BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 943
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|Author: |Travis Allen |
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|Version: |May 4, 2015 Hearing |
| |Date: June 17, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lenin Del Castillo |
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Subject: Charter schools: California Collaborative for
Educational Excellence
SUMMARY
This bill requires that the California Collaborative for
Educational Excellence (CCEE), when assigning a contractor to
provide advice and assistance to a charter school, to give
priority to a contractor that has expertise, experience, and a
record of success in working with charter schools in improving
pupil outcomes.
BACKGROUND
Chapter 47, Statutes of 2013 (AB 97, Committee on Budget), and
subsequent legislation created the Local Control Funding Formula
(LCFF), which consolidated most of the state's categorical
programs with general purpose revenue limit funding and would be
phased in over the coming years. One of the main principles
behind the LCFF is that English learners and low-income students
require more attention and resources in the classroom than
students who do not have these same challenges. By providing
more services (and in turn, additional funding) to these student
populations, it is widely believed that this will help close the
achievement gap and help all students perform better.
In addition to the LCFF, the 2013 Budget established a new
system for school accountability. Under the new system, school
districts, county offices of education, and charter schools are
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required to complete a local control and accountability plan
(LCAP). The LCAP must include a district's annual goals in each
of the following eight state priority areas:
1)Student achievement;
2)Student engagement;
3)Other student outcomes;
4)School climate;
5)Implementation of the Common Core State Standards;
6)Course access;
7)Basic services; and
8)Parental involvement.
The LCAPs must also include both district wide goals and goals
for specific subgroups. Districts are required to consult with
stakeholders on their plans and hold at least two public
hearings before adopting or updating their LCAP.
The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) legislation established
a new system of school district support and intervention. The
California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) was
created in order to provide advice and assistance to local
educational agencies (LEAs). Under the new system, if an LEA
does not meet performance expectations in the eight state
priority areas, they could be subject to intervention by their
County Office of Education or the CCEE. LEAs that are
continuously not meeting performance standards, as specified,
could be subject to intervention by the State Board of Education
(SBE) and State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI).
However, LEAs also may seek assistance from the CCEE on their
own.
Existing law specifies that the CCEE shall be governed by a
board consisting of the following five members:
1)The SPI or his/her designee;
2)The President of the SBE or his/her designee;
3)A superintendent of a county office of education appointed by
the Senate Rules Committee;
4)A teacher appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly; and
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5)A superintendent of a school district appointed by the
Governor.
Existing law also specifies that, at the direction of the board
of the CCEE, the fiscal agent shall contract with individuals,
LEAs or organizations with expertise, experience, and a record
of success to carry out the purposes of the LCFF implementation.
ANALYSIS
This bill requires that the CCEE, when assigning a contractor to
provide advice and assistance to a charter school, to give
priority to a contractor that has expertise, experience, and a
record of success in working with charter schools in improving
pupil outcomes.
STAFF COMMENTS
1)Need for the bill. According to the author's office, existing
law provides authority for the SPI to assign the CCEE to
charter schools to reach their goals, and ultimately
authorizes the chartering authority to close any charter
school that does not meet the standards of its local control
and accountability plan (LCAP). The author's office indicates
this bill ensures that our California students have experts in
their respective fields assisting their schools in helping
them reach their educational goals.
2)Is the bill necessary? Under the direction of the SBE, the
fiscal agent for the CCEE is required to contract with
individuals, LEAs, or organizations to provide advice and
assistance to LEAs, including charter schools, that have
either requested the advice and assistance or have been
identified by the SPI and SBE as being in need of it. The
contractors must have expertise, experience, and a record of
success that includes, but not be limited to, the following:
a) The eight state priorities;
b) Improving the quality of teaching;
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c) Improving the quality of school district and schoolsite
leadership; and
d) Successfully addressing the needs of special pupil
populations, including, but not limited to, English
learners, pupils eligible to receive a free or
reduced-price meal, pupils in foster care, and individuals
with exceptional needs.
It appears that the fiscal agent already has the authority to
contract with an entity that has expertise in working with
charter schools in improving pupil outcomes. While the bill
could help ensure that contractors assigned by the California
Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) have expertise
and experience with charter schools, the Committee may wish to
consider whether this bill is necessary.
Additionally, by requiring the CCEE to give priority to
contractors with charter school experience, this bill could
remove the CCEE's discretion in selecting the most qualified
individual or organization and limit the pool of contractors
to choose from. To the extent that a contractor is selected
based in large part on its previous charter school experience,
this could work against the best interests of a charter school
if it is unable to provide the most effective support or
technical assistance. For these reasons, staff recommends an
amendment to make the bill's provisions permissive and provide
that the CCEE "may" give priority to a contractor with a
record of success in working with charter schools. This would
allow the CCEE the flexibility to contract with the best
available individual or organization rather than statutorily
requiring charter school experience to take precedent over
potentially more important considerations.
3)Purpose of the CCEE. Current law specifies that the purpose of
the CCEE is to advise and assist school districts, county
superintendents of schools, and charter schools in achieving
the goals set forth in their local control and accountability
plans (LCAPs). However, the CCEE board itself does not have a
statutory role in evaluating local educational agency (LEA)
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performance, determining which LEAs receive advice and
assistance, or the delivery of advice and assistance. Those
functions lay with the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI), county superintendents of schools, and the individuals
and organizations with whom the fiscal agent has contracted to
provide those services. The advice and assistance may be
provided upon request of an LEA (in which case the LEA pays
for the cost). Alternatively, the CCEE may be assigned to an
LEA upon the recommendation of the SPI, if the SPI and the
county superintendent of schools in which the LEA exists,
determine that assistance is needed to help the LEA achieve
the goals it has specified for itself in its LCAP.
The 2013 Budget Act appropriated $10 million to establish this
new system of support through the CCEE. The State Department
of Education recommended, and the State Board of Education
approved, the selection of Riverside County Office of
Education as the fiscal agent for the CCEE. Because the
number of districts that will need assistance is unknown and
the role of the CCEE is still unclear, the cost of the new
support and intervention system going forward has yet to be
determined. The California Collaborative for Educational
Excellence (CCEE) board met only for the first time on
February 25, 2015. The Governor's Proposed 2015 Budget does
not include ongoing funding for the CCEE, but the
Administration will be considering ongoing funding as the
system is further developed.
4)Fiscal impact. According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, there could be an unknown, likely absorbable
Proposition 98 General Fund impact and that the costs
associated with providing a specific contractor will likely be
absorbed within existing Proposition 98 General Fund support
for the CCEE.
SUPPORT
California Charter Schools Association
Charter Schools Development Center
EdVoice
StudentsFirst
OPPOSITION
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None received.
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