(a) Whenever a department or local agency designated by that department fails to provide a related service or designated instruction and service required pursuant to Section 7575, and specified in the pupil’s individualized education program, the parent, adult pupil, if applicable, or a local educational agency referred to in this chapter, shall submit a written notification of the failure to provide the service to the Superintendent of Public Instruction or the Secretary of California Health and Human Services.
(b) When either the Superintendent or the secretary receives a written notification of the failure to provide a service as specified in subdivision (a), a copy shall immediately be transmitted to the other party. The Superintendent, or his or her designee, and the secretary, or his or her designee, shall meet to resolve the issue within 15 calendar days of receipt of the notification. A written copy of the meeting resolution shall be mailed to the parent, the local educational agency, and affected departments, within 10 days of the meeting.
(c) If the issue cannot be resolved within 15 calendar days to the satisfaction of the Superintendent and the secretary, they shall jointly submit the issue in writing to the Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings, or his or her designee, in the Department of General Services.
(d) The Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings, or his or her designee, shall review the issue and submit his or her findings in the case to the Superintendent and the secretary within 30 calendar days of receipt of the case. The decision of the director, or his or her designee, shall be binding on the departments and their designated agencies who are parties to the dispute.
(e) If the meeting, conducted pursuant to subdivision (b), fails to resolve the issue to the satisfaction of the parent or local educational agency, either party may appeal to the director, whose decision shall be the final administrative determination and binding on all parties.
(f) Whenever notification is filed pursuant to subdivision (a), the pupil affected by the dispute shall be provided with the appropriate related service or designated instruction and service pending resolution of the dispute, if the pupil had been receiving the service. The Superintendent and the secretary shall ensure that funds are available for the provision of the service pending resolution of the issue pursuant to subdivision (e).
(g) This section does not prevent a parent or adult pupil from filing for a due process hearing under Section 7586.
(h) The contract between the State Department of Education and the Office of Administrative Hearings for conducting due process hearings shall include payment for services rendered by the Office of Administrative Hearings which are required by this section.
(Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 43, Sec. 40. (AB 114) Effective June 30, 2011.)