BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 2007 (Grove) - Virtual or Online Charter Schools: Attendance
Amended: July 2, 2014 Policy Vote: Education 6-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 4, 2014
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez
This bill may meet the criteria for referral to the Suspense
File.
Bill Summary: AB 2007 authorizes virtual or online charter
schools to claim average daily attendance (ADA) for pupils
enrolled in the school's independent study program who move
outside of the geographic boundaries in which the charter school
is authorized to operate. This bill requires the California
Department of Education (CDE) to report to the Legislature, the
Department of Finance, and the Legislative Analyst's Office on
or before December 31, 2016, on the department's assessment of
the need for this allowance.
Fiscal Impact:
ADA: Unknown, but likely minor costs/savings (Prop 98
General Fund) to allow students to remain enrolled in their
virtual or online charter schools of attendance for the
remainder or a school year in which they move out of the
geographic service boundaries of that school.
CDE "report": Likely minor costs to the CDE to report on
its assessment of the need for this new authority. The CDE
estimates incurring additional workload worth about $30,000
to complete the report.
Background: Charter schools can be classroom-based or
nonclassroom-based. A charter school that does not meet the
requirements to be a classroom-based instruction school is
considered to be nonclassroom-based and must have a funding
determination approved by the State Board of Education.
Classroom-based instruction occurs only when pupils are under
the immediate supervision and control of a certificated teacher.
The charter school must offer at least 80% of its instructional
time at the school site (for classroom instruction) and
attendance must be required at the school site for at least 80%
of the minimum instructional time required to be offered.
AB 2007 (Grove)
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Charter schools can only claim ADA for pupils who are residents
of the county in which the charter school is authorized, or who
are residents of a county immediately adjacent to that county.
Existing law defines a virtual or online charter school as one
in which at least 80% of teaching and student interaction occurs
via the Internet. In order for a virtual or online charter
school to be funded, it must demonstrate the following:
1) The school has met its overall and subgroup Academic
Performance Index growth targets;
2) Instructional expenditures are at least 85% of the
overall school budget, and at least 25% is spent on
technology that directly benefits students and teachers and
results in improved student achievement;
3) Computer-based instruction and assessment is provided to
each pupil and includes the use of an online instructional
management program, as specified;
4) Teachers are provided with specified technology tools
and print media;
5) All pupils are provided an individualized learning plan
that is based on initial testing and that is monitored
either remotely or in person by the teacher to evaluate
pupil progress;
6) All pupils are provided access to a computer, Internet
service, printer, monitor, and standards-aligned materials;
7) All pupils eligible for special education supports and
services receive those supports and services in accordance
with their individualized education plan; and
8) Charter school admission practices will not favor high
performing pupils or recruit a pupil population that is of
a higher socioeconomic group or lower racial or ethnic
representation than the general population of the county or
counties served.
Proposed Law: This bill, until January 1, 2018, authorizes a
virtual or online charter school to claim independent study ADA
AB 2007 (Grove)
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for a pupil who is enrolled in a virtual or online charter
school and moves to a residence outside of the geographic
boundaries in which the virtual or online charter school is
authorized to operate for the duration of the virtual or online
charter school course or courses or until the end of the school
year, whichever occurs first.
This bill would also require the CDE to report to the
Legislature, the Department of Finance, and the Legislative
Analyst's Office on or before December 31, 2016, on the
department's assessment of the need for a virtual or online
charter school to claim the independent study average daily
attendance of pupils enrolled in a virtual or online charter
school that have moved outside of the geographic boundaries in
which the virtual or online charter school is authorized for the
duration of the courses in which the pupils are enrolled.
Staff Comments: This bill would authorize a virtual or online
charter school to continue to serve a pupil, and claim
independent study ADA for him or her, who is currently enrolled
in a virtual or online charter school and moves to a residence
outside of the geographic boundaries in which the virtual or
online charter school is authorized to operate. The potential
costs of allowing the pupil to stay enrolled in the virtual or
online school, for (at a maximum) the remainder of the school
year, depends both on what the pupil and the school would do
absent this legislation, as well as the prevalence of this
situation among the approximately 118,000 students (based on
ADA) estimated to be participating in nonclassroom-based
charters. Staff notes that this would only apply to the subset
of those students enrolled in virtual or online charter schools.
If the pupil, absent the ability to continue in his or her
online or virtual school after moving, would otherwise either
fail to tell the school that he or she had moved or would
arrange to delay moving (e.g. stay with friends or relatives in
the service area) until the end of the school year, there would
be no change to ADA. The degree to which attendance area is
currently enforced after initial enrollment, is unclear. It is
likely that, when practical, students simply do not report that
they have moved until it becomes necessary (e.g. they are
enrolling in other schools or cannot attend a scheduled meeting
in person).
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If the pupil, absent the ability to continue in his or her
school, would otherwise enroll in a different school, this bill
is unlikely to result in costs; it may result in savings, if the
pupil would otherwise have enrolled in a traditional school. If
the pupil would have dropped out of school, or had a significant
gap in time before re-enrolling (e.g. if he or she was
considering other online or virtual school enrollment options),
there would be foregone ADA savings to the extent that the
student instead remained in his or her original school instead.
The degree to which the CDE could collect and analyze data on
this topic, in order to make a meaningful assessment in 12
months is unclear. The CDE has indicated that staff would
identify virtual and online charter schools and survey them
regarding the need for ADA for a pupil who moves to a residence
outside of the geographic boundaries, and how those funds would
be used. Any report produced is likely to be brief and
anecdotal, and have minor costs.