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February 19, 2003 - We recommend that the Legislature take steps to integrate state and federal sanction and intervention programs to send a clear message of expectations to schools and districts. We recommend that state interventions be focused at the school district level and that the state intervene directly at only the lowest-performing schools.
February 19, 2003 - We identify several areas where the Legislature could reduce the assessment burden on school districts while maintaining the state's emphasis on academic content and performance standards: the NRT portion of the STAR program, the primary language test, the Golden State Exams, and the physical fitness test.
February 19, 2003 - We review recent research on class size reduction (CSR) which uncovered three major findings: (1) the effect of CSR on student achievement is inconclusive; (2) California's CSR program contributed to a decline in teacher quality; and (3) California's CSR program generated inequitable distribution of fully qualified teachers.
February 19, 2003 - We recommend that the Legislature (1) not fund revenue limit equalization as proposed by the Governor ($250 million), and (2) delay revenue limit equalization until a year when Proposition 98 can fund growth, cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs), and pay off any remaining deferrals.
February 19, 2003 - Given the Office of Criminal Justice Planning's (OCJP's) poor performance in the administration of its programs, and the significant overlap of its mission and programs with those of other departments, we recommend that OCJP programs be shifted to other departments.
February 19, 2003 - Inmates who are being processed in the reception centers or who are unassigned to a full-time work or education program due to a shortage of slots earn less than the maximum level of work credits. We recommend enactment of legislation allowing these inmates to earn day-for-day work credit instead of the one-day-for-two-days participation they currently earn thereby saving the state $70 million while reducing the sentence of approximately 29,000 inmates by only 27 days.
February 19, 2003 - Elderly inmates are two to three times as costly to incarcerate in state prison as younger inmates. Yet, research shows they are less likely to reoffend and have greater success on parole. For these reasons, we recommend the Legislature adopt legislation requiring that nonviolent elderly inmates be released early to parole.
February 19, 2003 - The Governor's court security realignment proposal does not constitute a realignment of responsibilities and control over court security, rather, it is a funding source swap. Accordingly, we recommend that the Legislature exclude this component from the Governor's realignment proposal.
February 19, 2003 - Developmental centers (DC) population has declined significantly over the last forty years. We examine the DC system's population trends and cost-effectiveness, and provide the Legislature with options and recommendations related to future DC operations.