Article 3. State-funded Services of California Education Code >> Division 5. >> Title 3. >> Part 40. >> Chapter 14. >> Article 3.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that equal access to
public postsecondary education is essential for the full integration
of persons with disabilities into the social, political, and economic
mainstream of California. The Legislature recognizes the historic
underrepresentation of disabled students in postsecondary programs
and the need for equitable efforts that enhance the enrollment and
retention of disabled students in public colleges and universities in
California.
(b) The Legislature recognizes its responsibility to provide and
adequately fund postsecondary programs and services for disabled
students attending a public postsecondary institution.
(c) To meet this responsibility, the Legislature sets forth the
following principles for public postsecondary institutions and
budgetary control agencies to observe in providing postsecondary
programs and services for students with disabilities:
(1) The state funded activity shall be consistent with the stated
purpose of programs and services for disabled students provided by
the California Community Colleges, the California State University,
or the University of California, as governed by the statutes,
regulations, and guidelines of the community colleges, state
university, or the University of California.
(2) The state funded activity shall not duplicate services or
instruction that are available to all students, either on campus or
in the community.
(3) The state funded activity shall be directly related to the
functional limitations of the verifiable disabilities of the students
to be served.
(4) The state funded activity shall be directly related to these
students' full access to and participation in the educational
process.
(5) The state funded activity shall have as its goals the
independence of disabled students and the maximum integration of
these students with other students.
(6) The state funded activity shall be provided in the most
integrated setting possible, consistent with state and federal law,
state policy and funding requirements, and missions and policies of
the postsecondary segment, and shall be based on identified student
needs.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that, through the state
budget process, the public postsecondary institutions request, and
the state provide, funds to cover the actual cost of providing
services and instruction, consistent with the principles set forth in
subdivision (c), to disabled students in their respective
postsecondary institutions.
(e) All public postsecondary education institutions shall continue
to utilize other available resources to support programs and
services for disabled students as well as maintain their current
level of funding from other sources whenever possible.
(f) Pursuant to Section 67312, postsecondary institutions shall
demonstrate institutional accountability and clear program
effectiveness evaluations for services to students with disabilities.
It is the desire and intent of the Legislature that, as
appropriate for each postsecondary segment, funds for disabled
student programs and services be based on the following three
categories of costs:
(a) Fixed costs associated with the ongoing administration and
operation of the services and programs. These fixed costs are basic
ongoing administrative and operational costs of campus programs that
are relatively consistent in frequency from year-to-year, such as:
(1) Access to, and arrangements for, adaptive educational
equipment, materials, and supplies required by disabled students.
(2) Job placement and development services related to the
transition from school to employment.
(3) Liaisons with campus and community agencies, including
referral and followup services to these agencies on behalf of
disabled students.
(4) On-campus and off-campus registration assistance, including
priority enrollment, applications for financial aid, and related
college services.
(5) Special parking, including on-campus parking registration,
temporary parking permit arrangements, and application assistance for
students who do not have state handicapped placards or license
plates.
(6) Supplemental specialized orientation to acquaint students with
the campus environment.
(7) Activities to coordinate and administer specialized services
and instruction.
(8) Activities to assess the planning, implementation, and
effectiveness of disabled student services and programs.
The baseline cost of these services shall be determined by the
respective system and fully funded with annual adjustments for
inflation and salary range changes, to the extent funds are provided.
(b) Continuing variable costs that fluctuate with changes in the
number of students or the unit load of students. These continuing
variable costs are costs for services that vary in frequency
depending on the needs of students, such as the following:
(1) Diagnostic assessment, including both individual and group
assessment not otherwise provided by the institution to determine
functional, educational, or employment levels or to certify specific
disabilities.
(2) On-campus mobility assistance, including mobility training and
orientation and manual or automatic transportation assistance to and
from college courses and related educational activities.
(3) Off-campus transportation assistance, including transporting
students with disabilities to and from the campus in areas where
accessible public transportation is unavailable, inadequate, or both.
(4) Disability-related counseling and advising, including
specialized academic, vocational, personal, and peer counseling, that
is developed specifically for disabled students and not duplicated
by regular counseling and advising services available to all
students.
(5) Interpreter services, including manual and oral interpreting
for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
(6) Reader services to coordinate and provide access to
information required for equitable academic participation if this
access is unavailable in other suitable modes.
(7) Services to facilitate the repair of equipment and learning
assistance devices.
(8) Special class instruction that does not duplicate existing
college courses but is necessary to meet the unique educational needs
of particular groups of disabled students.
(9) Speech services, provided by licensed speech or language
pathologists for students with verified speech disabilities.
(10) Test taking facilitation, including adapting tests for and
proctoring test taking by, disabled students.
(11) Transcription services, including, but not limited to, the
provision of Braille and print materials.
(12) Specialized tutoring services not otherwise provided by the
institution.
(13) Notetaker services for writing, notetaking, and manual
manipulation for classroom and related academic activities.
State funds may be provided annually for the cost of these
services on an actual-cost basis, including wages for the individuals
providing these services and expenses for attendant supplies. Each
institution shall be responsible for documenting its costs to the
appropriate state agencies.
(c) One-time variable costs associated with the purchase or
replacement of equipment. One-time variable costs are one-time
expenditures for the purchase of supplies or the repair of equipment,
such as adapted educational materials and vehicles. State funds
shall be provided for these expenses on an actual cost basis as
documented by each institution.
(a) The Board of Governors of the California Community
Colleges and the Trustees of the California State University shall,
for their respective systems, and the Regents of the University of
California may, do the following:
(1) Work with the California Postsecondary Education Commission
and the Department of Finance to develop formulas or procedures for
allocating funds authorized under this chapter.
(2) Adopt rules and regulations necessary to the operation of
programs funded pursuant to this chapter.
(3) Maintain the present intersegmental efforts to work with the
California Postsecondary Education Commission and other interested
parties, to coordinate the planning and development of programs for
students with disabilities, including, but not necessarily limited
to, the establishment of common definitions for students with
disabilities and uniform formats for reports required under this
chapter.
(4) Develop and implement, in consultation with students and
staff, a system for evaluating state-funded programs and services for
disabled students on each campus at least every five years. At a
minimum, these systems shall provide for the gathering of outcome
data, staff and student perceptions of program effectiveness, and
data on the implementation of the program and physical accessibility
requirements of Section 794 of Title 29 of the Federal Rehabilitation
Act of 1973.
(b) Commencing in January 1990, and every two years thereafter,
the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges shall
submit a report to the Governor, the education policy committees of
the Legislature, and the California Postsecondary Education
Commission describing its efforts to serve students with
disabilities. These biennial reports shall also include a review on a
campus-by-campus basis of the enrollment, retention, transition, and
graduation rates of disabled students, including categorical funding
of those programs.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to be directing
any student, or students, toward a particular program or service for
students with disabilities nor shall anything in this chapter be used
to deny any student an education because he or she does not wish to
receive state funded disabled student programs and services.