BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 224|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 224
Author: Jones-Sawyer (D)
Amended: 9/3/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 9-0, 6/24/15
AYES: Liu, Runner, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning,
Pan, Vidak
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/23/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Pupils: educational liaison for foster children:
notice of educational rights of foster children
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill requires the California Department of
Education to develop a standardized notice of educational rights
of foster youth, post the notice on its website, and provide the
notice to foster youth liaisons, foster youth, parents or
educational rights holders.
Senate Floor Amendments of 9/3/15 avoid chaptering problems with
AB 379 (Gordon), SB 238 (Mitchell and Beall), and SB 316
(Mitchell).
ANALYSIS:
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Page 2
Existing law:
1)Establishes rights for youth who are in foster care, as
follows:
a) Be educated in the least restrictive environment and
have equal access to academic resources, services, and
extracurricular activities, including interscholastic
athletics. (Education Code § 48850)
b) Attend a regular public school when residing in a
licensed children's institution, except under specified
circumstances. (EC § 48853)
c) Remain in his or her school of origin when a new
placement occurs, and while the resolution of a dispute
regarding educational placement is pending. (EC § 48853
and § 48853.5)
d) Be promptly transferred between schools and have
educational records transferred within two business days,
and be immediately enrolled in a new school, even if he or
she has outstanding fees, fines, textbooks, or money due to
the prior school, or is unable to produce clothing or
records required for enrollment. (EC § 48853.5 and §
49069.5)
e) Be deemed to have met residency requirements for the
purpose of participation in interscholastic sports and
other extracurricular activities. (EC § 48850)
f) Receive full or partial credit for coursework
satisfactorily completed at another school, even if he or
she hasn't completed the entire course, and not be required
to retake some or all of a course he or she has taken at
another school. (EC § 49069.5 and § 51225.2)
g) Be exempt from local graduation requirements which
exceed state requirements. (EC § 51225.1)
h) Not have grades and credits be lowered as a result of a
placement change or court appearance. (EC § 49069.5)
i) Have a meeting with specified personnel present when a
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Page 3
local educational agency (LEA) proposes a change of
placement due to expulsion. (EC § 48911 and § 48915.5)
j) Among other rights, to live in a safe, healthy, and
comfortable home where he or she is treated with respect,
be free from physical, sexual, emotional, or other abuse,
or corporal punishment, receive adequate and healthy food,
and adequate clothing, make and receive confidential
telephone calls and send and receive unopened mail, attend
school and participate in extracurricular, cultural, and
personal enrichment activities, consistent with the child's
age and developmental level, with minimal disruptions to
school attendance and educational stability, at 16 years of
age or older to have access to existing information
regarding the educational options available, and have
access to age-appropriate, medically accurate information
about reproductive health care, the prevention of unplanned
pregnancy, and the prevention and treatment of sexually
transmitted infections at 12 years of age or older.
(Welfare and Institutions Code § 16001.9)
1)Requires each LEA to designate a staff person as the
educational liaison for foster youth, and requires that person
to ensure and facilitate the proper educational placement,
enrollment in school, and checkout from school of foster
youth, and to ensure proper transfer of credits, records, and
grades when students change schools or school districts. (EC
§ 48853.5)
2)Requires the Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsperson to
produce a poster delineating the rights of foster children and
youth, and post it in specified foster care settings. (Health
and Safety Code § 1530.91)
This bill:
1)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE), in
collaboration with the California Foster Youth Education Task
Force (Task Force), to develop a standardized notice of
existing educational rights of foster youth, including
information about the process for foster youth to file a
complaint.
2)Requires any version of the notice prepared for use by foster
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youth to also include, to the greatest extent practicable,
existing rights that are not specific to education. Requires
the CDE to consult with the Foster Care Ombudsperson if rights
that are not specific to education are included in the notice.
3)Requires the CDE to post the notice on its website.
4)Includes double-jointing language relative to SB 200 (Lara,
Chapter 174, Statutes of 2015).
Background
Foster Youth Education Task Force. This bill requires the CDE
to consult with the Task Force to develop a notice of
educational rights of students in foster care. The Task Force
was established in 2004 and consists of representatives of more
than 35 organizations, including foster youth advocates, and
representatives of state and local agencies, postsecondary
education institutions, and LEAs. [http://cfyetf.org/]
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, anticipated
costs to the CDE between $15,000 and $20,000 General Fund for
staff time to develop the notice and provide technical
assistance to the field.
SUPPORT: (Verified9/3/15)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified9/3/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 4/23/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang, Chau,
Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
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Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Salas
Prepared by:Lynn Lorber / ED. / (916) 651-4105
9/4/15 18:11:01
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