Amended in Assembly March 29, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2806

Introduced by Assembly Member Wilk

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Dababneh)

February 19, 2016

An act to add Section 35401.5 to the Education Code, relating to school districts.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2806, as amended, Wilk. School districts: begin insert Office of the Inspector General of the end insert Los Angeles Unified School District: begin delete inspector general. end delete begin insert evaluation of charter schools. end insert

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Existing

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begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Existing end insert law, until January 1, 2025, authorizes begin delete the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Inspector General of end delete the Office of the Inspector General begin insert of the Los Angeles Unified School District end insert to conduct audits and investigations, as specified, begin delete including administering oaths or affirmations. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor, punishable as specified, for a person, after the administration of an oath or affirmation, to state or affirm as true any material matter that he or she knows to be false. Existing law also requires the inspector general to submit annual interim reports by July 1 of each year, and a final cumulative report by December 1, 2024, that includes specified information. end delete begin insert when it has a reasonable suspicion that a law, regulation, rule, or school district policy has been violated or is being violated. end insert

This bill begin delete would prohibit end delete begin insert would require that, if end insert the inspector general begin delete from auditing or investigating a charter school or an entity that operates charter schools for the purpose of evaluating a charter school for consideration of revocation, renewal, or ongoing oversight, unless the audit or investigation is authorized end delete begin insert is directed end insert by the governing board of the Los Angeles Unified School District begin delete and meets end delete begin insert to participate in the evaluation of a charter school, the audit or investigation is required to meet end insert each of several conditions, as provided.

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The bill would, except as provided, make any disclosure of information by the inspector general or that office that was acquired pursuant to a subpoena of the private books, documents, or papers of the person subpoenaed punishable as a misdemeanor. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

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(2) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Los Angeles Unified School District.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert . State-mandated local program:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert .

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 35401.5 is added to the Education Code,
to read:

35401.5.  

(a) Notwithstanding begin delete Section 35401, the inspector
general shall only audit or investigate a charter school or an entity
that operates charter schools for the purpose of evaluating a charter
school for consideration of revocation, renewal, or ongoing
oversight if the audit or investigation meets end delete begin insert Sections 35400 and
35401, if the inspector general is directed by the governing board
to participate in the evaluation of a charter school, the audit or
investigation shall meet end insert each of the following conditions:

(1) The audit or investigation is approved by the governing
board begin delete of the Los Angeles Unified School District end delete in accordance
with an approved scope and analysis that, at a minimum, includes
each of the following:

(A) Identification of the charter school or entity that operates
charter schools that is subject to the audit or investigation.

(B) A description of the issues, including the specific allegations
or concerns leading to the request and specific questions to which
the audit or investigation is expected to respond.

(C) The proposed scope of the work to be completed.

(D) The estimated timeline, start date, and cost. If an audit or
investigation will exceed 90 days, the inspector general shall justify
the need for the extended begin delete time which must be approved by the
governing board of the Los Angeles Unified School District. end delete begin insert time,
for which the approval of the governing board shall be required. end insert
The inspector general shall not exceed the approved timeline
without subsequent approval from the governing begin delete board of the Los
Angeles Unified School District. end delete begin insert board. end insert

(2) Any audit or investigation for which the governing board
begin delete of the Los Angeles Unified School District end delete may consider action
related to a charter school shall be conducted in accordance with
Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards published
by the United States Government Accountability Office and the
professional standards published by the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants. The report shall be made public
before any deliberations on action related to the findings, and the
charter school shall be given a reasonable opportunity to respond
to any findings before publication of the report. begin insert The inspector
general shall make public its report and the written response to
the report from the charter school at the same time that it provides
the final report to the governing board or to district staff. end insert

(3) Neither the governing board begin delete of the Los Angeles Unified
School District nor the Los Angeles Unified School District end delete begin insert nor
the district end insert shall take any action based on any evidence or findings
on draft reports or any reports or evidence begin insert prepared pursuant to
this section end insert that has not been made public before the action. Any
proposed action to consider revocation, nonrenewal, or corrective
action against a charter school as a result of an audit or
investigation by the inspector general shall comply with Section
47607 and its implementing regulations and provide the charter
school a reasonable opportunity to cure any violation and to address
any begin delete finding. end delete begin insert finding in public. end insert

(4) If, in the course of a financial or performance audit of a
charter school, the inspector general determines that there is
reasonable cause to believe that an employee of a charter school
has engaged in any illegal activity, the inspector general shall
report the nature and details of the activity on a timely basis to the
local district attorney or the Attorney General.

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(b) The inspector general does not have any enforcement power.

end delete begin delete

(c) This section does not limit any authority conferred upon the
Attorney General or any other department or agency of government
to investigate any matter.

end delete begin delete

(d) Except as authorized in this section, or if called upon to
testify in any court or proceeding at law, any disclosure of
information by the inspector general or that office that was acquired
pursuant to a subpoena of the private books, documents, or papers
of the person subpoenaed, is punishable as a misdemeanor.

end delete begin delete

(e) This section shall apply to any contractors commissioned
by the inspector general to perform audits or investigations of
charter schools or entities that operate charter schools.

end delete begin insert

(b) As used in this section, “governing board” means the
governing board of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

end insert

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SEC. 2.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.

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begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert begin insert

The Legislature finds and declares that a special law
is necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable
within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California
Constitution because of the unique circumstances of the Los
Angeles Unified School District.

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