BILL NUMBER: AB 2335	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Brownley

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to add Section 41054 to the Education Code, relating to
education finance.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2335, as introduced, Brownley. Education finance: school-based
financial reporting system.
   Existing law establishes the public school system in this state,
and, among other things, provides for the establishment of school
districts throughout the state and for their provision of instruction
at the public elementary and secondary schools they operate and
maintain. Existing law establishes a public school funding system
that includes, among other elements, the provision of funding to
local educational agencies through state apportionments, the proceeds
of property taxes collected at the local level, and other sources.
   This bill would express findings and declarations of the
Legislature with respect to the school funding system in the state.
This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
study prescribed topics relating to a school-based financial
reporting system and to make findings and recommendations to the
Legislature and the Governor about these topics on or before December
1, 2011.
   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.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The 22 studies of the Getting Down to Facts Project and the
Governor's Committee on Education Excellence were consistent in their
conclusions that California's current education finance system is
overly complex, irrational, and burdensome, and is in need of a
long-term plan for comprehensive reform.
   (b) The complexity of the current system poses a major obstacle to
transparency and effectiveness. It is almost impossible to determine
how much revenue each school district receives or how those revenues
are spent, let alone to report this information to local
communities, stakeholders, and the state.
   (c) The current system is not logical, with district revenues that
are largely a historical artifact of spending in the 1970s, combined
with a confusing and burdensome system of categorical programs.
Disparities in school and district revenues are substantial, and are
not aligned to pupil or educator needs.
   (d) The system places substantial restrictions on the use of
resources by schools and districts, creating high compliance costs
and making it difficult for local educators to respond to the needs
of their pupils. Fewer paperwork requirements and more flexibility in
allocating resources are cited by school principals as two of the
most important factors in improving pupil outcomes.
   (e) Many schools and districts lack the proper tools or capacity
to ensure that money is spent on the most effective programs and
practices. Research consistently finds that successful schools use
data to inform teaching practices and innovation. However, California
schools and districts vary widely in their use of data and in their
capacity to use data to improve pupil performance.
   (f) Ensuring that money is spent efficiently and effectively
requires a complete understanding of how money is allocated by school
districts and spent within schools. However, California does not
collect financial data that is useful for determining the
effectiveness of resources at the state, district, or school levels.
   (g) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to do both of
the following:
   (1) Support accountability by increasing the transparency of state
funding mechanisms and of expenditure decisions at the local level.
   (2) Improve the reporting of financial data so that programmatic
investments can be linked to programs at school sites that increase
pupil achievement.
  SEC. 2.  Section 41054 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   41054.  (a) The Superintendent shall study, and report upon, both
of the following topics with respect to moving to a school-based
financial reporting system:
   (1) Modifications to the standardized account code structure to
provide school-level reports on revenue and expenditures to
facilitate easy comparisons across schools and districts, including
comparisons of school, district, and statewide demographics and
academic performance, and data on program-level expenditures.
   (2) An evaluation mechanism to facilitate continuous improvement,
maximum transparency, and accountability of the primary funding
structures, as well as a consistent process to evaluate the
effectiveness of any specific programs that are funded separately.
   (b) The Superintendent shall present the findings and
recommendations reached pursuant to this study to the Legislature and
the Governor on or before December 1, 2011.