Special education: nonpublic, nonsectarian schools or agencies.

The additional pre-certification requirements for nonpublic, nonsectarian schools (reviewing behavioral intervention policies, ensuring pupils receive rights information, reviewing grievance processes, interviewing pupils, examining positive behavioral reinforcement systems) are now explicitly limited to schools located outside of California, rather than applying to all nonpublic, nonsectarian schools.

Section 56301(d)(2) no longer requires that parents and pupils be given information on how to contact the department's Equitable Services Ombudsman alongside their copy of rights and procedural safeguards. The section now only references the federal requirements for providing the procedural safeguards notice.

References to the 'Equitable Services Ombudsman' in the legislative counsel's digest were changed to 'Constituent Services Office,' indicating a renaming or correction of the office title used in the bill's explanatory text.

Various grammatical corrections throughout, including fixing 'the a state special schools school for the blind and or the deaf' to 'a state special school for the blind or the deaf' in Section 49001(c), changing 'deescalation' to 'de-escalation,' and removing duplicate words like 'include include' and 'require require.'

The document was reformatted from the official chaptered law format (with STATE OF CALIFORNIA / AUTHENTICATED header, chapter number, and page numbering) to the California Legislature website layout, adding navigation links (skip to content, home, accessibility, FAQ, feedback, sitemap, login), a version history dropdown listing prior amendment dates, and a publication date of 10/13/2025.

The bill was renumbered as Chapter 579 and given the official 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL' header upon becoming law.

Senate and Assembly passage dates, signature blocks (Secretary of the Senate, Chief Clerk of the Assembly), and the Governor's receipt notation were removed as they are not part of the published statute.

Page headers changed from 'SB 373' to 'Ch. 579' throughout, and page numbering was adjusted for the chaptered format.

Multiple certification and monitoring requirements that previously applied to 'nonpublic, nonsectarian school or agency' are now limited to 'nonpublic, nonsectarian school' only, removing agencies from these new obligations.

The Superintendent's pre-certification review of restraint and seclusion policies is narrowed from reviewing all such policies to reviewing only the assurances provided in paragraph (8) of the application relating to behavioral interventions.

New requirement for the Superintendent to review protocols for identifying signs of abuse or neglect (physical and psychological) for consistency with Penal Code Section 11165.7 mandated reporting requirements, ensure staff are trained to recognize these signs, and review behavior emergency reports under Section 56521.1.

The grievance process review is softened: changed from 'inspect whether there is a clear, confidential, and effective process' and 'assess whether complaints are taken seriously and acted upon appropriately' to 'review policies, procedures, and practices to determine if there is a clear and confidential process' and 'review the process for investigating and reporting internal and external resident complaints.'

The monitoring visit finding on pupil dignity is expanded to require a summary of perceptions collected during the interview, including perceptions of respect, dignity, and professional boundaries from staff. Local educational agencies are now explicitly allowed to use either the Superintendent's interview tool or develop their own.

Removed separate pre-certification requirements to interview pupils about empathy, personal space, and professional boundaries (old item E) and to examine positive behavioral reinforcement versus punitive measures and assess whether the school fosters a positive supportive environment (old item F). These topics are partially folded into the interview tool requirement.

The pupil rights notification requirement at admission no longer requires the information to be 'understandable,' only 'accessible.'

Assembly Member Patel added as a coauthor of the bill.

Most new oversight provisions - including Superintendent pupil interviews during onsite reviews, in-person interviews during monitoring visits, quarterly unmonitored telephone check-ins, and the requirement to make certification documentation available to local educational agencies - are now limited to nonpublic, nonsectarian schools located outside of California. Previously these applied to all such schools.

A new short title is added: 'California Accountability for Placements in Education Act.' Section 56836.20 of the Education Code is added to the list of sections being amended, and existing sections are renumbered accordingly.

The Superintendent's pre-certification review of restraint and seclusion policies is changed from directly reviewing the school's actual policies to reviewing the assurances the school provided in its application under paragraph (8) relating to behavioral interventions.

In Section 56301(d)(2), the requirement for parents and pupils to be given information on how to contact the Equitable Services Ombudsman is removed from the procedural safeguards notification provision. The provision now focuses solely on providing a copy of rights and procedural safeguards in accordance with federal law.

The private communication provision is reworded from requiring that communication 'include telecommunication' to explicitly requiring schools to 'ensure privacy and confidentiality of telecommunication' in this circumstance, clarifying the obligation is about protecting existing communications rather than mandating a specific channel.

Section 49001(c) changes 'the state special schools for the blind and the deaf' to 'a state school for the blind or the deaf,' correcting the reference to reflect that there is one school for the blind and one for the deaf rather than multiple schools.

The Equitable Services Ombudsman is renamed to 'Constituent Services Office' in one instance in the digest, reflecting an apparent reorganization of that state office.

Section 49001 is newly amended to explicitly include nonpublic, nonsectarian schools in the definition of 'public school' for purposes of the corporal punishment prohibition, making the state's ban on corporal punishment directly applicable to these special education facilities.

The bill title and digest are broadened from focusing specifically on 'change in certification status: parental notification' to covering nonpublic, nonsectarian schools or agencies generally, reflecting the expanded range of amendments.

Pupils (not just parents) are now entitled to receive a copy of their rights and procedural safeguards and information on how to contact the Equitable Services Ombudsman. Requests for copies can now come from a parent or pupil, not just a parent.

The effective date for the Superintendent's additional certification review duties (interviewing pupils, reviewing restraint and seclusion policies) is changed from 2020-21 to 2026-27, giving schools more time to comply.

The Superintendent must now interview pupils with an IEP during the certification process to discuss progress and address concerns about limitations due to disability. By July 1, 2026, the Superintendent must develop a standardized tool for these interviews and make it available to local educational agencies.

A new application requirement (item 8) mandates that nonpublic, nonsectarian schools provide assurances of compliance with Articles 5 and 5.2 of Chapter 6 of Part 27 and Section 56521.1, relating to behavioral interventions.

The monitoring visit requirement is changed from an 'in-person, private meeting' to an 'in-person interview' with the pupil, and both the interview and the quarterly telephone check-in must now be conducted 'in a manner consistent with their individualized education program.'

Commencing 2026-27, the Superintendent must make certification information and documentation available upon request from a local educational agency or SELPA, and the LEA must disclose that information to the parent or guardian when the IEP team considers placement in a nonpublic, nonsectarian school.

The bill's fiscal designation changes: fiscal committee is now 'yes' (was 'no') and state-mandated local program is now 'yes' (was 'no'), indicating the Assembly recognized new costs imposed on local agencies that require state reimbursement.

Bill scope expanded from amending only Section 56366.45 (parental notification of certification changes) to also amending Sections 56301 (child find), 56366.1 (certification and monitoring), and 56366.12 (private communication).

Before certifying a nonpublic, nonsectarian school, the Superintendent must now review restraint and isolation policies for consistency with California law, inspect grievance reporting processes, examine informed consent practices, interview pupils about dignity and respect, assess positive behavioral reinforcement versus punitive measures, and review protocols for identifying abuse or neglect.

Local educational agency monitoring visits to nonpublic schools must now include an in-person, private meeting with the pupil to evaluate their health and safety, in addition to existing requirements like instruction observation and facility walkthrough.

New requirement for local educational agencies to conduct a quarterly check-in with a pupil attending a nonpublic, nonsectarian school through an unmonitored telephone call.

Monitoring visit findings must now be reported using a specific form ('Local Educational Agency Onsite Visit for Nonpublic School') developed and published by the department on its website. By July 1, 2026, the department must update the form to additionally require reporting on pupil dignity, positive behavioral support, and abuse/neglect screening.

Section 56366.12 now requires private and confidential communication between a pupil and IEP team members to include telecommunication, and adds a requirement that schools ensure private and confidential communication between a pupil and the department's Equitable Services Ombudsman.

Pupils (not just parents) are now entitled to receive a copy of their rights and procedural safeguards, and may request them. Both parents and pupils must be given information on how to contact the State Department of Education's Equitable Services Ombudsman.

The bill is now classified as a state-mandated local program (changed from 'no' to 'yes'), with fiscal committee review required (changed from 'no' to 'yes'). A new Section 4 provides for reimbursement if the Commission on State Mandates determines the bill contains state-mandated costs.

Principal coauthors Senator Rubio and Assembly Member Lackey were added to the bill's authorship line.