BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1261
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 1261 (Leno)
          As Amended August 15, 2005
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |74-0 |(May 19, 2005)  |SENATE: |40-0 |(August 22,    |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2005)          |
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           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.  








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          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. 









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          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 









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