BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 643|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 643
Author: Stone (D)
Amended: 6/19/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 6/12/13
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Correa, Hancock, Hueso, Huff,
Monning, Torres
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/13/13 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Pupil records: foster youth
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires that a school district allow a
social worker or probation officer access to a foster youth's
school records, conforming to the federal Uninterrupted Scholars
Act (USA), as specified.
ANALYSIS : The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act (FERPA) prohibits federal funds from being provided to any
educational agency or institution which has a policy or practice
of permitting the release of a pupil's educational records to
any individual, agency, or organization without the written
consent of the pupil's parents. FERPA exempts from the general
parental consent requirement certain kinds of disclosures,
including disclosures to state and local officials for the
purposes of conducting truancy proceedings, a criminal
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investigation, auditing or evaluating an educational program, or
in relation to the application for financial aid.
Existing law prohibits a school district from permitting access
to pupil records to a person without parental consent or under
judicial order, with some exceptions:
1.School districts are required to permit access to records
relevant to the legitimate educational interests of specified
requesters, including:
A. School officials and employees of the districts, members
of a school attendance review board and any volunteer aide
as specified, provided that the person has a legitimate
educational interest to inspect a record.
B. Officials and employees of other public schools or
school systems where the pupil intends to or is directed to
enroll.
C. Other federal, state and local officials as specified.
D. Parents of a pupil 18 years of age or older who is a
dependent.
E. A pupil 16 years of age or older or having completed the
10th grade who requests access.
F. A district attorney, judge or probation officer, in
relation to truancy proceedings.
G. A district attorney's office for consideration against a
parent for failure to comply with compulsory education
laws.
H. A probation officer, district attorney, or counsel of
record for a minor, in relation to a criminal investigation
or in regard to declaring a person a ward of the court or
involving a violation of a condition of probation.
I. A county placing agency when acting as an authorized
representative of a state or local educational agency.
1.School districts are authorized to release information from
pupil records to the following:
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A. Appropriate persons in connection with an emergency if
the information is necessary to protect the health or
safety of a pupil or other person.
B. Agencies or organizations in connection with the
application of a pupil for, or receipt of, financial aid.
C. The county elections official for the identification of
pupils who are eligible to register to vote.
D. Accrediting associations in order to carry out
accrediting functions.
E. Organizations conducting studies on behalf of
educational agencies or institutions for the purpose of
developing, validating or administering predictive tests,
administering student aid programs, and improving
instruction.
F. Officials and employees of private schools or school
systems where the pupil is enrolled or intends to enroll.
G. A contractor or consultant with a legitimate educational
interest who has a formal written agreement or contract
with the school district regarding the provision of
outsourced institutional services or functions by the
contractor or consultant.
Existing law requires school districts to notify parents in
writing of their rights, including the types of pupil records
kept by the district, the position of the official responsible
for the records, the policies for reviewing and expunging
records, and the criteria used by the district to define "school
officials and employees" and to determine "legitimate
educational interest."
The federal USA amended FERPA to require school districts to
allow access to pupil records to an agency caseworker or other
representative of a state or local child welfare agency, or
tribal organization, who has the right to access a pupil's case
plan, when such agency or organization is legally responsible
for the care and protection of the pupil. The federal USA
prohibits the records or information from being disclosed by the
agency or organization except to an individual or entity engaged
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in addressing the pupil's educational needs and authorized by
such agency or organization to receive such disclosure and the
disclosure is consistent with applicable state or tribal laws
protecting the confidentiality of a pupil's education records.
This bill requires that a school district allow a social worker
or probation officer access to a foster youth's school records,
conforming to the federal USA. Specifically, this bill:
1.Requires school districts to permit access to particular
records relevant to the legitimate educational interests to an
agency caseworker or other representative of a state or local
child welfare agency, or tribal organization that has legal
responsibility for the care and protection of the pupil.
2.Authorizes pupil records or personally identifiable
information contained in those records to be disclosed by the
agency or tribal organization to an individual or entity that
is engaged in addressing the pupil's educational needs, and is
authorized by that agency or tribal organization to receive
those disclosures. Also the information requested shall be
directly related to the assistance provided by that individual
or entity.
3.Prohibits the agency or tribal organization from disclosing
the pupil's records or personally identifiable information
except as provided by the federal FERPA, state law or tribal
law.
Comments
According to the author, "Earlier this year, Congress passed and
the President signed into law the federal USA, which amended the
FERPA to add a social worker or caseworker who is legally
responsible for the care and supervision of a foster youth to
the list of permitted individuals who can access a pupil's
educational records. Prior to its adoption, a foster youth's
social worker had to undergo the administrative and often times
consuming burden of requesting and obtaining a court order to
simply gain access to the youth's educational records to
determine their educational needs and what additional assistance
they would need to improve their educational outcomes."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
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No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/19/13)
All Saints Church Foster Care Project
Association of California School Administrators
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California School Boards Association
Children Now
Children's Law Center of California
Children's Rights Project at Public Counsel
Law Foundation of Silicon Valley
Legal Advocates for Children & Youth
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County Commission for Children and Families
Los Angeles County Office of Education
National Center for Youth Law
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/13/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Blumenfield,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Ammiano, Holden, Lowenthal, Vacancy
PQ:ej 6/19/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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