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. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The Foster Youth Services (FYS) program has been a successful
program that supports the educational achievement of pupils in foster
care. This success has contributed to landmark California education
finance reform that prioritizes the educational needs of pupils in
foster care.
(b) The county office of education FYS program is uniquely
situated to support interagency collaboration and capacity building,
both at the system and individual pupil level, focused on improving
educational outcomes for pupils in foster care. This is a key
component to the successful implementation of the local control
funding formula (LCFF). The FYS program should support and facilitate
such collaboration and capacity building while preserving the
ability to provide direct services such as tutoring, mentoring,
counseling, transition, school-based social work, and emancipation
assistance when there are identified gaps in service at the local
level and the local Executive Advisory Council establishes that these
services are needed and aligned with local control and
accountability plan priorities.
(c) Pupils in foster care will benefit from increased levels of
supports and services as a result of the FYS program supporting
implementation of the LCFF for pupils in foster care.
(d) Pupils in foster care represent one of the most vulnerable and
academically at-risk pupil groups enrolled in California schools.
The academic status of pupils in foster care is often profoundly
impacted by the foster care system in which many pupils in foster
care experience multiple placements with an average frequency of one
placement change every six months. Due to this movement, pupils in
foster care lose an average of four to six months of educational
attainment with each move. Therefore, it is essential to recognize,
identify, and plan for the critical and unique educational needs of
pupils in foster care.
(e) A high percentage of pupils in foster care are working
substantially below grade level, and over one-half of the pupils in
foster care are retained at least one year in the same grade level.
Pupils in foster care earn lower grades and achieve lower scores on
standardized achievements tests in reading and mathematics, have
lower levels of engagement in school, and are half as likely as
pupils not in foster care to be involved in extracurricular
activities. The long-term consequences of poor academic experiences
are significant. Pupils in foster care are twice as likely as pupils
not in foster care to drop out of school before graduation and only
45 percent of pupils in foster care have graduated from high school
at the time of emancipation. Foster youth are similarly
underrepresented in college enrollment rates and dramatically
underperform their peers in relation to college completion. Pupils in
foster care are also subject to disproportionate levels of
disciplinary measures, including suspension and expulsion. It is
imperative that California close the foster youth achievement gap so
that pupils in foster care can realize their full potential, reach
their college and career goals, and become independent, productive
members of society.
(f) Foster youth are an especially vulnerable pupil population, as
they are often also members of other underserved pupil groups. In
2013, the demographic data of pupils in foster care in California
were as follows:
(1) The largest ethnic group amongst pupils in foster care was
Hispanic, with nearly half of the population.
(2) African American and Native American pupils continue to be
disproportionately represented in the child welfare system, as
researchers found that 26 percent of pupils in foster care were
African American despite African Americans only accounting for 7
percent of the pupil population in California, and 2 percent of
pupils in foster care were Native American despite Native Americans
only accounting for 1 percent of the pupil population in California.
(3) Nearly one in five pupils in foster care had special education
needs, which is over twice the rate of the statewide pupil
population.
(4) More than 1 in 10 pupils in foster care were English learners.
(5) A significant number of youth in foster care identify as
lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, or gender
nonconforming.
(g) Compounded by the research that indicates that there is a need
for California to close the achievement gap between specific ethnic
pupil populations and White pupils, addressing the foster youth
achievement gap will further efforts that support education equity
for all pupils.
(h) Given their current academic status, pupils in foster care are
more likely to achieve their full potential when they are provided
services and programs designed to meet their particular needs,
including, but not limited to, supplemental instruction, counseling,
tutoring, support services offered to lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, queer, questioning, and gender nonconforming youth, and
other assistance relevant to their experience.
(i) Policies and laws addressing the educational rights of pupils
in foster care must be implemented so that pupils in foster care are
immediately enrolled in school, provided access to meaningful
opportunities to meet state pupil academic achievement standards to
which all pupils are held, provided access to a rigorous curriculum,
adequately prepared to enter postsecondary education, and afforded
the academic resources, services, and extracurricular and enrichment
activities made available to other pupils enrolled in California's
public schools, including, but not limited to, interscholastic sports
administered by the California Interscholastic Federation. In
fulfilling their responsibilities to these pupils, educators, county
placing agencies, caregivers, advocates, and the juvenile courts will
work together to ensure that each pupil is placed in the least
restrictive educational environment.
(j) Foster youth services programs provide pupils in foster care
needed educational support and are a state priority.