Bill Text: CA AB16 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Enrolled


Bill Title: Homeless children and youths: reporting.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-1)

Status: (Vetoed) 2020-01-21 - Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file. [AB16 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB16-Enrolled.html

Enrolled  September 10, 2019
Passed  IN  Senate  September 05, 2019
Passed  IN  Assembly  September 09, 2019
Amended  IN  Senate  August 30, 2019
Amended  IN  Senate  July 11, 2019
Amended  IN  Senate  June 12, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 04, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 18, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 16


Introduced by Assembly Member Luz Rivas
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Boerner Horvath, Cristina Garcia, Gonzalez, Ramos, and Salas)
(Coauthor: Senator Chang)

December 03, 2018


An act to add Sections 48851, 48851.5, 48852.6, and 48857 to the Education Code, relating to homeless children and youths.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 16, Luz Rivas. Homeless children and youths: reporting.
Existing federal law, the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, provides grants to states to carry out activities relating to the education of homeless children and youths, as defined, including, among others, providing services and activities to improve the identification of homeless children and youths and to enable them to enroll in, attend, and succeed in school. The act requires the state plans submitted for the receipt of the grant to include assurances that local educational agencies will designate an appropriate staff person to act as a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths and a description of how the state will ensure that local educational agencies and their liaisons will comply with specified requirements of the act, including the identification of homeless children and youths.
Under existing state law, public schools, including charter schools, and county offices of education are required to immediately enroll a homeless child or youth seeking enrollment, except as specified, and a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths is required to ensure that public notice of the educational rights of homeless children and youths is disseminated in schools within the liaison’s local educational agency that provide services pursuant to the act.
This bill would require a local educational agency to ensure that each school within the local educational agency identifies all homeless children and youths enrolled at the school, and would also require the local educational agency to annually report to the State Department of Education the number of homeless children and youths enrolled. The bill would require that an intake form used to identify a child as homeless include a statement that a child will not be removed from the child’s family solely because the child’s family is experiencing homelessness. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, would establish in the department 1.5 state coordinator positions, in addition to the state coordinator positions maintained in the department as of July 1, 2019, with duties including, at a minimum, those listed for the Coordinator for Education of Homeless Children and Youths pursuant to the federal act. The bill would require the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to allocate $500,000 each to 3 county offices of education in different regions throughout the state for the purpose of establishing technical assistance centers to foster relationships with community partners and other local educational agencies in each region, as provided. The bill would require the department to determine which county offices of education to allocate those funds to through a competitive process, as provided, and to take into account geographic diversity and concentrations of homeless children and youths.
The bill would require a school district or county office of education to post on its internet website a list of the local educational agency liaisons for homeless children and youths in that school district or county, respectively, and the contact information for those liaisons. The bill would require a school to post on its internet website the contact information for the liaison, if available. The bill would also require, if a school has an employee or person under contract whose duties include assisting the liaison in completing the liaison’s duties under the federal act, the school to post on its internet website the contact information for that employee or person under contract.
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 the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 48851 is added to the Education Code, to read:

48851.
 (a) As required pursuant to Section 11432(g)(6)(A)(i) of Title 42 of the United States Code, a local educational agency shall ensure that each school within the local educational agency identifies all homeless children and youths enrolled at the school. The local educational agency shall annually report to the department the number of homeless children and youths enrolled.
(b) An intake form used to identify a child as homeless shall include a statement that a child will not be removed from the child’s family solely because the child’s family is experiencing homelessness.

SEC. 2.

 Section 48851.5 is added to the Education Code, to read:

48851.5.
 Upon appropriation by the Legislature for this purpose, there shall be established in the department 1.5 state coordinator positions, in addition to the state coordinator positions maintained in the department as of July 1, 2019, with duties including, at a minimum, those listed for the Coordinator for Education of Homeless Children and Youths pursuant to Section 11432(f) of Title 42 of the United States Code.

SEC. 3.

 Section 48852.6 is added to the Education Code, to read:

48852.6.
 (a) For purposes of this section, “liaison” means a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths designated pursuant to Section 11432(g)(1)(J)(ii) of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(b) A school district or county office of education shall post on its internet website a list of the liaisons in that school district or county, respectively, and the contact information for those liaisons.
(c) If available, a school shall post on its internet website the contact information for the liaison. In addition, if a school has an employee or person under contract whose duties include assisting the liaison in completing the liaison’s duties under Section 11432(g)(6) of Title 42 of the United States Code, the school shall post on its internet website the name and contact information for that employee or person under contract.

SEC. 4.

 Section 48857 is added to the Education Code, to read:

48857.
 (a) Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the department shall allocate five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) each to three county offices of education in different regions throughout the state for the purpose of establishing technical assistance centers to foster relationships between community partners and local educational agencies in each region. The department shall determine which county offices of education will be designated technical assistance centers through a competitive process that provides each county office of education with the opportunity to apply to become a technical assistance center. In making this determination, the department shall take into account geographic diversity and concentrations of homeless children and youths.
(b) The responsibilities of a technical assistance center established pursuant to subdivision (a) may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Creating, and facilitating the implementation of, training materials that outline the needs and challenges of, and barriers facing, homeless children and youths and their families.
(2) Developing and disseminating best practices for small, midsize, and large counties to support the educational progress and academic outcomes of homeless children and youths.
(3) Assisting counties and local educational agencies in the process of ensuring accuracy in the identification of homeless children and youths in local pupil information systems and using this data to report educational outcomes for homeless children and youths who receive support services.
(c) Technical assistance provided by a technical assistance center pursuant to this section shall be provided consistent with the statewide system of support established pursuant to Section 52059.5.

SEC. 5.

 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.
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