BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 917
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 917 (Bradford)
As Amended August 15, 2013
2/3 vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |53-23|(April 29, |SENATE: |26-11|(August 26, |
| | |2013) | | |2013) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |53-24|(August 30, | | | |
| | |2013) | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Requires a charter school petition to include
signatures from at least 50% of the total number of
nonsupervisorial certificated and classified employees the
petitioner estimates that will be employed by the charter school
in the first year of operation; requires a conversion charter
school petition to include at least 50% of the total number of
nonsupervisorial certificated and classified employees currently
employed at the school that is to be converted to a charter
school; and, requires the signature petition to prominently
display a statement that the classified employee has a
meaningful interest in working at the charter school.
The Senate amendments conform this measure to changes in
existing law due to the passage of AB 97 (Budget Committee),
Chapter 47, Statutes of 2013.
EXISTING LAW requires a petition seeking to establish a new
charter school to include signatures of at least one half of the
parents or guardians of students that the petitioner expects to
enroll in the charter school in the first year of operation, or
signatures by a number of teachers that is equal to at least
half the teachers estimated to be employed at the charter school
AB 917
Page 2
in the first year of operation; requires a petition seeking to
convert an existing public school to a charter school, to
include the signatures of no less than 50% of the permanent
status teachers employed at the public school proposed to be
converted to a charter school; and, requires the charter school
signature petition to prominently display a statement that the
signatures represent that either the parents have a meaningful
interest in having their child attend the charter school, or the
teachers have a meaningful interest in teaching at the charter
school.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, minor
absorbable costs, likely less than $80,000, to school districts
to implement this measure. Current law requires school district
governing boards to consider the level of support for the
charter petition by teachers and other employees of the
district.
COMMENTS : According to the California Department of Education
(CDE), the 2012-13 count of operating charter schools is 1,062
which includes three statewide benefit charters and 33 State
Board of Education approved charters, with student enrollment of
more than 456,000 in the state. Some charter schools are new,
while others are conversions from existing public schools.
Charter schools are part of the state's public education system
and are funded by public dollars.
Background on classified employees . This bill requires charter
school petitions to include 50% of the nonsupervisorial
certificated and classified employees the charter school
estimates will be employed by the charter school; and, requires,
for a conversion charter school petition, 50% of the
nonsupervisorial certificated and classified employees currently
employed at the school to be converted. Existing law requires
conversion charter school petitions to attain signatures from
50% of the permanent status teachers that currently work at a
school to be converted. According to the author, the provisions
of this bill achieve parity with regard to the signatures
required from permanent teachers by requiring signatures from
AB 917
Page 3
permanent classified staff, who are also at risk of losing their
jobs.
Would this make petitioning for a charter school more difficult ?
Requiring classified staff to sign a conversion charter school
petition will raise the number of total signatures required for
the petition. The number of classified staff at an individual
schoolsite varies greatly depending on the type of school, size
of school and resources at the schoolsite. Therefore, it is
difficult to assess whether attaining these additional
signatures will be a difficult barrier for a conversion charter
school petition. One could estimate that on a given schoolsite,
this signature requirement could vary from as few as three
signatures to nearly 60 signatures, in addition to the
signatures required for teachers. According to the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU), the number of classified
staff changes from schoolsite to schoolsite, depending on their
need for aides for English language learners and special
education students. In addition, some schools have paid
security personnel and playground supervisors, while some do
not. It is very hard to have an exact number because classified
staffing is driven on an as needed basis and funding basis. The
Legislature should consider how including classified employees
in the signature requirement will make the conversion petition
process more difficult.
According to the author, classified employees play a crucial
role in the safety and functionality of schools across the
state, including charter schools. Despite their positive
impact, current law excludes classified employees from taking
part in the petition process to establish a charter school.
Petitions for new charter schools must include signatures of at
least 50% of the parents or guardians of students expected to
enroll in the charter school in the first year of operation, or
signatures at least half the teachers estimated to be employed
at the charter school in the first year of operation. Petitions
seeking to convert an existing public school to a charter school
must include the signatures of no less than 50% of the permanent
status teachers employed at the public school proposed to be
converted to a charter school. This bill would expand the
existing charter school signature requirement to include
AB 917
Page 4
classified employees along with teachers. The bill does not
increase the existing percentage of signatures needed, it simply
expands the pool of potential signatories to include classified
workers. Classified employees have proven their commitment
throughout the years to the students, parents, and teachers of
charter schools. This bill would merely recognize their role.
Previous legislation : AB 86 (Mendoza) from 2011, which is
nearly identical to this bill and was vetoed by the Governor
with the following message:
Charter schools are a small but important part of the
California public school system. They vary by size,
mission, governing structure and educational
philosophy. Their purpose is to allow parents,
teachers and other interested citizens to form public
schools outside the more detailed regulatory
framework of the regular school system. They are
profoundly difficult to establish and even more
difficult to maintain and grow in excellence. Having
started two myself, I know whereof I speak.
Notwithstanding the important contributions
classified staff make to the operation of a school,
this bill would unnecessarily complicate an already
difficult charter school petition process. I believe
the existing law is tough enough.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
"This bill would impose additional requirements for establishing
or converting to a charter school.
"This bill is almost identical to AB 86, that I vetoed in 2011.
"I continue to believe the existing process is tough enough."
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN:
AB 917
Page 5
0002926