BILL NUMBER: AB 837	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Torlakson

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2009

   An act to amend Section 51746.5 of, and to add Section 46300.8 to,
the Education Code, relating to school attendance.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 837, as introduced, Torlakson. School attendance: online
education.
   (1) Existing law establishes the public elementary and secondary
school system in this state, and further establishes a funding system
pursuant to which the state apportions funds to local educational
agencies based on the average daily attendance of pupils at the
schools operated by those agencies. Numerous statutes and regulations
govern the calculation and reporting of average daily attendance.
   This bill would provide that school districts, county offices of
education, and charter schools that offer online education courses
may claim a percentage of average daily attendance based on the
percentage of the schoolday that a pupil taking at least one online
course spends in a classroom-based setting.
   (2) Existing law requires that the ratio of average daily
attendance for independent study pupils 18 years of age or less to
school district or county office of education full-time equivalent
certificated employees responsible for independent study not exceed
specified ratios.
   This bill would authorize, with respect to a pupil who is enrolled
for at least the minimum schoolday through classes that include both
a classroom-based setting and at least one class offered through an
online program, a school district, county office of education, or
charter school to demonstrate compliance with this provision by
certifying to the Superintendent of Public Instruction that at least
85% of the average daily attendance revenue generated by that pupil
is expended for instructional purposes.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 46300.8 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
   46300.8.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order to
facilitate the access of pupils to high-quality online course
offerings, when a pupil is enrolled for the minimum schoolday through
classes that include both a classroom-based setting and at least one
class offered through an online program, the school district, county
office of education, or charter school may claim, for that pupil, a
percentage of average daily attendance that is equal to the
percentage of that pupil's schoolday spent in the classroom-based
setting.
  SEC. 2.  Section 51745.6 of the Education Code is amended to read:
   51745.6.  (a) The ratio of average daily attendance for
independent study pupils 18 years of age or less to school district
full-time equivalent certificated employees responsible for
independent study, calculated as specified by the State Department of
Education, shall not exceed the equivalent ratio of pupils to
full-time certificated employees for all other educational programs
operated by the school district. The ratio of average daily
attendance for independent study pupils 18 years of age or less to
county office of education full-time equivalent certificated
employees responsible for independent study, to be calculated in a
manner prescribed by the State Department of Education, shall not
exceed the equivalent ratio of pupils to full-time certificated
employees for all other educational programs operated by the high
school or unified school district with the largest average daily
attendance of pupils in that county. The computation of those ratios
shall be performed annually by the reporting agency at the time of,
and in connection with, the second principal apportionment report to
the Superintendent  of Public Instruction  .
   (b) Only those units of average daily attendance for independent
study that reflect a pupil-teacher ratio that does not exceed the
ratio described in subdivision (a) shall be eligible for
apportionment pursuant to Section 42238.5, for school districts, and
Section 2558, for county offices of education. Nothing in this
section shall prevent a school district or county office of education
from serving additional units of average daily attendance greater
than the ratio described in subdivision (a), except that those
additional units shall not be funded pursuant to Section 42238.5 or
Section 2558.
   (c) The calculations performed for purposes of this section shall
not include either of the following:
   (1) The average daily attendance generated by special education
pupils enrolled in special day classes on a full-time basis, or the
teachers of those classes.
   (2) The average daily attendance or teachers in necessary small
schools that are eligible to receive funding pursuant to Article 4
(commencing with Section 42280) of Chapter 7 of Part 24  of
Division 3  .
   (d) The pupil-teacher ratio described in subdivision (a) in a
unified school district participating in the class size reduction
program pursuant to Chapter 6.10 (commencing with Section 52120) may,
at the school district's option, be calculated separately for
kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and for grades 7 to 12,
inclusive.
   (e) The pupils-to-certificated-employee ratio described in
subdivision (a) may, in a charter school, be calculated by using a
fixed pupils-to-certificated-employee ratio of 25 to one, or by being
a ratio of less than 25 pupils per certificated employee. All
charter school pupils, regardless of age, shall be included in
pupil-to-certificated-employee ratio calculations. 
   (f) With respect to a pupil who is enrolled for at least the
minimum school day through classes that include both a
classroom-based setting and at least one class offered through an
online program, a school district, county office of education, or
charter school may demonstrate compliance with this section by
certifying to the Superintendent that at least 85 percent of the
average daily attendance revenue generated by that pupil is expended
for instructional purposes.