52053. (a) The Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools
Program is hereby established. By August 15, 1999, the Superintendent
of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State Board of
Education, shall invite schools that scored below the 50th percentile
on the achievement tests administered pursuant to Section 60640 both
in the spring of 1998 and in the spring of 1999 to participate in
the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program. A school
invited to participate may take any action not otherwise prohibited
under state or federal law and that would not require reimbursement
by the Commission on State Mandates to improve pupil performance.
(b) The total number of schools participating in the program in
1999 shall be 430. Unless subdivision (d) applies, schools that apply
will be selected based on the order in which they apply within ranks
of deciles, not to exceed 86 per decile, within the following grade
level categories:
(1) No more than 301 elementary schools.
(2) No more than 78 middle schools.
(3) No more than 52 high schools.
(c) The 86 schools selected within each decile range pursuant to
subdivision (b) shall proportionately represent elementary, middle,
and high schools and shall provide statewide proportionate geographic
representation of urban and rural schools.
(d) If fewer than the number of schools in any grade level
category apply, schools that scored below the 50th percentile in
those grade level categories that did not apply for the program shall
randomly be selected by the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
with the approval of the State Board of Education, to participate
based on their proportional representation in the state until the
number of schools in each grade level category set forth in
subdivision (b) is achieved.
(e) If more than the requisite number of schools apply for any
grade level category, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
select an array of schools that reflect a broad range of academic
performance of schools that scored below the 50th percentile, until
the number of schools in each grade level category set forth in
subdivision (b) is achieved.
(f) A school selected to participate on or before September 1,
1999, shall be awarded a planning grant from funds appropriated
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 2 of Chapter
3 of the Statutes of 1999, First Extraordinary Session, in the amount
of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). A school selected to receive
federal funds pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
2 of Chapter 3 of the Statutes of 1999, First Extraordinary Session,
shall be awarded an implementation grant in an amount of at least
fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) pursuant to Public Law 105-78.
(g) Schools receiving funding under paragraph (2) of subdivision
(a) of Section 2 of Chapter 3 of the Statutes of 1999, First
Extraordinary Session, shall comply with Public Law 105-78.
(h) By September 15, 2000, and each year thereafter, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State
Board of Education, shall identify schools that failed to meet their
Academic Performance Index (API) growth targets and that have an API
score below the 50th percentile in the previous school year relative
to all other public elementary, middle, or high schools. The
Superintendent of Public Instruction shall invite these schools to
participate in the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools
Program. A school invited to participate may take any action to
improve pupil performance not otherwise prohibited under state or
federal law and that would not require reimbursement by the
Commission on State Mandates.
(i) The total number of schools selected for participation in the
program shall be no more than the number that can be funded through
the total appropriation for the planning grants referenced in
subdivision (l) below.
(j) If fewer schools apply for participation than can be funded,
the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the
State Board of Education, shall randomly select the balance of
schools from schools eligible to participate that did not apply.
Insofar as possible, the schools randomly selected should reflect a
representative proportion of elementary, middle, and high schools, as
well as a broad range of academic achievement.
(k) If more schools apply for participation than can be funded,
the schools shall be selected in the order in which they apply.
Insofar as possible, the schools selected should reflect a
representative proportion of elementary, middle, and high schools, as
well as a broad range of academic achievement.
(l) A school selected to participate on or before October 15,
2000, and each year thereafter, shall be awarded a planning grant
from funds appropriated pursuant to Section 2 of Chapter 3 of the
Statutes of 1999, First Extraordinary Session, of fifty thousand
dollars ($50,000).
(m) Schools selected for participation in the program shall be
notified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction no later than
October 15 of each year.
52053.5. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
develop, and the State Board of Education shall approve, the minimum
qualifications for external evaluators that shall include, but may
not be limited to, recent successful professional, managerial or
governing board experience in improving school achievement, and the
ability to assist the school to systematically align curriculum,
instruction, and assessment. The external evaluators shall also have
demonstrated experience in working with diverse populations. With the
approval of the State Board of Education, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction shall develop and disseminate an application
process by which to establish a list of external evaluators that meet
the minimum qualifications. The list of approved external evaluators
may include private sector experts, institutions of higher
education, county offices of education, and educational consortia.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall develop, and
the State Board of Education shall approve, the standards and
criteria to be applied by external evaluators in carrying out their
duties. The standards and criteria shall include, but are not limited
to, the following areas:
(1) Governing board policies.
(2) Curriculum management.
(3) Fiscal management.
(4) Parental and community involvement.
(5) Personnel management.
(6) Facilities management.
52054. (a) Commencing in the 2001-02 fiscal year, by November 15 of
the year that the school is selected to participate, the governing
board of a school district having jurisdiction over a school selected
for participation in the program shall do one of the following:
(1) Contract with an external evaluator from the list of external
evaluators and shall appoint a broad-based schoolsite and community
team, consisting of a majority of nonschoolsite personnel. In a
school that has a limited-English-proficient pupil population that
constitutes at least 40 percent of the total pupil population, an
external evaluator shall have demonstrated experience in working with
a limited-English-proficient pupil population. Not less than 20
percent of the members of the team shall be parents or legal
guardians of pupils in the school.
(2) Contract with an entity that has proven, successful expertise
specific to the challenges inherent in high-priority schools. These
entities may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) Institutions of higher education.
(B) County offices of education.
(C) School district personnel.
(b) The selected external evaluator or entity shall solicit input
from the parents and legal guardians of the pupils of the school. At
a minimum, the evaluator or entity shall do all of the following:
(1) Inform the parents and legal guardians, in writing, that the
school has been selected to participate in the Immediate
Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program due to its below average
performance.
(2) Hold a public meeting at the school, in cooperation with the
principal, to which all parents and legal guardians of pupils in the
school receive a written invitation. The invitation to the meeting
may be combined with the written notice required by paragraph (1).
(3) Solicit, at the public meeting, the recommendations and
opinions of the participating parents and legal guardians of pupils
in the school regarding actions that should be taken to improve the
performance of the school. These opinions and recommendations shall
be considered by the external evaluator or entity and the community
team in the development or modification of the action plan pursuant
to this section or Section 52054.3.
(4) Provide technical assistance to the schoolsite.
(5) Notify all parents and legal guardians of pupils in the school
of their opportunity to provide written recommendations of actions
that should be taken to improve the performance of the school which
shall be considered by the external evaluator or entity and the
community team in the development or modification of the action plan
pursuant to this section or Section 52054.3. Notice required by this
subdivision may be combined with the written notice required by
paragraph (1).
(c) By February 15 of the school year in which the school is
selected to participate, the selected external evaluator or entity,
in collaboration with the broad-based schoolsite and community team
selected pursuant to subdivision (a), shall complete a review of the
school that identifies weaknesses that contribute to the school's
below average performance, make recommendations for improvement, and
begin to develop an action plan to improve the academic performance
of the pupils enrolled at the school. The action plan shall include
percentage growth targets at least as high as the annual growth
targets adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section
52052. The action plan shall include an expenditure plan and shall be
of a scope that does not require expenditure of funds in excess of
those provided pursuant to this article or otherwise available to the
school. The action plan may not be of a scope that requires
reimbursement by the Commission on State Mandates for its
implementation.
(d) At a minimum, the action plan shall do all of the following:
(1) Review and include the school and district conditions
identified in the school accountability report card pursuant to
Section 33126.
(2) Identify the current barriers at the school and district
toward improvements in pupil achievement.
(3) Identify schoolwide and districtwide strategies to remove
these barriers.
(4) Review and include school and school district crime
statistics, in accordance with Section 628.5 of the Penal Code.
(5) Examine and consider disaggregated data regarding pupil
achievement and other indicators to consider whether all groups and
types of pupils make adequate progress toward short-term growth
targets and long-term performance goals. The disaggregated data to be
included and considered by the plan shall, at a minimum, provide
information regarding the achievement of English language learners,
pupils with exceptional needs, pupils who qualify for free and
reduced price meals, and pupils in numerically significant subgroups.
(6) Set short-term academic objectives pursuant to Section 52052
for a two-year period that will allow the school to make adequate
progress toward the growth targets established for each participating
school for pupil achievement as measured by all of the following to
the extent that the data is available for the school:
(A) The achievement test administered pursuant to Section 60640.
(B) Graduation rates for grades 7 to 12, inclusive.
(C) Attendance rates for pupils and school personnel for
elementary, middle, and secondary schools.
(D) Any other indicators approved by the State Board of Education.
(e) The school action plan shall focus on improving pupil academic
performance, improving the involvement of parents and guardians,
improving the effective and efficient allocation of resources and
management of the school, and identifying and developing solutions
that take into account the underlying causes for low performance by
pupils.
(f) The team, in the development of the action plan, shall consult
with the exclusive representatives of employee organizations, where
they exist.
(g) The school action plan may propose to increase the number of
instructional days offered at the schoolsite and also may propose to
increase up to a full 12 months the amount of time for which
certificated employees are contracted, if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) Provisions of the plan proposed pursuant to this subdivision
shall not violate current applicable collective bargaining
agreements.
(2) An agreement is reached with the exclusive representative
concerning staffing specifically to accommodate the extended school
year or 12-month contract.
(h) The team, in the development of the action plan, shall consult
with the exclusive representatives of employee organizations, where
they exist.
(i) Upon its completion, the action plan shall be submitted to the
governing board of the school district for its approval at a
regularly scheduled public meeting. After the plan is approved, but
no later than May 15 of the year that follows the year the school is
selected to participate, the plan shall be submitted to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction with a request for funding in
the form prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who
shall review the school action plan and recommend approval or
disapproval of the school's request for funding to the State Board of
Education.
(j) Not later than July 15 of the year next following the year in
which a school is selected for participation, the State Board of
Education shall review and approve or disapprove the school's request
for funding, based on the recommendation of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction. Within 30 days of the State Board of Education's
review, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall notify the
affected school districts of the state of the board's action
regarding the request for funding. In conjunction with its approval
of a request for funding to implement a school's action plan, the
State Board of Education may, at the request of the governing board
of the school district or the county board of education for a school
under its jurisdiction, waive all or any part of any provision of
this code, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education,
controlling any of the programs listed in clause (i) of subparagraph
(B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 54761 and Section
64000 if the waiver does not result in a decrease in the
instructional time otherwise required by law or regulation or an
increase in state costs and is determined to be consistent with
subdivision (a) of Section 46300.
52054.3. A school selected on or after September 2001 may elect to
use an existing plan instead of the action plan required pursuant to
Section 52054 if that plan meets the requirements specified pursuant
to subdivisions (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i) of Section
52054. If an existing plan needs modification, the external evaluator
or entity with which the school district contracts pursuant to
Section 52054 shall provide technical assistance in making those
modifications.
52054.5. Subject to the appropriation of funds for this purpose in
the Budget Act, a school whose application is approved shall receive
a grant for implementing the program, in each subsequent fiscal year
that it participates in the program, in an amount up to two hundred
dollars ($200) per pupil enrolled in the school, with a minimum
allocation of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per schoolsite. As a
condition of receiving this funding, a participating school or the
school district having jurisdiction over that school shall match the
amount of state funding from any new or existing sources of funding.
To help meet this matching requirement, a participating school and
the governing board of the school district having jurisdiction over
that school shall receive maximum flexibility in the expenditure of
any new or existing categorical funds not otherwise prohibited by
state or federal law and shall redirect for the purposes of their
academic improvement plan new or existing categorical or general
purpose funds.
52055. The governing board of a school that fails to meet its
annual short-term growth target within 12 months following receipt of
funding pursuant to Section 52054.5 shall hold a public hearing at a
regularly scheduled meeting to ensure that members of the school
community are aware of the lack of progress. The governing board of
the school district shall, upon consultation with the external
evaluator and the schoolsite and community team selected pursuant to
Section 52054, choose from a range of interventions for the school,
including reassignment of school personnel to the extent authorized
by law, negotiation of site-specific amendments to collective
bargaining agreements, or other changes deemed appropriate, in order
to continue implementing the action plan approved pursuant to Section
51054, and to make progress toward meeting the school's growth
target.
52055.5. (a) Twenty-four months after receipt of funding pursuant
to Section 52054.5, a school that has not met its growth targets each
year, but demonstrates significant growth, as determined by the
state board, shall continue to participate in the program for an
additional year and to receive funding in the amount specified in
Section 52054.5. Thirty-six months after receipt of funds pursuant to
Section 52054.5, a school is no longer eligible to receive funding
pursuant to that section.
(b) Twenty-four months after receipt of funding pursuant to
Section 52054.5, a school that has not met its growth targets each
year and has failed to show significant growth, as determined by the
state board, shall be deemed a state-monitored school.
(1) The state board shall make its final determination regarding
whether or not a school shows significant growth no later than 30
days after the public release of a school's growth in API results or
the next regularly scheduled meeting of the state board following the
expiration of the 30 days if meeting the 30-day time limit would not
provide the state board with sufficient time to comply with the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section
11120) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, within 90 days
after the public release of a state-monitored school's growth in API
results, the Superintendent, in consultation with the state board,
shall do the following:
(A) Assume all the legal rights, duties, and powers of the
governing board with respect to that school, subject to the
provisions of paragraphs (1) and (7) of subdivision (e) and except as
provided by Section 52055.51.
(B) Reassign the principal of that school, subject to the findings
in subdivision (g).
(3) In addition to the actions specified in paragraph (2), the
Superintendent, after consultation with the state board, shall do one
or more of the following with respect to a state-monitored school:
(A) Revise attendance options for pupils to allow them to attend
any public school in which space is available. If additional
attendance options are made available, nothing in this option shall
be construed to require either the sending or receiving school
district to incur additional transportation costs.
(B) Allow parents to apply directly to the state board for the
establishment of a charter school and allow parents to establish the
charter school at the existing schoolsite.
(C) Under the supervision of the Superintendent, assign the
management of the school to a college, university, county office of
education, or other appropriate educational institution, excluding
for-profit organizations. The entity chosen to assume management of
the school shall possess the qualifications specified in subdivision
(b) of Section 52055.51. Consistent with paragraph (6) of subdivision
(e), the involvement of the school district during the sanctions
process shall be established by contract. The costs of the entity to
manage the school shall be established by contract and shall be paid
by the school district. However, the Superintendent may not assume
the management of the school.
(D) Reassign other certificated employees of the school.
(E) Renegotiate a new collective bargaining agreement at the
expiration of the existing collective bargaining agreement, pursuant
to Section 3543.2 of the Government Code.
(F) Reorganize the school.
(G) Close the school.
(H) (i) Place a trustee at the school, for a period not to exceed
three years, who shall monitor and review the operation of the
school. The trustee shall possess the qualifications specified in
subdivision (b) of Section 52055.51, shall compile an initial report
in accordance with the requirements of subdivision (d) of Section
52055.51, and shall receive reports from the school district and
schoolsite no less than three times during the year on the progress
towards meeting the goals established in the initial report. During
the period of his or her service, the trustee may stay or rescind
those actions of the governing board of the school district or
schoolsite principal that, in the judgment of the trustee, may
detrimentally affect the conditions of the state-monitored school to
which the trustee is assigned. The salary and benefits of the trustee
shall be established by the Superintendent, in consultation with the
state board, and shall be paid by the school district.
(ii) For the purposes of this section, in order to facilitate the
appointment of the trustee and the employment of any necessary staff,
the Superintendent is exempt from the requirements of Article 6
(commencing with Section 999) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the
Military and Veterans Code and Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100)
of the Public Contract Code.
(iii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the
Superintendent appoints an employee of the department to act as
trustee pursuant to this section, the salary and benefits of that
employee shall be established by the Superintendent and paid by the
school district. During the time of appointment, the employee is an
employee of the school district, but shall remain in the same
retirement system and under the same plan as if the employee had
remained in the department. Upon the expiration or termination of the
appointment, the employee shall have the right to return to his or
her former position, or to a position at substantially the same level
as that position, with the department. The time served in the
appointment shall be counted for all purposes as if the employee had
served that time in his or her former position with the department.
(c) When a school is deemed to be a state-monitored school, the
governing board of the school district shall, at a regularly
scheduled public meeting, inform the parents and guardians of pupils
enrolled at the schoolsite that the school is a state-monitored
school and that as a result of this determination the corrective
actions set forth in subdivision (b) may occur.
(d) In addition to the actions taken pursuant to subdivision (b),
the governing board of the school district and the district
superintendent shall be included in discussions regarding the
governance of the state-monitored schoolsite and the actions that
shall be taken in order for the schoolsite to succeed. During the
discussions, the participants shall clearly delineate the role that
the governing board of the school district and the district
superintendent will play during the sanctions period and shall report
this delineation to the Superintendent. The role to be played by the
governing board of the school district and the district
superintendent as delineated during the discussions regarding the
governance of the state-monitored schoolsite shall be in addition to
those actions set forth in subdivision (e).
(e) After a school is deemed to be a state-monitored school
pursuant to subdivision (b), the governing board of the school
district shall do all of the following:
(1) (A) Make the same fiscal, human, and educational resources, at
a minimum, available to the schoolsite as were available before the
action taken pursuant to subdivision (b) excluding state or federal
funding provided pursuant to Sections 52054.5 and 52055.600. If the
total amount of resources available to the school district differs
from one year to another, it shall make the same proportion of
resources available to the schoolsite as was available before the
action taken pursuant to subdivision (b).
(B) The entity selected to manage a school pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) shall review the
resources allocated to the schoolsite and determine if additional
resources should be made available from district funds to reasonably
support the schoolsite without detriment to the other schools and
pupils of the district.
(C) If the school does not have a management team pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), the
Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, shall designate
an entity to review the resources allocated to the schoolsite and
determine if additional resources should be made available from
district funds to reasonably support the schoolsite without detriment
to the other schools and pupils of the district.
(D) If the entity selected to manage a school pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) or the entity
chosen by the Superintendent pursuant to subparagraph (C) of
paragraph (1) is unable to obtain the information necessary to make
this determination, the entity may request that the Superintendent
and state board intervene to obtain the necessary documents.
(E) Any dispute between the entity selected to manage a school
pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) or
the entity chosen by the Superintendent pursuant to subparagraph (C)
of paragraph (1) and the school district over resource allocations
shall be resolved by the Superintendent, in consultation with the
state board.
(2) Continue its current ownership status with respect to the
schoolsite.
(3) Continue to provide the same insurance coverage as before the
action taken pursuant to subdivision (b) with respect to property,
liability, error and omissions, and other regularly provided
policies.
(4) Name the Superintendent and the department as additional
insureds upon transfer of legal rights, duties, and responsibilities
to the Superintendent.
(5) Continue to provide facilities support, including maintenance
if appropriate to the management arrangement, and full schoolsite
participation in bond financing.
(6) Remain involved with the school throughout the sanction
period.
(7) If the state board approves, the governing board of the school
district may retain its legal rights, duties, and responsibilities
with respect to that school.
(f) In addition to the actions listed in subdivision (b), the
Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, may take any
other action considered necessary or desirable against the school
district or the school district governing board, including
appointment of a new superintendent or suspension of the authority of
the governing board with respect to the school or schools identified
pursuant to subdivision (b).
(g) (1) Before the Superintendent may take any action against a
principal pursuant to subdivision (b), the Superintendent or a
designee of the superintendent, which may be a panel consisting of
the county superintendent of schools of the county in which the
school is located or an adjoining county, one principal with
experience in a similar type of school, and the superintendent of the
school district in which the state-monitored school is located,
shall do the following:
(A) Hold an informal hearing to determine whether there are
sufficient issues to proceed to a formal hearing. The informal
hearing shall be held in a closed session. The principal, and his or
her representative, and a school district representative may be
present at the informal hearing. The decision on whether to proceed
to a formal hearing shall be posted and presented at a regularly
scheduled public meeting of the governing board of the school
district. If the decision is not to proceed to a formal hearing, the
posting and presentation shall explain the rationale for this
decision. This item may not be a consent item on the agenda.
(B) Hold a formal hearing on the matter in the school district and
make both of the following findings:
(i) A finding that the principal had the authority to take
specific enumerated actions that would have helped the school meet
its performance goals.
(ii) A finding that the principal failed to take specific
enumerated actions pursuant to paragraph (1).
(2) Evidence to support the findings made at a formal hearing held
pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) shall be presented and
discussed in a closed session. The principal, or his or her
representative, and a school district representative may be present
in the closed session. The findings shall be posted and presented at
a regularly scheduled public meeting of the governing board of the
school district. This item may not be a consent item on the agenda.
The governing board shall give adequate time for public input and
response to findings.
(3) The Superintendent may not take any action against a principal
pursuant to subdivision (b) if the principal is assigned to the
school for one academic year or less.
(h) A school that has not met its growth targets within 36 months
of receiving funding pursuant to Section 52054.5, but has shown
significant growth, as determined by the state board, shall continue
to be monitored by the Superintendent until it meets its annual
growth target or the statewide performance target. If, in any year
between the third year of implementation funding and the first year
the school meets its growth target, the school fails to make
significant growth, as determined by the state board, that school
shall be deemed a state-monitored school and subject to the
provisions of paragraphs (1) to (10), inclusive, of subdivision (b).
(i) An action taken pursuant to subdivision (b), (c), (d), (e), or
(f) shall be conducted from funds provided for that purpose in the
annual Budget Act and shall not require reimbursement by the
Commission on State Mandates.
(j) An action taken pursuant to subdivision (b), (e), or (f) shall
be accompanied by specific findings by the Superintendent and the
state board that the action is directly related to the identified
causes for continued failure by a school to meet its performance
goals. These findings shall be made public and discussed at a
regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board of the school
district before the enactment of any action taken pursuant to
subdivision (b), (c), or (d).
52055.51. (a) Instead of the actions specified in subdivision (b)
of Section 52055.5, and notwithstanding any other law, the
Superintendent, with the approval of the state board, may require the
school district to enter into a contract with a school assistance
and intervention team no later than 30 days after the public release
of the school's growth in API results or the next regularly scheduled
meeting of the State Board of Education following the expiration of
the 30 days if meeting the 30-day time limit would not provide the
State Board of Education with sufficient time to comply with the
requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9
(commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 2
of the Government Code). If the State Board of Education approves,
the governing board of the school district may retain its legal
rights, duties, and responsibilities with respect to that school.
(b) School assistance and intervention team members should possess
a high degree of knowledge and skills in the areas of school
leadership, curriculum, and instruction aligned to state academic
content and performance standards, classroom management and
discipline, academic assessment, parent-school relations, and
evaluation and research based reform strategies and have proven
successful expertise specific to the challenges inherent in
state-monitored schools.
(c) The Superintendent shall, once every two years, establish a
list of approved school assistance and intervention teams with which
a school district may contract. The list shall be based on criteria
recommended by the Superintendent and adopted by the state board.
After the two-year approval period expires, a team may reapply for
approval by demonstrating the effectiveness of the work of the team
in state-monitored schools.
(d) A school assistance and intervention team shall provide
intensive support and expertise to implement the school reform
initiatives in the plan. Decisions about interventions shall be data
driven. A school assistance and intervention team shall work with
school staff, site planning teams, administrators, and school
district staff to improve pupil literacy and achievement by assessing
the degree of implementation of the current action plan, refining
and revising the action plan, and making recommendations to maximize
the use of fiscal resources and personnel in achieving the goals of
the plan. The school district shall provide support and assistance to
enhance the work of the team at the targeted schoolsites.
(e) Not later than 60 days after the assignment of a school
assistance and intervention team, the team shall complete a report.
The report shall include recommendations for corrective actions
chosen from a range of interventions, including the reallocation of
school district fiscal resources to ensure that appropriate resources
are targeted to those specific interventions identified in the
recommendations of the team for the targeted schools and other
changes deemed appropriate to make progress toward meeting the growth
target of the school.
(f) Not later than 90 days after assignment of the school
assistance and intervention team, the governing board of the school
district shall adopt the initial recommendations of the team at a
regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board. A subsequent
recommendation proposed by the school assistance and intervention
team shall be submitted to the governing board and shall be adopted
by the governing board within 30 days of the submission. The
governing board may not place the adoption on the consent calendar. A
recommendation adopted by the governing board shall be submitted to
the Superintendent and the state board.
(g) Following the adoption of the recommendation by the governing
board, the governing board may submit an appeal to the Superintendent
for relief from one or more of the recommendations. The
Superintendent, with approval of the state board, may grant relief
from compliance with a recommendation of the school assistance and
intervention team.
(h) If a school assistance and intervention team does not fulfill
its legal obligations under this section, the governing board of the
school district may seek permission from the Superintendent, with the
approval of the state board, to contract with a different school
assistance and intervention team. Upon a finding that the school
assistance and intervention team has not fulfilled its legal
obligations under this section, the Superintendent, with the approval
of the state board, may remove the school assistance and
intervention team from the state list of eligible providers.
(i) No less than three times during the year, the school district
and schoolsite shall present the team with data regarding progress
toward the goals established by the initial assessment of the team.
The data shall be presented to the governing board of the school
district at a regularly scheduled meeting. The team shall, to the
extent possible, utilize existing site data. The data shall also be
provided to the Superintendent and the state board. Every effort
shall be made to report this data in a manner that minimizes the
length and complexity of the reporting requirement in order to
maximize the focus on improving pupil literacy and achievement.
(j) An action taken pursuant to this section may not increase
local costs or require reimbursement as determined by the Commission
on State Mandates.
52055.52. Thirty-six months after the Superintendent of Public
Instruction undertakes any of the actions in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 52055.5, as amended by Senate Bill 1310 of
the 2001-02 Regular Session, and subsequently, or requires a school
to contract with a school assistance and intervention team pursuant
to Section 52055.51, the school shall no longer be eligible to
receive funding for purposes of this article.
52055.53. In order to ensure that management teams and trustees are
implementing a sound educational program in state-monitored schools,
the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall annually withhold 20
percent of its contractual obligation to a management team or trustee
until the Superintendent of Public Instruction is satisfied that the
management team or trustee has met the contractual obligation to
improve pupil learning.
52055.54. From funds appropriated each year in the annual Budget
Act to the department pursuant to Section 1003 of Title 1 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301)
or from state funds appropriated for this purpose, the following
amounts shall be allocated by the department to school districts and
county offices of education:
(a) The amount of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) per pupil for
each pupil in a school that is required to enter into a contract with
a school assistance and intervention team pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 52055.51, for purposes of implementing any
recommendations made by the school assistance and intervention team
in the report prepared by the team pursuant to subdivision (d) of
Section 52055.51. School districts that receive funds under this
subdivision shall provide an in-kind match of services, or a match of
school district funds in an amount equal to the amount received
pursuant to this subdivision.
(b) The amount of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) per pupil for
each pupil in a school that is managed in accordance with
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section
52055.5, for purposes of improving the academic performance of that
school. School districts that receive funds under this subdivision
shall provide an in-kind match of services, or a match of school
district funds in an amount equal to the amount received pursuant to
this paragraph.
(c) Funding for the support of each school assistance and
intervention team that enters into a contract with a school district
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 52055.51 shall be allocated as
follows:
(1) Seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) for each school
assistance and intervention team assigned to an elementary or middle
school.
(2) One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for each school
assistance and intervention team assigned to a high school.
(3) If a school district determines that it needs more than the
amounts specified in paragraphs (1) and (2), the school district may
apply to the department for additional funding. The application shall
include justification for the requested increase. The department and
the Department of Finance shall review any applications and may
provide funding up to a total funding level of one hundred
twenty-five thousand dollars ($125,000), including the amount
provided pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2).
(4) As a condition of receipt of funds pursuant to this
subdivision, a school district shall provide an in-kind match of
services, or a match of school district funds, in an amount equal to
one dollar ($1) for every two dollars ($2) provided pursuant to
paragraphs (1), (2), or (3).
52055.55. (a) Thirty-six months after the Superintendent assigns a
management team, trustee, or a school assistance and intervention
team to a schoolsite, if the school makes significant growth on the
Academic Performance Index (API), as determined by the state board,
in two consecutive years, the school shall exit the Immediate
Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program and is no longer subject
to the requirements of the program.
(b) Thirty-six months after the Superintendent assigns a
management team, trustee, or a school assistance and intervention
team to a schoolsite, if the management team, trustee, or school
assistance and intervention team fails to assist the school in making
significant growth on the API, as determined by the state board, the
Superintendent shall remove the management team, trustee, or school
assistance and intervention team from providing services at the
schoolsite. Additionally, the Superintendent shall do at least one of
the following:
(1) Require the school district to ensure, using available federal
funds, that 100 percent of the teachers at the schoolsite are highly
qualified, as defined by the state for the purposes of the federal
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.).
(2) Require the school to contract, using available federal,
state, and local funds, with an outside entity to provide
supplemental instruction to high-priority pupils and assign a
management team, trustee, or school assistance and intervention team
that has demonstrated success with other state-monitored schools.
During the period of his or her service, the trustee may stay or
rescind those actions of the governing board of the school district
or principal that, in the judgment of the trustee, may detrimentally
affect the conditions of the state-monitored school to which the
trustee is assigned.
(A) For the purposes of this section, in order to facilitate the
appointment of the trustee and the employment of any necessary staff,
the Superintendent is exempt from the requirements of Article 6
(commencing with Section 999) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the
Military and Veterans Code and Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100)
of the Public Contract Code.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the
Superintendent appoints an employee of the department to act as
trustee pursuant to this section, the salary and benefits of that
employee shall be established by the Superintendent and paid by the
school district. During the time of appointment, the employee is an
employee of the school district, but shall remain in the same
retirement system and under the same plan as if the employee had
remained in the department. Upon the expiration or termination of the
appointment, the employee shall have the right to return to his or
her former position, or to a position at substantially the same level
as that position, with the department. The time served in the
appointment shall be counted for all purposes as if the employee had
served that time in his or her former position with the department.
(C) Following the assignment of a management team, trustee, or
school assistance and intervention team pursuant to subdivision (b),
if the school makes significant growth on the API, as determined by
the state board, in two consecutive years, the school shall exit the
Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program and is no
longer subject to the requirements of the program.
(3) Allow parents of pupils enrolled at the school to apply
directly to the state board to establish a charter school at the
existing schoolsite.
(4) Close the school.
52053. (a) The Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools
Program is hereby established. By August 15, 1999, the Superintendent
of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State Board of
Education, shall invite schools that scored below the 50th percentile
on the achievement tests administered pursuant to Section 60640 both
in the spring of 1998 and in the spring of 1999 to participate in
the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program. A school
invited to participate may take any action not otherwise prohibited
under state or federal law and that would not require reimbursement
by the Commission on State Mandates to improve pupil performance.
(b) The total number of schools participating in the program in
1999 shall be 430. Unless subdivision (d) applies, schools that apply
will be selected based on the order in which they apply within ranks
of deciles, not to exceed 86 per decile, within the following grade
level categories:
(1) No more than 301 elementary schools.
(2) No more than 78 middle schools.
(3) No more than 52 high schools.
(c) The 86 schools selected within each decile range pursuant to
subdivision (b) shall proportionately represent elementary, middle,
and high schools and shall provide statewide proportionate geographic
representation of urban and rural schools.
(d) If fewer than the number of schools in any grade level
category apply, schools that scored below the 50th percentile in
those grade level categories that did not apply for the program shall
randomly be selected by the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
with the approval of the State Board of Education, to participate
based on their proportional representation in the state until the
number of schools in each grade level category set forth in
subdivision (b) is achieved.
(e) If more than the requisite number of schools apply for any
grade level category, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
select an array of schools that reflect a broad range of academic
performance of schools that scored below the 50th percentile, until
the number of schools in each grade level category set forth in
subdivision (b) is achieved.
(f) A school selected to participate on or before September 1,
1999, shall be awarded a planning grant from funds appropriated
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 2 of Chapter
3 of the Statutes of 1999, First Extraordinary Session, in the amount
of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). A school selected to receive
federal funds pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
2 of Chapter 3 of the Statutes of 1999, First Extraordinary Session,
shall be awarded an implementation grant in an amount of at least
fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) pursuant to Public Law 105-78.
(g) Schools receiving funding under paragraph (2) of subdivision
(a) of Section 2 of Chapter 3 of the Statutes of 1999, First
Extraordinary Session, shall comply with Public Law 105-78.
(h) By September 15, 2000, and each year thereafter, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State
Board of Education, shall identify schools that failed to meet their
Academic Performance Index (API) growth targets and that have an API
score below the 50th percentile in the previous school year relative
to all other public elementary, middle, or high schools. The
Superintendent of Public Instruction shall invite these schools to
participate in the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools
Program. A school invited to participate may take any action to
improve pupil performance not otherwise prohibited under state or
federal law and that would not require reimbursement by the
Commission on State Mandates.
(i) The total number of schools selected for participation in the
program shall be no more than the number that can be funded through
the total appropriation for the planning grants referenced in
subdivision (l) below.
(j) If fewer schools apply for participation than can be funded,
the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the
State Board of Education, shall randomly select the balance of
schools from schools eligible to participate that did not apply.
Insofar as possible, the schools randomly selected should reflect a
representative proportion of elementary, middle, and high schools, as
well as a broad range of academic achievement.
(k) If more schools apply for participation than can be funded,
the schools shall be selected in the order in which they apply.
Insofar as possible, the schools selected should reflect a
representative proportion of elementary, middle, and high schools, as
well as a broad range of academic achievement.
(l) A school selected to participate on or before October 15,
2000, and each year thereafter, shall be awarded a planning grant
from funds appropriated pursuant to Section 2 of Chapter 3 of the
Statutes of 1999, First Extraordinary Session, of fifty thousand
dollars ($50,000).
(m) Schools selected for participation in the program shall be
notified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction no later than
October 15 of each year.
52053.5. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
develop, and the State Board of Education shall approve, the minimum
qualifications for external evaluators that shall include, but may
not be limited to, recent successful professional, managerial or
governing board experience in improving school achievement, and the
ability to assist the school to systematically align curriculum,
instruction, and assessment. The external evaluators shall also have
demonstrated experience in working with diverse populations. With the
approval of the State Board of Education, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction shall develop and disseminate an application
process by which to establish a list of external evaluators that meet
the minimum qualifications. The list of approved external evaluators
may include private sector experts, institutions of higher
education, county offices of education, and educational consortia.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall develop, and
the State Board of Education shall approve, the standards and
criteria to be applied by external evaluators in carrying out their
duties. The standards and criteria shall include, but are not limited
to, the following areas:
(1) Governing board policies.
(2) Curriculum management.
(3) Fiscal management.
(4) Parental and community involvement.
(5) Personnel management.
(6) Facilities management.
52054. (a) Commencing in the 2001-02 fiscal year, by November 15 of
the year that the school is selected to participate, the governing
board of a school district having jurisdiction over a school selected
for participation in the program shall do one of the following:
(1) Contract with an external evaluator from the list of external
evaluators and shall appoint a broad-based schoolsite and community
team, consisting of a majority of nonschoolsite personnel. In a
school that has a limited-English-proficient pupil population that
constitutes at least 40 percent of the total pupil population, an
external evaluator shall have demonstrated experience in working with
a limited-English-proficient pupil population. Not less than 20
percent of the members of the team shall be parents or legal
guardians of pupils in the school.
(2) Contract with an entity that has proven, successful expertise
specific to the challenges inherent in high-priority schools. These
entities may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) Institutions of higher education.
(B) County offices of education.
(C) School district personnel.
(b) The selected external evaluator or entity shall solicit input
from the parents and legal guardians of the pupils of the school. At
a minimum, the evaluator or entity shall do all of the following:
(1) Inform the parents and legal guardians, in writing, that the
school has been selected to participate in the Immediate
Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program due to its below average
performance.
(2) Hold a public meeting at the school, in cooperation with the
principal, to which all parents and legal guardians of pupils in the
school receive a written invitation. The invitation to the meeting
may be combined with the written notice required by paragraph (1).
(3) Solicit, at the public meeting, the recommendations and
opinions of the participating parents and legal guardians of pupils
in the school regarding actions that should be taken to improve the
performance of the school. These opinions and recommendations shall
be considered by the external evaluator or entity and the community
team in the development or modification of the action plan pursuant
to this section or Section 52054.3.
(4) Provide technical assistance to the schoolsite.
(5) Notify all parents and legal guardians of pupils in the school
of their opportunity to provide written recommendations of actions
that should be taken to improve the performance of the school which
shall be considered by the external evaluator or entity and the
community team in the development or modification of the action plan
pursuant to this section or Section 52054.3. Notice required by this
subdivision may be combined with the written notice required by
paragraph (1).
(c) By February 15 of the school year in which the school is
selected to participate, the selected external evaluator or entity,
in collaboration with the broad-based schoolsite and community team
selected pursuant to subdivision (a), shall complete a review of the
school that identifies weaknesses that contribute to the school's
below average performance, make recommendations for improvement, and
begin to develop an action plan to improve the academic performance
of the pupils enrolled at the school. The action plan shall include
percentage growth targets at least as high as the annual growth
targets adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section
52052. The action plan shall include an expenditure plan and shall be
of a scope that does not require expenditure of funds in excess of
those provided pursuant to this article or otherwise available to the
school. The action plan may not be of a scope that requires
reimbursement by the Commission on State Mandates for its
implementation.
(d) At a minimum, the action plan shall do all of the following:
(1) Review and include the school and district conditions
identified in the school accountability report card pursuant to
Section 33126.
(2) Identify the current barriers at the school and district
toward improvements in pupil achievement.
(3) Identify schoolwide and districtwide strategies to remove
these barriers.
(4) Review and include school and school district crime
statistics, in accordance with Section 628.5 of the Penal Code.
(5) Examine and consider disaggregated data regarding pupil
achievement and other indicators to consider whether all groups and
types of pupils make adequate progress toward short-term growth
targets and long-term performance goals. The disaggregated data to be
included and considered by the plan shall, at a minimum, provide
information regarding the achievement of English language learners,
pupils with exceptional needs, pupils who qualify for free and
reduced price meals, and pupils in numerically significant subgroups.
(6) Set short-term academic objectives pursuant to Section 52052
for a two-year period that will allow the school to make adequate
progress toward the growth targets established for each participating
school for pupil achievement as measured by all of the following to
the extent that the data is available for the school:
(A) The achievement test administered pursuant to Section 60640.
(B) Graduation rates for grades 7 to 12, inclusive.
(C) Attendance rates for pupils and school personnel for
elementary, middle, and secondary schools.
(D) Any other indicators approved by the State Board of Education.
(e) The school action plan shall focus on improving pupil academic
performance, improving the involvement of parents and guardians,
improving the effective and efficient allocation of resources and
management of the school, and identifying and developing solutions
that take into account the underlying causes for low performance by
pupils.
(f) The team, in the development of the action plan, shall consult
with the exclusive representatives of employee organizations, where
they exist.
(g) The school action plan may propose to increase the number of
instructional days offered at the schoolsite and also may propose to
increase up to a full 12 months the amount of time for which
certificated employees are contracted, if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) Provisions of the plan proposed pursuant to this subdivision
shall not violate current applicable collective bargaining
agreements.
(2) An agreement is reached with the exclusive representative
concerning staffing specifically to accommodate the extended school
year or 12-month contract.
(h) The team, in the development of the action plan, shall consult
with the exclusive representatives of employee organizations, where
they exist.
(i) Upon its completion, the action plan shall be submitted to the
governing board of the school district for its approval at a
regularly scheduled public meeting. After the plan is approved, but
no later than May 15 of the year that follows the year the school is
selected to participate, the plan shall be submitted to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction with a request for funding in
the form prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who
shall review the school action plan and recommend approval or
disapproval of the school's request for funding to the State Board of
Education.
(j) Not later than July 15 of the year next following the year in
which a school is selected for participation, the State Board of
Education shall review and approve or disapprove the school's request
for funding, based on the recommendation of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction. Within 30 days of the State Board of Education's
review, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall notify the
affected school districts of the state of the board's action
regarding the request for funding. In conjunction with its approval
of a request for funding to implement a school's action plan, the
State Board of Education may, at the request of the governing board
of the school district or the county board of education for a school
under its jurisdiction, waive all or any part of any provision of
this code, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education,
controlling any of the programs listed in clause (i) of subparagraph
(B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 54761 and Section
64000 if the waiver does not result in a decrease in the
instructional time otherwise required by law or regulation or an
increase in state costs and is determined to be consistent with
subdivision (a) of Section 46300.
52054.3. A school selected on or after September 2001 may elect to
use an existing plan instead of the action plan required pursuant to
Section 52054 if that plan meets the requirements specified pursuant
to subdivisions (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i) of Section
52054. If an existing plan needs modification, the external evaluator
or entity with which the school district contracts pursuant to
Section 52054 shall provide technical assistance in making those
modifications.
52054.5. Subject to the appropriation of funds for this purpose in
the Budget Act, a school whose application is approved shall receive
a grant for implementing the program, in each subsequent fiscal year
that it participates in the program, in an amount up to two hundred
dollars ($200) per pupil enrolled in the school, with a minimum
allocation of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per schoolsite. As a
condition of receiving this funding, a participating school or the
school district having jurisdiction over that school shall match the
amount of state funding from any new or existing sources of funding.
To help meet this matching requirement, a participating school and
the governing board of the school district having jurisdiction over
that school shall receive maximum flexibility in the expenditure of
any new or existing categorical funds not otherwise prohibited by
state or federal law and shall redirect for the purposes of their
academic improvement plan new or existing categorical or general
purpose funds.
52055. The governing board of a school that fails to meet its
annual short-term growth target within 12 months following receipt of
funding pursuant to Section 52054.5 shall hold a public hearing at a
regularly scheduled meeting to ensure that members of the school
community are aware of the lack of progress. The governing board of
the school district shall, upon consultation with the external
evaluator and the schoolsite and community team selected pursuant to
Section 52054, choose from a range of interventions for the school,
including reassignment of school personnel to the extent authorized
by law, negotiation of site-specific amendments to collective
bargaining agreements, or other changes deemed appropriate, in order
to continue implementing the action plan approved pursuant to Section
51054, and to make progress toward meeting the school's growth
target.
52055.5. (a) Twenty-four months after receipt of funding pursuant
to Section 52054.5, a school that has not met its growth targets each
year, but demonstrates significant growth, as determined by the
state board, shall continue to participate in the program for an
additional year and to receive funding in the amount specified in
Section 52054.5. Thirty-six months after receipt of funds pursuant to
Section 52054.5, a school is no longer eligible to receive funding
pursuant to that section.
(b) Twenty-four months after receipt of funding pursuant to
Section 52054.5, a school that has not met its growth targets each
year and has failed to show significant growth, as determined by the
state board, shall be deemed a state-monitored school.
(1) The state board shall make its final determination regarding
whether or not a school shows significant growth no later than 30
days after the public release of a school's growth in API results or
the next regularly scheduled meeting of the state board following the
expiration of the 30 days if meeting the 30-day time limit would not
provide the state board with sufficient time to comply with the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section
11120) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, within 90 days
after the public release of a state-monitored school's growth in API
results, the Superintendent, in consultation with the state board,
shall do the following:
(A) Assume all the legal rights, duties, and powers of the
governing board with respect to that school, subject to the
provisions of paragraphs (1) and (7) of subdivision (e) and except as
provided by Section 52055.51.
(B) Reassign the principal of that school, subject to the findings
in subdivision (g).
(3) In addition to the actions specified in paragraph (2), the
Superintendent, after consultation with the state board, shall do one
or more of the following with respect to a state-monitored school:
(A) Revise attendance options for pupils to allow them to attend
any public school in which space is available. If additional
attendance options are made available, nothing in this option shall
be construed to require either the sending or receiving school
district to incur additional transportation costs.
(B) Allow parents to apply directly to the state board for the
establishment of a charter school and allow parents to establish the
charter school at the existing schoolsite.
(C) Under the supervision of the Superintendent, assign the
management of the school to a college, university, county office of
education, or other appropriate educational institution, excluding
for-profit organizations. The entity chosen to assume management of
the school shall possess the qualifications specified in subdivision
(b) of Section 52055.51. Consistent with paragraph (6) of subdivision
(e), the involvement of the school district during the sanctions
process shall be established by contract. The costs of the entity to
manage the school shall be established by contract and shall be paid
by the school district. However, the Superintendent may not assume
the management of the school.
(D) Reassign other certificated employees of the school.
(E) Renegotiate a new collective bargaining agreement at the
expiration of the existing collective bargaining agreement, pursuant
to Section 3543.2 of the Government Code.
(F) Reorganize the school.
(G) Close the school.
(H) (i) Place a trustee at the school, for a period not to exceed
three years, who shall monitor and review the operation of the
school. The trustee shall possess the qualifications specified in
subdivision (b) of Section 52055.51, shall compile an initial report
in accordance with the requirements of subdivision (d) of Section
52055.51, and shall receive reports from the school district and
schoolsite no less than three times during the year on the progress
towards meeting the goals established in the initial report. During
the period of his or her service, the trustee may stay or rescind
those actions of the governing board of the school district or
schoolsite principal that, in the judgment of the trustee, may
detrimentally affect the conditions of the state-monitored school to
which the trustee is assigned. The salary and benefits of the trustee
shall be established by the Superintendent, in consultation with the
state board, and shall be paid by the school district.
(ii) For the purposes of this section, in order to facilitate the
appointment of the trustee and the employment of any necessary staff,
the Superintendent is exempt from the requirements of Article 6
(commencing with Section 999) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the
Military and Veterans Code and Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100)
of the Public Contract Code.
(iii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the
Superintendent appoints an employee of the department to act as
trustee pursuant to this section, the salary and benefits of that
employee shall be established by the Superintendent and paid by the
school district. During the time of appointment, the employee is an
employee of the school district, but shall remain in the same
retirement system and under the same plan as if the employee had
remained in the department. Upon the expiration or termination of the
appointment, the employee shall have the right to return to his or
her former position, or to a position at substantially the same level
as that position, with the department. The time served in the
appointment shall be counted for all purposes as if the employee had
served that time in his or her former position with the department.
(c) When a school is deemed to be a state-monitored school, the
governing board of the school district shall, at a regularly
scheduled public meeting, inform the parents and guardians of pupils
enrolled at the schoolsite that the school is a state-monitored
school and that as a result of this determination the corrective
actions set forth in subdivision (b) may occur.
(d) In addition to the actions taken pursuant to subdivision (b),
the governing board of the school district and the district
superintendent shall be included in discussions regarding the
governance of the state-monitored schoolsite and the actions that
shall be taken in order for the schoolsite to succeed. During the
discussions, the participants shall clearly delineate the role that
the governing board of the school district and the district
superintendent will play during the sanctions period and shall report
this delineation to the Superintendent. The role to be played by the
governing board of the school district and the district
superintendent as delineated during the discussions regarding the
governance of the state-monitored schoolsite shall be in addition to
those actions set forth in subdivision (e).
(e) After a school is deemed to be a state-monitored school
pursuant to subdivision (b), the governing board of the school
district shall do all of the following:
(1) (A) Make the same fiscal, human, and educational resources, at
a minimum, available to the schoolsite as were available before the
action taken pursuant to subdivision (b) excluding state or federal
funding provided pursuant to Sections 52054.5 and 52055.600. If the
total amount of resources available to the school district differs
from one year to another, it shall make the same proportion of
resources available to the schoolsite as was available before the
action taken pursuant to subdivision (b).
(B) The entity selected to manage a school pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) shall review the
resources allocated to the schoolsite and determine if additional
resources should be made available from district funds to reasonably
support the schoolsite without detriment to the other schools and
pupils of the district.
(C) If the school does not have a management team pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), the
Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, shall designate
an entity to review the resources allocated to the schoolsite and
determine if additional resources should be made available from
district funds to reasonably support the schoolsite without detriment
to the other schools and pupils of the district.
(D) If the entity selected to manage a school pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) or the entity
chosen by the Superintendent pursuant to subparagraph (C) of
paragraph (1) is unable to obtain the information necessary to make
this determination, the entity may request that the Superintendent
and state board intervene to obtain the necessary documents.
(E) Any dispute between the entity selected to manage a school
pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) or
the entity chosen by the Superintendent pursuant to subparagraph (C)
of paragraph (1) and the school district over resource allocations
shall be resolved by the Superintendent, in consultation with the
state board.
(2) Continue its current ownership status with respect to the
schoolsite.
(3) Continue to provide the same insurance coverage as before the
action taken pursuant to subdivision (b) with respect to property,
liability, error and omissions, and other regularly provided
policies.
(4) Name the Superintendent and the department as additional
insureds upon transfer of legal rights, duties, and responsibilities
to the Superintendent.
(5) Continue to provide facilities support, including maintenance
if appropriate to the management arrangement, and full schoolsite
participation in bond financing.
(6) Remain involved with the school throughout the sanction
period.
(7) If the state board approves, the governing board of the school
district may retain its legal rights, duties, and responsibilities
with respect to that school.
(f) In addition to the actions listed in subdivision (b), the
Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, may take any
other action considered necessary or desirable against the school
district or the school district governing board, including
appointment of a new superintendent or suspension of the authority of
the governing board with respect to the school or schools identified
pursuant to subdivision (b).
(g) (1) Before the Superintendent may take any action against a
principal pursuant to subdivision (b), the Superintendent or a
designee of the superintendent, which may be a panel consisting of
the county superintendent of schools of the county in which the
school is located or an adjoining county, one principal with
experience in a similar type of school, and the superintendent of the
school district in which the state-monitored school is located,
shall do the following:
(A) Hold an informal hearing to determine whether there are
sufficient issues to proceed to a formal hearing. The informal
hearing shall be held in a closed session. The principal, and his or
her representative, and a school district representative may be
present at the informal hearing. The decision on whether to proceed
to a formal hearing shall be posted and presented at a regularly
scheduled public meeting of the governing board of the school
district. If the decision is not to proceed to a formal hearing, the
posting and presentation shall explain the rationale for this
decision. This item may not be a consent item on the agenda.
(B) Hold a formal hearing on the matter in the school district and
make both of the following findings:
(i) A finding that the principal had the authority to take
specific enumerated actions that would have helped the school meet
its performance goals.
(ii) A finding that the principal failed to take specific
enumerated actions pursuant to paragraph (1).
(2) Evidence to support the findings made at a formal hearing held
pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) shall be presented and
discussed in a closed session. The principal, or his or her
representative, and a school district representative may be present
in the closed session. The findings shall be posted and presented at
a regularly scheduled public meeting of the governing board of the
school district. This item may not be a consent item on the agenda.
The governing board shall give adequate time for public input and
response to findings.
(3) The Superintendent may not take any action against a principal
pursuant to subdivision (b) if the principal is assigned to the
school for one academic year or less.
(h) A school that has not met its growth targets within 36 months
of receiving funding pursuant to Section 52054.5, but has shown
significant growth, as determined by the state board, shall continue
to be monitored by the Superintendent until it meets its annual
growth target or the statewide performance target. If, in any year
between the third year of implementation funding and the first year
the school meets its growth target, the school fails to make
significant growth, as determined by the state board, that school
shall be deemed a state-monitored school and subject to the
provisions of paragraphs (1) to (10), inclusive, of subdivision (b).
(i) An action taken pursuant to subdivision (b), (c), (d), (e), or
(f) shall be conducted from funds provided for that purpose in the
annual Budget Act and shall not require reimbursement by the
Commission on State Mandates.
(j) An action taken pursuant to subdivision (b), (e), or (f) shall
be accompanied by specific findings by the Superintendent and the
state board that the action is directly related to the identified
causes for continued failure by a school to meet its performance
goals. These findings shall be made public and discussed at a
regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board of the school
district before the enactment of any action taken pursuant to
subdivision (b), (c), or (d).
52055.51. (a) Instead of the actions specified in subdivision (b)
of Section 52055.5, and notwithstanding any other law, the
Superintendent, with the approval of the state board, may require the
school district to enter into a contract with a school assistance
and intervention team no later than 30 days after the public release
of the school's growth in API results or the next regularly scheduled
meeting of the State Board of Education following the expiration of
the 30 days if meeting the 30-day time limit would not provide the
State Board of Education with sufficient time to comply with the
requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9
(commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 2
of the Government Code). If the State Board of Education approves,
the governing board of the school district may retain its legal
rights, duties, and responsibilities with respect to that school.
(b) School assistance and intervention team members should possess
a high degree of knowledge and skills in the areas of school
leadership, curriculum, and instruction aligned to state academic
content and performance standards, classroom management and
discipline, academic assessment, parent-school relations, and
evaluation and research based reform strategies and have proven
successful expertise specific to the challenges inherent in
state-monitored schools.
(c) The Superintendent shall, once every two years, establish a
list of approved school assistance and intervention teams with which
a school district may contract. The list shall be based on criteria
recommended by the Superintendent and adopted by the state board.
After the two-year approval period expires, a team may reapply for
approval by demonstrating the effectiveness of the work of the team
in state-monitored schools.
(d) A school assistance and intervention team shall provide
intensive support and expertise to implement the school reform
initiatives in the plan. Decisions about interventions shall be data
driven. A school assistance and intervention team shall work with
school staff, site planning teams, administrators, and school
district staff to improve pupil literacy and achievement by assessing
the degree of implementation of the current action plan, refining
and revising the action plan, and making recommendations to maximize
the use of fiscal resources and personnel in achieving the goals of
the plan. The school district shall provide support and assistance to
enhance the work of the team at the targeted schoolsites.
(e) Not later than 60 days after the assignment of a school
assistance and intervention team, the team shall complete a report.
The report shall include recommendations for corrective actions
chosen from a range of interventions, including the reallocation of
school district fiscal resources to ensure that appropriate resources
are targeted to those specific interventions identified in the
recommendations of the team for the targeted schools and other
changes deemed appropriate to make progress toward meeting the growth
target of the school.
(f) Not later than 90 days after assignment of the school
assistance and intervention team, the governing board of the school
district shall adopt the initial recommendations of the team at a
regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board. A subsequent
recommendation proposed by the school assistance and intervention
team shall be submitted to the governing board and shall be adopted
by the governing board within 30 days of the submission. The
governing board may not place the adoption on the consent calendar. A
recommendation adopted by the governing board shall be submitted to
the Superintendent and the state board.
(g) Following the adoption of the recommendation by the governing
board, the governing board may submit an appeal to the Superintendent
for relief from one or more of the recommendations. The
Superintendent, with approval of the state board, may grant relief
from compliance with a recommendation of the school assistance and
intervention team.
(h) If a school assistance and intervention team does not fulfill
its legal obligations under this section, the governing board of the
school district may seek permission from the Superintendent, with the
approval of the state board, to contract with a different school
assistance and intervention team. Upon a finding that the school
assistance and intervention team has not fulfilled its legal
obligations under this section, the Superintendent, with the approval
of the state board, may remove the school assistance and
intervention team from the state list of eligible providers.
(i) No less than three times during the year, the school district
and schoolsite shall present the team with data regarding progress
toward the goals established by the initial assessment of the team.
The data shall be presented to the governing board of the school
district at a regularly scheduled meeting. The team shall, to the
extent possible, utilize existing site data. The data shall also be
provided to the Superintendent and the state board. Every effort
shall be made to report this data in a manner that minimizes the
length and complexity of the reporting requirement in order to
maximize the focus on improving pupil literacy and achievement.
(j) An action taken pursuant to this section may not increase
local costs or require reimbursement as determined by the Commission
on State Mandates.
52055.52. Thirty-six months after the Superintendent of Public
Instruction undertakes any of the actions in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 52055.5, as amended by Senate Bill 1310 of
the 2001-02 Regular Session, and subsequently, or requires a school
to contract with a school assistance and intervention team pursuant
to Section 52055.51, the school shall no longer be eligible to
receive funding for purposes of this article.
52055.53. In order to ensure that management teams and trustees are
implementing a sound educational program in state-monitored schools,
the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall annually withhold 20
percent of its contractual obligation to a management team or trustee
until the Superintendent of Public Instruction is satisfied that the
management team or trustee has met the contractual obligation to
improve pupil learning.
52055.54. From funds appropriated each year in the annual Budget
Act to the department pursuant to Section 1003 of Title 1 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301)
or from state funds appropriated for this purpose, the following
amounts shall be allocated by the department to school districts and
county offices of education:
(a) The amount of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) per pupil for
each pupil in a school that is required to enter into a contract with
a school assistance and intervention team pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 52055.51, for purposes of implementing any
recommendations made by the school assistance and intervention team
in the report prepared by the team pursuant to subdivision (d) of
Section 52055.51. School districts that receive funds under this
subdivision shall provide an in-kind match of services, or a match of
school district funds in an amount equal to the amount received
pursuant to this subdivision.
(b) The amount of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) per pupil for
each pupil in a school that is managed in accordance with
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section
52055.5, for purposes of improving the academic performance of that
school. School districts that receive funds under this subdivision
shall provide an in-kind match of services, or a match of school
district funds in an amount equal to the amount received pursuant to
this paragraph.
(c) Funding for the support of each school assistance and
intervention team that enters into a contract with a school district
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 52055.51 shall be allocated as
follows:
(1) Seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) for each school
assistance and intervention team assigned to an elementary or middle
school.
(2) One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for each school
assistance and intervention team assigned to a high school.
(3) If a school district determines that it needs more than the
amounts specified in paragraphs (1) and (2), the school district may
apply to the department for additional funding. The application shall
include justification for the requested increase. The department and
the Department of Finance shall review any applications and may
provide funding up to a total funding level of one hundred
twenty-five thousand dollars ($125,000), including the amount
provided pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2).
(4) As a condition of receipt of funds pursuant to this
subdivision, a school district shall provide an in-kind match of
services, or a match of school district funds, in an amount equal to
one dollar ($1) for every two dollars ($2) provided pursuant to
paragraphs (1), (2), or (3).
52055.55. (a) Thirty-six months after the Superintendent assigns a
management team, trustee, or a school assistance and intervention
team to a schoolsite, if the school makes significant growth on the
Academic Performance Index (API), as determined by the state board,
in two consecutive years, the school shall exit the Immediate
Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program and is no longer subject
to the requirements of the program.
(b) Thirty-six months after the Superintendent assigns a
management team, trustee, or a school assistance and intervention
team to a schoolsite, if the management team, trustee, or school
assistance and intervention team fails to assist the school in making
significant growth on the API, as determined by the state board, the
Superintendent shall remove the management team, trustee, or school
assistance and intervention team from providing services at the
schoolsite. Additionally, the Superintendent shall do at least one of
the following:
(1) Require the school district to ensure, using available federal
funds, that 100 percent of the teachers at the schoolsite are highly
qualified, as defined by the state for the purposes of the federal
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.).
(2) Require the school to contract, using available federal,
state, and local funds, with an outside entity to provide
supplemental instruction to high-priority pupils and assign a
management team, trustee, or school assistance and intervention team
that has demonstrated success with other state-monitored schools.
During the period of his or her service, the trustee may stay or
rescind those actions of the governing board of the school district
or principal that, in the judgment of the trustee, may detrimentally
affect the conditions of the state-monitored school to which the
trustee is assigned.
(A) For the purposes of this section, in order to facilitate the
appointment of the trustee and the employment of any necessary staff,
the Superintendent is exempt from the requirements of Article 6
(commencing with Section 999) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the
Military and Veterans Code and Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100)
of the Public Contract Code.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the
Superintendent appoints an employee of the department to act as
trustee pursuant to this section, the salary and benefits of that
employee shall be established by the Superintendent and paid by the
school district. During the time of appointment, the employee is an
employee of the school district, but shall remain in the same
retirement system and under the same plan as if the employee had
remained in the department. Upon the expiration or termination of the
appointment, the employee shall have the right to return to his or
her former position, or to a position at substantially the same level
as that position, with the department. The time served in the
appointment shall be counted for all purposes as if the employee had
served that time in his or her former position with the department.
(C) Following the assignment of a management team, trustee, or
school assistance and intervention team pursuant to subdivision (b),
if the school makes significant growth on the API, as determined by
the state board, in two consecutive years, the school shall exit the
Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program and is no
longer subject to the requirements of the program.
(3) Allow parents of pupils enrolled at the school to apply
directly to the state board to establish a charter school at the
existing schoolsite.
(4) Close the school.
52053. (a) The Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools
Program is hereby established. By August 15, 1999, the Superintendent
of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State Board of
Education, shall invite schools that scored below the 50th percentile
on the achievement tests administered pursuant to Section 60640 both
in the spring of 1998 and in the spring of 1999 to participate in
the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program. A school
invited to participate may take any action not otherwise prohibited
under state or federal law and that would not require reimbursement
by the Commission on State Mandates to improve pupil performance.
(b) The total number of schools participating in the program in
1999 shall be 430. Unless subdivision (d) applies, schools that apply
will be selected based on the order in which they apply within ranks
of deciles, not to exceed 86 per decile, within the following grade
level categories:
(1) No more than 301 elementary schools.
(2) No more than 78 middle schools.
(3) No more than 52 high schools.
(c) The 86 schools selected within each decile range pursuant to
subdivision (b) shall proportionately represent elementary, middle,
and high schools and shall provide statewide proportionate geographic
representation of urban and rural schools.
(d) If fewer than the number of schools in any grade level
category apply, schools that scored below the 50th percentile in
those grade level categories that did not apply for the program shall
randomly be selected by the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
with the approval of the State Board of Education, to participate
based on their proportional representation in the state until the
number of schools in each grade level category set forth in
subdivision (b) is achieved.
(e) If more than the requisite number of schools apply for any
grade level category, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
select an array of schools that reflect a broad range of academic
performance of schools that scored below the 50th percentile, until
the number of schools in each grade level category set forth in
subdivision (b) is achieved.
(f) A school selected to participate on or before September 1,
1999, shall be awarded a planning grant from funds appropriated
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 2 of Chapter
3 of the Statutes of 1999, First Extraordinary Session, in the amount
of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000). A school selected to receive
federal funds pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
2 of Chapter 3 of the Statutes of 1999, First Extraordinary Session,
shall be awarded an implementation grant in an amount of at least
fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) pursuant to Public Law 105-78.
(g) Schools receiving funding under paragraph (2) of subdivision
(a) of Section 2 of Chapter 3 of the Statutes of 1999, First
Extraordinary Session, shall comply with Public Law 105-78.
(h) By September 15, 2000, and each year thereafter, the
Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the State
Board of Education, shall identify schools that failed to meet their
Academic Performance Index (API) growth targets and that have an API
score below the 50th percentile in the previous school year relative
to all other public elementary, middle, or high schools. The
Superintendent of Public Instruction shall invite these schools to
participate in the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools
Program. A school invited to participate may take any action to
improve pupil performance not otherwise prohibited under state or
federal law and that would not require reimbursement by the
Commission on State Mandates.
(i) The total number of schools selected for participation in the
program shall be no more than the number that can be funded through
the total appropriation for the planning grants referenced in
subdivision (l) below.
(j) If fewer schools apply for participation than can be funded,
the Superintendent of Public Instruction, with the approval of the
State Board of Education, shall randomly select the balance of
schools from schools eligible to participate that did not apply.
Insofar as possible, the schools randomly selected should reflect a
representative proportion of elementary, middle, and high schools, as
well as a broad range of academic achievement.
(k) If more schools apply for participation than can be funded,
the schools shall be selected in the order in which they apply.
Insofar as possible, the schools selected should reflect a
representative proportion of elementary, middle, and high schools, as
well as a broad range of academic achievement.
(l) A school selected to participate on or before October 15,
2000, and each year thereafter, shall be awarded a planning grant
from funds appropriated pursuant to Section 2 of Chapter 3 of the
Statutes of 1999, First Extraordinary Session, of fifty thousand
dollars ($50,000).
(m) Schools selected for participation in the program shall be
notified by the Superintendent of Public Instruction no later than
October 15 of each year.
52053.5. (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
develop, and the State Board of Education shall approve, the minimum
qualifications for external evaluators that shall include, but may
not be limited to, recent successful professional, managerial or
governing board experience in improving school achievement, and the
ability to assist the school to systematically align curriculum,
instruction, and assessment. The external evaluators shall also have
demonstrated experience in working with diverse populations. With the
approval of the State Board of Education, the Superintendent of
Public Instruction shall develop and disseminate an application
process by which to establish a list of external evaluators that meet
the minimum qualifications. The list of approved external evaluators
may include private sector experts, institutions of higher
education, county offices of education, and educational consortia.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall develop, and
the State Board of Education shall approve, the standards and
criteria to be applied by external evaluators in carrying out their
duties. The standards and criteria shall include, but are not limited
to, the following areas:
(1) Governing board policies.
(2) Curriculum management.
(3) Fiscal management.
(4) Parental and community involvement.
(5) Personnel management.
(6) Facilities management.
52054. (a) Commencing in the 2001-02 fiscal year, by November 15 of
the year that the school is selected to participate, the governing
board of a school district having jurisdiction over a school selected
for participation in the program shall do one of the following:
(1) Contract with an external evaluator from the list of external
evaluators and shall appoint a broad-based schoolsite and community
team, consisting of a majority of nonschoolsite personnel. In a
school that has a limited-English-proficient pupil population that
constitutes at least 40 percent of the total pupil population, an
external evaluator shall have demonstrated experience in working with
a limited-English-proficient pupil population. Not less than 20
percent of the members of the team shall be parents or legal
guardians of pupils in the school.
(2) Contract with an entity that has proven, successful expertise
specific to the challenges inherent in high-priority schools. These
entities may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) Institutions of higher education.
(B) County offices of education.
(C) School district personnel.
(b) The selected external evaluator or entity shall solicit input
from the parents and legal guardians of the pupils of the school. At
a minimum, the evaluator or entity shall do all of the following:
(1) Inform the parents and legal guardians, in writing, that the
school has been selected to participate in the Immediate
Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program due to its below average
performance.
(2) Hold a public meeting at the school, in cooperation with the
principal, to which all parents and legal guardians of pupils in the
school receive a written invitation. The invitation to the meeting
may be combined with the written notice required by paragraph (1).
(3) Solicit, at the public meeting, the recommendations and
opinions of the participating parents and legal guardians of pupils
in the school regarding actions that should be taken to improve the
performance of the school. These opinions and recommendations shall
be considered by the external evaluator or entity and the community
team in the development or modification of the action plan pursuant
to this section or Section 52054.3.
(4) Provide technical assistance to the schoolsite.
(5) Notify all parents and legal guardians of pupils in the school
of their opportunity to provide written recommendations of actions
that should be taken to improve the performance of the school which
shall be considered by the external evaluator or entity and the
community team in the development or modification of the action plan
pursuant to this section or Section 52054.3. Notice required by this
subdivision may be combined with the written notice required by
paragraph (1).
(c) By February 15 of the school year in which the school is
selected to participate, the selected external evaluator or entity,
in collaboration with the broad-based schoolsite and community team
selected pursuant to subdivision (a), shall complete a review of the
school that identifies weaknesses that contribute to the school's
below average performance, make recommendations for improvement, and
begin to develop an action plan to improve the academic performance
of the pupils enrolled at the school. The action plan shall include
percentage growth targets at least as high as the annual growth
targets adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section
52052. The action plan shall include an expenditure plan and shall be
of a scope that does not require expenditure of funds in excess of
those provided pursuant to this article or otherwise available to the
school. The action plan may not be of a scope that requires
reimbursement by the Commission on State Mandates for its
implementation.
(d) At a minimum, the action plan shall do all of the following:
(1) Review and include the school and district conditions
identified in the school accountability report card pursuant to
Section 33126.
(2) Identify the current barriers at the school and district
toward improvements in pupil achievement.
(3) Identify schoolwide and districtwide strategies to remove
these barriers.
(4) Review and include school and school district crime
statistics, in accordance with Section 628.5 of the Penal Code.
(5) Examine and consider disaggregated data regarding pupil
achievement and other indicators to consider whether all groups and
types of pupils make adequate progress toward short-term growth
targets and long-term performance goals. The disaggregated data to be
included and considered by the plan shall, at a minimum, provide
information regarding the achievement of English language learners,
pupils with exceptional needs, pupils who qualify for free and
reduced price meals, and pupils in numerically significant subgroups.
(6) Set short-term academic objectives pursuant to Section 52052
for a two-year period that will allow the school to make adequate
progress toward the growth targets established for each participating
school for pupil achievement as measured by all of the following to
the extent that the data is available for the school:
(A) The achievement test administered pursuant to Section 60640.
(B) Graduation rates for grades 7 to 12, inclusive.
(C) Attendance rates for pupils and school personnel for
elementary, middle, and secondary schools.
(D) Any other indicators approved by the State Board of Education.
(e) The school action plan shall focus on improving pupil academic
performance, improving the involvement of parents and guardians,
improving the effective and efficient allocation of resources and
management of the school, and identifying and developing solutions
that take into account the underlying causes for low performance by
pupils.
(f) The team, in the development of the action plan, shall consult
with the exclusive representatives of employee organizations, where
they exist.
(g) The school action plan may propose to increase the number of
instructional days offered at the schoolsite and also may propose to
increase up to a full 12 months the amount of time for which
certificated employees are contracted, if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) Provisions of the plan proposed pursuant to this subdivision
shall not violate current applicable collective bargaining
agreements.
(2) An agreement is reached with the exclusive representative
concerning staffing specifically to accommodate the extended school
year or 12-month contract.
(h) The team, in the development of the action plan, shall consult
with the exclusive representatives of employee organizations, where
they exist.
(i) Upon its completion, the action plan shall be submitted to the
governing board of the school district for its approval at a
regularly scheduled public meeting. After the plan is approved, but
no later than May 15 of the year that follows the year the school is
selected to participate, the plan shall be submitted to the
Superintendent of Public Instruction with a request for funding in
the form prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who
shall review the school action plan and recommend approval or
disapproval of the school's request for funding to the State Board of
Education.
(j) Not later than July 15 of the year next following the year in
which a school is selected for participation, the State Board of
Education shall review and approve or disapprove the school's request
for funding, based on the recommendation of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction. Within 30 days of the State Board of Education's
review, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall notify the
affected school districts of the state of the board's action
regarding the request for funding. In conjunction with its approval
of a request for funding to implement a school's action plan, the
State Board of Education may, at the request of the governing board
of the school district or the county board of education for a school
under its jurisdiction, waive all or any part of any provision of
this code, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education,
controlling any of the programs listed in clause (i) of subparagraph
(B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 54761 and Section
64000 if the waiver does not result in a decrease in the
instructional time otherwise required by law or regulation or an
increase in state costs and is determined to be consistent with
subdivision (a) of Section 46300.
52054.3. A school selected on or after September 2001 may elect to
use an existing plan instead of the action plan required pursuant to
Section 52054 if that plan meets the requirements specified pursuant
to subdivisions (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), and (i) of Section
52054. If an existing plan needs modification, the external evaluator
or entity with which the school district contracts pursuant to
Section 52054 shall provide technical assistance in making those
modifications.
52054.5. Subject to the appropriation of funds for this purpose in
the Budget Act, a school whose application is approved shall receive
a grant for implementing the program, in each subsequent fiscal year
that it participates in the program, in an amount up to two hundred
dollars ($200) per pupil enrolled in the school, with a minimum
allocation of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) per schoolsite. As a
condition of receiving this funding, a participating school or the
school district having jurisdiction over that school shall match the
amount of state funding from any new or existing sources of funding.
To help meet this matching requirement, a participating school and
the governing board of the school district having jurisdiction over
that school shall receive maximum flexibility in the expenditure of
any new or existing categorical funds not otherwise prohibited by
state or federal law and shall redirect for the purposes of their
academic improvement plan new or existing categorical or general
purpose funds.
52055. The governing board of a school that fails to meet its
annual short-term growth target within 12 months following receipt of
funding pursuant to Section 52054.5 shall hold a public hearing at a
regularly scheduled meeting to ensure that members of the school
community are aware of the lack of progress. The governing board of
the school district shall, upon consultation with the external
evaluator and the schoolsite and community team selected pursuant to
Section 52054, choose from a range of interventions for the school,
including reassignment of school personnel to the extent authorized
by law, negotiation of site-specific amendments to collective
bargaining agreements, or other changes deemed appropriate, in order
to continue implementing the action plan approved pursuant to Section
51054, and to make progress toward meeting the school's growth
target.
52055.5. (a) Twenty-four months after receipt of funding pursuant
to Section 52054.5, a school that has not met its growth targets each
year, but demonstrates significant growth, as determined by the
state board, shall continue to participate in the program for an
additional year and to receive funding in the amount specified in
Section 52054.5. Thirty-six months after receipt of funds pursuant to
Section 52054.5, a school is no longer eligible to receive funding
pursuant to that section.
(b) Twenty-four months after receipt of funding pursuant to
Section 52054.5, a school that has not met its growth targets each
year and has failed to show significant growth, as determined by the
state board, shall be deemed a state-monitored school.
(1) The state board shall make its final determination regarding
whether or not a school shows significant growth no later than 30
days after the public release of a school's growth in API results or
the next regularly scheduled meeting of the state board following the
expiration of the 30 days if meeting the 30-day time limit would not
provide the state board with sufficient time to comply with the
Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with Section
11120) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, within 90 days
after the public release of a state-monitored school's growth in API
results, the Superintendent, in consultation with the state board,
shall do the following:
(A) Assume all the legal rights, duties, and powers of the
governing board with respect to that school, subject to the
provisions of paragraphs (1) and (7) of subdivision (e) and except as
provided by Section 52055.51.
(B) Reassign the principal of that school, subject to the findings
in subdivision (g).
(3) In addition to the actions specified in paragraph (2), the
Superintendent, after consultation with the state board, shall do one
or more of the following with respect to a state-monitored school:
(A) Revise attendance options for pupils to allow them to attend
any public school in which space is available. If additional
attendance options are made available, nothing in this option shall
be construed to require either the sending or receiving school
district to incur additional transportation costs.
(B) Allow parents to apply directly to the state board for the
establishment of a charter school and allow parents to establish the
charter school at the existing schoolsite.
(C) Under the supervision of the Superintendent, assign the
management of the school to a college, university, county office of
education, or other appropriate educational institution, excluding
for-profit organizations. The entity chosen to assume management of
the school shall possess the qualifications specified in subdivision
(b) of Section 52055.51. Consistent with paragraph (6) of subdivision
(e), the involvement of the school district during the sanctions
process shall be established by contract. The costs of the entity to
manage the school shall be established by contract and shall be paid
by the school district. However, the Superintendent may not assume
the management of the school.
(D) Reassign other certificated employees of the school.
(E) Renegotiate a new collective bargaining agreement at the
expiration of the existing collective bargaining agreement, pursuant
to Section 3543.2 of the Government Code.
(F) Reorganize the school.
(G) Close the school.
(H) (i) Place a trustee at the school, for a period not to exceed
three years, who shall monitor and review the operation of the
school. The trustee shall possess the qualifications specified in
subdivision (b) of Section 52055.51, shall compile an initial report
in accordance with the requirements of subdivision (d) of Section
52055.51, and shall receive reports from the school district and
schoolsite no less than three times during the year on the progress
towards meeting the goals established in the initial report. During
the period of his or her service, the trustee may stay or rescind
those actions of the governing board of the school district or
schoolsite principal that, in the judgment of the trustee, may
detrimentally affect the conditions of the state-monitored school to
which the trustee is assigned. The salary and benefits of the trustee
shall be established by the Superintendent, in consultation with the
state board, and shall be paid by the school district.
(ii) For the purposes of this section, in order to facilitate the
appointment of the trustee and the employment of any necessary staff,
the Superintendent is exempt from the requirements of Article 6
(commencing with Section 999) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the
Military and Veterans Code and Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100)
of the Public Contract Code.
(iii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the
Superintendent appoints an employee of the department to act as
trustee pursuant to this section, the salary and benefits of that
employee shall be established by the Superintendent and paid by the
school district. During the time of appointment, the employee is an
employee of the school district, but shall remain in the same
retirement system and under the same plan as if the employee had
remained in the department. Upon the expiration or termination of the
appointment, the employee shall have the right to return to his or
her former position, or to a position at substantially the same level
as that position, with the department. The time served in the
appointment shall be counted for all purposes as if the employee had
served that time in his or her former position with the department.
(c) When a school is deemed to be a state-monitored school, the
governing board of the school district shall, at a regularly
scheduled public meeting, inform the parents and guardians of pupils
enrolled at the schoolsite that the school is a state-monitored
school and that as a result of this determination the corrective
actions set forth in subdivision (b) may occur.
(d) In addition to the actions taken pursuant to subdivision (b),
the governing board of the school district and the district
superintendent shall be included in discussions regarding the
governance of the state-monitored schoolsite and the actions that
shall be taken in order for the schoolsite to succeed. During the
discussions, the participants shall clearly delineate the role that
the governing board of the school district and the district
superintendent will play during the sanctions period and shall report
this delineation to the Superintendent. The role to be played by the
governing board of the school district and the district
superintendent as delineated during the discussions regarding the
governance of the state-monitored schoolsite shall be in addition to
those actions set forth in subdivision (e).
(e) After a school is deemed to be a state-monitored school
pursuant to subdivision (b), the governing board of the school
district shall do all of the following:
(1) (A) Make the same fiscal, human, and educational resources, at
a minimum, available to the schoolsite as were available before the
action taken pursuant to subdivision (b) excluding state or federal
funding provided pursuant to Sections 52054.5 and 52055.600. If the
total amount of resources available to the school district differs
from one year to another, it shall make the same proportion of
resources available to the schoolsite as was available before the
action taken pursuant to subdivision (b).
(B) The entity selected to manage a school pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) shall review the
resources allocated to the schoolsite and determine if additional
resources should be made available from district funds to reasonably
support the schoolsite without detriment to the other schools and
pupils of the district.
(C) If the school does not have a management team pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b), the
Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, shall designate
an entity to review the resources allocated to the schoolsite and
determine if additional resources should be made available from
district funds to reasonably support the schoolsite without detriment
to the other schools and pupils of the district.
(D) If the entity selected to manage a school pursuant to
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) or the entity
chosen by the Superintendent pursuant to subparagraph (C) of
paragraph (1) is unable to obtain the information necessary to make
this determination, the entity may request that the Superintendent
and state board intervene to obtain the necessary documents.
(E) Any dispute between the entity selected to manage a school
pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) or
the entity chosen by the Superintendent pursuant to subparagraph (C)
of paragraph (1) and the school district over resource allocations
shall be resolved by the Superintendent, in consultation with the
state board.
(2) Continue its current ownership status with respect to the
schoolsite.
(3) Continue to provide the same insurance coverage as before the
action taken pursuant to subdivision (b) with respect to property,
liability, error and omissions, and other regularly provided
policies.
(4) Name the Superintendent and the department as additional
insureds upon transfer of legal rights, duties, and responsibilities
to the Superintendent.
(5) Continue to provide facilities support, including maintenance
if appropriate to the management arrangement, and full schoolsite
participation in bond financing.
(6) Remain involved with the school throughout the sanction
period.
(7) If the state board approves, the governing board of the school
district may retain its legal rights, duties, and responsibilities
with respect to that school.
(f) In addition to the actions listed in subdivision (b), the
Superintendent, in consultation with the state board, may take any
other action considered necessary or desirable against the school
district or the school district governing board, including
appointment of a new superintendent or suspension of the authority of
the governing board with respect to the school or schools identified
pursuant to subdivision (b).
(g) (1) Before the Superintendent may take any action against a
principal pursuant to subdivision (b), the Superintendent or a
designee of the superintendent, which may be a panel consisting of
the county superintendent of schools of the county in which the
school is located or an adjoining county, one principal with
experience in a similar type of school, and the superintendent of the
school district in which the state-monitored school is located,
shall do the following:
(A) Hold an informal hearing to determine whether there are
sufficient issues to proceed to a formal hearing. The informal
hearing shall be held in a closed session. The principal, and his or
her representative, and a school district representative may be
present at the informal hearing. The decision on whether to proceed
to a formal hearing shall be posted and presented at a regularly
scheduled public meeting of the governing board of the school
district. If the decision is not to proceed to a formal hearing, the
posting and presentation shall explain the rationale for this
decision. This item may not be a consent item on the agenda.
(B) Hold a formal hearing on the matter in the school district and
make both of the following findings:
(i) A finding that the principal had the authority to take
specific enumerated actions that would have helped the school meet
its performance goals.
(ii) A finding that the principal failed to take specific
enumerated actions pursuant to paragraph (1).
(2) Evidence to support the findings made at a formal hearing held
pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) shall be presented and
discussed in a closed session. The principal, or his or her
representative, and a school district representative may be present
in the closed session. The findings shall be posted and presented at
a regularly scheduled public meeting of the governing board of the
school district. This item may not be a consent item on the agenda.
The governing board shall give adequate time for public input and
response to findings.
(3) The Superintendent may not take any action against a principal
pursuant to subdivision (b) if the principal is assigned to the
school for one academic year or less.
(h) A school that has not met its growth targets within 36 months
of receiving funding pursuant to Section 52054.5, but has shown
significant growth, as determined by the state board, shall continue
to be monitored by the Superintendent until it meets its annual
growth target or the statewide performance target. If, in any year
between the third year of implementation funding and the first year
the school meets its growth target, the school fails to make
significant growth, as determined by the state board, that school
shall be deemed a state-monitored school and subject to the
provisions of paragraphs (1) to (10), inclusive, of subdivision (b).
(i) An action taken pursuant to subdivision (b), (c), (d), (e), or
(f) shall be conducted from funds provided for that purpose in the
annual Budget Act and shall not require reimbursement by the
Commission on State Mandates.
(j) An action taken pursuant to subdivision (b), (e), or (f) shall
be accompanied by specific findings by the Superintendent and the
state board that the action is directly related to the identified
causes for continued failure by a school to meet its performance
goals. These findings shall be made public and discussed at a
regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board of the school
district before the enactment of any action taken pursuant to
subdivision (b), (c), or (d).
52055.51. (a) Instead of the actions specified in subdivision (b)
of Section 52055.5, and notwithstanding any other law, the
Superintendent, with the approval of the state board, may require the
school district to enter into a contract with a school assistance
and intervention team no later than 30 days after the public release
of the school's growth in API results or the next regularly scheduled
meeting of the State Board of Education following the expiration of
the 30 days if meeting the 30-day time limit would not provide the
State Board of Education with sufficient time to comply with the
requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9
(commencing with Section 11120) of Chapter 1 of Division 3 of Title 2
of the Government Code). If the State Board of Education approves,
the governing board of the school district may retain its legal
rights, duties, and responsibilities with respect to that school.
(b) School assistance and intervention team members should possess
a high degree of knowledge and skills in the areas of school
leadership, curriculum, and instruction aligned to state academic
content and performance standards, classroom management and
discipline, academic assessment, parent-school relations, and
evaluation and research based reform strategies and have proven
successful expertise specific to the challenges inherent in
state-monitored schools.
(c) The Superintendent shall, once every two years, establish a
list of approved school assistance and intervention teams with which
a school district may contract. The list shall be based on criteria
recommended by the Superintendent and adopted by the state board.
After the two-year approval period expires, a team may reapply for
approval by demonstrating the effectiveness of the work of the team
in state-monitored schools.
(d) A school assistance and intervention team shall provide
intensive support and expertise to implement the school reform
initiatives in the plan. Decisions about interventions shall be data
driven. A school assistance and intervention team shall work with
school staff, site planning teams, administrators, and school
district staff to improve pupil literacy and achievement by assessing
the degree of implementation of the current action plan, refining
and revising the action plan, and making recommendations to maximize
the use of fiscal resources and personnel in achieving the goals of
the plan. The school district shall provide support and assistance to
enhance the work of the team at the targeted schoolsites.
(e) Not later than 60 days after the assignment of a school
assistance and intervention team, the team shall complete a report.
The report shall include recommendations for corrective actions
chosen from a range of interventions, including the reallocation of
school district fiscal resources to ensure that appropriate resources
are targeted to those specific interventions identified in the
recommendations of the team for the targeted schools and other
changes deemed appropriate to make progress toward meeting the growth
target of the school.
(f) Not later than 90 days after assignment of the school
assistance and intervention team, the governing board of the school
district shall adopt the initial recommendations of the team at a
regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board. A subsequent
recommendation proposed by the school assistance and intervention
team shall be submitted to the governing board and shall be adopted
by the governing board within 30 days of the submission. The
governing board may not place the adoption on the consent calendar. A
recommendation adopted by the governing board shall be submitted to
the Superintendent and the state board.
(g) Following the adoption of the recommendation by the governing
board, the governing board may submit an appeal to the Superintendent
for relief from one or more of the recommendations. The
Superintendent, with approval of the state board, may grant relief
from compliance with a recommendation of the school assistance and
intervention team.
(h) If a school assistance and intervention team does not fulfill
its legal obligations under this section, the governing board of the
school district may seek permission from the Superintendent, with the
approval of the state board, to contract with a different school
assistance and intervention team. Upon a finding that the school
assistance and intervention team has not fulfilled its legal
obligations under this section, the Superintendent, with the approval
of the state board, may remove the school assistance and
intervention team from the state list of eligible providers.
(i) No less than three times during the year, the school district
and schoolsite shall present the team with data regarding progress
toward the goals established by the initial assessment of the team.
The data shall be presented to the governing board of the school
district at a regularly scheduled meeting. The team shall, to the
extent possible, utilize existing site data. The data shall also be
provided to the Superintendent and the state board. Every effort
shall be made to report this data in a manner that minimizes the
length and complexity of the reporting requirement in order to
maximize the focus on improving pupil literacy and achievement.
(j) An action taken pursuant to this section may not increase
local costs or require reimbursement as determined by the Commission
on State Mandates.
52055.52. Thirty-six months after the Superintendent of Public
Instruction undertakes any of the actions in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 52055.5, as amended by Senate Bill 1310 of
the 2001-02 Regular Session, and subsequently, or requires a school
to contract with a school assistance and intervention team pursuant
to Section 52055.51, the school shall no longer be eligible to
receive funding for purposes of this article.
52055.53. In order to ensure that management teams and trustees are
implementing a sound educational program in state-monitored schools,
the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall annually withhold 20
percent of its contractual obligation to a management team or trustee
until the Superintendent of Public Instruction is satisfied that the
management team or trustee has met the contractual obligation to
improve pupil learning.
52055.54. From funds appropriated each year in the annual Budget
Act to the department pursuant to Section 1003 of Title 1 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301)
or from state funds appropriated for this purpose, the following
amounts shall be allocated by the department to school districts and
county offices of education:
(a) The amount of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) per pupil for
each pupil in a school that is required to enter into a contract with
a school assistance and intervention team pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 52055.51, for purposes of implementing any
recommendations made by the school assistance and intervention team
in the report prepared by the team pursuant to subdivision (d) of
Section 52055.51. School districts that receive funds under this
subdivision shall provide an in-kind match of services, or a match of
school district funds in an amount equal to the amount received
pursuant to this subdivision.
(b) The amount of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) per pupil for
each pupil in a school that is managed in accordance with
subparagraph (C) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section
52055.5, for purposes of improving the academic performance of that
school. School districts that receive funds under this subdivision
shall provide an in-kind match of services, or a match of school
district funds in an amount equal to the amount received pursuant to
this paragraph.
(c) Funding for the support of each school assistance and
intervention team that enters into a contract with a school district
pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 52055.51 shall be allocated as
follows:
(1) Seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) for each school
assistance and intervention team assigned to an elementary or middle
school.
(2) One hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for each school
assistance and intervention team assigned to a high school.
(3) If a school district determines that it needs more than the
amounts specified in paragraphs (1) and (2), the school district may
apply to the department for additional funding. The application shall
include justification for the requested increase. The department and
the Department of Finance shall review any applications and may
provide funding up to a total funding level of one hundred
twenty-five thousand dollars ($125,000), including the amount
provided pursuant to paragraph (1) or (2).
(4) As a condition of receipt of funds pursuant to this
subdivision, a school district shall provide an in-kind match of
services, or a match of school district funds, in an amount equal to
one dollar ($1) for every two dollars ($2) provided pursuant to
paragraphs (1), (2), or (3).
52055.55. (a) Thirty-six months after the Superintendent assigns a
management team, trustee, or a school assistance and intervention
team to a schoolsite, if the school makes significant growth on the
Academic Performance Index (API), as determined by the state board,
in two consecutive years, the school shall exit the Immediate
Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program and is no longer subject
to the requirements of the program.
(b) Thirty-six months after the Superintendent assigns a
management team, trustee, or a school assistance and intervention
team to a schoolsite, if the management team, trustee, or school
assistance and intervention team fails to assist the school in making
significant growth on the API, as determined by the state board, the
Superintendent shall remove the management team, trustee, or school
assistance and intervention team from providing services at the
schoolsite. Additionally, the Superintendent shall do at least one of
the following:
(1) Require the school district to ensure, using available federal
funds, that 100 percent of the teachers at the schoolsite are highly
qualified, as defined by the state for the purposes of the federal
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.).
(2) Require the school to contract, using available federal,
state, and local funds, with an outside entity to provide
supplemental instruction to high-priority pupils and assign a
management team, trustee, or school assistance and intervention team
that has demonstrated success with other state-monitored schools.
During the period of his or her service, the trustee may stay or
rescind those actions of the governing board of the school district
or principal that, in the judgment of the trustee, may detrimentally
affect the conditions of the state-monitored school to which the
trustee is assigned.
(A) For the purposes of this section, in order to facilitate the
appointment of the trustee and the employment of any necessary staff,
the Superintendent is exempt from the requirements of Article 6
(commencing with Section 999) of Chapter 6 of Division 4 of the
Military and Veterans Code and Part 2 (commencing with Section 10100)
of the Public Contract Code.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the
Superintendent appoints an employee of the department to act as
trustee pursuant to this section, the salary and benefits of that
employee shall be established by the Superintendent and paid by the
school district. During the time of appointment, the employee is an
employee of the school district, but shall remain in the same
retirement system and under the same plan as if the employee had
remained in the department. Upon the expiration or termination of the
appointment, the employee shall have the right to return to his or
her former position, or to a position at substantially the same level
as that position, with the department. The time served in the
appointment shall be counted for all purposes as if the employee had
served that time in his or her former position with the department.
(C) Following the assignment of a management team, trustee, or
school assistance and intervention team pursuant to subdivision (b),
if the school makes significant growth on the API, as determined by
the state board, in two consecutive years, the school shall exit the
Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program and is no
longer subject to the requirements of the program.
(3) Allow parents of pupils enrolled at the school to apply
directly to the state board to establish a charter school at the
existing schoolsite.
(4) Close the school.
