Amended IN Assembly April 25, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 378

Introduced by Assembly Member Limón
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Kalra)

February 05, 2019

An act to add Article 19.5 (commencing with Section 8430) to Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, relating to childcare.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 378, as amended, Limón. Childcare: family childcare providers: bargaining representative.

The California Child Day Care Facilities Act provides for the licensure and regulation of family daycare homes by the State Department of Social Services. The Child Care and Development Services ~~Act~~ Act, administered by the State Department of Education, requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to administer childcare and development programs that offer a full range of services for eligible children from infancy to 13 years of age, including, among others, resource and referral programs, alternative payment programs, and family childcare home education networks.

This bill would authorize family childcare providers, as defined, to form, join, and participate in the activities of provider organizations, as defined, and to seek the certification of a provider organization to act as the representative for family childcare providers on matters related to childcare subsidy programs pursuant to a petition and election process overseen by the Public Employment Relations Board or a neutral 3rd party designated by the board.

The bill would establish the scope of representation of the certified provider organization, and would require the Governor, through the Department of Human Resources, or in specified cases, through the State Department of Education and State Department of Social Services, to meet and confer in good faith with the certified provider organization on all matters within that scope of representation. The bill would require the parties to jointly prepare a memorandum of understanding if an agreement is reached, which would be binding on all state departments and agencies, and their contractors and subcontractors, that are involved in the administration of childcare subsidy programs. The bill would authorize the parties, if, after a reasonable period of time they fail to reach agreement, to agree to submit unresolved issues to the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service for mediation and would authorize either party to declare that an impasse has been reached and request the Public Employment Relations Board to appoint a mediator from the service to perform mediation.

The bill would authorize a certified provider organization to enter into an agreement with the Governor, through the Department of Human Resources, that provides that the state will require entities that make subsidy payments to family childcare providers, including the contractors or subcontractors of state agencies and departments, to deduct membership dues and other voluntary deductions from those subsidy payments.

The bill would require, if preservice or orientation trainings are held for family childcare providers by the state or a department, contractor, agency, or political subdivision of the state, that entity to provide a certified provider organization mandatory access to the entirety of the orientation and the ability to make a presentation about the organization and its activities, its negotiations and memorandum of understanding, and its membership at preservice or orientation trainings.

The bill would require an administrator or contractor of a state-funded early care and education program, as defined, that elects to provide certain mass communications, as defined, to family childcare providers or applicants of state childcare subsidy payments, to meet and confer with the provider organization or the certified provider organization concerning the content of the communication.

The bill would require a certified provider organization to establish a training partnership, as provided, made up of an equal number of representatives of the certified provider organization and designees of the Governor. The bill would require the partnership to make recommendations regarding, and oversee, any specified expenditures agreed upon in the memorandum of understanding, as provided. The bill would require the partnership to meet each month to identify gaps in the training available to family childcare providers and barriers that prevent family childcare providers from gaining greater skills and accessing postsecondary education, and issue recommendations, as provided.

The California Public Records Act requires a public agency to make public records available for inspection, unless an exemption from disclosure applies.

This bill would require the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Education, with the assistance of specified state departments and agencies, and their contractors and subcontractors, to make specified information regarding family daycare homes available, in manipulable electronic format, to provider organizations, as provided. The bill would provide that specified information ~~be considered confidential and~~ shall not be subject to disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) Limited access to quality, affordable early care and education takes a toll on families, educators, and communities across ~~our~~ the state. Parents cannot find childcare they can afford. Children cannot get the early learning they need to be ready for school. Early educators’ pay remains so low it is impossible to provide the basics for their own families.

(b) High-quality early care and education can dramatically influence the degree and pace of early childhood advances in reasoning, language acquisition, and problem solving, resulting in significant, long-term benefits to children, parents, and society. Other benefits, such as increases in parental earnings and employment when children have safe, stable care, are immediate. Yet millions of California’s children miss out on this care.

(c) Businesses benefit when employees have access to reliable early care and education due to cost savings related to lower rates of tardiness, absenteeism, and turnover, as well as greater concentration and productivity among employees who are parents.

(d) Numerous studies have quantified the vital role played by the early care and education industries in local, state, and regional economies. Investing in quality early care and education yields a high return on investment of up to 13 percent. Even so, licensed childcare spaces are only available for 23 percent of California children 0 to 12 years of age, inclusive, with working parents.

(e) California needs to improve the affordability of, access to, and quality of of, early care and education for all children in the state through increased, dedicated funding for the system, starting with ~~our~~ the state’s lowest income families.

(f) The early education workforce is almost exclusively female and predominantly people of color, including many recent immigrants, first-generation college students, and working mothers. Nearly half of early educators in California live in families that rely on public support, at an estimated cost of $166 million annually.

(g) Experienced early care educators who care for children under California’s state-funded childcare program are leaving the profession because extremely low reimbursement rates and a lack of access to employment benefits mean they cannot afford to provide for their own families. Turnover among early care educators is estimated at more than 30 percent per year, more than four times higher than among teachers in the public school system.

(h) Family childcare is the early care and education setting of choice for many families because of its warm homelike environment, convenience, and affordability. The flexibility offered by many family childcare providers is particularly vital to low-wage workers who are subject to highly unpredictable work schedules, and to the many California workers who work nontraditional hours and need childcare on evenings, overnights, and weekends.

(i) Family childcare providers’ vital role in the state’s early care and education system gives them unique insight into how quality, access, and stability could be improved for children and families.

SEC. 2.

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that every child is ready to learn when they enter kindergarten as well as to provide safe and appropriate before and after school care for schoolage children. In order to meet that goal, the Legislature acknowledges that numerous improvements need to be made to the early care and education system. These include improved and greater access to care, a workforce that meets the growing needs for care and matches the identified improvements needed to bring the highest quality of care to early learners, a rate system that provides the workforce with adequate reimbursement to ensure a living wage and provides enough of an incentive for others to join the workforce, a method for the workforce to collectively engage in matters that affect their working lives, and data that helps policymakers and others in the field to understand how to develop effective tools towards fulfilling the intent stated in this section.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to ensure that parents have the ability to secure safe, stable, affordable early care and education services for their children from birth to five years of age, inclusive, or in before and after school programs. This act does not prevent a parent from choosing a provider of their own choice.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to grant family childcare providers the right to democratically choose a representative to meet and negotiate in a formal process with the state over the operations of its early care and education system, while also preserving the right of family childcare providers to present their views to the state individually or through other groups.

SEC. 3.

Article 19.5 (commencing with Section 8430) is added to Chapter 2 of Part 6 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:

Article 19.5. Building a Better Early Care and Education System Act

8430.

This article shall be known, and may be cited, as the Building a Better Early Care and Education System Act.

8430.5.

(a) The purpose of this article is to promote quality, access, and stability in the early care and education system by authorizing an appropriate unit of family childcare providers to choose a provider organization to act as their unit’s representative on all matters specified in this article. It is also the purpose of this article to promote full communication between family childcare providers and the state by permitting a provider organization certified as the representative of family childcare providers to meet and confer with the state regarding the state’s early care and education system.

(b) This article does not change the family childcare providers’ status as employees or independent business owners or classify family childcare providers as public employees.

8431.

As used in this article:

(a) “Certified provider organization” means a provider organization that is certified by the Public Employment Relations Board as the representative of family childcare providers in an appropriate unit after a proceeding under Section 8434.

(b) “Family childcare provider” or “provider” means a childcare provider who participates in a state-funded early care and education program as specified in subdivision (e) and is either of the following:

(1) A family daycare home provider, as defined in Section 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code, who is licensed pursuant to the requirement in Section 1596.80 of the Health and Safety Code.

(2) An individual who provides early care and education in their own home or in the home of the child receiving care and is exempt from licensing requirements pursuant to Section 1596.792 of the Health and Safety Code.

(1) Includes family childcare providers as members.

(2) Has as one of its main purposes the representation of family childcare providers in their relations with public or private entities in California concerning the terms of their participation in state-funded early care and education programs.

(3) Is not an entity that contracts with the state or a county to administer or process payments for a state-funded early care and education program.

(4) Its organizational bylaws or other internal governing documents give family childcare providers the right to be members of the organization and to participate in the democratic control of the organization.

(d) Public Employment Relations Board” or “board” means the Public Employment Relations Board established pursuant to Section 3541 of the Government Code. The powers and duties of the board described in Sections 3514.5, 3520.5, and 3541.3 of the Government Code, and the respective implementing regulations, shall apply, as appropriate, to this article to the extent those procedures are not inconsistent with the procedures specified in this article. If a provision of this article is the same or substantially the same as that contained in Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 3500), Chapter 10.3 (commencing with Section 3512), or Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code, it shall be interpreted and applied in accordance with the regulations and judicial interpretations of the provision in those statutes. For purposes of this article, any references in Sections 3514.5, 3520.5, and 3541.3 of the Government Code to “employee” or “employees” shall be deemed to refer to a “provider” as defined in subdivision (b), any references to “employee organizations” shall be deemed to refer to “provider organizations” as defined in subdivision (c), any references to “exclusive representative” shall be deemed to refer to “certified provider organization” as defined in subdivision (a), and any references to “employer” shall be deemed to refer solely to administrators or contractors of a state-funded early care and education program.

(e) “State-funded early care and education program” means a program administered by the State Department of Education, the State Department of Social Services, or another department, agency, or political subdivision of the state, including programs established subsequent to the passage of this article, to subsidize early learning and care for children, but does not include the public education system.

8431.5.

The state action antitrust exemption to the application of federal and state antitrust laws shall apply to the activities of family childcare providers and their representatives authorized under this article.

8432.

Family childcare providers have the right to form, join, and participate in the activities of provider organizations of their own choosing. Family childcare providers also have the right to refuse to join or participate in the activities of provider organizations. This article does not change the rights of family childcare providers to represent themselves individually in their relations with the state, agencies or departments of the state, contractors of the state, parents, or others, or their rights to speak to and petition the government with respect to all aspects of the state’s early care and education program or any other topic.

8432.5.

Family childcare providers are not public employees, and this article does not create an employer-employee relationship between family childcare providers and the state or a public or private nonprofit entity for any purpose, including, but not limited to, eligibility for health or retirement benefits or vicarious liability in tort. This article does not alter the status of a family childcare provider as a business owner, an employee of a family, or a contractor.

8433.

This article does not alter the rights of families to select, direct, and terminate the services of family childcare providers.

8433.5.

(a) For purposes of this section, the board shall determine if an entity seeking information is a “provider organization” within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 8431, as follows:

(1) The general counsel of the board shall have the authority to determine if an organization is a provider organization upon application by that organization. The general counsel shall issue their determination within 10 days of receiving ~~such an~~ the application.

(2) If an organization is determined not to be a provider organization, the general counsel shall state the reasons for this determination. An applicant determined not to be a provider organization may appeal this adverse determination to the board within 30 days of the determination.

(3) Once a provider organization has been determined to be a provider organization by the general counsel of the board, this determination shall remain valid for a year.

(b) Within 10 days of receipt of a request from a provider organization, the State Department of Social Services shall make available in manipulable electronic format to that provider organization information regarding all family daycare home providers, as defined in Section 1596.78 of the Health and Safety Code, who are licensed pursuant to the requirement in Section 1596.80 of the Health and Safety Code, regardless of whether they care for children in the state-funded early care and education system.

(c) Within 30 days of receipt of a request from a provider organization, the State Department of Education, with the assistance of the State Department of Social Services and any state department or agency, or its contractor or subcontractor, in possession of the relevant information, shall collect information regarding any individual who has been a family childcare provider as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 8431 within the ____, including each family childcare provider’s name, home address, mailing address, county, work and cell phone ~~number,~~ numbers, email address, if known, and unique provider identification number, if applicable, and shall make that information available to the provider organization.

(d) The State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Education shall provide the certified provider organization with the name, home address, mailing address, county, work and cell phone ~~number,~~ numbers, email address, if known, unique provider identification number, if applicable, and license number, if applicable, of any family childcare provider within 30 days of the date on which that provider receives their first subsidy payment, and shall also provide the certified provider organization with a list of that information for all providers at least every 30 days unless more frequent or more detailed lists are required by an agreement with the certified provider organization. The information under this section shall be provided in a manner consistent with subdivision (f). This subdivision does not preclude a certified provider organization and the State Department of Social Services and the State Department of Education from agreeing to a different interval within which the departments must provide the certified provider organization with this information.

(e) If a provider organization has been certified as the representative of family childcare providers in an appropriate unit, subdivisions (b) and (c) shall not apply to requests by other provider organizations.

(f) A provider organization or a certified provider organization under this article shall be considered a family daycare organization for purposes of subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 1596.86 of the Health and Safety Code. All confidentiality requirements applicable to recipients of information pursuant to Section 1596.86 of the Health and Safety Code apply to provider organizations and shall apply also to protect the personal information of family childcare ~~providers~~ providers, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 8431. Information provided pursuant to this section shall be used only for purposes of organizing and representing family childcare providers.

(g) The name, home address, mailing address, email address, and phone numbers of a family childcare provider shall ~~be considered confidential information and~~ not be subject to disclosure pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code). This subdivision does not prohibit or limit the disclosure of information otherwise required to be disclosed by the California Child Day Care Facilities Act (Chapter 3.4 (commencing with Section 1596.70) of, and Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 1597.30) of, or Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 1596.90) of, Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code).

(h) Upon written request of a family childcare provider, the State Department of Education and the State Department of Social Services shall remove the family childcare provider’s contact information from the information referenced in subdivisions (b) and (c) before making those lists available to a provider organization. This subdivision shall not apply to any lists made available to a certified provider organization pursuant to this section or any other law or regulation.

8434.

(a) An appropriate unit of family childcare providers, as described in subdivision (f) below, may designate, in accordance with this article, the provider organization, if any, that shall be its representative for purposes of this article. The board shall, pursuant to the procedures in this section, certify a provider organization designated by an appropriate unit of family childcare providers as the representative of those providers for purposes of this article. There shall be no more than one certified representative for purposes of this article at any time.

(b) Requests for elections, challenges, competing claims, requests for intervention, and requests for decertification shall be filed with, received by, and acted upon by the board, in accordance with its rules and regulations, provided that a valid petition for a certification or decertification election shall be resolved by a secret ballot election among family childcare providers. Upon submission of ~~such a~~ that request, and at the direction of and at a date established by the board, the State Department of Education, with the assistance of the State Department of Social Services and any state department or agency, or its contractor or subcontractor, shall provide the board and the party seeking certification a list of all family childcare providers, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section ~~8431~~ 8431, within the ____ of the date the petition is submitted to the board. The board may designate a neutral third party to act on any of the requests filed with the board pursuant to this subdivision.

(c) (1) A provider organization petitioning for an election to be certified by the board as the representative for an appropriate unit of providers shall include in its petition proof of a 10-percent showing of interest designating the provider organization to act as the statewide representative of the providers. For purposes of the showing of interest, “family childcare provider” shall include any individual who has been a “family childcare provider” within the meaning of subdivision (b) of Section 8431 within ____. Proof of support may consist of, but does not require, any one of the following:

(A) Proof of dues payments.

(B) Dues deduction authorization forms.

(D) Authorization cards signed by providers.

(E) Petitions signed by providers, provided the purpose of the petition is clearly stated on each page.

(2) The board, or a neutral third party designated by the board to act on a request for an election, shall consider a document evidencing a family childcare provider’s support, or lack of support, for a provider organization valid if it was signed by the family childcare provider within two years of the date it is submitted to the board. For purposes of showing proof of support by a provider for a provider organization, the board shall accept signatures that meet the requirements of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Title 2.5 (commencing with Section 1633.1) of Part 2 of Division 3 of the Civil Code).

(d) A provider organization petitioning as an intervenor in an election shall demonstrate a 10-percent showing of interest in the same manner as described in subdivision (c).

(e) The election shall be conducted by mail ballot within 90 days of the receipt of a valid election petition.

(f) The only appropriate bargaining unit of providers is a statewide unit of all family childcare providers described in subdivision (b) of Section 8431.

(g) A certified provider organization shall represent each provider in the represented unit fairly with respect to matters within the scope of the certified provider organization’s role as representative of the bargaining unit for purposes of this article, without discrimination and without regard to whether the provider is a member of the certified provider organization.

8434.5.

The scope of representation shall not extend to the rights of families to select, direct, and terminate the services of family childcare providers. The scope of representation shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(a) The administration of laws and regulations governing licensing for providers.

(b) Joint labor-management committees.

(d) Expanded access to professional development and training opportunities for providers.

(e) Benefits for providers.

(f) Payment procedures for state-funded early care and education programs.

(g) Reimbursement rates, including, but not limited to, rate add-ons for providers who complete additional training, and other economic matters.

(h) Expanded access to, and funding for, food and nutrition programs.

(i) The deduction of membership dues and other voluntary deductions authorized by individual providers and allocation of the costs of implementing ~~such a~~ that deduction system.

(j) Expanded access to the state-funded early care and education program to families in need of subsidies.

(k)Any and all proposed regulations, to be adopted by the State Department of Education pursuant to this chapter, and any and all proposed regulations that apply to family daycare homes, to be adopted by the State Department of Social Services pursuant to Section 1596.81 of the Health and Safety Code, or revisions of those regulations, subject to the procedures set forth by Article 5 (commencing with Section 11346) of Chapter 3.5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code. The Governor, through the Department of Education, shall meet and confer regarding any such regulations before public notification as required by Section 11346.2 of the Government Code.
(k) (1) Reasonable written notice to the certified provider organization, except in cases of an emergency, as described in paragraph (2), as provided by the State Department of Social Services or the State Department of Education, of any law, rule, resolution, or regulation directly relating to matters within the scope of representation proposed to be adopted by either department. The departments shall give the certified provider organization the opportunity to meet and confer with the relevant department or the department’s designee.
(2) In cases of an emergency where the State Department of Social Services or State Department of Education determines that a law, rule, resolution, or regulation must be adopted immediately without prior notice or meeting with a recognized employee organization, the department or the department’s designee shall provide notice and an opportunity to meet and confer in good faith at the earliest practical time following the adoption of that law, rule, resolution, or regulation.
(l) A process for negotiated rulemaking, if agreed upon by the provider organization and the Governor as part of a memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to Section 8435.5, that includes the certified provider organization and designated representatives of the State Department of Education and the State Department of Social Services. The goal of the negotiated rulemaking shall be to develop, through the collaboration of the certified provider organization and the relevant department, proposed regulations and revisions to regulations that would improve the terms and work conditions of family childcare providers and the quality of state-funded early care and education programs. A proposed regulation developed through the negotiated rulemaking process shall be subject to the procedures set forth in Article 5 (commencing with Section 11346) of Chapter 3.5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
~~(l)~~

(m) Any changes to current practice other than those listed in subdivisions (a) to ~~(k),~~ (l), inclusive, that would do any of the following:

(1) Improve recruitment and retention of qualified providers.

(2) Improve the quality of the state-funded early care and education programs.

(3) Encourage qualified providers to seek additional education and training.

(4) Promote the health and safety of providers and the children in their care.

8435.

(a) The Governor, through the Department of Human Resources or, for purposes of subdivision (k) of Section 8434.5, through the State Department of Education and the State Department of Social Services, shall meet and confer in good faith regarding all matters within the scope of representation with representatives of a certified provider organization and, before arriving at a determination of policy or course of action, shall fully consider the presentations made by the certified provider organization on behalf of the family childcare providers it represents.

(b) As used in this section, “meet and confer in good faith” means that the Governor, through the Department of Human Resources or, for purposes of subdivision (k) of Section 8434.5, the State Department of Education and State Department of Social Services, and representatives of the certified provider organization shall have the mutual obligation to meet and confer promptly upon request by either party and continue for a reasonable period of time in order to freely exchange information, opinions, and proposals. The duty to meet and confer in good faith also requires the parties to begin negotiations sufficiently in advance of the adoption of the state’s final budget for the ensuing fiscal year so that there is adequate time for agreement to be reached before the adoption of the final budget and for the resolution of an impasse.

8435.5.

(a) If an agreement is reached between the Governor, through the Department of Human Resources, and the certified provider organization, they shall jointly prepare a written memorandum of understanding. Any portions of the memorandum of understanding requiring appropriation by the Legislature or statutory revisions shall be subject to legislative approval of those appropriations or statutory revisions.

(b) A memorandum of understanding between the Governor, through the Department of Human Resources, and the certified provider organization is shall be binding on all state departments and agencies that are involved in the administration of the state-funded early care and education program and the relevant contractors or subcontractors of those departments and agencies.

(c) An agreement pursuant to this section may provide for binding arbitration of grievances concerning the interpretation, application, or violation of the agreement.

(d) This article does not alter the requirements governing the early care and education reimbursement system that are set forth in Section 8222.

8436.

(a) A certified provider organization shall have the right to enter into an agreement with the Governor, through the Department of Human Resources, that provides that the state will require entities that make subsidy payments to family childcare providers, including the contractors or subcontractors of state agencies and departments, to deduct membership dues and other voluntary deductions from those subsidy payments.

(b) If the deduction of membership dues or other voluntary deductions from a provider’s subsidy payments requires action by more than one agency, department, contractor, or subcontractor, the certified provider organization shall establish procedures to ensure both of the following:

(1) The total amount deducted does not exceed the total dues and other voluntary deductions owed by that provider.

(2) The administrative procedures for deducting dues and other voluntary deductions are reasonable.

(c) The state, its agencies and departments, and their contractors and subcontractors shall not be liable in any action by a provider seeking recovery of, or damage for, improper calculation or use of dues or other voluntary deductions.

(d) An entity that makes subsidy payments to providers shall do all of the following:

(1) Rely on a certification from the provider organization or certified provider organization requesting a deduction or reduction that it has and will maintain an authorization, signed by the individual provider from whose subsidy the deduction or reduction is to be made. A provider organization or certified provider organization that certifies that it has and will maintain individual provider authorizations shall not be required to provide a copy of an individual authorization to the entity unless a dispute arises about the existence or terms of the authorization. The provider organization or certified provider organization shall indemnify the entity for any claims made by the provider for deductions made in reliance on that certification.

(2) Direct provider requests to cancel or change deductions for a provider organization or certified provider organization to the provider organization or certified provider organization, rather than to the entity. The entity shall rely on information provided by the provider organization or certified provider organization regarding whether deductions for a provider organization or certified provider organization were properly canceled or changed, and the provider organization or certified provider organization shall indemnify the entity for any claims made by the provider for deductions made in reliance on that information. Deductions may be revoked only pursuant to the terms of the provider’s written authorization.

(3) After receiving notification from a provider organization or a certified provider organization that it possesses a written authorization for deduction, commence the first deduction in the next pay period after the entity receives the notification.

8436.5.

(a) It is unlawful for the state, including its agencies, boards, commissions, departments, public benefit corporations, political subdivisions, contractors, subcontractors, or employees, to do to the family childcare providers, provider organizations, or certified provider organizations any of the things made unlawful under Sections 3519 and 3550 of the Government Code.

(b) It shall be unlawful for a provider organization or a certified provider organization to do to the state or to the providers any of the things made unlawful under Section 3519.5 of the Government Code.

(c) For purposes of subdivisions (a) and (b), references in Sections 3519, 3519.5, and 3550 of the Government Code to “employees” shall be deemed to refer to “providers” as defined by subdivision (b) of Section 8431, references to “employee organization” shall be deemed to refer to “provider organization” as defined by subdivision (c) of Section 8431, references to “recognized employee organization” shall be deemed to refer to “certified provider organization” as defined by subdivision (a) of Section 8431, references to “employers” shall be deemed to refer solely to administrators or contractors of a state-funded early care and education program, and references to the “state” includes its agencies, boards, commissions, departments, public benefit corporations, political subdivisions, contractors, subcontractors, or employees.

(d) For purposes of subdivisions (a) and (b), references in subdivision (e) of Section 3519 of, and subdivision (d) of Section 3519.5 of, the Government Code to “the mediation procedure set forth in Section 3518” shall be deemed to refer to the impasse procedures set forth in Section 8437.5.

(e) The initial determination as to whether charges of unfair practices are justified and, if so, what remedy is necessary to effectuate the purposes of this article shall be a matter within the exclusive jurisdiction of the board.

8437.5.

If after a reasonable period of time the parties fail to reach agreement, the parties may agree to submit unresolved issues to the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service established within the Public Employment Relations Board for mediation, or either party may declare that an impasse has been reached and request the board to appoint a mediator from the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service. A memorandum of understanding reached by means of mediation is subject to appropriation by the Legislature and necessary statutory revisions.

8438.

(a) If preservice or orientation trainings are held for family childcare providers by the state or a department, contractor, agency, or political subdivision of the state, that entity shall provide a certified provider organization mandatory access to the entirety of ~~such~~ those orientations and the ability to make a presentation about the organization and its activities, its negotiations and memorandum of understanding, and membership at the preservice or orientation trainings. The state or a department, contractor, agency, or political subdivision of the state shall notify the certified provider organization of its preservice or orientation trainings not less than 10 days in advance of ~~such a~~ that training. If participation in an orientation is limited to current providers, the date, time, and place of the orientation shall not be disclosed to anyone other than the providers, the certified provider organization, or a vendor that is contracted to provide a service for purposes of the orientation.

(b) The structure, time, and manner of certified provider organization access to preservice trainings and orientations held for providers by the state, or a department, contractor, agency, or political subdivision of the state, are within the scope of representation as described in Section 8434.5. This section does not prohibit agreements between a certified provider organization and the Governor that provide for preservice trainings and orientations that vary from the requirements of subdivision (a). If such an agreement is adopted as part of a memorandum of understanding pursuant to Section 8435.5, the requirements of this section shall not apply to the extent they are inconsistent with the agreement. In the absence of a mutual agreement regarding preservice trainings or orientations, all of the requirements of this section shall apply.

8439.

(a) This section shall apply only if a provider organization has been certified pursuant to Section 8434.

(b) If an administrator or contractor of a state-funded early care and education program chooses to disseminate mass communications to family childcare providers or applicants for state childcare subsidy payments concerning providers’ rights to join or support a provider organization or a certified provider organization, or to refrain from joining or supporting a provider organization or a certified provider organization, it shall meet and confer with the provider organization or certified provider organization concerning the content of the mass communication.

(c) For purposes of this section, a “mass communication” means a written document, or script for an oral or recorded presentation or message, that is intended for delivery to multiple providers.

8439.5.

(a) If a provider organization is certified pursuant to Section 8434, the state and the certified provider organization shall establish a training partnership that will consist of a Partnership on Childcare Training, Education, and Quality Improvement, made up of an equal number of representatives of the certified provider organization and designees of the Governor, but not to exceed ____ total representatives and designees. The partnership shall make recommendations regarding, and oversee, the expenditures described in subdivision (e). The partnership shall annually be provided a report describing how the funds described in subdivision (e) were spent by each state department, agency, contractor, or political subdivision receiving those funds. The partnership may consult with early education and care advocates, the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designees, representatives of community colleges, postsecondary educational institutions, resource and referral networks, workforce investment boards, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards of the Department of Industrial Relations, organizations that operate training programs, apprenticeship programs, and early education and care employers.

(b) The partnership shall meet each month, either in person or via teleconference, to identify gaps in the training available to family childcare providers and barriers that prevent family childcare providers from gaining greater skills and accessing postsecondary education, and issue recommendations, to be made publicly available on the State Department of Social Services and State Department of Education internet websites, on a biannual basis to improve the quality of care offered by licensed and ~~licensed-exempt~~ license-exempt family childcare providers. A meeting held pursuant to this section shall not be considered a meeting of a legislative body pursuant to the Ralph M. Brown Act (Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code), nor shall they be considered meetings of a state body pursuant to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

(c) The partnership shall play a coordinating role in ensuring that the training offered to providers meets the state’s needs for the overall childcare workforce, satisfies the health, safety, and educational standards prescribed by the state, aligns with the state’s quality rating systems, and identifies and works to eliminate barriers to providers accessing training in order to create a sustainable career pathway for the early education workforce.

(d) The partnership’s recommendations may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Ways to access federal and private funding for training to expand capacity to existing state training resources, such as general education classes and English language learner classes.

(2) Ways to expand and improve provider training and skills on subjects including, but not limited to, occupational health and safety, child literacy, children with special needs, and children’s social and emotional development.

(3) Ways to support providers who seek to obtain training or higher education credentials in child development or a related field.

(4) Ways to work with existing training programs and educational institutions, including, but not limited to, resource and referral networks, community colleges, workforce investment boards, and apprenticeship programs.

(5) Ways to make training and education, which may include credit-earning courses and training at accredited institutions of higher education, available to childcare workers and other workers employed by childcare centers and schools.

(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that the recommendations of the partnership are funded by contributions agreed to for that purpose in the memorandum of understanding between the certified provider organization and the Governor, through the Department of Human Resources, as specified in Section 8435.5.

(f) This section does not prohibit agreements between a certified provider organization and the Governor, as part of a memorandum of understanding, relating to training or any other subject in the scope of this section, or altering the composition, authority, meeting frequency, or obligations of the Partnership on Childcare Training, Education, and Quality Improvement. If ~~such~~ an agreement is reached, the requirements of this section shall not apply to the extent they are inconsistent with the agreement.

SEC. 4.

The Legislature finds and declares that Section 3 of this act, which adds Sections 8433.5, 8438, and 8439.5 to the Education Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:

This act balances the right of the public to access writings and meetings of public agencies while protecting the privacy of providers.