BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1854|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1854
Author: Ammiano (D), et al
Amended: 6/30/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 5-2, 6/23/10
AYES: Romero, Alquist, Liu, Price, Simitian
NOES: Huff, Emmerson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock, Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-27, 6/1/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : School attendance: residency requirements
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires school districts to accept
reasonable evidence that a pupil meets residency
requirements for school attendance within the district, and
specifies certain types of documents that shall be
considered reasonable evidence.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires a person between 6 and
18 years of age not otherwise exempted to attend the public
full-time day school or continuation school or classes in
the school district where the person's parent or legal
guardian is located. Existing law provides various
exceptions to this residency requirement, including, but
not limited to, authorizing a pupil to attend school in a
school district in which his or her parent or guardian is
CONTINUED
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employed.
This bill:
1. Specifies that "reasonable evidence" of district
residency shall be established by documentation
including, but is not limited to:
A. Property tax payment receipts.
B. Rent contract, lease, or payment receipts.
C. Utility service contract, statement, or payment
receipts.
D. Pay stubs.
E. Voter registration.
F. Correspondence from a government agency.
G. Declaration of residency executed by the parent
or guardian of the pupil who is homeless, as
defined in Section 725 of the federal
McKinney-Vento Act.
2. 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 whether the pupil meets the
requirements.
3. Specifies that nothing in this section shall be
construed as limiting access to pupil enrollment in a
school district as otherwise provided by state and
federal statutes and regulations.
Previous Legislation
SB 1735 (Romero), Session 2007-08, would have required
school districts to accept any documents and
representations that reasonably provided 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
specifies certain types of documents that shall be
considered reasonable evidence. Passed the Senate Floor
with a vote of 23-14 on 8/21/08. Vetoed by the Governor,
whose veto message read, "The historic delay in passing the
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2008-2009 State Budget has forced me to prioritize the
bills sent to my desk at the end of the year's legislative
session. Given the delay, I am only signing bills that are
the highest priority for California. This bill does not
meet that standard and I cannot sign it at this time."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/30/10)
American Civil Liberties Union
California Federation of Teachers
California Teachers Association
Californians Together
Public Advocates, Inc.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"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 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."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans,
Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huffman, Jones, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Yamada, John A. Perez
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Blakeslee, Conway,
Cook, DeVore, Emmerson, Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Huber, Jeffries,
Knight, Logue, Miller, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Silva,
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Smyth, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Bradford, Norby, Audra
Strickland, Vacancy
PQ:do 6/30/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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