BILL ANALYSIS Ķ
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 645
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|Author: |Hancock |
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|Version: |April 6, 2015 Hearing |
| |Date: April 8, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Lynn Lorber |
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Subject: After school programs: grant amounts
SUMMARY
This bill appropriates to the After School Education and Safety
program $54 million in the 2015-16 fiscal year, and $72 million
beginning in the 2016-17 fiscal year and every year thereafter,
and creates a cost of living adjustment linked to the California
Consumer Price Index beginning in the 2017-18 fiscal year.
BACKGROUND
Current law establishes:
1. The After School Education and Safety (ASES) program,
consisting of before and after school academic enrichment.
Priority for funding is granted to schools where at least
50% of the students are eligible for free or reduced price
meals. ASES programs receive direct grants, where
attendance is projected and grants are funded up-front, in
three one-year increments.
(Education Code § 8482, 8482.4, and § 8482.5)
2. The maximum total direct grant awarded annually for an
after school program as $112,500 for each regular school
year for elementary schools and $150,000 for middle or
junior high schools (based on a formula of $7.50 per
student per day of attendance, at a maximum of $37.50 per
student per week).
(EC § 8482.55 and § 8483.7)
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3. The maximum total grant awarded annually for a before
school program as $37,500 for each regular school year for
elementary schools and $49,000 for middle or junior high
schools (based on a formula of $5 per student per day of
attendance, at a maximum of $25 per student per week). (EC
§ 8483.75)
4. A summer grant to operate the program in excess of 180
days or during any combination of summer, intersession, or
vacation for a maximum of the lesser of:
A. $7.50 per student per day; or,
B. 30% of the total grant amount awarded to the
school per school year; or,
C. $33,750 for elementary schools and $45,000 for
middle or junior high schools. (EC § 8483.7 and §
8483.76)
Current law continuously appropriates to the California
Department of Education $550 million from the General Fund for
the After School Education and Safety (ASES) program. (EC §
8483.5)
Current law:
1. Establishes the minimum wage of nine dollars per hour on
and after July 1, 2014, and ten dollars per hour on and
after January 1, 2016. (Labor Code § 1182.12)
2. Requires employers to provide at least one hour of paid
sick time for every 30 hours worked, or a minimum of three
days per year. (Labor Code § 246)
ANALYSIS
This bill appropriates to the After School Education and Safety
(ASES) program $54 million in the 2015-16 fiscal year, and $72
million beginning in the 2016-17 fiscal year and every year
thereafter, and creates a cost of living adjustment linked to
the California Consumer Price Index beginning in the 2017-18
fiscal year. Specifically, this bill:
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1. For the 2015-16 fiscal year, appropriates $54 million from
the General Fund (Proposition 98) to the California
Department of Education (CDE) for the ASES program, and
requires the CDE to proportionately adjust the dollar
amounts for the ASES base grants and the per student per
day rates.
2. For the 2016-17 fiscal year and each fiscal year
thereafter, continuously appropriates $72 million from the
General Fund (Proposition 98) to the CDE for the ASES
program, and requires the CDE to proportionately adjust the
dollar amounts for the ASES base grants and the per student
per day rates.
3. Requires the Department of Finance, beginning with the
2017-18 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, to
adjust the appropriation for the ASES program by adding the
product of $622 million times the percentage change in the
California Consumer Price Index from the 2016-17 fiscal
year, provided the adjustment does not result in a
reduction in any fiscal year.
4. Requires the CDE, beginning with the 2017-18 fiscal year
and each fiscal year thereafter, to annually adjust the
dollar amounts for the ASES base grants and the per student
per day rates by an amount reflecting the percentage change
in the California Consumer Price Index from the 2016-17
fiscal year, provided the adjustment does not result in a
reduction in any fiscal year.
STAFF COMMENTS
1. Need for the bill. According to the author, "The Education
Code establishes that $550 million shall be continuously
appropriated from the General Fund to the Department of
Education for the After School Education and Safety (ASES)
Program. This funding amount has not increased since the
introduction of the program, despite minimum wage increases
that impact the hourly pay for both site coordinators and
program leaders, the new statutory requirement for three
paid sick days per year, and other increased costs
associated with operated After School Education and Safety
(ASES) programs. The average cost of an after school
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program is $7 per child per hour, or $21 per day. This is
nearly three times the average daily attendance rate of
$7.50 paid to ASES providers."
2. Family fees. Current law does not require ASES programs to
charge family fees or to conduct individual eligibility
determinations based on need or income. It appears that
ASES programs have the ability to charge family fees;
however, it is unlikely that many programs charge fees, or
reap significant fees, as ASES programs serve schools where
a minimum of 50% of the students are eligible for free- or
reduced-price meals, and funding priority is given to
programs serving the highest percentages of students who
are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
3. Budget issue. The Education Code requires the continuous
appropriation of $550 million from the General Fund to the
California Department of Education for the ASES program.
This bill proposes to increase that appropriation by $54
million in the 2015-16 fiscal year, $72 million in the
2016-17 fiscal year and every fiscal year thereafter, and
provide an annual cost of living adjustment beginning in
the 2017-18 fiscal year. The Governor's proposed 2015-16
Budget does not provide an increased appropriation for the
ASES program. The Senate Budget Subcommittee on Education
may wish to consider this funding proposal through the
annual budget process.
Is it appropriate for this Committee to pass a bill that makes a
significant appropriation of Proposition 98 funds? Passing
this bill would signal this Committee's desire to provide
funds to ASES programs that are sufficient to mitigate the
increase in minimum wage. The decision of whether to
provide additional funds will ultimately be made in the
Budget Act.
4. Subcommittee hearing. The Senate Education Subcommittee on
Community Schools held an informational hearing on March
25, 2015, featuring a panel on after school and
out-of-school programs. This panel provided testimony
relative to the effects the increases in minimum wage will
have on the statutory funding levels and caps on per
student daily rates for ASES programs (see Comment #1).
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SUPPORT
Alhambra Afterschool Adventures
Alhambra Unified School District
ARC
Aspiranet
Bay Area Community Resources
Boys & Girls Clubs of Garden Grove
Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Redlands-Riverside
California Educational Centers
California School - Age Consortium
California State Alliance of YMCAs
California Teaching Fellows Foundation
Children's Initiative
Citizen Schools
City of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks Department
Coaching Corps.
Empire Union School District
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California
Institute for Student Success, Inc.
LA's Best After School Enrichment
Lassen County Office of Education
LEAD ASES Assist., Site Coordinator, Bernardo Height Middle
School
Merced County Office of Education
MVM Strategy Group
Oakland Unified School District
Para Los Niņos Charter
Partnership for Children & Youth
Patterson Joint Unified School District, After School Programs
Reach for the Stars
Student Success Institute, Inc.
Summerville School District
Think Together
TOSA/Program Coordinator/ Poway Unified School District
Twin Peaks Middle School, Site Coordinator ASES Programs
YMCA Coast Central
YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles
YMCA of San Diego County
YMCA of the East Bay
An individual
OPPOSITION
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None received.
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