BILL ANALYSIS AB 1261 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 1261 (Leno) As Amended April 6, 2005 Majority vote EDUCATION 11-0 APPROPRIATIONS 18-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Goldberg, Tran, Arambula, |Ayes:|Chu, Sharon Runner, Bass, | | |Coto, Hancock, Huff, Liu, | |Berg, Calderon, Emmerson, | | |Mullin, Pavley, Richman, | |Mullin, Haynes, Karnette, | | |Umberg | |Klehs, Leno, Nakanishi, | | | | |Nation, Oropeza, | | | | |Ridley-Thomas, Saldana, | | | | |Walters, Yee | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Clarifies provisions related to the education of foster youth in the areas of educational placement, coursework credit, records transfer, and educational programs offered to foster youth. Specifically, this bill : 1)Clarifies that foster children have the right to remain in their school of origin until the end of the school year, unless the holder of educational rights determines that it is not in the child's best interest to do so. 2)Defines "local educational agency" as a school district, a county office of education, a charter school participating as a member of a special education local plan area, or a special education local plan area. 3)Defines "pupil in foster care" for the purposes of this bill as any child who has been removed from his or her home pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 309, is the subject of a petition filed under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300 or 602, or has been removed from his or her home and is the subject of a petition filed under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300 or 602. 4)Requires that records be transferred and foster children be granted immediate enrollment even if the foster child has outstanding fees, fines, textbooks or other items or monies AB 1261 Page 2 due to the school last attended. 5)Clarifies that any disputes that arise as to school placement or enrollment of a foster child shall be resolved in accordance with the existing dispute resolution process available to any pupil served by the local educational agency. 6)Establishes parameters for evaluating how far back in time to look into identifying a "school of origin," or the school with which the child feels most connected. 7)Codifies the court's authority to make educational decisions for the child when no responsible adult can be identified and the appointment of a surrogate parent is not legally warranted. 8)Authorizes the court, in limited circumstances, to temporarily limit the right of the parent to make educational decisions for their children when the parent is unable or unwilling to exercise educational rights and the child's educational needs cannot otherwise be met. 9)Requires the county welfare department to provide emancipated youths with a health and education summary. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis, one-time General Fund (Proposition 98) mandated reimbursable costs, likely less than $75,000, to school districts to develop a process to resolve disputes, as specified. COMMENTS : This bill is sponsored by the Children's Law Center of Los Angeles. According to the author, this bill seeks to ensure that all eligible youth receive the full protection of the law and opportunity for academic stability and success promised by AB 490 (Steinberg), Chapter 862, Statutes of 2003, which makes numerous changes to the law related to the education of foster youth in the areas of educational placement, coursework credit, records transfer, and educational programs offered to foster youth. The author states: "While a good education is critical to every child's successful transition to adulthood, it is especially true for children who spend long periods of their childhood in AB 1261 Page 3 foster care. Yet frequent placement moves, delays and difficulties in transferring educational records, and the general upheaval associated with family crises conspire to make it difficult for foster youth to keep up and do well in school. "To address dismal educational outcomes for foster youth chronicled in a number of reports to the Legislature by the American Institutes for Research, the Legislature passed AB 490 (Steinberg), Chapter 862, Statutes of 2003, which instituted a number of reforms designed to promote school stability and ensure that pupils residing in foster care have a meaningful opportunity to meet the academic achievement standards to which all students are held." AB 490 was enacted with broad and bipartisan support. In the year and a half since the law's enactment, groups across the state have worked together to create materials, present trainings, and develop implementation plans to ensure that at-risk children receive the benefits promised by the law. "In the process of implementation, education liaisons at California schools, established by AB 490, and child advocates have identified some gaps in AB 490 protections for foster youth which are addressed by this measure." Analysis Prepared by : Josefina Ramirez / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0010305