Amended in Senate July 8, 2015

Amended in Assembly May 26, 2015

Amended in Assembly May 5, 2015

Amended in Assembly March 26, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 306

Introduced by Assembly Member Hadley

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Baker and Burke)

(Coauthor: Senator Allen)

February 12, 2015

An act to begin delete add Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 48318) to Chapter 2 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 end delete begin insert amend Sections 48300 and 48301 end insert of the Education Code, relating to school districts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 306, as amended, Hadley. Public schools: attendance alternatives: children of military personnel.

Existing law requires each person between 6 and 18 years of age, not otherwise exempt, to attend the public full-time day school in the district in which their parent or guardian is a resident. Existing law provides for attendance alternatives, authorizes the governing board of any school district to accept interdistrict transfers, and prescribes procedures for the acceptance and approval of applications for interdistrict transfers. Existing law further authorizes a school district of choice, as defined, to give priority of attendance to children of military personnel.

This bill would begin delete authorize a parent of a pupil enrolled in a school district of residence, as defined, to submit an application for the pupil to attend a school in another school district if the parent with whom the pupil resides is on active military duty, as defined. The bill would require that an application requesting such a transfer be submitted to the chosen school district before January 1 preceding the school year for which a pupil is requesting the transfer, except as provided, and would specify that the application may request enrollment of the pupil in a specific school or program within the school district. The bill would require a school district to establish a time period for resident pupil enrollment, in order to provide priority enrollment opportunities for pupils residing in the school district, and, after that time period has concluded, if space is available at a school in the school district, to consider and approve transfer applications submitted pursuant to those provisions, in accordance with specified priorities. The bill would require a school district that receives such an application for a transfer to allow the pupil to enroll in the school district in the school year immediately following the approval of his or her application. The bill would authorize a school district to adopt specific, written standards for the acceptance of applicants pursuant to those provisions. By imposing new duties on school districts with regard to the review and acceptance of requests for alternative school attendance by children of military personnel, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. end delete begin insert prohibit a school district of residence from prohibiting the transfer of a pupil who is a child of an active military duty parent to a school in any school district, if the school district to which the parents of the pupil applies approves the application for end insert begin insert transfer. end insert

begin delete

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

end delete begin delete

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert . State-mandated local program:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert .

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

begin insert

begin insert SECTION end insert begin insert 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 48300 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

48300.  

For purposes of this article, the following definitions
apply:

begin insert

(a) “Active military duty” means full-time military duty status
in the active uniformed service of the United States, including
members of the National Guard and the State Reserve on active
duty orders pursuant to Sections 1209 and 1211 of the Title 10 of
the United States Code.

end insert begin insert

(b) “Parent” means the natural or adoptive parent or guardian
of a dependent child.

end insert begin delete

(a)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert c) end insert  “School district of choice” means a school district for which
a resolution is in effect as described in subdivision (a) of Section
48301.

begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert d) end insert  “School district of residence” means the school district that
a pupil would be directed by this chapter to attend, except as
otherwise provided by this article.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. end insert begin insert 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 48301 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

48301.  

(a) The governing board of any school district may
accept interdistrict transfers. A school district that receives an
application for attendance under this article is not required to admit
pupils to its schools. If, however, the governing board begin insert of a school
district end insert elects to accept transfers as authorized under this article,
it may, by resolution, elect to accept transfer pupils, determine and
adopt the number of transfers it is willing to accept under this
article, and ensure that pupils admitted under the policy are selected
through a random, unbiased process that prohibits an evaluation
of whether or not the pupil should be enrolled based upon his or
her academic or athletic performance. Any pupil accepted for
transfer shall be deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of
Section 48204. If the number of transfer applications exceeds the
number of transfers the governing board begin insert of a school district end insert elects
to accept under this article, approval for transfer pursuant to this
article shall be determined by a random drawing held in public at
a regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board of the school
district.

(b) Either the pupil’s school district of residence, upon
notification of the pupil’s acceptance to the school district of choice
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 48308, or the school district
of choice may prohibit the transfer of a pupil under this article or
limit the number of pupils so transferred if the governing board of
the begin insert school end insert district determines that the transfer would negatively
impact any of the following:

(1) The court-ordered desegregation plan of the begin insert school end insert district.

(2) The voluntary desegregation plan of the begin insert school end insert district.

(3) The racial and ethnic balance of the begin insert school end insert district.

(c) The school district of residence may not adopt policies that
in any way block or discourage pupils from applying for transfer
to another begin insert school end insert district.

(d) Communications to parents or guardians by begin insert school end insert districts
electing to enroll pupils under the choice options provided by this
article shall be factually accurate and not target individual parents
or guardians or residential neighborhoods on the basis of a child’s
actual or perceived academic or athletic performance or any other
personal characteristic.

(e) A school district of choice, at its expense, shall ensure that
the auditor who conducts the annual audit pursuant to Section
41020, at the same time that he or she is conducting that annual
audit, reviews compliance with the provisions in this section
regarding a random, unbiased selection process and appropriate
communications. The compliance review specified in this
subdivision is not subject to the requirements in subdivision (d)
of Section 41020. The school district of choice shall notify the
auditor regarding this compliance review specified in this
subdivision begin delete prior to end delete begin insert before end insert the commencement of the annual audit.
The governing board of the school district of choice shall include
a summary of audit exceptions, if any, resulting from the
compliance review conducted pursuant to this subdivision in the
report it provides pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 48313.

begin insert

(f) A school district of residence shall not prohibit the transfer
of a pupil who is a child of an active military duty parent to a
school in any school district, if the school district to which the
parent of the pupil applies approves the application for transfer.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Article 7.5 (commencing with Section 48318) is
added to Chapter 2 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:

 

Article 7.5.  Attendance Alternatives for Children of
MilitaryPersonnel

 

48318.  

For purposes of this article, the following definitions
apply:

(a) “Active military duty” means full-time military duty status
in the active uniformed service of the United States, including
members of the National Guard and the State Reserve on active
duty orders pursuant to Sections 1209 and 1211 of Title 10 of the
United States Code.

(b) “Parent” means the natural or adoptive parent or guardian
of a dependent child.

(c) Military family school district of choice” means a school
district for which an application for enrollment has been submitted
by the parent of a pupil requesting enrollment pursuant to Section
48318.1. A military family school district of choice may include
a school district in which the parent of a pupil resides or a school
district other than the school district in which the parent of a pupil
resides.

(d) “School district of residence” means the school district that
a pupil would be directed to attend, pursuant to this chapter, in the
absence of this article.

48318.1.  

(a) A parent of a pupil enrolled in a school district
of residence may submit an application for the pupil to attend a
school in any school district, if the parent with whom the pupil
resides is on active military duty.

(b) An application requesting a transfer pursuant to this article
shall be submitted by the parent of a pupil to the military family
school district of choice before January 1 preceding the school
year for which the pupil is requesting the transfer. However, this
deadline does not apply to an application requesting a transfer if
the parent with whom the pupil resides was relocated by the
military within 90 days before submitting the application. The
military family school district of choice may waive the deadline
specified in this subdivision.

(c) The application may request enrollment of the pupil in a
specific school or program within the military family school district
of choice.

(d) A pupil may enroll in the military family school district of
choice in the school year immediately following the approval of
his or her application.

(e) In order to provide priority enrollment opportunities for
pupils residing in a military family school district of choice, a
school district shall establish a period of time for resident pupil
enrollment before considering transfer applications pursuant to
this article. After the period of time for resident pupil enrollment
has concluded, if space is available at a school in the desired
military family school district of choice, that school district shall
accept and approve a transfer application submitted pursuant to
this article, in accordance with the following priorities:

(1) First priority for transfer shall be given to the siblings of
pupils who already attend the desired school.

(2) After approving the applications for enrollment for siblings
of pupils pursuant to the priority specified in paragraph (1), if the
number of pupils who request a particular school exceeds the
number of spaces at that school, a lottery shall be conducted to
select pupils at random until all of the available spaces are filled.

48318.2.  

A military family school district of choice may adopt
specific, written standards for acceptance of applicants pursuant
to this article. The standards may include consideration of the
capacity of a program, class, grade level, school facilities, and
adverse financial impacts. However, these standards may not
include consideration of a pupil’s previous academic achievement,
physical condition, proficiency in the English language, family
income, or any of the individual characteristics set forth in Section
200.

SEC. 2.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

end delete