BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 236 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 236 (Pavley) As Amended June 26, 2013 2/3 vote. Urgency SENATE VOTE :36-0 EDUCATION 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Buchanan, Olsen, Chávez, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, | | |Gonzalez, Nazarian, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian | | |Weber, Williams | |Calderon, Campos, | | | | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, | | | | |Hall, Holden, Linder, | | | | |Pan, Quirk, Wagner, Weber | |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------| | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Authorizes the Moorpark Unified School District (MUSD) to, beginning in the 2013-14 fiscal year, operate one or more high schools offering a middle college program on a four-day school week, provided that it complies with specified instructional time requirements and other requirements for operating a four-day school week schedule. Specifically, this bill : 1)Authorizes the State Board of Education (SBE) to waive the five-consecutive-day operating requirements for a middle college program that operates on a four-day school week, provided that the MUSD meets the minimum time requirements for a middle college program. 2)Specifies that if a school in the MUSD operating a four-day school week fails to achieve its Academic Performance Index (API) target, the authority of that school to operate on a four-day school week shall be permanently revoked beginning with the following school year. 3)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to reduce the MUSD's local control funding formula (LCFF) allocation by amounts the MUSD would have received in instructional time incentive funding, adjusted for cost-of-living since the inception of the incentive, if the MUSD does not maintain 180 days in a school year and provide the instructional time required under SB 236 Page 2 current law. 4)Specifies that if a small school with between 11 and 99 valid Standardized Testing and Reporting Program test scores operating on a four-day school week fails to achieve its API growth target for two consecutive years, the authority of that school to operate on a four-day school week shall be permanently revoked beginning with the following school year. 5)Specifies that if the MUSD operates one or more schools on a four-day school week, the MUSD shall submit a report to the California Department of Education (CDE) and the Senate and Assembly Education Committees by January 15, 2018. The report shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, all of the following: a) Programs the school district offered on the fifth schoolday and their participation rates. b) If the four-day school week schedule resulted in fiscal savings. c) Impact on overall attendance of the schools operating a four-day school week. d) Programs for which the SBE waived minimum time and five-consecutive-day requirements and the operational and educational effects of the programs if they operated at less time than required. e) The impact of the four-day school week on crime statistics, especially on the day on which school would otherwise be in session. f) Information on the API for every year a school in the MUSD operated on a four-day school week. The information shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the base and growth API of each school that operated on a four-day school week and whether that school met the API growth targets. g) Specific outcomes for pupils attending a school operating on a four-day school week including, but not limited to, attendance rates, graduation rates, college entrance and attendance rates, and employment rates of pupils who do not SB 236 Page 3 attend college. 6)Authorizes the MUSD operating one or more schools on a four-day school week to claim a day of attendance for the pupils enrolled in a middle college high school operating on a four-day school week. 7)Specifies that upon a determination that the MUSD equals or exceeds its LCFF target, the MUSD shall offer 180 days or more of instruction per year, and shall meet specified minimum minute requirements. 8)Becomes inoperative on June 30, 2018, and is repealed on January 1, 2019, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed. 9)Contains an urgency clause in order for the MUSD to use the four-day school week authorization provided by this bill in the 2013-14 school year. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, there is no additional cost to the state General Fund (GF). There may be potential GF/Proposition 98 savings if the MUSD's LCFF allocation is reduced (at the discretion of the SPI) due to the MUSD not meeting instructional minute and day requirements. In the 2011-12 fiscal year, the MUSD received a total of $35.4 million in revenue limit funding (general purpose), which equaled approximately $5,403 per average daily attendance (ADA). Under full implementation of the LCFF, the MUSD is expected to receive approximately $8,547 per ADA. COMMENTS : This bill authorizes the MUSD to operate one or more high schools operating a middle college program on a four-day school week schedule. The MUSD operates one middle college high school program, The High School @ Moorpark College, located on the Moorpark College campus. Middle college high schools : Existing law authorizes districts to establish middle college high schools - a joint venture with California Community College Districts and school districts - to provide an alternative educational setting for select at-risk high school students who are performing below their academic potential and who can benefit from a program located on a community college SB 236 Page 4 campus in order to reduce the likelihood that they will drop out of school before graduation. Students earn both high school and college credits. The design of each middle college high school may vary, but the basic elements of a middle college high school must include the following: 1)A curriculum that focuses on college and career preparation; 2)A reduced adult-student ratio; 3)Flexible scheduling to allow for work internships, community service experience, and interaction with community college student role models; and, 4)Opportunities for experiential internships, work apprenticeships, and community services. According to the CDE, there are approximately 22 middle college high schools in the state. The High School @ Moorpark College enrolls approximately 100 11th and 12th grade at-risk students as well as non-at-risk students seeking college credits. Approximately 10% of the students enrolled are at-risk students. Four-day school weeks : Prior to 1983, school districts were required to operate schools for five days and 175 days per year. The Hughes-Hart Educational Reform Act of 1983 (SB 813, Chapter 498, Statutes of 1983) offered incentive funding for districts to offer 180 days of instruction each year. Current law authorizes nine districts to operate on a four-day school week if the districts meet required instructional time of not less than 560 hours of instructional time for kindergarten; 700 hours of instructional time for grades 1, 2, and 3; and not less than 845 hours of instructional time for grades 4 through 12, without losing incentive funding. According to the CDE, only two districts, Pacific Unified School District (Monterey County) and Leggett Valley Unified School District (Mendocino County), operate on a four-day school week schedule, mainly due to extreme weather or geographic conditions. The other districts, despite having received authorization, have chosen to continue operating on a five-day school week schedule. In the past, bills proposing to allow a school district to utilize a four-day-school week schedule has been evaluated based on the following conditions. The district: SB 236 Page 5 1)Is located in an area where there are extreme climate and geography conditions. 2)Serves a widely dispersed population requiring long travel times for significant number of students. 3)Demonstrates the expected benefits to the school(s) and students of operating on shorter school week and instructional year. 4)Has considered and addressed concerns about possible negative consequences of a longer school day and shorter week on employees, students and families. 5)Is held to the requirements of existing law governing those school districts already operating schools on a four-day week. Purpose of the bill : The MUSD is not seeking authorization to operate its middle college high school on a four-day school week schedule for geographic, climate, or budgetary reasons, but for programmatic reasons. According to the sponsor, the MUSD, students take most of their classes from Monday through Thursday and currently spend only two hours of instruction on Fridays. Allowing the school to go to a four-day school week schedule would enable students to spend a whole day on their senior projects, which include community service hours, or enable teachers to provide tutoring or additional assistance to students who need it. Instruction time would increase by an hour from Monday through Thursday in order to meet statutory instructional minutes. The sponsor indicates that the families of the students have been surveyed and they do not object to a four-day school week schedule. This bill, similar to prior four-day school week authorizations, require the school to meet specified instructional time requirements and to meet their API growth targets, or the authorization is revoked. The bill also requires the MUSD to submit a report to the CDE and the Legislature with the following specified information by January 15, 2018, if the MUSD chooses to operate one or more schools on a four-day school week schedule: 1)Programs the school district offered on the fifth schoolday and their participation rates. 2)If the four-day school week schedule resulted in fiscal savings. SB 236 Page 6 3)Impact on overall attendance of the schools operating a four-day school week. 4)Programs for which the SBE waived minimum time and five-consecutive-day requirements and the operational and educational effects of the programs if they operated at less time than required. 5)The impact of the four-day school week on crime statistics, especially on the day on which school would otherwise be in session. 6)Information on the API for every year a school in the district operated on a four-day school week. The information shall include, but not necessarily be limited to, the base and growth API of each school that operated on a four-day school week and whether that school met the API growth targets. 7)Specific outcomes for pupils attending a school operating on a four-day school week including, but not limited to, attendance rates, graduation rates, college entrance and attendance rates, and employment rates of pupils who do not attend college. This bill contains an urgency clause as the authorization begins with the 2013-14 fiscal year, and will sunset on June 30, 2018. Moorpark College supports the bill and states, "The 4-day schedule is beneficial both for students and teachers. The alternative schedule allows more opportunities for students to take Friday college classes, to interact with college-campus clubs, and to participate in college activities." Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0001610