Education finance: study relating to weighted pupil funding formulas.

Existing law requires a county superintendent of schools to calculate a revenue limit for each school district in the county pursuant to specified formulas, including the calculation of the average daily attendance of the district. Categorical programs exist to fund specific educational programs. Economic impact aid is provided to school districts based, in part, on the concentration of economically disadvantaged pupils and English language learners. This bill would express legislative intent to simplify and make transparent the process through which funding is provided for each public school pupil, to equalize the funding for pupils within significant parameters, and to focus per-pupil funding on enabling all California pupils to reach high state academic standards. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction, no later than March 1, 2010, to select a nonprofit entity or institution of higher education to complete a study related to weighted pupil funding formulas. The bill would specify topics to be included in the study. The bill would require the study to be submitted to the Superintendent for distribution to the Legislature no later than December 31, 2010. The bill would limit the amount that would be paid to the entity or institution performing the study to no more than $150,000. This bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2011, and would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2012.