BILL ANALYSIS AB 1261 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1261 (Leno) As Amended August 15, 2005 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |74-0 |(May 19, 2005) |SENATE: |40-0 |(August 22, | | | | | | |2005) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: ED. 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, and revises the definition of "nonpublic, nonsectarian schools" and makes changes to some provisions in the Education Code relating to nonpublic, nonsectarian schools. The Senate amendments : 1)Add nonpublic, nonsectarian schools, to the list of schools for which development of an alternative accountability system is required. 2)Revise the definition of "nonpublic, nonsectarian school" by deleting the specification that the school employs at least one full-time teacher who holds an appropriate credential authorizing special education services. 3)Provide that if a nonpublic, nonsectarian school or agency that is applying for certification and has submitted a form requesting verification from the local educational agency does not receive a response from the local education agency 60 calendar days from the date of the return receipt for initial applications, or 30 calendar days from the date of the return receipt for renewal applications, the applicant may file the application with the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI). 4)Revise the timeline for the SPI to conduct an additional onsite review of a facility and program seeking certification from four to within three years of the effective date of certification. AB 1261 Page 2 5)Require the court, if it makes educational decisions for a child in cases when the court cannot identify a responsible adult to make decisions for that child, to issue appropriate orders to ensure that every effort is made to identify a responsible adult to make future educational decisions for the child. 6)Delete obsolete provisions. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill: 1)Clarified that foster children had the right to remain in their school of origin until the end of the school year, unless the holder of educational rights determined that it is not in the child's best interest to do so. 2)Defined "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)Defined "pupil in foster care" for the purposes of this bill as any child who had been removed from his or her home pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 309, was the subject of a petition filed under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300 or 602, or had been removed from his or her home and was the subject of a petition filed under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 300 or 602. 4)Required that records be transferred and foster children be granted immediate enrollment even if the foster child had outstanding fees, fines, textbooks or other items or monies due to the school last attended. 5)Clarified that any disputes that arose related to school placement or enrollment of a foster child should be resolved in accordance with the existing dispute resolution process available to any pupil served by the local educational agency. 6)Established parameters for evaluating how far back in time to look into identifying a "school of origin," or the school with which the child felt most connected. AB 1261 Page 3 7)Codified the court's authority to make educational decisions for the child when no responsible adult could be identified and the appointment of a surrogate parent was not legally warranted. 8)Authorized the court, in limited circumstances, to temporarily limit the right of the parent to make educational decisions for their children when the parent was unable or unwilling to exercise educational rights and the child's educational needs could not otherwise be met. 9)Required the county welfare department to provide emancipated youths with a health and education summary. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, new mandated costs estimated at $100,000 annually. 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 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. "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 : Marisol Avi?a / ED. / (916) 319-2087 AB 1261 Page 4 FN: 0011910