BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 745
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Date of Hearing: June 22, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
SB 745 (Hernandez) - As Amended: March 21, 2011
SENATE VOTE : 21-14
SUBJECT : Pupils: school attendance: school districts of
choice.
SUMMARY : Requires a school district of choice (DOC) to give
admissions priority to English learners; pupils with exceptional
needs; and, pupils who are eligible for free and reduced-price
meals. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires a DOC to give first admissions priority to siblings
of pupils already in attendance in that district.
2)Requires a DOC to give second admissions priority to the
following pupils:
a) English learners;
b) Pupils who are individuals with exceptional needs; and,
c) Pupils who are eligible for free and reduced-price
meals.
3)Specifies that if the number of priority pupils who request a
particular school exceeds the number of spaces available at
that school, the school district shall conduct a lottery in
the group priority order identified to select pupils at random
until all of the spaces are filled.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Under the DOC authorization, established by AB 19
(Quackenbush), Chapter 160, Statutes of 1993, a school board
may declare the district to be a DOC willing to accept a
specified number of inter-district transfers. A DOC is not
required to admit pupils but it is required to select those
pupils that it does elect to admit through a random process
that does not choose pupils based upon academic or athletic
talent. Either the district of residence or DOC may prevent a
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transfer under this law if the transfer would exacerbate
racial segregation. Each DOC is required to keep records of:
1) The number of requests granted, denied, or withdrawn as
well as the reasons for the denials; 2) The number of pupils
transferred out of the district; and, 3) The number of pupils
transferred into the district. The Legislative Analyst is
required to make specified information available to the
Governor and the Legislature annually. The DOC program
becomes inoperative on July 1, 2016 and repealed on January 1,
2017. (Education Code Section 48300-48316)
2)Requires a DOC to give priority for attendance to siblings of
children already in attendance in that district, and
authorizes a DOC to give priority for attendance to children
of military personnel. (Education Code 48306)
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : California law provides that a student may attend a
DOC without obtaining an interdistrict transfer. Unlike the
main interdistrict transfer law, the DOC law does not require
agreement between the DOR and the receiving district in order
for the receiving DOC to admit interdistrict transfers.
Transfer priority is given to the siblings of transfer students
already attending school in the DOC. Some educational advocates
have credited the DOC program with expanding parental choice by
removing geographical restrictions, thereby expanding
educational opportunities for children. Others, however,
maintain that the DOC program limits educational opportunities
and choice for students, as some districts employ selective
processes and recruitment. Anecdotal evidence suggests that
some DOCs recruit higher performing students, while neglecting
those who require additional academic assistance. Additionally,
a lack of data on the DOC program has raised questions of the
demographic makeup and academic profile of the populations that
the program serves. This bill requires DOCs to grant priority
to English learners, students with exceptional needs and
students who qualify for free and reduced priced meals.
According to the author, this bill will guarantee the same
priority for attendance to the most vulnerable,
socio-economically disadvantaged students, and students with
special needs. It will allow parents to secure for their
children the best public education available in a traditional
public school setting. Expanding priority to this group of
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pupils will also prevent districts of choice from cherry picking
students-enrolling top students while avoiding those who score
historically lower and cost more to educate.
Priority Admission : Under current law, DOCs must utilize a
random selection process in its application process if the
number of transfer requests exceeds the number of available
transfer spaces. The current DOC program also provides that a
district may not reject the transfer of a student with
exceptional needs or an English learner under any circumstances.
However, educators in the field have noted that the DOC program
has failed to adequately serve these high need students. This
bill provides a pathway to create a more inclusive DOC program
by requiring DOCs to prioritize English learners, students with
exceptional needs and students who qualify for free and reduced
priced meals.
Academic Performance Index (API) Score Requirement : Last year,
this bill's author carried AB 2370 which was substantially
similar to this bill, however it also included a provision
requiring students who utilize the DOC program to transfer to a
higher performing school. That requirement is absent from SB
745. The committee may wish to consider adding that requirement
to this measure, to better align the DOC program with the
standards set by the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Committee Amendment : Staff recommends the bill be amended to
include a requirement that students who transfer under the DOC
program, must transfer to a school with a higher API score than
their school of residence.
Previous Legislation: AB 2370 (Hern�ndez) from 2010, which
failed passage in the Senate Education Committee, would have
established second tier priorities for attendance in a district
of choice, and required that pupils who transfer into the
district be enrolled in a school with an Academic Performance
Index score that is higher than the school in which the pupil
was previously enrolled.
SB 680 (Romero), Chapter 198, Statutes of 2009, extended the DOC
program to July 1, 2016 and included various provisions
pertaining to the admission of students under the DOC program.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
SB 745
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Support
Alhambra Unified School District
Azusa Unified School District
Baldwin Park Unified School District
Charter Oak Unified School District
Disability Rights California
El Monte Union High School District
Pasadena Unified School District
Rowland Unified School District
Santa Clara County Office of Education
Whittier City School District
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087