California Dream Act sent to governor
Lawmakers also act on other education legislationSilicon Valley Education Foundation
http://toped.svefoundation.org/2011/07/15/california-dream-act-sent-to-governor/
And they’re off! Bills flew through the senate and assembly chambers as lawmakers wrapped up as much business as possible before leaving for summer recess on Thursday afternoon. When they return on August 15th, the docket will still be full, but the fate of some key education bills is coming into sharper focus. Here’s where they stand.
AB 130 and AB 131: California Dream Act of 2011
Assemblyman Gil Cedillo
The state senate passed and sent to Gov. Brown the first of two Dream Act bills by Assemblyman Cedillo allowing some undocumented college students to apply for private scholarships at California’s state colleges and universities.
None of this money comes from the state budget; it’s from private donors who establish scholarships administered through UC, Cal State and community colleges. To be eligible, students will have to meet the requirements for paying in-state tuition under AB 540, a 2001 law that applies to any student, citizen or not, who attended a California high school for at least three years and graduated or earned a GED.
The bill passed by a vote of 26 to 11 along party lines, with one exception. Republican State Senator Anthony Cannella voted with the majority. In a prepared statement, Cannella said, “Having an educated workforce will be critical to the future strength and health of our economy, and giving eligible high-school graduates the opportunity to apply for private scholarship funds – at no cost to California taxpayers – is consistent with this goal.”
It may also help that his district, which covers Merced, Monterey and Salinas, is more than 55 percent Latino That may have something to do with the demographics of his district – Merced, Monterey, Salinas - which is 49.2 percent Latino and 6.2 percent Asian. It also has more registered Democrats than Republicans.
Cedillo’s companion bill, AB 131, faces a tougher road. That one would let AB 540 students apply for state financial aid through the CalGrants program. AB 131 was placed on the senate appropriations committee suspense file and won’t be considered until late August.
Status: On the Governor’s desk. Gov. Brown hasn’t said whether he’ll sign AB 130, however, his spokesman says the Governor “continues to support the principles behind the Dream Act and will closely consider legislation that reaches his desk.”
SB 48: The FAIR (Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful) Education Act
Senator Mark Leno
Gov. Brown signed this landmark bill on Wednesday, July 13, making California the first state in the nation to include the accomplishments of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons in school textbooks and instructional materials.
“History should be honest,” said the Governor in a written statement. “This bill revises existing laws that prohibit discrimination in education and ensures that the important contributions of Americans from all backgrounds and walks of life are included in our history books. It represents an important step forward for our state.”
Status: Signed into law by Gov. Brown.
AB 86: Charter School Authorizing Petitions
Assemblyman Tony Mendoza
Gives classified employees a voice in creating a new charter school or converting an existing public school to a charter school.
Under the current charter school law, petitions for new charter schools need enough signatures from parents or guardians to equal at least half the number of students expected to enroll in the school during its first year, or by at least half the number of teachers expected to be hired the first year.
Mendoza’s bill gives classified employees a voice in creating new charter schools by requiring enough signatures from teachers, nonsupervisorial certificated staff and classified employees to equal at least one-half the number of all those employees that the charter expects to hire.
Status: Ordered to a third reading in the senate.
AB 360: Charter Schools
Assemblywoman Julia Brownley
This bill is intended to create more transparency in charter schools by requiring charter school board meetings to be open to the public under one of the state’s open-meeting laws – the Ralph M. Brown Act or the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, and it would require charter school governing boards to adopt conflict of interest policies.
Status: AB 360 passed the state senate on July 14 and is headed back to the assembly to address some amendments.
AB 440: Charter Schools Academic & Fiscal Accountability
Assemblywoman Julia Brownley
This bill would establish academic and fiscal accountability standards for all charter schools. It would allow school boards to consider an operator’s history of managing charter schools and whether the school’s student population reflects the demographics of the local population when deciding whether to approve the charter.
AB 440 also sets academic standards for charter renewals.
Status: Awaiting hearing in Senate appropriations committee.
SB 645: Charter School Renewals
Senator Joe Simitian
This legislation goes a bit further than Brownley’s bill by setting specific criteria that a charter school has to meet in order to be granted a renewal.
It also establishes the Charter School Facility Grant Program to provide assistance with facility rent and lease costs for charter schools, based on the percentage of pupils who are eligible for free and reduced-price meals.
Status: Amended in the assembly and sent back to the Assembly appropriations committee.
Community College
AB 108: Community College Fee Hike
Assembly Budget Committee
Community College students could get a reprieve from new fee hikes under this legislation. Fees are currently due to increase from $36 per unit to $46 per unit at the start of the fall 2011 term.
This bill would allow that increase only if the state’s General Fund revenue forecast for the 2011-12 fiscal year are less than $ 87,452,500,000. If the fee hike is necessary, it would start with the winter term, rather than the fall term.
Status: AB 108 passed the state senate on July 14, and has been sent to Gov. Brown.
AB 743: Community College Common Assessments
Assemblyman Marty Block
Each of California’s 112 community colleges uses a slightly different version of the student placement tests for math and English, and each school has its own cut-off score, the grade below which students are placed in remedial courses.
Block’s bill would require the Community College Board of Governors to establish a common assessment system.
Status: AB 743 is on the Senate appropriations committee suspense file and will be considered in August after lawmakers have completed work on all other bills.
SB 578: Partial Credit for Foster Youth
Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod
Education is often disrupted for foster youth because they’re frequently moved from home to home. Sen. McLeod’s legislation helps foster youth stay on track for high school graduation by requiring schools to grant partial credit for courses a foster child was taking in one school before being moved to a different school.
Status: Scheduled for a hearing before the Assembly appropriations committee on August 17.
AB 194: Public postsecondary education: priority enrollment: foster youth
Assemblyman Jim Beall, Jr.
This bill would require the California State University and each community college district, and requests the University of California, grant priority registration for classes to foster youth and former foster youth.
Status: Placed on the Senate appropriations committee suspense file to be considered after lawmakers have completed work on all other bills.
AB 709: Foster Children: School Placement
Assemblywoman Julia Brownley
It’s not unusual for foster youth change homes and schools many times during their childhood. Brownley’s bill would require new school to immediately enroll foster children even if they’re missing their immunization records.
Status: AB 709 has been ordered to a third reading in the state senate.
Health and Safety
AJR 10: School Based Health Centers
Assemblywoman Julia Brownley
This resolution would declare the Legislature’s support for the school-based health center program, asking Congress to appropriate funds for the program under the 2010 federal health care reform law. The resolution also declares the Legislature’s support for including these centers in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act. School based health centers provide health, dental and psychological services targeting the 1.5 million California students without health insurance. Research shows the centers improve academic performance and success by boosting attendance rates.
Status: Awaiting vote on Senate Floor.
SB 614: Whooping Cough Immunization Grace Period
Senator Christine Kehoe
Kehoe’s bill gives California school districts a 30-day grace period from a new state law that prohibits them from enrolling any student in grades 7 through 12 who hasn’t been vaccinated against whooping cough.
Status: SB 614 passed the senate by a vote of 38-0. It’s an urgency bill, which means it will take effect immediately if the Governor signs it.
SB 161: Emergency medical assistance: administration of epilepsy medication.
Senator Bob Huff
Since school nurses are becoming a vanishing breed due to budget cuts, this bill would allow teachers or other school personnel to receive medical training to administer a specific drug prescribed to some children with epilepsy.
It’s become a sensitive issue because the medication is a rectal suppository, and school employees are concerned they can be held legally liable if something happens to the child. Supporters counter that this particular medication must be administered immediately when a child has a seizure and there’s no time to call a parent to come to the school.
Status: Amended and sent back to the Assembly appropriations committee.
SB 740: Pupil Assessment
Senator Loni Hancock
One of the more controversial education bills this session, SB 740 would eliminate second-grade STAR testing. Hancock points to research warning that high-stakes achievement tests are inappropriate for preschool and early elementary school children, and recommends diagnostic testing instead.
Opponents say that waiting until the end of third grade to learn whether students are working below grade level is too late.
Status: Scheduled for a vote in the Assembly appropriations committee on August 17.
SB 547: Public School Performance Accountability
Senator Darrell Steinberg
SB 547 would reduce the emphasis on the California Standards Test by limiting the exams to no more than 40 percent of a high school’s overall ranking, and a minimum of 40 percent for middle and elementary schools.
It would also replace the Academic Performance Index (API), with a new system known as the Education Quality Index, or EQI, which would be based on graduation rates and how well schools prepare students for college and career success in addition to test scores. A committee headed by State Superintendent Tom Torlakson would develop other measures.
Status: Scheduled for a hearing in the Assembly appropriations committee on August 17.
AB 224: School Accountability: Academic Performance Index
Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla
This legislation would add some new measures to the state’s Academic Performance Index (API). Currently, 60 percent of a school’s API ranking comes from students’ scores on the California Standards Tests.
Bonilla’s bill would include other indicators of achievement including graduation rates and preparations for college.
Status: Re-referred to the Senate appropriations committee.
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