AB 2544, as introduced, Roger Hernández. School finance: preschool funding.
Existing law establishes a public school system that requires state funding for county superintendents of schools, school districts, and charter schools to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula, as specified. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to calculate, for each county superintendent of schools, school district, and charter school, a base entitlement for the transition to the local control funding formula that includes, among other things, the sum of the amount of funding received from appropriations contained in certain budget items of the Budget Act of 2012.
This bill would establish the school district and charter school preschool funding formula. The bill would require the Superintendent, commencing with the 2015-16 fiscal year, and each year thereafter, to calculate and apportion, a preschool funding grant for each school and charter school in the state pursuant to a specified funding formula. The bill would require the school district and charter school to use the money to fund either existing or startup preschools in the district or at the charter school. The funding formula would be based on the number of 4 year olds who reside in a school district who are economically disadvantaged, an English learner, or a foster youth, as defined, or a combination thereof, as provided by each school district.
By imposing new mandates on a school district, the bill would establish a state-mandated local program.
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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 42238.035 is added to the Education
2Code, to read:
(a) The amount computed pursuant to this section
4shall be known as the school district and charter school preschool
5funding formula.
6(b) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
7following meanings:
8(1) “Economically disadvantaged child” means a child that is
9eligible to receive a free or reduced-price meal pursuant to Section
1049552.
11(2) “English learner” has the same meaning as it does in Section
1252164.
13(3) “Foster youth” has the same meaning as it does in Section
14300 and 601 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
15(c) (1) Commencing with the 2015-16 fiscal year and each
16fiscal year thereafter, the Superintendent shall annually calculate
17a preschool funding grant for each school district and charter school
18in the state pursuant to this section, equal to the base grant
19calculated pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of
20subdivision (d) of Section 42238.02. The school district and charter
21school shall use the money to fund either existing or startup
22preschools in the school district or at the charter school.
23(2) For purposes of making the calculations in subdivisions (d)
24and (e), the Superintendent shall use information obtained from
P3 1each school district on the number of economically disadvantaged
2children, English learners, and foster youth who are four years old
3at the time of making the calculation and residing in the school
4district.
5(3) For purposes of calculating the grant pursuant to this section,
6a child may be counted more than once if the child meets more
7than one of the definitions in subdivision (b).
8(d) The Superintendent shall compute a supplemental preschool
9grant add-on equal to 35 percent of the base grant as specified in
10subdivision (c) for each school district’s percentage of four year
11olds residing in the district, or in the case of a charter school, the
12percentage of four year olds residing in the school district in which
13the charter school is physically located, in each of the categories
14specified in subdivision (b). The supplemental preschool grant
15shall be calculated by multiplying the base grants specified in
16subdivision (c) by 35 percent and by the sum of the percentages
17of four year olds in the categories specified in subdivision (b) in
18that school district. For purposes of calculating the
grant for a
19charter school physically located in more than one school district,
20the Superintendent shall use the school district with the highest
21number of four year olds residing in the school district where the
22charter school is physically located.
23(e) The Superintendent shall compute a concentration preschool
24grant add-on equal to 35 percent of the base grant as specified in
25subdivision (c) for each school district’s percentage of four year
26olds residing in the district, or in the case of the charter school,
27the percentage of four year olds residing in the school district in
28which the charter school is physically located, in each of the
29categories specified in subdivision (b). The concentration preschool
30grant shall be calculated by determining the amount by which the
31sum of these percentages exceeds 50 percent and by multiplying
32the base grant as specified in subdivision (c) by 35 percent and by
33any positive percentage so determined. For
purposes of calculating
34the grant for a charter school physically located in more than one
35school district, the Superintendent shall use the school district with
36the highest number of four year olds residing in the school district
37where the charter school is physically located. For a charter school
38physically located in only one school district, the percentage of
39four year olds in excess of 50 percent used to calculate
40concentration preschool grants shall not exceed the percentage of
P4 1four year olds in excess of 50 percent of the school district in which
2the charter school is physically located. If the charter school is
3physically located in more than one school district, the charter
4school’s percentage of four year olds in excess of 50 percent used
5to calculate concentration preschool grants shall not exceed that
6of the school district with the highest percentage of four year olds
7in excess of 50 percent within the charter school’s physical
8location.
9(f) The Superintendent shall apportion funding to a school
10district and charter school equal to the sum of the amounts
11computed pursuant to subdivisions (c), (d), and (e), multiplied for
12each school district and charter school by the number of
13four-year-old children served by each.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
15this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
16local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
17pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
184 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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