The Legislature hereby finds and declares that early education programs for infants identified as individuals with exceptional needs that provide educational services with active parent involvement, can significantly reduce the potential impact of many disabling conditions, and positively influence later development when the child reaches schoolage.
Early education programs funded pursuant to Sections 56427, 56428, and 56432 shall provide a continuum of program options provided by a transdisciplinary team to meet the multiple and varied needs of infants and their families. Recognizing the parent as the infant’s primary teacher, it is the Legislature’s intent that early education programs shall include opportunities for the family to receive home visits and to participate in family involvement activities pursuant to Sections 56426.1 and 56426.4. It is the intent of the Legislature that, as an infant grows older, program emphasis would shift from home-based services to a combination of home-based and group services.
It is further the intent of the Legislature that services rendered by state and local agencies serving infants with exceptional needs and their families be coordinated and maximized.
This section shall become operative on July 1, 1998.
(Repealed (in Sec. 40) and added by Stats. 1997, Ch. 854, Sec. 41. Effective January 1, 1998. Section operative July 1, 1998, by its own provisions.)