BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2276
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2276 (Bocanegra)
As Amended August 19, 2014
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(May 27, 2014) |SENATE: |35-0 |(August 21, |
| | | | | |2014) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Makes a number of changes regarding the transfer of
pupils from juvenile court schools to district schools.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a pupil who has had contact with the juvenile justice
system to be immediately enrolled in a public school.
2)Encourages local educational agencies (LEAs) to enter into
memoranda of understanding and create joint policies, systems,
including data sharing systems, transition centers, and other
joint structures, create uniform systems for calculating and
awarding course credit, and allow for the immediate enrollment
of pupils transferring from juvenile court schools.
3)Specifies that as part of their existing responsibilities for
coordinating education and services for youth in the juvenile
justice system, the county office of education (COE) and
county probation department shall have a joint transition
planning policy that includes collaboration with relevant LEAs
to improve communication regarding dates of release and the
educational needs for pupils who have had contact with the
juvenile justice system, to coordinate immediate school
placement, and to ensure that probation officers in the
community have the information they need to support the return
of pupils who are being transferred from juvenile court
schools to public schools in their communities.
4)Requires, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget
Act, the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) and the
Board of State and Community Corrections to convene a
statewide group with stakeholders from the community, advocacy
organizations, and education and probation department leaders
to develop a model and study existing successful county
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programs for the immediate transfer of educational records,
uniform systems for calculating and awarding credits,
transition planning, and immediate enrollment of pupils who
are being transferred from juvenile court schools.
5)Requires, on or before January 1, 2016, the statewide group to
report its findings and provide recommendations for state
action to the Legislature and appropriate policy committees.
Requires the report to be submitted consistent with the
procedures for submitting reports to the Legislature under the
Government Code. Repeals the provisions requiring the report
on January 1, 2020.
6)Finds and declares that pupils who have had contact with the
juvenile justice system are often denied credit or partial
credit earned during enrollment in juvenile court schools.
Delays in school enrollment and loss of earned credit can
result in improper class or school placement, denial of
special education services, and school dropout.
7)Specifies that the proper and timely transfer between schools
of pupils in foster care is the responsibility of both the
LEA, including the COE for pupils in foster care who are
enrolled in juvenile court schools, and the county placing
agency, which includes the county probation department.
8)Requires, a county placing agency or a COE to contact the
appropriate person at the LEA of the pupil as soon as the
county placing agency or COE becomes aware of the need to
transfer a pupil in foster care out of his or her current
school. Specifies that the county placing agency is required
to notify the LEA of the date that the pupil will be leaving
the school and request that the pupil be transferred out.
9)Specifies that upon receiving a transfer request from a county
placing agency or notification of enrollment from the new LEA,
the LEA receiving the transfer request or notification shall,
within two business days, transfer the pupil out of school and
deliver the educational information and records of the pupil
to the next educational placement.
10)Defines "county placing agency" as a county social services
department or county probation department.
11)Defines "local educational agency" as a school district, a
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COE, a charter school participating as a member of a special
education local plan area, or a special education local plan
area.
The Senate amendments require immediate enrollment of a pupil
who has had contact with the juvenile justice system in a public
school rather than prohibit the denial of immediate enrollment
of a pupil who has been enrolled in a juvenile court school.
Senate amendments also establish definitions for "county placing
agency" and "local educational agency" and specify that the
requirement for the SPI and the Board of State and Community
Corrections to convene a statewide group and submit a report to
the Legislature is contingent upon appropriation in the Budget
Act.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)Stakeholder process: Significant costs in 2015-16 to the
California Department of Education (CDE) to convene the
stakeholder group, to staff its meetings and work, and to
write the report. Staff costs are likely to be $100,000
(General Fund) for 1 Personal Year; costs for the actual
stakeholder meetings (including travel expenses and meeting
space) will depend on the size of the group and the location
of its members, but would likely be in the tens of thousands
of dollars (General Fund).
2)Report recommendations: Significant ongoing General Fund cost
pressure for the state to implement the group's
recommendations.
3)Mandate: Potentially significant reimbursable state mandate
on COEs and county probation departments to have joint
transition planning policies, as specified.
4)Local cost pressure: This bill "strongly encourages" LEAs to
enter into memoranda of understanding and create joint
policies, systems, including data sharing systems, transition
centers, and other joint structures that will allow for the
immediate transfer of educational records, create uniform
systems for calculating and awarding course credit, and allow
for the immediate enrollment of pupils transferring from
juvenile court schools. To the extent that LEAs consider the
state's "strong encouragement," the bill creates cost pressure
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to take on that additional workload.
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill clarifies existing
law to help ensure that juvenile justice-involved youth have a
successful educational transition when they return to their
local schools, and creates a process to help promote best
practices for this transition. The author states that school
engagement reduces recidivism, and that if a pupil does not
successfully transition back to their local school, they will
likely reoffend and return to confinement; yet, very little is
done to effectively transition youth from juvenile court schools
to local district schools. According to the author, nationwide,
66% of justice-involved youth are not reenrolled in school after
release from custody.
County boards of education oversee juvenile court schools, which
can be situated in a variety of settings, including juvenile
halls, group homes, ranches, camps, day centers, or regional
youth facilities. The schools are required to provide
incarcerated pupils with an educational program that meet
minimum daily minutes and state standards. According to the
CDE, as of October 2010, there were 83 juvenile court schools in
California.
This bill requires a pupil who has had contact with the juvenile
justice system to be immediately enrolled in a public school
even if the pupil has outstanding fees, fines, textbooks, or
other items or moneys due to the school last attended or is
unable to produce clothing or records normally required for
enrollment, such as previous academic records, medical records,
including, but not limited to, records or other proof of
immunization history, proof of residency, other documentation,
or school uniforms.
This bill does several things in an effort to bring about
collaboration at the local level. This bill encourages LEAs to
form memoranda of understanding and create joint policies,
systems, transition centers and joint structures in order to
expedite the transfer of educational records, create uniform
systems for calculating and awarding course credit, and allow
for the immediate enrollment of pupils transferring from
juvenile court schools.
This bill also directs COEs and county probation departments, in
collaboration with LEAs, to have a joint transition planning
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policy to improve communication regarding a pupil's release from
juvenile court school and the placement in school, while
ensuring that probation officers have the information they need
to support the return of a pupil to school. To develop a
statewide perspective and identify model local programs, this
bill directs the SPI and the Board of State and Community
Corrections to convene a statewide group with stakeholders from
the community, advocacy organizations, and education and
probation department, and submit a report to the Legislature, if
funds are appropriated for this purpose in the Budget Act.
This bill clarifies the role of COEs in facilitating the
transfer of pupils released from juvenile court schools and
clarifies that a "county placing agency" means a county social
services department or county probation department.
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN:
0004941