BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 858
Page 1
( Without Reference to File )
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 858 ( Budget and Fiscal Review Committee)
As Amended June 12, 2014
Majority vote. Budget Bill Appropriation Takes Effect
Immediately
SENATE VOTE : Vote not relevant
SUMMARY : Provides the necessary statutory and technical changes
to enact the education-related provisions of the Budget Act of
2014.
K-12 Education
1)Pays down a total of $5.2 billion in payment deferrals to K-12
schools and community colleges, including $1.4 billion in
2012-13, $3.1 billion in 2013-14 and $662 million in 2014-15.
In the event the Proposition 98 of 1988 minimum guarantee is
higher than projected, an additional payment of up to $992
million would be triggered at the May Revision, resulting in
the elimination of all K-14 payment deferrals.
2)Provides $450 million in one-time funding to pay down the K-14
education mandates backlog (including $113 million in one-time
funding from prior years), with the intent that school
districts will prioritize these funds for implementation of
the Common Core state standards in English language arts and
mathematics, English language development standards and Next
Generation Science standards.
3)Establishes the California Career Pathways Trust, a
competitive grant program for grades K-14, to be administered
by the Superintendent of Public Instruction in consultation
with the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges,
workforce investment organizations and the business community.
Funds for this purpose shall be provided through the annual
Budget Act and the Superintendent of Public Instruction may
set aside up to 1% of the total amount for planning grants and
technical assistance to applicants and grant recipients.
4)Requires the governing board of a school district, beginning
in 2015-16, to provide the following information for public
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review, when adopting a budget with a local reserve above the
minimum recommended level:
a) The minimum recommended reserve adopted by the State
Board of Education.
b) The district's fund balance in excess of the recommended
reserve.
c) A statement substantiating the need for the excess
reserve level.
5)In the event that ACA 1 X2 (John A. P�rez), Chapter 1,
Statutes of 2013-14 Second Extraordinary Session, is passed by
voters, the following changes would apply:
a) In the immediate fiscal year following a fiscal year
that a transfer is made to the Public School System
Stabilization Account, or Proposition 98 reserve, local
districts would be prohibited from having reserves in
excess of two to three times the minimum recommended
reserve amount. Districts with less than 400,000 units of
average daily attendance would be capped at two times,
while districts with more than 400,000 units of average
daily attendance would be capped at three times this
amount.
b) A county superintendent of schools may grant a school
district an exemption from this requirement for up to two
years within a three year period if the district provides
documentation indicating the need for a reserve above these
levels.
6)Establishes a new "course based" independent study program for
grades K-12, which includes the following components:
a) Allows local governing boards to convert entire courses,
instead of individual assignments, into instructional time
for funding purposes.
b) Requires students and teachers to communicate in-person,
by telephone, or live visual or audio connection at least
twice per calendar month to assess whether the student is
meeting satisfactory educational progress.
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c) Requires an annual certification by the governing board
that the independent study course is of the same rigor and
educational quality as equivalent classroom-based courses.
d) Requires statewide testing results for students enrolled
in independent study to be disaggregated for purposes of
comparing test results of students enrolled in
classroom-based courses.
e) Prohibits any courses required for high school
graduation or admission to the University of California or
California State University to be offered exclusively
through independent study.
f) Prohibits any student participating in independent study
from being assessed a fee or prevented from participating
on the basis of not having the materials, equipment, or
internet access.
g) Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to
conduct an evaluation of independent study courses and
report to the Legislature and the Department of Finance no
later than September 1, 2019, comparing the academic
performance of similar students enrolled in independent
study and equivalent classroom-based courses.
7)Makes the following changes to the existing independent study
program:
a) Calculates the student to teacher ratio caps by grade
span instead of district average, likely increase the cap
on independent study for high school programs, while
decreasing the cap for elementary programs.
b) Allows for alternative student to teacher ratio caps to
be collectively bargained.
c) Eliminates the requirement for supervising teachers in
independent study programs to sign and date each assignment
when assessing the time value of pupils' work products for
apportionment purposes.
d) Allows required documents to be maintained
electronically.
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8)Establishes a one-year moratorium on Workforce Investment Act
affiliated charter schools from claiming Local Control Funding
Formula (LCFF) funding for adult education and adults in
correctional facilities, except for charter schools authorized
by July 1, 2014.
9)Extends the encumbrance or expenditure of Proposition 39
(2000) funds until June 30, 2018.
10)Adds six new education mandates to the mandates block grants
for K-12 schools and community colleges.
11)Transfers remaining funding from the State School Building
Aid Fund to the Emergency Repair Program, instead of the
Deferred Maintenance Program, which was consolidated into the
LCFF.
12)Extends, until June 30, 2017, an exemption that allows
retired members of the State Teacher's Retirement System
(STRS) Defined Benefit Program to earn specified
post-retirement compensation in any one school year without a
reduction in retirement allowance.
13)Provides the final payment of $409.6 million non-Proposition
98 General Fund to fulfill the settlement of the California
Teachers' Association v. Schwarzenegger lawsuit that
established the Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA). The
funds would be appropriated to the QEIA program ($267
million), the Community Colleges QEIA Career Technical
Education program ($48 million), and the Emergency Repair
Program ($94.6 million).
14)Reschedules the appropriation of an outstanding 2006-07
"settle-up" balance ($212 million in non-Proposition 98
General Fund) from 2014-15 to 2015-16. As a result, those
funds are freed up for other purposes.
15)Suspends the statutorily-specified split of the Proposition
98 minimum guarantee between K-12, community college, and
other state agencies. This section of statute has been
suspended each year since 1992-93.
16)Repeals the County School Service Fund Contingency Account,
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which was created to reimburse County Superintendents for
certain travel expenses. This separate fund is not needed due
to the flexibility of the LCFF for County Offices of Education
(COEs).
17)Extends the encumbrance period for $10 million allocated in
the 2013 Budget Act for the Collaborative to the 2014-15
fiscal year.
18)Authorizes the State Controller to make temporary intra-year
cash transfers from the Test Development and Administration
Account to the Teacher Credentials Fund to provide cash flow
relief to the Teacher Credentials Fund during low-revenue
months.
19)Authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to set and
charge fees to recover the costs of providing reviews of new
and existing educator preparation programs and require the
Commission on Teacher Credentialing to notify the Legislature
and Department of Finance before implementing or changing the
fees.
20)Specifies amounts of funding allocated in the Budget Acts of
2012 and 2013 that would count toward the 2010-11 fiscal
year's maintenance of effort requirement for the special
education program. Also, adjust special education General
Fund apportionments in 2014-15 based on an updated
determination of revenues related to the dissolution of
redevelopment agencies.
21)Provides for a cost-of-living adjustment to update
reimbursement rates for meals served through the state child
nutrition programs.
22)Makes technical and clarifying changes related to the new
student assessment program. Specifically, clarify the
administration of the primary language assessment for English
learners would be paid for by the state, while local
educational agencies would pay for administering the test to
non-English learners in dual-immersion classrooms.
23)Makes technical changes, including changes to remove
references to repealed code sections related to mental health
services.
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24)Provides 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
existing law.
25)Declares that it is to take effect immediately as a bill
providing for appropriations related to the budget bill.
Early Childhood Education
1)Declares legislative intent to provide all low-income
four-year-old children from working families with full-day,
full-year early education and child care services.
2)Creates a block grant program to support local consortia
efforts to develop early learning quality rating and
improvement systems.
3)Requires that agencies expanding full-day, full-year services
for eligible four year olds shall be given priority for
preschool expansion funding.
4)Eliminates family fees for the part-day preschool program.
5)Authorizes the Department of Education to develop a process
that requires every contracting child development agency to
compete for continuing funding at least every five years.
6)Sets income eligibility limits for early childhood education
programs at 70% at the state median income that was in use in
2007-08.
7)Increases the Standard Reimbursement Rate for General Child
Care and state preschool providers by 5%, or $9,024.75 per
unit of average daily enrollment for a 250-day year.
8)Establishes that augmentations to the Child Care Facilities
Revolving Fund made in the Budget Act of 2014 be used for
renovation or repair of existing facilities or new relocatable
child care facilities that provide state preschool programs.
9)Requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to review and
update, if appropriate, the early childhood education permit.
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10)Increases the Regional Market Rate by basing rates on the
85th percentile of the 2009 survey, minus 13%. This should
amount to a rate increase of 9% on average. Also includes
language that prohibits a rate from decreasing based on this
new data.
11)Allows a state preschool provider to keep an additional 10%
in reserves to be used for professional development for
instructional staff.
12)Declares legislative intent that transitional kindergarten
curriculum be aligned with the California Preschool Learning
Foundations curriculum developed by the Department of
Education.
Analysis Prepared by : Katie Hardeman and Mark Martin / BUDGET
/ (916) 319-2099
FN: 0003976