BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1166 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1166 (Bloom) As Amended June 29, 2015 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(April 30, |SENATE: |39-0 |(July 6, 2015) | | | |2015) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: ED. SUMMARY: Allows students in foster care and those who are homeless to be eligible for the exemption from local graduation requirements even if they are not notified of this right within 30 days of enrollment, and allows homeless students to be exempt even if they are no longer homeless or if they transfer to another school or district. The Senate amendments clarify that if a school district fails to provide timely notice to a foster care student or homeless student, only those students who qualify are exempted from local graduation requirements. EXISTING LAW: 1)Requires school districts to exempt students in foster care AB 1166 Page 2 and those who are homeless who transfer between schools after their second year in high school from local graduation requirements. 2)Requires school districts to notify specified individuals, including students in foster care and those who are homeless, within 30 days of the date that they transfer into a school, that they are exempt from local graduation requirements, and whether individual students qualify for the exemption. 3)Requires that the exemption from local graduation requirements continue to apply to students in foster care even if their court jurisdiction is terminated, or if students transfer to another school or district. FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, potential, likely minor, reimbursable mandate costs to the extent the Commission on State Mandates determines this bill constitutes a higher level of service. COMMENTS: Need for the bill. According to the author, "AB 1166 is a clean-up measure for last year's AB 1806 [(Bloom), Chapter 767, Statutes of 2014], which gave students identified as homeless education-related rights similar to those of their foster youth peers? AB 1166 will close several loopholes by clarifying the students who have been homeless but no longer are should still receive the same education-related rights as currently homeless students." Analysis Prepared by: Tanya Lieberman / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0001171 AB 1166 Page 3