BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                          SB 121 (Liu)
          
          Hearing Date: 05/23/2011        Amended: 05/17/2011
          Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 9-0
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____
          BILL SUMMARY: SB 121 specifies the process that must be followed 
          before a foster youth may be placed in a non-public school, and 
          places new requirements on those institutions, the 
          Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), and education rights 
          holders. Specifically, this bill:

             1)   Specifies that foster youth shall not be referred to, or 
               placed in, a nonpublic, nonsectarian school unless their 
               individualized education programs (IEPs) specify that the 
               placement is appropriate; 


             2)   Requires that if the person holding the right to make 
               educational decisions for the pupil decides to place the 
               pupil in a nonpublic, nonsectarian (NPNS) school without 
               the required IEP, that person shall provide a written 
               statement to that effect to the local educational agency 
               (LEA) and the juvenile court, as specified;


             3)   Prohibits a licensed children's institution (LCI) or 
               NPNS school from requiring as a condition of placement that 
               educational authority for a child be designated to that 
               institution, school, or agency; and prohibits an employee 
               of an LCI or NPNS school from serving as a surrogate parent 
               or from representing the interests of a child residing in 
               an LCI, as specified.


             4)   Prohibits an LCI from referring or placing a pupil in an 
               NPNS school, and from soliciting or in any way requesting 
               that a parent or person holding the right to make 
               educational decisions for a pupil residing there, transfer 
               or delegate that authority to an employee or person 
               associated with it.










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             5)   Adds to the violations of law that the SPI is required 
               to investigate if he or she receives evidence of a 
               significant deficiency in the quality of educational 
               services provided, a violation of law, or noncompliance 
               with policies, as specified.


             6)   Requires the SPI to monitor the certified NPNS school's 
               or agency's compliance with all provisions of the master 
               contract, as specified, and would add to the reasons that 
               the SPI may revoke or suspend the certification of an NPNS 
               school;

          _________________________________________________________________
          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2011-12      2012-13       2013-14         Fund
                                                                      
          Notifications: LEA, court      Potentially significant 
          reimbursable mandate        General

          SPI investigations       Likely minor, possibly significant 
          additional workload     General
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the 
          Suspense File. 

          This bill makes numerous changes and clarifications to processes 
          and restrictions for placing a foster youth in an NPNS school. 
          The fiscal implications of many of these changes, such as the 
          prohibiting a licensed children's institution or NPNS school 
          from requiring as a condition of placement that educational 
          authority for a child be designated to that entity, will depend 
          upon what the alternatives are, and what decisions the 
          alternative educational rights holders make for foster youth. 
          The restrictions in this bill are intended to reduce conflicts 
          of interest in placing foster youth in specific educational 
          settings, and to reduce placements in NPNS schools. In many 
          cases, these measures will reduce state costs because they will 
          likely reduce NPNS school placements, which typically cost much 
          more than public school placements.








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          This bill requires that if a parent, guardian, or person holding 
          the right to make educational decisions for a pupil decides to 
          remove the pupil from public school and to place the pupil in an 
          NPNS school without the required IEP that person shall provide a 
          written statement that he or she has made that determination to 
          the LEA and the juvenile court. This bill specifically requires 
          that the statement include a declaration that, prior to making 
          the decision, the LEA informed the holder of the right to make 
          educational decisions for the pupil, in writing, of all of the 
          following:  a) The pupil has a right to attend a regular public 
          school in the least restrictive environment; b) the alternate 
          education program is a special education program, if applicable; 
          c) the decision to unilaterally remove the pupil from the 
          regular public school and to place the pupil in an alternate 
          education program may not be financed by the LEA; and d) any 
          attempt to seek reimbursement for the alternate program will be 
          at the expense of the holder of the right to make educational 
          decisions for the pupil.



          Requiring the LEA and juvenile court, as specified, to receive 
          these newly required written notifications likely constitutes a 
          new reimbursable state mandate. Because of the level of 
          specificity of the notification, and its likely future use to 
          defend and LEA against having to reimburse NPNS school services, 
          LEAs would have to verify that all of the required information 
          is included, and follow up with the writer if the notice is 
          incomplete. Additionally, LEAs would likely need to retain the 
          notification, in case it is needed in the future. This mandate 
          is likely minor, but its costs depend on the number of 
          notifications, and any training or processes that LEAs undertake 
          to implement the new law.



          Existing law requires the SPI to monitor the facilities, the 
          educational environment, and the quality of the educational 
          program of NPNS schools. The State Department of Education's 
          Non-Public Schools Office oversees 400 certified NPNS 
          facilities, and conducts site visits. Under existing law, the 








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          office will conduct an investigation of an NPNS school if it 
          receives evidence of a significant deficiency in the quality of 
          educational services, a violation of law, or noncompliance with 
          policies. Depending on the investigation results, the SPI may 
          revoke or suspend the certification of an NPNS school for 
          specified reasons.



          This bill adds to the violations of law that the SPI is required 
          to investigate, requires the SPI to monitor master contract 
          compliance more extensively, and adds to the reasons that the 
          SPI may revoke or suspend the certification of an NPNS school. 
          This bill will likely increase workload to monitor and 
          investigate facilities.