Education: minimum funding.

Existing provisions of the California Constitution require the state to apply a minimum amount of funding for each fiscal year for the support of school districts and community college districts. Existing law provides that, for purposes of those minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts, appropriations for deficiencies and prior year adjustments are deemed appropriations in the fiscal year in which the deficiencies or prior year adjustments occurred, unless otherwise provided by law. Existing law, the Quality Education Investment Act of 2006, authorizes school districts and other local educational agencies to apply to the Superintendent of Public Instruction to receive funding to allocate to elementary and secondary schools and charter schools that are performing as specified, to improve academic instruction and pupil academic achievement. The department is required to perform, or contract with an independent evaluator to perform, various reports and evaluations, as specified, including a report to the Legislature and the Governor regarding a final evaluation. In that report, the department is required to make recommendations to continue, modify, or terminate the program by January 1, 2014, based upon the results in meeting the specified measurements. This bill would specify criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of pupil-counselor ratios in that report.