BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2130
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Date of Hearing: April 3, 2002
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Virginia Strom-Martin, Chair
AB 2130 (Simitian) - As Introduced: February 20, 2002
SUBJECT : Supplemental Instruction
SUMMARY : Repeals and extends supplemental instruction programs
to allow school districts to continue providing supplemental
instruction to pupils in grades 2-9 who are at risk for
retention. Specifically, this bill :
1)Repeals the supplemental instruction program that requires a
school district to offer this program to pupils in grades 2-9
who are recommended for retention or retained.
a) This program was scheduled for implementation beginning
January 1, 2003.
2)Extends the supplemental instruction program that requires a
school district to offer this program to pupils in grades 2-9,
who have been recommended for retention or retained and who
are at risk of retention.
a) This program was scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2003.
3)Extends the supplemental instruction program that allows
school districts to offer this program to pupils in grades 2-6
who have been identified as having a deficiency in math,
reading, or written expression based on results from the
Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program.
a) This program was scheduled to sunset on January 1,
2003.
4)Repeals the supplemental instruction program, which was
scheduled for implementation beginning January 1, 2003, that
that allows school districts to offer this program to pupils
in grades 2-6 who meet the following criteria:
a) Identified as having a deficiency in math, reading, or
written expression based on results from the STAR Program.
AB 2130
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b) Identified as being at risk of retention.
EXISTING LAW
1)Creates (AB 1683 (Escutia), Chapter 72, Statutes of 2000) new
supplemental instruction programs to provide extra help to
students who are at risk, who are retained, or behind grade
level in specific core academic areas such as mathematics,
science and reading.
a) Increases the rate from $2.53 per hour to $3.25 per
hour.
b) Specifies programs for at risk students in grades 2-9
are scheduled to sunset on January 1, 2003.
c) Specifies programs for students who have been
recommended for retention or retained are scheduled to
begin implementation on January 1, 2003.
2)Requires (AB 1626 (Wayne), Chapter 742, Statutes of 1998) all
school districts to adopt promotion and retention policies
that require students to demonstrate basic proficiency in
certain subjects and certain grades before they progress to
the next grade.
a) Requires pupils to be retained unless retention is "not
the appropriate intervention," as determined by the
teacher.
b) Requires parental notification and consultation with the
teacher and principal before any final determination
regarding retention can be made.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
Technical amendment . While the supplemental program description
is in one section of the education code (EC), the funding
calculation is in a different section. Therefore, in order to
accurately reflect the changes proposed by this bill, staff
recommends that EC 42239 (i.e., the funding calculation section)
be added to the bill in order to delete referenced EC sections
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37252.2 and 37252.8, which this bill is proposing to repeal.
Current supplemental program use . According to State Department
of Education (SDE) statistics in 2000-01, California spent an
unknown portion of $127.8 million on supplemental instruction
for pupils in grades 7-12, who are at risk or have been
recommended or retained.
During the same year, the state spent $71 million on
supplemental instruction for pupils in grades 2-6, including
students who are deficient in math, reading, or written
expression as measured by STAR.
These numbers reflect the $3.25 per pupil hourly rate that
school districts claim to SDE.
Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) recommendation . In the 2002-03
analysis of the Governor's Proposed Budget, LAO recommends that
the supplemental instruction programs be a part of the larger
Academic Improvement Block Grant, which will consolidate eight
categorical programs focused on general academic improvement for
all pupils, in order to increase local flexibility and
effectiveness in serving pupils.
Specifically, LAO states, "the Governor's budget proposes
funding core supplemental instruction at $3.45 per pupil per
hour. The Education Code caps the number of hours that school
districts can claim for reimbursement at 7 percent of a
district's pupils times 120 hours. The current funding rate is
adequate to cover the costs of one teacher teaching 20 to 30
students. Unfortunately, students participating in supplemental
instruction may be there because they are not succeeding in the
traditional learning environment of one teacher for 20 to 30
students. The current hourly funding mechanism does not provide
school districts enough flexibility to offer anything
substantially different. For example, students might be more
successful if districts could offer fewer supplemental
instructional hours, but could work in small groups of three to
five students, and could support that instruction with
computer-aided exercises. Current categorical programs do not
allow school districts to offer such alternative educational
approaches to learning. Our recommended Academic Improvement
Block Grant would permit such approaches."
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Related legislation . SB 1671 (Escutia), repeals and extends
supplemental instruction programs to allow school districts to
continue providing supplemental instruction to pupils in grades
2-9 who are at risk for retention. This bill is scheduled for
hearing on April 10 in Senate Education.
Arguments in support . According to the author, "If AB 2130 does
not become enacted, school districts will be required to provide
supplemental instruction to pupils who have been recommended for
retention or who have been retained, however, school districts
would no longer be allowed to offer these same services to at
risk students. Timely intervention for students who need extra
help is critical for these students to be successful in school.
These struggling students need our help sooner, not later."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Oxnard Elementary School District
Sacramento City Unified School District
West Contra Costa Unified School District
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / ED. / (916) 319-2087