BILL NUMBER: SB 331 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 10, 2010
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 28, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 29, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 2, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Senator Romero
(Coauthors: Senators Alquist, Hancock, and Liu)
FEBRUARY 25, 2009
An act to amend Sections 54440, 54441.5, 54442, 54443.1, 54444.1,
and 54444.2 of the Education Code, relating to migrant education.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 331, as amended, Romero. Migrant education.
(1) Existing law requires the State Board of Education to adopt a
state master plan for services to migrant children, as defined, that
includes the provision of specified services and activities.
This bill would require the state master plan and state services
delivery plan to be developed and revised as necessary by the
Superintendent of Public Instruction and the statewide parent
advisory council, and would require the plan to include the
collection of individual and aggregate data for migrant pupils, as
specified.
(2) Existing law deems a child who is identified as a "migrant
child" to continue to be a migrant child for up to 5 years during
which he or she resides in an area where programs are provided for
migrant children. Existing law requires priority to be given to
programs and activities for migrant children and prohibits migrant
programs from being provided solely for children who have ceased to
migrate.
This bill would reduce the number of years a child is deemed to be
a migrant child from 5 to 3 and would delete the provisions above
regarding priority and the prohibition against programs solely for
children who have ceased to migrate.
(3) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to establish the service regional system as the primary method for
the delivery of services to migrant children and requires that
regions be contiguous, with no less than 1,500, and no more than
8,000, migratory children.
The bill would delete the cap on the number of migratory children
that may be served in a region.
(2)
(4) Existing law requires each operating agency that
receives migrant education funds or services to establish a parent
advisory council to actively solicit parent involvement in the
planning, operation, and evaluation of its programs.
This bill would require interpretation to be provided at each
state and regional migrant parent advisory council meeting by a
person trained in interpreting and who is fully fluent in English and
in the language understandable to the parents.
(5) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to sponsor an annual state parent advisory council conference and
requires the council to prepare and submit a report to the
Legislature, the State Board of Education, and the Governor regarding
the status of the migrant education program.
The bill would require the report to include an evaluation of the
program, a review of annual needs, a year-end assessment, policy
recommendations, and the data collected regarding the program. The
bill would authorize the state parent advisory council to approve an
individual or group to provide technical assistance needed to draft
the report if the Superintendent or the department do not provide the
council with that training. The bill would require this assistance
to be objective and provided free of charge.
The
(6) The bill also
would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes.
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 54440 of the Education Code is amended to read:
54440. The Legislature finds and declares that
all of the following :
(a) A significant number of children under the age of 18
of whose parents are migratory agricultural
workers and or migratory fishermen
reside in California for at least a part of each year. These
children, from among the least affluent segments of American society,
tend to move frequently, attend school irregularly, and suffer
health problems and language barriers. This results in many becoming
early school dropouts, poorly prepared to enter the workforce or for
academic success and upward social mobility.
(b) The problems of children of migratory agricultural parents and
of migratory fisherman parents are of such magnitude and severity
that local school districts have been unable to solve them with the
resources normally available. It is, therefore, necessary for the
state to aid local school districts through regional coordinating
offices , and the provision of special programs of
educational and related services for these children.
SEC. 2. Section 54441.5 of the Education Code is amended to read:
54441.5. With the concurrence of the child's parent, a child who
has been identified as a "migrant child" may be deemed a migrant
child for a period, not in excess of five
three years, during which the child resides in an area where
programs are provided for migrant children. Priority shall
be given to programs and activities for migrant children, and in no
case shall migrant programs be provided solely for children who have
ceased to migrate. migrant children.
SEC. 3. Section 54442 of the Education Code is amended to read:
54442. The state board shall adopt a state master plan for
services to migrant children. Beginning with the next
adoption cycle, the state master plan and state services delivery
plan shall be developed and revised as necessary by the
Superintendent and the statewide parent advisory council established
pursuant to Section 54444.2. The state master plan
also may be known as the state services delivery plan. Commencing
with the next revision, amendment, or adoption after July 1, 2011,
the Superintendent, in collaboration with the statewide parent
advisory council as required by federal law, shall develop and
revise, as necessary, the state services delivery plan.
The plan shall include all of the following:
(a) Instructional activities on a regular and extended year
basis basis. These activities shall be
designed to identify, diagnose assess ,
and provide treatment for academic deficiencies of migrant children.
Special emphasis shall be given to oral and written communications,
reading, and mathematics. Small group or individual instruction and
tutorial services shall be provided to assist migrant children to
attain normal progress rates in all subject areas. All instructional
services shall be provided as supplements to regular programs of
instruction provided by the public schools for all children.
(b) Health and welfare services services.
These services shall be designed to identify,
diagnose, and provide treatment for conditions of a physical nature,
including dental, emotional, or environmental, that interfere with
the learning processes of migrant children. Insofar as possible,
assess, and provide treatment for conditions that
interfere with the education and learning of migrant children,
including dental, emotional, or environmental conditions.
To the extent possible, existing community resources will be
utilized to provide these services.
(c) Preservice and in-service education of professional and
nonprofessional personnel personnel. This
education shall be planned to prepare school administrators,
teachers, aides, and other personnel to meet the special needs of
migrant children.
(d) Supportive services including transportation, family liaison,
and other services necessary to the success of the programs.
(e) Child development activities including, but not limited to,
social, sensorimotor, conceptual and language development, and
perceptual discrimination activities for migrant infants and
prekindergarten children too young to participate in instructional
services normally provided by the public schools.
(f) The active involvement of parents, teachers, and community
representatives in the local implementation of migrant education
programs.
(g) Collection of individual and aggregate data for migrant pupils
regarding all of the following:
(1) Identification of migrant children.
(2) Preschool participation.
(3) Enrollment in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(4) Achievement.
(5) access, enrollment, and completion of courses that fulfill the
A-G subject area requirements.
(6) Suspension, expulsion, transfer, and dropout rates, and
failure to enroll or reenroll.
(7) Graduation and completion of the high school exit examination.
(8) Retention measures.
(9) Enrollment.
(10) Designation and redesignation of English learners.
(11) Postsecondary enrollment.
(12) Vocational education opportunities.
(13) Health services.
(14) Intercession programs.
(15) Other supplemental services.
(16) Staff experience and evaluation.
(17) Data collection and evaluation.
(18) Records transfer.
(19) Parental involvement, including establishment of and
participation in the migrant parent advisory committee, conduct of
regular meetings, participation in the development and approval of
the local migrant education plan, participation in statewide parent
advisory committee activities, and parent training.
(g) Collection through the California Longitudinal Pupil
Achievement Data System and the Migrant Student Database of the
following individual and aggregate data regarding migrant children:
(1) Eligible migrant children.
(2) Preschool participation in migrant education funded programs.
(3) Enrollment in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(4) Achievement based on the California Standards Tests and the
high school exit examination.
(5) Enrollment in and completion of courses that satisfy the
subject requirements for admission to the California State University
and the University of California.
(6) Suspensions and expulsions.
(7) Dropout rates.
(8) Graduation and completion of the high school exit examination.
(9) Retention in grade level.
(10) Designation and redesignation of English learners.
(11) Completion of career technical education courses.
(12) Distribution of teachers based on highly qualified status and
years of experience in education.
(h) Individual and aggregate enrollment data shall also
also shall include separate data concerning the
number of migrant pupils enrolled in alternative education programs
including, but not limited to, juvenile court schools, county
community schools, community day schools, continuation high schools,
and independent studies.
SEC. 4. Section 54443.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:
54443.1. Migrant education programs shall include all of the
following:
(a) An individual assessment of the educational and relevant
health needs of each participating pupil within 30 days of
enrollment. This assessment shall include assessments concurrently
provided pursuant to compensatory education, bilingual-crosscultural
education, school improvement programs, and other programs serving
the pupil.
(b) A general needs assessment developed in compliance with
federal requirements summarizing the needs of the population to be
served.
(c) A comprehensive program to meet the educational, health, and
related needs of participating pupils which is supplemental to the
program the operating agency is otherwise required to provide. The
program shall include, but need not be limited to, the following:
(1) Academic instruction.
(2) Remedial and compensatory instruction.
(3) Bilingual and crosscultural instruction.
(4) Vocational Career technical
instruction.
(5) Counseling and career education services.
(6) Preschool services in accordance with Section 54443.
(7) Other educational services that are not available in
sufficient quantity or quality to eligible migratory children.
(8) The acquisition of instructional materials and equipment
necessary to adequately provide the appropriate services.
(9) Other related services to meet the special needs of eligible
migratory children which are necessary to enable these children to
effectively participate in instructional services.
(10) The coordination and teaming of existing resources serving
migrant pupils, such as bilingual-crosscultural education, health
screening, and compensatory education.
(d) A brief individual learning plan listing the services to be
provided to each pupil shall be provided in writing or at a parent
conference to the parent or guardian of each participating pupil,
annually and each time the pupil moves to a new district.
(e) Staffing and staff development plans and practices to meet the
needs of pupils and implement the program.
(f) Parent and community involvement as specified in Section
54444.2.
(g) Evaluations which shall include annual pupil progress and
overall program effectiveness and quality control reports.
(h) School districts and other education agencies shall be
eligible to apply for funding to serve migrant pupils upon
application to their respective region, or, if they meet the criteria
established in subdivision (b) of Section 54444.1, to the
department. Operating agencies shall include in their application a
description of how the entities will coordinate the planning,
budgeting, and operation of the migrant education programs with the
planning, budgeting, and operation of other federal and state
education programs addressing the needs of the same or similar pupils
of the operating agency. The description shall include time lines
and cover services provided through school improvement, nonmigrant
Title I, state compensatory and limited- and non-English proficient,
Title VII, and other funds. If the application meets state and
federal requirements, negotiations for an appropriate service
agreement shall begin involving the parties listed in subdivision (a)
or (b) of Section 54444.1.
SEC. 5. Section 54444.1 of the Education Code is amended to read:
54444.1. (a) In implementing the state master plan for services
to migrant children, the Superintendent shall establish the service
regional system as the primary method for the delivery of services to
migrant children. The Superintendent shall review and approve plans
for the establishment of service regions and shall incorporate the
following criteria in the approval of regional plans:
(1) The boundaries of regions shall include all geographic areas
with migrant and seasonal agricultural workers and fishermen.
(2) Regional service centers shall be located in areas with high
concentrations of migrant and seasonal agricultural workers and
fishermen. Regional headquarters shall be located: (A) in
located as follows:
(A) In areas requiring large
numbers of these workers for a period of at least two consecutive
months during each year, (B) in year.
(B) In areas which normally
contract for migrant and seasonal agricultural workers with families
rather than single adults, and (C) in adults.
(C) In areas where migrant and
seasonal agricultural workers are involved in the transition from
hand labor to mechanization.
(3) Regions shall be located in each geographic area of the state,
except areas within the boundaries of directly funded districts.
(4) Except areas within the boundaries of directly funded
districts, regions shall be contiguous to one another and should
have no less than 1,500 and no more than 8,000 currently
migratory children based upon full-time equivalent enrollment. In no
event have no less than 1,500 migratory children. In
no event shall a county be split among two separate regions in
order to meet the requirements of this paragraph.
(5) Regions shall be organized so as to provide quality services
to all affected parties and maintain fiscal procedures in conformity
with requirements adopted by the department.
(6) The boundaries of regions shall be drawn in such
a manner as to avoid that avoids
excessive commuting by personnel or by participants in the
programs, not to exceed 100 miles from the schoolsite to the
operating agency.
(7) If a proposed region cannot meet the criteria established in
paragraph (4) or (6), it may request that the criteria be waived by
the state board. The waiver request shall be based upon a study,
conducted by the entities, including their respective parent advisory
councils, comprising the proposed region, that explains why the
waiver is required and that describes likely outcomes if the waiver
is not granted.
(b) An agency meeting the criteria set forth in this subdivision
and subdivision (f) of Section 54441 may apply to the department for
designation as a region. The application shall be in a format with
sufficient information and at times designated by the Superintendent.
The application shall include documentation of active participation,
review and comment by the appropriate parent advisory councils, and
signatures by parent advisory council chairpersons that the review
and comment has taken place, and shall further include documentation
that the agencies and parent representative comprising the proposed
region have met as a group prior to submission of the application and
have agreed upon the formation of, and participation in, the region
and a general delineation of the services which will be provided in
the region.
Directly funded districts shall be invited by the regions to
participate in regional activities and meetings. Staff and parent
advisory council members in the districts shall also be invited to
regional inservice activities and conferences.
(c) The department may directly fund local educational agencies,
in whole or in part, to provide services to eligible migrant children
if it is cost effective to do so; if the applicant agency serves not
less than 1,500, nor more than 8,000, currently migratory children;
has sufficient programmatic and fiscal resources to deliver an
effective migrant education program; is in compliance with the
federal and state requirements regarding migrant education programs;
maintains an ongoing and functional parent advisory council which has
voted on a biennial basis to approve the participation in the
directly funded program, including the approval of a majority of the
members who are the parents of migrant children; and maintains fiscal
procedures in conformity with the requirements adopted by the
department. All districts which are directly funded on January 1,
1982, may continue to be funded directly, provided that the districts
comply with the criteria prescribed by this subdivision, except for
the size criterion.
(d) The responsibilities of the various parties involved in the
delivery of services to migrant children shall be set forth in a
service agreement. A service agreement shall be a legally binding
contract signed by the duly constituted authorities at the state,
county, district, or private or public nonprofit agencies, or a
combination thereof. In the regional delivery system, there shall be
two parties to every service agreement; the region and the district
or other operating agencies in which the eligible migrant pupils are
enrolled. When a district or agency is funded directly by the state,
the parties to the service agreement shall include the department and
the district or operating agency in which the eligible migrant
pupils are enrolled. The basic responsibilities of these three
parties shall be as specified in Section 54444.4.
The parties, whether regional or directly funded, shall take the
necessary steps to ensure the effective involvement of the migrant
parent advisory committee for that district or agency.
Representatives of the migrant parent advisory committee shall have
the right to be present and participate in all deliberations between
the parties regarding the service agreement or any subsequent changes
thereto. The service agreement shall include a signed statement from
the officers of the migrant parent advisory committee signifying
that the participation has occurred.
(e) The Superintendent shall develop an annual operating calendar
for regions and directly funded districts, including dates for the
submission and approval of applications and service agreements. Any
changes in regional boundaries for the subsequent fiscal year shall
be made and approved by December 31 of the current year. Any changes
in funding allocations for regions shall be made by December 31 of
the current year or immediately after notification of a federal grant
award.
(f) The Superintendent shall preserve the supplemental nature of
the migrant education program. The program shall be maintained
outside the supervision or above the administrative level of the
consolidated application programs. The Superintendent shall not
incorporate the migrant education program into the consolidated
application process, except as provided below:
(1) Commencing with the 1983-84 school year, directly funded
(1) Directly funded districts may
apply for migrant education funds as part of their consolidated
application provided the district parent advisory council on migrant
education approves the inclusion.
(2) Commencing with the 1982-83 school year and pending the
recommendations of the department study and task force report, a
(2) A copy of the district's
annual application for migrant education funds as required by Section
54443.1 shall be attached to the district's annual consolidated
application.
SEC. 6. Section 54444.2 of the Education Code is amended to read:
54444.2. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall take
the steps necessary to ensure effective parental involvement
throughout the state migrant education program, which shall include,
but need not be limited to, the following:
(1) The Superintendent shall adopt rules and regulations requiring
each operating agency receiving migrant education funds or services
to actively solicit parental involvement in the planning, operation,
and evaluation of its programs through the establishment of, and
consultation with, a parent advisory council.
The
(A) The membership of each parent
advisory council shall be comprised of members who are knowledgeable
of the needs of migrant children and shall be elected by the parents
of migrant children enrolled in the operating agency's programs. The
composition of the council shall be determined by the parents at a
general meeting to which all parents of pupils enrolled in the
migrant program shall be invited. Parents shall be informed, in a
language they understand, that the parents have the sole authority to
decide on the composition of the council. All parent candidates for
the council shall be nominated by parents; nonparent candidates shall
be nominated by the groups they represent: teachers by teachers,
administrators by administrators, other school personnel by other
school personnel, and pupils by pupils. All other community
candidates shall be nominated by the parents. Each parent advisory
council shall hold meetings on a regular basis during the operation
of the regular program, but not less than six times during the year.
At
(B) At least two-thirds of the
members of each parent advisory council shall be the parents of
migrant children. Each parent advisory council shall have the
responsibilities listed in subdivision (a) of Section 54444.4.
(2) The Superintendent shall establish a statewide parent advisory
council which shall participate in the planning, operation, and
evaluation of the state migrant education program. The membership of
the statewide parent advisory council shall be comprised of members
who are knowledgeable of the needs of migrant children and shall be
nominated and elected by the parents of migrant children enrolled in
the operating agencies. At least two-thirds of the members of the
state parent advisory council shall be the parents of migrant
children. The state council shall meet a minimum of six times a
calendar year to provide input on issues relating to the operation of
the program. Special meetings may be called at the discretion of the
state director.
The Superintendent shall also
(3) (A) The
Superintendent also shall sponsor an annual state parent
advisory council conference. The conference shall be scheduled during
the spring of every year. Within
(B) Within 120 days from the
conclusion of the conference, the state parent advisory council shall
prepare and submit a report to the Legislature, State Board
of Education state board , the Superintendent,
and the Governor regarding the status of the migrant education
program.
(C) The report shall include an evaluation of the migrant
education program, as required pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a), a review of annual needs and a year-end assessment,
as required pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
54444.4, policy recommendations, and the most recent data collected
pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 54442 to the extent that the
data is available.
(D) If the Superintendent or the department do not provide the
council with training on the preparation of the report, the state
parent advisory council may approve, by majority vote, an individual
or group to provide the technical assistance needed to draft the
report. Technical assistance or training for the purpose of drafting
the report that is provided by the Superintendent or an outside
source shall be objective and provided free of charge. It is the sole
responsibility of the state parent advisory council to determine the
contents of the report.
(3)
(4) The Superintendent and each operating agency shall
furnish, without charge, to the statewide and operating agency parent
advisory councils and, upon request, to each member, a copy of all
applicable state and federal migrant education statutes, rules and
regulations, and guidelines. In addition, the Superintendent and each
operating agency shall furnish, without charge, to the statewide and
operating agency parent advisory councils and, upon request, to each
member, copies of all applicable state and federal audits,
monitoring reports, and evaluations.
(4)
(5) The Superintendent and each operating agency shall
establish and implement training programs for members of the
statewide and operating agency parent advisory councils to enable
them to carry out their responsibilities. Each training program shall
be developed in consultation with the parent advisory councils and
shall include appropriate training materials in a language
understandable to each member. Costs incurred in providing training
under this paragraph, including federally authorized expenses
associated with the attendance of members at training sessions, shall
be funded, to the extent that funds are available, by federal funds
allocated to the state, based upon the educational and related health
needs of migratory children defined in subdivisions (a) and (b) of
Section 54441, and may be supported by funds from the state migrant
education program.
(5)
(6) Interpretation shall be provided at each state and
regional migrant parent advisory council meeting by an individual who
has received training in interpreting and who is fully fluent in
English and in the language understandable to the parents.
(b) Each operating agency which provides services on a statewide
basis shall be exempt from the requirement that it create its own
parent advisory council, but shall consult the statewide parent
advisory council in the planning, operation, and evaluation of its
programs.