Governor Approves AB 438 Establishing New Postsecondary Goals and Services Requirements for High School Students

10.17.2024

On September 28, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom approved AB 438, which amends the Education Code to include new requirements for postsecondary goals and transition services in high school special education students’ IEPs. These amendments will go into effect on July 1, 2025. AB 438 amends Education Code sections 56043, 56341.5, and 56345, which respectively govern the timelines for special education programs, the procedures for forming IEPs, and standards for IEP contents.

For a student with an IEP, under the current language of Sections 56043, 56341.5, and 56345, measurable postsecondary goals and transition services must be included in the IEP no later than the time the student turns 16. This reflects the federal requirement under 20 U.S.C. 1414(d) that the first IEP to be in effect when a student is 16 must include appropriate postsecondary goals and transition services needed to help them reach those goals.

Prior to AB 438’s amendments, existing law provides for IEP teams to consider whether it would be appropriate to begin including postsecondary goals and transition services in the IEP while a student is younger than 16. However, it provides no specific time before a student turns 16 that the IEP team should consider this. Under AB 438’s amendments, the IEP team must include postsecondary goals and transition services by the time the student begins high school, if the team determines it to be appropriate.

AB 438 still reflects the requirements of 20 U.S.C. 1414(d). As such, AB 438’s amendments also state that postsecondary goals and transition services should be included in the IEP not later than when the student turns 16. Based on this, to ensure compliance with AB 438’s amendments, districts should be prepared for IEP teams to consider the appropriateness of postsecondary goals and transition services on at least two occasions: once when forming the first IEP to be in effect when the student enters high school, and again when forming the first IEP to be in effect when the student turns 16.

AB 438 also provides that if the Commission on State Mandates determines that its requirements impose state-mandated costs on school districts, then those costs can be reimbursed by the state pursuant to Government Code sections 17500 et seq. and Article XIIIB, Section 6 of the California Constitution.

In light of this, after AB 438’s amendments go into effect, districts should take care to assess their costs associated with assessments, determinations, or specific services offered in relation to postsecondary goals and transition services included on IEPs of students entering high school. Districts may be able to seek reimbursement for such costs from the state, depending on future determinations of the Commission on State Mandates.

If you have any questions about the inclusion of postsecondary goals and transition services on students’ IEPs, seeking reimbursement through the Commission on State Mandates, or other issues relating to the changes under AB 438, please contact your special education legal counsel for assistance.