ARTICLE 1. Identification and Referral [56300. - 56305.]

Cal. Education Code - EDC 1.

in effect

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56300. Section 56300.

A local educational agency shall actively and systematically seek out all individuals with exceptional needs, from birth to 21 years of age, inclusive, including children not enrolled in public school programs, who reside in a school district or are under the jurisdiction of a special education local plan area or a county office of education.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56301. Section 56301.

(a) All children with disabilities residing in the state, including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are wards of the state and children with disabilities attending private, including religious, elementary and secondary schools, regardless of the severity of their disabilities, and who are in need of special education and related services, shall be identified, located, and assessed and a practical method is developed and implemented to determine which children with disabilities are currently receiving needed special education and related services as required by Sections 1412(a)(3) and 1412(a)(10)(A)(ii) of Title 20 of the United States Code. A child is not required to be classified by their disability so long as each child who has a disability listed in Section 1401(3) of Title 20 of the United States Code and who, by reason of that disability, needs special education and related services as an individual with exceptional needs defined in Section 56026. (b) (1) In accordance with Section 300.111(c) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the requirements of this section also apply to highly mobile individuals with exceptional needs, including migrant children, and children who are suspected of being an individual with exceptional needs pursuant to Section 56026 and in need of special education, even though they are advancing from grade to grade. (2) In accordance with Section 300.213 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the local educational agency shall cooperate in the efforts of the federal Secretary of Education, under Section 6398 of Title 20 of the United States Code, to ensure the linkage of records pertaining to migratory children with disabilities for the purpose of electronically exchanging, among other states, health and educational information regarding those children. (c) (1) The child find process shall ensure the equitable participation in special education and related services of parentally placed private schoolchildren with disabilities and an accurate count of those children. Child find activities conducted by local educational agencies, or where applicable, the department, shall be similar to those activities undertaken for pupils in public schools. (2) In accordance with Section 1412(a)(10)(A)(ii)(IV) of Title 20 of the United States Code, the cost of the child find activities in private, including religious, elementary and secondary schools, may not be considered in determining whether a local educational agency has met its obligations under the proportionate funding provisions for children enrolled in private, including religious, elementary and secondary schools. (3) The child find process described in paragraph (1) shall be completed in a time period comparable to that for other pupils attending public schools in the local educational agency. (d) (1) Each special education local plan area shall establish written policies and procedures pursuant to Section 56205 for use by its constituent local agencies for a continuous child find system that addresses the relationships among identification, screening, referral, assessment, planning, implementation, review, and the triennial assessment. The policies and procedures shall include, but need not be limited to, written notification to all parents of their rights under this chapter, and the procedure for initiating a referral for assessment to identify individuals with exceptional needs. (2) In accordance with Section 1415(d)(1)(A) of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 300.504(a) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, parents and pupils shall be given a copy of their rights and procedural safeguards once every school year and at all of the following times: (A) Upon initial referral or parental request for assessment. (B) Upon receipt of the first state complaint under Section 56500.2 in a school year. (C) Upon receipt of the first due process hearing request under Section 56502 in a school year. (D) When a decision is made to make a removal that constitutes a change of placement of an individual with exceptional needs because of a violation of a code of pupil conduct in accordance with Section 300.530(h) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (E) Upon request by a parent or pupil. (3) A local educational agency may place a current copy of the procedural safeguards notice on its internet website, if the internet website exists, pursuant to Section 1415(d)(1)(B) of Title 20 of the United States Code. (4) The contents of the procedural safeguards notice shall contain the requirements listed in Section 1415(d)(2) of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 300.504(c) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (e) Child find data collected pursuant to this chapter, or collected pursuant to a regulation or an interagency agreement, are subject to the confidentiality requirements of Sections 300.610 to 300.627, inclusive, of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56302. Section 56302.

A local educational agency shall provide for the identification and assessment of the exceptional needs of an individual, and the planning of an instructional program to meet the assessed needs. Identification procedures shall include systematic methods of utilizing referrals of pupils from teachers, parents, agencies, appropriate professional persons, and from other members of the public. Identification procedures shall be coordinated with schoolsite procedures for referral of pupils with needs that cannot be met with modification of the regular instructional program.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56302.1. Section 56302.1.

(a) Once a child has been referred for an initial assessment to determine whether the child is an individual with exceptional needs as defined in Section 56026 and to determine the educational needs of the child, these determinations shall be made, and an individualized education program meeting shall occur, within 60 days of receiving parental consent for the assessment in accordance with subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of Section 1414 of Title 20 of the United States Code. (b) The 60-day time period does not apply to a local educational agency if either of the following occurs: (1) A child enrolls in a school served by the local educational agency after the relevant time period has commenced but prior to a determination by his or her previous local educational agency of whether the child is an individual with exceptional needs. The exemption of this paragraph applies only if the subsequent local educational agency is making sufficient progress to ensure a prompt completion of the assessment, and the parent and subsequent local educational agency agree to a specific date by which the assessment shall be completed. (2) The parent of a child repeatedly fails or refuses to produce the child for the assessment.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56302.5. Section 56302.5.

The term “assessment,” as used in this chapter, shall have the same meaning as the term “evaluation” in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, as provided in Section 1414 of Title 20 of the United States Code.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56303. Section 56303.

A pupil shall be referred for special educational instruction and services only after the resources of the regular education program have been considered and, where appropriate, utilized.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56304. Section 56304.

(a) The parents or guardians of a pupil who has been referred for initial assessment, or of a pupil identified as an individual with exceptional needs, shall be afforded an opportunity to participate in meetings with respect to the identification, assessment, and educational placement, pursuant to Section 56342.5 and subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 56341.5, of the pupil and with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public education, as provided in Section 300.501 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (b) In accordance with subsection (f) of Section 1414 of Title 20 of the United States Code, when conducting individualized education program meetings and placement meetings pursuant to this part, and when carrying out administrative matters under Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 56500), including scheduling exchange of witness lists and status conferences, the parent of an individual with exceptional needs and a local educational agency may agree to use alternative means of meeting participation, such as video conferences and conference calls.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56305. Section 56305.

(a) On or before July 1, 2019, the department shall develop a manual providing guidance to local educational agencies on identifying English learners as individuals with exceptional needs, classifying individuals with exceptional needs as English learners, supporting pupils who are both English learners and individuals with exceptional needs, and determining when such dually identified pupils should be either removed from classification as English learners or exited from special education. (b) The goal of the manual shall be to provide guidance, for voluntary use by local educational agencies, charter schools, and the state special schools, on evidence-based and promising practices for the identification, assessment, support, and reclassification of these pupils and to promote a collaborative approach among general education teachers, special education teachers, school administrators, paraprofessionals, other involved personnel, and parents in determining the most appropriate academic placements and services for these pupils. (c) In developing the manual, the department shall do both of the following: (1) Review manuals and other resources produced on this topic by local educational agencies, special education administrators, other organizations, other states, and the federal government. (2) Establish and consult with a stakeholder group comprised of experts and practitioners. These individuals shall have expertise or experience in either special education, English learner education, or in both. (d) The manual shall include all of the following topics: (1) Guidance for accurately identifying English learners suspected of being individuals with exceptional needs and accurately classifying individuals with exceptional needs as English learners, including guidance on avoiding overidentification and underidentification of these pupils for special education services and in different disability categories and in different grade spans. (2) Information on second language acquisition and progress, including guidance on distinguishing between language acquisition and disabilities. (3) Examples of prereferral strategies, early interventions, and early intervening strategies specifically addressing the needs of English learners, including examples of early interventions for pupils in preschool and the primary grades who are acquiring foundational language and literacy skills. (4) Guidance on referral processes. (5) Guidance on the use of assessments, including the use of multiple measures as well as assessment accommodations for both language and disability, including assessment accommodations in primary languages. (6) Guidance on the consideration of extrinsic factors, such as vision, hearing, and health, in the identification of pupils. (7) Guidance on the development of individualized education programs for English learners, including the composition of individualized education program teams. (8) Guidance on how to support the language and content learning needs of English learners who are individuals with exceptional needs, including how to do so in the least restrictive environment, as described in Section 56040.1, and in a manner that enables access to the core curriculum. (9) Guidance regarding placement or continued placement in bilingual programs and on providing services and instruction in primary languages. (10) Guidance on special education exit and English learner reclassification processes for English learners who are individuals with exceptional needs. (11) Information on the role of culture and acculturation, to the extent it is related to the process of identifying English learners for special education services. (12) Guidance for working with families, including guidance on meeting the needs of nonnative English speaking parents, guardians, and educational rights holders in special education proceedings. (13) Examples of any plans or processes used by local educational agencies for continuous evaluation and systemic review and guidance on sharing information between special education and English learner programs within local educational agencies for the purpose of tracking effectiveness, to the extent permitted under state and federal law regarding the privacy of pupil information. (14) State and federal law, regulations, and guidance related to the rights of English learners and individuals with exceptional needs. (e) All guidance in the manual shall be consistent with state and federal law, regulations, and guidance regarding English learners and special education. (f) The manual shall be written for ease of use by educators. The department is encouraged to incorporate features such as flowcharts, checklists, sample forms, and case examples. (g) The department shall post the manual on its Internet Web site and on its professional development Internet Web site. (h) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings: (1) “English learners” has the same definition as in subdivision (a) of Section 435. (2) “Individuals with exceptional needs” has the same definition as in Section 56026. (3) “Reclassification,” with respect to an English learner, means the procedures described in Section 11303 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations. (i) (1) (A) In implementing this section, the department, with input from the stakeholder group, shall develop a plan for the dissemination of the manual and the means of providing professional development on the content of the manual. The plan shall address how the state and local educational agencies can collaborate in meeting both of these objectives in a cost-effective manner. (B) Implementation of the plan developed pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall be contingent upon an appropriation for that purpose in the annual Budget Act or another enacted statute. (2) The plan shall be submitted to the state board, the Department of Finance, the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, the Advisory Commission on Special Education, and the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature on or before July 1, 2019. (j) It is the intent of the Legislature that this section be funded with federal funds, to the extent permissible.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026