Please visit www.ssda.org: For Weekly News Updates
NEWSLETTER
Transportation Issues Continue to Draw Legislative Interest
By Kevin Gordon, Capitol Advisors Group
This week, SSDA welcomed the opportunity to visit with
the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) in
Sacramento about the implications of school transportation funding for small school districts. The LAO asked
for the meeting as part of an ongoing project to fully explore the policy and fiscal options the Legislature may
want to consider related to school transportation. SSDA
Executive Director Debbie Pearson was joined by the
association's legislative advocates and selected SSDA
members – Kermith Walters, Siskiyou County Office of
Education, Rich Du Varney, Lassen County Office of Education, and Michael Reid, Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified
School District – who have maintained a leadership role
on the transportation issue.
Given the passage of the Local Control Funding Formula, the LAO wanted to begin the project in the same
spirit of starting with a blank slate. While they definitely
explored the nuances and policy sense of the current
structure of school transportation funding, they started
by stepping back and questioning the state's fundamental interest in providing a discreet funding stream
for school transportation. At that level, SSDA emphasized the inescapable linkage between getting a child
to school and the imperative to provide all kids with access to educational opportunities.
The meeting included a discussion about the taxpayer
obligation to foot the bill for families who choose to live
in extremely remote areas, but it came back to a recognition that beyond special education, cuts in school
transportation have created a natural reduction of services to a point of not being excessive. Kids in small and
rural areas do not have the transportation services they
once had, but contemplating an even smaller or eliminated role for state resourced dedicated to transporta-
In this issue: tion is viewed by SSDA as unacceptable. Data provided
by the Superintendents in attendance helped validate
the correlation between cuts in school transportation
funding and resulting increases in truancy and drop
outs. The LAO was able to clearly understand the negative implications of merely collapsing school transportation dollars into the broad LCFF funding base and the
importance of a separate funding stream for small districts to manage transportation costs.
Following this initial meeting, it is expected that the
LAO will be doing a great deal more work on this subject including an examination of various funding approaches. It is expected that we might see everything
from alternative formula or "acceptable cost" models for
maintaining a separate funding category for transportation to consolidation approaches within the LCFF. In
any circumstance, SSDA will be following this issue very
closely with the intent of helping the LAO and legislative staff arrive at transportation funding that works for
small school districts.
Court Decision
FYI – Earlier this week, the California Supreme
Court ruled that trained, unlicensed school
personnel may administer prescription injections
such as insulin to students, provided the student's
physician and parents have given permission for
them to do so. The decision overturns rulings in
two lower courts. More details on the case and the
parties involved can be found here.
(http://www.sacbee.com/2013/08/13/5645499/california-supreme-court-oks-insulin.html)
Volume 2 - Issue 4 - August/September 2013
Page
Transportation Issues Continue to Draw Legislative Interest . . . . . . . 1
To Online Language Learning that Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Legislative Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
SSDA Federal Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
California’s Valued Trust: Members and Districts
Working Together To Keep Healthcare costs Down . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Common Core Standard Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Legislative Update
By Capitol Advisors Group
We want to give you an update on where things stand as the
Legislature returns from vacation.
Mid-August brings the Legislature’s summer break to a close.
Legislators return to Sacramento to spend the next month closing
down legislative business for the year. According to Legislative
rules, they must send bills to the Governor by September 13. Bills
not sent to the Governor for his consideration will become twoyears bills and may be considered during the second year of the
two-year session, which resumes in January 2014.
In addition to wrapping up regular legislative work during the
last month of session, the Legislature and the Governor will begin
the work of cleaning-up and clarifying the LCFF (outside of the
work the SBE is doing). We have been talking to senior staff in the
Legislature about the list of clean-up issues that they concede “is
growing every day.” This isn’t at all surprising given the magnitude
of the change LCFF presents to the state’s education system at all
levels. We will continue to work with you as we engage in those
efforts along with our colleagues here in Sacramento.
We have compiled a list of some of the most prominent K-12
education measures pending before the Legislature during the
last month of session. The bills are hyperlinked to the full text
version of the bill in case you want to read the specific language.
The Governor has until October 13 to sign any bills that were sent
to him on or before September 13.
AB 182 (Buchanan) Bonds: School Districts and Community
College Districts
(http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB182&search_keywords=)
Also known as the CABs bill, AB 182 limits school district bond
issuance under both the Education and Government Codes. In
the Education Code, the bill:
• Caps total debt service for each bond series at 4 to 1
• Requires capital appreciation bonds maturing more than 10
years after its date of issuance to be subject to redemption
with or without a premium beginning in the tenth year, also
known as “callable”
In the Government Code, the bill:
• Caps, at 30 years, the term of any bond issued by a school
district or community college district
• Imports the bill’s Education Code debt service cap and “call”
requirement, and applies them to any capital appreciation
bonds issued by a school or community college district
• Applies current Ed Code provisions capping interest rates
at 8% and issuance costs to 2%, limiting terms to 25 years,
and setting a maxi-mum discount of 5%, among other
provisions, to capital appreciation bonds issued by a school
or community college district
Analysis: The bill is currently on the Senate floor despite facing
heavy resistance from much of the education community
since its introduction. Even with the author’s best efforts to
remove opposition, at its most recent hearing in July, statewide
educational groups including the Association of California School
Administrators (ACSA), California Association of School Business
Officials (CASBO), and Coalition for Adequate School Housing
(CASH), amongst others, were still opposed unless amended.
SSDA
Given the level of public discord over some of the recent CAB
issuances in California, there is perceived need for reform. The
public will almost certainly require reform if they are to continue
supporting public financing of school construction at the state
level (state school bonds). Like it or not, in our opinion, if AB 182
(or other legislation reforming CABs) does not take effect prior
to the next statewide school bond campaign, the environment
for a successful state school bond will be stifling. Imagine the
impact of radio, TV, mail, and Internet campaigning the taxpayers
groups will have with the recent stories from around the state
(which will likely happen anyway). To not have passed legislation
to address those problems, the pro-school bond campaign will
have a very hard time persuading voters to support the bond.
Remember the last statewide school bond (Prop 1D, 2006), which
ran a campaign during good economic times and with little-tono opposition passed with only 56% support.
AB 420 (Dickinson) Pupil Discipline: Suspensions: Willful
Defiance
(http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB420&search_keywords=)
This bill, among other things, eliminates the option to suspend or
recommend for expulsion a pupil who disrupted school activities
or otherwise willfully defied the authority of school officials and
instead authorizes schools to suspend a pupil in grades 6-12
who has substantially disrupted school activities or substantially
prevented instruction from occurring. It also limits the authority
to suspend a pupil for substantially disrupting school activities
or substantially preventing instruction from occurring to the
third or more offense in a school year, and only if the pupil’s
parent, guardian or educational rights holder has been informed
that other means of correction were attempted before the
recommendation to suspend.
Analysis: This measure enjoys significant support from civil
rights groups. The legislation is a response to a number of studies
coming out of Washington DC showing a disproportionate
negative impact on black and brown students as a result of
suspension and expulsion policies for willful defiance. The bill is
currently pending further action in the Senate.
AB 484 (Bonilla) Pupil Assessments: Measurement of
Performance/Progress
(http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB484&search_keywords=)
This bill, an urgency measure:
• Suspends all assessments that are not required by federal law
• Provides a transition to new assessments that are aligned
to the common core standards in English language arts and
mathematics
• Requires the development of updated primary language
assessments and alternate assessments for pupils with
exceptional needs
• Requires the development of plans for updated assessments in
other subject areas.
Analysis: While there is consensus that legislation is needed
to transition California from the STAR program to assessments
aligned to the Common Core State Standards, many education
stakeholders, including the Governor, are concerned that this
Page 2
May/June 2013
Legislative Update
Continued from page 2
bill is too big and moving too fast. In order to respond to issues
raised by the Governor, it is expected that CDE, the sponsor of the
bill, will be working these last few weeks to better limit the bill
to only what is needed relative to implementation of Common
Core. Other outlying concerns include the availability and cost of
diagnostic and formative tests for those years without federally
required assessments.
For some, this bill provides the long-awaited opportunity to
dramatically reduce required testing. However, for others,
particularly in light of the new accountability requirements
coming from the Governor’s Local Control Funding Formula and
a desire to aggressively address achievement gap issues, a lack
of assessments is a concern. The bill allows for the suspended
exams to be used for diagnostic and formative testing, providing
some reassurance; however, whether the cost will be born by
the state or the LEA is still undecided. One other open question
is, even with further changes, whether the Governor, despite
pressure from the need for a transition to Common Core aligned
tests, will sign the bill.
AB 1266 (Ammiano) Pupil rights: Sex-segregated School
Programs/Activities
(http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB1266&search_keywords=)
Requires that a pupil be permitted to participate in sexsegregated school programs and activities including athletic
teams and competitions, and use of facilities consistent with his
or her gender identity, irrespective of the gender listed on the
pupil’s records.
Analysis: On August 12, 2013, the Governor approved the bill. It
will take effect January 1, 2014.
SB 49 (Lieu) School Safety Plans
(http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB49&search_keywords=)
The bill makes changes to existing law related to school safety
plans. The bill requires, among other things, that each school is to
adopt its comprehensive school safety plan by March 1, 2014 and
update the plan every third year thereafter. The bill also requires
that an updated file of all safety-related plans be readily available
for inspection by law enforcement and school employees, rather
than the public. It also requires a principal, no later than July
31 of every year, to accurately report the status of the school’s
safety plan for the upcoming school year, including a description
of its key elements, in the annual SARC. The report must include,
but is not limited to, whether or not a school safety plan was
adopted for the upcoming year, the date the school safety plan
was adopted and a description of the safety plan’s elements.
The bill requires principals to notify all staff when the plan is
complete and available for inspection. The bill also requires no
later than October 15, 2014 and every third year thereafter, each
superintendent to provide written notification to SPI identifying
each school that has not complied with the requirements.
Analysis: The bill is currently in Assembly Appropriations
Committee and is expected to reach the Governor’s desk. The
main purpose of the bill is to monitor compliance with existing
requirements to adopt and update school safety plans. Some may
remember prior versions of bills to address this issue by Senator
Lieu contained significant penalties for administrators of schools
and districts that failed to comply with reporting requirements.
May/June 2013
SB 185 (Walters) Instructional Materials: Digital Format
(http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB185&search_keywords=)
Makes changes to the requirements for the adoption of
instructional materials by school districts and county offices of
education.
• Permits charter schools, school districts, and county offices
of education to negotiate the price of standards-aligned
instructional materials and supplemental materials in either a
printed or digital format.
• Requires publishers to offer digital and printed instructional
materials in an unbundled format to allow a school district or
county office of education to purchase each component of the
instructional program separately.
• Specifies that a school district may use instructional materials
in digital format that were purchased by the school district
to create a district-wide online digital database for classroom
use consistent with an online security system that is mutually
agreed on by the publisher and the school district.
Analysis: Under current law, only grade 9-12 schools may
negotiate the price of instructional materials. SB 185 opens the
opportunity for negotiation to all grade levels. The bill appears
to align well with the Governor’s LCFF as it allows local governing
boards to better tailor their instructional materials purchases to
the needs of their students as well as to their existing resources.
The potential change has some publishers concerned and they
have been opposed to the bill. ACSA and a number of school
districts are actively supporting the bill. SB 185 recently passed
the Assembly 76-1 and is pending a concurrence vote in the
Senate. The bill will reach the Governor’s desk. Similar legislation
has been vetoed in the past; however, with LCFF it could be a
new day for this measure.
SB 247 (Liu) Pupil Assessment: Grade Levels Assessed
(http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB247&search_keywords=)
This measure Reauthorizes the Standardized Testing and
Reporting (STAR) Program but eliminates Grade 2 assessments
from this program. Requires CDE to identify existing language
arts and mathematics Grade 2 exams aligned to the Common
Core State Standards and appropriate for diagnostic use and
specifies that the savings from the elimination of the grade 2
achievement assessments may be used by LEAs should they
choose to administer the grade 2 diagnostic assessment.
Analysis: SB 247 initially caused a conflicting cheer and outcry
with the elimination of 2nd grade testing. However, the bill
is now seen as the best of both worlds. Opponents of the
test are pleased with the removal of a high stakes test while
proponents are happy to have a diagnostic assessment available
– particularly with the cost covered. The bill recently passed out
of the Assembly Education Committee 7-0 and is pending before
the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Page 3
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Page 4
Call: John Olson
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(916) 871-7746
May/June 2013
Legislative Update
Continued from page 3
SB 316 (Block) School Safety: Door Locks
(http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB316&search_keywords=)
This bill requires, on or after January 1, 2016, all modernization
projects submitted to the Division of State Architects to include
locks that allow doors to classrooms and any room with an
occupancy of five or more persons to be locked from the inside.
This new requirement would only apply to modernization
projects that are funded by state bond funds approved on or
after 2014.
Analysis: SB 316 is currently pending in the Assembly
Appropriations committee. The sponsor of the bill, the
California Federation of Teachers, argues that the ability to lock
classrooms from the inside is necessary in the event of a threat
or disturbance at school. The author appears to have resolved
the major sticking points for those that opposed prior version
of the bill. The bill recently passed the Assembly Education
Committee 7-0 and is currently pending before the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
SB 344 (Padilla) English Learners: Funding: School District
Master Plan
(http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB344&search_keywords=)
As currently drafted, this bill requires, beginning with the 2014-15
fiscal year, as a condition for receiving supplemental funds for ELs
under the Limited English Proficient Students Program, a school
district to adopt a master plan for how those supplemental funds
will be spent. Among other required information, the master
plan must cover expenditures of these supplemental funds by
the district and at each affected school within the district and
include input from all stakeholders. However, amendments are
expected soon which dramatically change the bill into a detailed
accountability plan for serving English Learners under the
Governor’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).
Analysis: This bill continues to change. A number of English
learner advocates and equity groups are concerned about the
lack of specific accountability requirements under LCFF relative
to serving the needs of English learners and ensuring parental
and community involvement in the process. As proposed to be
amended, this bill will not only add detailed requirements for
LEAs, but a formal complaint process as well.
As part of the approved 2013-14 state budget, LCFF accountability
(better known as the Local Control Accountability Plan, or LCAP)
is under development by the State Board of Education (SBE).
Together with CDE, the SBE is in the process of holding meetings
with stakeholders, as well as gathering input regionally, to
develop the LCAP regulations and implementation plan. It is
not clear whether the Governor will view the amended SB 344
favorably given it appears to usurp the authority given to SBE –
all appointees of the Governor.
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School Facility Program Eligibility Reports
State School Facility Program Applications
Construction & Modernization Facilitation
Audit & Close-Out Assistance
GIS Smart Mapping, Demographic Studies
Developer Fee Justification Studies & Implementation
Facility Needs Analysis (Level 2 & 3 Fees)
Facility Master Plans, Student Yield Studies
Enrollment Projections
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Page 5
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SSDA
Highlights from SSDA’s 2013 New Superintendents’ Symposium
Sacramento, July 16–17, 2013
This is what attendees had to say…
A Few of Our Presenters
“Wow!”
“Great Job!”
“Great Staff!” Appreciated
Lozano Smith’s approach to
Q&A session. Loved the free
advice!”
“Love these guys!
Informative and funny!”
“I have attended this conference for
two years. It is definitely as good or
better for year two
superintendents!”
“Great two-day event!”
“This was outstanding – every
presentation!”
“Thank you for all you did to make
this such an important conference!
Could have used more breaks”
“The conference was wonderful. I
wish it could be over 3 days!”
We worked hard and played hard! It’s good to have balance!
SSDA Associates Make a Difference!
SSDA
Page 6
May/June 2013
California’s Valued Trust
Members and Districts Working Together To Keep Healthcare costs Down
by Valerie Cornuelle, California’s Valued Trust Executive Director
Controlling healthcare costs is on everyone’s mind. At California’s
Valued Trust, one of our top priorities is to ensure we are
continually looking for ways to save money for our members.
We believe this is a team effort between CVT, its districts and its
members. That’s why it’s important for members to understand
how healthcare plans work and what they can do to help with
the mutual goal of utilizing healthcare dollars wisely.
We encourage our members to review their school district’s
plan options carefully by directing them to CVT’s Summary
of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) available on our website.
The SBCs explain what each plan covers and what it costs so
members can choose the best one to fit their budget.
On our end, CVT negotiates for the lowest plan rates possible.
Because we are the largest self-funded public school trust in the
state, we pool the resources of our more than 216 participating
school districts, resulting in greater bargaining power to
provide the best balance between cost and quality healthcare.
Our members can further help control their healthcare costs by
accessing their plan wisely, such as limiting unnecessary emergency
room visits by utilizing doctor offices and urgent care centers. Using
CVT’s new MDLIVE benefit is a great way to reach a physician around
the clock via a phone or online consultation. They can also reduce
their pharmacy costs by using CVS Caremark’s Maintenance Choice
program to fill their long-term prescriptions by mail or pick-up.
CVT spends an average of 97 cents of every $1 of the premiums
collected on the best healthcare for its members, not on
administration and overhead. The remaining 3 cents goes to
the providers, such as Anthem Blue Cross and HMOs for their
administration fees. CVT administration fees are covered by
the income generated by the pool investments.
And finally, we provide them with the tools and resources
to make healthy lifestyle choices through CVT’s Fit for Life
program such as health screenings, flu shots, an Employee
Assistance Program and much more. We know when our
members embrace positive lifestyle choices; they not only reap
the benefits of good health, but save money in the process.
Our members’ part in this money-saving equation is just as important.
We’ve created a Medical and Pharmacy Benefit Calculator available
on CVT’s website, which provides an estimate for out-of-pocket
expenses based upon data our members provide. This data helps
our members select a health plan that meets their specific needs.
This year, we’ve seen growth in the wellness programs, use of generic
drugs and last year major claim experience was down -- proof that
the partnership between CVT, its districts and members is working.
Please go to www.cvtrust.org for more information about

California’s Valued Trust. SAVE THE DATES
Small School Districts’ Association
Regional Meeting Schedule
Siskiyou Regional Meeting
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Siskiyou County Office of Education
609 S. Gold Street
Yreka, CA 96097
Southern California Regional
Friday, October 4, 2013
8:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Radisson Hotel
11520 W. Bernardo Court
San Diego, CA 92127
Butte Regional Meeting
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Meeting Time TBD
Butte County Office of Education
1859 Bird Street
Oroville, CA 95965
Humboldt Regional Meeting
Thursday, October 17, 2013
8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Humboldt County Office of Education
901 Myrtle Avenue
Eureka, CA 95501
Merced Regional Meeting
Friday, October 25, 2013
9:30 a.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Merced County Office of Education
632 W. 13th Street
Merced, CA 95341
May/June 2013
New School Board Member
Governance Workshop
November 16-17, 2013
Sacramento, CA
Page 7
Other 2013
SSDA Events
August 19, 2013
Collective Bargaining With
LCFF/LCAP
August 26, 2013
LCFF/LCAP – A Proponents
View
September 24, 2013
Affordable Health Care Act
October 27, 2013
Proposition 39 – A Better
Understanding
November 16-17
New School Board Members
Governance Workshop
2014 Annual Conference
April 9-11, 2014
Lions Gate Hotel
McClellan, CA
SSDA
CONGRATULATIONS to all new Superintendents!
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Page 8
May/June 2013
Prop 39 Money for Schools.
You get money for energy efficiency programs.
You save 20-40 percent on utility bills.
You put money back in your general fund.
We are.
Are you ready?
Indoor Environmental Services can help you secure your district’s
share of the $428 million Prop 39 money earmarked for California
schools.
We have a proven track record partnering with hundreds of
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of district facilities, and ultimately lowering operating costs.
We’ll evaluate your current energy usage and work closely
with you to develop implementation plans and solutions tailored
specifically for your district’s needs and to determine the best use
of the money.
We did the math.
Take a look at the enclosed financial summary. It’s calculated
specifically for your school district showing Prop 39 funds and
rebates. And we even have a plan to make the money go further
with a low percentage loan.
Cost savings from energy upgrades can help your schools avoid
future budgetary losses from dramatic increases in the rates they
have to pay, which are often peak rates. With this savings, you
can put money back into the operational budget.
Let’s get started.
Let IES help you get organized and secure the funds.
The enclosed letter offers a detailed explanation of program and
operational objectives, and we’re here to answer any questions.
Prop 39 money is there — are you ready?
For more information, contact: Stan Butts
[email protected] • 916-988-8808
IES Corporate Offices: 1512 Silica Avenue • Sacramento, CA 95815
To Online Language Learning that Works
By Jennifer Quinlan, Instructional Designer at BYU Independent Study
Most classroom models for world language instruction
inherently limit the amount of exposure and immersion
available to students. The result is frustration coupled
with a fundamentally limited world language experience.
Armed with a new model for online language courses, BYU
Independent Study (BYU-IS) has set out to change that.
Elements for Successful Language Mastery
The Standards for Foreign Language Learning, as developed
by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign
Languages, focus on five Cs: communication, cultures,
connections, comparisons, and communities. Helping
students communicate, gain understanding of other cultures,
connect with other disciplines, develop insight into the nature
of language and culture, and participate in multilingual
communities can be daunting for any world language
instructor—whether the instruction is taking place in a brick
and mortar classroom or online.
Ultimately, four main elements are instrumental to successful
language acquisition: reading, writing, speaking, and practice.
Most foreign language courses, both traditional and online,
are able to respond to most—but not all—of these elements.
Commonly, the obstacles to success are not enough writing,
not enough drills, and not enough speaking.
A New Model for Online Language Courses
After research and experimentation, BYU-IS developed a model
that relies heavily upon student-teacher interaction as well as peerto-peer interaction. Course material consists of a combination of
content from leading publishers and native speaking instructors.
Students are presented material in an engaging, interactive
manner, much like many online courses. The difference is the
emphasis on written and speaking assignments.
Students are required to submit written assignments in every
lesson, which receives instructor feedback and comments.
Students also complete one-on-one speaking assignments
with instructors, preparing oral presentations that receive
immediate feedback, correction, and instruction for
improvement. A non-scripted dialogue with the instructor
completes each speaking assignment.
May/June 2013
To provide the ability to practice their language with fluent
or native-level speakers, students are required to attend
Conversation Cafés, virtual "rooms" which are facilitated by the
instructor or teaching assistant (TA). The Conversation Cafés
are open 20 hours a week and afford students the chance to
interact as peers, providing feedback and practicing together.
Students have the opportunity to prepare and practice
partnered speaking assignments, complete assigned drills
from their lesson, and receive direct instruction and support
from TAs moderating the café. Students can even work in
cohorts, despite the courses being asynchronous, thanks
largely to the high volume of enrollments BYU Independent
Study receives.
“When you have three thousand students studying a language at any given time, the chance that there will be a handful of kids all working on lesson one this week is pretty good,”
BYU-IS Assistant Director Steven Park explained. “The TA moderating the café can send those students into a breakout room
where they can work collaboratively on the material that is
presented in lesson one.”
Where brick and mortar world language instructors lament
they don’t have enough time with their students to make the
language come to life, this online model provides extensive
extra practice opportunities, which can better position students for language mastery. Offering students the opportunity to stop into the café and practice speaking 20 hours a week
is something a brick and mortar school might have trouble
duplicating.
BYU-IS currently offers nine high school- and five universitylevel world languages online. BYU-IS is also working aggressively to transition all of its world language courses to the new,
more interactive model with enhanced speaking and writing
elements by Sept. 1, 2013.
To check out a demo of the BYU-IS language courses, visit
byuisdemo.brainhoney.com. Login with the username byuonline and the password chinese.

Page 9
Originally published at CampusTechnology.com
SSDA
SSDA Federal Update
While the California Legislature has been on
break, Congress has been acting on numerous
school bills and has been considering additional
school issues, such as education appropriations
and sequestration, which they did not take action
upon prior to their August break, which will last
until after Labor Day.
Appropriations and Sequestration
The most important Congressional obligation
is to keep the federal government functioning.
One of the actions to accomplish this obligation
is to pass the annual Appropriations bills. Last
year, Congress did not pass the Appropriations
bills on time, and instead has used a continuing
appropriations resolution. That action essentially
flat-funds everything at prior appropriations levels for discretionary programs, such as education
and defense.
Sequestration reduces the appropriation level
to create further savings, that were agreed to in
the 2011 federal debt ceiling compromise, when
Congress failed to adopt an alternative to the
across-the-board sequestration reductions.
As of now, schools should expect the federal
education funding cuts that are required by sequestration. These cuts will increase for the rest
of this decade unless Congress and the President
can find an alternative. Given the intransigence
and bitter partisan division in Congress, there is
no expectation that they will be able to pass appropriations bills, or an alternative to sequestration, until after the 2013 federal debt limit fight
that is expected in November.
H.R. 5
H.R. 5 is the House of Representatives’ passed reauthorization of the Elementary
and Secondary Education
Act (ESEA). SSDA adopted
a support position on H.R. 5
because it addressed many
SSDA
of the state and local flexibility issues SSDA has
been advocating. The bill is an attempt to restrict
the over reach of the federal government and the
United States Department of Education on state
and local decision-making regarding K-12 education programs. While there are some provisions
of H.R. 5 that concern SSDA, on balance, the reauthorization is a significant improvement to the
current No Child Left Behind legislation.
The United States Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions has passed its
reauthorization legislation. However, it has not
been set for action on the Senate Floor.
The House of Representatives and United States
Senate authors’ bills have different philosophies and,
consequently, are significantly different from each
other. That difference would make a conference
committee and reconciliation extremely difficult.
Additionally, President Obama has indicated he
would veto the House of Representatives legislation
if it were sent to him in its current form. The fact
that the House, Senate and White House positions
are different continues the gridlock on ESEA
reauthorization. There is no realistic expectation for
ESEA reauthorization until after 2014.
All Children Are Equal (ACE) Act
SSDA has supported the All Children Are Equal
Act which was introduced by Representative
Thompson from Pennsylvania. This act was intended to be an amendment to the House of
Representatives ESEA reauthorization bill. However, the House leadership decided not to allow
the amendment to be considered or voted upon.
The ACE amendments would have addressed the
inequities that are facing small school districts
with high percentages of low-income children,
compared to large suburban school districts and
mid-size urban school districts with smaller percentages of Title I eligible children, but more in
absolute numbers. The current Title I allocation
process provides more money per Title I student
Page 10
May/June 2013
SSDA Federal Update
to districts that have lower percentages of total
Title I students, if they simply have more eligible
students. SSDA opposes current law and supports ACE because it returns to the original ESEA
goal that districts with high concentrations (percentages) of Title I students should receive more
money per Title I student than districts with lower
concentrations (percentages) of eligible students.
It appears the large, urban school districts were
able to block this equity amendment.
SSDA will continue to fight for correcting the
Title I formula inequities. The ESEA reauthorization should ensure that all students are treated
equally, regardless of the size of the school district where they are educated.
Secure Rural Schools and Community SelfDetermination Act
The House of Representatives is moving forward
with funding for the Secure Rural Schools and
Community Self-Determination Act. The funding is contained in H.R. 1526, which has passed
the House Natural Resources Committee. SSDA
supports this bipartisan action to continue federal funding for school districts that have been
harmed by federal actions reducing the ability to
harvest forest products in national forests. SSDA
hopes H.R. 1526 will be considered by the full
House of Representatives after Labor Day, when
they return from their break.
In other legislation, the United States Senate has
acted to also extend the Secure Rural Schools and
Community Self-Determination Act funding. SSDA
hopes the United States Senate will quickly pass
H.R. 1526 after the House of Representatives action.
May/June 2013
School Infrastructure
President Obama has proposed a major new
federally supported school infrastructure program. This program would provide access to tax
advantaged school bonds, similar to the Qualified School Construction Bonds that were part
of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
and Build America Bonds. SSDA is encouraged
by the President’s proposal and hopes Congress
will consider this support to address the reconstruction and modernization needs for school
districts, and especially small school districts.
E-Rate
The Federal Communications Commission is
looking at working on amending the E-Rate program to address the 21st Century need for all
schools and all students to have access to highspeed broadband internet. This access is needed
for the delivery of academic programs and the
new assessments associated with the Common
Core. SSDA looks forward to working with the
Federal Communications Commission on making changes that will ensure equal access. SSDA
is concerned, however, that merely restructuring
E-Rate without providing additional funds will
not accomplish the equal access goal. SSDA will
advocate for an increase in E-Rate beyond the
current $2.5 billion national funding limit.

Page 11SSDA
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SSDA
Page 12
May/June 2013
Common Core Standard Implementation
What’s Happening?
Since your mind is most likely consumed with immediate
back to school issues, here is a refresher on where we are
with the implementation of both the Common Core State
Standards (CCSS) at the state level.
There are two areas of activity relative to CCSS – the
pending one-time implementation funds and Assembly
Bill 484 (Bonilla) related to the transition from the STAR
program to the CCSS assessments.
$1.25 billion in one-time funds for CCSS implementation,
which the Governor approved as part of the state budget, should be going out soon. Currently, the California
Department of Education (CDE) has set August 30, 2013
as the notification date for the first apportionment for 50
percent of the funds. The second apportionment will be
issued by CDE in October 2013. The funding will be allocated to districts, county offices of education, charter
schools and state special schools on an equal per pupil
rate of approximately $200 per pupil based on prior year
(2012-13) enrollment.
The funds may be used for professional development, instructional materials, and technology enhancement and
may be encumbered in either 2013-14 or 2014 – 15.
As a condition of receiving funds, local education agencies must:
Questions have arisen as to whether CDE will be providing a template for LEAs to use in creating their plans;
however, as LEAs are not required to submit their plans
to CDE, the department will not be creating a template.
CDE will be putting together a report on how LEAs utilized their funds, and will be using the expenditure data
that is required to be reported by LEAs for that purpose.
Assembly Bill (AB) 484 by Assemblymember Susan Bonilla
is sponsored by State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Tom Torlakson and is intended to address the legislative
changes necessary to align the state assessment system
with CCSS. The bill, an urgency measure, suspends all assessments that are not required by federal law, provides a
transition to new assessments that are aligned to the common core standards in English language arts and mathematics, requires the development of updated primary language assessments and alternate assessments for pupils
with exceptional needs, and requires the development of
plans for updated assessments in other subject areas.
While there is consensus that legislation is needed to transition California from the STAR program to assessments
aligned to the Common Core State Standards, many education stakeholders, including the Governor, are concerned that this bill may be broader than necessary.
• Create a plan for use of the funds and then describe the
plan at a public meeting of the governing board of the
school district, county board of education, or governing body of the charter school. The plan must then be
adopted at a subsequent public meeting.
In order to respond to issues raised by the Governor, it is
expected that CDE will be working these last few weeks
to better limit the bill to only what is needed relative to
implementation of CCSS. Other outlying concerns include
the availability and cost of diagnostic and formative tests
for those years without federally required assessments.
• Report, by July 1, 2015, detailed information on the
expenditure of the funds to CDE.
The final disposition of the bill is unclear at this time – as is
the Governor’s position. SSDA will keep you posted! 
May/June 2013
Page 13SSDA
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Welcome!
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School Districts/County Office of Education
Golden Feather Union Elementary School District
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San Marino Unified School District
Santa Clara Elementary School District
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Terra Bella Union School District
Union Joint School District
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May/June 2013
Page 15SSDA
SMALL SCHOOL
DISTRICTS’ ASSOCIATION
925 L Street, Suite 1200
Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel: (916) 444-9335
Toll Free: (866) 443-7732
Fax: (916) 441-4851
Email: [email protected]
Please visit our website at
www.ssda.org
for our publishing schedule and
advertising application.
Strengthening Districts
Enlightening Youth
www.ssda.org
SSDA
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Sacramento, CA 95814
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