AB 117

Bill Subjects

Abstract

(1) Existing law requires the governing board of a school district to report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction during each fiscal year the average daily attendance of the school district for all full school months, and describes the period between July 1 and April 15, inclusive, as the "second period" report for the second principal apportionment. Existing law requires a county superintendent of schools to report the average daily attendance for the school and classes maintained by the county superintendent and the average daily attendance for the county school tuition fund. For local educational agencies that comply with Executive Order N–26–20, this bill would specify that for purposes of attendance claimed for apportionment purposes pursuant to the provision described above, for the 2019–20 school year average daily attendance reported to the State Department of Education for the second period and the annual period for local educational agencies only includes all full school months from July 1, 2019, to February 29, 2020, inclusive. (2) If a local educational agency fails to offer a specified minimum number of instructional days and minutes, existing law requires the local educational agency's apportionment of funds from the State School Fund to be reduced, as specified. To prevent the loss of funding related to an instructional time penalty because of a school closed due to the coronavirus (COVID–19) , this bill would deem the instructional days and minutes requirements described above to have been met during the period of time the school was closed due to COVID–19. The bill would require a superintendent of a school district, county superintendent of schools, or charter school administrator to certify in writing to the Superintendent that the school was closed due to COVID–19. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) Existing law establishes the After School Education and Safety Program and describes the purpose of the program as creating incentives to establish locally driven before and after school enrichment programs that partner public schools and communities to provide academic and literacy support and safe, constructive alternative for youth. If a program grantee is temporarily prevented from operating its entire program due to natural disaster, civil unrest, or imminent danger to pupils or staff, existing law authorizes the department to approve a grantee's request for pupil attendance credit equal to the average annual attendance that the grantee would have received had it been able to operate its entire program during that time period. This bill would specify that a school closure due to COVID–19 is a qualifying event for the purposes described above. The bill would waive a grantee's obligation to submit a request for pupil attendance credits, and would require a grantee to be credited with the average annual attendance it would have received had it been able to operate its entire program during the time the school was closed due to COVID–19. (4) Existing law requires a school district that has one or more pupils who are English learners, and, to the extent required by federal law, a county office of education and a charter school, to assess the English language development of each pupil in order to determine the pupil's level of proficiency. Existing law requires this assessment to be conducted upon a pupil's initial enrollment and at least annually during a 4-month period after January 1. This bill would extend the deadline to conduct the English learner assessment by 45 days, unless otherwise determined by the Superintendent. (5) Existing law establishes the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) as the statewide system of pupil assessments, under which various assessments are required or authorized to be administered in public schools, as specified. Existing law also requires the governing board of a school district maintaining any of grades 5, 7, and 9 to administer to each pupil in those grades a physical performance test, as specified. This bill would extend the testing window for the annual English learner assessment described in (4) , the CAASPP, and the physical performance test by the length of time a school is closed due to COVID–19, or until the end of the testing window, whichever comes first. (6) Existing law establishes timelines affecting special education programs, including, among other timelines, requiring a proposed assessment plan to determine if a pupil is an individual with exceptional needs to be developed within 15 calendar days of referral for assessment, excluding calendar days between the pupil's regular school sessions or terms and calendar days of school vacation in excess of 5 schooldays. This bill would require the State Department of Education to consider the days a school is closed due to COVID–19 as days between a pupil's regular school session for purposes of the timelines affecting special education programs. The bill would waive certain special education timelines if a local educational agency has closed due to COVID–19 up until the school reopens and the regular school session reconvenes. The bill would specify that is it not waiving requirements imposed by federal law. (7) This bill would appropriate $100,000,000 from the General Fund to the Superintendent to be apportioned to certain local educational agencies for purposes of purchasing personal protective equipment, or paying for supplies and labor related to cleaning schoolsites, or both. (8) 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 the statutory provisions noted above. (9) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.