BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 854|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 854
Author: Weber (D)
Amended: 8/31/15 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 8-0, 7/15/15
AYES: Liu, Runner, Block, Hancock, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning,
Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Pan
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/2/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Educational services: pupils in foster care
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill, an urgency measure, restructures the
existing Foster Youth Services program by shifting the primary
function from direct services provided by county offices of
education and six school districts, to a program of coordination
to assist school districts in meeting their statutory obligation
to improve the educational outcomes of foster youth pursuant to
the Local Control Funding Formula.
ANALYSIS:
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Existing law:
1)Provides funding for the instruction, counseling, tutoring and
related services for foster youth to the following unified
school districts and consortia that have successfully operated
foster youth services program sites: Elk Grove, Mount Diablo,
Sacramento City, San Juan, and Paramount, and the
Placer-Nevada consortium. (Education Code § 42920)
2)Authorizes any county office of education, or consortium of
county offices of education, (in addition to the six program
sites listed above) to apply to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction for grant funding to operate an education-based
foster youth services (FYS) program to provide educational and
support services for foster youth who reside in a licensed
foster home or county-operated juvenile detention facility. A
FYS program is authorized to prescribe the methodology for
determining which youth may be served, including serving
specific age groups, serving youth in specific geographic
areas with the highest concentration of foster youth, or
serving the youth with the greatest academic need. (EC §
42921)
3)Requires each FYS program to have at least one person
identified as the foster youth educational services
coordinator, who is to facilitate the provision of educational
services to any foster child in the county who is under the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court who is placed in a licensed
foster home or county-operated juvenile detention facility.
Existing law specifies the responsibilities of the foster
youth educational services coordinator.
4)Requires each school district operating a foster youth
services (FYS) program to report, by January 1 of
even-numbered years, to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (SPI) any information required by the SPI.
Existing law requires the SPI to report, by February 15 of
even-numbered years, to the Legislature and Governor on the
FYS program, as specified.
5)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to
form an advisory committee to make recommendations regarding
the allocation of available funds to applicant school
districts. (EC § 42925)
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This bill, an urgency measure:
1)Reestablishes the Foster Youth Services (FYS) program as the
Foster Youth Services Coordinating (FYSC) program, beginning
with the 2015-16 fiscal year, administered by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), to provide
supplemental funding to county offices of education or a
consortium of county offices of education. This bill requires
the SPI to be responsible for all of the following:
a) Monitoring implementation of the FYSC program.
b) Facilitating data sharing and reporting necessary to
meet the requirements of this bill.
c) Reviewing a county office of education's local
control and accountability plan for any information that
describes their services for foster youth.
2)Requires a FYSC program to meet minimum standards established by
the SPI, and are required to meet those minimum standards
annually as a condition of continued funding.
3)Provides that the allocation for any county office of education
or consortium of county offices, for the 2015-16 fiscal year,
is to be no less than the amount allocated to that county or
consortium in the 2014-15 fiscal year, including the
allocation amounts of the six core school districts.
4)Requires the SPI, by October 31, 2015, to develop an allocation
formula to determine the allocation amounts for which county
office of education or consortium of county offices may be
eligible. Requires the SPI, within 30 days of developing the
allocation formula, to submit the allocation formula to the
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature
and the Department of Finance for review. Requires the
Department of Finance to approve the allocation formula within
30 days of submission by the SPI. Authorizes the allocation
formula to be revised annually upon submission to the
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature
and approval by the Department of Finance within 30 days of
submission by the SPI. Authorizes the SPI to include
additional criteria in the allocation formula, but requires at
a minimum the following criteria to be applied to the
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allocation formula.
a) The number of students in foster care in the county.
b) The number of school districts in the county.
5)Requires the SPI, upon approval from the Department of Finance,
to use up to 5% of funding allocated for the FYSC program to
contract with a local educational agency to administer the
FYSC program, including providing technical assistance to
county offices of education or consortiums of county offices
of education in the implementation of the FYSC program.
6)Conditions the operation of the FYSC program with the provision
of funding for this purpose in the annual Budget Act or
another enacted statute.
7)Strikes reference to the six "core" school districts that have
administered and received funds for the prior FYS program,
thereby deleting the existing authority for these school
districts to directly receive funding for the FYSC program.
8)Expands the revamped FYSC program to extend eligibility to all
foster youth, including those placed in kinship care, by
aligning the definition of "foster youth" for purposes of the
FYSC program with the definition of "foster youth" for
purposes of the Local Control Funding Formula.
Role of county offices of education
9)Requires, beginning with the 2015-16 fiscal year, a county
office of education or consortium of county offices of
education to coordinate with school districts within its
jurisdiction and ensure those districts are providing
services to foster youth as specified in the county's foster
youth services coordinating plan (see # 12) with the purpose
of ensuring positive educational outcomes.
10)Requires a county office of education, or a consortium of
county offices of education, receiving FYCS funds and the
school districts within the county to coordinate services to
ensure that for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 fiscal years, the
level of direct services provided to support foster youth is
not less than what was provided in the 2014-15 fiscal year
through the prior Foster Youth Services program. To meet
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this requirement, authorizes services to be provided through
one or any combination of state funds, including the Local
Control Funding Formula, federal, local, or other funds.
11)Requires each county office of education with a FYSC program,
as a condition of receiving funds and to the extent possible,
to develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding,
contract, or formal agreement with the county child welfare
agency to leverage federal funds and any other funds that may
be used to specifically address the educational needs of
students in foster care, or explain annually in writing why a
memorandum of understanding is not practical or feasible.
Encourages each FYCS program to consider leveraging other
local funding opportunities to support the educational
success of students in foster care.
12)Requires, as a condition of receiving FYCS program funds, a
county office of education, or a consortium of county offices
of education, to develop and implement a foster youth
services coordinating plan for the purpose of establishing
guiding principles and protocols to provide supports for
foster youth that are aligned with the established priorities
(see #26). The plan must include, to the extent possible,
the establishment of on-going collaboration with local
education agencies, county child welfare agencies, and county
probation departments to determine the proper educational
placement of the foster youth, as specified.
13)States legislative intent that a county office of education, in
the development and adoption of its local control and
accountability plan, include information specific to the
transition from the prior Foster Youth Services program (where
six school districts were directly funded), when describing
the coordination of services for foster youth as currently
required for the local control and accountability plan.
Role of school districts
14)Authorizes a school district, if it certifies that it is unable
to provide services that are established as needed and
identified by the school district, to enter into a temporary
agreement with the FYSC program to provide those services.
15)States legislative intent that school districts include
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information specific to the transition requirement for the
2015-16 and 2016-17 fiscal years (see #7) in their local
control and accountability plan when describing services for
foster youth.
Educational placement
16)Requires the primary goal of the collaboration to be to minimize
changes in school placement by supporting the placement of
foster youth in regular public schools (rather than in
alternative educational settings).
17)Requires the FYSC program, if it is in the best interests of a
foster youth, to support local education agencies in
implementing existing statutes, such as ensuring transfers are
done at an educationally appropriate time, educational records
are quickly transferred, appropriate partial credits are
awarded, and the foster youth is quickly enrolled in
appropriate classes.
18)Requires a county office of education to establish policies and
procedures to ensure educational placement for a foster youth
is not delayed, including facilitating the establishment of an
individualized education program if applicable, and the
transfer of records, transcripts and other relevant
educational information.
19)Requires LEAs, county welfare agencies, and county probation
departments, in determining the appropriate educational
placement of a foster youth, to consult with the following
individuals as appropriate: an educational rights holder,
caregiver, social worker, teacher, counselor, court-appointed
special advocate, other stakeholders and the student.
Provides that the purpose of the consultation is to ensure all
educational programmatic options are considered, including
English learner programs, special education, advanced
placement, and career technical education.
20)Authorizes a FYSC program to pay for the cost of transportation
to support the existing requirement that foster youth be
allowed to remain in their school of origin.
Coordination and oversight
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21)Requires each FYSC program to establish a local interagency
Executive Advisory Council, and authorize the council to
include representatives from the county child welfare agency,
the county probation department, local educational agencies,
local postsecondary educational institutions, and community
organizations. Provides that the foster youth educational
services coordinator is a permanent member of the council.
Authorizes the Executive Advisory Council to include, if
possible, foster youth, caregivers, educational rights
holders, dependency attorneys, court representatives,
court-appointed special advocates, and other interested
stakeholders.
22)Requires the Executive Advisory Council to regularly review the
recommendations of the foster youth services plan, and
authorizes a member of the Executive Advisory Council or the
foster youth educational services coordinator to request the
SPI to mediate a solution in the event of a disagreement.
23)Encourages a FYSC program to first provide services to students
in foster care who reside in a group home, institutional
setting, or other placement with students with high academic
needs, as determined by the local Executive Advisory Council.
24)Deletes the existing requirement that the SPI form an advisory
committee to make recommendations regarding the allocation of
funding to school districts.
Miscellaneous
25)Requires that priority be given to foster youth who are living
in and out of home placements.
26)Specifies that the report that is currently required to be
provided to the Legislature is to be provided to the
appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature,
modifies the dates the reports are due, expands
recommendations to include those regarding the effectiveness
of the program, and modifies outcome data as specified.
27)Deletes all specified responsibilities of the local educational
agency foster youth educational services coordinator, and
instead places the responsibility for meeting the requirements
of this bill with county offices of education operating a
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foster youth services coordinating program.
28)Clarifies that charter schools are included in the definition of
"local educational agency" for the purposes of the FYSC
program.
29)States legislative intent to establish criteria to determine the
allocation of funds to foster youth services coordinating
programs, including criteria that allows for school districts
to receive funding for this program.
30)States legislative findings and declarations relative to the
educational needs of students who are in foster care and the
benefits of interagency collaboration.
Comments
Consistent with the Budget. SB 97 (Committee on Budget and
Fiscal Review, Ch. 11, 2015) among other things, appropriates
$25,379,000 to fund foster youth services pursuant to
legislation enacted in 2015 that aligns program requirements to
reflect the establishment of the Local Control Funding Formula.
AB 854 is the legislation that modifies foster youth services
program requirements to reflect the Local Control Funding
Formula and associated responsibilities of school districts to
directly provide services to foster youth.
Local Control Funding Formula and foster youth. AB 97
(Committee on Budget, Ch. 47, Statutes of 2013) established the
local control funding formula and provides local educational
agencies with additional funding to serve foster youth. Local
educational agencies are required to identify ways in which they
will improve the educational outcomes of foster youth in their
local control and accountability plans (LCAPs). Three recent
reports have examined the district LCAP goals and strategies to
support foster youth:
1)A 2015 report commissioned by the National Youth Law Center and
conducted by SRI, International noted that while the local
control funding formula (LCFF) "has begun to shine a bright
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
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found that "on balance, initial LCAPs did not recognize the
needs of foster youth."
2)A 2015 report from Public Counsel, which focused on school
climate and foster youth as reflected in LCAPs, found that
"districts have fallen short of collecting and analyzing
baseline data, and incorporating in their LCAPs specific
interventions to improve school climate for foster youth" and
that "few school districts identified unique
attendance-related goals or actions for foster youth."
3)A 2014 report by The Education Trust-West on the first year of
LCFF implementation found that "most districts do not directly
and distinctly address the needs of foster youth in their
first-year LCAPs, apart from saying they will receive the same
services as all students." One section of that report written
by FosterEd (an initiative of the National Center for Youth
Law,) reports that "the vast majority of district LCAPs [of
the 10 districts with the largest enrollment of foster youth]
do not include the unique interventions and infrastructure
elements critical to help foster youth. However, a few
districts - both large and small - have well-developed and
promising plans for closing the foster youth achievement gap.
Los Angeles Unified School District's (LAUSD) plan is
particularly noteworthy for the large district investment in
foster youth. LAUSD has allocated $9.9 million to hire 75
foster youth counselors and school social workers specifically
responsible for identifying the student's educational
strengths and needs in addition to monitoring educational
progress."
NOTE: See Senate Education Committee analysis for a full
discussion of this bill.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill
imposes costs to the California Department of Education of about
$274,000 and two positions to implement this bill. If enacted,
this bill would implement the $25.4 million Proposition 98
allocation included in the Budget Act of 2015 to fund foster
youth services.
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SUPPORT: (Verified9/2/15)
Los Angeles County Office of Education
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/31/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 79-0, 6/2/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, 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, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez
Prepared by:Lynn Lorber / ED. / (916) 651-4105
9/2/15 19:25:48
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