BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �






                  SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUDGET AND FISCAL REVIEW
                                Mark Leno, Chair
                                        
          Bill No:       AB 1464
          Author:        Committee on Budget
          As Amended:    June 12, 2014
          Consultant:    Jody Martin, Jennifer Troia
          Fiscal:        Yes
          Hearing Date:  June 15, 2014
          
          Subject:  Budget Act of 2014: Local Control Funding Formula  
          (LCFF)

          Summary:  Provides the statutory changes necessary to enact  
          education-related provisions of the Budget Act of 2014.

          Background:  As part of the 2014-15 budget, AB 1464 makes  
          the statutory changes necessary to implement the Budget  
          Act.  Specifically, this bill would:

          1)Appropriate Funds for LCFF: Appropriates $4.8 billion  
            from the General Fund for allocation through LCFF to  
            local educational agencies (LEAs) ($4.7 billion for  
            school districts and charter schools and $25.9 million  
            for county offices of education (COEs);

          2)Revise the Calculation of Unduplicated Pupils:  Authorize  
            schools participating in Provisions 2 or 3 of the  
            National School Lunch Program (which allow for free meals  
            to be provided to all enrolled pupils at schools with  
            very high poverty rates) to establish base-year student  
            eligibility for free or reduced-price meals no less than  
            once every four years, provided that they annually update  
            their counts of eligible students, as specified.  Require  
            the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to revise  
            an LEA's three-year rolling average number of  
            unduplicated students by using 2014-15 student data in  
            place of 2013-14, if doing so would increase the LEA's  
            rolling average.  Expresses legislative intent to review,  
            for each school district and COE, the enrollment of  
            unduplicated pupils for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 fiscal  
            years, and provides one time funding, if necessary for  
            those with higher enrollment of unduplicated pupils in  
            2014-15 compared to 2013-14.  Further, refines the  
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            definition of foster youth for purposes of calculating  
            unduplicated pupils;

          3)Revise Provisions Related to Economic Recovery Targets  
            (ERTs):  Specifies that 2013-14 average daily attendance  
            calculations are final as of the second principal  
            apportionment (P-2) for purposes of establishing ERTs.  
            Additionally, clarifies that the full ERT amount shall be  
            added on to the LCFF when the LCFF is fully implemented,  
            and that ERTs shall (rather than may) be subject to  
            property tax offsets; 

          4)Clarify the Definition of Homeless Students:  Clarifies  
            the district of residence for homeless students and  
            associated LCFF funding provided to COEs.  Specifically,  
            the determination would be based on the largest (in terms  
            of average daily attendance) applicable non-basic aid  
            district serving the student's grade level;

          5)Make Other Changes to LCFF Calculations: 

               a.     Requires the base entitlement for the  
                 transition to the LCFF to be adjusted to reflect the  
                 exclusion of one-time redevelopment agency liquid  
                 asset recovery revenue, as specified;

               b.     Sets the point-in-time (P-2/Annual) for  
                 specified calculations, including revenue limits,  
                 charter grants, necessary small schools, and charter  
                 school physical locations;

               c.     Repeals the unique revenue limit funding  
                 adjustment related to an inter-district attendance  
                 agreement between the Fallbrook Union High School  
                 District and the Capistrano Unified School District,  
                 and requires the amount of state apportionments  
                 provided to these districts for the 2012-13 fiscal  
                 year to be included in specified computations  
                 related to the LCFF, consistent with LCFF existing  
                 provisions that ensure no district receives less  
                 funding than it did in 2012-13. These districts will  
                 continue to have a unique inter-district transfer  
                 for the purpose of receiving federal impact aid  
                 funds;
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          6)Make Changes Impacting Charter Schools: 

               a.     Requires charter schools to annually report  
                 their physical location to the State Department of  
                 Education no later than November 30 of each fiscal  
                 year, and specifies when the physical location is  
                 considered final for specified purposes; 

               b.     Adds juvenile court students to the list of  
                 students for which a county program charter can  
                 receive a county rate and clarifies LCFF  
                 apportionments for county students attending a  
                 county program charter;

               c.     Clarifies that all-charter districts can  
                 continue to receive declining enrollment adjustments  
                 under the LCFF; repeal prior language that allowed  
                 all-charter districts to receive declining  
                 enrollment adjustments under the former Charter  
                 School Block Grant; and clarifies that for purposes  
                 of LCFF, all-charter districts are treated as school  
                 districts;

               d.     Specifies that excess in-lieu payments made to  
                 charter schools would be used to offset state aid;

               e.     Clarifies the "gap" funding calculation for  
                 countywide charter schools with students from basic  
                 aid districts by utilizing prior year basic aid  
                 status to compute in-lieu payments during the  
                 transition to full LCFF implementation; 

               f.     Authorizes county charter programs to seek  
                 in-lieu payments from the district of residence for  
                 students not funded under the county rate (with the  
                 aim of treating county program charters in the same  
                 manner as county offices of education); and

               g.     Clarifies that the oversight fee paid by a  
                 charter school to the entity that provides oversight  
                 will be calculated on the charter school's annual  
                 LCFF allocation;

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          1)Clarify Supplemental Revenue Augmentation Fund (SRAF)  
            Transfer: Authorize the Director of Finance to determine  
            the amount of restricted excess local property tax  
            revenue available for transfer to SRAF. Clarifies that  
            COEs should report to the State Controller's Office  
            (SCO), rather than the county auditor-controller, SRAF  
            funds that offset General Fund costs of the trial courts,  
            since SCO implements that offset; 

          2)Conform Instructional Day/Time Penalties:  Makes COE and  
            four-day school week instructional day and minute-related  
            requirements and penalties the same as those applicable  
            to school districts under the LCFF.  COEs and four-day  
            school week programs would continue to be authorized,  
            through 2014-15, to reduce the minimum required school  
            year by up to five days of instruction, or the equivalent  
            number of instructional minutes without incurring  
            penalties;

          3)Clarify Basic Aid Program Adjustments:  Clarifies that  
            basic aid choice, open enrollment, supplemental, and  
            court-ordered voluntary pupil adjustments are based on  
            LCFF target base grants, not the necessary small school  
            funding rates, if the student's district of residence is  
            funded as a necessary small school;

          4)Revise Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) Review  
            Provisions:  Specifies that the SPI shall perform the  
            duties of a county superintendent of schools with respect  
            to approval of an LCAP if the county superintendent of  
            schools has jurisdiction over only a single school  
            district.  This change would be consistent with the SPI's  
            role in reviewing and approving the budgets for such  
            districts;  

          5)Make Changes Related to Out-of-State Tuition: Clarifies  
            that county superintendents and school districts may  
            continue authorizing students to attend schools in  
            adjoining states and out-of-state tuition  
            average-daily-attendance is credited to the school  
            district of residence;

          6)Reimburse LEAs for 2013-14 Out-of-State Tuition Costs:   
            Reimburses LEAs for out-of-state tuition and  
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            transportation costs incurred in the 2013-14 fiscal year.  
             This change is intended to provide a one-time hold  
            harmless payment of those costs for districts that  
            entered into out-of-state tuition contracts before last  
            year's enactment of LCFF-related statutes, which  
            otherwise would require the county superintendent to pay  
            for these expenses;

          7)Require LCFF Implementation Report: Requires the State  
            Board of Education, working in collaboration with the  
            Department of Education, to report to the Legislature, no  
            later than February 1, 2015, regarding the status of LCFF  
            implementation; 

          8)Modify LCAP Template Adoption Process: Allows the State  
            Board of Education, until January 31, 2018, to adopt the  
            LCAP template pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Open Meetings  
            Act process, with specified restrictions, rather than the  
            Administrative Procedures Act;  

          9)Repeal COE Funding Restrictions: Repeals restrictions on  
            COEs funding for special day classes. Authorizes COEs to  
            spend funds previously deposited as capital outlay  
            reserves for any purposes specified in its LCAP; 

          10)Make changes related to Necessary Small Schools (NSS):  
            Clarifies that the SPI, not a county superintendent of  
            schools, calculates NSS funding for qualifying districts.  
            Expand the definition of a necessary small high school  
            for certain high schools for three years; 

          11)Revise Maximum Class Size Penalties Methodology: Revises  
            the methodology for assessing penalties for exceeding  
            maximum class size limits based upon the new grade-level  
            funding rates under LCFF;

          12)Require Funding Pass-Through in Certain Districts to  
            Support the Continuation of Beginning Teacher Induction  
            Services:  For the 2013-14 and 2014-15 fiscal years,  
            require the Alameda County Superintendent of Schools to  
            withhold a specified amount from the local control  
            funding formula apportionments of the Newark Unified  
            School District, and from those withheld funds, to  
            allocate funding to four other districts that previously  
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            received such amounts as funds passed through by the  
            Newark Unified School District (serving as a fiscal  
            agent) for purposes of beginning teacher induction and  
            training services;


          13)Include Other Provisions:  Makes other technical  
            changes; provides that, if the Commission on State  
            Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated  
            by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made  
            pursuant to existing law; and declare that it is to take  
            effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations  
            related to the budget bill.

          Fiscal Effect: Funds appropriated in this bill would be  
          applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school  
          and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of  
          Article XVI of the California Constitution (Proposition  
          98).

          Support:   Unknown

          Opposed:  Unknown

          Comments:  As part of the 2013 Budget Act, the LCFF  
          replaced the state's prior system of distributing funds to  
          LEAs through revenue limit apportionments (per student  
          average daily attendance) and approximately 50 state  
          categorical education programs.  These historic changes  
          were intended to increase local control of K-12 education,  
          to ensure that student needs drive the allocation of  
          resources, and to increase transparency in school funding.   
          The LCFF also included new requirements for local planning  
          and accountability and a new system of support and  
          intervention for underperforming school districts that do  
          not meet their goals for improving student outcomes.  The  
          changes contained in this trailer bill are intended to  
          refine related statutes and to further these purposes of  
          the LCFF.





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