BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1357|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1357
Author: Steinberg (D)
Amended: 4/5/10
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 8-0, 4/14/10
AYES: Romero, Huff, Alquist, Hancock, Liu, Price,
Simitian, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Maldonado
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 10-0, 5/27/10
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Denham, Leno, Price,
Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cox
SUBJECT : California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data
System
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill defines chronic absence when a pupil
is absent for 10 percent of the school year, requires the
California Department of Education to include pupil
attendance in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement
Data System, and expands the Annual Report on Dropouts in
California to include chronic absence rates.
ANALYSIS :
Existing Law
CONTINUED
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1.Defines a truant as a pupil who is absent from school
without valid excuse tree full days in one school year or
tardy or absent for more than any 30-minute period during
the school day without a valid excuse on three occasions
in one school year, or any combination thereof.
2.Requires any pupil who has once been report as a truant
and who is again absent or tardy to again be reported as
a truant.
3.Defines a habitual truant as a pupil who has been
reported as a truant three or more times per school year
(at least five days), if an appropriate district officer
or employee has made a conscientious effort to hold at
least one conference with a parent and the pupil.
4.Requires, beginning August 1, 2011, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction to produce the Annual Report on
Dropouts in California using the California Longitudinal
Achievement Data System (CALPADS).
This bill creates a new classification of "chronic
absence," expands the CALPADS to include pupil attendance
data, and expands the Annual Report on Dropouts in
California to include chronic absence rates. Specifically,
this bill:
1.Defines "chronic absence" as when a pupil is absent on 10
percent of the school days in the school year when the
total number of days a pupil is absent is divided by the
total number of days the pupil is enrolled.
2.Requires the California Department of Education (CDE),
contingent upon receipt of federal funds, to prepare
CALPADS to include data on pupil attendance.
3.Requires preparation to include all of the following:
A. The addition of fields to facilitate the transfer
of data.
B. System development activities including any
business rules and definitions that would be needed
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to improve the quality and consistency of the data.
C. Processes for the transfer of data from local
educational agencies that include all of the
following:
(1) District, school, class and individual pupil
reports on rates of absence.
(2) Chronic absence reports at the district,
school, class and individual pupil level.
4.Authorizes schools to submit pupil attendance data and
other indicators as identified by the CDE once CALPADS is
prepared to accept this data.
5.Authorizes schools that submit attendance data to CALPADS
to request the early warning report up to four times each
school year, and requires CDE to provide this report as
described (see #6 below).
6.States legislative intent to support the development of
early warning systems to enable the identification and
support of pupils who are at risk of academic failure or
dropping out of school. This bill requires the early
warning systems to encompass the following
characteristics:
A. The utilization of highly predictive indicators,
including attendance, course grades or completion,
performance on assessments, suspensions and
expulsions.
B. A thorough validation process to insure the
predictive reliability of the systems.
C. Periodic rates that inform principals, teachers,
and parents in a manner that enables timely
identification and support of pupils who are at risk
of academic failure or dropping out.
7.Adds chronic absence rates to the Annual Report on
Dropouts in California.
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Comments
Excused vs. Unexcused Absences . This bill does not
distinguish between unexcused and excused absences; it
defines "chronic absence" as when a pupil is absent for 10
percent of the school year. The author's office notes that
pupils are at risk when they are absent for so many days,
whether or not the absence is excused. Conversely, SB 1148
(Alquist), 2009-10 Session, defines "chronic truant" as a
pupil who has unexcused absences for at least 10 percent of
the school year. If both bills were to become law, schools
would be identifying chronically truant and chronically
absent pupils.
Expansion of CALPADS . CALPADS currently includes data on
pupil discipline, including suspension, expulsion and
truancy. This bill adds another data field to CALPADS to
include pupil attendance, thereby providing a much greater
level of detail about a pupil's attendance patterns
(excused and unexcused).
Status of CALPADS . A January 2010 report on an assessment
of CALPADS by an outside contractor found "significant
issues with the system and project representing a threat to
the success of CALPADS from both an engineering and project
standpoint." The vendor is currently working to resolve
these issues. The most recent update on the status of
CALPADS (March 26, 2010) indicates that issues remain;
therefore, CALPADS is not able to generate new reports at
this time.
Related Legislation
SB 1148 (Alquist) -- 2009-10 Session . Deems as a truant
any pupil who is absent from school without a valid excuse
for at least 10 percent of the school year, and requires
the permanent record of a pupil to reflect if she or she
has been deemed a chronic truant. (Held in Senate
Appropriations on Suspense)
SB 1317 (Leno) -- 2009-10 Session . Creates a new
misdemeanor for parents of a pupil deemed chronically
truant, and establishes a deferred entry of judgment
program specifically designed to address issues of chronic
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truancy. (In Assembly awaiting assignment)
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
CALPADS $300
Federal
Early warning Unknown, potentially
significant General
reports
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/10)
Advancement Project
Bay Area Council
Calif. Association for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance
California Association of School Counselors, Inc.
California Association of Supervisors of Child Welfare and
Attendance
California Business Education Coalition
California Family Resource Association
California Federation of Teachers
California Postsecondary Education Commission
California School Health Centers Association
California School Nurses Association
California State PTA
Children Now
Education Trust - West
Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California
Junior League of California, State Public Affairs Committee
League of Women Voters of California
Los Angeles Unified School District
Office of San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris
Partnership for Children and Youth
PICO California
Public Advocates
San Francisco Unified School District
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OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/28/10)
Association of California School Administrators
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"chronic absence from school, even in the primary grades,
is one of the most accurate predictors of dropping out of
school. This bill enables the collection of new data on
student absenteeism and combines that data with other
predictive indicators already collected by our education
data system. These combined indicators will become the
foundation of an early warning system so that critical
education, health and community support can be
strategically targeted before students abandon school."
Proponents argue that dropping out of school is the final
step in a process of disengagement, which if often
reflected in poor attendance. However, California is one
of just seven states that does not collect individualized
attendance data, making it far more difficult to identify
potential dropouts or schools that are in danger of high
dropout rates.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents contend that this
bill is not clear whether schools must submit student
absence data irrespective of federal funding and to what
level of reporting will be required or how the staff will
be required to submit this volume of data will be supported
by ongoing state funds as this labor intensive staff work
will require a stable source of funding.
CPM:cm 5/28/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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