BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                                                                  SB 1353
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          Date of Hearing:   June 15, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES
                                Jim Beall, Jr., Chair
                    SB 1353 (Wright) - As Amended:  April 22, 2010

           SENATE VOTE  :  34-0
           
          SUBJECT  :  Education: foster youth

           SUMMARY  :  Provides that proximity to the school in which a child  
          is enrolled at the time of placement in foster care shall be  
          considered as an indicator of the bests interest of a child with  
          regard to educational stability, and requires educational  
          stability and minimal disruptions to school attendance be  
          applied to the consideration of the "best interests of the  
          child" for the purposes of school placement decisions.   
          Specifically,  this bill  :   

          1)Makes various findings and declarations regarding the  
            importance of education and educational stability,  
            particularly for foster children who are disproportionately  
            and negatively affected by multiple school transfers.

          2)Removes "proximity to the child's school" from the factors to  
            be considered when making an out-of-home placement; adds  
            consideration of whether a placement promotes educational  
            stability by its location in or near the child's school  
            attendance area; and offers an opportunity to delay any  
            necessary school transfer to the summer or normal  
            matriculation schedule when making an out-of-home placement  
            decision.

          3)Provides that considerations of the "best interests of the  
            child" in educational and school placement decisions shall  
            include:

             a)   Minimal disruptions to school attendance and educational  
               stability by timing necessary school transfers during the  
               summer or at matriculation; and

             b)   The opportunity for a foster child to be educated in the  
               least restrictive educational setting necessary to achieve  
               academic progress.










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          4)Requires assurances that a child's placement in foster care  
            factors in proximity to the school in which the child is  
            enrolled at the time of placement to be considered an  
            indicator of the best interests of the child with respect to  
            educational stability and to be included in the child's case  
            plan.

          5)Specifies that the existing requirement to provide assurances  
            in the child's case plan that the placement agency has  
            coordinated with the local educational agencies (LEA) to keep  
            the child in the school the child is enrolled in at the time  
            of placement, shall apply for at least the remainder of the  
            school year during which the placement is made.

          6)Encourages the State Department of Social Services (DSS) and  
            the State Department of Education (DOE) to develop indicators  
            of educational stability and include these as considerations  
            for the selection of an out-of-home placement.

          7)Adds consideration of the child's school matriculation  
            schedule to the factors currently considered in placement  
            decisions.  

          8)Adds to the statute outlining foster children's rights the  
            right to minimal disruptions in school attendance and  
            educational stability caused by transfers from the school of  
            origin during the academic year, semester or term of  
            instruction.  

           EXISTING LAW  

          1)Requires educational and school placement decisions be based  
            on the best interests of the child.  Education Code (EDC)  
            48850 and Welfare & Institutions Code (WIC) 16000.

          2)Requires educators, county placing agencies, care providers,  
            advocates and the juvenile courts to work together toward  
            stability in school placements foster children, and to ensure  
            placement in the least restrictive educational environment,  
            with access to the same resources, services and enrichment  
            activities available to all other students.  EDC 48850.

          3)Requires that, when an out-of-home placement is necessary for  
            a child, the choice of placement be based on finding the least  
            restrictive, most family-like safe and available setting in  









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            close proximity to the child's parent and school, where the  
            environment is best suited to the child's special needs and  
            best interests, or both.  WIC 16501.1.

          4)Provides that when making placement decisions, in addition to  
            other statutory considerations, the selection of a home to  
            meet the child's special needs and best interests shall also  
            promote educational stability by considering proximity to the  
            child's school attendance area.  WIC 16501.1.

          5)Requires a foster child's case plan to ensure educational  
            stability, effective January 1, 2010, and requires the case  
            plan to include assurances that:

             a)   The placement takes into account the appropriateness of  
               the current educational setting and proximity to the school  
               the child is enrolled in at the time of placement; and, 

             b)   The placement agency has coordinated with the  
               appropriate LEA to ensure that the child remains in the  
               same school the child is enrolled in at the time of  
               placement unless it is not found to be in the best  
               interests of the child.  WIC 16501.1.

          6)Requires assurances by the placement agency and the LEA,  
            should remaining in the school the child was enrolled in at  
            the time of placement  not  be in the child's best interests, to  
            provide immediate and appropriate enrollment in a new school  
            and provide all of the child's educational records to the new  
            school.  WIC 16501.1.

          7)Lists, among a foster child's rights, the right to attend  
            school and participate in extracurricular, cultural and  
            personal enrichment activities consistent with the child's age  
            and developmental level.  WIC 16001.9.

          8)Requires each foster child's case plan include a health and  
            education summary that includes educational and health-related  
            information, and assurances that the child's placement in  
            foster care takes into account proximity to the school the  
            child was enrolled in at the time of placement.  WIC 16010.

          9)Defines "school of origin" as the school the foster child  
            attended when he or she was permanently housed or the last  
            school the foster child was enrolled in. EDC 48853.5. 









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           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None

           COMMENTS  :   

           Need for this bill:   According to the author:

               When children in foster care transfer schools during  
               the academic year, significant educational and social  
               challenges result.  Foster youth lose an average of  
               4-6 months of educational progress each time they  
               change schools, resulting in lower academic  
               performance than their peers and a greater risk of  
               dropping out by high school.  35-50% of foster  
               children perform below grade level nationally and only  
               50% graduate high school.  Unfortunately, foster  
               children continue to have high mobility - 1/3 change  
               schools at least 5 times while in foster care.   
               Research shows that youth in foster care who have one  
               fewer placement change per year double their chances  
               of graduating high school.

           This bill seeks to minimize school transfers for foster children  
          by including assurances that a foster care placement factor in  
          proximity to the school the child is enrolled in at the time of  
          placement as an indicator of the best interest of a child for  
          the purposes of educational stability.  

           According to this bill's sponsor  , the Compton Unified School  
          District (CUSD):

               Repeated school transfers, often associated with  
               moving to a new home, have a tragic impact on the  
               ability of students in foster care to maintain healthy  
               relationships with their peers, teachers and other  
               adults.  They often lose motivation to engage in  
               school, reducing the likelihood that they will attend  
               college and build fulfilling careers as adults.

               SB 1353 achieves improvement in academic outcomes by  
               clarifying that educational stability is crucial to  
               ensuring and protecting the best interests of foster  
               children.  SB 1353 also clarifies that when school  
               transfers are necessary, efforts to initiate the  
               transfer at the end of the school year should be a top  









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               priority.

               Beyond the challenges that the children face, the high  
               number of mid-year transfers places a toll on the  
               educational liaisons responsible for ensuring a  
               smooth, quick transition for each child and for  
               advocating for all of the children in the district.   
               By encouraging transfers outside of the academic year,  
               this measure would enable the liaisons to focus more  
               closely on successfully transferring the students.
           
          Background:   California made significant progress toward  
          educational stability through the framework provided by AB 490  
          (Steinberg), Chapter 862, Statutes of 2003, which requires that  
          when a child is placed in foster care, or the child's placement  
          changes, LEAs must allow the child to remain in his or her  
          school of origin until the end of the school year.  AB 490 also  
          attempted to improve educational stability by including it as  
          one of several factors considered when making residential  
          placement decisions for foster children.  

          Specifically, current law requires promotion of educational  
          stability in placement decisions by requiring consideration of  
          the placement's proximity to the child's school attendance area.  
           (WIC 16501.1(c)(2))  In addition, state law was amended in SB  
          597 (Liu), Chapter 339, Statutes of 2009, pursuant to the  
          federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing  
          Adoptions Act (Fostering Connections Act) to include language  
          closely mirroring the federal law related to educational  
          stability which requires assurances that the foster care  
          placement take into account the proximity to the school the  
          child is enrolled in at the time of placement, and that LEAs and  
          placing agencies coordinate to ensure the child remains in his  
          or her school unless it is not found to be in the child's best  
          interests.

          The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento Act)  
          (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.) is a federal law addressing  
          educational stability for homeless children, including foster  
          children awaiting placement.  While the McKinney-Vento Act does  
          not apply to all foster children, along with the federal  
          Fostering Connections Act, federal law broadly sets forth an  
          expectation around the importance of educational stability for  
          abused and neglected children, and for decisions to be made in  
          the best interests of the child.









                                                                  SB 1353
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           "Best Interests of a Child" in Child Welfare  :  According to the  
          U.S. Department of Health and Human Services<1>:

               Although there is no standard definition of "best  
               interests of the child," the term generally refers to  
               the deliberation that courts undertake when deciding  
               what type of services, actions, and orders will best  
               serve a child as well as who is best suited to take  
               care of a child.  "Best interests" determinations are  
               generally made by considering a number of factors  
               related to the circumstances of the child and the  
               circumstances and capacity of the child's potential  
               caregiver(s), with the child's ultimate safety and  
               well-being as the paramount concern.

          In keeping with general practice in most other states,  
          California statutes do not define "best interests" in the  
          Education or Welfare and Institutions Codes as it applies to  
          foster children, but rather, directs courts and decision makers,  
          such as county placing agencies and education rights holders to  
          apply this standard when making decisions about educational and  
          out-of-home placements for abused and neglected children.  


           Comments/Suggested Amendments:



           1)Given that California law does not define "best interests" for  
            the purposes of child welfare cases, and allows courts and  
            child welfare social workers and educational rights holders to  
            apply this standard in a variety of contexts specific to each  
            individual case, should the law be changed to apply a single  
            indicator of the "best interests of a child" based solely on  
            educational stability for all foster children?


          2)This bill proposes to amend language put in statute just last  
            year to comply with the federal Fostering Connections Act  
          ---------------------------
          <1> Child Welfare Information Gateway.  "Determining the Best  
          Interests of the Child."  2008.  U.S. Department of Health and  
          Human Services Administration for Children and Families  
          Administration on Children, Youth and Families Children's  
          Bureau.  Washington, D.C.  








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            educational stability provisions (WIC 16501.1 (f)(8)).  It  
            does this by proposing to make the assurances set forth in  
            federal law related to the appropriateness of an educational  
            setting, and proximity to the school a child is enrolled in at  
            the time of placement  indicators  of the best interests of a  
            child for the purposes of educational stability.  

            This bill also seems to inadvertently weaken existing law by  
            limiting the proposed time a placement agency and LEA must  
            coordinate to ensure the child is enrolled in the school they  
            were enrolled in at the time of placement in WIC Section  
            16501.1 (f)(8)(B), and limits that timeframe, "for at least  
            the remainder of the school year during which the placement is  
            made?"  The author's stated intention is to reduce the number  
            of school transfers for foster youth, but existing law as set  
            forth in Section 16501.1 (f) seems to apply a higher standard  
            with regard to educational stability.  The author may wish to  
            strike all proposed changes to WIC 16501.1 (f) to preserve the  
            original intent of this subdivision.

          3)Staff recommends the following technical and clarifying  
            amendments to address the concerns outlined above. 

            To page 4, lines 33-38 as follows:



               child  . For purposes of this section, the "best  
               interests of the child"   and   

               shall include, but not be limited to, both of the  
               following   consider, among other factors  :

               (A)  Minimal   Educational stability by allowing the  
               child to remain in the school of origin   with minimal  
               disruptions to school attendance and educational

               stability that may be achieved   by avoiding school  
               transfers   timing school transfers, as deemed to be  
               necessary in accordance with the law, during the

               summer or normal matriculation schedule.

             










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            To page 6, lines 16-17:



               attendance and educational stability caused by  school   
               transfers  from the

               school of origin during the academic year, semester, or  
               term of

               instruction.  



            To page 7, lines 30-31:



               child is enrolled at the time of placement  ,   as an  
               indicator of the

               best interests of the child with respect to  
               educational stability   the number of school transfers  
               the child has already experienced  , a

            To page 10, lines 29-32: 

               in close proximity to the parent's home,  proximity to  
               the child's school  , 
               promotes educational stability by its location in or  
               near the child's school 
               attendance area, and that provides an opportunity to  
               delay any necessary
               school transfers to the summer or normal matriculation  
               schedule  ,

            To page 11, lines 3-6: 

                attendance area, the number of school transfers the  
               child has previously experienced,  and the child's  
               school matriculation schedule, in addition to 
               other indicators of educational stability that the  
               Legislature hereby
               encourages the State Department of Social Services and  
               the State









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               Department of Education to develop.   If a school  
               transfer is deemed necessary in accordance with the  
               law, the decision regarding the placement shall  
               consider whether the placement promotes educational  
               stability by its location in or near the child's  
               school of origin or school attendance area, and  
               provides an opportunity to avoid school transfers or,  
               at a minimum, delays any necessary school transfers to  
               the summer or normal matriculation schedule.
           
            To page 13, lines 34-36:

               to the school in which the child is enrolled at the  
               time of placement  .  
                as an indicator of the best interests of the child  
               with respect to
               educational stability.
           
            To page 13, line 40 and page 14, line 1: 

               placement  .   for at least the remainder of the school  
               year during
               which the placement is made,  or, if remaining in that  
               school is not

           Additional Amendments:   The author wishes to add the following  
          author's amendments to the amendments recommended by staff,  
          which will be analyzed in the Assembly Education Committee  
          should the bill pass out of this committee:

            To page 3, lines 5-7: 

               A high school diploma  was   is   once the minimal  
               requirement to obtain decent employment, but a  
               bachelor's degree has become  crucial to entering the 

            Adding after "by avoiding school transfers" as suggested  
            above, in EDC Section 48850 (a)(1)(A):



                that occur outside of the normal matriculation  
               schedule of the child's school of origin, unless the  
               transfer provides educational benefits to the child.   
           









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            Adding after "caused by school transfers" in WIC Section  
            16001.9 (a)(13):

                that fall outside of the normal matriculation  
               schedule, unless the transfer provides educational  
               benefits to the child
           
            Adding after "the number of school transfers the child has  
            experienced" in WIC Section 16010 (a):
           
               the child's educational progress

             Adding before "attendance area, the number of school transfers  
            the child has previously experienced" in WIC Section 16501.1  
            (c)(2):
           
               school of origin

          Prior and Related Legislation:
           
          AB 1933 (Brownley) requires that LEAs allow a foster child to  
          remain in his or her school of origin for the duration of the  
          court's jurisdiction.  AB 1933 is currently pending a hearing in  
          the Senate Education Committee.

          SB 597 (Liu) Chapter 339, Statutes of 2009 made several changes  
          to state law to conform to Public Law 110-351, the Fostering  
          Connections Act of 2008.

          AB 1067 (Brownley) would have required LEAs to provide  
          transportation to foster children in order for them to remain in  
          the school in which they were enrolled at the time of their  
          foster care placement.  AB 1067 was held on the suspense file in  
          the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

          AB 490 (Steinberg) Chapter 862, Statutes of 2003, among other  
          significant education related provisions for foster children,  
          required immediate enrollment of foster children in school, and  
          included educational stability as one of several factors to be  
          considered when making placement decisions for foster children.

           DOUBLE REFERRAL  .  This bill has been double-referred.  Should  
          this bill pass out of this committee, it will be referred to the  
          Assembly Education Committee.










                                                                  SB 1353
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           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :

           Support 
           
          Compton Unified School District (CUSD) (sponsor)
          Advancement Project
          Aspiranet
          California Probation, Parole, and Correctional Association  
          (CPPCA)
          California State PTA
          California Teachers Association
          New Visions Foundation
          Para Los Ni?os
          Pomona Unified School District
          State Public Affairs Committee (SPAC) of the Junior Leagues of  
          California
          U-Turn Alcohol & Drug Education Program, Inc.
           
            Opposition 
           
          None on file.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Michelle Doty Cabrera / HUM. S. / (916)  
          319-2089