BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1909 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 25, 2012 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 1909 (Ammiano) - As Amended: May 16, 2012 Policy Committee: JudiciaryVote:10 - 0 Education 10 - 0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes SUMMARY This bill requires notification of a foster child's attorney and social worker, in addition to parental or guardian notification, in specified situations where a foster child faces possible suspension or expulsion from school. FISCAL EFFECT Costs associated with this legislation would be minor and absorbable within existing resources. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . The author states that foster youth do not receive the same level of adult support that their non-foster youth peers receive in disciplinary situations. Existing law requires a student's parent to be notified when a child faces significant disciplinary action. For foster youth, it is often difficult for the school to identify the appropriate adult to contact if discipline problems arise. This can result in the child being removed from school without the appropriate county child welfare agency representative or the child's attorney being notified. Notifying these individuals and inviting them to participate in a foster child's disciplinary hearings provides more opportunities for these individuals to become involved in the process and potentially advocate on behalf of the foster child. 2)Background . This bill stems from recent research indicating that foster youth are disproportionately exposed to punitive disciplinary measures in comparison to their non-foster youth AB 1909 Page 2 peers. In 2009, a Stanford University study of San Mateo County found that foster youth were 10 times more likely than their non-foster youth peers to be expelled and 2.5 times more likely to be suspended. Additionally, according to the author of this bill, a study on foster youth focused on a cross section of multiple states found that 67% of foster youth in the sample had been suspended at least once from school, while a far lower number, 28% of non-foster youth surveyed, had been suspended at least once from school. Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916) 319-2081