BILL NUMBER: AB 854 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 4, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2015
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 amended, 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, in addition to the 6
specified program sites, 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. The bill also would provide,
commencing with the 2016-17 fiscal year, that each of the 6 specified
program sites shall receive, in addition to their local control
funding formula apportionment, an allowance equal to the amount the
school district spent on foster children service programs in the
2014-15 fiscal year.
(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 educational services coordinator 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 authorize a
foster youth services program, in consultation with school
districts, local educational agencies, the
county social services agency, and the 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 work with its
county office of education to ensure the implementation of certain
portions of county and school district local control and
accountability plans, as specified. The bill would require each
foster youth services program to establish a local interagency
Executive Advisory Council, as provided. The bill 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 school district foster youth services
coordinator and 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 and that is accessible to the foster youth
services program 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 educational 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 with a foster youth services program, to the extent
possible, to develop and enter into a memorandum of understanding,
contract, or formal agreement 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.
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 pupil academic achievement standards to
which all pupils are held, and provided access to a rigorous
curriculum, adequately prepared to enter postsecondary education, and
afforded the academic resources, services, and extracurricular and
enrichment activities made available to other pupils enrolled in
California's public schools, including, but not limited to,
interscholastic sports administered by the California Interscholastic
Federation. In fulfilling their responsibilities to these pupils,
educators, county placing agencies, caregivers, advocates, and the
juvenile counts courts will work
together to ensure that each pupil is placed in the least restrictive
educational environment.
(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) Commencing with the 2016-17 fiscal year, and each
fiscal year thereafter, each of the following six foster youth
services program sites: Elk Grove, Mount Diablo, Sacramento City, San
Juan, Paramount, and the Placer Nevada consortium, shall receive, in
addition to their local control funding formula apportionment, an
allowance from the amount annually transferred to Section A of the
State School Fund equal to the amount the school district spent on
foster children service programs in the 2014-15 fiscal year, 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.
(b) This allowance shall be used exclusively for foster children
services.
(c) 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.
(d) 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.
SEC. 4. Section 42921 of the Education Code is amended to read:
42921. (a) In addition to the six program sites specified in
Section 42920.5, a county office of education, or consortium of
county offices of education, may elect 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.
(b) Each foster youth services program operated pursuant to this
chapter, 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
support pursuant to subdivision (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 means a
foster youth, as defined in paragraph (b) of Section 42238.01 or a
foster child who resides in a county-operated juvenile detention
facility.
(d) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that pupils in foster
care with the greatest need for services be identified as the first
priority for foster youth services.
(2) In consultation with school districts,
local educational agencies, the county social services agency,
and the county probation department, a foster youth services program
operated pursuant to this chapter may prescribe the methodology for
designing specific supports for pupils in foster care, including,
guiding principles that establish a hierarchy of services. In doing
so, applicable methodologies may include, but are not limited to, 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 is encouraged to first provide services
for pupils in foster care who reside in group homes, institutional
settings, or other placements with pupils with high academic needs,
as determined by the local Executive Advisory Council.
(e) Each foster youth services program operated pursuant to this
chapter shall develop and implement a foster youth services plan. The
plan shall document how the program will, to the extent possible, do
the following:
(1) Collaborate with county child welfare agencies, county
probation departments, and school districts
local educational agencies to minimize changes in school
placement and support the implementation of subdivision (c) of
Section 48853. To the extent possible, the foster youth services
program may pay for the cost of transportation to support this
paragraph.
(2) Collaborate with county child welfare agencies, county
probation departments, and school districts
local educational agencies 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 the following:
(A) Collaborate with county child welfare agencies, county
probation departments, and school districts
local educational agencies to ensure pupils in foster care have
an active education team that, to the extent possible, may include
an educational rights holder, caregiver, social worker, teacher,
counselor, court appointed court-appointed
special advocate, other stakeholders, and the pupil, if
appropriate.
(B) Participate in education teams as is helpful and needed.
For purposes of this section, "education teams" includes, but is not
limited to, existing education teams such as individualized education
program teams, student success teams, student study teams, and
multidisciplinary teams. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prevent local educational agencies from establishing
additional education teams.
(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. For
purposes of this section, "education plans" includes, but is not
limited to, existing education plans such as individualized education
programs, student success plans, and multidisciplinary team plans.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent local
educational agencies from establishing additional education plans.
(D) Provide tutoring, mentoring, counseling, transition,
school-based social work, and emancipation services, if those
services are established as needed and identified by the local
Executive Advisory Council to ensure that the services are aligned
with local control and accountability plan priorities and the county
child welfare agency, county probation department, or school
district local educational agency are unable to
provide those services.
(E) Maintain information on all of the following for purposes of
ensuring that pupils in foster care, educational 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, educational right holders
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) Facilitate, on behalf of individual pupils in foster care, to
ensure:
(A) Transfer of records.
(B) Transcript analysis.
(C) Credit recovery.
(D) Timely individualized education programs in collaboration with
the school district local educational agency
in accordance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.) and all special education
services.
(E) Timely placement in English learner programs, in collaboration
with school districts, local educational
agencies, 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, access to
extracurricular and enrichment activities, including, but not limited
to, interscholastic sports administered by the California
Interscholastic Federation made available to all other pupils, and
graduation requirements.
(5) Collaborate with school districts,
local educational agencies, county child welfare agencies,
juvenile courts, county probation departments, and special education
local plan areas in an effort to have pupils in foster care have an
identified educational rights holder with the capacity to support
educational success by:
(A) Helping a school district local
educational agency identify the educational 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 educational rights
holder.
(C) Recruiting volunteer educational 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 educational 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
local educational agencies to facilitate information sharing,
to the extent possible. 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, to the extent possible. This
includes, but is not limited to:
(A) Collaborating with county child welfare agencies, county
probation departments, and school districts
local educational agencies 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 local educational agencies 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, local educational agencies,
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 work with their county office of education to ensure
the implementation of subdivision (c) of Section 52060 and
subdivision (c) of Section 52066 for pupils in foster care. In doing
so, the foster youth services programs may consider, but are not
limited to, the following in their support of school
districts local educational agencies in
developing and implementing the specific actions and strategies to
support the educational achievement of pupils in foster care:
(1) Ensuring that the school district
local educational agency 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 local
educational agency'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,
local educational agency, 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) Developing, monitoring, and regularly updating education plans
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 needed by the pupil to succeed academically.
(7) Monitoring the educational progress of a pupil in foster care
and notifying the appropriate education support team of significant
changes.
(g) Each foster youth services program operated pursuant to this
chapter shall establish a local interagency Executive Advisory
Council.
(1) The Executive Advisory Council shall include representatives
from the county child welfare agency, the county probation
department, school districts, local
educational agencies, local postsecondary educational
institutions, and community organizations. If possible, the Executive
Advisory Council may include, but is not limited to, foster youth,
caregivers, educational rights holders, dependency attorneys, court
representatives, court- appointed special advocates,
and other interested stakeholders.
(2) The foster youth services coordinator shall be a permanent
member of the Executive Advisory Council.
(3) The Executive Advisory Council shall regularly review the
recommendations to the foster youth services plan required pursuant
to subdivision (e). In the event of a disagreement, the Executive
Advisory Council 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 school district foster
youth liaison and the county foster youth services coordinator.
SEC. 6. Section 42922 of the Education Code is amended to read:
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 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 the foster youth
services programs that provide pupils in foster care with
supplemental educational support.
(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 county office of education providing foster youth
services pursuant to this chapter shall, by January 1 of each
even-numbered year, report to the Superintendent any information as
may be required by the Superintendent and as accessible to the foster
youth services program for purposes of subdivision (b).
(b) The Superintendent shall, by February 15 of each even-numbered
year, report to the Legislature and the Governor on the foster youth
services programs. The report shall be prepared with the advice and
assistance of providers of foster youth services and shall include,
but not be limited to, the following:
(1) Recommendations regarding the continuation of the foster youth
services programs.
(2) Recommendations regarding the effectiveness of the foster
youth services programs, unless program effectiveness is assessed in
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) 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.
(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 county offices of education for
foster youth services pursuant to Section 42922 shall be used only
for foster 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.
SEC. 10. Section 42925 is added to the Education Code, to read:
42925. (a) Each county office of education with a foster youth
services program operated pursuant to this chapter shall, to the
extent possible, develop and enter into a memorandum of
understanding, contract, or formal agreement 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.
(b) To the extent possible, each foster youth services program is
encouraged to consider leveraging other local funding opportunities
to support the educational success of pupils in foster care.
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 local
educational agencies 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.