California Department of Education
Report to the chairs of the relevant policy committees and budget subcommittees of the California Legislature and the California Department of Finance
Executive Summary
These reports are required by Section 56477, (a)(2) and (c)(3) and (d) of the California Education Code (EC).
Section 50 of Senate Bill 75 (Chapter 51, Statutes of 2019) added Section 56477 to the EC requiring the California Department of Education, the Department of Health Care Services, and the Department of Developmental Services to jointly convene one or more workgroups that include representatives from local educational agencies (LEAs), appropriate county agencies, regional centers, and legislative staff to provide input and recommendations in the following areas:
- Improving transition of three-year-old children with disabilities from regional centers to local educational agencies, to help ensure continuity of services for young children and families.
- Improving coordination and expansion of access to available federal funds through the LEA Medi-Cal Billing Option Program, the School-based Administrative Activities Program, and medically necessary federal Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment benefits.
Two separate workgroups were convened, each addressing one of the areas, and two sets of recommendations were developed accordingly.
The report on improving transition of three-year old children with disabilities summarizes the context, process, and resulting recommendations of the workgroup, which convened from May 2020 through April 2021. The workgroup identified seven overarching recommendations to strengthen transition coordination between state agencies, improve local practices, and build state and local capacity to ensure supportive and smooth transitions for young children with disabilities and their families. Specifically, it includes program requirements (e.g., changes to interagency coordination practices) and support services (e.g., training and technical assistance) needed to improve transition practices. Each recommendation includes specific changes needed to state regulations or statutes, changes to the implementation of federal regulations, changes to state agency support and oversight, and associated staffing or funding needed to implement the recommendations.
The report on improving coordination and expansion of access to Medi-Cal systems summarizes the context, process, and resulting recommendations of the workgroup, which convened from February 2020 through May 2021. The workgroup identified five overarching recommendations to improve the coordination and expansion of access to available federal reimbursement for LEAs through Medi-Cal Billing Option Program and the School-Based Medi-Cal Administrative Activities Program. Specifically, it includes program requirements (e.g., changes to interagency coordination practices) and support services (e.g., training and technical assistance) needed to improve the coordination and expansion of LEA access to Medicaid funds for student health services.
For more information on each respective report, please view the Medi-Cal for Students final report (PDF; 10MB) and Medi-Cal for Students final report addendum (PDF); and the Part C to B final report (PDF; 10MB) and Part C to B final report addendum (PDF).
For questions regarding the Medi-Cal report, please contact Lisa Borrego in the Whole Child Division by email at LBorrego@cde.ca.gov. For questions regarding the Part C to B report, please contact the Early Childhood Support Unit by email at ECSU@cde.ca.gov.