Bill Text: CA AB1679 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 1679 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Child care: state preschool programs: eligibility: military families.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From Senate committee without further action. [AB1679 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB1679-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 1679	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 6, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Weber

                        JANUARY 19, 2016

   An act to add Section 8236.2 to the Education Code, relating to
child care.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1679, as amended, Weber. Child care: state preschool programs:
eligibility: military families.
   The Child Care and Development Services Act requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer state preschool
programs according to specified funding priorities. The act requires
that priority for receiving state preschool services be given to
low-income families who meet eligibility standards established by the
Superintendent.
   This bill would exclude the amount of the basic allowance for
housing provided to an individual who is on federal active duty,
state active duty, active duty for special work, or Active Guard and
Reserve duty in the military that is equal to the lowest rate of the
allowance for the military housing area in which the individual
resides from income for purposes of determining eligibility for state
preschool services.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (1) California is home to a large number of military personnel,
including 150,000 active duty personnel.
   (2) Military families are a unique population with unique
circumstances. The children of military families face constant
transition, including family mobility and parental deployment.
   (3) Military families move more than twice as often as civilian
families. Forty percent of officers and 60 percent of enlisted
personnel move during the school year. Thus, the lower the rank of
the military family member, the more often the family moves.
   (4) During a time of war, military families endure the strains of
long-term separation as one or both parents may be deployed overseas.

   (5) During parental deployment children are often anxious,
stressed, and confused. Preschools can be a place where stability and
routine can provide security. The classroom routine helps to cushion
the impact of parental deployment.
   (6) Preschool can be a determining factor in the early academic
success of a pupil from a military family by providing educational
enrichment, as well as a stable and nurturing learning environment.
   (b) Given these special circumstances, it is the intent of the
Legislature in enacting this act to ensure that military families
have access to the preschool services that their children need.
  SEC. 2.  Section 8236.2 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   8236.2.   (a)    For purposes of determining
eligibility for state preschool services pursuant to this article,
the income of an individual who is on federal active duty, state
active duty, active duty for special work, or Active Guard and
Reserve duty in the military does not include the amount of the basic
allowance for housing pursuant to Section 403 of Title 37 of the
United States Code provided to the individual that is equal to the
lowest rate of the allowance for the military housing area in which
the individual resides. 
   (b) Nothing in this section shall supersede the priority for
state-subsidized child development services included in this chapter.