BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 421|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 421
Author: Hernandez (D)
Amended: 5/28/13
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-0, 5/1/13
AYES: Liu, Wyland, Block, Correa, Hancock, Hueso, Huff,
Jackson, Monning
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/13
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Pupil instruction: examination fees: International
Baccalaureate
Diploma Program and advanced placement
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes a grant program, beginning in
the 2015-16 fiscal year, administered by the California
Department of Education (CDE), for the purpose of awarding
grants to cover the costs of advanced placement (AP) examination
fees and/or International Baccalaureate (IB) examination fees
for eligible economically disadvantaged high school pupils, as
specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law allows high schools to offer the IB
Diploma program, a comprehensive and rigorous two-year
curriculum leading to an IB diploma. Candidates who participate
in an IB Diploma program are actively engaged in a liberal arts
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curriculum that includes a critical thinking class, a minimum of
150 hours of participation in extracurricular activities and
community services, and a research paper of 4,000 words. The
program provides students with a balanced education, facilitates
geographic and cultural mobility, and promotes international
understanding. The IB program is governed and monitored by the
IB Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, and there are currently
about 100 schools statewide that offer IB programs, with some
programs at the elementary and middle school level. A school
wishing to offer an IB program must first be authorized by the
IB Organization.
Existing law also authorizes reimbursement to districts for the
costs of IB exam fees paid to the College Board on behalf of
income-eligible students and grants of up to $25,000 per school
for IB programs to use for professional development required by
the program. To the extent that funds provided by the annual
budget or another statute are insufficient to fully fund all IB
grant applicants, current law requires that the funds first be
allocated to schools that received funding in the prior fiscal
year, then to schools with the highest percentage of low-income
students.
This bill establishes a grant program, beginning in the 2015-16
fiscal year, administered by the CDE, for the purpose of
awarding grants to cover the costs of AP fees and/or IB
examination fees for eligible economically disadvantaged high
school pupils. This bill authorizes a school district to apply
to the CDE for grant funding under the program based on the
number of economically disadvantaged pupils in the school
district who will take the next offered AP examinations and
requires that grants be expended only to pay the fees required
of eligible economically disadvantaged high school pupils to
take an AP or IB examination. This bill requires funding
priority be given to AP examination fees if there is
insufficient funding allocated to the grant program in a given
fiscal year year to cover all eligible fees. This bill also
requires the CDE to make every effort to obtain and allocate
federal funding for purposes of the program before expending any
state funds.
Comments
According to the author's office, an impediment to more students
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participating in IB programs is the lack of time available for
students to pursue both an IB Diploma and also meet the
additional course requirements imposed by their school district
for graduation. They indicate that while the depth of knowledge
and skills required for the completion of an IB Diploma exceeds
the requirements for a high school diploma, students must take
and meet both sets of standards. Students may have a difficult
time taking all the required courses during the school year.
Governor's Local Control Funding Formula . As part of the
2013-14 Governor's Budget, the Administration proposes to
restructure the existing K-12 finance system and eliminate over
40 existing programs while also repealing, what the
administration determines are countless "discretionary"
provisions of statute, while implementing a new formula known as
the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). The LCFF consolidates
the vast majority of state categorical programs and revenue
limit apportionments into a single source of funding (12
categorical programs, including Special Education, Child
Nutrition, Preschool, and After School programs, are excluded).
The LCFF proposal eliminates the statutory and programmatic
requirements for almost all existing categorical programs - the
programs will be deemed "discretionary" and programs in any of
these areas would be dependent on local district discretion. To
the extent that the LCFF or a modified version of it is adopted
as part of the budget, the majority of currently required
categorical activities will be left to local districts'
discretion. Therefore, the changes proposed by this bill for
the IB program could be diluted, eliminated, rendered obsolete
or discretionary at the local level.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, cost pressure
of $3 million - $6.5 million, annually, in state funds. While
this bill does not specify an amount of grant funding to be
administered, it essentially continues a recently-sunset grant
program for AP examination fees that was funded at approximately
$3 million in the 2012-13 Budget Act. This bill creates
additional cost pressure to add funding for IB examinations to
be included.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/28/13)
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Association of California School Administrators
California Association of IB World Schools
California School Boards Association
College Board
Fresno Unified School District
San Francisco Unified School District
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/28/13)
California Right to Life Committee, Inc.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT :
PQ:d 5/28/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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