SECTIONS 56170-56177 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 56170-56177

56170. As used in this part, "private school children with
disabilities" means children with disabilities enrolled by a parent
in private schools or facilities that meet the definition of
"elementary school" in Section 300.13 of Title 34 of the Code of
Federal Regulations or "secondary school" in Section 300.36 of Title
34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, in accordance with Section
300.130 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, other than
individuals with exceptional needs placed by a local educational
agency in a nonpublic, nonsectarian school pursuant to Section 56365.

56171. Pursuant to Section 300.131 of Title 34 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, local educational agencies shall locate,
identify, and assess all private school children with disabilities,
including religiously affiliated schoolage children, who have
disabilities and are in need of special education and related
services attending private school in the service area of the local
educational agencies where the private school is located in
accordance with Section 56301. The activities undertaken to carry out
this responsibility for private school children with disabilities
shall be comparable to activities undertaken in accordance with
Section 1412(a)(10)(A)(ii) of Title 20 of the United States Code.

56172. (a) The local educational agency shall make provision for
the participation of private school children with disabilities in
special education programs under this part by providing them with
special education and related services in accordance with the
provisions of this article and Section 1412(a)(10)(A) of Title 20 of
the United States Code and Section 300.132 of Title 34 of the Code of
Federal Regulations.
(b) The local educational agency or, where appropriate, the
department, shall ensure timely and meaningful consultation with
private school representatives and representatives of parents of
parentally placed private school children with disabilities during
the design and development of special education and related services
for the children in accordance with Section 1412(a)(10)(A)(iii) of
Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 300.134 of Title 34 of
the Code of Federal Regulations.
(c) When timely and meaningful consultation as required in
subdivision (b) has occurred, the local educational agency shall
obtain a written affirmation signed by the representatives of
participating private schools, and if the representatives do not
provide the affirmation within a reasonable period of time, the local
educational agency shall forward the documentation of the
consultation process to the department in accordance with Section
1412(a)(10)(A)(iv) of Title 20 of the United States Code.
(d) A private school official shall have the right, pursuant to
Section 1412(a)(10)(A)(v) of Title 20 of the United States Code and
Section 300.136 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, to
submit a complaint to the department that the local educational
agency did not engage in consultation that was meaningful and timely
or did not give due consideration to the views of the private school
official.
(e) The provision of equitable services for children enrolled in
private schools by their parents shall be provided by employees of a
public agency, as defined in Section 56028.5, or through contract by
the public agency with an individual, association, agency,
organization, or other entity.
(f) Special education and related services, including materials
and equipment, provided to a pupil with a disability who has been
parentally placed in a private school shall be secular, neutral, and
nonideological, as required by Section 1412(a)(10)(A)(vi) of Title 20
of the United States Code and Section 300.138(c)(2) of Title 34 of
the Code of Federal Regulations.

56173. To meet the requirements of Section 56172, each local
educational agency shall provide special education and related
services to pupils with disabilities enrolled by a parent in private
elementary and secondary schools, described in Section 56171, by
expending an amount of federal state grant funds allocated to the
state under Part B of the federal Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.) equal to a proportionate
amount of federal funds made available under the Part B grant program
for local assistance, in accordance with Section 1412(a)(10)(A)(i)
of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 300.133 of Title 34
of the Code of Federal Regulations. In accordance with Section
300.131(d) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the cost
of carrying out the child find requirements in Section 56171 cannot
come from the proportional share of federal grant funds received
pursuant to this section and Section 300.133 of Title 34 of the Code
of Federal Regulations since those funds are required to be spent on
the provision of services to the pupils with disabilities enrolled by
a parent in private elementary and secondary schools.
The control of public funds used to provide special education and
related services under Section 1412(a)(10)(A) of Title 20 of the
United States Code, and title to materials, equipment, and property
purchased with those funds, shall be in a public agency for the uses
and purposes provided in the federal Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.). A public agency shall
administer the funds and property.

56174. The local educational agency shall not be required to pay
for the cost of education, including special education and related
services, of a child with a disability at a private school or
facility if the local educational agency made a free appropriate
public education available to the child and the parent of the child
elected to place the child in the private school or facility.

56174.5. (a) Private school individuals with exceptional needs may
receive a different amount of services than individuals with
exceptional needs in public school receive pursuant to Section
300.138(a)(2) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. No
private school individual with exceptional needs is entitled to any
amount of service the child would receive if enrolled in a public
school pursuant to Section 300.137(a) of Title 34 of the Code of
Federal Regulations.
(b) Decisions about the services provided to private school
individuals with exceptional needs pursuant to this article shall be
made pursuant to this section and Sections 300.137 to 300.139,
inclusive, of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

56175. If a parent or guardian of an individual with exceptional
needs, who previously received special education and related services
under the authority of the local educational agency, enrolls the
child in a private elementary or secondary school without the consent
of or referral by the local educational agency, a court or a due
process hearing officer may require the local educational agency to
reimburse the parent or guardian for the cost of that enrollment if
the court or due process hearing officer finds that the local
educational agency had not made a free appropriate public education
available to the child in a timely manner prior to that enrollment in
the private elementary or secondary school and that the private
placement is appropriate, in accordance with Section 1412(a)(10)(C)
(ii) of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 300.148(c) of
Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

56176. The cost of the reimbursement described in Section 56175 may
be reduced or denied pursuant to clause (iii) of subparagraph (C) of
paragraph (10) of subsection (a) of Section 1412 of Title 20 of the
United States Code in the event of any of the following:
(a) At the most recent individualized education program meeting
that a parent or guardian attended prior to removal of the child from
the public school, the parent or guardian did not inform the
individualized education program team that they were rejecting the
placement proposed by the local educational agency to provide a free
appropriate public education to the child, including stating his or
her concerns and the intent to enroll the child in a private school
at public expense.
(b) The parent or guardian did not give written notice to the
local educational agency of the information described in subdivision
(a) at least 10 business days, including any holidays that occur on a
business day, prior to the removal of the child from the public
school.
(c) Prior to the parent's or guardian's removal of the child from
the public school, the local educational agency informed the parent,
through the notice requirements described in paragraph (3) of
subsection (b) of Section 1415 of Title 20 of the United States Code,
of its intent to assess the child, including a statement of the
purpose of the assessment that was appropriate and reasonable, but
the parent or guardian did not make the child available for the
assessment.
(d) Upon a judicial finding of unreasonableness with respect to
actions taken by a parent or guardian.

56177. (a) Notwithstanding the notice requirement in subclause (I)
of clause (iii) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (10) of subsection
(a) of Section 1412 of Title 20 of the United States Code, the cost
of reimbursement shall not be reduced or denied, in accordance with
clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (10) of subsection (a)
of Section 1412 of Title 20 of the United States Code, for failure to
provide the notice in the event of any of the following:
(1) The school prevented the parent or guardian from providing the
notice.
(2) The parents had not received notice, pursuant to Section 1415
of Title 20 of the United States Code, of the notice requirement in
subclause (I) of clause (iii) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (10)
of subsection (a) of Section 1412 of Title 20 of the United States
Code.
(3) Compliance with the federal provision cited in paragraph (2)
would likely result in physical harm to the child.
(b) In the discretion of a court or a hearing officer, the cost of
reimbursement may not be reduced or denied for failure to provide
the notice in either of the following circumstances:
(1) The parent or guardian is illiterate or cannot write in
English.
(2) Providing the notice described in subclause (I) of clause
(iii) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (10) of subsection (a) of
Section 1412 of Title 20 of the United States Code would likely
result in serious emotional harm to the child.