BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1854
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 5, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 1854 (Ammiano) - As Amended: April 5, 2010
SUBJECT : School attendance: residency requirements.
SUMMARY : Authorizes school districts to accept documents that
reasonably provide evidence that a pupil meets residency
requirements for school attendance within the district; and,
specifies certain types of documents that can be considered
reasonable evidence. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes a school district to accept a wide range of
documents and representations that reasonably provide evidence
that a pupil meets residency requirements for school
attendance within the district.
2)Specifies that "reasonable evidence" of district residency may
be established by documentation including, but is not limited
to:
a) Property tax payment receipts.
b) Rent payment receipts.
c) Utility service payment receipts.
d) Declaration of residency executed by the parent or
guardian of the pupil.
3)Specifies that if any employee of a school district reasonably
believes that the parent or guardian of a pupil has provided
false or unreliable evidence of residency, the school district
may make reasonable efforts to determine that the pupil meets
the requirements.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires pupils to attend school in the district in which the
residency of either the parent or legal guardian is located.
(Education code 48200)
2)Recognizes that school districts, adjacent to the
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international border, face unique circumstances in conducting
the verification of a pupil's residency and therefore
authorizes these districts to accept a wide range of documents
as reasonable evidence that the pupil meets the residency
requirements for school attendance within the district.
Specifies that if any employee of a school district that is
adjacent to an international border reasonably believes that
the parent or guardian has provided false or unreliable
evidence of residency, the school district shall make
reasonable efforts to determine that the pupil actually meets
the residency requirements. Specifies that documentation of
residency for these districts may include, but not be limited
to:
a) Property tax payment receipts.
b) Rent payment receipts.
c) Utility service payment receipts.
d) Declaration of residency executed by the parent or
guardian of the pupil.
(Education code 48204.6)
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : The education code requires that all students attend
school in the district in which the residency of either the
parent or legal guardian is located, but it does not provide any
definition of school district residency, nor does it provide
school districts with any guidance about how to verify
residency, except for those districts adjacent to the
international border. According to the author, some districts
are imposing overly burdensome requirements on parents to
establish their residence in the district, with some districts
establishing complex matrices with requirements that far exceed
those for border area districts. One could argue that these
requirements go against the legal advisory opinions issued by
the California Department of Education (CDE) and make it
difficult to implement the public policy of ensuring universal
enrollment and education. Providing uniform guidelines that are
easily understandable and not overly burdensome will ensure that
California children enroll in and attend school and provide
clear guidance to school districts.
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The CDE has promulgated regulations regarding eligibility for
child care and development services that allow a wide range of
documents to be accepted by providers as proof of residency.
CDE has also issued several legal advisory documents intended to
assist districts and county offices regarding the information
they may rely on to determine that a child is a resident for
purposes of school attendance, including, in the context of the
homeless, advising districts to accept any kind of document,
including a parental declaration of intent to remain in the
district indefinitely. In Legal Advisory LO:1-95, the CDE
states that the general rule is that districts may accept a wide
range of documents and parent representation regarding
residency, there is no particular list of documents that may be
accepted, and that any reasonable evidence of residence is
sufficient.
In 2008, the Evergreen school district governing board was asked
by their community to implement a strict "proof of residence"
policy aimed at eliminating falsely registered children. The
community brought forth registration documents from a
neighboring high performing district as proof that the school
district could also require such proof to determine residency.
The district disagreed with the legal direction and denied the
initiative at a public board meeting. The community's solution
amounted to requiring specific documents which would very likely
lead to disclosure of a student's immigration status and would
clearly be in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the US
Constitution. The district Superintendent argued at that time,
"I cannot accept requiring a singular proof of residence that
compromises a child/family's immigration status and is clearly
against the law." Some school districts utilize a strict proof
of residence policy as described above.
For example, the Acalanes Union High School requires three forms
of residency verification, one form of documentation is required
from each of the following groups to register a child in the
district:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 |
|---------------------+---------------------+---------------------|
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| | | |
| ? Current | ? Current | ? State or |
| Passport | Rental/Lease | Federal Tax |
| | Agreement with | Return with W-2 |
| ? Current | name and | attached |
| Driver License | address of | |
| with vehicle | parent and | ? |
| registration | property | Payroll/Check Stub with name |
| | manager | & address |
| ? Current CA | | |
| ID | ? Current | ? Other form |
| | property tax | of |
| ? Current | bill | identification |
| Military ID | | or |
| | ? Current | correspondence |
| | Homeowner's or | from a |
| | Renter's | government |
| | Insurance | agency |
| | Policy | |
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Source: Acalanes Union High School District website.
Committee Amendments : Staff recommends the bill be amended in
the following ways:
1)Require districts to accept rental contracts or leases,
utility contracts or statements, pay stubs, voter
registration, and correspondence from a government agency
displaying the address and name of the parent or guardian, in
addition to those documents currently listed in the bill.
2)Specify that districts are required to accept a declaration of
residency executed by the parent or guardian of the pupil
within the context of homelessness as defined by the federal
McKinney-Vento Act.
3)Clarify that this bill will not limit access to pupil
enrollment in a school district as provided by state and
federal statutes and regulations.
Previous Legislation : SB 1735 (Romero), which was vetoed by the
Governor in 2008 with the generic budget veto message, required
school districts to accept documents and representations that
reasonably provide evidence that a pupil meets residency
requirements for school attendance within the district that show
the name and address of the parent or guardian within the school
district; and, specified certain types of documents that shall
be considered reasonable evidence.
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AB 687 (Goldsmith), Chapter 309, Statutes of 1995 established an
annual state General Fund appropriation to school districts
adjacent to an international border to assist those districts in
verifying pupil residency; and, required school districts
receiving money to employ appropriate due process procedures for
pupil expulsion relating to residency.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Civil Liberties Union
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087