Sen. Elaine Alquist

Existing law authorizes a local, special, or consolidated election to be conducted as an all-mailed ballot election, so long as specified conditions are satisfied. This bill would authorize as a pilot program, until December 31, 2016, elections in Yolo and Santa Clara Counties, other than statewide primary or general elections or special elections to fill a vacancy in a state office, the Legislature, or Congress, to be conducted as all-mailed ballot elections if specified conditions are satisfied.

(1) The Education Data and Information Act of 2008 requires the State Chief Information Officer to convene a working group representing specified governmental entities that collect, report, or use individual pupil education data to create a strategic plan to link education data systems and to accomplish objectives relating to the accessibility of education data. This bill, in addition, would authorize the State Department of Education, the University of California, the California State University, the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the Employment Development Department, and the California School Information Services to enter into interagency agreements in order to facilitate specified objectives regarding the implementation of a longitudinal education data system and the transfer of education data. (2) Existing law establishes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to, among other things, establish professional standards and procedures for the issuance and renewal of teaching and services credentials. This bill would establish the Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Career Technical Education Educator Credentialing Program for purposes of providing alternative routes to credentialing in accordance with the guidelines for the federal Race to the Top Fund, and would require 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. The bill would authorize the commission to assess a fee on community-based and nongovernmental organizations that are seeking approval to participate in the program. (3) Federal law, the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) , requires schools and educational agencies receiving federal financial assistance to comply with specified provisions regarding the release of pupil data. State law prescribes additional rules relating to the authorized release of pupil data. This bill would authorize the department, to the extent permissible under FERPA and specified state law, and commencing July 1, 2010, to conduct pupil data management on behalf of local educational agencies. The bill would require the department to establish, no earlier than July 1, 2010, an education data team to act as an institutional review board to review and respond to all requests for pupil data, as specified. The bill would make the department responsible for data management decisions for data under its jurisdiction and make the department and a local educational agency jointly liable for any data management decisions in which the department and the local educational agency participate jointly, as specified. The bill would require the department to develop appropriate policies and procedures for the education data team by July 1, 2010, that includes fees or charges that shall be imposed upon research applicants, as specified. The bill would require the department to perform the duties specified in these provisions with its existing resources. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2013, and repeal them on January 1, 2014. (4) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish an advisory committee to advise on all appropriate matters relative to the creation of the Academic Performance Index and the implementation of the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program and the High Achieving/Improving Schools Program. This bill would require the Superintendent and the state board, in consultation with the advisory committee, by July 1, 2013, to make recommendations to the Legislature and the Governor on, among other things, the establishment of a methodology for generating a measurement of group and individual academic performance growth by using individual pupil results from a longitudinally valid achievement assessment system. (5) The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) , provides $4.3 billion for the State Incentive Grant Fund (Race to the Top Fund) , which is a competitive grant program designed to encourage and reward states that are implementing specified educational objectives. The ARRA requires a Governor to apply on behalf of a state seeking a Race to the Top grant, and requires the application to include specified information. The United States Secretary of Education has issued regulations and guidelines regarding state eligibility under the Race to the Top program. This bill would state the Legislature's intent to implement education reforms to, among other things, ensure that California is positioned to be successful in the Race to the Top competition. This bill would authorize the Superintendent and the President of the State Board of Education to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a local educational agency for the purposes of implementing the Race to the Top program. The bill would require the Governor, the Superintendent, and the state board, in collaboration with participating local educational agencies, as necessary, to develop a high-quality plan or plans to submit as part of an application for federal Race to the Top funds that includes specified elements. The bill would require the Department of Finance, concurrent with the submission of the plan to the Attorney General, to provide the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of both houses of the Legislature with a copy of the plan or plans. The bill would require the Superintendent, on or before January 1, 2011, to contract with an independent evaluator relating to the implementation of the state plan. The bill would require the Superintendent, on or before June 1, 2014, to provide the final evaluation to the Legislature, the Governor, and the state board, and require the department to use federal Race to the Top program funds for this evaluation. This bill would require the Superintendent and the state board to establish a list of low-achieving schools and persistently lowest-achieving schools, as defined, according to specific criteria. The bill would require the Superintendent to notify the governing board of a school district, county superintendent of schools, or the governing body of a charter school or its equivalent, that one or more of the schools in its jurisdiction have been identified as a persistently lowest-achieving school. The bill, except as specified, would require the governing board of a school district, county office of education, or the governing body of a charter school or its equivalent to implement, for any school identified by the Superintendent as persistently lowest-achieving, one of four interventions for turning around lowest-achieving schools described in federal regulations and guidelines for the Race to the Top program, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize a persistently lowest-achieving school implementing specified intervention models to participate in a school-to-school partnership program by working with a mentor school that has successfully transitioned from a low-achieving school to a higher-achieving school. (6) Existing law establishes the California Education Information System, which consists of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, known as CALPADS, and the California Longitudinal Teacher Integrated Data System, known as CALTIDES. This bill would require CALPADS to be used to report data pursuant to specified federal programs, and would authorize data in the California Education Information System to be used by local educational agencies for purposes of evaluating teachers and administrators and making employment decisions, if those decisions comply with specified provisions of law. (7) Existing law, the Leroy Greene California Assessment of Academic Achievement Act (hereafter the Greene Act) , requires the Superintendent to design and implement a statewide pupil assessment program, and requires school districts, charter schools, and county offices of education to administer to each of its pupils in grades 2 to 11, inclusive, certain achievement tests, including a standards-based achievement test pursuant to the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature that the reauthorization of the statewide pupil assessment program include specified elements, including a plan for transitioning to a system of high-quality assessments, as defined in the federal Race to the Top guidelines and regulations. The bill would establish the Academic Content Standards Commission, consisting of 12 appointed members, as specified. The commission would be required to develop academic content standards in language arts and mathematics, and would be required, on or before July 15, 2010, to present its recommended academic content standards to the state board. The bill would require the state board, on or before August 2, 2010, to adopt or reject the academic content standards, and would also require the Superintendent and the state board to present specified information to the Governor and appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature. This bill would exempt instructional materials adopted pursuant to those provisions from specified requirements relating to the approval and adoption of basic instructional materials by the state board. This bill would require the Superintendent, the state board, and any other entity or individual designated by the Governor to participate in the Common Core State Standards Initiative consortium sponsored by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers or any associated or related interstate collaboration to jointly develop common high-quality standards or assessments aligned with the common set of standards. Existing law makes certain provisions of the Greene Act inoperative on July 1, 2011, and repeals all of the act's provisions on January 1, 2012. This bill would make the act inoperative on July 1, 2013, and would repeal the act as of January 1, 2014. By extending the time period during which school districts are required to perform various duties relating to the administration of achievement tests, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (8) Existing law requires the State Department of Education under CALPADS to contract for the development of proposals that will provide for the retention and analysis of longitudinal pupil achievement data. Existing law requires local educational agencies to retain individual pupil records for each test taker, including other data elements deemed necessary by the Superintendent, with approval of the state board, to comply with federal reporting requirements delineated in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act. This bill would require local educational agencies to also retain other data elements deemed necessary by the Superintendent, with the approval of the state board, to comply with programs implemented pursuant to specified provisions of federal law, subject to the submission of an expenditure plan to the Department of Finance, as specified. (9) Existing law requires the director of the Employment Development Department to permit the use of any information in his or her possession to the extent necessary for specified purposes. The bill would authorize the State Department of Education, the University of California, the California State University, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to obtain quarterly wage data on students in order to meet the requirements of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to the extent permitted by federal law. (10) 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 these statutory provisions. (11) This bill would provide that it shall become operative only if SB 4 of the 5th Extraordinary Session is also enacted and becomes operative.

(1) Existing law requires each person between the ages of 6 and 18 years not otherwise exempted to attend the public full-time day school or continuation school or classes in the school district in which his or her parent or guardian is a resident. Existing law authorizes 2 school districts to enter into an agreement that allows pupils to transfer between the 2 districts. This bill would establish the Open Enrollment Act to enable pupils residing in the state to attend public schools in school districts other than their school district of residence, as defined. The bill would authorize the parent or guardian of a pupil enrolled in a low-achieving school, as defined, to submit an application for the pupil to attend a school in a school district of enrollment, as defined. The bill would authorize a school district of enrollment, as defined, to adopt specific, written standards for acceptance and rejection of applications for enrollment, subject to specified conditions and a specified priority scheme for applicants. Within 60 days of receiving an application for enrollment, the bill would require a school district of enrollment to notify the applicant parent or guardian and the school district of residence, as defined, in writing whether the application has been accepted or rejected and, if an application is rejected, state in the notification the reasons for the rejection. The bill would require the State Board of Education to adopt emergency regulations to implement these provisions. The bill would require the Superintendent to contract for an independent evaluation of the program using federal funds appropriated for that purpose and to provide a final evaluation report to the Legislature, the Governor, and the state board on or before October 1, 2014. By requiring school districts to perform additional duties regarding the enrollment of nonresident pupils, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) The federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) , provides $4.3 billion for the State Incentive Grant Fund (Race to the Top Fund) , which is a competitive grant program designed to encourage and reward states that are implementing specified educational objectives. The ARRA requires a governor to apply on behalf of a state seeking a Race to the Top grant, and requires the application to include specified information. The United States Secretary of Education has issued regulations and guidelines regarding state eligibility under the Race to the Top program. This bill would require a local educational agency to implement one of several specified reforms for any other school which, after one full school year, is subject to corrective action pursuant to a specified provision of federal law and continues to fail to make adequate yearly progress, and have an Academic Performance Index score of less than 800, and where at least12 of the parents or legal guardians of pupils attending the school, or a combination of at least12 of the parents or legal guardians of pupils attending the school and the elementary or middle schools that normally matriculate into a middle or high school, as applicable, sign a petition requesting the local educational agency to implement one of the alternative governance arrangements, unless the local educational agency makes a finding in writing why it cannot implement the recommended arrangement and instead designates in writing which of the other alternative governance arrangements it will implement in the subsequent school year. The bill would require the local educational agency to notify the Superintendent and the state board if it decides to implement a different alternative governance option. The bill would limit this procedure to no more than 75 schools. (3) 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 these statutory provisions. (4) The bill would provide that it would become operative only if SB 1 of the 5th Extraordinary Session is also enacted and becomes operative.

Existing law establishes the Medi-Cal program, administered by the State Department of Health Care Services, under which basic health care services are provided to qualified low-income persons. The Medi-Cal program is partially governed and funded as part of the federal Medicaid Program. AB 1383 of the 2009–10 Regular Session of the Legislature, which becomes effective January 1, 2010, requires the department to make supplemental payments for certain services, as specified, to private hospitals, nondesignated public hospitals, and designated public hospitals, as defined, for subject federal fiscal years. These provisions in AB 1383 are subject to federal approval and also impose, as a condition of participation in state-funded health insurance programs other than the Medi-Cal program, a quality assurance fee, as specified, on certain general acute care hospitals through and including December 31, 2010. The provisions create the Hospital Quality Assurance Revenue Fund in the State Treasury and require that the money collected from the quality assurance fee be deposited into the fund. The provisions provide that the moneys in the fund shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature, be available only for certain purposes, including providing the above-described supplemental payments to hospitals and health care coverage for children. This bill would appropriate $1,000,000 from the Private Hospital Supplemental Fund and $1,000,000 from the Federal Trust Fund to the department to pay the department's staffing and administrative costs associated with the provisions of AB 1383, including costs of workload associated with seeking the necessary federal approvals to implement those provisions. The bill would also appropriate $13,500,000,000 from the Hospital Quality Assurance Revenue Fund to the department for the purposes prescribed by AB 1383 to be available for expenditure until January 1, 2013. If the department obtains federal approval, the bill would require the department to use the money in the Hospital Quality Assurance Revenue Fund to reimburse $1,000,000 to the Private Hospital Supplemental Fund. If the department does not obtain federal approval, the bill would require any unexpended moneys from the $1,000,000 appropriated to the department from the Private Hospital Supplemental Fund pursuant to this bill to revert to the Private Hospital Supplemental Fund. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

Existing law, the federal Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, authorizes states with a separate Children's Health Insurance Program to provide dental-only supplemental coverage to children who are enrolled in group health care coverage or health insurance coverage offered through an employer and who would otherwise satisfy the requirements for being a targeted low-income child, as specified. Existing law creates the Healthy Families Program, administered by the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, to arrange for the provision of health, dental, and vision benefits to eligible children pursuant to the federal Children's Health Insurance Program. This bill would, contingent on the receipt and appropriation of funds, require the board to provide dental-only coverage consistent with the federal Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009, as specified, and would authorize the board to adopt regulations to implement that requirement. The bill would also state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would implement other provisions of the federal Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 19, 2008. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on December 19, 2008, pursuant to the California Constitution.

Existing law establishes a comprehensive statewide domestic violence program in the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA) and requires the agency to provide financial and technical assistance to local domestic violence centers. Existing law requires the Maternal and Child Health Branch of the State Department of Public Health to administer a comprehensive shelter-based services grant program to battered women's shelters, as prescribed. This bill would, among other things, require Cal EMA to administer the above-described grant program. This bill would require the Department of Finance, upon the enactment of this bill, to transfer $16,300,000 from the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Fund to the General Fund as a loan. The bill would require the full amount of the loan to be repaid, with interest at the rate earned by the Pooled Money Investment Account at the time of the transfer, on or before June 30, 2013. The bill would appropriate $16,300,000 from the General Fund to Cal EMA for the purpose of funding the above-described comprehensive shelter-based services grant program to shelters for victims of domestic violence. This bill would require grantees funded under the above-described grant program, during the 2008–09 fiscal year, to be funded by Cal EMA for a period of one fiscal year, retroactively, commencing July 1, 2009. The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to declare a fiscal emergency and to call the Legislature into special session for that purpose. The Governor issued a proclamation declaring a fiscal emergency, and calling a special session for this purpose, on December 19, 2008. This bill would state that it addresses the fiscal emergency declared by the Governor by proclamation issued on December 19, 2008, pursuant to the California Constitution. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the November 2, 2004, general election (Proposition 71) , establishes the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) , the purpose of which is, among other things, to make grants and loans for stem cell research, for research facilities, and for other vital research opportunities to realize therapies, protocols, and medical procedures that will result in the cure for, or substantial mitigation of, diseases and injuries. This bill would create the California Stem Cell and Biotechnology Education and Workforce Development Act of 2009 to establish stem cell and biotechnology education and workforce development as a state priority and to promote stronger links among industry sectors, the CIRM, and California public schools. The bill would require the State Department of Education to post certain information on its Internet Web site, including the CIRM model curriculum on stem cell science, and to communicate to science teachers and school districts the availability of this curriculum.

Existing law provides for the Medi-Cal program, which is administered by the State Department of Health Care Services and under which qualified low-income persons receive health care benefits, including hospital services. The Medi-Cal program is, in part, governed and funded by federal Medicaid provisions. Existing law authorizes the California Medical Assistance Commission to negotiate selective provider contracts with eligible hospitals to provide inpatient hospital services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries. Existing law generally defines a disproportionate share hospital as a hospital that has disproportionately higher costs, volume, or services related to the provision of services to Medi-Cal or other low-income patients than the statewide average. Under existing law, an eligible disproportionate share hospital may receive supplemental Medi-Cal reimbursement for debt service on revenue bonds used for financing eligible capital projects. Under existing law, eligible projects include new capital projects funded by new debt for which final plans have been submitted to the Office of the State Architect (OSA) and the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) after September 1, 1988, and prior to June 30, 1994, except as specified. This bill would, to the extent federal financial participation is available, extend similar supplemental reimbursement provisions to capital projects of designated public hospitals, as defined, meeting prescribed requirements for which final plans have been submitted to OSHPD after January 1, 2007, and prior to December 31, 2011, provided those projects are related to meeting seismic safety deadlines. The bill would require a hospital qualifying for the supplemental reimbursement to submit documentation to the department regarding debt service on general obligation bonds or revenue bonds used for financing the construction, renovation, or replacement of hospital facilities. The bill would prohibit the expenditure of state funds for the nonfederal share of the supplemental reimbursement. The bill would require the department to claim federal expenditures through the use of certified public expenditures or intergovernmental transfers, as necessary and appropriate.

Under existing law, 2 or more public agencies may enter into an agreement to jointly exercise any power common to the contracting parties, as specified. This bill would provide that the Santa Clara Stadium Authority, a joint powers agency formed by the City of Santa Clara and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Santa Clara, has the authority to acquire, finance, construct, manage, maintain, and operate a stadium and related facilities suitable for use by a professional football team, in addition to the powers common to the city and the redevelopment agency. The bill prohibits the redevelopment agency from expending property tax increment revenues to operate or maintain the stadium. This bill would authorize the Santa Clara Stadium Authority to let a design-build contract without utilizing a competitive bid process for the stadium construction project, if, among other requirements, a ballot measure endorsing the development of a stadium suitable for use by a professional football team is approved by voters in a citywide election, the design-build contract does not require expenditures from the general fund of the City of Santa Clara, and the design-build contract is not funded by contributions from the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Santa Clara or a community facilities district except as provided in the bill. The bill would provide that redevelopment agency funds and community facilities district funds may be used to fund subcontracts awarded pursuant to a competitive bidding process established by the joint powers agency. This bill would provide that for state highway improvement projects deemed necessary by the Department of Transportation based on the construction and maintenance of the stadium, the department is the responsible agency for project development services, as specified.

Existing law establishes the State Board of Education for the purpose of, among other things, studying the educational conditions and needs of the state and making plans for the improvement of the administration and efficiency of the public schools of the state. Existing law requires that the State Board of Education adhere to specified requirements relating to meetings and hearings. Existing law establishes the State Allocation Board, consisting of specified members and charged with specified duties, including, but not limited to, determining how bond funds are allocated for public school construction and modernization projects. Existing law requires the State Allocation Board to adhere to specified requirements relating to meetings and hearings. This bill would require the State Board of Education and the State Allocation Board to provide for live video and audio transmission of all meetings and hearings that are open to the public through a technology that is accessible to as large a segment of the public as possible. The technologies to be used would include, but not be limited to, cable, satellite, over-the-air, or any other type of transmission that can be accessed through a television, and Web cast. The State Board of Education and the State Allocation Board would be required to ensure that any Web cast transmission implemented pursuant to these provisions be transmitted over and accessed through the K-12 High-Speed Network. The State Board of Education and the State Allocation Board also would be required to consult with the State Chief Information Officer for the purposes of implementing the provisions of the bill.