California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1573

Introduced by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer

January 30, 2014

An act to amend Sections 46201, 46300.8, and 52052 of, and to add Article 5 (commencing with Section 52078) to Chapter 6.1 of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of, the Education Code, relating to alternative schools.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1573, as introduced, Jones-Sawyer. Alternative schools: Student Achievement via Excellence accountability system: instructional time.

(1) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State Board of Education, to develop an Academic Performance Index (API) to measure the performance of schools and school districts, especially the academic performance of pupils. Existing law also requires the Superintendent, with the approval of the state board, to develop an alternative accountability system for schools under the jurisdiction of a county board of education or a county superintendent of schools, community day schools, nonpublic, nonsectarian schools, and alternative schools serving high-risk pupils, including continuation high schools and opportunity schools. Existing law provides that schools in the alternative accountability system may receive an API score, but shall not be included in the API rankings.

This bill would, by July 1, 2016, require the Superintendent, with the approval of the state board, to develop the Student Achievement via Excellence (SAVE) accountability system for the schools under the jurisdiction of a county board of education or a county superintendent of schools, community day schools, nonpublic, nonsectarian schools, and alternative schools, including continuation high schools and opportunity schools. The bill would require the SAVE accountability system to be designed in conformity with certain requirements, and would provide that its purpose is to annually measure the positive outcome performance of a covered school, as expressed by the school’s SAVE score. The bill would, among other things, require a school’s SAVE score to be calculated based upon 3 weighted categories: learning readiness, save rate, and academic achievement, and would specify indicators for each of these categories. The bill would require the SAVE accountability system to be fully implemented beginning with the 2016-17 school year.

(2) Existing law requires the governing board of each high school district and each unified school district to establish and maintain within its boundaries special continuation education classes whenever there are any minors residing within the district who are subject to compulsory continuation education, as provided. Existing law specifies that a day of attendance at a continuation high school and continuation education classes is 180 minutes. Existing law requires the state funding for county superintendents of schools and school districts, and charter schools that previously received a general-purpose entitlement, to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula, as specified. Existing law further requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to reduce the apportionment of certain school districts pursuant to a prescribed formula if the school district offers less than the required amount of instructional time, as specified. Existing law provides that the reduction shall not apply to continuation high schools, among others.

This bill would, for a school district that operates a continuation high school or provides continuation education classes to pupils, and that offers less than the required amount of instructional time, as specified, require the Superintendent to apply the same apportionment reduction formula to that school district that is applicable to certain other school districts, as specified. The bill would also make conforming changes.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as
The Fairness in Instruction Act.

SEC. 2.  

Section 46201 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

46201.  

(a) For each school district that received an
apportionment pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section, as it read
on January 1, 2013, begin insert or that operates a continuation high school
or provides continuation classes to pupils, end insert and that reduces the
amount of instructional time offered below the minimum amounts
specified in subdivision (b), the Superintendent shall withhold
from the school district’s local control funding formula grant
apportionment pursuant to Section 42238.02, as implemented by
Section 42238.03, for the average daily attendance of each affected
grade level, the sum of that apportionment multiplied by the
percentage of the minimum offered minutes at that grade level that
the school district failed to offer.

(b) Commencing with the 2013-14 fiscal year:

(1) Thirty-six thousand minutes in kindergarten.

(2) Fifty thousand four hundred minutes in grades 1 to 3,
inclusive.

(3) Fifty-four thousand minutes in grades 4 to 8, inclusive.

(4) Sixty-four thousand eight hundred minutes in grades 9 to
12, inclusive.

SEC. 3.  

Section 46300.8 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

46300.8.  

(a) Commencing with the 2014-15 school year,
attendance of pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, under the
immediate supervision and control of a certificated employee of
the school district or county office of education who is delivering
synchronous, online instruction shall be included in computing
average daily attendance, provided that all of the following occur:

(1) The certificated employee providing the instruction confirms
pupil attendance through visual recognition during the class period.
A pupil logon, without any other pupil identification, is not
sufficient to confirm pupil attendance.

(2) The class has regularly scheduled starting and ending times,
and the pupil is scheduled to attend the entire class period. Average
daily attendance shall be counted only for attendance in classes
held at the regularly scheduled time.

(3) An individual with exceptional needs, as defined in Section
56026, may participate in synchronous, online instruction only if
his or her individualized education program developed pursuant
to Article 3 (commencing with Section 56340) of Chapter 4 of
Part 30 specifically provides for that participation.

(4) If a school district or county office of education elects to
offer synchronous, online instruction pursuant to this paragraph,
the school district or county office of education shall not deny
enrollment to a pupil based solely on the pupil’s lack of access to
the computer hardware or software necessary to participate in the
synchronous, online course. If a pupil chooses to enroll in a
synchronous, online course and does not have access to the
necessary equipment, the school district or county office of
education shall provide, for each pupil who chooses to enroll in a
synchronous, online course, access to the computer hardware or
software necessary to participate in the synchronous, online course.

(5) The ratio of average daily attendance for synchronous, online
pupils who are 18 years of age or younger to school district
full-time equivalent certificated employees responsible for
synchronous, online instruction, calculated as specified by the
department, shall not exceed the equivalent ratio of pupils to
full-time certificated employees for all other educational programs
operated by the school district, unless a higher or lower ratio is
negotiated in a collective bargaining agreement.

(6) The ratio of average daily attendance for synchronous, online
pupils who are 18 years of age or younger to county office of
education full-time equivalent certificated employees who provide
synchronous, online instruction, to be calculated in a manner
prescribed by the department, shall not exceed the equivalent ratio
of pupils to full-time certificated employees for all other
educational programs operated by the high school or unified school
district with the greatest average daily attendance of pupils in that
county, unless a higher or lower ratio is provided for in a collective
bargaining agreement. The computation of the ratios specified in
paragraph (5) and this paragraph shall be performed annually by
the reporting agency at the time of, and in connection with, the
second principal apportionment report to the Superintendent.

(b) The Superintendent shall establish rules and regulations for
purposes of implementing this section that, at a minimum, address
all of the following:

(1) How school districts and county offices of education include
pupil attendance in online courses in the calculation of average
daily attendance pursuant to Section 46300.

(2) How to ensure a pupil meets minimum instructional time
requirements pursuant to the following:

(A) Section 46141 and Section 46201, 46201.5, or 46202, as
applicable, for pupils enrolled in a noncharter school in a school
district or county office of education.

(B)  begin delete Section 46170, end delete begin insert Sections 46170 and 46201, end insert for pupils
enrolled in a continuation school.

(C) Section 46180, for pupils enrolled in an opportunity school.

(3) Require statewide testing results for online pupils to be
reported and assigned to the school in which the pupil is enrolled
for regular classroom courses, and to any school district or county
office of education within which that school’s testing results are
aggregated.

(4) Require attendance accounted for pursuant to this section
to be subject to the audit conducted pursuant to Section 41020.

(c) The Superintendent may provide guidance regarding the
ability of a school district or county office of education to provide
synchronous, online instruction.

(d) For purposes of this section, “synchronous, online
instruction” means a class or course in which the pupil and the
certificated employee who is providing instruction are online at
the same time and use real-time, Internet-based collaborative
software that combines audio, video, file sharing, and other forms
of interaction.

(e) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2019, and,
as of January 1, 2020, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2020, deletes or
extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.

SEC. 4.  

Section 52052 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

52052.  

(a) (1) The Superintendent, with approval of the state
board, shall develop an Academic Performance Index (API), to
measure the performance of schools and school districts, especially
the academic performance of pupils.

(2) A school or school district shall demonstrate comparable
improvement in academic achievement as measured by the API
by all numerically significant pupil subgroups at the school or
school district, including:

(A) Ethnic subgroups.

(B) Socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils.

(C) English learners.

(D) Pupils with disabilities.

(E) Foster youth.

(3) (A) For purposes of this section, a numerically significant
pupil subgroup is one that consists of at least 30 pupils, each of
whom has a valid test score.

(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), for a subgroup of pupils
who are foster youth, a numerically significant pupil subgroup is
one that consists of at least 15 pupils.

(C) For a school or school district with an API score that is
based on no fewer than 11 and no more than 99 pupils with valid
test scores, numerically significant pupil subgroups shall be defined
by the Superintendent, with approval by the state board.

(4) (A) The API shall consist of a variety of indicators currently
reported to the department, including, but not limited to, the results
of the achievement test administered pursuant to Section 60640,
attendance rates for pupils in elementary schools, middle schools,
and secondary schools, and the graduation rates for pupils in
secondary schools.

(B) The Superintendent, with the approval of the state board,
may also incorporate into the API the rates at which pupils
successfully promote from one grade to the next in middle school
and high school, and successfully matriculate from middle school
to high school.

(C) Graduation rates for pupils in secondary schools shall be
calculated for the API as follows:

(i) Four-year graduation rates shall be calculated by taking the
number of pupils who graduated on time for the current school
year, which is considered to be three school years after the pupils
entered grade 9 for the first time, and dividing that number by the
total calculated in clause (ii).

(ii) The number of pupils entering grade 9 for the first time in
the school year three school years before the current school year,
plus the number of pupils who transferred into the class graduating
at the end of the current school year between the school year that
was three school years before the current school year and the date
of graduation, less the number of pupils who transferred out of the
school between the school year that was three school years before
the current school year and the date of graduation who were
members of the class that is graduating at the end of the current
school year.

(iii) Five-year graduation rates shall be calculated by taking the
number of pupils who graduated on time for the current school
year, which is considered to be four school years after the pupils
entered grade 9 for the first time, and dividing that number by the
total calculated in clause (iv).

(iv) The number of pupils entering grade 9 for the first time in
the school year four years before the current school year, plus the
number of pupils who transferred into the class graduating at the
end of the current school year between the school year that was
four school years before the current school year and the date of
graduation, less the number of pupils who transferred out of the
school between the school year that was four years before the
current school year and the date of graduation who were members
of the class that is graduating at the end of the current school year.

(v) Six-year graduation rates shall be calculated by taking the
number of pupils who graduated on time for the current school
year, which is considered to be five school years after the pupils
entered grade 9 for the first time, and dividing that number by the
total calculated in clause (vi).

(vi) The number of pupils entering grade 9 for the first time in
the school year five years before the current school year, plus the
number of pupils who transferred into the class graduating at the
end of the current school year between the school year that was
five school years before the current school year and the date of
graduation, less the number of pupils who transferred out of the
school between the school year that was five years before the
current school year and the date of graduation who were members
of the class that is graduating at the end of the current school year.

(D) The inclusion of five- and six-year graduation rates for
pupils in secondary schools shall meet the following requirements:

(i) Schools and school districts shall be granted one-half the
credit in their API scores for graduating pupils in five years that
they are granted for graduating pupils in four years.

(ii) Schools and school districts shall be granted one-quarter the
credit in their API scores for graduating pupils in six years that
they are granted for graduating pupils in four years.

(iii) Notwithstanding clauses (i) and (ii), schools and school
districts shall be granted full credit in their API scores for
graduating in five or six years a pupil with disabilities who
graduates in accordance with his or her individualized education
program.

(E) The pupil data collected for the API that comes from the
achievement test administered pursuant to Section 60640 and the
high school exit examination administered pursuant to Section
60851, when fully implemented, shall be disaggregated by special
education status, English learners, socioeconomic status, gender,
and ethnic group. Only the test scores of pupils who were counted
as part of the enrollment in the annual data collection of the
California Basic Educational Data System for the current fiscal
year and who were continuously enrolled during that year may be
included in the test result reports in the API score of the school.

(F) (i) Commencing with the baseline API calculation in 2016,
and for each year thereafter, results of the achievement test and
other tests specified in subdivision (b) shall constitute no more
than 60 percent of the value of the index for secondary schools.

(ii)  In addition to the elements required by this paragraph, the
Superintendent, with approval of the state board, may incorporate
into the index for secondary schools valid, reliable, and stable
measures of pupil preparedness for postsecondary education and
career.

(G) Results of the achievement test and other tests specified in
subdivision (b) shall constitute at least 60 percent of the value of
the index for primary schools and middle schools.

(H) It is the intent of the Legislature that the state’s system of
public school accountability be more closely aligned with both the
public’s expectations for public education and the workforce needs
of the state’s economy. It is therefore necessary that the
accountability system evolve beyond its narrow focus on pupil test
scores to encompass other valuable information about school
performance, including, but not limited to, pupil preparedness for
college and career, as well as the high school graduation rates
already required by law.

(I) The Superintendent shall annually determine the accuracy
of the graduation rate data. Notwithstanding any other law,
graduation rates for pupils in dropout recovery high schools shall
not be included in the API. For purposes of this subparagraph,
“dropout recovery high school” means a high school in which 50
percent or more of its pupils have been designated as dropouts
pursuant to the exit/withdrawal codes developed by the department
or left a school and were not otherwise enrolled in a school for a
period of at least 180 days.

(J) To complement the API, the Superintendent, with the
approval of the state board, may develop and implement a program
of school quality review that features locally convened panels to
visit schools, observe teachers, interview pupils, and examine pupil
work, if an appropriation for this purpose is made in the annual
Budget Act.

(K) The Superintendent shall annually provide to local
educational agencies and the public a transparent and
understandable explanation of the individual components of the
API and their relative values within the API.

(L) An additional element chosen by the Superintendent and
the state board for inclusion in the API pursuant to this paragraph
shall not be incorporated into the API until at least one full school
year after the state board’s decision to include the element into the
API.

(b) Pupil scores from the following tests, when available and
when found to be valid and reliable for this purpose, shall be
incorporated into the API:

(1) The standards-based achievement tests provided for in
Section 60642.5.

(2) The high school exit examination.

(c) Based on the API, the Superintendent shall develop, and the
state board shall adopt, expected annual percentage growth targets
for all schools based on their API baseline score from the previous
year. Schools are expected to meet these growth targets through
effective allocation of available resources. For schools below the
statewide API performance target adopted by the state board
pursuant to subdivision (d), the minimum annual percentage growth
target shall be 5 percent of the difference between the actual API
score of a school and the statewide API performance target, or one
API point, whichever is greater. Schools at or above the statewide
API performance target shall have, as their growth target,
maintenance of their API score above the statewide API
performance target. However, the state board may set differential
growth targets based on grade level of instruction and may set
higher growth targets for the lowest performing schools because
they have the greatest room for improvement. To meet its growth
target, a school shall demonstrate that the annual growth in its API
is equal to or more than its schoolwide annual percentage growth
target and that all numerically significant pupil subgroups, as
defined in subdivision (a), are making comparable improvement.

(d) Upon adoption of state performance standards by the state
board, the Superintendent shall recommend, and the state board
shall adopt, a statewide API performance target that includes
consideration of performance standards and represents the
proficiency level required to meet the state performance target.

(e) (1) A school or school district with 11 to 99 pupils with
valid test scores shall receive an API score with an asterisk that
indicates less statistical certainty than API scores based on 100 or
more test scores.

(2) A school or school district annually shall receive an API
score, unless the Superintendent determines that an API score
would be an invalid measure of the performance of the school or
school district for one or more of the following reasons:

(A) Irregularities in testing procedures occurred.

(B) The data used to calculate the API score of the school or
school district are not representative of the pupil population at the
school or school district.

(C) Significant demographic changes in the pupil population
render year-to-year comparisons of pupil performance invalid.

(D) The department discovers or receives information indicating
that the integrity of the API score has been compromised.

(E) Insufficient pupil participation in the assessments included
in the API.

(F) A transition to new standards-based assessments
compromises comparability of results across schools or school
districts. The Superintendent may use the authority in this
subparagraph in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 school years only, with
approval of the state board.

(3) If a school or school district has fewer than 100 pupils with
valid test scores, the calculation of the API or adequate yearly
progress pursuant to the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
(20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.) and federal regulations may be
calculated over more than one annual administration of the tests
administered pursuant to Section 60640 and the high school exit
examination administered pursuant to Section 60851, consistent
with regulations adopted by the state board.

(4) Any school or school district that does not receive an API
calculated pursuant to subparagraph (F) of paragraph (2) shall not
receive an API growth target pursuant to subdivision (c). Schools
and school districts that do not have an API calculated pursuant
to subparagraph (F) of paragraph (2) shall use one of the following:

(A) The most recent API calculation.

(B) An average of the three most recent annual API calculations.

(C) Alternative measures that show increases in pupil academic
achievement for all groups of pupils schoolwide and among
significant subgroups.

(f) Only schools with 100 or more test scores contributing to
the API may be included in the API rankings.

(g)  begin delete The Superintendent, with the approval of the state board,
shall develop an alternative accountability system for schools under
the jurisdiction of a county board of education or a county
superintendent of schools, community day schools, nonpublic,
nonsectarian schools pursuant to Section 56366, and alternative
schools serving high-risk pupils, including continuation high
schools and opportunity schools. end delete Schools in the begin delete alternative end delete begin insert Student
Achievement via Excellence end insert accountability system begin insert , as specified in
Article 5 (commencing with Section 52078), end insert may receive an API
score, but shall not be included in the API rankings.

(h) For purposes of this section, county offices of education
shall be considered school districts.

SEC. 5.  

Article 5 (commencing with Section 52078) is added
to Chapter 6.1 of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education
Code, to read:

 

Article 5.  Student Achievement via Excellence (SAVE)
Accountability System

 

52078.  

By July 1, 2016, the Superintendent, with the approval
of the state board, shall develop the Student Achievement via
Excellence (SAVE) accountability system for the schools under
the jurisdiction of a county board of education or a county
superintendent of schools, community day schools, nonpublic,
nonsectarian schools pursuant to Section 56366, and alternative
schools, including continuation high schools and opportunity
schools.

52079.  

(a) The SAVE accountability system developed
pursuant to Section 52078 shall be fully implemented beginning
with the 2016-17 school year.

(b) The SAVE accountability system shall be designed in
conformity with the requirements specified in subdivision (c), and
its purpose shall be to annually measure the positive outcome
performance of a covered school, as expressed by the school’s
SAVE score.

(c) A school’s SAVE score shall be calculated based upon three
separate categories: learning readiness, save rate, and academic
achievement. Each category shall be weighted, with learning
readiness accounting for 10 percent of the overall SAVE score,
the save rate accounting for 30 percent of the overall SAVE score,
and academic achievement accounting for 60 percent of the overall
SAVE score. Each weighted category shall be measured based
upon indicators specific to each category and appropriate to the
school being measured.

(1) Learning readiness indicators shall include, as appropriate,
all of the following:

(A) Improved pupil behavior, as measured by the percentage
of classroom-based long-term pupils suspended or recommended
for exclusion pursuant to Section 48900.

(B) Suspension rate, as measured by the percentage of long-term
pupils who receive out-of-school suspensions.

(C) Pupil punctuality, as measured by the percentage of
long-term pupils who are present on time at the beginning of the
school day.

(D) Sustained daily attendance, as measured by the percentage
of classroom-based long-term pupils who are present in class and
complete their full assigned school day.

(E) Pupil persistence, as measured by the percentage of
classroom-based long-term pupils and long-term pupils enrolled
in independent study considered accounted for by the annual
California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) Information
Day.

(F) Attendance, as measured by the percentage of apportionment
days claimed for all long-term pupils.

(2) The save rate shall measure the effectiveness of the
educational options at a school by tracking the outcome for each
individual pupil. A pupil shall be considered saved upon enrollment
in a SAVE accountability school, and shall remain saved over the
course of his or her enrollment at the school. A pupil shall maintain
his or her saved status so long as his or her transition out of the
SAVE accountability system school is a positive outcome, as
determined by the positive outcome indicators. A pupil whose
transition out of a SAVE accountability school is not a positive
outcome, shall lose his or her saved status. A school’s save rate
shall be calculated by determining the proportion of a school’s
pupils that transition out of the school with a positive outcome.
The positive outcome indicators shall include, as appropriate, all
of the following:

(A) Attainment of a high school diploma.

(B) Continued enrollment in a SAVE accountability system
school.

(C) Reenrollment in a traditional school.

(D) Attainment of a General Educational Development (GED)
credential.

(3) Academic achievement indicators shall include, as
appropriate, all of the following:

(A) Writing achievement, as measured by suitable instruments
adopted by the state board.

(B) Reading achievement, as measured by suitable instruments
adopted by the state board.

(C) Mathematics achievement, as measured by suitable
instruments adopted by the state board.

(D) Promotion to the next grade, as measured by the percentage
of pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, who are
promoted to the next grade level.

(E) Actual course completion, as measured by the percentage
of courses passed by all middle school long-term pupils based on
the number of courses attempted.

(F) Average course completion, as measured by the average
number of courses passed by all middle school long-term pupils
per month of enrollment.

(G) Actual credit completion, as measured by the percentage
of graduation credits earned by all high school long-term pupils
based on the number of graduation credits attempted.

(H) Average credit completion, as measured by the average
number of graduation credits earned by all high school long-term
pupils per month of enrollment.

(d) For purposes of this section, “long-term pupil” means a pupil
enrolled at a school for 90 days or more.

(e) In addition to the indicators required by this section, the
Superintendent, with approval of the state board, may incorporate
additional indicators into a SAVE score category that are valid,
reliable, and stable measures, and consistent with the purposes of
the SAVE accountability system.

(f) The department may adopt regulations necessary to
implement the provisions of this article.