BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1567
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 1567
(Campos) - As Amended March 29, 2016
SUBJECT: After school programs: enrollment: fees
SUMMARY: Provides homeless students and students who are in
foster care priority for enrolling in before and after school
programs and prohibits a program that charges family fees from
charging a fee to a family of a homeless or foster care student.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Prohibits a before school or after school program funded by
state and federal funds from charging family fees to a family
with a child who is identified as a homeless youth or for a
child who is in foster care, if the program charges a fee.
2)Strikes the provision specifying that priority for enrollment
of pupils in middle school or junior high school shall be
given to pupils who attend daily, and instead establishes the
following priorities for enrollment:
a) First priority shall go to pupils who are identified as
homeless youth, as defined in the federal McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act, at the time that they apply for
enrollment or at any time during the school year, and to
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pupils who are in foster care.
b) For programs serving middle and junior high school
pupils, second priority shall go to pupils who attend
daily.
3)Requires a program to inform the parent or caregiver of a
pupil of the right of homeless children and foster children to
receive priority enrollment and how to request priority
enrollment.
4)Specifies that for purposes of identifying a pupil who is
eligible for priority enrollment on the basis of being
homeless, the administrators of a program may verify the
homeless status of a pupil through the school district liaison
designated for homeless children, provided that the school
district has a waiver on file allowing for the release of this
information. If that information is not available through the
school district, the program shall allow the parent or
caregiver of the pupil who is enrolling in the program or
requesting placement on a program waiting list to verify the
homeless status of the pupil.
5)Specifies that for purposes of identifying a pupil who is
eligible for priority enrollment on the basis of being in
foster care, the administrators of a program may verify that a
pupil is in foster care through the school district, if that
information is available, or through the foster parent of the
pupil who is enrolling in the program or requesting placement
on a program waiting list.
6)Expresses the intent of the Legislature that an ASES program
not use its core operating funds for mandatory snacks or
meals, but shall instead seek to qualify program sites as
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approved distribution sites for federally funded after school
snacks or meals provided for by the National School Lunch
Program, the Summer Food Service Program, or the Child and
Adult Care Food Program.
7)Makes declarations and findings regarding the benefits of the
ASES program and the need to establish priority for enrollment
for homeless and foster care students due to underfunding and
waiting lists.
EXISTING LAW: Establishes the ASES program through the 2002
voter approved initiative, Proposition 49. The ASES program
funds the establishment of local after school education and
enrichment programs, which are created through partnerships
between schools and local community resources to provide
literacy, academic enrichment and safe constructive alternatives
for students in kindergarten through ninth grade (Education Code
Section 8482).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: After School Education and Safety Program (ASES).
The ASES program, passed by voters as Proposition 49 in 2002,
provides almost $550 million annually for before and after
school programs for approximately 405,000 kindergarten through
grade 9 students. After school programs must commence right
after school and at least until 6 p.m. for 15 hours per week.
Priority for funding goes to schools where at least 50% of the
pupils are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Each
program is required to provide a match equal to not less than
one-third of the total grant. Facilities may count towards 25%
of the local contribution.
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Participating after-school programs are required to have an
educational and literacy component in which tutoring or homework
assistance is provided in one or more of the following areas:
language arts, mathematics, history and social science, computer
training, or sciences; and an educational enrichment component,
which may include, but is not limited to, fine arts, career
technical education, career exploration, recreation, physical
fitness and prevention activities.
The program requires before school programs to operate one and a
half hours a day and after school programs to operate after
school until 6 p.m. for a minimum of 15 hours per week.
Priority for enrollment. This bill requires priority for
enrollment in before and after school programs to be given to
homeless youth, as defined by the federal McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act, and to foster care pupils. The author
states that there is strong evidence that access to after school
and summer programs increases the likelihood of success in
elementary and high school, and reduces involvement in the
criminal justice system, but low-income youth are unable to
access these programs due to long wait lists and program fees.
Current law stipulates that priority for funding should go to
programs located at schools where a minimum of 50% of the pupils
are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. However, according
to the California Department of Education (CDE), ASES funds are
currently allocated to programs that have an average of 82% of
kids eligible for free and reduced-price meals. It is possible
that homeless youth and foster care pupils already make up a
large portion of the pupils enrolled in ASES. If homeless youth
and other low-income kids are unable to access the programs, the
reason may be that there are not enough slots. Enrollment
decisions are made at the local level between program
administrators and the school to accommodate the needs of
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different communities. The only priority mentioned under
current law is for middle and junior high school pupils who
attend daily. Older pupils are not as interested in
participating in after school programs. Prioritizing those who
attend daily ensures funds are used efficiently. This bill
would change this to a second priority.
The bill authorizes an ASES program to verify the homeless
status of a pupil through the school district liaison designated
for homeless children or through the pupil's parent or
caregiver. The bill also authorizes a program to verify that a
pupil is in foster care through the school district or through
the foster parent.
Family fees. This bill also prohibits programs from collecting
fees from homeless youth or foster care pupils. ASES programs
are authorized to charge fees, but data on the number of
programs that charge fees is not available because this
information is not required to be reported to the CDE.
According to the CDE, some programs may charge a nominal
enrollment fee, while others may charge fees in order to expand
access to the program.
The sponsors, the Western Center on Law and Poverty and the
Children's Defense Fund - California state, "Children who are
homeless and living in deep poverty are less likely to be able
to participate than children who are not experiencing these
significant challenges even when compared to other children who
are low-income. This is because children who are homeless or
living in deep poverty are less likely to attend the same school
from year-to-year and less likely to afford registration fees
required by some afterschool programs. This means that children
who could benefit most from having a safe and supportive place
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to learn and exercise, with afterschool snacks and where they
are not exposed to the elements (as are children who are
homeless), are less likely to be able to participate."
Related legislation. This bill is substantially similar to AB
891 (Campos), which was held in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee suspense file last year. AB 891 contained three
proposals related to homeless and low-income children. This
bill contains one of the three proposals. One difference
between the bills is that AB 891 required priority for homeless
youth and pupils whose families qualify for CalWORKs assistance
while this bill requires priority for homeless and foster care
youth. This bill adds a statement expressing the intent of the
Legislature that programs not use core operating funds for
snacks and meals and instead seek to qualify program sites as
approved distribution sites for federally funded meal programs.
The goal of the sponsors is to increase access to federally
funded meal programs, such as the Free and Reduced Price Meal
program or the Child and Adult Care Food Program. The sponsors
state that tapping into federal funds specifically for food
would free up funds for after school enrichment activities and
enable students to have an early dinner.
AB 2615 (Wood), also on the April 13th agenda, makes a number of
changes to the ASES and the federally funded 21st Century
programs, including authorizing programs to charge family fees,
with the exception of families with pupils eligible for free and
reduced-price meals, who shall pay no fees or reduced fees.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
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Children's Defense Fund - California (co-sponsor)
Western Center on Law & Poverty (co-sponsor)
American Academy of Pediatrics
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California Alternative Payment Program Association
California Catholic Conference
California Coalition for Youth
California Food Policy Advocates
California School-Based Health Alliance
Children's Advocacy Institute
Children's Law Center of California
Children Now
Coalition on California Welfare Rights Organizations
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Coalition on Homelessness
Common Sense Kids Action
Courage Campaign
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Father Joe's Villages
Hunger Action Los Angeles
InnerCity Struggle
Larkin Street Youth Services
National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and
Youth
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
Our Family Coalition
United Ways of California
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087