BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1381
Page 1
(Without Reference to File)
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 1381 (N??ez)
As Amended August 28, 2005
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: | |(January 30, |SENATE: |23-14|(August 28, |
| | |2006) | | |2006) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
(vote not relevant)
Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Enacts the Gloria Romero Educational Reform Act of
2006. Revises the governance and operation of the Los Angeles
Unified School District (LAUSD) in three major areas: broadens
the LAUSD Superintendent's authority; limits the authority and
responsibilities of the LAUSD governing board ("the Board"); and
establishes a council of mayors with specified roles and
responsibilities. Establishes the Los Angeles Mayor's Community
Partnership for School Excellence to administer, under the
direction of the mayor, a demonstration project to improve pupil
performance among the lowest performing schools.
The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,
and instead:
LAUSD superintendent and board responsibilities
1)Expand the scope of authority of the LAUSD superintendent over
a number of functions previously under the purview of the
Board. The superintendent has the authority to -
a) Directly request approval from the State Board of
Education to waive compliance with provisions of the
Education Code and regulation;
b) Make employment decisions, including appointment or
dismissal of a school principal. The superintendent may,
but is not required to, consult with community leaders,
schoolsite personnel and parents of the school to which a
principal is assigned. The superintendent must consult with
AB 1381
Page 2
the mayors and city council members representing territory
within the attendance boundary of the school. Principal
actions require ratification by the LAUSD governing board;
c) Consult with local government officials in assigning or
reassigning a local district superintendent. Authorizes
specified coalitions of multiple cities to ratify of local
district superintendents;
d) Defines consult to mean, at a minimum, to suggest
qualifications for positions, recommend individuals for a
position, and provide opinion and feedback regarding
finalists being considered for a position; and,
e) Manage all LAUSD personnel.
f) Make all decisions regarding the fiscal operations of
LAUSD, including negotiating and executing contracts,
except for collective bargaining agreements. The
superintendent is required to report all contracts to the
board and to give access to all contracts and contracting
processes to the Inspector General. Requires the Inspector
General to report on any findings arising from the review.
The superintendent must provide public notice of any
contract in excess of $250,000 at least 45 days before
execution of the contract, except in the case of urgency
when at least 30 days notice is required.
g) Develop and manage a facilities program for the
district. Eminent domain proceedings, however, are
required to have the approval of the board; the board also
retains decision-making power related to the placement of
school facilities bond measures on the ballot and related
to levying development fees for school facilities; the
board is not deprived of the authority to adopt or enter
into project stabilization agreements or project labor
agreements for district construction or facilities
projects, which are within the sole discretion of the
board.
2)Authorize the board to employ a pool of staff, subject to
budget approval, and specifies that no individual board member
may employ individual staff.
AB 1381
Page 3
3)Require the superintendent to establish an Office of Parent
Communication to assure that LAUSD complies with the processes
for receiving and addressing parent complaints, requirements
regarding the provision of information to parents, and the
rights of parents to participate in the education of their
children.
4)Require the superintendent to annually prepare a detailed
budget for LAUSD and present it to the Council of Mayors (see
below) prior to consideration and adoption by the board. The
Council may recommend, and the board may only approve, changes
to the budget at a level no more detailed than the fund,
resource code, and major object code level.
5)Provide that the LAUSD Superintendent and Board, when
selecting textbooks, curriculum and other instructional
materials shall ensure all of the following:
a) Parents, teachers and other certificated staff have an
authentic and central role;
b) The majority of the advisory curriculum and textbook
selection committee are classroom teachers;
c) Basic K-8 instructional materials purchased with state
categorical funds for instructional materials are state
board-adopted materials;
d) The grade 9-12 instructional materials adopted by the
LAUSD Board are aligned to State Content Standards; and,
e) There is a wide selection of supplemental instructional
materials consistent with the needs of the pupils and
available at school sites.
6)Provide that the LAUSD governing Board retains existing
authority to establish graduation standards.
Council of Mayors
7)Create a council of mayors comprised of the mayors of cities
and county supervisors with territory within LAUSD and grants
AB 1381
Page 4
that council specific authority in several functional areas of
the school district. Provides that a city or member of the
county board of supervisors may elect not to participate in
the council.
8)Provide that each member of the council has a vote on the
council that is weighted by the proportional share of LAUSD
residents within the boundary of the city or unincorporated
area represented by the member.
9)Require the council of mayors, in exercising its duties, to
act by 90% of the weighted vote of the total membership of the
council.
10)The Council of Mayors does all of the following:
a) Reviews and comments on the annual budget proposed by
the superintendent, prior to consideration and adoption by
the board;
b) Advises the superintendent regarding the facilities
program, including a process for completing joint-use
projects, providing local government input in the
development of school construction strategic plans, and
determining the location of school sites;
c) Participates, through its representative, in all aspects
of the selection of the LAUSD superintendent. Ratifies the
appointment, removal and terms of employment of the
superintendent; and,
d) Reviews and comments annually on the School
Accountability Report Cards of the schools in LAUSD.
11)Require, by March 1, 2007, the council of mayors and the
district superintendent to enter into memoranda of
understanding to establish each of the following:
a) An efficient and effective process to ensure that the
LAUSD and each city or county have every opportunity to
consult and agree upon joint-use projects between the
district and each city or county to permit youth, children,
and families to access and use school resources at times
other than during the regular schooldays;
AB 1381
Page 5
b) An efficient and effective process to ensure that each
city or county supervisorial district in which a new school
is proposed to be constructed by the LAUSD has the
opportunity to provide feedback to the district
superintendent and to propose alternative sites or modified
construction options, without unreasonably delaying the
completion and opening of a newly constructed school;
c) An efficient and effective process for the council of
mayors and the LAUSD to jointly conduct and complete, by
January 1, 2008, the first periodic comprehensive
identification, mapping, and assessment of available
services for children and youth in each school community,
and to jointly consult about creating and maintaining new
community services for children and youth to fill gaps
identified in the assessment, in order to support the
education and increased achievement of pupils in each
school community; and,
d) Requires the Chief of the Los Angeles School Police
Department and the chief or sheriff of a law enforcement
agency serving each city and unincorporated county area
within the LAUSD to develop and coordinate efficient and
effective protocols for mutual cooperation, timely sharing
of information, ongoing communication, and memorandums of
agreement related to the responsibility of each agency.
12)Authorize the council of mayors to create a committee of
parents to provide input on the selection of a superintendent
and other education related matters considered by the council
of mayors.
Community Partnership for School Excellence
13)Establish the Los Angeles Mayor's Community Partnership for
School Excellence to administer, under the direction of the
Mayor, a demonstration project to improve pupil performance
among the lowest performing schools. The partnership has sole
operational authority over three clusters of low performing
schools, selected by the Mayor and the superintendent, with
the following provisions:
a) Authorizes the community partnership, directed by the
AB 1381
Page 6
Mayor of the City of Los Angeles, to request that the Los
Angeles County Superintendent of Schools authorize the
demonstration project and specifies that the demonstration
project shall not proceed without that authorization;
b) Requires the county superintendent to act upon a request
within 20 days of his or her receipt, to grant a request
for authorization unless the county superintendent
determines that one or more of the following conditions
exist:
i) The mayor and the partnership are demonstrably
incapable, and not likely to gain the capability before
the project begins, of implementing a sound educational
program at the schools in the demonstration project;
ii) The mayor and the partnership have an irremediable
and significant conflict of interest in undertaking the
demonstration project involving the partners; and,
iii) The mayor and the partnership are demonstrably
incapable, and not likely to gain the capability before
the project begins, of providing sufficient financial
oversight to ensure that the schools in the project are
financially capable of sustaining a sound educational
program and other operational services.
c) Authorizes the county superintendent, after completing a
required progress report to withdraw authorization of the
demonstration project by concluding and certifying that the
progress report demonstrates that one or more of the
conditions noted above exist;
d) Provides that the partnership includes LAUSD, parent and
community leaders and organizations, school personnel and
employee organizations of the schools within the clusters.
Each cluster must include a high school ranked in decile 1
or 2 on the state's Academic Performance Index;
e) Authorizes the partnership to seek waivers from the
state board and authority to operate the schools in the
demonstration project with maximum flexibility and
efficiency;
AB 1381
Page 7
f) Requires schools in the partnership to continue to be
funded with existing resources at levels appropriate for
the pupils in the cluster, and from private donations; and,
g) Specifies the purposes and goals of the demonstration
project which are generally to improve pupil learning and
reduce drop-out rates, consistent with the goals of bill as
stated in the intent and goals for the bill (see item 19,
below).
14)Transfer the authority of the LAUSD Board and Superintendent
over the cluster schools to the Partnership except as
otherwise provided by law and with the exception that the
partnership will not have the authority to negotiate
collective bargaining agreements.
15)Specify that LAUSD participation in the partnership shall be
through a full-time district employee appointed by the
district superintendent for each of the three clusters.
Specifies representation required from parent organizations,
community leaders, teachers, classified employees and school
administrators for each cluster.
16)Declare, for the purposes of meeting constitutional
requirements regarding the administration of the public
schools, that the schools included in the demonstration
project remain public schools and remain part of the school
district.
17)Provide for the state Department of Education (SDE) to
contract for an evaluation of the effectiveness of the
programs established by this measure, to be completed by
January 1, 2011, with an interim report by January 1, 2008,
and specifies components that should be reviewed in the
evaluation.
18)State the following legislative findings and declarations:
a) As the largest school district in California and an
urban district with high numbers of pupils from
historically disadvantaged groups, LAUSD has unique
challenges and resources that require and deserve special
attention to ensure that all pupils are given the
opportunity to reach their full potential; and,
AB 1381
Page 8
b) The freedom to deviate from the strictures of generally
applicable education statutes and regulations while
maintaining the constant commitment to fairness and equity,
and to increase achievement among all pupils regardless of
background, is central to the success of quality schools in
California and is appropriate, as a concept, for the unique
circumstances of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
19)State legislative intent that the goals of the bill include:
a) Significantly improved pupil learning and academic
achievement, as measured by the California Standards Test
and other valid and reliable assessments of achievement;
b) Significantly improved graduation rates and reduced
dropout rates;
c) A significant reduction in the academic achievement gap
between Latino, African-American, White, and Asian pupils;
d) Parent satisfaction with their schools; and,
e) Success of English language learner pupils in developing
English language proficiency and increased redesignation as
measured by the California English Language Development
Test.
20)States the expectation that the schools and administration of
LAUSD will ensure all of the following:
a) All schools are clean and safe places for pupils and
school staff; each pupil has a qualified teacher;
b) Each school has a principal trained as an educational
leader to assist in improving teaching and learning, in
building strong educational teams, and in promoting
parental involvement and community relations;
c) Fiscal affairs of the schools and school district are
transparent;
d) Teachers and parents are full partners in the decisions
that affect schools;
AB 1381
Page 9
e) The district is decentralized to reduce bureaucracy and
transfer resources to schools and classrooms;
f) Class sizes are at or below statewide averages for the
corresponding grade levels; and,
g) The school community is held accountable for the
achievement of these goals.
21)Specify that the provisions of this bill will remain in
effect only until January 1, 2013, and as of that date are
repealed unless extended by another statute.
22)Declare that a special law is necessary and that a general
law cannot be made applicable because of the unique
circumstances that have resulted in LAUSD facing more serious
challenges to the achievement of pupils and schools than most
other school districts.
EXISTING LAW authorizes the Los Angeles Unified School District
to create the Office of the Inspector General to investigate
internal cases of waste and fraud. Current law authorizes the
Governing Board of any school district to request that the State
Board of Education waive provisions of the Education Code with
specified exceptions.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill transferred the authority
of SDE to administer the Instructional School Garden Program to
the California Integrated Waste Management Board, to be
administered in consultation with SDE, the Department of Food
and Agriculture, and the State Department of Health Services.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee
analysis, the fiscal impact of this bill is as follows:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Fund
State mandates
- COM support Unknown new program or higher level
General
AB 1381
Page 10
of service
- LAUSD/COM parent Unknown, potentially significant
costs,General
outreach potentially on going
- LAUSD/COM services Unknown, potentially major cost one
timePrivate/
assessment by 1/1/2008 (cost pressure to the
extentGeneral
private funds are not secured)
- Facilities program Unknown, potentially major costs
ongoingGeneral
(see staff comments)
- community partnership Estimated $360 annually
General
program
- community partnershipPotential mandate to LAUSD for
admin-General
administration support of partnership schools
SDE assessment oversight $125 annually through 1/1/2011
General
assessment contract $200 $400 $400
General
COMMENTS : Proponents of this measure contend that student
achievement can be improved and the dropout rate can be reduced
in LAUSD only if it is recognized that the current structure of
the district is not working. This bill will:
1)Promote the district superintendent to chief executive
officer.
2)Empower teachers, principals and parents.
3)Create a council of mayors to bring together local government
and the schools.
4)Rescue some of the lowest-performing schools in the district
through the Community Partnership for School Excellence.
AB 1381
Page 11
Individuals representing various groups with an interest in this
legislation have raised questions about several provisions of
the bill. The operation of some provisions of this bill may be
constrained or invalidated by requirements of the state
constitution, depending on the interpretation of how those
sections of the constitution may apply:
1)The state constitution provides that only entities that are
part of the system of public schools, such as school districts
and county offices of education, may operate and administer
the schools. AB 1381 deems the council of mayors and the
Community Partnership for School Excellence to function as
local education agencies authorized to maintain the public
schools for the purposes of this constitutional requirement.
There are other provisions included in the bill, such as
requiring the county superintendent to authorize the
partnership, that are also intended to assure that the council
of mayors and the partnership operate within the bounds of
this provision of the constitution.
2)City charters and amendments to those charters are required to
be adopted by a majority vote of the electorate. This bill
broadens the responsibilities of the cities with territory
within the boundaries of the LAUSD to include specific review,
advisory and ratification responsibilities related to the
administration of the public schools in the district. If
these changes are viewed as an expansion of city
responsibilities as authorized by a charter then a charter
amendment may be required to conform it to the expanded city
role required by the bill.
3)Statutes are constitutionally required to be of general
applicability, unless there are unique circumstances requiring
legislative action that cannot be made generally applicable.
This bill characterizes LAUSD as unique for the purposes of
this governance change because it faces "more serious
challenges to the achievement of pupils and schools than most
other school districts." The question raised is whether or
not this criteria is sufficiently unique to LAUSD.
Other concerns include the following:
1)Does this bill establish a precedent for state authorization
AB 1381
Page 12
of the mayoral role in the administration and operation of the
public schools, thereby putting the state in the position of
approving proposals for mayoral participation in the public
schools of many other cities in California?
2)Should the district superintendent have the sole discretion
over siting schools, even with the input from local government
and communities required by this bill?
3)Should the district superintendent have sole authority of
contracting for facilities construction in a district with a
$19 billion facilities program?
4)Does the LAUSD inspector general have sufficient authority to
provide investigatory safeguards over the revised governance
structure envisioned by this bill? Historically, the
administration and operation of the schools were separated
from local government, in part because co-mingling these
governmental operations provided mixed incentives and
conflicting priorities.
This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the
Assembly-approved provisions of this bill were deleted. This
bill, as amended in the Senate, is inconsistent with Assembly
actions.
Analysis Prepared by : Michael Ricketts / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0017542