BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2241
Page A
Date of Hearing: April 11, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 2241 (Dickinson) - As Amended: March 29, 2012
SUBJECT : Pupils: Transitioning Youth for Success Program
SUMMARY : Establishes the Transitioning Youth for Success
Program for purposes of assisting youth in juvenile justice
facilities transition back into the community, as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations relative to youth in juvenile
detention facilities and the difficulties these youth
encounter in transition from such facilities to regular high
school settings, which often leads to their eventual
abandonment of the educational system all together.
2)Finds and declares that alternative educational placements
often do not have the resources to address the unique needs of
this population of students and expresses intent to make funds
available to provide programs to address the transition needs
of California's juvenile justice youth to increase the number
of youth who are successfully engaged in school, work and
community activities.
3)Establishes the Transitioning Youth for Success Program for
the purpose of prioritizing the use of funds allocated by the
California Department of Education (CDE) under Part D of Title
I of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001(NCLB).
4)Requires a school district or county office of education (COE)
that receives NCLB Part D of Title I (Part D) funds to use
those funds to provide programs and services that focus on the
special needs of youth who are or have been confined to a
facility where a juvenile court school or classes are
authorized to be offered, and states that the purpose of these
programs and services shall be to ensure that youth
successfully transition from those facilities and are provided
a support system to ensure their continued education.
5)Defines "eligible youth" as a juvenile who is or has been
confined to a facility where a juvenile court school or
classes are authorized to be offered, and defines "juvenile
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facility" as a facility where a juvenile court school or
classes are authorized to be offered.
6)Provides that as a condition to receive funding pursuant to
Part D, a COE and a school district shall submit an
application to the CDE that includes a description of the
manner in which the services or programs to be funded promote
the successful transition of eligible youth released from
juvenile facilities to further schooling or employment.
7)Requires the application to also include all of the following:
a) The appointment of a transition specialist or
coordinator to perform all of the specified activities,
including, among others, the development and coordination
of individualized transition plans, and transition
portfolios for eligible youth, and advocacy for eligible
youth as they transition from a juvenile facility.
b) A description of the characteristics, including learning
disabilities, below grade level achievement, substance
abuse problems, mental health issues, language access
issues, family issues, and other special needs, of the
eligible youth who will be transitioning out of juvenile
facilities and participate in the program.
c) A description from applicant COEs that include an
assessment of enrollment data for juvenile court schools
operated by a COE, including all of the specified
information.
d) A description from applicant school districts that
include an assessment of enrollment data for youth
transferring from juvenile court schools into schools
operated by a school district during the past two years,
and requires the assessment to include all of the specified
information.
e) An assessment and inventory of existing education,
probation, mental health, health, social services,
substance abuse prevention and treatment, and youth
services resources, including employment-related resources,
that will be available to specifically target eligible
pupils transitioning from juvenile facilities and indicate
to the extent to which the services and treatment address
the cultural and linguistic needs of eligible youth.
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f) A description of the manner in which the school district
or COE will coordinate with existing social, health, and
other services to meet the needs of transitioning eligible
youth, including a description of the extent to which
interagency and intersystem collaboration is established
among all relevant entities to ensure that all specific
transition and aftercare services are provided to eligible
youth.
g) Specifications of the role, responsibilities, and
agreements of all participating entities involved in the
transition process, including detention and probation
staff, health and mental health services, community-based
organizations, local businesses, other educational
agencies, and employment providers.
h) Specifications that information obtained shall be
maintained in a manner consistent with the protection of
confidentiality and may be disclosed or exchanged only as
permitted by state and federal law and shall not be used in
a civil or criminal proceeding against the pupil.
i) Transition strategies of response to be implemented,
which may include any of the following:
i) Individual pupil prerelease planning and case
management plans involving pupils, the pupil's parents or
legal guardians or care givers, education rights holders,
counsel, teachers, and probation officers that specify
academic and behavioral goals and needed services;
ii) Mentoring and structured after-school programs, as
specified;
iii) Prerelease training in social skills and independent
living skills;
iv) School-linked comprehensive counseling services and
other services for pupils and families;
v) School-linked substance abuse treatment and
education services;
vi) A comprehensive system of career and job-related
assessment and training;
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vii) Maintenance of contact with the eligible youth and
his or her family or care giver by the transition
specialist for at least six months after release to
minimize the risk of recidivism;
viii) Resources and services that encourage preparation
for higher education options;
ix) Transportation; and
x) A parenting education program.
j) A description of the manner in which the COE or school
district will ensure that eligible youth transitioning from
a juvenile facility will overcome barriers that prevent
them from reenrollment in an educational setting consistent
with the specifications;
aa) A description of the manner in which the program will
involve parents in efforts to improve the educational
achievement of their children;
bb) A data and information sharing system to ensure that the
actions identified in the transition plan are fully
coordinated and to provide data for measuring the success
of programs and services funded; and,
cc) An expenditure plan.
8)Requires a comprehensive transition plan be developed and
implemented for each eligible youth and include, but not be
limited to, all of the specified elements, and requires the
plan be developed with the collaboration and in consultation
with other educational staff and the youth and, whenever
possible, a youth's parent, guardian, or educational
decisionmaker, the youth's probation officer, and counsel.
9)Requires a copy of the transition plan and a portfolio with
the following information be given to the eligible youth and
his or her family: school transcripts, individualized
education program, if applicable, and any child-find
evaluation, credit analysis, and vocational assessment.
10)Requires, by December 1, 2013, the Superintendent of Public
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Instruction (SPI), in consultation with the Board of
Corrections and COEs, to develop consistent measures for
determining how to evaluate the success of programs and
services funded under this program, and stipulates that the
measures shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following: reenrollment in a regular comprehensive school,
attendance rates, graduation and dropout rates, passage rates
on the high school exit examination, the numbers of
suspensions and expulsions, indicators of academic performance
and achievement, placement in job training programs and paid
employment, and placement in institutions of higher education.
11)Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to amend
California's consolidated state application for the federal
NCLB Act as necessary, so that it adequately reflects the
requirements and provisions of this bill with respect to the
state's implementation of federal law.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides for the administration and operation of public
schools in juvenile halls, juvenile homes, day centers,
juvenile ranches, juvenile camps, regional youth educational
facilities, and certain group homes.
2)States that the Legislature encourages each county
superintendent of schools or governing board of a school
district, as specified, and the county chief probation officer
to enter into a memorandum of understanding or equivalent
mutual agreement to support a collaborative process for
meeting the needs of wards of the court who are receiving
their education in juvenile court schools with the purpose of
developing a collaborative model that will foster an
educational and residential environment that nurtures the
whole child and consistently supports services that will meet
the educational needs of the pupils.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Title I, Part D, of the federal NCLB Act, also known
as The Prevention and Intervention Programs for Children and
Youth who are Neglected, Delinquent or At-Risk (N or D), is a
federal categorical program that provides financial assistance
to local education agency's (LEAs) educational programs that
serve students who are neglected, delinquent, or at-risk;
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including programs involving collaboration with locally operated
correctional facilities. The purposes of this program are to
improve educational services for neglected and delinquent
children so they have the opportunity to meet the state's
academic content standards, provide services to assist the
transition from institutionalization to further schooling or
employment, prevent at-risk youth from dropping out of school,
and provide dropouts and children and youth returning from
correctional facilities with a support system to ensure their
continued education.
This bill establishes the Transitioning Youth for Success
Program to be funded with Part D funds and conditions receipt of
such funds on a LEA submitting an application to the CDE that
includes a series of very specific elements, including
appointment of a transition specialist or coordinator that will
carry out the prescribed duties intended to help youth
transition from juvenile facilities to comprehensive educational
programs. The application is required to identify the
transition strategies that will be implemented by the LEA and
this bill contains a lengthy list of the activities that may be
included in the application, ranging from mentoring and
counseling to substance abuse treatment and parenting education
programs.
According to the author, "The purpose of this bill is to ensure
that federal funds are spent to meet the needs of one of
California's most vulnerable student groups as required by
federal law. The bill targets special funds already made
available under Title I, Part D of the federal 'No Child Left
Behind' (NCLB) act to address the transition needs of
California's juvenile justice youth population." Additionally,
the author's staff and the sponsors of this bill point out that
the intent is to establish a new process of allocating these
funds in a manner that ensures Part D funds are spent in the
manner in which they are intended. This may create a potential
redistribution of funds as LEAs that currently receive these
funds may not necessarily receive future funds, if they fail to
meet the specifications of this bill. The author's interest is
indeed to focus and target these resources in this manner.
A new application for Part D funds : The federal NCLB requires
LEAs to submit an application for receipt of Part D funds and
the sponsors of this bill contend that the lengthy and extensive
application provisions in this bill are consistent with those
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requirements. Currently, the CDE solicits an annual application
from LEAs for Part D funds. The application includes a survey
and the Consolidated Application (ConApp). The annual survey
regards the location and number of children living in licensed
institutions for neglected or delinquent children, and the
ConApp portion requires submission of student academic
performance data, demographic data (age, race, and gender), and
the academic and vocational offerings of the LEA's Part D
program. This information is used to compute fiscal year
allocations to LEAs administering neglected and delinquent youth
programs. The allocation is based on percentage of eligible
students residing in licensed institutions for neglected or
delinquent children. CDE monitors LEAs for compliance in the use
of Part D funds through the Federal Monitoring Program (FPM)
process. Even though this bill requires LEAs to complete a very
comprehensive application as a condition of the receipt of Part
D funds, there is no requirement for CDE to necessarily create a
competitive selection process. It is the author and sponsors'
view that having a more comprehensive application process, as
opposed to the ConApp would lead to more appropriate uses of
these funds. The author states, "It is unclear to what extent
there has been a comprehensive evaluation to determine if the
programs and services currently funding by the millions of N or
D dollars doled out to school districts in California are
successfully serving targeted students."
Transition coordinator: According to research and literature,
the presence of a transition specialist is essential to assist
in the implementation of transition services. The duties of the
transition coordinator or specialist, as proposed by this bill,
are to develop and coordinate individualized transition plans,
serve as an advocate for the youth to help them reenroll in a
comprehensive public school, and coordinate with other agencies
to ensure a continuum of services. The requirement for a
transition coordinator is not a requirement of the federal NCLB
nor is it part of the repealed High-Risk Youth Education and
Public Safety Program, which this bill is modeled after, however
the sponsors of the bill note that this part of the bill was
informed by identified and recognized best practices. A
transition specialist can serve as a conduit for continuing the
transition plan developed in a juvenile facility, can be a
resource broker who provides individual transition-related
services, and can support youth in navigating and gaining access
to education and other public services aligned with youth's
transition needs. The National Evaluation and Technical
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Assistance Center for the Education of Children and Youth Who
Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At Risk (NDTAC), points out that
one of the characteristics of effective transition systems is
having a transition coordinator or specialist to direct and
organize the transition process.
Transition plans : A second characteristic of effective
transition systems, according to NDTAC is the development of
transition plans upon first contact with the youth. The
transition plan is the map that guides the youth toward eventual
release and successful reintegration into the community. Some
may argue that developing plans as comprehensive as those
required by this bill may be challenging to accomplish for youth
that do not spend extended amounts of time at juvenile
facilities. For example, there may be youth that spend a little
as 10 days in these facilities and it may be questionable as to
whether a comprehensive plan can be developed in such a short
time frame. Others may argue that a transition plan should be
developed regardless of the amount of time the youth spends in
the facility. In fact, research suggests that to attain a
successful outcome, transition planning should begin the day the
youth arrives at the correctional facility and should not be
thought of as finite; rather it must be conceptualized as a
longitudinal process in which the plan changes and is revised as
the needs of the youth change. In order to provide some
parameters while at the same time give a level of flexibility to
develop transition plans for all youth, staff recommends the
bill be amended on page 4, line 35 and page 8, line 13, to
specify that plans shall be developed for all eligible youth, to
the extent practicable, but at a minimum for all eligible youth
who have been confined to a facility more than 30 days. This is
consistent with information available in the 2009 Juvenile
Detention Profile Survey that demonstrates that the average
length of stay in juvenile hall is 24.9 days. Setting a 30-day
requirement gives flexibility and relives a LEA from the having
to develop plans for youth who may only be in the facility for
10, 15 or less than 30 days.
In requiring the development of a comprehensive transition plan,
this bill appears to require screening for eligibility of
special education services, which may appear inconsistent with
existing federal and state law on special education referral and
assessment. Additionally, this process also requires assessment
to determine whether the youth is an English learner (EL) or
fluent English proficient (FEP) and the language status of the
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youth's parent or guardian. Existing law requires a
determination of home language to be conducted upon enrollment
in school and provides that once the language status of the
child is determined, it need not be re-determined, unless a
parent requests it. The language status of a pupil should be in
the pupil's records. As written the bill appears to be
requiring assessment of all eligible youth even though some of
this information may already be in a pupil's record. Staff
recommends the bill be amended to revise these provisions and
ensure they are consistent with existing law as follows:
On page 8, line 22, strike out "Screening for
eligibility of special education services" and insert
"A review of pupil records for purposes of conducting
appropriate child find activities consistent with
Article 1 of Chapter 4 of Part 30."
On page 8, strike out lines 28-30, inclusive and
insert "Determine the youth's language proficiency
status consistent with Sections 52164.1 and 313."
A categorical program: According to the sponsors, the design of
the program established by this bill is modeled after a
previously repealed program, federal statutes governing Part D,
and best practices. The High-Risk Youth Education and Public
Safety Program (HRYEPS) was enacted in 1997 for purposes of
implementing prevention, early intervention and transition
services for high risk youth. In 2004, HRYEPS program funds
were consolidated into the Pupil Retention Block Grant and the
program statutes were repealed. In 2009, as part of budget
actions, the Pupil Retention Block Grant was incorporated into
the categorical flexibility provisions, pursuant to SBX3 4
(Ducheny), Chapter 12, Statutes of the 2009-10 Third
Extraordinary Session, giving school districts the authority to
use funds from 39 categorical funds for any educational purpose
from fiscal year (FY) 2008-09 through 2012-13. Recent budget
actions have extended the flexibility provisions to FY 2014-15.
Even though the provisions of the program have been repealed,
school districts have the flexibility to continue to operate
such programs.
Extensive research has demonstrated that categorical programs in
California have limited schools' ability to use funding
efficiently and effectively. The 2007 Getting Down to Facts
research studies criticize the prescriptive nature of several of
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the programs currently in existence and state that there is no
evidence to support the idea that simply introducing yet more
new programs will produce the desired student achievement gains.
The research studies further state, "California already has far
over 100 well-intentioned categorical programs, and there is no
reason to think that adding one or two more will make much of a
difference, no matter how carefully targeted or lavishly funded.
The marginal impact of any new program will be small."<1>
Recent budget actions have resulted in giving school districts
increased flexibility over the use of various categorical
program funds from the 2008-09 to the 2014-15 fiscal years.
This bill essentially reenacts a program that was previously
consolidated into a block grant. However, an argument could be
made that these are federal funds with specific rules and
therefore state statute should reflect the requirements of the
federal law. It can further be argued that juvenile justice
youth are a high-risk population and that there is merit to
creating a dedicated program for purposes of addressing their
specific transition needs. According to information provided by
the author, "research confirms that many juvenile justice youth
have experienced repeated interruptions in their education
before they entered the juvenile justice system and had already
dropped out of school or were at high risk of doing so. Many of
these youth also have a history of truancy and school
discipline. A large percentage of these youth function well
below grade level and a disproportionate percentage are special
education eligible (40-70%), many of whom have learning
disabilities."
The Select Committee on Delinquency Prevention and Youth
Development held an informational hearing in December, 2011
focused on school climate and positive youth development. The
Select Committee heard testimony regarding expelled students who
had come in contact with the juvenile justice system and the
fact that these youth were much more likely to return to
incarceration unless they were successfully transitioned back
into mainstream educational programs and schools. This bill
embodies recommendations that came out of the hearing of the
Select Committee.
Additional technical amendments : As currently drafted, the bill
requires the application to include a description of the
---------------------------
<1> Loeb, Susanna, Brunk, Anthony, Hanushek, Eric. Getting Down
to Facts: School Finance and Governance in California. Stanford
University, March 2007.
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characteristics of the eligible youth and lists various
characteristics, some of which could be confidential
information; hence the appropriateness of including such
information on an application may be questionable. Staff
recommends an amendment to delete lines 22-27, inclusive on page
5, and instead insert: "A general description of the
demographics and characteristics of the youth that will be
served."
To clarify that either a COE or a school district may apply for
Part D funds: On page 4, line 28, strike out "and" and insert
"or"
To conform to a previous suggested amendment: On page 4, lines
36-37, strike out "for all eligible youth" and on page 4, line
38, strike out "for each eligible youth"
Arguments in support : The Mexican American Legal Defense and
Educational Fund writes,
Successful transition which results in continued engagement in
school or employment can have a profound positive impact on
reducing recidivism. AB 2241 is an important step forward for
addressing the unique needs of some of California's most
vulnerable youth."
The American Civil Liberties Union writes, "This bill would
ensure that theses federal funds are targeted to help juvenile
justice youth make a successful transition from detention to
further education or employment by providing them with a
comprehensive transition plan and supportive services. Among
other things, a transition coordinator will work with other
community and employment agencies and school districts to ensure
the seamless continuum of services for youth upon their release.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Public Counsel (Co-Sponsor)
Youth Law Center (Co-Sponsor)
American Civil Liberties Union
Association of California School Administrators - If amended
California Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
California Police Chiefs Association
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California Teachers Association
Center for Juvenile Law and Policy at Loyola Law School
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
East Bay Children's Law Offices
Fight Crime Invest in Kids California
Junior Leagues of California
Legal Services for Children
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Pico California
Restorative Schools Vision Project
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi�a / ED. / (916) 319-2087