UndertheDome: Enrolled bills, joint resolutions

As of Sept. 12, when the state Legislature adjourned the regular session for this year, 48 bills on which CSBA had adopted positions had made it to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk. As of press time, nine have been chaptered (written into law) and none vetoed; 39 are still awaiting action by the governor. Included in those are two bills that were co-sponsored by CSBA. The governor has until Oct. 12 to sign or veto bills.

The following bills of key interest to school governance leaders are awaiting action by the governor:

AB 45 (Swanson, D-Oakland): Oakland Unified School District—governance

This bill would establish a process for returning authority of Oakland Unified School District to the governing board based on the district’s annual progress on the recovery plan developed by the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team. In 2003, as a condition of acceptance of a loan from the state, governance of the Oakland Unified School District was taken over by the state superintendent of public instruction.

CSBA position: Support

AB 400 (Núñez, D-Los Angeles): Public school accountability

This bill would incorporate additional academic indicators in the Academic Performance Index. Half of the API computation would incorporate various indicators, including high school graduation rates and rates by which pupils are offered and complete certain courses. CSBA believes it is inappropriate to place these new tracking requirements into the API.

CSBA position: Oppose

AB 438 (Price, D-Inglewood): Schools—accountability

This bill would align exit criteria for the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program and the High Priority Schools Grant Program by requiring schools to meet or exceed API growth targets averaged over three years for HPSGP and two years for II/USP to exit the state accountability programs.

CSBA position: Support

AB 466 (Hancock, D-Berkeley): Pupils—average daily attendance

This bill would authorize a high school student’s service as a member of an election precinct board to be independent study. This would allow the student’s absence from school to qualify as attendance for the purpose of computing the average daily attendance for funding.

CSBA position: Support

AB 554 (Hernandez, D-Baldwin Park): Public employees—benefits

This bill would permit the Public Employees’ Retirement System to authorize a public employer to participate in the prefunding of health care coverage and other post-employment benefits for annuitants. While providing options for districts to prefund their GASB 45 obligation is a reasonable proposition, CSBA has some concerns with how CalPERS will construct its trust.

CSBA position: Oppose

AB 1014 (Bass, D-Los Angeles): School facilities

This bill would authorize school districts to submit an alternative enrollment projection method instead of the Cohort Survival Enrollment Projection System.

CSBA position: Support

AB 1281 (Soto, D-Pomona) Charter schools—special education

This bill would require a charter school petition to define and demonstrate that the petitioners have the ability and training to develop a special education program and the capacity to serve the needs of special education pupils.

CSBA position: Co-sponsor

AB 1379 (Brownley, D-Santa Monica) High schools—requirements for graduation

This bill would require the state superintendent of public instruction, in consultation with the secretary for education and the High School Exit Examination Standards Panel, to identify alternative criteria and measures by which high school pupils who are regarded as proficient but unable to pass the high school exit examination may demonstrate their competence and receive a high school diploma.

CSBA position: Co-sponsor

SB 537 (Simitian, D-Palo Alto): Charter schools—report

This bill would require the California Research Bureau to prepare and submit to the Legislature a report on the key elements and actual costs of charter school oversight.

CSBA position: Support

SB 733 (Torlakson, D-Antioch): Instructional Materials Funding Realignment Program

This bill extends the sunset date for the Instructional Materials Funding Realignment Program to July 1, 2013.

CSBA position: Support

The following are resolutions which CSBA sponsored or co-sponsored that were chaptered by the Secretary of State’s Office:

Assembly Joint Resolution 23 (Hancock, D-Berkeley) No Child Left Behind Act of 2001—reauthorization

This resolution urges Congress to amend NCLB to provide states more flexibility in the implementation of the law and in the identification of schools in need of improvement to strategically target resources and interventions, to permit adequate yearly progress to accommodate a range of accountability models, to respect parental choice and to fully fund the requirements of NCLB.

CSBA position: Sponsor

Senate Joint Resolution 3 (Aanestad, R-Grass Valley) Federal Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000—extension

This resolution urges Congress to reauthorize and fund the federal Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000.