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 



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          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 



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               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 



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               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 



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               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.