(a) The individualized education program is a written statement for each individual with exceptional needs that is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with this section, as required by Section 1414(d) of Title 20 of the United States Code, and that includes all of the following:
(1) A statement of the individual’s present levels of academic achievement and functional performance, including all of the following:
(A) The manner in which the disability of the individual affects their involvement and progress in the general education curriculum.
(B) For preschool children, as appropriate, the manner in which the disability affects their participation in appropriate activities.
(C) For individuals with exceptional needs who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards, a description of benchmarks or short-term objectives.
(2) A statement of measurable annual goals, including academic and functional goals, designed to do both of the following:
(A) Meet the needs of the individual that result from the disability of the individual to enable the pupil to be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum.
(B) Meet each of the other educational needs of the pupil that result from the disability of the individual.
(3) A description of the manner in which the progress of the pupil toward meeting the annual goals described in paragraph (2) will be measured and when periodic reports on the progress the pupil is making toward meeting the annual goals, such as through the use of quarterly or other periodic reports, concurrent with the issuance of report cards, will be provided.
(4) A statement of the special education and related services and supplementary aids and services, based on peer-reviewed research to the extent practicable, to be provided to the pupil, or on behalf of the pupil, and a statement of the program modifications or supports for school personnel that will be provided to enable the pupil to do all of the following:
(A) To advance appropriately toward attaining the annual goals.
(B) To be involved in and make progress in the general education curriculum in accordance with paragraph (1) and to participate in extracurricular and other nonacademic activities.
(C) To be educated and participate with other individuals with exceptional needs and nondisabled pupils in the activities described in this subdivision.
(5) An explanation of the extent, if any, to which the pupil will not participate with nondisabled pupils in the regular class and in the activities described in subparagraph (C) of paragraph (4).
(6) (A) A statement of individual appropriate accommodations that are necessary to measure the academic achievement and functional performance of the pupil on state and districtwide assessments consistent with Section 1412(a)(16)(A) of Title 20 of the United States Code.
(B) If the individualized education program team determines that the pupil shall take an alternate assessment instead of a particular state or districtwide assessment of pupil achievement, a statement of both of the following:
(i) The reason why the pupil cannot participate in the regular assessment.
(ii) The reason why the particular alternate assessment selected is appropriate for the pupil.
(7) The projected date for the beginning of the services and modifications described in paragraph (4), and the anticipated frequency, location, and duration of those services and modifications.
(8) Beginning not later than the first individualized education program to be in effect when the pupil is 16 years of age, or younger if determined appropriate by the individualized education program team, and updated annually thereafter, both of the following shall be included:
(A) Appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and where appropriate, independent living skills.
(B) The transition services, as defined in Section 56345.1, including courses of study, needed to assist the pupil in reaching those goals.
(9) (A) A description of the means by which the individualized education program will be provided under emergency conditions, as described in Section 46392, in which instruction or services, or both, cannot be provided to the pupil either at the school or in person for more than 10 school days. The description shall include all of the following:
(i) Special education and related services.
(ii) Supplementary aids and services.
(iii) Transition services, as defined in Section 56345.1
(iv) Extended school year services pursuant to Section 300.106 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(B) Subparagraph (A) shall apply, on or after the operative date of this paragraph, to the development of an initial individualized education program or the next regularly scheduled revision of an individualized education program that has not already met the requirements of subparagraph (A).
(C) Public health orders shall be taken into account in implementing subparagraph (A).
(b) If appropriate, the individualized education program shall also include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) For pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, any alternative means and modes necessary for the pupil to complete the prescribed course of study of the district and to meet or exceed proficiency standards for graduation.
(2) For individuals whose native language is a language other than English, linguistically appropriate goals, objectives, programs, and services.
(3) Pursuant to Section 300.106 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, extended school year services shall be included in the individualized education program and provided to the pupil if the individualized education program team of the pupil determines, on an individual basis, that the services are necessary for the provision of a free appropriate public education to the pupil.
(4) Provision for the transition into the regular class program if the pupil is to be transferred from a special class or nonpublic, nonsectarian school into a regular class in a public school for any part of the schoolday, including both of the following:
(A) A description of activities provided to integrate the pupil into the regular education program. The description shall indicate the nature of each activity, and the time spent on the activity each day or week.
(B) A description of the activities provided to support the transition of pupils from the special education program into the regular education program.
(5) For pupils with low-incidence disabilities, specialized services, materials, and equipment, consistent with guidelines established pursuant to Section 56136.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature in requiring individualized education programs, that the local educational agency is responsible for providing the services delineated in the individualized education program. However, the Legislature recognizes that some pupils may not meet or exceed the growth projected in the annual goals and objectives of the individualized education program of the pupil.
(d) Consistent with Section 56000.5 and Section 1414(d)(3)(B)(iv) of Title 20 of the United States Code, it is the intent of the Legislature that, in making a determination of the services that constitute an appropriate education to meet the unique needs of a deaf or hard-of-hearing pupil in the least restrictive environment, the individualized education program team shall consider the related services and program options that provide the pupil with an equal opportunity for communication access. The individualized education program team shall specifically discuss the communication needs of the pupil, consistent with “Deaf Students Education Services Policy Guidance” (57 Fed. Reg. 49274 (October 1992)), including all of the following:
(1) The pupil’s primary language mode and language, which may include the use of spoken language with or without visual cues, or the use of sign language, or a combination of both.
(2) The availability of a sufficient number of age, cognitive, and language peers of similar abilities, which may be met by consolidating services into a local plan areawide program or providing placement pursuant to Section 56361.
(3) Appropriate, direct, and ongoing language access to special education teachers and other specialists who are proficient in the pupil’s primary language mode and language consistent with existing law regarding teacher training requirements.
(4) Services necessary to ensure communication-accessible academic instructions, school services, and extracurricular activities consistent with the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 701 et seq.) and the federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101 et seq.).
(5) In accordance with Section 300.113 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, each public agency shall ensure that hearing aids worn in school by children with hearing impairments, including deafness, are functioning properly.
(6) Subject to paragraph (7), each public agency, pursuant to Section 300.113(b) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, shall ensure that external components of surgically implanted medical devices are functioning properly.
(7) For a child with a surgically implanted medical device who is receiving special education and a service under Section 56363, a public agency is not responsible for the postsurgical maintenance, programming, or replacement of the medical device that has been surgically implanted, or of an external component of the surgically implanted medical device.
(e) State moneys appropriated to districts or local educational agencies may not be used for any additional responsibilities and services associated with paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (d), including the training of special education teachers and other specialists, even if those additional responsibilities or services are required pursuant to a judicial or state agency determination. Those responsibilities and services shall only be funded by a local educational agency as follows:
(1) The costs of those activities shall be funded from existing programs and funding sources.
(2) Those activities shall be supported by the resources otherwise made available to those programs.
(3) Those activities shall be consistent with Sections 56240 to 56243, inclusive.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature that the communication skills of teachers who work with hard-of-hearing and deaf children be improved. This section does not remove the discretionary authority of the local educational agency in regard to inservice activities.
(g) Beginning not later than one year before the pupil reaches the age of 18 years, a statement that the pupil has been informed of the pupil’s rights under this part, if any, that will transfer to the pupil upon reaching the age of 18 years pursuant to Section 56041.5.
(h) The individualized education program team is not required to include information under one component of a pupil’s individualized education program that is already contained under another component of the individualized education program.
(i) This section does not require that additional information, beyond that explicitly required by Section 1414 of Title 20 of the United States Code and this part, be included in the individualized education program of a pupil.
(Amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 24, Sec. 66. (SB 98) Effective June 29, 2020.)