Section 44265.1.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a local educational agency or school may assign a teacher who holds an education specialist credential, or a previously issued credential, that authorizes him or her to provide instruction to individuals with mild and moderate disabilities to provide instruction to pupils with autism, as defined by Section 300.8(c)(1) o if the teacher consents to the assignment and satisfies the criteria described in subdivision (b).

(b) The local educational agency or school shall determine that a teacher described in subdivision (a) has satisfied either of the following prior to allowing the teacher to provide instruction to pupils with autism:

(1) He or she has provided full-time instruction for at least one year prior to September 1, 2007, in a special education program that serves pupils with autism pursuant to their individualized education programs and received a favorable evaluation or recommendation to teach pupils with autism from the local educational agency or school.

(2) He or she has completed a minimum of three semester units of coursework in the subject of autism offered by a regionally accredited institution of higher education. The local educational agency or school shall maintain the certificate or other verification of completion of the coursework on file in its office.

(c) Local educational agencies and schools shall report teacher assignments made pursuant to this section as part of their annual assignment monitoring pursuant to Section 44258.9.

(d) This section shall become inoperative on October 1, 2013, and is repealed on January 1, 2014, unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before January 1, 2014, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 134, Sec. 2. Effective January 1, 2011. Inoperative October 1, 2013. Repealed as of January 1, 2014, by its own provisions.)