Education
SB 1381 (2010) Kindergarten Age/Transitional Kindergarten
Requires that students must turn five by September 1st to start kindergarten. The new age requirement is phased in over three years beginning in 2012. For “young fives” (i.e., children turning five between September 2nd and December 2nd) whose kindergarten is delayed, the bill creates a transitional kindergarten.
AB 1330 (2003) Environmental Education
Establishes the California Outdoor Environmental Education Program for underserved school-age youth. It provides a mechanism for private funding of outdoor environmental education programs and an evaluation of program effectiveness. The State Department of Education administers the Program with the goal of developing a model for implementation by interested school districts.
AB 886 (2002) Court-Orphaned Minors
Requires that whenever a court limits the right of a parent or guardian to make educational decisions for a child, the court must appoint another responsible adult to make educational decisions for that child.
School Funding
AB 441 (2001) School Funding Equalization
Begins reducing disparities in the level of funding received by schools in the state. It provides $40 million to equalize funding in under-funded California school districts, and serves as the first step towards ensuring that every youngster in the state is funded at the 90th percentile of school funding by the 2006-2007 fiscal year.
AB 47 (2002) Juvenile Court and Community Schools Funding Equalization
Revises a funding formula which allows the juvenile court and community schools operated by county offices of education to again receive cost of living increases (COLA) in per pupil funding for their programs.
AB 1350 (2003) Ravenswood City School District Reimbursement
Reimburses Ravenswood City School District, with federal special education carryover funds, for special education costs incurred in complying with a federal court order.
AB 1649 (2003) Residency Requirements for Disabled Pupil Funding
Allows children who are severely disabled to receive special education funding and services, whether they receive those services in a local school environment close to home, or in a skilled nursing facility far removed from their home and local school district. This law relieves small school districts from the burden of funding the entire cost of special education services for severely disabled children in skilled nursing facilities within their defined area.
SB 537 (2007) Charter School Oversight Report
Directs the California Research Bureau to conduct a study of oversight costs for charter schools. At passage, the Charter Schools Act of 1992 estimated oversight costs. This report requires actual costs and the identification of key oversight elements that comprise them.
Education Data/Accountability
SB 687 (2005) School Accountability Report Cards
Expands the information that school districts report in their annual School Accountability Report Cards (SARC). Spending per student and teacher salaries must now be reported by school site, not only as part of a school district’s consolidated average, allowing for greater transparency of expenditures within districts.
SB 1614 (2006), SB 363 (2007) Teacher/Educator Workforce Information System
Requires converting numerous existing state and local data systems into an integrated, comprehensive information system on California’s teacher workforce, creating the California Longitudinal Teacher Integrated Data Education System (CALTIDES). This system is used by state policymakers and researchers to provide accurate information on the state’s teachers, predicting critical employment trends, and assessing the impact of state initiatives and investments.
SB 1298 (2008) Student Information System
Begins a comprehensive, longitudinal, pre-K-through-workforce student education data system in California. Better information enables assessing education policy decisions at the state and local level, helping districts improve instruction and learning, identify cost savings and target resources for the kids who need it most.
SB 19 (2009) Federal Program Data Compliance
Enacts changes to the education data system-related statutes in order to ensure eligibility for the Race to the Top program, as well as aid in competing for the federal funds directed at state-level longitudinal data systems.
SBX5 2 (2010) Pupil Data Access
Expands and improves researchers and community organizations access to California’s student performance data, and increases California’s competitiveness for federal funding. Senate Bill X5 2 also specifies that California’s student data system will ultimately include pre-K and higher education data (P-20 comprehensive).
School Construction
AB 1402 (2001) Design-Build Process for School Districts
Permits California school districts to put together architectural, engineering, and construction services in a single design-build package for large projects of $10 million or more. The single contract approach streamlines the process and saves money.
AB 1000 (2002) Design-Build Pilot for Community College Districts
Authorizes a design-build pilot project for three community college districts and up to five individual facilities’ construction projects.
SB 614 (2007), SB 1509 (2012) School Design-build Contracts for Public Education
Extends and expands previous legislation by offering school districts and all community college districts the ability to use a more streamlined process in building schools. Districts may put together a “design-build” contract package, for projects of $2 million or more. Senate Bill 1509 extends the sunset of this legislation to 2020.