BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Carol Liu, Chair 2013-2014 Regular Session BILL NO: SB 1221 AUTHOR: Hancock INTRODUCED: February 20, 2014 FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: March 26, 2014 URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Lynn Lorber SUBJECT : After school programs. SUMMARY This bill establishes new minimum grants and transportation grants, authorizes summer-only programs to apply for federal after school grants, makes funds for the family literacy grant flexible by folding it into the larger pool of funding, deletes the requirement to report test score data annually and instead requires a new biennial report, requires grantees to report program quality standards and evidence of quality improvement, and requires grantees to submit social, behavioral, or skill development outcome measures. BACKGROUND State funded after school programs Current law establishes the After School Education and Safety (ASES) program consisting of before and after school academic enrichment. ASES programs receive direct grants, where attendance is projected and grants are funded up- front, in three one-year increments. Each school that establishes an ASES program is eligible to receive a 3-year direct grant that is awarded in three 1-year increments and is subject to semiannual attendance reporting and other requirements. Direct grants The maximum total direct grant awarded annually for an after school program is $112,500 for each regular school year for elementary schools and $150,000 for middle or junior high schools (based on a formula of $7.50 per student per day of attendance, at a maximum of $37.50 per student per week). The maximum total grant awarded annually for a before school program is $37,500 for each regular school year for elementary SB 1221 Page 2 schools and $49,000 for middle or junior high schools (based on formula of $5 per student per day of attendance, at a maximum of $25 per student per week). Supplemental grants Schools are eligible for a supplemental grant to operate a three-hour program in excess of 180 days or during any combination of summer, intersession, or vacation for the lesser of $7.50 per student per day or 30% of the total grant amount awarded to the school per school year. Supplemental grants are also available to operate a six-hour program providing a maximum of 30% of the total grant amount. (Education Code § 8482-8484.6) Federal 21st Century The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st Century) is a federally funded before and after school program that provides disadvantaged K-12 student (50% or more eligibility for free and reduced-price meals) with academic enrichment and support. The ASES program and 21st Century programs are nearly identical and can operate in tandem. Both programs are administered by the Superintendent of Public Instruction. (EC § 8484.7-8484.9) ANALYSIS This bill establishes new minimum grants and transportation grants, authorizes summer-only programs to apply for federal after school grants, makes funds for the family literacy grant flexible by folding it into the larger pool of funding, deletes the requirement to report test score data annually and instead requires a new biennial report, requires grantees to report program quality standards and evidence of quality improvement, and requires grantees to submit social, behavioral, or skill development outcome measures. Specifically, this bill: ASES 1) Establishes a new minimum grant to be calculated by multiplying the per student, per day, rate (different rates exist for after school and for before school) by 20 students being served for 180 regular schooldays. 2) Establishes a maximum total summer grant for programs SB 1221 Page 3 operating for three hours of $33,750 for elementary schools and $45,000 for middle or junior high schools. This notwithstands existing grant amounts of the lesser of $7.50 per student per day or 30% of the total direct grant. 3) Modifies the maximum summer grant for programs operating for six hours from a maximum of 30% of the total direct grant to a maximum of either 30% of the total grant or $33,750 for elementary schools and $45,000 for middle or junior high schools. 4) Deletes the prohibition on summer grantees operating a six hour program from receiving additional grant funds. 5) Changes references of "direct grants" to "after school grants." 6) Changes references of "supplemental grants" to "summer grants." This bill uses the existing definition of supplement to define summer grants. 21st Century 7) Gives priority to grant applications that will provide year-round expanded learning programs, and defines year-round expanded learning programs as any combination of summer programs complementing existing before and/or after school programs operated by another grantee (or vice versa) or programs offering full year programs. This allows program operators to apply for only the summer component rather than the entire year-round component. 8) Deletes federal grants for family literacy services ($20,000 per site) and reduces from 10 to 5 the minimum percentage of federal funds that are to be available for grants for equitable access or family literacy services. Rather than providing grants specifically for family literacy, this bill deems, in accordance with federal law, federal funding for programs that promote parent involvement and family literacy as allowable uses of funds designated for technical assistance, evaluation and training services. Transportation 9) Authorizes funding for transportation to be provided to an SB 1221 Page 4 ASES program operated at a schoolsite located in an extreme rural census tract identified by the United States Census as isolated. Test scores and positive behavioral changes 10) Deletes from information required to be included in applications for 21st Century grant funding the results of student test scores and the high school exit exam. 11) Deletes as one of the criterion used in determining priority for 21st Century funding for programs that previously received funding, demonstration of positive outcomes regarding performance on the high school exit exam, graduation rates, schoolday attendance, and positive behavioral changes. 12) Deletes from outcome-based data to be submitted annually to the California Department of Education (CDE) for evaluation of 21st Century programs, academic performance, performance on the high school exit exam, graduation rates and positive behavioral changes. Program quality and effectiveness 13) Requires programs to submit evidence of a program quality improvement process that is based on the CDE's guidance on program quality standards. 14) Adds program quality standards as an additional measure to demonstrate program effectiveness. 15) Modifies the requirement regarding the submission of measures for demonstrating program effectiveness to delete reference to performance on the high school exit exam and standardized tests, homework completion rates, and clarify that measures of positive behavioral changes may be reported to the extent student level data is available. (See Author's amendments comment.) 16) Deletes from measurable outcomes that may be used to demonstrate program effectiveness, improvement in performance on standardized tests including performance levels (below basic and far below basic). SB 1221 Page 5 17) Requires the CDE to submit a biennial report to the Legislature related to the students attending expanded learning programs, and the quality of those programs. This bill requires the report to include data using the statewide unique student identifier and authorizes the inclusion of aggregate reporting of all of the following: a) The number, geographical distribution and type of sites and grantees. b) Student attendance in the program and regular schoolday. c) Statewide test and assessment scores. d) Student demographics and characteristics. e) Student behavior changes and skill development. f) The quality of the program based on CDE's guidance on program quality standards. 18) Deletes the requirement that measures of 21st Century program effectiveness be used for three consecutive years. 19) Specifies that the unique statewide student identifiers (unduplicated) are to be used for data demonstrating program effectiveness. Miscellaneous 20) Modifies the academic assistance component of programs from being aligned, to being coordinated with, the regular academic programs of the students. 21) Deletes providing assistance to students to pass the high school exit exam as one of the purposes of the 21st Century program, and replaces it with providing support for college and career readiness. 22) Adds a definition in ASES provisions for "expanded learning" to reflect terminology used in the field, and for SB 1221 Page 6 "summer grant" which is currently referred to as a supplemental grant. 23) Adds to existing intent language regarding 21st Century programs complementing ASES programs to include the intent to provide year-round opportunities for expanded learning. 24) Deletes references to outdated reports and evaluations, funding for an obsolete report, and requirements to adopt criteria for program evaluation and review. This bill also deletes reference to the outdated Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program and instead references statewide test and assessment scores. STAFF COMMENTS 1) Minimum grant . This bill establishes a new minimum grant amount based on existing per student rates multiplied by 20 students. The purpose of a minimum grant is to assist small programs with attendance too low to generate grant funding sufficient to operate a viable program. Federal 21st Century statutes cap the minimum grant at $50,000, and the formula established in this bill would result in minimum grants of $27,000 (based on rates for 20 students). However, this bill places no parameters on minimum grants, such as a process to prevent several small programs from serving a geographic area that could have one program serving more students (and possibly using the transportation grant proposed by this bill). Should an applicant be required to serve a minimum number of students? Should there be a cap on the number of minimum grants awarded, or a cap on total funds allocated for minimum grants, especially if these grants are to be provided within existing ASES and 21st Century funds? 2) Transportation funds . This bill authorizes funding for transportation to be provided to an ASES program operated at a schoolsite located in an extreme rural census tract identified by the United States Census as isolated. Author's amendments (see Comment #6) propose to instead authorize isolated programs, as identified by less than 11 people per square mile, to receive up to $25,000 annually per site. After school programs do not currently receive SB 1221 Page 7 funding specifically for transportation, although 21st Century "equity" funds may be used transportation. Should there be a cap on the number of transportation grants awarded, or a cap on total funds allocated for transportation, especially if these grants are to be provided within existing ASES and 21st Century funds? 3) Summer grant . This bill establishes a maximum total summer grant for programs operating for three hours and modifies the maximum summer grant for programs operating for six hours to reference dollar amounts in addition to a percentage of the direct grant to correspond with other changes made by this bill that authorize summer-only programs to apply for 21st Century funds (those programs will not have a direct grant from which to calculate a summer grant). 4) Family literacy grant . This bill authorizes funds designated for technical assistance, evaluation and training services to be used for programs that promote parent involvement and family literacy. California has elected, but is not required, to designate funds specifically for family literacy. This bill collapses that designated funding into the larger pool of funding, providing flexibility to grantees to meet the needs of their program participants. 5) Quality standards . This bill requires programs to submit evidence of a program quality improvement process that is based on CDE's guidance on program quality standards. A workgroup of the California AfterSchool Network Quality Committee developed 12 quality standards for expanded learning programs that were adopted by the CDE in January 2014. A "Phase II" workgroup has since begun the development of indicators of quality standards and a matrix of existing quality assessment tools. Recommendations for indicators is expected on June 30, 2014. http://www.afterschoolnetwork.org/sites/main/files/file-atta chments/quality_standards_report_v12.3_0.pdf 6) Author's amendments . The author intends to amend this bill as follows: SB 1221 Page 8 a) Strike the authority to report measures of positive behavioral changes and skill development, for purposes of demonstrating program effectiveness, and instead: i) Require programs to submit social, behavioral, or skill development outcome measures by unique statewide student identifiers, based on a list of field-recognized and research-based tools and assessments developed by the California Department of Education (CDE). (See #4 above) ii) Include as outcomes related to specific social-emotional competencies social skills, self-control, empathy, perseverance, conflict resolution, and school-connectedness. iii) Require the menu of tools and assessments to lend themselves to program evaluation and continuous improvement processes to be easily combined to match the focus and context of the wide variation of funded expanded learning programs. iv) Prohibit any one tool or assessment to be given priority, and requires the list to be reviewed and updated annually to include future additions used in the field and validated by research. v) Require the CDE to implement this reporting requirement by the 2015-16 school year. b) Authorize up to $25,000 per site annually for transportation in isolated programs (see below), as determined by the local community. c) Strike reference to an extreme rural census tract identified as isolated, and instead reference an area that has a population density of less than 11 people per square mile (relative to additional funding for transportation). 7) Behavior and skill development . This bill clarifies that measures of positive behavioral changes and skill development may be reported for purposes of demonstrating SB 1221 Page 9 program effectiveness. Author's amendments propose to instead require programs to submit social, behavioral, or skill development outcome measures by unique statewide student identifiers, based on a list of field-recognized and research-based tools and assessments developed by CDE. As indicated in Comment #5, a workgroup is currently developing indicators of quality standards and a matrix of existing quality assessment tools. Recommendations for indicators are expected on June 30, 2014. 8) Test scores . This bill deletes the results of student test scores and/or the high school exit exam from the list of information required to be included in applications for 21st Century grant funding, as one of the criterion used in determining priority for 21st Century funding, and as outcome-based data submitted to the CDE. Instead, this bill requires the CDE to report biennially regarding the students attending, and program quality of expanded learning programs, and authorizes the inclusion of aggregate reporting of statewide test and assessment scores. This may be particularly beneficial during the next few years of transition to a new student assessment system. 9) New report . This bill requires the CDE to submit a biennial report to the Legislature related to the students attending expanded learning programs and the quality of those programs. Grantees are currently required to submit annual attendance data to the CDE, as funding is based on attendance, and a one-time evaluation of after school programs was completed in 2011. Currently, the Legislature does not receive any reports relative to after school programs. This bill requires the report to include data using the statewide unique student identifier and authorizes the inclusion of aggregate reporting of all of the following: a) The number, geographical distribution and type of sites and grantees. b) Student attendance in the program and regular schoolday. c) Statewide test and assessment scores. SB 1221 Page 10 d) Student demographics and characteristics. e) Student behavior changes and skill development. f) The quality of the program based on CDE's guidance on program quality standards. SUPPORT After School Coalition Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Aspiranet Boys and Girls Club of North San Mateo County Building Educated Leaders for Life California Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs California Library Association California School-Age Consortium Central Valley Afterschool Foundation Families In Schools Fight Crime: Invest in Kids GreatSchools InnerCity Struggle LA's BEST Mission Readiness Partnership for Children & Youth Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, Vice President Superintendent of Public Instruction The Children's Initiative Think Together Youth Alliance An individual OPPOSITION None on file.