California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1426

Introduced by Assembly Member Levine

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Section 47612.5 of the Education Code, relating to charter schools.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1426, as introduced, Levine. Charter schools: classroom-based instruction.

Existing law, the Charter Schools Act of 1992, requires charter schools, as a condition of receiving funding apportionments, to offer in each fiscal year a specified minimum number of minutes of instruction to each pupil based on grade level. For purposes of that instructional time requirement, the act defines “classroom-based instruction” as occurring only when charter school pupils are engaged in required educational activities under the immediate supervision and control of an employee of the charter school who possesses a specified teaching certification. The act requires, for purposes of calculating average daily attendance for classroom-based instruction apportionments, that at least 80% of the instructional time offered by the charter school be at the charter schoolsite.

This bill would instead require, for a charter school that only operates a single schoolsite within the geographic jurisdiction of the authority that granted its charter and has no more than one satellite facility, for purposes of calculating average daily attendance for classroom-based instruction apportionments, that at least 60% of the instructional time offered by the charter school be at the charter schoolsite. The bill would also make nonsubstantive changes.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 47612.5 of the Education Code is
amended to read:

47612.5.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other begin delete provision of law end delete begin insert law, end insert
and as a condition of apportionment, a charter school shall do all
of the following:

(1) For each fiscal year, offer, at a minimum, the following
number of minutes of instruction:

(A) To pupils in kindergarten, 36,000 minutes.

(B) To pupils in grades 1 to 3, inclusive, 50,400 minutes.

(C) To pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, 54,000 minutes.

(D) To pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, 64,800 minutes.

(2) Maintain written contemporaneous records that document
all pupil attendance and make these records available for audit and
inspection.

(3) Certify that its pupils have participated in the state testing
programs specified in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 60600)
of Part 33 in the same manner as other pupils attending public
schools as a condition of apportionment of state funding.

(b) Notwithstanding any other begin delete provision of law end delete begin insert law, end insert and except
to the extent inconsistent with this section and Section 47634.2, a
charter school that provides independent study shall comply with
Article 5.5 (commencing with Section 51745) of Chapter 5 of Part
28 and implementing regulations adopted thereunder. The begin delete State
Board of Education end delete begin insert state board end insert shall adopt regulations that apply
this article to charter schools. To the extent that these regulations
concern the qualifications of instructional personnel, the begin delete State
Board of Education end delete begin insert state board end insert shall be guided by subdivision (l)
of Section 47605.

(c) A reduction in apportionment made pursuant to subdivision
(a) shall be proportional to the magnitude of the exception that
causes the reduction. For purposes of paragraph (1) of subdivision
(a), for each charter school that fails to offer pupils the minimum
number of minutes of instruction specified in that paragraph, the
Superintendent shall withhold from the charter school’s
apportionment for average daily attendance of the affected pupils,
by grade level, the sum of that apportionment multiplied by the
percentage of the minimum number of minutes of instruction at
each grade level that the charter school failed to offer.

(d) (1) Notwithstanding any other begin delete provision of law end delete begin insert law, end insert and
except as provided in paragraph (1) of subdivision (e), a charter
school that has an approved charter may receive funding for
nonclassroom-based instruction only if a determination for funding
is made pursuant to Section 47634.2 by the begin delete State Board of
Education. end delete begin insert state board. end insert The determination for funding shall be
subject to any conditions or limitations the begin delete State Board of
Education end delete begin insert state board end insert may prescribe. The begin delete State Board of Education end delete
begin insert state board end insert shall adopt regulations on or before February 1, 2002,
that define and establish general rules governing
nonclassroom-based instruction that apply to all charter schools
and to the process for determining funding of nonclassroom-based
instruction by charter schools offering nonclassroom-based
instruction other than the nonclassroom-based instruction allowed
by paragraph (1) of subdivision (e). Nonclassroom-based
instruction includes, but is not limited to, independent study, home
study, work study, and distance and computer-based education. In
prescribing any conditions or limitations relating to the
qualifications of instructional personnel, the begin delete State Board of
Education end delete begin insert state board end insert shall be guided by subdivision (l) of Section
47605.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of
Section 47634.2, a charter school that receives a determination
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 47634.2 is not required to
reapply annually for a funding determination of its
nonclassroom-based instruction program if an update of the
information the begin delete State Board of Education end delete begin insert state board end insert reviewed
when initially determining funding would not require material
revision, as that term is defined in regulations adopted by the begin insert state end insert
board. A charter school that has achieved a rank of 6 or greater on
the Academic Performance Index for the two years immediately
begin delete prior to end delete begin insert before end insert receiving a funding determination pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 47634.2 shall receive a five-year
determination and is not required to annually reapply for a funding
determination of its nonclassroom-based instruction program if an
update of the information the begin delete State Board of Education end delete begin insert state board end insert
reviewed when initially determining funding would not require
material revision, as that term is defined in regulations adopted by
the begin insert state end insert board. Notwithstanding any begin delete provision of end delete begin insert other end insert law, the
begin delete State Board of Education end delete begin insert state board end insert may require a charter school
to provide updated information at any time it determines that a
review of that information is necessary. The begin delete State Board of
Education end delete begin insert state board end insert may terminate a determination for funding
if updated or additional information requested by the begin insert state end insert board
is not made available to the begin insert state end insert board by the charter school within
a reasonable amount of time or if the information otherwise
supports termination. A determination for funding pursuant to
Section 47634.2 may not exceed five years.

(3) A charter school that offers nonclassroom-based instruction
in excess of the amount authorized by paragraph (1) of subdivision
(e) is subject to the determination for funding requirement of
Section 47634.2 to receive funding each time its charter is renewed
or materially revised pursuant to Section 47607. A charter school
that materially revises its charter to offer nonclassroom-based
instruction in excess of the amount authorized by paragraph (1)
of subdivision (e) is subject to the determination for funding
requirement of Section 47634.2.

(e) (1) Notwithstanding any other begin delete provision of end delete law, and as a
condition of apportionment, “classroom-based instruction” in a
charter school, for begin delete the end delete purposes of this part, occurs only when
charter school pupils are engaged in educational activities required
of those pupils and are under the immediate supervision and control
of an employee of the charter school who possesses a valid teaching
certification in accordance with subdivision (l) of Section 47605.
begin delete For end delete

begin insert (A) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Except as provided by in subparagraph (B), end insert begin insert for end insert purposes
of calculating average daily attendance for classroom-based
instruction apportionments, at least 80 percent of the instructional
time offered by begin delete the end delete begin insert a end insert charter school shall be at the schoolsite, and
the charter school shall require the attendance of all pupils for
whom a classroom-based apportionment is claimed at the schoolsite
for at least 80 percent of the minimum instructional time required
to be offered pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision begin delete (a) of Section
47612.5. For end delete begin insert (a). end insert

begin insert (B) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert For purposes of calculating average daily attendance for
classroom-based instruction apportionments, at least 60 percent
of the instructional time offered by a charter school that only
operates a single schoolsite within the geographic jurisdiction of
the authority that granted its charter and has no more than one
satellite facility, as provided for in subdivision (c) of Section
47605.1, shall be at the schoolsite, and the charter school shall
require the attendance of all pupils for whom a classroom-based
apportionment is claimed at the schoolsite for at least 60 percent
of the minimum instructional time required to be offered pursuant
to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). end insert

(2) For begin delete the end delete purposes of this part, “nonclassroom instruction” or
“nonclassroom-based instruction” means instruction that does not
meet the requirements specified in paragraph (1). The begin delete State Board
of Education end delete begin insert state board end insert may adopt regulations pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) specifying other conditions or
limitations on what constitutes nonclassroom-based instruction,
as it deems appropriate and consistent with this part.

(3) For purposes of this part, a schoolsite is a facility that is used
principally for classroom instruction.

(4) Notwithstanding any other begin delete provision of end delete law, neither the begin delete State
Board of Education, end delete begin insert state board end insert nor the Superintendent may waive
the requirements of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).