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