BILL ANALYSIS
AB 167
Page A
Date of Hearing: March 18, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 167 (Adams) - As Introduced: January 28, 2009
SUBJECT : High school graduation requirements: local
requirements: foster children
SUMMARY : Requires school districts to exempt a pupil in foster
care who transfers to the district in grade 11 or 12 and would
not be able to graduate from high school by his/her 19th
birthday from the additional graduation coursework requirements
the governing board has adopted. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires districts to notify pupils in foster care who are
granted an exemption if any of the requirements that are
waived will affect the pupil's ability to gain admission to a
postsecondary educational institution and requires the
notification to include information about transfer
opportunities available through the California Community
Colleges.
2)Provides that the notification requirement shall be deemed
satisfied for each pupil who receives counseling services
pursuant to the Middle and High School Supplemental Counseling
Program after transferring into the school district.
EXISTING LAW
1)Prescribes the course of study a pupil is required to complete
while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, to receive a diploma of
graduation, including additional coursework the governing
board of a school district is authorized to specify by rule.
2)Requires school districts and county offices of education to
accept for credit full or partial coursework satisfactorily
completed by a pupil while attending a public school, juvenile
court school or nonpublic, nonsectarian school or agency.
3)Allows a child who is in foster care and who is attending high
school or the equivalent level of vocational or technical
training on a full-time basis, or is in the process of
pursuing a high school equivalency certificate, prior to
his/her 18th birthday, to continue to receive foster care aid
AB 167
Page B
following his/her 18th birthday so long as the child continues
to reside in a foster care placement, and continues to attend
high school or the equivalent on a full-time basis, and the
child is reasonably expected to complete the educational or
training program or to receive a high school equivalency
certificate, before his/her 19th birthday.
FISCAL EFFECT : State mandated local program
COMMENTS : As of July 2008, there were 68,475 children in
California's foster care system. Children in our state's foster
care system often experience multiple residential placements and
multiple changes in educational placements. The frequent
changes in the lives of foster youth can have detrimental
effects on their academic achievement.
According to a report from the California Education
Collaborative for Children in Foster Care, about 50% of foster
youth have been held back in school, 46% will not complete high
school, and fewer than 3% will go on to a four-year college.
The report further points out that most children who enter the
foster care system are already a full academic year behind their
peers.<1>
The Legislature has in the past attempted to address the poor
educational outcomes of foster youth. In 1981, the Legislature
declared that the instruction, counseling, tutoring, and
provision of related services for foster youths are a state
priority and created the Foster Youth Services (FYS) Core
District Programs. The goals of the FYS Program are to identify
the educational, physical, social, and emotional needs of foster
youths; determine gaps in service provision and provide
educational and social support services; identify inadequacies
in the completion and timely transfer of health and education
records to facilitate appropriate and stable care and
educational placements; improve student academic achievement;
reduce incidence of juvenile delinquency, and reduce rates of
student truancy/dropouts; and, provide advocacy to promote the
best interests of foster youths throughout California.
---------------------------
<1> "Ready to Succeed: Changing Systems to Give California's
Foster Children the Opportunities They Deserve to be Ready for
and Succeed in School." Recommendations to Improve School
Readiness, School Success, and Data Sharing. The Collaborative
for Children in Foster Care. January 2008.
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AB 490 (Steinberg), Chapter 862, Statutes of 2003, created
several protections to provide school stability for children in
foster care by allowing them to remain in their school of origin
for the duration of the school year when their residential
placement changes and when remaining in the same school is in
the child's best interest. The protections in AB 490 also
included a requirement for school districts to calculate and
accept credit for full or partial coursework satisfactorily
completed by the student and earned during attendance at a
public school, juvenile court, or nonpublic, nonsectarian
school.
This bill grants an automatic exemption to qualifying students
in foster care from having to meet local coursework graduation
requirements in addition to the state required courses which a
student may not be able to complete due to the frequent
residential and/or school changes. It is often difficult for
youth to complete the graduation requirements of the multiple
districts that he or she may have attended.
Recent federal legislation affecting foster youth : Under recent
federal legislation, HR 6893/P.L 110-351, states have the option
to extend foster care benefits up to age 21. Research has shown
the benefits of extending foster care to age 21 in improving
educational outcomes for foster youth. The "Midwest Evaluation
of the Adult Functioning of Former Foster Youth" compared the
experiences of foster youth in the states of Iowa, Illinois and
Wisconsin who "aged out" at 18 with those who remained in foster
care until 21. The study found that youth from Illinois who
remained in foster care until age 21 were two-to-three times
more likely to participate in post-secondary education.<2>
AB 12 (Beall) seeks to implement several components of HR
6893/P.L 110-351, specifically the provisions that would extend
foster care benefits to age 21. There is a potential for a
policy conflict if legislation is enacted to extend foster care
benefits to age 21 and if this bill is also enacted. This bill
provides that the coursework exemption shall be granted to
foster youth who would not otherwise be able to graduate by age
19 because current law allows a child who is in foster care to
continue to receive foster care aid past age 18 as long as the
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<2> "Midwest Evaluation of the Adult Functioning of Former
Foster Youth." Mark E. Courtney, Amy Dworsky, Gretchen Ruth
Cusick, Thomas Keller, Judy Havlicek, Alfred Perez, Sherri
Terao, Noel Bost. 2007.
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child continues to reside in a foster care placement, and
continues to attend high school or the equivalent on a full-time
basis, and the child is reasonably expected to complete an
educational or training program or to receive a high school
equivalency certificate, before his/her 19th birthday.
Granting a waiver of district-specific graduation requirements
to foster youth under the specified conditions, as proposed by
this bill, may create a potential disincentive for foster youth
to remain in school past age 19 to complete the additional
graduation requirements if there is an extension in benefits in
the future. If AB 12 is enacted, there may be an opportunity in
the near future for the youth to be able to remain in school
past age 18 and thus complete all the graduation requirements
that they many not have had the opportunity to complete as a
result of frequent changes in home and school placements.
In consideration of the new federal landscape, and the
opportunities available to California to extend foster care
benefits up to age 21, and in an effort to avoid potential
policy conflicts with pending legislation, staff recommends the
bill be amended to delete the reference to a specific age and
instead insert language that would capture possible changes to
the foster care aid eligibility age. Staff recommends the
following amendment or some variation of this language:
On page 4, lines 9-14:
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
school district shall exempt a pupil in foster care
who transfers to the district in grade 11 or 12 and
who otherwise would not be able to graduate from high
school by his or her 19th birthday the time he or she
is no longer eligible to receive foster care benefits
under state law from any additional coursework
requirements the governing board has adopted pursuant
to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a). A school
district
The federal legislation also includes provisions related to
education stability for foster youth, and AB 1067 (Brownley),
pending in the Rules Committee, seeks to maximize California's
eligibility for available federal funds for transportation in
order to maintain foster youth at their school of origin as much
as possible. The optimal situation would be to provide school
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stability for foster youth. But when the changes in home
placements and schools are unavoidable, this bill will provide
some relief to foster youth who are disadvantaged by the lack of
stability.
Notification requirement : This bill includes a requirement to
notify foster youth if any of the requirements that are waived
will affect his or her admission eligibility to a postsecondary
educational institution and deems this requirement satisfied for
pupils that receive counseling services through the Middle and
High School Counseling (MHSC) program. It is unclear whether
simply receiving counseling services ensures that the pupil will
receive the appropriate notification as required by this bill.
Furthermore, with the enactment of SB 4 X3 (Ducheny), Chapter
12, Statutes of 2009, the education budget trailer bill, funding
for the MHSC program was reduced and flexibility in the use of
these funds is allowed at the local level. Hence, it is unclear
whether districts will continue operating MHSC programs and
whether the MHSC program is the appropriate avenue for
notification of the provisions of this bill. For these reasons,
staff recommends the bill be amended as follows:
On page 4 lines 20-24:
Community Colleges. The notification requirement
specified in this subdivision shall be deemed
satisfied for each pupil who receives counseling
services pursuant to the Middle and High School
Supplemental Counseling Program after transferring
into the school district.
The notification may also be appropriate for the pupil's parent,
foster parent or the responsible adult appointed to make
educational decisions for that pupil. Staff recommends the bill
be amended to add language requiring a parent, foster parent or
the responsible adult appointed to make education decisions for
a pupil, as may be appropriate, to also be notified if any of
the requirements that are waived will affect the pupil's
admission eligibility to a postsecondary educational
institution.
Arguments in support : The San Bernardino County Board of
Supervisors writes, "A foster child who is in high school who
has taken the required classes in their previous school district
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Page F
may find that their new high school requires additional classes,
over and beyond those they have already taken to graduate.
Completing these new classes would likely not present a problem
to a freshman, who would have the time to take the required
classes before they graduate. These additional requirements
could present a real problem to a foster child who is a junior
or a senior, and who may not have the time to complete these
additional classes."
Related legislation : AB 12 (Beall) requires the state to
exercise its option under specified federal law to establish a
kinship guardianship assistance payment program, and requires
the Department of Social Services to amend its foster care state
plan required under specified federal law, to extend foster care
benefits to specified individuals up to 21 years of age, in
accordance federal law. AB 12 is pending in the Human Services
Committee.
AB 1067 (Brownley) requires the Department of Social Services to
take necessary actions to maximize eligibility for available
federal funding for travel costs for children in foster care and
requires the social study of a child in foster care to address
whether a proposed residential placement takes into account
proximity to the school in which the child is enrolled at the
time of placement. AB 1067 is pending in the Rules Committee.
Prior legislation : An identical measure AB 2138 (Adams) of
2008, requires school districts to exempt a pupil in foster care
who transfers to the district in grade 11 or 12 and would not be
able to graduate from high school by his/her 19th birthday from
the additional graduation coursework requirements the governing
board has adopted, and requires districts to provide
notification to such pupils, as specified. AB 2138 was vetoed.
The veto message read, "This bill attempts to create a statewide
policy of exempting certain foster care students from
district-specific graduation requirements. In doing so, this
bill would usurp the authority of local school boards to
determine the conditions under which students should be granted
diplomas. Beyond the current minimum statewide requirements,
local school boards have the ability to waive their own local
graduation requirements based on the merit of each student's
case. This bill would undermine their ability to judge each
individual student's particular circumstances."
AB 167
Page G
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors (Sponsor)
Aspiranet
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Los Angeles Unified School District
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi?a / ED. / (916) 319-2087