BILL ANALYSIS
SB 193
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 193 (Alan Lowenthal)
As Amended July 14, 2009
2/3 vote. Urgency
SENATE VOTE :39-0
EDUCATION 11-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Nestande, |Ayes:|De Leon, Conway, Ammiano, |
| |Ammiano, | | |
| |Arambula, Buchanan, | |Charles Calderon, Coto, |
| |Carter, Eng, | |Davis, Fuentes, Hall, |
| | Garrick, Miller, | |Harkey, Miller, |
| |Solorio, Torlakson | |Nielsen, John A. Perez, |
| | | |Skinner, Solorio, Audra |
| | | |Strickland, Torlakson, |
| | | |Hill |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) to approve Kindergarten through grade 3 (K-3) class size
reduction (CSR) funding for the Long Beach Unified School
District (LBUSD) despite exceeding required teacher-to-pupil
ratios, if the increase in teacher-to-pupil ratio is due to a
fire in May 2007. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that the SPI may approve CSR funding for the
2009-10, 2010-11, and the 2011-12 school years for classes
that either exceed 20 pupils or are housed with another class,
if the following conditions are met:
a) The school district certifies that the number of pupils
enrolled in a district school increased as a direct result
of the closures on Catalina Island resulting from the May
2007 fire and resultant debris flow hazard due to
weather-related conditions, and this growth increased the
number of pupils enrolled in classes in which K-3 CSR
program is implemented; and,
b) The school district certifies that it lacked sufficient
classroom space or credentialed teachers to accommodate the
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enrollment increase from the closures on Catalina Island
resulting from the May 2007 fire and resultant debris flow
hazard due to weather-related conditions.
2)Specifies that this bill becomes inoperative on July 1, 2012
and is repealed on January 1, 2013, unless a later enacted
statute that is enacted before January 1, 2013, deletes or
extends the dates on which the bill becomes inoperative and is
repealed.
3)Finds and declares that due to unique circumstances relating
to the LBUSD, a general statute cannot be made applicable.
4)Contains an urgency clause in order to provide timely
essential relief to the LBUSD that may experience a loss of
state funding as a result of mandatory fire and
weather-related school closings on Catalina Island.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, the funding for this bill is in the budget. However,
there is a potential General Fund/Proposition 98 loss of
savings, of approximately $470,000, to allow LBUSD to retain
full funding for the K-3 CSR program.
COMMENTS : Enacted in 1996, the CSR provides incentive funding
of $1,071 per pupil to districts that reduce their kindergarten,
first, second, or third grade classes to an average ratio of 20
pupils per certificated teacher. A class can exceed 20 pupils
for any particular day, as long as the average class size for
the school year does not exceed 20.44. The CSR program requires
reducing grade 1 and grade 2 class sizes before reducing grade 3
or kindergarten class sizes. In 2007-08, only 14 districts did
not participate in this program. The state budget provided $1.8
billion for this purpose in fiscal year (FY) 2008-09.
Until the enactment of SB 311 (Sher), Chapter 910, Statutes of
2004, any class that failed to maintain the required ratio was
subject to a penalty in the form of loss of funding for the
whole class. SB 311 reduced the penalties for each class from
100% to the following:
1)20% reduction if the annual average enrollment for the class
is greater than or equal to 20.5 but less than 21;
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2)40% reduction if the annual average enrollment for the class
is greater than or equal to 21 but less than 21.5; and,
3)80% reduction if the annual average enrollment for the class
is greater than or equal to 21.5 but less than 21.9.
SB 311 requires a 100% reduction if the annual average
enrollment of the class size exceeds 21.9.
SB 4 X3 (Ducheny), Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009, as part of the
FY 2008-09 and 2009-10 budget adjustments, further reduced the
penalties for not meeting required teacher-to-pupil ratios and
capped the penalties at a 30% reduction for the 2008-09 through
2011-12 school years, as follows:
1)No penalty if the annual average enrollment for the class is
greater than 20 but less than 20.5;
2)5% reduction if the annual average enrollment for the class is
greater than 20.5 but less than 21.5;
3)10% reduction if the annual average enrollment for the class
is greater than 21.5 but less than 22.5;
4)15% reduction if the annual average enrollment for the class
is greater than 22.5 but less than 23;
5)20% reduction if the annual average enrollment for the class
is greater than 23 but less than 25; and,
6)30% reduction if the annual average enrollment for the class
is greater than 25.
Existing law provides an exemption to the penalties for seven
counties that suffered devastating fires in 2003 and 2007. This
bill provides similar relief to the LBUSD as a result of a fire
on the island of Catalina in May 2007. The Avalon Schools
enrolls almost 700 kindergarten through grade 12 students in the
city of Avalon on Catalina Island. According to the author, "In
May 2007 a major fire destroyed vegetation on all major canyons
that drain into the valley which contains the school site and
the community. Whenever the ground reaches a saturation level
there is imminent danger of mudslides and rockslides, which
could result in extended closures and/or evacuations.
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"Because of the drought conditions this year, the school hasn't
experienced significant closures due to ground saturation.
However, if California has a wet year next year, it is likely
that closures/evacuations will occur. If this unfortunate event
happens, pupils would be absorbed in other schools on the
mainland - resulting in K-3 CSR limits being exceeded."
According to the LBUSD, the United States Geological Survey
protocol and onsite reconnaissance has determined that there is
imminent danger of mudslides when the island reaches either 10
inches of rain within 120 days or receives inch of rain per
hour for two to three hours, and/or over 2 inches of rainfall
within a 48 hour period.
This bill authorizes the SPI to approve CSR funding during the
2009-10 through 2011-12 school years if the district certifies
that classes increased as a result of closures on the Catalina
Island resulting from the May 2007 fire and resultant debris
flow hazard due to weather-related conditions, and the district
certifies that it lacked sufficient classroom space or
credentialed teachers to accommodate the enrollment increase.
This bill essentially prevents the district from losing a
maximum of 30% of its CSR funding if students from Avalon
Schools must be temporarily relocated to other LBUSD schools,
thereby increasing the sizes of those classes that participate
in the CSR program. The provisions of this bill sunset on July
1, 2012, and are repealed on January 1, 2013. According to the
district, the risk of mudslides and rockslides subside when
vegetation that was destroyed by the fire is expected to be
sufficiently restored by 2012.
Analysis prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0002597