BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 306 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 306 (Hadley) - As Amended May 5, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Education |Vote:|6 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: Yes SUMMARY: This bill establishes attendance alternatives for children of military personnel if the parent with whom the pupil resides is AB 306 Page 2 on active military duty. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires a parent pursuing a district transfer to submit an application to the school district of choice before January 1 of the school year preceding the school year for which the pupils is requesting the transfer, unless the parent is relocated by the military, as specified. Specifies the pupil may enroll in the school district of choice the following school year. 2)Authorizes the application to request enrollment of the pupil in a specific school or program within the district of choice. 3)Authorizes a school district of choice to adopt specific, written standards for acceptance of applicants. The standards may include consideration of the capacity of a program, class, grade level, school facilities, and adverse financial impacts. Prohibits standards that include consideration of a pupil's previous academic achievement, physical condition, proficiency in the English language, family income, or any of the individual characteristics as specified. 4)Authorizes the district to establish priority for pupils residing in the school district and establish a period of time for resident pupil enrollment before accepting transfer applications per this bill. After the period of time for resident pupil enrollment has concluded, if space is available at a school in the desired school district of choice, the school district of choice is required to accept and approve a transfer application. With regard to establishing priority, allows siblings of pupils who already attend the school to have first priority. Requires a lottery process to determine enrollment for remaining available spaces. FISCAL EFFECT: AB 306 Page 3 Unknown, likely minor, Proposition 98/GF state mandated costs for school districts to adopt a specific, written standard for acceptance of children of military families. Most, if not all, school districts have interdistrict transfer policies. This bill would create a new priority which would require some changes to existing applications. Districts would also need to verify family military status. These activities are likely to be deemed reimbursable by the Commission on State Mandates. Actual costs to the state will depend on individual district claims. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author's office, there are numerous instances of active military duty parents whose request for interdistrict transfers for their children have been accepted by a district of choice, but denied by the district of residence. The author's office argues that, because military families are subject to frequent moves and have little choice where they live, it is important to give them choices with respect to where they send their children to school. 2)Local funding impact. As pupils transfer out of school districts, the school districts that they reside in lose average daily attendance funding for those students. When a school district loses revenue, it impacts their ability to provide education programs to the remaining students because they have less overall funding. For areas of the state that serve large populations of military families, this policy could have a substantial impact on the district of residence, particularly if the district is already declining in enrollment. 3)Related legislation. SB 369 (Block), pending in the Senate AB 306 Page 4 Appropriations Committee, adds an indicator to the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) to identify pupils of military families, and requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to report enrollment of pupils of military families. Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081 Ó AB 306 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 306 (Hadley) - As Amended May 5, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Education |Vote:|6 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: Yes SUMMARY: This bill establishes attendance alternatives for children of military personnel if the parent with whom the pupil resides is AB 306 Page 2 on active military duty. Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires a parent pursuing a district transfer to submit an application to the school district of choice before January 1 of the school year preceding the school year for which the pupils is requesting the transfer, unless the parent is relocated by the military, as specified. Specifies the pupil may enroll in the school district of choice the following school year. 2)Authorizes the application to request enrollment of the pupil in a specific school or program within the district of choice. 3)Authorizes a school district of choice to adopt specific, written standards for acceptance of applicants. The standards may include consideration of the capacity of a program, class, grade level, school facilities, and adverse financial impacts. Prohibits standards that include consideration of a pupil's previous academic achievement, physical condition, proficiency in the English language, family income, or any of the individual characteristics as specified. 4)Authorizes the district to establish priority for pupils residing in the school district and establish a period of time for resident pupil enrollment before accepting transfer applications per this bill. After the period of time for resident pupil enrollment has concluded, if space is available at a school in the desired school district of choice, the school district of choice is required to accept and approve a transfer application. With regard to establishing priority, allows siblings of pupils who already attend the school to have first priority. Requires a lottery process to determine enrollment for remaining available spaces. FISCAL EFFECT: AB 306 Page 3 Unknown, likely minor, Proposition 98/GF state mandated costs for school districts to adopt a specific, written standard for acceptance of children of military families. Most, if not all, school districts have interdistrict transfer policies. This bill would create a new priority which would require some changes to existing applications. Districts would also need to verify family military status. These activities are likely to be deemed reimbursable by the Commission on State Mandates. Actual costs to the state will depend on individual district claims. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author's office, there are numerous instances of active military duty parents whose request for interdistrict transfers for their children have been accepted by a district of choice, but denied by the district of residence. The author's office argues that, because military families are subject to frequent moves and have little choice where they live, it is important to give them choices with respect to where they send their children to school. 2)Local funding impact. As pupils transfer out of school districts, the school districts that they reside in lose average daily attendance funding for those students. When a school district loses revenue, it impacts their ability to provide education programs to the remaining students because they have less overall funding. For areas of the state that serve large populations of military families, this policy could have a substantial impact on the district of residence, particularly if the district is already declining in enrollment. 3)Related legislation. SB 369 (Block), pending in the Senate AB 306 Page 4 Appropriations Committee, adds an indicator to the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) to identify pupils of military families, and requires local educational agencies (LEAs) to report enrollment of pupils of military families. Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081