School accountability: pupils with disabilities: inclusion.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill's implementation is contingent upon an appropriation, which means it may or may not proceed depending on funding decisions.

Including Students with Disabilities in Regular Classrooms

This law requires a project to help students with disabilities learn alongside their peers without disabilities and supports teachers who work with these students, starting from the 2027-28 fiscal year if funding is available.

What This Bill Does

• Requires the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence to run a project that helps schools include students with disabilities in regular classrooms starting from the 2027–28 fiscal year, contingent upon an appropriation.
• The project will give advice and training to local educational agencies and charter schools on how to support students with disabilities better.
• It aims to help more students with disabilities get high school diplomas by providing them with the right education.
• Ensures that all regions of California have access to this project's resources.

Who It Names or Affects

• Students with disabilities
• Teachers and staff in local educational agencies and charter schools

Terms To Know

Local educational agencies (LEAs)

School districts or other organizations that provide education to students.

Statewide system of support

A program designed to help local schools improve their performance and meet state standards.

Limits and Unknowns

• The project will only start if the government allocates money for it.
• It is not clear how much this project will cost or who will pay for it.

Official Summary Text

AB 2468, as amended, Patel.
School accountability: pupils with disabilities: inclusion.
Existing law establishes a single system for providing support to local educational agencies and schools and for specified federal educational programs. Existing law provides that the purpose of the statewide system of support is to build the capacity of local educational agencies, as specified.
Existing law requires the State Department of Education and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence to establish a process, administered by the department, to select, subject to approval by the executive director of the State Board of Education, an expert lead agency based on specific expertise in an area of need to conduct activities and build statewide capacity to address that area of need within the statewide system of support, as well as geographic lead agencies for other specified purposes, as provided.
This bill, contingent upon an appropriation for these purposes, commencing in the 2027–28 fiscal year, would require the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, through one or two county offices of education designated by the collaborative, to administer the Supporting
Innovative
Inclusive
Practices project and to expand the project and build on its alignment and partnerships with statewide improvement initiatives. The bill would provide that the purposes of the project are, among others, to improve pupil outcomes by increasing opportunities for pupils with disabilities to access education in general education
settings
settings, as provided,
and to support the educator workforce to serve pupils with disabilities. The bill would require the project to conduct specified activities, including providing technical assistance to local educational
agencies
agencies,
and charter schools focused on supporting evidence-based practices to increase access by pupils with disabilities to education in general education settings, and supporting progress toward a high school diploma for children and pupils with disabilities.
The bill would require the project to, among other things, ensure that all regions of the state are provided with access to the project’s support.
The bill would authorize the department to
contract with the collaborative for the project to provide technical assistance to local educational agencies and charter schools identified as not meeting state performance plan indicators, as provided. By imposing new duties on county offices of education, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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 the statutory provisions noted above.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF