SB 1057 – This Bill Is Known As The Omnibus Bill For Elementary And Secondary Education And Makes Various Technical, Conforming, Clarifying, And Non-Controversial Changes To The Education Code

SB 1057 makes the following statutory changes:

1. Adds special education community advisory committees and districtwide school advisory committees on compensatory education to the list of the local council and school site advisory committees that are exempt from the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and the Ralph M. Brown Act.
2. Clarifies existing law relating to the provisions to reorganize school districts, to include unified school districts, and to clarify procedures related to appeals to the State Board of Education (SBE) and the role of the Secretary of State in notifying the county superintendent of schools upon the filing of an appeal.
3. Authorizes an action by the county committee approving a petition to be appealed to the state board by the chief petitioners or one or more affected school districts. Authorizes a person questioning the finding of the county committee that the action to transfer territory or form one or more new districts will not adversely affect the racial or ethnic integration of the schools of the districts affected, to appeal a decision based on that finding. The appeal shall be made to the state board within 30 days. The appeal shall be based on factual and statistical evidence. If the state board denies the appeal, the decision of the county committee shall stand. If the state board approves the appeal, it shall review the findings of the county committee at a regular meeting of the state board.
4. Authorizes, following the public hearing, or the last public hearing, the county committee to adopt a final recommendation for unification or other reorganization and shall transmit that recommendation together with the petition or with the resolution, if any, to the State Board of Education for a hearing.
5. Requires the county superintendent of schools, within 35 days after receiving the notification, to call an election, to be conducted at the next election of any kind in the territory of districts as determined by the state board.
6. Authorizes the governing board of any elementary, high school, or unified school district or any county superintendent of schools to maintain classes on Saturday or Sunday, or both. The classes maintained pursuant to this section may include, but are not limited to:
   1. Continuation classes.
   2. Special day classes for mentally gifted minors.
   3. Makeup classes for absences occurring during the week.
   4. d) The programs of a regional occupational center or regional occupational program.
7. Prohibits the voluntary attendance of pupils in approved programs for mentally gifted minors in special educational activities conducted on Saturday or Sunday from being included in the computation of the average daily attendance of the school district.
8. Repeals the authorization for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to establish criteria for alternative routes to credentialing within the Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) and Career Technical Education Educator Credentialing Program (CTEEC), and removes an obsolete reference to the federal Race to the Top Fund. The bill establishes the STEM and CTEEC Program for purposes of providing alternative routes to credentialing, in accordance with the guidelines for the federal Race to the Top Fund, authorized under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) is required, in consultation with the Committee on Accreditation, to develop a process to authorize additional high-quality alternative route educator preparation programs provided by school districts, county offices of education, community-based organizations, and nongovernmental organizations.
9. Requires CTC to authorize community-based or nongovernmental organizations accredited by an accrediting organization that is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and the United States Department of Education. The commission may also establish alternative criteria, if necessary, for project participants that are not eligible for accreditation by one of the accredited organizations.
10. Requires the members of the Community Advisory Committees (CAC) be appointed by, and responsible to, the governing board of each participating district or county office, or any combination thereof participating in the local plan. The appointment shall be in accordance with a locally determined selection procedure that is described in the local plan.
11. Repeals an obsolete code reference and inserts the phrase “gifted and talented pupils” to replace the phrase “mentally gifted minors” within the section authorizing Saturday or Sunday classes.
12. Repeals an obsolete provision relating to a restriction on a pupil’s driving privilege upon classification as a truant.

(SB 1057 amend Sections 35147, 35540, 35541, 35710.5, 35711, 35722, 35756, 37223, 44227.2, 48260.5, and 48264.5 of the Education Code.)