BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 2341
                                                                  Page  1


          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 2341 (Quirk-Silva)
          As Amended  April 10, 2014
          Majority vote 

           EDUCATION           7-0         APPROPRIATIONS      17-0        
           
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Buchanan, Olsen, Ch�vez,  |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow,           |
          |     |Gonzalez, Nazarian,       |     |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian  |
          |     |Weber, Williams           |     |Calderon, Campos,         |
          |     |                          |     |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez,  |
          |     |                          |     |Holden, Jones, Linder,    |
          |     |                          |     |Pan, Quirk,               |
          |     |                          |     |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner,    |
          |     |                          |     |Weber                     |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           SUMMARY  :  Adds an indicator to the California Longitudinal Pupil  
          Achievement Data System (CALPADS) to identify pupils of military  
          families.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to add  
            a reporting process within CALPADS requiring local education  
            agencies (LEAs) to report the enrollment of pupils of military  
            families by July 1, 2015.

          2)Requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to  
            include an indicator for pupils of military families in  
            CALPADS.

          3)Provides that the data collection pursuant to this requirement  
            shall not be used to compile reports required by the federal  
            No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), including, but not limited  
            to, dropout and graduation rates.

          4)Defines "pupils of military families" to mean pupils whose  
            parent or legal guardian is an active duty member of the Armed  
            Forces of the United States.

          5)Provides for the reimbursement of mandated local costs through  
            the existing reimbursement process, if the Commission on State  
            Mandates determine that this bill contains mandates costs.








                                                                  AB 2341
                                                                  Page  2


           
          EXISTING LAW  establishes CALPADS to accomplish all of the  
          following goals:

          1)Provide school districts and the CDE access to data necessary  
            to comply with NCLB reporting requirements.

          2)Provide a better means of evaluating educational progress and  
            investments over time.

          3)Provide local educational agencies information that can be  
            used to improve pupil achievement.

          4)Provide an efficient, flexible, and secure means of  
            maintaining longitudinal statewide pupil level data.

          5)Facilitate the ability of the state to publicly report data  
            required by federal law.

          6)Ensure compliance with the federal Family Educational Rights  
            and Privacy Act (FERPA).

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee:

          1)General Fund (GF) administrative costs of approximately  
            $15,000 to CDE to modify CALPADS to include a new indicator  
            for students of military families. 

          2)Unknown GF and Proposition 98 (1988) state mandated costs for  
            LEAs to update user interface with CALPADS and collect and  
            report this data to CALPADS. For illustration, assuming all  
            LEAs spent an hour on the required activities, statewide costs  
            of approximately $380,000.


           COMMENTS  :   The CALPADS was created to enable California to meet  
          federal requirements delineated in the NCLB Act of 2001, which  
          increases accountability for student achievement. CALPADS has  
          been operational since 2009 and contains information on student  
          demographics, program participation, grade level, enrollment,  
          course enrollment and completion, discipline, and statewide  
          assessment data.  The student-level, longitudinal data in  
          CALPADS enables the facilitation of program evaluation, the  








                                                                  AB 2341
                                                                  Page  3


          assessment of student achievement over time, the calculation of  
          more accurate dropout and graduation rates, the efficient  
          creation of reports to meet state and federal reporting  
          requirements, and the ability to create ad hoc reports and  
          responses to relevant questions.  CALPADS provides local  
          educational agencies (LEAs) with access to longitudinal data and  
          reports on their own students, and it gives LEAs immediate  
          access to information on new students, enabling the LEAs to  
          place students appropriately and to determine whether any  
          assessments are necessary.  The CDE indicates that the change  
          required by this bill is relatively simple and could probably be  
          achieved in approximately one year.  


          Arguments in support.  Supporters argue that children in  
          military families experience events that affect their education,  
          such as moving frequently and having a parent deployed away from  
          the family.  Currently, there is no method of tracking their  
          attendance and progress to evaluate programs and identify best  
          practices.  Including an indicator in CALPADS for the children  
          of military families would permit such tracking over time.   
          Supporters argue that collecting this information would build  
          awareness at the school and classroom level of students that may  
          be affected by the deployment of a parent and facilitate  
          data-driven decision making to improve the distribution of  
          Department of Defense and local resources to offer appropriate  
          support. 



           Analysis Prepared by  :    Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087 


                                                                FN: 0003708