BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                          AB 180 (Carter)
          
          Hearing Date: 08/25/2011        Amended: 06/14/2011
          Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 10-0
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____
          BILL SUMMARY: AB 180 requires the Superintendent of Public 
          Instruction (SPI) and State Board of Education (SBE) to allow a 
          dropout recovery high school to use, as part of the alternative 
          accountability system, an individual pupil growth model that is 
          proposed by the school and certified by the SPI.
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions           2011-12      2012-13       2013-14       Fund
                                                                      
          CDE review, certification     Likely minor start up, and ongoing 
          costs    General    
          _________________________________________________________________
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
          
          This bill requires the SPI and the SBE to allow a dropout 
          recovery high school, as defined in the bill, to report, in lieu 
          of other indicators, the results of an individual pupil growth 
          model that is proposed by the school and certified by the SPI. 
          These provisions would, in effect, require the Department of 
          Education (CDE) to review any proposal from a dropout recovery 
          high school to use an individual pupil growth model, evaluate 
          the model, and certify (or deny) its use as an alternative 
          accountability measure. 

          Pursuant to authorization provided through the Public Schools 
          Accountability Act (SB 1x of the Statutes of 1999, Alpert), the 
          SBE developed the Alternative Schools Accountability Model 
          (ASAM) for schools under the jurisdiction of a county board of 
          education or a county superintendent of schools, community day 
          schools, and alternative schools, including continuation high 
          schools and opportunity schools.  The ASAM uses 15 indicators of 
          accountability, and schools that choose to participate in the 
          ASAM select three indicators that are then approved by the 








          AB 180 (Carter)
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          district superintendent and governing board. In 2008, the SBE 
          approved a conceptual framework for redesigning the existing 
          ASAM to make it more rigorous. However, funding for redesigning 
          the ASAM was vetoed, and the related work ceased. Eligible 
          schools still have the opportunity to participate in the 
          existing ASAM. 

          The SPI and the SBE are currently tasked with making 
          recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor, on 
          establishing a methodology for generating a measurement of group 
          and individual academic performance growth by using the 
          California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). 
          Those recommendations are due by July 1, 2013, after this bill 
          would take effect. This bill specifically sets up a system 
          outside the ASAM for evaluating certain dropout recovery high 
          schools.

          AB 180 would define dropout recovery high schools as high 
          schools in which 50 percent or more of its pupils are designated 
          as dropouts pursuant to existing law and the school provides 
          instruction in partnership with the federal Workforce Investment 
          Act (WIA), the federally affiliated Youthbuild programs, the 
          federal job corps training or instruction provided pursuant to a 
          memorandum of understanding with the federal provider, or the 
          California Conservation Corps (CCC) or local conservation corps 
          certified by the CCC.  

          The cost of this bill will depend upon the number of schools 
          that propose individual pupil growth models they have developed, 
          which must be reviewed by the CDE. While it is likely that only 
          a few existing dropout recovery schools meet the criteria 
          outlines in this bill, an exact number is not known, and the 
          bill would apply to future dropout recovery schools that could 
          meet the criteria. If the CDE is required to review individual 
          growth models proposed by only a few schools, the ongoing fiscal 
          effect could be a relatively minor increase in workload. 
          However, the CDE would also likely have to provide technical 
          assistance to dropout recovery high schools that are developing, 
          or considering the development of individual growth models. 

          Regardless of the number, however, there will be upfront costs 
          to establish review criteria, and a process for certification by 
          the SPI. This bill would specifically require the SPI and the 
          SBE to certify the individual growth model, if the SPI 








          AB 180 (Carter)
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          determines that the growth model proposed by the school meets 
          the following criteria:

                 Measures learning based on valid and reliable nationally 
               normed or criterion-referenced reading and mathematics 
               tests.
                 Measures skills and knowledge aligned with state 
               standards.
                 Measures the extent to which a pupil scored above an 
               expected amount of growth based on the individual pupil's 
               initial achievement score.
                 Demonstrates the extent to which a school is able to 
               accelerate learning on an annual basis.

          The CDE and SBE would have to establish a process and policies 
          for evaluating whether a proposed model meets the criteria, and 
          for certifying the individual growth models. Those models would 
          be used in lieu of other alternative accountability tools on an 
          ongoing basis for each dropout recovery high school that has 
          been certified to use its own model. It is also likely that the 
          SPI would have to conduct periodic reviews of any certified 
          individual growth models, especially to the extent that they 
          interact with any future revision of the ASAM. 

          PROPOSED AMENDMENTS would limit the number of schools eligible 
          to participate in individual pupil growth models (approved by 
          the SPI) to 10 schools. The amendments would sunset the 
          authority on January 1, 2017.