BILL ANALYSIS SB 687 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 687 (Simitian) As Amended August 31, 2005 2/3 vote SENATE VOTE :37-2 EDUCATION 11-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Goldberg, Wyland, |Ayes:|Chu, Sharon Runner, Bass, | | |Arambula, Coto, Hancock, | |Berg, Calderon, Emmerson, | | |Huff, Liu, Mullin, | |Karnette, Klehs, Leno, | | |Pavley, DeVore, Umberg | |Nakanishi, Nation, | | | | |Oropeza, Laird, Saldana, | | | | |Walters, Yee, Mullin | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Requires that estimated expenditures per pupil, as reported on the annual School Accountability Report Card (SARC), reflect the actual salaries of personnel assigned to a schoolsite and be subtotaled by restricted and unrestricted revenue sources; requires that the actual average teacher salary of teachers assigned to a school be reported on the SARC; and requires specific revisions to the standardized template for the SARC. Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires that estimated per pupil expenditures, as reported on the SARC, incorporate all of the following: a) Reflect the actual salaries of personnel assigned to the school site; b) Be reported as a total and in subtotals for restricted (i.e., categorical) and unrestricted (i.e., general aid including incentive funding) sources; and, c) Include an average of actual salaries paid to certificated instructional personnel at that school site. 2)Requires the State Department of Education (SDE), by July 1, 2006, to develop and recommend for adoption by the State Board of Education (SBE) a revision to the standardized template for the SARC, to include specified elements. SB 687 Page 2 3)Double-joins this bill to AB 1609 (Liu) to avoid chaptering problems EXISTING LAW : 1)Requires every K-12 school district to adopt an SARC for each school in accordance with Proposition 98 of 1988, also known as the Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act. The statutory portions of Proposition 98 specified some of the contents of the SARC and called upon SBE to develop a model SARC that districts could use to satisfy the Act's requirement. 2)Provides that the statutory provisions of Proposition 98 may be amended only by a 2/3 vote of each house of the Legislature as long as the amendment "furthers the purpose" of the Proposition. 3)Requires schools to report the "estimated expenditures per pupil and types of services funded" as well as a substantial amount of non-salary data about teachers at the school to align with the statutory prescription for the SARC. 4)Requires the SARC to report other teacher-related data, such as information on the number of fully-credentialed teachers and the number of teachers employed by emergency permit, as well as the number of teachers who are misassigned to teach subjects that are not appropriate for their credential. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee analysis, General Fund (Proposition 98) reimbursable mandated costs, likely in excess of $300,000, to comply with the requirements of this bill. COMMENTS : How will this bill change current practice? Currently, per pupil expenditure information is provided by SDE as part of the SARC template for schools, and reflects average expenditures at the school district level rather than site-specific spending. This bill requires SARCs to reflect actual average per pupil expenditures that are specific to each schoolsite. Arguments in support: According to the author, "By examining estimated expenditures per pupil, taking into consideration SB 687 Page 3 salaries of personnel assigned to an individual school, SB 687 will help ensure that school officials, parents, and local communities have sufficient information about education resource allocation. Transparency as to the use of billions of dollars of public education funds promotes good government and encourages educational opportunities for California students. "A recent report released by Education Trust-West found that money spent on teacher salaries in California varies from school to school within districts. It is important to make information available so as to guarantee equity and equality in per pupil spending." This bill contains language double-jointing it with AB 1609 (Liu), related to career-technical education data, so that, in the event that both bills are chaptered and this bill is chaptered last, it does not chapter out provisions of AB 1609. Analysis Prepared by : Michael Ricketts / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0012751