BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1919
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1919 (Brownley)
As Amended May 10, 2012
Majority vote
EDUCATION 6-3 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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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, Norby, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires a school district be provided a secondary
Academic Performance Index (API) that includes the API scores of
the charter schools for which the school district is the
chartering authority; and, requires a school district to have
access to individual pupil data relating to pupils who attend a
charter school for which the school district is the chartering
authority, as specified. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a school district to have access to individual pupil
demographic data, program data, and achievement data,
including but not limited to, the results of the
standards-based achievement tests that are part of the
Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program, the results
of the English language development tests, and the individual
results of the high school exit examination relating to pupils
who attend a charter school for which the school district is
the chartering authority.
2)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to
provide this data to the extent it has the data, along with
the unique pupil identification number of each of those
pupils, to the school district.
3)Requires a school district to have access to view and download
the individual pupil records in the California Longitudinal
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Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) for pupils who attend
a charter school for which the school district is the
chartering authority.
4)Specifies that a school district's secondary API score shall
be used only for school district purposes, and shall not be
used for any statewide accountability purpose.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, General Fund (GF) administrative costs to CDE,
between $42,000 and $125,000, to meet the requirements of this
measure.
COMMENTS : According to the author, California has established
rigorous academic standards for its students and has developed
specific measures to determine if these standards are being
achieved. Existing law establishes several measures of student
performance, such as the STAR Program, and requires all schools,
including charter schools, to report results to the CDE. Some
charter schools independently report the information directly to
CDE, while other schools report the information through the
school district which authorized it. Currently, a school
district that wishes to obtain student-level achievement data
for students who attend an independently reporting charter
school within its jurisdiction must request the information
separately from each of the various schools, costing time and
resources that school districts cannot afford. This bill will
also require school districts be provided a second API that
includes all charter schools for which the school district is
the chartering authority, in order to provide better oversight
and accountability for all students.
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Data Request: In
2010, LAUSD requested from the CDE, student level assessment
data for students attending charter schools that were authorized
by the school district. In his October 12, 2010, response to
this request, Superintendent of Public Instruction O'Connell
wrote, "Current state law, California Education Code Section
60607 indicates that:
Any pupil results or a record of accomplishment shall be
private, and may not be released to any person, other than
the pupil's parent or guardian and a teacher, counselor or
administrator directly involved with the pupil, without the
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express written consent of either the parent or guardian of
the pupil if the pupil is a minor, or the pupil if the
pupil has reached the age of majority or is emancipated.
Because of the legal restrictions imposed on the release of
student-level assessment data, the CDE is unable to fulfill your
current request. If you received these data in the past they
were delivered in error."
This bill requires that school districts have access to this
data for all charter schools for which the district is the
chartering authority. According to LAUSD, increasing student
achievement is a key goal for school districts, and an analysis
of pupil data is necessary to ensure students' needs are met.
Access to individual student demographic and achievement data is
important to assess how students are faring. With this
information, districts can determine if sub-groups such as
English-learners, low income students or certain demographic
groups are succeeding. For charter schools that are authorized
by a school district, current law only allows the district
access to aggregate school-level data. Given that districts are
responsible for renewing school charter agreements, access to
pupil data for a district's charters is necessary to properly
evaluate the performance of students at the charter school.
Without this information, it is difficult for districts to know
if the needs of certain groups of students are being met by the
charter school. Access to this information through the CDE
allows school districts to get an accurate, complete picture of
student achievement at all of its schools.
Alternative API: This bill requires a school district be
provided an alternative API that includes the student-level data
from the charter schools authorized by the district. According
to LAUSD, a district-level API score that includes all of a
school district's schools--both traditional and charter--allows
the school district to be truly accountable for all the schools
under its purview. Great care is taken when a district
authorizes a charter school, and it is appropriate that a
district-level API incorporate all students that attend schools
for which a district is responsible.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087
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