BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1719
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 1719 (Weber and Buchanan)
          As Amended  August 19, 2014
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |56-18|(May 28, 2014)  |SENATE: |25-11|(August 21,    |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2014)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    ED.

            SUMMARY  :  Requires, no later than July 1, 2017, the  
          Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to provide the  
          Legislature with an evaluation of kindergarten program  
          implementation in the state, including part-day and full-day  
          kindergarten programs.  Specifically,  this bill  :

          1)Requires the evaluation to include the following:

             a)   Recommended best practices for providing full-day  
               kindergarten programs.

             b)   A sample of local educational agencies' (LEAs) full day  
               and part-day kindergarten programs from across the state.   
               Expresses the intent of the Legislature that this sample be  
               representative of the diversity of the state, and shall  
               include both urban and rural and small and large LEAs  
               within the school districts. 

          2)Specifies that this bill shall not become operative until the  
            Legislature makes an appropriation in the annual Budget Act or  
            in any other statute.

          3)Requires the report to be submitted in accordance with the  
            process required under the Government Code Section 9795.

          4)Requires, beginning with the 2015-16 school year, a LEA to  
            provide an annual report to the California Department of the  
            Education (CDE) that contains information on the type of  
            kindergarten program offered by the LEA, including part-day,  
            full-day, or both, in a manner determined by the CDE.

          5)Sunsets on July 1, 2017, and repeals on January 1, 2018,  
            unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or  








                                                                  AB 1719
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            before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends the dates on which  
            it becomes inoperative and is repealed.  

           The Senate amendments  strike the requirement for the SPI to  
          conduct a feasibility and implementation plan for providing  
          full-day kindergarten programs in all public schools and instead  
          require the SPI to conduct an evaluation of kindergarten  
          programs in the state.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, approximately $240,000 (General Fund) in one-time  
          contract costs for the CDE to conduct a kindergarten program  
          evaluation, based on a diverse sampling of part-day and full-day  
          kindergarten programs, as specified.  Potentially significant  
          workload increase to monitor contract over 10 months.  Minor  
          workload increase to elementary schools to annually report on  
          the type of kindergarten programs they run.  This activity is  
          unlikely to result in significant enough costs to file a mandate  
          claim.

           COMMENTS  :  Prior versions of this bill would have required  
          school districts to implement full-day kindergarten programs.   
          The current version of the bill requires the SPI to, by July 1,  
          2017, conduct an evaluation of kindergarten program  
          implementation in the state, including full-day and part-day  
          kindergarten programs.  The bill also requires LEAs to submit  
          annual information to the CDE on the kindergarten programs  
          offered within the LEAs.  

          In 2005, WestEd released a policy brief titled, Full-Day  
          Kindergarten: Expanding learning opportunities.  In that brief  
          they compiled data from several studies on full-day  
          kindergarten.  Full-day kindergarten can provide teachers with  
          more time to have both formal and informal interactions,  
          including more time for small-group and individual activities.   
          WestEd found that students in full-day kindergarten tend to be  
          better prepared for primary-grade learning than those in  
          half-day programs.  They do better with the transition to first  
          grade, show significant gains in school socialization, and are  
          equipped with stronger learning skills.  Studies also show that  
          full-day kindergarten students show faster gains on literacy and  
          language measures when compared to half-day kindergarten  
          students, a finding of particular importance for the growing  
          numbers of English learners.  Moreover, such gains may last over  
          time.  One study, for example, showed higher reading achievement  








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          persisting through third grade and in some cases through seventh  
          grade, a benefit that bolsters students' overall school  
          performance.
           
           Prior to 2005, school districts interested in offering an  
          extended-day program (more than four hours) must seek a waiver  
          from the State Board of Education.  AB 2407 (Bermudez), Chapter  
          946, Statutes of 2004, eliminated the requirement to seek a  
          waiver.  A survey of full-day kindergarten in California  
          conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) in  
          2009 found that full-day classes increased substantially  
          following the enactment of AB 2407.  In 2000-01, 11% of  
          kindergarteners attended full-day kindergarten programs.  In  
          2007-08, 43% of kindergarteners attended full-day kindergarten,  
          with lower-performing and economically disadvantaged schools  
          more likely to offer full-day programs.  PPIC noted that  
          California's enrollment of kindergarteners in full-day programs  
          lagged behind those of other states.  According to PPIC,  
          two-thirds of all kindergarteners nationally attend full-day  
          programs.  
           
           According to the Education Commission of the States, while all  
          states permit full-day kindergarten on some level, as of 2010,  
          11 states, including Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana,  
          Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South  
          Carolina, and West Virginia require that full-day kindergarten  
          be offered.  In New Jersey, schools in certain districts called  
          "Abbott" districts, who receive additional financial assistance  
          due to a Supreme Court order in Abbott v. Burke ((1997) 149 N.J.  
          145, 693 A.2d 417), are required to offer full-day kindergarten.  
           Some states offer funding to implement full-day kindergarten  
          but do not require it.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087  



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