The Potential Impact of the California Legislative Session on Charter Schools
Last Friday, the California State Legislature adjourned for the year after sending hundreds of bills to the Governor for his signature. Several of the proposed bills from this recent California legislative session could have an impact on charter schools.
With elections being held in November, a new legislature will convene on the first Monday in December for an organizational session. They will meet for one day and then they will reconvene again in January.
Here are the bills – that could impact charter schools – on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature or veto:
- AB 406 by Assemblyman McCarty would ban charter schools operating by or as a for-profit.
- AB 1871 by Assemblyman Bonta would require charter schools to provide meals for students who qualify for the free and reduced lunch program.
- AB 2601 by Assemblywoman Webber would mandate that charter school students in grades 7-12 receive comprehensive sexual health and HIV prevention education.
- SB 328 by Senator Portantino would mandate that middle and high schools could not start school before 8:30 a.m.
- SB 972 by Senator Portantino would require all schools serving pupils in grades 7-12 that issue pupil identification cards to have printed on that card the number for a suicide prevention hotline or crisis text line.
Fortunately, the Governor has been a strong charter school supporter and will probably look favorably on these pieces of legislation. If he signs any of them, charter schools will need to make sure that they are prepared for changes in the laws. At the very least, it would be a lot to implement at the local level.
To view any of these measures in their entirety, go to leginfo.legislature.ca.gov and hit the bill information link at the top left of the page.
Since the company’s inception in 2007, Charter School Capital has been committed to the success of charter schools. We provide growth capital and facilities financing to charter schools nationwide. Our depth of experience working with charter school leaders and our knowledge of how to address charter school financial and operational needs have allowed us to provide over $1.6 billion in support of 600 charter schools that educate 800,000 students across the country. For more information on how we can support your charter school, contact us. We’d love to work with you!