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<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-02-20</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Assembly Member Patel</ns0:AuthorText>
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<ns0:Name>Patel</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Title> An act to add Section 52073.6 to the Education Code, relating to school accountability. </ns0:Title>
<ns0:RelatingClause>school accountability</ns0:RelatingClause>
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<ns0:Subject>School accountability: pupils with disabilities: inclusion.</ns0:Subject>
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<html:p>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.</html:p>
<html:p>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.</html:p>
<html:p>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 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 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 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 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.</html:p>
<html:p>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.</html:p>
<html:p>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.</html:p>
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<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
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<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:</html:p>
<html:p>
(a)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Under longstanding state and federal law, pupils with disabilities have the right to be educated in the least restrictive environment, which provides needed supports in general education settings with the greatest possible access to peers and promotes inclusion through belonging, relationships, and full participation in the school community.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(b)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Despite decades of effort to increase least restrictive environment placements, California has made slow progress, and the state’s rate of inclusion continues to lag behind most other states.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Pupils with
disabilities have consistently been identified by the California School Dashboard as a low-performing pupil group, triggering various kinds of support and intervention.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(d)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The Supporting Innovative Practices project (SIP project) works to increase opportunities for pupils with disabilities to access education in general education settings and goes beyond basic access to ensure that pupils experience authentic learning environments rooted in belonging, which improves attendance, reduces discipline, increases graduation rates, and supports postsecondary success.
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<html:p>
(e)
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Research has shown that the SIP project is highly effective. Local educational agencies working with the SIP project have experienced growth in placements in the least restrictive environment 13 times the state average and 6 times the national average. In school districts working with the SIP project, achievement in
English language arts and math improves among pupils with disabilities.
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<html:p>
(f)
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Expanding the SIP project and building on its existing alignment and partnerships with statewide improvement initiatives would significantly broaden its reach and bring systemwide coherence to benefit both disabled and nondisabled pupils in California.
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<ns0:Num>SEC. 2.</ns0:Num>
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Section 52073.6 is added to the
<ns0:DocName>Education Code</ns0:DocName>
, to read:
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<ns0:Num>52073.6.</ns0:Num>
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(a)
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Commencing with the 2027–28 fiscal year, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, through one or two county offices of education designated by the collaborative, shall administer the Supporting Innovative Practices project and shall expand the project and build on its alignment and partnerships with statewide improvement initiatives. The purposes of this project are to do all of the following:
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<html:p>
(1)
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Improve pupil outcomes, as measured by the California School Dashboard pursuant to Section 52064.5, by increasing opportunities for pupils with disabilities to access education in general education settings, as mandated by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.).
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<html:p>
(2)
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Align and integrate with differentiated assistance, direct technical assistance, and other initiatives within the statewide system of support, and with the department’s Compliance and Improvement Monitoring process, and leverage expertise of the project in serving pupils with disabilities across improvement initiatives housed at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
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Support the educator workforce to serve pupils with disabilities.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(b)
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In administering the project, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence shall align and integrate the project with differentiated assistance, direct technical assistance, and other initiatives within the statewide system of support.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(c)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The project shall conduct, at a minimum, all of
the following activities:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Providing technical assistance to local educational 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. This technical assistance shall include, but not be limited to, technical assistance on staffing arrangements that support access by pupils with disabilities to education in the general education setting, including, but not limited to, coteaching, with a focus on strategies that support the retention of education specialists in the teaching profession.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Establishing demonstration sites in each geographic lead agency region of the state that showcase evidence-based practices at different grade levels and with different pupil populations,
and facilitating tours of teams of staff from other local educational agencies and charter schools to learn from these sites.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Holding inclusion academies, which are innovative professional learning experiences for regional teams designed to support the design and implementation of systemwide inclusive culture, policies, and practices, including collaborating with partners in school districts, county offices of education, special education local plan areas, and statewide system of support technical assistance providers. The project shall also use local data to develop a strategic plan centered in a culture of accountability and meaningful inclusion.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(4)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Working with teacher preparation programs in each major region to establish inclusive placement pipelines, including by the use of demonstration site visits described in paragraph (2) and inclusion academies described in
paragraph (3).
</html:p>
<html:p>
(5)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Working with early childhood-related technical assistance providers, including by providing statewide support for the Inclusive Early Education Expansion Program grant established pursuant to Section 8337.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(6)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Developing and making resources available to all local educational agencies and charter schools, including, but not limited to, webinar events, social media, podcasts, recorded resources on inclusion topics, and requested professional development.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(7)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Providing support and technical assistance to local educational agencies and charter schools on alternate pathways to a diploma, as authorized by Sections 51225.31 and 51225.32, using the statewide individualized education program template, as authorized to be developed by the Budget Act of 2020 (Chs. 6, 7, and 40, Stats. 2020, and Chs. 1, 4,
14, 40, Stats. 2021), to support access by pupils with disabilities to education in general education settings.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(8)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Implementing the activities of the project in a manner that leverages and aligns with existing improvement efforts administered by the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence to build local educational agency and charter school capacity and support systemwide improvement.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(9)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Coordinating and aligning its work with other statewide initiatives administered by the department, including initiatives in literacy, community schools, and early learning, to provide coherence across improvement efforts and reduce duplication of technical assistance.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(d)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The project shall collaborate with an institution of higher education to support evaluation of the project, including the use of evidence-based
practices, for the purpose of continuous improvement of the project.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(e)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The department may contract with the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence for the project to provide technical assistance to local educational agencies and charter schools identified as not meeting state performance plan indicators pursuant to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.), consistent with the statewide system of support.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(f)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence shall, for each year in which funding is appropriated for the project, submit a report to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, the department, the state board, and the Department of Finance. Each report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following information:
</html:p>
<html:p>
(1)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
A summary of the activities conducted, including local educational agency and charter school participation by activity.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(2)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The number of local educational agencies and charter schools, educators, and pupils served by the project.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(3)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
A summary of outcome data of local educational agencies and charter schools receiving direct technical assistance, including, but not limited to, performance on state performance plan indicators, indicators used on the California School Dashboard, and the Desired Results Developmental Profile.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(4)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
How the project has worked with other initiatives housed at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(5)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
Recommendations for improving state-level
activities or policies.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(g)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
When carrying out activities pursuant to this section, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence shall adhere to, and inform local educational agencies and charter schools with which it works of, the requirements of Section 56040.6, pertaining to pupils who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(h)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
This section shall not be construed as modifying or otherwise affecting the right of pupils with disabilities, including pupils who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind, to a free and appropriate public education pursuant to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.), the development of an individualized education program, as defined in Section 56032, or the individualized education program team’s determination of placement pursuant to Sections 300.320 to 300.328, inclusive, of Title 34 of the
Code of Federal Regulations and Section 56345, aids to ensure effective communication pursuant to Section 35.160 of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or the continuum of program options required to be made available pursuant to Sections 56000.5, 56360, and 56361.
</html:p>
<html:p>
(i)
<html:span class="EnSpace"/>
The implementation of this section is contingent upon an appropriation for its purposes in the annual Budget Act or another statute. It is the intent of the Legislature that a minimum of thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) over five years be appropriated for the purpose of this act.
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<ns0:Num>SEC. 3.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>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.</html:p>
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