BILL ANALYSIS AB 122 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 122 (Coto) As Amended June 1, 2009 Majority vote EDUCATION 8-1 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5 ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano, |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles | | |Arambula, | |Calderon, Davis, Fuentes, | | |Buchanan, Carter, Eng, | |Hall, John A. Perez, | | |Solorio, | |Price, Skinner, Solorio, | | |Torlakson | |Torlakson, Krekorian | | | | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+---------------------------| |Nays:|Miller |Nays:|Nielsen, Duvall, Harkey, | | | | |Miller, | | | | |Audra Strickland | ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY : Authorizes school districts to establish small schools. Specifically, this bill : 1)Makes declarations and findings regarding the impact of smaller school size, including lower dropout and truancy rates; increased parent involvement; a greater sense of belonging; fewer discipline problems; fewer crime, violence and gang participation; decrease in incidences of alcohol and tobacco abuse; and increase in pupil attendance. 2)Authorizes a school district to establish a small school subject to all the following conditions: a) Pupil enrollment in a kindergarten and grades 1 through 5 school shall not be fewer than 80 pupils and more than 250 pupils; in kindergarten and grades 1 through 8 school, no fewer than 80 pupils and not more than 450 pupils; and in grades 6 through 12, no fewer than 80 pupils and not more than 400 pupils. b) The school shall be staffed by school district employees who volunteer to be assigned to the school. c) The facilities that house the pupils enrolled in the AB 122 Page 2 school shall be located in proximity to one another. d) Enrollment in the school shall be open to all pupils who have at least one parent or guardian who is a resident in the attendance area of the school district. e) Admission to the school shall not be determined by pupil achievement. The school shall have a heterogenous pupil population in terms of pupil achievement that reflects the diversity of the pupils in that school district. The small school shall develop an objective, transparent process to ensure the school has a heterogeneous pupil population. f) The school shall have an advisory body consisting of school staff, parents, guardians, and pupils. Members of those groups shall be elected to the advisory body by their peers. g) A school district that establishes a small school shall allocate funds to the small school in a manner that results in the small school receiving the amount of funds that each pupil would generate at the pupil's prior school or the school that the pupil would otherwise attend. The advisory body, in consultation with schoolsite staff of the small school, shall work with the school district to determine how funds allocated to the small school are spent. h) A school district that establishes one or more small schools pursuant to this bill shall develop, with collaboration from representatives of community groups, bargaining units representing the employees of the school district, and parents of pupils of the school, a school plan for each small school that includes all of the following: i) Goals for pupil achievement. ii) Teaching and learning philosophy. iii) Curricular focus of the school. iv) Goals for school culture and practices. v) Leadership goals. vi) Tentative budget. vii) Decision-making process, including the role of the governing board of the small school. viii)An evaluation plan based on multiple measures. The AB 122 Page 3 school's own evaluation that includes the results of assessments required by the state shall be submitted to the California Department of Education and the Assembly and Senate Education Committees at the beginning of the second year of the school's operation. i) A school district that establishes a small school pursuant to this bill shall develop a process for interested stakeholders to submit proposals for the establishment of a small school. The proposal shall include all of the factors in h) above. j) A school district that establishes one or more small schools pursuant to this bill shall adopt regulations that include the small school or schools as part of an academic reform strategy focused on the positive outcomes small schools are intended to produce. The positive outcomes resulting from the adopted academic reform strategy shall include, but are not limited to, any of the following: i) A clearly defined mission and goals. ii) High standards and expectations for pupils and staff. iii) Personalization. iv) Individual respect. v) Universal involvement in decisionmaking. vi) Integrated learning. vii) Multiple measures of pupil achievement. viii)Antiracist and relevant curriculum. ix) Differentiated instruction. x) Project-oriented learning. xi) Heterogeneous pupil grouping. xii) Pupil-centered classrooms. xiii)Connectedness with stakeholders. xiv)Diversity. xv) A safe environment. xvi)A high-quality learning environment. xvii)Alignment of resources with goals. xviii)Maximizing community resources and partnerships. xix) Lifelong professional development. xx) A plan for continuous improvement, including data analysis. AB 122 Page 4 aa) A small school may be located within an existing elementary, middle, or comprehensive high school and may be newly constructed, located on a single site, or located with other small schools or learning communities. 1)Repeals the provisions of this bill on January 1, 2017, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that date. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there is no state fiscal effect. COMMENTS : Much research has been conducted on the impact of school size on pupil achievement and retention, graduation rates, parental involvement in the schools, and school safety. The School Redesign Network at Stanford University conducted a study of five urban, public high schools that serve primarily students of color at higher rates than the state average and send most of their students to college. The report concluded that the smaller learning communities of the schools provided more personalization and instructional supports needed to create more successful learning. While research shows that smaller is better, there is no conclusion and agreement on the optimal size of a school. Research highlights small school sizes ranging from 150 to 1000. One report by the KnowledgeWorks Foundation titled "Dollars and Sense: The Cost Effectiveness of Small Schools" concludes that one size does not fit all, and that determining the upper limit for enrollment per grade level may be more beneficial than defining the size for a small school. For example, a kindergarten through grade 6 school with 500 pupils is not equivalent to a kindergarten through grade 8 school with the same number of pupils. The report recommends specifying an enrollment cap per grade level as follows: High schools (9-12): 75 students per grade level (300 total enrollment) Middle schools (5-8): 50 students per grade level (200 total enrollment) Elementary schools (1-8): 25 students per grade level (200 total enrollment) Elementary schools (1-6): 25 students per grade level (150 AB 122 Page 5 total enrollment) In an evaluation of 489 schools of varying sizes, the report showed that the cost of constructing smaller schools was 20% higher. Some studies also suggest that there are other approaches to downsizing, including small learning communities within a large campus and "academies" within high schools that operate around themes. In 2004, AB 1465 (Chan), Chapter 894, Statutes of 2004, established the Small High School Pilot program and set aside $25 million ($20 million for new construction and $5 million for modernization) from state education bond funds for this purpose. Proposition 1D, the Kindergarten-University Public Education Facilities Bond Act of 2006, authorizes up to $200 million from new construction and modernization funds to be used for Small High Schools. The pilot provided a small high school, defined as a school with an enrollment of less than 500 pupils, with an increased grant amount equivalent to 120% of the base grant. The pilot was authorized for two years, between January 1, 2006 and January 1, 2008. According to the Office of Public School Construction, only one project by Porterville Unified School District, housing 499 pupils in 19 classrooms, received funding from New Construction. No modernization funds were apportioned. The sunset for the Small High School Pilot program was January 1, 2008, and the statute was not extended. Some districts have argued that the current funding structure encourages the construction of larger schools. State education bond funds are awarded by per pupil grants. Because the existing grant levels are inadequate, the only way to increase the funds available to build a school is to increase the number of per pupil grants for the school, which result in the construction of larger schools. This bill is similar to AB 1841 (Coto), which was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense file in 2008. Last year's bill attempted to revive the funding stream for the Small High School Pilot program. The focus of AB 122 is on the structure and programmatic aspects of small schools and simply AB 122 Page 6 encourages school districts. The bill requires the district to establish a process whereby interested stakeholders can submit proposals to establish a small school pursuant to this bill. If the district chooses to establish the small school, the district shall provide the funds each pupil would normally generate to the school. The school shall have an advisory body consisting of school staff, parents, guardians, and pupils, who shall be elected by their peers. The advisory body will work with the schoolsite staff and the school district to determine how funds will be spent. The bill specifies that enrollment shall be open to all pupils with at least one parent or guardian residing in the district's attendance area, but specifies that the school must have a heterogeneous pupil population in terms of pupil achievement that reflects the diversity of the pupils in that school district. It is unclear how a district will be able to achieve this requirement. Districts can and have already established small schools. The bill cites successful efforts in Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose. Some are theme-based schools while others are "schools within a school". The challenge in establishing small schools is funding for facilities and programs, including staffing. This bill does not address funding barriers. The author states, "The purpose of AB 122 is to close the achievement gap and to assist many more California students experiencing achievement and success in our schools. AB 122 points out and defines the potential of small schools to meet this aim." Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0001332