BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1567 Page 1 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 AB 1567 Page 2 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 AB 1567 Page 3 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. AB 1567 Page 4 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 AB 1567 Page 5 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 AB 1567 Page 6 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 AB 1567 Page 7 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 AB 1567 Page 8 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 AB 1567 Page 9 Opposition None on file Analysis Prepared by:Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087