BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 1290 (Alquist) - Charter Schools: Establishment, Renewal, and
Revocation
Amended: March 28, 2012 Policy Vote: Education 8-0
Urgency: No Mandate: See staff comments
Hearing Date: May 7, 2012 Consultant: Jacqueline
Wong-Hernandez
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 1290 requires charter school petitions to
address increases in pupil academic achievement, and requires
that chartering authorities consider increases in academic
achievement for all groups of pupils served by a charter school
as the most important factor in the renewal or revocation of a
charter.
Fiscal Impact:
Potentially significant local costs to require charter
authorizers (most of which are schools districts) to change
the way they evaluate renewals, and state costs for
state-authorized charter schools. These requirements could
constitute a reimbursable mandate because the schools
districts that have authorized charter schools do not have a
choice in having to review a charter renewal, even though
the charter was granted before this bill's new restrictions
were in effect. Thus, imposing new procedures on that
required renewal process could be determined to be a state
mandate on school districts.
In the event that no changes are made to charter approval,
renewal, and revocation statutes, the state risks losing up
to $290 million in federal funding is has already been
granted.
Background: Existing law authorizes anyone to develop,
circulate, and submit a petition to establish a charter school
and requires charter developers to collect certain signatures in
support of the petition, as specified. Current law requires
governing boards to grant a charter unless one or more of the
following applies: (1) The charter school presents an unsound
educational program; (2) the petitioners are demonstrably
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unlikely to successfully implement the program described in the
petition. (3) the petition does not contain the number of
required signatures; (4) the petition does not contain specified
required affirmations; or, (5) the petition does not contain
reasonably comprehensive descriptions of the educational
program, as specified.
Existing state law requires that after a charter school has been
in operation for four years, it must meet one of the following
criteria in order to be renewed: (1) Attainment of the school's
Academic Performance Index (API) growth target in two of the
last three years or in the aggregate last three years; (2) a
ranking in deciles 4 to 10, inclusive, on the API in the prior
year or in two of the last three years; (3) a ranking in deciles
4 to 10, inclusive, on the API for a demographically comparable
school in two of the last three years; (4) academic performance
that is at least equal to that of the public schools that the
charter school pupils would otherwise been required to attend;
or, (5) qualification for participation in the Alternative
School Accountability Model (ASAM). (EC � 47607)
Existing federal law establishes the Public Charter Schools
Grant Program (PCSGP) for the purpose of awarding grants to plan
and implement new charter schools. Federal law requires that
states participating in the program provide assurances that: (1)
each authorized charter school, among other things, demonstrates
improved student academic achievement and (2) authorized public
chartering agencies use increases in academic achievement for
all groups of students as the most important factor when
determining whether to renew or revoke a school's charter.
(Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010, Division D, Title III,
Public Law 111-117)
California currently participates in the PCSGP, administered by
the state Department of Education (CDE) and received $290
million in the 2010-15 program funding cycle to administer the
program. The PCSGP provides grants of up to $575,000 to plan and
implement new charter schools.
According to the CDE, the Department has been informed that
state statute governing charter approval, renewal, and
revocations is out of compliance with PCSGP requirements. The
CDE has not been able to resolve the issues administratively,
and was informed by the federal Department of Education that a
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statutory change was necessary. This bill attempts to make that
statutory change.
Proposed Law: This bill makes requirements for approving and
renewing a charter more stringent on local authorizers.
Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires a charter petition, in specifying measurable
pupil outcomes, to include outcomes that address increases
in pupil academic achievement both schoolwide and for all
groups of pupils served by the charter school, as
specified.
2) Requires a chartering authority to consider increases in
pupil academic achievement for all groups of pupils served
by a charter school as the most important factor in
determining whether to grant a charter renewal or revoke a
charter.
3) Deletes existing options for demonstrating academic
performance for charter renewal and instead specifies that
a charter school that has been in operation four years must
meet at least one of the following criteria before
receiving a renewal: (a) Attained its API growth target in
the prior year or in two of the last three years both
schoolwide and for all groups of pupils served by the
charter school; or (b) attained the measurable pupil
outcomes identified in the charter petition.
Staff Comments: This bill places new requirements on charter
schools and their authorizers. The local costs incurred by
charter schools would not be reimbursable state mandates because
charter schools choose to form and operate. It is not clear,
however, if new requirements on school districts that have
authorized charter schools and are statutorily bound to consider
their renewal or revocation would be eligible for reimbursement
for any new activities that could result from this legislation,
such as new procedures or evaluation criteria which demonstrate
adherence to the requirement to make schoolwide and subgroup
academic achievement the most important consideration in renewal
or revocation.
To the extent that the new criteria for eligibility result in
denying more charter renewals, there may be additional costs to
the state if the students attending those charter schools
transfer to traditional district schools. Charter schools are
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funded less than district schools and, while funding for
district school varies by district, charter schools are
typically funded at approximately $395 (7%) less per pupil than
district schools.
While the provisions of this bill may incur significant state
and local costs, those costs would be much less than the federal
funds jeopardized by inaction. This bill represents the CDE's
attempt to comply with federal PCSGP requirements. If statute is
not changed in a manner that meets minimum program requirements,
the state could lose its PCSGP funding and even have to
reimburse money that has already been given in grants to local
entities to establish new charter schools.