BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1085 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 1085 (Davis) As Amended April 26, 2011 Majority vote EDUCATION 9-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano, | | | | |Buchanan, Bonilla, | | | | |Carter, Eng, Hagman, | | | | |Halderman, Williams | | | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 FN: 0000323