BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 379
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 26, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
SB 379 (Hancock) - As Amended: June 19, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 34-0
SUBJECT : School attendance: early and middle college high
schools
SUMMARY : Reduces the minimum attendance requirement for pupils
in grades 11 and 12 in charter schools that operate as an early
college high school or middle college high school.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes a charter school that is an early college high
school or middle college high school to claim full
apportionment funding for a pupil who attends 32,400 minutes
per year if the pupil is in grade 11 or 12 and is also
enrolled part time in classes of the California State
University (CSU) or the University of California (UC) for
which academic credit will be provided or is a special
part-time student enrolled in a community college.
2)Clarifies that the 32,400 minutes per year minimum does not
apply to pupils who are enrolled in an early college high
school or middle college high school, but who are not enrolled
in a public college or university course for which academic
credit can be provided or is not a special part-time student
enrolled in a community college.
3)Expresses findings and declarations that define early college
high schools as innovative partnerships between charter or
noncharter public secondary schools and a local community
college, CSU, or UC that blend high school and college into a
coherent educational program and allow pupils to earn a high
school diploma and up to two years of college credit in four
years or less.
EXISTING LAW authorizes school districts to claim a full day of
attendance for apportionment purposes for 180 minutes of
attendance for pupils in grade 11 or 12 who are enrolled in an
early college high school or middle college high school and who
are also enrolled part time in classes of the CSU, or the UC for
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which academic credit will be provided or are special part-time
students enrolled in a community college. Existing law also
requires charter schools to offer at least 64,800 minutes per
year of instruction to pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee analysis, "This bill will not result in new or
additional costs to the state."
COMMENTS : SB 1316 (Hancock, Chapter 67, Statutes of 2012)
established the existing 180-minute per day minimum attendance
requirement for early college high schools and middle college
high schools operated by school districts. Otherwise, a minimum
day is 240 minutes. SB 1316 passed the Legislature last year
with no "no" votes. It was assumed that SB 1316 also applied to
charter schools. According to the author's office however,
communications from Legislative Council after the bill was
chaptered indicated that it may not apply to charter schools.
This bill clarifies that charter schools that are early college
high schools or middle college high schools may also claim full
apportionment funding for a reduced attendance requirement,
subject to the same conditions as school districts. However,
for charter schools, minimum time is expressed in statute as
minutes per year, rather than minutes per day. The 32,400
minute per year requirement for charter schools is equivalent to
the 180 minute per day requirement for non-charter schools,
based on a 180 day school year.
Middle college high schools . Existing law defines the goal of a
middle college high school as selecting at-risk high school
pupils who are performing below their academic potential and
placing them in an alternative high school located on a
community college campus in order to reduce the likelihood that
they will drop out of school before graduation. The basic
elements of a middle college high school include, but are not
limited to:
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
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4)Opportunities for experiential internships, work
apprenticeships, and community service.
Early college high schools . Early College High Schools (ECHSs)
were first established in 2002 through the national Early
College High School Initiative. ECHSs now serve pupils in 28
states and the District of Columbia. The schools are designed
so that low-income youth, first-generation college goers,
English language learners, students of color, and other young
people underrepresented in higher education can simultaneously
earn a high school diploma and an Associate's degree or up to
two years of credit toward a Bachelor's degree. Programs
operate as partnerships between the school and a college and are
designed so that pupils can attain a high school diploma and
earn two years of college credit within five years of entering
the ninth grade. Learning takes place in a personalized
environment, where rigorous work is demanded and supported.
ECHSs differ from middle college high schools in that the latter
are located on college campuses and involve more college-level
coursework. Advocates for both types of schools argue that the
shorter school day is necessary to free up the time needed for
students to take college classes.
Part-time special students . Existing law permits school
district governing boards to determine which pupils may benefit
from advanced scholastic or vocational work and to authorize
those pupils, upon recommendation of the pupil's principal and
with parental consent, to attend a community college during any
session or term as a special part-time or full-time student and
to undertake one or more courses of instruction offered at the
community college level. Such pupils receive credit for the
community college courses completed at the level deemed
appropriate by the governing boards of the school and community
college districts.
Oversight needed . Pupils must be enrolled in an academic credit
course at either UC, CSU, or a California community college in
order to generate full apportionment ADA with a reduced
attendance requirement. However, there is no mechanism in
existing law to ensure this requirement is met. Accordingly,
staff recommends that the bill be amended to add compliance with
this requirement to the annual audit that is already required of
school districts and charter schools.
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REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Tulare County Office of Education
University Preparatory High School (Visalia)
Opposition
None on this version
Analysis Prepared by : Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087