BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                              Senator Carol Liu, Chair
                                2015 - 2016  Regular 

          Bill No:             SB 1457             
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          |Author:    |Morrell                                              |
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          |Version:   |March 28, 2016                           Hearing     |
          |           |Date:     March 30, 2016                             |
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          |Urgency:   |No                     |Fiscal:     |No              |
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          |Consultant:|Lenin Del Castillo                                   |
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          Subject:  Pupil instruction:  high school graduation  
          requirements:  credit for released time instruction


            SUMMARY
          
          This bill expands the authority of school districts to authorize  
          a student to be excused from school to receive moral and  
          religious instruction by authorizing a local governing board to  
          adopt a policy, as specified, to allow pupils to earn up to two  
          elective credits towards high school graduation requirements for  
          the completion of "released time instruction," excluding any cap  
          on the number of excused absences for this purpose, and  
          authorizing a school district to generate average daily  
          attendance (ADA) for these absences.      

            BACKGROUND
          
          Existing law:

             1)   Provides for pupils, with the written consent of their  
               parents or guardians, to be excused from school in order to  
               participate in religious exercise or to receive moral and  
               religious instruction at their respective places of worship  
               or at other suitable places away from school property  
               designated by the religious group, church, or denomination,  
               which shall be in addition and supplementary to the  
               instruction in manners and morals required elsewhere.

             2)   Provides that such absences shall not be deemed absences  







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               in computing ADA, if all of the following conditions are  
               complied with:

                  a)        The governing board of the school district  
                    adopts a resolution permitting pupils to be absent  
                    from school for such exercises or instruction.

                  b)        The governing board of the school district  
                    adopts regulations governing the attendance of pupils  
                    at such exercises or instruction and the reporting  
                    thereof.

                  c)        Each pupil so excused shall attend school at  
                    least the minimum school day for his grade for  
                    elementary schools, and as provided by the relevant  
                    provisions for secondary schools, as specified.  

                  d)        No pupil shall be excused from school for such  
                    purpose on more than four days per school month.   
                    (Education Code § 46014)

            ANALYSIS
          
          This bill:  

          1)   Provides various legislative findings and declarations,  
               including the finding and declaration that private  
               religious education is a legitimate and complimentary part  
               of the American school system, and that parents have a  
               recognized constitutional right to educate their children  
               at religious private schools.  

          2)   Defines "released time instruction" as the instruction  
               received by a pupil for the purposes and under the  
               conditions of Education Code § 46014 which allows pupils,  
               with the consent of their parents, to be excused from  
               school in order to participate in religious exercises or to  
               receive moral and religious instruction, as specified.  

          3)   Provides that Education Code § 46014 shall be construed to  
               additionally permit a pupil to be excused from school to  
               participate in instruction in nonsectarian morals and  
               systems of belief by a nonsectarian entity.  









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          4)   Defines "sponsoring entity" as the entity that provides  
               released time instruction to a pupil pursuant to this  
               chapter.

          5)   Provides that the governing board of a school district may  
               adopt a policy authorizing a pupil in high school to earn  
               up to two elective credits toward that pupil's high school  
               graduation requirements for the completion of released time  
               instruction.  

          6)   Requires the policy to state that a pupil in high school  
               may receive elective credits for the completion of released  
               time instruction only if the following conditions are met:

                    a)             The pupil's parent or guardian makes a  
                    written request.

                    b)             The released time instruction is  
                    conducted off school district property.

                    c)             No public funds are expended and no  
                    public school personnel are involved in providing the  
                    instruction.

                    d)             The sponsoring entity maintains  
                    attendance records and makes those records available  
                    to the school district the pupil attends.

                    e)             Transportation to and from the place of  
                    released time instruction, including transportation  
                    for pupils with disabilities, is the complete  
                    responsibility of the sponsoring entity, parent,  
                    guardian, or pupil.

                    f)             The sponsoring entity makes provisions  
                    for and assumes liability for the pupil.  

                    g)             The pupil assumes responsibility for  
                    any missed schoolwork. 
           
                    h)             The pupil does not miss any core  
                    curriculum subject courses to attend released time  
                    instruction.  









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          7)   Provides that the policy shall include secular criteria for  
               determining whether to authorize a pupil to earn credit for  
               the completion of released time instruction.  Requires the  
               criteria to be substantially the same criteria used to  
               evaluate a similar nonpublic high school course for the  
               purpose of determining whether to award credit for that  
               course to a pupil transferring from a nonpublic high school  
               to a public high school.  

          8)   Provides that the secular criteria may include, but not be  
               limited to the following:

                    a)             The number of hours of classroom  
                    instruction time.

                    b)             A review of the course syllabus that  
                    reflects course requirements and materials used.

                    c)             The methods of assessment used in the  
                    course.

                    d)             The qualifications of the course  
                    instructor, which shall be similar to the  
                    qualifications of other teachers in the school  
                    district.

          9)   Provides that there shall be no criteria requiring that  
               released time instruction be completed only at a nonpublic  
               school.  

          10)  Provides that a decision to award credit for released time  
               instruction shall be neutral to, and shall not involve any  
               test for religious content or denominational affiliation.  

          11)  Prohibits school district staff and faculty from  
               encouraging or discouraging participation by pupils in  
               released time instruction.

          12)  Provides that an absence for released time instruction  
               shall not be deemed an absence in computing average daily  
               attendance.

          STAFF COMMENTS
          








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          1)   Rationale for the bill.  According to the author the  
               purpose of this bill is to enable school boards to take  
               action to authorize more time than is allowed under current  
               law for students to participate in religious exercise or  
               religious and moral instruction and to receive elective  
               credit toward high school graduation for this activity.   
               According to the author, both Ohio and South Carolina have  
               passed similar legislation allowing students to receive two  
               elective credits for "released time instruction."      

          2)   Why is existing law a problem?  As noted in the background  
               of this analysis, current law already allows for students  
               to be excused to participate in religious exercise or to  
               receive religious or moral instruction as long as specified  
               conditions are met.   Such absences are currently limited  
               to no more than four days per school month and a school  
               district may generate average daily attendance (ADA) for  
               these absences, as long as all statutory requirements are  
               met.  

               The committee may wish to clarify why the current statutory  
               authority is insufficient.   

          3)   Clarification of the bill's effect.  As noted, students are  
               already permitted to be excused from school to participate  
               in religious exercise and receive religious or moral  
               instruction.  This bill redefines these activities as  
               "released time instruction"  and expands existing authority  
               in three ways: 

               a)        It allows school districts to adopt policies  
                    authorizing high school students to earn up to two  
                    elective credits towards their graduation requirements  
                    for the completion of religious exercise or moral and  
                    religious instruction. 

               b)        It authorizes such instruction and specifically  
                    eliminates the cap on the number of allowable excused  
                    days for this purpose.

               c)        It expands the ability of school districts to  
                    generate ADA for these absences (current law caps ADA  
                    for these absences at four days per month).  









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          4)   Blurring the lines between the separation of church and  
               state?  This bill provides that elective credit can be  
               provided to students for religious exercise and religious  
               or moral instruction if, among other things, no public  
               funds are expended and no public personnel are involved in  
               providing the instruction. However, while no funds are  
               being provided directly to the entity providing the  
               instruction, this bill would expand the ability of school  
               districts to receive public funding (ADA) for students who  
               are receiving religious instruction from non-school  
               personnel and away from the schoolsite during the regular  
               school day. 

               While current law allows for some accommodation of  
               religious instruction during the school day,  should this  
               committee further expand the ability of students attending  
               public schools receiving public dollars via ADA to be  
               excused from the regular school day to receive religious  
               instruction?  

          5)   Average Daily Attendance.  This bill expands the ability of  
               a school district to generate ADA for absences due to  
               religious and moral instruction beyond the four days  
               currently allowed under law.  The committee may wish to  
               consider:

               a)        How much public funding should reasonably be  
                    generated by a school district for religious or moral  
                    instruction by an entity other than a public school?

               b)        Are the conditions outlined in the bill  
                    sufficient to ensure that absences for this purpose  
                    would not be excessive?

               c)        Are additional limitations or time restrictions  
                    necessary to ensure that these absences are not  
                    frequent or excessive?

               d)        Under current law, the generation of average  
                    daily attendance (ADA) generally requires that a  
                    student be under the direct supervision of school  
                    personnel.  How much ADA should be generated for  
                    instruction that is not directly provided or overseen  
                    by the school district? 








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               e)        While this bill defers decisions on expansion of  
                    release time to local governing boards, what  
                    responsibility does the state have to ensure the use  
                    of public funds for public purposes and a clear  
                    separation of church and state in a publicly funded  
                    school system?  

          6)   Elective Credit.  This bill would authorize local boards to  
               provide up to two elective credits toward graduation for  
               religious and moral instruction delivered outside the  
               public school system. It authorizes, but does not require,  
               consideration of the number of hours of instruction, a  
               review of a course syllabus, methods of assessment, and the  
               qualifications of the instructor in determining whether to  
               authorize course credit. It also prohibits the decision to  
               award credit from involving any test for religious content  
               or denominational affiliation. The committee may wish to  
               consider:

               a)        Should instruction outside of the school setting  
                    be eligible to elective credit toward graduation  
                    without prescribing any criteria or requirements for  
                    the coursework or the personnel that would be  
                    responsible for the instruction?

               b)        Should course credit be offered for instruction  
                    that is not under the direct supervision of a  
                    certificated teacher?

               c)        How much "released time instruction" for the  
                    generation of two credits is necessary or reasonable?

               d)        Why is it necessary that students be granted  
                    credit toward graduation for religious and moral  
                    instruction? Why are the existing means by which  
                    students could receive course credit for these  
                    activities insufficient?
          
          7)   High school graduation requirements.  Students are required  
               to complete a minimum set of courses to meet state  
               requirements to graduate from high school and receive a  
               diploma. Specifically, current law requires students to  
               complete three courses in English, two courses in  








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               mathematics, two courses in science, three courses in  
               social studies, one course in visual or performing arts,  
               and two courses in physical education.  

               School district governing boards also have the authority to  
               supplement the state minimum requirements at the local  
               level with additional course work, which may include  
               elective courses.  High school electives are typically  
               courses that fall outside of the core academic subject  
               areas and may represent a student's personal interests,  
               introduce new skills, or serve as training for a future  
               career.  

               This bill provides an alternative for earning elective  
               credits through the completion of religious exercise and  
               religious and moral instruction at a student's respective  
               place of worship or other suitable places away from school  
               property.
            SUPPORT
          
          California Catholic Conference, Inc.
          California Family Council
          Christian Educators Association International
          Christian Released Time Education
          Concerned Women for America
          Father's House Church International
          Gateways to Better Education
          Orange County Superintendent of Schools
          Representative Bill Patmon, Ohio House of Representatives
          Representative Jeff McClain, Ohio House of Representatives
          School Ministries, Inc.
          Terry's Testing, Inc.
          Valley Christian Church
          West Coast Chabad
          Letters from individuals

            OPPOSITION
           
           California Federation of Teachers

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