BILL NUMBER: AB 953	CHAPTERED  10/04/05

	CHAPTER  513
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE  OCTOBER 4, 2005
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR  OCTOBER 4, 2005
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 8, 2005
	PASSED THE SENATE  SEPTEMBER 7, 2005
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 30, 2005
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 26, 2005
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 10, 2005
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 2, 2005

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Coto

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2005

   An act to amend Sections 52055.51, 52055.55, 52055.57, and 52059
of the Education Code, relating to public school accountability, and
declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 953, Coto  Local educational agency intervention.
   Existing law authorizes invited schools that score below the 50th
percentile on specified achievement tests to receive funding under
the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program. Existing
law allows the Superintendent of Public Instruction to require a
school district to enter into a contract with a management team,
trustee, or a school assistance and intervention team to a schoolsite
in order to help the school achieve significant improvement on the
Academic Performance Index. Existing law requires the Superintendent
to remove the management team, trustee, or school assistance and
intervention team from providing services at the schoolsite or any
other schoolsite if it fails to assist the school in making
significant growth on the Academic Performance Index 36 months after
it is assigned to the schoolsite.
   This bill would require the Superintendent to provide a list of
approved school assistance and intervention teams with which a school
district may contract. The bill would require that the list be based
on criteria recommended by the Superintendent and adopted by the
State Board of Education. The bill would require the Superintendent
to remove the management team, trustee, or school assistance and
intervention team from providing services at a school if, 36 months
after the Superintendent assigns the management team, trustee, or
school assistance and intervention team, the management team,
trustee, or school assistance and intervention team fails to fulfill
all responsibilities pursuant to the terms of the contract.
   Existing law, the Early Warning Program and the Prevention of
Local Educational Agency Intervention Program, provides for a
voluntary self-assessment process for local educational agencies that
are in danger of being identified as program improvement local
educational agencies under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of
2001 and allows those local educational agencies to participate in a
prevention program that provides support and funding in order to
improve pupil academic achievement. Existing law provides that a
local educational agency may receive that funding for no more than 2
years.
   This bill would establish a priority system for the provision of
that funding, as specified, to commence with the 2005-06 fiscal year.
The bill would also delete the 2-year restriction on the receipt of
funding under the program.
   Existing law requires the State Department of Education to
establish a Statewide System of School Support to provide a statewide
system of intensive and sustained support and technical assistance
for school districts and county offices of education with schools in
need of improvement. Existing law requires that funds for that system
be distributed based on the number of schools and the enrollment of
those schools in each region that have been identified as being in
need of program improvement under federal law.
   This bill would require that funding for that system also be based
on the number of school districts in each region that have been
identified as being in need of program improvement.
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 52055.51 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
   52055.51.  (a) Instead of the actions specified in subdivision (b)
of Section 52055.5, and notwithstanding any other law, the
Superintendent, with the approval of the state board, may require the
school district to enter into a contract with a school assistance
and intervention team no later than 30 days after the public release
of the school's growth in API results or the next regularly scheduled
meeting of the State Board of Education following the expiration of
the 30 days if meeting the 30-day time limit would not provide the
State Board of Education with sufficient time to comply with the
requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9
(commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 2
of the Government Code). If the State Board of Education approves,
the governing board of the school district may retain its legal
rights, duties, and responsibilities with respect to that school.
   (b) School assistance and intervention team members should possess
a high degree of knowledge and skills in the areas of school
leadership, curriculum, and instruction aligned to state academic
content and performance standards, classroom management and
discipline, academic assessment, parent-school relations, and
evaluation and research based reform strategies and have proven
successful expertise specific to the challenges inherent in
state-monitored schools.
   (c) The Superintendent shall, once every two years, establish a
list of approved school assistance and intervention teams with which
a school district may contract. The list shall be based on criteria
recommended by the Superintendent and adopted by the state board.
After the two-year approval period expires, a team may reapply for
approval by demonstrating the effectiveness of the work of the team
in state-monitored schools.
   (d) A school assistance and intervention team shall provide
intensive support and expertise to implement the school reform
initiatives in the plan. Decisions about interventions shall be data
driven. A school assistance and intervention team shall work with
school staff, site planning teams, administrators, and school
district staff to improve pupil literacy and achievement by assessing
the degree of implementation of the current action plan, refining
and revising the action plan, and making recommendations to maximize
the use of fiscal resources and personnel in achieving the goals of
the plan. The school district shall provide support and assistance to
enhance the work of the team at the targeted schoolsites.
   (e) Not later than 60 days after the assignment of a school
assistance and intervention team, the team shall complete a report.
The report shall include recommendations for corrective actions
chosen from a range of interventions, including the reallocation of
school district fiscal resources to ensure that appropriate resources
are targeted to those specific interventions identified in the
recommendations of the team for the targeted schools and other
changes deemed appropriate to make progress toward meeting the growth
target of the school.
   (f) Not later than 90 days after assignment of the school
assistance and intervention team, the governing board of the school
district shall adopt the initial recommendations of the team at a
regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board. A subsequent
recommendation proposed by the school assistance and intervention
team shall be submitted to the governing board and shall be adopted
by the governing board within 30 days of the submission. The
governing board may not place the adoption on the consent calendar. A
recommendation adopted by the governing board shall be submitted to
the Superintendent and the state board.
   (g) Following the adoption of the recommendation by the governing
board, the governing board may submit an appeal to the Superintendent
for relief from one or more of the recommendations. The
Superintendent, with approval of the state board, may grant relief
from compliance with a recommendation of the school assistance and
intervention team.
   (h) If a school assistance and intervention team does not fulfill
its legal obligations under this section, the governing board of the
school district may seek permission from the Superintendent, with the
approval of the state board, to contract with a different school
assistance and intervention team. Upon a finding that the school
assistance and intervention team has not fulfilled its legal
obligations under this section, the Superintendent, with the approval
of the state board, may remove the school assistance and
intervention team from the state list of eligible providers.
   (i) No less than three times during the year, the school district
and schoolsite shall present the team with data regarding progress
toward the goals established by the initial assessment of the team.
The data shall be presented to the governing board of the school
district at a regularly scheduled meeting. The team shall, to the
extent possible, utilize existing site data. The data shall also be
provided to the Superintendent and the state board. Every effort
shall be made to report this data in a manner that minimizes the
length and complexity of the reporting requirement in order to
maximize the focus on improving pupil literacy and achievement.
   (j) An action taken pursuant to this section may not increase
local costs or require reimbursement as determined by the Commission
on State Mandates.
  SEC. 2.  Section 52055.55 of the Education Code is amended to read:

   52055.55.  (a) Thirty-six months after the Superintendent assigns
a management team, trustee, or a school assistance and intervention
team to a schoolsite, if the school makes significant growth on the
Academic Performance Index, as determined by the State Board of
Education, in two consecutive years, the school shall exit the
Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program and is no
longer subject to the requirements of the program.
   (b) Thirty-six months after the Superintendent assigns a
management team, trustee, or a school assistance and intervention
team to a schoolsite, if the management team, trustee, or school
assistance and intervention team fails to assist the school in making
significant growth on the Academic Performance Index, as determined
by the State Board of Education, the Superintendent shall remove the
management team, trustee, or school assistance and intervention team
from providing services at the schoolsite. Additionally, the
Superintendent shall do at least one of the following:
   (1) Require the school district to ensure, using available federal
funds, that 100 percent of the teachers at the schoolsite are highly
qualified, as defined by the state for the purposes of the federal
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.).
   (2) Require the school to contract, using available federal funds,
with an outside entity to provide supplemental instruction to
high-priority pupils and assign a management team, trustee, or school
assistance and intervention team that has demonstrated success with
other state-monitored schools.
   (3) Allow parents of pupils enrolled at the school to apply
directly to the state board to establish a charter school at the
existing schoolsite.
   (4) Close the school.
  SEC. 3.  Section 52055.57 of the Education Code is amended to read:

   52055.57.  (a) (1) Any provisions that are applicable to local
educational agencies under this section are for the purpose of
implementing federal requirements under the federal No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec.  6301 et seq.). The satisfaction
of these criteria by local educational agencies that choose to
participate under this article shall be a condition of receiving
funds pursuant to this section.
   (2) The department shall identify local educational agencies that
are in danger of being identified within two years as program
improvement local educational agencies under the federal No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C.  Sec. 6301 et seq.), and shall
notify those local educational agencies, in writing, of this status
and provide those local educational agencies with research-based
criteria to conduct a voluntary self-assessment.
   (3) The self-assessment shall identify deficiencies within the
operations of the local educational agency, and the programs and
services of the local educational agency.
   (4) A local educational agency identified pursuant to paragraph
(2) is encouraged to revise its local educational agency plan based
on the results of the self-assessment.
   (5) The program described in this subdivision shall be referred to
as the "Early Warning Program."
   (b) (1) A local educational agency identified as a program
improvement local educational agency under the federal No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.) shall do all of the
following:
   (A) Conduct a self-assessment using materials and criteria based
on current research and provided by the department.
   (B) No later than 90 days after a local educational agency becomes
identified for program improvement, contract with a county office of
education or another external entity after working with the county
superintendent of schools, for all of the following purposes:
   (i) Verifying the fundamental teaching and learning needs in the
schools of that local educational agency as determined by the local
educational agency self-analysis, and identifying the specific
academic problems of low-achieving pupils, including a determination
of why the prior plan of the local educational agency failed to bring
about increased pupil academic achievement.
   (ii) Ensuring that the local educational agency receives intensive
support and expertise to implement local educational agency reform
initiatives in the revised local educational agency plan as required
by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301
et seq.).
   (C) Revise and expeditiously implement the local educational
agency plan of the local educational agency to reflect the findings
of the verified self-assessment.
   (D) After working with the county superintendent of schools or an
external verifier, contract with an external provider to provide
support and implement recommendations to assist the local educational
agency in resolving shortcomings identified in the verified
self-assessment.
   (2) (A) Subject to the availability of funds in the annual Budget
Act for this purpose, a local educational agency described in
paragraph (1) may annually receive fifty thousand dollars ($50,000),
and ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each school that is supported
by federal funds pursuant to Title I of the federal No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.) within the local
educational agency for the purpose of fulfilling the requirements of
this subdivision.
   (B) Subject to the availability of funds appropriated in the
annual Budget Act for this purpose, a local educational agency
identified as a program improvement local educational agency during
the 2005-06 fiscal year, shall receive priority for funding based
upon the performance of the socioeconomically disadvantaged subgroup
of the local educational agency on the Academic Performance Index.
Priority for funding shall be provided to the lowest performing local
educational agencies that are identified as program improvement
local educational agencies. It is the intent of the Legislature that
funds apportioned pursuant to this paragraph be used to support
activities identified in paragraph (1).
   (C) It is the intent of the Legislature that a local educational
agency identified as a program improvement local educational agency
receive no more than two years of funding pursuant to this paragraph.

   (c) (1) A local educational agency that has been identified for
corrective action under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
(20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.), shall be subject to one or more of the
following sanctions as recommended by the Superintendent and
approved by the state board:
   (A) Replacing local educational agency personnel who are relevant
to the failure to make adequate yearly progress.
   (B) Removing schools from the jurisdiction of the local
educational agency and establishing alternative arrangements for the
governance and supervision of those schools.
   (C) Appointing, by the state board, a receiver or trustee, to
administer the affairs of the local educational agency in place of
the county superintendent of schools and the governing board.
   (D) Abolishing or restructuring the local educational agency.
   (E) Authorizing pupils to transfer from a school operated by the
local educational agency to a higher performing school operated by
another local educational agency, and providing those pupils with
transportation to those schools, in conjunction with carrying out not
less than one additional action described under this paragraph.
   (F) Instituting and fully implementing a new curriculum that is
based on state academic content and achievement standards, including
providing appropriate professional development based on
scientifically based research for all relevant staff, that offers
substantial promise of improving educational achievement for
high-priority pupils.
   (G) Deferring programmatic funds or reducing administrative funds.

   (2) In addition to the sanctions prescribed by paragraph (1), the
Superintendent may recommend, and the state board may approve, the
requirement that a local educational agency contract with a district
assistance and intervention team to aid a local educational agency.
   (3) Subject to the availability of funds in the annual Budget Act
for this purpose, if the State Board of Education requires a local
educational agency to contract with a district assistance and
intervention team pursuant to paragraph (2), the local educational
agency may annually receive fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), plus
ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for each school that is supported by
federal funds pursuant to Title I of the federal No Child Left Behind
Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.) within the local
educational agency, for no more than two years, for the purpose of
contracting with and implementing the recommendations of the district
assistance and intervention team.
   (4) Not later than January 31, 2006, the Superintendent shall
develop and the State Board of Education shall approve, standards and
criteria to be applied by a district assistance and intervention
team in carrying out their duties. The standards and criteria shall
include all of the following areas:
   (A) Governance.
   (B) Alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessments to state
standards.
   (C) Fiscal operations.
   (D) Parent and community involvement.
   (E) Human resources.
   (F) Data systems and achievement monitoring.
   (G) Professional development.
   (d) A local educational agency that has received a sanction under
subdivision (c) and has not exited program improvement under the
federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et
seq.) shall appear before the state board within three years to
review the progress of the local educational agency. Upon hearing
testimony and reviewing written data from the local educational
agency and the district assistance and intervention team or county
superintendent of schools, the Superintendent shall recommend, and
the state board may approve, an alternative sanction under
subdivision (c), or may take any appropriate action.
   (e) Subject to the availability of funds in the annual Budget Act
for this purpose, a local educational agency that is not identified
as a program improvement local educational agency under the federal
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.) may
annually receive up to fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) per school
identified as a program improvement school for the purposes of
supporting schools identified as program improvement schools in the
local educational agency and determining barriers to improved pupil
academic achievement. That local educational agency shall receive no
less than forty thousand dollars ($40,000) and no more than one
million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) for those
purposes. The Superintendent shall compile a list that ranks each
local educational agency based on the number of, and percentage of,
schools identified as program improvement schools and shall provide
this funding to local educational agencies equally from each list
until all funds appropriated for this purpose are depleted. These
funds shall be provided for no more than three years.
   (f) If there are more local educational agencies that qualify to
receive funds under subdivisions (b), (c), and (e) than the amount
appropriated for these purposes, the Superintendent may redirect
funding for the purposes of subdivision (b).
   (g) For purposes of this article, "local educational agency" means
a school district, county office of education, or charter school
that elects to receive its funding directly pursuant to Section
47651, and that provides public educational services to pupils in
kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
   (h) For purposes of this section, a "stakeholder" is, but is not
necessarily limited to, any of the following:
   (1) A parent of a child attending a school within the jurisdiction
of the local educational agency.
   (2) A community partner of the local educational agency.
   (3) An employee of the local educational agency, as selected by
the bargaining unit.
   (i) A local educational agency shall not receive funds pursuant to
subdivision (b), (c), or (e) if it is initially identified for
program improvement or prevention after July 1, 2009.
  SEC. 4.  Section 52059 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   52059.  (a) For purposes of complying with the federal No Child
Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.), a Statewide
System of School Support shall be established by the department to
provide a statewide system of intensive and sustained support and
technical assistance for school districts, county offices of
education, and schools in need of improvement. The system shall
consist of regional consortia, which may include county offices of
education and school districts, that work collaboratively with school
districts and county offices of education to meet the needs of
school districts and schools in need of improvement.
   (b) The system shall provide assistance to school districts and
schools in need of improvement by:
   (1) Reviewing and analyzing all facets of the operation of a
school, including the following:
   (A) The design and operation of the instructional program offered
by the school.
   (B) The recruitment, hiring, and retention of principals,
teachers, and other staff, including vacancy issues.  The system may
request the assistance of the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance
Team to review school district or school recruitment, hiring, and
retention practices.
   (C) The roles and responsibilities of district and school
management personnel.
   (2) Assisting the school in developing recommendations for
improving pupil performance and school operations.
   (3) Assisting schools and school districts in efforts to eliminate
misassignments of certificated personnel.
   (c) In carrying out this article, the department shall ensure that
support is provided in the following order of priority:
   (1) To school districts or county offices of education with
schools that are subject to corrective action under paragraph (7) of
subsection (b) of Section 6316 of Title 20 of the United States Code.

   (2) To school districts or county offices of education with
schools that are identified as being in need of improvement pursuant
to subsection (b) of Section 6316 of Title 20 of the United States
Code.
   (3) To provide support and assistance to school districts and
county offices of education with schools participating under the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.) that need
support and assistance to achieve the purposes of that act.
   (4) To provide support and assistance to other school districts
and county offices of education with schools participating in a
program carried out under this chapter.
   (d) For purposes of this article, all references to schools shall
include charter schools.
   (e) Funds shall be distributed under this article based on the
number of schools, the pupil enrollment in those schools, and the
number of school districts in each region that have been identified
as being in need of improvement pursuant to Section 6316 of Title 20
of the United States Code, or are participating in the programs
conducted under this chapter.
  SEC. 11.  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 provide funding to local educational agencies for
schools identified as program improvement schools under the federal
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 at the earliest possible time, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.