BILL NUMBER: ACR 54	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 15, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 11, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Brownley
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Blumenfield, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Coto,
Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes,
Furutani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huffman, Jones, Krekorian,
Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, John A. Perez, V.
Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner,
Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, and Yamada)
    (   Coauthors:   Senators  
Cedillo,   DeSaulnier,   Hancock,   Liu,
  Pavley,   Price,   Romero,  
Simitian,   and Yee   ) 

                        MARCH 23, 2009

   Relative to education finance.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 54, as amended, Brownley. Education finance.
   This measure would state the intent of the Legislature that the
State of California generate sufficient funds for, and allocate
sufficient funds to, education, so as to bring  per pupil
  per-pupil  spending up to or beyond the national
average, and to a level that accounts for the actual cost of
educating California's diverse pupil population.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, School districts cannot be expected to meet performance
standards unless they have sufficient funds to support academic
success for all pupils; and
    WHEREAS, Section 8 of Article XVI of the California
Constitution requires that money for the support of the public school
system shall have first priority for allocation from all state
revenues; and 
   WHEREAS, California's current education funding system does not
address cost differences across schools, school districts, or pupils;
and
   WHEREAS, California's current system of education finance
appreciably underfunds schools and school districts, especially those
with the largest number of pupils with the highest needs; and
   WHEREAS, Schools and school districts with relatively high
concentrations of disadvantaged pupils and those that operate in a
high cost environment do not receive sufficient funding to allow
pupils to reach the 21st century performance expectations that the
state places on them or to allow those schools and school districts
to meet the state's current goal on the Academic Performance Index or
the federal government's goals with respect to Adequate Yearly
Progress; and
   WHEREAS, California schools and school districts receive fewer
revenues, and subsequently spend significantly less, than do schools
and school districts in most other states; and
   WHEREAS, California has one of the highest pupil-to-staff ratios
in the country; and
   WHEREAS, A comprehensive research study requested by the Governor,
the Speaker of the Assembly, the President Pro Tempore of the
Senate, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction found that in
2007 an increase of at least 40 percent in education funding,
targeted mostly to low-income schools, would be needed to meet the
current expectations placed on California schools; and
   WHEREAS, Proposition 13, which unfairly restricts corporate
property tax increases, has limited the ability to raise the
additional revenues necessary to provide the high quality education
that Californians expect and to support academic success for all of
the state's pupils; and
   WHEREAS, The cost of providing an education in California, like
the overall cost of living, is among the highest in the country; now,
therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That it is the intent of the Legislature that the
State of California generate sufficient funds for, and allocate
sufficient funds to, education, so as to bring  per pupil
  per-pupil  spending up to or beyond the national
average and to a level that accounts for the actual cost of educating
California's diverse pupil population so that all pupils are
prepared at the end of their elementary and secondary education
experiences for college, careers, and successful participation in our
democratic institutions, no matter where they live or what their
economic, racial, or ethnic background is; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the Governor, to the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, to the Chairs of the Assembly Committees on Budget and
on Education, the Chairs of the Senate Committees on Budget and
Fiscal Review and on Education, to the Secretary for Education, and
to the President of the State Board of Education.