(a) Early education services shall be provided by a local educational agency through a transdisciplinary team consisting of a group of professionals from various disciplines, agencies, and parents who shall share their expertise and services to provide appropriate services for infants and their families. Each team member shall be responsible for providing and coordinating early education services for one or more infants and their families, and shall serve as a consultant to other team members and as a provider of appropriate related services to other infants in the program.

(b) Credentialed personnel with expertise in vision or hearing impairments shall be made available by the local educational agency to early education programs serving infants identified in accordance with paragraph (2), (5), or (13) of subdivision (b) of Section 3030 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, and shall be the primary providers of services under those programs whenever possible.

Terms Used In California Education Code 56426.6

  • related services: means transportation, and such developmental, corrective, and other supportive services (including speech-language pathology and audiology services, interpreting services, psychological services, physical and occupational therapy, recreation, including therapeutic recreation, social work services, school nurse services designed to enable an individual with exceptional needs to receive a free appropriate public education as described in the individualized education program of the child, counseling services, including rehabilitation counseling, orientation, and mobility services, and medical services, except that such medical services shall be for diagnostic and evaluation purposes only) as may be required to assist an individual with exceptional needs to benefit from special education, and includes the early identification and assessment of disabling conditions in children. See California Education Code 56363

(c) Transdisciplinary teams may include, but need not be limited to, qualified persons from the following disciplines:

(1) Early childhood special education.

(2) Speech and language therapy.

(3) Nursing, with a skill level not less than that of a registered nurse.

(4) Social work, psychology, or mental health.

(5) Occupational therapy.

(6) Physical therapy.

(7) Audiology.

(8) Parent-to-parent support.

(d) A person who is authorized by the local educational agency to provide early education or related services to infants shall have appropriate experience in normal and atypical infant development and an understanding of the unique needs of families of infants with exceptional needs, or, absent that experience and understanding, shall undergo a comprehensive training plan for that purpose, which plan shall be developed and implemented as part of the staff development component of the local plan for early education services.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 186, Sec. 56. (AB 2659) Effective January 1, 2017.)

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