BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   AB 207|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 207
          Author:   Ammiano (D)
          Amended:  6/8/11 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE  :  6-2, 6/15/11
          AYES:  Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price, Vargas
          NOES:  Blakeslee, Huff
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Runner, Simitian, Vacancy

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  48-23, 4/25/11 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    School attendance:  residency requirements

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill requires school districts to accept 
          reasonable evidence that a pupil meets the residency 
          requirements for school attendance in that district, and 
          specifies which documentation schools must accept as proof 
          of residency.

           ANALYSIS  :    

           Existing Law

           1.Requires pupils to attend school in the district in which 
            the residency of either the parent or legal guardian is 
            located.

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          2.Provides that a pupil meets residency requirements under 
            the following circumstances:

             A.    A pupils is placed in a regularly established 
                licensed children's institution, or a licensed foster 
                home, or a family home.

             B.    A pupil for who interdistrict attendance has been 
                approved.

             C.    A pupil whose parent or legal guardian is relieved 
                of responsibility, control and authority through 
                emancipation.

             D.    A pupil who lives in the home of a caregiving 
                adult (an affidavit under penalty of perjury is 
                required).

             E.    A pupil residing in a state hospital.

             F.    Until July 1, 2012, a pupil with at least one 
                parent or legal guardian who is physically employed 
                within the boundaries of that district.

          3.Authorizes school districts adjacent to an international 
            boarder to accept a wide range of documents and 
            representations as reasonable evidence that the pupil 
            meets the residency requirements for school attendance 
            within the district.  Documentation of residency for 
            these districts may include, but are not limited to:

             A.    Property tax payment receipts.

             B.    Rent payment receipts.

             C.    Utility service payment receipts.

             D.    Declaration of residency executed by the parent or 
                guardian of the pupil.

          4.Requires a school district that is adjacent to an 
            international border to make reasonable efforts to 
            determine that the pupil actually meets the residency 
            requirements if any employee of the district reasonably 

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            believes that the parent or guardian has provided false 
            or unreliable evidence of residency.

          This bill requires school districts to accept reasonable 
          evidence that a pupil meets the residency requirements for 
          school attendance in that district, and specifies which 
          documentation schools must accept as proof of residency.  
          Specifically, this bill:

          1.Requires a school district to accept from the parent or 
            guardian of a pupil reasonable evidence that the pupil 
            meets the residency requirements for school attendance in 
            the district.

          2.Requires reasonable evidence of residency for a pupil 
            living with his or her parent or guardian to be 
            established by documentation showing the name and address 
            of the parent or guardian within the school district, 
            including, but not limited to, any of the following 
            documentation:

             A.    Property tax payment receipts.

             B.    Rental property contract, lease, or payment 
                receipts.

             C.    Utility service contract, statement, or payment 
                receipts.

             D.    Pay stubs.

             E.    Voter registration.

             F.    Correspondence from a government agency.

             G.    Declaration of residency executed by the parent or 
                guardian.

          3.Prohibits anything in this bill from being construed to 
            require a parent or guardian to show all of the documents 
            listed above.

          4.Authorizes a school district to make reasonable efforts 
            to determine that the pupil actually meets the residency 

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            requirements if any employee of a district reasonably 
            believes that the parent or guardian has provided false 
            or unreliable evidence of residency.

          5.Prohibits anything in this bill from being construed as 
            limiting access to pupil enrollment in a school district 
            as otherwise provided by federal and state statutes and 
            regulations.  This specifically includes immediate 
            enrollment and attendance guaranteed to a homeless child 
            or youth without any proof of residency or other 
            documentation pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento 
            Homeless Assistance Act.

          6.Prohibits a school district from requiring proof of 
            residency for an unaccompanied youth (the definition of 
            which includes homeless and foster youth), consisted with 
            the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.  A 
            school district must accept a declaration of residency 
            executed by the unaccompanied youth in lieu of a 
            declaration of residency executed by his or her parent or 
            guardian.

          7.Deletes existing law relative to reasonable evidence of 
            residency in school districts that are adjacent to an 
            international boarder.

           Background  

          The California Department of Education (CDE) has issued 
          legal advisories intended to assist school districts and 
          county offices of education regarding the information they 
          may rely on to determine that a pupil is a resident for 
          purposes of school attendance, including, in the context of 
          homeless pupils, advising districts to accept any kind of 
          document, including a parental declaration of intent to 
          remain in the district for an indefinite period.  In Legal 
          Advisory LO:1-95, (March 3, 1995) the CDE states that the 
          general rule is that districts may accept a wide range of 
          documents and parent representation regarding residency, 
          there is no particular list of documents that may be 
          accepted, and that any reasonable evidence of residence is 
          sufficient.  
           
          Comments

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           Local Control  .  This bill essentially prohibits school 
          districts from refusing to accept certain documents as 
          proof of residency, thereby diminishing the discretion of 
          school districts to determine which documents to accept.  
          While this bill does allow districts to accept documents 
          not listed in the bill, districts would be required to 
          accept documents listed in this bill as reasonable evidence 
          of residency.

           Prior Legislation

           AB 1854 (Ammiano), 2009-10 Session, was nearly identical to 
          this bill.  Passed the Senate with a vote of 21-11 on 
          8/18/10.  The bill was vetoed by the Governor, whose veto 
          message read:

            "This bill would undermine and potentially limit a 
            local district's current residency verification 
            process.  Determining what proofs of residency should 
            be accepted should continue to remain a local decision. 
             Nothing in current law prohibits a school district 
            from using any type of documentation that fits its 
            local circumstances."

          SB 1735 (Romero), 2007-08 Session, was very similar to this 
          bill.  The bill passed the Senate with a vote of 23-14 on 
          8/21/08.  The bill was vetoed by the Governor, whose veto 
          message read:

            "The historic delay in passing the 2008-09 State Budget 
            has forced me to prioritize the bills sent to my desk 
            at the end of the year's legislative session.  Given 
            the delay, I am only signing bills that are the highest 
            priority for California.  This bill does not meet that 
            standard and I cannot sign it at this time."

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/16/11)

          American Civil Liberties Union
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal 

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          Employees
          Asian Law Alliance
          California Association for Bilingual Education
          California Federation of Teachers
          California Immigrant Policy Center
          California Teachers Association
          Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
          Evergreen School District
          Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
          Public Advocates
          Public Counsel Services
          Immigrant Rights & Education Network

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  6/16/11)

          Greater South Bay Education Coalition

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office, 
          "Without uniform guidelines on the procedures school 
          districts need to perform to verify student residency, 
          school districts across the state have created inconsistent 
          and sometimes overly burdensome requirements on students 
          and their parents or guardians to establish their residence 
          in the school district.  Some families, including victims 
          of domestic violence, immigrant and low wage workers, and 
          the homeless, often have difficulty in providing proof to 
          establish residency within a school district."


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  48-23, 4/25/11
          AYES:  Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block, 
            Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, 
            Butler, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis, 
            Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Galgiani, Gordon, 
            Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Hueso, Huffman, 
            Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, 
            Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Skinner, 
            Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, 
            John A. Pérez
          NOES:  Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly, 
            Fletcher, Garrick, Gatto, Grove, Halderman, Harkey, 
            Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell, 
            Nestande, Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Charles Calderon, Furutani, Gorell, 

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            Hagman, Huber, Jones, Norby, Olsen, Vacancy


          CPM:cm  6/16/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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