California Senate Bill SB509 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: SB 509AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 9, 2009 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2009 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 27, 2009 INTRODUCED BY Committee on Education (Senators Romero (Chair), Alquist, Hancock, Huff, Liu, Maldonado, Padilla, Simitian, and Wyland) FEBRUARY 26, 2009 An act to amend Sections 17592.5,  47660,   24216.5, 47660, 51452,  52052, 52127, and 54026 of, and to repeal Sections 41857 and 47623 of, the Education Code, and to amend Section 53892.1 of the Government Code, relating to education. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 509, as amended, Committee on Education. Education. (1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to provide for the transportation of pupils to and from school by purchasing or renting vehicles, contracting and paying for the transportation of pupils to and from school by common carrier or municipally owned transit system, or contracting with and paying responsible private parties for the transportation. In each fiscal year, a school district or county office of education is entitled to receive the same transportation allowance that it received in the prior fiscal year, as calculated by the Superintendent of Public Instruction based on the approved costs of home-to-school transportation, as defined, of the district or county office. This bill would repeal a provision specifying that a charter school is eligible for funding pursuant to those provisions. (2) Under existing law, an elementary school that has been operated by the University of California at the Los Angeles campus prior to January 1, 1994, may apply to become a charter school. Existing law specifies, if an elementary school petitions either the governing board of the local school district or the State Board of Education to become a charter school, that the school shall receive state apportionments equal to the statewide average revenue limit for elementary schools plus other specified funding. This bill would repeal the provisions requiring the charter school to receive those funds. (3) Existing law requires the Superintendent, with approval of the state board, to develop the Academic Performance Index (API) consisting of a variety of indicators currently reported to the State Department of Education to track the achievement of schools and their pupils. Statutory provisions establish a specific calculation for graduation rates to be included within the API and require the Superintendent to provide an annual report to the Legislature on graduation and dropout rates in California. Existing law requires the API to be used for specified purposes, including, but not limited to, ranking all public schools in the state for purposes of the High Achieving/Improving Schools Program. This bill would include 5- and 6-year graduation rates in the indicators currently reported to the department for purposes of calculating a school's API. The bill would specify a formula to calculate these rates, and would provide that schools receive partial credit in their API scores for graduating pupils in 5 and 6 years, except that schools would be granted full credit for graduating in 5 or 6 years a pupil with disabilities who graduates in accordance with his or her individualized education program. (4) Existing law authorizes the allocation of economic impact aid funding to support educationally disadvantaged youth programs and bilingual education, and requires the Superintendent to determine an economic impact aid-eligible pupil count and calculate an amount of economic impact aid for each school district. For charter schools that are funded through the block grant funding model, as specified, in the 2006-07 fiscal year, the department is required to use counts as of October 2006 of pupils 5 to 17 years of age, inclusive, who are living with families whose annual income is at or below the federal poverty guideline, as defined, without revision. This bill would delete the provision specifying that it shall be without revision. (5) Existing law requires the Superintendent to furnish the Controller with certain data no later than 6 months following the close of each fiscal year. This bill would instead require the Superintendent to make certain data available on an as-needed basis. (6) The bill  also  would update and correct  specified   various statutory  cross references. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 17592.5 of the Education Code is amended to read: 17592.5. The Joint Powers Southern California Regional Occupational Center and the Metropolitan Education District, a joint powers authority, shall be deemed to be school districts for purposes of Sections 17582 to 17592, inclusive, and for the purposes of Section 17584.  SEC. 2.   Section 24216.5 of the   Education Code   is amended to read:  24216.5. (a) The compensation earned by a member who retired for service under this part shall be exempt from subdivisions (d), (f), and (g) of Section 24214, if all of the following conditions are met: (1) The member retired for service with an effective date on or before January 1, 2007. (2) The member retired for service is employed by a school district to provide any of the following: (A) Direct classroom instruction to pupils enrolled in kindergarten or any grades 1 to 12, inclusive. (B) Support and assessment for new teachers through the Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment program authorized by Section 44279.1. (C) Support to individuals completing student teaching assignments. (D) Support to individuals participating in the following programs:  (i) Pre-Internship Teaching Program authorized pursuant to Article 5.6 (commencing with Section 44305) of Chapter 2 of Part 25.   (ii)   (i)    Alternative certification programs authorized pursuant to Article 11 (commencing with Section 44380) of Chapter 2 of Part 25  of Division 3 of Title 2  .  (iii)   (ii)    School Paraprofessional Teacher Training Program established pursuant to Article 12 (commencing with Section 44390) of Chapter 2 of Part 25  of Division 3 of Title 2  . (E) Instruction and pupil services provided to pupils enrolled in special education programs authorized pursuant to Part 30 (commencing with Section 56000) of Division 4 of Title 2. (F) Instruction to pupils enrolled in English language learner programs authorized pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 300), Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 400), and Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 430) of Part 1  of Division 1  . (3) All members retired for service whose employment with a school district meets the conditions specified in this section shall be treated as a distinct class of temporary employees within the existing bargaining unit whose service may not be included in computing the service required as a prerequisite to attainment of or eligibility for classification as a permanent employee of a school district. The compensation for service performed by this class of employees shall be established in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 24214 and agreed to in the collective bargaining agreement between the employing school district and the exclusive representative for the existing bargaining unit within which these temporary employees of the school district are treated as a distinct class. (4) The employing school district submits documentation required by the system to substantiate the eligibility of the temporary employment of a member retired for service for the exemption under this subdivision. (b) A school district that employs a member retired for service pursuant to this section shall maintain accurate records of the retired member's compensation earned and shall report that compensation monthly to the system regardless of the method of payment or the source of funds from which the compensation is paid. (c) This section does not apply to the compensation earned for creditable service performed by a member retired for service for a community college district. (d) This section shall remain in effect only until June 30, 2010, and shall be repealed as of January 1, 2011, unless a later enacted statute deletes or extends that date.  SEC. 2.   SEC. 3.  Section 41857 of the Education Code is repealed.  SEC. 3.   SEC. 4.  Section 47623 of the Education Code is repealed.  SEC. 4.   SEC. 5.  Section 47660 of the Education Code is amended to read: 47660. (a) For purposes of computing eligibility for, and entitlements to, general purpose funding and operational funding for categorical programs, the enrollment and average daily attendance of a sponsoring local educational agency shall exclude the enrollment and attendance of pupils in its charter schools funded pursuant to this chapter. (b) (1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), and commencing with the 2005-06 fiscal year, for purposes of computing eligibility for, and entitlements to, revenue limit funding, the average daily attendance of a unified school district, other than a unified school district that has converted all of its schools to charter status pursuant to Section 47606, shall include all attendance of pupils who reside in the unified school district and who would otherwise have been eligible to attend a noncharter school of the school district, if the school district was a basic aid school district in the prior fiscal year, or if the pupils reside in the unified school district and attended a charter school of that school district that converted to charter status on or after July 1, 2005. Only the attendance of the pupils described by this paragraph shall be included in the calculation made pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (h) of Section 42238. (2) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), for the 2005-06 fiscal year only, for purposes of computing eligibility for, and entitlements to, revenue limit funding, the average daily attendance of a unified school district, other than a unified school district that has converted all of its schools to charter status pursuant to Section 47606 and is operating them as charter schools, shall include all attendance of pupils who reside in the unified school district and who would otherwise have been eligible to attend a noncharter school of the unified school district if the pupils attended a charter school operating in the unified school district prior to July 1, 2005. Only the attendance of pupils described by this paragraph shall be included in the calculation made pursuant to Section 42241.3. The attendance of the pupils described by this paragraph shall be included in the calculation made pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (h) of Section 42238. (c) Commencing with the 2005-06 fiscal year, for the attendance of pupils specified in subdivision (b), the general-purpose entitlement for a charter school that is established through the conversion of an existing public school within a unified school district on or after July 1, 2005, shall be determined using the following amount of general-purpose funding per unit of average daily attendance, in lieu of the amount calculated pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 47633: (1) The amount of the actual unrestricted revenues expended per unit of average daily attendance for that school in the year prior to its conversion to, and operation as, a charter school, adjusted for the base revenue limit per pupil inflation increase adjustment set forth in Section 42238.1, if this adjustment is provided, and also adjusted for equalization, deficit reduction, and other state general-purpose increases, if any, provided for the unified school district in the year of conversion to, and operation as  ,  a charter school. (2) For a subsequent fiscal year, the general-purpose entitlement shall be determined based on the amount per unit of average daily attendance allocated in the prior fiscal year adjusted for the base revenue limit per pupil inflation increase adjustment set forth in Section 42238.1, if this adjustment is provided, and also adjusted for equalization, deficit reduction, and other state general-purpose increases, if any, provided for the unified school district in that fiscal year. (d) Commencing with the 2005-06 fiscal year, the general-purpose funding per unit of average daily attendance specified for a unified school district for purposes of paragraph (7) of subdivision (h) of Section 42238 for a school within the unified school district that converted to charter status on or after July 1, 2005, shall be deemed to be the amount computed pursuant to subdivision (c). (e) A unified school district that is the sponsoring local educational agency as defined in subdivision (j) of Section 47632 of a charter school that is subject to the provisions of subdivision (c) shall certify to the Superintendent the amount specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) prior to the approval of the charter petition by the governing board of the school district. This amount may be based on estimates of the unrestricted revenues expended in the fiscal year prior to the school's conversion to charter status and the school's operation as a charter school, provided that the amount is recertified when the actual data becomes available. (f) For the purposes of this section, "basic aid school district" means a school district that does not receive from the state an apportionment of state funds pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 42238. (g) A school district may use the existing Standardized Account Code Structure and cost allocation methods, if appropriate, for an accounting of the actual unrestricted revenues expended in support of a school pursuant to subdivision (c). (h) For purposes of this section and Section 42241.3, "operating" means that pupils are attending, and receiving instruction at the charter school.  SEC. 6.   Section 51452 of the   Education Code   is amended to read:  51452. The  State Board of Education   state board  shall determine and adopt, based upon the recommendations of the Superintendent  of Public Instruction  , the following: (a) The means by which  students   pupils  may demonstrate mastery of the curriculum.  For subject matter areas included in the Golden State Examination (Article 5 (commencing with Section 60650) of Chapter 5 of Part 33), that examination shall serve as the means by which students may demonstrate mastery of the curriculum.  For  other  subject matter areas, the means may include, but shall not be limited to, any subject matter examinations deemed appropriately rigorous by the  state  board. For this purpose, the  state  board may designate examinations administered by or under the auspices of the  State Department of Education   department  , or examinations produced by private providers or local educational agencies, that are supervised and administered under conditions that are deemed adequate by the  state  board. (b)  Student   Pupil  performance standards or achievement levels that demonstrate mastery of the curriculum.  SEC. 5.   SEC. 7.  Section 52052 of the Education Code is amended to read: 52052. (a) (1) The Superintendent, with approval of the state board, shall develop an Academic Performance Index (API), to measure the performance of schools, especially the academic performance of pupils. (2) A school shall demonstrate comparable improvement in academic achievement as measured by the API by all numerically significant pupil subgroups at the school, including: (A) Ethnic subgroups. (B) Socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils. (C) English language learners. (D) Pupils with disabilities. (3) (A) For purposes of this section, a numerically significant pupil subgroup is one that meets both of the following criteria: (i) The subgroup consists of at least 50 pupils each of whom has a valid test score. (ii) The subgroup constitutes at least 15 percent of the total population of pupils at a school who have valid test scores. (B) If a subgroup does not constitute 15 percent of the total population of pupils at a school who have valid test scores, the subgroup may constitute a numerically significant pupil subgroup if it has at least 100 valid test scores. (C) For a school with an API score that is based on no fewer than 11 and no more than 99 pupils with valid test scores, numerically significant subgroups shall be defined by the Superintendent, with approval by the state board. (4) The API shall consist of a variety of indicators currently reported to the department, including, but not limited to, the results of the achievement test administered pursuant to Section 60640, attendance rates for pupils in elementary schools, middle schools, and secondary schools, and the graduation rates for pupils in secondary schools. (A) Graduation rates for pupils in secondary schools shall be calculated for the API as follows: (i) Four-year graduation rates shall be calculated by taking  the  number of pupils who graduated on time for the current school year, which is considered to be three school years after the pupils entered grade 9 for the first time, and dividing that number by the total calculated in clause (ii). (ii) The number of pupils entering grade 9 for the first time in the school year three school years prior to the current school year, plus the number of pupils who transferred into the class graduating at the end of the current school year between the school year that was three school years prior to the current school year and the date of graduation, less the number of pupils who transferred out of the school between the school year that was three school years prior to the current school year and the date of graduation who were members of the class that is graduating at the end of the current school year. (iii) Five-year graduation rates shall be calculated by taking the number of pupils who graduated on time for the current school year, which is considered to be four school years after the pupils entered grade 9 for the first time, and dividing that number by the total calculated in clause (iv). (iv) The number of pupils entering grade 9 for the first time in the school year four years prior to the current school year, plus the number of pupils who transferred into the class graduating at the end of the current school year between the school year that was four school years prior to the current school year and the date of graduation, less the number of pupils who transferred out of the school between the school year that was four years prior to the current school year and the date of graduation who were members of the class that is graduating at the end of the current school year. (v) Six-year graduation rates shall be calculated by taking the number of pupils who graduated on time for the current school year, which is considered to be five school years after the pupils entered grade 9 for the first time, and dividing that number by the total calculated in clause (vi). (vi) The number of pupils entering grade 9 for the first time in the school year five years prior to the current school year, plus the number of pupils who transferred into the class graduating at the end of the current school year between the school year that was five school years prior to the current school year and the date of graduation, less the number of pupils who transferred out of the school between the school year that was five years prior to the current school year and the date of graduation who were members of the class that is graduating at the end of the current school year. (B) The inclusion of five- and six-year graduation rates for pupils in secondary schools shall meet the following requirements: (i) Schools shall be granted one-half the credit in their API scores for graduating pupils in five years that they are granted for graduating pupils in four years. (ii) Schools shall be granted one-quarter the credit in their API scores for graduating pupils in six years that they are granted for graduating pupils in four years. (iii) Notwithstanding clauses (i) and (ii), schools shall be granted full credit in their API scores for graduating in five or six years a pupil with disabilities who graduates in accordance with his or her individualized education program (IEP). (C) The pupil data collected for the API that comes from the achievement test administered pursuant to Section 60640 and the high school exit examination administered pursuant to Section 60851, when fully implemented, shall be disaggregated by special education status, English language learners, socioeconomic status, gender, and ethnic group. Only the test scores of pupils who were counted as part of the enrollment in the annual data collection of the California Basic Educational Data System for the current fiscal year and who were continuously enrolled during that year may be included in the test result reports in the API score of the school. Results of the achievement test and other tests specified in subdivision (b) shall constitute at least 60 percent of the value of the index. (D) Before including high school graduation rates and attendance rates in the API, the Superintendent shall determine the extent to which the data currently are reported to the state and the accuracy of the data. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, graduation rates for pupils in dropout recovery high schools shall not be included in the API. For purposes of this subparagraph, "dropout recovery high school" means a high school in which 50 percent or more of its pupils have been designated as dropouts pursuant to the exit/withdrawal codes developed by the department. (E) The Superintendent shall provide an annual report to the Legislature on the graduation and dropout rates in California and shall make the same report available to the public. The report shall be accompanied by the release of publicly accessible data for each school district and school in a manner that provides for disaggregation based upon socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils and numerically significant subgroups scoring below average on statewide standards-aligned assessments. In addition, the data shall be made available in a manner that provides for comparisons of a minimum of three years of data. (b) Pupil scores from the following tests, when available and when found to be valid and reliable for this purpose, shall be incorporated into the API: (1) The standards-based achievement tests provided for in Section 60642.5. (2) The high school exit examination. (c) Based on the API, the Superintendent shall develop, and the state board shall adopt, expected annual percentage growth targets for all schools based on their API baseline score from the previous year. Schools are expected to meet these growth targets through effective allocation of available resources. For schools below the statewide API performance target adopted by the state board pursuant to subdivision (d), the minimum annual percentage growth target shall be 5 percent of the difference between the actual API score of a school and the statewide API performance target, or one API point, whichever is greater. Schools at or above the statewide API performance target shall have, as their growth target, maintenance of their API score above the statewide API performance target. However, the state board may set differential growth targets based on grade level of instruction and may set higher growth targets for the lowest performing schools because they have the greatest room for improvement. To meet its growth target, a school shall demonstrate that the annual growth in its API is equal to or more than its schoolwide annual percentage growth target and that all numerically significant pupil subgroups, as defined in subdivision (a), are making comparable improvement. (d) Upon adoption of state performance standards by the state board, the Superintendent shall recommend, and the state board shall adopt, a statewide API performance target that includes consideration of performance standards and represents the proficiency level required to meet the state performance target. When the API is fully developed, schools, at a minimum, shall meet their annual API growth targets to be eligible for the Governor's Performance Award Program as set forth in Section 52057. The state board may establish additional criteria that schools must meet to be eligible for the Governor's Performance Award Program. (e) The API shall be used for both of the following: (1) Measuring the progress of schools selected for participation in the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program pursuant to Section 52053. (2) Ranking all public schools in the state for the purpose of the High Achieving/Improving Schools Program pursuant to Section 52056. (f) (1) A school with 11 to 99 pupils with valid test scores shall receive an API score with an asterisk that indicates less statistical certainty than API scores based on 100 or more test scores. (2) A school annually shall receive an API score, unless the Superintendent determines that an API score would be an invalid measure of the performance of the school for one or more of the following reasons: (A) Irregularities in testing procedures occurred. (B) The data used to calculate the API score of the school are not representative of the pupil population at the school. (C) Significant demographic changes in the pupil population render year-to-year comparisons of pupil performance invalid. (D) The department discovers or receives information indicating that the integrity of the API score has been compromised. (E) Insufficient pupil participation in the assessments included in the API. (3) If a school has fewer than 100 pupils with valid test scores, the calculation of the API or adequate yearly progress pursuant to the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.) and federal regulations may be calculated over more than one annual administration of the tests administered pursuant to Section 60640 and the high school exit examination administered pursuant to Section 60851, consistent with regulations adopted by the state board. (g) Only schools with 100 or more test scores contributing to the API may be included in the API rankings. (h) The Superintendent, with the approval of the state board, shall develop an alternative accountability system for schools under the jurisdiction of a county board of education or a county superintendent of schools, community day schools, nonpublic, nonsectarian schools pursuant to Section 56366, and alternative schools serving high-risk pupils, including continuation high schools and opportunity schools. Schools in the alternative accountability system may receive an API score, but shall not be included in the API rankings.  SEC. 6.   SEC. 8.  Section 52127 of the Education Code is amended to read: 52127. (a) As a condition to receiving an apportionment pursuant to Section 52126, school districts shall have a staff development program that requires a certificated teacher who will provide direct instructional services for a class participating in the school district's class size reduction program to receive the appropriate training necessary to maximize the educational advantages of class size reduction. This training shall include, but not be limited to, methods for providing each of the following: (1) Individualized instruction. (2) Effective teaching, including classroom management, in smaller classes. (3) Identifying and responding to pupil needs. (4) Opportunities to build on the individual strengths of pupils. (b) School districts may use funds currently received for staff development or funds received under this chapter to meet the requirements of this section.  SEC. 7.   SEC. 9.  Section 54026 of the Education Code is amended to read: 54026. For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply: (a) "Economically disadvantaged pupils" means either of the following, whichever is applicable: (1) Pupils described in Section 101 of Title I of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6333(c)(1)(A)(B)). Counts of the pupils described in this paragraph shall be the counts used in the current year apportionment calculations for purposes of Title I of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.). (2) (A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), for a small school district, the product of the number of pupils eligible for participation in the free meals program for the prior fiscal year, as defined in subdivision (d), and the free meals adjustment factor. The free meals adjustment factor is the quotient, rounded to two decimal places, resulting from dividing the statewide total of economically disadvantaged pupils as defined in paragraph (1) by the statewide total of pupils eligible for participation in the free meals program for the prior fiscal year, as defined in subdivision (d). (B) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) or subparagraph (A), for charter schools that are funded through the block grant funding model pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 47633) of Chapter 6 of Part 26.8 in the 2006-07 fiscal year, the department shall use counts as of October 2006 of pupils 5 to 17 years of age, inclusive, who are living with families whose annual income is at or below the federal poverty guideline, as collected through the first principal apportionment data collection process, as defined in Section 41601. Commencing in the 2007-08 fiscal year, the Superintendent shall use counts as of October of the prior year of pupils 5 to 17 years of age, inclusive, who are living with families whose annual income is at or below the federal poverty guideline, as collected through the first principal apportionment data collection process, as defined in Section 41601, without revision. For purposes of this subdivision, the department may use in the first year of operation of a charter school that is established on or after July 1, 2007, the current year counts of pupils 5 to 17 years of age, inclusive, who are living with families whose annual income is at or below the federal poverty guideline. (C) The Superintendent may expand upon an existing process of collecting free or reduced price meal data in order to collect from small districts, as defined in subdivision (c), counts of pupils living with families whose annual income is at or below the federal poverty guideline. (b) "English learner" means a pupil described in subdivision (a) of Section 306 or identified as a pupil of limited English proficiency, as that term is defined in subdivision (m) of Section 52163. Counts of the pupils described in this subdivision shall be the counts reported in the prior year language census. (c) "Small school district" means a school district that has an annual enrollment of less than 600 pupils based on prior school year CBEDS data and is, for the purposes of this section, designated a rural school by the Superintendent based on the appropriate school locale codes, as used by the National Center for Education Statistics of the United States Department of Education. (d) "Free meals" means the aggregate number of pupils meeting the income eligibility guidelines established by the federal government for free meals as reported for all schools for which the district is the authorizing agency. (e) For purposes of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the count of economically disadvantaged pupils for a charter school that is operated pursuant to Section 47612.1 shall be calculated without regard to the age of the pupil. A pupil who resides in program housing shall be considered a family of one.  SEC. 8.   SEC. 10.  Section 53892.1 of the Government Code is amended to read: 53892.1. For the purpose of permitting the compilation of the financial transactions of school districts by the Controller, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall make available to the Controller, on an as-needed basis, data and other matters required by this article by the Controller. The Superintendent shall derive the data and other matters required for purposes of this article by the Controller from reports furnished by school districts or by county officials to the Superintendent as provided by law. No school district or county superintendent of schools shall be required to furnish separate reports to the Controller by the provisions of this article. The Superintendent shall furnish average daily attendance or enrollment data in lieu of the general population data required of counties and other municipal corporations by this article. The Superintendent shall add to the report forms furnished by him or her items or other matters as may be agreed by the Superintendent and the Controller to be needed for the purposes of this article.