BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1261
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1261 (Leno)
As Amended April 6, 2005
Majority vote
EDUCATION 11-0 APPROPRIATIONS 18-0
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|Ayes:|Goldberg, Tran, Arambula, |Ayes:|Chu, Sharon Runner, Bass, |
| |Coto, Hancock, Huff, Liu, | |Berg, Calderon, Emmerson, |
| |Mullin, Pavley, Richman, | |Mullin, Haynes, Karnette, |
| |Umberg | |Klehs, Leno, Nakanishi, |
| | | |Nation, Oropeza, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Saldana, |
| | | |Walters, Yee |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Clarifies provisions related to the education of
foster youth in the areas of educational placement, coursework
credit, records transfer, and educational programs offered to
foster youth. Specifically, this bill :
1)Clarifies that foster children have the right to remain in
their school of origin until the end of the school year,
unless the holder of educational rights determines that it is
not in the child's best interest to do so.
2)Defines "local educational agency" as a school district, a
county office of education, a charter school participating as
a member of a special education local plan area, or a special
education local plan area.
3)Defines "pupil in foster care" for the purposes of this bill
as any child who has been removed from his or her home
pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 309, is the
subject of a petition filed under Welfare and Institutions
Code Section 300 or 602, or has been removed from his or her
home and is the subject of a petition filed under Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 300 or 602.
4)Requires that records be transferred and foster children be
granted immediate enrollment even if the foster child has
outstanding fees, fines, textbooks or other items or monies
AB 1261
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due to the school last attended.
5)Clarifies that any disputes that arise as to school placement
or enrollment of a foster child shall be resolved in
accordance with the existing dispute resolution process
available to any pupil served by the local educational agency.
6)Establishes parameters for evaluating how far back in time to
look into identifying a "school of origin," or the school with
which the child feels most connected.
7)Codifies the court's authority to make educational decisions
for the child when no responsible adult can be identified and
the appointment of a surrogate parent is not legally
warranted.
8)Authorizes the court, in limited circumstances, to temporarily
limit the right of the parent to make educational decisions
for their children when the parent is unable or unwilling to
exercise educational rights and the child's educational needs
cannot otherwise be met.
9)Requires the county welfare department to provide emancipated
youths with a health and education summary.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis, one-time General Fund (Proposition 98)
mandated reimbursable costs, likely less than $75,000, to school
districts to develop a process to resolve disputes, as
specified.
COMMENTS : This bill is sponsored by the Children's Law Center
of Los Angeles. According to the author, this bill seeks to
ensure that all eligible youth receive the full protection of
the law and opportunity for academic stability and success
promised by AB 490 (Steinberg), Chapter 862, Statutes of 2003,
which makes numerous changes to the law related to the education
of foster youth in the areas of educational placement,
coursework credit, records transfer, and educational programs
offered to foster youth.
The author states: "While a good education is critical to every
child's successful transition to adulthood, it is especially
true for children who spend long periods of their childhood in
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foster care. Yet frequent placement moves, delays and
difficulties in transferring educational records, and the
general upheaval associated with family crises conspire to make
it difficult for foster youth to keep up and do well in school.
"To address dismal educational outcomes for foster youth
chronicled in a number of reports to the Legislature by the
American Institutes for Research, the Legislature passed AB 490
(Steinberg), Chapter 862, Statutes of 2003, which instituted a
number of reforms designed to promote school stability and
ensure that pupils residing in foster care have a meaningful
opportunity to meet the academic achievement standards to which
all students are held."
AB 490 was enacted with broad and bipartisan support. In the
year and a half since the law's enactment, groups across the
state have worked together to create materials, present
trainings, and develop implementation plans to ensure that
at-risk children receive the benefits promised by the law.
"In the process of implementation, education liaisons at
California schools, established by AB 490, and child advocates
have identified some gaps in AB 490 protections for foster youth
which are addressed by this measure."
Analysis Prepared by : Josefina Ramirez / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0010305