Education

Existing law establishes a public school financing system that requires state funding for county superintendents of schools, school districts, and charter schools to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula, as specified. Existing law requires funding pursuant to the local control funding formula to include, in addition to a base grant, supplemental and concentration grant add-ons that are based on the percentage of unduplicated pupils, defined as those pupils who are English learners, foster youth, or eligible for free or reduced-price meals, served by the county superintendent of schools, school district, or charter school, as specified. Existing law, commencing with the 2021–22 fiscal year, requires the concentration grant add-on to be equal to 65% of the base grant for each school district's or charter school's percentage of unduplicated pupils in excess of 55% of the school district's or charter school's total enrollment. Existing law prohibits a charter school's percentage of unduplicated pupils from exceeding the percentage of unduplicated pupils of the school district in which the charter school is physically located, or the highest percentage of unduplicated pupils of the school districts in which the charter school has a school facility, as applicable. This bill would authorize a charter school subject to the above-described prohibitions to apply to the Superintendent of Public Instruction for a waiver from the applicable limitation and to instead have its concentration grant calculated based on the charter school's percentage of unduplicated pupils in excess of 55 percent of the charter school's total enrollment. The bill would require the Superintendent to develop guidelines and procedures for these purposes and to grant the waiver if specified conditions are met, as specified.

Existing law establishes the California DREAM Loan Program, which authorizes a student attending a participating campus of the University of California or California State University to receive a loan, referred to as a DREAM loan, if the student satisfies certain requirements. Existing law prohibits a student from borrowing more than $4,000 within a single academic year and more than $40,000 in the aggregate under the program. Existing law prohibits a student enrolled in an undergraduate program from borrowing more than $20,000 as an undergraduate student and prohibits a student enrolled in a graduate program from borrowing more than $20,000 as a graduate student. This bill would instead prohibit a student enrolled in an undergraduate program from borrowing more than $4,000 within a single academic year, and a student enrolled in a graduate program from borrowing more than $20,500 within a single academic year. The bill would increase the aggregate limit under the program for a student enrolled in a graduate program to $118,500 as a graduate student, while maintaining the $20,000 aggregate limit under the program for a student enrolled in an undergraduate program, thereby increasing the overall aggregate limit under the program for a student who receives a DREAM loan for both undergraduate and graduate enrollment to $138,500.

Existing law provides that parents and guardians of children enrolled in public schools have the right and should have the opportunity, as mutually supportive and respectful partners in the education of their children within the public schools, to be informed by the school, and to participate in the education of their children, as specified, to include, among other things, having access to the school records of their child. This bill would expressly provide in that latter provision that school records include both official and unofficial school records. The bill also would delete an obsolete reference.

Existing law, the California Healthy Youth Act, requires school districts, charter schools, county boards of education, county superintendents of schools, the California School for the Deaf, and the California School for the Blind to ensure that all pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, receive comprehensive sexual health education and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention education, as specified. The act requires that instruction to include, among other things, information about the effectiveness and safety of all federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) -approved contraceptive methods in preventing pregnancy, including, but not limited to, emergency contraception, and requires instruction on pregnancy to include an objective discussion of all legally available pregnancy outcomes, including, but not limited to, parenting, adoption, and abortion. This bill would require the discussion of adoption to include a comprehensive explanation of, and information on, the types of adoption, the rights of a placing birth parent, and specific local adoption resources and support. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.