Education

The Open Enrollment Act authorizes the parent of a pupil enrolled in a low-achieving school to submit an application for the pupil to attend a school in a school district other than the school district in which the parent resides, as specified. The act defines "low-achieving school" to mean a school on a list created annually by the Superintendent of Public Instruction of 1,000 schools ranked by increasing Academic Performance Index score with the same ratio of elementary, middle, and high schools as existed in decile 1 in the 2008–09 school year. This bill would recast and revise the act. The bill would delete the definition of, and references to, the term "low-achieving school" in the act. The bill would instead generally revise the terminology of the act to specify that the parent of a pupil enrolled in a school district of residence, as defined, is authorized to submit an application for the pupil to attend a school district of enrollment, as defined. The bill would also delete from the act obsolete references to the Academic Performance Index and to the federal Race to the Top Fund.

(1) Existing law establishes the State Board of Education consisting of 10 members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of 2/3 of the Senate, as provided. This bill would require at least one member of the State Board of Education to be from the San Joaquin Valley. (2) Existing law requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to coordinate the development, on a cyclical basis, of model curriculum standards for required courses of study, including a career technical education course of study for pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, as specified. Existing law requires the Superintendent, upon adoption of those model curriculum standards, to develop a curriculum framework for career technical education, working in consultation and coordination with an advisory group consisting of classroom teachers, school administrators, parents, postsecondary educators, and representatives of business and industry. Existing law encourages the Superintendent, in convening the membership of the advisory group, to seek representation that is broadly reflective of the state population. This bill would require the Superintendent, in convening the membership of the advisory group, to ensure at least one member is from the San Joaquin Valley. (3) Existing law establishes the Department of Managed Health Care, which, among other duties, ensures the financial stability of managed care plans. Existing law establishes within the department the Financial Solvency Standards Board for the purpose of, among other things, developing and recommending to the director of the department financial solvency requirements and standards relating to health care service plan operations. Existing law requires the board to be composed of the director, or their designee, and 10 members appointed by the director, and authorizes the director to appoint individuals with training and experience in specified subject areas or fields. This bill would require at least one member of the Financial Solvency Standards Board to be from the San Joaquin Valley. (4) The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election as Proposition 71, establishes the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) , the purposes of which include making grants and loans for stem cell research, for research facilities, and for other vital research opportunities to realize therapies, protocols, and medical procedures that will result in the cure for, or substantial mitigation of, diseases and injuries. Existing law establishes the Citizen's Financial Accountability Oversight Committee that is required to review, among other things, the annual financial audit of CIRM. Existing law requires the Controller, the Treasurer, the President pro Tempore of the Senate, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Chairperson of the Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee to each appoint a public member of the committee. This bill would require at least one member of the Citizen's Financial Accountability Oversight Committee to be from the San Joaquin Valley. (5) Existing law establishes the California Veterans Board, comprising 7 members appointed by the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation, whose duties include determining the policies for all operations of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Existing law requires all members of the board to be veterans and requires one of the members to be a resident of a California veterans home. This bill would require at least one member of the California Veterans Board to be from the San Joaquin Valley.

Existing law establishes the California DREAM Loan Program, which authorizes a student attending a participating campus of the University of California or California State University to receive a loan, referred to as a DREAM loan, if the student satisfies certain requirements. Existing law prohibits a student from borrowing more than $4,000 within a single academic year and more than $40,000 in the aggregate under the program. Existing law prohibits a student enrolled in an undergraduate program from borrowing more than $20,000 as an undergraduate student and prohibits a student enrolled in a graduate program from borrowing more than $20,000 as a graduate student. This bill would instead prohibit a student enrolled in an undergraduate program from borrowing more than $4,000 within a single academic year, and a student enrolled in a graduate program from borrowing more than $20,500 within a single academic year. The bill would increase the aggregate limit under the program for a student enrolled in a graduate program to $118,500 as a graduate student, while maintaining the $20,000 aggregate limit under the program for a student enrolled in an undergraduate program, thereby increasing the overall aggregate limit under the program for a student who receives a DREAM loan for both undergraduate and graduate enrollment to $138,500.

(1) Existing law, the Charter Schools Act of 1992, authorizes the establishment, operation, and governance of charter schools. Existing law authorizes a charter school that has an approved charter to receive funding for nonclassroom-based instruction only if a determination for funding is made by the State Board of Education, as specified. The act prohibits, from January 1, 2020, to January 1, 2026, inclusive, the approval of a petition for the establishment of a new charter school offering nonclassroom-based instruction, as specified. This bill would extend that prohibition to continue through January 1, 2027. (2) Existing law, until January 1, 2026, sets out performance standards and procedures for the renewal of the charter of an existing charter school, including, among other things, the use of verified data, as provided. Existing law sets out revised standards and procedures that are operative on and after January 1, 2026, that, among other things, no longer requires a chartering authority to use verified data and instead requires a chartering authority to use only the data reported on the California School Dashboard in making a renewal decision, as provided. This bill would extend, until January 1, 2027, the operation of the performance standards and procedures for the renewal of charter schools that would otherwise be inoperative on January 1, 2026, and would delay the operation of the revised standards and procedures until January 1, 2027. To the extent the bill imposes new duties on local educational agencies acting as chartering authorities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (3) 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.