ARTICLE 5.6. Children Enrolled in Private Schools [56170. - 56177.]

Cal. Education Code - EDC 5.6.

in effect

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56170. Section 56170.

As used in this part, “private school children with disabilities” means children with disabilities enrolled by a parent in private schools or facilities that meet the definition of “elementary school” in Section 300.13 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations or “secondary school” in Section 300.36 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, in accordance with Section 300.130 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, other than individuals with exceptional needs placed by a local educational agency in a nonpublic, nonsectarian school pursuant to Section 56365.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56171. Section 56171.

Pursuant to Section 300.131 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, local educational agencies shall locate, identify, and assess all private school children with disabilities, including religiously affiliated schoolage children, who have disabilities and are in need of special education and related services attending private school in the service area of the local educational agencies where the private school is located in accordance with Section 56301. The activities undertaken to carry out this responsibility for private school children with disabilities shall be comparable to activities undertaken in accordance with Section 1412(a)(10)(A)(ii) of Title 20 of the United States Code.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56172. Section 56172.

(a) The local educational agency shall make provision for the participation of private school children with disabilities in special education programs under this part by providing them with special education and related services in accordance with the provisions of this article and Section 1412(a)(10)(A) of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 300.132 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (b) The local educational agency or, where appropriate, the department, shall ensure timely and meaningful consultation with private school representatives and representatives of parents of parentally placed private school children with disabilities during the design and development of special education and related services for the children in accordance with Section 1412(a)(10)(A)(iii) of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 300.134 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (c) When timely and meaningful consultation as required in subdivision (b) has occurred, the local educational agency shall obtain a written affirmation signed by the representatives of participating private schools, and if the representatives do not provide the affirmation within a reasonable period of time, the local educational agency shall forward the documentation of the consultation process to the department in accordance with Section 1412(a)(10)(A)(iv) of Title 20 of the United States Code. (d) A private school official shall have the right, pursuant to Section 1412(a)(10)(A)(v) of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 300.136 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, to submit a complaint to the department that the local educational agency did not engage in consultation that was meaningful and timely or did not give due consideration to the views of the private school official. (e) The provision of equitable services for children enrolled in private schools by their parents shall be provided by employees of a public agency, as defined in Section 56028.5, or through contract by the public agency with an individual, association, agency, organization, or other entity. (f) Special education and related services, including materials and equipment, provided to a pupil with a disability who has been parentally placed in a private school shall be secular, neutral, and nonideological, as required by Section 1412(a)(10)(A)(vi) of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 300.138(c)(2) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56173. Section 56173.

To meet the requirements of Section 56172, each local educational agency shall provide special education and related services to pupils with disabilities enrolled by a parent in private elementary and secondary schools, described in Section 56171, by expending an amount of federal state grant funds allocated to the state under Part B of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.) equal to a proportionate amount of federal funds made available under the Part B grant program for local assistance, in accordance with Section 1412(a)(10)(A)(i) of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 300.133 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. In accordance with Section 300.131(d) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations, the cost of carrying out the child find requirements in Section 56171 cannot come from the proportional share of federal grant funds received pursuant to this section and Section 300.133 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations since those funds are required to be spent on the provision of services to the pupils with disabilities enrolled by a parent in private elementary and secondary schools. The control of public funds used to provide special education and related services under Section 1412(a)(10)(A) of Title 20 of the United States Code, and title to materials, equipment, and property purchased with those funds, shall be in a public agency for the uses and purposes provided in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.). A public agency shall administer the funds and property.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56174. Section 56174.

The local educational agency shall not be required to pay for the cost of education, including special education and related services, of a child with a disability at a private school or facility if the local educational agency made a free appropriate public education available to the child and the parent of the child elected to place the child in the private school or facility.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56174.5. Section 56174.5.

(a) Private school individuals with exceptional needs may receive a different amount of services than individuals with exceptional needs in public school receive pursuant to Section 300.138(a)(2) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. No private school individual with exceptional needs is entitled to any amount of service the child would receive if enrolled in a public school pursuant to Section 300.137(a) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations. (b) Decisions about the services provided to private school individuals with exceptional needs pursuant to this article shall be made pursuant to this section and Sections 300.137 to 300.139, inclusive, of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56175. Section 56175.

If a parent or guardian of an individual with exceptional needs, who previously received special education and related services under the authority of the local educational agency, enrolls the child in a private elementary or secondary school without the consent of or referral by the local educational agency, a court or a due process hearing officer may require the local educational agency to reimburse the parent or guardian for the cost of that enrollment if the court or due process hearing officer finds that the local educational agency had not made a free appropriate public education available to the child in a timely manner prior to that enrollment in the private elementary or secondary school and that the private placement is appropriate, in accordance with Section 1412(a)(10)(C)(ii) of Title 20 of the United States Code and Section 300.148(c) of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56176. Section 56176.

The cost of the reimbursement described in Section 56175 may be reduced or denied pursuant to clause (iii) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (10) of subsection (a) of Section 1412 of Title 20 of the United States Code in the event of any of the following: (a) At the most recent individualized education program meeting that a parent or guardian attended prior to removal of the child from the public school, the parent or guardian did not inform the individualized education program team that they were rejecting the placement proposed by the local educational agency to provide a free appropriate public education to the child, including stating his or her concerns and the intent to enroll the child in a private school at public expense. (b) The parent or guardian did not give written notice to the local educational agency of the information described in subdivision (a) at least 10 business days, including any holidays that occur on a business day, prior to the removal of the child from the public school. (c) Prior to the parent’s or guardian’s removal of the child from the public school, the local educational agency informed the parent, through the notice requirements described in paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of Section 1415 of Title 20 of the United States Code, of its intent to assess the child, including a statement of the purpose of the assessment that was appropriate and reasonable, but the parent or guardian did not make the child available for the assessment. (d) Upon a judicial finding of unreasonableness with respect to actions taken by a parent or guardian.

Cal. Education Code - EDC § 56177. Section 56177.

(a) Notwithstanding the notice requirement in subclause (I) of clause (iii) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (10) of subsection (a) of Section 1412 of Title 20 of the United States Code, the cost of reimbursement shall not be reduced or denied, in accordance with clause (iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (10) of subsection (a) of Section 1412 of Title 20 of the United States Code, for failure to provide the notice in the event of any of the following: (1) The school prevented the parent or guardian from providing the notice. (2) The parents had not received notice, pursuant to Section 1415 of Title 20 of the United States Code, of the notice requirement in subclause (I) of clause (iii) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (10) of subsection (a) of Section 1412 of Title 20 of the United States Code. (3) Compliance with the federal provision cited in paragraph (2) would likely result in physical harm to the child. (b) In the discretion of a court or a hearing officer, the cost of reimbursement may not be reduced or denied for failure to provide the notice in either of the following circumstances: (1) The parent or guardian is illiterate or cannot write in English. (2) Providing the notice described in subclause (I) of clause (iii) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (10) of subsection (a) of Section 1412 of Title 20 of the United States Code would likely result in serious emotional harm to the child.

Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026