BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1059
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 4, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1059 (Liu) - As Amended: August 2, 2010
Policy Committee: Education Vote:7-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill clarifies financial and programmatic responsibility
for foster care pupils with special needs who have been detained
in a juvenile hall and then placed in a residential treatment
facility. Specially, this bill:
1)Establishes that a school district where the pupil with
special needs resides is responsible for the pupil receiving a
free appropriate public education (FAPE) under the federal
Individual with Disabilities Act (IDEA) and his or her
placement in a licensed children's institution (LCI), a
licensed foster care home, or a family home.
2)Specifies the county board of education (CBE) is responsible
for the FAPE of a pupil with special needs in juvenile hall,
unless the individualized education program (IEP) team
determines the pupil be placed in a residential placement
(i.e., LCI, licensed foster care home, family home). If the
IEP team makes this determination, the following applies with
respect to paying and providing for the educational placement
of the pupil:
a) For a pupil who has a biological parent, a legal
guardian, or an individual legally acting in the place of
the biological parent (e.g., grandparent), the school
district where the parent/guardian or individual resides is
responsible.
b) For a pupil with a foster parent, surrogate parent, or
individual appointed by the court to make educational
decisions for the pupil, the school district where the
pupil will be placed for the residential placement is
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responsible, unless the residential placement is out of
state. This measure specifies that if the pupil is placed
out of state, the school district where the child was last
enrolled prior to being placed in juvenile hall is
responsible.
3)Requires the county office of education (COE) to determine the
responsible school district (pursuant to the provisions above)
and notify the district of its responsibility. This bill also
requires the school district, as determined by the COE, to be
responsible for the duration of the pupil's residential
placement, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)GF/98 state mandated costs, likely less than $100,000, to COEs
to notify school districts of financial responsibility for a
pupil with special needs who was in a juvenile court school
and has been placed in a residential care facility, including
the cost of establishing an appeal process. In 2008-09, there
were 64 juvenile court schools with an enrollment of 12,347
pupils. There are less than 75 foster care pupils with
special needs who are placed in a residential facility
statewide in any given year.
2)Under current law, school districts and COEs are responsible
for providing pupils with special education services. This
bill attempts to clarify financial and programmatic
responsibility for foster care pupils with special needs who
have been detained in a juvenile hall and then placed in a
residential treatment facility. Therefore, this bill does not
represent a new GF/98 cost because a school district or COE is
currently required to pay for the education placement cost of
the pupil with special needs. It may, however, cause a shift
in financial responsibility from one district to another.
SUMMARY CONTINUED
4)Requires the responsible school district, if the IEP team
determines the pupil be placed in a non-residential
environment, to transition the pupil into a subsequent
education placement, including creating a transition plan, as
specified.
5)Requires the responsible school district, if a dispute arises
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regarding the responsibility for education placement services,
to implement an individualized education program, including,
but not necessarily limited to, paying and providing the
placement and any other related services, as specified. This
bill authorizes a school district to appeal to the CBE
regarding this decision, as specified.
6)Requires the responsible school district to immediately assume
the education costs of the placement. This measure authorizes
the county superintendent of schools, if the district fails or
refuses to assume the costs, to draw against the district's
funds, as specified.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . The federal IDEA delineates rights and services for
persons with disabilities. Specially, IDEA requires pupils to
have a right to a free and appropriate public education
(FAPE). As a result, school districts are responsible for
providing special education and related services pursuant to
an IEP, which is developed by a team with special education
expertise and knowledge of a child's particular needs (i.e.,
the IEP team).
This measure addresses foster youth who have been detained in
juvenile hall. Once a pupil enters juvenile hall, the COE
becomes the district of residence. The pupils affected by this
bill are typically in juvenile hall with "charges pending"
because the court believes treatment may be more appropriate
than detainment. If the IEP team, including mental health
professionals, determines a residential treatment placement
(e.g., a LCI, or a licensed foster care home, or a family
home) would better meet the pupil's needs than juvenile hall,
the juvenile court generally orders the placement.
According to the author, "For foster youth who are detained in
juvenile hall, attend juvenile court schools, and require
residential placement due to their special educational needs,
current unclear laws make it difficult to determine which
local education agency is legally responsible to provide
services required under IDEA. This problem is exacerbated when
the student is a former foster youth and parentless. This
bill would amend the law to clarify that it is the child's
school district of residence and not that of the responsible
adult or surrogate that is responsible for providing a FAPE to
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the child."
2)Existing law . When a pupil is detained in juvenile hall, the
COE where the juvenile hall is located is responsible for
providing educational services to the pupil, including special
education services. Statute also requires an IEP team to
determine whether or not a pupil with special needs should be
placed in a residential placement, including one out of state.
If a pupil with special needs is placed in an out of state
residential facility, the school district responsible for
paying these costs is the district where the pupil's parent
resides. This determination, however, is not always clear for
pupils who do not have "traditional parents" and instead, are
foster youth with parents/guardians designated by the state.
In cases where a foster youth in juvenile hall is placed in a
residential placement, COEs and school districts argue over
who will pay these costs. The COEs argue they are only
responsible for the educational costs of the pupil while he or
she resides in the juvenile court school operated by the COE.
Whereas, school districts often argue that they are not
responsible for the education placement costs because the
pupil never "resided" with the parent.
The issue of cost responsibility between local education
agencies (LEAs) has lead to disputes being filed to determine
the entity responsible for the education placement costs. The
Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) has heard several of
these cases and the decisions of the Administrative Law Judges
(ALJs) have varied. For example, one ALJ determined the COE
where the juvenile hall is located is responsible for the
costs of the pupil's placement; another determined it was the
school district where the pupil's parent/guardian resides; and
another determined it was the State Department of Education's
responsibility. In each one of these cases, however, the ALJ
seemed to focus on determining the residency of the pupil for
the purposes of attending school, as defined in current law.
Current law provides that a pupil complies with school
attendance residency requirements, if he or she is any of the
following: (a) a pupil placed within the boundaries of that
school district in a group home or foster home; (b) an
emancipated pupil whose residence is located within the
boundaries of that school district; and (c) a pupil who lives
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in the home of a caregiving adult that is located within the
boundaries of that school district.
This bill determines the school district responsible for the
costs of the education placement of foster youth initially
place in juvenile hall, as specified.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081