BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 379
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Date of Hearing: August 14, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 379 (Hancock) - As Amended: August 6, 2013
Policy Committee: Education Vote:7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill reduces the minimum instructional minute requirement
for charter schools that operate as an early college high school
(ECHS) or middle college high school (MCHS) for the purpose of
calculating the school's average daily attendance (ADA) (general
purpose funding). Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires a charter that operates as an ECHS or MCHS to offer
at least 80% of its instructional time at the schoolsite.
Further requires an eleventh or twelfth grade pupil to attend
the school for a minimum of 50% of the instructional time
required for charter schools enrolling pupils in grades 9-12,
if the pupil is also enrolled part-time at the California
State University (CSU) or the University of California (UC),
as specified.
Extends the minimum instructional time requirements above to a
pupil enrolled at a charter school that operates as an ECHS or
MCHS who is also a special part-time student enrolled at a
community college, as specified.
2)Provides that if a pupil enrolled at a charter school
operating as an ECHS or MCHS is not enrolled at a CSU, UC, or
community college, he or she is required to attend school for
a minimum of 67% of the charter school instructional time
requirement, as specified.
3)Requires the requirements of this measure to be subject to
local education agencies' (LEAs) annual fiscal and compliance
audits.
4)Defines an ECH as a partnership between a charter or
SB 379
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noncharter secondary school and a local community college, the
CSU, or the UC that allow pupils to earn a high school diploma
and up to two years of college credit in four years or less.
FISCAL EFFECT
No additional GF/98 cost to implement this measure. As long as
the charter school operating as an ECHS or MCHS meets the
minimum instructional time requirements of this measure, it will
receive its general purpose funding. Presumably, the state is
currently paying full ADA funding to educate these pupils.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . Statute defines a MCHS as a high school located on a
community college campus. These schools offer students at risk
of educational failure the opportunity to take high school
classes as well as college classes, and increase the
likelihood of qualifying for college upon graduation.
SB 1316 (Hancock), Chapter 67, Statutes of 2012, exempted a
ECHS and MCHS from the 240-minute requirement for a minimum
school day and established a day of attendance as 180 minutes
for pupils enrolled in these programs, if they are also
enrolled in part time in classes at the UC, CSU, or a
community college, as specified.
According to the author, "Since ECHS and MCHS can be organized
and operated in a variety of ways depending on the local needs
of the school district, school site, and community college,
some programs were established as comprehensive high schools
while others were established as charter high schools. With
the passage of SB 1316 in 2012, students who [attend an ECHS
or MCHS operated by a comprehensive high school] and who are
also enrolled in college meet the minimum day requirements at
180 minutes. 'Charter operated' ECHS or MCHS are required to
provide 64,500 minutes of instruction per year which is the
equivalent of 288 minutes per day of instructional time for
full classroom-based ADA."
This bill reduces the minimum instructional minute requirement
for charter schools that operate as an ECHS or MCHS for the
purpose of calculating the school's ADA (general purpose
funding).
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2)Existing law defines a charter school as a public school that
may provide instruction in any of grades K-12. It is usually
created or organized by a group of teachers, parents and
community leaders or a community-based organization. A charter
school may be authorized by an existing local public school
board, county board of education, or the State Board of
Education (SBE). According to the State Department of
Education, there were 1,062 charter schools (including three
statewide benefit charters and 33 approved by SBE) with an
enrollment of 456,000 pupils in 2012-13.
Statute establishes minimum instructional minute requirements
for charter schools. Specifically, a charter school enrolling
pupils in grades 9-12 is required to provide a minimum of
64,800 minutes a year to its pupils. This equals 1,080 hours
or 180 days. This bill requires a charter schools that
operates a ECHS or MCHS to ensure its pupils are provided at
least 50% of the charter school minimum minute requirement
(32,400 minutes or 90 days), if the pupil is also enrolled at
a UC, CSU, or community college, as specified.
3)Related legislation . SB 236 (Pavley), pending on the Assembly
Floor, authorizes the Moorpark Unified School District,
beginning in the 2013-14 school year, to operate one or more
high schools offering as an MCHS on a four-day school week, if
the district complies with instructional time requirements, as
specified.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081