Amended in Assembly May 28, 2015

Amended in Assembly May 5, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1426

Introduced by Assembly Member Levine

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Sections 47612.5 and 47634.2 of the Education Code, relating to charter schools.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1426, as amended, Levine. Charter schools: classroom-based and nonclassroom-based instruction: blended learning charter schools.

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. The act authorizes a charter school to receive funding for nonclassroom-based instruction, as defined for that purpose, only if a determination for funding is made by the State Board of Education, subject to any conditions or limitations the state board may prescribe.

This bill would subject to that determination for funding for nonclassroom-based instruction a “blended learning charter school,” defined as a charter school through which a pupil learns at least in part through online delivery of content and instruction and at least in part at a supervised location away from home, that offers classroom-based instruction no less than 60% and no more than 80% of the instructional time, and that satisfies other specified criteria. The bill would provide that begin insert such end insert a blended learning charter school shall begin delete be considered a classroom-based end delete begin insert not lose eligibility for specified end insert school begin delete for certain purposes end delete begin insert facilities assistance end insert . The bill would require the state board to adopt regulations setting forth criteria for the determination of funding for a blended learning charter school, as provided. 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 law, 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 law, 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 state board
shall adopt regulations that apply this article to charter schools.
To the extent that these regulations concern the qualifications of
instructional personnel, the state board 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 law, 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 state board. The determination for
funding shall be subject to any conditions or limitations the state
board may prescribe. The state board 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 state board shall be guided by subdivision (l) of Section 47605.

(2) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of
Section 47634.2, a charter school that receives a determination
pursuant to subdivision (c) 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 state board reviewed when initially determining
funding would not require material revision, as that term is defined
in regulations adopted by the state board. A charter school that has
achieved a rank of 6 or greater on the Academic Performance Index
for the two years immediately before receiving a funding
determination pursuant to subdivision (c) 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 state board
reviewed when initially determining funding would not require
material revision, as that term is defined in regulations adopted by
the state board. Notwithstanding any other law, the state board
may require a charter school to provide updated information at
any time it determines that a review of that information is
necessary. The state board may terminate a determination for
funding if updated or additional information requested by the state
board is not made available to the state 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 law, and as a condition of
apportionment, “classroom-based instruction” in a charter school,
for 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.

(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), for purposes of
calculating average daily attendance for classroom-based
instruction apportionments, at least 80 percent of the instructional
time offered by a 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 (a).

(B) (i) A blended learning charter school that offers
classroom-based instruction no less than 60 percent and no more
than 80 percent of the instructional time offered by the charter
school is subject to the determination for funding requirement of
Section 47634.2 to receive funding. For purposes of this
subparagraph and Section 47634.2, “blended learning charter
school” means a charter school that offers a formal education
program in which a pupil learns at least in part through online
delivery of content and instruction with some element of pupil
control over time, place, and pace and at least in part at a supervised
location away from home, 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.

(ii) A blended learning charter school that seeks a funding
determination pursuant to this subparagraph shall begin delete be considered
to be a classroom-based school for purposes of end delete begin insert not lose eligibility
for facilities assistance pursuant to end insert Sections 47614 and 47614.5,
Chapter 12.5 (commencing with Section 17070.10) of Part 10 of
Division 1 of Title 1, and any other local, state, or federally funded
facility program, provided that the charter school is otherwise
eligible for the facility program.

(2) For purposes of this part, “nonclassroom instruction” or
“nonclassroom-based instruction” means instruction that does not
meet the requirements specified in paragraph (1). The state board
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 law, neither the state board nor
the Superintendent may waive the requirements of paragraph (1)
of subdivision (a).

SEC. 2.  

Section 47634.2 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

47634.2.  

(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, the amount
of funding to be allocated to a charter school on the basis of average
daily attendance that is generated by pupils engaged in
nonclassroom-based instruction, as defined by paragraph (2) of
subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5, including funding provided on
the basis of average daily attendance pursuant to Sections 47613.1
and 47633, shall be adjusted by the state board. The state board
shall adopt regulations setting forth criteria for the determination
of funding for nonclassroom-based instruction and, at a minimum,
the regulations shall specify that the nonclassroom-based
instruction is conducted for the instructional benefit of the pupil
and substantially dedicated to that function. In developing these
criteria and determining the amount of funding to be allocated to
a charter school pursuant to this section, the state board shall
consider, among other factors it deems appropriate, the amount of
the charter school’s total budget expended on certificated employee
salaries and benefits and on schoolsites, as defined in paragraph
(3) of subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5, and the teacher-to-pupil
ratio in the school.

(2) For the 2001-02 fiscal year only, the amount of funding
determined by the state board pursuant to this section shall not be
less than 90 percent of the unadjusted amount to which a charter
school would otherwise be entitled on the basis of average daily
attendance.

(3) For the 2002-03 fiscal year, the amount of funding
determined by the state board pursuant to this section shall not be
more than 80 percent of the unadjusted amount to which a charter
school would otherwise be entitled, unless the state board
determines that a greater or lesser amount is appropriate based on
the criteria specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).

(4) For the 2003-04 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter,
the amount of funding determined by the state board pursuant to
this section shall not be more than 70 percent of the unadjusted
amount to which a charter school would otherwise be entitled,
unless the state board determines that a greater or lesser amount
is appropriate based on the criteria specified in paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a).

(5) This section does not authorize the state board to adjust the
amount of funding a charter school receives on the basis of average
daily attendance generated through classroom-based instruction,
as defined for purposes of calculating average daily attendance for
classroom-based instruction apportionments by paragraph (1) of
subdivision (d) of Section 47612.5.

(b) (1) The state board shall adopt regulations setting forth
criteria for the determination of funding for a blended learning
charter school as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (e) of Section 47612.5.

(2) The state board shall consider the criteria developed pursuant
to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) and shall include facility costs
for a blended learning charter school as instructional costs for any
funding evaluation that considers the total instructional costs of
the school.

(c) (1) The state board shall appoint an advisory committee to
recommend criteria to the state board in accordance with this
section if it has not done so by the effective date of the act adding
this section. The advisory committee shall include, but is not
limited to, representatives from school district superintendents,
charter schools, teachers, parents, members of the governing boards
of school districts, county superintendents of schools, and the
Superintendent.

(2) If a charter school submits a substantially complete request
for a determination for funding by February 13, 2002, and the state
board does not act on that request by March 19, 2002, full funding
is automatically granted for the 2001-02 fiscal year, but the charter
school shall reapply for a determination for funding for the
2002-03 fiscal year.

(3) The determination for funding shall be on a percentage basis
and the Superintendent shall implement the determination for
funding by reducing the charter school’s reported average daily
attendance by the determination for funding percentage specified
by the state board.

(4) If the state board denies a request for a determination for
funding or provides a reduction as authorized by subdivision (a),
the state board shall, in writing, give the reasons for its denial or
reduction and, if appropriate, may describe how any deficiencies
or problems may be addressed.

(d) Each charter school offering nonclassroom-based instruction
shall, in each report provided to the Superintendent for
apportionment purposes, identify the portion of its average daily
attendance that is generated through nonclassroom-based
instruction as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section
47612.5.

(e) Notwithstanding any other law, charter schools shall be
subject, with regard to subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 47612.5
and this section, to audits conducted pursuant to Section 41020.