BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1085
                                                                  Page  1


          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 1085 (Davis)
          As Amended  April 26, 2011
          Majority vote 

           EDUCATION           9-0                                         
           
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          |Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano,        |     |                          |
          |     |Buchanan, Bonilla,        |     |                          |
          |     |Carter, Eng, Hagman,      |     |                          |
          |     |Halderman, Williams       |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
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           SUMMARY  :  Authorizes county boards of education, with countywide 
          average daily attendance (ADA) greater than 180,000, to 
          determine whether a pupil who has filed an interdistrict appeal 
          should be permitted to attend in the district in which the pupil 
          desires to attend, within 40 schooldays; and, specifies that it 
          is the intent of the Legislature that school districts and 
          county boards of education make best efforts to process 
          interdistrict attendance appeals in an expeditious fashion.  

           EXISTING LAW  authorizes the governing boards of two or more 
          school districts to enter into an agreement for the 
          interdistrict attendance of pupils who are residents of the 
          districts; specifies if either district fails to approve the 
          interdistrict attendance of a pupil, or in the case of the 
          failure or refusal of the districts to enter into an agreement, 
          the person having legal custody of the pupil may appeal to the 
          county board of education; and, requires the county board of 
          education to determine, within 30 calendar days, whether the 
          pupil should be permitted to attend in the district in which the 
          pupil desires.  (Education Code Section 46601)
           
          FISCAL EFFECT :  This bill is keyed non-fiscal.

           COMMENTS  :  This bill extends the existing timeline that county 
          boards of education, in class one or class two counties 
          (counties with more than 180,000 countywide ADA), must follow in 
          making interdistrict transfer appeal rulings, from 30 calendar 
          days to 40 schooldays.









                                                                  AB 1085
                                                                  Page  2


          According to the author, the Los Angeles County Office of 
          Education (LACOE) has been experiencing a heavy volume of 
          interdistrict appeals in 2010-11.  As of March 1, 2011, a total 
          of 501 appeals have been filed in 2010-11.  Previously, the 
          largest number the Los Angeles County Board of Education (board) 
          ever heard was 92 cases in a year.  Often cases are resolved at 
          the staff level before the board formally hears the issue, and 
          the chart below illustrates the percentage of cases resolved in 
          this manner.  The author's intent is to extend the existing 
          timeline from 30 calendar days to 40 schooldays for large county 
          offices of education, to accommodate this increase in 
          interdistrict appeals.  

           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Numbers of interdistrict appeal cases LACOE has processed in the |
          |past five years:                                                 |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------|
          |          |2006-2007 |2007-2008 |2008-2009 |2009-2010 |2010-2011 |
          |----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------|
          |Processed |   147    |   198    |   199    |   481    |   546    |
          |----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------|
          |Heard by  |    19    |    36    |    22    |   112    |   272    |
          |Board     |          |          |          |          |          |
          |----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------|
          |%         |   87%    |   82%    |   89%    |   77%    |50%       |
          |Resolved  |          |          |          |          |          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          (Source: Los Angeles County Office of Education)

          The following counties are considered class one or class two 
          counties and would qualify for the timeline extension:  Alameda, 
          Fresno, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, 
          San Bernardino, San Diego, San Joaquin, and Santa Clara.  It is 
          unclear whether any of these counties have experienced the same 
          type of increase in appeals that LACOE has experienced.

          Arguments in Support:  According to the Los Angeles County 
          Office of Education, the sponsor of the bill, AB 1085 would 
          amend the existing 30 calendar day timeline to 40 school days 
          for the state's largest counties to make a decision on an 
          interdistrict appeal.  The bill would also provide additional 
          time by excluding weekends and holidays from the existing 
          timeline.  Due to an increase in the number of interdistrict 








                                                                  AB 1085
                                                                  Page  3


          appeals heard by the Los Angeles County Board of Education, it 
          is becoming an increasing challenge to meet the existing 
          statutory timelines.
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087 


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