BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 344
Author: Padilla (D)
Amended: 5/24/13
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 5/1/13
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Correa, Hancock, Hueso, Huff,
Jackson, Monning
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/13
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : English learners: supplemental funding: school
district master
plans
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill, beginning with the 2014-15 fiscal year,
establishes conditions to be met by school districts in order to
receive state supplemental funding to serve English learners
(ELs).
Senate Floor Amendments of 5/24/13 clarify that the required
content of the District Master Plan is consistent with Title III
requirements for districts that receive federal funds to serve
ELs, require that districts meet Title III annual measurable
achievement objectives and establishes California specific
objectives, require that the plan be reviewed every three years
rather than annually, require collection and posting of relevant
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EL data and the posting of contact information for English
learner program staff, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides economic impact aid (EIA)
funding to school districts based on the number of economically
disadvantaged pupils and ELs enrolled in the school district,
and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to perform
specified calculations to determine the amount of this funding
to be received by a district each fiscal year. Districts that
have a higher concentration of these pupils receive additional
funding. The school district is required to expend these funds
or specified programs and activities to support programs and
activities designed to assist ELs achieve proficiency in their
English language as rapidly as practicable and to support
programs and activities designed to improve the academic
achievement of ELs and economically disadvantaged pupils. The
district is prohibited from expending these funds at school
sites that do not have ELs or economically disadvantaged pupils.
These funds must supplement, and not supplant, existing
resources at the school site.
Existing law specifically requires, as a condition of the
receipt of EIA funds, that a school district post online and in
an easily accessible location the amount of EIA allocated to the
district, the amount used for administrative costs, the amount
expended for EL students and the amount expended for
compensatory education in the current and in the prior fiscal
year by the district and by each school in the district, and the
amount of unexpended aid along with an explanation of why these
fund have not been expended.
Existing law provides that if the Legislature does not enact
legislation that continues the bilingual education program
(which sunsets on June 30, 1987), the funding for that program
is required to continue for the general purposes of that program
as specified in the sunsetted statutes. Existing law requires
that funds be disbursed according to identification criteria and
allocation formulas for the program in effect on the sunset date
and that these funds be used for the intended purposes of the
program. Existing law also requires the continuation of parent
advisory committees and school site councils and specifically
provides that any school receiving EIA or Bilingual Education
Aid subsequent to the sunset of these programs is required to
establish a school site council and that the functions and
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responsibilities of such advisory committees and school site
councils continue.
Existing law defines a program of "compensatory education" as an
undertaking which is over, above, and in addition to, regular
educational programs with the purpose of providing positive
stimulation of the intellectual abilities of disadvantaged
minors and that embodies a positive plan for the identification
of such minors.
This bill:
1.Requires, beginning with the 2014-15 fiscal year, as a
condition for receiving supplemental funds for ELs under the
Limited English Proficient Student Program (LEPSP), 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. Requires the master plan to cover
expenditures of these supplemental funds by the school
district and at each affected school within the district.
Specifies the information to be included in the master plans.
Requires 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.
2.Requires, beginning with the 2014-15 school year, schools and
school districts receiving supplemental funding from the LEPSP
to establish advisory committees, with prescribed membership,
to which proposed master plans would be submitted for review
and approval. Requires a school district that receives this
supplemental funding to post certain contact information on
its Internet Web site, as specified.
3.Requires, beginning with the 2014-15 school year, a school
that is required to establish a schoolsite council, and that
receives supplemental funds for ELs under the LEPSP, to
include parents and teachers of ELs on its schoolsite council.
Background
EIA . EIA is a state categorical program that provides
supplemental funds to support additional programs and services
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for ELs/limited English proficient (LEP) pupils and compensatory
education services for educationally disadvantaged students.
The EIA/LEP support programs and activities to assist ELs
achieve proficiency in the English language as rapidly as
practicable and to support programs and activities to improve
the academic achievement of ELs. EIA/State Compensatory
Education support programs and activities designed to assist
educationally disadvantaged students achieve state standard
proficiency.
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 flexibility is extended through
the 2014-15 fiscal year. The EIA program is one of only six
categorical programs that was not provided this flexibility.
Governor's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) . As part of the
2013-14 Governor's Budget, the administration proposes to
restructure the existing K-12 finance system and eliminate over
40 existing programs while also repealing, what the
administration determines are countless "discretionary"
provisions of statute, while implementing a new formula known as
the LCFF.
The LCFF consolidates the vast majority of state categorical
programs and revenue limit apportionments into a single source
of funding (12 categorical programs, including Special
Education, Child Nutrition, Preschool, and After School
programs, would be excluded). The LCFF proposal also eliminates
the statutory and programmatic requirements for almost all
existing categorical programs - the programs would be deemed
"discretionary" and programs in any of these areas would be
dependent on local district discretion. To the extent that the
LCFF or a modified version of it is adopted as part of the
budget, the majority of currently required categorical
activities is left to local districts' discretion. Therefore,
the changes proposed by this bill could be diluted, eliminated,
rendered obsolete or discretionary at the local level.
LCFF and ELs . In lieu of EIA, the Governor's proposal
specifically provides for a supplemental grant equal to 35% of
the base grant provided for each EL, economically disadvantaged
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or foster youth pupil, and for schools with ELs, economically
disadvantaged and foster youth enrollment in excess of 50% of
their total enrollment, a concentration grant equal to 35% of
the base grant for each student above the 50% threshold. The
Governor's proposal would cap the amount of time an EL student
could generate supplemental funds at five years.
According to a Legislative Analyst's Office analysis, the
Governor's proposal provides districts with greater discretion
over how to use these funds compared to current requirements for
EIA funds. Districts will be required to use the supplemental
funds to meet the needs of their ELs and low-income student
groups, but they will have broad flexibility in doing so.
Existing law is more stringent in that the state requires and
monitors that districts use EIA funds to provide supplemental
services for the targeted student groups beyond what other
students receive.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Potentially significant local costs to adopt and renew
the Masterplan in the manner required by this bill.
Accountability: The California Department of Education
estimates that it would require approximately $1 million -
$1.3 million in annual staffing costs to review
Masterplans.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/13)
American Civil Liberties Union
California Federation of Teachers
Californians Together
Families in Schools
PQ:nl:d 5/28/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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