California Assembly Bill AB1426 Introduced / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 1426INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Levine FEBRUARY 27, 2015 An act to amend Section 47612.5 of the Education Code, relating to charter schools. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1426, as introduced, Levine. Charter schools: classroom-based instruction. Existing law, the Charter Schools Act of 1992, requires charter schools, as a condition of receiving funding apportionments, to offer in each fiscal year a specified minimum number of minutes of instruction to each pupil based on grade level. For purposes of that instructional time requirement, the act defines "classroom-based instruction" as occurring only when charter school pupils are engaged in required educational activities under the immediate supervision and control of an employee of the charter school who possesses a specified teaching certification. The act requires, for purposes of calculating average daily attendance for classroom-based instruction apportionments, that at least 80% of the instructional time offered by the charter school be at the charter schoolsite. This bill would instead require, for a charter school that only operates a single schoolsite within the geographic jurisdiction of the authority that granted its charter and has no more than one satellite facility, for purposes of calculating average daily attendance for classroom-based instruction apportionments, that at least 60% of the instructional time offered by the charter school be at the charter schoolsite. The bill would also make nonsubstantive changes. 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 47612.5 of the Education Code is amended to read: 47612.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other  provision of law   law,  and as a condition of apportionment, a charter school shall do all of the following: (1) For each fiscal year, offer, at a minimum, the following number of minutes of instruction: (A) To pupils in kindergarten, 36,000 minutes. (B) To pupils in grades 1 to 3, inclusive, 50,400 minutes. (C) To pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, 54,000 minutes. (D) To pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, 64,800 minutes. (2) Maintain written contemporaneous records that document all pupil attendance and make these records available for audit and inspection. (3) Certify that its pupils have participated in the state testing programs specified in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 60600) of Part 33 in the same manner as other pupils attending public schools as a condition of apportionment of state funding. (b) Notwithstanding any other  provision of law   law,  and except to the extent inconsistent with this section and Section 47634.2, a charter school that provides independent study shall comply with Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 51745) of Chapter 5 of Part 28 and implementing regulations adopted thereunder. The  State Board of Education   state board  shall adopt regulations that apply this article to charter schools. To the extent that these regulations concern the qualifications of instructional personnel, the  State Board of Education   state board  shall be guided by subdivision (  l  ) of Section 47605. (c) A reduction in apportionment made pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be proportional to the magnitude of the exception that causes the reduction. For purposes of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), for each charter school that fails to offer pupils the minimum number of minutes of instruction specified in that paragraph, the Superintendent shall withhold from the charter school's apportionment for average daily attendance of the affected pupils, by grade level, the sum of that apportionment multiplied by the percentage of the minimum number of minutes of instruction at each grade level that the charter school failed to offer. (d) (1) Notwithstanding any other  provision of law   law,  and except as provided in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e), a charter school that has an approved charter may receive funding for nonclassroom-based instruction only if a determination for funding is made pursuant to Section 47634.2 by the  State Board of Education.   state board.  The determination for funding shall be subject to any conditions or limitations the  State Board of Education   state board  may prescribe. The  State Board of Education   state board  shall adopt regulations on or before February 1, 2002, that define and establish general rules governing nonclassroom-based instruction that apply to all charter schools and to the process for determining funding of nonclassroom-based instruction by charter schools offering nonclassroom-based instruction other than the nonclassroom-based instruction allowed by paragraph (1) of subdivision (e). Nonclassroom-based instruction includes, but is not limited to, independent study, home study, work study, and distance and computer-based education. In prescribing any conditions or limitations relating to the qualifications of instructional personnel, the  State Board of Education   state board  shall be guided by subdivision (l) of Section 47605. (2) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 47634.2, a charter school that receives a determination pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 47634.2 is not required to reapply annually for a funding determination of its nonclassroom-based instruction program if an update of the information the  State Board of Education   state board  reviewed when initially determining funding would not require material revision, as that term is defined in regulations adopted by the  state  board. A charter school that has achieved a rank of 6 or greater on the Academic Performance Index for the two years immediately  prior to   before  receiving a funding determination pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 47634.2 shall receive a five-year determination and is not required to annually reapply for a funding determination of its nonclassroom-based instruction program if an update of the information the  State Board of Education   state board  reviewed when initially determining funding would not require material revision, as that term is defined in regulations adopted by the  state  board. Notwithstanding any  provision of   other  law, the  State Board of Education   state board  may require a charter school to provide updated information at any time it determines that a review of that information is necessary. The  State Board of Education   state board  may terminate a determination for funding if updated or additional information requested by the  state  board is not made available to the  state  board by the charter school within a reasonable amount of time or if the information otherwise supports termination. A determination for funding pursuant to Section 47634.2 may not exceed five years. (3) A charter school that offers nonclassroom-based instruction in excess of the amount authorized by paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) is subject to the determination for funding requirement of Section 47634.2 to receive funding each time its charter is renewed or materially revised pursuant to Section 47607. A charter school that materially revises its charter to offer nonclassroom-based instruction in excess of the amount authorized by paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) is subject to the determination for funding requirement of Section 47634.2. (e) (1) Notwithstanding any other  provision of  law, and as a condition of apportionment, "classroom-based instruction" in a charter school, for  the  purposes of this part, occurs only when charter school pupils are engaged in educational activities required of those pupils and are under the immediate supervision and control of an employee of the charter school who possesses a valid teaching certification in accordance with subdivision (  l  ) of Section 47605.  For   (A)     Except as provided by in subparagraph (B),   for  purposes of calculating average daily attendance for classroom-based instruction apportionments, at least 80 percent of the instructional time offered by  the   a  charter school shall be at the schoolsite, and the charter school shall require the attendance of all pupils for whom a classroom-based apportionment is claimed at the schoolsite for at least 80 percent of the minimum instructional time required to be offered pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision  (a) of Section 47612.5. For   (a).   (B)     For purposes of calculating average daily attendance for classroom-based instruction apportionments, at least 60 percent of the instructional time offered by a charter school that only operates a single schoolsite within the geographic jurisdiction of the authority that granted its charter and has no more than one satellite facility, as provided for in subdivision (c) of Section 47605.1, shall be at the schoolsite, and the charter school shall require the attendance of all pupils for whom a classroom-based apportionment is claimed at the schoolsite for at least 60 percent of the minimum instruct   ional time required to be offered pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).  (2) For  the  purposes of this part, "nonclassroom instruction" or "nonclassroom-based instruction" means instruction that does not meet the requirements specified in paragraph (1). The  State Board of Education   state board  may adopt regulations pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) specifying other conditions or limitations on what constitutes nonclassroom-based instruction, as it deems appropriate and consistent with this part. (3) For purposes of this part, a schoolsite is a facility that is used principally for classroom instruction. (4) Notwithstanding any other  provision of  law, neither the  State Board of Education,   state board  nor the Superintendent may waive the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).