Legislative Update
Today, the Assembly and Senate Appropriations Committees met to hear bills on the ‘suspense’ calendar, which consisted of bills that cost the state more than $150,000. The status of priority charter school legislation following today’s suspense hearing is included below:
Oppose: AB 318 (Caballero): Pupil instruction: independent study: visual contact with pupil.
Location: Held in committee
- AB 318 would have reduced flexibility at independent study charter schools by requiring face to face or live-visual meetings between students and their teachers every two weeks. The requirements in AB 318 would have placed additional burdens on students and teachers and harmed independent study programs across the state.
Thank you to the more than three thousand charter school advocates who wrote letters and made phone calls in opposition to AB 318! AB 318 was a priority opposition bill for CCSA and as a direct result of our collective action, AB 318 was held in the Senate Appropriations committee and will not be moving forward.
Support: AB 1360 (Bonta): Charter schools: pupil admissions, suspensions, and expulsions.
Location: Senate Floor
- AB 1360 clarifies due process procedures for charter school student expulsions and dismissals, strengthens access for students in charter school admissions procedures, and clarifies allowable enrollment preferences for siblings, and students of staff and school founders. AB 1360 passed the Senate Appropriations committee today.
Support: AB 1528 (Acosta): Virtual or online charter schools: average daily attendance: report.
Location: Held in committee
- AB 1528 would have extended the sunset on a provision that allows students in virtual charter schools, who move outside the attendance boundaries of their virtual charter schools during the school year, to remain at the school until they finish the school year. Unfortunately, AB 1528 was held in the Senate Appropriations committee and will not be moving forward.
Oppose: SB 607 (Skinner): Willful Defiance.
Location: Assembly Floor
- SB 607 prohibits charter schools from suspending or expelling students in grades K-12 for willful defiance.’ CCSA opposes SB 607 because it would take away charter schools’ flexibility and autonomy to craft policies tailored to their schools’ mission and the needs of their school community. SB 607 will likely be taken up by the Assembly floor sometime next week.
Oppose: SB 328 (Portantino): School Start Time.
Location: Assembly Floor
- SB 328 requires that schools do not start before 8:30 a.m. SB 328 was amended by the Appropriations committee to include charter schools. Since the bill will now limit charter schools’ flexibility while negatively impacting the many specialized programs charter schools offer, CCSA opposes this bill. SB 328 passed the Assembly Appropriations committee today.
We Stand with Dreamers
Action on behalf of Dreamers is needed today. We are reaching out to reinforce our commitment to standing up for the civil rights of all public school students at every turn – regardless of their immigration status – and to invite you to join us in taking action today.
The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is a federal program in place since 2012 to protect undocumented immigrant youth who were brought to the United States as children by granting them a temporary permission to stay in the U.S. called “deferred action.”
DACA, which protects over 800,000 individuals across the country and over 240,000 individuals in California, is in jeopardy and could soon come to an end. Ten state attorneys general are threatening to sue the Trump Administration if DACA is not rescinded by September 5th.
The only permanent solution for these youth is The DREAM Act of 2017, a bill introduced in July with bipartisan support. Passing this legislation would give Dreamers the security of legal status and a path to citizenship so they can continue to go to school, work and participate in the country they’ve called home for most, if not all, of their lives.
Charter school students across California would also benefit from the DREAM Act. CCSA stands firmly with our national partners on behalf of the Dreamers seeking a quality education to prepare them for college, career, and a better life for their families.
Consider joining us in taking action before September 5. Click here to be connected directly with your members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor the DREAM Act of 2017.
