Senate Standing Committee on Education

This is the first time the contents of these bills will be heard in the Senate. Seeing we do have a quorum. No, we do not. Seeing no quorum. Let's begin as a subcommittee with the first bill. We welcome, Senator Will who will be testifying or presenting a bill on behalf of Senator Portantino. You may proceed when ready.

Thank you, Mister Chairman and Committee Member. SB 691 was amended in the Assembly Education Committee to address threatening language related to student truancy notices. Currently, the first notice a parent or guardian receives about a student's truancy includes the threats of prosecution of both the parent and student.

Research shows that a positive problem-solving approach to truancy is more effective than punitive, state-mandated legal language. In a study conducted in California, found that rewriting traditional truancy notifications that remove legalistic language increased notification effectiveness by 40%.

SB 691 encourages a more collaborative approach by allowing the appropriate school staff to discuss solutions with the student and family that will address their truancy. For these reasons, on behalf of Senator Portantino, I respectfully ask you to vote.

I thank you very much. Do we have any witnesses in support? Do you have any members of the public who would like to speak in support of the measure? Let's come back to the Committee. Sorry, is there anybody here in opposition to his measure? All right. Seeing no opposition. Thank you, Cordell. Let's come back to the Committee.

Comments, questions. Got a motion from Senator Cortese.

We can't do that yet. We've got to have a quorum first, but he will move it when appropriate.

Thank you. I appreciate that, Mister Portantino. Yeah. Well, we have a prospective motion. All right, well, thank you very much, Senator Wilk. That was awfully nice of you to do. And at such time as we have a quorum, we will accept the motion from Senator Cortese, and we'll vote on this measure. All right. We're making good time. Awesome.

Very good. That's me. Both of you. I feel like I should have Senator Laird sit for a moment. Senator Laird, welcome. We actually. We're at that point in the agenda, in our two bill agenda. You're the second bill, so welcome, sir, and welcome to your witnesses.

I wanted to give you that moment of quiet reflection that we talk about. And I also want to note I want to say hi to Julie. Julie in Missouri, if she's watching. Hi, Julie. Okay, so feel free. You will be presenting your measure, and I am looking forward to hearing it.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. This bill, SB 1440, authorizes the Stony Creek Joint Unified School District to operate on a four day school week until the end of the 2028 to 2029 school year. This authorization currently exists for a very few districts. One of them is in my Senate district in Big Sur.

Stony Creek is small and remote. It enrolls between 80 to 90 students. Over half of the student body are members of the Grindstone Indian Rancheria of Wintun-Wailaki Indians, which regularly engages in cultural practices and traditions during the weekday. Families experience challenges also making medical appointments, which are also often available during the weekday and located in other towns.

Both of these are factors contributing to the district's chronic absentee levels and a loss of learning for students. This will allow to address those issues. They'd still, the district would still be required to meet minimum instructional standards, reach an agreement with their bargaining units, maintain academic standards, and provide meals on all five days upon request. There were...

This was a late bill, and there was concern in the Assembly Education Committee from the California School Employees Association. They have since reached an agreement or an accord with this direction, and as a result, this bill has no registered opposition. And I debated whether to steal the thunder of the Superintendent, who is the witness...

You already have.

Because the Chair asked two questions, and she is ready to answer them really directly. And I thought I could do it in my opening statement, but I think I'm going to let that go. So at the appropriate time, I would request an aye vote. There's no registered opposition. And here to express support as the Superintendent of the district.

Welcome, Superintendent. How long did you travel to get here?

Just about an hour and 45 minutes.

Senator Laird hasn't spoiled it too badly for you? Good. All right, good. Hasn't rendered your trip unproductive, so welcome. You have, give or take, two minutes. We're not in a rush.

Well, thank you so much for your time this afternoon. My name is Emily Pendell. I am the Superintendent/Principal of the Stony Creek Joint Unified School District. We are a very tiny school district located in the rural mountains of Glenn and Colusa counties. This year, we're serving 60 students, TK through 12th grade, and that represents 32 families in our community. As the Senator said, we serve a very unique population of students. Over half of them are Native American.

And we have some challenges in our district because we're so rural, and so we are looking for a unique solution to our unique challenges there up in the hills, and that's how we've come across four day school week. So I am ready and willing to answer any questions that the Committee has regarding our bill.

I appreciate that you're so ready. That Senator Laird seems to...

I thought she was going to answer them in her statement, but we are ready in case you have any...

But I actually have it in writing, but we will just touch on them. Any other witnesses in support of the measure? If so, please come forward.

Barrett Snider on behalf of the Small School Districts Association in support.

Thank you, Mr. Snider. Anybody else?

Dusty Thompson, CBO, Glenn County Office of Ed.

Appreciate that. Is there any opposition to the measure? If so, come forward. Seeing none, let's come back to the dais. Any questions, comments, colleagues? The Superintendent, I do appreciate it. I asked a question. I really had two questions. One was, you know, to what extent have all families been apprised of or consulted? And I think you answered it's 31 out of 32, is pretty good.

I'm tempted to ask you what about that 32nd? But it's okay. But, and then I did have a concern that on the fifth day for those families that weren't members of the tribe as to whether or not that time was accounted for. In other words, a resource provided. I think you've answered that question pretty well.

So additional activities, many which I would say look very useful and so make this kind of an interesting model, I think, depending on how it goes for other small districts to replicate. Certainly in rural areas this is a common concern. So anybody else? Mr. Laird, would you like to close?

Just briefly, this has been an educational experience for me. Not just about the Stony Creek District, but one of the other three is in my district in Big Sur. It has 17 students in a k through 12 district, and it presents incredible, not the least of which during the rains the last two years of slide closed highway one and split the district of 17 students in half. So they had to figure out how to deal with half the student body, as small as it is, not having access to the campus.

And I think that we live in a one size fits all legislative world, and I think this gives local districts, and I think this will make four or five if this passes, to allow dealing with these unique things on their own terms in a way that the standards aren't relaxed but they have a way of dealing with absenteeism. So it's been a good process, and I would respectfully ask for an aye vote.

And real quick question, is there a sunset on this measure? I should know this very much. What is the sunset?

28-29.

So by then, we should have a pretty good sense of how this works. So, Superintendent Pendell, thank you. And honestly, thank you very much for getting me clear answers to the questions.

And, Mr. Chair, I was no dummy. This sunsets the year after you and I leave the Legislature, so this will be for other people.

Your legacy will continue on and on, Mr. Laird. So we have a motion from... Oh, wait. First, let's establish a quorum. Madam Consultant, please call the roll.

[Roll Call]

A quorum has been established, so we have a motion on this measure from Senator Wilk. Madam Consultant, please call the roll on SB 1440.

File item 2, motion is that the Assembly amendments be concurred in. [Roll Call]

That measure has four votes. It is out. I know I told folks in advance that I wasn't going to hold it open, but I'm going to give Senator Glazer five minutes. Now, we do have a. We had a motion on SB 691, Senator Portantino, but thank you, both of you, and I'll let you get back to work, Senator Laird.

And thank you for being with us, Superintendent. We had a motion from Senator Wilk. No, it was from Cortese. Sorry. On SB 691 from Senator Portantino, Madame Consultant, please call the roll.

File item one. Motion is that the Assembly amendments be concurred in. [Roll call]

That makes us three votes. Oh, how interesting. We're going to hold this open. All right, everybody, we'll recess and give Senator Glazer a chance to come vote. Thanks to Senator Wilk's vote.

Is back in session.

Senator Gonzalez is here. Madame Consultant, if you wouldn't mind reading, reopening the roll and calling the roll for her benefit.

File item one, SB 691 Portantino. The motion is that the Assembly amendments be concurred in. [Roll call] File item number two, SB 1440 Laird. The motion is that the Assembly amendments be concurred in. [Roll call]

All right, each of those measures has enough votes to get out. Thank you. And we're going to leave it open for just a few more minutes for Senator Glazer.

Recess once again as we wait for the last Member to come vote. Thank you. Senator Glazer, thank you for coming by. Madam Consultant, if you wouldn't mind, please reopening the roll for Senator Glazer to vote.

File item one, SB 691 Portantino. The motion is that the Assembly amendments be concurred in. The current vote is four to one, with the chair voting aye. [Roll call]

That measure has five votes to one. It is out. Last is SB 1440.

File item two, SB 1440 Laird. The motion is that the Assembly amendments be concurred in. The current vote is five ayes and no noes, with the chair voting aye. [Roll call]

That measure is out six votes to zero. Thank you. This adjourns the Senate Committee on Education. Thank you.