BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 754
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Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 754 (Padilla) - As Amended: August 6, 2012
Policy Committee: Education Vote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill requires a school district, as a condition of
receiving Economic Impact Aid (EIA) funding, to post online and
in an easily accessible location, the following data related to
EIA funding:
1)The amount of EIA allocated to the school district in that
fiscal year (FY).
2)The amount of EIA used by the district for administrative
costs in that FY.
3)The amount of EIA expended for limited English proficient
pupils (EL pupils) and state compensatory education
(educationally disadvantaged pupils) in that FY and the prior
FY by the school district and each school within the district.
4)The amount of unexpended EIA and an explanation for why these
funds have not been expended.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Annual GF/98 costs, likely between $200,000 and $400,000, to
local education agencies (LEAs) to meet the requirements of
this bill. There were 1,015 LEAs that received EIA funding in
the 2011-12 FY. Actual costs will depend on the number of
schools within each district that receive EIA funding.
2)The 2012 Budget Act allocates $944.45 million GF/98 for the
EIA program. Charter schools also receive EIA funding,
totaling $105.8 million GF/98. The EIA program is one of only
six categorical programs that are currently not provided with
flexibility or incur the 19.8% reduction imposed on the
majority of categorical programs.
SB 754
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COMMENTS
1)Rationale . According to the author, "English Learners have
the lowest graduation rate of any student demographic. 31%
percent of English Learners who make it to ninth grade drop
out before graduation. While some English Learners receive
their high school diploma, only 13% of English Learners will
earn a bachelor's degree. Currently, districts do not report
school-level funding figures, instead they use district
averages. While many districts do post their budgets online,
they only list funds in broad categories. The public does not
have access to specific, school level expenditures. Parents
and communities are largely unaware of how schools spend
English Learner funds because school districts are not
required to report or post them."
2)The EIA program provides supplemental funding to school
districts to provide additional services to English language
learner (ELL) pupils and for educationally disadvantaged
pupils (as identified by federal Title I counts - poor, needy
pupils). Specifically, this funding is required to be used to
help ELL pupils achieve English proficiency and educationally
disadvantaged students to achieve academic proficiency. For
example, districts may purchase supplemental instructional
materials or hire paraprofessionals or supplemental resource
teachers. This funding is required to supplement an eligible
pupil's education, not supplant existing funding at a
schoolsite.
School districts receive EIA funding based on the number of
ELL and economically disadvantaged pupils. Likewise,
districts that have a high concentration of these pupils (more
than 50%) receive additional funding. According to the State
Department of Education (SDE) data, 1,015 school districts and
county offices of education (COEs) received a total of $944.45
million GF/98 in EIA funding in the 2011-12 FY. SDE data
reports districts and COEs received an average of $337.54 per
EIA eligible pupil for a total of 2.8 million pupils. Of the
$944.45 million, approximately 48% of funding is allocated
based on the number of ELL pupils, 44% of funding is allocated
based on the number of economically disadvantaged pupils, and
approximately 8% of funding is allocated based on the
concentration factor (districts with more than 50% of EIA
eligible pupils).
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Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081