BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 1248
          Author:   Lara (D), et al.
          Amended:  5/1/14
          Vote:     21

           
          SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE  :  8-0, 4/24/14
          AYES:  Liu, Wyland, Block, Galgiani, Hancock, Hueso, Huff,  
            Monning
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Correa

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 5/23/14
          AYES:  De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg


           SUBJECT  :    California Collaborative for Educational Excellence

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill expands the purposes of the California  
          Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) to include the  
          collection and dissemination of specified information on school  
          districts, county offices of education (COEs), and charter  
          schools closing achievement gaps and developing best practices  
          in implementing the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).  

           ANALYSIS  :    AB 97 (Assembly Budget Committee, Chapter 47,  
          Statutes of 2013) and subsequent legislation created LCFF, which  
          consolidated most of the state's categorical programs with the  
          discretionary revenue limit funding to create a new student  
          formula phased in over eight years.  One of the main principles  
          behind the LCFF is that English learners and low-income students  
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          require more attention and resources in the classroom than  
          students who do not have these same challenges.  By providing  
          more services (and in turn, funding) to these student  
          populations, it is widely believed that this will help to close  
          the achievement gap and help all students perform better.

          In addition to the new LCFF, the 2013 Budget also established a  
          new system for school accountability.  Under the new system,  
          school districts, county offices of education, and charter  
          schools are required to complete a Local Control and  
          Accountability Plan (LCAP).  The LCAP must include a district's  
          annual goals in each of the eight state priority areas, which  
          include: 

          1.Student achievement.
          2.Student engagement.
          3.Other student outcomes.  
          4.School climate.
          5.Implementation of the Common Core State Standards.
          6.Course access.
          7.Basic services.
          8.Parental involvement.

          The plans must include both districtwide goals and goals for  
          specific subgroups.  Districts are required to consult with  
          stakeholders on their plans and hold at least two public  
          hearings before adopting or updating their LCAP.  Districts must  
          adopt an LCAP by July 1, 2014, which is to be updated every year  
          and adopted every three years.  A district then must submit  
          their LCAP to the COE for review.  The COE can suggest  
          amendments to the district's LCAP, which the district must  
          consider (but are not required to adopt).  The COE must approve  
          the district's LCAP by October 8.  If the COE does not approve  
          the LCAP, the state will then intervene. 

          The new funding formula also created a new system of school  
          district support and intervention.  The CCEE was created in  
          order to provide assistance to low-performing school districts.   
          Under the new system, if a school district does not meet  
          performance expectations in the eight state priority areas, they  
          will be subject to intervention by their COE or the CCEE.   
          Districts that are continuously not meeting performance  
          standards will be subject to intervention by the State Board of  
          Education (SBE) and Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI). 

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          The 2013 Budget appropriated $10 million to establish this new  
          system of support through the CCEE.  The California Department  
          of Education has not yet started this work.  They are expected  
          to go out to bid for a contractor this spring.  The  
          Administration is proposing to extend the use of these funds  
          until June 30, 2015.  Because the number of districts that will  
          need assistance is unknown and the role of the CCEE is still  
          unclear, the cost of the new support and intervention system  
          going forward has yet to be determined.  The Governor's Proposed  
          2014 Budget does not include ongoing funding for the CCEE, but  
          the Administration will be considering ongoing funding as the  
          system is further developed.  

          This bill:

          1.Expands the purposes of CCEE to include the collection and  
            dissemination of specified information on school districts,  
            COEs, and charter schools closing pupil achievement gaps and  
            developing best practices in implementing the LCFF.  

          2.Requires the CCEE, in addition to advising and assisting local  
            educational agencies in achieving goals of local control and  
            accountability plans, to:

             A.   Provide ongoing recommendations to the SBE regarding how  
               and if school districts, COEs, and charter schools are  
               making progress in closing the pupil achievement gaps in  
               their schools with respect to specified categories.

             B.   Provide recommendations to the SBE as to the best  
               practices being used by school districts, COEs, and charter  
               schools to close the achievement gap relative to pupil  
               achievement with respect to specified categories.

             C.   Provide recommendations to the SBE on data collection  
               and analysis that can provide comparisons of local control  
               and accountability plans and pupil achievement data for  
               school districts, county superintendents of schools, and  
               charter schools, and comparisons of schools of comparable  
               size, type, and pupil demographics. 

           Comments
           

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          According to the Senate Education Committee analysis, in  
          California, the achievement gap is defined as the disparity  
          between the academic performance of white students and other  
          ethnic groups as well as that between English learners and  
          native English speakers; socio-economically disadvantaged and  
          non-disadvantaged students; and students with disabilities as  
          compared with students without disabilities.  The achievement  
          gap in California is a problem with a long history and complex  
          causes.  California is home to 14.5 million Latinos and 2.1  
          million African Americans; over half of California's K-12  
          students are Latino and 23% are English learners.  While some  
          districts are doing better in narrowing the achievement gap,  
          other districts still struggle to find success.  What is clear  
          is that more and better information from the state to school  
          districts in the areas of data sharing, best practices, and  
          continually improving our approach to implementing the LCFF and  
          LCAPs is critical.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, significant  
          state costs / cost pressures (General Fund), to expand the data  
          collection, analysis, and recommendations duties of the CCEE  
          when it is created.

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/22/14)

          Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee
          Public Advocates
          The Education Trust

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The State Public Affairs Committee of  
          the Junior Leagues of California writes, "Utilizing the  
          California Collaborative for Educational Excellence in the way  
          that SB 1248 proposes will help ensure that Local Control  
          Funding Formula is used to support students who are low income,  
          English learners, or foster youth.  We believe that eliminating  
          barriers to student success is important and that SB 1248 will  
          help schools better serve their students."


          PQ/MW:k  5/25/14   Senate Floor Analyses 


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                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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