BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 339|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 339
Author: Torres (D)
Amended: 4/29/09 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 6/17/09
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Maldonado,
Simitian, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Padilla
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 73-0, 5/14/09 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Education finance
SOURCE : L.A. County Office of Education
DIGEST : This bill clarifies that county offices of
education are eligible for federal funding pursuant to
state and federal law.
ANALYSIS : County offices of education (COEs) provide a
variety of educational programs and services, including
direct services to at-risk pupils (i.e., juvenile court
schools, community day schools). COEs also provide
services to school districts in the areas of business,
administrative, and curriculum and they are directly
responsible for the financial oversight of districts.
CONTINUED
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There are 58 COEs. The services provided are affected by
the size and type of districts within the county, the
geographical location and size of the county, and the
special needs of students that are not met by the
districts.
According to the Los Angeles County Office of Education,
the sponsor of this bill, "Over the past several years,
COEs have been excluded from funding opportunities which
greatly impact the students they serve. For example, most
recently county offices of education were excluded from the
Middle and High School Supplement Counseling Program which
provided for additional counselors. Students served by
county offices are at risk students and are the very
students the program was intended to serve, yet they have
been excluded."
This bill clarifies that COEs are eligible for federal
funding, as specified.
Existing law provides that whenever federal aid to
education is provided to the state, and the disposition of
the funds is not otherwise specified by federal or state
law, then the distribution of those funds to local
educational agencies shall be determined by the State Board
of Education, consistent with the requirements of federal
law. Existing law provides for county boards of education
and county superintendents of schools to direct county
offices of education. County offices of education operate
a variety of alternative schools such as county community
schools, juvenile court schools, as well as Regional
Occupational Programs and Centers and Special Education
Local Plan Areas. County offices also assist school
districts in a variety of ways, providing instructional and
financial support services and exercising oversight over
the fiscal condition of districts, among other functions.
County offices have historically received federal funds
provided for services related to their areas of
responsibility, such as special education and neglected and
delinquent youth. On the other hand, counties have often
not been eligible for federal funds under programs such as
the Title I basic grants because those programs are
distributed to schools on the basis of the characteristics
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of pupils in an attendance area, and county schools serve
pupils that are referred to them, but do not serve pupils
on the basis of their residence in an attendance area.
Comments
The supporters of this bill believe that it will "ensure
that county offices are not inadvertently left out when
federal funds are allocated" and it may well achieve that
objective. As noted in the background, however, some of
the largest federal programs like Title I direct only
specialized subpart funding to count offices and their
omission from the main formula is a matte of federal law
and not "inadvertent."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/26/09)
Los Angeles County Office of Education (source)
Advancement Project
Alameda County Office of Education
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
California Association of School Business Officials
California County Superintendents Educational Services
Association
California Federation of Teachers
California Teachers Association
Contra Costa County Office of Education
Contra Costa County Superintendent of Schools and 18 School
District Superintendents
Humboldt County Office of Education
Inyo County Office of Education
Lake County Office of Education
Monterey County Office of Education
Orange County Department of Education
Riverside County Office of Education
San Diego County Office of Education
Santa Clara County Office of Education
Sonoma County Office of Education
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ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuller, Furutani, Galgiani, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Fuentes, Gaines, Garrick,
Saldana, Smyth, Bass
DLW:do 6/29/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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