Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 5, § 17731 - Expulsion or Unenrollment of a Child Due to Behavior

(a) The contractor shall not expel or unenroll a child who is exhibiting persistent and serious challenging behaviors, except as authorized in subsection (c) below.

(b) The contractor must pursue and document steps to maintain the child's safe participation in the program, including, but not limited to:

(1) Inform the parents or legal guardians of the process described herein.

(2) Consult and partner with the parents or legal guardians and teacher.

(3) If the child has an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or individual family service plan (IFSP), with the parent or guardian's written consent, contact the responsible local educational agency (LEA) or local regional center to seek consultation on how to best serve the child.

(4) If the child does not have an IEP or IFSP, before referring the child to the LEA to request an assessment to determine the child's eligibility for special education, consider the following, if appropriate:

(A) Completing a universal screening of the child that includes, but is not limited to, a screening of the child's social and emotional development, using resources such as but not limited to, the "Ages & Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional" and the Center for Disease Control's "Learn the Signs. Act Early."

(B) Referring the parent or guardian to community resources, such as, but not limited to, an early childhood mental health consultant and the local resource and referral agency.

(C) Implementing positive behavior supports within the program.

(D) Reviewing results from developmental profile data to support children's safe participation in the program.

(c) If after expeditiously pursuing and documenting the steps in subsection (b), the contractor, in consultation with the parents or legal guardians, teacher, and if, applicable, LEA responsible for the student's IEP, determines that the child's continued enrollment would present a continued serious safety threat to the child or other enrolled children, the contractor shall refer the parents or legal guardians to other potentially appropriate placements, the local resource and referral agency, or any other referral service available in the community. The contracting agency may then unenroll the child, subject to the due process requirements and procedures identified in sections 17782 through 17786.

(d) The contractor must complete this process within 180 days.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 5, § 17731

1. New section filed 7-1-2022; operative 7-1-2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2022, No. 26).

Note: Authority cited: Section 8231, Education Code. Reference: Section 8222, Education Code.

1. New section filed 7-1-2022; operative 7/1/2022 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2022, No. 26).