AB 276: Local educational agencies: charter schools.

(1)The Ralph M. Brown Act requires that all meetings of a legislative body, as defined, of a local agency, including a school district, be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend unless a closed session is authorized. Existing law requires regular meetings of the county board of education and all meetings of a governing board of a school district be conducted in accordance with the Ralph M. Brown Act. The Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act requires, with specified exceptions, that all meetings of a state body be open and public and all persons be permitted to attend.

This bill would expressly state that a local educational agency, including a charter school and an entity managing a charter school, as defined, is subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act, unless the charter school is operated by an entity governed by the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, in which case the charter school would be subject to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act. This provision would become operative on July 1, 2019.

(2)The California Public Records Act requires state and local agencies to make their records available for public inspection and to make copies available upon request and payment of a fee unless the records are exempt from disclosure.

This bill would expressly state that a local educational agency, including a charter school and an entity managing a charter school, as defined, is subject to the California Public Records Act, except as provided for certain charter schools located on federally recognized California Indian reservations or rancherias. For those charter schools, the bill would require each charter schools chartering authority to be the custodian of records with regard to any request for information submitted to the charter school. These provisions would become operative on July 1, 2019. To the extent these provisions would impose a new duty on a local educational agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3)Existing law prohibits certain public officials, including, but not limited to, state, county, or district officers or employees, from being financially interested in any contract made by them in their official capacity, or by any body or board of which they are members, except as provided. Existing law specifically requires members of governing boards of school districts to be subject to these provisions.

This bill would expressly state that a local educational agency, including a charter school and an entity managing a charter school, as defined, is subject to these provisions, except that the bill would provide that a governing board or body member or a local agency executive, as defined, shall not be deemed to be interested in a contract if his or her interest is that of a person who provides a loan to a public school due to a fiscal emergency, or leases real property to be occupied by a charter school or who signs a guarantor agreement relative to the lease of real property to be occupied by a charter school, and who also serves as a member of the governing board or body or as a local agency executive of the charter school, as provided. The bill would also provide that an employee of a charter school is not disqualified from serving as a member of the governing body of the charter school because of that employment status. The bill would require such a member of the governing body of a charter school to abstain from voting on, or influencing or attempting to influence another member of that body regarding, any matter uniquely affecting his or her own employment. The bill would require a member of the governing body of a charter school to abstain from voting on, or from influencing or attempting to influence another member of that body regarding, personnel matters that uniquely affect a relative of the member, as provided. The bill would prohibit discussion of any item regarding an activity of the governing body of a charter school that is not related to the operation of the charter school at a meeting of the governing body to discuss items related to the operation of the charter school. These provisions would become operative on January 1, 2020.

(4)The Political Reform Act of 1974 requires every state agency and local governmental agency to adopt a conflict-of-interest code, formulated at the most decentralized level possible, that requires designated employees of the agency to file statements of economic interest disclosing any investments, business positions, interests in real property, or sources of income that may foreseeably be affected materially by any governmental decision made or participated in by the designated employee by virtue of his or her position.

This bill would expressly state that a local educational agency, including a charter school and an entity managing a charter school, as defined, is subject to the Political Reform Act of 1974. This provision would become operative on January 1, 2020.

(6)The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.