BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1683
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Date of Hearing: April 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1683 (Torres) - As Introduced: January 26, 2010
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:8-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes related to county office
of education (COE) programs:
1)Requires a three or four year-old child of a parent who is in
foster care (within the previous six months) to have priority
in enrolling in the state preschool program, as specified.
2)Clarifies COEs are eligible for federal funding pursuant to
state and federal law.
FISCAL EFFECT
GF/98 reallocation costs, likely between $900,000 and $4.5
million, for three and four-year-old children of a parent in
foster care to have priority in enrolling in the state preschool
program. This assumes between one and five percent of foster
children have a three or four year-old-child. As of October
2009, there are 66,000 foster children in California. Of this
number, 16,347 are between the ages of 15 and 20. This measure
would move the children of foster care parents to the top of
eligibility lists at the expense of other three and four year
old children eligible for state preschool.
The 2009 Budget Act provided a total of $438.9 million GF/98 to
serve 117,000 children in the state preschool program. Of this
amount, $373.4 million are on-going GF/98 funds and $65.5
million are one-time GF/98 funds.
COMMENTS
AB 1683
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1)Background . COEs provide a variety of educational programs
and services, including direct services to at-risk pupils
(i.e., foster care children, juvenile court schools, community
day schools). COEs also provide services to school districts
in the areas of business, administrative, and curriculum and
they are directly responsible for the financial oversight of
districts. There are 58 COEs. The services provided are
affected by the size and type of districts within the county,
the geographical location and size of the county, and the
special needs of students that are not met by the districts.
The state provides both part-day and full-day preschool
programs. The part-day state preschool programs provide
comprehensive developmental programs for three to
five-year-old children from low-income families (75% of the
state median income). The programs emphasize parent education
and encourage parent involvement. Also, the programs provide
meals or snacks to children, referrals to health and social
services for families, and staff development opportunities to
employees.
Current law provides priority for state preschool programs to
neglected and abused children who are recipients of child
protective services, who are at risk of being neglected,
abused, or exploited upon written referral from a legal,
medical, or social service agency. This bill proposes to
provide priority for eligibility in state preschool programs
to a three or four year-old child of a parent who is in foster
care within the previous six months.
Many COEs contend they have been excluded from state and
federal funding opportunities. The most recent example they
site is the Middle and High School Supplement Counseling
Program which provided for additional counselors. COEs argue
that the majority of pupils they serve are at-risk students
and would benefit from the counseling program. This bill
clarifies that COEs are eligible for federal funding, as
specified.
2)Previous legislation .
a) AB 339 (Torres) clarified that COEs are eligible for
federal funding. This bill was vetoed in August 2009, with
the following message:
AB 1683
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"This bill would redefine 'school districts' to include
school districts, county offices of education, and other
agencies deemed eligible pursuant to state and federal law,
for the purpose of allocating federal education funds.
However, in its current form, I am concerned that the bill
may have unintended consequences for charter schools and/or
other educational agencies currently eligible for these
federal funds."
b) AB 769 (Torres) required a three or four-year-old child
of a parent who is in foster care (within the previous six
months) to have priority in enrolling in the state
preschool program, as specified. This bill was vetoed in
October 2009, with the following message:
"This bill results in significant Proposition 98 General
Fund costs pressures. Absent additional funding to support
this policy shift, enacting this measure would result in
denying access to state funded preschool programs to other
low income families who are currently on waiting lists for
subsidized care. Moreover, children of those under the
jurisdiction of the juvenile court system already may
access child care on a priority basis under current law, to
the extent that they are at risk of abuse or neglect."
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081