Education finance.

(1) Existing law requires a county superintendent of schools to certify in writing whether or not the county office of education is able to meet its financial obligations for the current and 2 subsequent fiscal years. Existing law requires a county superintendent of schools to approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the adopted budget for the school districts under his or her jurisdiction and to determine whether the adopted budget is consistent with a financial plan that will enable the district to satisfy its multiyear financial commitments. This bill would require the budgets of a county office of education and a school district for the 2011–12 fiscal year to project the same level of revenue per unit of average daily attendance as it received in the 2010–11 fiscal year, and would delete the certification requirement regarding the 2 fiscal years subsequent to the 2011–12 fiscal year. The bill would prohibit the Superintendent of Public Instruction from requiring a county office of education to do otherwise. (2) Existing law requires a revenue limit to be calculated for each county superintendent of schools, adjusted for various factors, and reduced, as specified. Existing law reduces the revenue limit for each county superintendent of schools for the 2011–12 fiscal year by a deficit factor of 19.892%. This bill instead would set the deficit factor for each county superintendent of schools for the 2011–12 fiscal year at 20.041%. (3) The Child Care and Development Services Act, administered by the State Department of Education, provides that children who are 10 years of age or younger, children with exceptional needs, children 12 years of age or younger who are recipients of child protective services or at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, children 12 years of age or younger who are provided services during nontraditional hours, children 12 years of age or younger who are homeless, and children who are 11 and 12 years of age, as funding permits, as specified, are eligible, with certain requirements, for child care and development services. This bill would instead provide that children from infancy to 13 years of age and their parents are eligible, with certain requirements, for child care and development services. (4) Existing law requires that a child who is 11 or 12 years of age and who is otherwise eligible for subsidized child care and development services, except for his or her age, be given first priority for enrollment, and in cases of programs operating at full capacity, first priority on the waiting list for a before or after school program, as specified. Existing law also requires contractors to provide each family of an otherwise eligible 11 or 12 year old child with information about the availability of before and after school programs located in the family's community. This bill would instead provide that the preferred placement for children who are 11 or 12 years of age and who are otherwise eligible for subsidized child care and development services is in a before or after school program. The bill would specify criteria for the provision of subsidized child care services for children who are 11 and 12 years of age. (5) Existing law, effective July 1, 2011, requires the State Department of Education to reduce the maximum reimbursable amounts of the contracts for the Preschool Education Program, the General Child Care Program, the Migrant Day Care Program, the Alternative Payment Program, the CalWORKs Stage 3 Program, and the Allowance for Handicapped Program by 15%, as specified. This bill would instead provide that the reduction in the maximum reimbursable amounts of the contracts for the programs listed above would be 11% or whatever proportion is necessary to ensure that expenditures for these programs do not exceed the amounts appropriated for them, including any reductions made subsequent to the adoption of the annual Budget Act. (6) Existing law requires that the cost of state-funded child care services be governed by regional market rates, and establishes a family fee schedule reflecting specified income eligibility limits. Existing law revises the family fee schedule that was in effect for the 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, and 2010–11 fiscal years to reflect an increase of 10% to existing fees, and requires the State Department of Education to submit an adjusted fee schedule to the Department of Finance for approval in order to be implemented by July 1, 2011. This bill would delete the provision requiring the fee schedule to reflect a 10% increase in family fees. (7) Under existing law (Proposition 98) , the California Constitution requires the state to comply with a minimum funding obligation each fiscal year with respect to the support of school districts and community college districts. Existing statutory law specifies that state funding for the Child Care and Development Services Act is included within the calculation of state apportionments that apply toward this constitutional funding obligation. This bill would, commencing July 1, 2011, specify that funds appropriated for the Child Care and Development Services Act do not apply toward the constitutional minimum funding obligation for school districts and community college districts, with the exception of state funding for the part-day California state preschool programs and the After School Education and Safety Program. The bill would make related changes in the calculation of the minimum funding obligation required by Proposition 98. (8) Existing law prescribes the percentage of General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts and community college districts for purposes of the provisions of the California Constitution requiring minimum funding for the public schools. This bill would state that specified sales and use tax revenues transferred pursuant to certain provisions of the Revenue and Taxation Code are not General Fund revenues for these purposes. The bill would provide that its provisions would be operative for the 2011–12 fiscal year and subsequent years only if one or more ballot measures approved before November 17, 2012, authorize those revenues to be so treated, and provide funding for school districts and community college districts in an amount equal to that which would have been provided if the tax revenues were General Fund revenues. The bill would require, if the aforementioned provisions of law are rendered inoperative because the ballot measure or measures are not approved, that by December 17, 2012, the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, determine the amount by which the minimum amount of moneys required to be applied by the state for the support of school districts and community college districts was reduced pursuant to the operation of the aforementioned provisions of law for the 2011–12 fiscal year. Following the determination of this amount, the bill would appropriate an amount equal to 17.8% of that amount from the General Fund to the Superintendent for each of the 2012–13 to 2016–17, inclusive, fiscal years in accordance with a specified priority order, and would appropriate 2.2% of that amount from the General Fund to the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges for each of the 2012–13 to 2016–17, inclusive, fiscal years, in accordance with a specified priority order. (9) Existing law requires the county superintendent of schools to determine a revenue limit for each school district in the county, and requires the amount of the revenue limit to be adjusted for various factors. Existing law reduces the revenue limit for each school district for the 2011–12 fiscal year by a deficit factor of 19.608%. This bill instead would set the deficit factor for each school district for the 2011–12 fiscal year at 19.754%. (10) Under existing law, county offices of education receive certain property tax revenues. Existing law requires a revenue limit to be calculated for each county superintendent of schools, and requires the amount of the revenue limit to be adjusted for various factors, including the amount of property tax revenues a county office of education receives. This bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the 2011–12 fiscal year to determine the amount of excess property taxes available to county offices of education, and would require the auditor-controller of each county to distribute those amounts to the Supplemental Revenue Augmentation Fund within the county exclusively to reimburse the state for the costs of providing trial court services and costs until those moneys are exhausted. By imposing additional duties on local agency officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (11) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to allocate, for the 2010–11 and 2011–12 fiscal years, a supplemental categorical block grant to a charter school that begins operation in the 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, or 2011–12 fiscal year. Existing law requires that this supplemental categorical block grant equal $127 per unit of charter school average daily attendance as determined at the 2010–11 2nd principal apportionment for schools commencing operations in the 2008–09, 2009–10, or 2010–11 fiscal year and at the 2011–12 2nd principal apportionment for schools commencing operations in the 2011–12 fiscal year. Existing law prohibits a locally funded charter school that converted from a preexisting school between the 2008–09 and 2011–12 fiscal years, inclusive, from receiving these funds. This bill instead would provide that, to the extent funds are provided, for the 2010–11 to the 2014–15 fiscal years, inclusive, a supplemental categorical block grant would be allocated to charter schools commencing operations during or after the 2008–09 fiscal year. The bill would provide that a locally or direct funded charter school, not just a locally funded charter school, that converted from a preexisting school between the 2008–09 and 2014–15 fiscal years, inclusive, would be prohibited from receiving these funds. The bill would provide that for, the 2010–11 to the 2014–15 fiscal years, inclusive, the supplemental categorical block grant received by eligible charter schools would equal $127 per unit of charter school average daily attendance for charter schools commencing operations during or after the 2008–09 fiscal year, as specified. (12) Existing law authorizes the governing board of a school district to terminate the services of any certificated employees of the district during the time period between 5 days after the enactment of the Budget Act and August 15 of the fiscal year to which that Budget Act applies if the governing board of a school district determines that its total revenue limit per unit of average daily attendance for the fiscal year of that Budget Act has not increased by at least 2% and if in the opinion of the governing board it is therefore necessary to decrease the number of permanent employees in the district. This bill would make this provision inoperative from July 1, 2011, to July 1, 2012, inclusive. (13) Existing law sets forth the minimum number of instructional days and minutes school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools are required to offer. This bill, for the 2011–12 school year, would reduce the minimum number of required instructional days and minutes by up to 7 days, and would reduce the revenue limit for each school district, county office of education, and charter school, as specified. The bill would require implementation of this reduction by a school district, county office of education, and charter school that is subject to collective bargaining to be achieved through the bargaining process, provided that the agreement has been completed and reductions implemented no later than June 30, 2012. These provisions would be operative only for the 2011–12 school year and only if the Director of Finance determines that the state revenue forecast does not meet a specified amount. (14) Existing law requires school districts, county offices of education, and special education local plan areas to comply with state laws that conform to the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) , in order that the state may qualify for federal funds available for the education of individuals with exceptional needs. Existing law requires school districts, county offices of education, and special education local plan areas to identify, locate, and assess individuals with exceptional needs and to provide those pupils with a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment, and with special education and related services as reflected in an individualized education program (IEP) . Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer the special education provisions of the Education Code and to be responsible for assuring provision of, and supervising, education and related services to individuals with exceptional needs as required pursuant to the federal IDEA. Existing law authorizes referral, through a prescribed process, of a pupil who is suspected of needing mental health services to a community mental health service. Existing law requires the State Department of Mental Health or a designated community mental health service to be responsible for the provision of mental health services, as defined, if required in a pupil's IEP. This bill would make these provisions concerning referral for mental health services inoperative as of July 1, 2011, would repeal them as of January 1, 2012, and would make other related conforming changes. (15) Existing law, for the 2008–09 to the 2014–15 fiscal years, inclusive, provides that the governing board of a school district is not required to provide pupils with instructional materials by a specified period of time following adoption of those materials by the State Board of Education. This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change in this provision by changing its section number. (16) Existing law, the Ortiz-Pacheco-Poochigian-Vasconcellos Cal Grant Program (Cal Grant Program) , establishes the Cal Grant A and B Entitlement Awards, the California Community College Transfer Entitlement Awards, the Competitive Cal Grant A and B Awards, the Cal Grant C Awards, and the Cal Grant T Awards under the administration of the Student Aid Commission, and establishes eligibility requirements for awards under these programs for participating students attending qualifying institutions. Existing law imposes requirements on qualifying institutions, requiring the commission to certify by October 1 of each year the institution's latest 3-year cohort default rate as most recently reported by the United States Department of Education. Existing law provides that an otherwise qualifying institution that did not meet a specified 3-year cohort default rate would be ineligible for new Cal Grant awards at the institution. Under the Cal Grant Program, for the 2012–13 academic year and every academic year thereafter, an otherwise qualifying institution with a 3-year cohort default rate that is equal to or greater than 30% is ineligible for initial or renewal Cal Grant awards at the institution, except as specified. This bill instead would specify that an otherwise qualifying institution with a 3-year cohort default rate that is equal to or greater than 30% is ineligible for initial and renewal Cal Grant awards at the institution, except as specified. (17) Existing law establishes the California State University under the administration of the Trustees of the California State University. Existing law authorizes the trustees to draw from funds appropriated to the university, for use as a revolving fund, amounts necessary to make payments of obligations of the university directly to vendors. Existing law requires the trustees to contract with one or more public accounting firms to conduct systemwide and individual campus annual financial statement and compliance audits. Existing law further requires that at least 10 individual campus audits be conducted annually on a rotating basis, and that each campus be audited at least once every 2 years. This bill would require the annual audits to be conducted in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. The bill would delete the requirements that at least 10 individual campus audits be conducted annually on a rotating basis, and that each campus be audited at least once every 2 years. The bill would require that the statements of net assets, revenues, expenses, changes in net assets, and cashflows be included as an addendum to the annual systemwide audit. (18) Existing law requires the governing board of each community college district to charge each student a fee, and sets that fee at $36 per unit per semester. This bill would raise the fee to $46 per unit per semester if the Director of Finance determines that the state revenue forecast does not meet a specified amount. (19) Under the California Constitution, whenever the Legislature or a state agency mandates a new program or higher level of service on any local government, the state is required to provide a subvention of funds to reimburse the local government, with specified exceptions. Existing law provides that no local agency or school district is required to implement or give effect to any statute or executive order, or portion thereof, that imposes a mandate during any fiscal year and for the period immediately following that fiscal year for which the Budget Act has not been enacted for the subsequent fiscal year if specified conditions are met, including that the statute or executive order, or portion thereof, has been specifically identified by the Legislature in the Budget Act for the fiscal year as being one for which reimbursement is not provided for that fiscal year. Existing law provides that only certain specified mandates are subject to that provision. This bill would specify that 2 additional mandates relating to community college districts are included among those that are subject to the provision. (20) The Administrative Procedure Act, among other things, sets forth procedures for the development, adoption, and promulgation of regulations by administrative agencies charged with the implementation of statutes. This bill would authorize the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Education, notwithstanding the procedures required by the Administrative Procedure Act, to implement the provisions of the bill that relate to the Child Care and Development Services Act through all-county letters, management bulletins, or other similar instructions. (21) This bill would provide that the implementation of the provisions of the bill related to the provision of child care services would not be subject to the appeal and resolution procedures for agencies that contract with the State Department of Education for these purposes. (22) This bill would express the intent of the Legislature that specified funding in the Budget Act of 2011 related to educationally related mental health services would be exclusively available only for the 2011–12 and 2012–13 fiscal years. (23) This bill would express the intent of the Legislature that the State Department of Education and appropriate departments within the California Health and Human Services Agency modify or repeal regulations pertaining to the elimination of statutes pursuant to this bill related to mental health services provided by county mental health agencies. The bill would require the State Department of Education and appropriate departments within the California Health and Human Services Agency to review regulations to ensure appropriate implementation of educationally related mental health services required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and of certain statutes enacted pursuant to this bill. The bill would authorize the State Department of Education and appropriate departments within the California Health and Human Services Agency to utilize the statutory process for adopting emergency regulations in implementing certain statutes enacted pursuant to this bill. (24) This bill would make conforming changes, correct some cross-references, and make other technical, nonsubstantive changes. (25) 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 these statutory provisions. (26) Existing law requires the State Department of Education to award grants to school districts, county superintendents of schools, or entities approved by the department for nonrecurring expenses incurred in initiating or expanding a school breakfast program or a summer food service program. This bill would make an appropriation of $1,000 for purposes of these grants. (27) The funds appropriated by this bill would be applied toward the minimum funding requirements for school districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution. (28) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.