December 28, 2009
Pursuant to Elections Code Section 9005, we have
reviewed a proposed constitutional and statutory initiative that would
allow foster students to apply their public school funding towards
private school tuition (A.G. File No. 09‑0085).
Background
Foster Youth in California. There
are approximately 73,000 foster youth in California at any given time,
three-quarters of whom are school age. Between 33 percent and 50 percent
of school-aged foster youth require special education services, compared
to less than 12 percent of non-foster youth. Education decisions for
foster youth are generally vested with the biological parent. In the
case that a court limits the educational rights of the biological
parent, the court may vest those rights in itself or an independent
"education rights holder."
Existing Funding for Foster Youth
Education. The state provides various sources of funding for
foster youth education. The largest source of funding comes from school
districts' per pupil general-purpose allocations (commonly known as
revenue limit funding). School districts receive additional funding for
expenses such as school meals, instructional materials, counseling,
summer school, and after school programs, which also can support foster
youth. In addition, the state separately funds Foster Youth Programs,
which provides specific supplemental services, such as tutoring,
exclusively to foster youth. Virtually all of these funding streams
count toward Proposition 98—the state's minimum funding requirement for
K-14 education.
Proposal
Allows Foster Youth to Apply Public School
Funding Monies Towards Private School Tuition. This proposal
would provide scholarships to foster youth that could be redeemed at
participating private schools. The value of the scholarship would be
equal to the lesser of the amount of per pupil Proposition 98 funding
the state provides for charter school students or the cost of education
at the private school. (Based on 2009‑10 data, the value of the
scholarship could range up to roughly $6,000 to $7,000, depending on the
grade level of the participating foster youth.) To qualify as a
scholarship-redeeming school, a private school would need to administer
the state's standardized tests to foster youth receiving the
scholarships.
Creates Administrative System. The
proposal establishes specific rules for the notification, verification,
and payment of the scholarships. Regarding notification, the measure
requires the appropriate state or county agency, or both, to annually
notify in separate mailings each biological parent, the adult who has
educational responsibility for the child, and the foster parent of the
scholarships. After a child has been accepted to a qualified private
school, the private school is to provide the applicable county office of
education with proof of enrollment, cost of education information, and
its address. County offices of education are then to submit this
information to the Controller, who would disburse the scholarships to
the participating private schools.
Fiscal Effects
Negligible Impact on Education Costs at
State Level. The proposal would have virtually no impact on
total education costs at the state level because the scholarships are to
be funded within Proposition 98 and participating foster youth would
continue to count as students for the purposes of calculating overall
Proposition 98 funding (but would no longer count as students for
district purposes).
Some redirections of funding, however, are likely
to occur within Proposition 98. These redirections likely would be
relatively minor. For example, if some foster youth accepted the
scholarships, then the state would generate some savings from programs
that have their funding linked to student counts. In many cases, these
per pupil savings likely would be somewhat more than needed to cover the
cost of the scholarships. However, depending on the specific districts
affected by the measure, the savings could be somewhat less than needed
to cover scholarship costs. In particular, this could occur if a
participating foster student would otherwise have attended a
below-average revenue limit district.
Some Minor Savings on Education Costs at
Local Level. For every foster student that moves to a private
school, districts would lose roughly $6,500 in Proposition 98 funding.
The school district, however, would also be relieved of the costs
associated with educating the student. Foster students are more likely
to require special education services, and children requiring special
education services cost, on average, almost two and a half times as much
to educate as children not requiring such services. School districts, on
average, likely would achieve some savings if foster students moved to
private schools. Nonetheless, given the program is likely to impact
relatively few students in proportion to total enrollment, the overall
reduction in local education costs is likely to be minor.
Minor Administrative Costs. At both
the state and local levels, entities would be incurring minor
administrative costs to operate the program but would vary somewhat
depending upon program participation. The bulk of these costs would be
attributable to the notification and verification processes required by
the measure.
Summary of Fiscal Effects
This measure would have the following fiscal
effects:
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