Asm. Blanca Rubio

This measure would declare the month of May 2021 as Foster Care Month.

Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop program guidelines for dyslexia to be used to assist regular education teachers, special education teachers, and parents to identify and assess pupils with dyslexia, as provided. Existing law requires a pupil who is assessed as being dyslexic and meets specified eligibility criteria to be entitled to special education and related services. This bill would require, on or before June 30, 2022, the State Board of Education to establish an approved list of evidence-based culturally, linguistically, and developmentally appropriate screening instruments to be used by a local educational agency, as defined, to screen pupils for risk of dyslexia, as provided. The bill would require, beginning in the 2022–23 school year, and annually thereafter, a local educational agency serving pupils in any of the grades kindergarten to grade 2, inclusive, to screen each pupil in those grades for risk of dyslexia by using the screening instrument or instruments identified above, as provided. The bill would also require, during the 2022–23 school year, a local educational agency serving pupils in grade 3 to screen each pupil. The bill would require results from the screening, among other things, to be made available to a pupil's parent or guardian in a timely manner, but no more than 45 calendar days from administering the screening. The bill would require a local educational agency to provide a pupil identified as being at risk for dyslexia with appropriate instruction, progress monitoring, and early intervention in the regular general education program. By expanding the duties of a local educational agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

(1) Existing law, the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972, authorizes local agencies, including a city or county, to form an assessment district for the purpose of making improvements by, among other things, installing landscaping. This bill would, in addition to a district's existing authority to perform specified maintenance under the Improvement Act of 1911, authorize the Landscaping and Lighting District of the City of West Covina to also perform maintenance and make improvements pursuant to the Landscaping and Lighting Act of 1972. (2) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the City of West Covina.

Existing law establishes the Nurse-Family Partnership program, administered and implemented by the State Department of Public Health, for purposes of making grants to eligible participating counties for the provision of voluntary registered nurse home visiting services for expectant first-time low-income mothers, their children, and their families. This bill, to the extent that specified funding is available, would require the California Health and Human Services Agency to consult with specified stakeholders from diverse geographical regions of the state to identify mechanisms to improve the state's and counties' ability to effectively draw down Medi-Cal funding for evidence-based maternal-infant and early childhood home visiting encounters. The bill would require the agency to consider specified factors in identifying benefit authorities and scope of coverage for activities and services delivered by covered providers in fidelity with model requirements for evidence-based maternal, infant, and early childhood home visiting programs.

This measure would declare the week of May 9, 2021, to May 15, 2021, inclusive, as Food Allergy Awareness Week.