BILL NUMBER: AB 451 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member De Leon
FEBRUARY 24, 2009
An act to repeal and add Article 6 (commencing with Section 41540)
of Chapter 3.2 of Part 24 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education
Code, relating to education finance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 451, as introduced, De Leon. Education finance: The Opportunity
to Learn Block Grant.
Existing law establishes the public school system in this state,
and, among other things, provides for the establishment of school
districts throughout the state and for the provision of instruction
at the public elementary and secondary schools that these districts
operate and maintain. Existing law establishes a public school
funding system that includes, among other elements, various block
grants, pursuant to which funds are allocated to local educational
agencies for specific purposes. The Targeted Instructional
Improvement Block Grant is among the block grants established under
existing law.
This bill would repeal the provisions that establish the Targeted
Instructional Improvement Block Grant. This bill would create the
Opportunity to Learn Block Grant, under the administration of the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, to provide English language
learners, disadvantaged pupils, and certain adults with instructional
programs, as specified. The bill would prescribe the purposes for
which the Opportunity to Learn Block Grant could be used.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 6 (commencing with Section 41540) of Chapter
3.2 of Part 24 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education Code is
repealed.
SEC. 2. Article 6 (commencing with Section 41540) is added to
Chapter 3.2 of Part 24 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Education
Code, to read:
Article 6. The Opportunity to Learn Block Grant
41540. (a) There is hereby established the Opportunity to Learn
Block Grant under the administration of the Superintendent. It is the
intent of the Legislature that school districts use these block
grant funds to provide English language learner pupils and
economically disadvantaged pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12,
inclusive, and adults, where applicable, with high-quality
instructional programs and services in order to increase pupil
achievement, including achieving proficiency in the English language.
(b) If a school district is not in violation of a court order
regarding desegregation, the school district may expend funds
received pursuant to the article for any purpose authorized in this
article.
(c) For purposes of this article:
(1) "Economically disadvantaged pupil" is defined pursuant to
subdivision (a) of Section 54026.
(2) "English language learner pupil" means a pupil described in
subdivision (a) of Section 306 or identified as a pupil of limited
English proficiency, as that term is defined in subdivision (m) of
Section 52163.
(3) "School district" includes a county office of education if
county offices of education are eligible to receive funds for the
programs that are listed in Section 41541. The block grant of a
county office of education shall be based on only those programs for
which it was eligible to receive funds in the 2008-09 fiscal year.
41541. The Opportunity to Learn Block Grant shall be used for any
of the following purposes:
(a) To establish and support programs that provide direct pupil
services to English language learner pupils and economically
disadvantaged pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive,
in order to improve the academic achievement of these pupils,
including achieving proficiency in English.
(b) To provide professional development to teachers of English
language learner pupils and economically disadvantaged pupils that is
based on the state academic content standards pursuant to Section
60605 and the English language development standards pursuant to
Section 60811.
(c) Establish and support programs that provide direct
instructional support in order for English language learner pupils
and economically disadvantaged pupils to meet high school graduation
requirements pursuant to Section 51225.3 and to meet the California
High School Exit examination graduation requirement pursuant to
Section 60851.
(d) Provide free or subsidized programs of adult English language
instruction to parents or other members of the community who pledge
to provide personal English language tutoring to improve the English
language proficiency of California children with limited English
proficiency.
41542. (a) The Opportunity to Learn Block Grant shall include
funding appropriated to school districts prior to January 1, 2010,
for the following programs:
(1) Targeted Instructional Improvement Block Grant, as set forth
in former Article 6 (commencing with Section 41540) as it read on
December 31, 2009.
(2) English Language Acquisition Program, as set forth in Chapter
4 (commencing with Section 400) of Part 1 of Division 1 of Title 1.
(3) Community-based English Tutoring, as set forth in Article 4
(commencing with Section 315) of Chapter 3 of Part 1 Division 1 of
Title 1.
(4) Bilingual Teacher Training Assistance Program, as set forth in
Article 4 (commencing with Section 52180) of Chapter 7 of Part 28 of
Division 4.
(5) Professional development to address the needs of teachers of
English learners pursuant to Chapter 524 of the Statutes of 2006 as
allocated in Provision (3) of Item 6110-137-0001 of Section 2.00 of
the annual Budget Act.
(6) Economic impact aid, as set forth in Article 2 (commencing
with Section 54020) of Chapter 1 of Part 29 of Division 4.
(b) A school district may expend funds received pursuant to this
block grant for any purpose authorized by the programs listed in
subdivision (a), as the statutes governing those programs read on
December 31, 2009.
(c) For the 2010-11 fiscal year, the Superintendent shall
apportion block grant funds to a school districts in the same
relative statewide proportion that the school district received in
the 2008-09 fiscal year for the purposes specified in Section 41541.
(d) (1) Commencing with the 2010-11 fiscal year, the
Superintendent shall apportion block grant funds to a school district
for purposes specified in subdivision (a) pursuant to Section 54022.
(2) School districts that provide instructional services to adults
pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) shall use no more than
___ percent of their total allocation for this purpose.
41543. The amount of funding a school district or charter school
receives pursuant to this article shall be adjusted annually for
inflation by the amount calculated pursuant to Section 42238.1 and
growth as measured by the regular average daily attendance used to
calculate the second principal apportionment for kindergarten and
grades 1 to 12, inclusive, unless otherwise provided in the annual
Budget Act.
41544. In expending funds received pursuant to this article, a
school district shall give first priority to funding the costs of a
court-ordered desegregation program if the order exists and is still
in force.