BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                         SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                             Alan Lowenthal, Chair
                           2011-2012 Regular Session
                                        

          BILL NO:       SB 429
          AUTHOR:        DeSaulnier
          AMENDED:       April 4, 2011
          FISCAL COMM:   Yes            HEARING DATE:  April 13, 2011
          URGENCY:       No             CONSULTANT:    Lynn Lorber

           SUBJECT  :  After School Education and Safety Program.
          
           SUMMARY  

          This bill allows after school programs to offer a 6-hour 
          program using existing supplemental grant funds.

           BACKGROUND  

          Current law establishes the After School Education and 
          Safety (ASES) program, consisting of before and after 
          school academic enrichment.  ASES Programs receive direct 
          grants, where attendance is projected and grants are funded 
          up-front, in three one-year increments.  (Education Code § 
          8482.4)

          Current law:

          1)   Provides that each school that establishes an ASES 
               program is eligible to receive a 3-year direct grant 
               that is awarded in three 1-year increments and is 
               subject to semiannual attendance reporting and other 
               requirements.  (EC § 8483.7)

          2)   Authorizes an ASES program to request, prior to or 
               during the application process, to provide services at 
               another schoolsite if there is a significant barrier 
               to pupil participation at the school of attendance for 
               either the before school or the after school 
               component.  (EC § 8482.8) 

          3)   Authorizes ASES programs to be conducted on the 
               grounds of a community park, recreational facility or 
               other site as approved by the Department of Education 
               in the grant application process.  Programs located 




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               off of school grounds cannot be approved unless safe 
               transportation is provided to the pupils enrolled in 
               the program.  
               (EC § 8484.6)

          4)   Provides that every pupil attending a school operating 
               an ASES program is eligible to participate in the 
               program, subject to program capacity.  
               (EC § 8482.6)

          5)   Requires applicants for grants to agree that snacks 
               conform to nutrition standards.  (EC § 8483.2)  

           After school component

           1)   Sets the maximum total direct grant awarded annually 
               at $112,500 for each regular school year for 
               elementary schools and $150,000 for middle or junior 
               high schools. 

          2)   The total annual direct grant amount for which a site 
               is eligible is based on a formula of $7.50 per pupil 
               per day of attendance, at a maximum of $37.50 per 
               pupil per week.  

          3)   Allows for a higher maximum total grant for large 
               schools according to a formula.

          4)   Provides that a school with an after school program is 
               eligible for a supplemental grant to operate in excess 
               of 180 days or during any combination of summer, 
               intersession, or vacation for a maximum of the lesser 
               of the following amounts:

               a)        $7.50 per pupil per day.

               b)        30% of the total grant amount awarded to the 
               school per school 
                    year.  (EC § 8483.7)

          5)   Requires after school programs to begin immediately 
               upon the end of the regular schoolday and operate a 
               minimum of 15 hours per week, and at least until 6 
               p.m. on every regular schoolday.  After school 
               programs are required to establish a policy regarding 
               reasonable early daily release of pupils from the 




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               program.  (EC § 8483)

           Before school component

           1)   For before school programs, sets the maximum total 
               grant amount awarded annually at $37,500 for each 
               regular school year for elementary schools and $49,000 
               for middle or junior high schools.  

          2)   The total annual direct grant amount for which a site 
               is eligible is based on formula of $5 per pupil per 
               day of attendance, at a maximum of $25 per pupil per 
               week.  

          3)   Allows for a higher maximum total grant for large 
               schools. 

          4)   Provides that a school with a before school program is 
               eligible to receive a supplemental grant to operate in 
               excess of 180 days or during any combination of 
               summer, intersession or vacation for a maximum of 30% 
               of the total grant amount awarded to the school per 
               year.  (EC § 8483.75)  

          5)   Requires before school programs to operate for at 
               least 1  hours per regular schoolday, and to 
               establish a policy regarding reasonable late daily 
               arrival of pupils to the program.  

          6)   Requires before school programs to offer a breakfast 
               meal for all program participants.  (EC § 8483.1)

           Summer, intersession, vacation

           1)   Authorizes after school programs to operate during any 
               combination of summer, intersession, or vacation 
               periods for a minimum of 3 hours per day.  (EC § 8483)

          2)   Authorizes before school programs to operate during 
               any combination of summer, intersession, or vacation 
               periods for a minimum of 2 hours per day for the 
               regular school year.  (EC § 8483.1)

          3)   Requires any program operating both a before and after 
               school component for the same pupils during summer, 
               intersession, or vacation periods to operate a minimum 




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               of 4  hours per day.  (EC § 8483.2)

           ANALYSIS
           
           This bill  allows after school programs to offer a 6-hour 
          program using existing supplemental grant funds.  
          Specifically, this bill:

          1)   Authorizes a before or after school program to receive 
               a supplemental grant top operate in excess of 180 
               regular schooldays or during any combination of 
               summer, intersession, or vacation periods for a 
               maximum of 30% of the total grant amount awarded to 
               the school.

          2)   Authorizes an existing after school supplemental 
               grantee to operate a 
               3-hour or 6-hour per day program without receiving 
               additional grant funds.  

          3)   Requires the target attendance level to be computed 
               for 6-hour programs as if the grant were based on a 
               formula of $15.00 per day of pupil attendance. 

          4)   Authorizes a program that receives a supplemental 
               grant to change the location of the program to address 
               the needs of pupils and school closures and to be 
               conducted at an offsite location or at an alternate 
               schoolsite.  Programs must notify the California 
               Department of Education (CDE) about any change in 
               location and include a plan to provide safe 
               transportation pursuant to existing After School 
               Education and Safety (ASES) requirements.

          5)   Authorizes a program receiving a supplemental grant to 
               open eligibility to every pupil attending a school in 
               the district, and requires priority for 
               enrollment to be given to pupils in the attendance 
               area of a school if the program is conducted at a 
               schoolsite.  

          6)   Requires a program operating a 6-hour program to 
               provide to each needy pupil one nutritionally adequate 
               free or reduced-price meal each day.

          7)   Requires a program operating a 6-hour program to 




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               submit to the California Department of Education (CDE) 
               for prior approval a revised program plan that 
               includes both of the following:

                    a)             A plan for the provision of free 
                    and reduced-price meals.

                    b)             An attendance and early release 
                    policy for the program that is consistent with 
                    the school district's early release policy for 
                    the regular schoolday. 

           STAFF COMMENTS  

           1)   Purpose of the bill  .  According to the author, "Fewer 
               schools are offering summer school due to budget cuts. 
                Research shows that 'summer slide' disproportionately 
               affects low-income children and is also cumulative 
               over time.  Research also shows that children gain 
               weight more rapidly in the summer if they don't have 
               access to organized recreational or physical activity 
               programs.  Nearly all children enrolled in publicly 
               funded after school programs also receive free or 
               reduced price meals during the school year, and 
               without those meals in the summer, many are receiving 
               lower-quality foods that are causing weight gain.  
               This bill will provide current after school grantee 
               with supplemental grants the flexibility to better 
               address the needs of students and communities during 
               the summer months."

           2)   Need for full-day programs  . When summer school is 
               available to pupils, there is generally a need only 
               for a part-day after school program to provide a 
               structured environment for pupils in the afternoon.  
               Some school districts have eliminated, or will 
               eliminate, summer school and therefore, pupils will 
               need a full-day program to meet their needs.  This 
               bill seeks to address situations where there is a need 
               for a full-day program by allowing after school 
               programs to operate a 6-hour program within the 
               existing supplemental grant.

           3)   Availability of facilities  .  This bill authorizes an 
               after school program to operate at an offsite location 
               or an alternate schoolsite in anticipation of fewer 




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               school facilities being available for after school 
               programs.  This bill also allows providers to open 
               eligibility to every pupil attending a school in the 
               district, due to concerns about the unavailability of 
               summer school sites.


           4)   Clarifying amendments  .  Staff recommends the following 
               amendments:

               a)        Clarify that the amount of the supplemental 
                    grant is based on the total grant awarded per 
                    school year.

               b)        Specifically prohibit a grantee from 
                    receiving additional funding pursuant to this 
                    bill.

               c)        Reinstate the formula to determine the 
                    amount of a supplemental grant for an after 
                    school component to be the lesser of 30% of the 
                    total grant per year or the per day rate ($7.50 
                    for 3-hours and $15 for 6-hours).

           SUPPORT  

          A World Fit For Kids
          Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme
          Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula
          Boys & Girls Clubs of Tracy
          California After School Coalition
          California Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs
          California State Alliance of YMCAs
          Central Valley Afterschool Foundation
          Children Now
          Fresno County Office of Education
          Jamestown Community Center
          National Summer Learning Association
          Partnership for Children and Youth
          Pro-Youth/HEART After-School Program
          Sacramento City Unified School District
          San Leandro Boys & Girls Club
          Sunset Neighborhood Beacon Center
          Superintendent of Public Instruction
          Team-Up for Youth
          THINK Together




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          Whittier City School District
          Woodcraft Rangers
          An individual

           OPPOSITION

           None on file.