BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 2548


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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS


          AB  
          2548 (Weber)


          As Amended  August 19, 2016


          Majority vote


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          |ASSEMBLY:  |75-1  |(June 1, 2016) |SENATE: |39-0  |(August 24,      |
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          Original Committee Reference:  ED.




          SUMMARY:  Requires the State Board of Education (SBE) to adopt a  
          statewide accountability system aligned to state and federal  
          accountability requirements.  Specifically, this bill:  
          1)Requires the accountability system to:
             a)   Be a single, integrated system that aligns local, state,  
               and federal accountability requirements;
             b)   Satisfy the requirements of the federal Every Student  
               Succeed Act (ESSA);


             c)   Align California's local control framework with the need  
               to identify, support, and improve California's highest need  
               schools; and


             d)   Rely upon data from key indicators adopted by the SBE  








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               pursuant to the SBE-adopted evaluation rubrics.


          2)Requires the SBE, with regard to developing the statewide  
            accountability system, to rely upon data from key indicators  
            established pursuant to the evaluation rubrics adopted by the  
            SBE.  Requires, at a minimum, the key indicators to include  
            all of the following:
             a)   For elementary and middle schools, a measure of:  pupil  
               achievement in at least English language arts, mathematics,  
               and science; academic growth; progress toward English  
               proficiency; chronic absenteeism; school climate.
             b)   For high schools, a measure of: pupil achievement in at  
               least English language arts, mathematics, and science;  
               graduation rates; progress toward English proficiency;  
               college and career readiness; chronic absenteeism; and  
               school climate.


             c)   Requires substantial weight and, in aggregate, much  
               greater weight, to be given to the measure of: pupil  
               achievement in English language arts (ELA), math and  
               science; academic growth and progress towards English  
               proficiency. 


          3)Requires, in identifying appropriate assistance for a school  
            or local educational agency (LEA), the California  
            Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE) and the county  
            superintendents of schools to analyze data aligned with all  
            the state priorities in order to align the level of support,  
            collaboration, and intervention to the needs of the LEA or  
            individual school or schools.
          4)Requires the accountability system to ensure the creation of a  
            data and reporting system that provides meaningful and  
            accessible information on school and school district  
            performance that is displayed through an electronic platform.   
            Parents and the public must have the ability to easily access,  
            compare, analyze, and summarize school reports, pupil  
            performance results, and the progress made by schools and  
            school districts in reaching all of the state's priority areas  
            for purposes of local control and accountability plans and the  








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            local control funding formula. 


          5)Requires notifications of stakeholder engagement, school  
            support, and improvement activities to be translated in the  
            top five languages as identified by the California Department  
            of Education (CDE).


          6)States the intent of the Legislature that, to the extent  
            required by state and federal law, the information on school,  
            school district, and subgroup performance be made available in  
            the top five languages as identified by the California  
            Department of Education.


          The Senate amendments:


          1)Require the accountability system to be a single system that  
            integrates local, state, and federal accountability  
            requirements;


          2)Require the measure of progress toward English proficiency to  
            include, but not be limited to, data on the reclassification  
            rates of English learners and long-term English learners, when  
            available;


          3)Require the SBE to establish a mechanism to meaningfully  
            differentiate the performance of all public schools based on  
            pupil outcomes for purposes of advice and assistance from the  
            California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and county  
            offices of education; 


          4)Require notifications of stakeholder engagement, school  
            support, and improvement activities to be translated in the  
            top five languages as identified by the California Department  
            of Education (CDE); and 









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          5)State the intent of the Legislature that, to the extent  
            required by state and federal law, the information on school,  
            school district, and subgroup performance be made available in  
            the top five languages as identified by the CDE.


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Establishes the Local Control Funding Formula, requires local  
            educational agencies to adopt and annually update a Local  
            Control and Accountability Plan that includes a description  
            of:
             a)   The annual goals, for all students and each subgroup, to  
               be achieved for each of the state priorities and for any  
               additional local priorities; and
             b)   The specific actions the school district or county  
               office of education will take during each year to achieve  
               the goals, including any specific actions to correct any  
               deficiencies in regard to the state priorities (Education  
               Code Section 42238, et seq., Section 52060 and Section  
               52066)


          2)Requires the SBE to adopt evaluation rubrics to assist:
             a)   A school district, county office of education or charter  
               school in evaluating its strengths, weaknesses, and areas  
               that require improvement;
             b)   A county superintendent of schools in identifying school  
               districts and charter schools in need of technical  
               assistance and the specific priorities upon which the  
               technical assistance should be focused; and


             c)   The Superintendent of Public Instruction in identifying  
               school districts for intervention.


          3)Requires the SBE to adopt, as part of the evaluation rubrics,  
            standards for school district and individual school  
            performance and expectations for improvement in regard to each  








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            of the state priorities.  (Education Code Section 52064.5)
          Existing federal law:


           1) Establishes the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA),  
             which requires states to establish accountability systems  
             that include the following indicators:


              a)    Proficiency in reading and math; graduation rates for  
                high schools; English language proficiency;


              b)    For elementary and middle schools, student growth or  
                another indicator that is valid, reliable, and statewide;  
                and


              c)    At least one other indicator of school quality or  
                success, such as measures of safety, student engagement,  
                or educator engagement.


           2) Requires the accountability system to have substantial  
             weights on specified academic indicators.


           3) Requires states, at least once every three years, to  
             identify the lowest performing 5% of Title I schools and all  
             high schools with a graduation rate that is below 67% for  
             comprehensive support.  (United States Code, Title 20,  
             Section 6301, et seq.)


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee:


          1)Unknown General Fund costs, potentially in the hundreds of  
            thousands of dollars, for CDE to comply with the data  
            components of this bill.  This bill requires data to be  
            provided to parents and the public that is "meaningful and  








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            accessible" and displayed through an electronic platform.   
            This bill requires parents and the public to have the ability  
            to easily access, compare, analyze, and summarize school  
            reports, pupil performance results, and the progress made by  
            schools and school districts in reaching all of the state's  
            priority areas.  The current school data systems, California  
            Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADs) and  
            DataQuest, do not present data in this format.  It is not  
            clear if CDE would be able to adapt existing systems or if a  
            new data system would need to be developed.  Either way,  
            significant resources would be needed to present data in this  
            manner. 
          2)Unknown Proposition 98/GF cost pressures, in the millions of  
            dollars, to the extent this expanded accountability system  
            identifies more school districts or school sites in need of  
            state intervention and assistance.  


          3)The CDE estimates ongoing General Fund costs of $320,000 for  
            two positions to support the development, implementation, and  
            maintenance of a new state/federal aligned accountability  
            system.  These positions are needed irrespective of this bill.  
             The CDE has submitted a budget request for this staffing  
            support and the request is still being considered by the  
            Legislature.



          COMMENTS:  According to co-sponsors of this bill, Children Now  
          and Education Trust West, this bill will align the state and  
          federal accountability requirements, avoiding the confusing and  
          sometimes conflicting systems of the past, and bringing together  
          the strengths of both systems to promote high levels of  
          achievement and equity.  Specifically, according to the  
          sponsors, the bill proposes to establish common "key indicators"  
          that apply to both districts and schools and also align with the  
          state's values.  The bill also sets forth criteria for  
          identifying districts and schools in need of support and  
          improvement and clarifies that the CCEE and county  
          superintendents shall analyze data aligned with all of the state  
          priorities in order to align the level of support,  
          collaboration, and intervention to the needs of the local  








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          education agency or individual school or schools.  The bill also  
          requires the development of a data dashboard, showing student  
          outcomes from multiple measures. 


          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
          Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087  FN:  0004841