BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Alan Lowenthal, Chair 2011-12 Regular Session BILL NO: SB 298 AUTHOR: De Leon AMENDED: March 17, 2011 FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 13, 2011 URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill SUBJECT : Los Angeles County: Charter schools. SUMMARY This bill extends the authorization for the Los Angeles County Board of Education to charter the Soledad Enrichment Action Charter School (SEA), from June 30, 2013 to June 30, 2028. BACKGROUND The Soledad school started in 1972 as a non-charter "Alternative Education Program-Independent Study Program" under the Los Angeles Unified School District. When the program expanded to locations outside city boundaries, it transitioned to become an "Alternative Education-Community School Program" under the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE). In 1997, teachers working under the county sponsored "Community School Program" elected to become a charter school. However, because at that time county offices of education were only authorized to approve charter schools through an appeal process, a new law was needed to address this situation. SB 1318 (Polanco), Chapter 58, Statutes of 1997, authorized a charter school to be chartered by the Los Angeles County Board of Education and allowed the charter school to receive the higher per-pupil funding of county community schools. Subsequently, SB 1416 (Polanco, Chapter 467, Statutes of 2002), extended this unique statutory authorization until July 1, 2008, and required the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) to evaluate the SEA charter school and report their findings in the 2007 Budget Analysis. The LAO found that it was difficult to evaluate the school because the Alternative SB 298 Page 2 Schools Accountability Model (ASAM) fails to define performance expectations in a way that permits comparison among schools. Although the LAO staff was unable to fulfill the specific evaluation requirements for the SEA charter school, they did come to some conclusions based on their site visit. The LAO found the school's education program to be at least comparable to other similar schools and, in some areas, the school offers attractive features that many other alternative schools do not. ANALYSIS This bill : 1) Authorizes a charter school, operating under a charter approved before June 1, 1997 by the Los Angeles County Board of Education to serve at-risk pupils, to operate until June 30, 2028. 2) Provides that authority of the charter school to operate after June 30, 2013, shall be subject to the approval of the Los Angeles County Board of Education. 3) Maintains the current authorization for the SEA charter school to be funded at the same rates for the same categories of pupils as community schools and community day schools in the same county. 4) Authorizes the SEA charter school to operate one or more community day schools, and be funded for not more than 2,000 units of average daily attendance in any fiscal year, to the extent that funding is appropriated for the purpose. 5) Requires the Los Angeles County Board of Education to annually measure the performance of the SEA charter school and annually report the measurement to the California Department of Education, the Department of Finance, the Assembly Education and Appropriation Committees, and the Senate Education and Appropriation Committees. 6) Requires the charter school to submit a plan for improvement to the Los Angeles County Board of Education SB 298 Page 3 if it fails to meet the performance criteria established by that board. 7) States that the Legislature finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable because of the unique circumstances resulting from the intensely urbanized nature of the County of Los Angeles. STAFF COMMENTS 1) Need for the bill : The SEA Charter School is similar to a community day school and has served pupils in need of assistance in Los Angeles County since 1977. The SEA served 1,579 students in 2008-09, the most recent year for which data are available, at 19 sites that are located across the Los Angeles basin. Most of these sites are located in neighborhoods served by the Los Angeles Unified School District, but the SEA also has school sites located in Compton, Montebello, and Long Beach. In total, SEA serves students from about 30 school districts in the county. Community day schools are typically operated by a county office of education or a school district and serve mandatory and other expelled students, students referred by a school attendance review board, and other high-risk youths. The 360-minute minimum instructional day includes academic programs that provide curriculum and individual attention to student learning modalities and abilities. Community day schools generally have lower student-teacher ratios and students benefit from support services that include school counselors and psychologists, academic and vocational counselors, and pupil discipline personnel. Students also receive services from county offices of education, law enforcement, probation, and human services agency personnel who work with at-risk youth. These programs receive supplemental apportionment funding in addition to the base revenue limit because of the high-needs population they serve. Compared to community day schools operated by most school districts, SEA is large; the school's enrollment accounted for 5.3% of the state's total enrollment in community day and county community schools in 2008-09. Extending the sunset date will allow these sites to SB 298 Page 4 continue to serve the high-risk youths who would not have anywhere else to go to school. 2) Why is a sunset date necessary ? In addition to the authority to approve charter school petitions that are denied by a school district, county boards of education may also approve charter schools that will serve pupils for whom the county office of education would otherwise be responsible for providing direct education and related services. While the Los Angeles County Board of Education could renew the SEA charter without benefit of special legislation, legislation is necessary to continue the authority for the SEA to be funded at the same rates for the same categories of pupils as community schools and community day schools in Los Angeles County. Since this unique school requires special provisions because it is both a charter and community day school, it is appropriate for it to be subject to additional public scrutiny through the legislative process. Given that current law provides for charter school renewals to for a period not to exceed five years, does it make sense to extend the authority beyond 2018? Staff recommends the bill be amended to specify a sunset date of June 30, 2018. 3) Prior legislation . AB 177 (Bass, Chapter 525, 2007) extended the statutory authorization for SEA from June 30, 2008 to June 30, 2013. This measure was passed by this Committee on a 7-0 vote. SB 1416 (Polanco, Chapter 467, 2002) extended the statutory authorization for SEA from June 30, 2003 until June 30, 2008. This measure was passed by this Committee on a 12-0 vote. AB 696 (Washington, Chapter 19, 2000) extended the statutory authorization for SEA from through June 30, 2003. This measure was passed by this Committee on a 12-0 vote. SB 1318 (Polanco, Chapter 58, 1997) authorized the SEA to operate under a charter approved by the Los Angeles County Board of Education until June 30, 1999. This SB 298 Page 5 measure was passed by the Senate Education Committee on a 9-0 vote. SUPPORT Atlantic Recovery Services California Charter Schools Association City of South Gate Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education Soledad Enrichment Action Charter School OPPOSITION None received.