BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 631
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Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
631 (Bonilla) - As Amended March 26, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY: This bill establishes the Common Core and Next
Generation Science Standards Implementation Fund (Implementation
Fund), to provide $1 billion for the implementation of those
standards and the English Language Development standards, upon
appropriation by the Legislature. Specifically, this bill:
AB 631
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1)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to
allocate funds to local educational agencies (LEAs), defined
as school districts, county offices of education, charter
schools, and state special schools, on an equal per pupil
basis and based on prior year enrollment.
2)Allows the funding to be available for encumbrance through the
2016-17 fiscal year.
3)Requires that LEAs spend this funding for any of the
following: Professional development for teachers,
administrators, and paraprofessionals; integration of the
CCSS, NGSS, and ELD standards through technology-based
instruction; and instructional materials aligned to the above
standards.
4)Requires, as a condition of receiving funding, the governing
body of the LEA develop a spending plan (adopted by the
governing board) and report expenditure information to the
California Department of Education (CDE), including purchases
made and the number of personnel trained. Requires the CDE to
report this information to the appropriate fiscal and policy
committees of the Legislature.
5)Provides that the article will not be implemented unless
funding is provided for that purpose in the annual budget act
or other statute.
FISCAL EFFECT: One-time Proposition 98/GF costs of $1 billion
for the Implementation Fund, contingent upon funding provided in
the annual budget act or other statute for this purpose. This
bill does not contain an appropriation for this purpose and the
Governor's January budget proposal does not include funding
specifically for the Implementation Fund.
AB 631
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COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. California is in the process of overhauling its
curriculum standards for English language Arts, Mathematics,
and Science. These new content standards and their
accompanying computer-based assessments require districts to
properly train teachers, update instructional materials, and
increase the integration of technology. Based on the cost of
implementing previous content standards, the Department of
Education estimated that Common Core would cost $3 billion to
successfully implement. The state has dedicated $1.25 billion
directly towards this effort. This bill proposes to provide
an additional $1 billion to implement the new standards.
2)Funding history. The 2013-14 Budget Act provided $1.25 billion
(one-time/P98) to LEAs to support the transition to the CCSS,
the NGSS and the ELD standards. Allowable activities included
professional development, instructional materials, and
technology. This funding provides approximately $201 per
student and can be used through the 2014-15 fiscal year.
The 2014-15 Budget Act appropriated $400 million to reduce
K-12 education mandate claims backlog and expressed
Legislative intent that the funding be used for the
implementation of the above standards.
The 2015-16 Governor's Budget proposes a one-time payment of
$1.1 billion toward the mandates backlog with the expressed
intent that LEAs use the funds for the implementation of the
above standards. The author's office indicates that the
funding source for this bill is anticipated one-time
Proposition 98/GF revenues in excess of those proposed in the
AB 631
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Governor's Budget. The Legislative Analyst's Office has
projected at least $1 billion to $2 billion additional
one-time revenue will be available for appropriation in this
year's budget process.
3)Prior legislation. AB 2319 (Bonilla), of the 2013-14 Session,
would have established the Innovation, Training, and Common
Core Implementation Fund to provide funding for professional
development aligned to new academic content standards,
education technology, and instructional materials aligned to
new content standards. The bill was held on Suspense in this
committee.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081