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