BILL NUMBER: SB 550 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 900
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 29, 2004
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 29, 2004
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 27, 2004
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2004
CONFERENCE REPORT NO. 1
PROPOSED IN CONFERENCE AUGUST 24, 2004
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 8, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 26, 2004
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 14, 2003
INTRODUCED BY Senators Vasconcellos, McPherson, Scott, and Alpert
(Coauthors: Senators Burton, Chesbro, Ducheny, Dunn, Escutia,
Karnette, Kuehl, Machado, Ortiz, Perata, and Romero)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Berg, Calderon, Chan, Chu, Cohn,
Corbett, Daucher, Diaz, Dutra, Dymally, Firebaugh, Garcia, Goldberg,
Hancock, Jerome Horton, Shirley Horton, Houston, Laird, Leno, Levine,
Lieber, Liu, Longville, Maldonado, Matthews, Montanez, Mullin,
Nakano, Negrete McLeod, Nunez, Oropeza, Pacheco, Parra, Reyes, Ridley
Thomas, Runner, Salinas, Steinberg, Vargas, Wesson, Wiggins, Wolk,
and Yee)
FEBRUARY 20, 2003
An act to amend Sections 1240, 14501, 17002, 17014, 17032.5,
17070.15, 17070.75, 17087, 17089, 33126, 33126.1, 41020, 52055.625,
52055.640, 60119, 60240, and 60252 of, to add Sections 35186,
41344.4, and 52055.662 to, and to repeal Section 62000.4 of, the
Education Code, and to amend Section 36 of Chapter 216 of the
Statutes of 2004, relating to education, making an appropriation
therefor, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 550, Vasconcellos. Education.
(1) Existing law requires a county superintendent of schools,
among other things, to visit and examine each school in the county to
observe its operation and learn of its problems. Existing law
authorizes the county superintendent to annually present a report on
the state of the schools in the county to the board of education and
the board of supervisors of the county.
This bill would require the county superintendent to annually
present a report to the governing board of each school district under
his or her jurisdiction and to the board of supervisors of the
county describing the state of the schools in the county and of his
or her office that are ranked in deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, of the
2003 base Academic Performance Index, thereby imposing a
state-mandated local program. The bill would require the county
superintendent for the Counties of Alpine, Amador, Del Norte,
Mariposa, Plumas, Sierra, and the City and County of San Francisco to
contract with a neighboring county office of education or an
independent auditor to conduct the required visits and make all
required reports. The bill would make the priority objective of the
visits to determine if there are sufficient textbooks, conditions of
facilities that pose an emergency or urgent threat to the health or
safety of pupils or staff, and accurate data reported on the school
accountability report card with respect to the availability of
sufficient textbooks and instructional materials, the safety,
cleanliness, adequacy, and good repair of school facilities.
(2) Existing law requires a county superintendent of schools,
among other things, to enforce the use of state textbooks and
instructional materials and of high school textbooks and
instructional materials regularly adopted by the proper authority.
This bill would require the county superintendent, for purposes of
enforcing the use of required textbooks and instructional materials,
to specifically review at least annually schools that are ranked in
any of deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, of the 2003 base Academic
Performance Index and that are not currently under review through a
state or federal intervention program, thereby imposing a
state-mandated local program. If the county superintendent
determines that a school does not have sufficient textbooks or
instructional materials, the bill would require the county
superintendent to prepare a report that identifies and documents the
areas or instances of noncompliance, provide a copy of the report to
the school district, forward the report to the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, and provide the school district with the
opportunity to remedy the deficiency. If the deficiency is not
remedied, the bill would require the county superintendent to request
the State Department of Education, with approval by the State Board
of Education, to purchase textbooks or instructional materials for
the school. The bill would require that the funds necessary for the
purchase be considered a loan to the school district to be repaid
based upon an agreed-upon schedule with the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, or by deducting an amount from the district's next
principal apportionment or other apportionment of state funds. The
bill would authorize the department to expend up to $5,000,000 from
the State Instructional Materials Fund to acquire instructional
materials for school districts for purposes of these provisions.
(3) Existing law, the Leroy F. Greene State School Building
Lease-Purchase Law of 1976, the Leroy F. Greene State School Building
Lease-Purchase Law of 1998, and the State Relocatable Classroom Law
of 1979, requires the State Allocation Board to require a school
district that receives funds for a school construction or
modernization project pursuant to those laws, to make all necessary
repairs, renewals, and replacement to ensure that a project is at all
times kept in good repair, working order, and condition.
Existing law requires the State Allocation Board to establish the
annual rent and conditions to be met by a school district to which it
leases portable classrooms and requires a school district to
undertake all necessary repairs, renewals, and replacement to ensure
that those portable classrooms are at all times kept in good repair,
working order, and condition.
This bill would, as a condition of participation in the school
facilities program and the receipt of funds pursuant to the deferred
maintenance program, require a school district to establish a
facilities inspection system to ensure that each of its schools is in
good repair, as defined in the bill.
(4) Existing law requires the Controller, in consultation with the
Department of Finance and the State Department of Education, to
develop a plan to review and report on financial and compliance
audits, and with representatives of other entities, to recommend the
statements and other information to be included in the audit reports
filed with the state by local educational agencies and to propose the
content of an audit guide.
This bill would require a compliance audit to include the
verification of the reporting requirements for the sufficiency of
textbooks and instructional materials, teacher misassignments, and
the accuracy of information reported on the school accountability
report card.
(5) Existing law, the Classroom Instructional Improvement and
Accountability Act, requires each school district to develop and
implement a school accountability report card, as prescribed. The
existing act prohibits any change to its provisions, except a change
to further its purpose enacted by a bill passed by a vote of 2/3 of
the Legislature and signed by the Governor.
This bill would require the school accountability report card to
include information regarding the availability of sufficient
textbooks and other instructional materials for each pupil, any
needed maintenance of school facilities to ensure good repair, the
misassignments of teachers, including misassignments of English
learner teachers, and the number of vacant teacher positions for the
most recent 3-year period. The bill would define "misassignment" and
"vacant position" for this purpose. By requiring school districts
to include this additional information on the school accountability
report card, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would also provide that if the Commission on State Mandates
finds a school district eligible for the reimbursement of costs
incurred in complying with the requirements regarding the school
accountability report card, the school district is to be reimbursed
only if the information provided in the school accountability report
card is accurate, as determined by a specified annual audit, or if
the information is determined to be inaccurate, the information is
corrected by May 15.
Existing law requires the State Department of Education to develop
and recommend for adoption a standardized template for the school
accountability report card and requires the standardized template to
include fields for the insertion of data and information by the
department and by local educational agencies.
This bill would require that template to also include a field to
report the determination of the sufficiency of textbooks and
instructional materials and a summary statement of the condition of
school facilities. The bill would require the department to provide
examples of summary statements of the condition of school facilities
that are acceptable and those that are unacceptable.
This bill would declare that these provisions further the purposes
of the Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act.
(6) Existing regulations require each local educational agency to
adopt policies and procedures for the investigation and resolution of
complaints and require each local educational agency to include in
its policies and procedures the person, employee, or agency position
or unit responsible for receiving complaints, investigating
complaints, and ensuring local educational agency compliance.
This bill would require a school district to use its uniform
complaint process to help identify and resolve any deficiencies
related to instructional materials, conditions of facilities that are
not maintained in a clean and safe manner or in good repair, and
teacher vacancy or misassignment. The bill would require a notice to
be posted in each classroom in each school in the school district
notifying parents and guardians that there should be sufficient
textbooks or instructional materials, school facilities must be
clean, safe, and in good repair, and the location to obtain a form to
file a complaint in case of a shortage. By requiring the posting of
this notice, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(7) Existing law requires a county superintendent of schools to
provide for an audit of all funds under his or her jurisdiction and
requires the governing board of a local educational agency to either
provide for an audit of the books and accounts of the local
educational agency or make arrangements with the county
superintendent of schools having jurisdiction over the local
educational agency to provide for that auditing. Existing law
requires a county superintendent of schools to be responsible for
reviewing the audit exceptions contained in an audit of a local
educational agency under his or her jurisdiction related to
attendance, inventory of equipment, internal control, and any
miscellaneous items, and determining whether the exceptions were
either corrected or an acceptable plan of correction was developed.
This bill would, commencing with the 2004-05 audit of local
educational agencies, require the county superintendent of schools to
include in the review of audit exceptions those audit exceptions
related to use of instructional materials program funds, teacher
misassignments, and information reported on the school accountability
report card and to determine whether the exceptions are either
corrected or an acceptable plan of correction developed, thereby
imposing a state-mandated local program.
The bill would prohibit a local educational agency from being
required to repay an apportionment based on a significant audit
exception related to the verification of the sufficiency of textbooks
and instructional materials, teacher misassignments, and the
accuracy of the information reported on the school accountability
report card if the county superintendent of schools certifies to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Controller that the
audit exception was corrected or that an acceptable plan of
correction was submitted to the county superintendent of schools.
(8) Existing law establishes, within the Public Schools
Accountability Act of 1999, the High Priority Schools Grant Program
and requires a school district participating in the program to
develop a school action plan that includes 4 components: (a) pupil
literacy and achievement, (b) quality of staff, (c) parental
involvement, and (d) facilities, curriculum, instructional materials,
and support services.
This bill would, for schools initially applying to participate in
the program on or after the 2004-05 fiscal year, require the
component of the school action plan on quality of staff to include
highly qualified teachers and appropriately credentialed teachers for
English learners. The bill would specify that the component on
facilities, curriculum, instructional materials, and support services
for those schools be on facilities in good repair, curriculum,
sufficient instructional materials, and support services.
Existing law requires that a school receiving funds under the High
Priority Schools Grant Program submit a report to the Superintendent
of Public Instruction that includes, among other things, the
availability of instructional materials in core content areas that
are aligned with the academic content and performance standards for
each pupil.
This bill would require schools initially applying to participate
in the program on or after the 2004-05 fiscal year to measure the
availability of instructional materials against a specified
definition of "sufficient instructional materials."
(9) Existing law requires the governing board of a school district
to hold a public hearing and make a determination as to whether each
pupil in each school in the district has or will have prior to the
end of that fiscal year sufficient textbooks or instructional
materials in each subject that are consistent with the content and
cycles of the curriculum framework adopted by the State Board of
Education.
This bill would instead require the determination to be as to
whether each pupil in each school in the district has sufficient
textbooks or instructional materials in each subject that are
consistent with the content and cycles of the curriculum frameworks.
The bill would require the hearing to be held at a time that will
encourage the attendance of teachers and parents and guardians of
pupils who attend the schools in the district and would prohibit the
hearing from taking place during or immediately following school
hours. The bill would define "sufficient textbooks or instructional
materials" to mean that each pupil, including English learners, has a
textbook or instructional materials, or both, to use in class and to
take home to complete required homework assignments but would
specify that 2 sets of textbooks or instructional materials for each
pupil are not required.
(10) Existing law repeals the Instructional Materials Program on
June 30, 2006, and makes implementation of the program during the
2002-03 to 2005-06, inclusive, fiscal years contingent on funding in
the annual Budget Act.
This bill would delete the date of repeal and the contingent
implementation of the program.
(11) Existing law appropriated $138,000,000 from the General Fund
to the State Department of Education for transfer to the
Instructional Materials Fund.
This bill would make technical changes to that appropriation and
would make other conforming changes.
(12) This bill would appropriate $20,200,000 from the General Fund
to the State Department of Education and, of that amount $5,000,000
would be appropriated for transfer to the State Instructional
Materials Fund for purposes of acquiring instructional materials, as
specified, $15,000,000 would be appropriated for allocation to county
offices of education for review and monitoring of schools, as
specified, and $200,000 would be appropriated for purposes of
implementing this act.
The funds appropriated by the bill for purposes of acquiring
instrucional materials and for review and monitoring activities would
be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school
districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of
Article XVI of the California Constitution.
(13) The bill would state that the intent of the Legislature in
enacting this act is to implement the settlement agreement in the
case of Williams v. State of California.
(14) 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, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
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 these
statutory provisions.
(15) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
Appropriation: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1240 of the Education Code is amended to read:
1240. The county superintendent of schools shall do all of the
following:
(a) Superintend the schools of his or her county.
(b) Maintain responsibility for the fiscal oversight of each
school district in his or her county pursuant to the authority
granted by this code.
(c) (1) Visit and examine each school in his or her county at
reasonable intervals to observe its operation and to learn of its
problems. He or she may annually present a report of the state of
the schools in his or her county, and of his or her office,
including, but not limited to, his or her observations while visiting
the schools, to the board of education and the board of supervisors
of his or her county.
(2) (A) To the extent that funds are appropriated for purposes of
this paragraph, the county superintendent, or his or her designee,
shall annually present a report to the governing board of each school
district under his or her jurisdiction, the county board of
education of his or her county, and the board of supervisors of his
or her county describing the state of the schools in the county or of
his or her office that are ranked in deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, of
the 2003 base Academic Performance Index, as defined in subdivision
(b) of Section 17592.70, and shall include, among other things, his
or her observations while visiting the schools.
(B) The county superintendent of the Counties of Alpine, Amador,
Del Norte, Mariposa, Plumas, Sierra, and the City and County of San
Francisco shall contract with another county office of education or
an independent auditor to conduct the required visits and make all
reports required by this paragraph.
(C) The results of the visit shall be reported to the governing
board of the school district on a quarterly basis at a regularly
scheduled meeting held in accordance with public notification
requirements.
(D) The visits made pursuant to this paragraph shall be conducted
at least annually and shall meet the following criteria:
(i) Not disrupt the operation of the school.
(ii) Be performed by individuals who meet the requirements of
Section 45125.1.
(iii) Consist of not less than 25 percent unannounced visits in
each county. During unannounced visits in each county, the county
superintendent shall not demand access to documents or specific
school personnel. Unannounced visits shall only be used to observe
the condition of school repair and maintenance and the sufficiency of
instructional materials, as defined by Section 60119.
(E) The priority objective of the visits made pursuant to this
paragraph shall be to determine the status of all of the following
circumstances:
(i) Sufficient textbooks as defined in Section 60119 and as
specified in subdivision (i).
(ii) The condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent
threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff as defined in
district policy, or as defined by paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of
Section 17592.72.
(iii) The accuracy of data reported on the school accountability
report card with respect to the availability of sufficient textbooks
and instructional materials as defined by Section 60119 and the
safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities, including
good repair as required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and
17089.
(d) Distribute all laws, reports, circulars, instructions, and
blanks that he or she may receive for the use of the school officers.
(e) Annually present a report to the governing board of the school
district and the Superintendent of Public Instruction regarding the
fiscal solvency of any school district with a disapproved budget,
qualified interim certification, or a negative interim certification,
or that is determined at any time to be in a position of fiscal
uncertainty pursuant to Section 42127.6.
(f) Keep in his or her office the reports of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction.
(g) Keep a record of his or her official acts, and of all the
proceedings of the county board of education, including a record of
the standing, in each study, of all applicants for certificates who
have been examined, which shall be open to the inspection of any
applicant or his or her authorized agent.
(h) Enforce the course of study.
(i) (1) Enforce the use of state textbooks and instructional
materials and of high school textbooks and instructional materials
regularly adopted by the proper authority.
(2) For purposes of this subdivision, sufficient textbooks or
instructional materials has the same meaning as in subdivision (c) of
Section 60119.
(3) If a school is ranked in any of deciles 1 to 3, inclusive, of
the 2003 base Academic Performance Index, as defined in subdivision
(b) of Section 17592.70, and is not currently under review through a
state or federal intervention program, the county superintendent
shall specifically review that school at least annually as a priority
school. A review conducted for purposes of this paragraph shall be
conducted within the first four weeks of the school year. For the
2004-05 fiscal year only, the county superintendent shall make a
diligent effort to conduct a visit to each school pursuant to this
paragraph within 120 days of receipt of funds for this purpose.
(4) If the county superintendent determines that a school does not
have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials in accordance
with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section
60119 and as defined by subdivision (c) of Section 60119, the county
superintendent shall do all of the following:
(A) Prepare a report that specifically identifies and documents
the areas or instances of noncompliance.
(B) Provide within five business days of the review, a copy of the
report to the school district, as provided in subdivision (c), and
forward the report to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
(C) Provide the school district with the opportunity to remedy the
deficiency. The county superintendent shall ensure remediation of
the deficiency no later than the second month of the school term.
(D) If the deficiency is not remedied as required pursuant to
subparagraph (C), the county superintendent shall request the
department, with approval by the State Board of Education, to
purchase the textbooks or instructional materials necessary to comply
with the sufficiency requirement of this subdivision. If the state
board approves a recommendation from the department to purchase
textbooks or instructional materials for the school district, the
board shall issue a public statement at a regularly scheduled meeting
indicating that the district superintendent and the governing board
of the school district failed to provide pupils with sufficient
textbooks or instructional materials as required by this subdivision.
Before purchasing the textbooks or instructional materials, the
department shall consult with the district to determine which
textbooks or instructional materials to purchase. All purchases of
textbooks or instructional materials shall comply with Chapter 3.25
(commencing with Section 60420) of Part 33. The amount of funds
necessary to the purchase the textbooks and materials is a loan to
the school district receiving the textbooks or instructional
materials. Unless the school district repays the amount owed based
upon an agreed-upon repayment schedule with the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
notify the Controller and the Controller shall deduct an amount equal
to the total amount used to purchase the textbooks and materials,
from the next principal apportionment of the district or from another
apportionment of state funds.
(j) Preserve carefully all reports of school officers and
teachers.
(k) Deliver to his or her successor, at the close of his or her
official term, all records, books, documents, and papers belonging to
the office, taking a receipt for them, which shall be filed with the
department.
(l) (1) Submit two reports during the fiscal year to the county
board of education in accordance with the following:
(A) The first report shall cover the financial and budgetary
status of the county office of education for the period ending
October 31. The second report shall cover the period ending January
31. Both reports shall be reviewed by the county board of education
and approved by the county superintendent of schools no later than 45
days after the close of the period being reported.
(B) As part of each report, the county superintendent shall
certify in writing whether or not the county office of education is
able to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the
fiscal year and, based on current forecasts, for two subsequent
fiscal years. The certifications shall be classified as positive,
qualified, or negative, pursuant to standards prescribed by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, for the purposes of determining
subsequent state agency actions pursuant to Section 1240.1. For
purposes of this subdivision, a negative certification shall be
assigned to any county office of education that, based upon current
projections, will be unable to meet its financial obligations for the
remainder of the fiscal year or for the subsequent fiscal year. A
qualified certification shall be assigned to any county office of
education that may not meet its financial obligations for the current
fiscal year or two subsequent fiscal years. A positive
certification shall be assigned to any county office of education
that will meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year
and subsequent two fiscal years. In accordance with those standards,
the Superintendent of Public Instruction may reclassify any
certification. If a county office of education receives a negative
certification, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or his or
her designee, may exercise the authority set forth in subdivision (c)
of Section 1630. Copies of each certification, and of the report
containing that certification, shall be sent to the Superintendent of
Public Instruction at the time the certification is submitted to the
county board of education. Copies of each qualified or negative
certification and the report containing that certification shall be
sent to the Controller at the time the certification is submitted to
the county board of education.
(2) All reports and certifications required under this subdivision
shall be in a format or on forms prescribed by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction, and shall be based on standards and criteria for
fiscal stability adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to
Section 33127. The reports and supporting data shall be made
available by the county superintendent of schools to any interested
party upon request.
(3) This subdivision does not preclude the submission of
additional budgetary or financial reports by the county
superintendent to the county board of education or to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction.
(4) The county superintendent of schools is not responsible for
the fiscal oversight of the community colleges in the county,
however, he or she may perform financial services on behalf of those
community colleges.
(m) If requested, act as agent for the purchase of supplies for
the city and high school districts of his or her county.
(n) For purposes of Section 44421.5, report to the Commission on
Teacher Credentialing the identity of any certificated person who
knowingly and willingly reports false fiscal expenditure data
relative to the conduct of any educational program. This requirement
applies only if, in the course of his or her normal duties, the
county superintendent of schools discovers information that gives him
or her reasonable cause to believe that false fiscal expenditure
data relative to the conduct of any educational program has been
reported.
SEC. 2. Section 14501 of the Education Code is amended to read:
14501. (a) As used in this chapter, "financial and compliance
audit" shall be consistent with the definition provided in the
"Standards for Audits of Governmental Organizations, Programs,
Activities, and Functions" promulgated by the Comptroller General of
the United States. Financial and compliance audits conducted under
this chapter shall fulfill federal single audit requirements.
(b) As used in this chapter, "compliance audit" means an audit
that ascertains and verifies whether or not funds provided through
apportionment, contract, or grant, either federal or state, have been
properly disbursed and expended as required by law or regulation or
both and includes the verification of each of the following:
(1) The reporting requirements for the sufficiency of textbooks or
instructional materials, or both, as defined in Section 60119.
(2) Teacher misassignments pursuant to Section 44258.9.
(3) The accuracy of information reported on the School
Accountability Report Card required by Section 33126. The
requirements set forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) and this paragraph
shall be added to the audit guide requirements pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 14502.1.
SEC. 3. Section 17002 of the Education Code is amended to read:
17002. The following terms wherever used or referred to in this
chapter, shall have the following meanings, respectively, unless a
different meaning appears from the context:
(a) "Apportionment" means a reservation of funds necessary to
finance the cost of any project approved by the board for lease to an
applicant school district.
(b) "Board" means the State Allocation Board.
(c) "Cost of project" includes, but is not limited to, the cost of
all real estate property rights, and easements acquired, and the
cost of developing the site and streets and utilities immediately
adjacent thereto, the cost of construction, reconstruction, or
modernization of buildings and the furnishing and equipping,
including the purchase of educational technology hardware, of those
buildings, the supporting wiring and cabling, and the technological
modernization of existing buildings to support that hardware, the
cost of plans, specifications, surveys, and estimates of costs, and
other expenses that are necessary or incidental to the financing of
the project. For purposes of this section, "educational technology
hardware" includes, but is not limited to, computers, telephones,
televisions, and video cassette recorders.
(d) (1) "Good repair" means the facility is maintained in a manner
that assures that it is clean, safe, and functional as determined
pursuant to an interim evaluation instrument developed by the Office
of Public School Construction. The instrument shall not require
capital enhancements beyond the standards to which the facility was
designed and constructed.
(2) By January 25, 2005, the Office of Public School Construction
shall develop the interim evaluation instrument based on existing
prototypes and shall consult with county superintendents of schools
and school districts during the development of the instrument. The
Office of Public School Construction shall report and make
recommendations to the Legislature and Governor not later than
December 31, 2005, regarding options for state standards as an
alternative to the interim evaluation instrument developed pursuant
to paragraph (1). By September 1, 2006, the Legislature and Governor
shall, by statute, determine the state standard that shall apply for
subsequent fiscal years.
(e) "Lease" includes a lease with an option to purchase.
(f) "Project" means the facility being constructed or acquired by
the state for rental to the applicant school district and may include
the reconstruction or modernization of existing buildings,
construction of new buildings, the grading and development of sites,
acquisition of sites therefor and any easements or rights-of-way
pertinent thereto or necessary for its full use including the
development of streets and utilities.
(g) "Property" includes all property, real, personal or mixed,
tangible or intangible, or any interest therein necessary or
desirable for carrying out the purposes of this chapter.
SEC. 4. Section 17014 of the Education Code is amended to read:
17014. (a) The board shall require the school district to make
all necessary repairs, renewals, and replacements to ensure that a
project is at all times kept in good repair, working order, and
condition. All costs incurred for this purpose shall be borne by the
school district.
(b) In order to ensure compliance with subdivision (a) and
encourage applicants to maintain all buildings under their control,
the board shall require the applicant to do all of the following
prior to the approval of a project:
(1) Establish a restricted account within the general fund of the
school district for the exclusive purpose of providing moneys for
regular maintenance and routine repair of school buildings, according
the highest priority to funding for the purpose set forth in
subdivision (a).
(2) Agree to deposit into the account established pursuant to
paragraph (1), in each fiscal year for the term of the lease
agreements of all projects constructed under this chapter, a minimum
amount equal to or greater than 2 percent of the general fund budget
of the applicant district for that fiscal year. This paragraph is
applicable only to the following districts:
(A) High school districts with average daily attendance greater
than 300.
(B) Elementary school districts with average daily attendance
greater than 900.
(C) Unified school districts with average daily attendance greater
than 1,200.
(c) For each project funded after July 1, 1998, the board shall
require the applicant school district governing board to certify, as
part of the annual budget process of the school district and
beginning in the fiscal year in which the project is funded by the
state, that a plan has been prepared for completing major
maintenance, repair, and replacement requirements for the project.
For purposes of this subdivision, the term "major maintenance,
repair, and replacement" means roofing, siding, painting, floor and
window coverings, fixtures, cabinets, heating and cooling systems,
landscaping, fences, and other items designated by the governing
board of the school district. The board shall require the school
district's governing board to certify that the plan includes and is
being implemented as follows:
(1) Identification of the major maintenance, repair, and
replacement needs for the project.
(2) Specification of a schedule for completing the major
maintenance, repair, and replacement needs.
(3) Specification of a current cost estimate for the scheduled
major maintenance, repair, and replacement needs.
(4) Specification of the school district's schedule for funding a
reserve to pay for the scheduled major maintenance, repair, and
replacement needs.
(5) Review of the plan annually, as a part of the annual budget
process of the school district, and update, as needed, the major
maintenance, repair, and replacement needs, the estimates of expected
costs, and any adjustments in funding the reserve.
(6) Availability for public inspection of the original plan, and
all updated versions of the plan, at the office of the superintendent
of the school district during the working hours of the school
district.
(7) Provision in the annual budget of the school district of a
provision that states the total funding available in reserve for
scheduled major maintenance, repair and replacement needs as
specified in the updated plan, and an explanation if this amount is
less than that specified in the updated plan. The reserve shall be
maintained in the restricted account established pursuant to
subdivision (b).
(d) For purposes of this section, "good repair" has the same
meaning as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002.
SEC. 5. Section 17032.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:
17032.5. (a) The board shall establish the annual rent and
conditions to be met by the lessee of a portable classroom leased
pursuant to Section 17717.2 and shall require lessees to undertake
all necessary maintenance, repairs, renewals, and replacements to
ensure that a project is at all times kept in good repair, working
order, and condition. All costs incurred for this purpose shall be
borne by the lessee.
(b) For purposes of this section, "good repair" has the same
meaning as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002.
SEC. 6. Section 17070.15 of the Education Code is amended to read:
17070.15. The following terms, wherever used or referred to in
this chapter, shall have the following meanings, respectively, unless
a different meaning appears from the context:
(a) "Apportionment" means a reservation of funds for the purpose
of eligible new construction, modernization, or hardship approved by
the board for an applicant school district.
(b) "Attendance area" means the geographical area serving an
existing high school and those junior high schools and elementary
schools included therein.
(c) "Board" means the State Allocation Board as established by
Section 15490 of the Government Code.
(d) "Committee" means the State School Building Finance Committee
established pursuant to Section 15909.
(e) "County fund" means a county school facilities fund
established pursuant to Section 17070.43.
(f) "Department" means the Department of General Services.
(g) "Fund" means the applicable 1998 State School Facilities Fund,
the 2002 State School Facilities Fund, or the 2004 State School
Facilities Fund, established pursuant to Section 17070.40.
(h) "Good repair" has the same meaning as specified in subdivision
(d) of Section 17002.
(i) "Modernization" means any modification of a permanent
structure that is at least 25 years old, or in the case of a portable
classroom, that is at least 20 years old, that will enhance the
ability of the structure to achieve educational purposes.
(j) "Portable classroom" means a classroom building of one or more
stories that is designed and constructed to be relocatable and
transportable over public streets, and with respect to a single story
portable classroom, is designed and constructed for relocation
without the separation of the roof or floor from the building and
when measured at the most exterior walls, has a floor area not in
excess of 2,000 square feet.
(k) "Property" includes all property, real, personal or mixed,
tangible or intangible, or any interest therein necessary or
desirable for carrying out the purposes of this chapter.
(l) "School building capacity" means the capacity of a school
building to house pupils.
(m) "School district" means a school district or a county office
of education. For purposes of determining eligibility under this
chapter, "school district" may also mean a high school attendance
area.
SEC. 7. Section 17070.75 of the Education Code is amended to read:
17070.75. (a) The board shall require the school district to make
all necessary repairs, renewals, and replacements to ensure that a
project is at all times maintained in good repair, working order, and
condition. All costs incurred for this purpose shall be borne by
the school district.
(b) In order to ensure compliance with subdivision (a) and to
encourage school districts to maintain all buildings under their
control, the board shall require an applicant school district to do
all of the following prior to the approval of a project:
(1) Establish a restricted account within the general fund of the
school district for the exclusive purpose of providing moneys for
ongoing and major maintenance of school buildings, according the
highest priority to funding for the purposes set forth in subdivision
(a).
(2) (A) Agree to deposit into the account established pursuant to
paragraph (1), in each fiscal year for 20 years after receipt of
funds under this chapter, a minimum amount equal to or greater than 3
percent of the total general fund expenditures of the applicant
school district, including other financing uses, for that fiscal
year. Annual deposits to the account established pursuant to
paragraph (1) in excess of 21/2 percent of the school district
general fund budget may count towards the amount of funds required to
be contributed by a school district in order to receive
apportionments from the State School Deferred Maintenance Fund
pursuant to Section 17584 to the extent that those funds are used for
purposes that qualify for funding under that section.
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for the 2004-05 fiscal year
only, an applicant school district shall deposit into the account
established pursuant to paragraph (1), no less than 2 percent of the
total general fund expenditures of the school district, including
other financing uses, for the fiscal year. The annual deposit to the
account in excess of 11/2 percent of the school district general
fund budget for the 2004-05 fiscal year may count towards the amount
that a school district is required to contribute in order to receive
apportionments from the State School Deferred Maintenance Fund
pursuant to Section 17584 to the extent that those funds are used for
purposes that qualify for funding under that section.
(C) A school district contribution to the account may be provided
in lieu of meeting the ongoing maintenance requirements pursuant to
Section 17014 to the extent the funds are used for purposes
established in that section. A school district that serves as the
administrative unit for a special education local plan area may elect
to exclude from its total general fund expenditures, for purposes of
this paragraph, the distribution of revenues that are passed through
to participating members of the special education local plan area.
(D) This paragraph applies only to the following school districts:
(i) High school districts with an average daily attendance greater
than 300 pupils.
(ii) Elementary school districts with an average daily attendance
greater than 900 pupils.
(iii) Unified school districts with an average daily attendance
greater than 1,200 pupils.
(3) Certify that it has publicly approved an ongoing and major
maintenance plan that outlines the use of the funds deposited, or to
be deposited, pursuant to paragraph (2). The plan may provide that
the school district need not expend all of its annual allocation for
ongoing and major maintenance in the year in which it is deposited if
the cost of major maintenance requires that the allocation be
carried over into another fiscal
year. However, any state funds carried over into a
subsequent year may not be counted toward the annual minimum
contribution by the school district. A plan developed in compliance
with this section shall be deemed to meet the requirements of Section
17585.
(c) A school district to which paragraph (2) of subdivision (b)
does not apply shall certify to the board that it can reasonably
maintain its facilities with a lesser level of maintenance.
(d) For purposes of calculating a county office of education
requirement pursuant to this section, the 3 percent maintenance
requirement shall be based upon the county office of education
general fund less any restricted accounts.
(e) As a condition of participation in the school facilities
program or the receipt of funds pursuant to Section 17582, for a
fiscal year after the 2004-05 fiscal year, a school district shall
establish a facilities inspection system to ensure that each of its
schools is maintained in good repair.
(f) For purposes of this section, "good repair" has the same
meaning as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002.
SEC. 8. Section 17087 of the Education Code is amended to read:
17087. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Board" means the State Allocation Board.
(b) "Good repair" has the same meaning as specified in subdivision
(d) of Section 17002.
(c) "Lessee" means a school district or county superintendent of
schools to whom the board has leased a portable classroom pursuant to
this chapter.
(d) "State School Building Aid Fund" means that fund established
pursuant to Section 16096.
SEC. 9. Section 17089 of the Education Code is amended to read:
17089. (a) The board shall lease portable classrooms to
qualifying school districts and county superintendents of schools for
not less than one dollar ($1) per year, nor more than four thousand
dollars ($4,000) per year, for each portable classroom. This amount
shall be annually increased according to the adjustment for inflation
set forth in the statewide cost index for classroom construction, as
determined by the board at its January meeting.
(b) The board shall require each lessee to undertake all necessary
maintenance, repairs, renewal, and replacement to ensure that a
project is at all times kept in good repair, working order, and
condition. All costs incurred for this purpose shall be borne by the
lessee.
(c) For purposes of this section, "good repair" has the same
meaning as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002.
SEC. 10. Section 33126 of the Education Code is amended to read:
33126. (a) The school accountability report card shall provide
data by which a parent can make meaningful comparisons between public
schools that will enable him or her to make informed decisions on
which school to enroll his or her children.
(b) The school accountability report card shall include, but is
not limited to, assessment of the following school conditions:
(1) (A) Pupil achievement by grade level, as measured by the
standardized testing and reporting programs pursuant to Article 4
(commencing with Section 60640) of Chapter 5 of Part 33.
(B) Pupil achievement in and progress toward meeting reading,
writing, arithmetic, and other academic goals, including results by
grade level from the assessment tool used by the school district
using percentiles when available for the most recent three-year
period.
(C) After the state develops a statewide assessment system
pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 60600) and Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 60800) of Part 33, pupil achievement by
grade level, as measured by the results of the statewide assessment.
(D) Secondary schools with high school seniors shall list both the
average verbal and math Scholastic Assessment Test scores to the
extent provided to the school and the percentage of seniors taking
that exam for the most recent three-year period.
(2) Progress toward reducing dropout rates, including the one-year
dropout rate listed in the California Basic Education Data System or
any successor data system for the schoolsite over the most recent
three-year period, and the graduation rate, as defined by the State
Board of Education, over the most recent three-year period when
available pursuant to Section 52052.
(3) Estimated expenditures per pupil and types of services funded.
(4) Progress toward reducing class sizes and teaching loads,
including the distribution of class sizes at the schoolsite by grade
level, the average class size, and, if applicable, the percentage of
pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive, participating in
the Class Size Reduction Program established pursuant to Chapter
6.10 (commencing with Section 52120) of Part 28, using California
Basic Education Data System or any successor data system information
for the most recent three-year period.
(5) The total number of the school's fully credentialed teachers,
the number of teachers relying upon emergency credentials, the number
of teachers working without credentials, any assignment of teachers
outside their subject areas of competence, misassignments, including
misassignments of teachers of English learners, and the number of
vacant teacher positions for the most recent three-year period.
(A) For purposes of this paragraph, "vacant teacher position"
means a position to which a single designated certificated employee
has not been assigned at the beginning of the year for an entire year
or, if the position is for a one-semester course, a position of
which a single designated certificated employee has not been assigned
at the beginning of a semester for an entire semester.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "misassignment" means the
placement of a certificated employee in a teaching or services
position for which the employee does not hold a legally recognized
certificate or credential or the placement of a certificated employee
in a teaching or services position that the employee is not
otherwise authorized by statute to hold.
(6) (A) Quality and currency of textbooks and other instructional
materials, including whether textbooks and other materials meet state
standards and are adopted by the State Board of Education for
kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, and adopted by the
governing boards of school districts for grades 9 to 12, inclusive,
and the ratio of textbooks per pupil and the year the textbooks were
adopted.
(B) The availability of sufficient textbooks and other
instructional materials, as defined in Section 60119, for each pupil,
including English learners, in each of the following areas:
(i) The core curriculum areas of reading/language arts,
mathematics, science, and history/social science.
(ii) Foreign language and health.
(iii) Science laboratory equipment for grades 9 to 12, inclusive,
as appropriate.
(7) The availability of qualified personnel to provide counseling
and other pupil support services, including the ratio of academic
counselors per pupil.
(8) Availability of qualified substitute teachers.
(9) Safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities,
including any needed maintenance to ensure good repair as specified
in Section 17014, Section 17032.5, subdivision (a) of Section
17070.75, and subdivision (b) of Section 17089.
(10) Adequacy of teacher evaluations and opportunities for
professional improvement, including the annual number of schooldays
dedicated to staff development for the most recent three-year period.
(11) Classroom discipline and climate for learning, including
suspension and expulsion rates for the most recent three-year period.
(12) Teacher and staff training, and curriculum improvement
programs.
(13) Quality of school instruction and leadership.
(14) The degree to which pupils are prepared to enter the
workforce.
(15) The total number of instructional minutes offered in the
school year, separately stated for each grade level, as compared to
the total number of the instructional minutes per school year
required by state law, separately stated for each grade level.
(16) The total number of minimum days, as specified in Sections
46112, 46113, 46117, and 46141, in the school year.
(17) The number of advanced placement courses offered, by subject.
(18) The Academic Performance Index, including the disaggregation
of subgroups as set forth in Section 52052 and the decile rankings
and a comparison of schools.
(19) Whether a school qualified for the Immediate Intervention
Underperforming Schools Program pursuant to Section 52053 and whether
the school applied for, and received a grant pursuant to, that
program.
(20) Whether the school qualifies for the Governor's Performance
Award Program.
(21) When available, the percentage of pupils, including the
disaggregation of subgroups as set forth in Section 52052, completing
grade 12 who successfully complete the high school exit examination,
as set forth in Sections 60850 and 60851, as compared to the
percentage of pupils in the district and statewide completing grade
12 who successfully complete the examination.
(22) Contact information pertaining to any organized opportunities
for parental involvement.
(23) For secondary schools, the percentage of graduates who have
passed course requirements for entrance to the University of
California and the California State University pursuant to Section
51225.3 and the percentage of pupils enrolled in those courses, as
reported by the California Basic Education Data System or any
successor data system.
(24) Whether the school has a college admissions test preparation
course program.
(25) When available from the department, the claiming rate of
pupils who earned a Governor's Scholarship Award pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 69997 for the most recent two-year period.
This paragraph applies only to schools that enroll pupils in grade
9, 10 or 11.
(c) If the Commission on State Mandates finds a school district is
eligible for a reimbursement of costs incurred complying with this
section, the school district shall be reimbursed only if the
information provided in the school accountability report card is
accurate, as determined by the annual audit performed pursuant to
Section 41020. If the information is determined to be inaccurate,
the school district is not ineligible for reimbursement if the
information is corrected by May 15.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that schools make a
concerted effort to notify parents of the purpose of the school
accountability report cards, as described in this section, and ensure
that all parents receive a copy of the report card; to ensure that
the report cards are easy to read and understandable by parents; to
ensure that local educational agencies with access to the Internet
make available current copies of the report cards through the
Internet; and to ensure that administrators and teachers are
available to answer any questions regarding the report cards.
SEC. 11. Section 33126.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:
33126.1. (a) The department shall develop and recommend for
adoption by the State Board of Education a standardized template
intended to simplify the process for completing the school
accountability report card and make the school accountability report
card more meaningful to the public.
(b) The standardized template shall include fields for the
insertion of data and information by the department and by local
educational agencies, including a field to report the determination
of the sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials, as
defined in Section 60119, and a summary statement of the condition of
school facilities, as defined in Section 17014, Section 17032.5,
subdivision (a) of Section 17070.75, and subdivision (b) of Section
17089. The department shall provide examples of summary statements
of the condition of school facilities that are acceptable and those
that are unacceptable. When the template for a school is completed,
it should enable parents and guardians to compare the manner in which
local schools compare to other schools within that district as well
as other schools in the state.
(c) In conjunction with the development of the standardized
template, the department shall furnish standard definitions for
school conditions included in the school accountability report card.
The standard definitions shall comply with the following:
(1) Definitions shall be consistent with the definitions already
in place or under the development at the state level pursuant to
existing law.
(2) Definitions shall enable schools to furnish contextual or
comparative information to assist the public in understanding the
information in relation to the performance of other schools.
(3) Definitions shall specify the data for which the department
will be responsible for providing and the data and information for
which the local educational agencies will be responsible.
(d) By December 1, 2000, the department shall report to the State
Board of Education on the school conditions for which it already has
standard definitions in place or under development. The report shall
include a survey of the conditions for which the department has
valid and reliable data at the state, district, or school level. The
report shall provide a timetable for the inclusion of conditions for
which standard definitions or valid and reliable data do not yet
exist through the department.
(e) By December 1, 2000, the Superintendent of Public Instruction
shall recommend and the State Board of Education shall appoint 13
members to serve on a broad-based advisory committee of local
administrators, educators, parents, and other knowledgeable parties
to develop definitions for the school conditions for which standard
definitions do not yet exist. The State Board of Education may
designate outside experts in performance measurements in support of
activities of the advisory board.
(f) By January 1, 2001, the State Board of Education shall approve
available definitions for inclusion in the template as well as a
timetable for the further development of definitions and data
collection procedures. By July 1, 2001, and each year thereafter,
the State Board of Education shall adopt the template for the current
year's school accountability report card. Definitions for all
school conditions shall be included in the template by July 1, 2002.
(g) The department shall annually post the completed and viewable
template on the Internet. The template shall be designed to allow
schools or districts to download the template from the Internet. The
template shall further be designed to allow local educational
agencies, including individual schools, to enter data into the school
accountability report card electronically, individualize the report
card, and further describe the data elements. The department shall
establish model guidelines and safeguards that may be used by school
districts secured access only for those school officials authorized
to make modifications.
(h) The department shall annually post, on the Internet, each
eligible school's claiming rate of pupils who earned an award for
either of the programs established by subdivision (a) of Section
69997. The Scholarshare Investment Board shall provide the claiming
rates, for the most recent two-year period, for each eligible school
to the department by June 30 of each year. Schools shall post their
claiming rate, required in paragraph (25) of subdivision (b) of
Section 33216, from the Internet site of the department.
(i) The department shall maintain current Internet links with the
Web sites of local educational agencies to provide parents and the
public with easy access to the school accountability report cards
maintained on the Internet. In order to ensure the currency of these
Internet links, local educational agencies that provide access to
school accountability report cards through the Internet shall furnish
current Uniform Resource Locators for their Web sites to the
department.
(j) A school or school district that chooses not to utilize the
standardized template adopted pursuant to this section shall report
the data for its school accountability report card in a manner that
is consistent with the definitions adopted pursuant to subdivision
(c).
(k) The department shall provide recommendations for changes to
the California Basic Education Data System, or any successor data
system, and other data collection mechanisms to ensure that the
information will be preserved and available in the future.
(l) Local educational agencies shall make these school
accountability report cards available through the Internet or through
paper copies.
(m) The department shall monitor the compliance of local
educational agencies with the requirements to prepare and to
distribute school accountability report cards.
SEC. 12. Section 35186 is added to the Education Code, to read:
35186. (a) A school district shall use the uniform complaint
process it has adopted as required by Chapter 5.1 (commencing with
Section 4600) of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, with
modifications, as necessary, to help identify and resolve any
deficiencies related to instructional materials, the condition of a
facility that is not maintained in a clean or safe manner or in good
repair, and teacher vacancy or misassignment.
(1) A complaint may be filed anonymously. A complainant who
identifies himself or herself is entitled to a response if he or she
indicates that a response is requested. A complaint form shall
include a space to mark to indicate whether a response is requested.
All complaints and responses are public records.
(2) The complaint form shall specify the location for filing a
complaint. A complainant may add as much text to explain the
complaint as he or she wishes.
(3) A complaint shall be filed with the principal of the school or
his or her designee. A complaint about problems beyond the
authority of the school principal shall be forwarded in a timely
manner but not to exceed 10 working days to the appropriate school
district official for resolution.
(b) The principal or the designee of the district superintendent,
as applicable, shall make all reasonable efforts to investigate any
problem within his or her authority. The principal or designee of
the district superintendent shall remedy a valid complaint within a
reasonable time period but not to exceed 30 working days from the
date the complaint was received. The principal or designee of the
district superintendent shall report to the complainant the
resolution of the complaint within 45 working days of the initial
filing. If the principal makes this report, the principal shall also
report the same information in the same timeframe to the designee of
the district superintendent.
(c) A complainant not satisfied with the resolution of the
principal or the designee of the district superintendent has the
right to describe the complaint to the governing board of the school
district at a regularly scheduled hearing of the governing board. As
to complaints involving a condition of a facility that poses an
emergency or urgent threat, as defined in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72, a complainant who is not
satisfied with the resolution proffered by the principal or the
designee of the district superintendent has the right to file an
appeal to the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who shall provide
a written report to the State Board of Education describing the
basis for the complaint and, as appropriate, a proposed remedy for
the issue described in the complaint.
(d) A school district shall report summarized data on the nature
and resolution of all complaints on a quarterly basis to the county
superintendent of schools and the governing board of the school
district. The summaries shall be publicly reported on a quarterly
basis at a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board of the
school district. The report shall include the number of complaints
by general subject area with the number of resolved and unresolved
complaints. The complaints and written responses shall be available
as public records.
(e) The procedure required pursuant to this section is intended to
address all of the following:
(1) A complaint related to instructional materials as follows:
(A) A pupil, including an English learner, does not have
standards-aligned textbooks or instructional materials or state
adopted or district adopted textbooks or other required instructional
material to use in class.
(B) A pupil does not have access to instructional materials to use
at home or after school in order to complete required homework
assignments.
(C) Textbooks or instructional materials are in poor or unusable
condition, have missing pages, or are unreadable due to damage.
(2) A complaint related to teacher vacancy or misassignment as
follows:
(A) A semester begins and a certificated teacher is not assigned
to teach the class.
(B) A teacher who lacks credentials or training to teach English
learners is assigned to teach a class with more than 20 percent
English learner pupils in the class. This subparagraph does not
relieve a school district from complying with state or federal law
regarding teachers of English learners.
(C) A teacher is assigned to teach a class for which the teacher
lacks subject matter competency.
(3) A complaint related to the condition of facilities.
(f) In order to identify appropriate subjects of complaint, a
notice shall be posted in each classroom in each school in the school
district notifying parents and guardians of the following:
(1) There should be sufficient textbooks and instructional
materials. For there to be sufficient textbooks and instructional
materials each pupil, including English learners, must have a
textbook or instructional materials, or both, to use in class and to
take home to complete required homework assignments.
(2) School facilities must be clean, safe, and maintained in good
repair.
(3) The location at which to obtain a form to file a complaint in
case of a shortage. Posting a notice downloadable from the Web site
of the department shall satisfy this requirement.
(g) A local educational agency shall establish local policies and
procedures, post notices, and implement this section on or before
January 1, 2005.
(h) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Good repair" has the same meaning as specified in subdivision
(d) of Section 17002.
(2) "Misassignment" means the placement of a certificated employee
in a teaching or services position for which the employee does not
hold a legally recognized certificate or credential or the placement
of a certificated employee in a teaching or services position that
the employee is not otherwise authorized by statute to hold.
(3) "Teacher vacancy" means a vacant teacher position as defined
in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section
33126.
SEC. 13. Section 41020 of the Education Code is amended to read:
41020. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage sound
fiscal management practices among school districts for the most
efficient and effective use of public funds for the education of
children in California by strengthening fiscal accountability at the
district, county, and state levels.
(b) (1) Not later than the first day of May of each fiscal year,
each county superintendent of schools shall provide for an audit of
all funds under his or her jurisdiction and control and the governing
board of each local educational agency shall either provide for an
audit of the books and accounts of the local educational agency,
including an audit of income and expenditures by source of funds, or
make arrangements with the county superintendent of schools having
jurisdiction over the local educational agency to provide for that
auditing.
(2) A contract to perform the audit of a local educational agency
that has a disapproved budget or has received a negative
certification on any budget or interim financial report during the
current fiscal year or either of the two preceding fiscal years, or
for which the county superintendent of schools has otherwise
determined that a lack of going concern exists, is not valid unless
approved by the responsible county superintendent of schools and the
governing board.
(3) If the governing board of a local educational agency has not
provided for an audit of the books and accounts of the local
educational agency by April 1, the county superintendent of schools
having jurisdiction over the local educational agency shall provide
for the audit of each local educational agency.
(4) An audit conducted pursuant to this section shall fully comply
with the Government Auditing Standards issued by the Comptroller
General of the United States.
(5) For purposes of this section, "local educational agency" does
not include community colleges.
(c) Each audit conducted in accordance with this section shall
include all funds of the local educational agency, including the
student body and cafeteria funds and accounts and any other funds
under the control or jurisdiction of the local educational agency.
Each audit shall also include an audit of pupil attendance
procedures.
(d) All audit reports for each fiscal year shall be developed and
reported using a format established by the Controller after
consultation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the
Director of Finance.
(e) (1) The cost of the audits provided for by the county
superintendent of schools shall be paid from the county school
service fund and the county superintendent of schools shall transfer
the pro rata share of the cost chargeable to each district from
district funds.
(2) The cost of the audit provided for by a governing board shall
be paid from local educational agency funds. The audit of the funds
under the jurisdiction and control of the county superintendent of
schools shall be paid from the county school service fund.
(f) (1) The audits shall be made by a certified public accountant
or a public accountant, licensed by the California Board of
Accountancy, and selected by the local educational agency, as
applicable, from a directory of certified public accountants and
public accountants deemed by the Controller as qualified to conduct
audits of local educational agencies, which shall be published by the
Controller not later than December 31 of each year.
(2) Commencing with the 2003-04 fiscal
year and except as provided in subdivision (d) of Section 41320.1,
it is unlawful for a public accounting firm to provide audit services
to a local educational agency if the lead audit partner, or
coordinating audit partner, having primary responsibility for the
audit, or the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit, has
performed audit services for that local educational agency in each of
the six previous fiscal years. The Education Audits Appeal Panel
may waive this requirement if the panel finds that no otherwise
eligible auditor is available to perform the audit.
(3) It is the intent of the Legislature that, notwithstanding
paragraph (2) of this subdivision, the rotation within public
accounting firms conform to provisions of the federal Sarbanes-Oxley
Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-204; 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7201 et seq.), and upon
release of the report required by the act of the Comptroller General
of the United States addressing the mandatory rotation of registered
public accounting firms, the Legislature intends to reconsider the
provisions of paragraph (2). In determining which certified public
accountants and public accountants shall be included in the
directory, the Controller shall use the following criteria:
(A) The certified public accountants or public accountants shall
be in good standing as certified by the Board of Accountancy.
(B) The certified public accountants or public accountants, as a
result of a quality control review conducted by the Controller
pursuant to Section 14504.2, shall not have been found to have
conducted an audit in a manner constituting noncompliance with
subdivision (a) of Section 14503.
(g) (1) The auditor's report shall include each of the following:
(A) A statement that the audit was conducted pursuant to standards
and procedures developed in accordance with Chapter 3 (commencing
with Section 14500) of Part 9 of Division 1 of Title 1.
(B) A summary of audit exceptions and management improvement
recommendations.
(C) Each local education agency's audit shall include an auditor's
evaluation on whether there is substantial doubt about the local
agency's ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable
period of time. This evaluation shall be based on the Statement of
Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 59, as issued by the AICPA regarding
disclosure requirements relating the entity's ability to continue as
a going concern.
(2) To the extent possible, a description of correction or plan of
correction shall be incorporated in the audit report, describing the
specific actions that are planned to be taken, or that have been
taken, to correct the problem identified by the auditor. The
descriptions of specific actions to be taken or that have been taken
shall not solely consist of general comments such as "will implement,"
"accepted the recommendation," or "will discuss at a later date."
(h) Not later than December 15, a report of each local educational
agency audit for the preceding fiscal year shall be filed with the
county superintendent of schools of the county in which the local
educational agency is located, the State Department of Education, and
the Controller. The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall make
any adjustments necessary in future apportionments of all state
funds, to correct any audit exceptions revealed by those audit
reports.
(i) (1) Commencing with the 2002-03 audit of local educational
agencies pursuant to this section, each county superintendent of
schools shall be responsible for reviewing the audit exceptions
contained in an audit of a local educational agency under his or her
jurisdiction related to attendance, inventory of equipment, internal
control, and any miscellaneous items, and determining whether the
exceptions have been either corrected or an acceptable plan of
correction has been developed.
(2) Commencing with the 2004-05 audit of local educational
agencies pursuant to this section, each county superintendent of
schools shall include in the review of audit exceptions performed
pursuant to this subdivision those audit exceptions related to use of
instructional materials program funds, teacher misassignments
pursuant to Section 44258.9, information reported on the school
accountability report card required pursuant to Section 33126 and
shall determine whether the exceptions are either corrected or an
acceptable plan of correction has been developed.
(j) Upon submission of the final audit report to the governing
board of each local educational agency and subsequent receipt of the
audit by the county superintendent of schools having jurisdiction
over the local educational agency, the county office of education
shall do all of the following:
(1) Review audit exceptions related to attendance, inventory of
equipment, internal control, and other miscellaneous exceptions.
Attendance exceptions or issues shall include, but not be limited to,
those related to revenue limits, adult education, and independent
study.
(2) If a description of the correction or plan of correction has
not been provided as part of the audit required by this section, then
the county superintendent of schools shall notify the local
educational agency and request the governing board of the local
educational agency to provide to the county superintendent of schools
a description of the corrections or plan of correction by March 15.
(3) Review the description of correction or plan of correction and
determine its adequacy. If the description of the correction or
plan of correction is not adequate, the county superintendent of
schools shall require the local educational agency to resubmit that
portion of its response that is inadequate.
(k) Each county superintendent of schools shall certify to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Controller, not later
than May 15, that his or her staff has reviewed all audits of local
educational agencies under his or her jurisdiction for the prior
fiscal year, that all exceptions that the county superintendent was
required to review were reviewed, and that all of those exceptions,
except as otherwise noted in the certification, have been corrected
by the local educational agency or that an acceptable plan of
correction has been submitted to the county superintendent of
schools. In addition, the county superintendent shall identify, by
local educational agency, any attendance-related audit exception or
exceptions involving state funds, and require the local educational
agency to which the audit exceptions were directed to submit
appropriate reporting forms for processing by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction.
(l) In the audit of a local educational agency for a subsequent
year, the auditor shall review the correction or plan or plans of
correction submitted by the local educational agency to determine if
the exceptions have been resolved. If not, the auditor shall
immediately notify the appropriate county office of education and the
State Department of Education and restate the exception in the audit
report. After receiving that notification, the State Department of
Education shall either consult with the local educational agency to
resolve the exception or require the county superintendent of schools
to follow up with the local educational agency.
(m) (1) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be
responsible for ensuring that local educational agencies have either
corrected or developed plans of correction for any one or more of the
following:
(A) All federal and state compliance audit exceptions identified
in the audit.
(B) Any exceptions that the county superintendent certifies as of
May 15 have not been corrected.
(C) Any repeat audit exceptions that are not assigned to a county
superintendent to correct.
(2) In addition, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall be
responsible for ensuring that county superintendents of schools and
each county board of education that serves as the governing board of
a local educational agency either correct all audit exceptions
identified in the audits of county superintendents of schools and of
the local educational agencies for which the county boards of
education serve as the governing boards or develop acceptable plans
of correction for those exceptions.
(3) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall report annually
to the Controller on his or her actions to ensure that school
districts, county superintendents of schools, and each county board
of education that serves as the governing board of a school district
have either corrected or developed plans of correction for any of the
exceptions noted pursuant to paragraph (1).
(n) To facilitate correction of the exceptions identified by the
audits issued pursuant to this section, commencing with 2002-03
audits pursuant to this section, the Controller shall require
auditors to categorize audit exceptions in each audit report in a
manner that will make it clear to both the county superintendent of
schools and the Superintendent of Public Instruction which exceptions
they are responsible for ensuring the correction of by a local
educational agency. In addition, the Controller annually shall
select a sampling of county superintendents of schools and perform a
followup of the audit resolution process of those county
superintendents of schools and report the results of that followup to
the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the county
superintendents of schools that were reviewed.
(o) County superintendents of schools shall adjust subsequent
local property tax requirements to correct audit exceptions relating
to local educational agency tax rates and tax revenues.
(p) If a governing board or county superintendent of schools fails
or is unable to make satisfactory arrangements for the audit
pursuant to this section, the Controller shall make arrangements for
the audit and the cost of the audit shall be paid from local
educational agency funds or the county school service fund, as the
case may be.
(q) Audits of regional occupational centers and programs are
subject to the provisions of this section.
(r) This section does not authorize examination of, or reports on,
the curriculum used or provided for in any local educational
agency.
(s) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a nonauditing,
management, or other consulting service to be provided to a local
educational agency by a certified public accounting firm while the
certified public accounting firm is performing an audit of the agency
pursuant to this section must be in accord with Government
Accounting Standards, Amendment No. 3, as published by the United
States General Accounting Office.
SEC. 14. Section 41344.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:
41344.4. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a local
educational agency is not required to repay an apportionment based on
a significant audit exception related to the requirements specified
in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 14501
if the county superintendent of schools certifies to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Controller that the
audit exception was corrected by the local educational agency or that
an acceptable plan of correction was submitted to the county
superintendent of schools pursuant to subdivision (k) of Section
41020. With respect to textbooks and instructional materials, the
plan shall be consistent with the requirements of subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119.
SEC. 15. Section 52055.625 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
52055.625. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that the lists
contained in paragraph (2) of subdivisions (c), (d), (e), and (f) be
considered options that may be considered by a school in the
development of its school action plan and that a school not be
required to adopt all of the listed options as a condition of funding
under the terms of this section. Instead, this listing of options
is intended to provide the opportunity for focus and strategic
planning as schools plan to address the needs of high-priority
pupils.
(b) (1) As a condition of the receipt of funds, a school action
plan shall include each of the following essential components:
(A) Pupil literacy and achievement.
(B) Quality of staff.
(C) Parental involvement.
(D) Facilities, curriculum, instructional materials, and support
services.
(2) As a condition of the receipt of funds, a school action plan
for a school initially applying to participate in the program on or
after the 2004-05 fiscal year, shall include each of the following
essential components:
(A) Pupil literacy and achievement.
(B) Quality of staff, including highly qualified teachers, as
required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C.
Sec. 6301 et seq.), and appropriately credentialed teachers for
English learners.
(C) Parental involvement.
(D) Facilities maintained in good repair as specified in Sections
17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089, curriculum, instructional
materials that are, at a minimum, consistent with the requirements of
Section 60119, and support services.
(c) (1) The pupil literacy and achievement component shall contain
a strategy to focus on increasing pupil literacy and achievement,
with necessary attention to the needs of English language learners.
At a minimum, this strategy shall include a plan to achieve the
following goals:
(A) Each pupil at the school will be provided appropriate
instructional materials aligned with the academic content and
performance standards adopted by the State Board of Education as
required by law.
(B) Each significant subgroup at the school will demonstrate
increased achievement based on API results by the end of the
implementation period.
(C) English language learners at the school will demonstrate
increased performance based on the English language development test
required by Section 60810 and the achievement tests required pursuant
to Section 60640.
(2) To achieve the goals in paragraph (1), a school in its action
plan may include, among other things, any of the following options:
(A) Selective class size reduction in key curricular areas
provided this does not result in a decrease in the proportion of
experienced credentialed teachers at the schoolsite.
(B) Increased learning time in key curricular areas identified as
needing attention, including mathematics.
(C) Targeted intensive reading instruction utilizing reading
capacity-level materials that may include, but are not limited to,
the following strategies:
(i) The development of a reading competency program for pupils in
grades 5 to 8, inclusive, whose reading scores are at or below the
40th percentile or in the two lowest performance levels, as adopted
by the State Board of Education, on the reading portion of the
achievement test, authorized by Section 60640. This program may
include direct instruction in reading at grade level utilizing the
English language arts content standards adopted pursuant to Section
60605. Additionally, this program may offer specialized intervention
that utilizes state approved instructional materials adopted
pursuant to Section 60200. It is the intent of the Legislature, as a
recommendation, that this curriculum consist of at least one class
period during the regular schoolday taught by a teacher trained in
the English language arts standards pursuant to Section 60605. It is
also the intent of the Legislature, as a recommendation, that
periodic assessments throughout the year be conducted to monitor the
progress of the pupils involved.
(ii) The use of a library media teacher to work cooperatively with
every teacher and principal at the schoolsite to develop and
implement an independent and free reading program, help teachers
determine a pupil's reading level, order books that have been
determined to meet the needs of pupils, help choose books at pupils'
independent reading levels, and assure that pupils read a variety of
genres across all academic content areas. For purposes of this
article, "library media teacher" means a classroom teacher who
possesses or is in the process of obtaining a library media teacher
services credential consistent with Section 44868.
(D) Mentoring programs for pupils.
(E) Community, business, or university partnerships with the
school.
(d) (1) The quality of staff component shall contain a strategy to
attract, retain, and fairly distribute the highest quality staff at
the school, including teachers, administrators, and support staff.
At a minimum, this strategy shall include a plan to achieve the
following goals:
(A) An increase in the number of credentialed teachers working at
that schoolsite.
(B) An increase in or targeting of professional development
opportunities for teachers related to the goals of the action plan
and English language development standards adopted by the State Board
of Education aligned with the academic content and performance
standards, including, but not limited to, participation in
professional development institutes established pursuant to Article 2
(commencing with Section 92220) of Chapter 5 of Part 65.
(C) By the end of the implementation period, successful completion
by the schoolsite administrators of a program designed to maximize
leadership skills.
(2) To achieve the goals in paragraph (1) a school may include in
its action plan, among others, any of the following options:
(A) Incentives to attract credentialed teachers and quality
administrators to the schoolsite, including, but not limited to,
additional compensation strategies similar to those authorized
pursuant to Section 44735.
(B) A school district preintern or intern program within which
eligible emergency permit teachers located at the schoolsite would be
required to participate, unless those individuals are already
participating in another teacher preparation program that leads to
the attainment of a valid California teaching credential.
(C) Common planning time for teachers, administrators, and support
staff focused on improving pupil achievement.
(D) Mentoring for site administrators, peer assistance for
credentialed teachers, and support services for new teachers,
including, but not limited to, the Beginning Teacher Support and
Assessment System.
(E) Providing assistance and incentives to teachers for completion
of professional certification programs and toward attaining BCLAD or
CLAD certification.
(F) Increasing professional development in state academic content
and performance standards, including English language development
standards.
(e) (1) The parental involvement component shall contain a
strategy to change the culture of the school community to recognize
parents and guardians as partners in the education of their children
and to prepare and educate parents and guardians in the learning and
academic progress of their children. At a minimum, this strategy
shall include a commitment to develop a school-parent compact as
required by Section 51101 and a plan to achieve the goal of
maintaining or increasing the number and frequency of personal parent
and guardian contacts each year at the schoolsite and school-home
communications designed to promote parent and guardian support for
meeting state standards and core curriculum requirements.
(2) To achieve the goals in subdivision (a), a school may in its
action plan include, among others, any of the following options:
(A) Parent and guardian homework support classes.
(B) A program of regular home visits.
(C) After school and evening opportunities for parents, guardians,
and pupils to learn together.
(D) Training programs to educate parents and guardians about state
standards and testing requirements, including the high school exit
examination.
(E) Creation, maintenance, and support of parent centers located
on schoolsites to educate parents and guardians regarding pupil
expectations and provide support to parents and guardians in their
efforts to help their children learn.
(F) Programs targeted at parents and guardians of special
education pupils.
(G) Efforts to develop a culture at the schoolsite focused on
college attendance, including programs to educate parents and
guardians regarding college entrance requirements and options.
(H) Providing more bilingual personnel at the schoolsite and at
school related functions to communicate more effectively with parents
and guardians who speak a language other than English.
(I) Providing an opportunity for parents to monitor online, if the
technology is available, and in compliance with applicable state and
federal privacy laws, the academic progress and attendance of their
children.
(f) (1) The facilities, curriculum, instructional materials, and
support services component shall contain a strategy to provide an
environment that is conducive to teaching and learning and that
includes the development of a high-quality curriculum and instruction
aligned with the academic content and performance standards adopted
pursuant to Section 60605 and the standards for English language
development adopted pursuant to Section 60811 to measure progress
made towards achieving English language proficiency. At a minimum,
this strategy shall include the goal of providing adequate logistical
support including, but not limited to, curriculum, quality
instruction, instructional materials, support services, and supplies
for every pupil.
(2) To achieve the goal specified in paragraph (1), a school in
its action plan may include, among others, any of the following
options:
(A) State and locally developed valid and reliable assessments
based on state academic content standards.
(B) Increased learning time in key curricular areas identified as
needing attention, including mathematics.
(C) The addition of more pupil support services staff, including,
but not limited to, paraprofessionals, counselors, library media
teachers, nurses, psychologists, social workers, speech therapists,
audiologists, and speech pathologists.
(D) Pupil support centers for additional tutoring or homework
assistance.
(E) Use of most current standards-aligned textbooks adopted by the
State Board of Education, including materials for English language
learners.
(F) For secondary schools, offering advanced placement courses and
courses that meet the requirements for admission to the University
of California or the California State University.
(g) A school action plan to improve pupil performance that is
developed for participation in the program established pursuant to
this article shall meet the requirements of subdivisions (d) and (e)
of Section 52054 and this article.
SEC. 16. Section 52055.640 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
52055.640. (a) As a condition of the receipt of funds for the
initial and each subsequent year of funding pursuant to this article
and to ensure that the school is progressing towards meeting the
goals of each of the essential components of its school action plan,
each year the school district shall submit a report to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction that includes the following:
(1) The academic improvement of pupils within the participating
school as measured by the tests under Section 60640 and the progress
made towards achieving English language proficiency as measured by
the English language development test administered pursuant to
Section 60810.
(2) The improvement of distribution of experienced teachers
holding a valid California teaching credential across the district.
(3) The availability of instructional materials in core content
areas that are aligned with the academic content and performance
standards, including textbooks, for each pupil, including English
language learners. Schools initially applying to participate in the
program on or after the 2004-05 fiscal year shall measure the
availability of instructional materials against the definition of
"sufficient instructional materials" set forth in subdivision (c) of
Section 60119.
(4) The number of parents and guardians presently involved at each
participating schoolsite as compared to the number participating at
the beginning of the program.
(5) The number of pupils attending afterschool, tutoring, or
homework assistance programs.
(6) For participating secondary schools, the number of pupils who
are enrolled in and successfully completing advanced placement
courses, by type, and requirements for admission to the University of
California or the California State University, including courses in
algebra, biology, and United States or world history.
(b) The report on the pupil literacy and achievement component
shall be disaggregated by numerically significant subgroups, as
defined in Section 52052, and English language learners and have a
focus on improved scores in reading and mathematics as measured by
the following:
(1) The Academic Performance Index, including the data collected
pursuant to tests that are part of the Standardized Testing and
Reporting Program and the writing sample that is part of that
program.
(2) The results of the primary language test pursuant to Section
60640.
(3) Graduation rates, when the methodology for collecting this
data has been confirmed to be valid and reliable.
(4) In addition, a school may use locally developed assessments to
assist it in determining the pupil progress in academic literacy and
achievement.
(c) The report on the quality of staff component shall include,
but not be limited to, the following information:
(1) The number of teachers at the schoolsite holding a valid
California teaching credential or district or university intern
certificate or credential compared to those teachers at the same
schoolsite holding a preintern certificate, emergency permit, or
waiver.
(2) The number and ratio of teachers across the district holding a
valid California teaching credential or district or university
intern certificate or credential compared to those holding a
preintern certificate, emergency permit, or waiver.
(3) The number of principals having completed training pursuant to
Article 4.6 (commencing with Section 44510) of Chapter 3 of Part 25.
(4) The number of principals by credential type or years of
experience and length of time at the schoolsite by years.
(d) The report on the parental involvement component shall include
explicit involvement strategies being implemented at the schoolsite
that are directly linked to activities supporting pupil academic
achievement and verification
that the schoolsite has developed a school-parent compact as
required by Section 51101.
(e) All comparisons made in the reports required pursuant to this
section shall be based on baseline data provided by the district and
schoolsite in the action plan that is certified and submitted with
the initial application.
(f) To the extent that data is already reported to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, a school district need not
include the data in the reports submitted pursuant to this section.
(g) Before submitting the reports required pursuant to this
section, the school district shall, at a regularly scheduled public
meeting of the governing board, review a participating school's
progress towards achieving those goals.
SEC. 17. Section 52055.662 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
52055.662. It is the intent of the Legislature to appropriate any
savings achieved as a result of schools being phased out of the
Immediate Intervention Underperforming School Program and the High
Priority Schools Grant Program to provide High Priority Schools Grant
awards to eligible schools, pursuant to Section 52055.605, that have
not previously received a grant under this program.
SEC. 18. Section 60119 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60119. (a) In order to be eligible to receive funds available for
the purposes of this article, the governing board of a school
district shall take the following actions:
(1) (A) The governing board shall hold a public hearing or
hearings at which the governing board shall encourage participation
by parents, teachers, members of the community interested in the
affairs of the school district, and bargaining unit leaders, and
shall make a determination, through a resolution, as to whether each
pupil in each school in the district has sufficient textbooks or
instructional materials, or both, in each of the following subjects,
as appropriate, that are consistent with the content and cycles of
the curriculum framework adopted by the state board:
(i) Mathematics.
(ii) Science.
(iii) History-social science.
(iv) English/language arts, including the English language
development component of an adopted program.
(B) The public hearing shall take place on or before the end of
the eighth week from the first day pupils attend school for that
year. A school district that operates schools on a multitrack,
year-round calendar shall hold the hearing on or before the end of
the eighth week from the first day pupils attend school for that year
on any tracks that begin a school year in August or September. For
purposes of the 2004-05 fiscal year only, the governing board of a
school district shall make a diligent effort to hold a public hearing
pursuant to this section on or before December 1, 2004.
(C) As part of the hearing required pursuant to this section, the
governing board shall also make a written determination as to whether
each pupil enrolled in a foreign language or health course has
sufficient textbooks or instructional materials that are consistent
with the content and cycles of the curriculum frameworks adopted by
the state board for those subjects. The governing board shall also
determine the availability of laboratory science equipment as
applicable to science laboratory courses offered in grades 9 to 12,
inclusive. The provision of the textbooks, instructional materials
or science equipment specified in this subparagraph is not a
condition of receipt of funds provided by this subdivision.
(2) (A) If the governing board determines that there are
insufficient textbooks or instructional materials, or both, the
governing board shall provide information to classroom teachers and
to the public setting forth, for each school in which an
insufficiency exists, the reasons that each pupil does not have
sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, or both, and take
any action, except an action that would require reimbursement by the
Commission on State Mandates, to ensure that each pupil has
sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, or both, within two
months of the beginning of the school year in which the determination
is made.
(B) In carrying out subparagraph (A), the governing board may use
money in any of the following funds:
(i) Any funds available for textbooks or instructional materials,
or both, from categorical programs, including any funds allocated to
school districts that have been appropriated in the annual Budget
Act.
(ii) Any funds of the school district that are in excess of the
amount available for each pupil during the prior fiscal year to
purchase textbooks or instructional materials, or both.
(iii) Any other funds available to the school district for
textbooks or instructional materials, or both.
(b) The governing board shall provide 10 days' notice of the
public hearing or hearings set forth in subdivision (a). The notice
shall contain the time, place, and purpose of the hearing and shall
be posted in three public places in the school district. The hearing
shall be held at a time that will encourage the attendance of
teachers and parents and guardians of pupils who attend the schools
in the district and shall not take place during or immediately
following school hours.
(c) (1) For purposes of this section, "sufficient textbooks or
instructional materials" means that each pupil, including English
learners, has a textbook or instructional materials, or both, to use
in class and to take home to complete required homework assignments.
This paragraph does not require two sets of textbooks or
instructional materials for each pupil.
(2) Sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as defined in
paragraph (1), does not include photocopied sheets from only a
portion of a textbook or instructional materials copied to address a
shortage.
(d) Except for purposes of Section 60252, governing boards of
school districts that receive funds for instructional materials from
any state source, are subject to the requirements of this section
only in a fiscal year in which the Superintendent of Public
Instruction determines that the base revenue limit for each school
district will increase by at least 1 percent per unit of average
daily attendance from the prior fiscal year.
SEC. 19. Section 60240 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60240. (a) The State Instructional Materials Fund is hereby
continued in existence in the State Treasury. The fund shall be a
means of annually funding the acquisition of instructional materials
as required by the Constitution of the State of California.
Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, all money in
the fund is continuously appropriated to the State Department of
Education without regard to fiscal years for carrying out the
purposes of this part. It is the intent of the Legislature that the
fund shall provide for flexibility of instructional materials,
including classroom library materials.
(b) The State Department of Education shall administer the fund
under policies established by the state board.
(c) (1) The state board shall encumber part of the fund to pay for
accessible instructional materials pursuant to Sections 60312 and
60313 to accommodate pupils who are visually impaired or have other
disabilities and are unable to access the general curriculum.
(2) The state board may encumber funds, in an amount not to exceed
two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000), for replacement of
instructional materials, obtained by a school district with its
allowance that are lost or destroyed by reason of fire, theft,
natural disaster, or vandalism.
(3) The state board may encumber funds for the costs of
warehousing and transporting instructional materials it has acquired.
(d) The department may expend up to five million dollars
($5,000,000) from the fund to acquire instructional materials for
school districts pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 1240. The
fund shall be replenished by amounts repaid by school districts or
deducted from apportionments to school districts by the Controller
pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 1240.
SEC. 20. Section 60252 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60252. (a) The Pupil Textbook and Instructional Materials
Incentive Account is hereby created in the State Instructional
Materials Fund, to be used for the Pupil Textbook and Instructional
Materials Incentive Program set forth in Article 7 (commencing with
Section 60117) of Chapter 1. All money in the account shall be
allocated by the Superintendent of Public Instruction to school
districts maintaining any kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, that satisfy each of the following criteria:
(1) A school district shall provide assurance to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction that the district has complied
with Section 60119.
(2) A school district shall ensure that the money will be used to
carry out its compliance with Section 60119 and shall supplement any
state and local money that is expended on textbooks or instructional
materials, or both.
(3) A school district shall ensure that textbooks and
instructional materials are ordered, to the extent practicable,
before the school year begins.
(b) The superintendent shall ensure that each school district has
an opportunity for funding per pupil based upon the district's prior
year base revenue limit in relation to the prior year statewide
average base revenue limit for similar types and sizes of districts.
Districts below the statewide average shall receive a greater
percentage of state funds, and districts above the statewide average
shall receive a smaller percentage of state funds, in an amount equal
to the percentage that the district's base revenue limit varies from
the statewide average. Any district with a base revenue limit that
equals or exceeds 200 percent of the statewide average shall not be
eligible for state funding under this section.
SEC. 21. Section 62000.4 of the Education Code is repealed.
SEC. 22. Section 36 of Chapter 216 of the Statutes of 2004 is
amended to read:
Sec. 36. (a) The sum of nine hundred fifteen million four hundred
forty-one thousand dollars ($915,441,000) is hereby appropriated from
the General Fund in accordance with the following schedule:
(1) The following amounts are appropriated for the 2005-06 fiscal
year:
(A) The sum of five million nine hundred thirty-three thousand
dollars ($5,933,000) to the State Department of Education for
apprenticeship programs to be expended consistent with the
requirements specified in Item 6110-103-0001 of Section 2.00 of the
Budget Act of 2004.
(B) The sum of eighty-five million eight hundred sixty-six
thousand dollars ($85,866,000) to the State Department of Education
for supplemental instruction to be expended consistent with the
requirements specified in Item 6110-104-0001 of Section 2.00 of the
Budget Act of 2004. Of the amount appropriated by this subparagraph,
forty-eight million six hundred fifty-two thousand dollars
($48,652,000) shall be expended consistent with Schedule (1) of Item
6110-104-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2004, eleven
million seven hundred forty-nine thousand dollars ($11,749,000) shall
be expended consistent with Schedule (2) of that item, four million
four hundred sixty-nine thousand dollars ($4,469,000) shall be
expended consistent with Schedule (3) of that item, and twenty
million nine hundred ninety-six thousand dollars ($20,996,000) shall
be expended consistent with Schedule (4) of that item.
(C) The sum of thirty-seven million fifty-one thousand dollars
($37,051,000) to the State Department of Education for regional
occupational centers and programs to be expended consistent with the
requirements specified in Schedule (1) of Item 6110-105-0001 of
Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2004.
(D) The sum of fifty million one hundred three thousand dollars
($50,103,000) to the State Department of Education for home-to-school
transportation to be expended consistent with the requirements
specified in Schedule (1) of Item 6110-111-0001 of Section 2.00 of
the Budget Act of 2004.
(E) The sum of four million ninety-two thousand dollars
($4,092,000) to the State Department of Education for the Gifted and
Talented Pupil Program to be expended consistent with the
requirements specified in Item 6110-124-0001 of Section 2.00 of the
Budget Act of 2004.
(F) The sum of ninety-five million three hundred ninety-seven
thousand dollars ($95,397,000) to the State Department of Education
for Targeted Instructional Improvement Grant Program to be expended
consistent with the requirements specified in Item 6110-132-0001 of
Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2004.
(G) The sum of forty-two million nine hundred fifty-nine thousand
dollars ($42,959,000) to the State Department of Education for adult
education to be expended consistent with the requirements specified
in Schedule (1) of Item 6110-156-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget
Act of 2004.
(H) The sum of four million five hundred fifty-eight thousand
dollars ($4,558,000) to the State Department of Education for
community day schools to be expended consistent with the requirements
specified in Item 6110-190-0001 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of
2004.
(I) The sum of five million two hundred ninety-eight thousand
dollars ($5,298,000) to the State Department of Education for
categorical block grants for charter schools to be expended
consistent with the requirements specified in Item 6110-211-0001 of
Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2004.
(J) The sum of thirty-six million eight hundred ninety-four
thousand dollars ($36,894,000) to the State Department of Education
for the School Safety Block Grant to be expended consistent with the
requirements specified in Schedule (1) of Item 6110-228-0001 of
Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2004.
(K) The sum of two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) to the
Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges for
apportionments, to be expended in accordance with the requirements
specified for Schedule (1) of Item 6870-101-0001 of Section 2.00 of
the Budget Act of 2004.
(2) The sum of one hundred nine million nine hundred fourteen
thousand dollars ($109,914,000) is appropriated for the 2004-05
fiscal year to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the
purposes of Section 42238.44 of the Education Code, to be allocated
to school districts on a pro rata basis.
(3) The following amounts are appropriated for the 2003-04 fiscal
year:
(A) The sum of twelve million six hundred four thousand dollars
($12,604,000) to the State Department of Education for transfer to
the State School Deferred Maintenance Fund to be available for
funding applications received by the Department of General Services,
Office of Public School Construction from school districts for
deferred maintenance projects pursuant to Section 17584 of the
Education Code.
(B) The sum of one hundred thirty-eight million dollars
($138,000,000) to the State Department of Education for transfer to
the Instructional Materials Fund. The funds appropriated pursuant to
this subparagraph shall be apportioned to school districts on the
basis of an equal amount per pupil enrolled in schools in decile 1 or
2 of the Academic Performance Index (API), as ranked based on the
2003 base API score pursuant to Section 52056 of the Education Code.
The funds apportioned pursuant to this subparagraph shall be used to
purchase standards-aligned instructional materials pursuant to
Section 60605 of the Education Code.
(C) The sum of fifty-eight million three hundred ninety-six
thousand dollars ($58,396,000) to the Controller to pay for prior
year state obligations for education mandate claims and interest.
The Controller shall use the funds to pay for the oldest claims of
those no longer subject to audit pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 17558.5 of the Government Code, including accrued interest.
No payments shall be made from these funds on any claims for the
Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program, schoolsite
councils, Brown Act reform, School Bus Safety II, or the removal of
chemicals.
(D) The sum of twenty-eight million three hundred seventy-six
thousand dollars ($28,376,000) to the Board of Governors of the
California Community Colleges to provide one-time funding to
districts for scheduled maintenance, special repairs, instructional
materials, and library materials replacement. These funds shall be
expended for the purposes of and be subject to the conditions of
expenditures pursuant to Schedule (24.5) of Item 6870-101-0001 of the
Budget Act of 2003 (Ch. 157, Stats. 2003).
(b) For the purposes of making the computations required by
Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the
appropriations made by subparagraphs (A) to (J), inclusive, of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be "General Fund
revenues appropriated for school districts," as defined in
subdivision (c) of Section 41202 of the Education Code, for the
2005-06 fiscal year, and included within the "total allocations to
school districts and community college districts from General Fund
proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B," as
defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202 of the Education Code for
the 2005-06 fiscal year.
(c) For the purposes of making the computations required by
Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the
appropriation made by subparagraph (K) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be "General Fund revenues
appropriated for community college districts," as defined in
subdivision (d) of Section 41202 of the Education Code, for the
2005-06 fiscal year, and included within the "total allocations to
school districts and community college districts from General Fund
proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B," as
defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202 of the Education Code,
for the 2005-06 fiscal year.
(d) For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8
of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriation made
by paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be "General
Fund revenues appropriated for school districts," as defined in
subdivision (c) of Section 41202 of the Education Code for the
2004-05 fiscal year and be included within the "total allocations to
school districts and community college districts from General Fund
proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B," as
defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202 of the Education Code for
the 2004-05 fiscal year.
(e) For the purpose of making the computations required by Section
8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriations
made by paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be
"General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts," as defined
in subdivision (c) of Section 41202 of the Education Code, for the
2003-04 fiscal year, and included within the "total allocations to
school districts and community college districts from General Fund
proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B," as
defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202 of the Education Code for
the 2003-04 fiscal year.
(f) For the purposes of making the computations required by
Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the
appropriation made by subparagraph (F) of paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a) shall be deemed to be "General Fund revenues
appropriated for community college districts," as defined in
subdivision (d) of Section 41202 of the Education Code, for the
2003-04 fiscal year, and included within the "total allocations to
school districts and community college districts from General Fund
proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B," as
defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202 of the Education Code for
the 2003-04 fiscal year.
SEC. 23. (a) The sum of twenty million two hundred thousand
dollars ($20,200,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund in
accordance with the following schedule:
(1) The sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) to the State
Department of Education for transfer to the State Instructional
Materials Fund for purposes of acquiring instructional materials for
school districts pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 1240 of the
Education Code.
(2) The sum of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) to the State
Department of Education for allocation to county offices of education
to review, monitor, and report on teacher training, certification,
misassignment, hiring and retention practices of school districts
pursuant to subparagraph (G) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of
Section 42127.6 of the Education Code, subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 44258.9 of the Education
Code, and paragraph (4) of subdivision (e) of Section 44258.9 of the
Education Code, and to conduct and report on site visits pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1240 of the Education
Code, and oversee schools' compliance with instructional materials
sufficiency requirements as provided in paragraphs (2) to (4),
inclusive, of subdivision (i) of Section 1240 of the Education Code.
Funds appropriated in this paragraph shall be allocated annually to
county offices of education at the rate of three thousand dollars
($3,000) for each school in the county ranked in deciles 1 to 3,
inclusive, of the Academic Performance Index, pursuant to Section
52056 of the Education Code, based on the 2003 base Academic
Performance Index score for each school, provided that the annual
allocation for each county shall be a minimum of twenty thousand
dollars ($20,000). If there are insufficient funds in any year to
make the allocations required by this paragraph, the department shall
allocate funding in proportion to the number of sites in each
county. County offices shall contract with another county office or
independent auditor for any work funded by this paragraph that is
associated with a school operated by that county office.
(3) The sum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) to the
State Department of Education to implement this act.
(b) For the purpose of making the computations required by Section
8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriation
made by paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) shall be deemed to
be "General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts," as
defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202 of the Education Code,
for the 2004-05 fiscal year, and included within the "total
allocations to school districts and community college districts from
General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII
B," as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202 of the Education
Code for the 2004-05 fiscal year. Funds appropriated by this section
shall be available for transfer or encumbrance for three fiscal
years, beginning in 2004-05.
SEC. 24. The State Department of Education shall develop an
instrument to assist county superintendents of schools evaluate the
sufficiency of textbooks pursuant to Section 1240 of the Education
Code. It is the intent of the Legislature that county
superintendents conduct the evaluation during the same visit that
they inspect sites pursuant to Section 1240 of the Education Code.
SEC. 25. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to memorialize
and to implement the State of California's settlement agreement in
the case of Williams v. California (Super. Ct. San Francisco, No.
CGC-00-312236) and that the provisions of law added or modified by
this act be substantially preserved as a matter of state policy in
settlement of this case. The state is not, however, precluded from
taking additional measures in furtherance of the settlement agreement
and to improve the quality of education for pupils, in ways
consistent with the provisions of the settlement agreement.
(b) Further, it is the intent of the Governor and the Legislature
in enacting this act to establish these minimum thresholds for
teacher quality, instructional materials, and school facilities. The
Legislature finds and the Governor agrees that these minimum
thresholds are essential in order to ensure that all of California's
public school pupils have access to the basic elements of a quality
public education. However, these minimum thresholds in no way
reflect the full extent of the Legislature's and the Governor's
expectations of what California's public schools are capable of
achieving. Instead, these thresholds for teacher quality,
instructional materials, and school facilities are intended by the
Legislature and by the Governor to be a floor, rather than a ceiling,
and a beginning, not an end, to the State of California's commitment
and effort to ensure that all California school pupils have access
to the basic elements of a quality public education.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature and of the Governor that
teachers, school administrators, trustees and staff, parents, and
pupils all recommit themselves to the pursuit of academic excellence
in California public schools.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that local educational
agencies, county offices of education, and state agencies with
responsibility for implementing this act begin implementation as soon
as practicable and with due diligence. Local educational agencies
and county offices of education should use their best judgment as to
the interpretation of provisions, recognizing that further
implementation direction from the state in the form of statutes,
regulations, and technical guidance may be provided in the future and
may supersede local interpretations. The state recognizes that due
to the date of enactment of this act and the time it will take to
allocate the funding to local educational agencies and county offices
of education, that full implementation of some of the provisions for
school terms beginning in 2004-05 is impracticable.
SEC. 26. The Legislature finds and declares that Sections 10 and
11 of this act further the purposes of the Classroom Instructional
Improvement and Accountability Act.
SEC. 27. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.
SEC. 28. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure that all pupils in the public schools are
provided standards-aligned instructional materials and are housed in
adequately maintained school facilities, to ensure that school
accountability report cards include important information, and to
implement the settlement agreement in the case of Williams v. State
of California (Super. Ct., San Francisco, No. CGC-00-312236) as soon
possible, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.