Today's Law As Amended


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AB-1279 Open Enrollment Act.(2013-2014)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.

 Section 48352 of the Education Code is amended to read:

48352.
 For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Low-achieving school” means any school identified by the Superintendent pursuant to the following:
(1) Excluding the schools, and taking into account the impact of the criteria in paragraph (2), the Superintendent annually shall create a list of 1,000 schools ranked by increasing API with the same ratio of elementary, middle, and high schools as existed in decile 1 in the 2008–09 school year.
(2) In constructing the list of 1,000 schools each year, the Superintendent shall ensure each of the following:
(A) A local educational agency shall not have more than 10 percent of its schools on the list. However, if the number of schools in a local educational agency is not evenly divisible by 10, the Superintendent shall round up to the next whole number of schools.
(B) Court, community, or community day schools shall not be included on the list.
(C) Charter schools shall not be included on the list.
(b) (a)  “Parent” means the natural or adoptive parent or guardian of a dependent child.
(c) (b)  “School district of enrollment” means a school district other than the school district in which the parent of a pupil resides, but in which the parent of the pupil nevertheless intends to enroll the pupil pursuant to this article.
(d) (c)  “School district of residence” means a school district in which the parent of a pupil resides and in which the pupil would otherwise be required to enroll pursuant to Section 48200.

SEC. 2.

 Section 48354 of the Education Code is amended to read:

48354.
 (a) The parent of a pupil enrolled in a low-achieving school  school district of residence  may submit an application for the pupil to attend a school in a school district of enrollment pursuant to this article.
(b) (1) Consistent with the requirements of Section 1116(b)(1)(E) of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.), on or before the first day of the school year, or, if later, on the date the notice of program improvement, corrective action, or restructuring status is required to be provided under federal law law,  the school  district of residence shall provide the parents and guardians of all pupils enrolled in a school determined in subdivision (a) of Section 48352  in the district  with notice of the option to transfer to another public school served by the school district of residence or another school district.
(2) An application requesting a transfer pursuant to this article shall be submitted by the parent of a pupil to the school district of enrollment prior to  before  January 1 of the school year preceding the school year for which the pupil is requesting to transfer. The school district of enrollment may waive the deadline specified in this paragraph.
(3) The application deadline specified in paragraph (2) does not apply to an application requesting a transfer if the parent, with whom the pupil resides, is enlisted in the military and was relocated by the military within 90 days prior to  before  submitting the application.
(4) The application may request enrollment of the pupil in a specific school or program within the school district of enrollment.
(5) A pupil may enroll in a school in the school district of enrollment in the school year immediately following the approval of his or her  the pupil’s  application.
(6) In order to provide priority enrollment opportunities for pupils residing in the school district, a school district of enrollment shall establish a period of time for resident pupil enrollment prior to  before  accepting transfer applications pursuant to this article.

SEC. 3.

 Section 48356 of the Education Code is amended to read:

48356.
 (a) A school district of enrollment may adopt specific, written standards for acceptance and rejection of applications pursuant to this article. The standards may include consideration of the capacity of a program, class, grade level, school building, or adverse financial impact. Subject to subdivision (b), and except as necessary in accordance with Section 48355, the standards shall not include consideration of a pupil’s previous academic achievement, physical condition, proficiency in the English language, family income, or any of the individual characteristics set forth in Section 200.
(b) In considering an application pursuant to this article, a nonresident school district may apply its usual requirements for admission to a magnet school or a program designed to serve gifted and talented pupils.
(c) Subject to the rules and standards that apply to pupils who reside in the school district of enrollment, a resident pupil who is enrolled in one of the district’s schools pursuant to this article shall not be required to submit an application in order to remain enrolled.
(d) A school district of enrollment shall ensure that pupils enrolled pursuant to standards adopted pursuant to this section are enrolled in a school with a higher Academic Performance Index than the school in which the pupil was previously enrolled and are selected through a random, unbiased process that prohibits an evaluation of whether or not the pupil should be enrolled based on his or her individual academic or athletic performance, or any of the other characteristics set forth in subdivision (a), except that pupils applying for a transfer pursuant to this article shall be assigned priority for approval as follows:
(1) First priority for the siblings of children who already attend the desired school.
(2) Second priority for pupils transferring from a program improvement school ranked in decile 1 on the Academic Performance Index determined pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 48352. Index. 
(3) Third priority for pupils transferring from a school ranked in decile 2 on the Academic Performance Index.
(3)  (4)  If the number of pupils who request a particular school exceeds the number of spaces available at that school, a lottery shall be conducted in the group priority order identified in paragraphs (1) and (2) to  to (3), inclusive, to  select pupils at random until all of the available spaces are filled.
(e) The initial application of a pupil for transfer to a school within a school district of enrollment shall not be approved if the transfer would require the displacement from the desired school of any other pupil who resides within the attendance area of that school or is currently enrolled in that school.
(f) A pupil approved for a transfer to a school district of enrollment pursuant to this article shall be deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of Section 48204.
SEC. 4.
  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.