SB 177, as amended, Liu. Homeless Youth Education Success Act.
Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to ensure that all pupils in foster care and those who are homeless, as defined, have a meaningful opportunity to meet state pupil academic achievement standards, and requires educators, juvenile courts, and certain other persons to work together to, among other things, ensure that each pupil has access to the academic resources, services, and extracurricular and enrichment activities that are available to all pupils. Existing law requires a foster child who changes residences pursuant to a court order or decision of a child welfare worker to be immediately deemed to meet all residency requirements for participation in interscholastic sports or other extracurricular activities.
This bill would require a homeless child or youth, as defined, to also be immediately deemed to meet those residency
requirements. The bill would require public schools and county offices of education to immediately enroll a homeless child or youth seeking enrollment, except as provided, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would require thebegin delete State Interagency Team for Children and Youthend deletebegin insert State Department of Education and the State Department of Social Services to identify representatives from other state agencies that have experience in homeless youth issuesend insert to developbegin delete certainend delete policies and practices relating to homeless children and youths, asbegin delete defined, andend deletebegin insert defined. The
bill would require the selected representativesend insert to present the policies and practices to the State Department ofbegin insert Education and the State Department ofend insert Social Services to be considered for adoption.
The bill would require a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths designated pursuant to federal law to ensure that public notice of the educational rights of homeless children and youths, as defined, is disseminated in schools within the liaison’s local educational agency that provide services pursuant to specified federal law.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
2Homeless Youth Education Success Act.
Section 48850 of the Education Code is amended to
4read:
(a) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that
6all pupils in foster care and those who are homeless, as defined by
7the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C.
8Sec. 11301 et seq.), have a meaningful opportunity to meet the
9challenging state pupil academic achievement standards to which
10all pupils are held. In fulfilling their responsibilities to these pupils,
11educators, county placing agencies, care providers, advocates, and
12the juvenile courts shall work together to maintain stable school
13placements and to ensure that each pupil is placed in the least
P3 1restrictive educational programs, and has access to the academic
2resources, services, and extracurricular and enrichment activities
3that are available
to all pupils, including, but not necessarily limited
4to, interscholastic sports administered by the California
5Interscholastic Federation. In all instances, educational and school
6placement decisions shall be based on the best interests of the child
7and shall consider, among other factors, educational stability and
8the opportunity to be educated in the least restrictive educational
9setting necessary to achieve academic progress.
10(2) A foster child who changes residences pursuant to a court
11order or decision of a child welfare worker or a homeless child or
12youth shall be immediately deemed to meet all residency
13requirements for participation in interscholastic sports or other
14extracurricular activities.
15(3) (A) Pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless
16
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.), public schools,
17including charter schools, and county offices of education shall
18immediately enroll a homeless child or youth seeking enrollment
19except where the enrollment would be in conflict with subdivision
20(d) of Section 47605.
21(B) begin deleteThe State Interagency Team for Children and Youth shall end delete
22begin insertThe department and the State Department of Social Services shall
23identify representatives from other state agencies that have
24experience in homeless youth issues to end insertdevelop policies and
25practices to support homeless children and youths and to ensure
26that child abuse and neglect reporting requirements do not create
27barriers
to the school enrollment and attendance of homeless
28children or youths, including, but not limited to, ensuring that a
29pupil who is a homeless child or youth is not reported to law
30enforcement by school personnel if the sole reason for the report
31is the pupil’s homelessness.begin delete The State Interagency Team for begin insert The selected representatives end insertshall present the
32Children and Youthend delete
33policies and practices to thebegin insert department and theend insert State Department
34of Social Services to be considered for adoption.
35(b) Every county office of education shall make available to
36agencies that place children in
licensed children’s institutions
37information on educational options for children residing in licensed
38children’s institutions within the jurisdiction of the county office
39of education for use by the placing agencies in assisting parents
40and foster children to choose educational placements.
P4 1(c) For purposes of individuals with exceptional needs residing
2in licensed children’s institutions, making a copy of the annual
3service plan, prepared pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 56205,
4available to those special education local plan areas that have
5revised their local plans pursuant to Section 56836.03 shall meet
6the requirements of subdivision (b).
7(d) For purposes of this section, “homeless child or youth” and
8“homeless children and youths” are defined in Section 11434a(2)
9of
Title 42 of the United States Code.
Section 48852.5 is added to the Education Code, to
11read:
(a) Pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento
13Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.), a local
14educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths
15designated pursuant to Section 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) of Title 42 of
16the United States Code, shall ensure that public notice of the
17educational rights of homeless children and youths is disseminated
18in schools within the liaison’s local educational agency that provide
19services pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless
20Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.).
21(b) For purposes of this section, “homeless children and youths”
22is defined in Section 11434a(2) of Title 42 of the United States
23Code.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
25this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
26local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
27pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
284 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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