Homeless Youth Education Success Act.

Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to ensure that all pupils in foster care and those who are homeless, as defined, have a meaningful opportunity to meet state pupil academic achievement standards, and requires educators, juvenile courts, and certain other persons to work together to, among other things, ensure that each pupil has access to the academic resources, services, and extracurricular and enrichment activities that are available to all pupils. Existing law requires a foster child who changes residences pursuant to a court order or decision of a child welfare worker to be immediately deemed to meet all residency requirements for participation in interscholastic sports or other extracurricular activities. This bill would require a homeless child or youth, as defined, to also be immediately deemed to meet those residency requirements. The bill would require public schools and county offices of education to immediately enroll a homeless child or youth seeking enrollment, except as provided, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the State Department of Education and the State Department of Social Services to identify representatives from their respective agencies and from other state agencies that have experience in homeless youth issues to develop policies and practices relating to homeless children and youths, as defined. The bill would require the selected representatives to present the policies and practices to the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Department of Social Services to be considered for implementation or dissemination, as appropriate. The bill would require a local educational agency liaison for homeless children and youths designated pursuant to federal law to ensure that public notice of the educational rights of homeless children and youths, as defined, is disseminated in schools within the liaison's local educational agency that provide services pursuant to specified federal law. 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.