BILL ANALYSIS
SB 450
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
sb 450 (Alan Lowenthal)
As Amended January 28, 2010
2/3 vote. Urgency
SENATE VOTE :Vote not relevant
EDUCATION 9-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Nestande, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, |
| |Ammiano, | |Bradford, |
| |Arambula, Carter, Eng, | |Huffman, Coto, Davis, De |
| |Miller, | |Leon, Gatto, Hall, |
| |Norby, Torlakson | |Harkey, Miller, Nielsen, |
| | | |Norby, Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson, Torrico |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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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 increases in teacher-to-pupil ratios are 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
enrollment increase from the closures on Catalina Island
resulting from the May 2007 fire and resultant debris flow
SB 450
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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and is repealed on January 1, 2013, unless a later enacted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repealed.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, 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 Governor's 2010-11
proposed Budget provides $1.3 billion at a rate of $1,067 per
pupil, which includes a negative cost-of-living adjustment of
0.38%.
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 4 X3 (Ducheny), Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009, as part of the
fiscal years 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:
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-----------------------------------------------
| | |
| SB 311 | SBX3 4 (2008-09 |
| | through 2011-12) |
| | |
|-----------------------+-----------------------|
| | |
| Penalty | Penalty |
| Class Size |Class Size |
|-----------------------+-----------------------|
| | |
| 20% | 5% |
|20.45 - 20.94 | 20.5 - 21.5 |
| 40% | 10% |
|20.95 - 21.44 |21.5 - 22.5 |
| 80% | 15% |
|21.45 - 21.84 |22.5 - 23 |
| 100% | 20% |
|> 21.84 |23 - 25 |
| | 30% |
| |> 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."
According to the LBUSD, the United States Geological Survey
protocol and onsite reconnaissance has determined that there is
danger of mudslides when the island reaches either 10 inches of
rain within 120 days or receives one-fourth inch of rain per
hour for two to three hours, and/or over two inches of rainfall
within a 48 hour period.
SB 450
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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.
This bill is identical to SB 193 (Alan Lowenthal), which was
vetoed by the Governor in 2009 with the following message:
"This bill is premature, and therefore unnecessary at this time,
since the Long Beach Unified School District has not received a
reduction in its K-3 Class Size Reduction (CSR) program funding
level. I have previously supported legislation that held
districts harmless for loss of CSR funding due to unexpected
fires that have disrupted operations at certain schools.
However, this bill sets a precedent by providing a hold harmless
provision of CSR funding prospectively. In the event there are
school closures during the 2009-10 through 2011-12 school years,
legislation can be considered at that time."
According to the author, this bill was reintroduced because the
Avalon School was closed for three days due to heavy rains and
threat of debris flow hazards in January 2010.
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0005938