BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 786
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Date of Hearing: July 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
SB
786 (Allen) - As Amended July 6, 2015
SENATE VOTE: Vote not relevant
SUBJECT: Adult education: regional consortia.
SUMMARY: Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) and the chancellor of the California Community Colleges to
certify the amount of funds expended by joint powers authority
(JPA) comprised of a community college, school district, county
office of education (COE) for the purpose of determining Adult
Education Block Grant Program funding. Specifically, this bill:
1)Adds JPAs to the provisions that do the following:
a) Requires the SPI and the chancellor of the California
Community Colleges to certify for each school district and
COE the amount of state funds required to be expended for
adult education in the local control funding formula
(LCFF).
b) Specifies the allocations of funds if the total amount
certified for school districts and COEs is less than $375
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million.
c) Specifies the allocations of funds if the total amount
certified for school districts and COEs is more than $375
million.
2)Authorizes the SPI and the chancellor to certify and apportion
funds after the dates required for 2015-16 maintenance of
effort (MOE) funding for a JPA.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes the establishment of adult school programs and
specifies eligibility criteria, programmatic requirements, and
the manner in which school districts' adult education revenue
limit per unit of average daily attendance (ADA) shall be
determined.
2)Prohibits state apportionment to be made for any course or
class not specified in law.
3)Defines "adult" as a person 18 years of age or older for a
person who is not concurrently enrolled in a regular high
school program.
4)Charges the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office
(CCCCO) and the California Department of Education (CDE) to
jointly implement an adult education planning process;
authorizes the CCCCO and the CDE to distribute $25 million to
regional consortia to develop plans with the shared goal of
better serving the educational needs of California's adult
learners; and, specifies that the following five areas are to
be addressed in the plans:
a) Elementary and secondary basic skills, including classes
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required for a high school diploma.
b) Classes and courses for immigrants in English as a
second language, citizenship, and workforce preparations.
c) Education programs for adults with disabilities.
d) Short-term career technical education programs with high
employment potential.
e) Programs for apprentices.
5)Establishes the Adult Education Block Grant Program and
specifies the process for funding based on plans developed by
regional consortia. Requires the SPI and the chancellor, with
the advice of the executive director of the state board of
education to, no later than July 31, 2015, certify, for each
school district and COE, the amount of state funds required to
be expended for adult education pursuant to the MOE required
under the LCFF.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS: Background. Adult education in California is part of
a large, complex, and diverse multi-provider system. It is a
vital and integral part of the larger educational system that
provides adults with the skills and education that enable them
to earn a high school diploma or a general educational
development certificate, become United States citizens, acquire
specific job skills, learn English, and/or become independent
and productive parents and members of their community. Adult
education is provided by a number of delivery systems, but the
two main providers are school districts and the California
Community Colleges (CCCs). K-12 adult schools were funded by an
adult education categorical program that, prior to budget
reductions, received over $600 million annually.
In 2013, the Governor proposed and the Legislature passed a new
K-12 funding system that replaced revenue limits with a new base
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grant - LCFF. LCFF incorporated most categorical program funds
into the base grant and eliminated the categorical programs.
School districts choosing to continue their adult education
programs would do so using their base funds. However, school
districts and COEs were required to maintain the amount of funds
expended for the adult education categorical program in fiscal
year (FY) 2012-13 for two years, in FY 2013-14 and FY 2014-15.
AB 86 Regional Consortia. Also in 2013, the budget provided $25
million for the development of regional consortia comprised of
CCCs and K-12 school districts for the purpose of creating plans
to integrate existing programs and determine how best to serve
adult students within regions throughout the state (AB 86
(Budget Committee), Chapter 48, Statutes of 2013). Seventy
regions were formed comprised of at least one CCC district and
one or more K-12 school districts.
Adult Education Block Grant Program. The FY 2015-16 Budget
provided $500 million for the Adult Education Block Grant
Program, enacted through the education budget trailer bill, AB
104 (Budget Committee), Chapter 13, Statutes of 2015. The
program is built upon regional consortia established by AB 86.
Beginning 2016-17, funds will be distributed to each consortium
by the SPI and the chancellor, with the advice of the Executive
Director of the State Board of Education, based on 1) the amount
of funds apportioned in the previous year; 2) a consortium's
share of the statewide need for adult education; and 3) the
consortium's effectiveness in meeting the educational needs of
adults in the region based on available data. Funds are
allocated according to a plan developed by each consortium. The
planning consortia established by AB 86 included only school
districts and CCCs, although COEs, regional occupational centers
and other private and public agencies also participated in the
planning process. AB 104 extended membership of regional
consortia to COEs and JPAs. For the 2015-16 fiscal year, the
trailer bill specifies that up to $375 million shall be
allocated to school districts and COEs based on a certification
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of the MOE required over the last two years. The remainder is
allocated to regional consortia by the SPI and the chancellor,
with concurrence from the Executive Director of the State Board
of Education.
What does this bill do? This bill inserts JPAs in all
provisions relating to funding for school districts and COEs for
the 2015-16 year. The intent of the bill is to make JPAs
eligible for funding in 2015-16 based on their LCFF MOE
requirements.
What are JPAs? Existing law authorizes the establishment of a
regional occupational center or program (ROC/P) joint powers
agencies by two or more school districts, with the consent of
the State Board of Education and the county superintendent of
schools. There are approximately 26 JPAs in the state. JPAs
receive funding from a variety of sources, including prior state
ROC/P funding as well as contributions from each participating
school district. JPAs provide career technical education (CTE)
programs to high school students and some to adult students.
Current law finds and declares that vocational training
resources provided through ROC/Ps should be prioritized for
pupils enrolled in high school. The statute also requires that
beginning in the 2011-12 fiscal year, ROC/Ps may not claim more
than 10% of the state ADA for students not enrolled in grades 9
through 12. With LCFF, the ROC/P categorical program has been
eliminated, ROC/P funds have been incorporated into the LCFF
base grants and local educational agencies now receive an
increase in their base funding for students in grades 9-12 for
career or college readiness.
It is unclear whether this bill will result in MOE dollars for
JPAs. The bill requires the SPI and the chancellor to certify a
JPA's MOE. The MOE established by the trailer bill is based on
funding previously received by school districts and COEs through
the adult education categorical program. Some JPAs may have
received adult education categorical program funding through
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participating school districts. If those school districts claim
the MOE, allowing these JPAs to also certify a MOE may result in
double reporting and claims. It is highly likely that most JPAs
have not received adult education categorical funding, and as
such, do not have MOEs to certify.
This bill was introduced on behalf of the Southern California
Regional Occupational Center (SoCal ROC). According to the
author, SoCal ROC provides CTE to more than 2,400 adults from
more than 60 cities throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties
and will experience more than $3 million reduction in its
2015-16 budget absent additional funding. SoCal ROC received
approximately $3.4 million in ROC/P funds, not adult education
program funds, which Torrance Unified School District received
from CDE and passed through to SoCal ROC to serve adult
students. With the elimination of ROC/P funds, SoCal ROC is
seeking alternative funding.
Budget process. SoCal ROC attempted to secure funding through
the budget process. The Senate Budget Subcommittee #1 on
Education adopted a placeholder to express its intent to enable
SoCal ROC to continue to receive funding for providing adult
education. The Budget Conference Committee did not adopt the
Senate version and instead adopted the language in the trailer
bill allowing JPAs to become members of adult education regional
consortia. JPAs have an opportunity to receive direct Adult
Education Block Grant Program funding if the regional consortia
plans include JPAs. Alternatively, local educational agencies
who are members of JPAs may pass through Adult Education Block
Grant Program funding at their local discretion to JPAs that
provide adult education on their behalf. The Committee may wish
to consider the extent to which this bill is consistent with the
Budget agreement signed by the Governor.
Suggested amendment. It is unclear how many JPAs are already
members of regional consortia. Since the authority was made
explicit only recently through its enactment in the trailer
bill, In order to give JPAs an opportunity to receive 2015-16
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MOE funding, staff recommends authorizing regional consortia to
amend their plans to incorporate JPAs. The trailer bill
specifies that the plans developed by regional consortia
pursuant to AB 86 are in effect for the 2015-16 through 2017-18
fiscal years.
Author's amendment. The author requests the Committee to adopt
an urgency clause. The author states that the urgency clause is
needed in order to enable any JPA participating in an adult
education consortium to comply with the current year statutory
deadlines that must be met for purposes of establishing the
JPA's MOE level.
Prior related legislation. AB 2216 (Muratsuchi), would have
extended by two years the MOE requirement for school districts
to spend at least as much on ROC/Ps as they did in the 2012-13
from 2014-15 to 2016-17. The bill was held in the Senate
Appropriations Committee suspense file in 2014.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
Patrick Furey, Mayor, City of Torrance
Southern California Regional Occupational Center
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South Bay Workforce Investment Board
Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce
TACC Governmental Affairs Policy Group
Numerous individuals
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916)
319-2087