BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Kevin de León, Chair SB 1174 (Lara) - English Language Education Amended: April 23, 2014 Policy Vote: Education 8-0 Urgency: No Mandate: No Hearing Date: May 23, 2014 Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez SUSPENSE FILE. Bill Summary: SB 1174 amends and repeals various provisions of statute implemented by the enactment of Proposition 227 of 1998, to be submitted to voters for approval at the November 2016 statewide general election. Fiscal Impact: Ballot costs: $275,000 - $660,000 in one-time costs to the Secretary of State. Placing a measure on a statewide ballot costs $55,000 - $66,000 per page; ballot measures range in length, but average 10 pages in length. Language education model choice: Potentially significant additional local costs to provide access to any language educational model that the parents of 20 or more students in the same grade level request, or to facilitate their transfer to a school that offers the requested model. State mandates enacted by the voters are not reimbursable. However, schools are primarily funded by Proposition 98 General Fund dollars. State-level oversight: Potentially significant increased workload for the California Department of Education to revise guidance and oversight to ensure the state continues to meet federal requirements to provide certain services to ELs, as a protected class. Background: In 1998, statewide voters passed Proposition 227 which requires: a) that all children in California public schools be taught English by being taught exclusively in English language classrooms; b) that English Learners (ELs) be educated through sheltered English immersion during a temporary transition period not to exceed 1 year; and, c) that, once ELs had a good working knowledge of English, they be transferred to English language mainstream classrooms. SB 1174 (Lara) Page 1 The initiative permits schools to provide classes in a language other than English under a parent initiated waiver process under specified circumstances. Parents/guardians are required to annually give written informed consent and to personally visit the school to apply for the waiver. The initiative requires individual schools to offer a bilingual education class if 20 or more students in a given grade level are granted a waiver, or to allow a student to transfer to a public school which does offer such a class. It also provides that its provisions could be amended by a statute that becomes effective upon approval by voters or by a statute that furthers its purpose if passed by a 2/3 vote of each house and signed by the Governor. (Education Code § 300-340) Proposed Law: This bill amends and repeals provisions of the voter enacted initiative Proposition 227 (of 1998) and renames the proposition as the California Education for a Global Economy Initiative (California EdGE Initiative). This bill would, among other things, delete the sheltered English immersion requirement and waiver provisions, and would instead authorize school districts and county offices of education to determine the best language instruction methods and language acquisition programs to implement by consulting experts in the field, parents, and engaging local communities. The bill would authorize all parents to choose the language education model that best suits their child, and require that a school in which 20 pupils or more of a given grade level request a specific language program to offer such a class; otherwise, they must allow the pupils to transfer to a public school in which such a class is offered. This bill deletes certain findings and declarations relative to English language instruction, and replaces them with others relative to multilingual skills and instruction. This bill authorizes these education statutes to be amended by a majority vote of each house of the Legislature and signed by the Governor. It requires that the provisions of this bill be submitted to the voters at the November 2016 statewide general election. Staff Comments: This measure will result in direct state General Fund costs of approximately $275,000 - $550,000, to place the SB 1174 (Lara) Page 2 proposed revisions to Proposition 227 on the November 2016 statewide ballot. If enacted by voters, this measure could result in additional local costs and savings, depending on local decisions. This bill affords greater flexibility to school districts in how they teach ELs, but also expands the rights of parents. For example, the bill authorizes parents to choose the language education model that best suits their child, and requires that a school in which 20 pupils or more of a given grade level "request a specific language program" to offer such a class; otherwise, they must allow the pupils to transfer to a public school in which such a class is offered. What constitutes a "specific language program" is unclear. Especially considering the findings and declarations' focus on competing in a global economy and dual and tri-lingual immersion programs, this requirement could be construed as requiring schools to offer foreign language immersion programs at the request of 20 pupils, or allow them to transfer to a school that does. Staff notes that the responsibility appears to be on the school to "allow" a transfer out, rather than on a school with the desired language program to allow a student to actually enroll. The CDE has opined that because it has a considerable role in ensuring ELs are appropriately served to comply with federal law and to draw down considerable federal funding, it would have to develop guidance documents, regulations, and definitions of what steps are to be taken by a school district in developing their programs and policies. The CDE would incur significant one-time workload to implement the changes; ongoing monitoring and enforcement would be similar to CDE's current efforts and responsibilities.