20250AB__149397AMD INTRODUCED 2025-02-21 AMENDED_ASSEMBLY 2025-03-24 AMENDED_ASSEMBLY 2026-01-05 2025 AB AMD Introduced by Assembly Member Ávila Farías LEAD_AUTHOR ASSEMBLY Ávila Farías

An act to amend

Section of the Education Code, relating to school district and community college district elections. school district and community college district elections School district and community college district governing boards: vacancy elections.

Under existing law, whenever a school district or community college district vacancy occurs, or if a resignation has been filed with the county superintendent of schools creating a deferred effective date, the school district or community college district governing board is required, within days of the vacancy or the filing of the deferred resignation, either to order an election or to make a provisional appointment.

Existing law requires a person appointed to a fill a vacancy to hold office only until the next regularly scheduled election for district governing board members that is scheduled or more days after the effective date of the vacancy. If a provisional appointment is made, existing law authorizes the registered voters of the district, within days of the appointment, to petition for a special election to fill the vacancy. Existing law requires that a special election be called if specified signature thresholds are met.

Existing law requires the county superintendent of schools, upon finding that the petition is legally sufficient, to terminate the provisional appointment and order a special election to be conducted not less than 88, nor more than 125, days following the order of the election, except that the election is authorized to be conducted within days after the issuance of the order so that the election may be consolidated with a regularly scheduled election, as provided.

This bill instead would require the county superintendent of schools, upon finding that the petition is legally sufficient, to order that a special election be consolidated with the next regularly scheduled election if that election is scheduled not fewer than days following the order of the election. The bill would authorize the provisional appointee to remain in office until the special election result is certified.

The bill would require the provisional appointee to hold office only until the next regularly scheduled election for district governing board members that is scheduled or more days after the effective date of the vacancy. To the extent that the bill would impose additional duties on local agencies or officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. The Charter Schools Act of authorizes the establishment and operation of charter schools.

Existing law sets out performance standards and procedures for the renewal of the charter of an existing charter school based on the charter school’s performance level as determined by data reported on the California School Dashboard, with specific requirements for renewal applicable to specified tiers of performance for those charter schools.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>Existing law, until January 1, 2026, requires a chartering authority, in its renewal decision for the lower performing tiers of charter schools, to also consider whether the charter school has shown measurable increases in academic achievement or strong postsecondary outcomes, as demonstrated by verified data, as defined.

Existing law requires the State Board of Education, on or before January 1, 2021, to establish criteria to define verified data and identify an approved list of valid and reliable assessments to be used for this purpose.

Existing law requires a chartering authority, after January 1, 2026, to use only the data reported on the dashboard in making a renewal decision.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>This bill would require a chartering authority, in its renewal decision for the lower performing tiers of charter schools, to instead consider increases in academic achievement or strong postsecondary outcomes until the student-level growth model for English language arts and mathematics, adopted by the state board, is fully implemented as to provide the years of data necessary for purposes of charter school renewal.

To the extent the bill would impose additional duties on local educational agencies acting as chartering authorities, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>This bill would make conforming changes relating to these provisions.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state.

Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.</xhtml:p>"?> MAJORITY NO YES YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section of the Education Code is amended to read: 5091. (a)

(1) If a vacancy occurs, or if a resignation has been filed with the county superintendent of schools containing a deferred effective date, the school district or community college district governing board shall, within days of the vacancy or the filing of the deferred resignation, either order an election or make a provisional appointment to fill the vacancy. A governing board member may not defer the effective date of the member’s resignation for more than days after the member files the resignation with the county superintendent of schools.

(2) If a governing board fails to make a provisional appointment or order an election within the prescribed 60-day period as required by this section, the county superintendent of schools shall order an election to fill the vacancy. (

b) If an election is ordered, it shall be held on the next established election date provided pursuant to

Chapter 1 (commencing with

Section 1000) of Division of the Elections Code not fewer than days after the order of the election. (c)

(1) If a provisional appointment is made within the 60-day period, the registered voters of the district may, within days from the date of the appointment, petition for the conduct of a special election to fill the vacancy. A petition shall be deemed to bear a sufficient number of signatures if signed by at least the number of registered voters of the district equal to 1 1 percent of the number of registered voters of the district at the time of the last regular election for governing board members, or registered voters, whichever is greater.

However, in districts with fewer than 2,000 registered voters, a petition shall be deemed to bear a sufficient number of signatures if signed by at least percent of the number of registered voters of the district at the time of the last regular election for governing board members. (2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>(A)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The</xhtml:p>"?>

(2) The petition shall be submitted to the county superintendent of schools having jurisdiction who shall have days to verify the signatures. If the petition is determined to be legally sufficient by the county superintendent of schools, the county superintendent of schools shall order a special election to be consolidated with the next regularly scheduled election if that election is scheduled not fewer than days following the order of the election.

The provisional appointee may remain in office until the special election result is certified. (B)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the election may be conducted within days after the issuance of the order so that the election may be consolidated with a regularly scheduled election.</xhtml:p>"?>

(3) For purposes of this section, “registered voters” means the following: (

A) If the district uses the at-large method of election, as defined in subdivision (

a) of

Section of the Elections Code, registered voters of the entire school district or community college district. (

B) If the district uses district-based elections, as defined in subdivision (

b) of

Section of the Elections Code, registered voters of the election district. (

d) A provisional appointment made pursuant to subdivision (

a) confers all powers and duties of a governing board member upon the appointee immediately following that appointment. (

e) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), a person appointed to fill a vacancy shall hold office only until the next regularly scheduled election for district governing board members that is scheduled or more days after the effective date of the vacancy, whereupon an election shall be held to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term. A person elected at an election to fill the vacancy shall hold office for the remainder of the term in which the vacancy occurs or will occur. (f)

(1) If a petition calling for a special election is circulated, the petition shall meet all of the following requirements: (

A) The petition shall contain the election official’s estimate of the cost of conducting the special election and those estimated costs expressed on a per-pupil or per-student basis. (

B) The name and residence address of at least one, but not more than five, of the proponents of the petition shall appear on the petition, each of which proponents shall be a registered voter of the school district or community college district, as applicable. (

C) None of the text or other language of the petition shall appear in less than six-point type. (

D) The petition shall be prepared and circulated in conformity with Sections and of the Elections Code.

(2) If any of the requirements of this subdivision are not met as to any petition calling for a special election, the county superintendent of schools shall not verify the signatures, nor shall any further action be taken with respect to the petition.

(3) No person shall permit the list of names on petitions prescribed by this

section to be used for any purpose other than qualification of the petition for the purpose of holding an election pursuant to this section.

(4) The petition filed with the county superintendent of schools shall be subject to the restrictions in

Article 2 (commencing with

Section 7924.100) of

Chapter of Part of Division of Title of the Government Code. (

g) Elections held pursuant to subdivisions (

b) and (

c) shall be conducted in as nearly the same manner as practicable as other governing board member elections.

SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to

Part 7 (commencing with

Section 17500) of Division of Title of the Government Code. <caml:Num>SECTION 1.</caml:Num><caml:ActionLine action="IS_AMENDED" xlink:href="urn:caml:codes:EDC:caml#xpointer(%2Fcaml%3ALawDoc%2Fcaml%3ACode%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'TITLE'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'2.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'DIVISION'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'4.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'PART'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'26.8.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'CHAPTER'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'2.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawSection%5Bcaml%3ANum%3D'47607.2.'%5D)" xlink:label="fractionType: LAW_SECTION||version: Amended (as amended by Stats. 2020, Ch. 24,

Sec. 45) by Stats. 2021, Ch. 44,

Sec. 57. [id_5e09448b-e4ae-11eb-ad04-a7886069fc3b]" xlink:type="locator">Section 47607.2 of the <caml:DocName>Education Code</caml:DocName>, as amended by

Section of

Chapter of the Statutes of 2021, is amended to read:</caml:ActionLine><caml:Fragment><caml:LawSection id="id_2D682DB6-00F7-4EB8-A554-ED2BD8B0D732"><caml:Num>47607.2.</caml:Num><caml:LawSectionVersion id="id_C0FECC18-C28A-423E-9339-FDE584C32E94"><caml:Content><xhtml:p>(a)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>(1)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The chartering authority shall not renew a charter if either of the following apply for two consecutive years immediately preceding the renewal decision:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(A)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The charter school has received the two lowest performance levels schoolwide on all the state indicators included in the evaluation rubrics adopted pursuant to

Section 52064.5 for which it receives performance levels.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(B)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>For all measurements of academic performance, the charter school has received performance levels schoolwide that are the same or lower than the state average and, for a majority of subgroups performing statewide below the state average in each respective year, received performance levels that are lower than the state average.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>A charter school that meets the criteria established by this subdivision and paragraph (2) of subdivision (

c) of

Section shall only qualify for treatment under this subdivision.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(3)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The chartering authority shall consider the following factors, and may renew a charter that meets the criteria in paragraph (1) only upon making both of the following written factual findings, specific to the particular petition, setting forth specific facts to support the findings:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(A)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The charter school is taking meaningful steps to address the underlying cause or causes of low performance, and those steps are reflected, or will be reflected, in a written plan adopted by the governing body of the charter school.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(B)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>There is clear and convincing evidence showing either of the following:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(i)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The school achieved measurable increases in academic achievement, as defined by at least one year’s progress for each year in school.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(ii)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Strong postsecondary outcomes, as defined by college enrollment, persistence, and completion rates equal to similar peers.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(C)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Clauses (

i) and (ii) of subparagraph (

B) shall be demonstrated by verified data, as defined in subdivision (c).</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(4)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Verified data, as defined in subdivision (c), shall be considered by the chartering authority until the state board adopted student-level growth model for English language arts and mathematics is fully implemented as to provide the two years of data necessary for purposes of charter school renewal.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(5)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>For a charter renewed pursuant to this subdivision, the chartering authority may grant a renewal for a period of two years.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(b)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>(1)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>For all charter schools for which paragraph (2) of subdivision (

c) of

Section and subdivision (

a) of this

section do not apply, the chartering authority shall consider the schoolwide performance and performance of all subgroups of pupils served by the charter school on the state indicators included in the evaluation rubrics adopted pursuant to

Section 52064.5 and the performance of the charter school on the local indicators included in the evaluation rubrics adopted pursuant to

Section 52064.5.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The chartering authority shall provide greater weight to performance on measurements of academic performance in determining whether to grant a charter renewal.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(3)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>In addition to the state and local indicators, the chartering authority shall consider clear and convincing evidence showing either of the following:</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(A)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The school achieved measurable increases in academic achievement, as defined by at least one year’s progress for each year in school.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(B)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Strong postsecondary outcomes, as defined by college enrollment, persistence, and completion rates equal to similar peers.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(4)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Subparagraphs (

A) and (

B) of paragraph (3) shall be demonstrated by verified data, as defined in subdivision (c).</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(5)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The chartering authority may deny a charter renewal pursuant to this subdivision only upon making written findings, setting forth specific facts to support the findings, that the charter school has failed to meet or make sufficient progress toward meeting standards that provide a benefit to the pupils of the school, that closure of the charter school is in the best interest of pupils and, if applicable pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3), that its decision provided greater weight to performance on measurements of academic performance.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(6)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Verified data, as defined in subdivision (c), shall be considered by the chartering authority until the state board adopted student-level growth model for English language arts and mathematics is fully implemented as to provide the two years of data necessary for purposes of charter school renewal.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(7)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>For a charter renewed pursuant to this subdivision, the chartering authority shall grant a renewal for a period of five years.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(c)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>(1)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>For purposes of this section, “verified data” means data derived from nationally recognized, valid, peer-reviewed, and reliable sources that are included on the approved list of assessments adopted and maintained by the state board.

Verified data shall include measures of postsecondary outcomes.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(2)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Revisions to the approved list of assessments maintained by the state board shall not be subject to the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with

Section 11340) of Part of Division of Title of the Government Code).</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(3)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>The state board may adopt and make necessary revisions to the approved list of assessments maintained by the state board in accordance with the requirements of the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act (Article 9 (commencing with

Section 11120) of

Chapter of Part of Division of Title of the Government Code).</xhtml:p></caml:Content></caml:LawSectionVersion></caml:LawSection></caml:Fragment></caml:BillSection><caml:BillSection id="id_C094366E-3DF0-4E4B-8E77-2197950F0C22"><caml:Num>SEC. 2.</caml:Num><caml:ActionLine action="IS_REPEALED" xlink:href="urn:caml:codes:EDC:caml#xpointer(%2Fcaml%3ALawDoc%2Fcaml%3ACode%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'TITLE'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'2.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'DIVISION'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'4.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'PART'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'26.8.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawHeading%5B%40type%3D'CHAPTER'%20and%20caml%3ANum%3D'2.'%5D%2Fcaml%3ALawSection%5Bcaml%3ANum%3D'47607.2.'%5D)" xlink:label="fractionType: LAW_SECTION||version: Repealed (in

Sec. 8) and added by Stats. 2019, Ch. 486,

Sec. 9. [id_03fd73f5-0c8f-11ea-912d-915c88c10a14]" xlink:type="locator">Section 47607.2 of the <caml:DocName>Education Code</caml:DocName>, as added by

Section of

Chapter of the Statutes of 2019, is repealed.</caml:ActionLine><caml:Fragment/></caml:BillSection><caml:BillSection id="id_C08F2F20-F45D-4F3F-A623-1E4DE18EE143"><caml:Num>SEC. 3.</caml:Num><caml:Content><xhtml:p>If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to

Part 7 (commencing with

Section 17500) of Division of Title of the Government Code.</xhtml:p></caml:Content></caml:BillSection>"?>