HELP STOP AB 1403

AB 1403 (Arambula) would establish the Central Valley District Improvement Pilot Program which sets a bad precedent for school district governing boards by empowering the county superintendent of schools in Fresno and Tulare counties to take control of school district academic programs.

 

AB 1403 will be heard in the Senate Education Committee on July 11, 2007.  We need your help in defeating this measure.  Please send a message to the Committee and your own legislators today asking them to vote No on AB 1403. 

 

Attached is draft letter that you can use to contact members of the Senate Education Committee and your own legislators.  Please do not hesitate to personalize the letter. 

 

In addition to sending a letter to members of the Senate Education Committee, we also would urge your Board to adopt the attached draft resolution and forward it to all Committee members.  The attached draft resolution can be found in the "What's at Stake" section.

 

Sample Letter for Campaign

Subject: AB 1403 MUST BE STOPPED!

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

I am writing to express my strong opposition to AB 1403 (Arambula) which will be heard in the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday, July 11, 2007. This bill will undermine the governing ability of locally elected school boards in Fresno and Tulare counties by shifting oversight and control of educational programs to the county superintendent.

This bill:

* Requires school districts to participate if the county superintendent selects that school district; however, participation by the county superintendent is voluntary.

* Attacks school district governance by enabling a county superintendent to impose sanctions and interventions on a school district, including stay and rescind authority over governing board decisions similar to the state superintendent?s authority for districts in fiscal distress.

* Has significant mandate costs for the schools and districts that are required to participate. The costs of this bill would be in addition to any costs generated through participation in the current state and federal accountability systems.

* Removes the state from its fiduciary and oversight role with respect to student performance and turns the responsibility over to county superintendents, even though the state annually invests billions of dollars of the state budget in the support of low-performing schools.

* Places all of the accountability for the program?s success at the door of the school district, with no accountability for the county superintendent if the program that has been overseen and approved by the county superintendent does not achieve the intended results.

For these reasons I oppose AB 1403 (Arambula) and urge your No vote when the bill is heard in committee on July 11, 2007.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
June 25, 2007


Background Information

Draft Resolution to Oppose AB 1403 (Arambula)

 

WHEREAS, Assembly Bill 1403 would establish the Central Valley District Improvement Pilot program which will authorize the county superintendent of schools in Fresno and Tulare counties to participate, along with low-performing school districts in the county, in a pilot program related to assessing, monitoring, and improving the academic achievement of those school districts, and the schools and pupils in those districts; and

 

WHEREAS, Participation in this program is voluntary for the county superintendents, however, eligible school districts would be required to participate if the county superintendent selects that school district; and

 

WHEREAS, This bill is an attack on school district governance by enabling a county superintendent to impose sanctions and interventions on a school district, including stay and rescind authority over governing board decisions; and

 

WHEREAS, This bill will have potentially significant mandate costs for the schools and districts that are required to participate.  Placing additional mandates on districts that are already stretched will not improve their ability to succeed.  The costs of this bill on schools and districts would be in addition to any costs generated through participation in the current state and federal accountability systems; and

 

WHEREAS, Since the state annually invests billions of dollars of the state budget in the support of low-performing schools, it would be an abdication of the state's fiduciary responsibility to remove itself from its oversight role with respect to student performance; this bill proposes that this responsibility be turned over to county superintendents; and

 

WHEREAS. This bill places all of the accountability for the program’s success at the door of the school district, with no accountability for the county superintendent if the program that has been overseen and approved by the county superintendent does not achieve the intended results;

 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_______________School District joins the California School Boards Association in urging members of the California State Senate to vote NO on Assembly Bill 1403 (Arambula).

 

 

 

AB 1403 must be stopped! 

This is bill is an attack on school district governance by allowing a county superintendent to assume all of the authority of a district’s school board and superintendent.  Under this bill, the county superintendent would be able to impose sanctions and interventions on a school district, including stay and rescind authority over governing board decisions.

 This bill will have potentially significant mandate costs for the schools and districts that are required to participate.  The costs for the county offices of education would not be mandated as the program is voluntary for the county superintendent and, as such, would not be reimbursable.  Many of the districts that are being singled out to participate in this program are struggling both academically and financially.  Placing additional mandates on districts that are already stretched will not improve their ability to succeed.  The costs of this bill on schools and districts would be in addition to any costs generated through participation in the state and federal accountability systems.

 

Further, since the state annually invests billions of dollars of the state budget in the support of low-performing schools, it would be an abdication of the state's fiduciary responsibility to remove itself from its oversight role with respect to student performance; this bill proposes that this responsibility be turned over to county superintendents. 

 

It has been purported that this program will promote collaboration between the county offices of education and the participating school districts.  However, as written, this bill does not establish a collaborative relationship, especially when one party (the school district) is mandated to participate in the program if the other party (the county superintendent) chooses to participate.  This type of forced relationship does not promote collaboration.

 

Finally, AB 1403 places all of the accountability for the program’s success at the door of the school district, with no accountability for the county superintendent if the program that has been overseen and approved by the county superintendent does not achieve the intended results.