Bill Text: CA SB1369 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Community colleges: Disability Services Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-08-14 - Set, second hearing. Held under submission. [SB1369 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB1369-Amended.html
Bill Title: Community colleges: Disability Services Program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2014-08-14 - Set, second hearing. Held under submission. [SB1369 Detail]
Download: California-2013-SB1369-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1369 AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 27, 2014 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 1, 2014 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 10, 2014 INTRODUCED BY Senator Block FEBRUARY 21, 2014 An act to amend Section 78214 of, to amend, renumber, and add Section 84850 of, to amend the heading of Article 6 (commencing with Section 84850) of Chapter 5 of Part 50 of Division 7 of Title 3 of, and to add Section 84852 to, the Education Code, relating to community colleges. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1369, as amended, Block. Community colleges: Disability Services Program. (1) Existing law establishes the California Community Colleges, under the administration of the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, as one of the segments of public postsecondary education in this state. Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that the public postsecondary institutions request, and the state provide, through the state budget process, funds to cover the actual cost of providing services and instruction, consistent with specified principles, to disabled students in their respective postsecondary institutions. Existing law requires the board of governors to adopt rules and regulations for the administration and funding of educational programs and support services provided to disabled students by community colleges for state-funded services. Existing law requires these regulations to provide for the apportionment of funds to each community college district to offset the direct excess cost, as defined, of providing specialized support services or instruction, or both, to disabled students enrolled in state-supported educational programs or courses. This bill would recast these requirements as the Disability Services Program and would use the term "students with disabilities" instead of disabled students. The bill would instead require the regulations adopted by the board of governors to provide for the apportionment of funds to each community college district to offset the direct excess cost, as modified by the bill, of providing students with disabilities enrolled in state-supported educational programs operated by community college districts with academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and services, as appropriate, in compliance with all applicable requirements of federal and state nondiscrimination laws. In utilizing funds apportioned to a community college district, the bill would require the district to give priority to ensuring that requirements of federal and state nondiscrimination laws have been satisfied with respect to students with disabilities who enroll for specified purposes. The bill would authorize a district to use these funds to provide other specialized services or to offer educational assistance courses for students with disabilities so long as specified conditions are met. The bill would also prohibit a district from using these funds to provide services for students with disabilities participating in classes, courses, or educational programs that do not receive state support. As a condition of receiving these funds, the bill would require a district to cooperate in the conduct of program evaluations, as prescribed, and to promptly take any corrective action required by the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges as a result of the program evaluations. The bill would require the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to request funding for the Disability Services Program that is sufficient to carry out the requirements of the program on a statewide basis in the annual budget request to the Governor and the Legislature. (2) Existing law requires all participating districts, with the assistance of the chancellor, to establish and maintain institutional research to evaluate the effectiveness of the Student Success and Support Program implemented under the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012. Existing law requires the research to include certain metrics including, among others, disaggregated data by ethnicity, gender, disability, age, and socioeconomic status, to the extent the information is available. This bill would require a district to report a student participating in the Student Success and Support Program as having a disability if the student participates in the Disability Services Program. To the extent that the bill would impose new duties on community college districts, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. (3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 78214 of the Education Code is amended to read: 78214. (a) All participating districts shall, with the assistance of the chancellor, establish and maintain institutional research to evaluate the effectiveness of the Student Success and Support Program described by this article and of any other programs or services designed to facilitate students' completion of their educational goals and courses of study. (b) The metrics for this research shall include, but not be limited to: (1) Prior educational experience, including transcripts when appropriate, as determined by the chancellor. (2) Educational goals and courses of study. (3) Criteria for exemption from orientation, assessment, or required counseling or advisement, if applicable. (4) Need for financial assistance. (5) (A) Disaggregated data by ethnicity, gender, disability, age, and socioeconomic status, to the extent this information is available. (B) For purposes of this paragraph, unless the chancellor establishes a different approach for reporting disability status, a district shall report a student as having a disability if the student participates in the Disability Services Program established pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 84850) of Chapter 5 of Part 50. (6) Academic performance, such as the completion of specified unit thresholds, success in basic skills courses, grade point average, course completion outcomes, transfer readiness, and degree and certificate completion. (7) Any additional information that the chancellor finds appropriate. (c) The evaluation provided for by this section shall include an assessment of the effectiveness of the programs and services in attaining at least the following objectives: (1) Helping students to define their academic and career goals and declare a course of study. (2) Assisting institutions in the assessment of students' educational needs and valid course placement. (3) Helping support students' successful course completion and goal attainment. (4) Matching institutional resources with students' educational needs. SEC. 2. The heading of Article 6 (commencing with Section 84850) of Chapter 5 of Part 50 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code is amended to read: Article 6. The Disability Services Program SEC. 3. Section 84850 of the Education Code is amended and renumbered to read: 84851. (a) The Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges shall adopt rules and regulations for the administration and funding of educational programs and support services to be provided to students with disabilities by community college districts pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 67310) of Chapter 14 of Part 40. This program shall be known and may be cited as the Disability Services Program. (b) As used in this article, a student with a disability is a person who is enrolled, or has been admitted and is planning to enroll, in one or more courses at a community college and has been verified as being an individual with a disability within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.). (c) (1) The regulations adopted by the board of governors shall provide for the apportionment of funds to each community college district to offset the direct excess cost, as defined in paragraph (2), of providing students with disabilities enrolled in state-supported educational programs operated by community college districts with academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and services, as appropriate, in compliance with all applicable requirements of federal and state nondiscrimination laws, including, but not limited to, all of the following: (A) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.). (B) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794). (C) Article 9.5 (commencing with Section 11135) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. (D) The Equity in Higher Education Act (Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 66250) of Part 40 of Division 5). (2) Direct excess costs are those actual fixed, variable, and one-time costs, as defined in Section 67311, that exceed the combined total of the following: (A) The indirect cost to the community college district of providing facilities and support for the administration ofservices for students with disabilitiesthe Disability Service s Program . (B) The revenue derived from full-time equivalent students enrolled in educational assistance courses for students with disabilities. (C) The average cost to the community college district of providing services to nondisabled students multiplied by the number of students served by the Disability Services Program. (D) Any other funds for serving students with disabilities that the district receives from federal, state, or local sources. (d) (1) In utilizing funds provided pursuant to this section, a community college district shall give priority to ensuring that the requirements of federal and state nondiscrimination laws have been satisfied with respect to students with disabilities who enroll to earn degrees, career technical certificates, transfer preparation, or career development or advancement. However, the community college district remains responsible for complying with the requirements of federal and state nondiscrimination laws with respect to students with disabilities pursuing other educational objectives. (2) In addition, a community college district may also use funds allocated pursuant to this section to provide other specialized services or to offer educational assistance courses for students with disabilities so long as these services or courses satisfy all of the following conditions: (A) They are consistent with the regulations adopted by the board of governors. (B) They further the goal established in Section 67310 of promoting the independence of students with disabilities and the maximum integration of these students with other students. (C) They are provided in the most integrated setting possible. (e) A community college district shall not use funds allocated pursuant to this section to provide services for students with disabilities participating in classes, courses, or educational programs that do not receive state support. (f) As a condition of receiving funds pursuant to this section, each community college district shall do all of the following: (1) The community college district shall certify that reasonable efforts have been made to utilize all funds from federal, state, or local sources that are available for serving students with disabilities. (2) The community college district shall provide the programmatic and fiscal information concerning programs and services for students with disabilities that the regulations of the board of governors require. (3) The community college district shall cooperate in the conduct of program evaluations conducted pursuant to subdivision (g) and promptly take any corrective actions required by the chancellor as a result of those evaluations. (g) The board of governors shall require the chancellor to use an amount not less than one-half of 1 percent of the funds allocated pursuant to this section to conduct, or to contract to conduct, an evaluation of program effectiveness as required pursuant to Section 67312. In addition to addressing the requirements of Section 67312, the evaluations shall determine whether the requirements of this article and those set forth in the regulations adopted by the board of governors have been satisfied. Each community college operating a program pursuant to this section shall be required to participate in a peer-based onsite evaluation during the self-study year of each accreditation cycle. Funds designated for program evaluation purposes under this subdivision may be used to, among other things, compensate and reimburse members of onsite evaluation teams. (h) The board of governors may authorize the chancellor, consistent with the requirements the board may impose, to designate up to an additional 2 1/2 percent of the funds allocated pursuant to this section for program development and program accountability. SEC. 4. Section 84850 is added to the Education Code, to read: 84850. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.), and other federal and state nondiscrimination laws require community college districts to ensure that students with disabilities are not denied the benefits of, or excluded from participating or otherwise subjected to discrimination in, any program or activity operated by those community college districts due to the absence of academic adjustments, auxiliary aids, or services, as appropriate. (b) The board of governors, the California Student Aid Commission, and other state agencies are responsible for distributing state and federal funding to community college districts. (c) As a result, the state shares the responsibility with community college districts for ensuring that students with disabilities are able to fully participate in and benefit from the programs and activities operated by community college districts in accordance with the requirements of federal and state nondiscrimination laws. (d) By enacting the Seymour-Campbell Student Success Act of 2012, the Legislature has recognized the importance of ensuring that all students, including students with disabilities, have the resources and support services necessary to establish and achieve their educational goals while attending a community college. (e) The Legislature recognizes that programmatic adjustments, auxiliary aids, and other services may be needed in order for students with disabilities to be able to participate in and fully benefit from the Student Success and Support Program and that providing these adjustments and services will result in additional costs and workload for community college districts. (f) It is the intent of the Legislature that adequate funding shall be provided to the Disability Services Program through the annual budget process to ensure that each community college is able to provide students with disabilities the services needed to meet the requirements of federal and state nondiscrimination laws and to further their participation in the Student Success and Support Program. SEC. 5. Section 84852 is added to the Education Code, to read: 84852. In its annual budget request for the California Community Colleges to the Governor and the Legislature, the Office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges shall request funding for the Disability Services Program sufficient to carry out the purposes and requirements of this article on a statewide basis. SEC. 6. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.