BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1391


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          Date of Hearing:  May 13, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          AB  
          1391 (Gomez) - As Amended April 30, 2015


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          Urgency:  Yes State Mandated Local Program:  YesReimbursable:   
          Yes


          SUMMARY:


          This bill authorizes complaints regarding local education agency  
          (LEA) noncompliance with the physical education instructional  
          minute requirement to be filed under the Uniform Complaint  








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          Procedures (UCP) process. Specifically, this bill:  


          1)States that a complainant not satisfied with the decision of a  
            LEA may appeal the decision to the Superintendent of Public  
            Instruction (SPI) and receive a written decision within 60  
            days. 



          2)Requires that, if a complaint is found to have merit, the LEA  
            must provide a remedy to all students, parents, and guardians.



          3)Makes legislative findings that neither the original statute  
            setting forth course of study requirements, nor any subsequent  
            amendments to it, was intended to create a private cause of  
            action.  Specifies, however, that nothing in this bill shall  
            restrict or expand the existing right of any party to seek  
            relief from noncompliance with this section pursuant to a writ  
            of mandate.



          FISCAL EFFECT:


          1)General Fund administrative costs to CDE not likely to exceed  
            $50,000 to the extent there is an increase in UCP complaint  
            filings. In 2013, after AB 1575 authorized the UCP process for  
            pupil fee complaints, claims spiked from zero to 121 in nine  
            months.  CDE received two positions to assist with this  
            increased workload. If a similar spike in workload were to  
            occur as a result of this bill, CDE estimates an additional  
            $50,000 could be needed related to staffing costs.











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          2)Expanding the existing UCP process to include complaints  
            related to physical education instruction could expand the  
            number of reimbursable claims associated with this state  
            mandate. This bill could also result in potential cost savings  
            to some individual LEAs to the extent that utilization of this  
            process reduces litigation. 
            In 2013, the Commission on State Mandates (CSM) determined the  
            UCP to be a reimbursable state mandate with an estimated  
            annual cost of $34,751.  The following year, the Legislature  
            added the UCP to the K-14 Education Mandate Block Grant.  If  
            the CSM determines the requirements of this bill impose a  
            higher level of service, this could place pressure on the  
            Legislature to increase funding under the K-12 Mandate Block  
            Grant. 


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose. This bill authorizes complaints of noncompliance  
            related to physical education instruction to be remedied  
            through the UCP process. The UCP process in this bill mirrors  
            the existing law process related to noncompliance with  
            provisions of the Local Control Funding Formula.   This bill  
            is in response to recent litigation involving mandatory  
            physical education requirements in the elementary schools.



            In 2013 the advocacy group Cal200 filed a class action lawsuit  
            against 37 school districts in the state, including Los  
            Angeles and San Francisco, alleging that these schools were  
            out of compliance with state law.  In February of this year,  
            most if not all of the schools settled with the plaintiff.   
            While the action in the Cal200 case was for a writ of mandate  
            and injunctive relief, not for damages, the settlement  
            reportedly still required the 37 districts, collectively, to  
            pay $1.1 million in attorney's fees for the plaintiff's  
            attorney.  This was in addition to the several districts' own  








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            legal costs in litigating the case.





          2)Uniform Complaint Procedures Process. Required by federal law,  
            the UCP was established in 1991 as a means of creating a  
            "uniform system of complaint processing" for educational  
            programs. The authority for this process is located in  
            regulations, not state statute.  Complaints permitted under  
            this process include violations of state law regarding certain  
            educational programs, discrimination, harassment and civil  
            rights. Parents, students, employees, and community members  
            can file complaints on behalf of themselves or on behalf of  
            another individual.  Most procedural activities required under  
            the state's UCP have been found to be reimbursable mandates. 



          3)Related Legislation:



             a)   AB 379 (Gordon), pending in this committee, establishes  
               an expedited UCP process requiring action within five days  
               for complaints alleging violations of certain educational  
               rights afforded to students in foster care and students who  
               are homeless.



             b)   AB 304 (Garcia), pending in this committee, establishes  
               an expedited UCP process, requiring action within five days  
               with regard to lactation accommodations for students. 



             c)   AB 907 (Burke), pending in this committee, extends the  








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               existing UCP process to financial aid recipients enrolled  
               in COE programs in order to comply with federal  
               requirements. 



          Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081