School districts and community college districts: governing board elections: charter cities.

Existing law establishes in each county, except a county that is also a city and county, a county committee on school district organization, and authorizes the committee to take certain actions regarding the organization of school districts and community college districts in the territory under the committee's jurisdiction. Existing law authorizes, in any school district or community college district, a county committee on school district organization to establish trustee areas, rearrange the boundaries of trustee areas, abolish trustee areas, and increase to 7 or decrease to 5 the number of members of a governing board, or to adopt an alternative method of electing governing board members, as specified. The California Voting Rights Act of 2001 prohibits an at-large method of election from being imposed or applied in a political subdivision, as defined, in a manner that impairs the ability of a protected class, as defined, to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election, as a result of the dilution or the abridgment of the rights of voters who are members of a protected class. Existing law establishes procedures for transitioning from at-large elections to district-based or trustee elections. Existing law authorizes a resolution of the county committee approving a proposal to establish trustee areas to constitute an order of election, and requires the proposal to be presented to the electors of the district not later than the next succeeding election for members of the governing board. Existing law also authorizes the county committee, by resolution, to approve a proposal to establish trustee areas and elect governing board members using district-based elections without submitting the resolution to the electors of the district for approval. Existing law requires such a resolution to include a declaration that the change in the method of electing members of the governing board is being made in furtherance of the purposes of the California Voting Rights Act of 2001. The California Constitution authorizes a charter city to prescribe rules for school district and community college district board elections in its charter, as provided. This bill would prohibit a county committee on school district organization from approving a proposal, petition, resolution, or other request to establish district-based or trustee elections where a city charter establishes at-large elections as the manner of electing the governing board of a school district or community college district.