BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2089
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2089 (Coto)
As Amended June 14, 2010
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(June 2, 2010) |SENATE: |35-0 |(August 19, |
| | | | | |2010) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Extends the inoperative and repeal date of the
California American Indian Education Center (CAIE center)
program to January 1, 2017, and requires the California
Department of Education (CDE) to conduct an evaluation of the
CAIE centers by January 1, 2016, as specified. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to
appoint to the American Indian Education Oversight Committee
(AIEO committee) an educator that is not a director of a CAIE
center to fill a vacancy in one of the four positions
designated for directors of CAIE centers, if the SPI is unable
to find a qualified individual to fill a vacancy within 30
days of the vacancy arising.
2)Renumbers and reorganizes a section of the Education Code
relative to the CAIE center program and makes other technical
amendments.
The Senate amendments change the sunset date of the CAIE center
program in one part of the bill from 2018 to 2017 to correct a
drafting error.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the CAIE center program to serve as
community-based educational resource centers to American
Indian pupils, parents, guardians, and public schools in order
to promote the academic and cultural achievement of American
Indian pupils.
2)Provides that the CAIE center program will become inoperative
on January 1, 2012, and requires the CDE, by January 1, 2011,
AB 2089
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to conduct an evaluation of the CAIE centers to determine
whether to renew the application of each existing center or
instead to approve a new center.
3)Requires the SPI with input from existing center directors to
appoint an AIEO committee by January 30, 2007, consisting of
at least seven educators, four of whom shall be CAIE center
directors, and requires all members to possess proven
knowledge of current educational policies relating to, and
issues faced by, American Indian communities in California,
and requires the AIEO committee to provide input and advice to
the SPI on all aspects of American Indian education programs
established by the state.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, the annual budget for the program, which supports 27
centers, is $3.6 million, so extending the program will likely
result in similar annual costs for an additional five years.
Staff costs in support of the program are $300,000, annually,
and the CDE estimates a cost of $60,000 for the report.
COMMENTS : The CAIE centers serve as educational resource
centers for American Indian students, their families, and public
schools. The primary focus of the CAIE centers is to provide
direct services to improve the achievement of and lowering
dropout rates among American Indian students.
Current law requires the SPI to appoint an AIEO committee to
provide input and advice to the SPI on American Indian education
programs. The AIEO committee must be comprised of at least
seven educators, four of whom shall be American Indian education
center directors and shall possess proven knowledge of current
educational policies relating to, and issues faced by, American
Indian communities in California. When the AIEO committee was
first convened in 2007, the membership was in compliance with
statute requiring that four of the seven members of the
committee had to be CAIE center directors. However, according
to information provided by the CDE, two of the members that were
CAIE center directors resigned during the summer of 2008.
The SPI conducted a search and tried to fill the vacancies with
CAIE center directors but was unsuccessful. Questions emerged
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as to whether the committee should continue to meet given that
the membership of the AIEO committee was out of compliance with
the statute, as a result of the two CAIE center director
vacancies. Per the advice of the CDE's legal office, the SPI
suspended the meetings of the committee for about a year.
Concerned that the AIEO committee was not meeting and
considering that the SPI had conducted a thorough effort to fill
the vacancies, the CDE legal office advised that the AIEO
committee resume their meetings in 2009. At a meeting of the
AIEO committee, the membership considered recommending
legislation to allow for flexibility in filling vacancies. The
recommendation from the AIEO committee is embodied in this bill
and it gives flexibility to the SPI in filling vacancies by
authorizing the appointment of an educator who is not a center
director in situations when the SPI is unable to find, within 30
days of a vacancy arising, a qualified individual to fill a
vacancy in one of the four positions designated for center
directors.
There are currently 27 CAIE centers operating in the state as
educational resources to American Indian pupils, their parents,
and the public schools in their communities. The CDE is
required under current law to conduct an evaluation of the CAIE
centers to determine whether to renew the application of each
center or approve new ones. But according to CDE, because of
recent budget action, there is no mechanism in place to enforce
the statutory provisions of the program and thus CDE will not be
conducting the evaluation required under existing law.
Analysis Prepared by : Marisol Avina / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0006000