Keep yourself in the loop about what’s going on legislatively in Sacramento by checking in on this report created by Jason Hodgson, Region XI VP for Legislative Action. Jason will update this report each month.
Following is the Legislative Update that published in the 2024 Region XI Winter Newsletter:
Happy New Year, Region XI! It’s been an inauspicious beginning to the new year as news of steep deficits at the state level — somewhere between a $40-$70 billon — depending on the language used by the Governor or Legislative Analysts Office (LAO) budget proposals. For now, educators are cautiously optimistic to see educational priorities largely remaining in tact for the upcoming year, though the multi-year projections are tough to think about potential impacts to education. Currently, the the Governor proposes:
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- A budget deficit at $37.86 billion.
- Compared to current 2023-24 estimates, the “Big Three” General Fund revenue sources through 2024-25 are projected to decrease by approximately $42.9 billion
- The Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) would be 0.76% for all LCFF and education programs
Though it’s only a proposal and we all hope for increased revenues, already included in the Governor’s budget to help reduce the shortfalls are the following adjustments:
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- Withdraw $13.1 billion from reserves, declare a fiscal emergency
- Reduce current planned expenditures by $8.5 billion, including $500 million to the School facilities Program
- Increase revenues through the Managed Care Organization (MCO) tax and borrow internally for a total of $5.7 billion
- Delay $5.1 billion in planned expenditures including a $550 million delay to the Preschool, TK, and Full-Day Kindergarten Facilities Grant program
- Shift $3.4 billion in costs from the General Fund to other funds
- Defer $2.1 billion in obligations (deferrals for schools not included in the Governor’s proposal)
While the legislative news is largely fixated on the budget, during the first year of the 2023-24 legislative session, ACSA heavily influenced state budget and policy outcomes on behalf of students and school leaders with the help of unprecedented levels of member engagement–many from Region 11 in fact. Some of the legislative victories advancing ACSA’s student-centered mission and the One Voice for Students Legislative Platform can be found here: https://content.acsa.org/acsa-advocacy-in-action-2023/
Legislative Updates
What’s next?
We’re in year two of the Assembly and Senate Education Committees and session and as such any bill introduced in 2023 must clear all hurdles by the deadline of February 16, 2024. Education-related legislation introduced last year includes:
Assembly Bill (AB) 359 (Holden, D-Pasadena) would make it easier for local educational agencies (LEAs) and community college districts to enter into dual enrollment agreements and would also require the parties to certify that a student receives dual credit for any community college course taken pursuant to the agreement
AB 801 (Patterson, R-Rocklin) would require an operator of a website, online service, online application, or mobile application used primarily for school purposes to delete any personally identifiable information or materials related to a student at the request of a student, parent, or guardian if the child is no longer attending the school or district
AB 960 (Mathis, R-Porterville) would require, by July 1, 2030, each public school with an enrollment of 100 or more students, to implement a web-based or app-based school safety program that includes specified program parameters
AB 1299 (Jackson, D-Moreno Valley) would require police officers employed by an LEA to report directly to the principal of the school while on campus and to obtain approval from the principal before accessing school grounds or engaging with students
AB 1408 (Wallis, R-Palm Springs) would expand the authorization to allow a victim of an act of bullying to apply for an interdistrict transfer regardless of whether there is an available school and would prohibit a school district of residence from prohibiting that transfer if the school district of proposed enrollment approves the application
Senate Bill (SB) 292 (Grove, R-Bakersfield) would establish the Education Savings Account Act of 2024 only if Senate Constitutional Amendment (SCA) 5 is approved by voters in the November 2024 election
SB 347 (Newman) would require the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to award basic teaching credentials for public preschools in the state
SB 691 (Portantino, D-Burbank) would eliminate the requirement for the Governor to appoint a student member to the State Board of Education (SBE) and would instead require the SBE to select the three student members from among the candidates presented by the California Association of Student Councils
SB 483 (Cortese, D-San Jose) would prohibit the use of prone restraint by an educational provider, including as an emergency intervention on a pupil who is an individual with exceptional needs in a public school program
SCA 5 (Grove) would place a constitutional amendment before voters to allow the state to disburse public funds to educational institutions regardless of if they are a private or religious school
Legislative Action Days 2024
We need your help advocating for education in 2024! This year we’re in-person and online to allow all region and charter members opportunities to attend various meetings and keynotes. We’re back to the traditional Sunday and Monday schedule and the date is April 28-29. Full details can be found at: https://www.acsa.org/Advocacy/legislative-action-day.