BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 739
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Date of Hearing: August 10, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 739
(Pavley) - As Amended May 6, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
SUMMARY:
This bill prohibits the governing board of a school district
from authorizing new charter schools located outside the
boundaries of the school district if the school district is
assigned a negative budget certification.
FISCAL EFFECT:
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Likely minor, if any, state costs associated prohibiting school
districts from authorizing a charter school outside district
boundaries. There are currently two school districts with a
negative budget certification for the 2015-16 fiscal year that
could potentially be impacted by this bill. The districts
affected by this bill will change annually depending on
individual district financial health.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. The majority of charter schools are located
within the boundary of the school district that authorizes the
operation of the charter school. Current law authorizes a
charter school to establish one site outside of the chartering
school district if the charter is unable to locate within the
boundaries of the chartering school district due to
unavailability of facilities or the need for a temporary
location (e.g. construction or expansion of the permanent
site.)
Current law authorizes the chartering authority to charge the
charter school for the actual costs of supervisorial
oversight, not to exceed 3%. The Acton-Agua Dulce Unified
School District (Acton-Agua Dulce USD) authorized a charter
school that was subsequently located in another school
district that had previously denied the school. In return, the
school paid an excessive oversight fee of 3.5% to the school
district. The Acton-Agua Dulce USD also received a negative
fiscal certification for the 2013-14 fiscal year, meaning the
district was unable to meet its financial obligations for the
remainder of the current year or for the subsequent fiscal
year. The district continued to authorize charter schools and
charge large oversight fees, in part, as an effort to help
balance the district budget.
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2) Purpose. This bill prohibits a school district from
authorizing new charter schools outside their district
boundaries if the school district receives a negative budget
certification. According to the author, this bill also
attempts to address the potential perverse incentive for a
district with a negative budget certification to approve new
charter schools located outside their district boundaries in
order to increase district revenues through oversight fees.
3) Comments. A negative certification is assigned to a school
district or county office of education when it is determined
that, based upon current projections, the school district or
county office of education will not meet its financial
obligations for the current year and the following fiscal
year. Committee staff notes this bill would not currently
impact Acton-Agua Dulce USD since the district no longer
carries a negative budget certification. According to the
most recent negative certification report (2nd interim
2015-16 report), only two districts would be impacted by this
bill: Loleta Union Elementary School District and Julian
Union High School District. The districts affected by this
bill will change annually. Generally, in good economic
times, number of districts to certify a negative status
hovers between two to seven districts (out of nearly 1,000
school districts). During the great recession, the number of
negative certified school districts peaked to 19 for the
2008-09 fiscal year.
4) Prior related legislation. SB 1263 (Pavley) of 2014 would
have authorized a charter school to locate outside the
jurisdiction of the chartering school district with written
approval from the school district where the charter school
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chooses to operate. The bill also prohibited a school
district with a negative certification from authorizing new
charter schools located outside of their jurisdiction.
Governor Brown vetoed the bill and issued the following
message:
"This bill seeks to reverse the application of a limited
exemption in law that allows a charter school petitioner to
locate a single school site outside of its authorizing
school district, under specific circumstances. This bill
would instead require the charter school to first get
permission from the host district where it intends to
locate.
Unfortunately, it appears that some districts and charter
schools have gone against the spirit of the law and the
exemption has instead become the rule. This has led to
litigation and strained relationships among districts and
charter schools.
While this bill attempts to solve a real problem, I am not
comfortable with the retroactive language that could force
existing charter schools to change locations.
I have assembled a team to examine this situation and come
back with solutions that minimize disruption to students
and parents."
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
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