Bill Text: CA AB752 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 752 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Child care: state preschool programs: expulsion.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2017-10-12 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 708, Statutes of 2017. [AB752 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB752-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly April 18, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 752

Introduced by Assembly Member Rubio

February 15, 2017

An act to add Section 8207 to the Education Code, and to add Section 1596.893c to the Health and Safety Code, relating to child care.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 752, as amended, Rubio. Child care: expulsion.

Existing law, the Child Care and Development Services Act, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer child care and development programs that offer a full range of services for eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age. The act requires families to meet certain requirements in various areas to be eligible for federal and state subsidized child development services. The act authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction to enter into and execute local contractual agreements with any public or private entity or agency for the delivery of child care and development services.

This bill would prohibit a contracting agency from expelling or unenrolling a child because of a child’s behavior unless the contracting agency has ~~explored~~ pursued and documented ~~all possible~~ reasonable steps to maintain the child’s safe participation in the program and determines, in consultation with ~~the parents or legal guardians of the child, the child’s teacher, and, if applicable, the local agency responsible for implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and~~ specified parties, that the child’s continued enrollment would present a continued serious safety threat to the child or other enrolled children. The bill would require, if a child is expelled or unenrolled, the contracting agency to facilitate the child’s transition to a more appropriate placement. The bill would require the State Department of Education to develop criteria to ensure that children are not expelled or unenrolled from a program due to challenging behaviors without a documented process and with due consideration of the requirement to facilitate transition to a more appropriate placement. children, and has referred the parents or legal guardians to other potentially appropriate placements, the local child care resource and referral agency, or any other referral service available in the local community.

Existing law provides for the licensure, by the State Department of Social Services, of facilities that provide day care for children, including day care centers and family day care homes. Existing law authorizes the department to impose civil penalties for certain violations of the licensing requirements and their corresponding regulations. Existing law requires each licensed child day care facility to post various documents and provide various notices to parents in response to certain citations. Existing law provides that failure to comply with these requirements result in an immediate civil penalty.
This bill would prohibit the department from penalizing a licensed child day care facility providing services through the California State Preschool Program or other child care and development services for failure to expel or unenroll a child, or for failure to provide specialized or extraordinary supervision in response to serious challenging behavior, when the documented process described above has not yet been completed. The bill would also suspend, in certain circumstances, the requirements that the facility post various documents and provide various notices to parents in response to certain citations, and suspend imposition of civil penalties for failure to comply with those requirements, while the licensee is exercising its right to appeal the citation.
This bill would prohibit the State Department of Social Services from issuing a citation to or imposing a civil penalty on a child day care facility that contracts with the State Department of Education for a violation that is solely related to the behavior of a child when the facility is in the process of complying with the procedure described above. The bill would authorize a child day care facility that contracts with the State Department of Education to appeal a citation or civil penalty issued by the State Department of Social Services that is related to the behavior of a child when the facility is in the process of complying with that procedure. The bill would require the State Department of Social Services to withdraw a citation or civil penalty solely related to the behavior of a child upon the presentation of evidence by the child day care facility that the facility was in the process of complying with that procedure. The bill, notwithstanding those provisions, would authorize the department to issue a citation or impose a civil penalty for a violation related to a child’s behavior if the contracting agency is not pursuing and documenting reasonable steps to maintain the child’s safe participation in the program.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES 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) In both California and the United States, children in preschool are expelled at three times the rate as children in kindergarten through 12th grade.

(2) Given the well-established evidence on the benefits for young children attending a high-quality preschool program — particularly for closing the achievement gap between low-income students and their ~~middle and high income~~ middle- and high-income peers — it is deeply concerning that expulsions occur at such a high rate, affecting children and their families at a crucial time in their development.

(3) A joint statement from the National Association for the Education of Young Children and over 30 national early childhood organizations states that while young children thrive in the context of stable and supportive relationships with adults, the expulsion of a child from preschool threatens the development of those positive relationships, disrupts the learning process, and instigates a negative cycle that increases inequality and denies the child and family access to much needed supports.

(4)The United States Department of Health and Human Services has recently adopted updated guidelines on expulsion for Head Start programs. Aiming to impose a prohibition on expulsion, the guidelines lay out a rigorous process for addressing persistent and serious challenging behaviors.
~~(5)~~

(4) Currently, there are no ~~similar~~ guidelines or regulations on expulsion for the California State Preschool ~~Program or other child care and development services.~~ Program.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to significantly reduce the expulsion or unenrollment of children due to challenging behaviors from the California State Preschool ~~Program and other child care and development programs.~~ Program.

SEC. 2.

Section 8207 is added to the Education Code, to read:

8207.

(a) A contracting agency shall not expel or unenroll a child because of a child’s behavior except as authorized by subdivision (c).

(b) (1) If a child exhibits persistent and serious challenging behaviors, the contracting agency shall ~~explore~~ pursue and document ~~all possible~~ reasonable steps to maintain the child’s safe participation in the program.

(2) (A) If the child has an individualized family service plan or individualized education program, the contracting ~~agency~~ agency, with written parental consent, shall ~~consult with~~ contact the agency responsible for the individualized family service plan or individualized education program to ~~ensure the child receives the needed support services.~~ seek consultation on serving the child.

(B) If the child does not have an individualized family service plan or individualized education program, the contracting agency shall ~~collaborate, with the consent of~~ refer the child’s parents or legal ~~guardians, with~~ guardians to the local agency responsible for implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education ~~Act to determine the child’s eligibility for services.~~ Act.

(c) If a contracting agency has explored and documented ~~all possible~~ reasonable steps to maintain the child’s safe participation in the program and determines, in consultation with the parents or legal guardians of the child, the child’s teacher, and, if applicable, the local agency responsible for implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, that the child’s continued enrollment would present a continued serious safety threat to the child or other enrolled children, it shall ~~facilitate the child’s transition to a more appropriate placement.~~ refer the parents or legal guardians to other potentially appropriate placements, the local child care resource and referral agency, or any other referral service available in the local community. The contracting agency may then unenroll the child.

(d)The State Department of Education shall develop criteria to ensure that children are not expelled or unenrolled from a program due to challenging behaviors without a documented process, as described in subdivision (b), and with due consideration of the requirement to facilitate transition to a more appropriate placement, as described in subdivision (c).
(d) A contracting agency shall have 180 days to complete the process described in this section.
(e) This section shall apply only to California state preschool programs described in Article 7 (commencing with Section 8235).

SEC. 3.Section 1596.893c is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:
1596.893c.
(a)A licensed child day care facility providing services through the California State Preschool Program or other child care and development services shall not be penalized by the department for failure to expel or unenroll a child, or for failure to provide specialized or extraordinary supervision in response to serious, challenging behavior, when the process described in Section 8207 of the Education Code has not yet been completed.
(b)(1)If the department finds a violation that presents an immediate risk to the health, safety, or personal rights of children in care, or a violation that has the potential of becoming an immediate risk to the health, safety, or personal rights of the children in care, as those terms are used in subdivision (a) of Section 1596.893b, and the licensee exercises its right to appeal the department’s decision as specified in Sections 1596.99 and 1597.58, the requirements detailed in Section 1596.8595 shall not apply until the department has decided to uphold, amend, or dismiss the finding of deficiency.
~~(2)Notwithstanding paragraph (1), civil penalties imposed by the department for an original violation shall continue to apply.~~

SEC. 3.

Section 1596.893c is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

1596.893c.
(a) The department shall not issue a citation or impose a civil penalty under any provision of this chapter to a child day care facility that contracts with the State Department of Education for a violation that is solely related to the behavior of a child when the facility is in the process of complying with Section 8207 of the Education Code.
(b) A child day care facility that contracts with the State Department of Education may appeal a citation or civil penalty issued by the department that is related to the behavior of a child when the facility is in the process of complying with Section 8207 of the Education Code. The department shall withdraw a citation or civil penalty that is solely related to the behavior of a child upon presentation of evidence by the child day care facility that the facility was in the process of complying with Section 8207 of the Education Code.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), the department may issue a citation or impose a civil penalty for a violation related to a child’s behavior if the contracting agency is not pursuing and documenting reasonable steps to maintain the child’s safe participation in the program.
(d) This section shall apply only to a California state preschool program described in Article 7 (commencing with Section 8235) of Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code.