BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2615
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
AB 2615
(Wood) - As Amended April 5, 2016
SUBJECT: After school programs
SUMMARY: Makes a number of revisions to the 21st Century High
School After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens program
(ASSETs), the After School Education and Safety program (ASES),
and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC)
program. Specifically, this bill:
Changes to the ASSETs and ASES programs:
1)Authorizes a grantee who receives funds as part of a
partnership or consortium to restructure the partnership or
consortium if all of the following conditions are met:
a) All partners or consortium members agree to the
restructure.
b) The new consortia or partnership structure, or
structures, complies with specified administrative and
application requirements.
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c) There is no change in the school, or schools, served by
the restructured partnership or consortium.
d) The California Department of Education (CDE) agrees to
the restructure.
2)Provides that every pupil attending a school operating a
program is eligible to participate in the program, subject to
program capacity. Authorizes a program to charge family fees,
but requires a program to waive or reduce the cost of the fees
for pupils eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
3)Authorizes a grantee to request approval from the CDE to
transfer program services to another schoolsite if there is a
significant barrier to pupil participation in a program within
the same local educational agency. Requires the schoolsite to
which the program will be transferred to satisfy either of the
following requirements:
a) The schoolsite shall receive pupils from, and have a
grant of the same type awarded as the transferring school.
b) The schoolsite shall not have a 10-percent lower
percentage of pupils eligible for free or reduced-price
meals than the transferring school. If the proposed
schoolsite is not yet open, feeder school free or
reduced-price meal data, as determined by the CDE, shall be
considered in evaluating the proposed transfer.
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4)Provides that the schoolsite shall not increase the funding at
the proposed schoolsite above the maximum after school grant
amount. An applicant that requests approval to transfer
program services shall describe the manner in which the
applicant intends to provide safe, supervised transportation;
ensure communication among teachers in the regular school
program, staff in the before school and after school
components of the program, and parents of pupils; and
coordinate the educational and literacy component of the
before and after school components of the program with the
regular school programs of participating pupils.
5)Specifies that a "significant barrier to pupil participation"
in the before or after school component of a program means any
of the following:
a) Fewer than 20 pupils participating in the component of
the program.
b) Extreme transportation constraints, including, but not
limited to, desegregation bussing, bussing for magnet or
open enrollment schools, or pupil dependence on public
transportation.
c) A local educational agency opens a new schoolsite and
either merges the program of an existing schoolsite with
the new schoolsite or splits the program of the existing
schoolsite with the new schoolsite so that the existing
schoolsite is subject to a grant reduction.
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6)Establishes the following definitions:
a) "Central California" means California County
Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA)
regions five to eight, inclusive.
b) "Northern California" means CCSESA regions one to four,
inclusive.
c) "Southern California" means CCSESA regions 9 to 11,
inclusive.
d) "Urban and rural areas" shall be as defined by the
United States Census Bureau.
7)Requires the CDE to allocate funds to each geographic region
by the regional percentage of statewide pupils who are
eligible for free or reduced-price meals reported to the CDE
for the immediately preceding fiscal year. Each region's
percentage shall be determined by dividing the region's number
of pupils eligible for free or reduced-price meals by the
statewide number of pupils eligible for free or reduced-price
meals.
Changes to the ASSETs program:
8)Authorizes the CDE to withhold or terminate grant allocation
of any site or program that does not comply with audit
resolutions, fiscal reporting, attendance reporting, or
outcomes reporting requirements required by the CDE.
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9)Specifies that if a program grantee is temporarily prevented
from operating its entire program due to natural disaster,
civil unrest, or imminent danger to pupils or staff, the CDE
may approve a request by the grantee for pupil attendance
credits equal to the average annual attendance that the
grantee would have received if it had been able to operate its
entire program during that time period.
Changes to the ASES program:
10)Authorizes the grades to be served by the program at
participating schools to be determined by local needs.
11)Adds, as a barrier to pupil participation, a local
educational agency opening a new schoolsite and either merges
the program of an existing schoolsite with the new schoolsite
or splits the program of an existing schoolsite with the new
schoolsite so that the existing schoolsite is subject to a
grant reduction.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Establishes the ASES program through the 2002 voter approved
initiative, Proposition 49. The ASES program funds the
establishment of local before and after school education and
enrichment programs, which are created through partnerships
between schools and local community resources to provide
literacy, academic enrichment and safe constructive
alternatives for students in kindergarten through ninth grade
(Education Code (EC) Section 8482).
2)Establishes the 21st CCLC contained within the federal No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to complement the ASES program.
Specifies that the requirements of the ASES program apply to
the 21st CCLC program with specified exceptions. (EC 8484.7)
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3)Establishes the 21st Century ASSETs Program to create
incentives for establishing locally driven after school
enrichment programs between schools and local community
organizations serving pupils from grades 9 through 12. (EC
Section 8421)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: ASES program. The ASES program, passed by voters as
Proposition 49 in 2002, provides almost $550 million annually
for before and after school programs for kindergarten through
grade 9 students. In FY 2015-16, 555 school districts and
county offices of education operated ASES programs serving
approximately 405,000 students. Local governments and nonprofit
organizations working in partnership with local educational
agencies may also apply for funding. After school programs must
commence right after school and at least until 6 p.m. for 15
hours per week. Grants, last adjusted in 2006, are provided in
three one-year increments with maximum grants at $112,500 per
year for elementary schools, $150,000 per year for middle or
junior high schools based on a per pupil amount of $7.50 per day
of pupil attendance, and $7.50 per pupil per day for staff
development, with a maximum of three staff development days per
year. Priority for funding goes to schools where at least 50%
of the pupils are eligible for free- or reduced-priced meals.
Each program is required to provide a match equal to not less
than one-third of the total grant. Facilities may count towards
25% of the local contribution.
Participating afterschool programs are required to have an
educational and literacy component in which tutoring or homework
assistance is provided in one or more of the following areas:
language arts, mathematics, history and social science, computer
training, or sciences; and an educational enrichment component,
which may include, but is not limited to, fine arts, career
technical education, career exploration, recreation, physical
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fitness and prevention activities.
The program requires before school programs to operate one and a
half hours a day and after school programs to operate after
school until 6 p.m. for a minimum of 15 hours per week. ASES
grantees can request summer grants (previously called
supplemental grants) in order to operate for more than 180 days
or to operate during summer, intersession or vacation.
21st ASSETs and CCLC. In addition to the funds generated by
Proposition 49, the state also receives approximately $130
million annually in federal funds for the 21st CCLC program,
which provides funding for before and after school activities to
pupils in kindergarten through grade 12, and the ASSETs program
for high school pupils. The state has chosen to implement these
programs almost identical to the state's ASES program.
This bill is sponsored by the Superintendent of Public
Instruction and makes a number of revisions to the state and
federal programs. Major provisions include the following:
Geographical distribution of funds. This proposal was a
recommendation of the Expanding Learning Defining Equity
Committee established by the Superintendent of Public
Instruction and is intended to apply to the federal 21st CCLC
and ASSETs programs only. According to the CDE, the federal
government requires a state educational agency to distribute
funds equitably among geographic areas within the state,
including urban and rural communities. The Education Code
provides that to the extent possible, grantees shall result in
equitable distribution of grant awards to applicants in
northern, southern, and central California, and in urban,
suburban and rural areas of the state.
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This bill divides the state into three regions utilizing
CCSESA's service regions for awarding funds. CCSESA is a
statewide organization representing county superintendents of
schools. The CCSESA's Internet Web site states, "Through a
system of 11 service regions, CCSESA provides the organizational
mechanism for the 58 County Superintendents of Schools to design
and implement statewide programs to identify and promote quality
cost-effective educational practices and services, and provide
support to school districts." Based on the regions specified in
the bill, the three regions will be comprised of counties as
follows:
Central California: Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Benito,
Monterey, San Joaquin, Amador, Calaveras, Stanislaus, Tuolumne,
Merced, Mariposa Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, San Luis Obispo,
Kern, Santa Barbara and Ventura.
Northern California: Humboldt, Mendocino, Lake, Sonoma,
Siskiyou, Modoc, Trinity, Shasta, Lassen, Tehama, Glenn, Butte,
Plumas, Colusa, Sutter, Yuba, Sierra, Yolo, Sacramento, Nevada,
Alpine, Placer, El Dorado, Napa, Solano, Marin, San Francisco,
Contra Costa, Alameda, and San Mateo.
Southern California: Orange, San Diego, Imperial, Riverside,
San Bernardino, Inyo, Mono, and Los Angeles.
The bill requires federal funds to be divided according to the
percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price meals
programs located in each region. Applicants will then vie for
funding against other applicants in their respective regions.
The CDE states that under the current process, districts in some
areas, particularly rural areas, are reluctant to submit
applications because they do not believe they have the capacity
to be competitive. Regional competition enables these districts
to compete in a smaller pool.
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Staff recommends correcting a drafting error that placed the
geographical regions provision in the ASES program instead of
the 21st CCLC program and making conforming corrections in the
21st CCLC program language.
Providing flexibility. The bill provides more flexibility to
ASSETs and ASES grant recipients by allowing programs to change
schoolsites within a local educational agency and allowing the
restructuring of partnerships awarded the funds. Current law
allows a program to change site due to extreme transportation
problems or if participation decreases to fewer than 20
students. This bill will allow a program to change location if a
school closes or restructures. According to CDE, grantees
sometimes need to change partnerships due to administrative
problems, splits in the partnership or due to fraudulent
activities. For ASES programs, the bill also authorizes the
grades levels to be served to be determined according to local
needs.
Family fees. Current law specifies that a program is not
required to charge family fees. This bill, instead, makes
collection of fees permissive, but requires programs to either
waive or reduce fees for families with pupils eligible for free
and reduced-price meals. This provision applies to both the
ASSETs and ASES programs. The author may wish to consider
whether fees should be standardized on a statewide level.
Fiscal oversight. This bill conforms the ASSETs program to the
ASES program that allows the CDE to terminate grant allocation
of any site or program that does not comply with program
requirements, including audit resolutions, fiscal reporting,
attendance reporting, or outcome reporting as required by the
CDE. The bill also adds the authority for CDE to withhold funds
to both programs.
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Attendance Credit. Currently, program sites that are affected
by natural disaster, civil unrest or are in imminent danger can
receive attendance credit through approval by the State Board of
Education (SBE). According to the CDE, the SBE questions this
role and prefers to be removed from this process. This bill
will allow the CDE to approve a request by a grantee for pupil
attendance credits equal to the average annual attendance that
the grantee would have received if it had been able to operate
during those times of crises. This provision applies to the
ASSETs program only. The ASES program allows the CDE to
recommend and the SBE to approve the attendance credit. Staff
recommends making a similar change in the ASES program
authorizing the CDE to approve attendance credits.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
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