(a) A contracting agency shall not expel or unenroll a child because of a child’s behavior except as authorized by subdivision (c).

(b) (1) If a child exhibits persistent and serious challenging behaviors, the contracting agency shall expeditiously pursue and document reasonable steps, including, but not limited to, consulting with the child’s parents or legal guardians and teacher, to maintain the child’s safe participation in the program. The contracting agency shall inform the parents or legal guardians of a child exhibiting persistent and serious challenging behaviors of the process described in this section.

(2) (A) If the child has an individualized family service plan or individualized education program, the contracting agency, with written parental consent, shall contact the agency responsible for the individualized family service plan or individualized education program to seek consultation on serving the child.

(B) If the child does not have an individualized family service plan or individualized education program, the contracting agency shall consider, if appropriate, completing a universal screening of the child, including, but not limited to, screening the child’s social and emotional development, referring the child’s parents or legal guardians to community resources, and implementing behavior supports within the program before referring the child’s parents or legal guardians to the local agency responsible for implementing the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.).

(c) If a contracting agency has expeditiously pursued and documented reasonable steps to maintain the child’s safe participation in the program and determines, in consultation with the parents or legal guardians of the child, the child’s teacher, and, if applicable, the local agency responsible for implementing the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.), that the child’s continued enrollment would present a continued serious safety threat to the child or other enrolled children, it shall refer the parents or legal guardians to other potentially appropriate placements, the local child care resource and referral agency, or any other referral service available in the local community. The contracting agency may then unenroll the child.

(d) A contracting agency shall have up to 180 days to complete the process described in this section.

(e) This section shall apply only to California state preschool programs described in this article.

(Added by Stats. 2017, Ch. 708, Sec. 2. (AB 752) Effective January 1, 2018.)