BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2032
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 16, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2032 (Mendoza) - As Amended: April 26, 2012
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:7-3
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill requires the procedures for suspending and expelling a
pupil included in a charter school petition to include all of
the following:
1)A list of acts for which a pupil enrolled in a charter school
must be suspended or expelled and a list of acts for which a
pupil may be suspended or expelled.
2)Suspension and expulsion procedures, including the maximum
length of time for which a pupil may be suspended.
3)Procedures, including timeframes, by which parents/guardians
and pupils will be informed of the reasons for the suspension
or expulsion and will be informed of their due process rights,
including a right to a hearing and the right to view evidence
and interview witnesses. Further requires the procedures to
accommodate the right of pupils with disabilities consistent
with federal law.
4)A process by which the procedures will be periodically
reviewed.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Annual GF/98 cost pressure of approximately $400,000 to
charter schools to comply with an expanded petition process
implementing policies/procedures related to pupil suspension
and expulsions, including due process measures. According to
the State Department of Education (SDE), 12,851 pupils were
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suspended from charter schools in 2009-10. During this same
time period, 414 pupils were expelled.
2)The current pupil suspension and expulsion mandates that apply
to non-charter public schools total approximately $10.7
million GF/98 annually. Charter schools are not permitted to
claim for state reimbursable mandated costs.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . The Los Angeles Unified School District, sponsor of
this bill, reveals it "has experienced students from charter
schools being referred back to the district before being
expelled by the charter and the failure of charter schools to
notify the district of the expulsion. There seems to be
little evidence of consistent student discipline policies
among charter schools. Reasons for student expulsion range
from laughing at a teacher who tripped, lack of parent
volunteer hours, to attempted sexual assault. Hearing and
appeal processes are similarly varied or non-existent."
According to the author, "Students expelled from charter
schools can be sent to public school districts to complete
their education. Public school officials, however, often
receive no information about disciplinary process or even the
reason for the expulsion. This bill will help public school
officials assist these students and will increase safety for
other students and school personnel."
2)Background . A charter school is a public school that may
provide instruction in any of grades K-12. It is usually
created or organized by a group of teachers, parents and
community leaders or a community-based organization. A charter
school may be authorized by an existing local public school
board, county board of education, or the State Board of
Education (SBE). Existing law requires a potential charter
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school to submit a petition to a governing board or SBE for
approval to establish the school. The petition is required to
include a description of the educational program of the school
and several other policies and procedures relating to
employees, pupils, and finances. A potential charter school
is not required to delineate policies and procedures in their
petition for suspending or expelling pupils. Statute,
however, does require a charter to notify the superintendent
of the school district in which the pupil is last known to
have lived within 30 days, if the pupil is expelled or leaves
the school without graduating or completing the school year
for any reason.
Likewise, specific goals and operating procedures for the
charter school are detailed in an agreement (charter) between
the sponsoring board and charter organizers. A charter school
is generally exempt from most laws governing school districts,
except where specifically noted in the law. As such, charter
schools are not required to follow existing statute related to
the suspension or expulsion of pupils enrolled in non-charter
public schools.
According to the State Department of Education (SDE), there
were 919 charter schools with an enrollment of 375,358 pupils
in 2010-11.
3)Are charter schools eligible for mandate reimbursement ?
According to a May 2006 decision by the CSM, charter schools
are not eligible to claim mandate reimbursements. In denying
charter schools' mandate claims, the CSM repeatedly cites the
fact that charter schools are "voluntarily" created.
Furthermore, the CSM agrees with the following comments of the
Department of Finance: "Unlike school districts, charter
schools upon seeking to be chartered and upon having their
charter reauthorized every five years, operate optional
programs and thus choose to accept the State's requirements
for such operation. . . . The charter school is simply an
alternative to traditional public schools and are voluntarily
created and reauthorized."
The CSM further cites existing statute that does not define a
charter school as a school district. Specifically, it stated:
"Charter schools are not mentioned in the mandate statutes
(Government Code section 17500 et seq.), nor are they
considered "school districts" for purposes of mandate
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reimbursements in the charter school statutes (Education Code
(EC) 47600 et seq.). Charter schools were established in 1992,
long after the Commission's statutory scheme in 1984. Although
both statutory schemes have been amended in recent years, the
Legislature has not amended either scheme to make charter
schools eligible claimants."
4)Governor's K-12 mandate block grant proposal includes charter
schools . The January 2012-13 proposed budget eliminates
approximately 25 (50%) of the 50 K-12 mandates and establishes
a K-12 optional mandate block grant as a mechanism for local
education agencies (LEAs) and charter schools to receive state
reimbursement for the remaining 25 mandates, including all
mandates related to pupil suspension and expulsion. Under
current law, charter schools do not receive reimbursement for
state mandate claims.
The majority of the 25 mandates that are proposed to be
eliminated are already suspended in the current year pursuant
to 2011 Budget Act. Pupil suspension and expulsion mandates
are currently active; the governor's proposal, however,
eliminates these mandates.
The 2012-13 proposed budget provides $178 million for the new,
optional mandate block grant, which funds the remaining 25
mandates. This funding equates to approximately $30 per pupil
for school districts, $89 per pupil for COEs, and $26 per
pupil for charter schools. LEAs and charter schools can either
choose to participate or submit mandate claims directly to the
CSM, which is the current process for reimbursement. It is
unclear, however, that the CSM will accept charter school
claims based on previous decisions. If an LEA or a charter
school receives the block grant funding, they are required to
meet all activities associated with the 25 mandates funded in
the block grant.
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081