BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 224
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB
224 (Jones-Sawyer)
As Amended September 3, 2015
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(April 23, |SENATE: |40-0 |(September 8, |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY: Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to
develop a standardized notice of educational rights of a foster
youth and post the notice on its Web site.
The Senate amendments:
1)Delete requirements that the notice be disseminated or posted in a
public area at schools, and delete the requirement that the notice
be provided to students in foster care and their guardians or
education rights holders at the time of enrollment.
2)Require the notice to be made available to liaisons by posting it
on the CDE's Web site.
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3)Include chaptering out amendments.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes a number of rights for students in foster care. Among
them are rights to immediate enrollment, rights to have
educational records transferred in a timely manner, rights to
remain in students' schools of origin, rights to exemptions from
locally adopted graduation requirements in excess of state
requirements, and the right to have partial credit awarded for
coursework.
2)Requires all LEAs to designate a staff person as the educational
liaison for foster children, and requires that person to ensure
and facilitate the proper educational placement, enrollment in
school, and checkout from school of foster children, and to ensure
proper transfer of credits, records, and grades when students
change schools or school districts.
3)Requires that public notice of the educational rights of students
who are homeless to be disseminated in schools.
4)Establishes, in the Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 16160
to 16167, the Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsperson within
the California Department of Social Services. The Ombudsperson is
responsible, among other things, for disseminating information
about the rights of foster youth.
5)Establishes, in the Welfare and Institutions Code Section 16001.9,
certain rights of children and youth in foster care, sometimes
known as a "foster youth bill of rights." Among them are the
rights to a) attend school and participate in extracurricular,
cultural, and personal enrichment activities, with minimal
disruptions to school attendance and educational stability, and b)
at 16 years of age or older, have access to existing information
regarding the educational options available, including the
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coursework necessary for vocational and postsecondary educational
programs, and information regarding financial aid for
postsecondary education.
6)Requires the 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 Section
1530.91).
FISCAL EFFECT: 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.
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. The author states, "Over the last decade,
California has been a leader in enacting legislation to protect the
education rights of foster youth, including by ensuring their right
to remain in their school of origin, to speedy transfer of records
and to partial credits, extra support if they are facing
disciplinary action, to have equal access to education services in
the least restrictive environment, and to modified graduation
requirements. Unfortunately, far too many foster youth and their
education rights holders and foster parents are unaware of these
protections."
This bill would help ensure these youth, who must often advocate for
themselves in the education setting, are provided notice about their
basic educational rights at the time of enrollment and also in a
public area at their school site. Such public notice would also
help educate school staff about the needs and rights of foster youth
and increase their likelihood of school success."
The "Invisible Achievement Gap." A 2013 report by the Center for
the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd, titled "The Invisible
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Achievement Gap," identified the disparity in academic outcomes for
students in foster care relative to their peers. It found, based on
2009-10 educational data, that students in foster care represented a
subgroup distinct in many ways from other low-income students.
Among the findings in this report were that foster youth:
1)Have among the lowest scores in English/Language Arts
2)Have the lowest scores in mathematics of any subgroup
3)Have the highest dropout rate, nearly three times the rate of
other students
4)Have the lowest high school graduation rate of any subgroup
The report also found that students in foster care are more likely
to change schools during the school year, more likely to be enrolled
in low-performing schools, less likely to participate in state
assessments, and significantly more likely to be enrolled in
nontraditional schools.
Foster Youth Education Task Force. This bill requires the CDE to
work with the Foster Youth Education Task Force to develop a notice
of educational rights of students in foster care. The Foster Youth
Task Force was established in 2004 and consists of representatives
of more than 35 organizations. The Task Force works to "improve the
disparate educational outcomes for students in foster care."
Analysis Prepared by:
Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0002285
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