BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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

          BILL NO:       SB 69
          AUTHOR:        Liu
          AMENDED:       April 25, 2013
          FISCAL COMM:   Yes            HEARING DATE:  May 1, 2013
          URGENCY:       No             CONSULTANT:Daniel Alvarez

           SUBJECT :  School finance: new pupil funding formula.
          
           SUMMARY 

          This bill replaces the existing revenue limit  
          (discretionary) and categorical school funding structure  
          and establishes a Local Control Funding Formula, beginning  
          in the 2014-15 fiscal year, comprised of a base grant and a  
          supplemental grant for school districts, charter schools  
          and county offices of education. The bill provides  
          supplemental grant funding equal to 35 percent of the base  
          grant for every pupil identified as either an English  
          learner (EL), eligible for a free or reduced price meal, or  
          in foster care.  The formula uses an unduplicated count,  
          meaning that pupils that fall into more than one category  
          are counted only once.

           BACKGROUND  

          The California K-12 public school system is supported  
          predominantly with state funds. Of the state funds that are  
          provided to K-12 schools, there are two major types of  
          funding: discretionary funds and categorical funds.  
          Discretionary funds comprise approximately two-thirds of  
          the funds the state provides to school districts and  
          categorical funds comprise approximately a third. 

                  Discretionary Funds  are provided to school  
               districts to support the general costs of operating  
               schools. The revenue limit is the general purpose  
               money school districts receive for each student.   
               Established in 1972, the per student average daily  
               attendance (ADA) revenue limits varies slightly  
               between districts. The district revenue limit income  
               is a combination of local property taxes and state  




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               general fund support as determined statewide through  
               the Proposition 98 funding formula. Any increase in  
               local property taxes is offset by a reduction in state  
               funds (except for basic aid districts).  In some  
               school districts the amount of property taxes exceeds  
               their revenue limit.  Historically, these districts  
               keep all of their property tax revenues and received  
               approximately $120 per pupil or a minimum of $2,400  
               per district consistent with the State Constitution.  

               Funding is provided on a continuous appropriation  
               basis, meaning that the funds are provided on an  
               ongoing basis and are not subject to the annual budget  
               act. Funding is provided to school districts and  
               county offices of education based on a formula that  
               takes their average daily attendance (ADA) over the  
               course of the year and multiplies it by their  
               individual funding rate (also known as a "revenue  
               limit"). Each district has its own unique revenue  
               limit based on historical spending. The end result is  
               a school district's "apportionment funding."  

               Although this funding does not require an annual  
               appropriation in the budget, the State can still  
               affect the amount of total funding that is provided  
               for this purpose by increasing or decreasing the rates  
               (revenue limits) that are used to calculate  
               apportionments. In addition, the Legislature's ability  
               to approve or deny a cost-of-living adjustment for  
               revenue limits also affects the total amount of  
               funding that is provided in discretionary funds. 
               
               Under current law, when state General Fund is  
               insufficient to fully fund revenue limits statewide, a  
               deficit factor is created to reduce funding to all  
               schools by the same percentage. The deficit factor  
               keeps track of reductions to school district revenue  
               limits which will be restored when sufficient funding  
               is available in the future.  The deficit factor  
               reflects both the cumulative loss of purchasing power  
               due to inflationary cost increases that occurred in  
               the years where the statutory cost-of-living  
               adjustment (COLA) was not funded and the cuts to base  
               funding that were imposed on schools as the state  
               struggled to balance its Budget.  Below is a table of  
               the estimated undeficited revenue limits by school  




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               district type.  In terms of "real" funding each of the  
               revenue limits below would need to be reduced by  
               approximately 22.5 percent to reflect actual cash a  
               school district would expect to receive.   


                 ------------------------------------------------------- 
                |                 |                   |                 |
                 ------------------------------------------------------- 
                 ------------------------------------------------------- 
                |      Undeficited Statewide Average Revenue Limit      |
                |                                                       |
                 ------------------------------------------------------- 
                |-----------------+-------------------+-----------------|
                |District Type    |2012-13            |2013-14          |
                |-----------------+-------------------+-----------------|
                |Elementary       |$6,449             |$6,555           |
                |-----------------+-------------------+-----------------|
                |High School      |$7,747             |$7,875           |
                 ------------------------------------------------------- 
                |Unified          |$6,748             |$6,859           |
                |-----------------+-------------------+-----------------|
                |                 |                   |                 |
                 ------------------------------------------------------- 

                  Categorical Funds  have been created over the years  
               to provide school districts funding for specific  
               purposes, such as improving school safety or improving  
               the academic achievement of struggling students.  
               Unlike discretionary funds, categorical funds (also  
               known as "categorical programs") are all funded  
               through the annual budget act. They are usually  
               accompanied by regulations that require that they be  
               spent in specific ways or for specific purposes. 

               As part of the February 2009 budget package, most  
               categorical programs were placed into three categories  
               or "Tiers."  School districts with categorical  
               programs in "Tier III" were allowed to use the funding  
               associated with about 40 categorical programs for any  
               education purpose. This change essentially made  
               roughly $4.5 billion in restricted funding  
               discretionary. About 20 state-funded categorical  
               programs totaling roughly $7.5 billion were excluded  
               from this flexibility. Categorical flexibility has  
               been authorized through the end of 2014-15.  The  




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               following provides an explanation of each tier.

                  Tier I.  Tier I programs remained intact, that is,  
               no reductions were made to their allocation, no  
               programmatic changes were made, and no flexibility  
               granted. These programs included: Child Nutrition,  
               Economic Impact Aid (EIA), Charter EIA, K-3 Class Size  
               Reduction, Special Education, After-school programs,  
               and Child Development (Pre-K only in 2011-12). 

                  Tier II.  Programs in this tier were subject to  
               program cuts but the program requirements were kept in  
               place, that is, they were not "flexible". These  
               programs included: Apprenticeship programs, County  
               Office Oversight (FCMAT), Home-to-School  
               transportation, Student assessments, Foster Youth  
               Programs, Adults in Correctional Facilities,  
               Partnership Academies, Agricultural Vocational  
               Education, K-12 Internet, Charter School Facility  
               Grants, and Year Round Schools. 

                  Tier III: The majority of categorical programs were  
               included in this  category. Funding for roughly 40  
               programs was reduced and then made flexible, that is,  
               all program requirements were removed, and the funding  
               associated could be used for any educational purpose. 

           ANALYSIS
           
           This bill  replaces the existing revenue limit  
          (discretionary) and categorical funding structure and  
          establishes a Local Control Funding Formula, beginning in  
          the 2014-15 fiscal year, comprised of a base grant and a  
          supplemental grant for school districts, charter schools  
          and county offices of education. The bill provides  
          supplemental grant funding equal to 35 percent of the base  
          grant for every pupil identified as either an English  
          learner (EL), eligible for a free or reduced price meal, or  
          in foster care.  The formula uses an unduplicated count,  
          meaning that pupils that fall into more than one category  
          are counted only once.  More specifically, this bill:

          1)   Establishes a Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) for  
               school districts, charter schools, and county offices  
               of education (COEs).





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          2)   Specifies legislative intent to:

               a)        Phase-in implementation of the LCFF in a  
                    manner and on a timeline that allows the state to  
                    restore local educational agency funding levels  
                    to those that existed prior to the past budget  
                    cuts.

               b)        Redirect funds that were proposed for  
                    concentration grants to instead increase both  
                    base grants and supplemental grants, in  
                    proportions to be determined.

               c)        Require that funding adjustments for grades  
                    9 to 12 be spent on programs that prepare pupils  
                    for college and career, and consider other  
                    incentives for schools to continue successful  
                    career preparation programs, including the  
                    possible maintenance of existing categorical and  
                    competitive grant programs.

               d)        Require funds allocated for home-to-school  
                    transportation (HTS) be spent accordingly. And as  
                    funding allows adjust those allocations,  
                    equitably, at a percentage of allowable costs to  
                    be determined.

               e)        Consider remedies for other funding  
                    allocations that are distributed according to  
                    inequitable, historically-based formulas.

               f)        Provide some level of supplemental support  
                    for English learners (EL) beyond the five-year  
                    limit and ensure greater transparency of  
                    instruction and services for EL pupils, such that  
                    strong local-and state-level oversight and  
                    accountability are supported.
                 
          3)   Provides an unspecified base grant that is based on  
               the statewide average undeficited revenue limit per  
               unit of average daily attendance (ADA).

          4)   Provides that the unspecified base grant per ADA shall  
               be adjusted by grade level as follows:

               a)        Grades kindergarten through 3;




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               b)        Grades 4 to 6;
               c)        Grades 7 and 8; and 
               d)        Grades 9 to 12.

          5)   Establishes a phase-in formula, as specified, to  
               gradually close the gap between actual funding and the  
               target level of funding.

          6)   Establishes a supplemental grant equal to 35 percent  
               of the base grant for every pupil identified as either  
               an EL, eligible for a free or reduced price meal  
               (FRPM), or in foster care; and uses an "unduplicated  
               count" meaning that pupils who fall into more than one  
               category are counted only once. 

          7)   Specifies that a pupil cannot be classified as an EL  
               for more than five years in total.

          8)   Requires the pupil-to-teacher ratio in grades K-3 to  
               be no more than 24 to 1, when the formula is fully  
               implemented, unless a higher ratio is negotiated  
               through collective bargaining, and requires a gradual  
               reduction to the 24 to 1 ratio during the phase-in  
               period.

          9)   Caps funding for HTS and the Targeted Instructional  
               Improvement Program (TIIG) at their 2013-14 levels and  
               continues to provide this funding to school districts  
               currently receiving it in addition to their Local  
               Control Funding Formula (LCFF) base grant. 

          10)  Maintains funding and program requirements for the  
               following categorical programs:

               a)        Special education;
               b)        After School Education and Safety Program;
               c)        State Preschool;
               d)        Quality Education Investment Act;
               e)        Assessments;
               f)        American Indian Education Centers; and
               g)        Early Childhood Education Programs.

          11)  Repeals funding and program requirements for all other  
               categorical programs and redirects their monies to the  
               supplemental grant portion of the LCFF.





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          12)  Establishes a hold harmless provision to maintain  
               total revenue limit and categorical program funding  
               for each district and charter school at its 2013-14  
               level, unadjusted for changes in ADA or COLA.

          13)  Provides, for basic aid districts, that local property  
               tax revenues be used to offset the entire LCFF  
               allocation.

          14)  Repeals the requirement that districts receiving state  
               general obligation bond funding for facilities set  
               aside 3% of the general fund expenditures in a routine  
               maintenance account.

          15)  Requires school districts and county offices of  
               education to adopt an annual Local Control and  
               Accountability Plan (LCAP) using a template adopted by  
               the State Board of Education (SBE) 

          16)  Requires each LCAP to identify goals and describe the  
               specific actions and strategies they will use to  
               achieve all of the following:  

               a)        Implement the Common Core content standards  
               for all pupils;

               b)        Increase the Academic Performance Index  
               (API) for each school 
                    and for each numerically significant pupil  
                    subgroup and reduce gaps in the API and other  
                    measures of pupil achievement between numerically  
                    significant pupil subgroups;

               c)        Improve pupil achievement of the content  
               standards adopted by the 
                    State Board of Education (SBE);




               d)        Increase high school graduation rates and  
               reduce dropout rates;

               e)        Increase the percentage of pupils who have  
               successfully completed 
                    courses that satisfy the University of California  




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                    and California State University entrance  
                    requirements, Advanced Placement courses, and CTE  
                    programs;

               f)        Identify and address the needs of pupils,  
               and schools 
                    predominately serving pupils, who are English  
                    learners (El), qualify for free and reduced-price  
                    meals, in foster care, or enrolled in a juvenile  
                    court school operated by a county superintendent  
                    of schools;

               g)        Remedy deficiencies in any school in the  
               areas of textbooks and 
                    instructional materials; safe, clean, and  
                    adequate school facilities; and qualified  
                    teachers; and

               h)        Provide meaningful opportunities for parent  
                    involvement, including, at a minimum, supporting  
                    effective schoolsite councils or other structures  
                    at each school and advisory panels to the  
                    governing board or, if parents so choose,  
                    creating other structures, such as an ombudsman  
                    for parents, to address complaints and other  
                    issues raised by parents.

          17)  Specifies legislative intent to strengthen the  
               accountability provisions in the following ways:

               a)        Ensure supplemental funds generated by low  
               income, EL pupils,
                    and foster pupils are used to improve services to  
                    those pupils, and not supplant existing resources  
                    dedicated to those pupils.

               b)        Provide authority of state entities, county  
               entities, or both to 
                    intervene and support school districts that do  
                    not demonstrate improvements, as specified.

               c)        Rescind flexibility provisions for school  
               districts that do not 
                         demonstrate improvements, as specified.

               d)        Ensure more robust data collections for  




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               purposes of state 
                         accountability and state and local  
               oversight.

               e)        Ensure that the majority of funds allocated  
                    through any funding formula are spent on services  
                    and programs with direct benefits to pupils.

          18)  Requires the county offices of education plan to also  
               describe specific actions and strategies to:

               a)        Conduct effective fiscal oversight of school  
 
               districts;

               b)        Provide support to school districts in the  
 
               county, as specified; and

               c)        Coordinate instruction for expelled pupils.


          19)  Requires the annual audit of school district and  
               county offices of education (COE) expenditures to  
               ascertain and verify whether funds have been spent in  
               accordance with the Local Control and Accountability  
               Plan (LCAP).

          20)  Requires the COE review of school district budgets to  
               verify that funds will be spent in accordance with the  
               district's LCAP.

          21)  Requires charter schools to submit an annual LCAP to  
               their chartering authorities and COEs.

          22)  Replaces the existing funding model for COEs and  
               replaces it with a two part formula based on the cost  
               of providing regional services and alternative  
               education.

          23)  Provides that the regional services component of the  
               COE funding formula consist of the following:

               a)        A base grant;

               b)        An additional unspecified amount per school  




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               district in the county;

               c)        An additional unspecified amount per ADA in  
                    the county (based on a sliding scale, with less  
                    populated counties receiving a higher amount per  
                    ADA).

          24)  Provides that the alternative education component of  
               the COE funding formula include:

               a)        An unspecified base rate per eligible pupil  
               (pupils who are 
                    incarcerated, on probation, probation-referred,  
                    or mandatorily expelled); and

               b)        A weight of 35% for pupils who are English  
                    learners, receiving free or reduced price meals,  
                    or in foster care.

          25)  Makes various technical and conforming changes to,  
               among other things, replace statutory references to  
               the revenue limit with references to the LCFF.
           
          STAFF COMMENTS  

           1)   Administration's proposal  .  As part of the proposed  
               2013 budget, the administration proposes a new K-12  
               school finance system - the Local Control Funding  
               Formula - beginning in 2013-14. The new funding  
               formula provides significant and permanent additional  
               flexibility to local districts by consolidating the  
               vast majority of state categorical programs and  
               revenue limit apportionments into a single source of  
               funding.  Notably, the Governor proposes an additional  
               $1.6 billion in Proposition 98 funding to begin  
               implementation of the new formula in 2013-14. The  
               formula will distribute these combined resources to  
               schools using base grants and funding supplements that  
               account for the variability in costs of educating  
               specific student populations.
                
                The underlying premise of the administration's  
               proposal should be commended for (1) emphasizing  
               greater fiscal resources to pupil populations in need  
               of narrowing academic achievement gaps, 
               (2) providing a somewhat less complicated way of  




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               funding schools, 
               (3) creating greater emphasis on local decision-making  
               on educational approaches, and (4) establishing the  
               beginnings of an accountability structure.
                
                However, because of the numerous implementation  
               implications on not only education finance, but  
               education policy, the Legislature strongly encouraged  
               the administration to pursue this proposal through the  
               legislative policy process to provide a deliberative  
               mechanism that includes public input.  The  
               administration, however, continues to pursue  
               implementation of their proposal through the annual  
               budget process. 
                
               A few examples of the many issues, though not  
               exhaustive, include:

                    a)             No supplemental funding for  
                    English learners (EL) pupils beyond five years -  
                    is this a new "reclassification" of EL pupils for  
                    purposes of education and language acquisition?   
                    What happens if a pupil has not acquired  
                    necessary educational and language skills? With  
                    no more supplemental funding, do we assume no  
                    more educational service obligation?
                                         
               b)        Shouldn't supplemental funding actually be  
               spent on supplemental 
                         services for the pupils that generated the  
               funding?

               c)        Should parents and local governing boards be  
               provided capacity 
                    building capability / options in order understand  
                    and take advantage of presumed enhanced local  
                    control?  All communities are not the same.

               d)        Does this proposal provide too much county  
               office authority over 
                    local school governing board programmatic  
                    decision-making?   If not, then are county  
                    offices ultimately responsible for school  
                    districts success and failure? 

               e)        Does the state have any formal oversight  




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               role beyond what is 
                    envisioned in the LCFF, particularly given that  
                    the State Constitution makes public education  
                    uniquely a fundamental concern of the State? How  
                    should the state provide guidance and assistance?  
                    Are there clear consequences / interventions for  
                    failing schools?  

           2)   According to the author  , the Senate approach agrees  
               with the fundamental goals and concepts behind the  
               Governor's proposal:
                 
               a)        A more equitable, streamlined, transparent  
                    funding structure.

               b)        A funding structure that puts greater focus  
                    and financial resources on educationally  
                    disadvantaged students.

               c)        A funding structure that provides permanent  
                    flexibility to school districts to address local  
                    needs.

               However, the Senate approach finds that the Governor's  
               proposal is lacking in several areas and needs  
               modification.  The major issues that need to be  
               addressed in the proposal related to: 

               d)        Funding adequacy for all school districts.

               e)        Modifications to the funding distribution  
                    formulas to ensure that no low income and English  
                    learners students are made "invisible" under the  
                    formula.

               f)        Stronger provisions on local school district  
                    accountability to ensure that additional funds  
                    generated by numbers of educationally  
                    disadvantaged students (low income, English  
                    learners, and foster youth) are actually spent to  
                    improve their educational outcomes.

               g)        Ensuring that school districts continue to  
                    focus on reducing the high school dropout rate,  
                    maintain educational options for young adults,  
                    training the workforce of tomorrow.




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           3)   Senate Education Committee April 3, hearing  .  On April  
               3, this committee passed SB 223 (Liu) on a 9-0 vote.   
               SB 223 connects fiscal flexibility over categorical  
               funding with an accountability system.  SB 223 made  
               the connection between providing school districts  
               greater fiscal discretion with funds from over 40  
               categorical programs, while insuring sound  
               accountability approaches are adhered to, and that any  
               local plan is developed with input from parents and  
               teachers. School districts must apply for the  
               "flexibility," the State Superintendent must ensure  
               local plans meet agreed to pre-conditions in order for  
               the district to participate in obtaining maximum  
               flexibility, and a school district that obtains  
               flexibility must agree to demonstrate various goals,  
               including but not limited to, significant progress  
               toward pupil proficiency in the state standards,  
               narrowing of achievement gaps, fiscal solvency, and  
               improvement in career technical preparedness.
           
                In addition, SB 223 excluded specific programs from  
               being "flexed" for example, Economic Impact Aid, adult  
               education, regional occupational centers and programs  
               (ROCPs), partnership academies, and specialized  
               secondary education grants.  

               Furthermore, SB 223 requires school districts  
               participating in the new flex and accountability  
               program to agree to demonstrable goals, including but  
               not limited to:

                  a)        Significant progress toward accelerating  
                    pupils' progress toward proficiency of the  
                    state's academic standards over a three-year  
                    period;





                  b)        Narrowing of the achievement gaps for the  
                    school district's federally recognized subgroups  
                    as measured by annual assessments, as specified;






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                  c)        Fiscal solvency, as specified;



                  d)        Positive growth on the state's Academic  
                    Performance Index; and



                  e)        Improved rates for high school graduation  
                    and college entrance, and increases of pupils who  
                    enter technical school after graduation or who  
                    graduate prepared to enter high-wage, high skill  
                    occupations.



                  f)        Pupil progress in passage of common core  
                    standards.


           1)   Fails to restore all districts to their 2007-08  
               purchasing power  .  The Local Control Funding Formula  
               (LCFF) uses the current level of funding as the  
               starting point for the allocation of funds.  The  
               current level of funding is more than 20% below the  
               level provided in 2007-08.  Pinning each district's  
               target level of funding to the statewide average  
               undeficited revenue limit means that districts with  
               above average revenue limits will have a target that  
               is below their 2007-08 funding level.  
                
                The underlying research paper, that the LCFF is based  
               on specifically, argues that "Reforms should apply to  
               new money going forward, without reducing any  
               district's current allocation."  Consistent with that  
               principle, and since all districts shared equally in  
               the cuts that have occurred since 2007-08, the  
               committee may wish to consider whether all districts  
               should be restored to that level of funding, either  
               before a new formula is enacted or concurrently with  
               the phase-in of a new formula.   

               Was there a presumption on the part of the public with  
               the passage of Proposition 30 that school funding  




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               reductions would be stopped and restoration of past  
               funding cuts occur?   For example, a statewide average  
               "undeficited" unified school district revenue limit  
               for 2012-13 is $6,747 / ADA.  This is the amount  
               school districts would have been getting in the  
               absence of the state withholding COLA and imposing  
               revenue limit reductions.  According to the Department  
               of Finance the actual funded unified school district  
               revenue limit is $5,244. This is a gap of  
               approximately $1,500 (or about 22 percent less) per  
               ADA than is currently required under law.

           2)   Base grant  .  The target level of funding for the  
               proposed base grant is based on the statewide average  
               undeficited revenue limit.  Monies for all of the  
               categorical programs-other than the ones excluded from  
               the LCFF-would be shifted to the weighted portion of  
               the formula.  This raises three inter-related  
               questions:  How large should the base be?  How large  
               should the weight be? And what is the relationship  
               between the base and the weight.  Providing that the  
               base should be comprised only of the undeficited  
               revenue limit assumes that this level of funding is  
               sufficient to adequately serve the needs of the  
               general pupil population.
                
                This bill by eliminating the concentration factor  
               attempts, in part, to raise the base grant to a more  
               appropriate level of funding and increase the  
               supplemental grants to spread resources more evenly  
               across similarly needy pupils.  But certain  
               categorical program funding that were supplements to  
               the base revenue limits are no longer available and  
               are reprioritized for the benefit of the targeted  
               supplemental grant populations. 

           3)   Local Control and Accountability Plans  .  Funds  
               received through the LCFF would be unrestricted and  
               available for any locally-determined use.  However,  
               governing boards would be required to adopt an annual  
               Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) to  
               describe the specific actions and strategies the  
               district will use to achieve specified objectives.   
               One of the eight requirements of the plan is to  
               identify and address the needs of pupils, and schools  
               predominately serving pupils, who are English  




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               learners, qualify for free and reduced-price meals, in  
               foster care, or enrolled in a juvenile court school  
               operated by a county superintendent of schools.  
                
                In addition, the proposal requires that the  
               supplemental grant funds be used to substantially  
               benefit the targeted pupils as provided for in the  
               local control and accountability plan.  This language  
               provides no guarantee that funds generated by targeted  
               pupil populations are expended on programs / services  
               for these populations.

               A school district's LCAP is subject to review and  
               approval by the county superintendent of schools as  
               part of the AB 1200 financial oversight process.    
               County superintendents would be required to disapprove  
               a district's budget if he or she determines that the  
               plan is not consistent with the LCAP template adopted  
               by the SBE or that it does not reflect the costs  
               necessary to implement the LCAP.  This goes beyond the  
               current responsibilities that county superintendents  
               have with respect to school district oversight.  In  
               addition, the annual external audit must include a  
               determination of whether funds were expended in  
               accordance with the LCAP.  The committee may wish to  
               consider whether this goes beyond the scope of normal  
               audits and whether auditors have the training and  
               expertise to make this determination.
                 
           4)   At what point does the local control outweigh  
               statewide policy objectives and priorities  ?   
               Categorical programs have been adopted in part to  
               ensure that state policy objectives and priorities are  
               addressed at the local level.  For example, the EIA  
               program was established to ensure districts address  
               the needs of low income pupils and English learners.   
               The Mentally Gifted Minor program was changed to  
               Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) to ensure that  
               districts went beyond culturally biased IQ tests to  
               identify more traditionally underrepresented pupils of  
               color for the program.  By eliminating categorical  
               programs, the LCFF eliminates the lever by which the  
               Legislature seeks to ensure that state priorities are  
               addressed.  The Principle of Subsidiarity assumes that  
               school districts are the best entities for  
               establishing policies and setting priorities, but that  




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               may not always be the case.  For example, if the  
               benefit of a program accrues more to the state at  
               large than to an individual school district, such as  
               citizenship courses for adults or regionalized  
               programs for career-technical education (such as  
               programs offered through Regional Occupational  
               Programs and Centers), then districts would have  
               little incentive to offer that program, even if it is  
               a high priority for the state.  

           5)   Senate bills that merit consideration  as discussion on  
               funding flexibility and accountability continue.  The  
               following measures link specific pupil populations or  
               programs with preconditions and accountability and  
               warrant consideration as part of any LCFF or  
               independent of an LCFF.
                 
               a)        SB 344 (Padilla). This bill, commencing with  
                    the 2014-15 fiscal year, would require, as a  
                    condition for receiving supplemental funds for  
                    English learners under the Limited English  
                    Proficient Student Program, a school district  
                    that applies to the State Department of Education  
                    for these funds to adopt a master plan for how  
                    those supplemental funds will be spent. The bill  
                    would require the master plan to cover  
                    expenditures of these supplemental funds by the  
                    school district and at each affected school  
                    within the district. The bill would require  
                    school districts, in developing or renewing  
                    master plans under the bill, to seek input from  
                    teachers, principals, administrators, English  
                    learner advisory committees, schoolsite councils,  
                    and parents, both districtwide and from each  
                    school.

               b)        SB 660 (Hancock).  This bill preserves  
                    funding provided in the annual budget for the  
                    following career technical education (CTE)  
                    programs:  Regional Occupational Centers and  
                    Programs (ROCPs), Partnership Academies,  
                    Specialized Secondary Programs, and the  
                    Agricultural Career Technical Education Incentive  
                    program.  This bill also establishes an  
                    accountability system for these CTE programs  
                    based upon the eleven criteria currently used to  




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                    assess the effectiveness of programs receiving  
                    federal Carl Perkins funds.

           6)   If it is the desire of the committee to move the bill  ,  
               staff recommends the following amendments:

               a)        Consistent with action taken by this  
                    committee on April 3, maintain the following  
                    categorical programs and strike from the "pool"  
                    of categorical programs that get placed into the  
                    LCFF - ROCPs (6110-105-0001), specialized  
                    secondary program grants (6110-122-0001), adult  
                    education (6110-156-0001), partnership academies  
                    (6110-166-0001), and agricultural vocational  
                    education (6110-167-0001).  Further, re-insert  
                    language requiring audits of ROCPs. Finally, also  
                    strike from the "pool" foster youth programs  
                    (6110-119-0001) - maintaining FYPs would be  
                    consistent with the intent of providing essential  
                    services for this targeted population.

               b)        Make implementation of this measure  
                    contingent upon enactment of legislation (i.e.,  
                    SB 344, Padilla) in the 2013-14 Regular  
                    Legislative Session that deals with more expanded  
                    accountability for the use of Economic Impact Aid  
                    funding or supplemental funding pursuant to this  
                    measure and for the implementation of a  
                    standards-based curriculum for EL pupils that is  
                    cognitively complex, coherent, comprehensive, and  
                    standards aligned.

               c)        Make implementation of this measure  
                    contingent upon enactment of legislation (i.e.,  
                    SB 660, Hancock) in the 2013-14 Regular  
                    Legislative Session that deal with at a minimum,  
                    as a condition of receipt of CTE type funds,  
                    require programs receiving funds to collect and  
                    report data as required by the department to  
                    prepare and update  accountability measures to  
                    determine the quality and effectiveness of a  
                    career technical education course of study or  
                    sequence of career technical education courses  
                    including a uniform accountability metric based  
                    on any career-ready standards adopted pursuant to  
                    the federal Elementary and Secondary Education  




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                    Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.) 

               d)        In a distinct paragraph, require any COE,  
                    school district, or charter school that receives  
                    supplemental funding to expend these funds to  
                    serve and assist English learners, economically  
                    disadvantaged and foster youth pupils.  In  
                    addition, add language that clearly states,  
                    supplemental funding received by COEs, school  
                    districts shall supplement and not supplant  
                    existing resources expended on English learners,  
                    economically disadvantaged, and foster youth.

               e)        Strike out provisions that limit English  
                    learner classification for purposes of funding  
                    for five years.  On page 12, strike lines 1 and  
                    2; and on page 64, strike lines 26 and 27.  

               f)        Add a new paragraph requiring the COEs,  
                    school districts, and charter schools to develop  
                    and offer at a minimum, twice a year during the  
                    phase-in of the LCFF, information to parents and  
                    governing boards to enhance their understanding  
                    and familiarity with the presumed enhanced local  
                    control. And must include how COEs, school  
                    districts and charter schools will provide  
                    meaningful opportunities for parent involvement,  
                    including support for effective schoolsite  
                    councils and English learner advisory committees.  


               g)        Require that a local control and  
                    accountability plan must be developed in  
                    conjunction with parents and teachers, to  
                    accelerate pupils' progress to academic  
                    proficiency. The plan shall include measurable  
                    metrics to improve pupil performance, close the  
                    achievement gap, increase college entrance rates,  
                    and increase career readiness. And that COEs,  
                    school districts, and charter schools shall agree  
                    to demonstrate (to the extent not clearly  
                    articulated in the current Local Control and  
                    Accountability Plan (LCAP)) all of the following  
                    goals (consistent with legislation already passed  
                    by this committee), starting with a baseline of  
                    student achievement at the time the LCAP is  




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                    adopted: 

                    i)              Significant progress toward  
                         accelerating pupils' progress toward  
                         proficiency in California's academic  
                         standards over a three-year period, as  
                         measured by the annual assessments  
                         administered pursuant to Article 4  
                         (commencing with Section 60640) of Chapter 5  
                         of Part 33 and any other local, state, or  
                         national assessments.

                    ii)            A narrowing of the achievement gap  
                         in the school district's federally  
                         recognized subgroups, as measured by the  
                         annual assessments administered pursuant to  
                         Article 4 (commencing with Section 60640) of  
                         Chapter 5 of Part 33 and any other local,  
                         state, or national assessments.

                    iii)            Fiscal solvency, as measured by  
                         the standards and criteria adopted by the  
                         state board pursuant to Section 33127 and  
                         implementing regulations.

                    iv)            Positive growth, as measured by  
                         the school district's Academic Performance  
                         Index score, the annual assessments  
                         administered pursuant to Article 4  
                         (commencing with Section 60640) of Chapter 5  
                         of Part 33, and any other local, state, or  
                         national assessments.

                    v)             An increase in the school  
                         district's graduation rate, as measured by  
                         the California Longitudinal Pupil  
                         Achievement Data System and the school  
                         district level data system.

                    vi)            Improvement in the school  
                         district's college entrance rate, as  
                         measured by the National Student  
                         Clearinghouse or other state-approved pupil  
                         data tracking system.

                    vii)           Improvement in the number of  




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                         pupils who enter a technical school after  
                         graduation, as measured by the National  
                         Student Clearinghouse or other  
                         state-approved pupil data tracking system,  
                         or who graduate prepared to enter high-wage,  
                         high-skill occupations.

                    viii)          Pupil progress in passage of  
                         common core standards.  

               h)        Require the State Superintendent of Public  
                    Instruction (SPI) to develop and the State Board  
                    of Education to approve, by July 1, 2015, a  
                    system of assistance and interventions to be  
                    implemented when COEs, school districts, and  
                    charter schools (1) request information and  
                    technical and programmatic assistance, and / or  
                    (2) fail over a consecutive two year period to  
                                                     meet pupil achievement goals as defined in the  
                    Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP).   
                    The system of interventions shall be available  
                    for implementation no later than July 1, 2017,  
                    and include meaningful incentives and  
                    consequences, which may include loss of local  
                    governing and policymaking authority.  Any  
                    element of the system of assistance and  
                    interventions requiring statutory changes shall  
                    be submitted for consideration to the appropriate  
                    policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature  
                    no later than January 1, 2015. Assistance and  
                    interventions may include but not be limited to,  
                    development of a carefully selected and trained  
                    statewide and / or regional group of experts and  
                    practitioners to help COEs, school districts and  
                    charter schools develop local capacity to meet  
                    the educational needs of all pupils.

               I)        Require all COEs to include all LCAPs under  
                    their jurisdiction be posted on county websites,  
                    and the SPI to make all LCAPs available on the  
                    SDE website by adding this requirement on page  
                    140, after line 32. 
           
          SUPPORT  

          None on file.




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          OPPOSITION

           Californians Together