Bills

AB 1825: Education finance: constitutional minimum funding obligation: local control funding formula.

  • Session Year: 2017-2018
  • House: Assembly
  • Latest Version Date: 2018-06-27
Version:

(1)The Classroom Instructional Improvement and Accountability Act, an initiative approved by the voters as Proposition 98 at the November 8, 1988, statewide general election, amended the California Constitution to, among other things, set forth a formula for computing the minimum amount of revenues that the state is required to appropriate for the support of school districts and community college districts for each fiscal year.

Under existing law, within 9 months following the end of a fiscal year, the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Director of Finance, and the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges and the Director of Finance, are required to recalculate, as necessary, and jointly certify all actual data relating to school districts, and community college districts, for the prior fiscal year for purposes of the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

This bill would revise and recast those provisions, and provide specified procedures, including timelines, for the calculation, recalculation, and certification of the states minimum funding obligation to school districts and community college districts required by the California Constitution. The bill would provide specified timelines for comment and judicial challenge of the Director of Finances final certification of the states minimum funding obligation made pursuant to these provisions. The bill would establish the Proposition 98 Cost Allocation Schedule, to be utilized by the Director of Finance to account for Proposition 98 appropriations in excess of the amounts required to satisfy the minimum funding obligation to school districts and community college districts. The bill would authorize the Director of Finance to credit any amounts attributable to the Proposition 98 Cost Allocation Schedule to satisfy the minimum funding obligation to school districts and community college districts pursuant to the California Constitution for any prior fiscal year. If, after crediting all amounts attributable to the Proposition 98 Cost Allocation Schedule, there remains an outstanding balance in the minimum funding obligation to school districts and community college districts, the bill would appropriate the amounts necessary to satisfy the minimum funding obligation from the General Fund to the Controller, without regard to fiscal years, for allocation to school districts and community college districts, as specified.

(2)Existing law establishes a public school financing system that requires state funding for county superintendents of schools, school districts, and charter schools to be calculated pursuant to a local control funding formula, as specified. Existing law requires, for the 201314 fiscal year and for each fiscal year thereafter, the Superintendent of Public Instruction to annually calculate a county local control funding formula for each county superintendent of schools, as provided.

Existing law requires the Superintendent to make certain computations for purposes of computing the amount of funding for necessary small high schools, as defined. Existing law requires the Superintendent to add a specified amount to the county local control funding formula for purposes of necessary small high schools.

Existing law also requires, commencing with the 201314 fiscal year and for each fiscal year thereafter, the Superintendent to calculate a base entitlement for the transition to the county local control funding formula for each county superintendent of schools, as provided. Existing law requires the amount of the base entitlement to be increased by a specified adjustment.

This bill would repeal the requirement that the Superintendent add the specified amount to the county local control funding formula for purposes of necessary small high schools, and would repeal the requirement that the amount of the base entitlement for the transition to the county local control funding formula for each county superintendent of schools be increased by the specified adjustment.

(3)Existing law provides specified cost-of-living adjustments to the amounts calculated pursuant to the local control funding formula and for necessary small schools. Existing law, upon full implementation of the local control funding formula, requires that those cost-of-living adjustments be made only if an appropriation for that purpose is included in the annual Budget Act.

This bill would repeal the requirement that, upon full implementation of the local control funding formula, those cost-of-living adjustments be made only if an appropriation for that purpose is included in the annual Budget Act.

(4)Existing law requires the Controller to transfer from the General Fund to Section A of the State School Fund during each fiscal year the amount of moneys required to meet the amounts apportioned pursuant to specified provisions of the local control funding formula, upon certification by the Superintendent of Public Instruction of that amount.

This bill instead would continuously appropriate from the General Fund to Section A of the State School Fund for allocation by the Controller any amounts necessary to meet the requirements of specified programs during each fiscal year, including, among others, the local control funding formula, the basic aid school district block grant, and the Open Enrollment Act, upon certification by the Superintendent of those amounts. By establishing a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an appropriation.

(5)Existing law specifies that funds appropriated for the Child Care and Development Services Act do not apply toward the constitutional minimum funding obligation for school districts and community college districts, with the exception of state funding for the part-day California state preschool programs and the After School Education and Safety Program.

This bill would additionally count toward the constitutional minimum funding obligation for school districts and community college districts state funding to specified local educational agencies to create a full day of care for children participating in the California state preschool program.

(6)This bill would appropriate $100,000,000 from the General Fund to the Controller in the 201819 fiscal year for allocation to school districts and community college districts for the purpose of reducing the 200910 fiscal year outstanding balance of the minimum funding obligation to school districts and community college districts, as specified.

(7)This bill would provide that any judicial action or proceeding to challenge, review, set aside, void, or annul the provisions of the bill, or any portion of the bill, may proceed only by application or complaint filed within 45 days of the effective date of the bill.

(8)This bill would provide that if any section or part of the bill is for any reason held unconstitutional, unenforceable, or otherwise invalid, the entire act shall become inoperative.

(9)This bill would correct cross-references and make other nonsubstantive changes.

(10)Funds appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.

(11)This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.

Discussed in Hearing

Assembly Floor 2MIN
Jun 14, 2018

Assembly Floor

Senate Floor 3MIN
Jun 14, 2018

Senate Floor

Senate Standing Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review 2MIN
Jun 13, 2018

Senate Standing Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review

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Chaptered (6/27/2018)