Housing authorities: housing certificates.

Existing law establishes in each county and city a housing authority which is authorized, among other things, to prepare, carry out, acquire, lease, and operate housing projects for persons of low income, and housing developments for persons of low income. Existing law authorizes county public housing agencies to apply for, process, and distribute housing certificates issued pursuant to federal law to eligible families. This bill would authorize any housing authority that administers a housing program and distributes federal housing certificates to eligible families with children to make compliance with the Compulsory Education Law a continuing condition of certificate eligibility. The bill would authorize the denial of federal housing benefits to a parent or guardian of an elementary school pupil who is a chronic truant if the parent or guardian has been convicted of specified crimes relating to the pupil's behavior and the truancy persists following the relevant criminal conviction.