California bill to develop best approaches to teach students with autism
A proposed state law in my native state of California, will “gather the latest research on autism in order to provide consistent educational services in all California schools.” Assembly Bill 2513 will require the office of the superintendent of public instruction to work with University of California, the California State University system, relevant legislative committees, including the Blue Ribbon Commission on Autism, and other agencies to identify the best approaches for autistic students, as noted by Jeffrey Frost, executive director of the California Association of Suburban School Districts in an article in today’s The Acorn.
“(The legislation will) allow us to put more pressure on the federal government to fully fund the mandate to educate all children with disabilities,” [Mary] Schillinger [director of pupil services in the Las Virgenes district] said. “It’s one more piece of a very large puzzle.”
The federal government’s financial piece of the puzzle is supposedly set at 40 percent, but generally only 17 percent flows from its coffers to offset the state and school district’s escalating special education costs.
The bill is championed by Terilyn Finders, a Las Virgenes Unified School District Board of Education member, and was written by Assemblymember Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills). It was introduced to address the gap between the diagnoses of children with autism and the educational services schools provide to them. Apparently educational standards differ widely from school district to school district.
Governor Schwarzenegger has until October 2nd to sign the bill into law and here’s hoping he, and California educators and legislators, do the right thing to educate children with autism.
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Disability Rights, Education, Legislation
0 opinions for California bill to develop best approaches to teach students with autism
No one has left a comment yet. You know what this means, right? You could be first!
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: