Charter schools: educational enrichment activities.

(1) The Charter Schools Act of 1992 authorizes the establishment and operation of charter schools. Existing law authorizes a charter school that has an approved charter to receive funding for nonclassroom-based instruction, as defined for that purpose, only if a determination for funding is made by the State Board of Education. Existing law requires the state board to establish general rules governing nonclassroom-based instruction that apply to all charter schools and to the process for determining funding of nonclassroom-based instruction offered by charter schools. This bill would prohibit a charter school from offering any financial incentives to a pupil or prospective pupil or to the parent or guardian of a pupil or prospective pupil for enrollment, referral, retention, or participation in an educational enrichment activity, as defined. The bill would require a charter school that offers nonclassroom-based instruction to only enter into an agreement for the provision or arrangement of educational enrichment activities with a vendor that is vetted and approved pursuant to this bill. The bill would authorize a charter school that offers nonclassroom-based instruction to expend public funds for the provision or arrangement of educational enrichment activities, provided that all educational enrichment activities, materials, programs, and the organizations that provide educational enrichment activities are nonsectarian. The bill would require the governing body of a charter school that offers nonclassroom-based instruction, in approving any contract for vendor services for educational enrichment activities, to establish specified policies and procedures to ensure educational value, pupil safety, and fiscal reasonableness, and would further require the charter school to certify that vendor services for educational enrichment activities meet designated criteria. The bill would require a charter school that offers nonclassroom-based instruction to submit the policies and procedures established pursuant to the bill to the chartering authority for consideration and approval as a material revision by July 1, 2021. The bill would also require chartering authorities to perform spot audits to confirm that vendor services for educational enrichment activities comply with the policies and procedures, and meet the criteria, established under the bill, and would require the annual, independent financial audits required of charter schools by existing law to review and report the extent of compliance with specified requirements. Because the bill would impose new duties on any chartering authorities that are local educational agencies, it would constitute a state-mandated local program. The bill would require approval of the policies and procedures established under the bill to be included in designated annual audit reports. The bill would also require any educational enrichment activity provided by a charter school that offers nonclassroom-based instruction to be approved and verified by the pupil's assigned teacher as relevant to a specific educational assignment and educationally appropriate for that pupil. (2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.