BILL NUMBER: AB 948 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Olsen
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Section 47614.5 of the Education Code, relating to
charter schools.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 948, as introduced, Olsen. Charter schools: school facilities:
Charter School Facility Grant Program.
Existing law requires the State Department of Education to
administer the Charter School Facility Grant Program, provides that
the grant program is intended to provide assistance with facilities
rent and lease costs for pupils in charter schools, and states the
intent of the Legislature that not less than $18,000,000 annually be
appropriated for purposes of the grant program. Existing law
requires, subject to the annual Budget Act, eligible schools to
receive an amount up to $750 per unit of average daily attendance, as
specified, to provide an amount of up to, but not more than, 75% of
the annual facilities rent and lease costs for the charter school.
Existing law requires the department, among other requirements, to
inform charter schools of the grant program and to determine grant
program eligibility based on specified factors, including, among
other factors, a charter school's preference in admissions, the
geographic location of the charter schoolsite, and pupil eligibility
for free and reduced-price meals, as specified. Existing law
prohibits funds appropriated for purposes of the grant program from
being apportioned for units of average daily attendance generated
through nonclassroom-based instruction, as defined, requires that
funds appropriated for purposes of the grant program be used for
costs associated with facilities rents and leases, and requires an
existing charter school that is relocating to give an admissions
preference to pupils who reside in the elementary attendance area
into which the charter school is relocating in specified
circumstances.
This bill would instead provide that the grant program is intended
to provide assistance with facilities costs for pupils in charter
schools and would require, subject to the annual Budget Act, an
eligible charter school to receive the lesser of the actual eligible
annual facility costs, $750 for a classroom-based charter school, or
$375 for a nonclassroom-based charter school. The bill would also
require the department to provide a grant program application to
charter schools by July 1 of each fiscal year and would repeal the
requirement that grant program eligibility be determined based on,
among other factors, a charter school's preference in admissions. The
bill would require eligibility for the grant program to be expanded,
as specified, if funds remain after charter schools that meet the
existing free and reduced-price meals threshold are funded, would
require funds appropriated for purposes of the grant program to be
used for costs associated with facilities rents, leases, purchases,
and facility-related debt service, and would repeal the requirement
that a charter school that is relocating give an admissions
preference to pupils who reside in the elementary attendance area
into which the charter school is relocating in specified
circumstances. The bill would repeal the Legislature's statement of
intent that not less than $18,000,000 annually be appropriated for
purposes of the grant program and would require the annual audit of a
charter school to include specified information related to the grant
program.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 47614.5 of the Education Code is amended to
read:
47614.5. (a) The Charter School Facility Grant Program is hereby
established and shall be administered by the department. The grant
program is intended to provide assistance with facilities
rent and lease costs for pupils in charter schools.
(b) (1) Subject to the annual Budget Act,
eligible charter schools shall receive an amount
of up to, but not more than, seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) per
unit of average daily attendance, as certified at the second
principal apportionment, to provide an amount of up to, but not more
than, 75 percent of the annual facilities rent and lease costs for
the charter school.In the lesser of the following:
(A) The actual eligible annual facility costs.
(B) Seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) per unit of average daily
attendance for a classroom-based charter school as defined in
subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5.
(C) Three hundred seventy-five dollars ($375) per unit of average
daily attendance for a nonclassroom-based charter school as defined
in subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5.
(2) The initial payment shall be based upon prior year average
daily attendance, as certified at the second principal apportionment,
for a charter school that operated in the prior year, and shall be
based upon the average daily attendance approved pursuant to Section
47652 for a charter school in its first year of operation. The final
payment shall be based upon average daily attendance, as certified at
the second principal apportionment.
(3) In any fiscal year, if the
funds appropriated for the purposes of this
section by the annual Budget Act are insufficient to fund the
approved amounts fully, the Superintendent shall apportion the
available funds on a pro rata basis.
(c) For purposes of this section, the department shall do all of
the following:
(1) Inform charter schools of , and provide charter schools
with an application for, the grant program by July 1 of
each year .
(2) Upon application by a charter school, determine eligibility,
based on the geographic location of the charter schoolsite, pupil
eligibility for free or reduced price
reduced-price meals , and a preference in admissions,
as appropriate . Eligibility for funding shall not be
limited to the grade level or levels served by the school whose
attendance area is used to determine eligibility. Charter
schoolsites are A charter schoolsite is eligible
for funding pursuant to this section if the charter schoolsite meets
either any of the following
conditions:
(A) The charter schoolsite is physically located in the attendance
area of a public elementary school in which 70 percent or more of
the pupil enrollment is eligible for free or reduced priced
reduced-price meals and the schoolsite gives a
preference in admissions to pupils who are currently enrolled in that
public elementary school and to pupils who reside in the elementary
school attendance area where the charter schoolsite is located.
(B) Seventy percent or more of the pupil enrollment at the charter
schoolsite is eligible for free or reduced price
reduced-price meals.
(C) In any year in which additional funds remain after funds have
been allocated to eligible applicants that meet the eligibility
criteria in subparagraph (A) or (B), the department shall expand
eligibility to additional charter schools by reducing the free and
reduced-price meals threshold in subparagraphs (A) and (B) one
percentage point at a time, until all available funds are allocated.
(3) Inform charter schools of their grant eligibility.
(4) Allocate Apportion funding to
charter schools for eligible expenditures in a timely manner in
accordance with subdivision (g) .
(5) No later than June 30, 2005, report to the Legislature on the
number of charter schools that have participated in the grant program
pursuant to the expanded eligibility prescribed in paragraph (2). In
addition, the report shall provide recommendations and suggestions
on improving the grant program.
(d) Funds appropriated for purposes of this section shall not be
apportioned for any either of the
following:
(1) Units of average daily attendance generated through
nonclassroom-based instruction as defined by paragraph (2) of
subdivision (d) of Section 47612.5 or that does not comply with
conditions or limitations set forth in regulations adopted by the
state board pursuant to this section.
(2) Charter schools occupying
(1) Facilities costs associated with
occupying existing school district or county office of
education facilities if the school district or county office of
education is otherwise required to provide the charter school with
facilities in accordance with Section 47614 .
(3) Charter schools receiving reasonably
(2) Facilities costs associated with a
charter school occupying reasonably equivalent facilities from
their chartering authority a school district
pursuant to Section 47614.
(e) Funds appropriated for purposes of this section shall be used
for costs associated with facilities rents and
, leases, purchases, and debt service related to
facilities, consistent with the definitions used in the
California School Accounting Manual. These
The funds appropriated for purposes of this
section also may be used for costs, including, but not limited
to, costs associated with remodeling buildings, deferred maintenance,
initially installing or extending service systems and other built-in
equipment, and improving sites.
(f) If an existing charter school located in an elementary
attendance area in which less than 50 percent of pupil enrollment is
eligible for free or reduced price meals relocates to an attendance
area identified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), admissions
preference shall be given to pupils who reside in the elementary
school attendance area into which the charter school is relocating.
(g)
(f) The Superintendent annually shall report to the
state board regarding the use of funds that have been made available
during the fiscal year to each charter school pursuant to the grant
program.
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature that not less than
eighteen million dollars ($18,000,000) annually be appropriated for
purposes of the grant program on the same basis as other elementary
and secondary education categorical programs.
(i)
(g) The Superintendent shall annually allocate
apportion an initial payment for the facilities
grants to eligible charter schools no later than October 1 of each
fiscal year or 90 days after enactment of the annual Budget Act,
whichever is later , for the current school year rent and
lease costs . The initial payment shall be at least 75
percent of the eligible facilities costs estimated pursuant to
subdivision (b). The final payment shall be apportioned on or before
August 1 of the year following the fiscal year in which
the costs were incurred and shall equal the difference between the
actual total eligible facilities costs, as determined pursuant to
subdivision (b), and the initial payment. However, the
department shall first use the funding appropriated for this program
to reimburse eligible charter schools for unreimbursed rent or lease
costs for the prior school year.
(h) Eligibility for grant program funds, and the amount of grant
program funds received by a charter school pursuant to this section
shall be included in the scope of the annual, independent financial
audit of the charter school, in accordance with subparagraph (I) of
paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 47605.