BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 1174 (Lara) - English Language Education
Amended: April 23, 2014 Policy Vote: Education 8-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 23, 2014 Consultant: Jacqueline
Wong-Hernandez
SUSPENSE FILE.
Bill Summary: SB 1174 amends and repeals various provisions of
statute implemented by the enactment of Proposition 227 of 1998,
to be submitted to voters for approval at the November 2016
statewide general election.
Fiscal Impact:
Ballot costs: $275,000 - $660,000 in one-time costs to the
Secretary of State. Placing a measure on a statewide ballot
costs $55,000 - $66,000 per page; ballot measures range in
length, but average 10 pages in length.
Language education model choice: Potentially significant
additional local costs to provide access to any language
educational model that the parents of 20 or more students in
the same grade level request, or to facilitate their
transfer to a school that offers the requested model. State
mandates enacted by the voters are not reimbursable.
However, schools are primarily funded by Proposition 98
General Fund dollars.
State-level oversight: Potentially significant increased
workload for the California Department of Education to
revise guidance and oversight to ensure the state continues
to meet federal requirements to provide certain services to
ELs, as a protected class.
Background: In 1998, statewide voters passed Proposition 227
which requires: a) that all children in California public
schools be taught English by being taught exclusively in English
language classrooms; b) that English Learners (ELs) be educated
through sheltered English immersion during a temporary
transition period not to exceed 1 year; and, c) that, once ELs
had a good working knowledge of English, they be transferred to
English language mainstream classrooms.
SB 1174 (Lara)
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The initiative permits schools to provide classes in a language
other than English under a parent initiated waiver process under
specified circumstances. Parents/guardians are required to
annually give written informed consent and to personally visit
the school to apply for the waiver. The initiative requires
individual schools to offer a bilingual education class if 20 or
more students in a given grade level are granted a waiver, or to
allow a student to transfer to a public school which does offer
such a class.
It also provides that its provisions could be amended by a
statute that becomes effective upon approval by voters or by a
statute that furthers its purpose if passed by a 2/3 vote of
each house and signed by the Governor. (Education Code �
300-340)
Proposed Law: This bill amends and repeals provisions of the
voter enacted initiative Proposition 227 (of 1998) and renames
the proposition as the California Education for a Global Economy
Initiative (California EdGE Initiative). This bill would, among
other things, delete the sheltered English immersion requirement
and waiver provisions, and would instead authorize school
districts and county offices of education to determine the best
language instruction methods and language acquisition programs
to implement by consulting experts in the field, parents, and
engaging local communities. The bill would authorize all parents
to choose the language education model that best suits their
child, and require that a school in which 20 pupils or more of a
given grade level request a specific language program to offer
such a class; otherwise, they must allow the pupils to transfer
to a public school in which such a class is offered.
This bill deletes certain findings and declarations relative to
English language instruction, and replaces them with others
relative to multilingual skills and instruction.
This bill authorizes these education statutes to be amended by a
majority vote of each house of the Legislature and signed by the
Governor. It requires that the provisions of this bill be
submitted to the voters at the November 2016 statewide general
election.
Staff Comments: This measure will result in direct state General
Fund costs of approximately $275,000 - $550,000, to place the
SB 1174 (Lara)
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proposed revisions to Proposition 227 on the November 2016
statewide ballot. If enacted by voters, this measure could
result in additional local costs and savings, depending on local
decisions.
This bill affords greater flexibility to school districts in how
they teach ELs, but also expands the rights of parents. For
example, the bill authorizes parents to choose the language
education model that best suits their child, and requires that a
school in which 20 pupils or more of a given grade level
"request a specific language program" to offer such a class;
otherwise, they must allow the pupils to transfer to a public
school in which such a class is offered. What constitutes a
"specific language program" is unclear. Especially considering
the findings and declarations' focus on competing in a global
economy and dual and tri-lingual immersion programs, this
requirement could be construed as requiring schools to offer
foreign language immersion programs at the request of 20 pupils,
or allow them to transfer to a school that does. Staff notes
that the responsibility appears to be on the school to "allow" a
transfer out, rather than on a school with the desired language
program to allow a student to actually enroll.
The CDE has opined that because it has a considerable role in
ensuring ELs are appropriately served to comply with federal law
and to draw down considerable federal funding, it would have to
develop guidance documents, regulations, and definitions of what
steps are to be taken by a school district in developing their
programs and policies. The CDE would incur significant one-time
workload to implement the changes; ongoing monitoring and
enforcement would be similar to CDE's current efforts and
responsibilities.