BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2363
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2363 (Mendoza)
As Amended March 23, 2010
Majority vote
EDUCATION 5-3 APPROPRIATIONS 11-5
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Ammiano, |
| |Carter, Chesbro, | |Bradford, |
| |Torlakson | |Charles Calderon, Coto, |
| | | |De Leon, Hall, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Torlakson, |
| | | |Torrico |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Nestande, Arambula, Norby |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby |
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SUMMARY : Requires, in addition to the existing signature
requirements, a charter school petition to include signatures
from at least 50% of the number of classified employees the
petitioner estimates that will be employed by the charter school
in the first year of operation; requires a conversion charter
school petition to include 50% of the permanent classified
employees currently employed at the school that is to be
converted to a charter school; and, requires the signature
petition to prominently display a statement that the classified
employee has a meaningful interest in working at the charter
school.
EXISTING LAW requires a petition seeking to:
1)Establish a new charter school to include signatures of at
least one half of the parents or guardians of students that
the petitioner expects to enroll in the charter school in the
first year of operation, or signatures by a number of teachers
that is equal to at least half the teachers estimated to be
employed at the charter school in the first year of operation.
2)Convert an existing public school to a charter school, to
include the signatures of no less than 50% of the permanent
status teachers employed at the public school proposed to be
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converted to a charter school.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor absorbable costs, likely less than $80,000, to
school districts to implement this measure. Current law
requires school district governing boards to consider the level
of support for the charter petition by teachers and other
employees of the district.
COMMENTS : According to the California Department of Education
(CDE), the 2008-09 count of operating charter schools is 746
with student enrollment of more than 285,000 in this state.
This includes four statewide benefit charters and eight State
Board of Education (SBE) approved charters. Some charter
schools are new, while others are conversions from existing
public schools.
Background on Classified Employees: This bill requires charter
school petitions to include 50% of the classified employees the
charter school estimates will be employed by the charter school;
and, requires, for a conversion charter school petition, 50% of
the permanent classified employees currently employed at the
school to be converted. The term "permanent classified
employee" refers to employees who have passed their probationary
term and have achieved permanent status in their classification.
Existing law requires conversion charter school petitions to
attain signatures from 50% of the permanent status teachers that
currently work at a school to be converted. The provisions of
this bill achieve parity with regard to the signatures required
from permanent teachers by requiring signatures from permanent
classified staff, who are also at risk of losing their jobs.
According to the sponsor of this bill, the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU), 10,000 classified employees have
been laid off this year. Unlike teachers, classified employees
only need a 30 day notice to be laid off. Due to this limited
notice and recent state budget crisis, classified employees can
often be laid off in higher proportions than teachers.
Would this make petitioning for a charter school more difficult?
Requiring 50% of permanent classified staff to sign a
conversion charter school petition will raise the number of
total signatures required for the petition. The Assembly should
consider how including classified employees in the signature
requirement might make the conversion petition process more
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difficult.
The number of permanent classified staff at an individual school
site varies greatly depending on the type of school, size of
school and resources at the school site. Therefore, it is
difficult to assess whether attaining these additional
signatures will be a difficult barrier for a conversion charter
school petition. One could estimate that on a given school
site, this signature requirement could vary from as few as three
signatures to nearly 60 signatures, in addition to the
signatures required for teachers. According to SEIU, the number
of classified staff changes from school site to school site
depending on their need for aides for English language learners
and special education students. In addition, some schools have
paid security personnel and playground supervisors while some do
not. It is very hard to have an exact number because classified
staffing is driven on an as needed basis and funding basis.
According to the author, this bill would provide classified
employees the same rights as those afforded to teachers by
allowing classified employees to participate in the petition
signature process in the same manner as teachers when
establishing new charter schools or converting existing schools
into charters. The bill would establish a fair process for
classified employees to present some show of interest in being
employed by a charter school. This bill is a simple parity
proposal.
According to the sponsor of the bill, SEIU, "When seeking to
convert an existing public school to a charter, the petition must
include the signatures of no less than 50% of the teachers at the
public school proposed to be converted to a charter. The
signatures establish that half of the teachers have a meaningful
interest in being employed by a charter school. Even though
charter schools impact classified employees, they have no voice in
the establishment of charter schools. AB 2363 would simply
provide parity for classified employees by allowing them to enjoy
the same rights that are currently afforded to teachers in the
charter school petition process."
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0003912
AB 2363
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