BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 207
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 30, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 207 (Ammiano) - As Introduced: January 31, 2011
SUBJECT : School attendance: residency requirements.
SUMMARY : 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.
Specifically, 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; and,
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 legal 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.
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.
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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
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
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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.
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. 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:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| Group 1 | Group 2 | Group 3 |
|---------------------+---------------------+---------------------|
AB 207
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| | | |
| Current | Current | State or |
| Passport | Rental/Lease | Federal Tax |
| Current | Agreement with | Return with W-2 |
| Driver License | name and | attached |
| with vehicle | address of | |
| registration | parent and | Payroll/Check Stub with name |
| Current CA | property | & address |
| ID | manager | Other form |
| Current | Current | of |
| Military ID | property tax | identification |
| | bill | or |
| | Current | correspondence |
| | Homeowner's or | from a |
| | Renter's | government |
| | Insurance |agency |
| | Policy | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Acalanes Union High School District website.
Previous legislation: AB 1854 (Ammiano) from 2010, which was
substantially similar to this bill and was vetoed by the
Governor, required school districts to accept reasonable
evidence that a pupil meets residency requirements for school
attendance within the district; and, specified certain types of
documents that shall be considered reasonable evidence. The
Governor vetoed this bill with the following message:
This bill would undermine and potentially limit a local
district's current residency verification process.
Determining what proofs of residency should be accepted
should continue to remain a local decision. Nothing in
current law prohibits a school district from using any
type of documentation that fits its local circumstances.
For these reasons, I am unable to sign this bill.
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.
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
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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
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
ALF-CIO
California Association for Bilingual Education
California Federation of Teachers
California Immigrant Policy Center
Californians Together Coalition
Evergreen School District
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Public Advocates
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087