Under the Dome: Midsession update on CSBA priority bills
Published: June 1, 2013
As legislation is making its way through the Assembly and state Senate, it is a good time to check in on CSBA’s priority legislation. The following are CSBA’s sponsored bills and several other bills of importance.
CSBA-sponsored bills
AB 913 Charter schools: open meetings and conflict of interest
Chau, D-Monterey Park
Would subject charter schools to Public Records Act, the Political Reform Act, the Ralph M. Brown Act and Government Code Section 1090, which prohibits contracting between board members and the agency they govern.
Status: Passed in Assembly
CSBA position: Co-sponsor
AB 1032 Charter schools: facilities: Proposition 39 disputes
Gordon, D-Redwood City
Would prohibit the displacement of district students, in favor of charter school students, in the provision of reasonably equivalent facilities to charter schools. Would also limit comparisons of space available to districts and charters to useable space only, among other changes.
Status: In the Assembly Appropriations Suspense File
CSBA position: Sponsor
SCA 3 Taxation: educational entities: parcel tax
Leno, D-San Francisco
Would lower the voter threshold to 55 percent for the imposition, extension or increase of a parcel tax by a school district, community college district or county office of education.
Status: Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee hearing scheduled for June 5
CSBA position: Sponsor
Other bills of importance
AB 182 Bonds: school districts and community college districts
Buchanan, D-Alamo
Would require the ratio of total debt service to principal for each bond series to not exceed 4:1. It would also require capital appreciation bonds to be eligible for refinancing beginning 10 years after the date of issuance, and would limit the term and interest rate for school bonds to 25 years and 8 percent, respectively.
Status: Awaiting consideration by the Senate Education Committee
CSBA position: Oppose unless amended
AB 420 Pupil discipline: suspensions: willful defiance
Dickinson, D-Sacramento
Would limit the authority of a school district superintendent and school principal by only allowing a student enrolled in any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive, to be suspended, but not expelled, for willful defiance on or after the 3rd offense in a school year, provided other specified correction measures were attempted before the recommendation to suspend. The bill also would state the intent of the Legislature to minimize the excessive use of willful defiance and encourage schools to instead prioritize and use alternative means of correction.
Status: On the Assembly Appropriations Suspense File
CSBA position: Oppose unless amended
AB 484 Pupil assessments: temporary suspension
Bonilla, D-Concord
Would replace the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program with the California Measurement of Academic Performance and Progress for the 21st Century (CALMAPP21). The bill would suspend, starting with the 2013-14 school year, the administration of assessments required as part of the Standardized Testing and Reporting program. Tests exempt from the suspension are core subject tests necessary to satisfy the adequate yearly progress requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 in grades 3-8 and 10, and assessments augmented for use as part of the Early Assessment Program in grade 11. The suspension would be in effect until new assessments addressing the Common Core State Standards are developed and implemented.
Status: Passed in Assembly
CSBA position: Support if amended
AB 643 Public schools: pupil records: confidentiality
Stone, D-Scotts Valley
Would update California law to be in conformance with the Federal Uninterrupted Scholars Act of 2013. These provisions would create exceptions to Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) that would allow state and local child welfare agency caseworkers and representatives to have access to student records without parental consent or notification.
Status: Awaiting consideration by the Senate Education Committee
CSBA position: Support
SB 744 Pupils: involuntary transfer: county community schools and community day schools
Lara, D Bell Gardens
Would revise the list of pupils who may be involuntarily enrolled in a county community school to limit the kind of probation referrals and remove homeless children. The bill would require the consent of the pupil’s parent or guardian for the enrollment of a pupil who was referred as the result of a recommendation by a school attendance review board. The bill would also give pupils involuntarily enrolled in county community schools the right to reenroll in their school district of residence, and not be denied readmission based on failure to comply with additionally imposed criteria beyond the terms stated in the initial or subsequent expulsion order.
Status: Passed in Senate
CSBA position: Oppose unless amended
More detailed information on these and other bills is available on our website at www.csba.org/Advocacy/CSBAPositions.