Elementary and secondary education: omnibus bill.

(1) The Ralph M. Brown Act and the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act require, except as specified, that all meetings of specified governmental bodies be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend. Existing law requires meetings of school district governing boards to be conducted in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act and certain other provisions relating to meetings. Existing law exempts certain councils and schoolsite advisory committees from those acts and provisions but specifies other open meeting requirements for those councils and committees. This bill would extend those exemptions and other open meeting requirements to special education community advisory committees. To the extent that extending the other open meeting requirements would impose new duties on school districts, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law establishes procedures under which new school districts may be formed by dissolving 2 or more existing school districts of the same kind from the entire territory of the original school districts, by forming one or more new school districts of the same kind from all or parts of one or more existing school districts of the same kind, or by unifying or deunifying school districts as specified. Existing law requires the boundaries of each high school district to be coextensive with the boundaries of the component school districts included within it and requires that when boundaries of a school district that is a component of a high school district are changed to include or exclude territory, that territory be included in or excluded from the high school district. This bill would clarify that those boundary requirements also apply to unified school districts. (3) Existing law establishes various procedures and requirements for the reorganization of school districts. Existing law authorizes an appeal to the State Board of Education of an approval of a petition to transfer territory by a county committee on school district organization, as provided. Existing law requires the state board's appeal decision to be sent to the county committee, which is then required to notify the county board of supervisors or the county superintendent of schools, as specified. Existing law also authorizes an appeal to the state board of a county committee's findings that an action to transfer territory or form one or more new school districts will not adversely affect the racial or ethnic integration of the schools of the school district, and requires the state board to notify the county committee of its decision on the appeal, as provided. Existing law requires a county committee to hold a public hearing with respect to reorganization in the area proposed for reorganization and authorizes the committee to adopt a final recommendation for unification or other reorganization and transmit it to the state board with an order for a hearing, a reorganization, or an election, as provided. For an appeal of an approved petition, this bill would instead require the state board's decision to be sent directly to the county superintendent of schools. For an appeal of racial or ethnic integration findings, the bill would stay certain actions before and pending an appeal and would additionally require the secretary of the state board to take various notification actions regarding an appeal. For a final recommendation ordering a reorganization or ordering an election, the bill would authorize an appeal under the same procedures as an appeal of an approved petition or an appeal of racial or ethnic integration findings. (4) Existing law authorizes classes of any elementary, high school, or unified school district to be held on Saturday or Sunday, or both, as specified, but prohibits the voluntary attendance on those days of mentally gifted pupils, as defined, in approved programs from being included in the average daily attendance computation. This bill would apply that prohibition instead to the voluntary attendance on those days to pupils enrolled in programs for gifted and talented pupils. (5) Existing law establishes the Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Career Technical Education Educator Credentialing Program for purposes of providing alternative routes to credentialing, as specified, and requires the commission, together with the Committee on Accreditation, to develop a process to authorize additional high-quality alternative route educator preparation programs provided by school districts, county offices of education, community-based organizations, and nongovernmental organizations. Existing law authorizes the commission to also establish alternative criteria, if necessary, for project participants that are not eligible for accreditation by one of the accredited organizations. This bill would remove that criteria authorization. (6) Prior law, repealed January 1, 2019, authorized a juvenile court to suspend or order a delay in the issuance of the driving privilege, for one year, of a minor who is a habitual truant, as defined, or who is adjudged to be a ward of the court, as prescribed. This bill would make conforming changes to other provisions relating to pupil attendance to reflect the change in law described above by deleting obsolete references. (7) This bill would also update cross-references, delete obsolete provisions, and would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes. (8) 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.