Foster youth: suspension and expulsion.

(1) The Charter Schools Act of 1992 provides for the establishment and operation of charter schools. Existing law requires a petition for the establishment of a charter school to contain comprehensive descriptions of various matters and procedures, including procedures by which pupils can be suspended or expelled from the charter school for disciplinary reasons or otherwise involuntarily removed for any reason. Existing law requires these procedures to contain a clear statement that no pupil shall be involuntarily removed by the charter school for any reason unless the parent or guardian of the pupil has been provided written notice of the intent to remove the pupil no less than 5 schooldays before the effective date of the action. Existing law requires the written notice to inform the pupil, the pupil's parent or guardian, or the pupil's educational rights holder of the right to initiate a hearing adjudicated by a neutral officer before the pupil may be involuntarily removed by the charter school. This bill would require the written notice to be provided to and inform the foster child's educational rights holder, attorney, and county social worker and, if applicable, the Indian child's tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker of the right to initiate a hearing adjudicated by a neutral officer before the foster child or, if applicable, Indian child may be involuntarily removed by the charter school. The bill would give a foster child's educational rights holder, attorney, and county social worker and an Indian child's tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker the same rights a parent or guardian of a child has to receive a suspension notice, expulsion notice, manifestation determination notice, involuntary transfer notice, and other documents and related information. (2) Existing law requires the governing board of each high school or unified school district that assigns pupils to continuation schools to adopt rules and regulations governing procedures for the involuntary transfer of pupils to continuation schools. Existing law requires these rules and regulations to provide that written notice be given to the pupil and the pupil's parent or guardian informing them of the opportunity to request a meeting with a designee of the district superintendent of schools before the transfer. At the meeting, existing law requires the pupil or the pupil's parent or guardian to be informed of the specific facts and reasons for the proposed transfer and to have the opportunity to inspect all documents relied upon, question any evidence and witnesses presented, and present evidence on the pupil's behalf. This bill would require those rules and regulations, for the involuntary transfer of pupils to continuation schools, to provide written notice of the opportunity to request a meeting with a designee of the district superintendent of schools before the transfer, if the pupil is a foster child, to the foster child's educational rights holder, attorney, and county social worker, and, if the pupil is an Indian child, as defined, the Indian child's tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker. The bill would require the foster child's educational rights holder, attorney, and county social worker and the Indian child's tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker to have the same rights that a parent of a pupil has at the meeting. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires each local educational agency, as defined, to designate a staff person as the educational liaison for foster children, as defined. If the education liaison is designated by the superintendent of the local educational agency, existing law requires the educational liaison to notify a foster child's attorney and the appropriate representative of the county child welfare agency of pending expulsion proceedings if the decision to recommend expulsion is a discretionary act, and pending proceedings to extend a suspension until an expulsion decision is rendered if the decision to recommend expulsion is a discretionary act. This bill would instead require the foster child's educational rights holder, attorney, and county social worker and an Indian child's, as defined, tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker to have the same rights a parent or guardian of a child has to receive a suspension notice, expulsion notice, manifestation determination notice, involuntary transfer notice, and other documents and related information. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) Existing law authorizes the principal of the school, the principal's designee, or the district superintendent of schools to suspend a pupil from the school for any of specified reasons for no more than 5 consecutive schooldays. Existing law requires the suspension to be preceded by an informal conference, as specified. If a pupil is suspended without a conference before suspension, existing law requires the parent and the pupil to be notified of the pupil's right to a conference and the pupil's right to return to school for the purpose of a conference. Existing law requires, at the time of suspension, a school employee to make a reasonable effort to notify the pupil's parent or guardian in person or by telephone of the suspension. In a case where expulsion from a school or suspension for the balance of the semester from a continuation school is being processed by the governing board of school district, existing law requires, if the pupil is a foster child, the district superintendent of schools or the district superintendent's designee to invite the pupil's attorney and an appropriate representative of the county child welfare agency to participate in the meeting, as provided. This bill would require, if a foster child or Indian child, as defined, is suspended without a conference before suspension, the foster child's educational rights holder, attorney, and county social worker, or, if applicable, the Indian child's tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker to be notified of the child's right to a conference and the child's right to return to school for the purpose of the conference. The bill would require, at the time of suspension of a foster child or Indian child, a school employee to make a reasonable effort to contact the foster child's educational rights holder, attorney, and county social worker, or, if applicable, the Indian child's tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker. The bill would authorize notification at the time of a suspension to a parent, guardian, foster child's educational rights holder, attorney, and county social worker, and Indian child's tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker to occur by email. The bill would require the district superintendent of schools or the district superintendent's designee to invite the foster child's county social worker, instead of an appropriate representative of the county child welfare agency, or, if applicable, the Indian child's tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker to participate in the meeting on a foster child's or, if applicable, an Indian child's expulsion from a school or suspension for the balance of the semester from a continuation school. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law requires at the time a pupil is assigned to a supervised suspension classroom, a school employee to notify, in person or by telephone, the pupil's parent or guardian, as specified. This bill would require, if the pupil assigned to a supervised suspension classroom is a foster child or Indian child, as defined, a school employee to notify the foster child's educational rights holder, attorney, and county social worker or the Indian child's tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker. The bill would authorize notification of assignment to a supervised suspension classroom to a parent, guardian, foster child's educational rights holder, foster child's attorney, foster child's county social worker, and an Indian child's tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker to occur by email. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (6) If an individual with exceptional needs is a foster child and the local educational agency has proposed a change of placement due to an act for which a decision to recommend expulsion is at the discretion of the principal or the district superintendent of schools, existing law requires the attorney for the individual with exceptional needs and an appropriate representative of the county child welfare agency to be invited to participate in the individualized education program team meeting that makes a manifestation determination on expulsion pursuant to federal law. This bill would require the county social worker for the individual with exceptional needs who is a foster child, instead of an appropriate representative of the county child welfare agency, to be invited to participate in the individualized education program team meeting that makes a manifestation determination. The bill would require the local educational agency to invite the educational rights holder, attorney, and county social worker for the pupil if the local educational agency has proposed a change of placement due to an act for which a decision to recommend expulsion is mandatory. The bill would require the tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker for an individual with exceptional needs who is an Indian child, as defined, to participate in the individualized education program team meeting that makes a manifestation determination. The bill would require the local educational agency to invite the tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker for the Indian child if the local educational agency has proposed a change of placement due to an act for which a decision to recommend expulsion is mandatory. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (7) If the decision to recommend expulsion is a discretionary act and the pupil is a foster child, existing law requires the governing board of the school district to provide notice of the expulsion hearing to the pupil's attorney and an appropriate representative of the county child welfare agency at least 10 calendar days before the date of the hearing. This bill would require the governing board of the school district to provide that notice to the pupil's county social worker, instead of an appropriate representative of the county child welfare agency. The bill would require the governing board of the school district to provide that notice to the pupil's educational rights holder, attorney, or county social worker if a recommendation of expulsion is required. The bill would require the governing board of the school district to provide the above-described notice to the tribal social worker and, if applicable, county social worker of a pupil who is an Indian child. The bill would require the governing board of the school district to provide that notice to the Indian child's tribal social worker or, if applicable, county social worker if a recommendation of expulsion is required. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (8) 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.