2005 California Education Code Sections 56300-56304 Article 1. Identification and Referral

56300.  Each district, special education local plan area, or county
office shall actively and systematically seek out all individuals
with exceptional needs, ages 0 through 21 years, including children
not enrolled in public school programs, who reside in the district or
are under the jurisdiction of a special education local plan area or
a county office.
56301.  (a) All children with disabilities residing in the state,
including children with disabilities who are homeless children or are
wards of the state and children with disabilities attending private,
including religious, elementary and secondary schools, regardless of
the severity of their disabilities, and who are in need of special
education and related services, shall be identified, located, and
assessed and a practical method is developed and implemented to
determine which children with disabilities are currently receiving
needed special education and related services as required by
paragraph (3) of subsection (a), and clause (ii) of subparagraph (A)
of paragraph (10) of subsection (a), of Section 1412 of Title 20 of
the United States Code. A child is not required to be classified by
his or her disability so long as each child who has a disability
listed in paragraph (3) of Section 1401 of Title 20 of the United
States Code and who, by reason of that disability, needs special
education and related services as an individual with exceptional
needs defined in Section 56026.
   (b) In accordance with Section 300.125 of Title 34 of the Code of
Federal Regulations, the requirements of this section also apply to
highly mobile individuals with exceptional needs, such as migrant and
homeless children, and children who are suspected of being an
individual with exceptional needs pursuant to Section 56026 and in
need of special education, even though they are advancing from grade
to grade.
   (c) (1) The child find process shall ensure the equitable
participation in special education and related services of parentally
placed private schoolchildren with disabilities and an accurate
count of those children. Child find activities conducted by local
educational agencies, or where applicable, the department, shall be
similar to those activities undertaken for pupils in public schools.
   (2) In accordance with subclause (IV) of clause (ii) of
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (10) of subsection (a) of Section 1412
of Title 20 of the United States Code, the cost of the child find
activities in private, including religious, elementary and secondary
schools, may not be considered in determining whether a local
educational agency has met its obligations under the proportionate
funding provisions for children enrolled in private, including
religious, elementary and secondary schools.
   (3) The child find process described in paragraph (1) shall be
completed in a time period comparable to that for other pupils
attending public schools in the local educational agency.
   (d) (1) Each special education local plan area shall establish
written policies and procedures pursuant to Section 56205 for use by
its constituent local agencies for a continuous child find system
that addresses the relationships among identification, screening,
referral, assessment, planning, implementation, review, and the
triennial assessment. The policies and procedures shall include, but
need not be limited to, written notification of all parents of their
rights under this chapter, and the procedure for initiating a
referral for assessment to identify individuals with exceptional
needs.
   (2) In accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of
subsection (d) of Section 1415 of Title 20 of the United States Code,
parents shall be given a copy of their rights and procedural
safeguards only one time a year, except that a copy also shall be
given to the parents upon initial referral or parental request for
assessment, upon the first occurrence of the filing for a due process
hearing under Section 56502, and upon request by a parent.
   (3) A local educational agency may place a current copy of the
procedural safeguards notice on its Internet Web site, if such Web
site exists, pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of
subsection (d) of Section 1415 of Title 20 of the United States Code.
   (4) The contents of the procedural safeguards notice shall contain
the requirements listed in paragraph (2) of subsection (d) of
Section 1415 of Title 20 of the United States Code.
   (e) Child find data collected pursuant to this chapter, or
collected pursuant to a regulation or an interagency agreement, are
subject to the confidentiality requirements of Section 300.125 and
Sections 300.560 to 300.577, inclusive, of Title 34 of the Code of
Federal Regulations.
56302.  Each district, special education local plan area, or county
office shall provide for the identification and assessment of an
individual's exceptional needs, and the planning of an instructional
program to meet the assessed needs.  Identification procedures shall
include systematic methods of utilizing referrals of pupils from
teachers, parents, agencies, appropriate professional persons, and
from other members of the public.  Identification procedures shall be
  coordinated with school site procedures for referral of pupils with
needs that cannot be met with modification of the regular
instructional program.
56302.1.  (a) Once a child has been referred for an initial
assessment to determine whether the child is an individual with
exceptional needs as defined in Section 56026 and to determine the
educational needs of the child, these determinations shall be made,
and an individualized education program meeting shall occur, within
60 days of receiving parental consent for the assessment in
accordance with subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subsection (a)
of Section 1414 of Title 20 of the United States Code.
   (b) The 60-day time period does not apply to a local educational
agency if either of the following occurs:
   (1) A child enrolls in a school served by the local educational
agency after the relevant time period has commenced but prior to a
determination by his or her previous local educational agency of
whether the child is an individual with exceptional needs. The
exemption of this paragraph applies only if the subsequent local
educational agency is making sufficient progress to ensure a prompt
completion of the assessment, and the parent and subsequent local
educational agency agree to a specific date by which the assessment
shall be completed.
   (2) The parent of a child repeatedly fails or refuses to produce
the child for the assessment.
56302.5.  The term "assessment," as used in this chapter, shall have
the same meaning as the term "evaluation" in the Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act, as provided in Section 1414 of Title 20
of the United States Code.
56303.  A pupil shall be referred for special educational
instruction and services only after the resources of the regular
education program have been considered and, where appropriate,
utilized.
56304.  (a) The parents or guardians of a pupil who has been
referred for initial assessment, or of a pupil identified as an
individual with exceptional needs, shall be afforded an opportunity
to participate in meetings with respect to the identification,
assessment, and educational placement, pursuant to Section 56342.5
and subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 56341.5, of the pupil and
with respect to the provision of a free appropriate public education,
as provided in Section 300.501 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal
Regulations.
   (b) In accordance with subsection (f) of Section 1414 of Title 20
of the United States Code, when conducting individualized education
program meetings and placement meetings pursuant to this part, and
when carrying out administrative matters under Chapter 5 (commencing
with Section 56500), including scheduling exchange of witness lists
and status conferences, the parent of an individual with exceptional
needs and a local educational agency may agree to use alternative
means of meeting participation, such as video conferences and
conference calls.