BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1353
AUTHOR: Wright
AMENDED: March 22, 2010
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: March 24, 2010
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber
NOTE : This bill has been referred to the Committees on
Education and Human Services. A "do pass" motion should
include referral to the Committee on Human Services.
SUBJECT : Foster youth: education stability.
KEY POLICY ISSUES
Should consideration of the proximity of the child's school
be considered a non-exclusive indicator of the best interests
of the child with respect to educational stability?
Should the rights of foster youth delineated in current law
be expanded to include the right to minimal disruptions in
school attendance and educational stability?
SUMMARY:
This bill provides that consideration of the proximity to the
school in which the child is enrolled at the time of
placement is a non-exclusive indicator of the best interests
of the child with respect to educational stability.
BACKGROUND
AB 490 (Steinberg, Ch. 862, 2003) established numerous
education protections for foster youth, including the
requirements that:
1) All educational and school placement decisions ensure
that pupils are placed in the least restrictive
educational programs, and that the pupil has access to
all educational and extra-curricular and enrichment
activities that are available to all pupils. (Education
Code 48853)
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2) Considerations of a foster child's educational
stability, special needs, and best interests be taken
into account when deciding on placement into the most
appropriate home. (Welfare & Institutions Code
16501.1)
3) Local education agencies allow a foster child to
continue his or her education in the school of origin
for the duration of the academic school year. (EC
48853.5)
Current law requires:
1) The case plan for each foster child to include a summary
of the health and education information or records of
the child. The health and education summary must
include assurances that the child's placement in foster
care takes into account proximity to the school in which
the child is enrolled at the time of placement. (WIC
16010)
2) The decision regarding choice of placement, if
out-of-home placement is used to attain case plan goals,
to be based upon selection of a safe setting that is the
least restrictive or most familylike and the most
appropriate setting that is available and in close
proximity to the parent's home, proximity to the child's
school, or both. (WIC 16501.1)
ANALYSIS
This bill establishes that proximity to the child's school is
one indicator of the best interests of the child.
Specifically, this bill:
1) Provides that consideration of the proximity to the
school in which the child is enrolled at the time of
placement is a non-exclusive indicator of the best
interests of the child with respect to educational
stability:
a) As part of the decision regarding choice of
residential placement of foster youth.
b) For inclusion in the case plan for foster
youth.
2) Expands the statutory right of foster youth to attend
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school and participate in extracurricular activities to
include the right to have minimal disruptions to school
attendance and educational stability caused by transfers
from the school of origin during the academic year,
semester, or term of instruction.
3) Adds to existing legislative intent relative to working
to maintain stable school placement for foster youth the
definition of the "best interests of the child" to
include, but not be limited to, minimal disruptions to
school attendance and educational stability caused by
transfers outside of the school of origin during the
academic year, semester, or term of instruction.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill : According to the author, "Foster
youth lose an average of four to six months of
educational progress each time they change schools.
One-third of foster children have changed schools at
least five times. In Compton Unified School District,
almost half of its 1,265 students in foster care change
schools each year. Of these transfers, 85% result in a
student
entering a new school after the first day of class. In
a national study of youth who had been in foster care,
those who had one fewer placement change per year were
almost twice as likely to graduate from high school."
2) Same school trumps other factors ? The safety of the
foster child is the primary consideration when
determining residential placement. Consideration of the
proximity to a foster child's school of enrollment is
currently required as part of placement decisions. This
bill establishes that proximity to the child's school is
one indicator of the best interests of the child with
respect to education stability. This bill will not
result in placement decisions being solely based on
school enrollment, nor will it mean that foster youth
will remain in schools that are not in their best
interests simply because the youth currently attend that
school.
3) Prior and related legislation .
AB 1933 (Brownley) requires local education
agencies to allow a foster child to remain in his
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or her school of origin for the duration of the
jurisdiction of the court. AB 1933 is awaiting
action in the Assembly Education Committee.
AB 1067 (Brownley) would have required
local education agencies to provide the
transportation necessary to allow foster children
to remain in the school in which they were enrolled
at the time of foster care placement. AB 1067 was
held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee's
suspense file.
SUPPORT
Compton Unified School District
OPPOSITION
None received.