BILL NUMBER: AB 854 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Weber
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to amend Sections 42920.5, 42921, 42922, 42923, and 42924
of, to add Sections 42921.5, 42926, and 42927 to, and to repeal and
add Sections 42920 and 42925 of, the Education Code, relating to
educational services.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 854, as introduced, Weber. Educational services: pupils in
foster care.
(1) Existing law requires 6 specified foster children services
program sites to receive a certain allowance that is required to be
used exclusively for foster children services. Existing law
authorizes any county office of education, or consortium of county
offices of education, to apply to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction for grant funding, to the extent the funds are available,
to operate an education-based foster youth services program to
provide educational and support services for foster children who
reside in a licensed foster home or county-operated juvenile
detention facility, as specified.
This bill would instead authorize a county office of education, or
consortium of county offices of education, to apply to the
Superintendent for grant funding, to the extent funds are available,
to operate an education-based foster youth services program to
provide educational support for pupils in foster care.
(2) Existing law also requires each foster youth services program
to identify at least one person as the foster youth educational
services coordinator, if sufficient funds are available, and assigns
the foster youth services program certain responsibilities, and
requires him or her to facilitate the provision of educational
services, as provided, to certain foster youth. Existing law
authorizes a foster youth services program to prescribe a methodology
for determining which pupils may be served.
This bill would instead require the identified foster youth
educational services coordinator to facilitate the provision of
educational support to any pupil in foster care residing or attending
school in the county, as specified. The bill would require a foster
youth services program, in consultation with the county social
services agency and county probation department, to prescribe the
methodology for designing specific educational supports for pupils in
foster care, as specified. The bill would require each foster youth
services program to develop and implement a foster youth services
plan, as specified, and to assist school districts in developing and
implementing certain portions of their local control and
accountability plans, as specified. The bill would require each
foster youth services program to establish an interagency oversight
board, as provided. This bill would require each foster youth
services program to assist school districts in specific ways, and
would require each school district or charter school to designate a
schoolsite-based staff person as a liaison to pupils in foster care
if a schoolsite has one or more pupils in foster care, and to provide
the liaison's contact information to the county foster youth
services coordinator. By imposing additional duties on school
districts and charter schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
(3) Existing law requires the Superintendent, by February 15 of
each even-numbered year, to report to the Legislature and the
Governor on the foster children services provided by school
districts, as specified, and requires each school district providing
foster children services to report to the Superintendent, by January
1 of each even-numbered year, any information the Superintendent may
require for purposes of preparing the report.
The bill would instead require each county office of education
providing foster youth services to report to the Superintendent, by
January 1 of each even-numbered year, any information the
Superintendent may require for purposes of preparing the report that
is submitted to the Legislature and the Governor by February 15 of
each even-numbered year, and would require the report to include
different information, including aggregate educational outcome data,
as specified.
(4) Existing law provides that any school district which provides
educational services for foster children pursuant to the provisions
above shall receive funding in any fiscal year for those services
only by such sums as may be specifically appropriated by the annual
Budget Act of the Legislature for that fiscal year for support of
those school-centered foster children services which provide program
effectiveness and potential cost savings to the state.
This bill would instead provide that a county office of education
that provides education support for pupils in foster care shall
receive funding in any fiscal year for that support only by such sums
as may be specifically appropriated by the annual Budget Act of the
Legislature for that fiscal year for support of foster youth services
programs that provide pupils in foster care with supplemental
educational support. The bill also would require county offices of
education to develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding
with the county child welfare agency to leverage funding, as
specified.
(5) This bill also would require the Superintendent to identify a
State Foster Youth Services Director within the State Department of
Education who would have certain responsibilities related to foster
youth services programs, and would authorize the State Foster Youth
Services Director to form an advisory committee, as specified. The
bill would also authorize the Superintendent to provide funding to
one or more local educational agencies to work with the State Foster
Youth Services Director to provide the statewide technical support
needed to improve the educational success of pupils in foster care,
as specified.
(6) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 42920 of the Education Code is repealed.
42920. (a) The Legislature finds as follows:
(1) It is essential to recognize, identify and plan for the
critical and unique needs of children residing in licensed community
care facilities.
(2) A high percentage of these foster children are working
substantially below grade level, are being retained at least one year
in the same grade level, and become school dropouts.
(3) Without programs specifically designed to meet their
individual needs, foster children are frequently dysfunctional human
beings at great penal and welfare costs.
(b) The Legislature further finds and declares that the
instruction, counseling, tutoring, and related services for foster
children that provide program effectiveness and potential cost
savings shall be a state priority. Funding for that purpose is hereby
provided to the following unified school districts and consortia
that have successfully operated foster children services program
sites: Elk Grove, Mount Diablo, Sacramento City, San Juan, and
Paramount, and the Placer-Nevada consortium.
SEC. 2. Section 42920 is added to the Education Code, to read:
42920. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Pupils in foster care represent one of the most vulnerable and
academically at-risk pupil groups enrolled in California schools.
The academic status of pupils in foster care is often profoundly
impacted by the foster care system in which many pupils in foster
care experience multiple placements with an average frequency of one
placement change every six months. Due to this movement, pupils in
foster care lose an average of four to six months of educational
attainment with each move. Therefore, it is essential to recognize,
identify, and plan for the critical and unique educational needs of
pupils in foster care.
(b) A high percentage of pupils in foster care are working
substantially below grade level, and over one-half of the pupils in
foster care are retained at least one year in the same grade level.
Pupils in foster care earn lower grades and achieve lower scores on
standardized achievements tests in reading and mathematics, have
lower levels of engagement in school, and are half as likely as
pupils not in foster care to be involved in extracurricular
activities. The long-term consequences of poor academic experiences
are significant. Pupils in foster care are twice as likely as pupils
not in foster care to drop out of school before graduation and only
45 percent of pupils in foster care have graduated from high school
at the time of emancipation. Foster youth are similarly under
represented in college enrollment rates and dramatically underperform
their peers in relation to college completion. Pupils in foster care
are also subject to disproportionate levels of disciplinary
measures, including suspension and expulsion. It is imperative that
California close the foster youth achievement gap so that pupils in
foster care can realize their full potential, reach their college and
career goals, and become independent, productive members of society.
(c) Foster youth are an especially vulnerable pupil population, as
they are often also members of other underserved pupil groups. In
2013, the demographic data of pupils in foster care in California
were as follows:
(1) The largest ethnic group amongst pupils in foster care was
Hispanic, with nearly half of the population.
(2) African American and Native American pupils continue to be
disproportionately represented in the child welfare system, as
researchers found that 26 percent of pupils in foster care were
African American despite African Americans only accounting for 7
percent of the pupil population in California, and 2 percent of
pupils in foster care were Native American despite Native Americans
only accounting for 1 percent of the pupil population in California.
(3) Nearly one in five pupils in foster care had special education
needs, which is over twice the rate of the statewide pupil
population.
(4) More than one in ten pupils in foster care were English
learners.
(d) Compounded by the research that indicates that there is a need
for California to close the achievement gap between specific ethnic
pupil populations and white pupils, addressing the foster youth
achievement gap will further efforts that support education equity
for all pupils.
(e) Given their current academic status, pupils in foster care are
more likely to achieve to their full potential when they are
provided services and programs designed to meet their particular
needs, including, but not limited to, supplemental instruction,
counseling, tutoring, and other support services.
(f) Policies and laws addressing the educational rights of pupils
in foster care must be implemented so that pupils in foster care are
immediately enrolled in school, provided access to meaningful
opportunities to meet state academic standards, educated in the least
restrictive educational environment, and provided access to a
rigorous curriculum, adequately prepared to enter postsecondary
education, and afforded the academic resources, services, and
extracurricular and enrichment activities available to other pupils
enrolled in California's public schools.
(g) Foster youth services programs provide pupils in foster care
needed educational support and are a state priority.
SEC. 3. Section 42920.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:
42920.5. (a) (1) Commencing with fiscal
year 1982-83, and each fiscal year thereafter, each of the
following six foster youth services program
sites specified in subdivision (b) of Section 42920
sites: Elk Grove, Mount Diablo, Sacramento City, San Juan, Paramount,
and the Placer Nevada consortium, shall receive, in
addition to the base revenue limit, an allowance from the amount
annually transferred to Section A of the State School Fund equal to
the amount the district spent on foster children service programs in
fiscal year 1981-82, adjusted to reflect cost-of-living increases by
the total percentage increase received by all categorical education
programs. In no event shall this cost-of-living adjustment exceed the
inflation adjustment provided pursuant to Section 42238.
This
(2) This allowance shall be used
exclusively for foster children services.
The
(3) The six program sites may
continue to record revenue received pursuant to this subdivision in
the same manner used to record revenue received for foster children
services in the 1981-82 fiscal year.
The
(4) The six program sites shall
maintain their foster children services programs in fiscal year
1995-96 and each subsequent fiscal year at a program level comparable
to that at which they administered those programs in fiscal year
1994-95.
(b) Commencing with fiscal year 1982-83, the base revenue of each
of the six school districts specified in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (b) of Section 42920 (a)
shall be permanently reduced in an amount equal to the amount spent
on foster children services in fiscal year 1981-82.
SEC. 4. Section 42921 of the Education Code is amended to read:
42921. (a) In addition to the six program sites specified in
Section 42920, any 42920.5, a county
office of education, or consortium of county offices of education,
may elect to apply to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction for grant funding, to the extent funds are
available, to operate an education-based foster youth services
program to provide educational and support
services for foster children who reside in a licensed foster
home or county-operated juvenile detention facility. The provision
of educational and support services to foster youth in licensed
foster homes shall also apply to foster youth services programs in
operation as of July 1, 2006, and receiving grant funding.
for pupils in foster care.
(b) Each foster youth services program operated pursuant to this
chapter, if sufficient funds are available, shall
have at least one person identified as the foster youth educational
services coordinator. The foster youth educational services
coordinator shall facilitate the provision of educational
services support pursuant to subdivision
(d) to any foster child in the county who is either under
the jurisdiction of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 300 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code or under the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court pursuant to Section 601 or 602 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code who is placed in a licensed foster home or
county-operated juvenile detention facility. A program operated
pursuant to this chapter may prescribe the methodology for
determining which children may be served. Applicable methodologies
may include, but are not limited to, serving specific age groups,
serving children in specific geographic areas with the highest
concentration of foster children or serving the children with the
greatest academic need. It (e) to any pupil in foster
care residing or attending school in the county.
(c) For purposes of this chapter, a pupil in foster care has the
same meaning as a foster youth, as defined in paragraph (b) of
Section 42238.01
(d) (1) It
is the intent of the Legislature that children
pupils in foster care with the greatest need for services
be identified as the first priority for foster youth services.
(c) The responsibilities of the foster youth educational services
coordinator shall include, but shall not be limited to, all of the
following:
(1) Working with the child welfare agency to minimize changes in
school placement.
(2) Facilitating the prompt transfer of educational records,
including the health and education passport, between educational
institutions when placement changes are necessary.
(3) Providing education-related information to the child welfare
agency to assist the child welfare agency to deliver services to
foster children, including, but not limited to, educational status
and progress information required for inclusion in court reports by
Section 16010 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(4) Responding to requests from the juvenile court for information
and working with the court to ensure the delivery or coordination of
necessary educational services.
(5) Working to obtain and identify, and link children to,
mentoring, tutoring, vocational training, and other services designed
to enhance the educational prospects of foster children.
(6) Facilitating communication between the foster care provider,
the teacher, and any other school staff or education service
providers for the child.
(7) Sharing information with the foster care provider regarding
available training programs that address education issues for
children in foster care.
(8) Referring caregivers of foster youth who have special
education needs to special education programs and services.
(d) Each foster youth services program operated pursuant to this
chapter shall include guiding principles that establish a hierarchy
of services, in accordance with the following order:
(1) Provide, or arrange for the referral to, tutoring services for
foster youth.
(2) Provide, or arrange for the referral to, services that meet
local needs identified through collaborative relationships and local
advisory groups, which may include, but shall not be limited to, all
of the following:
(A) Mentoring.
(B) Counseling.
(C) Transitioning services.
(D) Emancipation services.
(3) Facilitation of timely individualized education programs, in
accordance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20
U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.), and of all special education services.
(4) Establishing collaborative relationships and local advisory
groups.
(5) Establishing a mechanism for the efficient and expeditious
transfer of health and education records and the health and education
passport.
(e) For purposes of this section, "licensed foster home" means a
licensed foster family home, certified foster family agency home,
court-specified home, or licensed care institution (group home).
(2) In consultation with the county social services agency and
county probation department, a foster youth services program operated
pursuant to this chapter shall prescribe the methodology for
designing specific supports for pupils in foster care, and, in doing
so, shall consider at least all of the following: the needs of
specific age groups, pupils in foster care in specific geographic
areas with the highest concentration of pupils in foster care, and
pupils in foster care with the greatest academic need. A foster youth
services program shall first provide services for pupils in foster
care who reside in group homes or other institutional settings.
(e) Each foster youth services program operated pursuant to this
chapter shall develop and implement a foster youth services plan
documenting how the program will, to the extent possible, do all of
the following:
(1) Collaborate with county child welfare agencies, county
probation departments, and school districts to minimize changes in
school placement and support the implementation of subdivision (c) of
Section 48853.
(2) Collaborate with county child welfare agencies, county
probation departments, and school districts so that when it is in the
best interests of a pupil in foster care to transfer schools,
transfers are done at an educationally appropriate time, educational
records are quickly transferred, appropriate partial credits are
awarded, and the pupil in foster care is quickly enrolled in
appropriate classes.
(3) In an effort to support the educational achievement of pupils
in foster care, how they will do all of the following:
(A) Collaborate with county child welfare agencies, county
probation departments, and school districts to ensure pupils in
foster care have an active education team that includes an
educational rights holder, caregiver, social worker, teacher,
counselor, court appointed special advocate, other stakeholders, and
the pupil if appropriate.
(B) Participate in education teams as is helpful and needed.
(C) Help the education team assess the educational strengths and
needs of the pupil in foster care, and help develop, monitor, and
update an education plan based on those strengths and needs.
(D) Provide tutoring, mentoring, counseling, transition,
school-based social work, and emancipation services, if those
services are part of the education plan established by the education
team, and after a full evaluation that determines that the county
child welfare agency, county probation department, or school district
are unable to provide those services.
(E) Maintain information on all of the following for purposes of
ensuring that pupils in foster care, education rights holders, and
other education team members are informed of all available
opportunities:
(i) Available schools to ensure appropriate placement.
(ii) Educational programs, including linked learning programs and
special education programs.
(iii) English learner programs.
(iv) After school and summer enrichment opportunities.
(v) Other appropriate supports and services.
(F) Maintain information on postsecondary educational
institutions, career and technical education programs, and
postsecondary opportunities for purposes of ensuring that pupils in
foster care, education right holders and other members of the
education team have the information necessary to support access to
postsecondary education, career program, and related supports,
including financial aid.
(G) Collaborate with local postsecondary educational institutions,
including the California Community Colleges, the California State
University, and the University of California, and with county
independent living programs to facilitate a seamless transition from
high school to postsecondary educational institutions, and provide
pupils in foster care currently enrolled in high school with
assistance with college application, matriculation, and financial
aid.
(4) Advocate on behalf of individual pupils in foster care to
ensure appropriate:
(A) Transfer of records.
(B) Transcript analysis.
(C) Credit recovery.
(D) Individualized education programs in collaboration with the
school district in accordance with the federal Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.) and related
state laws.
(E) Placement in English learner programs, as needed.
(F) Enrollment in, or transition to, comprehensive schools or the
least restrictive educational placements, when appropriate.
(G) Education entitlements specific to pupils in foster care are
provided, including, but not limited to, receiving partial credits,
the right to attend the pupil's school of origin, and modified
graduation requirements.
(5) Ensure pupils in foster care have education rights holders
with the capacity to support educational success by:
(A) Helping a school district identify the education rights holder
of a pupil in foster care.
(B) Collaborating with county child welfare agencies and county
probation departments to identify a responsible adult familiar with
the pupil in foster care to serve as the pupil's education rights
holder.
(C) Recruiting volunteer education rights holders to be used only
after the county child welfare agency, county probation department,
and juvenile court have taken every reasonable effort to find a
responsible adult familiar with the pupil in foster care to serve as
the pupil's educational rights holder.
(D) Training and building the capacity of biological parents,
foster parents, and all other education rights holders to support
educational success, including, but not limited to, the provision of
information related to requirements for postsecondary education
application, matriculation, enrollment, and financial aid.
(6) Collaborate with county child welfare agencies, county
probation departments, and school districts to facilitate information
sharing. This includes, but is not limited to:
(A) Collaborating with county child welfare agencies and county
probation departments to develop, monitor, and regularly update the
education portion of child welfare and probation case plans.
(B) Providing education related information to the county child
welfare agency to assist the county child welfare agency in
delivering services to foster children, including, but not limited
to, education status and progress information required to be included
in court reports.
(C) Responding to requests from the juvenile court for information
and working with the juvenile court to ensure the coordination and
delivery of necessary educational services.
(D) Establishing a mechanism for the efficient and expeditious
transfer of health and education records, and the health and
education passport.
(7) Support interagency efforts to improve the educational
outcomes of pupils in foster care. This includes, but is not limited
to:
(A) Collaborating with county child welfare agencies, county
probation departments, and school districts to gather and analyze
aggregate information on the educational challenges and outcomes of
pupils in foster care.
(B) Facilitating communication and collaboration between school
districts and county agencies, including, but not limited to, the
county child welfare agencies, county probation departments, county
mental health agencies, and courts within a county.
(C) Providing training and technical assistance to school
districts, governing boards of school districts, county child welfare
agencies, county probation departments, and county mental health
agencies.
(D) Collaborate with local colleges and universities to facilitate
a seamless transition from secondary to postsecondary educational
institutions, and provide pupils in foster care currently enrolled in
high school with assistance with college application, matriculation,
and financial aid applications.
(f) Each foster youth services program operated pursuant to this
chapter shall assist school districts in developing and implementing
the portion of the school district's local control and accountability
plan describing the specific actions and strategies the school
district will undertake to increase the academic performance of
pupils in foster care, as required by subdivision (c) of Section
52060, and shall assist school districts in projecting the cost of
implementing these specific actions and strategies. Foster youth
services programs shall support school districts in developing and
implementing the specific actions and strategies to support the
educational achievement of pupils in foster care that may include,
but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Ensuring that the school district has the necessary
infrastructure to support the educational success of pupils in foster
care, which may include, but is not limited to, local policies,
practices, and agreements.
(2) Providing the school district's foster youth liaison with
additional resources to increase the liaison's capacity to execute
his or her responsibilities.
(3) Maintaining information on educational programs, supports, and
services provided by the school district, including, but not limited
to, linked learning and career pathways programs, credit-recovery
classes, after school classes, school tutoring resources, California
High School Exit Examination tutoring resources, other remediation
services, school social worker counseling, school-based mental health
services, in-school therapeutic services, summer enrichment
opportunities, support services offered to lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and gender nonconforming youth, summer enrichment
opportunities, college planning, and financial aid workshops and
counseling.
(4) Regularly assessing the educational strengths and needs of
pupils in foster care.
(5) In collaboration with the education support team, developing,
monitoring, and regularly updating an education success plan for a
pupil in foster care that lists the strengths and needs, goals and
objectives, and the programs, supports, and services the pupil in
foster care will receive.
(6) Ensuring that each pupil in foster care receives the programs,
supports, or services specified in the pupil's education plan needed
by the pupil to succeed academically.
(7) Carefully monitoring the educational progress of a pupil in
foster care and notifying the pupil's education support team of
significant changes.
(g) Each foster youth services program operated pursuant to this
chapter shall establish an interagency oversight board.
(1) The oversight board shall include representatives from the
county child welfare agency, the county probation department, school
districts, local postsecondary educational institutions, and
community organizations. If possible, the oversight board shall
include foster youth, caregivers, education rights holders, and other
interested stakeholders.
(2) The oversight board shall meet at least quarterly, and shall
elect an oversight board chairperson from outside the county office
of education. Oversight board chairpersons shall not serve terms
longer than two years. Composition of the oversight board shall be
determined by the chairperson, consistent with paragraph (1), and the
foster youth services coordinator shall be a permanent member of the
oversight board.
(3) The oversight board shall regularly review the recommendations
to the foster youth services plan required pursuant to subdivision
(e). In the event of a disagreement, the county foster youth services
coordinator or the oversight board chairperson may ask the State
Foster Youth Services Director to mediate a solution.
SEC. 5. Section 42921.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:
42921.5. Each school district or charter school receiving funds
pursuant to Section 42238.02 shall designate a schoolsite-based staff
person to serve as a liaison to pupils in foster care if the
schoolsite has one or more identified pupils in foster care. Each
such school district and charter school shall provide
contact information for each schoolsite
liaison to the county foster youth services coordinator.
SEC. 6. Section 42922 of the Education Code is amended to read:
42922. Any school district which provides educational services
for foster children
42922. (a) A county office
of education that provides educational support for pupils in foster
care pursuant to Section 42921 shall receive funding in any
fiscal year for those services that support
only by such sums as may be specifically appropriated by the
annual Budget Act of the Legislature for that fiscal year for support
of those school-centered foster children services which
provide program effectiveness and potential cost savings to the
state. the foster youth services programs that provide
pupils in foster care with supplemental educational support.
The
(b) The Legislature may
appropriate moneys from the General Fund for this purpose, or, if
sufficient funds are available, from the Foster Children and Parent
Training Fund pursuant to the provisions of Section 903.7 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code.
SEC. 7. Section 42923 of the Education Code is amended to read:
42923. (a) Each school district county
office of education providing foster children
youth services pursuant to this chapter shall,
by January 1 of each even-numbered year, report to the Superintendent
of Public Instruction any information as may be
required by the Superintendent of Public Instruction
for the purpose purposes of
subdivision (b).
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction
shall, by February 15 of each even-numbered year, report to the
Legislature and the Governor on the foster children services
provided by school districts. youth services
programs. The report shall be prepared with the advice and
assistance of providers of foster children
youth services and shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:
(1) Recommendations regarding the continuation of
services. the foster youth services programs.
(2) Recommendations regarding the effectiveness of the
services, foster youth services programs, unless
program effectiveness is assessed in any other
another report covering the same time period.
(3) Recommendations regarding the broadening of the application of
those services and any changes to foster youth services
programs that would make them more effective .
(4) Information which shall be sufficient to determine, at a
minimum, whether these services have resulted in a major quantitative
improvement or deterioration in any of the following indicators:
(A) Pupil academic achievement.
(B) The incidence of pupil discipline problems or juvenile
delinquency.
(C) Pupil dropout rates or truancy rates.
(4) Aggregate educational outcome data for each county in which
there were at least 15 pupils in foster care who attended school in
the county, with information on each of the following indicators:
(A) The number of pupils in foster care who attended school in the
county.
(B) The academic achievement of the pupils in foster care who
attended school in the county.
(C) The number of pupils in foster care who were suspended or
expelled.
(D) The number of pupils in foster care who were placed in a
juvenile hall, camp, ranch, or other county-operated juvenile
detention facility because of an incident of juvenile delinquency.
(E) The truancy rates, attendance rates, and dropout rates for
pupils in foster care.
(F) (i) The number of pupils in foster care participating in
foster youth services programs pursuant to this chapter who
successfully transition to postsecondary education.
(ii) The department shall collaborate with the Chancellor of the
California Community Colleges and the Chancellor of the California
State University to identify indicators that can be used to track
access to postsecondary education for pupils in foster care
participating in a foster youth services program pursuant to this
chapter.
(5) Whenever possible, the data in the report shall be the same
data that is used by the Superintendent in determining the Academic
Performance Index or in developing the report required pursuant to
Section 49085.
(5)
(6) A discussion of the meaning and implications of the
indicators contained in paragraph (4).
SEC. 8. Section 42924 of the Education Code is amended to read:
42924. Any funds allocated to school districts
county offices of education for foster children
youth services pursuant to subdivision
(c) of Section 42920 or Section 42922 shall be used only
for foster children youth services and
any funds not used by school districts or county
offices of education for those services shall revert to the
state General Fund.
SEC. 9. Section 42925 of the Education Code is repealed.
42925. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall form an
advisory committee to make recommendations regarding the allocation
of available funds to school districts applying to receive funding
for foster children programs pursuant to subdivision (b). The
advisory committee shall include, but not be limited to,
representatives from the Department of the Youth Authority, from the
State Department of Social Services, and from foster children
services programs. Members of the advisory committee shall serve
without compensation, including travel and per diem.
(b) Any school district which chooses to provide foster children
services programs pursuant to Section 42921 may apply to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction and to the advisory committee
for funding for those programs.
(c) On or before November 1 of each year, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction shall provide the Governor with a proposed sum to
be included in the Governor's budget for the ensuing fiscal year for
allocation to school districts wishing to provide foster children
services programs pursuant to Section 42921. Recommendations
regarding the specific programs to be funded and the amount to be
allocated to each shall be included with the proposed sum.
SEC. 10. Section 42925 is added to the Education Code, to read:
42925. Each county office of education with a foster youth
services program operated pursuant to this chapter shall develop and
enter into a memorandum of understanding with the county child
welfare agency pursuant to which foster youth services program funds
shall be used, to the maximum extent possible, to leverage funds
received pursuant to Title IV-E of the federal Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. Sec. 670 et seq.) and any other funds that may be used to
specifically address the educational needs of pupils in foster care,
or they shall jointly explain in writing, annually, why a memorandum
of understanding is not practical or feasible.
SEC. 11. Section 42926 is added to the Education Code, to read:
42926. (a) The Superintendent shall identify a State Foster Youth
Services Director within the department who shall be responsible for
all of the following:
(1) Monitoring implementation of this chapter.
(2) Facilitating the data sharing and reporting described in
Section 49085.
(3) Representing the department in policy and interagency
workgroups related to the educational success of pupils in foster
care, that may include, but is not limited to, collaborating with
child welfare, probation, and judicial agencies.
(4) Overseeing the technical assistance described in Section
42927.
(5) Providing technical support and mediation to foster youth
services programs and their oversight boards.
(6) Review a county office of education's local control and
accountability plan as it relates to foster youth.
(b) The State Foster Youth Services Director may form an advisory
committee to provide consultation to the State Foster Youth Services
Director in regards to the responsibilities described in subdivision
(a).
SEC. 12. Section 42927 is added to the Education Code, to read:
42927. (a) The Superintendent may provide funding to one or more
local educational agencies to work with the State Foster Youth
Services Director to provide statewide technical support to ensure
educational, child welfare, and judicial agencies receive the
technical support needed to improve the educational success of pupils
in foster care.
(b) Technical assistance may include, but is not limited to, the
following areas:
(1) State and local data sharing, and appropriate use of shared
data.
(2) Improving county office of education foster youth services
programs.
(3) Assisting school districts to develop and implement specific
actions and to increase the academic performance of pupils in foster
care, as required by subdivision (c) of Section 52060.
(4) Policy and legal guidance specific to pupils in foster care.
(c) Funding for the technical assistance described in this section
may come from the foster youth services budget appropriated by the
annual Budget Act, as determined by the Superintendent, but shall be
no more than 5 percent of the foster youth services budget allocation
for the applicable fiscal year. The remainder of the foster youth
services budget shall be apportioned to county offices of education
operating foster youth services programs in accordance with Section
42921.
SEC. 13. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.