New California Legislation Impacting Families of Kids with Disabilities

More access to records, plus more transparency and accountability

• With AB 1147 going into effect on January 1, 2026, Regional Centers will be subject to the California Public Records Act. The act also gives applicants/recipients of Regional Center services (or their representative) the right to access their records.
• This new law makes other important changes to the Lanterman Act to provide increased oversight of Regional Center operations and performance, including prohibiting Regional Center employees from accepting gifts over $15 per year, and Regional Center senior staff are prohibited from hiring relatives.
• The act also provides for the State Department of Developmental Services (DDS), development and implementation of the master plan for developmental services, with annual reporting requirements. Thank you to Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-San Luis Obispo).

In-home Regional Center respite services available to foster families

• Under SB 1197, foster children who also receive Regional Center benefits cannot be prohibited from receiving in-home respite from Regional Center because they receive Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care (AFDC-FC) benefits. The new law also updates terminology, for example “resource family.” The change aligns with the state’s intent to provide in-home respite services to caregivers of “dual agency” children. Thank you to Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson).

Potentially higher rates for service providers

• Back in 2019, legislators required DDS to conduct a study of the rates they pay Regional Centers for community-based services. AB 2423 requires them to review the rate model annually. The law comes into effect on July 1, 2025. Thank you to Assemblymember Devon Mathis (R-Visalia).

Measures to help Regional Center clients avoid lack of housing or a caregiver

• AB 329 makes a few changes to Regional Center processes. One is that before a Regional Center client’s 22nd birthday, their IPP should include a caregiver succession plan in case anything happens to the caregiver.
• The bill also extends the circumstances when a Regional Center director can allow payments for rent to include the risk of homelessness. This will likely continue to be a very unusual practice. Thank you to the Committee on Human Services.

Translation of standardized IEP template into 10 languages

• Building on existing legislation and funding to create a state standardized IEP template, SB 445 requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to translate the IEP template into the top 10 most commonly spoken languages used across the state other than English. The translation has to be available on the internet by January 1, 2027, or no later than 18 months after the IEP template is converted to a digital platform. Thank you to Senator Anthony Portantino (D-Glendale).

No more prone restraints for students, with no exceptions

• Max Benson’s law is named after a student who died after being restrained in a prone position at school, even after an earlier bill had limited use of prone restraint to emergency situations. SB 483 outlaws its use in California public schools, non-public schools, and agencies, without exceptions. Thank you to Senator Dave Cortese (D-Campbell).

Earlier postsecondary transition planning and supports

• IEPs are required to include appropriate, measurable postsecondary goals and transition services needed to assist the student in reaching those goals when starting their high school experience (going into 9th grade) and not later than the first IEP after age 16 (see our article about ITPs).
• If the IEP team determines that the student would benefit from the postponement of the ITP until 16 years of age, rather than in 9th grade, the IEP team is encouraged to appropriately justify the basis for that postponement.
• IEPs for grades 7 to 12 must include any alternative means and modes of instruction necessary for the student to complete the district’s prescribed course of study and to meet or exceed proficiency standards for graduation. AB 438 goes into effect in July 2025. Thank you to Assemblymember Blanca Rubio (D-West Covina).

Better inclusion and communication access for Deaf, hard of hearing, and blind students

• AB 1938 requires that local education authorities implementing inclusion and universal design for learning initiatives for ages 0–22 consider the full language access needs of children who are Deaf, hard of hearing, or Deaf-blind, including language and communication needs, opportunities for direct communications with peers and professional personnel in the student’s language and communication mode, academic level, and opportunities for direct instruction in the student’s language and communication mode.
• The new law also recommends reviewing available placements and services, including those provided by the school district, a county office of education, a regional program, a nonpublic school or agency, and the California School for the Deaf. Thank you to Assembly Member James Gallagher (R-Chico).

“Emotional disability” included as IEP eligibility

• The term “emotional disturbance,” one of the thirteen federal categories for eligibility for an IEP, may also be known as “emotional disability” under AB 2173. Thank you to Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-San Luis Obispo).

Consistent special education services for foster children

• AB 723 expands the definition of "school of origin" for foster children who are also students with exceptional needs, now including certified nonpublic, nonsectarian schools they attend. Beginning in the 2024–25 school year, any such school seeking certification must agree in writing to serve as the school of origin for foster children it educates, allowing these students to continue attending despite changes in foster care placement. Thank you to Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-La Palma).

Resources to protect neurodivergent students against discrimination and bullying

• The California Superintendent of Public Instruction is required to update and post a list of statewide resources for youth and families who have faced school-based discrimination or bullying. SB 939 adds "neurodiversity" (differences like autism or ADHD) to the list of protected categories.
• It also requires resources from the University of California and California State University’s Neurodiversity and Learning Collaborative to be included. By the 2025–26 school year, schools must ensure these neurodiversity resources are easy to find on their websites, alongside other safety information for parents and students.
• The state’s bullying training module for school staff, parents, and students must now cover support for students targeted due to neurodivergence, with links to the new resources. Thank you to Senator Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana).

More training for early childcare and education providers

• AB 51 requires the CDE to provide prospective California state preschool program providers an equitable opportunity to establish a trained workforce and administrative systems, and technical assistance on how to meet the requirements of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations.
• The bill also requires the CDE to develop early learning resources and to develop and implement a proactive, one-time, three-year plan for outreach, capacity building, training, and technical assistance that targets prospective and new contractors. Thank you tp Assemblymember Mia Bonta D-Oakland).

Schools need to publish their homework policy

• The Healthy Homework Act, AB 2999, encourages each school district, COE, and charter school to:
  
  • develop a homework policy for all grades by the start of the 2027–28 school year
  • formally adopt a final homework policy by the start of the 2028–29 school year
  • update the adopted homework policy at least once every 5 years
• The adopted or updated homework policy will be distributed at the beginning of each school year to all staff, students, and parents. Thank you to Assemblymember Schiavo (D-Santa Clarita Valley).

Minimum length of recess established

• Under SB 291, from the 2024–25 school year in public schools and charter schools, recess must be at least 30 minutes on regular instructional days and at least 15 minutes on early release days.
• School staff members are prohibited from restricting a pupil’s recess unless there is an immediate threat to the physical safety of the pupil or one or more of their peers. Thank you to Senator Newman (D-Fullerton).

Cursive handwriting instruction required

• AB 446 requires handwriting instruction for grades 1–6 to include instruction in cursive or joined italics in the appropriate grade levels.
• Kids who struggle with fine motor skills are likely to struggle with handwriting, but at the same time it provides opportunities for inclusion if the student is still working on letter formation; it’s also important for students with ADHD or dyslexia because handwriting has been shown to improve memory. Thank you to Assemblymember Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-La Palma).

Limit Red 40 and other artificial dyes in school lunch

• AB 2316 limits the use of artificial food dyes, such as Red 40, in school-provided meals. Red 40 and similar dyes are connected to behaviors that impede learning, so many families avoid them. Thank you to Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino).

Schools need to update their cell phone policies

• The law already specified circumstances in which a student may not be prohibited from possessing or using a smartphone. AB 3216 now requires that by July 1, 2026, the school district, a COE, or a charter school will develop a policy to limit or prohibit the use of smartphones while the pupils are at school or under the supervision of an employee and to update the policy every 5 years.
• Many students have it in their IEP that they can take a photo of the board, so parents need to know about these changes in policies to adapt or provide accommodations. Thank you to Assemblymember Hoover (R-Folsom).

Individualized safety plans to supplement schoolwide disaster plans

• SB 323 requires that comprehensive school safety plans include adaptations for students with disabilities in disaster procedures.
• The new law authorizes a school employee, a parent, or a student to bring concerns about an individual pupil’s ability to access disaster safety procedures to the school principal, who will then direct the school site council or school safety planning committee to appropriately modify the comprehensive school safety plan. Thank you to Senator Anthony Portantino (D-Glendale).

Comprehensive school safety plans for active shooters and drills

• School districts are already responsible for developmenting a comprehensive school safety plan for each school. AB 1858 requires that comprehensive school safety plans that include drills to prepare for active shooters or other armed assailants must specify procedures relating to the drills. Thank you to Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego).

School safety plans need to consider medical emergency procedures

• AB 2887 revises the existing law on school safety plans to include local emergency medical services personnel and other persons who may be interested in the health and safety of pupils among the identified cooperating partners, and would revise the definition of “safety plan” for purposes of the statement of intent to expand its scope.
• Schools are now required, as part of the comprehensive school safety plan when the plan is next reviewed and updated on or after July 1, 2025, procedures to respond to incidents involving an individual experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest or a similar life-threatening medical emergency while on school grounds. Thank you to Assemblymember Maienschein (D-San Diego).

ABLE program age limit increase

• Starting on January 1, 2026, AB 339 revises the definition of “eligible individual” under the Qualified ABLE Program by increasing the age limit for when an eligible individual’s blindness or disability occurred to 46 years of age to conform with federal ABLE Act. Thank you to Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks).

Community college courses for students with disabilities through College and Career Access Pathways (CCAP) partnerships

• AB-368 specifies groups of students who may be considered “underrepresented in higher education” such as first-time college students, low-income students, students who are current or former foster youth, homeless students, students with disabilities, and students with dependent children.
• Community colleges participating in a CCAP partnership are required to enroll high school pupils in any course that is part of a CCAP partnership offered at a community college campus, and would expressly authorize courses to be offered at the community college campus or the participating high school campus.
• The law requires a community college district to assign priority for enrollment and course registration to a pupil seeking to enroll in a community college course that is required for the pupil’s CCAP partnership program. Students seeking to enroll in a community college course that is required for the CCAP partnership program are exempted from specified fee requirements. Thank you to Assemblymember Chris Holden (D-Pasadena)

Disability access training for California universities and community colleges

• Under AB 2821, California State University, the University of California, and independent institutions of higher education are required to provide a Disability Access and Compliance Training Program that meets certain requirements, as part of existing college personnel onboarding and training.
• California community colleges are required to establish a Disability Access and Compliance Training Program for their campuses and develop the specified training components on or before January 1, 2026. Before the start of the 2026–27 academic year, community colleges must include the Disability Access and Compliance Training Program within existing college personnel training and onboarding. Thank you to Assemblymember Tim Grayson (D-Concord).

Inclusive college programs at CSU and UC

• AB-447 authorizes California State University (and requests the University of California) to establish and maintain inclusive college programs for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities at 4-year public postsecondary educational institutions.
• CSU and UC inclusive college programs will provide students with a person-centered planning process and the opportunity to pursue an educational credential, including a degree, certificate, or non-degree credential issued by the institution. Thank you to Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula (D-Fresno).

Funding for students with disabilities through the Student Success grant program

• California resident students who receive CalGrant funding can qualify for a student success grant. Students who enroll in 12, 13, or 14 units per semester receive $1,298 per semester. AB 1885 extends the programs to students with disabilities who enroll in 9 units or more commencing with the 2025–26 academic year. Thank you to Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-San Luis Obispo).

Clarification on the death penalty for intellectually disabled persons

• Individuals with an intellectual disability are already ineligible for the death penalty under the U.S. Constitution. SB 1001 clarifies definitions and procedures to help the court determine who has an intellectual disability for these purposes. Thank you to Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Oakland).

Peace officer training to address wandering

• AB 2541 requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), to work with the Department of Justice Missing and Unidentified Persons Section, the California Health and Human Services Agency, organizations with expertise in autism and wandering, organizations with expertise in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and wandering, emergency management services agencies, and public transit agencies to develop guidelines for law enforcement officers for addressing wandering associated with Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and dementia. Thank you to Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains (D-Delano).

Review terminology for “dependent adult”

• AB 1906 requires the California Law Revision Commission, with input from stakeholders including the protection and advocacy agency Disability Rights California, to review the use of “dependent adult” and “dependent person” in California law.
• The bill sets up a commission including representation from adults in this situation to find a better term but still preserve all their rights. Thank you to Assemblymember Mike Gipson (D-Gardena).

Remove obsolete terminology from laws

• AB 248, the Dignity for All Act, makes non-substantive changes to all the laws that use obsolete terminology such as the terms “mentally retarded persons,” “mentally retarded children,” “retardation,” and “handicap.” Thank you to Assemblymember Devin Mathis (R-Visalia).