AB 927: County superintendent of schools: inspection of public schools.
- Session Year: 2025-2026
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2025-07-14
Current Status:
Passed
(2025-07-14: Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 45, Statutes of 2025.)
Introduced
In Committee
Awaiting First Chamber Vote
Passed First Chamber
In Committee
Awaiting Second Chamber Vote
Passed Second Chamber
Enacted
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to identify a list of schools for which the county superintendent of schools, or a designee, is required to inspect annually and submit an annual report that describes the state of schools in the county, as provided. Existing law requires the Superintendent to reestablish the list in the 202425 fiscal year and again every 3 fiscal years. Existing law requires the priority objective of the visits to be to determine the status of, among other things, sufficient textbooks and the condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff, as specified. Existing law requires the county superintendent to enforce the use of state textbooks and instructional materials and of high school textbooks and instructional materials regularly adopted by the proper authority, as specified, and requires, if a school is identified on the above-described list, the county superintendent to specifically review the school at least annually as a priority school and to conduct the review for this purpose by the 4th week of the school year.
This bill would require, for schools that are identified on the list established in the 202425 fiscal year, and only in the fiscal years in which that list is used, a county superintendent to complete the textbook and instructional materials review for the above-described purposes by the 8th week of the school year. The bill would require the county superintendent to prioritize visiting, within the first 4 weeks of the school year where practicable, those schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a complaint filed pursuant to the Uniform Complaint Procedures, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff or is not in good repair, as specified. By imposing new duties on county superintendents of schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to identify a list of schools for which the county superintendent of schools, or a designee, is required to inspect annually and submit an annual report that describes the state of schools in the county, as provided. Existing law requires the Superintendent to reestablish the list in the 202425 fiscal year and again every 3 fiscal years. Existing law requires the priority objective of the visits to be to determine the status of, among other things, sufficient textbooks and the condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff, as specified. Existing law requires the county superintendent to enforce the use of state textbooks and instructional materials and of high school textbooks and instructional materials regularly adopted by the proper authority, as specified, and requires, if a school is identified on the above-described list, the county superintendent to specifically review the school at least annually as a priority school and to conduct the review for this purpose by the 4th week of the school year.
This bill would require, for schools that are identified on the list established in the 202425 fiscal year, and only in the fiscal years in which that list is used, a county superintendent to complete the textbook and instructional materials review for the above-described purposes by the 8th week of the school year. The bill would require the county superintendent to prioritize visiting, within the first 4 weeks of the school year where practicable, those schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a complaint filed pursuant to the Uniform Complaint Procedures, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff or is not in good repair, as specified. By imposing new duties on county superintendents of schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to identify a list of schools for which the county superintendent, or a designee, is required to inspect annually and submit an annual report that describes the state of schools in the county, as provided. Existing law requires the Superintendent to reestablish the list in the 202425 fiscal year and again every 3 fiscal years. Existing law requires the priority objective of the visits to be to determine the status of, among other things, sufficient textbooks and the condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff, as specified. Existing law requires the county superintendent of schools to enforce the use of state textbooks and instructional materials and of high school textbooks and instructional materials regularly adopted by the proper authority, as specified, and requires, if a school is identified on the above-described list, the county superintendent to specifically review the school at least annually as a priority school and to conduct the review for this purpose by the 4th week of the school year.
This bill would require, for schools that are identified on the list established in the 202425 fiscal year, and only in the fiscal years in which that list is used, a county superintendent to complete a visit the textbook and instructional materials review for the above-described purposes by the 8th week of the school year. The bill would require the county superintendent to prioritize visiting, within that timeframe, the first 4 weeks of the school year where practicable, those schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a complaint filed pursuant to the Uniform Complaint Procedures, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff or is not in good repair, as specified. By imposing new duties on county superintendents of schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to identify a list of schools for which the county superintendent, or a designee, is required to inspect annually and submit an annual report that describes the state of schools in the county, as provided. Existing law requires the Superintendent to reestablish the list in the 202425 fiscal year and again every 3 fiscal years. Existing law requires the priority objective of the visits to be to determine the status of, among other things, sufficient textbooks and the condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff, as specified. Existing law requires the county superintendent of schools to enforce the use of state textbooks and instructional materials and of high school textbooks and instructional materials regularly adopted by the proper authority, as specified, and requires, if a school is identified on the above-described list, the county superintendent to specifically review the school at least annually as a priority school and to conduct the review for this purpose by the 4th week of the school year.
This bill would require, for schools that are identified on the list established in the 202425 fiscal year, and only in the fiscal years in which that list is used, a county superintendent to complete a visit for the above-described purposes by the 8th week of the school year. The bill would require the county superintendent to prioritize visiting, within that timeframe, those schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a complaint filed pursuant to the Uniform Complaint Procedures, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff or is not in good repair, as specified. By imposing new duties on county superintendents of schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to identify a list of schools for which the county superintendent, or a designee, is required to inspect annually and submit an annual report that describes the state of schools in the county, as provided. Existing law requires the Superintendent to reestablish the list in the 202425 fiscal year and again every 3 fiscal years. Existing law requires the priority objective of the visits to be to determine the status of, among other things, sufficient textbooks and the condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff, as specified. Existing law requires the county superintendent of schools to enforce the use of state textbooks and instructional materials and of high school textbooks and instructional materials regularly adopted by the proper authority, as specified, and requires, if a school is identified on the above-described list, the county superintendent to specifically review the school at least annually as a priority school and to conduct the review for this purpose by the 4th week of the school year.
This bill would require, for schools that are identified on the list established in the 202425 fiscal year, and only in the fiscal years in which that list is used, a county superintendent to complete a visit for the above-described purposes by the 8th week of the school year. The bill would require the county superintendent to prioritize visiting, within that timeframe, those schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a complaint filed pursuant to the Uniform Complaint Procedures, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff or is not in good repair, as specified. By imposing new duties on county superintendents of schools, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
The county superintendent of schools shall do all of the following:
(a)Superintend the schools of that county.
(b)Maintain responsibility for the fiscal oversight of each school district in that county pursuant to the authority granted by this code.
(c)(1)Visit and examine each school in the county at reasonable intervals to observe its operation and to learn of its problems. The county superintendent of schools annually may present a report of the state of the schools in the county, and of the county office of education, including, but not limited to, observations from visiting the schools, to the board of education and the board of supervisors of the county.
(2)(A)(i)Commencing with the 202122 fiscal year, the Superintendent shall identify a list of schools, which shall include charter schools, for which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall inspect annually, and about which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall submit an annual report, at a regularly scheduled November board meeting, to the governing board of each school district under the jurisdiction of the county superintendent, the county board of education of that county, and the board of supervisors of that county, that describes the state of the schools in the county. The list established in the 202122 fiscal year shall also be used as the list established in the 202223 and 202324 fiscal years. The list of schools established pursuant to this section shall be reestablished in the 202425 fiscal year and again every three fiscal years thereafter. Each list shall be established in accordance with clause (ii), and shall be used for inspections beginning the following fiscal year.
(ii)The list of schools pursuant to clause (i) shall be compiled as follows:
(I)The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools that were most recently identified for comprehensive support and improvement and additional targeted support and improvement pursuant to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95) or identified as low performing under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-10), or any subsequent amendments to that act. For the list established in the 202122, 202223, and 202324 fiscal years, the Superintendent shall use the list of schools identified in the 201920 fiscal year for comprehensive support and improvement and for additional targeted support and improvement.
(II)The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools where 15 percent or more of the teachers are holders of a permit or certificate, such as a temporary or short-term permit, a substitute permit, a waiver, an intern credential, or any other authorization that is a lesser certification than a preliminary or clear California teaching credential. With the exception of alternative schools, all schools within a local educational agency that fail to meet the requirements of Sections 44258.9 and 60900 shall be included on the list for the applicable reporting cycle.
(III)The list of schools compiled pursuant to clause (i) shall exclude alternative schools within the meaning of subdivision (d) of Section 52052 and other schools accepted for participation in the Dashboard Alternative School Status program by the department.
(iii)The annual report shall include the determinations for each school made by the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9, and the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, shall use a standardized template to report the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9, unless the current annual report being used by the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, already includes those details with the same level of specificity that is otherwise required by this subdivision.
(B)The county superintendent of the Counties of Alpine, Amador, Del Norte, Mariposa, Plumas, and Sierra, and the City and County of San Francisco shall contract with another county office of education or an independent auditor to conduct the required visits and make all reports required by this paragraph.
(C)On a quarterly basis, the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, shall report the results of the visits and reviews conducted that quarter to the governing board of the school district at a regularly scheduled meeting held in accordance with public notification requirements. The results of the visits and reviews shall include the determinations of the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, for each school regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9. If the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, conducts no visits or reviews in a quarter, the quarterly report shall report that fact.
(D)The visits made pursuant to this paragraph shall be conducted at least annually and shall meet the following criteria:
(i)Minimize disruption to the operation of the school.
(ii)Be performed by individuals who meet the requirements of Section 45125.1.
(iii)Consist of not less than 25 percent unannounced visits in each county. During unannounced visits in each county, the county superintendent shall not demand access to documents or specific school personnel. Unannounced visits shall only be used to observe the condition of school repair and maintenance, and the sufficiency of instructional materials, as defined by Section 60119.
(E)The priority objective of the visits made pursuant to this paragraph shall be to determine the status of all of the following circumstances:
(i)Sufficient textbooks, as defined in Section 60119 and as specified in subdivision (i).
(ii)The condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff, as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72.
(iii)The accuracy of data reported on the school accountability report card with respect to the availability of sufficient textbooks and instructional materials, as defined by Section 60119, and the safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities, including good repair, as required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089.
(F)The county superintendent may make the status determinations described in subparagraph (E) during a single visit or multiple visits. In determining whether to make a single visit or multiple visits for this purpose, the county superintendent shall take into consideration factors such as cost-effectiveness, disruption to the schoolsite, deadlines, and the availability of qualified reviewers.
(G)If the county superintendent determines that the condition of a facility poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72, or is not in good repair, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002 and required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089, the county superintendent, among other things, may do any of the following:
(i)Return to the school to verify repairs.
(ii)Prepare a report that specifically identifies and documents the areas or instances of noncompliance if the school district has not provided evidence of successful repairs within 30 days of the visit of the county superintendent or, for major projects, has not provided evidence that the repairs will be conducted in a timely manner. The report may be provided to the governing board of the school district. If the report is provided to the school district, it shall be presented at a regularly scheduled meeting held in accordance with public notification requirements. The county superintendent shall post the report on the internet website of the county superintendent. The report shall be removed from the internet website when the county superintendent verifies the repairs have been completed.
(H)For schools that are identified on the list established in the 202425 fiscal year pursuant to subparagraph (A), and only in the fiscal years in which that list is used, a county superintendent shall complete the textbook and instructional materials review conducted for purposes of this paragraph and subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (i) by the eighth week of the school year. The county superintendent shall prioritize reviewing, within the first four weeks of the school year where practicable, schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a complaint filed pursuant to Section 35186, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks, as defined in Section 60119 and as specified in subdivision (i), or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72, or is not in good repair, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002 and required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089.
(d)Distribute all laws, reports, circulars, instructions, and blanks that the county superintendent may receive for the use of the school officers.
(e)Annually, on or before September 15, present a report to the governing board of the school district and the Superintendent regarding the fiscal solvency of a school district with a disapproved budget, qualified interim certification, or a negative interim certification, or that is determined to be in a position of fiscal uncertainty pursuant to Section 42127.6.
(f)Keep in the office of the county superintendent the reports of the Superintendent.
(g)Keep a record of the official acts of the county superintendent and of all the proceedings of the county board of education, including a record of the standing, in each study, of all applicants for certificates who have been examined, which shall be open to the inspection of an applicant or an authorized agent of the applicant.
(h)Enforce the course of study.
(i)(1)Enforce the use of state textbooks and instructional materials and of high school textbooks and instructional materials regularly adopted by the proper authority in accordance with Section 51050.
(2)For purposes of this subdivision, sufficient textbooks or instructional materials has the same meaning as in subdivision (c) of Section 60119.
(3)(A)Commencing with the 202223 school year, if a school is identified as specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), the county superintendent specifically shall review that school at least annually as a priority school. A review conducted for purposes of this paragraph shall be completed by the fourth week of the school year, except as specified in subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c).
(B)In order to facilitate the review of instructional materials before the fourth week of the school year, the county superintendent in a county with 200 or more schools that are identified as specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) may use a combination of visits and written surveys of teachers for the purpose of determining sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 60119. If a county superintendent elects to conduct written surveys of teachers, the county superintendent shall visit the schools surveyed within the same academic year to verify the accuracy of the information reported on the surveys. If a county superintendent surveys teachers at a school in which the county superintendent has found sufficient textbooks and instructional materials for the previous two consecutive years and determines that the school does not have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, the county superintendent shall, within 10 business days, provide a copy of the insufficiency report to the school district as set forth in paragraph (4).
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, written surveys may include paper and electronic or online surveys.
(4)If the county superintendent of schools determines that a school does not have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined by subdivision (c) of Section 60119, the county superintendent shall do all of the following:
(A)Prepare a report that specifically identifies and documents the areas or instances of noncompliance.
(B)Provide within five business days of the review, a copy of the report to the school district, as provided in subdivision (c), or, if applicable, provide a copy of the report to the school district within 10 business days pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3).
(C)Provide the school district with the opportunity to remedy the deficiency. The county superintendent shall ensure that the deficiency is remedied no later than the second month of the school term.
(D)If the deficiency is not remedied as required pursuant to subparagraph (C), the county superintendent shall request the department to purchase the textbooks or instructional materials necessary to comply with the sufficiency requirement of this subdivision. If the department purchases textbooks or instructional materials for the school district, the department shall issue a public statement at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the state board occurring immediately after the department receives the request of the county superintendent and that meets the applicable public notice requirements, indicating that the district superintendent and the governing board of the school district failed to provide pupils with sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as required by this subdivision. Before purchasing the textbooks or instructional materials, the department shall consult with the school district to determine which textbooks or instructional materials to purchase. The amount of funds necessary for the purchase of the textbooks and materials is a loan to the school district receiving the textbooks or instructional materials. Unless the school district repays the amount owed based upon an agreed-upon repayment schedule with the Superintendent, the Superintendent shall notify the Controller and the Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the total amount used to purchase the textbooks and materials from the next principal apportionment of the school district or from another apportionment of state funds.
(5)If the county superintendent of schools determines that there are insufficient textbooks or instructional materials pursuant to a resolution received in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined by subdivision (c) of Section 60119, or as a result of receiving a report of an unresolved complaint pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 35186 or an audit exception pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 41020, the county superintendent shall do both of the following:
(A)Provide the school district with the opportunity to remedy the deficiency. The county superintendent shall ensure that the deficiency is remedied no later than the second month of the school term.
(B)If the deficiency is not remedied as required pursuant to subparagraph (A), the county superintendent shall request the department to purchase the textbooks or instructional materials necessary to comply with the sufficiency requirement of this subdivision. If the department purchases the textbooks or instructional materials for the school district, the department shall issue a public statement at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the state board occurring immediately after the department receives the request of the county superintendent and that meets the applicable public notice requirements, indicating that the district superintendent and the governing board of the school district failed to provide pupils with sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as required by this subdivision. Before purchasing the textbooks or instructional materials, the department shall consult with the school district when determining which textbooks or instructional materials to purchase. The amount of funds necessary for the purchase of the textbooks and materials is a loan to the school district receiving the textbooks or instructional materials. Unless the school district repays the amount owed based upon an agreed-upon repayment schedule with the Superintendent, the Superintendent shall notify the Controller and the Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the total amount used to purchase the textbooks and materials from the next principal apportionment of the school district or from another apportionment of state funds.
(j)Preserve carefully all reports of school officers and teachers.
(k)Deliver to the county superintendents successor, at the close of the county superintendents official term, all records, books, documents, and papers belonging to the office, taking a receipt for them, which shall be filed with the department.
(l)(1)Submit two reports during the fiscal year to the county board of education in accordance with the following:
(A)The first report shall cover the financial and budgetary status of the county office of education for the period ending October 31. The second report shall cover the period ending January 31. Both reports shall be reviewed by the county board of education and approved by the county superintendent no later than 45 days after the close of the period being reported.
(B)As part of each report, the county superintendent shall certify in writing whether or not the county office of education is able to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year and, based on current forecasts, for two subsequent fiscal years. The certifications shall be classified as positive, qualified, or negative, pursuant to standards prescribed by the Superintendent, for purposes of determining subsequent state agency actions pursuant to Section 1240.1. For purposes of this subdivision, a negative certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that, based upon current projections, will not meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year or for the subsequent fiscal year. A qualified certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that may not meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year or two subsequent fiscal years. A positive certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that will meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year and subsequent two fiscal years. In accordance with those standards, the Superintendent may reclassify a certification. If a county office of education receives a negative certification, the Superintendent, or the Superintendents designee, may exercise the authority set forth in subdivision (d) of Section 1630. Copies of each certification, and of the report containing that certification, shall be sent to the Superintendent at the time the certification is submitted to the county board of education. Copies of each qualified or negative certification and the report containing that certification shall be sent to the Controller at the time the certification is submitted to the county board of education.
(2)All reports and certifications required under this subdivision shall be in a format or on forms prescribed by the Superintendent, and shall be based on standards and criteria for fiscal stability adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 33127. The reports and supporting data shall be made available by the county superintendent to an interested party upon request.
(3)This subdivision does not preclude the submission of additional budgetary or financial reports by the county superintendent to the county board of education or to the Superintendent.
(4)The county superintendent is not responsible for the fiscal oversight of the community colleges in the county, however, the county superintendent may perform financial services on behalf of those community colleges.
(5)A county office of education having a negative or qualified certification, or classified as qualified or negative by the Superintendent, shall continue to be classified as qualified or negative until the next report required under this subdivision is filed.
(m)If requested, act as agent for the purchase of supplies for the city and high school districts of that county.
(n)For purposes of Section 44421.5, report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing the identity of a certificated person who knowingly and willingly reports false fiscal expenditure data relative to the conduct of an educational program. This requirement applies only if, in the course of normal duties, the county superintendent discovers information that gives the county superintendent reasonable cause to believe that false fiscal expenditure data relative to the conduct of an educational program has been reported.
(o)If any activities authorized pursuant to this section are found to be a state reimbursable mandate pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution, funding provided for school districts and county offices of education pursuant to Sections 2574, 2575, 42238.02, and 42238.03 shall be used to directly offset any mandated costs.
SEC. 2.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SEC. 3.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure a sufficient timeframe to conduct the annual inspection of schools beginning in the 202526 school year, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.
The county superintendent of schools shall do all of the following:
(a)Superintend the schools of that county.
(b)Maintain responsibility for the fiscal oversight of each school district in that county pursuant to the authority granted by this code.
(c)(1)Visit and examine each school in the county at reasonable intervals to observe its operation and to learn of its problems. The county superintendent of schools annually may present a report of the state of the schools in the county, and of the county office of education, including, but not limited to, observations from visiting the schools, to the board of education and the board of supervisors of the county.
(2)(A)(i)Commencing with the 202122 fiscal year, the Superintendent shall identify a list of schools, which shall include charter schools, for which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall inspect annually, and about which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall submit an annual report, at a regularly scheduled November board meeting, to the governing board of each school district under the jurisdiction of the county superintendent, the county board of education of that county, and the board of supervisors of that county, that describes the state of the schools in the county. The list established in the 202122 fiscal year shall also be used as the list established in the 202223 and 202324 fiscal years. The list of schools established pursuant to this section shall be reestablished in the 202425 fiscal year and again every three fiscal years thereafter. Each list shall be established in accordance with clause (ii), and shall be used for inspections beginning the following fiscal year.
(ii)The list of schools pursuant to clause (i) shall be compiled as follows:
(I)The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools that were most recently identified for comprehensive support and improvement and additional targeted support and improvement pursuant to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95) or identified as low performing under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-10), or any subsequent amendments to that act. For the list established in the 202122, 202223, and 202324 fiscal years, the Superintendent shall use the list of schools identified in the 201920 fiscal year for comprehensive support and improvement and for additional targeted support and improvement.
(II)The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools where 15 percent or more of the teachers are holders of a permit or certificate, such as a temporary or short-term permit, a substitute permit, a waiver, an intern credential, or any other authorization that is a lesser certification than a preliminary or clear California teaching credential. With the exception of alternative schools, all schools within a local educational agency that fail to meet the requirements of Sections 44258.9 and 60900 shall be included on the list for the applicable reporting cycle.
(III)The list of schools compiled pursuant to clause (i) shall exclude alternative schools within the meaning of subdivision (d) of Section 52052 and other schools accepted for participation in the Dashboard Alternative School Status program by the department.
(iii)The annual report shall include the determinations for each school made by the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9, and the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, shall use a standardized template to report the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9, unless the current annual report being used by the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, already includes those details with the same level of specificity that is otherwise required by this subdivision.
(B)The county superintendent of the Counties of Alpine, Amador, Del Norte, Mariposa, Plumas, and Sierra, and the City and County of San Francisco shall contract with another county office of education or an independent auditor to conduct the required visits and make all reports required by this paragraph.
(C)On a quarterly basis, the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, shall report the results of the visits and reviews conducted that quarter to the governing board of the school district at a regularly scheduled meeting held in accordance with public notification requirements. The results of the visits and reviews shall include the determinations of the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, for each school regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9. If the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, conducts no visits or reviews in a quarter, the quarterly report shall report that fact.
(D)The visits made pursuant to this paragraph shall be conducted at least annually and shall meet the following criteria:
(i)Minimize disruption to the operation of the school.
(ii)Be performed by individuals who meet the requirements of Section 45125.1.
(iii)Consist of not less than 25 percent unannounced visits in each county. During unannounced visits in each county, the county superintendent shall not demand access to documents or specific school personnel. Unannounced visits shall only be used to observe the condition of school repair and maintenance, and the sufficiency of instructional materials, as defined by Section 60119.
(E)The priority objective of the visits made pursuant to this paragraph shall be to determine the status of all of the following circumstances:
(i)Sufficient textbooks, as defined in Section 60119 and as specified in subdivision (i).
(ii)The condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff, as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72.
(iii)The accuracy of data reported on the school accountability report card with respect to the availability of sufficient textbooks and instructional materials, as defined by Section 60119, and the safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities, including good repair, as required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089.
(F)The county superintendent may make the status determinations described in subparagraph (E) during a single visit or multiple visits. In determining whether to make a single visit or multiple visits for this purpose, the county superintendent shall take into consideration factors such as cost-effectiveness, disruption to the schoolsite, deadlines, and the availability of qualified reviewers.
(G)If the county superintendent determines that the condition of a facility poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72, or is not in good repair, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002 and required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089, the county superintendent, among other things, may do any of the following:
(i)Return to the school to verify repairs.
(ii)Prepare a report that specifically identifies and documents the areas or instances of noncompliance if the school district has not provided evidence of successful repairs within 30 days of the visit of the county superintendent or, for major projects, has not provided evidence that the repairs will be conducted in a timely manner. The report may be provided to the governing board of the school district. If the report is provided to the school district, it shall be presented at a regularly scheduled meeting held in accordance with public notification requirements. The county superintendent shall post the report on the internet website of the county superintendent. The report shall be removed from the internet website when the county superintendent verifies the repairs have been completed.
(H)For schools that are identified on the list established in the 202425 fiscal year pursuant to subparagraph (A), and only in the fiscal years in which that list is used, a county superintendent shall complete the textbook and instructional materials review conducted for purposes of this paragraph and subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (i) by the eighth week of the school year. The county superintendent shall prioritize reviewing, within the first four weeks of the school year where practicable, schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a complaint filed pursuant to Section 35186, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks, as defined in Section 60119 and as specified in subdivision (i), or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72, or is not in good repair, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002 and required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089.
(d)Distribute all laws, reports, circulars, instructions, and blanks that the county superintendent may receive for the use of the school officers.
(e)Annually, on or before September 15, present a report to the governing board of the school district and the Superintendent regarding the fiscal solvency of a school district with a disapproved budget, qualified interim certification, or a negative interim certification, or that is determined to be in a position of fiscal uncertainty pursuant to Section 42127.6.
(f)Keep in the office of the county superintendent the reports of the Superintendent.
(g)Keep a record of the official acts of the county superintendent and of all the proceedings of the county board of education, including a record of the standing, in each study, of all applicants for certificates who have been examined, which shall be open to the inspection of an applicant or an authorized agent of the applicant.
(h)Enforce the course of study.
(i)(1)Enforce the use of state textbooks and instructional materials and of high school textbooks and instructional materials regularly adopted by the proper authority in accordance with Section 51050.
(2)For purposes of this subdivision, sufficient textbooks or instructional materials has the same meaning as in subdivision (c) of Section 60119.
(3)(A)Commencing with the 202223 school year, if a school is identified as specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), the county superintendent specifically shall review that school at least annually as a priority school. A review conducted for purposes of this paragraph shall be completed by the fourth week of the school year, except as specified in subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c).
(B)In order to facilitate the review of instructional materials before the fourth week of the school year, the county superintendent in a county with 200 or more schools that are identified as specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) may use a combination of visits and written surveys of teachers for the purpose of determining sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 60119. If a county superintendent elects to conduct written surveys of teachers, the county superintendent shall visit the schools surveyed within the same academic year to verify the accuracy of the information reported on the surveys. If a county superintendent surveys teachers at a school in which the county superintendent has found sufficient textbooks and instructional materials for the previous two consecutive years and determines that the school does not have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, the county superintendent shall, within 10 business days, provide a copy of the insufficiency report to the school district as set forth in paragraph (4).
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, written surveys may include paper and electronic or online surveys.
(4)If the county superintendent of schools determines that a school does not have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined by subdivision (c) of Section 60119, the county superintendent shall do all of the following:
(A)Prepare a report that specifically identifies and documents the areas or instances of noncompliance.
(B)Provide within five business days of the review, a copy of the report to the school district, as provided in subdivision (c), or, if applicable, provide a copy of the report to the school district within 10 business days pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3).
(C)Provide the school district with the opportunity to remedy the deficiency. The county superintendent shall ensure that the deficiency is remedied no later than the second month of the school term.
(D)If the deficiency is not remedied as required pursuant to subparagraph (C), the county superintendent shall request the department to purchase the textbooks or instructional materials necessary to comply with the sufficiency requirement of this subdivision. If the department purchases textbooks or instructional materials for the school district, the department shall issue a public statement at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the state board occurring immediately after the department receives the request of the county superintendent and that meets the applicable public notice requirements, indicating that the district superintendent and the governing board of the school district failed to provide pupils with sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as required by this subdivision. Before purchasing the textbooks or instructional materials, the department shall consult with the school district to determine which textbooks or instructional materials to purchase. The amount of funds necessary for the purchase of the textbooks and materials is a loan to the school district receiving the textbooks or instructional materials. Unless the school district repays the amount owed based upon an agreed-upon repayment schedule with the Superintendent, the Superintendent shall notify the Controller and the Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the total amount used to purchase the textbooks and materials from the next principal apportionment of the school district or from another apportionment of state funds.
(5)If the county superintendent of schools determines that there are insufficient textbooks or instructional materials pursuant to a resolution received in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined by subdivision (c) of Section 60119, or as a result of receiving a report of an unresolved complaint pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 35186 or an audit exception pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 41020, the county superintendent shall do both of the following:
(A)Provide the school district with the opportunity to remedy the deficiency. The county superintendent shall ensure that the deficiency is remedied no later than the second month of the school term.
(B)If the deficiency is not remedied as required pursuant to subparagraph (A), the county superintendent shall request the department to purchase the textbooks or instructional materials necessary to comply with the sufficiency requirement of this subdivision. If the department purchases the textbooks or instructional materials for the school district, the department shall issue a public statement at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the state board occurring immediately after the department receives the request of the county superintendent and that meets the applicable public notice requirements, indicating that the district superintendent and the governing board of the school district failed to provide pupils with sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as required by this subdivision. Before purchasing the textbooks or instructional materials, the department shall consult with the school district when determining which textbooks or instructional materials to purchase. The amount of funds necessary for the purchase of the textbooks and materials is a loan to the school district receiving the textbooks or instructional materials. Unless the school district repays the amount owed based upon an agreed-upon repayment schedule with the Superintendent, the Superintendent shall notify the Controller and the Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the total amount used to purchase the textbooks and materials from the next principal apportionment of the school district or from another apportionment of state funds.
(j)Preserve carefully all reports of school officers and teachers.
(k)Deliver to the county superintendents successor, at the close of the county superintendents official term, all records, books, documents, and papers belonging to the office, taking a receipt for them, which shall be filed with the department.
(l)(1)Submit two reports during the fiscal year to the county board of education in accordance with the following:
(A)The first report shall cover the financial and budgetary status of the county office of education for the period ending October 31. The second report shall cover the period ending January 31. Both reports shall be reviewed by the county board of education and approved by the county superintendent no later than 45 days after the close of the period being reported.
(B)As part of each report, the county superintendent shall certify in writing whether or not the county office of education is able to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year and, based on current forecasts, for two subsequent fiscal years. The certifications shall be classified as positive, qualified, or negative, pursuant to standards prescribed by the Superintendent, for purposes of determining subsequent state agency actions pursuant to Section 1240.1. For purposes of this subdivision, a negative certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that, based upon current projections, will not meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year or for the subsequent fiscal year. A qualified certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that may not meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year or two subsequent fiscal years. A positive certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that will meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year and subsequent two fiscal years. In accordance with those standards, the Superintendent may reclassify a certification. If a county office of education receives a negative certification, the Superintendent, or the Superintendents designee, may exercise the authority set forth in subdivision (d) of Section 1630. Copies of each certification, and of the report containing that certification, shall be sent to the Superintendent at the time the certification is submitted to the county board of education. Copies of each qualified or negative certification and the report containing that certification shall be sent to the Controller at the time the certification is submitted to the county board of education.
(2)All reports and certifications required under this subdivision shall be in a format or on forms prescribed by the Superintendent, and shall be based on standards and criteria for fiscal stability adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 33127. The reports and supporting data shall be made available by the county superintendent to an interested party upon request.
(3)This subdivision does not preclude the submission of additional budgetary or financial reports by the county superintendent to the county board of education or to the Superintendent.
(4)The county superintendent is not responsible for the fiscal oversight of the community colleges in the county, however, the county superintendent may perform financial services on behalf of those community colleges.
(5)A county office of education having a negative or qualified certification, or classified as qualified or negative by the Superintendent, shall continue to be classified as qualified or negative until the next report required under this subdivision is filed.
(m)If requested, act as agent for the purchase of supplies for the city and high school districts of that county.
(n)For purposes of Section 44421.5, report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing the identity of a certificated person who knowingly and willingly reports false fiscal expenditure data relative to the conduct of an educational program. This requirement applies only if, in the course of normal duties, the county superintendent discovers information that gives the county superintendent reasonable cause to believe that false fiscal expenditure data relative to the conduct of an educational program has been reported.
(o)If any activities authorized pursuant to this section are found to be a state reimbursable mandate pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution, funding provided for school districts and county offices of education pursuant to Sections 2574, 2575, 42238.02, and 42238.03 shall be used to directly offset any mandated costs.
SEC. 2.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SEC. 3.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure a sufficient timeframe to conduct the annual inspection of schools beginning in the 202526 school year, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.
The county superintendent of schools shall do all of the following:
(a)Superintend the schools of that county.
(b)Maintain responsibility for the fiscal oversight of each school district in that county pursuant to the authority granted by this code.
(c)(1)Visit and examine each school in the county at reasonable intervals to observe its operation and to learn of its problems. The county superintendent of schools annually may present a report of the state of the schools in the county, and of the county office of education, including, but not limited to, observations from visiting the schools, to the board of education and the board of supervisors of the county.
(2)(A)(i)Commencing with the 202122 fiscal year, the Superintendent shall identify a list of schools, which shall include charter schools, for which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall inspect annually, and about which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall submit an annual report, at a regularly scheduled November board meeting, to the governing board of each school district under the jurisdiction of the county superintendent, the county board of education of that county, and the board of supervisors of that county, that describes the state of the schools in the county. The list established in the 202122 fiscal year shall also be used as the list established in the 202223 and 202324 fiscal years. The list of schools established pursuant to this section shall be reestablished in the 202425 fiscal year and again every three fiscal years thereafter. Each list shall be established in accordance with clause (ii), and shall be used for inspections beginning the following fiscal year.
(ii)The list of schools pursuant to clause (i) shall be compiled as follows:
(I)The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools that were most recently identified for comprehensive support and improvement and additional targeted support and improvement pursuant to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95) or identified as low performing under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-10), or any subsequent amendments to that act. For the list established in the 202122, 202223, and 202324 fiscal years, the Superintendent shall use the list of schools identified in the 201920 fiscal year for comprehensive support and improvement and for additional targeted support and improvement.
(II)The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools where 15 percent or more of the teachers are holders of a permit or certificate, such as a temporary or short-term permit, a substitute permit, a waiver, an intern credential, or any other authorization that is a lesser certification than a preliminary or clear California teaching credential. With the exception of alternative schools, all schools within a local educational agency that fail to meet the requirements of Sections 44258.9 and 60900 shall be included on the list for the applicable reporting cycle.
(III)The list of schools compiled pursuant to clause (i) shall exclude alternative schools within the meaning of subdivision (d) of Section 52052 and other schools accepted for participation in the Dashboard Alternative School Status program by the department.
(iii)The annual report shall include the determinations for each school made by the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9, and the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, shall use a standardized template to report the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9, unless the current annual report being used by the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, already includes those details with the same level of specificity that is otherwise required by this subdivision.
(B)The county superintendent of the Counties of Alpine, Amador, Del Norte, Mariposa, Plumas, and Sierra, and the City and County of San Francisco shall contract with another county office of education or an independent auditor to conduct the required visits and make all reports required by this paragraph.
(C)On a quarterly basis, the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, shall report the results of the visits and reviews conducted that quarter to the governing board of the school district at a regularly scheduled meeting held in accordance with public notification requirements. The results of the visits and reviews shall include the determinations of the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, for each school regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9. If the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, conducts no visits or reviews in a quarter, the quarterly report shall report that fact.
(D)The visits made pursuant to this paragraph shall be conducted at least annually and shall meet the following criteria:
(i)Minimize disruption to the operation of the school.
(ii)Be performed by individuals who meet the requirements of Section 45125.1.
(iii)Consist of not less than 25 percent unannounced visits in each county. During unannounced visits in each county, the county superintendent shall not demand access to documents or specific school personnel. Unannounced visits shall only be used to observe the condition of school repair and maintenance, and the sufficiency of instructional materials, as defined by Section 60119.
(E)The priority objective of the visits made pursuant to this paragraph shall be to determine the status of all of the following circumstances:
(i)Sufficient textbooks, as defined in Section 60119 and as specified in subdivision (i).
(ii)The condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff, as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72.
(iii)The accuracy of data reported on the school accountability report card with respect to the availability of sufficient textbooks and instructional materials, as defined by Section 60119, and the safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities, including good repair, as required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089.
(F)The county superintendent may make the status determinations described in subparagraph (E) during a single visit or multiple visits. In determining whether to make a single visit or multiple visits for this purpose, the county superintendent shall take into consideration factors such as cost-effectiveness, disruption to the schoolsite, deadlines, and the availability of qualified reviewers.
(G)If the county superintendent determines that the condition of a facility poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72, or is not in good repair, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002 and required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089, the county superintendent, among other things, may do any of the following:
(i)Return to the school to verify repairs.
(ii)Prepare a report that specifically identifies and documents the areas or instances of noncompliance if the school district has not provided evidence of successful repairs within 30 days of the visit of the county superintendent or, for major projects, has not provided evidence that the repairs will be conducted in a timely manner. The report may be provided to the governing board of the school district. If the report is provided to the school district, it shall be presented at a regularly scheduled meeting held in accordance with public notification requirements. The county superintendent shall post the report on the internet website of the county superintendent. The report shall be removed from the internet website when the county superintendent verifies the repairs have been completed.
(H)For schools that are identified on the list established in the 202425 fiscal year pursuant to subparagraph (A), and only in the fiscal years in which that list is used, a county superintendent shall complete the textbook and instructional materials review conducted for purposes of this paragraph and subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (i) by the eighth week of the school year. The county superintendent shall prioritize reviewing, within that timeframe, the first four weeks of the school year where practicable, schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a complaint filed pursuant to Section 35186, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks, as defined in Section 60119 and as specified in subdivision (i), or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72, or is not in good repair, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002 and required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089.
(d)Distribute all laws, reports, circulars, instructions, and blanks that the county superintendent may receive for the use of the school officers.
(e)Annually, on or before September 15, present a report to the governing board of the school district and the Superintendent regarding the fiscal solvency of a school district with a disapproved budget, qualified interim certification, or a negative interim certification, or that is determined to be in a position of fiscal uncertainty pursuant to Section 42127.6.
(f)Keep in the office of the county superintendent the reports of the Superintendent.
(g)Keep a record of the official acts of the county superintendent and of all the proceedings of the county board of education, including a record of the standing, in each study, of all applicants for certificates who have been examined, which shall be open to the inspection of an applicant or an authorized agent of the applicant.
(h)Enforce the course of study.
(i)(1)Enforce the use of state textbooks and instructional materials and of high school textbooks and instructional materials regularly adopted by the proper authority in accordance with Section 51050.
(2)For purposes of this subdivision, sufficient textbooks or instructional materials has the same meaning as in subdivision (c) of Section 60119.
(3)(A)Commencing with the 202223 school year, if a school is identified as specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), the county superintendent specifically shall review that school at least annually as a priority school. A review conducted for purposes of this paragraph shall be completed by the fourth week of the school year, except as specified in subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c).
(B)In order to facilitate the review of instructional materials before the fourth week of the school year, the county superintendent in a county with 200 or more schools that are identified as specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) may use a combination of visits and written surveys of teachers for the purpose of determining sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 60119. If a county superintendent elects to conduct written surveys of teachers, the county superintendent shall visit the schools surveyed within the same academic year to verify the accuracy of the information reported on the surveys. If a county superintendent surveys teachers at a school in which the county superintendent has found sufficient textbooks and instructional materials for the previous two consecutive years and determines that the school does not have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, the county superintendent shall, within 10 business days, provide a copy of the insufficiency report to the school district as set forth in paragraph (4).
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, written surveys may include paper and electronic or online surveys.
(4)If the county superintendent of schools determines that a school does not have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined by subdivision (c) of Section 60119, the county superintendent shall do all of the following:
(A)Prepare a report that specifically identifies and documents the areas or instances of noncompliance.
(B)Provide within five business days of the review, a copy of the report to the school district, as provided in subdivision (c), or, if applicable, provide a copy of the report to the school district within 10 business days pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3).
(C)Provide the school district with the opportunity to remedy the deficiency. The county superintendent shall ensure that the deficiency is remedied no later than the second month of the school term.
(D)If the deficiency is not remedied as required pursuant to subparagraph (C), the county superintendent shall request the department to purchase the textbooks or instructional materials necessary to comply with the sufficiency requirement of this subdivision. If the department purchases textbooks or instructional materials for the school district, the department shall issue a public statement at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the state board occurring immediately after the department receives the request of the county superintendent and that meets the applicable public notice requirements, indicating that the district superintendent and the governing board of the school district failed to provide pupils with sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as required by this subdivision. Before purchasing the textbooks or instructional materials, the department shall consult with the school district to determine which textbooks or instructional materials to purchase. The amount of funds necessary for the purchase of the textbooks and materials is a loan to the school district receiving the textbooks or instructional materials. Unless the school district repays the amount owed based upon an agreed-upon repayment schedule with the Superintendent, the Superintendent shall notify the Controller and the Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the total amount used to purchase the textbooks and materials from the next principal apportionment of the school district or from another apportionment of state funds.
(5)If the county superintendent of schools determines that there are insufficient textbooks or instructional materials pursuant to a resolution received in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined by subdivision (c) of Section 60119, or as a result of receiving a report of an unresolved complaint pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 35186 or an audit exception pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 41020, the county superintendent shall do both of the following:
(A)Provide the school district with the opportunity to remedy the deficiency. The county superintendent shall ensure that the deficiency is remedied no later than the second month of the school term.
(B)If the deficiency is not remedied as required pursuant to subparagraph (A), the county superintendent shall request the department to purchase the textbooks or instructional materials necessary to comply with the sufficiency requirement of this subdivision. If the department purchases the textbooks or instructional materials for the school district, the department shall issue a public statement at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the state board occurring immediately after the department receives the request of the county superintendent and that meets the applicable public notice requirements, indicating that the district superintendent and the governing board of the school district failed to provide pupils with sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as required by this subdivision. Before purchasing the textbooks or instructional materials, the department shall consult with the school district when determining which textbooks or instructional materials to purchase. The amount of funds necessary for the purchase of the textbooks and materials is a loan to the school district receiving the textbooks or instructional materials. Unless the school district repays the amount owed based upon an agreed-upon repayment schedule with the Superintendent, the Superintendent shall notify the Controller and the Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the total amount used to purchase the textbooks and materials from the next principal apportionment of the school district or from another apportionment of state funds.
(j)Preserve carefully all reports of school officers and teachers.
(k)Deliver to the county superintendents successor, at the close of the county superintendents official term, all records, books, documents, and papers belonging to the office, taking a receipt for them, which shall be filed with the department.
(l)(1)Submit two reports during the fiscal year to the county board of education in accordance with the following:
(A)The first report shall cover the financial and budgetary status of the county office of education for the period ending October 31. The second report shall cover the period ending January 31. Both reports shall be reviewed by the county board of education and approved by the county superintendent no later than 45 days after the close of the period being reported.
(B)As part of each report, the county superintendent shall certify in writing whether or not the county office of education is able to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year and, based on current forecasts, for two subsequent fiscal years. The certifications shall be classified as positive, qualified, or negative, pursuant to standards prescribed by the Superintendent, for purposes of determining subsequent state agency actions pursuant to Section 1240.1. For purposes of this subdivision, a negative certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that, based upon current projections, will not meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year or for the subsequent fiscal year. A qualified certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that may not meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year or two subsequent fiscal years. A positive certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that will meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year and subsequent two fiscal years. In accordance with those standards, the Superintendent may reclassify a certification. If a county office of education receives a negative certification, the Superintendent, or the Superintendents designee, may exercise the authority set forth in subdivision (d) of Section 1630. Copies of each certification, and of the report containing that certification, shall be sent to the Superintendent at the time the certification is submitted to the county board of education. Copies of each qualified or negative certification and the report containing that certification shall be sent to the Controller at the time the certification is submitted to the county board of education.
(2)All reports and certifications required under this subdivision shall be in a format or on forms prescribed by the Superintendent, and shall be based on standards and criteria for fiscal stability adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 33127. The reports and supporting data shall be made available by the county superintendent to an interested party upon request.
(3)This subdivision does not preclude the submission of additional budgetary or financial reports by the county superintendent to the county board of education or to the Superintendent.
(4)The county superintendent is not responsible for the fiscal oversight of the community colleges in the county, however, the county superintendent may perform financial services on behalf of those community colleges.
(5)A county office of education having a negative or qualified certification, or classified as qualified or negative by the Superintendent, shall continue to be classified as qualified or negative until the next report required under this subdivision is filed.
(m)If requested, act as agent for the purchase of supplies for the city and high school districts of that county.
(n)For purposes of Section 44421.5, report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing the identity of a certificated person who knowingly and willingly reports false fiscal expenditure data relative to the conduct of an educational program. This requirement applies only if, in the course of normal duties, the county superintendent discovers information that gives the county superintendent reasonable cause to believe that false fiscal expenditure data relative to the conduct of an educational program has been reported.
(o)If any activities authorized pursuant to this section are found to be a state reimbursable mandate pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution, funding provided for school districts and county offices of education pursuant to Sections 2574, 2575, 42238.02, and 42238.03 shall be used to directly offset any mandated costs.
SEC. 2.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SEC. 3.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure a sufficient timeframe to conduct the annual inspection of schools beginning in the 202526 school year, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.
The county superintendent of schools shall do all of the following:
(a)Superintend the schools of that county.
(b)Maintain responsibility for the fiscal oversight of each school district in that county pursuant to the authority granted by this code.
(c)(1)Visit and examine each school in the county at reasonable intervals to observe its operation and to learn of its problems. The county superintendent of schools annually may present a report of the state of the schools in the county, and of the county office of education, including, but not limited to, observations from visiting the schools, to the board of education and the board of supervisors of the county.
(2)(A)(i)Commencing with the 202122 fiscal year, the Superintendent shall identify a list of schools, which shall include charter schools, for which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall inspect annually, and about which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall submit an annual report, at a regularly scheduled November board meeting, to the governing board of each school district under the jurisdiction of the county superintendent, the county board of education of that county, and the board of supervisors of that county, that describes the state of the schools in the county. The list established in the 202122 fiscal year shall also be used as the list established in the 202223 and 202324 fiscal years. The list of schools established pursuant to this section shall be reestablished in the 202425 fiscal year and again every three fiscal years thereafter. Each list shall be established in accordance with clause (ii), and shall be used for inspections beginning the following fiscal year.
(ii)The list of schools pursuant to clause (i) shall be compiled as follows:
(I)The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools that were most recently identified for comprehensive support and improvement and additional targeted support and improvement pursuant to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95) or identified as low performing under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-10), or any subsequent amendments to that act. For the list established in the 202122, 202223, and 202324 fiscal years, the Superintendent shall use the list of schools identified in the 201920 fiscal year for comprehensive support and improvement and for additional targeted support and improvement.
(II)The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools where 15 percent or more of the teachers are holders of a permit or certificate, such as a temporary or short-term permit, a substitute permit, a waiver, an intern credential, or any other authorization that is a lesser certification than a preliminary or clear California teaching credential. With the exception of alternative schools, all schools within a local educational agency that fail to meet the requirements of Sections 44258.9 and 60900 shall be included on the list for the applicable reporting cycle.
(III)The list of schools compiled pursuant to clause (i) shall exclude alternative schools within the meaning of subdivision (d) of Section 52052 and other schools accepted for participation in the Dashboard Alternative School Status program by the department.
(iii)The annual report shall include the determinations for each school made by the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9, and the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, shall use a standardized template to report the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9, unless the current annual report being used by the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, already includes those details with the same level of specificity that is otherwise required by this subdivision.
(B)The county superintendent of the Counties of Alpine, Amador, Del Norte, Mariposa, Plumas, and Sierra, and the City and County of San Francisco shall contract with another county office of education or an independent auditor to conduct the required visits and make all reports required by this paragraph.
(C)On a quarterly basis, the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, shall report the results of the visits and reviews conducted that quarter to the governing board of the school district at a regularly scheduled meeting held in accordance with public notification requirements. The results of the visits and reviews shall include the determinations of the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, for each school regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9. If the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, conducts no visits or reviews in a quarter, the quarterly report shall report that fact.
(D)The visits made pursuant to this paragraph shall be conducted at least annually and shall meet the following criteria:
(i)Minimize disruption to the operation of the school.
(ii)Be performed by individuals who meet the requirements of Section 45125.1.
(iii)Consist of not less than 25 percent unannounced visits in each county. During unannounced visits in each county, the county superintendent shall not demand access to documents or specific school personnel. Unannounced visits shall only be used to observe the condition of school repair and maintenance, and the sufficiency of instructional materials, as defined by Section 60119.
(E)The priority objective of the visits made pursuant to this paragraph shall be to determine the status of all of the following circumstances:
(i)Sufficient textbooks, as defined in Section 60119 and as specified in subdivision (i).
(ii)The condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff, as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72.
(iii)The accuracy of data reported on the school accountability report card with respect to the availability of sufficient textbooks and instructional materials, as defined by Section 60119, and the safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities, including good repair, as required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089.
(F)The county superintendent may make the status determinations described in subparagraph (E) during a single visit or multiple visits. In determining whether to make a single visit or multiple visits for this purpose, the county superintendent shall take into consideration factors such as cost-effectiveness, disruption to the schoolsite, deadlines, and the availability of qualified reviewers.
(G)If the county superintendent determines that the condition of a facility poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72, or is not in good repair, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002 and required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089, the county superintendent, among other things, may do any of the following:
(i)Return to the school to verify repairs.
(ii)Prepare a report that specifically identifies and documents the areas or instances of noncompliance if the school district has not provided evidence of successful repairs within 30 days of the visit of the county superintendent or, for major projects, has not provided evidence that the repairs will be conducted in a timely manner. The report may be provided to the governing board of the school district. If the report is provided to the school district, it shall be presented at a regularly scheduled meeting held in accordance with public notification requirements. The county superintendent shall post the report on the internet website of the county superintendent. The report shall be removed from the internet website when the county superintendent verifies the repairs have been completed.
(H)For schools that are identified on the list established in the 202425 fiscal year pursuant to subparagraph (A), and only in the fiscal years in which that list is used, a county superintendent shall complete the review conducted for purposes of this paragraph and subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (i) by the eighth week of the school year. The county superintendent shall prioritize reviewing, within that timeframe, schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a complaint filed pursuant to Section 35186, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks, as defined in Section 60119 and as specified in subdivision (i), or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72, or is not in good repair, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002 and required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089.
(d)Distribute all laws, reports, circulars, instructions, and blanks that the county superintendent may receive for the use of the school officers.
(e)Annually, on or before September 15, present a report to the governing board of the school district and the Superintendent regarding the fiscal solvency of a school district with a disapproved budget, qualified interim certification, or a negative interim certification, or that is determined to be in a position of fiscal uncertainty pursuant to Section 42127.6.
(f)Keep in the office of the county superintendent the reports of the Superintendent.
(g)Keep a record of the official acts of the county superintendent and of all the proceedings of the county board of education, including a record of the standing, in each study, of all applicants for certificates who have been examined, which shall be open to the inspection of an applicant or an authorized agent of the applicant.
(h)Enforce the course of study.
(i)(1)Enforce the use of state textbooks and instructional materials and of high school textbooks and instructional materials regularly adopted by the proper authority in accordance with Section 51050.
(2)For purposes of this subdivision, sufficient textbooks or instructional materials has the same meaning as in subdivision (c) of Section 60119.
(3)(A)Commencing with the 202223 school year, if a school is identified as specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), the county superintendent specifically shall review that school at least annually as a priority school. A review conducted for purposes of this paragraph shall be completed by the fourth week of the school year, except as specified in subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c).
(B)In order to facilitate the review of instructional materials before the fourth week of the school year, the county superintendent in a county with 200 or more schools that are identified as specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) may use a combination of visits and written surveys of teachers for the purpose of determining sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 60119. If a county superintendent elects to conduct written surveys of teachers, the county superintendent shall visit the schools surveyed within the same academic year to verify the accuracy of the information reported on the surveys. If a county superintendent surveys teachers at a school in which the county superintendent has found sufficient textbooks and instructional materials for the previous two consecutive years and determines that the school does not have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, the county superintendent shall, within 10 business days, provide a copy of the insufficiency report to the school district as set forth in paragraph (4).
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, written surveys may include paper and electronic or online surveys.
(4)If the county superintendent of schools determines that a school does not have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined by subdivision (c) of Section 60119, the county superintendent shall do all of the following:
(A)Prepare a report that specifically identifies and documents the areas or instances of noncompliance.
(B)Provide within five business days of the review, a copy of the report to the school district, as provided in subdivision (c), or, if applicable, provide a copy of the report to the school district within 10 business days pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3).
(C)Provide the school district with the opportunity to remedy the deficiency. The county superintendent shall ensure that the deficiency is remedied no later than the second month of the school term.
(D)If the deficiency is not remedied as required pursuant to subparagraph (C), the county superintendent shall request the department to purchase the textbooks or instructional materials necessary to comply with the sufficiency requirement of this subdivision. If the department purchases textbooks or instructional materials for the school district, the department shall issue a public statement at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the state board occurring immediately after the department receives the request of the county superintendent and that meets the applicable public notice requirements, indicating that the district superintendent and the governing board of the school district failed to provide pupils with sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as required by this subdivision. Before purchasing the textbooks or instructional materials, the department shall consult with the school district to determine which textbooks or instructional materials to purchase. The amount of funds necessary for the purchase of the textbooks and materials is a loan to the school district receiving the textbooks or instructional materials. Unless the school district repays the amount owed based upon an agreed-upon repayment schedule with the Superintendent, the Superintendent shall notify the Controller and the Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the total amount used to purchase the textbooks and materials from the next principal apportionment of the school district or from another apportionment of state funds.
(5)If the county superintendent of schools determines that there are insufficient textbooks or instructional materials pursuant to a resolution received in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined by subdivision (c) of Section 60119, or as a result of receiving a report of an unresolved complaint pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 35186 or an audit exception pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 41020, the county superintendent shall do both of the following:
(A)Provide the school district with the opportunity to remedy the deficiency. The county superintendent shall ensure that the deficiency is remedied no later than the second month of the school term.
(B)If the deficiency is not remedied as required pursuant to subparagraph (A), the county superintendent shall request the department to purchase the textbooks or instructional materials necessary to comply with the sufficiency requirement of this subdivision. If the department purchases the textbooks or instructional materials for the school district, the department shall issue a public statement at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the state board occurring immediately after the department receives the request of the county superintendent and that meets the applicable public notice requirements, indicating that the district superintendent and the governing board of the school district failed to provide pupils with sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as required by this subdivision. Before purchasing the textbooks or instructional materials, the department shall consult with the school district when determining which textbooks or instructional materials to purchase. The amount of funds necessary for the purchase of the textbooks and materials is a loan to the school district receiving the textbooks or instructional materials. Unless the school district repays the amount owed based upon an agreed-upon repayment schedule with the Superintendent, the Superintendent shall notify the Controller and the Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the total amount used to purchase the textbooks and materials from the next principal apportionment of the school district or from another apportionment of state funds.
(j)Preserve carefully all reports of school officers and teachers.
(k)Deliver to the county superintendents successor, at the close of the county superintendents official term, all records, books, documents, and papers belonging to the office, taking a receipt for them, which shall be filed with the department.
(l)(1)Submit two reports during the fiscal year to the county board of education in accordance with the following:
(A)The first report shall cover the financial and budgetary status of the county office of education for the period ending October 31. The second report shall cover the period ending January 31. Both reports shall be reviewed by the county board of education and approved by the county superintendent no later than 45 days after the close of the period being reported.
(B)As part of each report, the county superintendent shall certify in writing whether or not the county office of education is able to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year and, based on current forecasts, for two subsequent fiscal years. The certifications shall be classified as positive, qualified, or negative, pursuant to standards prescribed by the Superintendent, for purposes of determining subsequent state agency actions pursuant to Section 1240.1. For purposes of this subdivision, a negative certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that, based upon current projections, will not meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year or for the subsequent fiscal year. A qualified certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that may not meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year or two subsequent fiscal years. A positive certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that will meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year and subsequent two fiscal years. In accordance with those standards, the Superintendent may reclassify a certification. If a county office of education receives a negative certification, the Superintendent, or the Superintendents designee, may exercise the authority set forth in subdivision (d) of Section 1630. Copies of each certification, and of the report containing that certification, shall be sent to the Superintendent at the time the certification is submitted to the county board of education. Copies of each qualified or negative certification and the report containing that certification shall be sent to the Controller at the time the certification is submitted to the county board of education.
(2)All reports and certifications required under this subdivision shall be in a format or on forms prescribed by the Superintendent, and shall be based on standards and criteria for fiscal stability adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 33127. The reports and supporting data shall be made available by the county superintendent to an interested party upon request.
(3)This subdivision does not preclude the submission of additional budgetary or financial reports by the county superintendent to the county board of education or to the Superintendent.
(4)The county superintendent is not responsible for the fiscal oversight of the community colleges in the county, however, the county superintendent may perform financial services on behalf of those community colleges.
(5)A county office of education having a negative or qualified certification, or classified as qualified or negative by the Superintendent, shall continue to be classified as qualified or negative until the next report required under this subdivision is filed.
(m)If requested, act as agent for the purchase of supplies for the city and high school districts of that county.
(n)For purposes of Section 44421.5, report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing the identity of a certificated person who knowingly and willingly reports false fiscal expenditure data relative to the conduct of an educational program. This requirement applies only if, in the course of normal duties, the county superintendent discovers information that gives the county superintendent reasonable cause to believe that false fiscal expenditure data relative to the conduct of an educational program has been reported.
(o)If any activities authorized pursuant to this section are found to be a state reimbursable mandate pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution, funding provided for school districts and county offices of education pursuant to Sections 2574, 2575, 42238.02, and 42238.03 shall be used to directly offset any mandated costs.
SEC. 2.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SEC. 3.This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to ensure a sufficient timeframe to conduct the annual inspection of schools beginning in the 202526 school year, it is necessary for this act to take effect immediately.
The county superintendent of schools shall do all of the following:
(a)Superintend the schools of that county.
(b)Maintain responsibility for the fiscal oversight of each school district in that county pursuant to the authority granted by this code.
(c)(1)Visit and examine each school in the county at reasonable intervals to observe its operation and to learn of its problems. The county superintendent of schools annually may present a report of the state of the schools in the county, and of the county office of education, including, but not limited to, observations from visiting the schools, to the board of education and the board of supervisors of the county.
(2)(A)(i)Commencing with the 202122 fiscal year, the Superintendent shall identify a list of schools, which shall include charter schools, for which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall inspect annually, and about which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall submit an annual report, at a regularly scheduled November board meeting, to the governing board of each school district under the jurisdiction of the county superintendent, the county board of education of that county, and the board of supervisors of that county, that describes the state of the schools in the county. The list established in the 202122 fiscal year shall also be used as the list established in the 202223 and 202324 fiscal years. The list of schools established pursuant to this section shall be reestablished in the 202425 fiscal year and again every three fiscal years thereafter. Each list shall be established in accordance with clause (ii), and shall be used for inspections beginning the following fiscal year.
(ii)The list of schools pursuant to clause (i) shall be compiled as follows:
(I)The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools that were most recently identified for comprehensive support and improvement and additional targeted support and improvement pursuant to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95) or identified as low performing under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-10), or any subsequent amendments to that act. For the list established in the 202122, 202223, and 202324 fiscal years, the Superintendent shall use the list of schools identified in the 201920 fiscal year for comprehensive support and improvement and for additional targeted support and improvement.
(II)The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools where 15 percent or more of the teachers are holders of a permit or certificate, such as a temporary or short-term permit, a substitute permit, a waiver, an intern credential, or any other authorization that is a lesser certification than a preliminary or clear California teaching credential. With the exception of alternative schools, all schools within a local educational agency that fail to meet the requirements of Sections 44258.9 and 60900 shall be included on the list for the applicable reporting cycle.
(III)The list of schools compiled pursuant to clause (i) shall exclude alternative schools within the meaning of subdivision (d) of Section 52052 and other schools accepted for participation in the Dashboard Alternative School Status program by the department.
(iii)The annual report shall include the determinations for each school made by the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9, and the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, shall use a standardized template to report the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9, unless the current annual report being used by the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, already includes those details with the same level of specificity that is otherwise required by this subdivision.
(B)The county superintendent of the Counties of Alpine, Amador, Del Norte, Mariposa, Plumas, and Sierra, and the City and County of San Francisco shall contract with another county office of education or an independent auditor to conduct the required visits and make all reports required by this paragraph.
(C)On a quarterly basis, the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, shall report the results of the visits and reviews conducted that quarter to the governing board of the school district at a regularly scheduled meeting held in accordance with public notification requirements. The results of the visits and reviews shall include the determinations of the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, for each school regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in subparagraph (E) and teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies, as described in Section 44258.9. If the county superintendent, or the county superintendents designee, conducts no visits or reviews in a quarter, the quarterly report shall report that fact.
(D)The visits made pursuant to this paragraph shall be conducted at least annually and shall meet the following criteria:
(i)Minimize disruption to the operation of the school.
(ii)Be performed by individuals who meet the requirements of Section 45125.1.
(iii)Consist of not less than 25 percent unannounced visits in each county. During unannounced visits in each county, the county superintendent shall not demand access to documents or specific school personnel. Unannounced visits shall only be used to observe the condition of school repair and maintenance, and the sufficiency of instructional materials, as defined by Section 60119.
(E)The priority objective of the visits made pursuant to this paragraph shall be to determine the status of all of the following circumstances:
(i)Sufficient textbooks, as defined in Section 60119 and as specified in subdivision (i).
(ii)The condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff, as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72.
(iii)The accuracy of data reported on the school accountability report card with respect to the availability of sufficient textbooks and instructional materials, as defined by Section 60119, and the safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities, including good repair, as required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089.
(F)The county superintendent may make the status determinations described in subparagraph (E) during a single visit or multiple visits. In determining whether to make a single visit or multiple visits for this purpose, the county superintendent shall take into consideration factors such as cost-effectiveness, disruption to the schoolsite, deadlines, and the availability of qualified reviewers.
(G)If the county superintendent determines that the condition of a facility poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72, or is not in good repair, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002 and required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089, the county superintendent, among other things, may do any of the following:
(i)Return to the school to verify repairs.
(ii)Prepare a report that specifically identifies and documents the areas or instances of noncompliance if the school district has not provided evidence of successful repairs within 30 days of the visit of the county superintendent or, for major projects, has not provided evidence that the repairs will be conducted in a timely manner. The report may be provided to the governing board of the school district. If the report is provided to the school district, it shall be presented at a regularly scheduled meeting held in accordance with public notification requirements. The county superintendent shall post the report on the internet website of the county superintendent. The report shall be removed from the internet website when the county superintendent verifies the repairs have been completed.
(H)For schools that are identified on the list established in the 202425 fiscal year pursuant to subparagraph (A), and only in the fiscal years in which that list is used, a county superintendent shall complete the review conducted for purposes of this paragraph and subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (i) by the eighth week of the school year. The county superintendent shall prioritize reviewing, within that timeframe, schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a complaint filed pursuant to Section 35186, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks, as defined in Section 60119 and as specified in subdivision (i), or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff as described in school district policy or paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 17592.72, or is not in good repair, as specified in subdivision (d) of Section 17002 and required by Sections 17014, 17032.5, 17070.75, and 17089.
(d)Distribute all laws, reports, circulars, instructions, and blanks that the county superintendent may receive for the use of the school officers.
(e)Annually, on or before September 15, present a report to the governing board of the school district and the Superintendent regarding the fiscal solvency of a school district with a disapproved budget, qualified interim certification, or a negative interim certification, or that is determined to be in a position of fiscal uncertainty pursuant to Section 42127.6.
(f)Keep in the office of the county superintendent the reports of the Superintendent.
(g)Keep a record of the official acts of the county superintendent and of all the proceedings of the county board of education, including a record of the standing, in each study, of all applicants for certificates who have been examined, which shall be open to the inspection of an applicant or an authorized agent of the applicant.
(h)Enforce the course of study.
(i)(1)Enforce the use of state textbooks and instructional materials and of high school textbooks and instructional materials regularly adopted by the proper authority in accordance with Section 51050.
(2)For purposes of this subdivision, sufficient textbooks or instructional materials has the same meaning as in subdivision (c) of Section 60119.
(3)(A)Commencing with the 202223 school year, if a school is identified as specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c), the county superintendent specifically shall review that school at least annually as a priority school. A review conducted for purposes of this paragraph shall be completed by the fourth week of the school year. year, except as specified in subparagraph (H) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c).
(B)In order to facilitate the review of instructional materials before the fourth week of the school year, the county superintendent in a county with 200 or more schools that are identified as specified in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) may use a combination of visits and written surveys of teachers for the purpose of determining sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 60119. If a county superintendent elects to conduct written surveys of teachers, the county superintendent shall visit the schools surveyed within the same academic year to verify the accuracy of the information reported on the surveys. If a county superintendent surveys teachers at a school in which the county superintendent has found sufficient textbooks and instructional materials for the previous two consecutive years and determines that the school does not have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials, the county superintendent shall, within 10 business days, provide a copy of the insufficiency report to the school district as set forth in paragraph (4).
(C)For purposes of this paragraph, written surveys may include paper and electronic or online surveys.
(4)If the county superintendent of schools determines that a school does not have sufficient textbooks or instructional materials in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined by subdivision (c) of Section 60119, the county superintendent shall do all of the following:
(A)Prepare a report that specifically identifies and documents the areas or instances of noncompliance.
(B)Provide within five business days of the review, a copy of the report to the school district, as provided in subdivision (c), or, if applicable, provide a copy of the report to the school district within 10 business days pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3).
(C)Provide the school district with the opportunity to remedy the deficiency. The county superintendent shall ensure that the deficiency is remedied no later than the second month of the school term.
(D)If the deficiency is not remedied as required pursuant to subparagraph (C), the county superintendent shall request the department to purchase the textbooks or instructional materials necessary to comply with the sufficiency requirement of this subdivision. If the department purchases textbooks or instructional materials for the school district, the department shall issue a public statement at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the state board occurring immediately after the department receives the request of the county superintendent and that meets the applicable public notice requirements, indicating that the district superintendent and the governing board of the school district failed to provide pupils with sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as required by this subdivision. Before purchasing the textbooks or instructional materials, the department shall consult with the school district to determine which textbooks or instructional materials to purchase. The amount of funds necessary for the purchase of the textbooks and materials is a loan to the school district receiving the textbooks or instructional materials. Unless the school district repays the amount owed based upon an agreed-upon repayment schedule with the Superintendent, the Superintendent shall notify the Controller and the Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the total amount used to purchase the textbooks and materials from the next principal apportionment of the school district or from another apportionment of state funds.
(5)If the county superintendent of schools determines that there are insufficient textbooks or instructional materials pursuant to a resolution received in accordance with subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 60119 and as defined by subdivision (c) of Section 60119, or as a result of receiving a report of an unresolved complaint pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 35186 or an audit exception pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 41020, the county superintendent shall do both of the following:
(A)Provide the school district with the opportunity to remedy the deficiency. The county superintendent shall ensure that the deficiency is remedied no later than the second month of the school term.
(B)If the deficiency is not remedied as required pursuant to subparagraph (A), the county superintendent shall request the department to purchase the textbooks or instructional materials necessary to comply with the sufficiency requirement of this subdivision. If the department purchases the textbooks or instructional materials for the school district, the department shall issue a public statement at the first regularly scheduled meeting of the state board occurring immediately after the department receives the request of the county superintendent and that meets the applicable public notice requirements, indicating that the district superintendent and the governing board of the school district failed to provide pupils with sufficient textbooks or instructional materials as required by this subdivision. Before purchasing the textbooks or instructional materials, the department shall consult with the school district when determining which textbooks or instructional materials to purchase. The amount of funds necessary for the purchase of the textbooks and materials is a loan to the school district receiving the textbooks or instructional materials. Unless the school district repays the amount owed based upon an agreed-upon repayment schedule with the Superintendent, the Superintendent shall notify the Controller and the Controller shall deduct an amount equal to the total amount used to purchase the textbooks and materials from the next principal apportionment of the school district or from another apportionment of state funds.
(j)Preserve carefully all reports of school officers and teachers.
(k)Deliver to the county superintendents successor, at the close of the county superintendents official term, all records, books, documents, and papers belonging to the office, taking a receipt for them, which shall be filed with the department.
(l)(1)Submit two reports during the fiscal year to the county board of education in accordance with the following:
(A)The first report shall cover the financial and budgetary status of the county office of education for the period ending October 31. The second report shall cover the period ending January 31. Both reports shall be reviewed by the county board of education and approved by the county superintendent no later than 45 days after the close of the period being reported.
(B)As part of each report, the county superintendent shall certify in writing whether or not the county office of education is able to meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year and, based on current forecasts, for two subsequent fiscal years. The certifications shall be classified as positive, qualified, or negative, pursuant to standards prescribed by the Superintendent, for purposes of determining subsequent state agency actions pursuant to Section 1240.1. For purposes of this subdivision, a negative certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that, based upon current projections, will not meet its financial obligations for the remainder of the fiscal year or for the subsequent fiscal year. A qualified certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that may not meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year or two subsequent fiscal years. A positive certification shall be assigned to a county office of education that will meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year and subsequent two fiscal years. In accordance with those standards, the Superintendent may reclassify a certification. If a county office of education receives a negative certification, the Superintendent, or the Superintendents designee, may exercise the authority set forth in subdivision (d) of Section 1630. Copies of each certification, and of the report containing that certification, shall be sent to the Superintendent at the time the certification is submitted to the county board of education. Copies of each qualified or negative certification and the report containing that certification shall be sent to the Controller at the time the certification is submitted to the county board of education.
(2)All reports and certifications required under this subdivision shall be in a format or on forms prescribed by the Superintendent, and shall be based on standards and criteria for fiscal stability adopted by the state board pursuant to Section 33127. The reports and supporting data shall be made available by the county superintendent to an interested party upon request.
(3)This subdivision does not preclude the submission of additional budgetary or financial reports by the county superintendent to the county board of education or to the Superintendent.
(4)The county superintendent is not responsible for the fiscal oversight of the community colleges in the county, however, the county superintendent may perform financial services on behalf of those community colleges.
(5)A county office of education having a negative or qualified certification, or classified as qualified or negative by the Superintendent, shall continue to be classified as qualified or negative until the next report required under this subdivision is filed.
(m)If requested, act as agent for the purchase of supplies for the city and high school districts of that county.
(n)For purposes of Section 44421.5, report to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing the identity of a certificated person who knowingly and willingly reports false fiscal expenditure data relative to the conduct of an educational program. This requirement applies only if, in the course of normal duties, the county superintendent discovers information that gives the county superintendent reasonable cause to believe that false fiscal expenditure data relative to the conduct of an educational program has been reported.
(o)If any activities authorized pursuant to this section are found to be a state reimbursable mandate pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution, funding provided for school districts and county offices of education pursuant to Sections 2574, 2575, 42238.02, and 42238.03 shall be used to directly offset any mandated costs.
SEC. 2.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Jul 14, 2025 | Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 45, Statutes of 2025. |
| Jul 14, 2025 | Approved by the Governor. |
| Jul 9, 2025 | Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11:30 a.m. |
| Jun 30, 2025 | Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0.). |
| Jun 30, 2025 | Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 2366.). |
| Jun 27, 2025 | In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. |
| Jun 27, 2025 | Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 1810.). |
| Jun 24, 2025 | Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar. |
| Jun 23, 2025 | From committee: Be ordered to second reading file pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8 and ordered to Consent Calendar. |
| Jun 12, 2025 | Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Jun 11, 2025 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (June 11). |
| May 14, 2025 | Referred to Com. on ED. |
| May 1, 2025 | In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. |
| May 1, 2025 | Read third time. Urgency clause adopted. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 76. Noes 0. Page 1387.). |
| Apr 24, 2025 | Read second time. Ordered to Consent Calendar. |
| Apr 23, 2025 | From committee: Do pass. To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (April 23). |
| Apr 1, 2025 | Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Mar 28, 2025 | Read second time and amended. |
| Mar 27, 2025 | From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (March 26). |
| Mar 3, 2025 | Referred to Com. on ED. |
| Feb 20, 2025 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 22. |
| Feb 19, 2025 | Read first time. To print. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30, 2025 | AB 927 Sharp-Collins Concurrence in Senate Amendments | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Jun 27, 2025 | Consent Calendar 2nd AB927 Sharp-Collins Urgency Clause | Senate Floor |
Passed |
|
| Jun 11, 2025 | Do pass as amended, but first amend, and re-refer to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar | Senate Standing Committee on Education |
Passed |
|
| May 1, 2025 | AB 927 Sharp-Collins Consent Calendar Second Day Regular Session | Assembly Floor |
Passed |
|
| Apr 23, 2025 | Do pass. To Consent Calendar. | Assembly Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Mar 26, 2025 | Do pass as amended, and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar | Assembly Standing Committee on Education |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| Aclu California Action | ** Support | |
| Alameda County Office Of Education | ** Support | |
| California County Superintendents | ** Support | |
| California-Hawaii State Conference Of The Naacp | ** Support | |
| Los Angeles County Office Of Education | ** Support | |
| Office of the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools | ** Support | |
| Orange County Board Of Education | ** Support | |
| Public Advocates | ** Support | |
| Small School Districts Association | ** Support |
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
CSA1 Bill Id:AB 927
Author:(Sharp-Collins)
As Amended Ver:June 12, 2025
2/3 vote. Urgency
SUMMARY
Extends the timeline by which county superintendents of schools must visit and complete the textbook and instructional materials review of the schools identified for inspection, from within the fourth week of the school year to within the eighth week of the school year; and 2) requires the prioritization of schools to be reviewed, as specified. Includes an urgency clause in order to ensure a sufficient timeframe to conduct the annual inspection of schools beginning in the 2025–26 school year.
Senate Amendments
- Requires, for schools identified on the Williams list established in the 2024-25 fiscal year, and only in the fiscal years in which that list is used, the county superintendent to complete the textbook and instructional materials review by the eighth week of the school year.
- Requires the county superintendent to prioritize reviewing, within the first four weeks of school where practicable, schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a specified complaint, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks, or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat that the health or safety of pupils or staff or is not in good repair.
COMMENTS
Williams v. State of California. In 2004, a settlement agreement was reached in the case of Williams v. State of California. Five bills implementing the agreement were signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger, and the court approved the agreement in 2005.
The Williams settlement agreement:
- Established minimum standards and accountability systems regarding school facilities, teacher quality, and instructional materials;
- Prohibited the operation of the "Concept 6" calendar program which provided 163 days of classroom instruction, instead of 180 days;
- Required the Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP) to allow students, teachers, and others to submit complaints about insufficient instructional materials, teacher vacancies and misassignments, and unsafe or unhealthy facilities conditions;
- Required annual inspection visits within the first four weeks of the school year from the county superintendent of schools ranked in deciles one to three of the Academic Performance Index (API) in their counties to determine compliance with the new instructional materials and facilities standards and whether the schools' School Accountability Report Cards (SARCs) accurately reported this data;
- Required county superintendents of schools to review teacher misassignments;
- Required SARCs to be posted online and in paper form and include accurate and current information regarding sufficiency of instructional materials, the number of teacher misassignments and vacancies, and the condition of school facilities;
- Updated K-12 audits and audit guides; and
- Provided up to $800 million beginning in the 2005-06 fiscal year for districts to repair facility conditions that threatened health and safety and approximately $25 million in 2004-05 for a one-time comprehensive facilities needs assessment of schools ranked in the bottom three deciles under the 2003 statewide API. Funding for this program became unrestricted pursuant to SBX3 4 (Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009), enacted in February 2009.
Frequency of inspections. Schools identified are required to be visited by the county superintendent within the first four weeks of the school year. This bill would authorize county superintendents to conduct the inspection of schools on the Williams list established in the 2024-25 fiscal year within the first eight weeks of the school year.
In counties with 200 or more schools in the Williams list, county superintendents are authorized to use a combination of visits and written surveys (may include paper, electronic, or online surveys) of teachers for the purpose of determining the sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials. If a county superintendent elects to conduct written surveys of teachers, the county superintendent is required to visit the schools surveyed within the same academic year to verify the accuracy of the information reported on the surveys.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many in-person inspection requirements were temporarily waived pursuant to SB 820 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 110, Statutes of 2020.
According to the Author
"California's Williams v. State of California settlement established fundamental requirements for all schools: well-maintained facilities, qualified teachers, and adequate learning materials. Due to the pandemic, the number of schools requiring Williams inspections is projected to grow by approximately 75%, reaching 3,161 schools across California, placing a significant burden on COEs. Rushing through inspections risks overlooking critical deficiencies in facilities, instructional materials, and teacher assignments—issues that disproportionately impact students in low-income communities. Extending the inspection period from four to eight weeks is essential to ensure thorough evaluations, helping vulnerable students avoid unsafe learning environments and ensuring access to fundamental conditions for learning."
Arguments in Support
Public Advocates, the California County Superintendents and the Los Angeles COE write, "AB 927 reflects our belief in meaningful and high-quality Williams monitoring by county offices of education. Every three years, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction identifies a list of schools for Williams monitoring and inspections. Due to the pandemic's impact on attendance, the schools identified in the forthcoming three-year cycle are projected to grow by an unprecedented 87 percent statewide to a total of 3,396 schools. While every county is estimated to experience an increase in schools identified, 46 of the 58 counties will at least double the number of schools identified, with no additional funding to perform oversight inspections. AB 927 is critical to addressing this problem. For the list of schools applicable to inspections in the 2025–26 school year, and for the three-year cycle in which that list is utilized, AB 927 provides additional time to perform the oversight activities required under the Williams legislation."
Arguments in Opposition
None on file
FISCAL COMMENTS
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
VOTES:
ASM EDUCATION: 9-0-0
YES: Muratsuchi, Hoover, Addis, Alvarez, Bonta, Castillo, Garcia, Lowenthal, Patel
ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 15-0-0
YES: Wicks, Sanchez, Arambula, Calderon, Caloza, Dixon, Elhawary, Fong, Mark González, Hart, Pacheco, Pellerin, Solache, Ta, Tangipa
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0-3
YES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Celeste Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas
ABS, ABST OR NV: Chen, McKinnor, Papan
SENATE FLOOR: 38-0-2
YES: Allen, Alvarado-Gil, Archuleta, Arreguín, Ashby, Becker, Blakespear, Cabaldon, Caballero, Cervantes, Choi, Cortese, Dahle, Durazo, Gonzalez, Grayson, Grove, Hurtado, Laird, Limón, McGuire, McNerney, Menjivar, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Padilla, Pérez, Richardson, Rubio, Seyarto, Smallwood-Cuevas, Stern, Strickland, Umberg, Valladares, Wahab, Weber Pierson, Wiener
ABS, ABST OR NV: Jones, Reyes
UPDATED
VERSION: June 12, 2025
CONSULTANT: Marguerite Ries / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0001049
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE Office of Senate Floor Analyses (916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) 327-4478 | AB 927 |
CONSENT
Bill No: AB 927
Author: Sharp-Collins (D)
Amended: 6/12/25 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: 6-0, 6/11/25
AYES: Pérez, Ochoa Bogh, Cabaldon, Choi, Cortese, Laird
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gonzalez
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/1/25 (Consent) - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: County superintendent of schools: inspection of public schools
SOURCE: California County Superintendents
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Public Advocates
DIGEST:
This bill, an urgency measure, (1) extends the timeline by which county superintendents of schools must visit and complete the textbook and instructional materials review of the schools identified for inspection, from within the fourth week of the school year to within the eighth week of the school year; and (2) requires the prioritization of schools to be reviewed, as specified.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
- Requires the county superintendent of schools to do all of the following, among other duties:
- Visit and examine each school in the county at reasonable intervals to observe its operation and to learn of its problems.
- Identify a list of schools, beginning with the 2021–22 fiscal year, for which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall inspect annually, and submit an annual report to the governing board of each school district that describes the state of the schools in the county. The list established in the 2021–22 fiscal year shall also be used as the list established in the 2022–23 and 2023–24 fiscal years. The list of schools shall be reestablished in the 2024–25 fiscal year and again every three fiscal years thereafter.
- Report the results of the visits and reviews on a quarterly basis to the governing board of the school district. The results of the visits and reviews shall include the determinations of the county superintendent for each school regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in #2, teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies.
- Enforce the use of state textbooks and instructional materials and of high school textbooks and instructional materials through a review that must be completed by the fourth week of the school year.
- Visit and examine each school in the county at reasonable intervals to observe its operation and to learn of its problems.
- Establishes the priority objective of the visits is to determine the status of all of the following circumstances:
- Sufficient textbooks.
- The condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of students or staff.
- The accuracy of data reported on the school accountability report card with respect to the availability of sufficient textbooks and instructional materials, and the safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities. (Education Code (EC) § 1240)
- Sufficient textbooks.
- Requires the list of schools described in #1(b) to be compiled as follows:
- The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools that were most recently identified for comprehensive support and improvement and additional targeted support and improvement pursuant to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, or identified as low performing under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act or any subsequent amendments to that act.
- The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools where 15% or more of the teachers are holders of a permit or certificate, such as a temporary or short-term permit, a substitute permit, a waiver, an intern credential, or any other authorization that is a lesser certification than a preliminary or clear California teaching credential.
- The list of schools exclude alternative schools and other schools accepted for participation in the Dashboard Alternative School Status program by the California Department of Education (CDE). (EC § 1240)
- The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools that were most recently identified for comprehensive support and improvement and additional targeted support and improvement pursuant to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, or identified as low performing under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act or any subsequent amendments to that act.
This bill:
- Extends the timeline, from within the fourth week of the school year to within the eighth week of the school year, by which a county superintendent of schools must complete the textbook and instructional materials review of schools that are identified on the list established in the 2024–25 fiscal year.
- Requires the county superintendent to prioritize reviewing, within the first four weeks of the school year when practicable, schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a complaint filed through the uniform complaint process, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks, or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of students or staff, or is not in good repair.
- Includes an urgency clause in order to ensure a sufficient timeframe to conduct the annual inspection of schools beginning in the 2025–26 school year.
Comments
Need for this bill. According to the author, “California’s Williams v. California settlement established fundamental requirements for all schools: well-maintained facilities, qualified teachers, and adequate learning materials. Due to the pandemic, the number of schools requiring Williams inspections is projected to grow by approximately 90%, reaching 3,400 schools across California, placing a significant burden on County Offices of Education. Rushing through inspections risks overlooking critical deficiencies in facilities, instructional materials, and teacher assignments—issues that disproportionately impact students in low-income communities. Extending the inspection period from four to eight weeks is essential to ensure thorough evaluations, helping vulnerable students avoid unsafe learning environments and ensuring access to fundamental conditions for learning.”
Williams v. State of California. The Eliezer Williams, et al., vs. State of California, et al. (Williams) case was filed as a class action in 2000 in San Francisco County Superior Court. The plaintiffs included nearly 100 San Francisco County students, who filed suit against the State of California and state education agencies, including the CDE. The basis of the lawsuit was that the agencies failed to provide public school students with equal access to instructional materials, safe and clean school facilities, and qualified teachers. A settlement agreement was reached in 2004; five bills implemented this agreement. The Williams settlement agreement:
- Established minimum standards and accountability systems regarding school facilities, teacher quality, and instructional materials;
- Prohibited the operation of the “Concept 6” calendar program which provided 163 days of classroom instruction, instead of 180 days;
- Required the Uniform Complaint Procedures to allow students, teachers, and others to submit complaints about insufficient instructional materials, teacher vacancies and misassignments, and unsafe or unhealthy facilities conditions;
- Required the county superintendent of schools to conduct annual inspection visits within the first four weeks of the school year for schools ranked in deciles one to three of the Academic Performance Index (API) to determine compliance with the new instructional materials and facilities standards and whether the schools’ School Accountability Report Cards (SARC) accurately reported this data;
- Required county superintendents of schools to review teacher misassignments;
- Required SARCs to be posted online and in paper form, and include accurate and current information regarding sufficiency of instructional materials, the number of teacher misassignments and vacancies, and the condition of school facilities;
- Updated K-12 audits and audit guides; and,
- Provided up to $800 million beginning in the 2005-06 fiscal year for districts to repair facility conditions that threatened health and safety, and approximately $25 million in 2004-05 for a one-time comprehensive facilities needs assessment of schools ranked in the bottom three deciles under the 2003 statewide API. Funding for this program became unrestricted pursuant to SBX3 4 (Ducheny, Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009), enacted in February 2009.
- Established minimum standards and accountability systems regarding school facilities, teacher quality, and instructional materials;
Frequency of school inspections. Existing law requires county superintendents of schools to visit and inspect schools identified on the “Williams list.” Existing law requires the review for sufficient textbooks or instructional materials to be completed by the fourth week of the school year. Existing law does not specify a point in the school year by which other reviews (facilities, teacher misassignments, and accuracy of SARC data) must be completed.
This bill extends the timeline by which county superintendents must conduct the inspection of schools on the 2024-25 “Williams list” relative to sufficient textbooks and instructional materials to within the first eight weeks of the school year. The 2024-25 list determines which schools a county superintendent must inspect for the 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years. The 2024-25 “Williams list” contains 3,396 schools, an increase of more than 1,513 schools, over the previous version of the list from 2021. https://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/ce/wc/willamsmonitoring.asp
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified 6/23/25)
California County Superintendents (co-source)
Los Angeles County Office of Education (co-source)
Public Advocates (co-source)
Alameda County Office of Education
California-Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP
Office of the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools
Orange County Board of Education
Small School Districts Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/23/25)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 76-0, 5/1/25
AYES: Addis, Aguiar-Curry, Ahrens, Alanis, Alvarez, Arambula, Ávila Farías, Bains, Bauer-Kahan, Bennett, Berman, Boerner, Bonta, Bryan, Calderon, Caloza, Carrillo, Castillo, Connolly, Davies, DeMaio, Dixon, Elhawary, Ellis, Flora, Fong, Gabriel, Gallagher, Garcia, Gipson, Jeff Gonzalez, Mark González, Hadwick, Haney, Harabedian, Hart, Hoover, Irwin, Jackson, Kalra, Krell, Lackey, Lee, Lowenthal, Macedo, Muratsuchi, Nguyen, Ortega, Pacheco, Patel, Patterson, Pellerin, Petrie-Norris, Quirk-Silva, Ramos, Ransom, Celeste Rodriguez, Michelle Rodriguez, Rogers, Blanca Rubio, Sanchez, Schiavo, Schultz, Sharp-Collins, Solache, Soria, Stefani, Ta, Tangipa, Valencia, Wallis, Ward, Wicks, Wilson, Zbur, Rivas
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chen, McKinnor, Papan
Prepared by: Lynn Lorber / ED. / (916) 651-4105
6/26/25 9:03:03
**** END ****
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Sasha Renée Pérez, Chair
2025 - 2026 Regular
Bill No: AB 927 Hearing Date: June 11, 2025
Author: | |||
Version: | March 28, 2025 | ||
Urgency: | Yes | Fiscal: | Yes |
Consultant: | Lynn Lorber | ||
Subject: County superintendent of schools: inspection of public schools.
SUMMARY
This bill, an urgency measure, (1) extends the timeline by which county superintendents of schools must visit and complete the textbook and instructional materials review of the schools identified for inspection, from within the fourth week of the school year to within the eighth week of the school year; and (2) requires the prioritization of schools to be reviewed, as specified.
BACKGROUND
Existing law:
- Requires the county superintendent of schools to do all of the following, among other duties:
- Visit and examine each school in the county at reasonable intervals to observe its operation and to learn of its problems.
- Identify a list of schools, beginning with the 2021–22 fiscal year, for which the county superintendent, or a designee, shall inspect annually, and submit an annual report to the governing board of each school district that describes the state of the schools in the county. The list established in the 2021–22 fiscal year shall also be used as the list established in the 2022–23 and 2023–24 fiscal years. The list of schools shall be reestablished in the 2024–25 fiscal year and again every three fiscal years thereafter.
- Report the results of the visits and reviews on a quarterly basis to the governing board of the school district. The results of the visits and reviews shall include the determinations of the county superintendent for each school regarding the status of all of the circumstances listed in #2, teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies.
- Enforce the use of state textbooks and instructional materials and of high school textbooks and instructional materials through a review that must be completed by the fourth week of the school year.
- Visit and examine each school in the county at reasonable intervals to observe its operation and to learn of its problems.
- Establishes the priority objective of the visits is to determine the status of all of the following circumstances:
- Sufficient textbooks.
- The condition of a facility that poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of students or staff.
- The accuracy of data reported on the school accountability report card with respect to the availability of sufficient textbooks and instructional materials, and the safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities. (Education Code (EC) § 1240)
- Sufficient textbooks.
- Requires the list of schools described in #1(b) to be compiled as follows:
- The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools that were most recently identified for comprehensive support and improvement and additional targeted support and improvement pursuant to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, or identified as low performing under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act or any subsequent amendments to that act.
- The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools where 15% or more of the teachers are holders of a permit or certificate, such as a temporary or short-term permit, a substitute permit, a waiver, an intern credential, or any other authorization that is a lesser certification than a preliminary or clear California teaching credential.
- The list of schools exclude alternative schools and other schools accepted for participation in the Dashboard Alternative School Status program by the California Department of Education. (EC § 1240)
- The Superintendent shall include on the list all schools that were most recently identified for comprehensive support and improvement and additional targeted support and improvement pursuant to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, or identified as low performing under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act or any subsequent amendments to that act.
ANALYSIS
This bill:
- Extends the timeline, from within the fourth week of the school year to within the eighth week of the school year, by which a county superintendent of schools must complete the textbook and instructional materials review of schools that are identified on the list established in the 2024–25 fiscal year.
- Requires the county superintendent to prioritize reviewing schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a complaint filed through the uniform complaint process, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks, or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of students or staff, or is not in good repair.
- Includes an urgency clause in order to ensure a sufficient timeframe to conduct the annual inspection of schools beginning in the 2025–26 school year.
STAFF COMMENTS
- Need for the bill. According to the author, “California's Williams v. California settlement established fundamental requirements for all schools: well-maintained facilities, qualified teachers, and adequate learning materials. Due to the pandemic, the number of schools requiring Williams inspections is projected to grow by approximately 90%, reaching 3,400 schools across California, placing a significant burden on County Offices of Education. Rushing through inspections risks overlooking critical deficiencies in facilities, instructional materials, and teacher assignments—issues that disproportionately impact students in low-income communities. Extending the inspection period from four to eight weeks is essential to ensure thorough evaluations, helping vulnerable students avoid unsafe learning environments and ensuring access to fundamental conditions for learning.”
- Williams v. State of California. The Eliezer Williams, et al., vs. State of California, et al. (Williams) case was filed as a class action in 2000 in San Francisco County Superior Court. The plaintiffs included nearly 100 San Francisco County students, who filed suit against the State of California and state education agencies, including the California Department of Education (CDE). The basis of the lawsuit was that the agencies failed to provide public school students with equal access to instructional materials, safe and clean school facilities, and qualified teachers. A settlement agreement was reached in 2004; five bills implemented this agreement. The Williams settlement agreement:
- Established minimum standards and accountability systems regarding school facilities, teacher quality, and instructional materials;
- Prohibited the operation of the “Concept 6” calendar program which provided 163 days of classroom instruction, instead of 180 days;
- Required the Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP) to allow students, teachers, and others to submit complaints about insufficient instructional materials, teacher vacancies and misassignments, and unsafe or unhealthy facilities conditions;
- Required the county superintendent of schools to conduct annual inspection visits within the first four weeks of the school year for schools ranked in deciles one to three of the Academic Performance Index (API) to determine compliance with the new instructional materials and facilities standards and whether the schools’ School Accountability Report Cards (SARC) accurately reported this data;
- Required county superintendents of schools to review teacher misassignments;
- Required SARCs to be posted online and in paper form, and include accurate and current information regarding sufficiency of instructional materials, the number of teacher misassignments and vacancies, and the condition of school facilities;
- Updated K-12 audits and audit guides; and,
- Provided up to $800 million beginning in the 2005-06 fiscal year for districts to repair facility conditions that threatened health and safety, and approximately $25 million in 2004-05 for a one-time comprehensive facilities needs assessment of schools ranked in the bottom three deciles under the 2003 statewide API. Funding for this program became unrestricted pursuant to SBX3 4 (Ducheny, Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009), enacted in February 2009.
- Established minimum standards and accountability systems regarding school facilities, teacher quality, and instructional materials;
- Frequency of school inspections. Existing law requires county superintendents of schools to visit and inspect schools identified on the “Williams list.” Existing law requires the review for sufficient textbooks or instructional materials to be completed by the fourth week of the school year. Existing law does not specify a point in the school year by which other reviews (facilities, teacher misassignments, and accuracy of SARC data) must be completed.
This bill extends the timeline by which county superintendents must conduct the inspection of schools on the 2024-25 “Williams list” relative to sufficient textbooks and instructional materials to within the first eight weeks of the school year. The 2024-25 list determines which schools a county superintendent must inspect for the 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years. The 2024-25 “Williams list” contains 3,396 schools, an increase of more than 1,513 schools, over the previous version of the list from 2021. https://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/ce/wc/willamsmonitoring.asp - Author’s amendments. The author would like to amend this bill to (1) clarify that the timeline extension applies only to the review of textbooks and instructional materials, and (2) that the reviews of issues for which the superintendent received a complaint or other reliable information about an insufficiency are to be prioritized within the first four weeks of the school year when practicable.
SUPPORT
California County Superintendents (Co-Sponsor)
Los Angeles County Office of Education (Co-Sponsor)
Public Advocates (Co-Sponsor)
Alameda County Office of Education
Orange County Board of Education
Small School Districts Association
OPPOSITION
None received
-- END --
Date of Hearing: April 23, 2025
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Buffy Wicks, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 927
Author:(Sharp-Collins) – As Amended Ver:March 28, 2025
Policy Committee: | Education | Vote: | 9 - 0 |
|
| ||
|
|
Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY:
This bill extends the time by which a county superintendent of schools must perform the required inspection for the 2024-25 fiscal year list of schools eligible for monitoring pursuant to the settlement of Williams v. State of California (Williams list) from the first four weeks of the school year to the first eight weeks of the school year. The bill takes effect immediately as an urgency measure.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Ongoing Proposition 98 General Fund savings to County Offices of Education (COEs) of an unknown but potentially significant amount, possibly in the hundreds of thousands to low millions of dollars, collectively statewide. Doubling the inspection period reduces costs by allowing COEs to limit the number of additional staff needed to perform the required inspections and reporting by the statutory deadline.
The number of schools within each county is not evenly distributed throughout the state nor do all COEs employ dedicated staff for this work. Many COEs report utilizing external consultants in addition to or in-lieu of full-time dedicated staff to perform these inspections annually and prepare the required reports. Costs range from $5,000 to approximately $200,000 depending on size of the county.
COMMENTS:
- Purpose. According to the author:
California's Williams v. State of California settlement established fundamental requirements for all schools: well-maintained facilities, qualified teachers, and adequate learning materials. Due to the pandemic, the number of schools requiring Williams inspections is projected to grow by approximately 75%, reaching 3,161 schools across California, placing a significant burden on COEs. Rushing through inspections risks overlooking critical deficiencies in facilities, instructional materials, and teacher assignments—issues that disproportionately impact students in low-income communities. Extending the inspection period from four to eight weeks is essential to ensure thorough evaluations, helping vulnerable students avoid unsafe learning environments and ensuring access to fundamental conditions for learning.
- Background.
Frequency of Inspections. The county superintendent of schools must visit schools identified on the Williams list within the first four weeks of the school year. COEs must then use the information collected during inspections to submit an annual report describing the state of schools within the county at a regularly scheduled November board meeting of the same year. This bill authorizes county superintendents to conduct the inspection of schools on the 2024-25 Williams list within the first eight weeks of the school year. The 2024-25 list determines which schools a county superintendent must inspect for each of the 2025-26, 2026-26 and 2027-28 school years. Published in April 2025 by the CDE, the 2024-25 Williams list contains 3,396 schools, an increase of more 1,513 schools over the previous version of the list from 2021.
COE Funding for Oversight. As a key part of the Williams settlement, the state provided funds to COEs for oversight purposes, including reviewing, monitoring and reporting on the state of schools ranked in deciles 1 to 3 of the Academic Performance Index and based funding on the number of identified schools within a particular county. Funding for this program became unrestricted pursuant to SBX3 4 (Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009) and later became part of the overall funding COEs receive under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). It is likely that the distribution of identified schools changed since the last appropriation, and the funding levels incorporated into the LCFF may not match an increased or decreased COE responsibility. Additionally, while funding under the school district and charter school LCFF allocation has nearly doubled since fiscal year 2013-14, the COE allocation total has increased much less significantly from approximately $1 billion in the first year to an estimated $1.5 billion in 2024-25.
Analysis Prepared by: Aaron Heredia / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
Date of Hearing: March 26, 2025
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Al Muratsuchi, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 927 (
Author:Sharp-Collins) – As Introduced Ver:February 19, 2025
SUBJECT: County superintendent of schools: inspection of public schools
SUMMARY: Extends the time during which the required the inspection of schools eligible for monitoring pursuant to the settlement of Williams v. State of California (Williams list) established in the 2024-25 fiscal year conducted by the county superintendent of schools to occur from within the first four weeks of the school year to within the eight weeks of the school year. Specifically, this bill:
- Requires, for schools that are identified on the list established in the 2024–25 fiscal year by the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) for which the county superintendent is required to inspect annually, and only in the fiscal years in which that list is used, a county superintendent to complete the visit and review by the eighth week of the school year.
- Requires the county superintendent to prioritize reviewing, within that timeframe, schools for which the county superintendent has received information from a survey, a specified filed complaint, or any other reliable source that the school does not have sufficient textbooks, or that a facility of the school poses an emergency or urgent threat to the health or safety of pupils or staff, or is not in good repair.
EXISTING LAW:
- Requires the county superintendent of schools to visit and examine each school in the county at reasonable intervals to observe its operation and to learn of its problems. (Education Code (EC) 1240)
- Requires, commencing with the 2021–22 fiscal year, the SPI to identify a list of schools, which is required to include charter schools, for which the county superintendent, or a designee, is required to inspect annually, and about which the county superintendent, or a designee, is required to submit an annual report, at a regularly scheduled November board meeting, to the governing board of each school district under the jurisdiction of the county superintendent, the county board of education of that county, and the board of supervisors of that county, that describes the state of the schools in the county. (EC 1240)
- Requires the list established in the 2021–22 fiscal year to also be used as the list established in the 2022–23 and 2023–24 fiscal years. Requires the list of schools to be reestablished in the 2024–25 fiscal year and again every three fiscal years thereafter. (EC 1240)
- Requires the Williams list to be compiled as follows:
- Include on the list all schools that were most recently identified for comprehensive support and improvement (CSI) and additional targeted support and improvement (ATSI) pursuant to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (Public Law 114-95) or identified as low performing under the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Public Law 89-10), or any subsequent amendments to that act;
- Include on the list all schools where 15% or more of the teachers are holders of a permit or certificate, such as a temporary or short-term permit, a substitute permit, a waiver, an intern credential, or any other authorization that is a lesser certification than a preliminary or clear California teaching credential. Requires, with the exception of alternative schools, all schools within a local educational agency (LEA) that fail to meet specified requirements to be included on the list for the applicable reporting cycle; and
- Exclude alternative schools and other schools accepted for participation in the Dashboard Alternative School Status program by the CDE. (EC 1240)
- Requires the annual report to include the determinations for each school made by the county superintendent, or the county superintendent’s designee, regarding the status of all of the specified circumstances, teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies. Requires the county superintendent, or the county superintendent’s designee, to use a standardized template to report the circumstances, teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies unless the current annual report being used by the county superintendent, or the county superintendent’s designee, already includes those details with the same level of specificity that is otherwise required. (EC 1240)
- Requires the county superintendent of the Counties of Alpine, Amador, Del Norte, Mariposa, Plumas, and Sierra, and the City and County of San Francisco to contract with another COE or an independent auditor to conduct the required visits and make all reports required. (EC 1240)
- Requires, on a quarterly basis, the county superintendent, or the county superintendent’s designee, to report the results of the visits and reviews conducted that quarter to the governing board of the school district at a regularly scheduled meeting held in accordance with public notification requirements. Requires the results of the visits and reviews to include the determinations of the county superintendent, or the county superintendent’s designee, for each school regarding the status of all of the circumstances, teacher misassignments and teacher vacancies. Requires, if the county superintendent, or the county superintendent’s designee, conducts no visits or reviews in a quarter, the quarterly report to report that fact. (EC 1240)
- Requires the visits to be conducted at least annually, and consist of not less than 25% unannounced visits in each county. (EC 1240)
- Requires in federal law, each state to use a set of indicators as a means to identify the lowest-performing schools for support and improvement. (Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) § 1111, 20 U.S.C. § 1111 et seq. (2015)).
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. According to the author, “California's Williams v. State of California settlement established fundamental requirements for all schools: well-maintained facilities, qualified teachers, and adequate learning materials. Due to the pandemic, the number of schools requiring Williams inspections is projected to grow by approximately 75%, reaching 3,161 schools across California, placing a significant burden on COEs. Rushing through inspections risks overlooking critical deficiencies in facilities, instructional materials, and teacher assignments—issues that disproportionately impact students in low-income communities. Extending the inspection period from four to eight weeks is essential to ensure thorough evaluations, helping vulnerable students avoid unsafe learning environments and ensuring access to fundamental conditions for learning.”
Williams v. State of California. In 2004, a settlement agreement was reached in the case of Williams v. State of California. Five bills implementing the agreement were signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger, and the court approved the agreement in 2005.
The Williams settlement agreement:
- Established minimum standards and accountability systems regarding school facilities, teacher quality, and instructional materials;
- Prohibited the operation of the “Concept 6” calendar program which provided 163 days of classroom instruction, instead of 180 days;
- Required the Uniform Complaint Procedures (UCP) to allow students, teachers, and others to submit complaints about insufficient instructional materials, teacher vacancies and misassignments, and unsafe or unhealthy facilities conditions;
- Required annual inspection visits within the first four weeks of the school year from the county superintendent of schools ranked in deciles one to three of the Academic Performance Index (API) in their counties to determine compliance with the new instructional materials and facilities standards and whether the schools’ School Accountability Report Cards (SARCs) accurately reported this data;
- Required county superintendents of schools to review teacher misassignments;
- Required SARCs to be posted online and in paper form and include accurate and current information regarding sufficiency of instructional materials, the number of teacher misassignments and vacancies, and the condition of school facilities;
- Updated K-12 audits and audit guides; and
- Provided up to $800 million beginning in the 2005-06 fiscal year for districts to repair facility conditions that threatened health and safety and approximately $25 million in 2004-05 for a one-time comprehensive facilities needs assessment of schools ranked in the bottom three deciles under the 2003 statewide API. Funding for this program became unrestricted pursuant to SBX3 4 (Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009), enacted in February 2009.
Frequency of inspections. Schools identified are required to be visited by the county superintendent within the first four weeks of the school year. This bill would authorize county superintendents to conduct the inspection of schools on the Williams list established in the 2024-25 fiscal year within the first eight weeks of the school year.
In counties with 200 or more schools in the Williams list, county superintendents are authorized to use a combination of visits and written surveys (may include paper, electronic, or online surveys) of teachers for the purpose of determining the sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials. If a county superintendent elects to conduct written surveys of teachers, the county superintendent is required to visit the schools surveyed within the same academic year to verify the accuracy of the information reported on the surveys.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many in-person inspection requirements were temporarily waived pursuant to SB 820 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 110, Statutes of 2020.
History of changes to the Williams list. SB 114 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 48, Statutes of 2023 requires the Williams list established in the 2021–22 fiscal year to also be used as the list established in the 2022–23 and 2023–24 fiscal years, using the list of schools identified in the 2019-20 fiscal year for CSI and ATSI, as well as the existing requirement to include schools where 15% or more of the teachers are holders of a permit or certificate, such as temporary or short-term permit, a substitute permit, a waiver, an intern credential, or any other authorization that is a lesser certification than a preliminary or clear California teaching credential. The 2021-24 Williams list of schools eligible for monitoring included 1,815 schools. SB 114 further requires the Williams list to be reestablished in the 2024–25 fiscal year and again every three fiscal years thereafter.
AB 599 (Jones-Sawyer), Chapter 667, Statutes of 2021, required that the list of schools compiled:
- Include all schools, including charter schools, identified for CSI and ATSI pursuant to federal law. For the 2021–22 fiscal year and until a new list of federally identified schools is established, requires the SPI to use the list of schools identified in the 2019–20 fiscal year for comprehensive support and improvement and for additional targeted support and improvement.
- Include on the list all schools where 15% or more of the teachers are holders of a permit or certificate, such as temporary or short-term permit, a substitute permit, a waiver, an intern credential, or any other authorization that is a lesser certification than a preliminary or clear California teaching credential.
- To exclude alternative schools and other schools accepted for participation in the Dashboard Alternative School Status program by the California Department of Education (CDE).
Prior to AB 599, the criteria for school identification on the Williams list included schools performance (deciles 1-3) under the former state accountability metric, the API. The Williams list last compiled in 2013 based on the API results included 2,182 schools. Charter schools were not required to be included on the list, but were given the option of participating in visits by the county superintendent.
According to the author’s office:
The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on chronic absenteeism rates has increased the number of schools that qualify for ATSI. Therefore, the three-year list of schools identified for Williams inspections, beginning in the 2025-26 school year, is projected to grow by approximately 75%, from 1,813 schools under the current 2021-24 list, to approximately 3,161 schools.
The criteria under AB 599 identified just over 1,800 schools beginning in 2021–22. The Budget Act of 2023 extended the use of 2021–22 list through the 2024–25 school year. The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on chronic absenteeism rates has increased the number of schools that qualify for ATSI. Approximately two-thirds of schools in California would have been identified for Williams monitoring prior to the Budget Act’s amendment.
A school may also be identified when its local educational agency failed to timely submit California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) or teacher assignment information to the CDE.
By June 30, 2025, the SPI must establish a new list of schools to be used for a three-year period beginning with the 2025–26 school year.
This increase in identifications will adversely affect the system’s capacity to perform high-quality and meaningful annual inspection visits to each school identified by the current criteria within the current four-week inspection window.
School identification under the Every Student Succeeds Act. The 2018–19 school year was the first time that states were required under the ESSA to determine which schools were eligible for CSI based on the criteria in the ESSA State Plan. Such identification must occur at least once every three years and include at least the lowest performing 5% of all schools receiving Title I funds. In addition, any public high school whose graduation rate has fallen below 67% for three consecutive years will be automatically eligible for CSI, regardless of its Title I status.
The ESSA also requires that states determine which schools are eligible for Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), based on student group performance. Under California’s ESSA Plan, schools that are not eligible for CSI will be eligible for TSI regardless of their Title I funding status if they have one or more student groups(s) that, for two consecutive years, meet the criteria applied to identify the lowest performing five percent of Title I schools. Normally, TSI eligibility will be determined annually. School identification for ATSI occurs on a three-year cycle. The criteria used to identify schools for TSI and ATSI are essentially identical. A school can only be eligible for one category of assistance. In other words, a school cannot be eligible for CSI and TSI (or ATSI) at the same time. In addition, schools in all three categories have the opportunity each year after their initial identification to exit support and improvement by meeting the exit criteria included in the ESSA State Plan.
Misassignments and the California State Assignment Accountability System (CalSAAS). Monitoring assignments of teachers involves reviewing all certification and assignment records for all certificated staff in the public schools of California. The monitoring is necessary to determine if educators hold the appropriate credential and authorization for the instruction they are providing or if they are otherwise legally authorized to serve via a permit, waiver, or other local assignment option.
According to a 2019 report by the Learning Policy Institute, California’s Positive Outliers Districts Beating the Odds, “The percent of teachers holding substandard credentials is significantly and negatively associated with student achievement. In our analyses, we used credentialing and experience as proxies for this knowledge and skill base (i.e., whether teachers hold a full credential, rather than an intern credential, temporary or short-term permit, or waiver for their teaching position). We recognize that a concentration of such teachers is also a sign of difficulty recruiting and retaining staff, which may signal broader differentials in teaching and learning conditions as well as teacher quality. Districts that have been able to avoid the effects of the widespread teacher shortages by recruiting and retaining fully prepared teachers are much more likely to produce strong student achievement for African American and Hispanic students as well as for White students.”
The CalSAAS was established by AB 1219 (Jones-Sawyer), Chapter 782, Statutes of 2019. The Commission on Teacher Credentialing developed and implemented a statewide-automated system for the annual monitoring of teacher misassignment in schools, including charter schools, and revised the responsibilities of LEAs for the monitoring of teacher misassignments.
Funding. As a key part of the Williams settlement, funds were provided to COEs for oversight purposes, including reviewing, monitoring and reporting on the state of schools ranked in deciles 1 to 3 of the API. Funding was appropriated based on the number of identified schools within a particular county. Funding for this program became unrestricted pursuant to SBX3 4 (Chapter 12, Statutes of 2009). It is likely that the distribution of identified schools has changed since the last appropriation, and the funding levels flexed in 2009 may not match an increased or decreased COE responsibility.
Arguments in support. Public Advocates, California County Superintendents, and the Los Angeles County Office of Education writes, “Our organizations collectively represent the interests of California’s students, including the plaintiff class in the historic Williams civil rights settlement, and the county superintendents who are today responsible for conducting credential monitoring and on-site inspections that ensure the proper conditions of school facilities and the sufficiency of instructional materials and textbooks. In 2021, our organizations co-sponsored legislation to update how schools are identified for monitoring (see Ch. 667, Stats. 2021).
AB 927 reflects our belief in meaningful and high-quality Williams monitoring by county offices of education. Every three years, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction identifies a list of schools for Williams monitoring and inspections. Due to the pandemic’s impact on attendance, the schools identified in the forthcoming three-year cycle are projected to grow by an unprecedented 75 percent statewide to a total of 3,161 schools. While every county is estimated to experience an increase in schools identified, 20 of the 58 counties are expected to double the number of schools identified with no additional funding to perform oversight inspections.
AB 927 is critical to addressing this problem. For the list of schools applicable to inspections in the 2025–26 school year, and for the three-year cycle in which that list is utilized, AB 927 provides additional time to perform the oversight activities required under the Williams legislation.”
Recommended Committee Amendments. Staff recommends that the bill be amended to add an urgency clause, at the author’s request.
Related legislation. SB 114 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 48, Statutes of 2023 requires the Williams list established in the 2021–22 fiscal year to also be used as the list established in the 2022–23 and 2023–24 fiscal years. Requires the Williams list to be reestablished in the 2024–25 fiscal year and again every three fiscal years thereafter.
AB 1078 (Jackson), Chapter 229, Statutes of 2023, requires that if a county superintendent of schools determines there are insufficient textbooks or instructional materials, as specified, the county superintendent to provide the school district with the opportunity to remedy the deficiency, and if the deficiency is not remedied the county superintendent is required to request to the CDE to purchase the textbooks or instructional materials necessary to comply with the sufficiency requirement.
AB 599 (Jones-Sawyer), Chapter 667, Statutes of 2021, updates the criteria used to identify schools for inspection by a county superintendent of schools for purposes of the Williams settlement regarding the sufficiency of instructional materials and school facilities.
SB 820 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 110, Statutes of 2020, temporarily waived many of the Williams inspection requirements due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
AB 1716 (Jones-Sawyer) and AB 2472 (Jones-Sawyer) of the 2019-20 Session both would have established a process for identifying schools required to be reported and reviewed by the county superintendent of schools. Both bills were held in the Assembly Education Committee.
AB 1219 (Jones-Sawyer), Chapter 782, Statutes of 2019. This bill requires the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to develop and implement a statewide automated State Assignment Accountability System for annual monitoring of teacher misassignment in schools, including charter schools, and revises local responsibilities for the monitoring of teacher misassignments.
SB 6 (Alpert), Chapter 899, Statutes of 2004, provided up to $800 million beginning in the 2005-06 fiscal year for districts to repair facility conditions that threaten health and safety and approximately $25 million in 2004-05 for a one-time comprehensive facilities needs assessment of schools ranked in the bottom three deciles under the 2003 statewide API.
SB 550 (Vasconcellos), Chapter 900, Statutes of 2004. Established minimum standards regarding school facilities, teacher quality, and instructional materials.
AB 1550 (Daucher), Chapter 901, Statutes of 2004. Phased out the use of the Concept 6 calendar by July 1, 2012, and set benchmarks for districts to reach the goal.
AB 3001 (Dymally), Chapter 902, Statutes of 2004. Encouraged the placement of qualified teachers in low performing schools; enhanced an existing oversight mechanism to ensure that teachers are qualified to teach the subject matter to which they have been assigned and to ensure that teachers of English learners are properly trained; and streamlined the process for highly qualified teachers from out of state to teach in California schools.
AB 2727 (Daucher), Chapter 903, Statutes of 2004. Established accountability systems to enforce the new minimum standards regarding school facilities, teacher quality, and instructional materials.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
ACLU California Action
Alameda County Office of Education
California County Superintendents
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Public Advocates
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by: Marguerite Ries / ED. / (916) 319-2087
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):