BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1248
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Date of Hearing: June 11, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
SB 1248 (Lara) - As Amended: May 1, 2014
SENATE VOTE : 36-0
SUBJECT : California Collaborative for Educational Excellence
SUMMARY : Expands the scope and purpose of the California
Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE). Specifically,
this bill : Requires the CCEE to do all of the following:
1) Provide ongoing recommendations to the State Board of
Education (SBE) regarding how and if school districts,
county offices of education, and charter schools are making
progress in closing the pupil achievement gaps in their
schools identified and measured pursuant to their Local
Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs).
2) Provide recommendations to the SBE as to the best
practices being used by school districts, county offices of
education, and charter schools to close the achievement gap
relative to pupil achievement as measured pursuant to their
LCAPs.
3) Provide recommendations to the SBE on the collection and
analysis of data that can provide comparisons of LCAPs 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.
EXISTING LAW
1)Establishes the CCEE, whose purpose is to advise and assist
local education agencies (LEAs) in achieving the goals set
forth in their local control and accountability plans (LCAPs).
2)Requires the CCEE to be governed by a board consisting of the
following members:
a) The SPI or his or her designee;
b) The president of the SBE or his or her designee;
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c) A county superintendent of schools appointed by the
Senate Rules Committee;
d) A teacher appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly; and
e) A superintendent of a school district appointed by the
Governor.
3)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI), in
consultation with the State Board of Education (SBE), to
contract with an LEA to serve as the fiscal agent for the
CCEE.
4)Requires the fiscal agent, at the direction of the CCEE
governing board, to contract with individuals, LEAs, or
organizations with the expertise, experience, and a record of
success to provide assistance to LEAs that are failing to meet
specified performance objectives.
5)Authorizes the SPI to direct the CCEE to advise and assist an
LEA in any of the following circumstances:
a) The governing board of the LEA requests the advice and
assistance of the CCEE;
b) The superintendent of schools in the county in which the
school district or charter school is located determines
that the advice and assistance of the CCEE is necessary to
help the school district or charter school accomplish the
goals it has set in its LCAP; or
c) The SPI determines the advice and assistance of the CCEE
is necessary to help an LEA accomplish the goals it has set
in its LCAP.
6)Requires LEAs to adopt an LCAP by July 1, 2014 using a
template adopted by the SBE and requires that the LCAP:
a) Be updated every year and renewed every three years;
b) Be developed in consultation with teachers, principals,
administrators, other school personnel, parents, and
pupils;
c) Include annual achievement goals for all pupils,
including specified pupil subgroups, and a description of
actions that will be taken to achieve those goals;
d) Address the following eight state priorities:
i) Requirements related to the Williams v. State of
California settlement agreement related to fully
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credentialed teachers, instructional materials, and
school facilities;
ii) Implementation of academic and performance
standards, including English language development
standards;
iii) Parental involvement;
iv) Pupil achievement, as measured by statewide
assessments;
v) Pupil engagement, as measured by attendance, dropout
and graduation rates, and expulsions/suspensions;
vi) School climate, as measured by suspension rates,
expulsion rates, and other local measures, such as
surveys;
vii) The extent to which pupils have access to and are
enrolled in a broad course of study; and
viii) Pupil outcomes, if available, for non-state-assessed
courses of study.
e) Be aligned with the district's budget and describe how
the district will "increase or improve services for
unduplicated pupils in proportion to its increase in funds
apportioned on the basis of the number and concentration of
unduplicated pupils in the district."
7)Requires the SBE, by October 1, 2015, to adopt evaluation
rubrics for all of the following purposes:
a) To assist an LEA in evaluating its strengths,
weaknesses, and areas that require improvement;
b) To assist a county superintendent of schools in
identifying school districts and charter schools in need of
technical assistance and the specific priorities upon which
the technical assistance should be focused; and
c) To assist the SPI in identifying school districts for
which intervention is warranted.
8)Requires the evaluation rubrics to reflect a holistic,
multidimensional assessment of school district and individual
schoolsite performance and shall include all of the state
priorities that must be addressed by the LCAPs.
9)Requires the SBE to adopt, as part of the rubrics, standards
for school district and individual schoolsite performance and
expectations for improvement in regard to each of the state
priorities that must be addressed by the LCAPs.
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FISCAL EFFECT : 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."
COMMENTS : The 2013-14 budget appropriated $10 million to
establish the CCEE, and this year's education budget trailer
bill (SB 858) makes those funds available for encumbrance until
June 30, 2015. The SPI has not yet contracted with an LEA to
serve as the fiscal agent, but intends to release a request for
proposals soon.
Arguments in support. According to the author's office, by
requiring the CCEE to make recommendations regarding closing the
achievement gap and best practices, this bill "will ensure
districts are accountable to their students, there is
appropriate oversight, and the achievement gap is ultimately
closed." Supporters also argue that a study is needed to
determine whether the LCFF is successful in achieving one of its
most important purposes-closing the achievement gap.
An expanded role for the CCEE . Under existing law, the CCEE
will be called into service in only two instances: if requested
by an LEA or if a county superintendent of schools or if the SPI
determines that-after locally-delivered assistance has been
tried and failed-the advice and assistance of the CCEE is needed
to help an LEA accomplish the goals described in its LCAP. If
the LCFF and LCAPs work as intended, the CCEE will never be
needed, because LEAs will be achieving or making sufficient
progress toward their objectives. This bill adds new purposes
to the CCEE that would need to be fulfilled even if the CCEE
does not need to be called into service for its original
purpose. Specifically, by requiring the CCEE to provide ongoing
recommendations regarding the progress LEAs are making in
closing the achievement gap and recommendations regarding best
practices, this bill requires the CCEE to continually monitor
the performance of all LEAs rather than just provide advice and
assistance to those that are persistently underperforming. This
significantly expands both the scope and cost of the CCEE. As
an alternative, staff recommends that the bill be amended to
instead require the CCEE to report to the SBE by October 15 with
recommendations for the following:
Methods, study designs, and data needs for
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systematically evaluating the effectiveness of the LCAP
process in meeting the objectives of the LCFF, including,
but not limited to, closing the achievement gap.
Methods for the statewide identification and
dissemination of best practices.
Since the $10 million appropriated in the Budget Act of 2013 for
the CCEE is still available, staff recommends that the bill be
amended to permit the use of a portion of these funds to prepare
the report and recommendations.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
The Education Trust-West
Junior League of California
Public Advocates
Opposition
None received
Analysis Prepared by : Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087