BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 86
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Date of Hearing: March 16, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 86 (Mendoza) - As Introduced: January 6, 2011
SUBJECT : Charter schools: authorization: petition.
SUMMARY : Requires, in addition to the existing signature
requirements, a charter school petition to include signatures
from at least 50% of the number of classified employees the
petitioner estimates that will be employed by the charter school
in the first year of operation; requires a conversion charter
school petition to include not less than 50% of the permanent
classified employees currently employed at the school that is to
be converted to a charter school; and, requires the signature
petition to prominently display a statement that the classified
employee has a meaningful interest in working at the charter
school.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes a process for the submission of a petition for the
establishment of a charter school. Authorizes a petition,
identifying a single charter school to operate within the
geographical boundaries of the school district, to be
submitted to the school district. Authorizes, if the
governing board of a school district denies a petition for the
establishment of a charter school, the petitioner to elect to
submit the petition to the county board of education.
Authorizes, if the county board of education denies the
charter, the petitioner to submit the petition to the state
board of education (SBE). Authorizes a school that serves a
countywide service to submit the charter petition directly to
the county office of education. Authorizes a school that
serves a statewide purpose to go directly to the SBE.
2)Requires a petition seeking to establish a new charter school
to include signatures of at least one half of the parents or
guardians of students that the petitioner expects to enroll in
the charter school in the first year of operation, or
signatures by a number of teachers that is equal to at least
half the teachers estimated to be employed at the charter
school in the first year of operation.
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3)Requires a petition seeking to convert an existing public
school to a charter school, to include the signatures of no
less than 50% of the permanent status teachers employed at the
public school proposed to be converted to a charter school.
4)Requires the charter school signature petition to prominently
display a statement that the signatures represent that either
the parents have a meaningful interest in having their child
attend the charter school, or the teachers have a meaningful
interest in teaching at the charter school.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, in an analysis of a substantially similar bill, minor
absorbable costs, likely less than $80,000, to school districts
to implement this measure. Current law requires school district
governing boards to consider the level of support for the
charter petition by teachers and other employees of the
district.
COMMENTS : According to the California Department of Education
(CDE), the 2009-10 count of operating charter schools is 815
with student enrollment of more than 323,000 in the state. This
includes three statewide benefit charters and 20 SBE-approved
charters. Some charter schools are new, while others are
conversions from existing public schools. Charter schools are
part of the state's public education system and are funded by
public dollars. A charter school is usually created or
organized by a group of teachers, parents and community leaders,
a community-based organization, or an education management
organization. Charter schools are authorized by school district
boards, county boards of education or the state board of
education. A charter school is generally exempt from most laws
governing school districts, except where specifically noted in
the law. Specific goals and operating procedures for the
charter school are detailed in an agreement (or "charter")
between the sponsoring board and charter organizers.
Background on Classified Employees . This bill requires charter
school petitions to include 50% of the classified employees the
charter school estimates will be employed by the charter school;
and, requires, for a conversion charter school petition, 50% of
the permanent classified employees currently employed at the
school to be converted. The term "permanent classified
employee" refers to employees who have passed their probationary
term and have achieved permanent status in their classification.
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Existing law requires conversion charter school petitions to
attain signatures from 50% of the permanent status teachers that
currently work at a school to be converted. The provisions of
this bill achieve parity with regard to the signatures required
from permanent teachers by requiring signatures from permanent
classified staff, who are also at risk of losing their jobs.
Would this make petitioning for a charter school more difficult ?
Requiring 50% of permanent classified staff to sign a
conversion charter school petition will raise the number of
total signatures required for the petition. The committee
should consider how including classified employees in the
signature requirement will make the conversion petition process
more difficult.
The number of permanent classified staff at an individual
schoolsite varies greatly depending on the type of school, size
of school and resources at the schoolsite. Therefore, it is
difficult to assess whether attaining these additional
signatures will be a difficult barrier for a conversion charter
school petition. One could estimate that on a given schoolsite,
this signature requirement could vary from as few as three
signatures to nearly 60 signatures, in addition to the
signatures required for teachers. According to SEIU, the number
of classified staff changes from school site to school site
depending on their need for aides for English language learners
and special education students. In addition, some schools have
paid security personnel and playground supervisors while some do
not. It is very hard to have an exact number because classified
staffing is driven on an as needed basis and funding basis.
According to the author, this bill would provide classified
employees the same rights as those afforded to teachers by
allowing classified employees to participate in the petition
signature process in the same manner as teachers when
establishing new charter schools or converting existing schools
into charters. The bill would establish a fair process for
classified employees to present some show of interest in being
employed by a charter school. This bill is a simple parity
proposal. Currently, classified employees have no voice in the
establishment of charter schools which could potentially impact
their employment.
Arguments in Support : According to the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees, "AB 86 would establish a
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fair process for classified employees to be included in the
process. This bill requires a petition to convert an existing
public school to a charter school to be signed by no less than 50%
of the permanent classified employees currently employed at that
public school. Classified employees play an extremely valuable
role in the delivery of proper education. Excluding them from the
charter school conversion process is a disservice to California's
K-12 institutions."
Arguments in Opposition : The California Charter Schools
Association opposes the bill and states, "While classified
employees are important to the operation of the charter school,
they are not the providers or consumers of the educational
services and, thus should not be added to a petition that seeks
to establish a new educational model. Moreover, as classified
employees represent a smaller percentage of the workforce, the
decision whether to allow a petition to go forward would lie in
the hands of a minority of workers."
Previous legislation : AB 2363 (Mendoza) from 2010, which is
nearly identical to this bill and failed passage in the Senate
Education Committee, required, in addition to the existing
signature requirements, a charter school petition to include
signatures from at least 50% of the number of classified
employees the petitioner estimates that will be employed by the
charter school in the first year of operation; required a
conversion charter school petition to include 50% of the
permanent classified employees currently employed at the school
that is to be converted to a charter school; and, required the
signature petition to prominently display a statement that the
classified employee has a meaningful interest in working at the
charter school.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
California School Employees Association
Opposition
California Charter Schools Association
AB 86
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Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087