BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 207|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 207
Author: Ammiano (D)
Amended: 6/8/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 6-2, 6/15/11
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price, Vargas
NOES: Blakeslee, Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Simitian, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-23, 4/25/11 - 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 the residency
requirements for school attendance in that district, and
specifies which documentation schools must accept as proof
of residency.
ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
1.Requires pupils to attend school in the district in which
the residency of either the parent or legal guardian is
located.
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2.Provides that a pupil meets residency requirements under
the following circumstances:
A. A pupils is placed in a regularly established
licensed children's institution, or a licensed foster
home, or a family home.
B. A pupil for who interdistrict attendance has been
approved.
C. A pupil whose parent or legal guardian is relieved
of responsibility, control and authority through
emancipation.
D. A pupil who lives in the home of a caregiving
adult (an affidavit under penalty of perjury is
required).
E. A pupil residing in a state hospital.
F. Until July 1, 2012, a pupil with at least one
parent or legal guardian who is physically employed
within the boundaries of that district.
3.Authorizes school districts adjacent to an international
boarder to accept a wide range of documents and
representations as reasonable evidence that the pupil
meets the residency requirements for school attendance
within the district. Documentation of residency for
these districts may include, but are 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.
4.Requires a school district that is adjacent to an
international border to make reasonable efforts to
determine that the pupil actually meets the residency
requirements if any employee of the district reasonably
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believes that the parent or guardian has provided false
or unreliable evidence of residency.
This bill requires school districts to accept reasonable
evidence that a pupil meets the residency requirements for
school attendance in that district, and specifies which
documentation schools must accept as proof of residency.
Specifically, this bill:
1.Requires a school district to accept from the parent or
guardian of a pupil reasonable evidence that the pupil
meets the residency requirements for school attendance in
the district.
2.Requires reasonable evidence of residency for a pupil
living with his or her parent or guardian to be
established by documentation showing the name and address
of the parent or guardian within the school district,
including, but not limited to, any of the following
documentation:
A. Property tax payment receipts.
B. Rental property 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.
3.Prohibits anything in this bill from being construed to
require a parent or guardian to show all of the documents
listed above.
4.Authorizes a school district to make reasonable efforts
to determine that the pupil actually meets the residency
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requirements if any employee of a district reasonably
believes that the parent or guardian has provided false
or unreliable evidence of residency.
5.Prohibits anything in this bill from being construed as
limiting access to pupil enrollment in a school district
as otherwise provided by federal and state statutes and
regulations. This specifically includes immediate
enrollment and attendance guaranteed to a homeless child
or youth without any proof of residency or other
documentation pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento
Homeless Assistance Act.
6.Prohibits a school district from requiring proof of
residency for an unaccompanied youth (the definition of
which includes homeless and foster youth), consisted with
the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. A
school district must accept a declaration of residency
executed by the unaccompanied youth in lieu of a
declaration of residency executed by his or her parent or
guardian.
7.Deletes existing law relative to reasonable evidence of
residency in school districts that are adjacent to an
international boarder.
Background
The California Department of Education (CDE) has issued
legal advisories intended to assist school districts and
county offices of education regarding the information they
may rely on to determine that a pupil is a resident for
purposes of school attendance, including, in the context of
homeless pupils, advising districts to accept any kind of
document, including a parental declaration of intent to
remain in the district for an indefinite period. In Legal
Advisory LO:1-95, (March 3, 1995) 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.
Comments
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Local Control . This bill essentially prohibits school
districts from refusing to accept certain documents as
proof of residency, thereby diminishing the discretion of
school districts to determine which documents to accept.
While this bill does allow districts to accept documents
not listed in the bill, districts would be required to
accept documents listed in this bill as reasonable evidence
of residency.
Prior Legislation
AB 1854 (Ammiano), 2009-10 Session, was nearly identical to
this bill. Passed the Senate with a vote of 21-11 on
8/18/10. The bill was vetoed by the Governor, whose veto
message read:
"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."
SB 1735 (Romero), 2007-08 Session, was very similar to this
bill. The bill passed the Senate with a vote of 23-14 on
8/21/08. The bill was vetoed by the Governor, whose veto
message read:
"The historic delay in passing the 2008-09 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 6/16/11)
American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
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Employees
Asian Law Alliance
California Association for Bilingual Education
California Federation of Teachers
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Teachers Association
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Evergreen School District
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Public Advocates
Public Counsel Services
Immigrant Rights & Education Network
OPPOSITION : (Verified 6/16/11)
Greater South Bay Education Coalition
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"Without uniform guidelines on the procedures school
districts need to perform to verify student residency,
school districts across the state have created inconsistent
and sometimes overly burdensome requirements on students
and their parents or guardians to establish their residence
in the school district. Some families, including victims
of domestic violence, immigrant and low wage workers, and
the homeless, often have difficulty in providing proof to
establish residency within a school district."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-23, 4/25/11
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan,
Butler, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis,
Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Galgiani, Gordon,
Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Hueso, Huffman,
Lara, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning,
Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Skinner,
Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Fletcher, Garrick, Gatto, Grove, Halderman, Harkey,
Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller, Morrell,
Nestande, Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Charles Calderon, Furutani, Gorell,
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Hagman, Huber, Jones, Norby, Olsen, Vacancy
CPM:cm 6/16/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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