CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill No. 217

Introduced by Senators Portantino and Roth
(Coauthor: Senator Beall)

February 06, 2019

An act to amend Section 48000 of, and to add Section 56836.13 to, the Education Code, relating to special education.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 217, as introduced, Portantino. Special education: individuals with exceptional needs: early education programs.
(1) Existing law authorizes a school district or charter school to maintain a transitional kindergarten program. Existing law requires, in the 2014–15 school year and each school year thereafter, and as a condition of receipt of apportionments for pupils in a transitional kindergarten program, a child who will have their 5th birthday between September 2 and December 2 to be admitted to a transitional kindergarten program maintained by a school district or charter school. Existing law authorizes, for the 2015–16 school year, and each school year thereafter, a school district or charter school to admit a child to a transitional kindergarten program who will have their 5th birthday after December 2 but during that same school year, as provided.
This bill would require, for the 2019–20 school year and each school year thereafter, a school district or charter school to admit a child to a transitional kindergarten program who will have their 5th birthday after December 2 but during that same school year if the child is an individual with exceptional needs, subject to specified conditions.
(2) Existing law requires school districts, county offices of education, and special education local plan areas to identify, locate, and assess individuals with exceptional needs and to provide those pupils with a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, and with special education and related services as reflected in an individualized education program.
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to determine the amount of funding to be provided for each special education local plan area in accordance with specified calculations and to allocate funds per unit of average daily attendance reported for each special education local plan area.
This bill would establish the Special Education Early Intervention Grant Program, and would require as part of that program, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute, the Superintendent to allocate to school districts $4,000 per child within the school district of residence who is 3 or 4 years of age, is an individual with exceptional needs, and is enrolled in transitional kindergarten, a California state preschool program, a federal Head Start program, or any other early education preschool program, as provided.
The bill would require a school district, as a condition of receiving funds, to coordinate with its special education local plan area to provide specified data relating to the grant program to the Superintendent. The bill would require the Superintendent to report this data to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, the Department of Finance, the State Board of Education, and the Legislative Analyst’s Office by March 1 of each year.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 48000 of the Education Code is amended to read:

48000.
 (a) A child shall be admitted to a kindergarten maintained by the school district at the beginning of a school year, or at a later time in the same year, if the child will have his or her their fifth birthday on or before one of the following dates:
(1) December 2 of the 2011–12 school year.
(2) November 1 of the 2012–13 school year.
(3) October 1 of the 2013–14 school year.
(4) September 1 of the 2014–15 school year and each school year thereafter.
(b) The governing board of the school district of a school district maintaining one or more kindergartens may, on a case-by-case basis, admit to a kindergarten a child having attained the age of five years at any time during the school year with the approval of the parent or guardian, subject to the following conditions:
(1) The governing board of the school district determines that the admittance is in the best interests of the child.
(2) The parent or guardian is given information regarding the advantages and disadvantages and any other explanatory information about the effect of this early admittance.
(c) As a condition of receipt of apportionment for pupils in a transitional kindergarten program pursuant to Section 46300, and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 47610) of Part 26.8, as applicable, a school district or charter school shall ensure the following:
(1) In the 2012–13 school year, a child who will have his or her their fifth birthday between November 2 and December 2 shall be admitted to a transitional kindergarten program maintained by the school district or charter school.
(2) In the 2013–14 school year, a child who will have his or her their fifth birthday between October 2 and December 2 shall be admitted to a transitional kindergarten program maintained by the school district or charter school.
(3) (A) In the 2014–15 school year and each school year thereafter, a child who will have his or her their fifth birthday between September 2 and December 2 shall be admitted to a transitional kindergarten program maintained by the school district or charter school.
(B) In the 2019–20 school year and each school year thereafter, a child who will have their fifth birthday after December 2 but during the same school year and who is an individual with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026, shall be admitted to a transitional kindergarten program maintained by the school district or charter school, with the approval of the parent or guardian, subject to the following conditions:
(i) The governing board of the school district or governing body of the charter school determines that the admittance is in the best interests of the child.
(ii) The parent or guardian is given information regarding the advantages and disadvantages and any other explanatory information about the effect of this early admittance.

(B)

(C) (i) For the 2015–16 school year and each school year thereafter, a school district or charter school may, at any time during a school year, admit a child to a transitional kindergarten program who will have his or her their fifth birthday after December 2 but during that same school year, with the approval of the parent or guardian, subject to the following conditions:
(I) The governing board of the school district or the governing body of the charter school determines that the admittance is in the best interests of the child.
(II) The parent or guardian is given information regarding the advantages and disadvantages and any other explanatory information about the effect of this early admittance.
(ii) Notwithstanding any other law, a pupil admitted to a transitional kindergarten program pursuant to clause (i) shall not generate average daily attendance for purposes of Section 46300, or be included in the enrollment or unduplicated pupil count pursuant to Section 42238.02, until the pupil has attained his or her their fifth birthday, regardless of when the pupil was admitted during the school year.
(d) For purposes of this section, “transitional kindergarten” means the first year of a two-year kindergarten program that uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate.
(e) A transitional kindergarten shall not be construed as a new program or higher level of service.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that transitional kindergarten curriculum be aligned to the California Preschool Learning Foundations developed by the department.
(g) As a condition of receipt of apportionment for pupils in a transitional kindergarten program pursuant to Section 46300, a school district or charter school shall ensure that credentialed teachers who are first assigned to a transitional kindergarten classroom after July 1, 2015, have, by August 1, 2020, one of the following:
(1) At least 24 units in early childhood education, or childhood development, or both.
(2) As determined by the local educational agency employing the teacher, professional experience in a classroom setting with preschool age children that is comparable to the 24 units of education described in paragraph (1).
(3) A child development teacher permit issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
(h) A school district or charter school may place four-year-old children, as defined in subdivision (aj) of Section 8208, enrolled in a California state preschool program into a transitional kindergarten program classroom. A school district or charter school that commingles children from both programs in the same classroom shall meet all of the requirements of the respective programs in which the children are enrolled, and the school district or charter school shall adhere to all of the following requirements, irrespective of the program in which the child is enrolled:
(1) An early childhood environment rating scale, as specified in Section 18281 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, shall be completed for the classroom.
(2) All children enrolled for 10 or more hours per week shall be evaluated using the Desired Results Developmental Profile, as specified in Section 18272 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations.
(3) The classroom shall be taught by a teacher that holds a credential issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing in accordance with Section 44065 and subdivision (b) of Section 44256 and who meets the requirements set forth in subdivision (g).
(4) The classroom shall be in compliance with the adult-child ratio as specified in subdivision (c) of Section 8264.8.
(5) Contractors of a school district or charter school commingling children enrolled in the California state preschool program with children enrolled in a transitional kindergarten program classroom shall report the services, revenues, and expenditures for the California state preschool program children in accordance with Section 18068 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. Those contractors are not required to report services, revenues, and expenditures for the children in the transitional kindergarten program.
(i) Until July 1, 2019, a transitional kindergarten classroom that has in attendance children enrolled in a California state preschool program shall be licensed pursuant to Chapters 3.4 (commencing with Section 1596.70) and 3.5 (commencing with Section 1596.90) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code.
(j) A school district or charter school that chooses to place California state preschool program children into a transitional kindergarten program classroom shall not also include children enrolled in transitional kindergarten for a second year or children enrolled in kindergarten in that classroom.

SEC. 2.

 Section 56836.13 is added to the Education Code, to read:

56836.13.
 (a) The Special Education Early Intervention Grant Program is hereby established for the purpose of increasing inclusive access to early education programs and supporting young children with special needs.
(b) Subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or another statute for purposes of this section, the Superintendent shall allocate to school districts four thousand dollars ($4,000) per child within the school district of residence who meets all of the following criteria:
(1) Is three or four years of age.
(2) Has been determined to meet the definition of an individual with exceptional needs.
(3) Is enrolled in one of the following and receiving a majority of special education and related services in the regular education program as reported through the California Annual Performance Report pursuant to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1416(a)(3)(A)):
(A) Transitional kindergarten pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of section 48000.
(B) A California state preschool program.
(C) A federal Head Start program.
(D) Any other early education preschool program.
(c) Grant funding apportioned to school districts pursuant to this section shall be used solely to provide services for individuals with exceptional needs pursuant to an individualized education program.
(d) (1) As a condition of receiving funds under this section, a school district shall coordinate with its special education local plan area to provide data to the Superintendent on the number of children with an individualized education program in each type of care setting, the percentage of children who received a majority of special education and related services in the regular education program, the expenditure of grant funds, and other outcome-related measures as determined by the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall report this data to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, the Department of Finance, the state board, and the Legislative Analyst’s Office by March 1 of each year.
(2) The report required to be submitted to the Legislature pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.