BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2615
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Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
2615 (Wood) - As Amended April 25, 2016
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|Policy |Education |Vote:|7 - 0 |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill makes a number of changes to both the to the 21st
Century High School After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens
(ASSETs) program and the After School Education and Safety
program (ASES), including allocating funds by geographical
regions. Specifically, this bill:
1)Continues to authorize providers to charge a family fee,
however, requires providers that choose to charge family fees
to waive or reduce the cost of these fees for pupils who are
eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
2)Authorizes a grantee who receives funds as part of a
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partnership or consortium to restructure the partnership or
consortium if certain conditions exist, including agreement
with all involved and approval by the California Department of
Education (CDE).
3)Authorizes an ASSETS grantee, consistent with existing policy
for ASES programs, to request approval from the CDE to
transfer program services to another schoolsite if there is a
significant barrier to pupil participation (such as low
participation rates or transportation barriers) in a program
within the same local educational agency (LEA). Also allows
ASSETs and ASES programs to transfer program services,
contingent upon CDE approval, to address significant program
operation barriers due to an opening of a new school site.
4)Requires, for ASES grantees, 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, as
specified.
5)Authorizes CDE, consistent with existing law for ASES
programs, to withhold or terminate an ASSETs 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.
6)Authorizes the CDE, consistent with existing law for the ASEs
programs, to approve grantee requests for pupil attendance
credits, as specified, in the event a program is temporarily
prevented from operating due to natural disaster, civil
unrest, or imminent danger to pupils or staff.
7)Authorizes an ASES program to determine the grades to be
served at participating schools based on local needs.
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FISCAL EFFECT:
Minor/absorbable costs to the California Department of Education
to update the Request for Application for new grant awards,
calculate funding for each region, and provide program
assistance and guidance to the field. Changes to the
distribution of funds based on geographical regions may result
in different funding amounts for certain grantees than they had
received in prior years. CDE notes, however, that the changes
proposed by this bill will be implemented with a new round of
grant funding. The bill also does not result in overall
increases to the program.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. This bill is sponsored by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction (SPI) to ensure a fair geographic
distribution of expanded learning funds to more closely align
with the federal requirements that govern the distribution of
21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) and after
School Safety and Enrichment for Teens (ASSETs) program funds.
This bill implements recommendations made by a November 2015
strategic plan (A Vision for Expanded Learning in California)
developed by the CDE and education stakeholders.
2)Background. There are approximately 4,490 after school
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programs that serve roughly 400,000 kindergarten through grade
9 students. The state provides a continuous appropriation of
$550 million for state ASES programs. 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.
According to the CDE, the federal government requires states
to distribute funds equitably among geographic areas within
the state, including urban and rural communities. Current law
requires, to the extent possible, the equitable distribution
of grant awards to applicants in northern, southern, and
central California, and in urban, suburban and rural areas of
the state.
According to CDE, under the current structure, 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. This bill
proposes to modify this further by dividing the state into
three regions utilizing the California County Superintendents
Educational Services Association (CCSESA) regions.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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