BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2544
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
AB 2544 (Hernandez) - As Amended: April 23, 2014
SUBJECT : School finance: preschool funding
SUMMARY : Establishes a new school district and charter school
funding formula for preschool education. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI),
commencing with the 2015-16 fiscal year, to annually calculate
a preschool funding grant for each school district and charter
school that offers kindergarten or first grade, which would
include the following:
a) A base grant for four-year olds, equal to the local
control funding formula (LCFF) base grant for kindergarten
and grades 1 through 3 ($6,845);
b) A supplemental grant equal to 35% of the base grant for
four-year olds who are economically disadvantaged, an
English learner, or a foster youth to be applied to "the
percentage of four year olds enrolled in the school
district, or in the case of a charter school, the
percentage of four year olds enrolled in the school
district in which the charter school is physically located;
and
c) A concentration factor equal to 35% of the base grant
for "each school district's percentage of four year olds
enrolled in the district, or in the case of the charter
school, the percentage of four year olds enrolled in the
school district in which the charter school is physically
located" that are economically disadvantaged, an English
learner, or a foster youth.
2)Provides that the concentration factor "shall be calculated by
determining the amount by which the sum of these percentages
exceeds 50 percent and by multiplying the base grant?by 35
percent and by any positive percentage so determined."
3)Provides that a four-year old who falls into more than one of
the three categories described above may be counted more than
once.
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4)Provides that, "if the charter school is physically located in
more than one school district, the Superintendent shall use
the school district with the highest number of four year olds
enrolled in the school district where the charter school is
located."
5)Defines "economically disadvantaged child" as a child that is
eligible to receive a free or reduced-price meal.
6)Requires the SPI to apportion the sum of preschool base
grants, supplemental grants, and concentration factor grants
to school districts and charter schools based on the number of
four-year olds served by each.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes eligibility for child care services and child
development programs administered by the California Department
of Education (CDE) and requires the SPI to adopt rules and
regulations on eligibility, enrollment and priority of
services needed for implementation (Education Code (EC)
Section 8263 et seq.).
2)Establishes the California State Preschool Program (CSPP) and
provides that the programs shall include, but not be limited
to, part-day age and developmentally appropriate programs
designed to facilitate the transition to kindergarten for
three- and four-year-old children in educational development,
health services, social services, nutritional services, parent
education and parent participation, evaluation, and staff
development. (EC Section 8235)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : The preschool funding grant established by this bill
is modeled after the local control funding formula (LCFF) for
K-12. Like the LCFF, the preschool funding formula consists of
three parts: a base grant, a supplemental grant, and a
concentration factor grant. There are several differences
however.
First, the LCFF uses an "unduplicated count" of pupils who are
low income, EL, or in foster care, which means that a pupil who
falls into more than one category is counted only once for
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funding purposes. This bill provides that pupils who fall into
more than one category "may" be counted more than once. The
bill does not specify whether a pupil who falls into all three
categories may be counted twice (which is more than once) or
three times. The bill does not specify who determines if such
pupils "shall" be counted more than once. To the extent pupils
are counted more than once, it will result in a higher level of
funding for preschool pupils than for K-3 pupils.
Second, this bill, like the LCFF, establishes funding targets.
However, the LCFF targets are not fully funded yet. Instead,
there is a phase-in period during which each district gets
funded for a portion of the target amount, based on Proposition
98 revenues available. The Department of Finance has estimated
that it will take eight years of revenue growth before the LCFF
targets will be fully funded. This bill does not provide a
phase-in for the preschool funding formula. Instead, each
district and charter school would receive its full target level
of funding immediately beginning in 2015-16. This will result
in a substantially higher level of funding for preschool pupils
than for K-3 pupils during the LCFF phase-in period.
Third, while both formulas use the same base grant amount, the
supplemental grant and concentration factor weights are
different, as shown in the following table:
-----------------------------------------------------------------
| | Preschool Formula | LCFF |
|---------------------+---------------------+---------------------|
|Base Grant |$6,845 per pupil |$6,845 per pupil |
|---------------------+---------------------+---------------------|
|Supplemental Grant |35% of base grant |20% of the base |
| |for specified pupils |grant for specified |
| | |pupils |
|---------------------+---------------------+---------------------|
|Concentration Factor |35% of the base |70% of the base |
| |grant for specified |grant for specified |
| |pupils |pupils |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The higher weight for the supplemental grant will further
increase preschool funding per pupil relative to K-13 funding
per pupil. The combined effect of a higher supplemental grant,
counting pupils more than once, and immediately funding the
target amount will result in a significantly higher level of
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funding for preschool than for K-3.
Fourth, whereas the LCFF is calculated based on the number of
pupils enrolled in a district, the preschool formula is based on
"percentages" that the bill does not define or specify how to
compute. Specifically, the bill requires the SPI to compute a
supplemental grant "equal to 35 percent of the base grant?for
each school district's percentage of four year olds enrolled in
the district." The bill does not define what this is a
percentage of or specify how to compute it. There is a similar
provision for charter schools, except that the charter school
supplemental grant shall be based on "the percentage of four
year olds enrolled in the school district in which the charter
school is physically located." The same questions regarding how
to define and calculate "percentage" apply. In addition, it is
not clear why funding for a charter school should be based on
enrollment in the school district rather than the school's own
enrollment.
The calculation of the concentration grant is also based on "the
percentage of four year olds enrolled." As with the
supplemental grant, the concentration factor for a charter
school would be based on the district's-not the
school's--enrollment. Then, "the concentration preschool grant
shall be calculated by determining the amount by which the sum
of these percentages [i.e., the percentage of four- year olds
enrolled in the district] exceeds 50 percent and by multiplying
the base grant?by 35 percent and by any positive percentage so
determined." It is not clear what percentages are being summed,
since only one percentage (that of four-year olds in a district)
is specified. Presumably, if the "sum of percentages" is 60%,
the "positive percentage" would be 10%. So, the concentration
factor would be: $6,845 x 0.35 x 0.10 = $239.575.
Although this bill requires the SPI to calculate each district's
and charter school's grant based on percentages, it requires the
SPI to apportion the funds based on "the number of four-year-old
children served." Because the bill neither defines nor
specifies how to calculate the percentages needed for these
calculations, it is not clear how or if the SPI will implement
the requirements of this bill.
Proposition 98 impact. Funding for this formula would come from
Proposition 98. The minimum Proposition 98 funding guarantee is
based in large part on K-12 average daily attendance (ADA),
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which does not include four-year-olds. That means funding for
the new preschool formula would come from Proposition 98 funds
that would otherwise support K-12 and community college
programs. In the near-term, this would result in a year-to-year
reduction in funding per ADA.
A funding formula, but no program. While this bill establishes
a preschool funding formula, it does not establish or specify a
program that the funding would support. It requires the SPI to
allocate funds based on the "number of four-year-old children
served," but does not specify what services are required. There
are no minimum requirements regarding staffing ratios, staff
qualifications, facilities requirements, hours of operation, or
the types or programs that must be offered.
Creating a new program vs. expanding the existing one.
California already has a preschool program, which is not funded
at a level that would permit enrollment of all eligible
children. The author's office did not provide any rationale for
creating a new program instead of expanding the existing one.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None received
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087