Jan 14th OUSD Board Meeting Agenda Item information on CCIF
School districts and charter schools this fall will receive substantial money they didn’t foresee coming their way a few months ago to prepare for the Common Core standards. The catch: They first have to tell the public how they plan to use it.
School districts and charter schools this fall will receive substantial money they didn’t foresee coming their way a few months ago to prepare for the Common Core standards. The catch: They first have to tell the public how they plan to use it.
The state budget that Gov. Jerry Brown is poised to sign includes $1.25 billion – about $200 per student, based on 2012-13 enrollment – for schools to transition to a new set of English language arts and math standards that students will be tested on in spring 2015. Pressed by districts needing all the help they can get, Brown added $1 billion in his revised budget in May for the new standards, and legislative leaders negotiated an additional 25 percent – $250 million – in the budget awaiting Brown’s signature this week.
“This is a strong indicator that the governor and Legislature will help districts be successful in the shift to Common Core,” said Assembly member Susan Bonilla, D-Concord, who, as chair of the education subcommittee of the Assembly Budget Committee, fought for additional Common Core money. Districts also have other sources of money they can direct to Common Core: federal Title I money for low-income children, as well as Title II, targeted for principal and teacher training, and extra money they’ll be getting this Fall under the new Local Control Funding Formula.
The trailer bill, spelling out details in the budget, gives districts latitude to spend the $1.25 billion on teacher training, textbooks and materials and technology. The latter is needed for districts to offer the online, standardized Common Core tests and to begin the shift to digital learning.
“We wanted to keep flexibility, because there are all levels of readiness in the state. Some are ahead of the curve,” said Bonilla.
Districts will be able obtain the money in two installments, in September and then November. But first they must create a plan for it and hold two hearings: the first to present the proposal to the public, the second to vote on it. This will be sort of a trial run for the accountability plan that districts will have to write, starting in 2014, under the new Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), giving districts more flexibility to spend state education money.
For more info refer to Assembly Bill (AB) 86, Chapter 48, Section 85:
ReplyDeletehttp://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140AB86
AB 86, Ch 48, Sec. 85, 2(d):
"A school district, county office of education, charter school, or state special school shall expend funds allocated pursuant to this section for any of the following purposes:
(1) Professional development for teachers, administrators, and paraprofessional educators or other classified employees involved in the direct instruction of pupils that is aligned to the academic content standards adopted pursuant to Sections 60605.8, 60605.11, 60605.85, and 60811.3 of the Education Code.
(2) Instructional materials aligned to the academic content standards adopted pursuant to Sections 60605.8, 60605.85, 60605.11, and 60811.3 of the Education Code, including, but not limited to, supplemental instructional materials as provided in Sections 60605.86, 60605.87, and 60605.88 of the Education Code.
(3) Integration of these academic content standards through technology-based instruction for purposes of improving the academic performance of pupils, including, but not necessarily limited to, expenditures necessary to support the administration of computer-based assessments and provide high-speed, high-bandwidth Internet connectivity for the purpose of administration of computer-based assessments.
(e) As a condition of receiving funds allocated pursuant to this section, a school district, county office of education, charter school, or state special school shall do both of the following:
(1) Develop and adopt a plan delineating how funds allocated pursuant to this section shall be spent. The plan shall be explained in a public meeting of the governing board of the school district, county board of education, or governing body of the charter school, before its adoption in a subsequent public meeting.
(2) On or before July 1, 2015, report detailed expenditure information to the State Department of Education, including, but not limited to, specific purchases made and the number of teachers, administrators, or paraprofessional educators that received professional development. The State Department of Education shall determine the format for this report."