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