BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 177
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 177 (Liu)
As Amended August 5, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :39-0
HUMAN SERVICES 7-0 EDUCATION 7-0
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|Ayes:|Stone, Maienschein, |Ayes:|Buchanan, Olsen, Ch�vez, |
| |Ammiano, | |Gonzalez, Nazarian, |
| |Ian Calderon, Garcia, | |Weber, Williams |
| |Grove, Dickinson | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, | | |
| |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian | | |
| |Calderon, Campos, | | |
| |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, | | |
| |Hall, Holden, Linder, | | |
| |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Establishes the Homeless Youth Education Act.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that a homeless child or youth is immediately deemed
to meet all residency requirements for purposes of eligibility
to participate in interscholastic sports or other
extracurricular activities.
2)Pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act, requires all schools and school districts to
automatically enroll a homeless child or youth, unless it is a
charter school, as specified.
3)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) and the
California Department of Social Services (DSS) to identify
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representatives from other state agencies with experience in
homeless youth issues to develop policies and practices to
support homeless children and to ensure that child abuse and
neglect reporting requirements do not create barriers to the
enrollment of children who are homeless.
4)Requires the representatives to present policies and practices
to the CDE and DSS for implementation or dissemination.
5)Defines a "homeless child or youth" as defined by the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Act.
6)Requires school district homeless education liaisons to ensure
that a public notice of the educational rights for homeless
youth, as established by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act, is
disseminated in schools.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Costs potentially in excess of $100,000 (General Fund (GF))
for the workload associated with CDE, DSS, and other
departments with expertise in homelessness to convene a
workgroup to develop policies and practices as it pertains to
homeless children and youth.
2)Unknown, potentially moderate Prop 98/GF costs for the
additional requirements placed on the LEA's liaisons for
homeless youth.
3)Unknown cost pressure associated with implementing the
policies and practices developed by the workgroup. (Prop
98/GF)
COMMENTS :
Federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento)
McKinney-Vento protects the educational rights of children and
youth experiencing homelessness. The Act applies to all local
educational agencies (LEAs) and includes a supplemental,
competitive grant program of additional funding to fulfill its
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intent and requirements.
The intent of the law is to make certain that homeless students
have equal access to the same free, appropriate public education
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 Act also requires every LEA to designate an appropriate
staff member as a liaison for homeless students. These liaisons
are required to ensure that the rights of homeless children and
youth are protected.
Homeless Youth in California : According to the California
Research Bureau's (CRB) Homeless Youth Project (HYP), based upon
national survey estimates and California's youth population, it
is estimated that there are 200,000 youth under the age of 18
and potentially thousands of persons aged 18 - 24 who are
homeless.
Although this is an approximation of the number of homeless
youth in California, the number is likely to be greater given
the difficult challenges involved with the identification of
homeless youth. For purpose of this population, homeless youth
are typically considered to be minors age 17 and under, and
18-24-year-olds who are economically and/or emotionally detached
from their families and have an unstable and inadequate living
environment, or are periodically homeless or homeless.
Established by the CRB in 2006 in collaboration with the Council
on Youth Relations (CYR), the HYP is a multi-year research and
policy initiative tasked with highlighting and raising awareness
about the homeless youth population and its challenges, and
presenting solutions to help address California's homeless youth
population.
The causes of youth homelessness are varied and complex. They
range from runaway youth to emancipated youth who have fallen
through the cracks of the child welfare system, to disengaged
youth due to the lack of an adult figure in their life or a lack
of access to appropriate services. Due to their unique
circumstances, research has shown that homeless youth are at a
greater risk of physical and sexual abuse, sexual exploitation,
alcohol and drug abuse, mental health disabilities, and death.
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Additionally, the social, emotional, medical, economic and
personal challenges homeless youth face, when coupled with the
lack of effective, coordinated services to help them find and
keep stable housing as well as reach self-sufficiency, can lead
to ongoing and chronic cycles of homelessness throughout their
lifetime.
Educational Outcomes for Homeless Youth : According to the
National Center for Homeless Education (NCHE), funded by the
United States Department of Education, California has the
highest number of homeless youth enrolled in school than any
other state. In the most recently published Education for
Homeless Children and Youth Program Data Collection Summary,
released in June, 2011, which is an annual comparison report of
three years of homeless education data collected under
McKinney-Vento, homeless youth are much more likely to perform
below grade level and need additional supportive services such
as counseling, health care and immunizations, and
transportation. Specifically, of those homeless youth who
participated in state assessments and mathematics, 48% performed
below proficiency in English language arts and 50% performed
below proficiency in mathematics. Further, within these
numbers, there is a disproportionate number of homeless youth
with special needs who are designated as being limited English
proficient or are migrant children.
Need for the Bill : Like many children who face difficult and
significant challenges at a young age, such as interactions with
the child welfare system, suffering from abuse or neglect, or
experiencing destitute poverty, homeless youth encounter
numerous unique barriers to accessing needed programs and
services that can improve their outcomes in life. Principle
among them is equal access to a quality education and the
associated benefits of interscholastic and extracurricular
activities.
Although it is difficult to estimate, according to the NCHE,
using the most recent data available from the 2009-10 school
year, California's homeless youth population grew by 30% between
the 2004-05 and 2009-10 school years. Unfortunately, although
LEAs can draw down additional funding under McKinney-Vento, not
all LEAs receive these funds. Homeless youth have long been
documented to struggle academically and socially in school due
to the struggles they face as a result of their homelessness.
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Oftentimes focused on where their next meal will come from or
where they will safely sleep each night rather than being
concerned with their homework that is due the next day, it is
understandable that many children who are homeless are unable to
meet their academic potential.
This bill makes a modest yet positive step towards utilizing
existing state and local expertise and available data and best
practices, born from the work funded by McKinney-Vento and other
efforts, to develop policies and practices that could further
benefit homeless youth. At a time when the demand for
publicly-funded programs and services far outweighs the supply
of available funding, this bill could help improve and
potentially expand needed educational support for homeless
children and youth.
Analysis Prepared by : Chris Reefe / HUM. S. / (916) 319-2089
FN: 0002177