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 requires that a pupil be permitted to participate in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use facilities consistent with the pupil's gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the pupil's records. This bill would require that a pupil's participation in sex-segregated school programs and activities, including athletic teams and competitions, and use of facilities, including bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, and overnight accommodations instead be based upon the pupil's sex, as defined. (2) The Donahoe Higher Education Act sets forth, among other things, the missions and functions of California's public and independent segments of higher education and their respective institutions of higher education. A provision of the act applies to the University of California only to the extent that the Regents of the University of California, by appropriate resolution, act to make the provision applicable. A portion of the Donahoe Higher Education Act, known as the Equity in Higher Education Act, provides, among other things, that all students have the right to participate fully in the educational process, free from discrimination and harassment, and that California's postsecondary educational institutions have an affirmative obligation to combat racism, sexism, and other forms of bias, and a responsibility to provide equal educational opportunity. This bill, notwithstanding any other law, would require that a student's participation in sex-segregated athletic programs and activities and use of facilities, including bathrooms, locker rooms, showers, overnight accommodations, and student housing at a postsecondary institution be based upon the student's sex.

Existing law recognizes the California Interscholastic Federation ("CIF") to be a voluntary organization that consists of school and school-related personnel with responsibility for administering interscholastic athletic activities in secondary schools. Existing law requires the CIF to report, as provided, to the appropriate policy committees of the Legislature and the Governor on its goals and objectives with regard to, and the status of, among other things, gender equity in interscholastic athletics, including, but not limited to, the number of male and female pupils participating in interscholastic athletics in secondary schools, and actions it has taken in order to ensure compliance with Title IX of the federal Education Amendments of 1972. This bill would require the CIF to amend its constitution, bylaws, and policies to prohibit a pupil whose sex was assigned male at birth from participating on a girls' interscholastic sports team.