BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 951
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Date of Hearing: May 8, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 951 (Medina) - As Amended: April 10, 2013
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires a local education agency (LEA), if it
designates a liaison for homeless children and youths as
required under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act (Act), to ensure the liaison is properly trained regarding
the rights of these children to receive educational services.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the training to include an overview of the federal
Act and requires the LEA liaison to provide notice to homeless
families at schools and in the community of the educational
rights of homeless children and youth, including facilitating
access to school services such as transportation.
2)Requires the State Department of Education (SDE), as a
condition of receiving a federal grant fund under the Act, to
require an LEA that applies for a grant to designate a liaison
to train its school administrators and certificated and
classified staff at least once a year regarding the
educational rights of homeless children and youth to ensure
they are receiving the services they need in order to succeed
in school, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)GF/98 costs, likely between $200,000 and $400,000, to require
LEAs that receive federal homeless grant funds to provide
professional development to its staff, as specified. Under
this bill, this requirement would apply to current grantees.
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2)The 2012 Budget Act allocated $7.3 million in federal funds
for the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act,
including approximately $200,000 in one-time carryover funds.
Federal law requires at least 75% of these funds be
allocated to LEAs, with the remaining to be utilized by SDE
for state level activities. This funding was allocated to 83
LEAs based on a sliding funding scale as measured by the
number of homeless children an LEA enrolls, with a maximum
grant award of $220,000 over a three-year period.
COMMENTS
1)Background . Homeless youth generally refers to unaccompanied
minors ages 12 through 17 who are living apart from their
parents or legal guardians, and young adults ages 18 through
24 who are economically and/or emotionally detached from their
families and are experiencing homelessness or living in
unstable living situations. This definition also includes
children sharing housing due to economic hardships (e.g., in
shelters, motels, etc.). According to the California Homeless
Youth Project, "Based on the national survey estimates and
California's youth population, it is likely that 200,000 youth
under the age of 18, and thousands of 18-24 year olds, are
homeless for one or more days during a year."
2)Purpose . The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act,
reauthorized in January 2002, protects the educational rights
of children and youths experiencing homelessness. The Act
allocates funding to states on a formula basis and authorizes
LEAs that enroll a minimum of 50 homeless youth (COEs are
exempt from this minimum) to apply for a supplemental,
competitive grant. Portions of this law apply to all LEAs
with homeless youth, regardless if they receive a grant.
The intent of the federal law is to make certain homeless
students have equal access to the same free, appropriate
public education-including a public preschool education-that
is provided to other students. Homeless students have the
right to enroll in and attend school, participate fully in the
school program, and meet the same academic achievement
standards to which all students are held.
According to the author, "Although California has made
progress in implementing the Act, even school districts whose
policies comply with the [federal law] may not have conducted
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ongoing trainings for school personnel such as registrars,
secretaries, counselors, and administrators. This factor may
lead to lack of knowledge about homeless youth and how to best
serve them, and may lead school personnel to turn homeless
students away. Since California has no state law, regulation,
or policy that requires school personnel to participate in
trainings, it is unclear how many school personnel have
received professional development on the Act."
3)Is this bill necessary ? The Act requires every LEA
(regardless if it receives funding) to designate an
appropriate staff member as a liaison for students in homeless
situations. These liaisons are required to ensure the rights
of homeless children and youths are protected.
The federal act requires state grants to be used "to develop
and implement professional development programs for school
personnel to heighten their awareness of, and capacity to
respond to, specific problems in the education of homeless
children and youths."
Federal statute also requires state plans to include: "A
description of programs for school personnel (including
principals, attendance officers, teachers, enrollment
personnel, and pupil services personnel) to heighten the
awareness of such personnel of the specific needs of runaway
and homeless youths." Likewise, LEAs that receive federal
funds may use these funds to provide professional development
to its personnel to "heighten the understanding and
sensitivity of such personnel to the needs of homeless
children and youths, the rights of such children and youths?"
The requirements of this bill related to establishing homeless
liaisons and providing training to LEA personnel are included
in the federal statute. The need for establishing these
requirements in state statute is not clear.
Furthermore, this bill's requirements may exceed federal law.
For example, under federal law, LEAs are only authorized to
provide professional development to its personnel. This
measure requires the training to occur as a condition of
receiving federal funding. This requirement may lead to an
LEA filing a state reimbursable mandate claim for the higher
level of service it now must provide under a state law for a
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federal program (i.e., the requirement to provide training).
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081