BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 614
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Date of Hearing: June 22, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
SB 614 (Kehoe) - As Amended: April 26, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 33-1
SUBJECT : After School Education and Safety Program
SUMMARY : Authorizes the After School Education and Safety
Programs (ASES) to offer age-and gender-appropriate self-defense
and safety awareness training. Finds and declares that
amendments to the ASES program further the purposes of the ASES
Program Act of 2002.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the ASES program through the 2002 voter approved
initiative, Proposition 49. The ASES program funds the
establishment of local before and after school education and
enrichment programs, which are created through partnerships
between schools and local community resources to provide
literacy, academic enrichment and safe constructive
alternatives for students in kindergarten through ninth grade.
(Education Code (EC) 8482)
2)Requires the ASES program to have an educational and literacy
element in which tutoring or homework assistance is provided
in specified content areas and an educational enrichment
element that may include, but is not limited to, fine arts,
career technical education, recreation, physical fitness, and
prevention activities. (EC 8482.3)
3)Specifies requirements for the operation of ASES, including
maximum grant levels, local matching requirements, priority
for funding, and authorized expenditures. (EC 8482.5 -
8484.6)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : The ASES program . The ASES program, passed by voters
as Proposition 49 in 2002, provides almost $550 million annually
to before and after school programs for students in kindergarten
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through grade 9. In 2010-11, 450 predominantly districts and
county offices of education received grants, although local
governments and nonprofit organizations working in partnership
with local educational agencies may also apply. After school
programs must commence right after school and at least until 6
p.m. for 15 hours per week. Direct grants are provided in three
one-year increments with maximum grants at $112,500 per year for
elementary schools and $150,000 per year for middle or junior
high schools based on a per pupil amount of $7.50 per day.
Priority for funding goes to schools where at least 50% of the
pupils are eligible for free- or reduced-priced lunch. Each
program is required to provide a match equal to not less than
one-third of the total grant. Facilities may count towards 25%
of the local contribution.
Participating after-school programs are required to have the
following elements:
1)An educational and literacy component in which tutoring or
homework assistance is provided in one or more of the
following areas: language arts, mathematics, history and
social science, computer training, or sciences.
2)An educational enrichment component, which may include, but is
not limited to, fine arts, career technical education,
recreation, physical fitness and prevention activities.
This bill specifies that providing opportunities for physical
activity may include age- and gender-appropriate self-defense
and safety awareness training. The author states, "Although
districts have authority to provide age-appropriate self-defense
and safety awareness training in specified grade levels, they
are generally prevented from offering that training due to
fiscal constraints. ASES programs provide an opportunity for
schools to offer physical activity in the form of self-defense
and safety awareness training, which are included by the State
Board of Education in physical education curriculum frameworks,
but ASES programs do not have explicit authority to provide
self-defense and safety awareness training to students."
The ASES program does not dictate what type of educational
enrichment activity must be offered. It can be argued that
self-defense and safety awareness training is a type of physical
activity and can therefore be offered currently. In fact, some
programs currently offer martial arts training, which can be
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considered a type of self-defense activity. The author is
concerned that victims of violent crime are occurring at younger
and younger ages and advocates for a greater state and school
district role in familiarizing students with self-defense
techniques that can help them manage and avoid physically
threatening situations. Last year, the author introduced SB
1290 (Chapter 703, Statutes of 2010), which requires the State
Board of Education and the Curriculum Development Commission and
Supplemental Materials Commission to include self-defense and
safety training instruction in the next revision of the physical
education framework. The process for adopting frameworks and
instructional materials, which are based on those frameworks,
has been suspended until 2015-16 due to the budget crisis.
Arguments in Support . The California National Organization for
Women, the sponsor of this bill, states, "In recent years, we
have seen an unfortunate number of teenage and pre-teen children
experiencing physical attacks, assaults, and kidnappings, which
too frequently turn fatal. While we recognize that there is no
way to completely ensure that a child will be safe from a
violent attack, our state should not fail to take every
precaution possible to reduce and eliminate this possibility."
Related legislation . SB 429 (DeSaulnier), also scheduled for
this Committee's June 22nd agenda, authorizes after school
programs to use ASES supplemental grants to extend summer,
intersession or vacation programs from three hours to six hours,
enroll any student attending a school in the district, operate
at an alternate location, and make adjustments to attendance
accounting procedures for operating a six hour program.
Prior related legislation . AB 2705 (Hall), introduced last
year, would have required specified time requirements for
moderate to vigorous physical activity for pupils in physical
education courses and pupils participating in the ASES program.
The bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee
suspense file.
SB 1290 (Kehoe), Chapter 703, Statutes of 2010, requires the
State Board of Education and the Curriculum Development
Commission and Supplemental Materials Commission to include
self-defense and safety training instruction in the next
revision of the physical education framework.
AB 2843 (Karnette), would have expanded the educational
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enrichment component of the ASES program to include foreign
languages and revised the term "fine arts" to "visual and
performing arts." The bill was vetoed by the Governor in 2008,
stating in his veto message that statutory authorization is not
necessary.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California National Organization for Women (sponsor)
California After School Coalition
California Association for Health, Physical Education,
Recreation and Dance
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087