Juvenile court school pupils: joint transition planning policy: courses of study

The law assigns a school-based transition contact and requires closer coordination so students can enroll promptly, receive records, and keep credits they earned.

What the law does ​

• Requires an enrolling school district or charter school to designate and identify a transition liaison for each incoming juvenile court school student.
• Requires the liaison and needed school staff to work year-round with county education transition staff on records, enrollment, credit acceptance, and course placement.
• Requires county offices of education to provide a short-term detainee’s individualized learning plan, if one exists, to the student and the enrolling school’s liaison upon release when possible.
• Requires county offices of education to work with relevant local educational agencies on confidential, timely, accurate, and complete student-record transfer procedures.
• Requires transferring local educational agencies to issue official transcripts with full and partial credits within two business days under the foster-youth transfer process.

Who it affects ​

• Students transferring from juvenile court schools to school districts or charter schools.
• School districts, charter schools, county offices of education, and county probation departments.
• Foster students and other protected mobile student groups whose schools must issue and accept full or partial course credit.

Breakdown ​

School Transition Contacts ​

The bill requires a student’s enrolling school district or charter school to designate a staff contact to help coordinate the student’s transition from juvenile court school. That contact must work with county education transition staff and receive the student’s individualized learning plan when applicable. The bill also expands coordination on procedures for transferring education records by requiring county education offices to work with local education agencies.

Key takeaways

• A school district or charter school enrolling a juvenile court school student must designate a staff member as the transition liaison contact.
• The enrolling school or charter school must give the county office of education and county probation department the liaison’s name and contact information.
• The designated liaison and other needed school personnel must work with county education transition staff throughout the year to complete required transition activities for the student.
• For a student detained for 20 or fewer consecutive schooldays, the county office of education must provide any existing individualized learning plan to the school or charter school’s designated liaison.
• County offices of education must work with relevant local education agencies, in addition to county probation departments, to establish procedures for timely and confidential education-record transfers.
• Because it adds duties for local education agencies, the bill creates a state-mandated local program.

Faster Transcript Issuance ​

The bill requires a local educational agency transferring a foster youth to issue the student's official transcript within two business days. This makes the two-day deadline apply directly to issuing the transcript, helping ensure the receiving school can obtain the student's academic records promptly. The new duty creates a state-required local program.

Key takeaways

• A transferring local educational agency must issue an official transcript for a foster youth within two business days.
• The change strengthens the timeline for providing records when a foster youth changes educational placements.
• The transcript requirement concerns official records that include credit for satisfactorily completed full or partial coursework.
• Because the bill adds duties for local educational entities, it creates a state-mandated local program.

Coordinating Changes With SB 685 ​

This provision coordinates AB 1659 with SB 685 if both bills become law. The additional changes to Education Code Section 51225.2 proposed by SB 685 apply only if AB 1659 is enacted after SB 685.

Key takeaways

• The provision addresses potential overlap between AB 1659 and SB 685 in changes to Education Code Section 51225.2.
• SB 685’s additional changes to that section apply only if both bills are enacted.
• The coordination rule applies only when AB 1659 is enacted last.