BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1261
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CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1261 (Leno)
As Amended September 2, 2005
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |74-0 |(May 19, 2005) |SENATE: |38-0 |(September 6, |
| | | | | |2005) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
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, and revises the definition of "nonpublic,
nonsectarian schools" and makes changes to some provisions in
the Education Code relating to nonpublic, nonsectarian schools.
The Senate amendments :
1)Add nonpublic, nonsectarian schools, to the list of schools
for which development of an alternative accountability system
is required.
2)Revise the definition of "nonpublic, nonsectarian school" by
deleting the specification that the school employs at least
one full-time teacher who holds an appropriate credential
authorizing special education services.
3)Provide that if a school placement dispute arises that the
dispute shall be resolved in accordance with the existing
dispute resolution process available to any pupil served by
the local educational agency.
4)Provide that if a nonpublic, nonsectarian school or agency
that is applying for certification and has submitted a form
requesting verification from the local educational agency does
not receive a response from the local education agency 60
calendar days from the date of the return receipt for initial
applications, or 30 calendar days from the date of the return
receipt for renewal applications, the applicant may file the
application with the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI).
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5)Requires a county welfare department to verify that a health
and education summary has been provided to a foster child.
6)Revise the timeline for the SPI to conduct an additional
onsite review of a facility and program seeking certification
from four to within three years of the effective date of
certification.
7)Require the court, if it makes educational decisions for a
child in cases when the court cannot identify a responsible
adult to make decisions for that child, to issue appropriate
orders to ensure that every effort is made to identify a
responsible adult to make future educational decisions for the
child.
8)Delete obsolete provisions.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill:
1)Clarified that foster children had the right to remain in
their school of origin until the end of the school year,
unless the holder of educational rights determined that it is
not in the child's best interest to do so.
2)Defined "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)Defined "pupil in foster care" for the purposes of this bill
as any child who had been removed from his or her home
pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 309, was the
subject of a petition filed under Welfare and Institutions
Code Section 300 or 602, or had been removed from his or her
home and was the subject of a petition filed under Welfare and
Institutions Code Section 300 or 602.
4)Required that records be transferred and foster children be
granted immediate enrollment even if the foster child had
outstanding fees, fines, textbooks or other items or monies
due to the school last attended.
5)Clarified that any disputes that arose related to school
placement or enrollment of a foster child should be resolved
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in accordance with the existing dispute resolution process
available to any pupil served by the local educational agency.
6)Established parameters for evaluating how far back in time to
look into identifying a "school of origin," or the school with
which the child felt most connected.
7)Codified the court's authority to make educational decisions
for the child when no responsible adult could be identified
and the appointment of a surrogate parent was not legally
warranted.
8)Authorized the court, in limited circumstances, to temporarily
limit the right of the parent to make educational decisions
for their children when the parent was unable or unwilling to
exercise educational rights and the child's educational needs
could not otherwise be met.
9)Required the county welfare department to provide emancipated
youths with a health and education summary.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, new mandated costs estimated at $100,000 annually.
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
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.
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"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 : Marisol Avi?a / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0013210