The Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act, an initiative approved by the voters as Proposition 98 at the November 8, 1988, statewide general election, amended the California Constitution to, among other things, set forth a formula for computing the minimum amount of revenues that the state is required to appropriate for the support of school districts and community college districts in any given fiscal year. The California Constitution creates the Public School System Stabilization Account in the General Fund and requires the Controller to transfer, pursuant to a schedule provided by the Director of Finance, a specified amount from the General Fund to the account in each fiscal year, except as provided. The California Constitution generally prohibits the total annual appropriations subject to limitation of the state and each local government from exceeding the appropriations limit of the entity of government for the prior fiscal year, adjusted for the change in the cost of living and the change in population. The California Constitution defines "appropriations subject to limitation" for these purposes. 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 (LCFF) , as specified. Under existing law, school districts that do not receive an apportionment of state funds under the LCFF because their local revenues exceed the amount calculated pursuant to the LCFF are considered "basic aid school districts" or "excess tax entities." This measure would establish the Equalization Reserve Account in the General Fund. The measure would require the Controller, in any fiscal year in which there is an increase over the preceding fiscal year in the minimum amount of revenues the state is required to appropriate for the support of school districts and community college districts, to transfer from the General Fund to the Equalization Reserve Account an amount equal to the total amount transferred from the General Fund to the Public School System Stabilization Account in that fiscal year, as provided. The measure would require interest earned on funds in the Equalization Reserve Account to be deposited in the account and would require the Legislature, in each fiscal year, to allocate at least 80% of that interest to increase per-pupil funding in non-basic aid school districts. The measure would define non-basic aid school districts as school districts that received an apportionment of state funds under the LCFF in any of the preceding 3 fiscal years. The measure would authorize the Legislature to suspend the required transfers from the General Fund in any fiscal year in which average per-pupil funding in non-basic aid school districts equals or exceeds the average per-pupil funding in basic aid school districts. The measure would prohibit the allocation of funds transferred to the account from the General Fund. The measure would exclude funds transferred to or allocated from the account from computations of the minimum amount of revenues that the state is required to appropriate for the support of school districts and community college districts, from the moneys allocated for purposes of meeting that minimum funding obligation, and from the total annual state appropriations subject to the limitation described above.
This measure would affirm the Legislature's commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and encourage local, state, and federal policymakers, among other organizations, to adopt and uphold DEI principles.
Existing law authorizes school districts that maintain high schools to establish work experience programs for the purpose of providing pupils with instruction in skills, attitudes, and understandings necessary for success in employment. Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to coordinate the development, on a cyclical basis, of model curriculum standards for required courses of study, including a career technical education course of study for pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, as specified. This bill would, at the next revision of the California Career Technical Education Model Curriculum Standards, require the State Department of Education to consider adding content on the role of youth caregivers within the Personal Care and Services career pathway, as provided. The bill would require, by July 1, 2028, the department to provide guidance for the implementation of the Personal Care and Services career pathway, and would explicitly authorize certain types of guidance, including (1) a focus on skills specific to Personal Care and Services occupations, including, but not limited to, in-home caregiving for youth caregivers supporting household family members, and (2) eligibility for youth caregivers caring for a family member in the family member's home for credits through work experience education programs, as provided.
Existing law requires the State Department of Education to identify an evidence-based online training program that a county office of education, school district, state special school, or charter school that serves pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, can use to train school staff and pupils as part of their policy on pupil suicide prevention. Existing law requires the department, subject to an appropriation for these purposes, to provide a grant to a county office of education to acquire a training program identified by the department and disseminate that training program at no cost to specified educational entities, as specified. This bill would revise and recast these provisions by (1) deleting the requirement to provide the above-described grant, (2) deleting the requirement of the department to identify the above-described evidence-based online training program, (3) instead requiring the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission to develop an online training program to train school staff, pupils who are 13 years of age or older, and parents, guardians, or caregivers of pupils as part of the policy on pupil suicide prevention adopted by county offices of education, school districts, state special schools, and charter schools that serve pupils in kindergarten or in any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, as specified. The bill would require those educational entities that elect to conduct suicide risk screenings to report, on or before June 30, 2027, and June 30 annually thereafter, the number of pupils screened, and which screening instruments were used, for the reporting year, to the department, as provided, and would require the department to compile and post statewide aggregate data on these screenings on its internet website, as provided. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law prescribes various requirements regarding the formation, content, and enforcement of state and local public contracts. Existing law establishes, until January 1, 2027, for contracts entered into on or after January 1, 2017, a claim resolution process applicable to any claim by a contractor in connection with a public works project against a public entity, as specified. For purposes of these provisions, existing law defines "public entity" to include, among others, a city, including a charter city, and county, including a charter county. Existing law imposes various requirements on a public entity in relating to the claim resolution process, including, among other things, conducting a reasonable review of the claim and, within 45 days, providing the claimant a written statement identifying the disputed and undisputed portions of the claim. This bill would repeal the above-described January 1, 2027, repeal date, thereby extending the operation of these provisions indefinitely. By indefinitely extending the duties of local agencies in relation to the above-specified claim resolution process, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities. 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.
Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to establish standards for the issuance and renewal of credentials, certificates, and permits. Existing law requires the commission to issue a single subject teaching credential only in specified subjects, including in world language. Existing law requires the commission to adopt examinations and assessments to verify the subject matter knowledge and competence of candidates for those specified single subject teaching credentials, as provided. Existing law requires the commission to issue authorizations for a teacher to provide specific services to limited-English-proficient pupils, if certain minimum requirements are met, including the passage of one or more examinations that the commission determines is necessary for demonstrating the knowledge, skills, and language proficiency required for effective delivery of the services included in the authorization. Existing law authorizes the commission to issue an authorization for bilingual-cross-cultural competence for specified persons who will be serving English language learners and requires candidates for that authorization to demonstrate, by oral and written examination or by completing an approved program, among other things, that the person is competent in both the oral and written skills of a language other than English. This bill would authorize a candidate for any of the above-described credentials or authorizations to fulfill the applicable subject matter examination or language requirement in a world language for which the commission does not administer a subject matter examination by successfully completing a comparable postsecondary language proficiency assessment.
Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. This bill would require the commission, during the next revision of the publication "Health Framework for California Public Schools," to consider including, and recommending for adoption by the state board, specific content related to the prevention of, and recognizing and responding to the signs and symptoms of, heat illness, as described, and, for those purposes, to consider relevant guidance issued by the State Department of Public Health and policies adopted by the California Interscholastic Federation, as specified.
(1) Existing law authorizes the governing board of any school district or community college district to sell for cash any personal property belonging to the school district or community college district if the property is not required for school purposes, should be disposed of for the purpose of replacement, or is unsatisfactory or not suitable for school use, pursuant to certain requirements, including, among others, notice and bid requirements. This bill, in addition to and notwithstanding those provisions, would separately authorize the governing board of a school district or community college district to declare district-owned technology, as defined, to be surplus technology property and would authorize the school district or community college district to dispose of that surplus technology property by (A) sale by public auction, (B) sale by sealed bid, (C) sale or transfer through a structured trade-in or buyback program with a vendor, manufacturer, or other third-party purchaser, as specified, (D) negotiated sale to a public agency, nonprofit organization, or private entity, as specified, or (E) donation to a public agency or nonprofit public benefit corporation. The bill would require the governing board of a school district or community college district, before disposing of surplus technology property, to adopt policies and procedures that, at minimum, address specified items, including, among others, a process for determining that property is no longer required for school purposes, reasonable methods to ensure competition or market testing, and compliance with all applicable state and federal requirements for protecting pupil or student and employee data. The bill would require the school district or community college district, to the extent practicable, to structure the disposition of surplus technology property in a manner that maximizes net proceeds or value returned, minimizes electronic waste, and promotes environmentally responsible recycling, refurbishment, and reuse. (2) Existing law prohibits a county superintendent of schools from disposing of any item of personal property worth over $25,000 that belongs to the county office of education without meeting specified conditions, including conditions relating to valuation, advertising, and county board of education approval. Existing law prohibits a county superintendent of schools from disposing of any item of personal property worth less than $25,000 that belongs to the county office of education unless they certify the value of the property in a quarterly report and submit that report to the county board of education for its review. This bill, in addition to and notwithstanding those provisions, would separately authorize the county board of education to declare county office of education-owned technology, as defined, to be surplus technology property and would authorize the county superintendent of schools to dispose of that surplus technology property pursuant to the same above-described provisions that would apply to school districts and community college districts.
Existing law establishes the California College Promise, under the administration of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, to provide funding, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to each community college meeting prescribed requirements. Existing law authorizes a community college to use that funding to waive some or all of the fees for 2 academic years for first-time community college students and returning community college students, as defined, who are enrolled in 12 or more semester units or the equivalent, or less for students certified as "full time," as specified, and who complete and submit either a Free Application for Federal Student Aid or a California Dream Act application, except that a student who has previously earned a degree or certificate from a postsecondary educational institution is not eligible for this fee waiver. This bill would prohibit a certificate awarded to a student by a postsecondary educational institution as part of a course sequence leading to an associate degree from making the student ineligible for that fee waiver.
Existing law, until July 1, 2028, authorizes the San Mateo County Community College District to adopt a policy that uses local unrestricted general funds to provide fee waivers to students with the greatest financial need when other fee waivers are not provided to those students, as specified. Existing law authorizes the San Mateo County Community College District to use local unrestricted general funds, in addition to funding received under the California College Promise, to provide assistance to students for the total cost of attendance, as defined, only for students who reside within the boundary of the community college district. This bill would delete the repeal date, thereby extending the San Mateo County Community College District's authority to adopt the above-described policy indefinitely. The bill would also repeal an obsolete reporting requirement. This bill would make legislative findings and declarations as to the necessity of a special statute for the San Mateo County Community College District.
