California Assembly Bill AB1670 Latest Draft

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1670AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2014 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Donnelly FEBRUARY 12, 2014 An act to amend Section  48356   33050  of the Education Code, relating to school enrollment. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1670, as amended, Donnelly. School enrollment: Open Enrollment Act  : wai   ver: parent notice  . Existing law, the Open Enrollment Act, authorizes the parent of a pupil enrolled in a low-achieving school, as defined, to submit an application for the pupil to attend a school in a school district other than the school district in which the parent of the pupil resides, as specified. The Open Enrollment Act requires a school district of enrollment, as defined, to ensure that pupils enrolled pursuant to the act are enrolled in a school with a higher Academic Performance Index than the school in which the pupil was previously enrolled and are selected through a random, unbiased process, except that pupils applying for transfer are required to be assigned specified priorities for approval.  Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district or a county office of education, on a districtwide or countywide basis or on behalf of one or more of its schools or programs, after a public hearing on the matter, to request the State Board of Education to waive all or part of any section of the Education Code or any regulation of the state board that implements a provision of the Education Code that may be waived, except as specified. The provisions of the Open Enrollment Act are among those provisions that may be waived by the state board.  This bill would  make nonsubtantive changes to certain   require the governing board of any school district requesting a waiver of the  provisions of the Open Enrollment Act  that require a   school to be included on the list of low-achieving schools, as defined, to send a written notice   to the parents or guardians of each pupil attending each school that would otherwise be listed. The bill would require this notice to include, but not be limited to, instruction on how to contact the state board regarding the request by the school district to waive the listing requirement  .  The bill would also update cross-references and delete obsolete provisions.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 33050 of the   Education Code   is amended to read:  33050. (a) The governing board of a school district or a county board of education, on a districtwide or countywide basis or on behalf of one or more of its schools or programs, after a public hearing on the matter, may request the  State Board of Education   state board  to waive all or part of any section of this code or any regulation adopted by the  State Board of Education   state board  that implements a provision of this code that may be waived, except: (1) Article 1 (commencing with Section 15700) and Article 2 (commencing with Section 15780) of Chapter 4 of Part 10  of Division 1 of Title 1  . (2) Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 16000) of Part 10  of Division 1 of Title 1  . (3) Chapter 12 (commencing with Section 17000), Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 17070.10), and Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 17085) of Part 10  of Division 1 of Title 1  .  (4) Part 13 (commencing with Section 22000).   (5) Section 35735.1.   (6) Paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 37220.   (7)   (4)  The following provisions of Part 10.5 (commencing with Section  17211):   17210) of Division 1 of Title 1:  (A) Chapter 1 (commencing with Section  17211)   17210)  . (B) Article 1 (commencing with Section 17251) to Article 6 (commencing with Section 17365), inclusive, of Chapter 3. (C) Sections 17416 to 17429, inclusive; Sections 17459 and 17462 and subdivision (a) of Section 17464; and Sections 17582 to 17592, inclusive.  (5) Part 13 (commencing with Section 22000) of Division 1 of Title 1.   (6) Section 35735.1.   (7) Paragraph (8) of subdivision (a) of Section 37220.  (8) The following provisions of Part 24 (commencing with Section  41000):   41000) of Division 3:  (A) Sections 41000 to 41360, inclusive. (B) Sections 41420 to 41423, inclusive. (C) Sections 41600 to  41866   41863  , inclusive. (D) Sections 41920 to  42911   42850  , inclusive. (9) Sections 44504 and 44505. (10) Article 3 (commencing with Section 44930) of Chapter 4 of Part 25  of Division 3  and regulations in Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations adopted pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 44930) of Chapter 4 of Part 25  of Division 3  . (11) Part 26 (commencing with Section 46000)  of Division 4  . (12) Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 48900) and Chapter 6.5 (commencing with Section 49060) of Part 27  of Division 4  . (13) Section 51513. (14) Chapter 6.10 (commencing with Section 52120) of Part 28  of Division 4  , relating to class size reduction. (15) Section 52163. (16) The identification and assessment criteria relating to any categorical aid program, including Sections 52164.1 and 52164.6. (17) Sections 52165, 52166, and 52178. (18) Article 3 (commencing with Section 52850) of Chapter 12 of Part 28  of Division 4  . (19) Section 56364.1, except that this restriction shall not prohibit the  State Board of Education   state board  from approving any waiver of  Section 56364 or  Section 56364.2,  as applicable,  relating to full inclusion. (20) Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) of Chapter 5 of Part 33  of Division 4  , relating to the  STAR Program   MAPP  , and any other provisions of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 60600) of Part 33  of Division 4  that establish requirements for the  STAR Program   MAPP  . (b) Any waiver of provisions related to the programs identified in Section 52851 shall be granted only pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 52850) of Chapter 12 of Part 28  of Division 4  . (c) The waiver of an advisory committee required by law shall be granted only pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 52870) of Chapter 12 of Part 28  of Division 4  . (d) Any request for a waiver submitted by the governing board of a school district or a county board of education pursuant to subdivision (a) shall include a written statement as to both of the following: (1) Whether the exclusive representative of employees, if any, as provided in Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code, participated in the development of the waiver. (2) The exclusive representative's position regarding the waiver. (e) Any request for a waiver submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) relating to a regional occupational center or program established pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 52300) of Chapter 9 of Part 28  of Division 4  , that is operated by a joint powers entity established pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, shall be submitted as a joint waiver request for each participating school district and shall meet both of the following conditions: (1) Each joint waiver request shall comply with all of the requirements of this article. (2) The submission of a joint waiver request shall be approved by a unanimous vote of the governing board of the joint powers agency.  (f) The governing board of any school district requesting a waiver under this section of any provision of Article 5 (commencing with Section 39390) of Chapter 3 of Part 23 shall provide written notice of any public hearing it conducted pursuant to subdivision (a), at least 30 days prior to the hearing, to each public agency identified under Section 39394.   (f) The governing board of any school district requesting a waiver under this section of the provisions of the Open Enrollment Act (Article 10 (commencing with Section 48350) of Chapter 2 of Part 27 of Division 4) that require a school to be included on the list of low-achieving schools, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 48352, shall send a written notice to the parents or guardians of each pupil attending each school that would otherwise be listed. The notice required under this subdivision shall include, but not be limited to, instruction on how to contact the state board regarding the request by the school district to waive the listing requirement.   SECTION 1.   Section 48356 of the Education Code is amended to read: 48356. (a) A school district of enrollment may adopt specific, written standards for acceptance and rejection of applications pursuant to this article. The standards may include consideration of the capacity of a program, class, grade level, school building, or adverse financial impact. Subject to subdivision (b), and except as necessary in accordance with Section 48355, the standards shall not include consideration of a pupil's previous academic achievement, physical condition, proficiency in the English language, family income, or any of the individual characteristics set forth in Section 200. (b) In considering an application pursuant to this article, a school district of enrollment may apply its usual requirements for admission to a magnet school or a program designed to serve gifted and talented pupils. (c) Subject to the rules and standards that apply to pupils who reside in the school district of enrollment, a resident pupil who is enrolled in one of the district's schools pursuant to this article shall not be required to submit an application in order to remain enrolled. (d) A school district of enrollment shall ensure that pupils enrolled pursuant to standards adopted pursuant to this section are enrolled in a school with a higher Academic Performance Index than the school in which the pupil was previously enrolled and are selected through a random, unbiased process that prohibits an evaluation of whether or not the pupil should be enrolled based on his or her individual academic or athletic performance, or any of the other characteristics set forth in subdivision (a), except that pupils applying for a transfer pursuant to this article shall be assigned priority for approval as follows: (1) First priority for the siblings of children who already attend the desired school. (2) Second priority for pupils transferring from a program improvement school ranked in decile 1 on the Academic Performance Index determined pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 48352. (3) If the number of pupils who request a particular school exceeds the number of spaces available at that school, a lottery shall be conducted in the group priority order identified in paragraphs (1) and (2) to select pupils at random for acceptance until all of the available spaces are filled. (e) The initial application of a pupil for transfer to a school within a school district of enrollment shall not be approved if the transfer would require the displacement from the desired school of any other pupil who resides within the attendance area of that school or is currently enrolled in that school. (f) A pupil approved for a transfer to a school district of enrollment pursuant to this article shall be deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of Section 48204.