BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 673
Author: Carter (D)
Amended: 4/22/09 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 7/8/09
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Maldonado,
Padilla, Simitian, Wyland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/21/09 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Regional occupational centers or programs:
apportionments
SOURCE : California Association of Regional Occupational
Centers and
Programs
DIGEST : This bill provides that when the state budget
calls for a negative funding adjustment to be applied to
Regional Occupational Centers and Programs (ROC/Ps), that
adjustment shall be implemented as a uniform percentage
reduction of each ROC/P's limit of funded average daily
attendance.
ANALYSIS : ROC/Ps provide career/ technical education to
high school students 16 years of age and older, and adult
CONTINUED
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students with the objectives of allowing graduates to
either enter the workforce with the necessary skills to be
successful; upgrade existing schools or pursue advanced
training in postsecondary education. ROC/Ps may be
operated by single school districts, county offices of
education or joint powers authorities (JPA) comprised of
multiple districts and county offices. According to the
California Department of Education, 74 ROC/Ps served
478,623 students in 2007-08.
Each ROC/P receives funding from the state in the form of a
revenue limit, which is multiplied by an average daily
attendance (ADA) count generated by the hourly attendance
of pupils. For the 2008-09 fiscal year, the average ROC/P
revenue limit is estimated at $3,047 per unit of ADA. Each
year, ROC/Ps are required to generate at least as much ADA
as was funded in the previous year, and if the ROC/Ps fail
to do this, the unused capacity is redistributed to other
ROC/Ps by means of a formula that is intended to allocate
capacity, called "growth ADA" to those programs with the
greatest need. The state pays for growth ADA by
multiplying it by the statewide average ROC/Ps revenue
limit and the entire process directs growth funding towards
ROC/Ps with low participation while it tends to equalize
the ADA capacity of all ROC/Ps.
The current growth oriented allocation formulas for ROC/Ps
pose a problem for years when statewide funding is reduced.
The current statute directs the Superintendent of Public
Instruction to treat negative numbers as "zero" in all
calculations, so a negative adjustment to funding may not
be used to reduce the ADA capacity limits of the ROC/Ps.
With funding in decline, the capacity limits don't act as
limits on the funding that may be earned, but become
requirements specifying the minimum ADA that ROC/Ps must
generate in order to hold onto their (reduced) level of
funding. The programs end up reducing the revenue limit
dollars available per pupil, and potentially reducing the
quality of instruction, because they cannot reduce
quantity, or number of ADA served.
This bill:
1. Provides that, as of the 2009-10 fiscal year, if the
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budget act calls for a negative growth adjustment to
ROC/Ps ADA funding, then statutory instructions for the
allocation of growth ADA will not be followed and the
negative adjustment will be made as a percentage
reduction to the cap on the average daily attendance of
each ROC/P.
2. Provides a method of calculating a negative ADA
adjustment for ROC/Ps in the 2009-10 fiscal year which
provides that each program's 2008-09 fiscal year ADA
will be reduced by the percentage reduction applied to
ROC/P funding in the Budget Act of 2008. This
adjustment would not make an additional funding
reduction for 2008-09, but would recognize the reduction
that was already made in 2008-09 for purposes of
calculating ROC/P funding for 2009-2010.
Comments
Need for the bill . Prior to this bill, reductions to the
budget act appropriation in support of ROC/Ps are allocated
as percentage reductions to ROC/Ps per pupil revenue
limits, potentially reducing the quality of instruction.
This bill authorizes each ROC/P to choose to maintain the
quality but serve fewer pupils. The reduction in the
number of pupils served could not be greater than the
reduction of funding, so that an ROC/P could not reduce
pupils served in order to increase per pupil funding, but
it could match the number of pupils served to the funds
available.
Categorical flexibility . The education trailer bill to the
budget package adopted in February 2009 [SB 4 (Ducheny),
Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009-10, Third Extraordinary
Session], allowed school districts and county offices to
redirect most state categorical funding for any educational
purpose through at least the year 2012-13. Districts and
counties may choose to continue operating programs, but
they may also redirect program funding for any other
educational purpose that the local board, after public
hearing, deems appropriate. ROC/Ps are among the programs
over which districts have total control. The funding
formulas for all of the programs remain in statute however,
and the issue addressed by this bill relates to the ROC/P
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funding formula that presumably will be used for the
allocation of ROC/P funding in the future.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/20/09)
California Association of Regional Occupational Centers and
Programs (source)
Association of California School Administrators
California County Boards of Education
California School Boards Association
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Metropolitan Education District
Riverside County Superintendent of Schools
San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson,
Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fuentes, Nava, Saldana
DLW:mw 7/20/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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