BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                           331 (Romero)
          
          Hearing Date:  05/28/2009           Amended: 04/29/2009
          Consultant:  Dan Troy           Policy Vote: ED 8-1
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
          BILL SUMMARY:   SB 331 would make several modifications to the  
          Migrant Education Program (MEP).  Specifically, the bill would  
          require: 

                 The development and revision, as necessary, of the State  
               Master Plan for services to migrant students.
                 The master plan to include an evaluation and oversight  
               component to monitor operating agencies.
                 The collection and reporting of individual and aggregate  
               data for migrant students.
                 The Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to  
               develop a monitoring instrument operating agencies comply  
               with state and federal laws.
                 The SPI to ensure that local operating agencies provide  
               MEP services to migrant students in juvenile halls or other  
               alternative education settings.
                 Refunding applications for MEP providers to demonstrate  
               effectiveness.
                 The provision of documents in a language understandable  
               to the parent or guardian, when requested and practicable. 
                 The provision of interpretation services at parent  
               advisory council meetings.

          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2009-10      2010-11       2011-12     Fund
                                                                  
          MEP administration                    $295         $65 $65    
          Federal
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.  AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED. 
          
          The Migrant Education Program (MEP) was established by the  










          federal government in 1966 to address the educational needs of  
          mobile school-aged children whose family members doing seasonal  
          work, typically related to agriculture.  The MEP is funded  
          entirely through federal funds and is intended to supplement the  
          core instructional services received during the regular school  
          day. The federal government allows broad flexibility for MEP  
          implementation.  In California, services are provided through a  
          system of 23 regional centers operated either by county offices  
          of education or school districts.

          For the 2008-09 fiscal year, the state received $129 million for  
          the program, of which approximately 65 percent is used to  
          augment instructional services for migrant pupils during the  
          regular school day, including the hiring of additional teachers,  
          tutors, aides, 


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          SB 331 (Romero)

          and instructional materials.  Remaining funds support  
          administrative costs, summer school/intersession programs, data  
          collection, health services, parental participation, and  
          professional development.  

          A 2006 report produced by the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO)  
          entitled "Improving Services for Migrant Students" identified  
          several concerns with the state's MEP operations.  Specifically,  
          the LAO report indicated that current services lack  
          accountability, partly because the federal and state  
          accountability systems are focused on district and school  
          performance while the MEP is primarily county-based, and also  
          because there is inadequate collection and accessibility of data  
          on migrant students.  Further, the LAO report noted a mismatch  
          between the state funding formula and the program priorities  
          reflected in state and federal law. The LAO recommended revising  
          the funding formula to a district-based model and also  
          recommended the development of a state-level data system that  
          would build on existing state systems. The latter system would  
          help ensure better program accountability.  

          Further, a 2007 Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) required by  
          federal law cited a lack of hard data as a concern and  
          recommended the state work to address the issue.  

          This bill would address some of the concerns raised in the CNA  










          and the LAO report, particularly in its requirements to augment  
          data collection and enhance the program's assessment component.   
          The bill would make various other changes intended to authorize  
          updates to the program and to increase the participation of  
          parents. 

          The bill would entail significant costs, both one-time and  
          ongoing.  There would be costs to Department of Education for  
          revising the master plan, expanded program monitoring,  
          augmenting data systems, translations, technical assistance and  
          evaluations.  There would also be significant local assistance  
          costs for local evaluations and interpretations.  Further, while  
          the bill requires the provision of services of migrant youth in  
          alternative education programs, it should be noted that the  
          program is not currently funded at a rate that allows services  
          to be provided to every eligible child.  It is estimated that  
          350,000 children are eligible but services are provided to only  
          210,000. 

          Author's amendments would expand state-level data collection,  
          provide master plan revisions to occur in cycle, and eliminate  
          the following from the 04/29/2009 version:
                 Expansion of program monitoring
                 Expansion of juvenile court school/alternative education  
               monitoring
                 Local evaluations
                 Expansion of document translation
                 Requirement for interpreter services at local level