Education finance: Class Size Reduction Program.

(1) Existing law establishes the Class Size Reduction Program, under which a participating school district or county office of education reduces class size to 20 pupils per class in kindergarten and grades 1 to 3, inclusive. If a school district or county office of education receives funding for a class, but fails to reduce the size of that class to 20 pupils, the school district or county office of education incurs a reduction in its next principal apportionment of state funds. Existing law provides that for the 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, and 2011–12 fiscal years, a local educational agency is eligible to receive funding for the same number of classes for which it had applied to receive program funding as of January 31, 2009. This bill would provide that, for the 2008–09 school year, a local educational agency may choose for state apportionment purposes the option to receive funding for the same number of classes for which it had applied to receive program funding as of January 31, 2009, or the funding option provided under the Class Size Reduction Program on December 31, 2008, prior to the enactment of the provision referenced above. This bill would provide that, for the 2009–10 school year, the Riverside Unified School District may choose to operate each of its grade 3 classrooms that participate in the Class Size Reduction Program either pursuant to the option to receive funding for the same number of classes for which it had applied to receive program funding as of January 31, 2009, or the funding option provided under the Class Size Reduction Program on December 31, 2008, prior to the enactment of the provision referenced above. (2) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the Riverside Unified School District. (3) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.