BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair

                                           1186 (Liu)
          
          Hearing Date:  05/27/2010           Amended: 04/15/2010
          Consultant:  Dan Troy           Policy Vote: ED 5-0
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          ____
          BILL SUMMARY:   SB 1186 would make various changes to the system  
          of K-12 education governance. This bill would:

                 Establish the Secretary of Education as a cabinet-level  
               officer in statute for the purposes of advising the  
               Governor on matters of education policy and to develop and  
               recommend policies and programs and fiscal and governance  
               incentives that promote sharing and consolidation of  
               educational services among local education agencies,  
               expansion of K-12 education to include early childhood  
               education, and an increase in the ratio of school  
               counselors to middle and high school pupils.

                 Revise the role of the State Board of Education to that  
               of an advisory body and require the membership to be  
               geographically diverse and represent the array of  
               disciplines active in education, including teachers,  
               administrators, classified employees, parents, and others.

                 Specify that the Superintendent of Public Instruction is  
               responsible for ensuring the delivery of high-quality  
               education for pupils from preschool through grade 12, and  
               specify that the Superintendent does not work under the  
               direction of the State Board of Education. 

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                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2010-11      2011-12       2012-13     Fund
                                                                  
          Transition costs                             Unknown,  
          potentially hundreds of thousands General

          Consolidation of duties              There may be long-term  
          savings based on             General
                                               on the consolidation of  










          existing SBE duties 
                                               duties within the  
          Department of Education                                        
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
          
          Current law provides for an eleven member (SBE) appointed by the  
          Governor for four-year terms, with each appointee subject to  
          confirmation by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. In addition,  
          current law provides that the SBE determines all questions of  
          policy within its powers.  The California Constitution requires  
          the Legislature to provide for the 


          Page 2
          SB 1186 (Liu)

          appointment or election of the State Board of Education.  In  
          addition, the state Constitution specifies the following duties  
          of the SBE:  1) Adopt textbooks for use in grades one through  
          eight; 2) Appoint, upon the nomination of the SPI, one Deputy  
          and three Associate Superintendents of Public Instruction.

          The California Constitution specifies that a Superintendent of  
          Public Instruction (SPI) shall be elected by the people at each  
          gubernatorial election. The Constitution provides no further  
          specification of the duties of the SPI.

          There is no authorization of the Office of the Secretary for  
          Education (OSE) in current statute. 

          This bill responds to multiple reports produced over recent  
          years that have detailed that California's K-12 system of  
          governance is confusing, ineffective, and lacking in  
          transparency.  By diversifying the makeup of the membership, it  
          is hoped that the SBE would better reflect all of the interested  
          parties involved in the K-12 system.  The bill would also better  
          clarify the roles of the SPI and the SBE.

          While consolidating activities of the SBE within the Department  
          of Education would likely lead to long term administrative  
          savings, there would likely be significant upfront costs related  
          to transition. These costs are likely to be several hundreds of  
          thousands of dollars and could reach the millions depending on  










          multiple factors.  Also, staff notes that OSE is not authorized  
          in statute.  

          OSE has been funded administratively at various levels since the  
          Wilson Administration through the Governor's Office of Planning  
          and Research.  Establishing the position in statute would  
          formalize costs that are entirely discretionary on the part of  
          the Governor.  As recently as 2009, the Legislative Analyst's  
          Office has suggested eliminating the office to streamline  
          government and achieve savings.  Costs of the office are  
          approximately $2 million, though this amount has changed over  
          time.  

          Author's proposed amendments delete the codification of the  
          Office of the Secretary for Education.