Section 56329 Of Article 2. Assessment From California Education Code >> Division 4. >> Title 2. >> Part 30. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 2.
56329
. As part of the assessment plan given to parents or guardians
pursuant to Section 56321, the parent or guardian of the pupil shall
be provided with a written notice that shall include all of the
following information:
(a) (1) Upon completion of the administration of tests and other
assessment materials, an individualized education program team
meeting, including the parent or guardian and his or her
representatives, shall be scheduled, pursuant to Section 56341, to
determine whether the pupil is an individual with exceptional needs
as defined in Section 56026, and to discuss the assessment, the
educational recommendations, and the reasons for these
recommendations.
(2) In making a determination of eligibility under paragraph (1),
a pupil shall not, pursuant to Section 1414(b)(5) of Title 20 of the
United States Code, and Section 300.306(b) of Title 34 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, be determined to be an individual with
exceptional needs if the determinant factor for the determination is
one of the following in subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive, plus
subparagraph (D):
(A) Lack of appropriate instruction in reading, including the
essential components of reading instruction as defined in Section
6368(3) of Title 20 of the United States Code.
(B) Lack of appropriate instruction in mathematics.
(C) Limited-English proficiency.
(D) If the pupil does not otherwise meet the eligibility criteria
under Section 300.8(a) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.
(3) A copy of the assessment report and the documentation of
determination of eligibility shall be given to the parent or
guardian.
(b) A parent or guardian has the right to obtain, at public
expense, an independent educational assessment of the pupil from
qualified specialists, as defined by regulations of the board, if the
parent or guardian disagrees with an assessment obtained by the
public education agency, in accordance with Section 300.502 of Title
34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. A parent or guardian is
entitled to only one independent educational assessment at public
expense each time the public education agency conducts an assessment
with which the parent or guardian disagrees. If a public education
agency observed the pupil in conducting its assessment, or if its
assessment procedures make it permissible to have in-class
observation of a pupil, an equivalent opportunity shall apply to an
independent educational assessment of the pupil in the pupil's
current educational placement and setting, and observation of an
educational placement and setting, if any, proposed by the public
education agency, regardless of whether the independent educational
assessment is initiated before or after the filing of a due process
hearing proceeding.
(c) The public education agency may initiate a due process hearing
pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 56500) to show that
its assessment is appropriate. If the final decision resulting from
the due process hearing is that the assessment is appropriate, the
parent or guardian maintains the right for an independent educational
assessment, but not at public expense.
If the parent or guardian obtains an independent educational
assessment at private expense, the results of the assessment shall be
considered by the public education agency with respect to the
provision of free appropriate public education to the child, and may
be presented as evidence at a due process hearing pursuant to Chapter
5 (commencing with Section 56500) regarding the child. If a public
education agency observed the pupil in conducting its assessment, or
if its assessment procedures make it permissible to have in-class
observation of a pupil, an equivalent opportunity shall apply to an
independent educational assessment of the pupil in the pupil's
current educational placement and setting, and observation of an
educational placement and setting, if any, proposed by the public
education agency, regardless of whether the independent educational
assessment is initiated before or after the filing of a due process
hearing proceeding.
(d) If a parent or guardian proposes a publicly financed placement
of the pupil in a nonpublic school, the public education agency
shall have an opportunity to observe the proposed placement and the
pupil in the proposed placement, if the pupil has already been
unilaterally placed in the nonpublic school by the parent or
guardian. An observation conducted pursuant to this subdivision shall
only be of the pupil who is the subject of the observation and shall
not include the observation or assessment of any other pupil in the
proposed placement. The observation or assessment by a public
education agency of a pupil other than the pupil who is the subject
of the observation pursuant to this subdivision may be conducted, if
at all, only with the consent of the parent or guardian pursuant to
this article. The results of an observation or assessment of any
other pupil in violation of this subdivision shall be inadmissible in
a due process or judicial proceeding regarding the free appropriate
public education of that other pupil.