CALIFORNIA DEPT. OF EDUCATION – SPECIAL EDUCATION

 

In August 2022, the California State Legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 692 (Chapter 919, Statutes of 2022), which was subsequently signed into law, adding Sections 56049 and 56049.1 to the California Education Code. In Section 56049, the California State Legislature found and declared the following:

1. All pupils are general education pupils first, including pupils with disabilities.

2. Comprehensive local educational agency and school-level fiscal and programmatic planning, including planning conducted pursuant to Section 52064, must reflect the needs of all pupils, including pupils with disabilities.

3. Inclusion in general education classrooms and programs should be considered the first setting for all pupils, unless the individualized education program for a pupil with a disability determines that another setting is more suitable to guarantee a free and appropriate public education.

4. Data transparency and analysis are essential to understanding the needs of pupils. Local educational agencies should use all available data sources on pupils with disabilities, with a particular focus on least restrictive environment (LRE) data, to inform continuous improvement efforts.

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The Special Education Enrollment by Program Setting report was developed pursuant to California Education Code Section 56049.1, which, beginning with academic year 2022–23, requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to publish data related to federal measures of LRE for students with disabilities, which shall also be included as a resource on the California School Dashboard. Per federal and state law, each local educational agency (LEA) must ensure that a free appropriate public education (FAPE) is provided in the LRE to every child with a disability. LRE is a requirement that students with disabilities receive their education, to the maximum extent appropriate, with other nondisabled students. [20 U.S.C. § 1412(a)(5)(A); 34 C.F.R. § 300.114; California Education Code § 56342(b).] 

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Source: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/sped.asp