(a) The resource specialist program shall provide, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Provision for a resource specialist or specialists who shall provide instruction and services for those pupils whose needs have been identified in an individualized education program developed by the individualized education program team and who are assigned to regular classroom teachers for a majority of a schoolday.
(2) Provision of information and assistance to individuals with exceptional needs and their parents.
(3) Provision of consultation, resource information, and material regarding individuals with exceptional needs to their parents and to regular staff members.
(4) Coordination of special education services with the regular school programs for each individual with exceptional needs enrolled in the resource specialist program.
(5) Monitoring of pupil progress on a regular basis, participation in the review and revision of individualized education programs, as appropriate, and referral of pupils who do not demonstrate appropriate progress to the individualized education program team.
(6) Emphasis at the secondary school level on academic achievement, career and vocational development, and preparation for adult life.
(b) The resource specialist program shall be under the direction of a resource specialist who is a credentialed special education teacher, or who has a clinical services credential with a special class authorization, who has had three or more years of teaching experience, including both regular and special education teaching experience, as defined by rules and regulations of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, and who has demonstrated the competencies for a resource specialist, as established by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
(c) Caseloads for resource specialists shall be stated in the local policies developed pursuant to Section 56195.8 and in accordance with regulations established by the board. No resource specialist shall have a caseload which exceeds 28 pupils.
(d) Resource specialists shall not simultaneously be assigned to serve as resource specialists and to teach regular classes.
(e) Resource specialists shall not enroll a pupil for a majority of a schoolday without approval by the pupil’s individualized education program team.
(f) At least 80 percent of the resource specialists within a local plan shall be provided with an instructional aide.
(Amended by Stats. 2007, Ch. 56, Sec. 56. Effective January 1, 2008.)