BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1088 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 1088 (Price) As Amended August 20, 2012 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :38-0 EDUCATION 9-0 APPROPRIATIONS 12-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Brownley, Norby, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Gatto, Blumenfield, | | |Buchanan, Butler, Carter, | |Bradford, | | |Eng, Halderman, Williams | |Charles Calderon, Campos, | | | | |Davis, Fuentes, Hall, | | | | |Hill, Cedillo, Mitchell, | | | | |Solorio | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Specifies that a pupil shall not be denied enrollment or readmission to a public school solely on the basis that he or she had been arrested, adjudicated by a juvenile court, had been formally or informally supervised by a probation officer, or was detained for any length of time in a juvenile facility or was enrolled in a juvenile court school. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, minor, absorbable General Fund/Proposition 98 costs to school districts. COMMENTS : This bill prohibits a school district from denying enrollment or readmission to a public school, regardless of whether the pupil has been expelled or not, solely because he or she has had contact with the juvenile justice system, including, but not limited to: arrest, adjudication by a juvenile court, formal or informal supervision by a probation officer, and detention for any length of time in a juvenile facility or enrollment in a juvenile court school. Many of the letters in support of the bill stress the challenges they have experienced attempting to help kids stabilize their lives by re-enrolling in school. These may not be the kids who have been expelled from school, but kids who got into trouble, were arrested, and entered the juvenile justice system. A 2010 report by the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University titled "Addressing the Unmet Educational SB 1088 Page 2 Needs of Children and Youth in the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems" identified an estimated 1.6 million youth who are referred to juvenile court a year nationally. According to the report, of those, approximately 24% are charged with offenses against another person(s), 39% are charged with property offenses, 12% involve drug-related offenses, and 25% involve public order offenses. The report found that youth who enter the juvenile justice system are often from low-income families, have learning disabilities, have substance abuse issues, or have experienced physical or emotional abuse. The researchers found that "reenrollment of youth in schools following discharge from a juvenile correctional facility has been a perennial challenge as schools and school districts have resisted reenrollment of formerly incarcerated youth." Data from the statewide summary of the report on the number of pupils served with federal Title I funds shows that, in the 2009-10 school year, 13,693 of the 56,492 pupils served in juvenile detention enrolled in a comprehensive public school within 30 days of exiting a juvenile court school. Youth Law Center, one of the co-sponsors of the bill, states that most youth who has been involved in the juvenile justice system want to return to school upon release. The author states, "Across California, juvenile justice youth are pushed out of school through the imposition of enrollment barriers. Without any assessment or educational justification, many of these youth, once released, are summarily denied enrollment at their neighborhood school of attendance and forced to attend alternative schools, often without the possibility of returning to a comprehensive school setting. According to the Department of Education, 66% of youth leaving juvenile detention do not enroll in their local school district within 30 calendar days. "Youth who have had contact with the juvenile justice system are funneled into dropout recovery schools, county and community day schools, independent study and continuation high schools which graduate far fewer students than traditional institutions. For these students, alternative schools represent an exit system, the last step before dropping out. Sixty-three percent (63%) of students attending continuation high schools drop out altogether, eighty-one percent (81%) drop out at community day schools and an astonishing ninety-eight percent (98%) exit at Juvenile Court Schools. Some students are unable to find an SB 1088 Page 3 appropriate school because they are denied enrollment at multiple school-sites; frustrated and alienated, they are more likely to drop out. African American and Latino students have suffered disproportionality from this practice." Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0005089