BILL ANALYSIS �
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Date of Hearing: April 23, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 2408 (Allen) - As Introduced: February 21, 2014
SUBJECT : School accountability: local control and
accountability plans: California Collaborative for Education
Excellence
SUMMARY : Expands the governing board of the California
Collaborative for Education Excellence (CCEE) from five to seven
members by adding a charter school operator appointed by the
Governor and a parent of a California public school pupil
appointed by the Governor.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the CCEE, whose purpose is to advise and assist
local education agencies (LEAs) in achieving the goals set
forth in their local control and accountability plans (LCAPs).
2)Requires the CCEE to be governed by a board consisting of the
following members:
a) The SPI or his or her designee;
b) The president of the SBE or his or her designee;
c) A county superintendent of schools appointed by the
Senate Rules Committee;
d) A teacher appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly; and
e) A superintendent of a school district appointed by the
Governor.
3)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), in
consultation with the State Board of Education (SBE), to
contract with an LEA to serve as the fiscal agent for the
CCEE.
4)Requires the fiscal agent, at the direction of the CCEE
governing board, to contract with individuals, LEAs, or
organizations with the expertise, experience, and a record of
success to provide assistance to LEAs that are failing to meet
specified performance objectives.
5)Authorizes the SPI to direct the CCEE to advise and assist an
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LEA in any of the following circumstances:
a) The governing board of the LEA requests the advice and
assistance of the CCEE;
b) The superintendent of schools in the county in which the
school district or charter school is located determines
that the advice and assistance of the CCEE is necessary to
help the school district or charter school accomplish the
goals it has set in its LCAP; or
c) The SPI determines the advice and assistance of the CCEE
is necessary to help an LEA accomplish the goals it has set
in its LCAP.
6)Requires LEAs to adopt an LCAP by July 1, 2014 using a
template adopted by the SBE and requires that the LCAP:
a) Be updated every year and renewed every three years;
b) Be developed in consultation with teachers, principals,
administrators, other school personnel, parents, and
pupils;
c) Include annual achievement goals for all pupils,
including specified pupil subgroups, and a description of
actions that will be taken to achieve those goals;
d) Address the following eight state priorities:
i) Requirements related to the Williams v. State of
California settlement agreement related to fully
credentialed teachers, instructional materials, and
school facilities;
ii) Implementation of academic and performance
standards, including English language development
standards;
iii) Parental involvement;
iv) Pupil achievement, as measured by statewide
assessments;
v) Pupil engagement, as measured by attendance, dropout
and graduation rates, and expulsions/suspensions;
vi) School climate, as measured by suspension rates,
expulsion rates, and other local measures, such as
surveys;
vii) The extent to which pupils have access to and are
enrolled in a broad course of study; and
viii) Pupil outcomes, if available, for non-state-assessed
courses of study.
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e) Be aligned with the district's budget and describe how
the district will "increase or improve services for
unduplicated pupils in proportion to its increase in funds
apportioned on the basis of the number and concentration of
unduplicated pupils in the district."
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The CCEE and LCAP were both established as the
accountability component of the Local Control Funding Formula
(LCFF), which was enacted with this year's budget. The purpose
of the CCEE is to provide advice and assistance to LEAs that
persistently fail to achieve specified pupil outcome goals.
LEAs also may seek assistance from the CCEE on their own.
Existing law requires the SPI, with the approval of the SBE, to
contract with an LEA or a consortium of LEAs to serve as the
CCEE's fiscal agent. In addition, existing law requires the
CCEE to be governed by a board consisting of the following:
The SPI or his or her designee;
The president of the SBE or his or her designee;
A county superintendent of schools appointed by the
Senate Rules Committee;
A teacher appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly; and
A superintendent of a school district appointed by the
Governor.
Changes the balance of representation. As shown above, the
board is comprised of five members, two of whom are appointed by
the Governor, and two of whom are appointed by the Legislature.
By adding two additional members, both of which would be
appointed by the Governor, this bill changes that balance by
giving the Governor four appointees to the Legislature's two.
What the CCEE board does. The CCEE board has only one statutory
function: to direct the fiscal agent to "contract with
individuals, local educational agencies, or organizations with
the expertise, experience, and a record of success" to provide
advice and assistance to LEAs. The areas of expertise and
experience required of the individuals, LEAs, or organizations
with whom the fiscal agent contracts must include, but not
necessarily be limited to, the following:
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The eight state priorities that must be addressed by
the LCAP;
Improving the quality of teaching;
Improving the quality of school district and
schoolsite leadership; and
Successfully addressing the needs of special pupil
populations, including, but not limited to, English
learners, pupils eligible to receive a free or
reduced-price meal, pupils in foster care, and individuals
with exceptional needs.
Fiscal agents may contract with a charter school representative
as appropriate, if that representative meets the other statutory
requirements. Having a charter school representative on the
board, however, does not assure that the fiscal agent will
contract with a charter school representative.
What the CCEE board does not do . The CCEE board does not have a
statutory role in evaluating LEA performance, determining which
LEAs receive advice and assistance, or the delivery of advice
and assistance. Those functions lay with the SPI, county
superintendents of schools, and the individuals and
organizations with whom the fiscal agent has contracted to
provide the services. The advice and assistance may be provided
upon request of an LEA (in which case the LEAs pays for the
cost). Alternatively, the CCEE may be assigned to an LEA
(including charter schools) upon the recommendation of the SPI,
if the SPI and the county superintendent of schools in which the
LEA exists determine that assistance is needed to help the LEA
achieve the goals it has specified for itself in its LCAP.
Charter school operators. This bill adds representation from
charter schools and parents, both appointed by the Governor.
The bill provides that the charter school representative shall
include, but not be limited to, a charter school operator. As a
practical matter, there will only be one seat on the board for a
charter school representative, so that representative would be
required to be a charter school operator. The bill does not
define "charter school operator," but it conceivably could
include anyone from an individual operator of a single charter
school to the CEO of a private, for profit charter school
management corporation. It is not clear why only charter school
operators-as opposed to other charter school
representatives-would be qualified to serve on the CCEE board.
Accordingly, staff recommends that the bill be amended to strike
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the requirement that the charter school representative be a
charter school operator.
A can of worms? Given the limited scope of the CCEE board's
statutory responsibility, its composition was designed to
include a few members who are broadly representative of the
education community, rather than having a large number of
members representing multiple segments of the education
community. This bill may establish a precedent for other
segments to also seek representation appointments to the board.
Arguments in support. Supporters focus on the additional seat
for a charter school representative and argue that "because the
Collaborative is intended to provide support and high-stakes
reviews of charter schools, we believe that it is essential to
include a charter school representative to the Collaborative."
As noted, however, the board plays no role in providing support
and high-stakes reviews of LEAs, including charter schools.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Charter Schools Association Advocates
Charter School Development Center
EdVoice
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087