BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 298 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 298 (De León) As Amended April 26, 2011 Majority vote SENATE VOTE :39-0 EDUCATION 10-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Brownley, Norby, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, | | |Buchanan, Butler, Carter, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, | | |Eng, | |Charles Calderon, Campos, | | |Beth Gaines, Wagner, | |Davis, Donnelly, Fuentes, | | |Williams | |Hall, Hill, Cedillo, | | | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, | | | | |Solorio, Wagner | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Extends the authorization for the Los Angeles County Board of Education to charter the Soledad Enrichment Action Charter School (SEA), until June 30, 2018. Specifically, this bill : 1)Authorizes a charter school operating under a charter approved before June 1, 1997, by the county board of education of a county of the first class to serve at-risk pupils, to operate until June 30, 2018. 2)Specifies that the continuation of the authority of a charter school to operate after June 30, 2018, shall be subject to the approval of that county board of education. 3)Specifies, notwithstanding any other provisions of the Education Code, for the 2012-13 to 2017-18 fiscal years, inclusive, the attendance of pupils in a charter school to which this section applies shall be funded at the same rates for the same categories of pupils as community schools and community day schools in the same county. 4)Makes legislative findings and declarations 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. SB 298 Page 2 FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, General Fund (Proposition 98) cost pressure of approximately $18 million to allow the SEA charter school to continue operating. Existing law prohibits SEA from receiving average daily attendance (ADA) funding for more than 2,000 pupils in a fiscal year. According to the State Department of Education (SDE), SEA enrolled approximately 3,393 students during 2008-09 but claimed ADA funding for only 1,239 students. The significant difference between enrollment and attendance is typical of community day schools and occurs primarily because most community day schools operate as a short-term placement for students. COMMENTS : SEA 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. According to the author, SEA offers highly innovative alternative education that keeps at-risk youth off the streets. SEA is an alternative high school in Los Angeles County for at-risk youth (14-18) who are on probation or who have been expelled from school. The school is successful because in addition to providing an academic curriculum tailor-made for each student, it also provides a comprehensive set of social services to youth and their families. As a result, it offers viable alternatives to gangs, drugs, and violence to youth at risk of academic failure and delinquency. SEA has proven to be effective with students that have failed in traditional schools. 88% of the students who enter the SEA Charter School successfully exit the program after catching up on their credits by graduating from the school, returning to their home school, SB 298 Page 3 or by entering a more appropriate learning environment. Today, SEA serves close to 4,000 at risk youth and their families throughout 19 locations in the Los Angeles County. Services include innovative academic education techniques, after-school programs, alcohol and drug counseling, mental health therapy, mandatory community service, peace and reconciliation retreats, job training and parent education classes. SEA provides each student with six hours of daily academic study coupled with two hours of constructive and supervised after school activity. SEA students come from low income families and 98% qualify for the School Lunch Program. Why is this bill 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. While special legislation is necessary to continue the higher funding rate, the Assembly should consider whether it is necessary to continue the charter authorization as well. Previous legislation: AB 177 (Bass), Chapter 525, Statutes of 2007 extended the statutory authorization for SEA from June 30, 2008 to June 30, 2013. Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0004962