BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       SB 1068|
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  SB 1068
          Author:   Leyva (D) 
          Amended:  3/31/16  
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE:  9-0, 4/13/16
           AYES:  Liu, Block, Hancock, Huff, Leyva, Mendoza, Monning, Pan,  
            Vidak

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  7-0, 4/25/16
           AYES:  Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen

           SUBJECT:   Homeless children and youth:  local educational  
                     agency liaisons:  training materials


          SOURCE:    Author


          DIGEST:  This bill requires the California Department of  
          Education (CDE) to provide specified informational and training  
          materials to local educational agency (LEA) liaisons for  
          homeless youth, and adopt policies and practices to ensure that  
          liaisons for homeless youth participate in professional  
          development and other technical assistance programs.

          ANALYSIS:  Existing federal law, the McKinney-Vento Homeless  
          Assistance Act:

        1) Defines "homeless children and youths" as children and youths  
             who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence,  
             and includes children and youths who, among other situations,  
             are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of  
             housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; and are  
             living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds  








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             due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations.   
             (United States Code, Title 42, § 11431, et seq.)

        2) 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 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.  (42, USC § 11431, et seq.)

        3) Requires each LEA 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, referrals to  
             appropriate services, and providing notice of the rights of  
             homeless youth.  (42, USC § 11432)

        4) Requires state educational agencies, effective July 1, 2016, as  
             amended by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, to develop  
             professional development opportunities for LEA liaisons and  
             other school personnel who provide services to homeless youth  
             to improve the identification of homeless youth and heighten  
             awareness of, and capacity to respond to, specific needs in  
             the education of homeless youth.  (42, USC § 11432)

        5) Establishes general rights for homeless children and youth as  
             follows:

           a)    The choice of schools the youth is eligible to attend.

           b)    No homeless youth shall be required to attend a separate  
                school.

           c)    Homeless youth shall be provided comparable services,  
                including transportation services, educational services,  
                and meals through school meal programs.

           d)    Homeless youth should not be stigmatized by school  
                personnel.  (42, USC § 111432)

          Existing federal law, the Every Student Succeeds Act:








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           6) Requires the state plan to describe how the state education  
             agency will provide support to LEAs, and requires the LEA  
             plan to describe the services that will be provided to  
             support the enrollment, attendance, and success of homeless  
             youth.

           7) Requires states to report disaggregated achievement and  
             graduation data for homeless youth.

           8) Increases dedicated funding for LEAs for services to  
             homeless youth.  (United States Code, Title 20)

          Existing state law:

           1) Requires an LEA liaison for homeless youth to ensure that  
             public notice of the educational rights of homeless children  
             and youths is disseminated in schools within the liaison's  
             LEA that provide services.  (Education Code § 48852.5)

           2) Requires LEAs to allow a student who is homeless to remain  
             in his or her school of origin through the duration in  
             homelessness, and imposes requirements related to the  
             transition between grade levels.  (EC § 48852.7)

           3) Establishes homeless youth as a subgroup for purposes of,  
             among other things, accountability, local control and  
             accountability plans, renewal of charter schools, advice and  
             assistance by the California Collaborative for Educational  
             Excellence, and intervention by the Superintendent of Public  
             Instruction.  (EC § 52052, § 476607.3, § 52060, § 52066, §  
             52071, § 52071.5, § 52072, § 52072.5)

          This bill requires the CDE to provide specified informational  
          and training materials to LEA liaisons for homeless youth, and  
          adopt policies and practices to ensure that liaisons for  
          homeless youth participate in professional development and other  
          technical assistance programs.  Specifically, this bill:

        1)Requires the CDE to provide informational materials to LEA  
             liaisons for homeless children and youth regarding the  
             educational rights of homeless children and youth under state  








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             and federal law, updates and changes to state and federal law  
             regarding the rights of homeless students, the  
             responsibilities of LEA liaisons relating to homeless  
             children and youth, and the resources available to schools to  
             assist homeless children and youth.

        2)Requires the CDE to adopt policies and practices to ensure that  
             LEA liaisons for homeless children and youth participate in  
             professional development and other technical assistance  
             programs that are deemed appropriate by the Superintendent of  
             Public Instruction in accordance with the federal Every  
             Student Succeeds Act. 

        3)Requires the CDE to provide training materials to LEA liaisons  
             for homeless children and youth to assist liaisons with  
             providing professional development and other support to  
             school personnel providing services pursuant to the federal  
             McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

        4)Provides that the training materials are intended to support  
             liaisons in meeting the requirements of the federal Every  
             Student Succeeds Act.

        5)Authorizes the CDE to use and adapt informational and training  
             materials from state or national sources when applicable and  
             appropriate.

          Comments
          
          Services for homeless youth.  Existing law imposes general  
          requirements for services, such as the immediate enrollment in  
          school, access to educational opportunities offered to other  
          students, referrals to appropriate services, and providing  
          notice of the rights of homeless youth.  LEAs are authorized to  
          use dedicated federal funds to provide tutoring or supplemental  
          instruction, expedited evaluations of needs, professional  
          development for educators, early education, and referral to  
          other services.  This bill requires the CDE to provide  
          informational materials to LEA liaisons for homeless youth  
          regarding the educational rights of homeless youth, updates and  
          changes to state and federal law regarding the rights of  
          homeless students, the responsibilities of LEA liaisons relating  








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          to homeless youth, and the resources available to schools to  
          assist homeless children and youth.  This information is  
          generally available on CDE's Web site, but in several different  
          locations; this bill requires CDE to provide all of the  
          information to liaisons, rather than relying upon liaisons to  
          gather the information themselves.

          Professional development.  The recently reauthorized federal  
          Every Student Succeeds Act, among other things, amended the  
          federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act to require states  
          to develop professional development opportunities for LEA  
          liaisons and other school personnel who serve homeless youth.   
          This bill requires the CDE to provide training materials to LEA  
          liaisons for homeless youth to assist liaisons with providing  
          professional development and other support to school personnel  
          providing services to homeless youth.  The CDE does not  
          currently directly provide training materials but provides links  
          to related information on its Web site.


          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the CDE  
          estimates costs of about $50,000 to implement the requirements  
          of this bill.  (Federal Funds)


          SUPPORT:   (Verified4/25/16)


          California Coalition for Youth
          California Federation of Teachers
          K to College
          Los Angeles County Office of Education 
          Los Angeles Unified School District
          National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and  
          Youth
          National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified4/25/16)








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          None received



          Prepared by:Lynn Lorber / ED. / (916) 651-4105
          4/27/16 15:57:20


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