Education Code § 56341.5 - California Law

(a)A local educational agency convening a meeting of the individualized education program team shall take steps to ensure that no less than one of the parents or guardians of the individual with exceptional needs is present at each individualized education program meeting or are afforded the opportunity to participate.

(b)A parent or guardian shall be notified of the individualized education program meeting early enough to ensure an opportunity to attend.

(c)The individualized education program meeting shall be scheduled at a mutually agreed-upon time and place. The notice of the meeting under

subdivision (b) shall indicate the purpose, time, and location of the meeting and who shall be in attendance. A parent or guardian also shall be informed in the notice of the right, pursuant to Section 300.322(b)(1)(ii) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, to bring other people to the meeting who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the individual with exceptional needs, and shall be informed of subdivision (i) of Section 56341 relating to the participation of the infants and toddlers with disabilities service coordinator under Subchapter III (commencing with Section 1431) of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.) at the initial individualized education program team meeting for a child previously served under the Subchapter III program.

(d)As part of the participation of an

individual with exceptional needs in the development of an individualized education program, as required by federal law, the individual with exceptional needs shall be allowed to provide confidential input to any representative of the individualized education program team.

(e)Pursuant to Section 1414(d)(1)(A)(i)(VIII) of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 56345.1, if determined appropriate by the pupil’s individualized education program team, beginning when the pupil starts their high school

experience or not later than the first individualized education program to be in effect when the pupil is 16 years of age or younger, as appropriate, the meeting notice also shall indicate that a purpose of the meeting will be the consideration of the

postsecondary goals and transition services for the individual, and the meeting notice shall indicate that the individual with exceptional needs is invited to attend. If the pupil does not attend the individualized education program meeting, the local educational agency shall take steps to ensure that the preferences and interests of the pupil are considered in accordance with Section 300.321(b)(2) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(f)The local educational agency, to the extent appropriate, with the consent of the parents or the individual with exceptional needs who has reached the age of majority, and in accordance with Section

300.321(b)(3) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, shall invite a representative of any participating agency that is likely to be responsible for providing or paying for transition services.

(g)Pursuant to Section 300.322(c) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, if no parent or guardian can attend the meeting, the local educational agency shall use other methods to ensure parent or guardian participation, including individual or conference telephone calls, and consistent with Section 300.328 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the parent or guardian and the local educational agency may agree to use alternative means of meeting participation.

(h)A meeting may be conducted without a parent or guardian in attendance if the local educational agency

is unable to convince the parent or guardian that the parent or guardian should attend. In this event, the local educational agency shall maintain a record of its attempts to arrange a mutually agreed-upon time and place, such as:

(1)Detailed records of telephone calls made or attempted and the results of those calls.

(2)Copies of correspondence sent to the parent or guardian and any responses received.

(3)Detailed records of visits made to the home or place of employment of the parent or guardian and the results of those visits.

(i)The local educational agency shall take any action necessary to ensure that the parent or guardian understands the

proceedings at a meeting, including arranging for an interpreter for parents or guardians with deafness or whose native language is a language other than English.

(j)The local educational agency shall give the parent or guardian a copy of the individualized education program, at no cost to the parent or guardian.

(k)This section shall become operative on July 1, 2025.