School accountability: pupils with disabilities: inclusion

The law creates coordinated statewide support to improve inclusion, academic outcomes, and educator capacity for pupils with disabilities. It preserves each pupil’s existing individualized education rights and placement protections.

What the law does ​

• Establishes the Supporting Inclusive Practices project, jointly administered by the California Department of Education and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence through one or two county offices of education.
• Requires the project to provide statewide resources, evidence-based technical assistance, demonstration sites, inclusion academies, educator-preparation partnerships, and project evaluation.
• Requires the department to provide targeted support to local educational agencies and charter schools that fall short of disability-performance indicators or are selected for compliance monitoring.
• Requires the collaborative and department to coordinate referrals, data sharing, annual reviews, and guidance for schools.
• Requires annual reports on participation, people served, outcomes, coordination with other initiatives, and recommendations for state policy.
• Redirects the $30 million appropriation to the collaborative for allocation solely to the El Dorado County Office of Education to implement the collaborative’s project work.

Who it affects ​

• Pupils with disabilities, including pupils who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind.
• Local educational agencies and charter schools.
• Educators and teacher preparation programs.
• The California Department of Education and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence.

Context ​

The law does not change a pupil’s right to a free appropriate public education, individualized education program, placement determination, effective communication aids, or available program options.

Breakdown ​

Supporting Inclusive Practices Project ​

The bill requires the California Department of Education and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence to run the Supporting Inclusive Practices project through agreements with one or two county offices of education. The project will help pupils with disabilities participate more fully in general education settings and help educators serve those pupils. The collaborative will provide broad technical assistance, while the department will provide targeted direct support, and both must coordinate referrals between their services.

Key takeaways

• The bill creates requirements for administering the Supporting Inclusive Practices project through one or two county offices of education.
• The project is intended to improve outcomes for pupils with disabilities by expanding their access to education in general education settings.
• The project also supports the educator workforce in serving pupils with disabilities.
• The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence must provide universal technical assistance to local educational agencies and charter schools on evidence-based inclusive practices.
• The Department of Education must provide targeted direct technical assistance to local educational agencies and charter schools.
• The department and the collaborative must coordinate their work through a shared referral process for entities that need direct support.

Inclusive Practices Funding ​

The bill redirects the $30 million planned for the 2026–27 Supporting Inclusive Practices project. Instead of splitting the money between the Riverside and El Dorado county offices of education, the State Department of Education will provide it to the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, which will pass it to the El Dorado County Office of Education to carry out the project’s inclusion-related work. The annual spending-plan and reporting rules apply only to the separate $15 million appropriation.

Key takeaways

• The bill redirects the $30 million 2026–27 appropriation from the two county offices of education to the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence.
• The collaborative must allocate the $30 million only to the El Dorado County Office of Education.
• The El Dorado County Office of Education will carry out the specified Supporting Inclusive Practices requirements on behalf of the collaborative.
• The Riverside County Office of Education will no longer receive a share of this $30 million appropriation.
• The annual expenditure-plan and reporting requirements are limited to the separate $15 million appropriation.