Existing law states the intent of the Legislature to ensure that all pupils in foster care and those who are homeless, as defined, have a meaningful opportunity to meet the challenging state pupil academic achievement standards to which all pupils are held. Existing law requires educators, county placing agencies, care providers, advocates, and the juvenile courts to work together to maintain stable school placements and to ensure that each pupil is placed in the least restrictive educational programs, and has access to the academic resources, services, and extracurricular and enrichment activities that are available to all pupils, as provided.

This bill would require the State Department of Education, in consultation with the State Department of Social Services, to administer competitive grants as part of a pilot program, to be known as the Unaccompanied Youth Support Grant Program, for school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to provide supports necessary to improve school attendance, pupil engagement, pupil graduation rates, and pupil wellbeing for unaccompanied youth, as defined, who are 16 and 17 years of age, including connecting youth with resources to find stable housing. The bill would require 5-year grants to be awarded to local educational agencies to support unaccompanied youth, and would require grant funds to be used for, among other things, referrals to existing social services support systems, and providing basic needs supports and educational support services, as specified. The bill would require funding preference under the program to be given to local educational agencies that have significant experience working with unaccompanied youth and existing partnerships with certain entities, as specified. The bill would require local educational agencies applying for grant funds under the program to submit an application that includes, among other things, a detailed plan describing how grant funds will be used to identify eligible pupils, the types of supports to be provided based on the eligible uses of grant funds, and the methods and metrics the local educational agency will use to measure progress towards program goals. The bill would require local educational agencies awarded grant funds under the program to submit annual reports to the department that include, among other things, a description of the expenditure of funds and the number and characteristics of unaccompanied youth served.