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AB-2456 School districts: state applications.(2007-2008)

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AB2456:v99#DOCUMENT


CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2007–2008 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2456

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Walters

February 21, 2008

An act to amend Sections 33051 and 64001 of the Education Code, relating to school districts.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2456, as introduced, Walters. School districts: state applications.
Existing law requires the State Board of Education to approve any and all requests by school districts for waivers of Education Code provisions or regulations adopted by the state board to implement a code provision that may be waived, except in cases where the state board makes specified findings.
Existing law provides that a school district that elects to submit a single consolidated application for state and federal categorical programs to the State Department of Education is not required to submit school plans for those programs as part of the consolidated application, but does require the district to assure that a Single Plan for Pupil Achievement has been prepared in accordance with law by the schoolsite council for each school participating in programs funded through the consolidated application process and that the plan was developed with the review, certification, and advice of any applicable school advisory committee.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 33051 of the Education Code is amended to read:

33051.
 (a) The State Board of Education state board shall approve any and all requests for waivers, except in those cases where the state board specifically finds any of the following:
(1) The educational needs of the pupils are not adequately addressed adequately.
(2) The waiver affects a program that requires the existence of a schoolsite council and the schoolsite council did not approve the request.
(3) The appropriate councils or advisory committees, including bilingual advisory committees, did not have an adequate opportunity to review the request and the request did not include a written summary of any objections to the request by the councils or advisory committees.
(4) Pupil or school personnel protections are jeopardized.
(5) Guarantees of parental involvement are jeopardized.
(6) The request would substantially would increase state costs.
(7) The exclusive representative of employees, if any, as provided in Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code, was not a participant in the development of the waiver.

(b)The State Board of Education shall not approve any request for waiver of any provision of Article 5 (commencing with Section 39390) of Chapter 3 of Part 23 unless the school district seeking the waiver demonstrates all of the following:

(1)The school district provided the written notice required under subdivision (f) of Section 33050.

(2)The school district, after making a good-faith effort to that purpose, was unable to reach agreement with any public agency identified under Section 39394 that seeks to acquire the site under that article on terms and conditions that are consistent with the requirements of the purchase plan adopted by the agency under Section 39397.5 and would enable the district to meet its reasonable financial goals.

(3)The detriment to the school district’s ability to financially meet the educational needs of the community resulting from the disposition of the school site pursuant to the sale price or lease rate limitations set forth in Section 39396, as compared to the fair market value of the site, outweighs the need for the use of the site for outdoor recreational and open-space purposes as established by a finding made under Section 39397.

(4)In the event that the school district enters into a long-term lease during the period of the waiver or any extension thereof, the school district shall be exempt from the requirements of Article 5 (commencing with Section 39390) of Chapter 3 of Part 33, for the duration of the lease term for that site.

(c)

(b) The governing board of a school district that has requested and received a general waiver under this article for two consecutive years for the same general waiver is not required to reapply annually if the information contained on the request remains current. The State Board of Education state board may require updated information for the request whenever it determines that information to be necessary. Nothing in this section shall prevent the State Board of Education state board from rescinding a waiver if additional information supporting a rescission is made available to the state board. This waiver process shall not apply to waivers pertaining to teacher credentialing, which shall be submitted to the State Board of Education state board annually.

SEC. 2.

 Section 64001 of the Education Code is amended to read:

64001.
 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a school districts district shall not be required to submit to the department, as part of the consolidated application, school plans for categorical programs subject to this part. School districts A school district shall assure, in the consolidated application, that the Single Plan for Pupil Achievement established pursuant to subdivision (d) has been prepared in accordance with law, that schoolsite councils have developed and approved a plan, to be known as the Single Plan for Pupil Achievement for schools participating in programs funded through the consolidated application process, and any other school program they choose to include, and that school plans were developed with the review, certification, and advice of any applicable school advisory committees. The Single Plan for Pupil Achievement may also may be referred to as the Single Plan for Student Achievement. The consolidated application shall also shall include certifications by appropriate district advisory committees that the application was developed with review and advice of those committees.
For any a consolidated application that does not include the necessary certifications or assurances, the department shall initiate an investigation to determine whether the consolidated application and Single Plan for Pupil Achievement were developed in accordance with law and with the involvement of applicable advisory committees and schoolsite councils.
(b) Onsite school and district compliance reviews of categorical programs shall continue, and school plans shall be required and reviewed as part of these onsite visits and compliance reviews. The Superintendent shall establish the process and frequency for conducting reviews of district achievement and compliance with state and federal categorical program requirements. In addition, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall establish the content of these instruments, including any criteria for differentiating these reviews based on the achievement of pupils, as demonstrated by the Academic Performance Index developed pursuant to Section 52052, and evidence of district compliance with state and federal law. The state board shall review the content of these instruments for consistency with state board policy.
(c) A school district shall submit school plans whenever the department requires the plans in order to effectively administer any a categorical program subject to this part. The department may require submission of the school plan for any a school that is the specific subject of a complaint involving any a categorical program or service subject to this part.
The department may require a school district to submit other data or information as may be necessary for the department to effectively administer any a categorical program subject to this part.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, as a condition of receiving state funding for a categorical program pursuant to Section 64000, and in lieu of the information submission requirements that were previously were required by this section prior to the amendments that added this subdivision and subdivisions (e) to (i), inclusive, school districts shall ensure that each school in a district that operates any a categorical programs subject to this part consolidates any plans that are required by those programs into a single plan. Schools may consolidate any plans that are required by federal programs subject to this part into this plan, unless otherwise prohibited by federal law. That plan shall be known as the Single Plan for Pupil Achievement or may be referred to as the Single Plan for Student Achievement.
(e) Plans developed pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 52054, and Section 6314 and following of Title 20 of the United States Code, shall satisfy this requirement.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the content of a Single Plan for Pupil Achievement shall be aligned with school goals for improving pupil achievement. School goals shall be based upon an analysis of verifiable state data, including the Academic Performance Index developed pursuant to Section 52052 and the English Language Development test developed pursuant to Section 60810, and may include any data voluntarily developed by districts to measure pupil achievement. The Single Plan for Pupil Achievement shall, at a minimum, shall address how funds provided to the school through any of the sources identified in Section 64000 will be used to improve the academic performance of all pupils to the level of the performance goals, as established by the Academic Performance Index developed pursuant to Section 52052. The plan shall also shall identify the schools’ means of evaluating progress toward accomplishing those goals and how state and federal law governing these programs will be implemented.
(g) The plan required by this section shall be reviewed annually and updated, including proposed expenditure of funds allocated to the school through the consolidated application, by the schoolsite council, or, if the school does not have a schoolsite council, by schoolwide advisory groups or school support groups that conform to the requirements of Section 52852. The plans shall be reviewed and approved by the governing board of the local education educational agency at a regularly scheduled meeting whenever there are material changes that affect the academic programs for students pupils covered by programs identified in Section 64000.
(h) The school plan and subsequent revisions shall be reviewed and approved by the governing board of the school district. School A school district governing boards board shall certify that, to the extent allowable under federal law, plans a plan developed for purposes of this section are is consistent with district local improvement plans that are required as a condition of receiving federal funding.
(i) Nothing in this act may be construed to This section does not prevent a school district, at its discretion, from conducting an independent review pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 64001, as that section read on January 1, 2001.