School districts: mandates.

(1) Existing provisions of the California Constitution provide that, whenever the Legislature or any state agency mandates a new program or higher level of service on any local government, the state is required to provide a subvention of funds to reimburse that local government for the costs of the program or increased level of service, except as specified. Existing statutory provisions establish procedures for local government entities to apply for, and receive, reimbursements for expenses that are within the scope of the constitutional requirement for reimbursement. This bill would express findings and declarations of the Legislature relating to the operation of the statutory procedures for reimbursement of these mandates with respect to school districts. The bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to repeal or amend statutory provisions that impose reimbursable state mandates on school districts, contingent on an evaluation of each mandate based on prescribed factors. (2) Existing law expresses the intent of the Legislature that school district governing boards establish a uniform system of evaluation and assessment of the performance of all certificated personnel within each school district of the state. Existing law requires the governing board of each school district to evaluate and assess certificated employee performance as it reasonably relates to all of the following: (A) the progress of pupils toward expected pupil achievement at their respective grade levels; (B) the progress of pupils toward state-adopted academic content standards as measured by state-adopted criterion referenced assessments; (C) the instructional techniques and strategies used by the employee; (D) the employee's adherence to curricular objectives; and (E) the establishment and maintenance of a suitable learning environment, within the scope of the employee's responsibilities. This bill would instead make the school district's evaluation and assessment of certificated employee performance as it relates to the categories listed in (B) , (C) , and (D) above optional rather than mandatory. (3) Existing law requires school districts to perform the evaluation and assessment of the performance of each certificated employee on a continuing basis in accordance with a prescribed schedule. Under existing law, if any permanent certificated employee has received an unsatisfactory evaluation, the employing authority is required to annually evaluate the employee until the employee achieves a positive evaluation or is separated from the school district. This bill would instead make the annual evaluation of a permanent certificated employee who has received an unsatisfactory evaluation optional rather than mandatory. (4) Existing law requires school districts to notify a pupil's parent or guardian, by first-class mail or other reasonable means, that the pupil is truant and to communicate additional information relating to truancy, as prescribed. This bill would instead make this notification optional, but would encourage school districts to make the notification if the district determines that the notification achieves the goal of preventing truancy. (5) Existing law requires, the 3rd time that a truancy report is required about a pupil in the same school year, that pupil is to be classified as a habitual truant, and the 4th time that a truancy report is required about a pupil in the same school year, that pupil is to be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, which may adjudge the pupil to be a ward of the court. This bill would make the classification of a pupil who has been the subject of a 3rd truancy report in the same school year, and the placement of a pupil who has been the subject of a 4th truancy report in the same school year within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, optional rather than mandatory. (6) Existing law requires, commencing with the Budget Act for the 2006–07 fiscal year and concluding with the Budget Act for the 2020–21 fiscal year, the total amount due to each city, county, city and county, and special district, for which the state has determined that reimbursement is required pursuant to the constitutional requirement referenced in (1) above to be paid to those entities over a period of not more than 15 years. This bill, commencing with the Budget Act for the 2010–11 fiscal year, would require that the total amount that is due to school districts for which the state has determined that reimbursement is required pursuant to the constitutional requirement referenced in (1) above to be paid to those entities over a period of not more than an unspecified number of fiscal years.