Our team has produced a series of comprehensive client briefs detailing new education laws that were signed into law by Governor Brown in 2015. The briefs detail new laws organized by broad subject area and provide a summary of some of the major issues along with a full list of bills signed into law. Legislation signed by the Governor takes effect on January 1 of the next calendar year unless the bill specifically states otherwise.
Part 3: Changes in Education Law: 2015 - School Finance
Efforts to Fix School District Reserve Cap. The California School Boards Association (CSBA) fought a major battle this year to repeal or significantly weaken a cap on school district budget reserves that could go into effect under limited circumstances. That cap was implemented in last year’s state budget as a political deal between Governor Brown and the California Teachers Association (CTA) in an effort to keep CTA from opposing the Governor’s “Rainy Day Fund” initiative on the November 2014 ballot (known as Proposition 2, which was passed by voters). In 2015, CSBA and other education groups worked with Legislators to amend the law around this issue. SB 799, by Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), served as the main legislative vehicle for these discussions, but ultimately did not make it to the Governor’s desk. We expect CSBA and other groups to continue to push for a repeal of the reserve cap in 2016.
John B. Mockler School Finance Act. In 2015, the education community lost John Mockler, a long-time education advocate, former Executive Director of the State Board of Education, Secretary of Education, and senior staffer to Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco). He was well known among policymakers as one of the most knowledgeable people in the state regarding education finance and policy issues. He is probably best known for being the author of Proposition 98, the constitutional minimum funding guarantee for K-12 schools and community colleges. Shortly after his death, the Legislature and Governor passed AB 158 by Assembly Member Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach) to name the Education Code provisions related to Proposition 98 the “John B. Mockler School Finance Act.” Not only was John knowledgeable and respected for his work, he was also a kind and funny person whose absence in Sacramento has been felt.
State Budget and Related Trailer Bills. The annual Budget Act is the single most important piece of legislation acted upon by the Legislature and the Governor each year. The state’s budget cycle runs from July 1 to June 30. The budget process begins with the Governor’s Budget, proposed in January of each year, and culminates with the Governor’s signature of the Budget Act, which is constitutionally required to pass out of the Legislature on or before June 15. The budget process also includes a number of budget trailer bills that are passed and signed into law; budget trailer bills enact the statutory changes necessary to implement the annual Budget Act, and often include substantive changes in state policy.
2015-16 State Budget Act. The 2015-16 State Budget includes the Legislature’s initial Budget Act (AB 93), a second Budget Act bill (SB 97) that amends the initial Budget Act, and a number of “trailer bills” that include additional appropriations and changes in statutory language related to program details (listed below).
The 2015-16 state General Fund will spend $115.4 billion and transfers $1.9 billion to the Rainy Day Fund reserve (increasing the reserve to a total of $3.5 billion). The budget assumes the 2015-16 Proposition 98 guarantee is $68.4 billion, which is $7.5 billion higher than the 2014-15 Budget Act guarantee and $2.1 billion higher than the revised 2014-15 guarantee. Following are some of the key K-12 education elements of the Budget Act:
$6 Billion for Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)
The 2015-16 Budget appropriates an additional $5.994 billion for implementation of the LCFF. This will provide 51.52% gap closure in 2015-16 and brings the total of K-12 funds allocated through the LCFF to about $52 billion. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), this provides for 90% of LCFF entitlement targets to be funded in 2015-16.
$3.2 Billion in Discretionary One-Time Funds
The 2015-16 Budget appropriates about $3.8 billion in Proposition 98 K-14 funding as fully discretionary one-time funding that also counts towards paying down the existing mandate backlog. Of this, $3.2 billion is allocated to K-12 and will be distributed on a per Average Daily Attendance (ADA) basis. Districts, county offices, and charter schools should receive a little more than $530 per ADA.
County offices of education receive an additional $40 million of this discretionary one-time funding (distributed on the basis of county-wide ADA and the number of school districts in the county) for increased accountability responsibilities related to Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) oversight.
$897 million to eliminate remaining K-12 Deferrals
As required by the “trigger” enacted in trailer bill legislation last year, the 2015-16 Budget eliminates the remaining K-14 deferrals and produces the first budget without K-14 deferrals since 2000-01.
Early Learning and Child Care
The 2015-16 Budget Act increases spending on preschool and child care (both CalWORKS and non-CalWORKs programs) by $423 million over 2014-15 Budget Act funding levels, with a little more than half of that increase funded within Proposition 98. Most of the additional spending is for increased reimbursement rates and creating new slots.
Educator Effectiveness Training
The 2015-16 Budget includes $500 million in one-time funds for educator effectiveness. Of that amount:
- $490 million is provided for school districts, county offices of education, charter schools and special schools in an equal amount per certificated staff in the 2014-15 fiscal year. The funding may be used for the following: beginning teacher and administrator support and mentoring; professional development, coaching, and support services for teachers who have been identified as needing improvement or additional support; professional development for teachers and administrators that is aligned to state academic content standards; and activities such as training on mentoring and coaching certificated staff, and training certificated staff to support effective teaching and learning.
- $10 million is provided to the K-12 High-Speed Network to provide professional development and training related to network management and infrastructure.
As a condition of receiving funds, local educational agencies (LEAs) must develop and adopt a plan for expenditure of funds. Funds may be expended through the 2017-18 fiscal year.
Career Technical Education and ROC/Ps
The 2015-16 Budget establishes the California Career Technical Education Incentive Grant Program, a competitive grant program administered by the California Department of Education (CDE) to provide support for career technical education in grades 7 through 12. The program provides $400 million in 2015-16, $300 million in 2016-17, and $200 million in 2017-18 for competitive grants in three size (i.e., ADA) related spans (0-140, 140-550, over 550 average daily attendance). The new grant program:
- Requires a dollar-for-dollar match from each applicant in 2015-16, with an increasing local match required in 2016-17 and 2017-18;
- Specifies the sources of this local match and states that these sources cannot include funding received through the Career Pathways Trust program;
- Requires “positive consideration” be given to applicants who have not operated a Career Technical Education program; will serve low-income, English learner, and foster youth students; will serve students from schools with a high dropout rate; are located in areas with high unemployment rates; leverage other resources (e.g., Perkins, CPA, Ag Ed, labor, industry and philanthropic sources); collaborate regionally; provide infrastructure and equipment; or operate in rural districts; and,
- Requires applicants to submit a three-year plan for the funds with specified elements.
Various local education entities (districts, county offices of education, charter schools, and JPA-operated ROCPs) may apply for this funding, and may apply for renewal grants under specified circumstances.
Adult Education Block Grant
The Budget establishes the Adult Education Block Grant program and appropriates $500 million for adult education services provided through regional consortia. The State Superintendent (SPI) and Chancellor of the Community Colleges jointly approve consortia, including governance structures and funding allocations, with the advice of the Executive Director of the State Board of Education. Of this total funding, the appropriation to school district adult education programs, based on the maintenance-of-effort certification, is capped at $375 million. The remainder of the funding is allocated to consortia or consortia members by the SPI and Chancellor, with the concurrence of the Executive Director of the State Board of Education. The language also specifies that joint powers agencies may participate as adult education consortia members and that older adults may access programs that relate to employment or helping children succeed in elementary and secondary education.
Other K-12 Items
Among other things, the 2015-16 Budget also:
- Provides $50 million to the K-12 High-Speed Network to facilitate technology infrastructure improvements according to a tiered priority structure that focuses on LEAs lacking sufficient internet capacity to administer state assessments.
- Appropriates $273 million to the School Facilities Emergency Repair Account, to fulfill the terms of the 2004 Williams v. State of California settlement.
- Provides $67 million ($63 million in Prop. 98 and $4 million in federal funds) for a package of special education-related activities with the largest increase for expanding services for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with disabilities. This package includes $10 million in one-time funds to a county office of education (or two applying jointly) to provide technical assistance and to develop and disseminate statewide resources that encourage and assist local educational agencies and charter schools in establishing and aligning school-wide, data-driven systems of learning, and behavioral supports for the purpose of meeting the needs of the state’s diverse learners in the most inclusive environments possible.
- Provides $40 million to fund a 1.02% Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for the remaining K-12 categorical programs that receive COLAs.
- Provides a $10 million augmentation of the Foster Youth Services program which, among other things, covers foster youth living with their relatives and specifies that funds appropriated for the foster youth services program are intended to expand eligibility that aligns program requirements to reflect the establishment of the LCFF (see AB 854, Weber).
- Extends, by one year, the deadline for the State Board of Education to adopt evaluation rubrics, to October 1, 2016.
- Establishes homeless students as a subgroup for purposes of the unduplicated pupil counts used in LCAPs.
- Removes grade spans for pupil-to-teacher ratios in independent study programs and requires calculations of the ratios to be based on ADA rather than enrollment.
List of Budget Bills and Trailer Bills
AB 93 – Budget Act of 2015
SB 97 – Amendments to Budget Act of 2015-16
AB 104 – K-12 Education Budget Trailer Bill
SB 78 – LCFF Clean-up Trailer Bill
SB 81 – Higher Education Trailer Bill
Following are all of the school finance and budget related bills signed by the Governor in 2015:
AB 91 - Budget Cmt: Budget Act of 2015
Amends the Budget Act of 2014 by amending, adding, and repealing items of appropriation.
Chapter 1, Statutes of 2015
AB 93 - Weber (D): Budget Act of 2015
Makes appropriations for the support of State government for the 2015-16 fiscal year.
Chapter 10, Statutes of 2015
AB 104 - Weber (D): Education Finance: Education Omnibus Trailer Bill
Relates to education finance, including parental knowledge of developmentally disabled services, child care and development services eligibility, child care reimbursement rates, state preschool, child care for CalWORKs recipients, school facility construction and modernization funding, school district and community college district funding, adult education programs, home-to-school transportation funding, kindergarten program funding, career technical education, adult education, and special education.
Chapter 13, Statutes of 2015
AB 114 - Weber (D): Public Works: Building Construction
Relates to public works and building construction, including the definition of performance criteria for public works projects, the State Public Works Board membership, jurisdiction over public buildings, public higher education facilities revenue bonds, the process of public building ownership and leaseback, interest coupons and revenue bonds issued for state building construction, State Public Works Board bond authorization, and the yearly authorization of revenue bonds for local jail construction.
Chapter 14, Statutes of 2015
AB 158 - O'Donnell (D): School Finance: John B. Mockler School Finance Act
Relates to existing law that defines the words and phrases used to calculate the moneys to be applied by the State for the support of school districts and community college districts and provides the method for calculating the amount of moneys to be applied. Provides that those provisions shall be known, and may be cited, as the John B. Mockler School Finance Act.
Chapter 3, Statutes of 2015
AB 625 - Bonta (D): School Finance: Apportionments: Compliance Audits
Amends existing law which requires a school district must agree to an audit upon the receipt of an emergency apportionment through the SPI, and requires the audits to continue until the State Controller determines the district is financially solvent. Requires, for an audit conducted by the Controller, or his or her designee, the Controller, the SPI, and the district superintendent, or their respective designees, to meet before the audit to discuss audit related items.
Chapter 331, Statutes of 2015
AB 1064 - Hernandez R (D): Education Finance: Indirect Cost Rates
Amends existing law which requires the CDE or any other state agency that administers a grant or allocation of federal or state funds to a school district to allow an indirect cost rate that is not less than the indirect cost rate established by the department, unless a lower rate is required by law.
Chapter 344, Statutes of 2015
AB 1185 - Ridley-Thomas S (D): Los Angeles Unified School District: Procurement
Establishes a pilot program to authorize the Los Angeles Unified School District to use a best value procurement method for bid evaluation and selection for public projects that exceed a specified money threshold. Establishes various requirements applicable to the use of the best value procurement method under this authorization. Requires the district to submit an interim and final report to the appropriate committees of the Legislature on the use of such procurement.
Chapter 786, Statutes of 2015
SB 78 - Budget and Fiscal Review Cmt: Education Finance: Local Control Funding Formula
Relates to education finance, including the repealing of provisions regarding categorical education programs, the federal National School Lunch Program funding, the annual report regarding school district fiscal solvency, the review of a proposed county board of education annual budget, and the appropriation of a specified amount of funds to school districts and charter schools pursuant to the LCFF.
Chapter 19, Statutes of 2015
SB 80 - Budget and Fiscal Review Cmt: Income Taxes: Earned Income Credit
Allows an earned income credit against personal income tax. Requires the Franchise Tax Board to annually prepare a specified report and to provide that report to specified legislative committees. Provides that an addition to tax shall not be imposed if the applicable percentage for the earned income tax credit for the taxable year was less than the applicable percentage for that credit for the preceding taxable year. Imposes a penalty for failure to be diligent in determining eligibility for the credit.
Chapter 21, Statutes of 2015
SB 81 - Budget and Fiscal Review Cmt: Postsecondary Education: Budget
Relates to the postsecondary budget, including apprentices and vocational education programs, regional occupational center education programs, tuition awards under the Cal Grant Program, the Middle Class Scholarship Program, the Foster Care Education Program, community college budgets, the Career Technical Education Pathways program, a professional development grant funding program, community college basic skills instruction, and funding for California State University and the University of California.
Chapter 22, Statutes of 2015
SB 82 - Budget and Fiscal Review Cmt: Development Services
Relates to developmental services, including the leasing of developmental center grounds, the requirement that facilities for the developmentally disabled have secured perimeters, plans to close more developmental centers, eligibility for specified developmental centers, reports on savings from center closures, providing a copy of individual program plans to clients and reporting of that requirement, center annual performance objectives, center provider rates and minimum wage, and overtime for HISS services.
Chapter 23, Statutes of 2015
SB 97 - Budget and Fiscal Review Cmt: Budget Act of 2015
Amends the Budget Act of 2015 by revising items of appropriation and making other changes.
Chapter 11, Statutes of 2015
SB 101 - Budget and Fiscal Review Cmt: Budget Act of 2015
Amends the Budget Act of 2015 by revising items of appropriation and making other changes.
Chapter 321, Statutes of 2015
SB 103 - Budget and Fiscal Review Cmt: Education Finance
Relates to provisions governing education finance, including county child care subsidy plans, eligibility factors for the Middle Class Scholarship Program, reporting on the California State University Early Start Program, the evaluation of the California State University Doctor of Nursing degree pilot programs, a study of University of California and California State University student admission eligibility, local assistance for child care and developmental programs, and local education funding.
Chapter 324, Statutes of 2015
SB 148 - McGuire (D): School Districts: Reorganization: Local Control Funding
Enacts numerous provisions specifying computations to determine the funding, pursuant to the LCFF, of school districts that are, or proposed to be, affected by the various types of actions that may be undertaken to reorganize districts.
Chapter 448, Statutes of 2015
SB 371 - Hancock (D): School Districts: Special Taxes
Existing law authorizes school districts and community college districts to impose special taxes (parcel taxes) on pieces of property or taxpayers within the school district. School districts may exempt certain categories of people from these taxes, including persons 65 years old or older, people receiving supplemental security income, and/or persons receiving Social Security Disability Insurance. This bill simply clarifies that the exemption can apply to “any or all” of an exempted category's taxpayers.
Chapter 81, Statutes of 2015
SB 416 - Huff (R): Elementary and Secondary Education
Revises and recasts various provisions relating to elementary and secondary education, including repealing specified funding programs, revising the uniform complaint process, removing specified prohibitions on which funding programs a charter school can apply to, and expanding the financial assistance a school district can provide to pupils taking advanced placement and International Baccalaureate Diploma Program examinations and tests.
Chapter 538, Statutes of 2015
SB 436 - Liu (D): Education: Omnibus Bill
Specifies that the schoolsite representatives appointed to the advisory board would serve renewable terms. Deletes certain deferred maintenance allocations regarding the State school deferred maintenance fund. Relates to uses of school district deferred maintenance funds. Deletes provisions that provide funding to the Compton Unified School District, reporting requirements under the Chacon-Moscone Bilingual-Bicultural Education Act, and reporting requirements regarding funding to low performing schools.
Chapter 386, Statutes of 2015
