BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1391 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 1391 (Gomez) - As Amended April 30, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Education |Vote:|7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | |Judiciary | |10 - 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 1391 Page 2 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. AB 1391 Page 3 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 AB 1391 Page 4 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 AB 1391 Page 5 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