BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 645
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 645
(Hancock) - As Amended August 17, 2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Education |Vote:|7 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill authorizes an After School Education and Safety (ASES)
Program to suspend operation for up to five days in a fiscal
year beginning January 1, 2016. Specifically, this bill:
SB 645
Page 2
1)Makes Legislative findings and declarations that the cost of
operating a program is exceeding the grant amount provided for
the program.
2)Authorizes an ASES Program to suspend operation for up to five
days in a fiscal year beginning January 1, 2016. Specifies a
grant shall not be adjusted as a result of the program
suspending its operation. Requires any cost savings associated
with the program suspension to be used solely by the entity
that is providing direct services to pupils. Sunsets the
authorization to suspend operation for up to five days as of
July 1, 2017.
3)Authorizes an ASES program to determine the specific grades to
be served at participating schools based on local needs.
4)Modifies Legislative intent that pupils in middle school or
junior high school attend before and after school programs for
a specific minimum number of hours and days and instead
expresses the intent of the Legislature that each attending
pupil participate in the full day of the program for each day
in which the pupil attends the program.
FISCAL EFFECT:
No initial state fiscal impact, however, the bill will result in
Proposition 98/GF cost pressure, potentially up to $14 million,
to supplement the loss of program savings once the bill sunsets
July 1, 2017.
According to the California Department of Education, total grant
awards for the 2015-16 year equal $506 million. This bill
SB 645
Page 3
allows programs to implement up to five furlough days without a
reduction in grant awards. Assuming all grantees applied the
maximum five furlough days (out of 180 total operating days),
this bill would free up approximately $14 million to be used for
program operations. Once the provisions of the bill sunset, the
state would likely face pressure to maintain this higher program
cost through a comparable rate increase.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the California After School Coalition
and LA's Best, sponsors of this bill, allowing after school
programs to impose up to five furlough days will provide
modest financial relief to programs that are feeling squeezed
by increased minimum wage and sick leave requirements. They
state that program funding has remained static since 2002 and
programs are at risk of becoming financially unviable or
closing down. This bill, they state, will provide modest
relief to programs struggling to stay open.
2)Background on furloughs. Furloughs are implemented as a cost
saving mechanism during tight fiscal times. Requiring
employees to take unpaid leave can provide schools or programs
with corresponding savings while avoiding permanent reductions
in staff.
In response to the state budget crisis, the state cut billions
of dollars from local education agencies (LEAs) starting in
2009. In order to provide some fiscal relief, the state
authorized school districts, county offices of education, and
charter schools to reduce up to five days of instruction (or
the equivalent number of instructional minutes) without
incurring penalties.
Although providing less instructional time helped school
SB 645
Page 4
districts balance their budgets, this also meant students were
provided less instruction and learning. As the state fiscal
situation improved, the Legislature began to reinvest in
schools and the Legislature ended the authority for schools to
provide less instruction with the 2014-15 school year.
3)Background on ASES. The ASES program was enacted in 2002 by
Proposition 49, and statute guarantees $550 million in
Proposition 98/GF for ASES grants and program administration
each year. This funding has remained constant and was spared
budget reductions during the state budget crisis.
Although funding has remained constant for after school
programs for more than a decade, the Legislature acknowledged
the $550 million allocation may not be keeping pace with
program costs. This bill follows an attempt to secure
increased funding or after school programs in the 2015-16
budget. The Assembly version of the budget provided an
additional $50 million. The budget conference committee
reduced this amount to $25 million. Ultimately, the Governor
signed the budget without an increase in after school funding.
4)Opposition. Children Now is concerned with the provisions of
this bill that allow programs to reduce the delivery of
services for up to five days. According to Children Now, the
bill allows for a discretionary reduction of programming days
which will have a nominal impact on the fiscal challenges
facing programs and is in direct opposition to the purpose of
the ASES grant to provide kids with a safe and enriching space
after school. Children Now recognizes the cost pressures
programs are facing and that the program has not received a
SB 645
Page 5
cost of living adjustment in nine years; however, they state,
"Unfortunately, the proposed short term remedy of cutting up
to five days of programming will create a small amount of
savings ($3,000 to $4,000 a site), doing little to impact the
fiscal challenges faced by programs while simultaneously
having a direct negative impact on children." Children Now
opposes the bill unless amended to remove the provision
authorizing furloughs. Children Now supports the remaining
sections of the bill that provide program implementation
flexibility, including the ability to locally determine which
grade levels to offer and adjusting middle school attendance
targets.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081