BILL NUMBER: AB 1866 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bocanegra
( Coauthors: Assembly Members
Bonta, Buchanan, Hall, and
Holden )
( Coauthor: Senator Monning
)
FEBRUARY 19, 2014
An act to amend Section 60901 of the Education Code, relating to
pupil attendance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1866, as amended, Bocanegra. Pupil attendance: California
Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System.
(1) Existing law establishes the California Longitudinal Pupil
Achievement Data System, as provided. Existing law requires the State
Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of
Finance and the Legislative Analyst's Office, and
contingent upon the receipt of federal funds, to prepare the system
to include data on pupil attendance, as specified. Existing law
requires the system to support local educational agencies in their
efforts to identify and support pupils at risk of dropping out and
that it be capable of issuing periodic reports to local
educational agencies that include district, school, class, and
individual pupil reports on the rates of absence and chronic
absentees, as defined. absentees.
This bill would, among other things, instead require the State
Department of Education to enhance the system, as provided. The bill
would require the periodic reports to local educational agencies to
also include reports on the rates of absence,
rates of chronic absenteeism and the number of chronic absentees,
rates of truancy and the number of truants, rates of habitual truancy
and the number of habitual truants, and rates of chronic truancy and
the number of chronic truants. The bill would delete class
information from the periodic reports. The bill would
revise the definition of "chronic absentee" and establish a
definition for "rates of absence". The bill would delete the federal
funding requirement on these provisions.
(2) Existing law, once the system is prepared to accept data on a
quarterly rate of pupil attendance, authorizes a local educational
agency to submit data to the State Department of Education on a
quarterly rate of pupil attendance, and other indicators as
identified by the department.
This bill would, once the system is enhanced to accept data on
pupil attendance, authorize a local educational agency to submit
the specified data to the system at any time throughout the year
that meets its needs, but would require a local educational
agency to , at a minimum, submit and certify the
specified data, and other indicators identified by the
department, to the department system at
least 4 times per the end of the
school year or on dates to be determined by the
department. The bill would authorize a local educational agency
to receive reports with the specified data disaggregated as provided.
By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies,
the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) This bill would also make conforming and nonsubstantive
changes.
(4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide 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 these
statutory provisions.
(5) This bill would become operative only if legislation is
enacted in the 2013-14 Regular Session that establishes an annual
report on elementary school truancy and chronic absenteeism, that
takes effect on or before January 1, 2015.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 60901 of the Education Code is amended to read:
60901. (a) The department, in consultation with the Department
of Finance and the Legislative Analyst's Office, shall enhance the
California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System established
pursuant to Section 60900 to include data on a quarterly rate
of pupil attendance pupil attendance, as described in
subdivision (b) . The enhancement shall include all of the
following:
(1) The addition of fields to facilitate the transfer of data.
(2) System development activities including any business rules and
definitions that would be needed to improve the quality and
consistency of the data.
(3) Processes for the transfer of data from local educational
agencies.
(4) Consultation with organizations representing school, school
district, and county office of education administrators, classified
and certified staff, and parents in order to develop the criteria and
frequency of reports on pupil attendance data and other indicators
as may be submitted by local educational agencies.
(b) The system shall support local educational agencies in their
efforts to identify and support pupils at risk of dropping out and
shall be capable of issuing to local educational agencies periodic
reports that include, but may not be limited to, district, school,
class, and individual pupil reports for pupils in
kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, regarding:
(1) Rates of absence.
(2) Rates of chronic absenteeism and the number of chronic
absentees.
(3) Rates of truancy and the number of truants, as defined in
Section 48260.
(4) Rates of habitual truancy and the number of habitual truants,
as defined in Section 48262.
(5) Rates of chronic truancy and the number of chronic truants, as
defined in Section 48263.6.
(c) (1) For purposes of this section and
section, subdivision (d) of Section 52060, and subdivision
(d) of Section 52066, "chronic absentee" refers to a
pupil who is subject to compulsory full-time education or compulsory
continuation education and who is absent for 10 percent or more of
the school days in a school year, as measured from the date of
enrollment to the date that the data is submitted to the California
Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System. means a
pupil who is absent on 10 percent or more of the schooldays in the
school year when the total number of days a pupil is absent is
divided by the total number of days the pupil is enrolled and school
was actually taught in the regular day schools of the district,
exclusive of Saturdays and Sundays.
(2) For purposes of this section, "rates of absence" means the
following, to be calculated as of the date that a local educational
agency submits the reports required pursuant to subdivision (e), with
respect to each individualized pupil record:
(A) The number of school days schooldays
enrolled.
(B) The number of school days schooldays
on which the pupil had an unexcused absence of more than 30
minutes but less than a full day.
(C) The number of school days schooldays
on which the pupil had a full day of unexcused absence.
(D) The number of school days schooldays
on which the pupil had a full day of excused absence.
(E) The number of schooldays on which the pupil was absent for a
full day due to being suspended pursuant to Article 1 (commencing
with Section 48900) of Chapter 6 of Part 27, excluding the number of
days on which the pupil was assigned to a supervised suspension
classroom pursuant to Section 48911.1. The number of schooldays on
which a pupil was absent due to being suspended shall not be
considered an excused or unexcused absence pursuant to this
subdivision. The sum of the number of days absent pursuant to this
subparagraph and subparagraphs (C) and (D) shall equal the total
unduplicated number of schooldays on which the pupil had a full day
of absence.
(E) Whether the
(F) Data to determine whether the
pupil has been designated a habitual truant, as defined in Section
48262.
(3) Once available, the data listed in subdivision (b) shall be
incorporated into the annual report on dropouts required pursuant to
Section 48070.6 and the annual report on elementary school truancy
and chronic absenteeism required pursuant to Section
48070.7. absenteeism, if that report has been
established.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature to support the development
and use of early warning systems to enable the
identification and support of local school districts
and schools to identify individual pupils who are at risk of
academic failure or dropping out of school. It is the intent of
the Legislature that school districts and schools will fully utilize
these early warning systems to improve the provision of intervention,
prevention, communication, and education services to pupils and
their families rather than to punish pupils or families. It is
further the intent of the Legislature that this section is not
intended to encourage additional referrals to law enforcement,
complaints, petitions, prosecutions, or other serious sanctions
against pupils, without first exhausting available
resources. The systems shall encompass the following
characteristics:
(1) The utilization of highly predictive indicators, including
attendance, course grades or completion, performance on assessments
of pupil achievement, suspensions, and expulsions.
(2) A thorough validation process to ensure the predictive
reliability of the systems.
(3) Periodic reports that inform principals, teachers, and parents
in a manner that enables timely identification and support of
individual pupils who are at risk of academic failure or dropping
out.
(e) (1) Once the system established pursuant
to Section 60900 is enhanced to accept data on pupil attendance, a
local educational agency shall may
submit the data specified in subdivision (b), and other
indicators as identified by the department, to the department at
least four times per school year, on dates to be determined by the
department. It is the intent of the Legislature that schools
identified on the list of persistently lowest-achieving schools will
fully utilize the early warning systems described in subdivision (d).
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) to the system at any
time throughout the year that meets its needs, but a local
educational agency shall, at a minimum, submit and certify the data
specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), and other indicators
as identified by the department, to the system at the end of the
school y ear or on dates to be determined by
the department. The report shall include the numbers and rates
specified in subdivision (b).
(2) A local educational agency may receive reports that reflect
the numbers and rates specified in subdivision (b). A local
educational agency shall be able to view the submitted data in a
format disaggregated by subgroups, including race or ethnicity,
gender, disability status, English learner status, foster youth
status, and free or reduced-price meal status.
(f) A local educational agency that reports attendance data for
pupils to the system established pursuant to Section 60900 may
request, and the department shall provide, the early warning report
described in subdivision (d) up to four times each school year.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.
SEC. 3. This act shall become operative only if
legislation is enacted in the 2013-14 Regular Session that
establishes an annual report on elementary school truancy and chronic
absenteeism that takes effect on or before January 1, 2015.