THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 1865

Author: Committee on Budget

Amended: 8/28/20 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE BUDGET & FISCAL REVIEW COMMITTEE: 13-5, 8/29/20

AYES: Mitchell, Beall, Caballero, Durazo, Hertzberg, Hurtado, Leyva, McGuire, Monning, Pan, Roth, Skinner, Wieckowski

NOES: Nielsen, Dahle, Melendez, Moorlach, Morrell

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: Not relevant

SUBJECT: Education finance

SOURCE: Author

DIGEST:

This bill makes clarifying changes and technical corrections associated with changes to education programs adopted as part of the Budget Act of 2020.

ANALYSIS: The 2020 Budget Act included various changes to education programs; AB 1865 makes amendments and corrections to statutory provisions that are necessary to implement the 2020 Budget Act. Specifically this bill makes the following changes:

Child Care and Early Education:

1. Clarifies that a child care provider located on a local education agency (LEA) campus, may continue to be held harmless from funding reductions when the program is closed, if the LEA campus is closed by public health guidance or order, and if the LEA discusses the child care site closures and a plan for safe re-opening of child care programs in a public school board meeting. The Budget Act created a “hold harmless” for direct-contract child care providers funded under the General Child Care, California State Preschool, and Migrant programs, for dates of program closure, under specific requirements, including public health guidance.
2. Increases the allowable non-operative days for alternative payment program providers in 2020-21 by an additional 14 days, for COVID-19 related closures and provides $31.25 million in federal Child Care and Development Block Grant funds for this purpose (reduces the funding provided for one-time stipends in the Budget Act by a like amount). The bill also specifies that $35 million in additional federal funding, if received by the state, will be appropriated for closure costs. Current regulations allow up to 10 paid non-operative days annually within a California Alternative Payment Program and Stages One, Two, and Three child care provider’s contract.
3. Extends the waiver of family fees for child care services to all families through August 31, 2020. Waives family fees for the 2020-21 fiscal year, for any enrolled family not receiving care services, either due to site closure, Distance Learning, or a family’s need to shelter-in-place. The bill specifies that $30 million in additional federal funding, if received by the state, will be appropriated for family fee waiver costs.
4. Allows the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide guidance and not require parent signatures for CDE-administered child care programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, under certain circumstances.

K-12 Education:

1. Extends the postponement of the state’s development of an observation protocol for teaching English Language Learners by an additional year from the Budget Act, to 2022, to allow for in-person instruction to inform the protocol development. The 2020-21 Budget Act postponed the state’s development of an observation protocol for teaching English Language Learners to 2021.
2. Allows all County Offices of Education (COEs) to meet statutory requirements to annually visit, examine, and report on a school’s sufficient textbook, facility, and School Accountability Report Card data conditions, as specified, if the school is on a decile 1-3 Academic Performance Index list provided by the State Superintendent, in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, through a combination of site visits and staff surveys; allows surveys in lieu of site visits with COVID-19 closure justifications; waives on-site visits during the pandemic closure period, and waives unannounced visit requirements.
3. Amends the date by which LEAs must certify that they meet the financial hardship qualifications to receive a deferral hardship waiver for the February through May 2020 deferrals from January 5, 2021 to Dec 15, 2020.
4. Allows all school districts and county offices of education to use the California School Finance Authority (CSFA) intercept, which will enable those districts to lower borrowing costs for state funding deferrals. Current law authorizes the CSFA to support LEA borrowing, but precludes school districts and COEs with qualified or negative certifications from securing CFSA borrowing with an intercept of State apportionments.
5. Amends statute on the sale or lease of surplus property to allow additional flexibility for LEAs consistent with the 2020-21 Budget Act. Specifically, permits the sale or lease of property purchased with any non-state funds, allows for the sale of a property never constructed for or used as an early childhood education facility or a school for K-12 instruction, clarifies that it is the intent of the Legislature that school districts can meet the requirements to offer surplus properties to interested parties simultaneously to all applicable entities, and extends the timeline for proceeds of a sale or lease under these terms to be deposited in the general fund.
6. Clarifies 2020-21 requirements for those schools allowed to operate a 4-day school week, consistent with the Budget Act. Current law allows specific LEAs to provide a 4-day school week, under specified requirements, including minimum instructional minutes. The 2020-21 Budget Act created minimum instructional day and minute requirements for the 2020-21 school year only, during Distance Learning and in-person instruction.
7. Amends the School Facilities Program K-12 Audit Guide Process to clarify that existing auditing standards required for K-12 financial and compliance audits would apply to facilities audits, that completed audits should first be submitted to the State Controller’s Office, and shifts the responsibility for invoicing audit disallowances from CDE to the Office of Public School Construction.
8. Amends the amount of funding appropriated to offset General Fund paid to the San Francisco Unified School District and San Francisco County Office of Education as a result of a miscalculation of offsetting property tax revenues in the 2016-17 fiscal year to reflect updated calculations
9. Clarifies that Education Code Section 51512 does not prohibit an LEA from adopting online instruction, including the use of synchronous or asynchronous video, as part of a Distance Learning program under the requirements of the 2020-21 Budget Act, and that except as require under a Distance Learning program, individuals may not record an online course without teacher and principal consent.
10. Amends the Budget Act to allow all LEAs, for their 2020-21 apportionment, to apply for either planned increases or actual planned growth to classroom-based student attendance, whichever is less, in lieu of the 2019-20 average daily attendance hold-harmless guarantee adopted in the Budget Act of 2020-21, under the following conditions: 1) LEAs apply to the Department of Education for 2020-21 classroom-based ADA growth by November 6, 2021, 2) LEAs submit proof of Governing Board or Authorizer adoption of classroom-based ADA growth in the LEA 2020-21 Budget prior to June 30, 2020 or their second interim 2020 Budget, and 3) LEAs demonstrate actual growth in October CalPADS student census report, reduced for state attendance averages. As part of school funding stabilization during the COVID‑19 pandemic, the 2020-21 Budget Act froze average daily attendance (ADA) for all LEAs for purposes of apportionment between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.
11. Makes other various technical changes to the ADA hold harmless to conform policy to reorganized charters and school districts, and necessary small schools, including the following: specifies that opportunity schools are included in the minimum daily instructional minute requirements for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Aligns funding for Necessary Small Schools with the ADA hold harmless funding provisions in place for the 2020-21 school year. Allows for the adjustment of an LEA’s ADA Hold Harmless provisions in 2020-21 related to school district reorganizations, closure of charter schools, and reorganizations of charter schools related to recent legislation. Specifies that the 2019-20 second principal apportionment is used as the point in time to certify ADA for non-classroom based charters. Extends the hold harmless to non-classroom based charter funding determination formulas for two year and allows charters to rescind decisions to delay authorized grade levels due to the budget act.
12. Conforms the Parent Budget Summary, template, and timelines to the 2020-21 Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan. Current law requires an annual Parent Budget Summary as part of each LEA’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) process. The 2020-21 Budget Act created a Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan for the 2020-21 school year, to replace the 2020-21 LCAP process during the transition of most LEAs to pandemic-induced Distance Learning programs.
13. Specifies that in completing the annual update to the LCAP for the 2021-22 school year, an LEA must include the LCAP adopted in the 2019-20 school year. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to update the template for the annual update by January 31, 2021, to also include the learning continuity and attendance plan in the 2021-22 annual update.
14. Includes a technical amendment to specify that $450,000 in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund appropriated in 2020-21 for the purpose of aligning and integrating the online platforms for the California School Dashboard, the Local Control and Accountability Plan Electronic Template, and the School Accountability Report Card, is counted towards the 2018-19 Proposition 98 Guarantee.
15. Allows the California High School Proficiency Exam to be offered more than once a semester, and requires test administration conditions to meet Public Health requirements.
16. Allows for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to designate alternatives for students who would graduate in 2020 or 2021 to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy, and to waive the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress for students graduating in 2020 and 2021.
17. Includes technical amendments related to the new formula for special education funding adopted in the final budget act.
18. Eliminates the ongoing appropriation of $3.5 million annually in Proposition 98 General Fund to the Exploratorium for workload to support the statewide implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards, consistent with the budget agreement.
19. Sunsets the provisions of Executive Order N-26-20 and SB 117 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 3, Statutes of 2020) at the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year.
20. Conforms all state expanded learning programs, including federally-funded 21^st Century Community Learning Center programs, to the flexibilities authorized in SB 98 and the 2020-21 Budget Act.
21. Extends the expenditure deadline for the General Fund allocation for Learning Loss Mitigation from December 30, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Aligns record retention requirements to federal law, from the current three years to five years. Specifies that eligible uses include cleaning and safety measures for re-opening schools. Makes other technical changes to ensure Learning Loss Mitigation calculations align with statutory language.
22. Amends the date by which grant funds from the California Community Schools Partnership Program must be encumbered by to September 30, 2022 to align with the availability period for federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.
23. Increases the 2020-21 Budget Act appropriation for the COVID closure and summer meal program state reimbursement from $112 million in CARES Act funds to a total of $192 million through a combination of federal and general funds, to reimburse LEAs for school meals provided under USDA standards, through August 30, 2020, at up to 75 cents per meal.
24. Amends the appropriation for the California Dyslexia Initiative to reflect $2 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund and $2 million in one-time federal funds instead of $4 million in one-time federal funds to reflect the final budget agreement. Extends the timeline for designating the county office of education to administer the program to November 15, 2020.
25. Extends Executive Order postponement and conditions for educator credential requirements to August 2021, due to closure of testing centers. Executive Order N-66-20 authorized the postponement of various educator assessment requirements, under specific conditions, including attaining all other credential requirements, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
26. Suspends the Physical Performance Test for the 2020-21 school year and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to consult with experts and other stakeholders and to provide recommendations on the purpose and administration of the test to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, the Department of Finance, and the State Board of Education by November 1, 2022.
27. Extends the timeline for the initial assessment of pupils for English language proficiency using the English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC) by 45 calendar days for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Requires LEAs to screen new pupils, pending assessment results, to ensure pupils informally determined to be English learners receive appropriate supports as soon as possible.
28. Allows local educational agencies to exclude learning loss mitigation funds and federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds from being considered general fund expenditures for the purposes of the Routine Restricted Maintenance Account (RRMA) calculation.
29. Enumerates the Youth Task Force’s design and charge, including the co-chairing of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and State Board of Education president or designee, up to 15 gubernatorial youth appointees, a defined “youth facilitator” for the Taskforce, and a required report by November 1, 2021 of the Task Force’s balanced recommendations on the impacts of peace officer presence on campus and in facilitating students’ transport to school. The 2020-21 Budget Act Education Trailer bill established a Youth Task Force to provide recommendations on the impacts of peace officers and other law enforcement on school campuses.

Higher Education:

1. Modifies the birth registration information collected to include voluntarily provided email address and mobile telephone numbers of parents to be used for the California Kids Investment and Development (CalKIDS) Program only. Requires the Department of Public Health to share a parent’s mobile telephone number and email address, and participation in the Women, Infants and Children program and other identifiable birth data as specified, for the purpose of administering the California KIDS program at the Scholarshare Board.
2. Adds the Lieutenant Governor as a voting member of the Community College Board of Governors.
3. Authorizes, starting on January 1, 2021 for the University of California (UC) to proceed with General Fund capital expenditures, as specified, upon signed certification that during the subsequent fiscal year and each year thereafter, that all cleaning, maintenance, grounds keeping, food service or other work traditional performed are by UC employees at each facility, building or property. This excludes construction work and other types of work, including carpentry, electrical, plumbing, glazing, painting and other craft work designed to preserve, protect or keep facilities in a safe and usable condition. The bill also specifies that starting with the 2021-22 fiscal year, the Department of Finance shall approve each new and ongoing capital expenditure only after the UC has demonstrated compliance with the above.
4. Authorizes the UC, for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 fiscal years, to use savings from refunding, retiring or restructuring bond debt to mitigate impacts to programs and services that predominately support underrepresented students and to provide for continued employment of employees without resorting to layoffs, furloughs and reductions-in time. The bill also encourages the UC to collaborate with donors to identify resources to support the same purposes.
5. Authorizes the State Library create a digital repository to collect and receive copies of state publications in digital format to be made available publically. Adjusts the number of printed publications, as specified, to be submitted to the State Library.
6. Updates the definition of instructional materials for local education agencies and community colleges to allow the use of lottery funds to include laptop computers and devices that provide internet access for use by pupils, students, faculty and teachers.
7. Extends the deadline for the UC to adopt a policy implementing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021.
8. Makes a variety of other technical changes.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

According to the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, this bill appropriates an additional $80 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for school meal reimbursements and allows for the increases in ADA growth for purposes of apportionment in the 2020-21 school year, which will likely increase Local Control Funding Formula costs by hundreds of millions of dollars.

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/29/20)

None received

OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/29/20)

None received

Prepared by: Elisa Wynne / B. & F.R. / 916-651-4103

8/31/20 0:32:07

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Holly Mitchell, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular

Bill No: Hearing Date: August 29, 2020

Subject:

Summary:

This bill makes clarifying changes and technical corrections associated with changes to education programs adopted as part of the Budget Act of 2020.

Background:

The 2020 Budget Act included various changes to education programs; AB 1865 makes amendments and corrections to statutory provisions that are necessary to implement the 2020 Budget Act.

Proposed Law:

Specifically this bill makes the following changes:

Child Care and Early Education:

1. Clarifies that a child care provider located on a local education agency (LEA) campus, may continue to be held harmless from funding reductions when the program is closed, if the LEA campus is closed by public health guidance or order, and if the LEA discusses the child care site closures and a plan for safe re-opening of child care programs in a public school board meeting. The Budget Act created a “hold harmless” for direct-contract child care providers funded under the General Child Care, California State Preschool, and Migrant programs, for dates of program closure, under specific requirements, including public health guidance.
2. Increases the allowable non-operative days for alternative payment program providers in 2020-21 by an additional 14 days, for COVID-19 related closures and provides $31.25 million in federal Child Care and Development Block Grant funds for this purpose (reduces the funding provided for one-time stipends in the Budget Act by a like amount). The bill also specifies that $35 million in additional federal funding, if received by the state, will be appropriated for closure costs. Current regulations allow up to 10 paid non-operative days annually within a California Alternative Payment Program and Stages One, Two, and Three child care provider’s contract.
3. Extends the waiver of family fees for child care services to all families through August 31, 2020. Waives family fees for the 2020-21 fiscal year, for any enrolled family not receiving care services, either due to site closure, Distance Learning, or a family’s need to shelter-in-place. The bill specifies that $30 million in additional federal funding, if received by the state, will be appropriated for family fee waiver costs.
4. Allows the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide guidance and not require parent signatures for CDE-administered child care programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, under certain circumstances.

K-12 Education:

1. Extends the postponement of the state’s development of an observation protocol for teaching English Language Learners by an additional year from the Budget Act, to 2022, to allow for in-person instruction to inform the protocol development. The 2020-21 Budget Act postponed the state’s development of an observation protocol for teaching English Language Learners to 2021.
2. Allows all County Offices of Education (COEs) to meet statutory requirements to annually visit, examine, and report on a school’s sufficient textbook, facility, and School Accountability Report Card data conditions, as specified, if the school is on a decile 1-3 Academic Performance Index list provided by the State Superintendent, in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, through a combination of site visits and staff surveys; allows surveys in lieu of site visits with COVID-19 closure justifications; waives on-site visits during the pandemic closure period, and waives unannounced visit requirements.
3. Amends the date by which LEAs must certify that they meet the financial hardship qualifications to receive a deferral hardship waiver for the February through May 2020 deferrals from January 5, 2021 to Dec 15, 2020.
4. Allows all school districts and county offices of education to use the California School Finance Authority (CSFA) intercept, which will enable those districts to lower borrowing costs for state funding deferrals. Current law authorizes the CSFA to support LEA borrowing, but precludes school districts and COEs with qualified or negative certifications from securing CFSA borrowing with an intercept of State apportionments.
5. Amends statute on the sale or lease of surplus property to allow additional flexibility for LEAs consistent with the 2020-21 Budget Act. Specifically, permits the sale or lease of property purchased with any non-state funds, allows for the sale of a property never constructed for or used as an early childhood education facility or a school for K-12 instruction, clarifies that it is the intent of the Legislature that school districts can meet the requirements to offer surplus properties to interested parties simultaneously to all applicable entities, and extends the timeline for proceeds of a sale or lease under these terms to be deposited in the general fund.
6. Clarifies 2020-21 requirements for those schools allowed to operate a 4-day school week, consistent with the Budget Act. Current law allows specific LEAs to provide a 4-day school week, under specified requirements, including minimum instructional minutes. The 2020-21 Budget Act created minimum instructional day and minute requirements for the 2020-21 school year only, during Distance Learning and in-person instruction.
7. Amends the School Facilities Program K-12 Audit Guide Process to clarify that existing auditing standards required for K-12 financial and compliance audits would apply to facilities audits, that completed audits should first be submitted to the State Controller’s Office, and shifts the responsibility for invoicing audit disallowances from CDE to the Office of Public School Construction.
8. Amends the amount of funding appropriated to offset General Fund paid to the San Francisco Unified School District and San Francisco County Office of Education as a result of a miscalculation of offsetting property tax revenues in the 2016-17 fiscal year to reflect updated calculations
9. Clarifies that Education Code Section 51512 does not prohibit an LEA from adopting online instruction, including the use of synchronous or asynchronous video, as part of a Distance Learning program under the requirements of the 2020-21 Budget Act, and that except as require under a Distance Learning program, individuals may not record an online course without teacher and principal consent.
10. Amends the Budget Act to allow all LEAs, for their 2020-21 apportionment, to apply for either planned increases or actual planned growth to classroom-based student attendance, whichever is less, in lieu of the 2019-20 average daily attendance hold-harmless guarantee adopted in the Budget Act of 2020-21, under the following conditions: 1) LEAs apply to the Department of Education for 2020-21 classroom-based ADA growth by November 6, 2021, 2) LEAs submit proof of Governing Board or Authorizer adoption of classroom-based ADA growth in the LEA 2020-21 Budget prior to June 30, 2020 or their second interim 2020 Budget, and 3) LEAs demonstrate actual growth in October CalPADS student census report, reduced for state attendance averages. As part of school funding stabilization during the COVID‑19 pandemic, the 2020-21 Budget Act froze average daily attendance (ADA) for all LEAs for purposes of apportionment between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.
11. The bill also makes other various technical changes to the ADA hold harmless to conform policy to reorganized charters and school districts, and necessary small schools, including the following: specifies that opportunity schools are included in the minimum daily instructional minute requirements for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Aligns funding for Necessary Small Schools with the ADA hold harmless funding provisions in place for the 2020-21 school year. Allows for the adjustment of an LEA’s ADA Hold Harmless provisions in 2020-21 related to school district reorganizations, closure of charter schools, and reorganizations of charter schools related to recent legislation. Specifies that the 2019-20 second principal apportionment is used as the point in time to certify ADA for non-classroom based charters. Extends the hold harmless to non-classroom based charter funding determination formulas for two year and allows charters to rescind decisions to delay authorized grade levels due to the budget act.
12. Conforms the Parent Budget Summary, template, and timelines to the 2020-21 Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan. Current law requires an annual Parent Budget Summary as part of each LEA’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) process. The 2020-21 Budget Act created a Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan for the 2020-21 school year, to replace the 2020-21 LCAP process during the transition of most LEAs to pandemic-induced Distance Learning programs.
13. Specifies that in completing the annual update to the LCAP for the 2021-22 school year, an LEA must include the LCAP adopted in the 2019-20 school year. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to update the template for the annual update by January 31, 2021, to also include the learning continuity and attendance plan in the 2021-22 annual update.
14. Includes a technical amendment to specify that $450,000 in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund appropriated in 2020-21 for the purpose of aligning and integrating the online platforms for the California School Dashboard, the Local Control and Accountability Plan Electronic Template, and the School Accountability Report Card, is counted towards the 2018-19 Proposition 98 Guarantee.
15. Allows the California High School Proficiency Exam to be offered more than once a semester, and requires test administration conditions to meet Public Health requirements.
16. Allows for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to designate alternatives for students who would graduate in 2020 or 2021 to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy, and to waive the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress for students graduating in 2020 and 2021.
17. Includes technical amendments related to the new formula for special education funding adopted in the final budget act.
18. Eliminates the ongoing appropriation of $3.5 million annually in Proposition 98 General Fund to the Exploratorium for workload to support the statewide implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards, consistent with the budget agreement.
19. Sunsets the provisions of Executive Order N-26-20 and SB 117 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 3, Statutes of 2020 at the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year.
20. Conforms all state expanded learning programs, including federally-funded 21^st Century Community Learning Center programs, to the flexibilities authorized in SB 98 and the 2020-21 Budget Act.
21. Extends the expenditure deadline for the General Fund allocation for Learning Loss Mitigation from December 30, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Aligns record retention requirements to federal law, from the current three years to five years. Specifies that eligible uses include cleaning and safety measures for re-opening schools. Makes other technical changes to ensure Learning Loss Mitigation calculations align with statutory language.
22. Amends the date by which grant funds from the California Community Schools Partnership Program must be encumbered by to September 30, 2022 to align with the availability period for federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.
23. Increases the 2020-21 Budget Act appropriation for the COVID closure and summer meal program state reimbursement from $112 million in CARES Act funds to a total of $192 million through a combination of federal and general funds, to reimburse LEAs for school meals provided under USDA standards, through August 30, 2020, at up to 75 cents per meal.
24. Amends the appropriation for the California Dyslexia Initiative to reflect $2 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund and $2 million in one-time federal funds instead of $4 million in one-time federal funds to reflect the final budget agreement. Extends the timeline for designating the county office of education to administer the program to November 15, 2020.
25. Extends Executive Order postponement and conditions for educator credential requirements to August 2021, due to closure of testing centers. Executive Order N-66-20 authorized the postponement of various educator assessment requirements, under specific conditions, including attaining all other credential requirements, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
26. Suspends the Physical Performance Test for the 2020-21 school year and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to consult with experts and other stakeholders and to provide recommendations on the purpose and administration of the test to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, the Department of Finance, and the State Board of Education by November 1, 2022.
27. Extends the timeline for the initial assessment of pupils for English language proficiency using the English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC) by 45 calendar days for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Requires LEAs to screen new pupils, pending assessment results, to ensure pupils informally determined to be English learners receive appropriate supports as soon as possible.
28. Allows local educational agencies to exclude learning loss mitigation funds and federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds from being considered general fund expenditures for the purposes of the Routine Restricted Maintenance Account (RRMA) calculation.
29. Enumerates the Youth Task Force’s design and charge, including the co-chairing of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and State Board of Education president or designee, up to 15 gubernatorial youth appointees, a defined “youth facilitator” for the Taskforce, and a required report by November 1, 2021 of the Task Force’s balanced recommendations on the impacts of peace officer presence on campus and in facilitating students’ transport to school. The 2020-21 Budget Act Education Trailer bill established a Youth Task Force to provide recommendations on the impacts of peace officers and other law enforcement on school campuses.

Higher Education:

1. Modifies the birth registration information collected to include voluntarily provided email address and mobile telephone numbers of parents to be used for the California Kids Investment and Development (CalKIDS) Program only. Requires the Department of Public Health to share a parent’s mobile telephone number and email address, and participation in the Women, Infants and Children program and other identifiable birth data as specified, for the purpose of administering the California KIDS program at the Scholarshare Board.
2. Adds the Lieutenant Governor as a voting member of the Community College Board of Governors.
3. Authorizes, starting on January 1, 2021 for the University of California (UC) to proceed with General Fund capital expenditures, as specified, upon signed certification that during the subsequent fiscal year and each year thereafter, that all cleaning, maintenance, grounds keeping, food service or other work traditional performed are by UC employees at each facility, building or property. This excludes construction work and other types of work, including carpentry, electrical, plumbing, glazing, painting and other craft work designed to preserve, protect or keep facilities in a safe and usable condition. The bill also specifies that starting with the 2021-22 fiscal year, the Department of Finance shall approve each new and ongoing capital expenditure only after the UC has demonstrated compliance with the above.
4. Authorizes the UC, for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 fiscal years, to use savings from refunding, retiring or restructuring bond debt to mitigate impacts to programs and services that predominately support underrepresented students and to provide for continued employment of employees without resorting to layoffs, furloughs and reductions-in time. The bill also encourages the UC to collaborate with donors to identify resources to support the same purposes.
5. Authorizes the State Library create a digital repository to collect and receive copies of state publications in digital format to be made available publically. Adjusts the number of printed publications, as specified, to be submitted to the State Library.
6. Updates the definition of instructional materials for local education agencies and community colleges to allow the use of lottery funds to include laptop computers and devices that provide internet access for use by pupils, students, faculty and teachers.
7. Extends the deadline for the UC to adopt a policy implementing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021.
8. Makes a variety of other technical changes.

Fiscal Effect:

1. This bill appropriates an additional $80 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for school meal reimbursements and allows for the increases in ADA growth for purposes of apportionment in the 2020-21 school year, which will likely increase Local Control Funding Formula costs by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Support:

None on File.

Opposed:

None on File.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON

Senator Holly Mitchell, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular

Bill No: Hearing Date: August 27, 2020

Subject:

Summary:

This bill makes clarifying changes and technical corrections associated with changes to education programs adopted as part of the Budget Act of 2020.

Background:

The 2020 Budget Act included various changes to education programs; AB 1865 makes amendments and corrections to statutory provisions that are necessary to implement the 2020 Budget Act.

Proposed Law:

Specifically this bill makes the following changes:

Child Care and Early Education:

1. Clarifies that a child care provider located on a local education agency (LEA) campus, may continue to be held harmless from funding reductions when the program is closed, if the LEA campus is closed by public health guidance or order, and if the LEA discusses the child care site closures and a plan for safe re-opening of child care programs in a public school board meeting. The Budget Act created a “hold harmless” for direct-contract child care providers funded under the General Child Care, California State Preschool, and Migrant programs, for dates of program closure, under specific requirements, including public health guidance.
2. Increases the allowable non-operative days for alternative payment program providers in 2020-21 by an additional 14 days, for COVID-19 related closures and provides $31.25 million in federal Child Care and Development Block Grant funds for this purpose (reduces the funding provided for one-time stipends in the Budget Act by a like amount). The bill also specifies that $35 million in additional federal funding, if received by the state, will be appropriated for closure costs. Current regulations allow up to 10 paid non-operative days annually within a California Alternative Payment Program and Stages One, Two, and Three child care provider’s contract.
3. Extends the waiver of family fees for child care services to all families through August 31, 2020. Waives family fees for the 2020-21 fiscal year, for any enrolled family not receiving care services, either due to site closure, Distance Learning, or a family’s need to shelter-in-place. The bill specifies that $30 million in additional federal funding, if received by the state, will be appropriated for family fee waiver costs.
4. Allows the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide guidance and not require parent signatures for CDE-administered child care programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, under certain circumstances.

K-12 Education:

1. Extends the postponement of the state’s development of an observation protocol for teaching English Language Learners by an additional year from the Budget Act, to 2022, to allow for in-person instruction to inform the protocol development. The 2020-21 Budget Act postponed the state’s development of an observation protocol for teaching English Language Learners to 2021.
2. Allows all County Offices of Education (COEs) to meet statutory requirements to annually visit, examine, and report on a school’s sufficient textbook, facility, and School Accountability Report Card data conditions, as specified, if the school is on a decile 1-3 Academic Performance Index list provided by the State Superintendent, in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, through a combination of site visits and staff surveys; allows surveys in lieu of site visits with COVID-19 closure justifications; waives on-site visits during the pandemic closure period, and waives unannounced visit requirements.
3. Amends the date by which LEAs must certify that they meet the financial hardship qualifications to receive a deferral hardship waiver for the February through May 2020 deferrals from January 5, 2021 to Dec 15, 2020.
4. Allows all school districts and county offices of education to use the California School Finance Authority (CSFA) intercept, which will enable those districts to lower borrowing costs for state funding deferrals. Current law authorizes the CSFA to support LEA borrowing, but precludes school districts and COEs with qualified or negative certifications from securing CFSA borrowing with an intercept of State apportionments.
5. Amends statute on the sale or lease of surplus property to allow additional flexibility for LEAs consistent with the 2020-21 Budget Act. Specifically, permits the sale or lease of property purchased with any non-state funds, allows for the sale of a property never constructed for or used as an early childhood education facility or a school for K-12 instruction, clarifies that it is the intent of the Legislature that school districts can meet the requirements to offer surplus properties to interested parties simultaneously to all applicable entities, and extends the timeline for proceeds of a sale or lease under these terms to be deposited in the general fund.
6. Clarifies 2020-21 requirements for those schools allowed to operate a 4-day school week, consistent with the Budget Act. Current law allows specific LEAs to provide a 4-day school week, under specified requirements, including minimum instructional minutes. The 2020-21 Budget Act created minimum instructional day and minute requirements for the 2020-21 school year only, during Distance Learning and in-person instruction.
7. Amends the School Facilities Program K-12 Audit Guide Process to clarify that existing auditing standards required for K-12 financial and compliance audits would apply to facilities audits, that completed audits should first be submitted to the State Controller’s Office, and shifts the responsibility for invoicing audit disallowances from CDE to the Office of Public School Construction.
8. Amends the amount of funding appropriated to offset General Fund paid to the San Francisco Unified School District and San Francisco County Office of Education as a result of a miscalculation of offsetting property tax revenues in the 2016-17 fiscal year to reflect updated calculations
9. Clarifies that Education Code Section 51512 does not prohibit an LEA from adopting online instruction, including the use of synchronous or asynchronous video, as part of a Distance Learning program under the requirements of the 2020-21 Budget Act, and that except as require under a Distance Learning program, individuals may not record an online course without teacher and principal consent.
10. Amends the Budget Act to allow all LEAs, for their 2020-21 apportionment, to apply for either planned increases or actual planned growth to classroom-based student attendance, whichever is less, in lieu of the 2019-20 average daily attendance hold-harmless guarantee adopted in the Budget Act of 2020-21, under the following conditions: 1) LEAs apply to the Department of Education for 2020-21 classroom-based ADA growth by November 6, 2021, 2) LEAs submit proof of Governing Board or Authorizer adoption of classroom-based ADA growth in the LEA 2020-21 Budget prior to June 30, 2020 or their second interim 2020 Budget, and 3) LEAs demonstrate actual growth in October CalPADS student census report, reduced for state attendance averages. As part of school funding stabilization during the COVID‑19 pandemic, the 2020-21 Budget Act froze average daily attendance (ADA) for all LEAs for purposes of apportionment between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years.
11. The bill also makes other various technical changes to the ADA hold harmless to conform policy to reorganized charters and school districts, and necessary small schools, including the following: specifies that opportunity schools are included in the minimum daily instructional minute requirements for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Aligns funding for Necessary Small Schools with the ADA hold harmless funding provisions in place for the 2020-21 school year. Allows for the adjustment of an LEA’s ADA Hold Harmless provisions in 2020-21 related to school district reorganizations, closure of charter schools, and reorganizations of charter schools related to recent legislation. Specifies that the 2019-20 second principal apportionment is used as the point in time to certify ADA for non-classroom based charters. Extends the hold harmless to non-classroom based charter funding determination formulas for two year and allows charters to rescind decisions to delay authorized grade levels due to the budget act.
12. Conforms the Parent Budget Summary, template, and timelines to the 2020-21 Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan. Current law requires an annual Parent Budget Summary as part of each LEA’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) process. The 2020-21 Budget Act created a Learning Continuity and Attendance Plan for the 2020-21 school year, to replace the 2020-21 LCAP process during the transition of most LEAs to pandemic-induced Distance Learning programs.
13. Specifies that in completing the annual update to the LCAP for the 2021-22 school year, an LEA must include the LCAP adopted in the 2019-20 school year. Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to update the template for the annual update by January 31, 2021, to also include the learning continuity and attendance plan in the 2021-22 annual update.
14. Includes a technical amendment to specify that $450,000 in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund appropriated in 2020-21 for the purpose of aligning and integrating the online platforms for the California School Dashboard, the Local Control and Accountability Plan Electronic Template, and the School Accountability Report Card, is counted towards the 2018-19 Proposition 98 Guarantee.
15. Allows the California High School Proficiency Exam to be offered more than once a semester, and requires test administration conditions to meet Public Health requirements.
16. Allows for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction to designate alternatives for students who would graduate in 2020 or 2021 to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy, and to waive the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress for students graduating in 2020 and 2021.
17. Includes technical amendments related to the new formula for special education funding adopted in the final budget act.
18. Eliminates the ongoing appropriation of $3.5 million annually in Proposition 98 General Fund to the Exploratorium for workload to support the statewide implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards, consistent with the budget agreement.
19. Sunsets the provisions of Executive Order N-26-20 and SB 117 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 3, Statutes of 2020 at the end of the 2019-20 fiscal year.
20. Conforms all state expanded learning programs, including federally-funded 21^st Century Community Learning Center programs, to the flexibilities authorized in SB 98 and the 2020-21 Budget Act.
21. Extends the expenditure deadline for the General Fund allocation for Learning Loss Mitigation from December 30, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Aligns record retention requirements to federal law, from the current three years to five years. Specifies that eligible uses include cleaning and safety measures for re-opening schools. Makes other technical changes to ensure Learning Loss Mitigation calculations align with statutory language.
22. Amends the date by which grant funds from the California Community Schools Partnership Program must be encumbered by to September 30, 2022 to align with the availability period for federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.
23. Increases the 2020-21 Budget Act appropriation for the COVID closure and summer meal program state reimbursement from $112 million in CARES Act funds to a total of $192 million through a combination of federal and general funds, to reimburse LEAs for school meals provided under USDA standards, through August 30, 2020, at up to 75 cents per meal.
24. Amends the appropriation for the California Dyslexia Initiative to reflect $2 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund and $2 million in one-time federal funds instead of $4 million in one-time federal funds to reflect the final budget agreement. Extends the timeline for designating the county office of education to administer the program to November 15, 2020.
25. Extends Executive Order postponement and conditions for educator credential requirements to August 2021, due to closure of testing centers. Executive Order N-66-20 authorized the postponement of various educator assessment requirements, under specific conditions, including attaining all other credential requirements, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
26. Suspends the Physical Performance Test for the 2020-21 school year and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to consult with experts and other stakeholders and to provide recommendations on the purpose and administration of the test to the appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature, the Department of Finance, and the State Board of Education by November 1, 2022.
27. Extends the timeline for the initial assessment of pupils for English language proficiency using the English Language Proficiency Assessment for California (ELPAC) by 45 calendar days for the 2020-21 fiscal year. Requires LEAs to screen new pupils, pending assessment results, to ensure pupils informally determined to be English learners receive appropriate supports as soon as possible.
28. Allows local educational agencies to exclude learning loss mitigation funds and federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds from being considered general fund expenditures for the purposes of the Routine Restricted Maintenance Account (RRMA) calculation.
29. Enumerates the Youth Task Force’s design and charge, including the co-chairing of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and State Board of Education president or designee, up to 15 gubernatorial youth appointees, a defined “youth facilitator” for the Taskforce, and a required report by November 1, 2021 of the Task Force’s balanced recommendations on the impacts of peace officer presence on campus and in facilitating students’ transport to school. The 2020-21 Budget Act Education Trailer bill established a Youth Task Force to provide recommendations on the impacts of peace officers and other law enforcement on school campuses.

Higher Education:

1. Modifies the birth registration information collected to include voluntarily provided email address and mobile telephone numbers of parents to be used for the California Kids Investment and Development (CalKIDS) Program only. Requires the Department of Public Health to share a parent’s mobile telephone number and email address, and participation in the Women, Infants and Children program and other identifiable birth data as specified, for the purpose of administering the California KIDS program at the Scholarshare Board.
2. Adds the Lieutenant Governor as a voting member of the Community College Board of Governors.
3. Authorizes, starting on January 1, 2021 for the University of California (UC) to proceed with General Fund capital expenditures, as specified, upon signed certification that during the subsequent fiscal year and each year thereafter, that all cleaning, maintenance, grounds keeping, food service or other work traditional performed are by UC employees at each facility, building or property. The bill also specifies that starting with the 2021-22 fiscal year, the Department of Finance shall approve each new and ongoing capital expenditure only after the UC has demonstrated compliance with the above.
4. Authorizes the UC, for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 fiscal years, to use savings from refunding, retiring or restructuring bond debt to mitigate impacts to programs and services that predominately support underrepresented students and to provide for continued employment of employees without resorting to layoffs, furloughs and reductions-in time. The bill also encourages the UC to collaborate with donors to identify resources to support the same purposes.
5. Authorizes the State Library create a digital repository to collect and receive copies of state publications in digital format to be made available publically. Adjusts the number of printed publications, as specified, to be submitted to the State Library.
6. Updates the definition of instructional materials for local education agencies and community colleges to allow the use of lottery funds to include laptop computers and devices that provide internet access for use by pupils, students, faculty and teachers.
7. Extends the deadline for the UC to adopt a policy implementing the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021.
8. Makes a variety of other technical changes.

Fiscal Effect:

1. This bill appropriates an additional $80 million in one-time Proposition 98 General Fund for school meal reimbursements and allows for the increases in ADA growth for purposes of apportionment in the 2020-21 school year, which will likely increase Local Control Funding Formula costs by hundreds of millions of dollars.

Support:

None on File.

Opposed:

None on File.

-- END --

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 1865

Author:(Committee on Budget)

As Amended Ver:February 25, 2020

Majority vote. Budget Bill Appropriation Takes Effect Immediately

SUMMARY:

This bill expresses the intent of the Legislature to enact statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2020.

Major Provisions

COMMENTS:

According to the Author:

Arguments in Support:

Arguments in Opposition:

FISCAL COMMENTS:

VOTES:

UPDATED:

VERSION: February 25, 2020

CONSULTANT: Christian Griffith / BUDGET / (916) 319-2099 FN: 0002696