Under existing law, the segments of the public postsecondary education system in the state include the University of California, which is administered by the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, which is administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, which are administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law authorizes these educational institutions to award various types of degrees. This bill would require the Trustees of the California State University and the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges, and would request the Regents of the University of California, to work with their respective colleges and universities to confer an honorary degree upon each person, living or deceased, who was forced to leave his or her postsecondary studies as a result of federal Executive Order 9066 which caused the incarceration of individuals of Japanese ancestry during World War II.
Sponsored bills
Existing law requires the Governor to proclaim certain days each year for specified reasons. Existing law also designates particular days each year as having special significance in public schools and educational institutions and encourages those entities to conduct suitable commemorative exercises on those dates. This bill would provide that the Governor proclaim May 22 of each year as Harvey Milk Day, and would designate that date as having special significance in public schools and educational institutions and would encourage those entities to conduct suitable commemorative exercises on that date. This bill would incorporate amendments to Section 37222 of the Education Code proposed by both this bill and AB 264, which would become operative only if both bills are enacted and become effective and this bill is chaptered last.
Existing law establishes the various segments of the public higher education system in the state. These segments include the University of California, which is administered by the Regents of the University of California, the California State University, which is administered by the Trustees of the California State University, and the California Community Colleges, which is administered by the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges. Existing law requires publishers of instructional material for use at public institutions of postsecondary education to make instructional material available in electronic form in a format that is compatible with commonly used braille translation and speech synthesis software upon the written request of a campus of a university or college when required for the use of students who are disabled. This bill would require that publishers of textbooks offered for sale at a public or a private postsecondary institution of education make the textbooks available, in whole or in part, to the extent practicable, in an electronic format by January 1, 2020. The bill would require that electronic versions of textbooks include the same content as the printed versions and would allow the electronic versions to be copy-protected.
Existing law, the California Public Records Act, requires each state and local agency, as defined, to make its records open to public inspection at all times during office hours, except as specifically exempted from disclosure by law. The act specifically exempts from disclosure records that are exempted or prohibited from disclosure by federal or state law and lists records subject to that exemption, specifying that the listed exemptions are not inclusive of all exemptions under the act. This bill would revise the list of exempted records to reflect changes in existing law. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 6276.24 of the Government Code, proposed by AB 1540, to be operative only if AB 1540 and this bill are enacted, both bills amend Section 6276.24 of the Government Code, and this bill is enacted after AB 1540.
Existing law, the Instructional Materials Funding Realignment Program, provides for funds to be apportioned to school districts based upon enrollment to ensure that each pupil is provided with a standards-aligned textbook or basic instructional materials, as adopted by the State Board of Education subsequent to the adoption of content standards, or as adopted by the local governing board, for grades 9 to 12, inclusive. This bill would provide that a local governing board may use funding received pursuant to these provisions to purchase state-adopted instructional materials for kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, and state standards-aligned materials for grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in an electronic or hardbound format if it can ensure that each pupil will be provided with a copy of the instructional materials to use at school and at home. However, providing access to the materials at school and at home would not require the local educational agency to purchase 2 sets of materials.
Existing law requires the governing board of each school district and each county superintendent of schools to adopt policies regarding pupil promotion and retention. Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, the state board, and the department to provide to the State Chief Information Officer the individual nonpersonally identifiable or aggregate data related to adequate yearly progress, graduation rates, pupils who drop out of school, and demographics of pupils and teachers. This bill would require the Superintendent, on or before August 1, 2011, and annually thereafter, to submit to the Governor, the Legislature, and the state board, a report called the Annual Report on Dropouts in California. The bill would require, among other things, that the report contain specified information on dropout rates, graduation rates, pupil promotion rates, course enrollment patterns, and behavioral data. The bill would require that the report include data from the most recent year and, at a minimum, the two prior years. The bill would also require the Superintendent to make an oral presentation of the contents of the report to the state board and to make the contents of the report available on the department's Internet Web site. The bill would state the intent of the Legislature that the report be usable by specified groups for analyzing the high rate of dropouts in California. Existing law, operative only if local educational agencies receive a per pupil allocation prior to the 2010–11 fiscal year for implementation of the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, as specified, requires, beginning July 1, 2011, that the Academic Performance Index (API) for a school or school district include test scores and other data from pupils who were referred to alternative education programs and include school and school district dropout rates, as specified. This bill would remove the requirement that local educational agencies receive the specified allocation in order for these provisions to become operative.
(1) Existing law requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to issue an authorization to a teacher to provide specified services to limited-English-proficient pupils, and sets forth the minimum requirements for that authorization. This bill would also authorize the commission to issue the authorization to an applicant who possesses a valid teaching credential and who holds certain certificates issued by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. (2) Existing law requires the commission to issue district intern credentials authorizing persons employed by a school district to provide classroom instruction to pupils with mild and moderate disabilities in special education classes. This bill would delete the provision specifying the authorization is only for pupils with mild and moderate disabilities. (3) Existing law authorizes persons holding district intern credentials to teach in kindergarten and grades 1 to 8, inclusive, in a self-contained program or in self-contained bilingual classes if they have either completed a commission-approved academic diversified or liberal arts subject matter program or have met the subject matter requirement by passing the subject matter examination approved by the commission. This bill would instead authorize those district intern credentialholders to teach in those grades and classes if they have met the subject matter requirement. (4) Existing law specifies that it is the intent of the Legislature that upon recommendation by the governing board, that district interns be issued professional credentials rather than preliminary credentials upon completion of successful service as a teacher pursuant to specified provisions. This bill would instead specify that district interns be issued preliminary credentials pursuant to those provisions. (5) Existing law requires the commission to issue a clear teaching credential to a teacher who is licensed to teach in a state other than California and who is certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, in the area in which the teacher has received the national certification. This bill would also require the commission to issue a clear services credential authorizing service in the area in which the person has received national certification. The bill would also delete obsolete provisions and make conforming changes.
(1) Existing law requires each person between the ages of 6 and 18 years, who is not otherwise exempt, to attend the public full-time day school in the school district in which his or her parent or guardian is a resident. Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to accept interdistrict transfers by adopting a resolution to become a school district of choice, as defined, and authorizes the governing board to ensure, by resolution, that pupils accepted for transfer are selected through a random, unbiased process that prohibits an evaluation of whether or not the pupil should be enrolled based upon his or her academic or athletic performance. This bill would require any communication made by a participating school district to parents or guardians to be factually accurate and not target individual parents or guardians or residential neighborhoods on the basis of specified personal characteristics of pupils. The bill would require a school district of choice, at its expense, to ensure that the auditor who conducts the annual financial audit of the district, as specified, reviews compliance with the requirements for a random, unbiased selection process and appropriate communications at the same time that he or she is conducting the annual audit, and would require the district to notify the auditor regarding this compliance review prior to the commencement of the annual audit. (2) Existing law authorizes a school district of choice to reject the transfer of a pupil if the transfer requires the district to create a new program to serve that pupil. This bill would prohibit a school district of choice from rejecting the transfer of a special needs pupil, including an individual with exceptional needs or an English learner. (3) Existing law authorizes a school district of choice to give priority to children of military personnel if the school district elected to accept transfer pupils by a resolution adopted prior to April 1, 2005. This bill would delete the condition that requires a school board to have adopted the resolution prior to that date. (4) Existing law authorizes a school district of residence, as defined, to limit the number of pupils who transfer out each year by a certain percentage, and also authorizes a school district with an average daily attendance of less than 50,000 to limit the maximum number of pupils transferring out for the duration of the program to 10% of the average daily attendance for that period. This bill would authorize a school district of residence to limit transfers if it has a negative or qualified status on the most recent budget certification, or to limit the number of pupils to a number identified by the county superintendent of schools, as specified, if the county superintendent determines that the district will not meet the standards and criteria for fiscal stability in a specified statutory provision for the subsequent fiscal year due to the impact of additional pupil transfers in that fiscal year. The bill, notwithstanding any other provision regarding interdistrict transfers, would permit a pupil attending a school district of choice or a pupil who received a notice of eligibility to enroll in a school district of choice, including a pupil selected by means of a random selection process conducted on or before June 30, 2009, to attend the school district of choice. (5) Existing law requires each school district that elects to become a school district of choice to keep an accounting of all requests made for alternative attendance, as specified, and to report this information to the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Existing law requires the Superintendent annually to make this information available to the Governor, the Legislature, and the public on or before April 1. This bill would add specified categories to the required accounting of requests for transfers. The bill would require each school district of choice to also report the specified information to the Department of Finance. The bill would delete the requirement that the Superintendent annually make the information provided by school districts available to the Governor, the Legislature, and the public on or before April 1, and instead require the Department of Finance to make the information available upon request to the Legislative Analyst. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst annually to make specified information regarding interdistrict transfers available to the Governor and the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature. (6) Commencing August 24, 2007, existing law prohibits the governing board of a school district from electing to become a school district of choice. This bill would delete that prohibition. (7) Existing law makes the provisions governing interdistrict transfers inoperative on July 1, 2009, and repeals them on January 1, 2010. This bill would extend those inoperative and repeal dates to July 1, 2016, and January 1, 2017, respectively. (8) The bill would require the Legislative Analyst to conduct, after consulting with appropriate legislative staff, a comprehensive evaluation of the interdistrict transfer program, make recommendations regarding the extension of the program, incorporate in that evaluation the data annually made available by the Department of Finance, and complete and submit the evaluation and the recommendations to the appropriate education policy committees of the Legislature and the Governor by November 1, 2014. (9) The bill would also make conforming changes.
Existing law authorizes the Pacific Unified School District, the Leggett Valley Unified School District, the Reeds Creek Elementary School District, the Potter Valley Community Unified School District, the Borrego Springs Unified School District, the Julian Union Elementary School District, the Julian Union High School District, and the Warner Unified School District to operate one or more schools in their districts on a 4-day school week, so long as those school districts comply with specified requirements, including the annual provision of at least 560 hours of instructional time for kindergarten, 700 hours of instructional time for grades 1, 2, and 3, and 845 hours of instructional time for grades 4 to 8, inclusive. This bill would extend the authority to operate one or more schools on a 4-day school week and apply those minimum annual instructional time requirements, and other specified requirements, to the Alpaugh Unified School District, beginning in the 2010–11 fiscal year. The bill would provide that, if a school operating on a 4-day school week pursuant to the bill fails to achieve its Academic Performance Index growth target for 2 consecutive years, the authority of that school to operate on a 4-day school week would be permanently revoked commencing with the beginning of the following school year. This provision would be repealed on January 1, 2016. This bill would declare that, due to the unique circumstances applicable to the Alpaugh Unified School District, a general statute cannot be made applicable within the meaning of Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution, and the enactment of a special statute is therefore necessary.
Existing law establishes the Charter Schools Facilities Program to provide funding to qualifying entities for the purpose of establishing school facilities for charter school pupils. Existing law requires the California School Finance Authority, in consultation with the State Allocation Board, to adopt regulations establishing uniform terms and conditions that would apply equally to funding for charter school facilities projects, including security provisions that include the requirement that title to project facilities be held by the school district in which the facility is to be physically located, in trust, for the benefit of the state public school system. This bill, in addition, would authorize a local governmental entity, as specified, or a charter school to hold title to charter school project facilities. The bill would require applicants, prior to the release of funds for site acquisition or new construction final apportionments, to provide documentary evidence that the school district in which the facility is to be physically located, a local governmental entity, as specified, or the charter school holds title to the project facilities, subject to specified conditions. The bill would authorize a charter school to request a school district to transfer title to project facilities to an entity authorized by the bill, as specified, if the district entered into an agreement, prior to January 1, 2010, to hold title to the project facilities. The bill would authorize a school district that receives such a request to transfer the title to the entity designated in the request pursuant to terms and conditions mutually agreed upon by the district and the charter school. The bill also would make conforming changes. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.