prescription for a medication that is a substance c…

(a) Consistent with state and federal law, implementing inclusion and universal design for learning initiatives for pupils 0 to 22 years of age, inclusive, a local educational agency shall consider all of the following with respect to the full language access needs of pupils who …

Except for those pupils meeting residency requirements for school attendance specified in subdivision (a) of Section 48204, and notwithstanding any other provision of law, if it is determined by the individualized education program team that special education services are require…

When an individual with exceptional needs reaches the age of 18, with the exception of an individual who has been determined to be incompetent under state law, the local educational agency shall provide any notice of procedural safeguards required by this part to both the individ…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an attorney or advocate for a parent of an individual with exceptional needs shall not recommend placement in a nonpublic, nonsectarian school or agency with which the attorney or advocate is employed or contracted, or otherwise has a c…

The primary timelines affecting special education programs are as follows: (a) A proposed assessment plan shall be developed within 15 calendar days of referral for assessment, not counting calendar days between the pupil’s regular school sessions or terms or calendar days of sch…

(a) The Superintendent shall send a notice to the governing board of each local educational agency within 30 days of when the Superintendent determines any of the following: (1) The local educational agency is substantially out of compliance with one or more significant provision…

(a) An employee of a local educational agency shall not directly or indirectly use or attempt to use the official authority or influence of the employee for the purpose of intimidating, threatening, coercing, or attempting to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any person, including…

The superintendent shall review the information and calculations submitted by special education local plan areas in support of all apportionment computations described in this part. The review shall be conducted on the data submitted during the initial year of apportionment and f…

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) All pupils are general education pupils first, including pupils with disabilities. (b) Comprehensive local educational agency and school-level fiscal and programmatic planning, including planning conducted pursuant to S…

(a) On or before November 30, 2023, the department shall publish data related to federal measures of least restrictive environment for pupils with disabilities on its internet website and shall include it as a resource on the California School Dashboard, established pursuant to s…

(a) For the purposes of this article, “surrogate parent” shall be defined as it is defined in Section 300.519 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (b) A surrogate parent may represent an individual with exceptional needs in matters relating to identification, assessmen…

(a) (1) Except as provided in subdivisions (b), (c), and (d), a foster parent may exercise, to the extent permitted by federal law, including, but not limited to, Section 300.30 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the rights related to his or her foster child’s educat…

Special education teachers providing instruction and educational services under this part shall meet the same “highly qualified” requirements, as defined in Section 1401(10) of Title 20 of the United States Code, and in Section 300.18 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulation…

(a) This part does not create a right of action on behalf of an individual with exceptional needs or class of pupils for failure of a state or local educational agency employee to be highly qualified. (b) In accordance with Section 300.156(e) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Re…

A noncredentialed person shall not substitute for any special education certificated position.

A person holding a valid credential authorizing substitute teaching may serve as a substitute for the appropriately credentialed special education teacher as follows: (a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c), the employer shall not employ an inappropriately credentialed…

The employer shall use the following priorities in placing substitute teachers in special education classrooms: (a) A substitute teacher with the appropriate special education credential or credentials. (b) A substitute teacher with any other special education credential or crede…

The employer shall be responsible for seeking, and maintaining lists of, appropriately credentialed substitute teachers. The employer shall contact institutions of higher education with approved special education programs for possible recommendations of appropriately credentialed…

(a) In accordance with Section 1412(a)(14)(A), (B), and (D) of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 300.156(a), (b), and (d) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, qualifications for designated instruction and services personnel, related services personnel, and…