SB 1346

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law establishes the public school system in this state and, among other things, provides for the establishment of county superintendents of schools, school districts, and charter schools throughout the state. Existing law establishes a public school financing system that requires state funding for county superintendents of schools, school districts, and charter schools to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula, as specified. Existing law, by not later than May 1 of each fiscal year, requires the governing board of each local educational agency to provide for an audit of the books and accounts of the local educational agency, as specified. This bill would require an audit of a local educational agency to also include whether expenditures were in compliance with the regulations related to the expenditure of moneys apportioned on the basis of the number and concentration of unduplicated pupils, as defined. (2) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with approval of the State Board of Education, to develop an Academic Performance Index to measure the performance of schools and school districts, especially the academic performance of pupils. Existing law requires a school or school district to demonstrate comparable improvement in academic achievement as measured by the Academic Performance Index by all numerically significant pupil subgroups at the school or school district, as specified. This bill would add reclassified English learners, as provided, to the list of pupil subgroups concerning which a school or school district is required to demonstrate this improvement, if the subgroup is numerically significant. By adding to the duties of local educational agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law requires the State Board of Education, on or before January 31, 2014, to adopt regulations that govern the expenditure of funds apportioned on the basis of the number and concentration of unduplicated pupils pursuant to the local control funding formula. Existing law requires the regulations to include provisions that, among other things, authorize a school district, county office of education, or charter school to use funds apportioned on the basis of the number of unduplicated pupils for schoolwide purposes, or, for school districts, districtwide purposes, for county offices of education, countywide purposes, or for charter schools, charterwide purposes, in a manner no more restrictive than the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2011. This bill would require the state board, on or before January 31, 2015, to revise those regulations to authorize a school district, county office of education, or charter school to use funds apportioned on the basis of both the number and concentration of unduplicated pupils for schoolwide purposes. The bill also would require the revised regulations to authorize a school district or county office of education to use funds apportioned on the basis of both the number and concentration of unduplicated pupils for districtwide or countywide purposes, respectively. (4) Existing law requires a county board of education and a governing board of a school district to annually adopt or revise a local control and accountability plan that aligns with its annual budget and contains certain elements, including, among other elements, a description of the annual goals for all pupils and specified subgroups of pupils to be achieved for each specified state priority. Existing law requires a charter for a charter school to include many of the local control and accountability plan elements and requires the charter school to annually update its plan related to those elements. Existing law, an initiative measure, requires that all children in public schools, with certain exceptions, be taught English by being taught in English, requires that all children be placed in English language classrooms, and requires that children who are English learners be educated through sheltered English immersion during a temporary transition period not normally intended to exceed one year. This bill would revise provisions regarding local control and accountability plans, primarily in regard to English learners, including requiring each county superintendent of schools and the governing board of a school district to include a listing and description of certain expenditures in its local control and accountability plan, as specified. The bill would add to the list of state priorities the extent to which teachers, administrators, and staff receive professional development or participate in induction programs, including the type and subject areas of the professional development provided. By adding to the duties of local educational agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law, on or before March 31, 2014, requires the State Board of Education to adopt templates for use by school districts and county superintendents of schools to meet the requirements of local control and accountability plans. This bill would, on or before March 31, 2015, require the state board to adopt templates to, among other things, ensure that each school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter school that receives supplemental and concentration funds for unduplicated pupils include specified information in its local control and accountability plan. (6) Existing law requires, on or before July 1 of each fiscal year, the governing board of each school district to, among other things, adopt a budget, as provided. Existing law requires the county superintendent of schools to determine whether the adopted budget includes the expenditures necessary to implement the local control and accountability plan or annual update to the local control and accountability plan approved by the county superintendent of schools. This bill would require the county superintendent of schools to also determine whether the adopted budget complies with the regulations related to the expenditure of moneys apportioned on the basis of the number and concentration of unduplicated pupils, as defined. (7) Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to establish a parent advisory committee to provide advice to the governing board of the school district and the superintendent of the school district, as specified. Existing law additionally requires the governing board of a school district to establish an English learner parent advisory committee if the enrollment of the school district includes at least 15% English learners and the school district enrolls at least 50 pupils who are English learners. This bill would instead require the governing board of a school district to establish a districtwide parent advisory committee and, as a condition of state supplemental grant funds, if either the enrollment of the school district includes at least 15% English learners or the school district enrolls at least 50 pupils who are English learners, to establish a districtwide English learner parent advisory committee. The bill would require the districtwide English learner parent advisory committee to advise the governing board of the school district on specified tasks, including, among others, the establishment of school district goals and objectives for programs and services for English learners and school district reclassification procedures. (8) Existing law requires a county superintendent of schools to establish an English learner parent advisory committee if the enrollment of the pupils in the schools and programs operated by the county superintendent of schools includes at least 15% English learners and the schools and programs operated by the county superintendent of schools enroll at least 50 pupils who are English learners. This bill would instead require a county superintendent of schools to establish an English learner parent advisory committee if either the enrollment of the pupils in the schools and programs operated by the county superintendent of schools includes at least 15% English learners or the schools and programs operated by the county superintendent of schools enroll at least 50 pupils who are English learners. (9) This bill would make other related and conforming changes and various nonsubstantive changes. (10) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.