BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






                           SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                                  Carol Liu, Chair
                             2013-2014 Regular Session
                                          

          BILL NO:       AB 2380
          AUTHOR:        Weber
          AMENDED:       May 23, 2014
          FISCAL COMM:   Yes            HEARING DATE:  June 25, 2014
          URGENCY:       No             CONSULTANT:Lenin Del Castillo

           SUBJECT  :  Parent advisory committees.
          
           SUMMARY 

          This bill adds various requirements for school districts that  
          elect to prepare a single plan for pupil achievement, including  
          the requirement for a school district to ensure in its  
          consolidated application that a schoolsite council has  
          developed and approved a single plan for pupil achievement for  
          schools participating in programs funded through the Local  
          Control Funding Formula (LCFF). 

           BACKGROUND  

          Current law requires the governing board of every school  
          district and county office of education to adopt a local  
          control and accountability plan (LCAP), by July 1, 2014, that  
          must include: a description of the annual goals for all  
          students and each subgroup, to be achieved for each of the  
          state priorities and for any additional local priorities; and a  
          description of the specific actions that will be taken to  
          achieve the goals.  Specifically, current law also establishes  
          the following as state priorities:

             1)   The degree to which teachers are appropriately assigned  
               and fully credentialed, every student has sufficient  
               access to standards-aligned instructional materials, and  
               school facilities are maintained in good repair.

             2)   Implementation of the academic content and performance  
               standards, including how English learners will be served,  
               as specified.

             3)   Parental involvement, as specified.







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             4)   Student achievement, as specified.  

             5)   Student engagement, as specified.

             6)   School climate, as measured by all of the following, as  
               applicable:  student suspension rates, student expulsion  
               rates, and other local measures, including surveys of  
               students, parents, and teachers on the sense of safety and  
               school connectedness.





             7)   The extent to which students have access to, and are  
               enrolled in, a broad course of study, as specified.

             8)   Student outcomes, as specified. 

          Current law also establishes the following as state priorities  
          for county offices of education, in addition to the state  
          priorities described above:  how the county superintendent will  
          coordinate instruction of students who have been expelled; and  
          how the county superintendent will coordinate services for  
          foster children, as specified.  

          Current law:

             1)   Authorizes school districts to use a single  
               consolidated application to apply for certain state and  
               federal categorical program funds;

             2)   Requires school districts to elect to use the  
               consolidated application process to include in that  
               application a single plan for pupil achievement;

             3)   Requires the single plan for pupil achievement to do  
               the following:  

                  a)        Be developed and approved by a schoolsite  
                    council.

                  b)        Be aligned with school goals for improving  
                    pupil achievement.







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                  c)        Address how funds provided to the school will  
                    be used to improve the academic performance of all  
                    pupils to target levels.

                  d)        Identify the school's means of evaluating  
                    progress toward accomplishing those goals and how  
                    state and federal law governing the consolidated  
                    programs will be implemented.

             1)   Requires each school with more than 20 pupils of  
               limited English proficiency to establish a school level  
               advisory committee on which parents and guardians of such  
               pupils constitute membership in at least the same  
               percentage as their children represent of the total number  
               of pupils in the school.

             2)   Requires the English learner advisory committee to  
               advise the principal and staff in the development of a  
               detailed master plan for bilingual education for the  
               school and the submittal of the plan to the governing  
               board for consideration for inclusion in the district  
               master plan; and to assist in the development of the  
               school needs assessment, language census, and ways to make  
               parents aware of the importance of regular school  
               attendance.

           ANALYSIS
           
           This bill  :  

          1)   Requires a school district to ensure in its consolidated  
               application that schoolsite councils have developed and  
               approved a single plan for pupil achievement for schools  
               participating in programs funded through the Local Control  
               Funding Formula (LCFF). 

          2)   Specifies English learner advisory committees as  
               applicable school advisory committees that may review,  
               certify, and provide advice on a school district's single  
               plan for pupil achievement or consolidated application, as  
               specified.

          3)   Requires the State Department of Education, if it makes  
               materials or information available to school districts to  
               assist them in the development of their single plan for  






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               pupil achievement, to ensure that all materials and  
               information emphasize that the plan be consistent with  
               and, to the extent possible, support the goals and  
               outcomes specified in the school district's local control  
               and accountability plan (LCAP).

          4)   Requires participating school districts to develop their  
               LCAPs and annual updates in consultation with schoolsite  
               level advisory groups and ensure that the LCAP and its  
               specific actions are consistent with, and reflective of,  
               the goals and plans of the schoolsite.

          5)   Requires single plans for pupil achievement to be aligned  
               with the district's goals for English learners, pupils  
               eligible for free and reduced price meals, and foster  
               youth in specified performance areas. 

           STAFF COMMENTS  

              1)   Need for the bill  .  According to the author's office,  
               "parent decision making committees-schoolsite councils,  
               district advisory councils, and English learner advisory  
               committees currently have school accountability roles,  
               rights, and responsibilities for developing, monitoring,  
               and updating school site plans for the use of federal and  
               state categorical funds.  It makes sense to align these  
               parent input and decision making committees with the new  
               local control accountability plan (LCAP) processes that  
               districts are using to develop comprehensive priorities,  
               goals, and actions for individual schools and the school  
               districts."  

               The bill seeks to integrate the existing parental  
               committee processes, such as school site councils, with  
               the parental input processes required by the newly  
               implemented Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).  This  
               would help avoid duplication of effort with the existing  
               federal requirement that a school district's comprehensive  
               school site instructional plan be developed in  
               coordination with parent input.  These efforts could help  
               promote greater transparency regarding the expenditure of  
               LCFF funds at the school site level by engaging parents,  
               especially at a time when school districts are  
               transitioning to a new funding formula that affords them  
               significant flexibility.  






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              2)   Consolidated application process  .  The consolidated  
               application process was intended to give school districts  
               flexibility over the use of funds received for various  
               state and federal categorical programs.  A majority of the  
               funding for the state programs that were part of the  
               consolidated application have now been rolled into the  
               LCFF.  However, it can still be used for certain a few  
               state programs, such as the Economic Impact Aid program,  
               and federal categorical programs.  School districts that  
               choose to utilize the consolidated application process are  
               required to have schoolsite councils and involve them in  
               the development and approval of the single plan for pupil  
               achievement.  The requirements of this bill would only  
               apply to those school districts electing to use the  
               consolidated application process.

              3)   Schoolsite councils  .  Current law authorizes the  
               School-Based Program Coordination Act, which prior to the  
               implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)  
               in 2013, gave school districts flexibility over the use of  
               specified school-based coordinated categorical program  
               funds in exchange for meeting specified requirements.  As  
               part of these requirements, participating school districts  
               were required to establish a schoolsite council.  The  
               schoolsite councils were required, among other things, to  
               develop a plan made up of specific criteria including,  
               curricula, instructional strategies, and materials that  
               address the individual needs and learning styles of each  
               pupil, instructional and auxiliary services to meet the  
               special needs of certain pupil populations, a staff  
               development program for teachers, other school personnel,  
               paraprofessionals, and volunteers, and the proposed  
               expenditures of funds available to the school, as  
               specified.  

              4)   Related legislation  .  AB 2384 (Bradford) would impose  
               new requirements regarding the establishment of schoolsite  
               councils, such as the requirement for school districts to  
               provide training for schoolsite council members. This bill  
               is pending on the Senate Floor.

           SUPPORT  

          American Civil Liberties Union of California






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          Association of California School Administrators
          California Association for Bilingual Education
          Californians Together
          Education Trust-West
          Families in Schools
          PICO California  
          Public Advocates (sponsor)

           OPPOSITION
           
          None on file.