BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 1567
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|Author: |Campos |
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|Version: |May 27, 2016 Hearing |
| |Date: June 15, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Olgalilia Ramirez |
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Subject: After school programs: enrollment: fees: homeless
youth: snacks or meals
SUMMARY
This bill provides priority enrollment for homeless and foster
care youth priority after school programs and prohibits a before
and after program from charging family fees for a child that the
program knows to be a homeless or foster care youth.
BACKGROUND
1) Establishes the After School Education and Safety (ASES)
program consisting of before and after school components,
serving students in grades K-9, each of which must include
an educational and literacy element and an educational
enrichment element. (Education Code § 8482)
2) Specifies that every student attending a school operating
ASES program is eligible to participate in the program,
subject to capacity. A program is not required to charge
family fess or conduct eligibility determinations based on
need. (EC § 8482.6)
3) The federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Children and Youths
Program requires state educational agencies to ensure that
homeless children and youth have equal access to the same
free public education as is provided to other children and
youth. States are required to review and undertake steps
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to revise any laws, regulations, practices, or policies
that may act as barriers to the enrollment, attendance, or
success in school of homeless children and youth.
(United States Code, Title 42, § 11431, et seq.)
4) The McKinney-Vento Act requires each local educational
agency to designate a staff person as a liaison for
homeless children and youth, and carry out specific duties,
such as ensuring immediate enrollment, access to
educational opportunities offered to other students, and
providing notice of the rights of homeless youth. (USC,
Title 42, § 11432(g)(1)(j)(ii))
ANALYSIS
This bill provides priority enrollment for homeless and foster
care youth priority after school programs and prohibits a before
and after program from charging family fees for a child that the
program knows to be a homeless or foster care youth.
Specifically it:
1) Prohibits a before and after school program from charging
family fees if the program knows that the child is a
homeless youth, as defined in the federal McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act (USC, Title 42, § 11434(a)) or
knows that the child is in foster care.
2) Modifies priority for enrollment of students in after
school programs as follows:
a) Provides first priority to students who
are identified by the program as homeless youth, as
defined by federal law, and to students who are
identified by the program as being in foster care.
b) For programs serving middle or junior
high school students, second priority shall go to
students in middle or junior high school who attend
daily. Current law establishes priority enrollment
solely for students in middle or junior high school.
3) Prohibits anything in the bill's provisions from being
construed to:
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a) Require a program to verify, or a school to
disclose to an after school
program, that a pupil applying for or participating in
the program is a
homeless youth or a foster youth.
b) Require or authorize the disenrollment of a
current participant in order to
secure the enrollment of a pupil who has priority for
enrollment.
4) 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.
5) Requires program administrators to allow a student to
self-certify as a homeless youth or foster care youth, for
purposes of identifying a student who is eligible for
priority enrollment. Specifies that administrators of a
program may also obtain this information 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.
6) Expresses the intent of the Legislature that an After
School Education and Safety program not use its core
operating funds for mandatory snacks or meals, but instead
seek to qualify program sites as 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.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill. According to the United States
Department of Education, 4 percent of California's students
(284,086) were known to have experienced homelessness at
some point during the 2013-2014 school year. According to
the author, California's after school programs offer
quality learning and development opportunities that can
make a difference for all the children they serve but
especially for low-income children. The author asserts that
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some of the poorest and most vulnerable children do not
have access to the programs because they are unable to
secure a spot on the waiting list or to pay the minimal fee
required by some programs. This bill seeks to ensure that
state funded afterschool programs are available to the
neediest of children by giving priority access and waving
fees for homeless or foster care youth.
2) After School Education and Safety (ASES) program. The ASES
Program is the result of the 2002 voter-approved
initiative, Proposition 49. The program funds the
establishment of local before and after school education
and enrichment programs. These programs 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 (K-9). A nutritious snack is provided
daily to students participating in the program. The snack
provided must meet specified state or federal standards.
The current funding level for the ASES program is $550
million. This bill provides priority for enrollment in
before and after school programs to homeless youth, as
defined by the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act, and to foster care students. Staff notes, that state
subsidized child care programs also extend priority to
homeless families and children who have been neglected or
abused.
As mentioned, the ASES program consisting of before and
after school components. As currently drafted, it appears
that this bill's provisions solely apply to after school
and not the before school component of the ASES program.
For consistency purposes, staff recommends that the bill be
amended to include the before school component.
Additionally to prevent disruption to program activity
mid-year and consistent with the author's request, staff
recommends an amendment making the provisions of this bill
effective at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year,
rather than January 1, 2017.
3) Family fees. As written, this bill prohibits a before and
after school program from charging family fees for services
provided to a homeless or foster care youth. The bill
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allows families to self-certify that a student is homeless
or is a foster care student and authorizes an ASES program
to obtain this information through the school district
liaison designated for homeless children.
Current law does not require ASES programs to charge family fees
or to conduct individual eligibility determinations based on
need or income. It appears that ASES programs have the ability
to charge family fees; however, it is unlikely that many
programs charge fees, or reap significant fees, as ASES programs
serve schools where a minimum of 50% of the students are
eligible for free- or reduced-price meals, and funding priority
is given to programs serving the highest percentages of students
who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals. Given the
current nature of the program and its focus on low income
families these provisions are consistent with the program's
operations and policies.
SUPPORT
California Catholic Conference, Inc.
Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee
National Association of Social Workers
OPPOSITION
None received.
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