News Briefs | FYI
March 18, 2024
Law expands definition of school of origin for foster youth
School districts should review their board policies, regulations and master contracts in light of a new law that expands the definition of “school of origin” for foster youth, according to a recent client news brief from the law firm Lozano Smith.
On Oct. 13, 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 723, which expands the definition of “school of origin” to include nonpublic, nonsectarian schools for foster children with exceptional needs. A “nonpublic, nonsectarian school,” or NPS, means a private, nonsectarian school that is certified by the California Department of Education and enrolls individuals with exceptional needs pursuant to their individualized education programs (IEPs). Beginning with the 2024-25 school year, each NPS shall agree in writing to be designated as the school of origin for foster children they serve and to allow foster children to continue their education in the NPS.
Children in foster care experience much higher levels of residential and school instability than their peers. As a result of frequent placement changes leading to educational disruptions, both the state and federal governments have enacted laws to increase the educational stability for these youth.
Under both the federal Every Student Succeeds Act and the California Education Code, school districts must provide educational stability and transportation to the school of origin for students in the foster care system. The school of origin is the school in which a child is enrolled at the time of placement in foster care, the school they most recently attended, or any school attended in the last 15 months that the student is connected to.
As existing law lacked clarity on whether nonpublic schools could qualify as a school of origin for foster students, some foster students may not have been permitted to continue attendance in an NPS upon a change in foster placement, resulting in harmful educational delays and disruptions. Under AB 723, nonpublic schools qualify as the school of origin for foster children with special needs, and therefore must agree to continue to educate those children in the event of a new foster care placement.
School districts may enter into master contracts with nonpublic schools only if the nonpublic school has been certified by the state. Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, any NPS seeking certification by the state must agree to be designated as the school of origin for any foster child it serves and allow foster children to continue their education in the NPS. School districts should therefore review and update any existing board policies, regulations and master contracts to reflect that nonpublic schools are included in the definition of school of origin for foster students with IEPs.
Documentary about LAUSD instrument repairs wins Oscar
A documentary about the craftspeople who maintain the 80,000 musical instruments used by students in Los Angeles USD has won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film.
“The Last Repair Shop” received the Oscar during the 96th Academy Awards ceremony held March 10 in Los Angeles. One of the stars of the film, 12-year-old violin player Porche Brinker, joined directors Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers on stage to accept the award during the live telecast.
The film distributed by L.A. Times Short Docs and Searchlight Pictures takes viewers to the district’s repair shop, which since 1959 has provided free repairs of musical instruments to public schoolchildren. Once a common operation in schools across the country, the repair shop is the last of its kind in the U.S. The stories of the Angelenos who repair these instruments are interspersed with the stories of LAUSD students whose lives are enriched by playing music.
On the social media platform X, LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said the directors and cast of the film traveled to the Dolby Theater for the awards ceremony on a yellow school bus, rather than a limousine, “to remind everyone that public schools are relevant and important.”
The documentary is available on Disney+ and the Los Angeles Times’ YouTube channel.
FYI
Apply for Classified School Employee of the Year
Each California County Office of Education is encouraged to participate in the 2024 Classified School Employees of the Year Program to identify and honor exemplary classified school employees throughout California in the following nine occupational specialties: paraprofessional, clerical and administrative services, transportation services, food and nutrition services, custodial and maintenance services, security services, health and student services, technical services and skilled trades. Awardees are eligible to be nominated for the National Recognizing Inspiring School Employees Award, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The 2024 CSEY Application and more information are available at www.cde.ca.gov/ta/sr/cl/. Applications are due by 4 p.m. April 5.
Apply for DELPI grant funds by April 5 deadline
The Diverse Education Leaders Pipeline Initiative (DELPI) Grant Program provides a one-time grant award of up to $30,000 per participating administrator candidate to Local Education Agencies to support eligible participants to pursue an administrative services credential. The purpose of the grant program is to train, place and retain diverse and culturally responsive administrators in TK-12 to improve pupil outcomes and meet the needs of California’s education workforce. This funding shall be available for encumbrance until June 20, 2027. Find the Request for Application online at www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/grant-funded-programs/diverse-education-leaders-pipeline-initiative. Completed applications are due to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing by 5 p.m April 5.