Amended in Senate April 21, 2014

Amended in Senate March 24, 2014

Senate Bill No. 1248

Introduced by Senator Lara

February 20, 2014

An act to begin delete add Article 3 (commencing with Section 32320) to Chapter 3 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 end delete begin insert amend Section 52074 end insert of the Education Code, relating to public schools.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1248, as amended, Lara. begin delete Academic Achievement Gap Advisory Committee. end delete begin insert California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. end insert

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Existing law, on or before July 1, 2014, requires the governing board of each school district and each county board of education to adopt a local control and accountability plan and requires the governing board of each school district and each county board of education to update its local control and accountability plan on or before July 1 of each year. Existing law requires of charter schools something similar to a local control and accountability plan.

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Existing law establishes the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence for the purpose of advising and assisting school districts, county superintendents of schools, and charter schools in achieving the goals set forth in a local control and accountability plan.

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This bill would specify additional roles for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, including providing ongoing recommendations to the State Board of Education regarding how and if school districts are making progress in closing the achievement gap in their schools, providing recommendations as to the best practices being used by school districts to close the achievement gap relative to pupils who are low income, English learners, or foster youth, and collecting data relevant to monitoring the implementation of the local control funding formula, including local control and accountability plans and pupil achievement data.

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Existing law establishes the Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999 to, among other things, ensure that each child in California receives a high quality education consistent with all statewide content and performance standards, as specified.

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This bill would provide for the establishment of the Academic Achievement Gap Advisory Committee as an advisory committee to the State Board of Education. The bill would require the committee to, among other things, monitor the implementation of the local control funding formula, common core academic content standards, and Academic Performance Index standards, as they relate to closing the achievement gap, as defined, for pupils of color. The bill would require the committee to be comprised of 12 members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the State Department of Education, as specified.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 52074 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

52074.  

(a) The California Collaborative for Educational
Excellence is hereby established.

(b) The purpose of the California Collaborative for Educational
Excellence is to begin delete advise end delete begin insert do all of the following: end insert

begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Advise end insert and assist school districts, county superintendents
of schools, and charter schools in achieving the goals set forth in
a local control and accountability plan adopted pursuant to this
article.

begin insert

(2) Provide ongoing recommendations to the state board
regarding how and if school districts are making progress in
closing the achievement gap in their schools.

end insert begin insert

(3) Provide recommendations as to the best practices being
used by school districts to close the achievement gap relative to
pupils who are low income, English learners, or foster youth.

end insert begin insert

(4) Collect data relevant to monitoring the implementation of
the local control funding formula, including local control and
accountability plans and pupil achievement data.

end insert

(c) The Superintendent shall, with the approval of the state
board, contract with a local educational agency, or consortium of
local educational agencies, to serve as the fiscal agent for the
California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. The
Superintendent shall apportion funds appropriated for the California
Collaborative for Educational Excellence to the fiscal agent.

(d) The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence
shall be governed by a board consisting of the following five
members:

(1) The Superintendent or his or her designee.

(2) The president of the state board or his or her designee.

(3) A county superintendent of schools appointed by the Senate
Committee on Rules.

(4) A teacher appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.

(5) A superintendent of a school district appointed by the
Governor.

(e) At the direction of the governing board of the California
Collaborative for Educational Excellence, the fiscal agent shall
contract with individuals, local educational agencies, or
organizations with the expertise, experience, and a record of
success to carry out the purposes of this article. The areas of
expertise, experience, and record of success shall include, but are
not limited to, all of the following:

(1) State priorities as described in subdivision (d) of Section
52060.

(2) Improving the quality of teaching.

(3) Improving the quality of school district and schoolsite
leadership.

(4) Successfully addressing the needs of special pupil
populations, including, but not limited to, English learners, pupils
eligible to receive a free or reduced-price meal, pupils in foster
care, and individuals with exceptional needs.

(f) The Superintendent may direct the California Collaborative
for Educational Excellence to advise and assist a school district,
county superintendent of schools, or charter school in any of the
following circumstances:

(1) If the governing board of a school district, county board of
education, or governing body or a charter school requests the advice
and assistance of the California Collaborative for Educational
Excellence.

(2) If the county superintendent of schools of the county in
which the school district or charter school is located determines,
following the provision of technical assistance pursuant to Section
52071 or 47607.3 as applicable, that the advice and assistance of
the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence is
necessary to help the school district or charter school accomplish
the goals described in the local control and accountability plan
adopted pursuant to this article.

(3) If the Superintendent determines that the advice and
assistance of the California Collaborative for Educational
Excellence is necessary to help the school district, county
superintendent of schools, or charter school accomplish the goals
set forth in the local control and accountability plan adopted
pursuant to this article.

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SECTION 1.  

Article 3 (commencing with Section 32320) is
added to Chapter 3 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:

 

Article 3.  Academic Achievement Gap Advisory Committee

 

32320.  

(a) The Academic Achievement Gap Advisory
Committee shall be established by the state board to advise the
state board pursuant to this article. The committee shall be tasked
with all of the following:

(1) Monitoring the implementation of the local control funding
formula, common core academic content standards, and Academic
Performance Index standards, as they relate to closing the
achievement gap for pupils of color.

(2) Providing ongoing recommendations to the state board
regarding how and if school districts are making progress in closing
the achievement gap in their schools.

(3) Providing recommendations as to the best practices being
used by school districts to close the achievement gap in their
schools.

(b) The committee shall have access to local control and
accountability plan data and aggregate data on pupil achievement
for purposes of implementing the provisions of this article.

32321.  

The committee shall be comprised of 12 members
representing school boards, school administrators, educational
justice advocates, and policy experts, to be appointed as follows:

(a) Five members shall be appointed by the Senate Committee
on Rules.

(b) Five members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the
Assembly.

(c) Two members shall be appointed by the department.

32322.  

For purposes of this article, “achievement gap” means
the following:

(a) The gap between pupils of color and their peers in test scores,
enrollment in advanced placement courses, high school completion
rates, and enrollment in four-year colleges.

(b) The disparity between the academic performance of white
pupils and other ethnic groups, English learners and native English
speakers, and socioeconomically disadvantaged and
nondisadvantaged pupils.

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