California Disability Community Action Network
DISABILITY RIGHTS NEWS REPORT
Advocacy Without Borders: Connecting People With Disabilities, Mental Health Needs, Seniors, Traumatic Brain & other injuries, People with MS & other health needs,  Families, Workers, Providers, & Organizations to Rights & Unified Action
Report #055-2007  April 25, 2007 Wednesday
To respond to this email, reply to: martyomoto@rcip.com   CDCAN website:  www.cdcan.us

Breaking News - California Legislature
* ASSEMBLY EDUCATION COMMITTEE PASSES AB 1659
* SPECIAL EDUCATION BILL SPONSORED BY PARENTS

SACRAMENTO - The Assembly Education Committtee chaired by Assemblymember Gene Mullin, passed without opposition, a special education bill, AB 1659 by Assemblymember Sally Lieber (Democrat - 22nd District, Mountain View) that would make several changes to existing state laws relating to the dispute resolution process that some parent advocates say are critical to making the process fair and accessible. The passage of the bill was a victory for parents and families of special education children connected with the California Association for Parent-Child Advocacy who sponsored the legislation with Protection and Advocacy, Inc (PAI). 

A more detailed CDCAN report on other special education and other education bills will be released later and also posted on the CDCAN website at www.cdcan.us  Lieber (pictured right) is part of the Assembly Democratic leadership and has authored several bills about people with disabilities, including legislation on transition issues resulting from the scheduled closure of Agnews Developmental Center in San Jose. 

California has over 680,000 students with special needs age 22 years and younger in special education - about 11% of the state's 6.2 million children enrolled in Kindergarten through 12th grade.  Many of those students with special needs include children with developmental disabilities including autism, and children with mental health needs and other disabilties. 

Assembly Education Committee Members
Assemblymember Gene Mullin - Chair  (Democrat - 19th District, San Mateo)
Assemblymember Martin Garrick - Vice Chair  (Republican - 74th District, Carlsbad)
Committee Members (takes 6 votes to pass):
Democrats (7): Julia Brownley (Democrat - 41st, Santa Monica), Joe Coto (Democrfat - 23rd, San Jose), Mike Eng (Democrat - 49th, Monterey Park), Loni Hancock (Democrat - 14th, Berkeley), Betty Karnette (Democrat - 54th District, Long Beach)  Jose Solorio (Democrat - 69th District, Anahiem) and the chair
Republicans (3): Bob Huff (Republican - 60th District, Diamond Bar) and Alan Nakanishi (Republican - 10th District, Lodi) and the vice chair

Next Step - Assembly Appropriations Committee
* The bill now heads to the Assembly Appropriations Committee where it must be heard and reported out of committee on or before June 1. 
* Both the Senate and Assembly Appropriations Committees that reviews and holds bills that they believe will impact or cause a certain level of state spending.
* With some exceptions, most bills referred to Appropriations Committess are heard and then sent  to a "suspense file" - a holding place or list of bills that have some impact on state spending. 
* Legislative leaders from both parties and members of the committee  than determine (with the majority party always prevailing) which bills will be reported out to the Assembly floor and continue on in the legislative process this year - and what bills will be held in committee with no further action until next year.  A hearing is held usually a few days before the deadline to officially report bills out - or to announce which bills will be held in committee. 

SUMMARY OF THE BILL

AB 1659 -   SPECIAL EDUCATION: STUDENT RIGHTS - PROCEDURAL SAFEGUARDS
AUTHOR: Assemblymember Sally Lieber (Democrat - 22nd District, Mountain View)
CDCAN SUMMARY  (reflects 4/18/07 amendments - does not reflect amendments passed out of committee 4/25/07)
* Amends several provisions of special education state laws and  makes several changes to the dispute resolution process.
* Would require local educational agencies (LEA's) to maintain logs indicating the provision or non-provision, and the identity of providers of all related services and instructional assistantsupport.
* Puts in state law the  language from the 2006-07 State Budget Act requiring the quarterly reports from the entity conducting  due process and mediation services to include specified data, requires the (California) Department of Education  to commission an independent study of the due process hearings and mediations, and requires a report be submitted to the Legislature by January 1, 2009.
* Would require local educaiton agencies to make these logs available to parents within 5 days of a request and no later than 5 days before a meeting of the individualized education program (IEP) team and requires the LEA to inform a parent if more than 25% of a related service is not provided in any one-month period.
* Would allow parties to a due process hearing to postpone a hearing by mutual consent and allows the entity conducting a due process hearing to have the option of holding a pre-hearing conference no sooner than four and no later than one day priorto hearing.
* Clarifies that a 60-day period applies for processing complaints regarding a pupil's Individuaized Education Plan or any other special education law and requires the (California) Department of Education to process complaints without requiring identification of the particular student.
* Would require the Department of Education to forward copies of local education agencies'' evidence or statement of compliance or corrective action to the party making the complaint.
* Requires the notice provided to parents regarding proposals to change or refusal to change something about a student's identified disability, evaluation data, placement, or individualized education plan to contain specific information in a specified manner.
* Provides that a studentl who responds well to intensive instruction during response-to-intervention processes to continue to receive services designed to enable the studentl to achieve grade level proficiency whether or not the student is found eligible for special education services.
* Would require local education agencies'  to disclose their standards and procedures for identifying a pupil for special education based on a specific learning disability and requires, by July 1, 2008, the (California) Department of Education to disseminate a model learning disability identification approach which local education agencies' may adopt.
* Requires the Department of Education to enter into an interagency agreement with another state agency or contract with a nonprofit organization or entity to conduct due process hearings and requires that mediator positions meet certain specific criteria. 
* Prohibits a due process hearing from being conducted by an individual who has served as a special education mediator unless the individual certifies that he or she has not, at any time during the preceding three years participated in any mediation involving a party or other specified individuals affiliated to a party to the hearing and to provide to the parties a list of  attorneys and non-attorney representatives with whom he or she has worked in mediations and allows a party to the hearing to seek removal of the individual if the individual has worked in mediations with either party's representatives.
* Provides that if the entity conducting a due process hearing requires the submission of the resume of a witness providing expert testimony that the requirement shall apply to all parties in the proceeding.
* Would require that a student shall have the right to remain in his or her present placement and the right to an order directingthe local educational agency to maintain or restore the present placement during due process hearing proceedings and requires the issuance of an order following a stay-put motion within three business days of filing and service of themotion.
* Would prohibit a hearing officer to enter into a conference by telephone unless all parties are on the line, allows for a pre-hearing conference by telephone to take place to addressscheduling and logistical needs, and requires the entity conducting the hearing to provide to the parties the identity of the hearing officer assigned to the pre-hearing conference or due process hearing.  .
LATEST ACTIONS:
04/24/07 - Passed with amendments out of Assembly Human Services Committee with recommendation "Do pass as amended and refer to Assembly Appropriations"
NEXT STEPS:
* Assembly Appropriations Committee: Must be heard and reported out of this committee on or before 06/01/07
* Assembly Floor: if reported out out of Assembly Appropriations, must come up for a final vote on the Assembly floor on or before June 8.
* Summer Recess: The Legislature will rececess from July 20 to August 20 providing the State Budget is passed. 
* Senate Education Committee  if successful in Assembly, (must be heard and reported out of the Senate Education Committee on or before July 13
* Senate Appropriations Committee: if passed out of Senate Education, the bill must be heard and reported out of Senate Appropriations Committee on or before Aug 31.
* Senate Floor Session: The Legislature is in session this year until September 14th. Any amendments made in the Senate must also be approved by the full Assembly with a vote on the floor - all on or before the 2007 session adjourns sometime on September 14th. 
CDCAN COMMENT: the bill received reportedly over 200 letters (faxes) from parents and other advocates across the state in support of the bill, in addition to many parents coming to the State Capitol. 

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The CDCAN Townhall Telemeetings are partially funded by a small grant from the USC UCEDD, Grant #90DD0540 from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities. (note: the opinions expressed or content in these reports do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the USC UCEDD. 

MANY THANKS to Training Toward Self Reliance, UCP, California NAELA, Californians for Disability Rights, Inc (CDR) including CDR chapters, CHANCE Inc, Parents Helping Parents, Arriba, Strategies To Empower People, Parents Helping Parents, Asian American parents groups, Resources for Independent Living and many other Independent Living Centers, several regional centers, People First chapters, IHSS workers, other self advocacy and family support groups, developmental center families, and hundreds of individuals.