BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: SB 1394
AUTHOR: Wyland
AMENDED: March 25, 2014
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: April 2, 2014
URGENCY: Yes CONSULTANT:Daniel Alvarez
SUBJECT : Education finance: local control funding formula:
implementing regulations.
SUMMARY
This bill, an urgency measure, requires the State Board of
Education to adopt regulations, by January 15, 2015, that (1)
require any expenditure of Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)
monies for the primary benefit of low-income, foster youth,
and English language learners be expended on programs or
services that are evidence based, as specified, (2) requires
the Department of Education to suspend LCFF funding if a local
control and accountability plan (LCAP) is not significantly
improving pupil reading and comprehension skills and English
learner performance, and (3) prohibit local educational
agencies from receiving LCFF monies, if their LCAP does not
include evidence-based programs.
BACKGROUND
Local Control Funding Formula . The new Local Control Funding
Formula (LCFF) combines the prior funding from revenue limits
and more than 35 categorical programs that were eliminated, and
uses new methods to allocate these resources and future
allocations to school districts, charter schools, and county
offices of education, allowing local educational agencies
(LEAs) much greater flexibility to spend the funds than under
the prior system (There is a single funding formula for school
districts and charter schools, and a separate funding formula
for county offices of education that has some similarities to
the district formula, but also some key differences.)
The LCFF includes new requirements for local planning and
accountability that focus on improving student outcomes in
state educational priorities and ensuring engagement of
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parents, students, teachers, school employees, and the public
in the local process. In addition, the LCFF features a new
system of support and intervention for underperforming school
districts that do not meet their goals for improving student
outcomes.
Local Control and Accountability Plan . To ensure
accountability for LCFF funds, the state mandated that school
districts, charter schools, and county offices of education
adopt and update a local control and accountability plan
(LCAP). The LCAP must include locally determined goals,
actions, services, and expenditures of LCFF funds for each
school year in support of the state educational priorities that
are specified in statute, as well as any additional local
priorities. In adopting the LCAP, LEAs must consult with
parents, students, teachers, and other school employees.
The eight state priorities that must be addressed in the LCAP,
for all students and significant student subgroups in a school
district and at each school, are:
Williams settlement issues (adequacy of credentialed
teachers, instructional materials, and school facilities).
Implementation of academic content standards.
Parental involvement.
Pupil achievement (in part measured by statewide
assessments, Academic Performance Index, and progress of
English-language learners toward English proficiency).
Pupil engagement (as measured by attendance,
graduation, and dropout data).
School climate (in part measured by suspension and
expulsion rates).
The extent to which students have access to a broad
course of study.
Pupil outcomes for non-state-assessed courses of study.
School district LCAPs are subject to review and approval by
county offices of education. Statute established a process for
districts to receive technical assistance related to their
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LCAPs. The Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) is
authorized to intervene in a struggling district, under certain
conditions. The State Board of Education (SBE) is required to
adopt evaluation rubrics for the state educational priorities
that will assist LEAs and the SPI to assess district and school
performance under the LCAPs and to identify where assistance
and intervention are warranted.
ANALYSIS
This bill, an urgency measure, requires the SBE to adopt
regulations, by January 15, 2015, that (1) require any
expenditure of Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) monies for
the primary benefit low-income, foster youth, and English
language learners be expended on programs or services that are
evidence based, as specified, (2) requires the Department of
Education to suspend LCFF funding if a local control and
accountability plan (LCAP) is not significantly improving pupil
reading and comprehension skills and English learner
performance, and (3) prohibit local educational agencies from
receiving LCFF monies, if their LCAP does not include
evidence-based programs. More specifically, this bill:
1) Requires the SBE, by January 31, 2015, to amend the
regulations recently adopted regarding the implementation
of the LCFF, to include all of the following:
a) Require an expenditure made pursuant to the
local control funding formula for the primary benefit
of the primary benefit of low-income, foster youth,
and English language learners be expended on programs
or services that are evidence-based and have been
shown to be effective in increasing the academic
performance of those pupils.
b) Require the State Department of Education to
suspend funding received pursuant to the local
control funding formula if the department makes a
finding that a local control and accountability plan
is not significantly improving pupil reading and
comprehension skills and English learner performance.
c) Prohibit a school district, county office of
education, or charter school from receiving LCFF
funding if the school district, county office of
education, or charter school does not submit a local
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control and accountability plan, that includes
evidence-based programs that have been proven to be
effective.
2) Specifies legislative intent that any expenditures made as
a result of LCFF in the 2013 Budget Act, for the primary
benefit of low-income, foster youth, and English language
learners shall be expended on programs or services that
are evidence-based and have been shown to be effective in
increasing the academic performance of those pupils.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, the current
allocation of funds via the Local Control Funding Formula
lacks the appropriate level of accountability for
education funding. County offices of education and school
districts are rightly given local discretion on how to
allocate funds based on regional needs. However, after
their Local Control and Accountability Plans are
established to indicate use of LCFF funds, the performance
of each LCAP is unmeasured. Education funding needs
continuous evaluation and LCAPs should be created based on
evidence-based models that are shown to be effective.
2) The State Board of Education (SBE) . On January 16, 2014,
after receiving significant stakeholder input and public
comment on its proposed regulations, the SBE adopted LCFF
emergency regulations that include the spending
regulations and a template for the new mandated local
control and accountability plan. The emergency regulations
became effective on February 6, 2014, when they were
approved by the Office of Administration Law. The board
also initiated the process for adopting permanent
regulations, which is expected to be completed by the fall
2014.
The emergency regulations require LEAs to describe in
their local control and accountability plan the increased
or improved services provided to disadvantaged students
beyond the services provided to all students, in
proportion to the LEA's increase in supplemental funding.
The regulations include a specified standard methodology
for LEAs to calculate their annual LCFF funding attributed
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to the supplemental funds versus base grant funds and also
to calculate the "proportionality percentage" (i.e.,
amount of supplemental funds divided by amount of base
funds) by which services to disadvantaged students must be
increased or improved beyond services provided to all
pupils.
3) New regulations could possibly require many LEAs to expend
funds and operate programs that run counter to "local"
control and accountability . This measure by requiring the
adoption of new regulations by January 2015 will in all
likelihood lead to much confusion in the field as
districts, County offices of education (COE) and charter
schools struggle to meet pending deadlines for
implementing the LCFF and LCAPS in the 2014-15 school
year.
The broad goals of the LCFF and Local Control and
Accountability Plans are as follows:
a) Increase local funding and programmatic
control and reduce state bureaucracy.
b) Ensure that student needs drive the
allocation of resources.
c) Increase transparency in school funding,
empowering parents and local communities to access
information in a more user-friendly manner and
enhance their ability to engage in local school
matters.
d) Ensure sufficient flexibility and
accountability at the local level so those closest to
the students can make the decisions.
The LCFF / LCAPs are in their initial year of
implementation. School district LCAPs are subject to
review and approval by county offices of education. County
office of education LCAPs are subject to review and
approval by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI). Technical assistance will be provided to LEAs when
an LCAP is not approved, and LEAs may also request
technical assistance.
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A new entity, the California Collaborative for Educational
Excellence, was created to advise and assist LEAs with
their LCAPs. The 2013-14 Budget appropriated $10 million
in Proposition 98 funding to establish this entity in
2013-14. Additional assistance may be provided to LEAs by
county offices of education and the SPI.
The SPI is authorized to intervene in a struggling
district or a county office of education under certain
conditions to do one or more of the following: make
changes to the district or county office LCAP; impose
budget revisions; stay or rescind an action, if not
required by a local collective bargaining agreement; and
appoint an academic trustee.
The SBE is required, by October 1, 2015, to adopt
evaluation rubrics for the state educational priorities
that will assist LEAs and the SPI to assess district and
school performance under the LCAPs and to identify where
assistance and intervention are warranted.
The LCFF is a massive cultural change from compliance
driven to outcome driven accountability in return for
funding and programmatic flexibility. Most entities
affected by the LCFF have indicated that everyone involved
are working in good faith toward its successful
implementation. With this in mind, the implementing
legislation envisioned providing schools time to acclimate
to the new funding formula - both in terms of connecting
budgets with instructional program offering --
development robust and detailed accountability plans with
required input from a number entities, and allowing for
annual review and refinement of plans to insure pupil
academic success, and if not successful in three out of
four consecutive school years (in the various areas of
state and local priorities), then tempered intervention
would occur.
1) Evidence-based programs and services are not prohibited
under the LCFF / LCAPs . Implementing statute does not
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prohibit expenditure of funds on evidence-based programs,
but does allow for maximum flexibility in terms of the
best practices and programs that an LEA may wish to pursue
on behalf of their pupils. From an analytic perspective
it may be desirable to require programs that are
evidence-based, but from a local perspective there are a
number of other elements that may not fit neatly in an
evidence-based approach. For example, if a school
district determines that having social workers on high
school campuses is beneficial for a number of reasons -
linking students with critical social services, mental
health and health care - and that will lead to greater
academic success, then should it not be allowed, even
though, there may not be a direct evidence-based link?
2) Prohibiting funding if significant improvement in
specified areas is not achieved . Pupil achievement (in
part measured by statewide assessments, Academic
Performance Index, and progress of English-language
learners toward English proficiency) and implementation of
academic content standards are core state priorities that
are embedded within all LCAPs. Not all LEAs are in equal
critical need of improving pupil reading and comprehension
skills and English learner performance. By imposing a
state requirement, the LCFF / LCAP tends to become a more
rigid less locally driven approach to pupil success.
SUPPORT
None on file.
OPPOSITION
None on file.