Foster children: placement: suspension and expulsion: notifications.

(1) Existing law requires each local educational agency to designate a staff person as the educational liaison for foster children, as defined. Existing law requires the educational liaison to ensure and facilitate the proper educational placement, enrollment in school, and checkout from school of foster children, and to assist foster children when transferring from one school to another school or from one school district to another school district in ensuring the proper transfer of credits, records, and grades. This bill would require the educational liaison, if designated by the superintendent of the local educational agency, to notify the 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, pending proceedings to extend a suspension until an expulsion decision is rendered if the decision to recommend expulsion is a discretionary act, and, if the foster child is an individual with exceptional needs, pending manifestation determinations, as specified. This bill would authorize the foster child's caregiver or other person holding the right to make educational decisions for the child to provide the contact information of the child's attorney to the child's school district when the child has been placed outside of the county of jurisdiction for the child. (2) Existing law authorizes the district superintendent of schools or other person designated by the district superintendent of schools in writing to extend the suspension of a pupil until the governing board of the school district has rendered a decision in a case where expulsion from any school or suspension from the balance of the semester from continuation school is being processed by the governing board of the school district. Existing law requires that before such an extension is granted that the district superintendent of schools or the district superintendent's designee determine, following a meeting in which the pupil and the pupil's parent or guardian are invited to participate, that the presence of the pupil at the school or in an alternative school placement would cause a danger to persons or property or a threat of disrupting the instructional process. This bill would require, if the pupil is a foster child, as defined, the district superintendent of schools or the district superintendent's designee to invite the pupil's attorney and the appropriate representative of the county child welfare agency to that meeting. (3) Existing law authorizes the suspension or expulsion of an individual with exceptional needs in accordance with specified provisions. This bill would require, if the individual with exceptional needs is a foster child, as defined, 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, the attorney for the individual with exceptional needs and the 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 authorize that invitation to be made using the most cost-effective method possible. (4) Existing law requires the governing board of each school district to establish rules and regulations governing procedures for the expulsion of pupils and requires these procedures to include, but not necessarily be limited to, a hearing to determine whether the pupil should be expelled, and a written notice of the hearing forwarded to the pupil at least 10 calendar days prior to the date of the hearing. This bill would require, if the decision to recommend expulsion is a discretionary act and the pupil is a foster child, as defined, the governing board of the school district also to provide notice of the 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. The bill would authorize, if a recommendation of expulsion is required and the pupil is a foster child, the governing board of the school district also to provide the notice of the 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. The bill would authorize these notices to be made using the most cost-effective method possible. (5) Existing law requires a juvenile court to hold a detention hearing to determine whether a minor should be further detained when a minor has been taken into custody pursuant to specified provisions. Existing law also requires a court to appoint counsel for the child if the child is not represented by counsel, unless the court finds that the child would not benefit from the appointment of counsel. Existing law requires counsel appointed for the child to be charged in general with the representation of the child's interests. This bill would, at least once every year and if the list of educational liaisons is available on the Internet Web site of the State Department of Education, (A) require counsel appointed for the child to provide his or her contact information to the educational liaison of each local educational agency serving counsel's foster child clients in the county of jurisdiction, and (B) if counsel is part of a firm or organization, authorize the firm or organization to provide its contact information in lieu of contact information for the individual counsel. The bill would authorize the child's caregiver or other person holding the right to make educational decisions for the child to provide the contact information of the child's attorney to the child's local educational agency. (6) Existing law requires, when a child is placed in foster care, the case plan for each child to include a summary of the health and education information or records of the child. Existing law requires the health and education summary to include, but not be limited to, among other things, the names and addresses of the child's health, dental, and education providers. This bill would authorize the health and education summary also to include the name and contact information for the educational liaison of the child's local educational agency. (7) This bill would also make various nonsubstantive changes to the above provisions. (8) This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 48853.5 of the Education Code, proposed by SB 1568, to be operative only if SB 1568 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective January 1, 2013, and this bill is chaptered last. (9) This bill would incorporate additional changes in Sections 317 and 16010 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, proposed by AB 1712, to be operative only if AB 1712 and this bill are both chaptered and become effective January 1, 2013, and this bill is chaptered last.