BILL ANALYSIS
AB 122
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 122 (Coto)
As Amended June 1, 2009
Majority vote
EDUCATION 8-1 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano, |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles |
| |Arambula, | |Calderon, Davis, Fuentes, |
| |Buchanan, Carter, Eng, | |Hall, John A. Perez, |
| |Solorio, | |Price, Skinner, Solorio, |
| |Torlakson | |Torlakson, Krekorian |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+---------------------------|
|Nays:|Miller |Nays:|Nielsen, Duvall, Harkey, |
| | | |Miller, |
| | | |Audra Strickland |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes school districts to establish small
schools. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes declarations and findings regarding the impact of
smaller school size, including lower dropout and truancy
rates; increased parent involvement; a greater sense of
belonging; fewer discipline problems; fewer crime, violence
and gang participation; decrease in incidences of alcohol and
tobacco abuse; and increase in pupil attendance.
2)Authorizes a school district to establish a small school
subject to all the following conditions:
a) Pupil enrollment in a kindergarten and grades 1 through
5 school shall not be fewer than 80 pupils and more than
250 pupils; in kindergarten and grades 1 through 8 school,
no fewer than 80 pupils and not more than 450 pupils; and
in grades 6 through 12, no fewer than 80 pupils and not
more than 400 pupils.
b) The school shall be staffed by school district employees
who volunteer to be assigned to the school.
c) The facilities that house the pupils enrolled in the
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school shall be located in proximity to one another.
d) Enrollment in the school shall be open to all pupils who
have at least one parent or guardian who is a resident in
the attendance area of the school district.
e) Admission to the school shall not be determined by pupil
achievement. The school shall have a heterogenous pupil
population in terms of pupil achievement that reflects the
diversity of the pupils in that school district. The small
school shall develop an objective, transparent process to
ensure the school has a heterogeneous pupil population.
f) The school shall have an advisory body consisting of
school staff, parents, guardians, and pupils. Members of
those groups shall be elected to the advisory body by their
peers.
g) A school district that establishes a small school shall
allocate funds to the small school in a manner that results
in the small school receiving the amount of funds that each
pupil would generate at the pupil's prior school or the
school that the pupil would otherwise attend. The advisory
body, in consultation with schoolsite staff of the small
school, shall work with the school district to determine
how funds allocated to the small school are spent.
h) A school district that establishes one or more small
schools pursuant to this bill shall develop, with
collaboration from representatives of community groups,
bargaining units representing the employees of the school
district, and parents of pupils of the school, a school
plan for each small school that includes all of the
following:
i) Goals for pupil achievement.
ii) Teaching and learning philosophy.
iii) Curricular focus of the school.
iv) Goals for school culture and practices.
v) Leadership goals.
vi) Tentative budget.
vii) Decision-making process, including the role of the
governing board of the small school.
viii)An evaluation plan based on multiple measures. The
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school's own evaluation that
includes the results of assessments required by the
state shall be submitted to the
California Department of Education and the Assembly
and Senate Education
Committees at the beginning of the second year of the
school's operation.
i) A school district that establishes a small school
pursuant to this bill shall develop a process for
interested stakeholders to submit proposals for the
establishment of a small school. The proposal shall include
all of the factors in h) above.
j) A school district that establishes one or more small
schools pursuant to this bill shall adopt regulations that
include the small school or schools as part of an academic
reform strategy focused on the positive outcomes small
schools are intended to produce. The positive outcomes
resulting from the adopted academic reform strategy shall
include, but are not limited to, any of the following:
i) A clearly defined mission and goals.
ii) High standards and expectations for pupils and
staff.
iii) Personalization.
iv) Individual respect.
v) Universal involvement in decisionmaking.
vi) Integrated learning.
vii) Multiple measures of pupil achievement.
viii)Antiracist and relevant curriculum.
ix) Differentiated instruction.
x) Project-oriented learning.
xi) Heterogeneous pupil grouping.
xii) Pupil-centered classrooms.
xiii)Connectedness with stakeholders.
xiv)Diversity.
xv) A safe environment.
xvi)A high-quality learning environment.
xvii)Alignment of resources with goals.
xviii)Maximizing community resources and partnerships.
xix) Lifelong professional development.
xx) A plan for continuous improvement, including data
analysis.
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aa) A small school may be located within an existing
elementary, middle, or comprehensive high school and may be
newly constructed, located on a single site, or located
with other small schools or learning communities.
1)Repeals the provisions of this bill on January 1, 2017, unless
a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1,
2017, deletes or extends that date.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, there is no state fiscal effect.
COMMENTS : Much research has been conducted on the impact of
school size on pupil achievement and retention, graduation
rates, parental involvement in the schools, and school safety.
The School Redesign Network at Stanford University conducted a
study of five urban, public high schools that serve primarily
students of color at higher rates than the state average and
send most of their students to college. The report concluded
that the smaller learning communities of the schools provided
more personalization and instructional supports needed to create
more successful learning.
While research shows that smaller is better, there is no
conclusion and agreement on the optimal size of a school.
Research highlights small school sizes ranging from 150 to 1000.
One report by the KnowledgeWorks Foundation titled "Dollars and
Sense: The Cost Effectiveness of Small Schools" concludes that
one size does not fit all, and that determining the upper limit
for enrollment per grade level may be more beneficial than
defining the size for a small school. For example, a
kindergarten through grade 6 school with 500 pupils is not
equivalent to a kindergarten through grade 8 school with the
same number of pupils. The report recommends specifying an
enrollment cap per grade level as follows:
High schools (9-12): 75 students per grade level (300
total enrollment)
Middle schools (5-8): 50 students per grade level (200
total enrollment)
Elementary schools (1-8): 25 students per grade level (200
total enrollment)
Elementary schools (1-6): 25 students per grade level (150
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total enrollment)
In an evaluation of 489 schools of varying sizes, the report
showed that the cost of constructing smaller schools was 20%
higher.
Some studies also suggest that there are other approaches to
downsizing, including small learning communities within a large
campus and "academies" within high schools that operate around
themes.
In 2004, AB 1465 (Chan), Chapter 894, Statutes of 2004,
established the Small High School Pilot program and set aside
$25 million ($20 million for new construction and $5 million for
modernization) from state education bond funds for this purpose.
Proposition 1D, the Kindergarten-University Public Education
Facilities Bond Act of 2006, authorizes up to $200 million from
new construction and modernization funds to be used for Small
High Schools.
The pilot provided a small high school, defined as a school with
an enrollment of less than 500 pupils, with an increased grant
amount equivalent to 120% of the base grant. The pilot was
authorized for two years, between January 1, 2006 and January 1,
2008. According to the Office of Public School Construction,
only one project by Porterville Unified School District, housing
499 pupils in 19 classrooms, received funding from New
Construction. No modernization funds were apportioned. The
sunset for the Small High School Pilot program was January 1,
2008, and the statute was not extended.
Some districts have argued that the current funding structure
encourages the construction of larger schools. State education
bond funds are awarded by per pupil grants. Because the
existing grant levels are inadequate, the only way to increase
the funds available to build a school is to increase the number
of per pupil grants for the school, which result in the
construction of larger schools.
This bill is similar to AB 1841 (Coto), which was held in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense file in 2008. Last
year's bill attempted to revive the funding stream for the Small
High School Pilot program. The focus of AB 122 is on the
structure and programmatic aspects of small schools and simply
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encourages school districts.
The bill requires the district to establish a process whereby
interested stakeholders can submit proposals to establish a
small school pursuant to this bill. If the district chooses to
establish the small school, the district shall provide the funds
each pupil would normally generate to the school. The school
shall have an advisory body consisting of school staff, parents,
guardians, and pupils, who shall be elected by their peers. The
advisory body will work with the schoolsite staff and the school
district to determine how funds will be spent. The bill
specifies that enrollment shall be open to all pupils with at
least one parent or guardian residing in the district's
attendance area, but specifies that the school must have a
heterogeneous pupil population in terms of pupil achievement
that reflects the diversity of the pupils in that school
district. It is unclear how a district will be able to achieve
this requirement.
Districts can and have already established small schools. The
bill cites successful efforts in Los Angeles, Oakland,
Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose. Some are
theme-based schools while others are "schools within a school".
The challenge in establishing small schools is funding for
facilities and programs, including staffing. This bill does not
address funding barriers.
The author states, "The purpose of AB 122 is to close the
achievement gap and to assist many more California students
experiencing achievement and success in our schools. AB 122
points out and defines the potential of small schools to meet
this aim."
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0001332