BILL ANALYSIS
AB 691
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 691 (Gilmore)
As Amended May 4, 2009
Majority vote
EDUCATION 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 14-0
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|Ayes:|Nestande, Ammiano, |Ayes:|De Leon, Nielsen, |
| |Arambula, Carter, Eng, | |Ammiano, |
| |Miller, Torlakson | |Charles Calderon, Davis, |
| | | |Duvall, Fuentes, Hall, |
| | | |Harkey, Price, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Audra |
| | | |Strickland, Torlakson |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : 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 if the
district complies with the instructional time requirements and
other requirements for operating a four-day school week.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that if any school in the AUSD operating a four-day
school week fails to meet its Academic Performance Index (API)
growth target for two consecutive years, the authority of that
school to operate a four-day school week shall be permanently
revoked.
2)Authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to
waive minimum time and five-consecutive-day program operating
requirements for preschools, before and after school programs,
independent study programs, child nutrition and food service
programs, community day schools, regional occupational centers
or programs, and continuation high schools that operate on a
four-day school week.
3)Requires the SPI to reduce the AUSD's base revenue limit
funding by amounts the district received in instructional time
incentive funding, adjusted for cost-of-living since the
inception of the incentive, if the district does not maintain
180 days in a school year and provide the instructional time
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required under current law.
4)Specifies that if the AUSD operates one or more schools on a
four-day school week, the school district shall submit a
report to the California Department of Education (CDE), the
Senate Committee on Education and the Assembly Committee on
Education on or before January 15, 2015. The report shall
include, but not necessarily be limited to, information on the
following:
a) Programs the AUSD offered on the fifth day and their
participation rates;
b) Whether the four-day school week schedule resulted in
any fiscal savings;
c) Impact on overall attendance of the schools operating a
four-day school week;
d) Programs for which the SPI waived minimum time and
five-consecutive-day requirements and the operational and
educational effect of the programs if they operated at less
time than required;
e) Impact on city crime statistics where the schools
operating a four-day school week are located, especially on
the day on which there is no school; and,
f) Information on the API for every year schools in the
district operated a four-day school week, including, but
not necessarily limited to, the base and growth API and
whether the schools met API growth targets.
5)Sunsets on January 1, 2016, and as of that date is repealed,
unless a statute enacted before January 1, 2016 deletes or
extends that date.
6)Finds and declares that the enactment of special law is
necessary due to the unique circumstances applicable to the
AUSD.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, no additional cost to the state General Fund (GF).
There may be potential GF/Proposition 98 savings, if AUSD's base
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revenue limit is reduced (at the discretion of the SPI) due to
the district not meeting instructional minute and day
requirements.
COMMENTS : Prior to 1983, school districts were required to
operate schools for five days and 175 days per year. The
Hughes-Hart Educational Reform Act of 1983 (SB 813, Chapter 498,
Statutes of 1983) offered incentive funding for districts to
offer 180 days of instruction each year. Current law authorizes
seven districts to operate on a four-day school week. According
to the CDE, only two districts, Pacific Unified School District
(Monterey County) and Leggett Valley Unified School District
(Mendocino County), operate on a four-day school week schedule,
mainly due to extreme weather or geographic conditions. Pacific
Unified's school year is 148 days and Leggett Valley operates
between 142 and 166 days depending on the grade level. The
other districts, despite having received authorization, have
chosen to continue operating on a five-day school week schedule.
This bill authorizes the AUSD to operate on a four-day school
week schedule. According to the district, Alpaugh, an
agricultural community with a population of approximately 800,
is located in the now-dry Tulare Lake Basin situated between
Interstate 5 and Hwy 99, roughly 55 miles northwest of
Bakersfield and 50 miles southwest of Visalia. The district has
an enrollment of 350 students, 90% of whom are Latino and 60% of
whom are English Learners. The AUSD does not have geographical
or weather challenges that prior districts that received similar
authorization have.
AUSD offers the following explanations for seeking a four-day
school week authorization:
1)Teacher recruitment and retention: According to the district,
teacher recruitment and retention is a challenge. The
district employs 22 teachers who live in nearby towns between
20 to 60 miles away. In 2005-06, the teacher turnover rate
was 70% over a year's time, due to mid-year departures,
resignations, and non re-elects. The four-day school week
will reduce staff travel time by 20%, result in less fuel
expenses and wear and tear on their vehicles, lower insurance
rates, while reducing greenhouse gasses and mitigating ongoing
pollution. The district also believes a four-day school week
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will attract teachers to work in the district. Since January,
the district hired five new teachers who cited the potential
of a four-day school week as a reason for their interest in
teaching in AUSD.
2)Reduce staff and pupil absences: The district believes a
four-day school week will result in a decrease in staff and
pupil absenteeism, which would reduce expenses for substitute
teachers and increase average daily attendance between 2-3%.
3)Student preference: The districts surveyed students and found
that they prefer a four-day schedule, which would enable them
to complete school assignments, time to have a job to support
their families, time to spend with their parents and siblings,
and an additional day to participate in other educational
activities such as college or career technical education.
4)Fiscal solution: Any savings generated from lower utility
bills, staff efficiency, and the reallocation of resources is
applied directly to the current and looming funding
shortfalls. The financial savings have the potential to help
offset the ongoing deficit the district currently face, and
help provide financial stability.
Current law does not indicate the intent or reasons for
authorizing districts to operate one fewer day a week. Most of
the prior approvals were made due to climate and geographical
conditions that result in long and/or treacherous bus rides to
and from school. AUSD is seeking a four-day school week
schedule for teacher recruitment and retention purposes.
This bill, like other four-day school week bills, raises
important questions regarding the purpose for authorizing
four-day school week schedules. Should the Legislature limit
such authorizations to districts experiencing extreme climate
and geographical conditions? Are fiscal conditions or other
motivations such as teacher recruitment and retention good
policy reasons for eliminating one school day per week? In
order to meet minimum instructional time requirements, districts
operating a four-day school week schedule would have to lengthen
instructional time in a day. What are the effects of a longer
school day on pupils, teachers and parents? Would students
learn just as much with one extra hour per day for four days
versus a regular school day during the fifth day? What are the
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impacts on pupils, teachers and parents on the day school is
closed? Do parents have child care for the day school is out?
Is providing an opportunity for students to work a good policy
reason to reduce the school week by one day?
Nationally, four-day school week schedules began in mostly rural
areas due to long travel time to and from school. There are
more than a dozen states that have experimented with a longer
day, shorter week schedule. Reports from those experiences have
been mixed.
According to the author, AUSD "faces challenges unique to rural,
small districts in our state?.Energy, food service and
transportation are costly while teacher recruitment and
retention is no easy feat. A four-day school week allows rural
districts such as Alpaugh to recruit and retain educators by
offering the benefit of a shortened week that very few schools
have the opportunity to do. The passage of AB 691 will allow
Alpaugh Unified School District to not only save and [sic]
estimated 20% in operating costs, but provide an incentive for
greater recruitment and retention of teachers with its flexible,
family-friendly schedule."
AB 868 (V. Manuel Perez), pending in the Assembly, provides the
same four-day school week authorization to the Palo Verde
Unified School District.
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN:
0000933