BILL ANALYSIS
AB 343
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 343 (Saldana)
As Amended June 1 2009
Majority vote
EDUCATION 10-0 JUDICIARY 10-0
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Nestande, |Ayes:|Feuer, Tran, Brownley, |
| |Ammiano, Arambula, | |Evans, Jones, Knight, |
| |Carter, Eng, Garrick, | |Krekorian, Lieu, Monning, |
| |Miller, Solorio, | |Nielsen |
| |Torlakson | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|De Leon, Nielsen, | | |
| |Ammiano, | | |
| |Charles Calderon, Davis, | | |
| |Duvall, Fuentes, Hall, | | |
| |Harkey, Miller, | | |
| |John A. Perez, Price, | | |
| |Skinner, Solorio, Audra | | |
| |Strickland, | | |
| |Torlakson, Krekorian | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Enacts the Interstate Compact on Educational
Opportunity for Military Children (Compact). Specifically, this
bill :
1)States the intent and purpose of the Compact, and defines
terms specific to the Compact.
2)Requires that the provisions of the Compact apply only to the
children of active duty members of the uniformed services,
including members of the National Guard and reserve on active
duty orders, members or veterans of the uniformed services who
are severely injured and medically discharged or retired for a
period of one year after medical discharge or retirement, and
members of the uniformed services who die on active duty or as
a result of injuries sustained on active duty for a period of
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one year after death.
3)Requires sending schools, the school in the state from which
an eligible pupil is sent or brought, to furnish unofficial
records, to the extent feasible, to parents to give to
receiving schools until official records can be released, and
official records, to the extent practicable, within 10 days of
a request from a receiving school.
4)Requires receiving schools, the school in the state to which
an eligible pupil is sent or brought, to:
a) Place eligible pupils on the basis of unofficial records
until the official records are obtained, and request
official records of an eligible pupil from the sending
school immediately upon enrollment of the pupil.
b) Allow 30 days for transferring students to obtain
necessary immunizations or to begin a required series of
immunizations, allow transferring students to continue
their enrollment at their grade level in the sending state
(regardless of age), and allow a pupil who has completed a
grade level at the sending school to enroll in the next
highest grade level at the receiving school.
c) Accept and honor course, if such courses are offered and
space is available, and program placements made at the
sending school, including courses such as Honors, Advanced
Placement, International Baccalaureate, vocational,
technical and career pathways courses, and programs such as
gifted and talented, and English as a Second Language.
d) Initially provide comparable services to transferring
students with disabilities and make reasonable
accommodations and modifications to address the needs of
incoming students with disabilities.
e) Accept special power of attorney, relative to the
guardianship of a child of a military family and executed
under applicable law as sufficient for the purposes of
enrollment and all other actions requiring parental
participation and consent.
f) Grant extra excused absences for a student whose parent
has been called to duty for, is on leave or has immediately
returned from deployment to a combat zone or combat support
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posting, at the discretion of the superintendent of the
local education agency (LEA).
g) Accept exit or end-of-course examinations for graduation
from the sending state, but requires passage of
California's high school exit examination in order to
receive a diploma issued by a California high school.
5)Requires state and local education agencies to facilitate the
opportunity for transitioning military children's inclusion in
extracurricular activities, regardless of application or
tryout deadlines, to the extent they are otherwise qualified
and space is available as determined by the school district.
6)Allows receiving schools to perform subsequent evaluations to
ensure appropriate placement.
7)Prohibits a LEA from charging local tuition to a transferring
student in the care of a non-custodial parent or other person
acting as the parent who lives in a jurisdiction other than
that of the custodial parent.
8)Allows a transferring student, who is placed in the care of a
non-custodial parent or other person acting as the parent who
lives in a jurisdiction other than that of the custodial
parent, to continue to attend the same school they previously
attended.
9)Requires LEA administrative officials to use best efforts to
waive courses required for graduation if a transferring
student has completed similar coursework; also requires an
LEA, if a waiver is not granted, to provide an alternative
means of acquiring required coursework in time to allow for an
on-time graduation.
10)Allows LEA administrative officials to waive pre-requisite
courses or other pre-conditions for course placement of
eligible pupils.
11)Allows a student to receive a diploma from the sending school
should that student meet the requirements for graduation at
the sending school, but not at the receiving school; also
requires both sending and receiving LEAs to make best efforts
to ensure this.
12)Requires the state to facilitate the pupil's receipt of the
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sending school diploma in time for on-time graduation if the
sending state has not adopted this Compact.
13)Requires the state to create a state council to provide for
the coordination among its agencies of government, local
education agencies and military installations, and specifies
the membership of that state council; also requires that the
military family education liaison and the compact commissioner
be ex-officio, if not voting, members of the State Council,
and requires the state council to appoint a military family
education liaison to assist military families and the state.
14)Creates a compact commissioner, appointed by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), responsible for
the administration and management of the state's participation
in the Compact.
15)States that the compact does not prevent the enforcement of
any other law of a member state; however, all other member
states' laws that conflict with the Compact are superseded to
the extent of the conflict.
16)Requires the executive, legislative and judicial branches of
member states to enforce the compact and take necessary
actions to carry out the rules promulgated as part of the
Compact.
17)Creates the Interstate Commission on Educational Opportunity
for Military Children (Commission) and specifies its duties
and powers.
18)Requires the Commission to:
a) Consist of one representative from each member state,
that representative being a state's Compact commissioner,
who is entitled to one vote on the Commission.
b) Adopt bylaws to govern its conduct to carry out the
purposes of the compact including electing by a majority
vote a chairperson, a vice-chairperson and a treasurer and
specifies their duties.
c) Meet at least once during each calendar year, and
provide for open meetings and records.
d) Resolve disputes between member states and nonmember
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states at the request of a member state.
e) Pay, or provide for the payment of, the reasonable
expense of its establishment, organization and ongoing
activities, and keep accurate accounts of all receipts and
disbursements to be audited yearly by a certified or
license public accountant.
f) Create the Executive Committee of the Commission with
specific duties and authority.
g) Collect data related to the transition of military
families under this Compact.
h) Establish a process for the reporting of violations of
the provisions of this Compact, and enforce the provisions
and rules of the compact.
19)Grants the Commission's executive director, employees, and
Commission representatives immunity from suit and liability
relating to the performance of their Commission duties.
20)Specifies and constrains the rule making authority and
process of the Commission; also requires the Commission to
promulgate rules to bring about the goals of the Compact
within specified constraints, and establishes that these rules
have the force of law over all member states unless overturned
by legislation approved individually by a majority of member
states.
21)Outlines the process the Commission must follow if it
determines a member state has defaulted in the performance of
its obligations and responsibilities under the Compact,
including, but not limited, to the use of judicial process.
22)Allows the Commission to levy and collect an annual
assessment from each member state to cover the cost of the
operations and activities of the Commission, and authorizes
the SPI to accept non-state funding to offset these costs.
23)Prohibits the Commission from incurring obligations of any
kind prior to securing the funds adequate to meet the same.
The Commission cannot pledge the credit of member states
without the member states' permission.
24)Allows the Commission to propose amendments to the Compact
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for enactment by unanimous consent of the member states.
25)Allows member states to withdraw from the Compact by
repealing the statute and specifies the withdrawal process.
26)Contains a severability clause, requiring the remaining
provisions of the Compact to be enforceable, if any other
provision is deemed unenforceable.
27)Establishes an immediate effective date once 10 states have
enacted the Compact, and requires that the Compact is
dissolved when there is only one member state.
28)Authorizes the SPI to develop procedures for training LEA
employees on the implementation of the Compact.
29)Requires the SPI to reconvene the Task Force, created in 2008
by AB 2049 (Saldana), after June 30, 2012 in order to report
on impacts of the Compact by December 1, 2012.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides the Education Code that places requirements on
pupils, their families, local education agencies and the state
related to the provision of education in the state of
California, including as it relates to issues of enrollment,
attendance, pupil records, graduation requirements, and
transfer between school districts.
2)Allows, through permissive authority granted in the Education
Code, for the governing board of any school district to
initiate and carry on any program, activity, or otherwise act
in any manner which is not in conflict with or inconsistent
with, or preempted by, any law and which is not in conflict
with the purposes for which school districts are established.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, General Fund costs, of approximately $61,000, for
California's contribution to the funding of the commission, and
to the SPI, likely less than $50,000, to develop procedures for
the training of LEA employees in implementing the Compact. Also
a potential increase in state reimbursable, mandated costs,
likely less than $150,000, to LEAs to implement requirements of
the Compact related to the education of military pupils, as
specified.
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COMMENTS : Interstate compacts are contracts between two or
more states creating agreements on how to address particular
policy issues, setting standards, or establishing cooperation on
regional or national matters; by their nature compacts deal with
public policy matters that extend beyond the boundaries of one
state. Most states are a party to a number of interstate
compacts. Most of these address corrections issues, such as
offender supervision and treatment of juveniles, natural
resource management, multi-state taxation, transportation, or
professional accreditation. Frequently, these agreements create
a new governmental agency which is responsible for administering
or improving some shared resource such as a seaport or public
transportation infrastructure. Examples of agencies created by
compacts in which California is a participant are the Tahoe
Regional Planning Agency , the Pacific States Marine Fisheries
Commission, and the Education Commission of the States. In some
cases, a compact serves as a coordination mechanism between
independent authorities in the member states; an example of this
is the Colorado River Compact, that ws adopted by California.
Many of the earliest compacts, dating as far back as the late
1780s, were designed to settle boundary disputes.
Interstate compacts are authorized under Article I, Section 10
of the United States Constitution. Individual states are free
to adopt or decline to adopt any compact; states ratifying
compacts are bound to observe the terms of the agreement until
the compact is formally renounced by the state. Compact
provisions take precedence over conflicting state laws and
inconsistent provisions of existing laws of a compact state.
Military families move between postings on a regular basis, and
these reassignments can be required and/or advantageous for
career personnel, they often create educational disadvantages
for the children of military families. While the armed services
has taken steps to ease the transition of personnel, their
spouses and children, the realities of frequently moving subject
these children to divergent education policies, rules, and
procedures at both the state and local level. The average
military student faces transition challenges more than twice
during high school, and most military children will have six to
nine different school systems in their lives from kindergarten
to 12th grade. With more than half of all military personnel
supporting families, the impacts of reassignment and long
deployments are a key consideration when making life and career
choices. The intent of the Compact is to ensure that the
children of military families are afforded the same
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opportunities for educational success as other children and are
not penalized or delayed in achieving their educational goals by
sometimes inflexible administrative and bureaucratic practices
as they move from state to state or within a state. While the
Compact is not exhaustive in its coverage, it does address the
key issues encountered by military families: eligibility,
enrollment, placement and graduation. In addition, the Compact
provides for a detailed governance structure at both the state
and national levels with built-in enforcement and compliance
mechanisms.
As of April 22, 2009, the Compact had been enacted by 14 states,
including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida,
Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, and Virginia. The Compact became operable,
and thus obligated those adopting states, once its language was
adopted by 10 states. Bills proposing that the state enact the
Compact were pending in 16 additional states at that time; this
includes California where this bill is that vehicle. Four
states, including California, have chosen to create a task force
examining the issues related to enacting the Compact; California
and Washington have completed the task force process and have
bills pending in their respective legislatures, Illinois will be
introducing an enactment bill, and North Dakota is beginning the
task force process. Two additional states, New York and Ohio,
may be introducing bills in the near future. In all 34 states
are engaged at some point in the process of enacting or
considering enactment of the Compact. The U.S. Department of
Defense (DOD) expects 26 or 27 states to introduce bills for
Compact adoption in 2009. Based on 2008 counts, over 582,000
children of military families would be covered by the provisions
of this compact; slightly over 61,000 of those school-aged
children reside in California.
AB 2049 (Saldana), Chapter 589, Statutes of 2008, required the
SPI to convene and support a task force to review and make
recommendations regarding the Compact. The 15-member task force
that was established included individuals representing four
legislators, DOD, Navy Region Southwest, Marine Corps
Installations West, California Secretary of Education, Office of
Planning and Research, State Board of Education, one county
office of education, two school districts, one school board, and
the SPI. The task force met three times between November 2008
and February 2009. During the meetings, the task force heard
testimony from the military representatives about the
educational issues faced by military dependents and from school
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representatives about issues faced by their organizations with
respect to student transfers, reviewed and discussed state and
federal laws that correspond to the Compact provisions,
discussed potential issues that may arise if the Compact were
adopted, and discussed other issues that arose during the task
force's deliberations. The task force conducted a comprehensive
discussion of the Compact and of many of the issues raised by
Committee staff in the 2008 analysis of AB 1809 (Saldana). The
task force has also made recommendations on many of those
issues, and all of those recommendations have been amended into
this bill.
The benefits that adoption of the Compact will provide to
school-age military dependents that are enrolled or will enroll
in California schools are clear and will accrue immediately; the
costs - fiscal, administrative, and programmatic - of adopting
the Compact are less clear, even though the task force has gone
far in providing additional review and information to the
Legislature, and will not become clear until after the Compact
has been adopted. This bill also requires the SPI to reconvene
the AB 2049 Task Force at some point in the future in order to
conduct a review of the Compact as a safeguard against
unforeseen costs or impacts. If that later retrospective
analysis points out substantive concerns to the Legislature,
then it could take action to repeal this statute and thus act to
withdraw the state from the Compact.
Previous legislation: AB 2049 (Saldana), Chapter 589, Statutes
of 2008, creates an urgency statute that requires the SPI to
convene and support a task force to review and make
recommendations regarding the Compact. AB 1809 (Saldana), held
in the Assembly Appropriations Committee in 2008, was
substantially similar to this bill. AB 2102 (Saldana), Chapter
608, Statutes of 2006, establishes procedures, including
requiring the CDE to establish a formal liaison with DOD and
school districts that enroll military dependents, to facilitate
and smooth the transfer of school-age military dependents and
their school records.
Analysis Prepared by : Gerald Shelton / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0001227