(a) The commission shall study and provide assistance and advice to the State Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Legislature, and the Governor in new or continuing areas of research, program development, and evaluation in special education. The commission shall also do the following:

(1) Comment publicly on any rules or regulations proposed by the state regarding the education of individuals with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026.

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(2) Advise the Superintendent of Public Instruction in developing evaluations and reporting on data to the Secretary of Education in the United States Department of Education under Section 1418 of Title 20 of the United States Code.

(3) Advise the Superintendent of Public Instruction in developing corrective action plans to address findings identified in federal monitoring reports under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.).

(4) Advise the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education in developing and implementing policies relating to the coordination of services for individuals with exceptional needs.

(b) The commission shall report to the State Board of Education, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Legislature, and the Governor not less than once a year on the following with respect to special education:

(1) Activities enumerated in Section 56100 that are necessary to be undertaken regarding special education for individuals with exceptional needs.

(2) The priorities and procedures utilized in the distribution of federal and state funds.

(3) The unmet educational needs of individuals with exceptional needs within the state.

(4) Recommendations relating to providing better education services to individuals with exceptional needs, including, but not limited to, the development, review, and revision, of the definition of “appropriate” as that term is used in the phrase “free and appropriate public education” for the purposes of the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.).

(c) Commission recommendations or requests shall be transmitted by letter from the commission chairperson to the president of the State Board of Education. Each communication shall be placed on the agenda of the next forthcoming state board meeting in accordance with the announced annual state board agenda cutoff dates. Following the state board meeting, the commission shall be notified by the state board as to what action has been taken on each request. Commission requests shall also be transmitted by letter from the commission chairperson to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Governor, and to appropriate Members of the Legislature.

(Amended by Stats. 1998, Ch. 691, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 1999.)