BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1455 Page 1 Date of Hearing: August 3, 2016 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Lorena Gonzalez, Chair SB 1455 (Block) - As Amended June 8, 2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Education |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | |Veterans Affairs | |7 - 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: Yes SUMMARY: This bill 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 SB 1455 Page 2 course registration, for students transferring to the district as a result of their parent's military transfer. Specifically, this bill: 1)Specifies a student meets residency requirements for school attendance if the student's parent is transferred, or is pending transfer, to a military installation that is within the boundaries of the school district while on full-time active military duty. 2)Requires the parent to provide proof of residence within 10 days after the published arrival date provided on official documentation. 3)Allows a parent to use any of the following addresses related to his or her military move: a) A temporary on-base billeting facility; b) A purchased or leased home or apartment; or c) Federal government or public-private venture off-base military housing. FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown, likely minor state mandated costs for school districts to accept applications electronically for attendance and process course registration for students of military families. SB 1455 Page 3 COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. 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 transferring military families to remotely enroll their children in a school, program or course prior to being physically located within the boundaries of the school district. Requiring districts to accept remote enrollment and registration will provide military students the opportunity to register for courses or apply for specialized programs at the same time as their peers, provided that they are able to submit proof of residency in the form of official military orders assigning them to a given installation within school district boundaries. When military students know which school they will be attending and their class schedules in advance of arriving to school, they and their families are provided with a sense of comfort, relieving unneeded stress during their transition. 2)Background. California hosts more than 30 military installations and 168,000 active-duty service members. The state student data system, CALPADS, does not track the number of pupils associated with these active duty members but supporters of the bill estimate there are about 60,000 children of active military families in California. According to CDE, a small number of heavily military-impacted districts currently allow for online "pre-registration" for all incoming students; however this does not allow for course registration or application to specialized programs. SB 1455 Page 4 This bill builds upon the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Child (Compact). The Compact is an interstate agreement that provides guidance as to how local school districts address the transition needs of military children. 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. Under the Compact, school districts are not required to reserve spaces for military children or create a new course section if the military student arrives after general application or registration timeframes. Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081