Welcome to the CalABA News & Events section. Check back often for the latest information.
The legislative session in California has ended for 2023 and will resume in January 2024. The Governor, though, is still hard at work reviewing hundreds of pieces of legislation that have been sent to him by the legislature for consideration.
CalABA’s Public Policy Committee has been reviewing legislation introduced this year to determine which legislation has an impact on behavior analysis or those we serve. The group has reviewed dozens of bills and took positions on bills of priority. Here is a recap of our activities and status of bills we supported or opposed.
CalABA Supported the Following Bills
This bill would require an IEP to include measurable postsecondary and transition goals in IEPs of students beginning in 9th grade. This bill was sponsored by Autism Speaks.
Status: This bill was ordered to the inactive file and could be taken up in 2024:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB438
CalABA’s letter stated in part, “we applaud the efforts of the authors and sponsors to lower the age of transition planning, as well as to include students in their own planning process at an earlier age. Doing so will allow students and their families to become familiar with, and access, services and supports they’ll need as they transition out of high school and into adulthood.” It further shared support for legislation that increases access to support for students transitioning into adulthood. Allowing students to access services at an earlier age can result in increased gains in independence and providing skills training starting at an earlier age has been shown to increase the likelihood of employment for individuals with developmental disabilities.
Read the CalABA Support Letter Here
This bill requires school districts (local educational agencies and charter schools) to notify parents of students who attend a nonpublic school or agency (NPS/A) of any changes to the certification status of the NPS/A within 14 days of becoming aware of the change.
Status: This bill was passed and signed by the Governor and will take effect on January 1st of 2024:
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB611
CalABA’s support letter shared that changes in the certification status of a NPS/A often results in environmental changes for students or may be the result of the NPS providing an inadequate or less than safe environment. For many students, sudden disruptions or abrupt changes can cause significant behavioral and/or social-emotional challenges. CalABA strongly supports legislation which increases communication between caregivers and those responsible for educating their children. By notifying caregivers of such changes, they can work together with the local educational agency to determine a plan and whether additional supports need to be in place during the transition or change in educational setting to prevent regression or further harm to the student.
Read the CalABA Support Letter Here
This bill would delete some prohibitions on regional centers purchasing services through Medi-Cal. Medicare, and private insurance including dental services.
Status: This bill was held under submission in Senate Appropriations likely due to the cost of the measure and will be eligible for reconsideration in 2024.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB649
Read the CalABA Support Letter Here
This legislation is aimed at protecting the safety and well-being of California’s senior and disabled communities. AB 751 signifies a significant step forward in combating the pervasive issue of abuse targeting these vulnerable populations, said a news release from the assemblywoman’s office. “I’m so proud that our first bill signed by Gov. Newsom is AB 751, aimed at protecting the safety of our senior and disabled communities,” Schiavo said in the release.
Status: This bill was signed into law by Governor Newsom in June and Assemblywoman Schiavo touted a win with the passage of her first bill as a lawmaker.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB751
CalABA’s support letter stated that we strongly support legislation to increase accountability and the standard of care for vulnerable populations and we applaud the emphasis on treating dependent adults with respect. In addition, we requested strengthening the legislation by increasing protections for non-vocal and individuals who use AAC systems. Our letter stated, “we recommend amending the language in section (6) to require officers to use AAC systems and section (23)(D) to requiring law enforcement to identify the communication ability and modality of a witness or victim and receive training or support from an expert familiar with the communication modality.”
Read the full CalABA Support Letter Here
Read the CalABA Support Letter Here
Read the CalABA Support Letter Here
Read the CalABA Support Letter Here
This bill would prohibit the use of prone restraint by an educational provider. The bill was sponsored by Disability Rights California (DRC) and CalABA engaged early in the process to be one of the first on record to support the measure.
Status: This bill was introduced in 2023 with the intention of it being a 2-year bill. The sponsor (DRC) indicated that they would use the first year to build support for the measure before moving it through the legislative process. CalABA looks forward to supporting this measure in 2024.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB483
Read the press release from Senator Cortese’s office here
CalABA’s letter stated in part: CalABA enthusiastically endorses elimination of prone restraint as it is a harmful practice and there are other procedures that can lead to safe de-escalation when students are displaying challenging behavior. We applaud the efforts of the author and sponsors to meet the behavioral needs of students using proven best practices and appropriate behavioral supports, not restraints and seclusion. As practitioners of behavior analysis we strongly support legislation to ban prone restraint. Through the use of evidence-based interventions, grounded in the principles of behavior analysis, we believe that student’s behavioral needs can be met in a manner that supports their health and overall wellbeing while still aiming to reduce challenging behavior and teach critical skills.
CalABA’s letter shared support for efforts to address the growing mental health crisis among our youth and strongly supported language that required training to be evidence-based behavioral
intervention. The letter stated, “emerging from the worldwide pandemic, our field is seeing an alarming increase in intensive interventions needed for this age group.”
Read the full CalABA Support Letter Here
Read the CalABA Thank You Letter to Assemblymember Calderon here
CalABA was excited to have ACR 35 introduced by Assemblymember Calderon which recognized March 20th, 2023 as World Behavior Analysis Day. It was introduced in March and signed by the Governor in May 2023.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240ACR35
This bill will set a minimum wage for certain health care workers in California. CalABA’s PPC has determined that the legislation does not apply to providers of applied behavior analysis in homes or clinic settings. We have reviewed the legislation and communicated with the author’s office to determine that the bill does not pertain to ABA providers. The legislation lists the types of providers and entities that would be subject to the minimum wage for health care workers and traditional ABA settings and agencies do not meet the criteria (including both in-home and clinic based providers).
Status: This bill was passed by the legislature and currently awaiting action by Governor Newsom.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB525
