BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1178
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Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 1178 (Bocanegra) - As Amended: April 23, 2013
SUBJECT : Pupil instruction: California Promise Neighborhood
Initiative
SUMMARY : Establishes the California Promise Neighborhood
Initiative (Initiative) to develop a system of 40 promise
neighborhoods throughout California to support children's
development from cradle to career. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes findings and declarations regarding the Harlem
Children's Zone and the Federal Promise Neighborhood
Initiative grant program, which coordinate and align various
public and private resources to serve the in-school and
out-of-school needs of children and families.
2)Defines "California promise neighborhood" as a specific
geographic area that represents a community focused on
revitalization through the establishment of a cradle-to-career
network of services aimed at improving the health, safety,
education, and economic development of the defined area.
3)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to
develop an application process by July 1, 2014.
4)Requires the CDE to designate 40 California promise
neighborhoods by January 1, 2016 from applicants that meet
eligibility criteria.
5)Requires the CDE to measure the performance of promise
neighborhood designees on the following outcomes:
a) Children enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school;
b) Pupils are proficient in core academic subjects;
c) Pupils successfully transition from middle school grades
to high school;\
d) Pupils graduate from high school;
e) High school graduates obtain a postsecondary degree,
certification, or credential;
f) Pupils are healthy;
g) Pupils feel safe at home and in their community;
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h) Pupils live in stable communities;
i) Families and community members support learning in
promise neighborhood schools; and
j) Pupils have access to 21st Century learning tools.
6)Defines "eligible applicant" as any of the following:
a) A nonprofit organization, including a faith-based
organization to the extent permitted by law;
b) An institution of higher education; or
c) An Indian tribe or tribal organization service as a lead
agency representative of the proposed geographic area to be
served and in partnership with at least one public
elementary or secondary school, either traditional or
charter, located within the identified geographic area.
7)Requires a geographic area to meet all of the following
criteria in order to be designated as a promise neighborhood:
a) Contain a designated high school(s) and feeder schools
that use a transformation model that includes, but is not
necessarily limited to, full-service community schools,
charter schools, turnaround schools as defined by the
federal government, and career pathways;
b) Contain a school with a graduation rate below 70%;
c) Have unemployment rates higher than the state as a
whole; and
d) Have more than 25% of households with annual incomes
below $22,000.
8)Requires promise neighborhood applicants, at a minimum, to
include the following partners as part of its application:
a) Other community organizations;
b) Child development organizations;
c) Schools or school districts;
d) Postsecondary education institutions;
e) City and county governments; and
f) Representatives of local business and industry.
9)Requires an applicant to submit the following:
a) A memorandum of understanding signed by representatives
of each partner entity or agency;
b) A description of the geographically defined area or
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neighborhood to be served and the level of distress in that
area based on indicators of need and other relevant
indicators;
c) A plan to significantly improve the academic, health,
and social outcomes of children living in the neighborhood,
as specified; and
d) An analysis of community assets within, or accessible
to, the neighborhood, including early learning programs,
community centers, after school programs, transportation
resources, parks and recreational facilities, health food
options, family support organizations, businesses and
employers, and postsecondary education institutions.
10)Requires the memorandum of understanding to include at least
all of the following:
a) Each partner's commitment and contribution toward
achieving each common outcome at population level;
b) Each partner's financial and programmatic commitment
with respect to the strategies described in the
application, including an identification of the fiscal
agent;
c) The governance structure proposed for the promise
neighborhood, including a system for how the eligible
applicant will hold partners accountable, the
representation of geographical areas on the eligible
applicant's governing and advisory boards, and resident
engagement from the neighborhood in the organization's
decision making process;
d) Each partner's long-term commitment to providing
pipeline services that, at a minimum, account for the cost
of supporting the pipeline, including the period after
grant funds are no longer available, and potential changes
in local government;
e) Each partner's mission and plan that will govern the
work that partners do together;
f) Each partner's long-term commitment to supporting the
pipeline through data collection, monitoring, reporting,
and sharing; and
g) Each partner's commitment to ensure sound fiscal
management and controls, including evidence of a system of
supports and personnel.
11)Requires the CDE to guarantee eligibility for Promise
neighborhood designation to California recipients of planning
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or implementation grants from the federal Promise Neighborhood
Initiative grant program.
12)Requires the CDE to work with the Employment Development
Department (EDD); the California Health and Human Services
Agency (HHS); the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency;
the California Children and Families Commission (First 5
Commission); the California Community Colleges (CCC); the
California State University (CSU); the University of
California (UC); the Student Aid Commission; the Department of
Parks and Recreation; and other agencies and departments
selected by the Governor to implement the Initiative.
13)Authorizes the CDE to use existing federal or state funds or
other public or private funds for purposes of implementing the
Initiative.
14)Requires the CDE to work with other state and county agencies
to ensure maximum participation of eligible populations within
promise neighborhoods in the CalFresh and MediCal programs,
establish a goal of 90% participation, and post participation
rates beginning January 1, 2016.
15)Requires the CDE to work with the First 5 Commission to
ensure that eligible entities in a promise neighborhood
receive bonus points, additional recognition, or weighted
consideration for funding for competitive grants administered
by the commission.
16)Requires the CDE to work with the CCC, CSU, UC, and Student
Aid Commission, and the California Postsecondary Education
Commission to ensure that, to the extent feasible, eligible
entities in a promise neighborhood receive bonus points,
additional recognition, or weighted consideration for funding
for competitive grants.
17)Provides that schools, school districts, and institutions of
higher education within a promise neighborhood shall, at a
minimum, receive bonus points, additional recognition, or
weighted consideration for the following grants:
a) The After School Education and Safety Program;
b) The California Partnership Academy;
c) The Immediate Intervention-Underperforming Schools
Program; and
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d) Career technical education pathways grants.
18)Requires the CDE to work with the EDD, the California
Workforce Investment Board, and the Employment Training Panel
to ensure that, to the extent feasible, eligible entities in a
promise neighborhood receive bonus points, additional
recognition, or weighted consideration for funding for
competitive grants.
19)Requires the CDE to work with the Department of Parks and
Recreation to ensure that children and families residing
within a promise neighborhood, to the extent feasible, receive
bonus points, additional recognition, or weighted
consideration for funding for competitive grants.
20)Requires cities and counties in which a promise neighborhood
is located to demonstrate that multiple sources of block grant
assistance are being coordinated and invested in support of
the planning, implementation, and long-term results of their
promise neighborhoods program.
21)Provides that cities and counties in which promise
neighborhoods are located shall receive, to the extent
feasible, bonus points, additional recognition, or weighted
consideration for funding for the creation of new parks and
recreation activities in underserved communities.
22)Requires each entity that receives a California promise
neighborhood designation to prepare and submit to the CDE an
annual report to include:
a) Information about the number and percentage of children,
family members, and community members in the neighborhood
who are served by the program, including a description of
the number and percentage of children accessing each of the
pipeline services and the number of family and community
members served by which programs; and
b) Disaggregated data regarding population and program
levels related to the program's success in annual growth,
expressed with respect to program and project indicators
and performance metrics developed by the department.
23)Provides that any funding received as a result of the promise
neighborhood designation shall only be used for the
development of the promise neighborhood common outcomes.
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24)Requires the CDE and the community served by the promise
neighborhood to conduct an evaluation every three years to
examine performance in all of the following outcomes:
a) Children enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school;
b) Pupils are proficient in core academic subjects;
c) Pupils successfully transition from middle school grades
to high school;
d) Pupils graduate from high school;
e) High school graduates obtain a postsecondary degree,
certification, or credential;
f) Pupils are healthy;
g) Pupils feel safe at home and in their community;
h) Pupils live in stable communities;
i) Families and community members support learning in
promise neighborhood schools; and
j) Pupils have access to 21st Century learning tools.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : This bill is based on the Harlem Children's Zone in
New York City and the federal Promise Neighborhood Initiative.
Both programs involve collaborative efforts by schools, local
government agencies, and non-governmental organizations to
provide extensive wrap-around services to serve the in-school
and out-of-school needs of children. According to a report from
the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Harlem Children's
Zone spends an estimated $20,000 per pupil, most of which comes
from foundations and other private donors. The federal Promise
Neighborhood Initiative provides planning and implementation
grants to applicants on a competitive basis. The federal
initiative provides planning grants of up to $500,000 and
implementation grants of up to $6 million per year for five
years.
Of the eight California communities that received planning
grants, three have received implementation grants:
Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood
Los Angeles Promise Neighborhood
Mission Promise Neighborhood (San Francisco)
Some other communities in California have initiated similar
efforts on their own.
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An all-or-nothing approach . This bill imposes extensive
requirements on all local entities and their partners who wish
to participate in a California promise neighborhood. Entities
must agree to and fulfill all of the conditions specified in the
bill in order to receive promise neighborhood designation. In
exchange, those entities and partners receive official
designation as a California promise neighborhood and the
possibility of being offered preferential consideration for
unspecified grants. In reality, grants are awarded pursuant to
the rules of the grant maker. If those rules do not allow for
preferential treatment, none will be given. To the extent
entities do receive grants, they may have qualified for them
even without the Promise neighborhood designation. It is
questionable, therefore, if a Promise neighborhood designation
results in any tangible benefits. In the absence of tangible
benefits, the wide-ranging requirements this bill imposes on
local entities and its all-or-nothing approach may actually be a
disincentive for them to participate in the program. This is
especially true since local entities do not need official
designation to establish promise neighborhood-type initiatives
on their own terms.
New responsibilities for the California Department of Education .
This bill imposes responsibilities on the CDE that are beyond
its current scope of activity and staff expertise. These
include the following:
1)Working with the California Health and Human Services Agency
and county health and human services agencies to ensure
maximum participation of eligible populations within promise
neighborhoods in the CalFresh and Medi-Cal programs.
2)Working with the following agencies to ensure, to the extent
possible, that eligible applicants in promise neighborhoods
receive preferential consideration for grants:
a) California Children and Families Commission (First 5
Commission);
b) Institutions of higher education, the Student Aid
Commission, and the California Postsecondary Education
Commission;
c) Employment Development Department; and
d) Department of Parks and Recreation.
3)Working with the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency
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in an unspecified manner to implement the provisions of the
bill.
4)Evaluating the success of promise neighborhoods based on
criteria that are not defined in measureable terms and for
which the CDE does not currently collect data.
The committee may wish to consider whether the CDE is the
appropriate agency to undertake all of these responsibilities.
Promise neighborhood schools . The bill establishes several
requirements that a geographic area must meet in order to be
eligible for a promise neighborhood designation. One of the
requirements is that the area "Contain a designated high school
or schools and feeder schools that use a transformational model
that includes, but is not necessarily limited to, full-service
community schools, charter schools, turnaround schools as
defined by the federal government, and career pathways." This
requirement assumes that only charter schools and
federally-defined turnaround schools are up to the task of
serving students in promise neighborhoods. Although many
charter schools are very good, most studies have found that,
both nationally and in California, the average charter school
underperforms the average non-charter school. There is no
reason to assume that a non-charter school cannot The committee
may wish to consider whether the criteria for promise
neighborhood designation should presuppose the best type of
school to serve the neighborhood students.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood
Los Angeles Unified School District
Youth Policy Institute
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087
AB 1178
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