Charter School Legislation Archives

The Charter School Program (CSP) funding was increased in the House Labor -HHS Appropriations bill on July 13, 2017. The bill earmarks $28 million increase for CSP. Below is a statement from the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools with their position.
“…the House Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee demonstrated support for public charter schools by recommending a $28 million increase to the Charter Schools Program (CSP), for a total of $370 million in FY 2018. This crucial funding would allow more high-quality public charter schools to open, expand and replicate—giving more students access to the great public school options they need and deserve. We are grateful to Chairman Cole, who provided this increase even when faced with a tight allocation that was several billions of dollars below last year’s level,” said Nina Rees, President and CEO of the National Alliance.
“However, the allocation remains too low, and must be raised. Once again, we urge Congress—in the strongest possible terms—to lift the cap on non-defense discretionary spending. We continue to support the Administration’s proposed level of $500 million for CSP in FY 2018. With a higher budget cap, Congress can reach that goal and provide students with even more access to public charter schools and other critical programs. We look forward to continued progress as the House bill moves to full committee and the Senate takes up its appropriations work.”

The California Legislature has passed the budget and education trailer bill on to the Governor Brown fulfilling their constitutional mandate to pass it by June 15th. Similar to the past several years, the education community will see robust funding and one-time dollars that can be spent to augment their programs. Now that the measures are on his desk, the Governor will have 30 days to sign or veto them.
The budget was passing along without much fanfare until SB 96 was presented in the State Assembly. Though it is a trailer bill, the measure contains provisions that could make the ongoing recall of Senator Josh Newman of Orange County harder to complete by changing the statutes that govern the state’s recall process. After voting for the transportation tax Senator Newman was targeted by his opponents who began the recall process in his district. SB 96 would alter the process while the recall is ongoing. Though it is has nothing to do with educational policy it makes for great Capitol intrigue.
Much of the funding and policy changes for California’s educational process are contained in the education trailer bill. Below are some of the major highlights:

Provides $1.362 billion for continued implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula to LEAs and charter schools.
Provides $876.6 million in discretionary one-time dollars to LEAs on a per ADA basis.
Increases the maximum charter school grant under the Charter School Facilities Grant Program (SB 740) from $750 per ADA our up to 75 percent of a school’s annual rent and lease costs to $1,117 per ADA or up to 75 percent of its annual rent and lease costs. The bill also applies a cost-of-living adjustments for future years.
Replaces the authority for the Superintendent of Public Instruction to assign the CCEE to assist a charter school, with authority for the CCEE to assist the school after consulting with the Superintendent.
Provides $25 million in one-time dollars to the CTC to fund a second cohort of the California Classified School Employee Teacher Credentialing Program.
Provides $10 million in one-time dollars to allocate to school districts impacted by refugees.
Extends the District of Choice program, with some limitations, through 2022-2023.
Extends the date that LEAs can encumber funds received under Proposition 39 for clean energy projects by one year, until June 30, 2019.
Provides $7 million in ongoing dollars to county offices of education to fund their work on LCAPs.
Updates the standard reimbursement rate and the regional market rate to increase funding for child care providers.

Applications to the California School Facility Grant Program (SB740) are now being accepted starting May 18th. As part of our efforts to serve as a reliable resource for charter school leaders, we wanted to ensure charter schools in California are aware of this grant opportunity. Applications for 2017-18 are open now and close at 5:00 p.m. on June 1st, 2017.
The California School Facility Grant program (SB740) was created to provide annual assistance with facilities rent and lease expenditures to qualifying charter schools. Eligible charter schools typically receive $750 per unit of classroom-based average daily attendance, or up to 75% of their annual facilities rent and lease costs for the school. New funding rounds occur annually, and schools can turn in online applications to the California School Finance Authority (CSFA). The CSFA uses prior year data on pupil eligibility for Free or Reduced-Price Meals (FRPM) program to determine the charter school’s eligibility. At least 55% of the student enrollment must be in the FRPM program, or located in an elementary school attendance area where at least 55% of students enrolled are FRPM eligible in order to qualify.
For more information on the grant program, an FAQ with a full list of eligibility requirements is available here.

The Governor has released his May Revision, which is an update to the budget that he introduced in January. This new “budget” takes into account tax receipts and revenue projections that the administration has assumed. With revenues up slightly, the revision has several major changes. Below are some of the highlights:

Dollars to fund the minimum wage increase to $11 in 2018
Expansion of health care coverage to undocumented children
Providing dental benefits to adults covered by Medi‐Cal
The first cost‐of‐living adjustment for Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment (SSI/SSP) recipients since 2005
California’s first‐ever Earned Income Tax Credit to help the poorest working families

For education specifically, the May Revision will increase funding for the Local Control Funding Formula by $661 million. That is added to the $770 million included in the January budget proposal to bring the additional funds going to the Local Control Funding Formula this year to almost $1.4 billion. This money will go out on an ADA basis and be very flexible in terms of what it can be used for. The Governor has also reinstated the three year “deal” with the early education community that he suspended in his January budget. This means that early education will see an increase of $500 million to fund an increase in the standard reimbursement rate and the regional market rate, as well as funding for an additional 2,959 slots for full day preschool.
The legislature is beginning hearings on the Governor’s May Revision. Budget subcommittees in both houses of the legislature will hear and vote on the measures and advance them to the full Budget Committees so that the final budget can be approved by June 15th.
To see the full text of the Governor’s May Revision go to the state’s budget page on their website.

On Monday, August 1^st, the California Legislature will return from its summer recess. When they return they will have until August 31^st to complete all legislative business for the year. Since this is the second year of a two-year session, all bills that are not passed to the Governor Jerry Brown’s desk will be officially dead. With the budget a done deal and most of the ‘easier’ bills acted upon, the legislature will be dealing with a number of contentious issues. For virtual charter schools there is one bill moving through the process that could severely limit their ability to operate in the future. AB 1084, by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, would prohibit a virtual or online charter school from being owned, or operated by, or operated as, a for-profit entity. The bill would also prohibit a nonprofit online charter school, nonprofit charter virtual academy and a nonprofit entity that operates an online or virtual charter school from contracting with a for-profit entity for the provision of instructional services. Though the charter school is defined as one that provides 80% of online teaching and pupil interaction, instructional services is not defined. This means that instructional materials, supplemental materials, special education services, and a number of other products and services could fall under the definition. AB 1084 would become effective for the 2017-18 school year. A number of charter school entities lined up to oppose the bill when it was heard in the Senate Education Committee, but it passed out on a 6-2 vote with the Chair, Carol Liu, abstaining. The measure is now on the Senate Floor and, if it passes it, will be headed to the Assembly Floor for final passage.
To register your concerns about this bill, please call your State Senator and ask that they oppose it on the Senate Floor. To view the language in the bill and the analysis of it, go to www.leginfo.ca.gov and put in the bill number.

This weekend the Governor vetoed AB 787. The measure would have prevented a charter school from operating as a for-profit or being operated by a for-profit corporation. It was sponsored by the California Teachers Association and targeted a number of charter schools in the state. Additionally, the language was vague and brought in to question contracts that several charter schools have with numerous providers and vendors. The Governor’s veto message was strong and pointed out the ambiguous language in the bill. Once again he has shown himself to be a strong proponent of parent and student choice.
See his veto message below by clicking on the message.

Last week the legislature adjourned for the year, completing the first year of the 2015-2016 legislative session. Friday night saw a flurry of legislative action, both successful and not successful, as both houses wrapped up their work. During the last hours of session a group of moderate Democrats emerged and frustrated their leadership and the administration by refusing to support several key bills. Some of these measures included a major climate change bill, raising the state’s smoking age and new restrictions on e-cigarettes. Additionally, two special sessions that were called by Governor Jerry Brown on transportation and health care stalled out and produced no agreements on either issue. There is some belief that the legislature will use the special session committees to craft some agreement over the legislative break and bring members back to town to vote on them but that seems like a long shot.
For charter schools specifically only one bill reached the Governor’s desk that is concerning, AB 787. The bill by Assemblyman Hernandez would prohibit for-profit companies from operating charter schools in any fashion. Though the bill is only a page long the term operate is not defined in the legislation and it leaves it up to interpretation. The education reform community has come out in strong opposition to the bill and waged a lobbying campaign against it on both the Senate and Assembly Floors. It passed both houses with one Democrat voting against it in the Senate and three Democrats abstaining while all of the Republicans opposed it. In the Assembly it passed with one Democrat voting against it and nine Democrats abstaining so it goes to the Governor without the support of the entire Democratic Caucus. The Governor has until October 11th to sign and veto the measure and we are urging him to veto it.
To see the language in AB 787 go to www.leginfo.ca.gov and put in the bill number.

Today the Seattle Times Editorial Board said, “The Washington Supreme Court should reconsider its ruling that the state’s charter school law is unconstitutional.”
It’s unfortunate that the state court’s ruling came days prior to the 2015-16 school year after 11 months with the court, impacting more than 1,200 students and their families. The growth of charter schools comes out of choice families are seeking for new and different ways of education for their children.
Below is the Seattle Times piece.

By Seattle Times editorial board, The Seattle Times

The state Supreme Court should heed requests to reconsider its ruling that Washington’s fledgling charter schools violate the state constitution.

The timing of the ruling – about 11 months after hearing arguments and after charter school classes commenced – was perplexing, but its repercussions are serious. More than 1,200 students are enrolled in the state’s nine charter schools, eight of which are starting their first year. In 2012, voters approved Initiative 1240 to authorize publicly funded charter schools that give higher priority to serving at-risk kids. Charters have greater flexibility to respond to students’ needs, something the traditional system does not provide or encourage enough of.

Read the full article.
Do you agree with the Seattle Times Editorial Board? What are your thoughts? Share your comments below.

Last week, the California legislature returned from its month long summer recess and will meet for a few weeks before adjourning the first year of the two year legislative session. This Friday, August 28th, is the last day for the legislative fiscal committees to meet and report out bills. September 11th is the last day the legislature can meet and October 11th is the last day for Governor Brown to veto or sign bills.
The legislature has several major issues facing them before they adjourn. The biggest political fight will be around climate change where three major bills are pending. One is authored by the Speaker of the Assembly, Toni Atkins, and another is authored by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, Kevin De Leon. This means leadership is pushing the issue and something is going to pass the legislature and make it to the Governor’s desk.
Additionally, there are two special sessions going on parallel to the normal legislative session. The special sessions are on transportation and health care. Transportation seems like the most likely of the two to produce legislation that the Governor will sign because there is bi-partisan agreement around the issue. The only sticking point is how to pay for the work, with Republicans balking at new taxes, so legislators are busy searching for revenue.
The health care special session is more complicated because major changes would require a larger investment of resources and major policy changes. There may not be enough legislative days on the calendar to solve both of the issues.
In terms of California charter schools, there are still several bills that may have a large impact. Here are some short descriptions of them and where they are legislatively:

AB 709 by Assemblyman Gipson would apply the Brown Act, the Political Reform Act, Public Records Act and Government Code 1090 to charter schools. The bill is currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee on the suspense file.
AB 787 by Assemblyman Hernandez would prohibit for-profit charter schools in California. It is currently on the Senate Floor.
AB 943 by Assemblyman Allen would encourage entities assisting charter schools under the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence to have prior experience working with charter schools. It is also on the Assembly Floor awaiting a concurrence vote.
SB 322 by Senator Leno would prohibit charter school attendance preferences except the sibling and employee preference. It would also mandate that charter schools follow the same expulsion and suspension procedures as school districts. The bill is in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 705 by Senator Hill mandates that if a charter school requests a facility from the district or the district approves a charter school facility request the district must post that information on their website. The bill is on the Assembly Floor.
SB 739 by Senator Pavley would prohibit school districts from approving charter schools outside of their boundaries if they have a negative certification. This bill is in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

To view any of these bills, go to www.leginfo.ca.gov and type in the bill number.

CA_Gov_Brown_2015Budget — Photo from Sacramento Bee

On June 15th the California Legislature met their constitutional obligation and passed a budget on time, though it was a budget Governor Brown did not agree with. The next day, the leaders of both houses announced a “compromise” with the Governor that was only $61 million dollars higher than the Governor’s May Revision, but finds additional spending capacity by identifying additional “cost savings” since the May Revision. Those funds are primarily used to help fund expansions in early learning.
The 2015-16 state general fund budget spends $115.4 billion, and also transfers $1.9 billion to the Rainy Day Fund reserve (increasing the reserve to a total of $3.5 billion). The budget assumes the 2015-16 Proposition 98 guarantee is $68.4 billion, which is $7.5 billion higher than the 2014-15 Budget Act guarantee and $2.1 billion higher than the revised 2014-15 guarantee. Following are some of the key K-12 education elements of the final budget deal:
Key K-12 Education Elements

$6 Billion for Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)
- The 2015-16 Budget will appropriate an additional $5.994 billion for implementation of the LCFF.

$3.2 Billion in Discretionary One-Time Funds
- The 2015-16 Budget appropriates about $3.8 billion in Proposition 98 K-14 funding as fully discretionary one-time funding that also counts to pay down the existing mandate backlog. Of this, $3.2 billion is allocated to K-12 and will be distributed on a per Average Daily Attendance (ADA) basis. Districts, county offices and charter schools should receive a little more than $530 per ADA.

$897 million to eliminate remaining K-12 Deferrals

Early Learning and Child Care
- The 2015-16 Budget will increase spending on preschool and child care (both CalWORKS and non-CalWORKs programs) by $423 million over 2014-15 Budget Act funding levels, with a little more than half of that increase funded within Proposition 98. Specifically, the Budget:
  - Provides funding for 4000 full-day State Preschool slots, 7030 full-day slots, 2500 part-day State Preschool slots with priority for children with disabilities, and provides 6,800 alternative payment program (voucher) slots.
  - Provides a five percent increase to the Standard Reimbursement Rate and a 4.5 percent increase to the Regional Market Rate (RMR).
  - Provides a cost-of-living adjustment for free and reduced price meals served at schools and child care centers.

Educator Effectiveness Training
The 2015-16 Budget includes $500 million in one-time funds for educator effectiveness. Of that amount:

$490 million is provided for school districts, county offices of education, charter schools and special schools in an equal amount per certificated staff in the 2014-15 fiscal year. The funding is very flexible and can be used for any number of things that benefit teachers.
$10 million is provided to the K-12 High Speed Network to provide professional development and training related to network management and infrastructure.

As a condition of receiving funds, local educational agencies must develop and adopt a plan for expenditure of funds. Funds may be expended through the 2017-18 fiscal year.
Career Technical Education and ROC/Ps
The 2015-16 Budget establishes the California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program, a competitive grant program administered by the CDE to provide support for career technical education in grades 7-12. The program provides $400 million in 2015-16, $300 million in 2016-17, and $200 million in 2017-18 for competitive grants in three size (i.e., ADA) related spans (0-140, 140-550, over 550 average daily attendance).
Adult Education Block Grant
The Budget establishes the Adult Education Block Grant program and appropriates $500 million for adult education services provided through regional consortia. The State Superintendent and Chancellor of the Community Colleges jointly approve consortia, including governance structures and funding allocations, with the advice of the Executive Director of the State Board of Education. Of this total funding the appropriation to school district adult education programs, based on the maintenance-of-effort certification, is capped at $375 million. The remainder of the funding will be allocated to consortia or consortia members by the Superintendent and Chancellor, with the concurrence of the Executive Director of the State Board of Education. The language also specifies that joint powers agencies may participate as adult education consortia members and that older adults may access programs that relate to employment or helping children succeed in elementary and secondary education.
Other K-12 Items
The 2015-16 Budget also:

Provides $50 million to the K-12 High Speed Network to facilitate technology infrastructure improvements according to a tiered priority structure that focuses on LEAs lacking sufficient internet capacity to administer state assessments.
Appropriates $273 million to the School Facilities Emergency Repair Account, to fulfill the terms of the Williams v. State of California settlement.
Provides $67 million ($63 million Prop 98 and $4 million federal funds) for a package of special education-related activities, with the largest increase for expanding services for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities.
Provides $40 million to fund a 1.02% COLA for the remaining K-12 categorical programs that receive COLAs.
Provides a $10 million augmentation of the Foster Youth Services program which, among other things, covers foster youth living with their relatives, and specifies that funds appropriated for the foster youth services program are intended to expand eligibility that aligns program requirements to reflect the establishment of the Local Control Funding Formula.
Extends the deadline for the State Board of Education to adopt evaluation rubrics for one year, to October 1, 2016.
Establishes homeless students as a subgroup for purposes of the unduplicated pupil counts used in Local Control and Accountability Plans.
Shifts transportation funding that has gone to home-to-school joint powers agencies (JPAs) to the agencies’ member school districts, but includes authority for the JPAs to continue to operate and administer the program.
Permits students who will turn five years old after the eligibility window for Transitional Kindergarten to be enrolled in Transitional Kindergarten before they turn five years old, but does not allow them to general ADA under certain circumstances.
Removes grade spans for pupil-to-teacher ratios in independent study programs and requires calculations of the ratios to be based on average daily attendance rather than enrollment.
Extends the encumbrance period for funding for the second cohort of the Career Pathways Trust program for one additional year from 2014-15 through the 2016-17 fiscal year.