Protect Youth With Disabilities in All Schools (California)

When students with disabilities are sent by their local public school to a nonpublic school to meet their needs, it is paramount that they are supported and protected.

SB 373 expands the rights of students’ parents by requiring that they be given copies of their rights and procedural safeguards, and be given information on how to contact the State Department of Education’s Equitable Services Ombudsman.

And, SB 373 requires the State review nonpublic schools' policies on restraint and isolation, requires monitoring visits including in-person, private meetings with students, and enhances complaint mechanisms and informed consent processes.

Segregated settings - such as nonpublic schools - should be closely monitored to ensure the public school students placed there are safe and supported.