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AB-2501 Before and after school programs: California Universal Afterschool Program Workgroup.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 05/23/2022 02:12 PM
AB2501:v95#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  May 23, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 19, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 19, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 24, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2501

Introduced by Assembly Members Carrillo and McCarty

February 17, 2022

An act to add and repeal Section 8204.3 of the Education Code, relating to before and after school programs, and making an appropriation therefor.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2501, as amended, Carrillo. Before and after school programs: California Universal Afterschool Program Workgroup.
The After School Education and Safety Program Act of 2002, an initiative statute approved by the voters as Proposition 49 at the November 5, 2002, statewide general election, establishes the After School Education and Safety (ASES) Program under which participating public schools receive grants to operate before and after school programs serving pupils in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 9, inclusive.
Existing federal law establishes the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program to provide pupils with academic enrichment and other activities during nonschool hours or periods when school is not in session, as provided.
Existing law establishes the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program to provide funds to school districts and certain charter schools to offer, outside of any instructional time, expanded learning opportunities, as defined, to pupils enrolled in classroom-based instructional programs in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, under specified funding methodologies and program conditions.
This bill would establish the California Universal Afterschool Program Workgroup within the State Department of Education composed of certain members, including members appointed by the department, to evaluate policy and regulatory impediments to ensuring the quality of and increased access to after school programs and any access impediments faced by pupils and their families, develop legislative and regulatory recommendations and specific proposals to reduce those impediments, and develop a roadmap for providing universal access to after school programs to all schoolage children, as provided. The bill would appropriate an unspecified amount from the General Fund to the department to support the workgroup’s activities, and would require the workgroup to, among other things, provide a final report to the Legislature and the department on or before October 1, 2024. The bill would require the workgroup to be maintained through December 31, 2024, and would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2025.
Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Prior to 2020, California served more than 900,000 students each year in more than 4,500 state and federally funded after school and summer learning programs through the After School Education and Safety (ASES) Program and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program.
(2) Eighty-four percent of pupils in ASES and 21st CCLC programs are from socioeconomically disadvantaged families, 90 percent are pupils of color, 33 percent are English language learners, and these programs serve one in four pupils experiencing homelessness in California.
(3) Research shows that elementary and middle school pupils who participate in after school programs have significantly higher school attendance rates and even higher rates for high school pupils.
(4) The Budget Act of 2021 invested over $1.7 billion to expand access to after school and summer learning programs, also known as the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P).
(5) The state is committed to growing this historic investment to $5 billion by the 2025–26 fiscal year and has set the goal of providing universal access to after school programs to all schoolage children in elementary school.
(6) The Budget Act of 2021 included the Legislature’s intent to prioritize school communities with the most English learners, foster youth, and students from low-income families and to increase funding rates for pupils in future years.
(7) The state has directed after school providers to blend and braid existing ASES and 21st CCLC programs and funding streams with ELO-P to provide a single comprehensive program.
(8) The Budget Act of 2021 encouraged local educational agencies to partner with community-based organizations and childcare providers to maximize access.
(9) Local educational agencies and community-based after school providers are experiencing severe workforce challenges that limit their ability to serve students currently and to dramatically expand access quickly.
(b) To provide access to the critical opportunities and support that California’s students and families need and to protect California’s historic investment, it is the intent of the Legislature to commit funding to collect data and engage state agencies, practitioners, and stakeholders to compile recommendations to address implementation and sustainability challenges and to develop a roadmap towards universal access to after school and summer learning programs that meet California’s quality standards.

SEC. 2.

 Section 8204.3 is added to the Education Code, to read:

8204.3.
 (a) (1) The California Universal Afterschool Program Workgroup is hereby established within the department to evaluate policy and regulatory impediments to ensuring the quality of and increased access to after school programs and any access impediments faced by pupils and their families, develop legislative and regulatory recommendations and specific proposals to reduce those impediments, and develop a roadmap for providing universal access to after school programs to all schoolage children.
(2) (A) On or before March 1, 2024, the workgroup shall provide initial recommendations to the department and the Legislature and post the initial recommendations publicly.
(B) On or before October 1, 2024, the workgroup shall provide a final report to the department and the Legislature on the impediments, recommendations and proposals, and roadmap described in paragraph (1).
(C) The reports to the Legislature under this paragraph shall be made in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(b) Consistent with the purposes described in subdivision (a), the workgroup shall examine, at a minimum, information regarding all of the following:
(1) The status of programs subsidized by state or federal funding, including the number of schools and local educational agencies with programs, the number and demographics of pupils enrolled in those programs, the type and amount of funding those pupils receive, the number of applications for funding received and approved for funding, and the duration of committed funding.
(2) Existing program quality standards and accountability measures.
(3) Challenges providers of programs face that impede quality service and increased access.
(4) The actual cost of providing programs that meet state quality standards.
(c) Consistent with the purposes described in subdivision (a), the workgroup shall provide recommendations, at a minimum, on legislative and administrative action needed to do all of the following:
(1) Enhance equitable access to programs for pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(2) Provide programs that meet state quality standards.
(3) Recruit, train, and retain the workforce, including certificated teachers, paraprofessionals, and community-based partners.
(4) Ensure adequate, prompt, and sustainable funding and rates.
(5) Evaluate the impact of state and federal investment and local implementation.
(6) Coordinate with and leverage other existing programs and funding sources such as universal prekindergarten, community schools, and schoolage childcare.

(d)The Office of Planning and Research shall contract with planning facilitators to perform all of the following duties to assist the workgroup established by this section:

(1)Provide facilitation and staff support to the workgroup.

(2)Conduct research and gather relevant information for consideration by the workgroup in fulfilling its responsibilities.

(3)Produce the reports required.

(4)Advance the purposes of this section, including, but not limited to, by assisting the workgroup to complete its activities.

(e)

(d) Members of the workgroup shall represent the state’s diversity and shall consist of a minimum of 28 25 members. The membership of the workgroup shall consist of, at minimum, all of the following:
(1) One Member of the Assembly, or their designee, to be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(2) One Member of the Senate, or their designee, to be appointed by the President pro Tempore of the Senate.
(3) One member to be appointed by the State Board of Education.
(4) One member to be appointed by the State Department of Social Services.
(5) One member to be appointed by the Department of Finance.
(6) Twenty members to be appointed by the State Department of Education, as follows:
(A) Three members who represent the Expanded Learning Division at the department or members of the Statewide System of Support for Expanded Learning.
(B) Two members who represent families participating in the After School Education and Safety (ASES) Program, the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program, or the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P).
(C) Three members who represent pupils participating in the ASES Program, the 21st CCLC program, and the ELO-P, with one pupil representing each program.
(D) Three members who represent local educational agencies.
(E) Two members who represent community-based organizations.
(F) Two members who represent municipal agencies.
(G) Two members who represent rural communities.
(H) One member who represents the interests of employees of after school programs.
(I) Two members who represent diverse practitioners.

(7)Three members to be appointed by the State Department of Social Services who represent family childcare providers, center-based childcare providers, and childcare resource and referral agencies.

(f)

(e) (1) Appointments to the workgroup described in subdivision (e) (d) shall be made on or before March 1, 2023.
(2) The workgroup shall be maintained through December 31, 2024.

(g)

(f) (1) For the 2022–23 fiscal year, the sum of ____ dollars ($____) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the department to facilitate the workgroup in fulfilling the requirements of this section, including, but not limited to, gathering data, developing the recommendations and roadmap, and providing travel expenses for meetings.
(2) Notwithstanding any other law, the department may subcontract as necessary to perform the duties described in this section.

(h)

(g) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “After school program” has the same meaning as “expanded learning” as defined in Section 8482.1. “After school program” does not mean an extension of instructional time, but rather opportunities to engage pupils in enrichment, play, nutrition, and other developmentally appropriate activities.
(2) “Local educational agency” means a school district or charter school, excluding a charter school offering nonclassroom-based instruction pursuant to Sections 47612.5 and 47634.2.

(i)

(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2025, and as of that date is repealed.

(j)

(i) Funds appropriated for purposes of the workgroup pursuant to subdivision (b) shall not count towards satisfying the minimum funding obligation to school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.