BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1568
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 9, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 1568 (Hernandez) - As Introduced: January 31, 2012
SUBJECT : Charter schools: preferences for admission.
SUMMARY : Prohibits a chartering authority from permitting
admissions preferences in charter schools that are based on the
contribution of time or money.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Charter Schools Act of 1992 which authorizes a
school district, a county board of education or the state
board of education (SBE) to approve or deny a petition for a
charter school to operate independently from the existing
school district structure as a method of accomplishing, among
other things, improved student learning, increased learning
opportunities for all students, with special emphasis on
expanded learning experiences for students who are identified
as academically low achieving, holding charter schools
accountable for meeting measurable student outcomes, and
providing the schools with a method to change from rule-based
to performance-based accountability systems.
2)Specifies that a charter school petition shall contain a
reasonably comprehensive description of the school's admission
requirements, if applicable.
3)Specifies that charter school attendance preferences shall be
extended to pupils currently attending the charter school and
pupils who reside in the district; and, specifies that other
preferences may be permitted by the chartering authority on an
individual school basis and only if consistent with the law.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : According to the California Department of Education
(CDE), there are currently 983 charter schools operating with
student enrollment from 2010-11 of more than 369,000 in the
state. This includes three statewide benefit charters and 18
SBE-approved charters. Some charter schools are new, while
others are conversions from existing public schools. Charter
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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.
According to the author, certain preferences are granted under
state and federal law during the admissions process, including
volunteer commitment set forth by the parents of pupils. These
parents are deemed "founding parents" of the institution and
admission preference may be granted to their child. Current
laws have been interpreted by some to include financial
contributions as a form of volunteerism at a school. By
creating a preference based on financial donations, many
problems arise. First, charter schools are public institutions
that are required to admit all children. When a public school
reaches its capacity, admissions are determined by a public
random drawing. By paying the institution to admit a child, the
randomness of the drawing is severely curtailed. Second, when
admissions are possibly influenced by financial donations,
public schools become more exclusive and may operate similarly
to private schools. Third, by instituting a pay to play system
of admissions, pupils of low socio-economic status will be
inadvertently discriminated against during the selection
process.
Admission Preferences . The author's intent is to prohibit
charter schools from having admission preferences based on a
parent's contribution of time to support school activities or a
parent's financial contribution to the school. Some argue that
charter school use these preferences by imposing specific
volunteer requirements for parents or "encouraging" parents to
"donate" money to cover program costs. Even if some schools
merely encourage these things, their mere mention can be enough
to discourage lower income families from even applying to these
schools. The result is an effective creation of a two-tiered
public school system, where students from more affluent families
who have the luxury of time and money attend charter schools
while the less affluent do not have access to those same
opportunities.
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Parental Volunteering . A similar bill, AB 1034 (Gatto) from
2011, specified that charter schools may encourage parental
involvement, but shall notify the parents of applicant pupils
and currently enrolled pupils that parental involvement is not a
requirement for acceptance or continued enrollment at the
school. The committee may wish to consider whether this
provision would be valuable in this bill.
Charter Schools Serving High Need Students . The 2009 EdSource
report on charter schools found that charter high schools enroll
13% fewer students who are either English learners or
redesignated as fluent English proficient (RFEP) students
compared to noncharter schools; charter middle schools enroll
English learner and RFEP students at a 7% lower rate than
noncharter schools; and charter elementary schools enroll 11%
fewer English learner and RFEP students compared with noncharter
schools. Similarly, the EdSource report found that charter
schools serve lower proportions of students with disabilities
compared to noncharter schools at all grade levels. The study
also found that charter schools serve fewer students that
participate in the Free and Reduced-Price Meal Program in both
elementary and middle school compared to noncharter schools, but
slightly more students in high school compared to noncharter
schools.
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------------------------------------------------------------------ (Source: Charter Schools in California: 2009 Update on Issues
and Performance, EdSource)
A November 2009 report by The Civil Rights Project makes policy
recommendations with regard to segregation in charter schools.
They recommend that charter schools could "use many of the same
provisions that helped magnet schools use choice to increase
diversity. These include providing full and extensive
information, outreach to all racial/ethnic, socioeconomic and
linguistic groups, no admissions/attendance/parent involvement
requirements, and free transportation." They also recommend
that "tracking and publicly reporting basic information about
students should be a requirement for any school that receives
public funding. Charter schools should be evaluated to ensure
that they are enrolling, retaining, and graduating proportional
shares of students by race/ethnicity, ELL status, socioeconomic
status, and students with disabilities as their surrounding
districts. Schools could also be required to report the number
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of students in different subgroups who apply to the charter
school compared to those who actually enroll, among schools that
are over-subscribed. OCR could and should do this. The federal
government should also reinstate its former practice of
providing annual reports on the state of charter schools."
The committee should consider, with this data in mind, whether
charter school admissions preferences based on a parent's
contribution of time or money could have an impact on student
diversity at charter schools.
Committee Amendments : Staff recommends the bill be amended to
clarify that charter schools shall not use admission preferences
based on a parent's contribution of time to support school
activities or a parent's financial contribution to the school.
Arguments in Support : The California Teachers Association (CTA)
supports the bill and argues, "While low-income families are
less likely to be able to contribute time and money to a charter
school, they are a population that should be targeted by the
charter school system. CTA believes that the establishment of
charter schools should in part address increased learning
opportunities for all pupils with special emphasis on expanded
learning experiences for pupils who are identified as
academically low achieving. Further, CTA believes
discrimination is incompatible with quality education and that
all forms of discrimination must be eliminated. The bill seeks
to put a stop to inappropriate practices. Some students are
screened out through admissions policies created at some charter
schools, in order to boost test scores. Data show that
low-income students, English language learners, and populations
in need of special education services are served far less often
at charter schools than at traditional public schools."
Arguments in Opposition : The California Charter Schools
Association Advocates opposes the bill and argues, the law
allows a charter school lottery to "include preferences designed
to help the school fulfill its mission. Preferences typically
are used for placement of students in appropriate classes in
mission driven schools (such as a school that specializes in the
arts or STEM). They may also be used by dual immersion programs
to secure the appropriate balance in languages to ensure the
effectiveness of the program. It is not uncommon for
preferences to be used by a school to actually improve the
school's diversity and achieve its mission as approved in its
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petition. Regardless of the preference, it is essential to note
that preferences must be approved by the school district or
other charter school authorizer. This protects against
unsubstantiated charges that charter schools are creaming the
best of the best students or are demanding volunteer time and
money in order for the child to be considered for enrollment."
Previous legislation : AB 1034 (Gatto) from 2011, which was
vetoed by the Governor, would have made changes to the
requirements for charter schools regarding student demographic
data and admissions requirements, as specified. The Governor
vetoed the bill with the following message:
I am returning Assembly Bill 1034 without my signature.
Charter schools are established to encourage the widest
possible range of innovation and creativity. Their
governing charters reflect the ideas and aspirations of
those willing to undertake this profoundly difficult
challenge. It is critical that they have the flexibility to
set admission criteria and parent involvement practices
that are consistent with the school's mission.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Federation of Teachers
California School Boards Association
California School Employees Association
California Teachers Association
Opposition
California Charter Schools Association Advocates
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087