BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1909
Page A
Date of Hearing: May 9, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 1909 (Ammiano) - As Amended: March 29, 2012
�This bill was double referred to and heard by the Assembly
Judiciary Committee as it relates to the issues under its
jurisdiction.]
SUBJECT : Foster children: placement: suspension and expulsion:
notifications.
SUMMARY : Provides an appropriate representative of the county
child welfare agency and a foster child's attorney with
notifications about, and invitations to participate in, meetings
and hearings held when severe disciplinary action for a foster
child is pending. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the educational liaison of a local educational agency
(LEA), if designated by the superintendent of that LEA, to
notify a foster child's attorney and the appropriate
representative of the county child welfare agency of any of
the following:
a) Pending expulsion proceedings;
b) Pending proceedings to extend a suspension until an
expulsion decision is rendered; and,
c) Pending manifestation determinations for pupils with
disabilities pursuant to the federal Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
2)Requires the LEA to invite a foster child's attorney and the
appropriate representative of the county child welfare agency
to participate in a foster child's meeting to extend a
suspension.
3)Requires the LEA to invite a foster child's attorney and the
appropriate representative of the county child welfare agency
to participate in a foster child's individualized education
program (IEP) team meeting that makes a manifestation
determination pursuant to the federal IDEA.
4)Requires the LEA to provide written notice of an expulsion
hearing to the foster child's attorney and appropriate
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Page B
representative of the county child welfare agency at least 10
calendar days before the hearing for expulsions where the
decision to recommend expulsion is a discretionary act taken
by the LEA.
5)Authorizes the LEA to provide written notice of an expulsion
hearing to the foster child's attorney and appropriate
representative of the county child welfare agency at least 10
calendar days before the hearing for expulsions where the
decision to recommend expulsion is required under state law.
6)Requires a foster child's attorney to provide his or her
contact information to the educational liaison of a foster
child's LEA if a child who is 12 years of age or older
consents to the disclosure or if it is determined to be in the
best interest of a child younger than 12 years of age.
7)Authorizes a foster child's health and education summary to
include the name and contact information for the educational
liaison of the child's LEA.
8)Requires placing agencies to notify the educational liaison of
the foster child's LEA at the time the foster child is placed
in a licensed children's institution (LCI); and, authorizes
the notification to include the name and contact information
for:
a) A representative of the placing agency who can
communicate with the child's LEA about educational matters;
and,
b) The child's attorney.
9)Authorizes an agency that places a child in an out-of-home
placement other than a LCI to notify the educational liaison
of the foster child's LEA at the time of placement. Requires,
as part of the notification, that the placing agency provide
information on immediate past educational placements to
facilitate the prompt transfer of records and appropriate
educational placement and provide the name and contact
information for:
a) A representative of the placing agency who can
communicate with the child's LEA about educational matters;
and,
b) The child's attorney.
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EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires placing agencies to notify the LEA at the time a
pupil is placed in a LCI; and, requires the placing agency to
provide any available information on immediate past
educational placements to facilitate the prompt transfer of
records and appropriate educational placement. (Education Code
(EC) Section 44852)
2)Requires each LEA to designate a staff person as the
educational liaison for foster children who is required to
ensure and facilitate proper educational placement, enrollment
in school and checkout from school as well as to assist foster
children when transferring from one school to another in
ensuring proper transfer of credits, records and grades. (EC
Section 48853.5)
3)Provides that a pupil may be suspended or expelled for
committing any of the following offenses:
a) Causing, attempting to cause, or threatening to cause
physical injury to another person; or willfully using force
or violence upon another person, except in self-defense;
b) Possessing, selling, or otherwise furnishing a firearm,
knife, explosive, or other dangerous object;
c) Unlawfully possessing, using, selling or otherwise
furnishing a controlled substance;
d) Unlawfully offering, arranging or negotiating to sell a
controlled substance, alcoholic beverage, or an intoxicant
of any kind;
e) Committing or attempting to commit robbery or extortion;
f) Causing or attempting to cause damage to school property
or private property;
g) Stealing or attempting to steal school property or
private property;
h) Possessing or using tobacco, or products containing
tobacco or nicotine products;
i) Committing an obscene act or engaging in habitual
profanity or vulgarity;
j) Unlawfully possessing or unlawfully offering, arranging
or negotiating to sell drug paraphernalia;
aa) Disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully
defying the authority of supervisors, teachers,
administrators, school officials or other school personnel
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engaged in the performance of their duties;
bb) Knowingly receive stolen school property or private
property;
cc) Possessing an imitation firearm;
dd) Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or
sexual battery;
ee) Harassing, threatening or intimidating a pupil who is a
complaining witness or a witness in a school disciplinary
proceeding in order to prevent the pupil from being a
witness or retaliating against that pupil for being a
witness, or both;
ff) Unlawfully offering, arranging to sell, or negotiating
to sell the prescription drug Soma;
gg) Engaging in or attempting to engage in hazing;
hh) Engaging in the act of bullying, including, but not
limited to, bullying committed by means of an electronic
act;
ii) Committing sexual harassment (grades 4 through 12 only);
jj) Causing or attempting to cause, threatening to cause, or
participating in an act of hate violence (grades 4 through
12 only);
aaa) Engaging in harassment, threats, or intimidation against
school district personnel or pupils that have the effect of
disrupting classwork, creating substantial disorder and
invading the rights of either school personnel or pupils by
creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment
(grades 4 through 12 only); and,
bbb) Making a terroristic threat against school officials or
school property, or both. (EC Sections 48900, 48900.2,
48900.3, 48900.4, 48900.7)
4)Provides that a pupil is entitled to a hearing to determine
whether the pupil should be expelled. Requires the expulsion
hearing to be held within 30 schooldays after the date the
principal or superintendent of schools determines that the
pupil has committed acts that could warrant expulsion. (EC
Section 48918)
5)Requires written notice of an expulsion hearing hearing to be
forwarded to the pupil and the pupil's parent or guardian or
legal counsel at least 10 calendar days prior to the date of
the expulsion hearing including the following information:
a) Date and place of the hearing;
b) Statement of the specific facts and charges upon which
AB 1909
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the proposed expulsion is based; and,
c) A copy of the disciplinary rules of the district that
related to the alleged violation, among other things. (EC
Section 48918)
6)Requires the court to appoint counsel for a child who is not
represented by counsel unless the court finds that the child
would not benefit from the appointment of counsel. Authorizes
counsel to be a district attorney, public defender, or other
member of the bar provided that he or she does not represent
another party or county agency whose interests conflict with
the child's interests. Provides that a primary responsibility
of counsel is to advocate for the protection, safety and
physical and emotional well-being of the foster child.
(Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 317)
7)Requires the case plan for each child placed in foster care to
contain a summary of health and educational information or
records of the child, including the names and addresses of the
child's health, dental, and education providers, as specified.
(WIC Section 16010)
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : Background. This bill stems from recent research
indicating that foster youth are disproportionately exposed to
punitive disciplinary measures in comparison to their non-foster
youth peers. In 2009, a Stanford University study<1> of San
Mateo County found that foster youth were ten times more likely
than their non-foster youth peers to be expelled and 2.5 times
more likely to be suspended. Additionally, according to the
author of this bill, a study on foster youth focused on a cross
section of multiple states found that 67% of foster youth in the
sample had been suspended at least once from school. A far lower
number, 28% of non-foster youth surveyed, had been suspended at
least once from school.
The author states that foster youth do not receive the same
level of adult support that their non-foster youth peers receive
in disciplinary situations. Existing law requires a student's
parent to be notified when a child faces significant
---------------------------
<1> Castrechini, Sebastian, Educational Outcomes for
Court-Dependent Youth in San Mateo County (Nov. 2009), John W.
Gardner Cetner for Youth and Their Communities, Stanford School
of Education.
AB 1909
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disciplinary action. For foster youth, it is often difficult for
the school to identify the appropriate adult to contact if
discipline problems arise. This can result in the child being
removed from school without the appropriate county child welfare
agency representative or the child's attorney being notified.
Notifying these individuals and inviting them to participate in
a foster child's disciplinary hearings provides more
opportunities for these individuals to become involved in the
process and potentially advocate on behalf of the foster child.
This bill requires that a foster child's attorney and social
worker are notified of and invited to attend extended suspension
meetings and IEP team meetings when a manifestation
determination will be made. It also requires that written notice
be provided to a foster child's attorney and social worker at
least 10 days before an expulsion hearing is conducted if the
expulsion decision is at the discretion of the administrator. If
the expulsion decision is mandated by state law, this bill
authorizes LEAs to provide notice of the expulsion hearing to
the foster child's attorney and social worker at least 10 days
before the hearing. The written notification and 10 day timeline
mirrors existing law for notifying a pupil's parent or guardian
of an expulsion hearing. This bill also requires that a foster
child's attorney provide his or her name and contact information
to the educational liaison of the child's LEA. Further, it
authorizes placing agencies to provide the educational liaison
of an LEA with the name and contact information of the social
worker and the foster child's attorney upon that child's
placement in the district. Finally, this bill authorizes the
name and contact information of the educational liaison to
appear on the health and education summary of a foster child.
Disciplinary meetings and hearings. There are many types of
disciplinary meetings that take place in schools across
California ranging from parent-teacher-student conferences to
expulsion hearings. This bill deals with expulsion hearings,
extended suspension meetings, and IEP meetings making a
manifestation determination. These meetings occur when severe
disciplinary action is pending against a student and generally
represent the most serious disciplinary hearings a student can
have.
An LEA is required to hold an expulsion hearing for a student
prior to making a final expulsion decision. Districts can hold
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these hearings in various ways. Some governing boards conduct
the hearings on their own, while others may appoint an impartial
administrative panel of three or more certificated persons or
contract with the county hearing officer or with the Office of
Administrative Hearings. These hearings are closed to the public
unless the student follows specific procedures to request
otherwise. Whether the hearing ends up being closed or open to
the public, the governing board may hold a closed deliberation
session during the hearing. Current law allows for the parent or
guardian of the student, the student and, if the student has
counsel, the student's counsel to attend the closed
deliberation. Regardless of the exact form, however, the
hearing, administrative panel or hearing officer must determine
whether to recommend expulsion of the student within three
schooldays after the hearing. If expulsion is recommended, the
governing board's final decision must be based upon
substantiated evidence of the charges made against the student
at the expulsion hearing or hearings.
Meetings to extend a suspension are distinct from expulsion
hearings because they do not render a decision to expel nor are
they formal hearings. These meetings occur when expulsion or
suspension for the balance of the semester charges are pending.
These meetings convene key stakeholders in the student's life
and are called in order to determine if the presence of the
student at the school or in an alternative school placement
would cause a danger to persons or property or a threat of
disrupting the instructional process. If it is determined that
the presence of the student would in fact cause a danger to
persons or property or a threat of disrupting the instructional
process, the suspension of that individual is extended.
IEP team meetings making a manifestation determination are
distinct from either of the other two aforementioned meetings
because these meetings are only held for students with
exceptional needs. Further, the purpose of these meetings is to
determine whether the behavior leading to the pending
disciplinary action was a manifestation of the individual's
exceptional needs. They are required to be held for students
with exceptional needs in compliance with the federal IDEA and
call for the meeting of all individuals regularly involved in
the student's IEP team meetings.
Additional advocates aware of these meetings. This bill
authorizes the involvement of two additional adults who may
AB 1909
Page H
serve as advocates for the foster child at each of these three
disciplinary meetings.
The appropriate county welfare agency representative is most
commonly the foster child's social worker. This individual has
permission to access the educational records of an individual,
has the authority to regularly interact with the foster child
and is charged with the responsibility to advocate for the
child's general wellbeing. Further, the requirements set in
place to become a social worker mandate that the individual is
well versed in issues that frequently impact foster children. It
is likely that this individual could provide pertinent and
valuable information on behalf of a foster child in a hearing or
meeting to determine what course of disciplinary action will be
taken against the foster child.
The foster child's attorney may be a district attorney, public
defender, or other member of the bar. This is another individual
who has access to educational records and personal information
about the foster child. Further, the requirements set in place
to become a foster child's attorney require that the individual
is well trained to uphold the statutes of the law. Having the
foster child's attorney aware of disciplinary meetings would
likely provide the attorney with more opportunities to step in
to advocate for the foster youth and to ensure that the rights
of the foster child are protected during the disciplinary
process.
Both the county child welfare agency representative and the
attorney are charged with specific responsibilities for the
foster child and given access to information about the foster
child that uniquely positions them to advocate on that child's
behalf. They are typically familiar with the foster child and
may be able to provide school officials with information that
may be pertinent when the school official is weighing
appropriate disciplinary action.
Educational rights holder. Additionally, in some instances, the
court may terminate a parent's right to make educational
decisions for a child. In these situations, the court appoints
another individual who will be charged with becoming the
educational rights holder for the foster child. An example of
such an individual is a Court-Appointed-Special-Advocate (CASA)
who has become the educational rights holder. In its current
form, this bill does not provide notification of and invitation
AB 1909
Page I
to these disciplinary meetings to the educational rights holder
of a foster youth if that person is not the parent or guardian
of the child. As the bill moves forward, the author may wish to
consider addressing these situations by including notification
of and invitations to these disciplinary meetings for the
education rights holder if the parent or guardian's educational
rights have been terminated.
Sharing of contact information. This bill also requires and
authorizes the sharing of contact information in order to
facilitate communication between the key individuals and parties
identified in this bill. It requires a foster child's attorney
to provide his or her name and contact information to the
educational liaison of the foster child's LEA if the foster
child is older than 12 years old and consents to the disclosure
of the information or if the foster child is younger than 12
years old and it is determined to be in the child's best
interests. This bill requires placing agencies to notify the
educational liaison of a foster child's placement in an LCI in
that district. It authorizes placing agencies to provide the
name and contact information of the foster child's attorney and
a representative of the placing agency who can communicate about
educational matters. It further authorizes placing agencies to
notify the educational liaison of a foster child's placement in
an out-of-home placement other than a LCI and requires that, if
this notification is given, it must include the name and contact
information for the child's attorney and a representative of the
placing agency who can communicate about educational matters.
One change to existing law made by this bill in an effort to
facilitate better communication may lead to unintended
consequences. This bill would require that upon a foster child's
placement in an LCI that placing agencies notify the educational
liaison of an LEA. Current law requires the placing agency to
notify the LEA of such a placement. By narrowing the
requirements to provide this information only to the educational
liaison, others in the district who may currently be involved in
the collection and distribution of such information may no
longer be notified. In order to allow functional protocols to
remain in place and for more information to be provided to the
educational liaison, staff recommends broadening this section to
require the placing agency to notify the LEA, but stipulate that
this notification must also include the educational liaison in
the notification.
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Authorized vs. required notification. Finally, this bill, in an
effort to minimize the fiscal impact of the proposed changes,
authorizes the notifications to be given in mandated expulsion
situations and requires notification for discretionary
expulsions. Since the education code is permissive in nature,
LEAs do not need authorization to take some of the actions
authorized by this bill. It is unclear whether most school
districts would choose to conform to these new statutes;
however, this bill may raise awareness to school district
officials about the additional adults involved with the lives of
California's foster children.
Arguments in support. Public Counsel writes, "The timelines for
holding an expulsion hearing are short - 30 days from the
incident - and the rights that the child loses if the expulsion
is upheld are significant. It is crucial that the key people
responsible for that child's welfare know of any pending
expulsion. In addition, the Court and the child welfare agency
have resources, including mental health, wraparound, and
assessment services, that can help a youth who is struggling in
school to get back on track and prevent expulsion."
Legal Advocates for Children and Youth (LACY) adds, "LACY has
observed the positive results for both foster children and the
school districts and other systems serving them when the county
child welfare agency and the child's attorney have learned of
school discipline proceedings in time to intervene. For example,
in one case involving an on-campus physical altercation for
which a foster youth with no other notable discipline history
was facing expulsion, LACY was able to work with the youth and
her school district to discover previously unidentified
disability issues that were affecting the youth's education,
including a connection between the altercation and abuse the
youth previously had suffered. Once the school district had a
better understanding of the youth's issues, it no longer wanted
to expel her and instead offered supportive services. Once the
youth felt supported and was able to access appropriate
educational services, she developed strong, trusting
relationships with school staff, improved her grades and was
able to pursue her educational and vocational goals."
Related legislation. This bill is one of several bills
introduced this year to address concerns with the current laws
governing suspension and expulsion from school. They include:
AB 1909
Page K
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| Bill | Summary |
|------------------+-----------------------------------------------|
|AB 1729 (Ammiano) |Requires other means of correction to be used |
| |and documented prior to the suspension or |
| |expulsion of any student, and revises the |
| |steps taken for suspensions and expulsions of |
| |students with exceptional needs. |
|------------------+-----------------------------------------------|
|AB 2242 |Imposes in-school suspension and prohibits |
|(Dickinson) |off-campus suspension or extended suspension, |
| |or expulsion, due to disruption of school |
| |activities or willful defiance of school |
| |officials. |
|------------------+-----------------------------------------------|
|AB 2300 (Swanson) |Prohibits, at the request of a pupil or a |
| |pupil's parent or guardian, a school from |
| |disclosing a pupil's disciplinary records |
| |relating to suspensions to a postsecondary |
| |educational institution. |
|------------------+-----------------------------------------------|
|AB 2537 (V. |Limits the acts committed by pupils that |
|Manuel Perez) |result in mandatory expulsion; authorizes, |
| |rather than requires, a school district to |
| |expel a student for committing specified acts; |
| |and authorizes, rather than requires, a |
| |principal to notify appropriate law |
| |enforcement authorities of specified acts |
| |committed by pupils. |
|------------------+-----------------------------------------------|
|AB 2616 (Carter) |Eliminates the requirement and instead |
| |authorizes a school to use its discretion to |
| |classify a pupil who misses three full days in |
| |one school year or is tardy or absent for more |
| |than a 30-minute period during the schoolday |
| |without a valid excuse on three occasions in |
| |one school year, or any combination thereof, |
| |as a truant. |
|------------------+-----------------------------------------------|
|SB 1235 |Requires a school district to, if the number |
|(Steinberg) |of pupils suspended from school during the |
| |prior school year exceeded 25% of a school's |
| |enrollment or any numerically significant |
| |racial or ethnic subgroup, implement for a |
AB 1909
Page L
| |minimum of three years, an evidence-based |
| |system of schoolwide positive behavioral |
| |interventions or strategies that are evidence |
| |based and designed to address school climate. |
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Previous legislation. SB 1353 (Wright), Chapter 557, Statutes of
2010, requires consideration of educational stability as a part
of the best interests for foster youth and provides that a
foster youth's health and education summary also include the
number of school transfers the child has experienced.
AB 490 (Steinberg), Chapter 862, Statutes of 2003, expands and
stipulates authority for school records of foster, homeless, and
incarcerated youth; and, creates new duties and rights related
to the education of dependents and wards in foster care.
Specifically, it requires LEAs to identify and appoint an
educational liaison for foster youth responsible for
facilitating a foster youth's proper educational placement,
enrollment in school, checkout of school, and the transfer of
credits, records and grades from one school district to another.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Legal Advocates for Children & Youth (co-sponsor)
Public Counsel (co-sponsor)
Advancement Project
Alameda County Foster Youth Alliance
American Civil Liberties Union of California
Aspiranet
California Alliance of Child and Family Services
California Communities United Institute
California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association
California State PTA
California Teachers Association
California Youth Connection
Center on Juvenile & Criminal Justice
Chief Probation Officers of California
Children Now
Children's Advocacy Institute
Children's Defense Fund - California
Coleman Advocates for Children & Youth
AB 1909
Page M
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Disability Rights Legal Center
Elk Grove Unified School District
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California
Legal Services for Children
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Mills Legal Clinic - Stanford Law School
National Association of Social Workers - California Chapter
National Center for Youth Law
New America Foundation
Policylink
San Mateo Foster Youth Services
San Francisco Unified School District
Restorative Schools Vision Project
The Alliance for Children's Rights
Youth Justice Coalition LA
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Mark Murphy and Marisol Avi�a / ED. /
(916) 319-2087