BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 913|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 913
Author: Chau (D)
Amended: 6/25/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 4-2, 6/18/14
AYES: Liu, Block, Hancock, Monning
NOES: Wyland, Huff
NO VOTE RECORDED: Correa
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 53-23, 5/30/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Charter schools: conflict of interest
SOURCE : California School Boards Association
California Teachers Association
DIGEST : This bill requires that charter schools be subject to
a variety of the same open meeting, conflict of interest, and
disclosure laws as school districts, including the Ralph M.
Brown Act (Brown Act) and the Political Reform Act of 1974
(Political Reform Act).
ANALYSIS : Existing law, the Charter Schools Act of 1992,
provides for the establishment of charter schools in California
for the purpose, among other things, of improving student
learning and expanding learning experiences for pupils who are
identified as academically low achieving. Existing law declares
that charter schools are part of the public school system as
defined in Article IX of the California Constitution and are
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"under the exclusive control of the officers of the public
schools." A charter school is required to comply with statutes
governing charter schools and all of the provisions set forth in
its charter, but is otherwise exempt from most laws governing
school districts except where specifically noted.
Existing law requires state and local agencies to conduct
business in meetings that are open to the public:
1. The Brown Act requires meetings of a local agency's board of
directors to be open to the public.
2. The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Bagley-Keene Act) requires
meetings of state bodies to be open to the public.
The California Public Records Act (Public Records Act) declares
that the public has a right to access information that concerns
the people's business and provides that public records shall be
available for inspection, except as provided by an express
provision of law.
Existing law prohibits members of the Legislature, state,
county, district, judicial district, and city officers or
employees from being financially interested in any contract made
by them in their official capacity, or by anybody or board of
which they are members.
The Political Reform Act, established by the voters through
Proposition 9 in June 1974, requires public officials to carry
out their duties in an unbiased manner, free from influence by
outside interests, and to follow regulations during elections,
as defined. The Political Reform Act also requires government
agencies to adopt a conflict of interest code that requires
designated employees of the agency to file an annual statement
of economic interest disclosing any investments, business
positions, interests in real property, or sources of income that
may be affected materially by a decision made, or participated
in, by the designated employee by virtue of his/her position.
This bill:
1. Expresses the intent of the Legislature to do all of the
following:
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A. Establish conflict of interest policies for governing
boards of charter schools that mirror existing conflict of
interest policies followed by the governing boards of
school districts.
B. Provide transparency in the operations of the many
charter schools that are providing quality educational
options for parents and pupils and renew the faith of
parents and the community that their local charter school
is acting in the best interest of pupils.
C. Continue to provide greater autonomy to charter schools
than traditional public schools and provide greater
transparency to parents and the public with regard to the
use of public funds by the governing body of charter
schools for the educational benefit of their pupils.
D. Establish standards and procedures consistent with the
Charter Schools Act of 1992 to avoid conflicts of interest
in charter schools.
2. Provides that a charter school is subject to all of the
following:
A. The Brown Act, except that a charter school operated
by an entity governed by the Bagley-Keene Act is
subject to that Political Reform Act regardless of the
authorizing entity.
B. The California Public Records Act.
C. Provisions of the Government Code that prohibit
government officers or employees from being financially
interested in contracts or purchases made by them in
their official capacity.
D. The Political Reform Act of 1974. For purposes of
Government Code Section 81000, a charter school shall
be considered an agency.
3. Provides that an employee of a charter school is not
disqualified because of that employment status from also
serving as a member of the governing body of the charter
school. A member of the governing body of a charter school
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who is also an employee shall abstain from voting on, or
influencing or attempting to influence another member of the
governing body regarding all matters uniquely affecting
his/her own employment.
4. Provides a person who loans to, or signs a guarantor
agreement relative to a line of credit for, a charter school,
shall not be disqualified from also serving as a member of
the governing body of the charter school, or from being an
employee of the charter school because of the loan agreement,
or line of credit agreement.
5. Specifies that a member of the governing body of a charter
school who provides a loan or signs as guarantor of a line of
credit, as specified, shall abstain from voting on, or
influencing or attempting to influence another member of the
governing body of the charter school regarding, all matters
affecting the loan agreement or line of credit agreement.
6. Requires the governing body of the charter school to disclose
and approve the loan agreement or line of credit agreement,
including the terms of the loan and an assurance that the
terms of the loan agreement or line of credit agreement will
be at zero interest or at an interest rate that results in
returns that shall not exceed the cost to enter into the loan
agreement or line of credit agreement, during a public
meeting.
7. Provides that a person who is disqualified by law from
holding a civil office may not serve on the governing body of
a charter school.
8. Specifies that the governing board of a charter school is not
subject to open meeting or conflict of interest laws or the
Public Records Act when conducting activities unrelated to
the school's operation and prohibits the discussion of
unrelated activities in meetings held to discuss operations
of the charter school.
9. Authorizes the governing body of a charter school to meet
within the physical boundaries of the county or counties in
which one or more of the school's facilities are located
provided that proper notices, as specified, are posted within
the physical boundaries of each of the counties in which any
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of the school's facilities are located. A charter school may
meet in a county contiguous to the county where one or more
of the school's facilities are located or with the physical
boundaries of the charter school's charter authority, if at
least 10% of the pupils who are enrolled in the school reside
in that contiguous county. A nonclassroom-based charter
school that does not have a facility may meet within the
boundaries of the county in which the greatest number of
pupils who are enrolled in the school reside, as specified.
10.Provides that a statement of economic interest that is filed
by a designated person at a charter school after the required
deadline pursuant to the Political Reform Act shall not be
the sole basis for revocation of a charter, as specified.
11 Defines facility as a charter school campus, resource center,
meeting space, or satellite facility.
12.Provides that this section shall not apply to actions taken
before the operative date of this section and shall become
operative on July 1, 2015.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/25/14)
California School Boards Association (co-sponsor)
California Teachers Association (co-sponsor)
AFSCME
Association of California School Administrators
California Association of School Business Officials
California Federation of Teachers
California School Employees Association
California State PTA
Fresno Unified School District
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
OPPOSITION : (Verified 6/25/14)
California Charter Schools Association
Charter Schools Development Center
Clayton Valley Charter High School
EdVoice
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El Rancho Charter School
Environmental Charter High School
Inland Leaders Charter School
Journey School
Kid Street Charter School
Magnolia Science Academy-Bell
Pacific Charter Institute
Shasta Secondary Home School
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 53-23, 5/30/13
AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong,
Fox, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray,
Hall, Roger Hernández, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal,
Medina, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V.
Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A.
Pérez
NOES: Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Chávez, Conway, Dahle,
Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jones,
Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell, Nestande,
Olsen, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Holden, Linder, Patterson, Vacancy
PQ:d 6/25/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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