BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 631 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 22, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 631 (Bonilla) - As Amended March 26, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Education |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Page 2 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 Page 3 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 Page 4 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