Pathways to Higher Education
Frequently Asked Questions, Answered by the Experts
Through YLC’s Pathways to Higher Education work, we are expanding the number of postsecondary education opportunities available to young people who are currently or have been involved in the juvenile justice system in California. This innovative work re-imagines higher education as an important habilitation anchor to bring youth back to their communities and offer the opportunities they need to succeed. Youth want to continue their education and they have the resilience and potential to succeed and lead. We can create the practices, policies and resources so every youth can fulfill their dreams.
In this special post, you will find frequently asked questions that practitioners, policy makers, and young people involved with the juvenile justice system might have about how to improve youths access to higher education opportunities, answered by experts at Youth Law Center. Check back frequently, as we will always be updating and adding questions and answers to this post.
Have a question that you need answered? Send it to sweiss@ylc.org.
QUESTION
Can youth in a detention facility access the internet to take online community college courses?
ANSWER
California law says that young people in a county juvenile hall, camp, ranch, or forestry ranch must have access to computers and the Internet “for the purposes of education.” The law also says that county probation can limit or deny that access for safety, security, or staffing reasons. But barring those exceptions, young people in county juvenile facilities should be able to use computers and the Internet to complete their high school and college coursework. (See Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 851.1 and 889.1.)
Those two laws don’t apply to young people in state facilities run by California’s Division of Juvenile Facilities, but young people in those facilities have the right under California law to “receive a quality education” and “to attend age-appropriate school classes and vocational training.” (See Welfare and Institutions Code § 224.71 (n).) In today’s technology-centric society, a quality education, particularly at high school and college levels, requires access to computers and the Internet.
QUESTION
Do students have to have a high school diploma to enroll in community college classes?
ANSWER
In California, community colleges can admit students with high school diplomas or equivalents, students without a high school diploma who are 18 or older, or high school students in dual enrollment programs. Students without high school diplomas do not qualify for federal financial aid, and may need to obtain a diploma or equivalent in order to complete certain majors or to transfer to a four-year school.
High School Diploma
Students can earn their high school diploma by meeting local district requirements. Some students may also be eligible to earn a high school diploma under the California state requirements. Under Ed Code 51225.1, foster youth, probation-involved youth, and homeless youth who transfer schools after their second year of high school may be eligible to graduate with 130 credits, rather than meeting their local district’s graduation requirements; this is often referred to as AB 167/216 graduation. AB 167/216 graduation helps young people who often move between different school districts stay on track to graduate, as credits that count towards graduation in one district may not count towards graduation in another.
Equivalents to High School Diploma
The California Department of Education (CDE) has approved three high school equivalency tests for students 18 or older, or in some cases 17. They are the GED, HiSET, and the TASC. These tests must be taken at official testing sites to be valid. Students who are 16 or older, or younger students who meet specific criteria, can take the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) to earn an equivalent to a high school diploma.
Dual Enrollment
High school students can enroll in community college through dual enrollment programs. These programs can exist in juvenile halls and camps- several community colleges in California currently offer tuition-free in-person and/or online dual enrollment classes to high school students in juvenile halls, camps, court schools and alternative schools, through partnerships with probation departments and County Offices of Education.
QUESTION
Are youth with juvenile justice system involvement “wards of the court” on the FAFSA?
ANSWER
It depends on the youth’s individual circumstances. Not all youth with juvenile justice system involvement are “wards of the court” for the FAFSA, but some are. If a youth is a ward of the court on the FAFSA, it can make it easier for them to complete their financial aid paperwork, as wards of the court are considered “independent” students”, and don’t have to provide parental financial information.
For FAFSA purposes, a youth is a dependent or ward of the court if, after the age of 13, they had a foster care placement order. This placement order could be through the child welfare system or through probation. If the youth was placed outside of their parent’s or guardian’s home in a place other than a juvenile detention setting, for instance in a group home, treatment program, or other family member’s home, they are considered a ward of the court for the FAFSA. If they were in a foster care placement before entering the juvenile justice system, they qualify as a dependent or ward of the court, as long as they were in foster care, even only for a day, after turning 13.
In the juvenile justice system “ward of the court” means something different than it does on the FAFSA, which can lead to confusion. Sometimes people think that anyone who has been in juvenile hall or on probation qualifies as a ward of the court for FAFSA. This is incorrect. On the other hand, sometimes people get confused and think that anyone who has been in the juvenile hall or on probation is definitely not a ward of the court for FAFSA. This is also incorrect; many youth who have been involved in the juvenile justice system have also been in foster care, whether before they entered the juvenile justice system, or as a result of their justice system involvement.
Remember: Foster youth can be supervised by a child welfare agency or by probation. Probation-supervised foster youth are foster youth, who have the same rights and eligibility for supportive programming, benefits, and financial aid as child-welfare supervised foster youth. Involvement with the juvenile justice system does not “erase” or “reset” prior involvement with the child welfare system — note that this is different from the way the law worked prior to 2009, before FAFSA changed its definition of ward of the court. One important source of financial aid for probation-supervised foster youth is the Chafee Grant, which provides extra money for foster youth to go to college, if they apply and meet the other eligibility requirements.
