BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1116
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1116 (Huff, Romero, and Yee)
As Amended August 20, 2010
2/3 vote. Urgency
SENATE VOTE :28-0
EDUCATION 8-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Nestande, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, |
| |Ammiano, Arambula, | |Bradford, Huffman, Coto, |
| |Carter, Eng, Miller, | |Davis, De Leon, Gatto, |
| |Torlakson | |Hall, Harkey, Miller, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Skinner, |
| | | |Solorio, Torlakson, |
| | | |Torrico |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : An urgency measure that requires heritage schools to
file an electronic registration form with the Superintendent of
Public Instruction (SPI) detailing specific information relative
to personnel and the course of study; and, requires heritage
school employees to be fingerprinted. Specifically, this bill :
1)Defines a heritage school as a school that serves children who
are between the ages of four years and nine months and 18
years, who attend a public or private full-time day school,
that does all of the following:
a) Specifies regular hours of operation.
b) Offers education or academic tutoring, or both, in a
foreign language.
c) Offers education on the culture, traditions, or
history of a country other than the United States.
d) Offers culturally enriching activities, including, but
not limited to, art, dancing, games or singing, based on
the culture or customs of a country other than the United
States.
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e) Maintains membership in a state or national cultural
or language association.
f) Complies with relevant local government regulations.
g) Does not operate out of a residential home.
h) Complies with requirements established specifically
for heritage schools; maintains a copy of the electronic
registration form filed with the SPI; and, makes the form
available upon request, including to the State Department
of Social Services (DSS), to verify exemption from child
care licensure.
2)Requires, commencing January 1, 2011, every person, firm,
association, partnership or corporation operating a heritage
school to file an electronic registration with the SPI
between the first and 31st day of January of each year, as
specified.
3)Requires the electronic registration form to include, under
penalty of perjury, a statement that the heritage school is in
compliance with requirements for fingerprinting; and, requires
the electronic registration form to be available to parents of
all pupils enrolled in the school or considering whether to
enroll, if an instructor also serves as the administrator.
4)Requires employees of an entity contracting with a heritage
school to provide specified services, and who may have any
contact with pupils, to submit their fingerprints to the
Department of Justice (DOJ); requires DOJ to forward the
fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI);
and, requires the DOJ to charge a fee sufficient to cover the
cost of processing the request for information.
5)Authorizes a heritage school, on a case-by-case basis, to
require any entity providing school site services to comply
with fingerprinting and criminal records summary requirements.
6)Prohibits an entity from permitting an employee to come in
contact with pupils until the DOJ has ascertained that the
employee has not been convicted of a felony and/or obtained a
certificate of rehabilitation and pardon.
7)Requires an entity having a contract with a heritage school to
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certify in writing that neither the employer nor any of its
employees who are required to submit fingerprints have been
convicted of a felony; and, requires an entity currently under
contract with a heritage school to complete the fingerprinting
requirements within 90 days of the effective date of this
bill.
8)Requires a heritage school contracting with an entity for the
construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or repair of a
school facility where the employees of the entity will have
contact, other than limited contact, with pupils to ensure the
safety of the pupils by one or more of the following methods:
a) The installation of a physical barrier at the worksite
to limit contact with pupils.
b) Continual supervision and monitoring of all employees of
the entity by an employee of the entity whom the DOJ has
ascertained has not been convicted of a felony.
c) Surveillance of employees of the entity by school
personnel.
9)Specifies that an entity that contracts with a heritage school
for construction or repair of a school facility is not
required to comply with fingerprinting and criminal record
summary requirements if one or more of the methods described
in above is used; and, exempts an entity providing
construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or repair
services in an emergency or exceptional situation from the
requirement to keep those employees separated from pupils, or
that they be monitored.
10)Prohibits the filing of an electronic registration form
pursuant to this bill from being interpreted to mean that the
State of California, the SPI, the State Board of Education,
the California Department of Education (CDE), or any division
or bureau of the CDE, or any accrediting agency has made any
evaluation, recognition, approval or endorsement of the school
or course, unless this is an actual fact; and, specifies that
it is unlawful for any school to expressly or impliedly
represent the filing of an electronic registration form as an
evaluation, recognition, approval or endorsement.
11)Establishes the Heritage Enrichment Resource Fund (HERF) in
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the State Treasury and authorizes monies deposited in the fund
to be expended by the SPI upon appropriation; requires the
heritage school electronic registration form to be filed
together with a fee determined by the SPI to be sufficient to
cover, but not exceed, the costs of the CDE; specifies the fee
shall be received by the SPI no later than January 31; and,
requires the fees collected to be deposited into the HERF.
12)Requires a director of a heritage school to undergo at least
15 hours of health and safety training that includes pediatric
first aid; pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and, a
preventive health practices course or courses that include
instruction in the recognition, management, and prevention of
infectious diseases, including immunizations, and prevention
of childhood injuries.
13)Requires all employees and volunteers of a heritage school to
be in good health, as verified by a health screening,
including a test for tuberculosis.
14)Requires pupils attending heritage schools to have access to
working sinks, toilets, and drinking water; and, prohibits
pupils attending a heritage school from having access to
medication or cleaning supplies, except as otherwise provided
by law.
15)Specifies that heritage schools shall not be subject to
licensure by DSS as a child day care center.
16)Requires, upon a pupil's enrollment in a heritage school, the
heritage school to provide a notice to the pupil's parent or
guardian stating that the heritage school is exempt from child
care licensure, and that attendance at the heritage school
does not satisfy California's compulsory education
requirements.
EXISTING LAW pertaining to private schools :
1)Requires private schools to file an affidavit with the SPI.
(Education Code 33191)
2)Prohibits a private school from employing a person who has
been convicted of a violent or serious felony or a person who
would be prohibited from employment by a public school
district because of his or her conviction for any crime.
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(Education Code 44237)
EXISTING LAW pertaining to childcare centers :
1)Requires childcare centers to have a ratio of one teacher
visually observing and supervising no more than 12 children in
attendance, except as specified. (California Code of
Regulations, Title 22, 101216.2)
2)Requires DSS to subject each licensed child day care center to
unannounced visits as often as necessary to ensure the quality
of care provided. (Health and Safety Code 1597.09)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)One-time General Fund (GF) administrative costs, likely
between $125,000 and $175,000, to the CDE to develop an
electronic registration form and a database to maintain
heritage school information. CDE will incur on-going costs,
likely less than $75,000, to maintain administrative
procedures related to heritage schools.
This measure establishes the HERF and requires each potential
heritage school to pay a fee, determined by CDE, to cover the
costs of implementing this act. The fee is required to be
deposited in the HERF. The number of heritage schools
operating in the state is unknown. To the extent that there
are not many heritage schools filing a form and paying the
fee, GF monies would be used to offset the lack of fee
revenue.
2)GF administrative costs, likely in excess of $250,000, to DOJ
to process background checks on heritage school employees, as
specified. These costs will be covered by fees charged to the
individuals who are required to complete the background check.
COMMENTS : This bill exempts heritage schools from child care
licensing requirements and instead requires them to follow some
of the existing laws that apply to private schools and child
care centers.
Several bills on this topic have been authored by Senator Huff
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in recent years. In the past many questions about the intent of
these bills were raised. This bill seeks to answer many of
those questions, yet still leaves a few unanswered issues for
consideration. One area of concern has centered on health and
safety standards including, as one example, the requirement that
children have access to restroom facilities and drinking water.
This bill, which is different from years past, incorporates some
of these health and safety requirements and requires heritage
schools to provide access to these types of facilities. In
addition, this bill incorporates mandatory requirements for
health and safety training for heritage school directors, which
was another area of previous concern. Further, this bill
requires heritage schools to notify parents of enrolled students
that they are exempt from childcare licensure and that attending
a heritage school does not satisfy compulsory education
requirements, so that parents can be fully informed. These
changes alleviate a majority of the concerns that have been
voiced in previous years.
According to the author, heritage schools are privately
financed, culture based educational entities that have been in
operation for decades. They meet after regular school, on the
weekends and during the summer. They complement a child's
compulsory education and are bound by their commitment to
teaching foreign language and history in an effort to help the
student compete in an increasingly global economy and maintain
California's diversity and cultural heritage. Heritage schools
play an integral role in our communities, as they are a major
source of language and heritage instruction at the K-12 level.
They help prepare students for courses in advanced language and
literature at colleges and universities at no taxpayer expense.
Some public schools even grant credit to students for classes
taken at these heritage schools.
Definition of Heritage Schools: Heritage schools educate
children on foreign languages, culture, and customs. They seek
to preserve the culture and language of immigrants, fostering
tolerance and diversity. Traditionally many of them have been
referred to as Chinese, Greek, or Japanese Schools. Heritage
schools have expanded recently to include many other cultures.
According to the Senate Human Services Committee analysis of
prior legislation, heritage schools come in many sizes,
settings, and organizational structures with one thing in
common: they exist to educate children to speak languages other
than English and to learn about a foreign culture and customs.
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Some heritage schools are only open after school during the
school year; others are also open all day on school holidays and
during vacations. Some are drop-in programs requiring no
sign-in or sign-out of children. Others, particularly when
operating all day during school vacations, provide care and
supervision. In other words, some heritage schools do not
function as child care centers while others do.
Are Heritage School Child Care Centers or Private Schools?
Currently some heritage schools function as child care centers,
while others do not, but according to a recent state audit, all
heritage schools are required to comply with the childcare
licensing regulations. Since heritage schools are broader than
the strict definition of a child care facility, it is unclear
how many currently obtain licensing as a child care facility.
CDE does not regulate private schools or have any oversight
responsibilities over private schools. Instead, local school
districts are responsible for overseeing private schools within
their boundaries to ensure they comply with the education code.
If heritage schools are authorized to file an electronic
registration form with CDE, like private schools, it sets
precedent for other instructional institutions to file
electronic registration forms with CDE. In the past, there have
been attempts by driver training programs to be added to the
private school list even though they are not full time schools
and they do not satisfy compulsory education requirements. This
change could potentially open the door for other supplemental
education service providers to request the same type of
recognition.
Previous Legislation: SB 129 (Huff), from 2009, which was held
on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file, was
substantially similar to this bill.
SB 379 (Huff), from 2009, which was held on the Senate
Appropriations Committee suspense file, would have exempted
heritage schools from child day care licensure.
AB 1888 (Huff), from 2008, which was held on the Assembly
Appropriations Committee suspense file, would have exempted
heritage schools from child care licensure requirements.
AB 344 (Huff), from 2007, which was never heard, would have
exempted heritage schools from child care licensure
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requirements.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0006374