BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1068 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 17, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 1068 (Bloom) - As Amended: April 1, 2013 Policy Committee: Education Vote:7-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes SUMMARY This bill establishes the following policies related to the release of directory and record information of homeless children: 1)Prohibits directory information from being released for children identified as homeless, unless a parent, or pupil accorded parental rights (as identified under federal privacy law), has provides written consent that directory information may be released. 2)Requires access to pupil records relevant to legitimate educational interests of the requester to be provided to the following: a) A pupil 14 years or older who meets both of the following criteria: i) The pupil is a homeless child or youth as defined under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. ii) The pupil is an unaccompanied youth as defined under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. b) An individual who completes specified information on the Caregiver's Authorization Affidavit and signs the affidavit for the purpose of enrolling a minor in school. FISCAL EFFECT GF/98 state reimbursable mandated costs, between $250,000 and AB 1068 Page 2 $500,000, to local education agencies to comply with this measure. These costs are associated with staff time necessary to revise directory and pupil record procedures and to ensure proper documentation is received regarding the release of pupil information, as specified. 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.). An unaccompanied homeless youth is a youth not in the physical custody of a parent or guardian. 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." Existing law defines directory information as including the names, addresses, telephone numbers, date of birth, email addresses of enrolled pupils. Statute further requires a school district to adopt a policy identifying those categories of directory information that may be released, including who is able to receive this information. Furthermore, a pupil's parent or guardian can notify the district that his or her child's directory information not be released. Current law prohibits a school district from permitting access to pupil records to a person without written parental consent or judicial order, except as specified. Exceptions to this prohibition include school employees for the purpose of a legitimate educational purpose, federal and state agencies for the purposes of auditing or evaluating an educational program, and a district attorney for the purpose of specified actions against a pupil, as specified. 2)Purpose . According to the author, "Unaccompanied homeless AB 1068 Page 3 youth need all of the help they can get navigating their situation, including support from a variety of providers who can offer them tutoring services, legal advice, and other enrichment programs. In order to best help these youth, these support services need to have access to the youth's educational records. However, current law does not allow for the unaccompanied homeless youth to consent to the disclosure of their records. This bill would allow these youth or their caregivers to access their educational records and consent to their disclosure to these organizations who may be able to help them." The author further states: "Another issue that homeless youth face is that their directory information (such as their address or photograph) can be released without their consent. In many cases, this can have harmful results, particularly when that youth has left an abusive situation, or their homelessness becomes known to their classmates and can result in stigmatization. This bill would also ensure that a homeless youth's directory information would not be released without their or their parent's consent." 3)The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act , reauthorized in January 2002, protects the educational rights of children and youths experiencing homelessness. The Act applies to all local educational agencies (LEAs) and includes a supplemental, competitive grant program of additional funding for LEAs. The intent of the 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 have the opportunity to meet the same challenging academic achievement standards to which all students are held. The law requires every LEA 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 2012 Budget Act allocated $7.3 million in federal funds for this program. AB 1068 Page 4 Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916) 319-2081