BILL ANALYSIS AB 1933 Page A CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1933 (Brownley) As Amended August 20, 2010 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |74-0 |(May 6, 2010) |SENATE: |35-0 |(August 24, | | | | | | |2010) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: ED. SUMMARY : Requires a local educational agency (LEA) to allow a child in foster care to remain in his or her school of origin for the duration of the court's jurisdiction. Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires a LEA, at the initial detention or any subsequent change in placement of a foster child, to allow that child to remain in his or her school of origin for the duration of the court's jurisdiction. 2)Provides that a LEA shall allow a child in foster care that remains in his or her school of origin, following initial detention or following a change in placement, to attend the secondary schools designated for matriculation in accordance with the established feeder patterns of the school district when that child is transitioning between school grade levels. 3)Stipulates that if jurisdiction of the court has terminated prior to the end of an academic school year, that a child shall be allowed to remain in his or her school of origin for the duration of the academic school year. 4)Specifies that the provisions in paragraphs 2 and 3 noted above, shall not be construed to require a school district to provide transportation services to allow a child to attend a school or school district, unless required by federal law and further specifies that this language should not be construed to prohibit a district from, at its discretion, providing transportation services. 5)Expresses the intent of the Legislature that the provisions of this bill shall not supersede or exceed other laws governing special education services for eligible foster children. AB 1933 Page B The Senate amendments: 1)Stipulate that the specified provisions shall not be construed to require a school district to provide transportation services to allow a child to attend a school or school district, unless otherwise required by federal law and specify that this language should not be construed to prohibit a district from, at its discretion, providing transportation. 2)Express the intent of the Legislature that the provisions of this bill shall not supersede or exceed other laws governing special education services for eligible foster children. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar to the version passed by the Senate. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, likely minor costs. COMMENTS : Placement in foster care or changes in placement while in foster care often result in school changes for foster children, and these school changes are disruptive to their educational achievement. As a 2009 research synthesis on school mobility points out, "School mobility can contribute to low school performance and related difficulties because it introduces discontinuities in learning environments that alter or weaken instructional, school, and peer ecologies. Subject-matter curricula and expectations in the classroom can differ dramatically across schools, which in addition to the process of adjustment itself, can adversely affect learning. This often carries over to learning in the classroom."<1> Recent federal law, the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act (H.R. 6893/P.L. 110-351) (Fostering Connections Act) requires state child welfare agencies to improve educational stability for children in foster care. The federal law requires child welfare agencies to coordinate with local education agencies to ensure children remain in the school in which they are enrolled at the time of placement into foster care, unless it is not in the child's best interests. The Fostering Connections Act also provides some assistance with --------------------------- <1> Arthur J. Reynolds, Chin-Chih Chen, and Janette E. Herbers. School Mobility and Educational Success: A Research Synthesis and Evidence on Prevention. University of Minnesota: 2009 AB 1933 Page C transportation costs to assist children in remaining in their original schools. This bill, consistent with the Fostering Connections Act, ensures foster children can remain in their school of origin for as long as they are under the jurisdiction of the court. In addition, because current law allows a foster child to remain in his or her school of origin only for the duration of a school year, that child may not be allowed to attend the corresponding secondary schools which other children in that school attend and thus remain in the attendance area of their school of origin. AB 1933 would give foster children the opportunity to matriculate from one grade level to the next with their peers. Lastly, this bill gives children for whom the court's jurisdiction ends prior to the end of the school year, the ability to remain in the school of origin for the remainder of that school year. This provision is intended to allow children that are reunified or adopted the opportunity to also have some stability in educational placement. Previous legislation : AB 1067 (Brownley) of 2009, conforms state law to federal law intended to ensure educational stability for children in foster care, including requiring local education agencies to allow foster children to remain in the school in which they were enrolled at the time of foster care placement and requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to take all reasonable actions to maximize eligibility for available federal funding for reasonable travel costs for children in foster care, in accord with federal law. AB 1067 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. AB 490 (Steinberg), Chapter 862, Statutes of 2003, created new duties and rights related to the education of dependents and wards in foster care, including giving foster youth the right to remain in the school of origin for the duration of the school year when the residential placement changes and remaining in the same school is in the youth's best interest. Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avina / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0006623