California Department of Education says SB 685 preserves safeguards for vulnerable students

Kimberly Rosenberger, deputy superintendent for external affairs at the California Department of Education, told the Senate Education Committee that SB 685 seeks to align California law with a recent Ninth Circuit decision affecting who may provide contracted IEP services.

"Non public schools serve less than 1 percent of students," Rosenberger said, adding the bill targets a very small, high-need student population and carries over existing safeguards including credentialing, fingerprinting and required reporting mechanisms. She emphasized the department aimed to be "thoughtful" about protecting vulnerable students while complying with constitutional and statutory limits.

Rosenberger and the sponsor said the bill does not change the requirement that the state‑funded contract services be secular; it would permit schools that identify as religious to be certified to provide the nonsectarian services so long as they comply with state-mandated secular curriculum requirements for those services.

The CDE framing focused on ensuring continuity of service for students whose local educational agencies lack capacity, while preserving the separation of church and state in the delivery of publicly funded services. No funding figures or detailed operational plans were provided during the hearing.