BILL NUMBER: SB 322 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 1, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 13, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 29, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Leno
FEBRUARY 23, 2015
An act to amend Section 47605 of, and to add Section
49068.7 to, of the Education Code, relating to
charter schools.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 322, as amended, Leno. Charter schools: pupils: suspension and
expulsion: admissions: departures.
(1) The Charter Schools Act of 1992 (the act) permits teachers and
parents to petition the governing board of a school district to
approve a charter school to operate independently from the existing
school district structure as a method of accomplishing, among other
things, improved pupil learning. The act prohibits the governing
board of a school district from denying a petition for the
establishment of a charter school unless the governing board of the
school district finds that the petition does not contain specified
information, including, among other information, the procedures by
which pupils can be suspended or expelled.
Existing law enumerates the acts for which a pupil may be
suspended or expelled from a traditional public school and sets forth
procedures a school district is required to follow in suspending or
expelling a pupil. Existing law requires the governing board of a
school district to refer a pupil who has been expelled from school to
a program of study that meets certain conditions, including that the
program not be provided at a comprehensive middle, junior, or senior
high school, or at any elementary school.
This bill would require the charter school suspension and
expulsion procedures described in the charter petition to meet
certain minimum requirements, including meeting the constitutional
due process requirement of providing notice and an opportunity to be
heard. To the extent this bill would impose additional duties on
charter schools, it would constitute a state-mandated local program.
The bill also would specify that a pupil's departure from a charter
school that fails to adopt or follow the required expulsion
procedures shall not be considered as an expulsion for purposes of
referring the pupil to a program of study.
(2) The act requires, if the number of pupils who wish to attend a
charter school exceeds its capacity, preference to be extended to
pupils currently attending the charter school and to pupils who
reside in the school district, and authorizes other preferences as
permitted by the chartering authority on an individual school basis
and only if consistent with the law.
This bill would additionally require preference for siblings of
pupils attending the charter school and children of employees at the
charter school. The bill would instead authorize other preferences on
an individual charter school basis only if certain conditions are
met, including, among other conditions, that each type of preference
is approved by the charter school at a public hearing, and that no
preference requires mandatory parental volunteer hours as criterion
for admission or continued enrollment. The bill also would authorize
a charter school to encourage parental involvement, but would require
the charter school to notify the parents and guardians of applicant
pupils and currently enrolled pupils that parental involvement is not
a requirement for acceptance to, or continued enrollment at, the
charter school.
(3) The act requires, if a pupil is expelled or leaves a charter
school without graduating or completing the school year, the charter
school to notify the superintendent of the school district of the
pupil's last known address within 30 days, and is required to, upon
request, provide the school with certain information, including a
transcript.
This bill would require the charter school to notify the
superintendent of the school district within 10 days of the pupil's
departure and would require the charter school to provide
the reason for the pupil's departure. By imposing additional duties
on charter school officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
(4) This bill also would require each school district to draft and
implement a policy to annually collect data about teacher turnover
at each of its schools, and at each charter school it authorizes. By
imposing additional duties on school districts, and to the extent
this would impose additional duties on charter school officials, the
bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would
specify that the data collected shall be subject to the California
Public Records Act.
(5)
(4) This bill would state the intent of the Legislature
in enacting its provisions, and would update references and make
other nonsubstantive changes.
(6) The California Constitution requires local agencies, for the
purpose of ensuring public access to the meetings of public bodies
and the writings of public officials and agencies, to comply with a
statutory enactment that amends or enacts laws relating to public
records or open meetings and contains findings demonstrating that the
enactment furthers the constitutional requirements relating to this
purpose.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
(7)
(5) 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.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
act to do all of the following:
(a) Ensure equal access to interested pupils at charter schools
and prohibit practices that discourage enrollment or
disproportionately push out segments of already enrolled pupils.
(b) Ensure that charter school discipline policies are fair and
transparent.
(c) Ensure that a pupil's constitutional right to due process is
protected at charter schools.
(d) Consistent with Section 5 of Article IX of the California
Constitution, ensure that charter schools operate within the system
of common schools by remaining "... free, nonsectarian and open to
all students...," as stated in Wilson v. State Board of Education
(1999) 75 Cal.App.4th 1125, 1137-38.
(e) Gather data on pupil and teacher turnover
in the charter school environment.
SEC. 2. Section 47605 of the Education Code is amended to read:
47605. (a) (1) Except as set forth in paragraph (2), a petition
for the establishment of a charter school within a school district
may be circulated by one or more persons seeking to establish the
charter school. A petition for the establishment of a charter school
shall identify a single charter school that will operate within the
geographic boundaries of that school district. A charter school may
propose to operate at multiple sites within the school district, as
long as each location is identified in the charter school petition.
The petition may be submitted to the governing board of the school
district for review after either of the following conditions is met:
(A) The petition is signed by a number of parents or legal
guardians of pupils that is equivalent to at least one-half of the
number of pupils that the charter school estimates will enroll in the
charter school for its first year of operation.
(B) The petition is signed by a number of teachers that is
equivalent to at least one-half of the number of teachers that the
charter school estimates will be employed at the charter school
during its first year of operation.
(2) A petition that proposes to convert an existing public school
to a charter school that would not be eligible for a loan pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 41365 may be circulated by one or more
persons seeking to establish the charter school. The petition may be
submitted to the governing board of the school district for review
after the petition is signed by not less than 50 percent of the
permanent status teachers currently employed at the public school to
be converted.
(3) A petition shall include a prominent statement that a
signature on the petition means that the parent or legal guardian is
meaningfully interested in having his or her child or ward attend the
charter school, or in the case of a teacher's signature, means that
the teacher is meaningfully interested in teaching at the charter
school. The proposed charter shall be attached to the petition.
(4) After receiving approval of its petition, a charter school
that proposes to establish operations at one or more additional sites
shall request a material revision to its charter and shall notify
the authority that granted its charter of those additional locations.
The authority that granted its charter shall consider whether to
approve those additional locations at an open, public meeting. If the
additional locations are approved, there shall be a material
revision to the charter school's charter.
(5) A charter school that is unable to locate within the
jurisdiction of the chartering school district may establish one site
outside the boundaries of the school district, but within the county
in which that school district is located, if the school district
within the jurisdiction of which the charter school proposes to
operate is notified in advance of the charter petition approval, the
county superintendent of schools and the Superintendent are notified
of the location of the charter school before it commences operations,
and either of the following circumstances exists:
(A) The school has attempted to locate a single site or facility
to house the entire program, but a site or facility is unavailable in
the area in which the school chooses to locate.
(B) The site is needed for temporary use during a construction or
expansion project.
(6) Commencing January 1, 2003, a petition to establish a charter
school shall not be approved to serve pupils in a grade level that is
not served by the school district of the governing board considering
the petition, unless the petition proposes to serve pupils in all of
the grade levels served by that school district.
(b) No later than 30 days after receiving a petition, in
accordance with subdivision (a), the governing board of the school
district shall hold a public hearing on the provisions of the
charter, at which time the governing board of the school district
shall consider the level of support for the petition by teachers
employed by the school district, other employees of the school
district, and parents. Following review of the petition and the
public hearing, the governing board of the school district shall
either grant or deny the charter within 60 days of receipt of the
petition, provided, however, that the date may be extended by an
additional 30 days if both parties agree to the extension. In
reviewing petitions for the establishment of charter schools pursuant
to this section, the chartering authority shall be guided by the
intent of the Legislature that charter schools are and should become
an integral part of the California educational system and that the
establishment of charter schools should be encouraged. The governing
board of the school district shall grant a charter for the operation
of a school under this part if it is satisfied that granting the
charter is consistent with sound educational practice. The governing
board of the school district shall not deny a petition for the
establishment of a charter school unless it makes written factual
findings, specific to the particular petition, setting forth specific
facts to support one or more of the following findings:
(1) The charter school presents an unsound educational program for
the pupils to be enrolled in the charter school.
(2) The petitioners are demonstrably unlikely to successfully
implement the program set forth in the petition.
(3) The petition does not contain the number of signatures
required by subdivision (a).
(4) The petition does not contain an affirmation of each of the
conditions described in subdivision (d).
(5) The petition does not contain reasonably comprehensive
descriptions of all of the following:
(A) (i) A description of the educational program of the charter
school, designed, among other things, to identify those whom the
charter school is attempting to educate, what it means to be an
"educated person" in the 21st century, and how learning best occurs.
The goals identified in that program shall include the objective of
enabling pupils to become self-motivated, competent, and lifelong
learners.
(ii) A description, for the charter school, of annual goals, for
all pupils and for each subgroup of pupils identified pursuant to
Section 52052, to be achieved in the state priorities, as described
in subdivision (d) of Section 52060, that apply for the grade levels
served, or the nature of the program operated, by the charter school,
and specific annual actions to achieve those goals. A charter
petition may identify additional school priorities, the goals for the
school priorities, and the specific annual actions to achieve those
goals.
(iii) If the proposed charter school will serve high school
pupils, a description of the manner in which the charter school will
inform parents about the transferability of courses to other public
high schools and the eligibility of courses to meet college entrance
requirements. Courses offered by the charter school that are
accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges may be
considered transferable and courses approved by the University of
California or the California State University as creditable under the
"A" to "G" admissions criteria may be considered to meet college
entrance requirements.
(B) The measurable pupil outcomes identified for use by the
charter school. "Pupil outcomes," for purposes of this part, means
the extent to which all pupils of the charter school demonstrate that
they have attained the skills, knowledge, and attitudes specified as
goals in the charter school's educational program. Pupil outcomes
shall include outcomes that address increases in pupil academic
achievement both schoolwide and for all groups of pupils served by
the charter school, as that term is defined in subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 47607. The pupil outcomes
shall align with the state priorities, as described in subdivision
(d) of Section 52060, that apply for the grade levels served, or the
nature of the program operated, by the charter school.
(C) The method by which pupil progress in meeting those pupil
outcomes is to be measured. To the extent practicable, the method for
measuring pupil outcomes for state priorities shall be consistent
with the way information is reported on a school accountability
report card.
(D) The governance structure of the charter school, including, but
not limited to, the process to be followed by the charter school to
ensure parental involvement.
(E) The qualifications to be met by individuals to be employed by
the charter school.
(F) The procedures that the charter school will follow to ensure
the health and safety of pupils and staff. These procedures shall
include the requirement that each employee of the charter school
furnish it with a criminal record summary as described in Section
44237.
(G) The means by which the charter school will achieve a racial
and ethnic balance among its pupils that is reflective of the general
population residing within the territorial jurisdiction of the
school district to which the charter petition is submitted.
(H) Admission policies and procedures, consistent with subdivision
(d).
(I) The manner in which annual, independent financial audits shall
be conducted, which shall employ generally accepted accounting
principles, and the manner in which audit exceptions and deficiencies
shall be resolved to the satisfaction of the chartering authority.
(J) The procedures by which pupils can be suspended or expelled,
consistent with subdivision (d).
(K) The manner by which staff members of the charter schools will
be covered by the State Teachers' Retirement System, the Public
Employees' Retirement System, or federal social security.
(L) The public school attendance alternatives for pupils residing
within the school district who choose not to attend charter schools.
(M) A description of the rights of an employee of the school
district upon leaving the employment of the school district to work
in a charter school, and of any rights of return to the school
district after employment at a charter school.
(N) The procedures to be followed by the charter school and the
entity granting the charter to resolve disputes relating to
provisions of the charter.
(O) A declaration of whether or not the charter school shall be
deemed the exclusive public school employer of the employees of the
charter school for purposes of Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section
3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code.
(P) A description of the procedures to be used if the charter
school closes. The procedures shall ensure a final audit of the
charter school to determine the disposition of all assets and
liabilities of the charter school, including plans for disposing of
any net assets and for the maintenance and transfer of pupil records.
(c) (1) Charter schools shall meet all statewide standards and
conduct the pupil assessments required pursuant to Sections 60605 and
60851 and any other statewide standards authorized in statute or
pupil assessments applicable to pupils in noncharter public schools.
(2) Charter schools shall, on a regular basis, consult with their
parents, legal guardians, and teachers regarding the charter school's
educational programs.
(d) (1) In addition to any other requirement imposed under this
part, a charter school shall be nonsectarian in its programs,
admission policies, employment practices, and all other operations,
shall not charge tuition, and shall not discriminate against a pupil
on the basis of the characteristics listed in Section 220. Except as
provided in paragraph (2), admission to a charter school shall not be
determined according to the place of residence of the pupil, or of
his or her parent or legal guardian, within this state, except that
an existing public school converting partially or entirely to a
charter school under this part shall adopt and maintain a policy
giving admission preference to pupils who reside within the former
attendance area of that public school.
(2) (A) A charter school shall admit all pupils who wish to attend
the charter school.
(B) If the number of pupils who wish to attend the charter school
exceeds the charter school's capacity, attendance, except for
existing pupils of the charter school, shall be determined by a
public random drawing. Preference shall be extended to pupils
currently attending the charter school, siblings of pupils currently
attending the charter school, children of employees at the charter
school, and pupils who reside in the school district except as
provided for in Section 47614.5. Additionally, other preferences may
be permitted on an individual charter school basis, in accordance
with all of the following:
(i) Each type of preference shall be approved by the charter
school at a public hearing.
(ii) Preferences shall be consistent with federal law and the
California Constitution.
(iii) Preferences shall ensure access for pupils with
disabilities, academically low-achieving pupils, English learners,
and low-income pupils, as determined by eligibility for any free or
reduced-price meal program.
(iv) Preferences shall not require mandatory parental volunteer
hours as a criterion for admission or continued enrollment.
(C) In the event of a drawing, the chartering authority shall make
reasonable efforts to accommodate the growth of the charter school
and in no event shall take any action to impede the charter school
from expanding enrollment to meet pupil demand.
(3) Charter school suspension and expulsion procedures shall meet
the following minimum requirements:
(A) The procedures shall meet the constitutional due process
requirement of providing notice and an opportunity to be heard before
restricting a pupil's legitimate entitlement to public education.
(B) For expulsions, the procedures shall ensure all of the
following:
(i) The pupil is entitled to a formal hearing to determine if the
pupil shall be expelled.
(ii) At the hearing, the pupil or the pupil's parent or guardian
has a right to appear in person or to be represented by an attorney
licensed to practice law in California or by a nonattorney adviser,
to inspect and obtain copies of all documents to be used at the
hearing, to confront and question all witnesses who testify at the
hearing, to question all other evidence presented, and to present
oral and documentary evidence on the pupil's behalf, including
through witnesses.
(iii) At least 10 days before the proposed hearing date, the pupil
is provided written notice of the hearing, which, at a minimum,
identifies the date and place of the hearing, the specific facts and
charges upon which the proposed expulsion is based, the disciplinary
rules that relate to the alleged violation, and the procedures that
will govern the hearing, including those specified in clause (ii).
(iv) If the individual, panel, or board conducting the formal
hearing determines that the pupil shall be expelled, the individual,
panel, or board shall issue a written decision identifying the basis
for the decision, including all facts in support of the decision,
which shall be limited only to evidence presented at the formal
hearing and shall not consist solely of hearsay evidence.
(v) A record of the hearing is made so that a reasonably accurate
and complete written transcription of the proceedings can be made.
(4) Unless a charter school has adopted procedures for the
expulsion of pupils that are consistent with subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (3) and follows those procedures, a pupil's departure from
the charter school shall not be considered as an expulsion pursuant
to Section 48915.
(5) If a pupil is expelled or leaves the charter school without
graduating or completing the school year for any reason, the charter
school shall notify the superintendent of the school district of the
pupil's last known address within 10 30
days and shall provide that school district with a copy of the
cumulative record of the pupil, including a transcript of grades or
report card, health information, and the reason for the pupil's
departure. This paragraph applies only to pupils subject to
compulsory full-time education pursuant to Section 48200.
(e) The governing board of a school district shall not require an
employee of the school district to be employed in a charter school.
(f) The governing board of a school district shall not require a
pupil enrolled in the school district to attend a charter school.
(g) The governing board of a school district shall require that
the petitioner or petitioners provide information regarding the
proposed operation and potential effects of the charter school,
including, but not limited to, the facilities to be used by the
charter school, the manner in which administrative services of the
charter school are to be provided, and potential civil liability
effects, if any, upon the charter school and upon the school
district. The description of the facilities to be used by the charter
school shall specify where the charter school intends to locate. The
petitioner or petitioners also shall be required to provide
financial statements that include a proposed first-year operational
budget, including startup costs, and cashflow and financial
projections for the first three years of operation.
(h) In reviewing petitions for the establishment of charter
schools within the school district, the governing board of the school
district shall give preference to petitions that demonstrate the
capability to provide comprehensive learning experiences to pupils
identified by the petitioner or petitioners as academically low
achieving pursuant to the standards established by the department
under Section 54032, as it read before July 19, 2006.
(i) Upon the approval of the petition by the governing board of
the school district, the petitioner or petitioners shall provide
written notice of that approval, including a copy of the petition, to
the applicable county superintendent of schools, the department, and
the state board.
(j) (1) If the governing board of a school district denies a
petition, the petitioner may elect to submit the petition for the
establishment of a charter school to the county board of education.
The county board of education shall review the petition pursuant to
subdivision (b). If the petitioner elects to submit a petition for
establishment of a charter school to the county board of education
and the county board of education denies the petition, the petitioner
may file a petition for establishment of a charter school with the
state board, and the state board may approve the petition, in
accordance with subdivision (b). A charter school that receives
approval of its petition from a county board of education or from the
state board on appeal shall be subject to the same requirements
concerning geographic location to which it would otherwise be subject
if it received approval from the entity to which it originally
submitted its petition. A charter petition that is submitted to
either a county board of education or to the state board shall meet
all otherwise applicable petition requirements, including the
identification of the proposed site or sites where the charter school
will operate.
(2) In assuming its role as a chartering agency, the state board
shall develop criteria to be used for the review and approval of
charter school petitions presented to the state board. The criteria
shall address all elements required for charter approval, as
identified in subdivision (b) and shall define "reasonably
comprehensive," as used in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b), in a way
that is consistent with the intent of this part. Upon satisfactory
completion of the criteria, the state board shall adopt the criteria
on or before June 30, 2001.
(3) A charter school for which a charter is granted by either the
county board of education or the state board based on an appeal
pursuant to this subdivision shall qualify fully as a charter school
for all funding and other purposes of this part.
(4) If either the county board of education or the state board
fails to act on a petition within 120 days of receipt, the decision
of the governing board of the school district to deny the petition
shall be subject to judicial review.
(5) The state board shall adopt regulations implementing this
subdivision.
(6) Upon the approval of the petition by the county board of
education, the petitioner or petitioners shall provide written notice
of that approval, including a copy of the petition, to the
department and the state board.
(k) (1) The state board may, by mutual agreement, designate its
supervisorial and oversight responsibilities for a charter school
approved by the state board to any local educational agency in the
county in which the charter school is located or to the governing
board of the school district that first denied the petition.
(2) The designated local educational agency shall have all
monitoring and supervising authority of a chartering agency,
including, but not limited to, powers and duties set forth in Section
47607, except the power of revocation, which shall remain with the
state board.
(3) A charter school that is granted its charter through an appeal
to the state board and elects to seek renewal of its charter shall,
before expiration of the charter, submit its petition for renewal to
the governing board of the school district that initially denied the
charter. If the governing board of the school district denies the
charter school's petition for renewal, the charter school may
petition the state board for renewal of its charter.
( l ) Teachers in charter schools shall hold a
Commission on Teacher Credentialing certificate, permit, or other
document equivalent to that which a teacher in other public schools
would be required to hold. These documents shall be maintained on
file at the charter school and are subject to periodic inspection by
the chartering authority. It is the intent of the Legislature that
charter schools be given flexibility with regard to noncore,
noncollege preparatory courses.
(m) A charter school shall transmit a copy of its annual,
independent financial audit report for the preceding fiscal year, as
described in subparagraph (I) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (b), to
its chartering entity, the Controller, the county superintendent of
schools of the county in which the charter school is sited, unless
the county board of education of the county in which the charter
school is sited is the chartering entity, and the department by
December 15 of each year. This subdivision does not apply if the
audit of the charter school is encompassed in the audit of the
chartering entity pursuant to Section 41020.
(n) A charter school may encourage parental involvement, but shall
notify the parents and guardians of applicant pupils and currently
enrolled pupils that parental involvement is not a requirement for
acceptance to, or continued enrollment at, the charter school.
SEC. 3. Section 49068.7 is added to the
Education Code, to read:
49068.7. (a) Each school district shall draft and implement a
policy to annually collect data about teacher turnover at each of its
schools, and at each charter school it authorizes.
(b) Subject to existing state and federal law regarding privacy
and personal directory information, the data collected pursuant to
this section shall be classified as public records subject to the
California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code).
SEC. 4. The Legislature finds and declares that
Section 3 of this act, which adds Section 49068.7 to the Education
Code, furthers, within the meaning of paragraph (7) of subdivision
(b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution, the
purposes of that constitutional section as it relates to the right of
public access to the meetings of local public bodies or the writings
of local public officials and local agencies. Pursuant to paragraph
(7) of subdivision (b) of Section 3 of Article I of the California
Constitution, the Legislature makes the following findings:
By making public the reasons for teacher turnover at charter
schools, the public's interest in charter school operation and
transparency is furthered.
SEC. 5. SEC. 3. If the Commission on
State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by
the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for
those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section
17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.