BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     AB 379


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          Date of Hearing:  March 25, 2015


                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION


                              Patrick O'Donnell, Chair


          AB 379  
          (Gordon) -As Amended March 17, 2015


          SUBJECT:  Foster youth:  complaint of noncompliance


          SUMMARY:  This bill makes complaints alleging violations of  
          certain educational rights afforded to students in foster care  
          and students who are homeless subject to the Uniform Complaint  
          Procedures (UCP), and establishes an expedited process for  
          complaints regarding certain rights and on behalf of certain  
          students.  This bill also places limits on the time students can  
          be educated in emergency shelters.  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Makes certain educational rights afforded to students in  
            foster care and students who are homeless (as noted) subject  
            to the UCP.  These include:


                 The requirement that a student in foster care who  
               resides in a licensed children's institution attend a  
               school operated by the local educational agency (LEA)  
               except under specified circumstances.


                 The requirement that LEAs allow students in foster care  
               to remain enrolled in their school of origin when a  
               placement change occurs.  








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                 The requirement that LEAs designate a staff person as  
               the educational liaison for foster children, who ensures  
               the proper educational placement and enrollment of  
               students, assists in school transfer, and coordinates with  
               other personnel regarding expulsion proceedings.


                 Requires that the transfer of a student in foster care  
               and his/her records between LEAs occur within two business  
               days of receipt of a transfer request.  


                 Requires that an LEA ensure that if a student in foster  
               care is absent due to a placement change made by the court  
               or placing agency, or a court required appearance or  
               activity, the student's grades and credits will not be  
               lowered due to this absence.


                 The requirement that LEAs accept and award full or  
               partial credit for coursework satisfactorily completed by  
               students in foster care or students who are homeless while  
               attending other schools, even if the students do not  
               complete an entire course.  The prohibition on an LEA  
               making such a student retake some or all of a course which  
               the student satisfactorily completed in another school, or  
               from retaking an "A to G" course.  The requirement that  
               when a student is awarded partial credit, he or she must be  
               enrolled in the same course in order to complete it.


                 The exemption of students in foster care (including  
               those whose court jurisdiction has been terminated) and  
               students who are homeless from any locally adopted  
               graduation requirements which are in excess of state  
               graduation requirements, unless the school district finds  
               that students are reasonably able to meet these  








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               requirements in time to graduate in four years.  The  
               requirement that school districts allow students who can  
               meet these graduation requirements in five years to stay  
               enrolled for a fifth year.  


                 The requirement that the educational liaison transfer  
               all academic and other records within two business days of  
               a foster child's request for enrollment.  


          1)Establishes an expedited complaint process for certain other  
            rights granted to students in foster care.  Under this  
            procedure, LEAs would be required, within five school days  
            (instead of 60 days) of receiving a complaint alleging a  
            violation of the rights below, to conduct a complete  
            investigation and prepare a written decision.  If these  
            decisions were to be appealed to the California Department of  
            Education (CDE), the Department would have 30 days to issue a  
            written decision (instead of 60 days to investigate and 60  
            days to send a written opinion).  The rights subject to this  
            expedited complaint process include:


                 The right of a student to remain in his/her school of  
               origin pending the resolution of a dispute regarding  
               educational placement. 


                 The requirement of immediate enrollment in a new school  
               of a student in foster care, even if the student has  
               outstanding fees, fines, textbooks, or money due to the  
               prior school, or is unable to produce clothing or records  
               (such as academic, medical, immunization, and residency  
               records) required for enrollment.  


                 The requirement that the educational liaison transfer  
               all academic and other records within two business days of  








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               a foster child's request for enrollment.  The educational  
               liaison from the prior school is required to provide all  
               requested records within two business days of receipt of  
               the request.


          1)Requires the expedited form of the UCP described above (5  
            school days for the LEA investigation and decision, and 30  
            days for the CDE to respond to an appeal) for complaints  
            regarding certain rights of students in foster care and who  
            are homeless who are in the final grading period of their  
            fourth year of high school, and for all other students  
            requires the LEA to conduct its investigation within 30 days  
            (instead of 60 days).  These rights include:


                 The exemption of students in foster care (including  
               those whose court jurisdiction has been terminated) and  
               students who are homeless from any locally adopted  
               graduation requirements which are in excess of state  
               graduation requirements, unless the school district finds  
               that students are reasonably able to meet these  
               requirements in time to graduate in four years.


                 The requirement that LEAs allow students who can meet  
               these graduation requirements in five years to stay  
               enrolled for a fifth year.  


                 The prohibitions on the transfer of students to other  
               schools in order to qualify them for exemption from local  
               graduation requirements.  


          1)Limits the amount of time a student can be educated in an  
            emergency shelter to five days, and specifies that the  
            determination of the "best interests" of the student in  
            educational placement is to be made by the parent, guardian,  








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            or other person holding educational rights for the student.   
            Makes complaints regarding these requirements subject to the  
            UCP.


          2)Requires that, if after an investigation either a local or  
            state agency decision finds that an LEA has violated a  
            student's right to remain in his or her school of origin  
            pending a dispute regarding school placement, and that  
            violation has resulted in an interruption in the student's  
            school attendance, the student shall be awarded "compensatory  
            educational services."


          3)Requires that information regarding the above requirements be  
            included in the annual notification required by the UCP.


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Grants certain educational rights (many of which are described  
            above) to students in foster care and those who are homeless.   
            In addition, current law deems students in foster care whose  
            residential placement has been changed, and those who are  
            homeless, to have met residency requirements for the purpose  
            of participation in interscholastic sports and other  
            extracurricular activities, grants certain rights in expulsion  
            proceedings, guarantees equal access to extracurricular  
            activities, and requires education in the least restrictive  
            environment.  Existing law also requires all LEAs to designate  
            a staff person to be the educational liaison for students in  
            foster care.


          2)Through regulation, requires LEAs to adopt uniform complaint  
            procedures through which the public can register complaints  
            regarding educational programs and rights.  (California Code  
            of Regulations, Title 5, Section 4600).  








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          3)Authorizes a modified complaint process known as "Williams  
            Complaints" through statute (Education Code § 35186) for  
            complaints regarding instructional materials, emergency or  
            urgent facilities conditions that pose a threat to the health  
            and safety of pupils, teacher vacancy or misassignment, and  
            instructional services provided to students who have not  
            passed the High School Exit Examination. Existing law also  
            authorizes complaints through the UCP for harassment,  
            intimidation, bullying, discrimination, unlawful pupil fees,  
            and violations of the law regarding Local Control  
            Accountability Plans (LCAPs).


          4)Establishes, in the Welfare and Institutions Code (Sections  
            16160-67), the Office of the State Foster Care Ombudsperson  
            within the California Department of Social Services.  The  
            Ombudsperson is responsible, among other things, for accepting  
            and resolving complaints relating to the rights (primarily  
            non-educational) of foster youth.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  The UCP has been determined to be a reimbursable  
          mandate by the Commission on State Mandates.  


          COMMENTS:  


          Need for the bill. According to the author, "Although foster  
          youth have possessed many [educational] rights for over ten  
          years, the reality is the education rights of foster youth are  
          routinely ignored. One reason for this is the lack of an  
          appropriate enforcement mechanism. Including foster youth  
          education rights in the California Department of Education's  
          Uniform Complaint Procedures will provide a way to enforce these  
          important-and too long ignored-rights."









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          The "Invisible Achievement Gap."  A 2013 report by the Center  
          for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd, titled "The  
          Invisible Achievement Gap," for the first time linked education  
          and child welfare data to identify the achievement gap 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:


                 have among the lowest scores in English-language arts 
                 have the lowest scores in mathematics of any subgroup


                 have the highest dropout rate, nearly three times the  
               rate of other students


                 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. 


          The 2013 legislation establishing Local Control Funding Formula  
          (Chapter 47, Statutes of 2013) recognized foster youth as a  
          special population of students requiring more attention, and  
          required LEAs to identify ways in which they will improve the  
          educational outcomes of these students in their Local Control  
          Accountability Plans (LCAPs).  A recent report commissioned by  
          the National Youth Law Center on the implementation of these  
          requirements noted that while "LCFF has begun to shine a bright  








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          light on the needs of foster youth," problems persist in the  
          areas of data sharing, the shortage of educational rights  
          holders, and compliance with the law regarding records transfer  
          and school enrollment, among others.  The report found that "on  
          balance, initial LCAPs did not recognize the needs of foster  
          youth."


          The UCP, Williams Complaints, and fee, bullying, and LCAP  
          complaints.  Required by federal law, the UCP was established in  
          1991 as a means of creating a "uniform system of complaint  
          processing" for educational programs. The authority for this  
          process is located in regulations, not state statute.


          These regulations require the adoption of the UCP by school  
          districts, county offices of education, charter schools  
          receiving federal funds, and local public or private agencies  
          which receive direct or indirect state funding to provide school  
          programs or special education or related services.  The UCP is  
          used for complaints regarding a number of state and federal  
          programs, including:    


                 Adult Education
                 After School Education and Safety
                 Agricultural Vocational Education
                 American Indian Education Centers and Early Childhood  
               Education Program Assessments
                 Child Care and Development
                 Child Nutrition
                 Foster Youth Services
                 No Child Left Behind Act (2001) programs, including  
               improving academic achievement, compensatory education,  
               limited English proficiency, and migrant education
                 Regional Occupational Centers and Programs
                 Special Education
                 State Preschool
                 Tobacco-Use Prevention Education








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          In addition, complaints may be filed under the UCP regarding  
          discrimination, harassment, bullying, intimidation, unlawful  
          pupil fees, certain charter school requirements, and violations  
          of the law establishing LCAPs.


          Complaints made under the UCP may be filed by an individual,  
          public agency, or organization.  Not all matters of educational  
          law are covered by the UCP (complaints regarding the federal  
          school lunch program, for example, are filed with the U.S.  
          Department of Agriculture), but LEAs may use the UCP if they so  
          choose to process some other complaints.  CDE monitors for  
          compliance with the UCP through its compliance monitoring  
          activities.


          The UCP process generally involves the following steps:


             a)   The filing of a complaint by an individual, agency, or  
               organization
             b)   The investigation and written response by the LEA within  
               60 days


             c)   If elected, an appeal by the complainant to the CDE  
               within 15 days of receiving the LEA response


             d)   The response by the CDE to the appeal, with the  
               investigation completed with 60 days 


             e)   If eligible and elected, a request for reconsideration  
               by the complainant or LEA within 35 days of receiving CDE's  
               response to the appeal









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             f)   A response by the CDE within 35 days



          A modified process for complaints was established by legislation  
          implementing part of the settlement of the Eliezer Williams, et  
          al., vs. State of California, et al. case (SB 2727, Chapter 903,  
          Statutes of 2004).  These complaints are known as "Williams  
          Complaints" and address specific conditions of education,  
          including instructional materials, emergency or urgent facility  
          conditions, and teacher vacancy or misassignment, as well as the  
          provision of services to students who have not passed the High  
          School Exit Examination (added by subsequent legislation).   
          These complaints may be filed anonymously.  LEAs are required to  
          remedy valid complaints within 30 days and report to  
          complainants within 45 days.  Except for complaints regarding  
          emergency facility issues, there is no right of appeal to the  
          CDE.


          Complaints regarding pupil fees, harassment, discrimination,  
          bullying, intimidation, LCAPs and some charter school  
          requirements generally follow the UCP, but differ slightly in  
          terms of timelines, anonymity of complainants, confidentiality,  
          and with whom a complaint can be filed.  

          UCP becoming less uniform.  The goal of the UCP was to create a  
          uniform process for complaints - presumably one which would be  
          easier and less costly to administer, and more transparent to  
          the public.  The requirements of this bill, while necessary in  
          the view of the author to ensure educational opportunity for  
          vulnerable students, continue the trend of modifying what was  
          intended to be a uniform process.  The Committee may wish to  
          consider that the UCP is becoming less uniform.


          Is a five day timeline workable?  Supporters of this bill argue  
          that prompt resolution of complaints is vital to the exercise of  








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          educational rights of foster youth, and that rights to immediate  
          enrollment and school placement are highly time-sensitive.  But  
          the Committee may wish to consider whether a five-day timeline  
          for an LEA to complete an investigation and issue a written  
          report is workable.  


          What are "compensatory educational services?"  This bill  
          requires that "compensatory educational services" be provided  
          when an LEA has violated a student's right to remain in his or  
          her school of origin pending a dispute regarding school  
          placement, and when that violation has resulted in an  
          interruption in the student's school attendance.  Such services  
          are sometimes awarded through Special Education complaints when  
          an LEA is found to have denied services to a student.


          This bill does not specify the purpose or scope of these  
          services.  To better guide the provision of services, staff  
          recommends that this term be defined to as follows:  "It is the  
          intent of the Legislature that these services be provided to  
          assist pupils in their transition to the school setting  
          following an interruption in school attendance, and to  
          compensate for missed instruction. Compensatory educational  
          services may include, but are not limited to, social-emotional  
          supports such as counseling, and academic supports including  
          tutoring and academic counseling."


          Need to retitle this article.  The title of the article amended  
          by this bill is "Educational Placement of Pupils Residing in  
          Licensed Children's Institutions," a name given in 1998 when the  
          article was created and consisted solely of provisions on that  
          topic.  Since then it has been amended numerous times and it now  
          pertains more broadly to students in foster care and those who  
          are homeless.  Staff recommends that it be renamed "Education of  
          Pupils in Foster Care and Pupils who are Homeless."










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          Related legislation.  AB 224 (Jones-Sawyer) requires that a  
          notice of educational rights of foster youth be created and  
          disseminated.  AB 854 (Webber) allows the Foster Youth Services  
          program to provide educational support to students in relative  
          care and establishes a State Foster Youth Services Director  
          within the CDE.


          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:




          Support


          Alliance for Children's Rights (sponsor)


          AdvoKids


          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,  
          AFL-CIO


          California Alliance of Child and Family Services


          John Burton Foundation for Children without Homes




          Opposition


          None received









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          Analysis Prepared by:Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087