Legislation & Legal

General Resources

CFYETF California Foster Care Education Law Fact Sheets (2023)-ENGLISH

CFYETF California Foster Care Education Law Fact Sheets (2023)-SPANISH

Legal Center for Foster Care and Education

CA Legislative Information (Leg Info)

• How a Bill Becomes a Law Overview

• How a Bill Becomes a Law Chart

• Glossary of Legislative Terms

State and Federal Laws Regarding Foster Youth Education

Assembly Bill 490 (2003)
Educational Rights and Stability for Foster Youth Act.

Assembly Bill 12 (2010) California Fostering Connections to Success Act
California Fostering Connections to Success Act extends foster care to eligible youth from age 18 to 21.     

Senate Bill 578 (2011) Pupils in Foster Care: Course Credit
Foster youth awarded full or partial credit for coursework completed while attending a previous school.     

Assembly Bill 1933 (2010) Foster Children: Education
This law allows foster youth to remain in their school of origin. 

Assembly Bill 1909 (2012) Foster Children Suspension and Expulsion Notifications
This law addressed disciplinary proceedings, expulsion, extended suspension, and manifestation determination for children with exceptional needs.  

Assembly Bill 167/216 (2013) High School Graduation Requirements: Pupils in Foster Care
This law exempts foster and probation youth from having to fulfill additional school district graduation requirements if they transfer to a new school district.  

Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95) (2015)
This law reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Of 1965 and replaces No Child Left Behind Act of 2002.  The purpose of the law is to provide all children significant opportunities to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education and to close educational achievement gaps.    

Assembly Bill 854 (2015) Educational Services: Pupils in Foster Care
This bill aligns the Foster Youth Services (FYS) program with the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) to ensure the effective implementation of LCFF for students in foster care.

Senate Bill 89 (2017) Foster Youth Sexual Health Education
This law requires sexual health education for foster youth and new training requirements for caregivers, social workers, and judges.

Assembly Bill 1962 (2018) Foster Youth Dependent of a Tribal Court
This law changes the definition of foster youth used for state funding and accountability purposes. 

Senate Bill 860 (2020) FYSCP Postsecondary Education Financial Aid Applications

This law requires the FYSCP to coordinate efforts to ensure, to the extent possible, the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or the California Dream Act Application for foster youth pupils who are in grade 12.

Assembly Bill 1055 (2021) Foster Youth: Tribal Pupils and Voluntarily Placed Children

This law deletes the requirement that a dependent tribal child also meet specified state law standards for purposes of the definition of foster youth for purposes of the local control funding formula and adds children who are subjects of voluntary placement agreements to the definition of foster youth for purposes of the local control funding formula.

Assembly Bill 740 (2022) Foster Youth: Suspension and Expulsion

This law requires the foster child’s educational rights holder, attorney, and county social worker, and if applicable, an Indian child’s  tribal social worker to have the same rights a parent or guardian of a child has to receive a suspension notice, expulsion notice, manifestation determination notice, involuntary transfer notice, and other documents and related information. 

Assembly Bill 373 (2023) Intersession Programs: Foster Children and Homeless Youth: Priority Access

The law requires a school district, county office of education, or charter school, if the LEA operates an intersession program, to grant priority access to foster children and homeless youth, as provided.

Assembly Bill 723 (2023) Pupil Placement: Special Education: Foster Children: Nonpublic, School of Origin

The law requires, commencing with the 2024–25 school year, a nonpublic, nonsectarian school or agency seeking certification or already certified to agree in writing, for any foster child it serves, to be designated as the school of origin of the foster child and to allow the foster child to continue their education in the school.