SECTIONS 48850-48859 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 48850-48859

48850. (a) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that
all pupils in foster care and those who are homeless as defined by
the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec.
11301 et seq.) have a meaningful opportunity to meet the challenging
state pupil academic achievement standards to which all pupils are
held. In fulfilling their responsibilities to these pupils,
educators, county placing agencies, care providers, advocates, and
the juvenile courts shall work together to maintain stable school
placements and to ensure that each pupil is placed in the least
restrictive educational programs, and has access to the academic
resources, services, and extracurricular and enrichment activities
that are available to all pupils, including, but not necessarily
limited to, interscholastic sports administered by the California
Interscholastic Federation. In all instances, educational and school
placement decisions must be based on the best interests of the child
and shall consider, among other factors, educational stability and
the opportunity to be educated in the least restrictive educational
setting necessary to achieve academic progress.
(2) A foster child who changes residences pursuant to a court
order or decision of a child welfare worker shall be immediately
deemed to meet all residency requirements for participation in
interscholastic sports or other extracurricular activities.
(b) Every county office of education shall make available to
agencies that place children in licensed children's institutions
information on educational options for children residing in licensed
children's institutions within the jurisdiction of the county office
of education for use by the placing agencies in assisting parents and
foster children to choose educational placements.
(c) For purposes of individuals with exceptional needs residing in
licensed children's institutions, making a copy of the annual
service plan, prepared pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 56205,
available to those special education local plan areas that have
revised their local plans pursuant to Section 56836.03 shall meet the
requirements of subdivision (b).

48852. Every agency that places a child in a licensed children's
institution shall notify the local educational agency at the time a
pupil is placed in a licensed children's institution. As part of that
notification, the placing agency shall provide any available
information on immediate past educational placements to facilitate
prompt transfer of records and appropriate educational placement.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit prompt
educational placement prior to notification.

48853. (a) A pupil placed in a licensed children's institution or
foster family home shall attend programs operated by the local
educational agency, unless one of the following applies:
(1) The pupil is entitled to remain in his or her school of origin
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 48853.5.
(2) The pupil has an individualized education program requiring
placement in a nonpublic, nonsectarian school or agency, or in
another local educational agency.
(3) The parent or guardian, or other person holding the right to
make educational decisions for the pupil pursuant to Section 361 or
727 of the Welfare and Institutions Code or Section 56055, determines
that it is in the best interests of the pupil to be placed in
another educational program.
(b) Before any decision is made to place a pupil in a juvenile
court school as defined by Section 48645.1, a community school as
described in Sections 1981 and 48660, or other alternative
educational setting, the parent or guardian, or person holding the
right to make educational decisions for the pupil pursuant to Section
361 or 726 of the Welfare and Institutions Code or Section 56055,
shall first consider placement in the regular public school.
(c) If any dispute arises as to the school placement of a pupil
subject to this section, the pupil has the right to remain in his or
her school of origin, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section
48853.5, pending resolution of the dispute. The dispute shall be
resolved in accordance with the existing dispute resolution process
available to any pupil served by the local educational agency.
(d) This section does not supersede other laws that govern pupil
expulsion.
(e) This section does not supersede any other law governing the
educational placement in a juvenile court school, as defined by
Section 48645.1, of a pupil detained in a county juvenile hall, or
committed to a county juvenile ranch, camp, forestry camp, or
regional facility.
(f) Foster children living in emergency shelters, as referenced in
the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec.
11301 et seq.), may receive educational services at the emergency
shelter as necessary for short periods of time for either of the
following reasons:
(1) For health and safety emergencies.
(2) To provide temporary, special, and supplementary services to
meet the child's unique needs if a decision regarding whether it is
in the child's best interests to attend the school of origin cannot
be made promptly, it is not practical to transport the child to the
school of origin, and the child would otherwise not receive
educational services.
The educational services may be provided at the shelter pending a
determination by the person holding the right regarding the
educational placement of the child.
(g) All educational and school placement decisions shall be made
to ensure that the child is placed in the least restrictive
educational programs and has access to academic resources, services,
and extracurricular and enrichment activities that are available to
all pupils. In all instances, educational and school placement
decisions shall be based on the best interests of the child.

48853.5. (a) This section applies to a child (hereafter "foster
child") who has been removed from his or her home pursuant to Section
309 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, is the subject of a
petition filed under Section 300 or 602 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, or has been removed from his or her home and is
the subject of a petition filed under Section 300 or 602 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code.
(b) Each local educational agency shall designate a staff person
as the educational liaison for foster children. In a school district
that operates a foster children services program pursuant to Chapter
11.3 (commencing with Section 42920) of Part 24, the educational
liaison shall be affiliated with the local foster children services
program. The liaison shall do all of the following:
(1) Ensure and facilitate the proper educational placement,
enrollment in school, and checkout from school of foster children.
(2) Assist foster children when transferring from one school to
another or from one school district to another in ensuring proper
transfer of credits, records, and grades.
(c) This section does not grant authority to the educational
liaison that supersedes the authority granted under state and federal
law to a parent or guardian retaining educational rights, a
responsible adult appointed by the court to represent the child
pursuant to Section 361 or 726 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
a surrogate parent, or a foster parent exercising the authority
granted under Section 56055. The role of the educational liaison is
advisory with respect to placement decisions and determination of
school of origin.
(d) (1) At the initial detention or placement, or any subsequent
change in placement of a foster child, the local educational agency
serving the foster child shall allow the foster child to continue his
or her education in the school of origin for the duration of the
jurisdiction of the court.
(2) If the jurisdiction of the court is terminated prior to the
end of an academic year, the child shall be allowed to continue his
or her education in the school of origin through the duration of the
academic school year.
(3) To ensure that the foster child has the benefit of
matriculating with his or her peers in accordance with the
established feeder patterns of school districts, if the child is
transitioning between school grade levels, the local educational
agency shall allow the child to continue in the school district of
origin in the same attendance area, or, if the child is transitioning
to a middle school or high school, and the school designated for
matriculation is in another school district, to the school designated
for matriculation in that school district.
(4) Paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (d) shall not be
construed to require a school district to provide transportation
services to allow a child to attend a school or school district,
unless otherwise required under federal law, nor shall this paragraph
be construed to prohibit a school district from, at its discretion,
providing transportation services to allow a child to attend a school
or school district.
(5) The liaison, in consultation with and the agreement of the
foster child and the person holding the right to make educational
decisions for the foster child may, in accordance with the foster
child's best interests, recommend that the foster child's right to
attend the school of origin be waived and the foster child be
enrolled in any public school that pupils living in the attendance
area in which the foster child resides are eligible to attend.
(6) Prior to making any recommendation to move a foster child from
his or her school of origin, the liaison shall provide the foster
child and the person holding the right to make educational decisions
for the foster child with a written explanation stating the basis for
the recommendation and how this recommendation serves the foster
child's best interest.
(7) (A) If the liaison in consultation with the foster child and
the person holding the right to make educational decisions for the
foster child agree that the best interests of the foster child would
best be served by his or her transfer to a school other than the
school of origin, the foster child shall immediately be enrolled in
the new school.
(B) The new school shall immediately enroll the foster child even
if the foster child has outstanding fees, fines, textbooks, or other
items or moneys due to the school last attended or is unable to
produce records or clothing normally required for enrollment, such as
previous academic records, medical records, proof of residency,
other documentation, or school uniforms.
(C) The liaison for the new school shall, within two business days
of the foster child's request for enrollment, contact the school
last attended by the foster child to obtain all academic and other
records. All required records shall be provided to the new school
regardless of any outstanding fees, fines, textbooks, or other items
or moneys owed to the school last attended. The school liaison for
the school last attended shall provide all records to the new school
within two business days of receiving the request.
(8) If a dispute arises regarding the request of a foster child to
remain in the school of origin, the foster child has the right to
remain in the school of origin pending resolution of the dispute. The
dispute shall be resolved in accordance with the existing dispute
resolution process available to any pupil served by the local
educational agency.
(9) The local educational agency and the county placing agency are
encouraged to collaborate to ensure maximum utilization of available
federal moneys, explore public-private partnerships, and access any
other funding sources to promote the well-being of foster children
through educational stability.
(10) It is the intent of the Legislature that subdivision (d)
shall not supersede or exceed other laws governing special education
services for eligible foster children.
(e) For purposes of this section, "school of origin" means the
school that the foster child attended when permanently housed or the
school in which the foster child was last enrolled. If the school the
foster child attended when permanently housed is different from the
school in which the foster child was last enrolled, or if there is
some other school that the foster child attended with which the
foster child is connected and that the foster child attended within
the immediately preceding 15 months, the liaison, in consultation
with and the agreement of the foster child and the person holding the
right to make educational decisions for the foster child, shall
determine, in the best interests of the foster child, the school that
shall be deemed the school of origin.
(f) This section does not supersede other law governing the
educational placements in juvenile court schools, as described in
Section 48645.1, by the juvenile court under Section 602 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code.

48854. A licensed children's institution or nonpublic, nonsectarian
school, or agency may not require as a condition of placement that
educational authority for a child, as defined in Section 48859 be
designated to that institution, school, or agency.

48856. A local educational agency shall invite at least one
noneducational agency representative that has placement
responsibility for a pupil residing in a licensed children's
institution to collaborate with the local educational agency in the
monitoring of a placement in a nonpublic, nonsectarian school or
agency.

48859. For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) "County placing agency" means the county social services
department or county probation department.
(b) "Educational authority" means an entity designated to
represent the interests of a child for educational and related
services.
(c) "Local educational agency" means a school district, a county
office of education, a charter school participating as a member of a
special education local plan area, or a special education local plan
area.