Existing law establishes a public school financing system that requires state funding for county superintendents of schools, school districts, and charter schools to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula, as specified. Existing law requires the local control funding formula, in part, to be based on average daily attendance, as defined. For purposes of state apportionments based on average daily attendance, as provided, if the average daily attendance of a school district, county office of education, or charter school has been materially decreased during a fiscal year because of a specified type of emergency, existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to estimate the average daily attendance in a manner that credits to the school district, county office of education, or charter school the total average daily attendance that would have been credited had the emergency not occurred, as provided. This bill would, until July 1, 2029, add an immigration enforcement activity, as defined, to the list of emergencies for which the above-described provisions related to calculating average daily attendance for purposes of state apportionments apply, as provided. The bill would, for purposes of these provisions related to calculating average daily attendance for purposes of state apportionments, prohibit a school district, county office of education, or charter school from being credited for more than 10 days of missed attendance for a pupil due to an immigration enforcement activity. For affidavits submitted to the Superintendent for emergency events occurring after September 1, 2021, but on or before June 30, 2026, that resulted in a school closure or material decrease in attendance, existing law requires a school district, county office of education, or charter school that provides an affidavit to the Superintendent to certify that it has a plan for which independent study will be offered to pupils, as provided, and requires that plan to comply with certain requirements, including, among other things, that independent study is offered to any impacted pupil within 10 instructional days of the first day of a school closure or material decrease in attendance. This bill would, for affidavits submitted to the Superintendent for an immigration enforcement activity that occurred on or after January 1, 2025, but on or before June 30, 2026, that resulted in a school closure or material decrease in attendance, require a school district, county office of education, or charter school that provides an affidavit to the Superintendent to additionally require the independent study plan to either (1) require the offering of live interaction or synchronous instruction to pupils, as provided, or (2) provide a description of both the extenuating circumstances that prevent the offering of live interaction or synchronous instruction and a description of what pupil engagement, services, and instruction will be provided to support pupils during or immediately after the period of closure or material decrease in attendance. The bill would, as applied to the above-described provisions for calculating average daily attendance for purposes of state apportionments and related affidavits certifying independent study plans, exempt from the California Public Records Act any documentation related to an immigration enforcement activity submitted to the Superintendent by a school district, charter school, county office of education, or county superintendent of schools, as provided. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2029, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2030. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Existing law requires the Attorney General to develop model policies limiting assistance with immigration enforcement to the fullest extent possible consistent with federal and state law at public schools, public libraries, courthouses, specified health facilities, shelters, and other specified state agencies. This bill would similarly require the Attorney General, on or before July 1, 2026, and in consultation with appropriate stakeholders, to publish model policies relating to interaction with immigration enforcement, consistent with federal and state law, and to publish guidance and recommendations for databases operated by state and local agencies to limit the availability of information in those databases for the purposes of immigration enforcement, consistent with federal and state law. The bill would require state and local agencies to implement the model policies on or before January 1, 2027, as specified. By imposing new duties on local agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. 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.
Existing law, subject to available funding, requires the State Department of Social Services to contract with qualified nonprofit legal services organizations to provide legal services to unaccompanied undocumented minors who are transferred to the care and custody of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and who are present in this state or are residing with a family member or other sponsor. Existing law requires contracts awarded pursuant to the above-described provision to be executed with qualified nonprofit legal services organizations that meet certain requirements, including having experience representing individuals in removal proceedings and asylum applications. This bill would, subject to available funding, provide legal counsel to immigrant youth in the State of California. The bill would define immigrant youth. The bill would require the department to allocate funding for these purposes, and would require the department to consider whether federal funding has been made available and dispersed to organizations or relevant projects in the state in determining the amount and allocation of contracts awarded. The bill would require the department to contract with qualified nonprofit legal services organizations that meet the above-described requirements or an office of the public defender that meets certain requirements. The bill would also authorize the department to fund social work services contracted by qualified nonprofit legal services organizations to assist immigrant youth.
