Foster youth: tribal pupils and voluntarily placed children.

(1) Existing law establishes a public school financing system that requires state funding for school districts, county superintendents of schools, and charter schools to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula, as specified. Existing law requires funding pursuant to the local control funding formula to include, in addition to a base grant, supplemental and concentration grant add-ons that are based on the percentage of pupils who are unduplicated pupils, which is defined to include English learners, foster youth, or pupils eligible for free or reduced-price meals, as specified, served by the local educational agency. Existing law defines a foster youth for these purposes to include a dependent child of the court of an Indian tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization who is the subject of a petition filed in the tribal court pursuant to the tribal court's jurisdiction in accordance with the tribe's law, if the child would also meet specified state law standards describing when a child may be adjudged a dependent child of a juvenile court. This bill would delete the requirement that a dependent tribal child also meet specified state law standards for purposes of the definition of foster youth for purposes of the local control funding formula. The bill would add children who are subjects of voluntary placement agreements to the definition of foster youth for purposes of the local control funding formula. (2) Existing law provides specified rights and supports for pupils in foster care, including access to the same academic resources, services, and extracurricular and enrichment activities that are available to all pupils, the right to immediate enrollment and education in the least restrictive environment, the right to remain in the school of origin during specified proceedings, prompt academic record transfers, protections against grade reductions due to changes in residential placement or court-ordered activities, recognition of partial credit, the right to remain in school for a fifth year to complete the local educational agency's graduation requirements, fee waivers for certain exams, and procedural protections for disciplinary hearings. This bill would extend those educational rights and supports to dependent children in accordance with tribal law, as specified, and children who are the subject of voluntary placement agreements. (3) Existing law requires the State Department of Education and the State Department of Social Services to enter into a memorandum of understanding on or before February 1, 2014, that requires the State Department of Social Services, at least once per week, to share disaggregated information related to foster youth with the State Department of Education. Existing law exempts the State Department of Social Services from collecting or sharing specified information relating to a dependent child of a court of an Indian tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization. This bill would prohibit local educational agencies from requiring an Indian tribe or tribal court representative to certify that a pupil is a dependent of an Indian tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization, and would authorize tribal authorities to notify local educational agencies about a tribal pupil's status as a dependent child under the court of an Indian tribe, consortium of tribes, or tribal organization. (4) By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies related to certain foster youth, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 42238.01 of the Education Code proposed by SB 167 and AB 167 to be operative only if this bill and one or both of those bills are enacted and this bill is enacted last. (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 the statutory provisions noted above.