2023 California Code › Education Code - EDC › TITLE 2 - ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION › DIVISION 4 - INSTRUCTION AND SERVICES › PART 27 - PUPILS › CHAPTER 5.5 - Education of Pupils in Foster Care and Pupils Who Are Homeless › Section 48850.

48850. (a) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that all pupils in foster care and those who are homeless, as defined by the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.), have a meaningful opportunity to meet the challenging state pupil academic achievement standards to which all pupils are held. In fulfilling their responsibilities to these pupils, educators, county placing agencies, care providers, advocates, and the juvenile courts shall work together to maintain stable school placements and to ensure that each pupil is placed in the least restrictive educational programs, and has access to the academic resources, services, and extracurricular and enrichment activities that are available to all pupils, including, but not necessarily limited to, interscholastic sports administered by the California Interscholastic Federation. In all instances, educational and school placement decisions shall be based on the best interests of the child and shall consider, among other factors, educational stability and the opportunity to be educated in the least restrictive educational setting necessary to achieve academic progress.
(2) A foster child who changes residences pursuant to a court order or decision of a child welfare worker or a homeless child or youth shall be immediately deemed to meet all residency requirements for participation in interscholastic sports or other extracurricular activities.
(3) (A) Pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11301 et seq.), public schools, including charter schools, and county offices of education shall immediately enroll a homeless child or youth seeking enrollment except where the enrollment would be in conflict with subdivision (e) of Section 47605.
(B) The department and the State Department of Social Services shall identify representatives from the department, the State Department of Social Services, and other state agencies that have experience in homeless youth issues to develop policies and practices to support homeless children and youths and to ensure that child abuse and neglect reporting requirements do not create barriers to the school enrollment and attendance of homeless children or youths, including, but not limited to, ensuring that a pupil who is a homeless child or youth is not reported to law enforcement by school personnel if the sole reason for the report is the pupil’s homelessness. The selected representatives shall present the policies and practices to the Superintendent and the State Department of Social Services to be considered for implementation or dissemination, as appropriate.
(C) (i) If a local educational agency operates an intersession program, the local educational agency shall grant priority access to a homeless child or youth.
(ii) Notwithstanding any other law, if the homeless youth will be moving during an intersession period, the pupil’s parent, guardian, educational rights holder, or Indian custodian in the case of an Indian child, or, if there is no parent, guardian, educational rights holder, or Indian custodian, the unaccompanied homeless youth, shall determine which school the pupil attends for the intersession period, if applicable.
(b) Every county office of education shall make available to agencies that place children in licensed children’s institutions information on educational options for children residing in licensed children’s institutions within the jurisdiction of the county office of education for use by the placing agencies in assisting parents and foster children to choose educational placements.
(c) For purposes of individuals with exceptional needs residing in licensed children’s institutions, making a copy of the annual service plan, prepared pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 56205, available to those special education local plan areas that have revised their local plans pursuant to Section 56836.03 shall meet the requirements of subdivision (b).
(d) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) “Homeless child or youth” and “homeless children and youths” as they are defined in Section 11434a(2) of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(2) “Indian custodian” as it is defined in Section 1903 of Title 25 of the United States Code.
(3) (A) “Intersession program” means an expanded learning program offered by a local educational agency on nonschooldays, including, but not limited to, summer school.
(B) An intersession program does not include an extended school year program for individuals with exceptional needs established pursuant to Section 3043 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations and Section 300.106 of Title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(4) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(5) “Pupils in foster care” has the same meaning as “foster child,” as that term is defined in subdivision (a) of Section 48853.5.
(6) “Unaccompanied homeless youth” has the same meaning as “unaccompanied youth” in Section 11434a(2) of Title 42 of the United States Code.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 327, Sec. 1. (AB 373) Effective January 1, 2024.)