BILL NUMBER: AB 45 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 6, 2007
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 10, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 18, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 2, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 2, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Swanson
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bass, Beall, Carter, DeSaulnier,
Dymally, Eng, Hancock, Hayashi, Parra, Price, and Richardson)
(Coauthor: Senator Perata)
DECEMBER 4, 2006
An act to add Section 41329.4 to the Education Code, relating to
the Oakland Unified School District.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 45, Swanson. Oakland Unified School District: governance.
(1) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to assume all the rights, duties, and powers of the governing board
of the Oakland Unified School District and to appoint an
administrator to act on behalf of the Superintendent in exercising
the authority of the Superintendent over the school district. The
authority of the Superintendent and the administrator over the school
district is required to continue until certain enumerated conditions
are met, including the completion of an improvement plan for the
district. Existing law requires the County Office Fiscal Crisis and
Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) to prepare the improvement plan
for the school district, as provided, by July 1, 2003, and requires
the FCMAT to report on the implementation of the plan, as specified.
This bill would require FCMAT, on or before March 1 of each year,
commencing March 1, 2008, until authority for all operational areas
has been returned to the governing board of the Oakland Unified
School District, to prepare and submit to the Legislature, the
Superintendent, and the governing board of the school district a
progress report on the district's assessment and recovery plan. On or
before April 1 of each year, commencing on April 1, 2008, until
authority for all operational areas has been returned to the
governing board, the governing board and the state administrator
appointed by the Superintendent would be required to agree on and
execute a memorandum of understanding regarding the details of
returning authority for one or more of the operational areas
recommended for return to the school district in the most recent
progress report submitted by FCMAT. The Superintendent would be
required to return the authority for an operational area for which
the annual FCMAT progress report recommends authority be returned to
the governing board by July 1 of the year in which the report is
submitted. However, the Superintendent would be prohibited from
returning authority over the operational area of fiscal control to
the governing board until he or she concludes that the school
district is a going concern and no longer poses a risk of reverting
to policies and behavior that would require the state to provide the
district with an emergency loan. The state administrator would be
required to retain authority over, or the Superintendent would be
authorized, in his or her sole discretion, to return to the state
administrator authority over, any one or more operational areas that
FCMAT recommends in its annual report be within the authority of the
state administrator. The reversion of any authority to the state
administrator would be required to occur by July 1 of the year
following the year in which the report is submitted.
(2) Existing law requires the governing board of the Oakland
Unified School District to serve without compensation as an advisory
body during the period that the Superintendent is exercising
authority over the district.
This bill would entitle the members of the governing board to
receive full compensation for services, once authority for one or
more operational areas is returned to the governing board, that they
would have received prior to the transfer of authority to operate the
district to the Superintendent.
(3) By requiring FCMAT to perform additional duties, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
(4) This bill would declare that due to the unique circumstances
regarding governance of the school district, a general statute cannot
be made applicable.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) Providing a quality education that meets the unique needs of
Oakland public school pupils is a fundamental goal that should not be
jeopardized. On September 30, 2006, the County Office Fiscal Crisis
and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) recommended, in its fourth
progress report on the assessment and recovery plan of the Oakland
Unified School District, that the operational area of community
relations and governance be returned to the district, and reported
that the district has made continued progress in the operational
areas of facilities management and pupil achievement.
(b) The Oakland Unified School District has been in state
receivership since 2003. During that time new members, constituting a
majority of the board, were elected to the governing board of the
district.
(c) State receivership is intended to be a process for recovery,
and FCMAT's comprehensive review has demonstrated tangible progress
by the Oakland Unified School District.
(d) The Oakland Unified School District has made notable academic
improvements over the last few years, demonstrated by test score
improvements, an increased number of fully credentialed teachers in
Oakland classrooms, and increased parental and community involvement.
In 2006, the Oakland Unified School District made the largest
improvement in Academic Performance Index (API) test scores among the
33 largest unified school districts in California.
(e) The governing board and the community of the Oakland Unified
School District have the will to continue the key educational reforms
that have benefited Oakland public school pupils in the last three
years and to support difficult decisions in order to immediately
eliminate all further overspending by the district.
(f) The governing board of the Oakland Unified School District is
voluntarily undergoing training in the responsibilities and proper
conduct of a school district governing board. The training began in
January 2007 and will be completed in June 2007.
(g) In its Fourth Progress Report on the Assessment and Recovery
Plan of the Oakland Unified School District, FCMAT stated as follows:
"In collaboration with the California Department of Education,
FCMAT established the following criteria to measure the district's
progress. When the average score of the subset of standards in an
operational area reaches a level of six and it is considered to be
substantial and sustainable, and no individual standard in the subset
is below a four, FCMAT will recommend to the Superintendent of
Public Instruction (SPI) that this particular condition of SB 39 has
been met and that this operational area could be returned to the
Governing Board."
SEC. 2. It is the intent of the Legislature that the state
administrator appointed pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 4 of
Chapter 14 of the Statutes of 2003 and the governing board of the
Oakland Unified School District begin the process of a structured and
orderly return of authority over the operational areas of community
relations and governance, pupil achievement, personnel management,
facilities management, and fiscal control from the Superintendent of
Public Instruction back to the governing board of the Oakland Unified
School District, pursuant to annual County Office Fiscal Crisis and
Management Assistance Team progress reports and recommendations on
any operational areas that should be returned to the control of the
governing board.
SEC. 3. Section 41329.4 is added to the Education Code, to read:
41329.4. (a) For purposes of this section, "operational areas"
means the operational areas of community relations and governance,
pupil achievement, personnel management, facilities management, and
fiscal control.
(b) On or before March 1 of each year, commencing on March 1,
2008, until authority for all operational areas has been returned to
the governing board of the Oakland Unified School District, the
County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT)
shall prepare and submit to the Legislature, the Superintendent, and
the governing board of the school district a progress report on the
district's assessment and recovery plan. In preparing progress
reports pursuant to this subdivision, FCMAT shall use the same
standards, scoring methodology, and evaluative threshold that it used
in preparing its Fourth Progress Report on the Assessment and
Recovery Plan of the Oakland Unified School District.
(c) On or before April 1 of each year, commencing on April 1,
2008, until authority for all operational areas has been returned to
the governing board, the governing board and the state administrator
appointed by the Superintendent pursuant to subdivision (b) of
Section 4 of Chapter 14 of the Statutes of 2003 shall agree on the
details of returning authority, and the resulting division of
responsibilities, for any of the operational areas recommended for
return to the school district in the most recent progress report
submitted by FCMAT. The agreement shall be made in the form of a
memorandum of understanding (MOU) executed by both parties.
(d) If the governing board and the state administrator fail to
reach an agreement by April 1 pursuant to subdivision (c), the
Superintendent, by May 1 of that year, shall produce a statement to
be used in lieu of the MOU to govern the details of returning
authority, and the resulting division of responsibilities, for
operational areas to the governing board. A copy of the statement
shall be shared with the governing board on the date that the
statement is produced. The statement shall become operative for
purposes of governing the details of returning authority for
operational areas to the school district unless the governing board,
by June 1, presents just cause to an administrative law judge of the
Office of Administrative Hearings that the statement should be
modified.
(e) Notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 14 of the Statutes of
2003, the Superintendent shall return authority for an operational
area for which the annual progress report prepared and submitted by
FCMAT recommends the authority be returned to the governing board by
July 1 of the year in which the report is submitted.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivisions (c) to (e), inclusive, the
Superintendent shall not return authority over the operational area
of fiscal control to the governing board until he or she concludes
that the school district is a going concern and no longer poses a
risk of reverting to policies and behavior that would require the
state to provide the district with an emergency loan.
(g) Notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 14 of the Statutes of
2003, the state administrator shall retain authority over, or the
Superintendent may, in his or her sole discretion, return to the
state administrator authority over, any one or more operational areas
that FCMAT recommends in its annual report be within the authority
of the state administrator. The return of any authority to the state
administrator shall occur by July 1 of the year following the year in
which the report is submitted.
(h) Notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 14 of the Statutes of
2003, the members of the governing board shall be entitled to
receive the full compensation for services, once authority for one or
more operational areas is returned to the governing board pursuant
to this section, that they would have received prior to the
Superintendent originally assuming authority for all of the
operational areas.
SEC. 4. The Legislature finds and declares that due to the unique
circumstances regarding governance of the Oakland Unified School
District, a general statute cannot be made applicable within the
meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution.
SEC. 5. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.