BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 1455 (Block) - Pupil enrollment: military dependents
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|Version: March 29, 2016 |Policy Vote: ED. 9 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: April 25, 2016 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill provides that a student meets residency
requirements for school attendance if the student's parent is
transferred or is pending transfer to a military installation
within the boundaries of the school district.
Fiscal
Impact:
No anticipated significant costs to the state. This bill may
result in a reimbursable state mandate but costs associated
with the requirement for a school district to accept
electronic applications for enrollment and course registration
are expected to be minor. In addition, because state funding
SB 1455 (Block) Page 1 of
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is provided to school districts for student attendance, this
funding would likely offset any additional costs related to
this requirement.
Background: Existing law requires students to attend the public full-time
day school or continuation school or classes in which the
residency of either the parent or legal guardian is located,
unless otherwise exempted.
Existing law enacts the Interstate Compact on Educational
Opportunity for Military Children. The Compact provides for the
uniform treatment of military children transferring between
school districts and states. It provides guidance as to how
local school districts address the transition needs of military
children. With the passage of AB 343 (Saldana, Chapter 237,
Statutes of 2009), California ratified its participation in the
Compact. Under the Compact, districts are required to be
flexible in applying their local rules to students in order to
facilitate enrollment, placement, advancement, eligibility for
extracurricular activities, and on-time graduation. According
to the California Department of Education, the Compact is not
affected by this bill as it does not impose any changes to
enrollment requirements.
According to the author, children of military service members
transferring on official military orders to California are not
eligible to register in high school courses, enroll in
specialized academic programs or enter random lotteries for
consideration into a charter or magnet school until they are
physically located within the district boundaries. As a result,
these students often miss course and program registration
deadlines. This bill would allow, by electronic means,
transferring military families to enroll their children in a
school, program or course prior to being physically located
within the boundaries of the school district.
Proposed Law:
This bill deems a student compliant with residency
requirements for school attendance in a school district, if he
or she is a student whose parent is transferred or is pending
transfer to a military installation within the boundaries of the
SB 1455 (Block) Page 2 of
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school district while on active military duty pursuant to an
official military order.
This bill also requires a school district to accept applications
by electronic means for enrollment, including enrollment in a
specific school or program within the school district, and
course registration for these students.
Staff
Comments: The provisions in this bill apply to students of
active-duty members of the United States uniformed services,
National Guard, and Reserve on active-duty orders. California
hosts more than 30 military installations and 168,000
active-duty service members. The state does not track data on
the number of students associated with active duty members;
therefore it is unknown how many students will be affected by
this bill. Presumably, school districts located near military
installations will be most affected. This bill allows a student
to apply for enrollment and course registration to a school
remotely and within the school district that the student will
eventually reside, pursuant to his or her parent's official
military order. Therefore, the respective school districts will
likely be serving the same students they otherwise would serve
without this bill.
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