BILL ANALYSIS SB 331 Page 1 Date of Hearing: June 16, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Julia Brownley, Chair SB 331 (Romero) - As Amended: June 10, 2010 SENATE VOTE : 25-13 SUBJECT : Migrant education SUMMARY : Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) in collaboration with the Statewide Migrant Parent Advisory Council to develop and revise, as necessary, the state services delivery plan and the state master plan for services to migrant children, commencing with the next revision, amendment, or adoption after July 1, 2011, and makes various changes to the Migrant Education Program (MEP). Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires the state service delivery plan to include collection, through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) and the Migrant Student Database, of individual and aggregate data for migrant pupils regarding all of the following: a) Eligible migrant children; b) Preschool participation in migrant education funded programs; c) Enrollment in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive; d) Achievement based on the California Standards Test (CST) and the high school exit exam; e) Enrollment in and completion of courses that satisfy the subject requirements for admission to the California State University and the University of California; f) Suspensions and expulsions; g) Dropout rates; h) Graduation and completion of the high school exit exam; i) Retention in grade level; j) Designation and redesignation of English learners; aa) Completion of career technical education (CTE) courses; and, bb) Distribution of teachers based on highly qualified status and years of experience in education. 2)Specifies that individual and aggregate enrollment data shall SB 331 Page 2 also include separate data concerning the number of migrant pupils enrolled in alternative education programs including, but not limited to, juvenile court schools, county community schools, community day schools, continuation high schools, and independent studies. 3)Requires interpretation services at each state and regional migrant parent advisory council meeting by an individual who has received training in interpreting and who is fully fluent in English and in the language understandable to the parents. 4)Requires a report developed by the State Parent Advisory Council (SPAC) to include an evaluation of the MEP, a review of annual needs, a year-end assessment, policy recommendations, and the most recent data collected as required in this bill. 5)Specifies that if the SPI or the California Department of Education (CDE) does not provide the SPAC with training on the preparation of the specified report, the SPAC may approve, by majority vote, an individual or group to provide technical assistance to draft the report. 6)Stipulates that the technical assistance or training provided by the SPI or an outside source for the purpose of drafting the report shall be objective and free of charge and that it is the sole responsibility of the SPAC to determine the contents of the report. 7)Deletes language stating that priority shall be given to programs and activities for migrant children, and specifying that migrant programs shall not be provided solely for children who have ceased to migrate. 8)Makes several technical changes to provisions governing the MEP. EXISTING LAW : 1)Requires that the SPAC participate in the planning, operation, and evaluation of the state MEP and provides that the membership of the SPAC shall be comprised of individuals who are knowledgeable of the needs of migrant children and are nominated and elected by the parents of migrant children enrolled in the operating agencies. SB 331 Page 3 2)Requires at least two-thirds of the members of the SPAC to be parents of migrant children and requires the SPAC to meet a minimum of six times a calendar year to provide input on issues relating to the operation of the MEP. 3)Provides that each operating agency that receives migrant education funds or services shall establish a parent advisory council to actively solicit parent involvement in the planning, operation, and evaluation of its programs. 4)Requires the SPI to sponsor an annual SPAC conference to be scheduled during the spring and requires the SPAC, within 120 days from the conclusion of the conference, to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature, the State Board of Education (SBE), the SPI, and the Governor regarding the status of the migrant education program. Existing Federal Law : 1)Authorizes the allocation of grants to state educational agencies to establish or improve, directly or through local operating agencies, programs and educational opportunities for migratory children to help them succeed in the regular school program, meet the state academic content standards that all children are expected to meet, and graduate from high school. 2)Requires each state that receives a grant to ensure that the state and its local operating agencies identify and address the special educational needs of migratory children in accordance with a comprehensive statewide plan, as specified. 3)Requires each state that receives funding to give priority for services to migratory children who are failing or most at risk of failing and whose education has been interrupted during the regular school year. Allows for continuation of services for: a) A child who ceases to be a migratory child during a school term is eligible for services until the end of such term; b) A child who is no longer a migratory child may continue to receive services for one additional year, but only if comparable services are not available through other programs; and, SB 331 Page 4 c) Secondary school students who were eligible for services in secondary school may continue to be served through credit accrual programs until graduation. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill would entail significant costs, both one-time and ongoing. There would be costs to the CDE 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. COMMENTS : The MEP is a federally funded program, authorized under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). The MEP is designed to provide supplemental education services to migrant children to help reduce the educational disruption and other challenges that result from repeated moves. According to the CDE, the California MEP is the largest in the nation and one out of every three migrant students in the United States (U.S.) lives in California. According to CDE, there are currently over 200,000 migrant students attending California schools during the regular school year and 97,000 attending summer/intersession classes. This bill requires the development and revision of the state master plan and the state services delivery plan to be conducted in collaboration with the SPAC, provides for the inclusion of specified data in the master plan, requires the provision of translation services at state and regional parent advisory council meetings, and expands the scope of a report that the SPAC is required to draft and submit to specified parties. Revision of the master plan and state delivery plan: Current law requires the SPI to establish a SPAC to participate in the planning, operation, and evaluation of the state MEP. State law requires SPAC membership to be comprised of individuals who are knowledgeable of the needs of migrant children and are nominated and elected by the parents of migrant children enrolled in the operating agencies. This bill requires the SPI, in SB 331 Page 5 collaboration with the SPAC, to develop and revise the state services delivery plan, commencing with the next revision, amendment, or adoption after July 1, 2011, and establishes that the state master plan for services to migrant children shall also be known as the state services delivery plan. Contrary to what this bill suggests, the state master plan and the state services delivery plan are two separate and distinct plans. The state master plan is required by state law and the state services delivery plan is required by federal law. The SPI is currently in the process of revising the state services delivery plan and is expected to complete it in the next few months. In recognition that these are two different and separate plans, staff recommends the bill be amended on page 3, lines 37-38, to strike out "The state master plan also may be known as the state services delivery plan." Federal and state laws identify the SPAC as an advisory body in the planning and operation of programs and projects at the state and local level, but federal law requires the comprehensive state plan to be developed in collaboration with parents of migratory children, and not parent councils. Staff recommends the bill be amended to stay consistent with federal law and require the state plan be developed and revised by the SPI "in collaboration with parents of migratory children." Data collection : Title I, Part C, of the NCLB, program regulations, and policy guidance issued by the Office of Migrant Education (OME) at the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) require state educational agencies to conduct a Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA) of the MEP. Accordingly, in the summer of 2005, the Migrant, Indian, and International Education Office of the CDE in collaboration with WestEd launched the CNA process. The initial Comprehensive Needs Assessment (2007) report identified several shortcomings, including the following: 1)47% of migrant students attending public schools were in Program Improvement (PI) schools. 2)The dropout rate for migrant students is believed to be well over 50%, although reliable data on this measure are unavailable. 3)The CST show that only 12% of migrant students meet state standards in English-language arts compared with 33% for non-migrant students. Only 18% meet mathematics state SB 331 Page 6 standards compared with 32% for non-migrant students. 4)Approximately 23% of migrant students were significantly over-aged in kindergarten. 5)By 11th grade, 22% of migrant high school students had not completed any A-G qualifying English courses. The lack of "hard" data to inform the CNA was noted as one of the most important findings of the entire process, and the management team recommended that a comprehensive study be conducted on the data needs of the MEP and that a plan be devised to identify the specific responsibilities of the CDE, regional offices, and school districts to collect, store, and report data on migrant students and their families. This bill requires the collection of individual and aggregate data regarding migrant children including achievement on the CST and the high school exit exam as well as completion of college preparation and CTE courses. Because most migrant pupils are also English learners, staff recommends the bill to also include achievement data from the English language development test. Furthermore, staff recommends a technical amendment on page 5, line 36, after "examination" add "adopted pursuant to Section 60850." Annual report : Current law requires the SPAC to prepare and submit a report to the Legislature, the SBE, the SPI and the Governor regarding the status of the MEP, but according to CDE, no report has been submitted in 20 years. This bill expands the scope of the report by requiring the report to include an evaluation of the MEP, a review of annual needs, a year-end assessment, policy recommendations, and the most recent data collected as required by this bill. This bill, additionally, authorizes the SPAC to solicit and approve, by majority vote, an individual or group to provide technical assistance and training for purpose of drafting this report. This Committee may wish to consider whether it would be appropriate for this advisory council to solicit training and technical assistance from an individual or group for purposes of drafting this report. This proposal gives an unspecified individual or group undue influence over a report that is supposed to be drafted and prepared by parents of migratory children and is supposed to reflect the views of parents. Furthermore, because this bill requires the report to include policy recommendations, this bill potentially provides a special interest group direct access, SB 331 Page 7 through the SPAC, to the Governor, the Legislature, the SBE and the SPI. Even though this bill requires the training and technical assistance to be provided free of charge, this could conceivably require a contract between the CDE and the selected individual or group that will essentially act as a vendor and provide the services required by this bill. It is unclear as to what the implications and liabilities would come as result of this. Additionally, this bill requires the report to include very comprehensive data on migrant pupils, which the CDE collects, and it may be inappropriate for an outside individual or group to have access to this type of pupil data for purposes of training and/or technical assistance to the SPAC. Current law does not require the SPI to provide such training and technical assistance for the SPAC to complete the aforementioned report. However, migrant parents who are part of the council could potentially benefit from such training and assistance in order to be able to draft the report, thus it seems to be more appropriate and prudent to assign this responsibility to the SPI, particularly since the SPI already provides training to the SPAC in other areas. This bill could include a specific requirement for this training to be included with other training that the SPI provides the SPAC. It is unclear as to why the Legislature would be interested in authorizing an outside group to provide this training instead of requiring the SPI to do so. Staff recommends an amendment to require the SPI to provide training and technical assistance to the SPAC for purposes of drafting the report and to delete the provision allowing the SPAC to solicit and approve an individual or group to provide technical assistance and training. Priority for services : This bill deletes language from existing law which provides that "priority shall be given to programs and activities for migrant children, and in no case shall migrant programs be provided solely for children who have ceased to migrate." The author wishes to reinstate this language in current law. However, this language may create confusion and may possibly be in conflict with federal law relative to continuation of services for children who are no longer migratory. Federal law provides that: 1.A child who ceases to be a migratory child during a school term is eligible for services until the end of such term; 2.A child who is no longer a migratory child may continue to receive services for one additional year, but only if SB 331 Page 8 comparable services are not available through other programs; and, 3.Secondary school students who were eligible for services in secondary school may continue to be served through credit accrual programs until graduation. Rather than reinstating current law which may be in conflict with the federal law, staff recommends an amendment to specify that "Priority for the provision of services shall be consistent with federal law and regulations governing the MEP." This approach allows for some flexibility, considering that the federal statutes may change if and when NCLB is reauthorized. Lastly, this bill requires the provision of translation services at each state and regional council meeting by an individual who has received training in interpreting and who is fully fluent in English and in the language understandable to the parents. LAO Report : In 2006, the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) produced the report, "Improving Services for Migrant Students," in which the LAO found that the existing model for delivering the MEP has led to limited program accountability, poor coordination with other student services, and little statewide collaboration. Among its recommendations, the LAO called for an expansion of the state's migrant education data system to include more data elements and that district and school personnel shall be provided access to the enhanced system. The LAO cited the importance of collecting consistent information on these students and sharing it across the state in order to ease their transitions and to create more coordinated statewide MEP services. The LAO also identified the incorporation of additional data fields regarding migrant students into the California School Information Services (CSIS) system as one option for achieving this goal. The author states, "For more than 30 years, the California Department of Education has worked under the same migrant education plan without any comprehensive needs assessment of the program or evaluation of its effectiveness for migrant students. The Comprehensive Needs Assessment (assessment) was finally conducted in 2007-- after it was mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act, Title I, Part C. The results dramatically reflect that more needs to be done for these children." Arguments in support : The Association of California School SB 331 Page 9 Administrators writes, "It is important that state and local educational agencies improve the data collection and tracking of migrant students and prepare a master plan that can be based on what the data shows are the service delivery needs of this often neglected group of students. The more accurate data we have locally the better we can support migrant students and their families." REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support Association of California School Administrators California Immigrant Policy Center John Castillo Photography Mexican American Opportunity Foundation Superintendent of Public Instruction (If amended) Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avi?a / ED. / (916) 319-2087