BILL ANALYSIS
AB 691
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 20, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 691 (Gilmore) - As Amended: May 4, 2009
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the Alpaugh Unified School District (AUSD),
beginning in the 2010-11 fiscal year, to operate one or more
schools in the school district on a four-day school week until
January 1, 2016, if it complies with current instructional time
requirements. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes the State Board of Education (SBE) to waive
five-consecutive-day operating requirements for specified
programs that operate on a four day week in AUSD, as
specified.
2)Requires the SPI to reduce the AUSD's base revenue limit
(general purpose funding) per average daily attendance (ADA),
if the school provides fewer than 180 days of instruction and
the school program provides fewer than the amount of
instructional minutes required.
3)Revokes the authority of AUSD to operate a four-day school
week, if the district fails to achieve its Academic
Performance Index growth target for two consecutive years.
4)Requires AUSD to submit a report to the State Department of
Education (SDE) and the Legislature's education committees on
January 15, 2015, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT
No additional cost to the state GF. There may be potential GF/98
savings, if AUSD's base revenue limit is reduced (at the
discretion of the SPI) due to the district not meeting
AB 691
Page 2
instructional minute and day requirements. According to SDE,
AUSD received $2.3 million in GF/98 revenue limit (general
purpose) funding in 2007-08. This equates to approximately
$7,311 per ADA.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . Prior to 1983, school districts were required to
operate school for 175 days of prescribed length per year. The
Hughes-Hart Educational Reform Act of 1983 (SB 813, Chapter
498, Statutes of 1983) offered school districts incentive
funding, if they offered 180 days of instruction per year or
lengthened school days by increasing instructional minutes.
These incentives were provided in order to avoid the higher
mandated costs that would have resulted from requiring a
longer school year and day. However, almost every school
district elected to accept the incentives and operate school
for at least 180 days.
There are seven school districts currently authorized in
statute to operate one or more schools on a four-day school
week as long as they maintain 180 days of instruction per
year. If the school district fails to meet the 180 day
instructional requirement, the SPI is required to reduce the
district's revenue limit funding. However, according to the
SDE, only two of these school districts, Pacific Unified
School District (located in Monterey County) and Leggett
Valley Unified School District (located in Mendocino County)
operate a four-day school week. This bill will extend the
authorization for operating a four-day school week to AUSD.
2)AUSD , located in Tulare County, enrolls approximately 388
students in five schools. The district is located in Alpaugh,
an agricultural community in the Tulare Lake Basin (between
Highway 99 and Interstate 5) with a population of
approximately 800. AUSD's argues that their location hinders
the ability to hire and retain teachers. For example, the
district reports it had a 70% turnover rate in 2006 and most
of its current teaching staff live between 20 and 60 miles
away. The district argues the ability to operate on a four
day week will attract and retain teachers. As evidence of
this, the newly hired teachers cite the potential of four-day
week as one of the reasons they accepted a teaching position
in AUSD.
AB 691
Page 3
The committee notes that in previous legislation authorizing
school districts to offer four-day school weeks the reasons
cited were generally due to unique geographic circumstances
(i.e., pupils spending longer time on buses, climate, etc.)
and providing an educational benefit to the pupils. AUSD seeks
authorization for a four-day school week primarily to mitigate
teacher retention/recruitment issues.
3)Related legislation .
a) AB 868 (V. Manuel Perez), pending in this committee,
authorizes the Palo Verde Unified School District to
operate one or more schools on a four-day school week.
b) AB 1889 (Berg), Chapter 661, Statues of 2008, authorized
the Potter Valley Community Unified School District to
operate one or more schools on a four-day school week, if
it complied with instructional time requirements.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081