BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 86
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 86 (Mendoza)
As Introduced January 6, 2011
Majority vote
EDUCATION 6-3 APPROPRIATIONS 12-3
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Butler, Carter, Eng, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Williams | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| | | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Norby, Halderman, Wagner |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, Nielsen |
| | | | |
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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)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.
2)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.
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FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
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 : 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. 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.
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 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 the Service Employees
International Union (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. The Assembly should consider how including
classified employees in the signature requirement will make the
conversion petition process more difficult.
According to the author, this bill would provide classified
AB 86
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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 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) of 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.
AB 86
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Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN:
0000303