BILL ANALYSIS
SB 798
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 798 (DeSaulnier)
As Amended August 16, 2010
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :31-6
EDUCATION 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Nestande, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Bradford, |
| |Ammiano, | |Huffman, Coto, Davis, De |
| |Arambula, Carter, Eng, | |Leon, Gatto, Hall, |
| |Torlakson | |Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson, Torrico |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Conway, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Specifies that in any fiscal year (FY) in which the
total state appropriation for the federal 21st Century Community
Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program for that FY exceeds the
total state appropriation for FY 2008-09, the excess amount
shall be allocated on a priority basis for direct grants to
community learning centers through a specified formula.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that any amount exceeding the FY 2008-09 state
appropriation shall be allocated as follows:
a) 35% to community learning centers serving high school
pupils;
b) 50% to community learning centers serving elementary and
middle school pupils; and,
c) 15% to summer programs serving elementary and middle
school pupils.
2)Specifies that the appropriation for the new funding formula
established pursuant to this bill shall be allocated after
funds have been appropriated to the California Department of
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Education (CDE) to provide technical assistance, evaluation
and training services.
3)Specifies that priority for 21st CCLC program funding shall be
given to programs that previously received funding to replace
expiring grants if those programs have satisfactorily met
projected pupil outcomes as required by the After School
Education and Safety (ASES) Program specified in Education
Code (EC) Section 8484.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill alters the current funding formula for
federal carryover funds for the 21st CCLC program to include a
specified amount of funding for summer programs.
COMMENTS : The state receives approximately $130 million
annually in federal funds for the 21st CCLC program, which
provides funding for before and after school activities to
pupils in kindergarten through grade 12. The state has chosen
to implement this program almost identical to the state's ASES
program, passed by voters through Proposition 49 in 2002, which
provides almost $550 million for before and after school
programs for 400,000 students in kindergarten through grade 9.
Existing law specifies that 5% of the federal funds shall be
provided to the CDE for administrative purposes that include
technical assistance, evaluation and training services.
Existing law also specifies that of the remaining funds, 40%
shall be allocated for programs serving elementary and middle
school pupils and 50% shall be allocated for direct grants to
community learning centers serving high school pupils. The
remaining 10% is used for direct grants to community learning
center programs to provide equitable access and to provide
family literacy services. Per pupil rates for serving
elementary and middle school pupils is $7.50 per day for after
school programs and $5 per day for before school programs.
Elementary and middle school programs receive grants up to a
maximum of $225,000 and $300,000, respectively, per year and
must provide academic assistance, educational enrichment and
family literacy services. Federal requirements give priority
for funding to programs serving Title 1 kids (low-income kids
eligible for free and reduced-priced meals). The 21st Century
High School After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens
(ASSETs) program provides grants between $50,000 to $250,000 per
school site based on $10 per student per day, and requires the
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following elements:
1)An academic assistance element that includes at least one of
the following: preparation for the high school exist exam,
tutoring, homework assistance, or college preparation.
2)An enrichment element that may include, but is not limited to,
community service, career and technical education, job
readiness, opportunities for mentoring and tutoring younger
pupils, service learning, arts, computer and technology
training, physical fitness and recreation activities.
This bill proposes to change the allocation formula for any
funds over the state's FY 2008-09 appropriation of the 21st CCLC
funds as follows:
1)High school programs: from 50% to 35%.
2)Elementary and middle school programs: from 40% to 50%.
3)New summer program set aside: 15%.
The author states that "the original implementation plan did not
accommodate the range of needs throughout the year, including
services during periods when the school is closed (e.g.,
vacation periods, intersession). Currently children can receive
substantial academic and enrichment benefits during the 9 months
of the regular school year, then lose ground during the 2 -3
months of summer vacation."
Due to prior unallocated amounts, the program currently has
almost $90 million in carryover dollars. The CDE indicates that
over the last couple of years, it has had to use carryover funds
to backfill demand in excess of the annual allocations, and
projects spending down the carryover funds within the next few
years. 21st CCLC funds are currently allocated to the state
according to the number of Title 1 students. There is a
proposal in Congress to change the allocation to a competitive
grant, which, if enacted, will give the state no guarantee that
it will continue to receive current level of funding.
The sponsor of this bill, the Partnership for Children and
Youth, states that demand for high school programs have
decreased while fewer summer programs are available due to
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budget cuts. The Partnership states, "Research is very clear
about the negative impacts that occur when children lack
learning opportunities during the months when they are not in
school. This phenomenon called 'Summer Learning Loss' or
'Summer Slide' disproportionately affects low-income children
and is also cumulative over time. Some researchers attribute as
much as 2/3 of the achievement gap to a lack of summer learning
opportunities. In addition, research also shows that children
gain weight more rapidly in the summer if they don't have access
to organized recreational or physical activity programs. Nearly
all children enrolled in publicly funded after school programs
also receive free or reduced price meals during the school year,
and without those meals in the summer, many are receiving
lower-quality foods that are causing weight gain."
There is no statewide data available on the number and adequacy
of summer programs. The CDE does not require local educational
agencies (LEAs) to report this data. However, results from a
survey conducted by the CDE shows that 26% of LEAs reported
cutting summer schools.
21st CCLC funds are authorized to be used for summer programs.
Grantees can request a supplemental grant that can be used for
summer, intersession or vacation periods. Summer school
programs can also be funded through Supplemental Instruction
funds of $335 million (FY 2010-11), but the FY 2009-10 budget
agreement gave LEAs the flexibility to use funds from 39
categorical programs for any educational purposes for FY 2008-09
through 2012-13 (SBX3 4 (Ducheny), Chapter 12, Statutes of the
2009-10 Third Extraordinary Session). Summer school fund is
part of the flexibility authorization and in a recent
Legislative Analyst's Office survey, 60% of district respondents
indicated that they had shifted supplemental funds for other
uses.
Using future increases in the amount over the state's
appropriation for FY 2008-09, which includes carryover funds,
this bill proposes to redirect 15% of the funding which would
normally go to high school programs to summer programs. The CDE
does not have data readily available on the number of eligible
high school applications that have not received grants due to
inadequate funding. While it is more difficult to recruit high
school pupils to attend after school programs, the 21st CCLC is
the only source of funding for high schools; ASES serves
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students up to the ninth grade.
This bill also specifies that priority for 21st CCLC program
funding shall be given to programs that previously received
funding to replace expiring grants if those programs have
satisfactorily met projected ASES program pupil outcomes. This
provision was contained in AB 1876 (Torlakson), which was vetoed
by the Governor on July 23rd with a message regarding another
provision in that bill. This provision is intended to give
existing 21st CCLC grantees that have performed well extra
points to ensure continuity of services and is similar to a
provision (EC 8421.5) in the High School ASSETs program that
gives priority to expiring grants that have satisfactorily met
their projected attendance goals and demonstrated other positive
outcomes. According to the CDE, existing programs seeking
renewal of their ASSETs grants are given 10 extra points.
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0006104