1. Special Education Compliance Monitoring and Staffing Plans for 2001-02. It is the intent of the Legislature that the State Department of Education (SDE), in conjunction with the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) and the Department of Finance (DOF), prepare the following two reports:
(a) A report that describes the 2000-01 compliance monitoring system for special education programs and the SDE's special education division's staffing allocation for monitoring as well as staffing allocations for other responsibilities within the division. This report shall be submitted to the appropriate legislative committees and the Governor by December 1, 2000.
(b) A report that provides a monitoring and staffing plan for 2001-02 which includes recommendations for improving the monitoring system, if necessary. This report shall be submitted to the appropriate legislative committees and the Governor by March 1, 2001.
The LAO shall be responsible for determining the specific topics and issues to be addressed in each report in consultation with the SDE and DOF, and shall be responsible for convening meetings of the three agencies. In developing both reports, the three agencies shall consult with other interested parties including parents/guardians, teachers, administrators, the Special Education Advisory Commission, legislative staff, and other interested parties.
2. Special Education Program Monitoring. It is the intent of the Legislature that the SDE increase the number of "verification reviews" of school district special education programs from 18 in the current year to 100 in the 2000-01 school year and continue the current-year level of 19 facilitated reviews, 15 fed-Cap reviews and 4 serious systemic reviews (three facilitated reviews overlap with three fed-Cap reviews resulting in a total of 35 district reviews in these categories rather than 38).
Of the 100 verification reviews to be conducted in the 2000-01 school year, 80 shall be selected randomly from at least one-third of the 116 Special Education Local Plan Areas (SELPAs). The remaining 20 reviews shall be selected by the SDE based on performance indicators, such as, an usually high number of complaints from administrators, teachers, parents or guardians, and others concerning a district's compliance with federal and state laws.
Each verification review shall include at least the following three components: (1) review of a random selection of Individual Education Programs (IEPs), (2) follow-up discussions in the classroom with the pupil's regular and special education teachers and other school personnel of a selected number of the IEPs under review, and (3) follow-up discussions with the pupil's parent or guardian of a selected number of the IEPs reviewed in the classroom. The SDE shall also set aside time during each verification review for a general discussion with parents/guardians about the strengths and/or shortfalls in the district's delivery of special education services. While the districts shall be given advanced notification of the verification review they will not be given advanced notification of the IEPs to be reviewed. The SDE personnel shall provide the random list of IEPs on site and oversee the selection of the random IEP files. The purpose of the verification review is to assess the pupil's access to services and assess the IEP development process, IEP implementation and results of the IEP.
The SDE shall report quarterly (October 30, January 30, March 30, and July 30) to the chair and vice-chairs of the appropriate legislative budget and policy committees and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the DOF and Governor on progress on implementation of the monitoring reviews and their results, SDE special education staffing changes, and assessment data including participation rates and test results for special education students at the state, county, district, and school site levels. The format for these quarterly reports shall be developed by the Legislative Analyst in conjunction with the DOF and SDE.
1. California State Library. The California Research Bureau shall undertake a study of the staffing and related workload of chaplains employed by state agencies which operate 24-hour facilities including, but not limited to, the Departments of Corrections, Development Services, Mental Health, Veteran Affairs, and the Youth Authority. These departments and the appropriate employee groups are requested to cooperate with the Bureau in this undertaking. The study shall be provided to the Department of Finance, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the fiscal committees of the Legislature by March 1, 2001, so that any recommended staffing adjustments may be considered in the fiscal year 2001-02 budget.
1. Management Study Reforms. A comprehensive management study of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), funded in the 1999-00 Budget Act, identified numerous reforms to improve customer service and increase program efficiency. It is the intent of the Legislature that the CTC implement all feasible program improvements identified in the study.
The Legislative Analyst shall provide two reports to the Legislature on CTC's progress towards implementing these reforms, a preliminary report on or before October 1, 2000, and a final report on or before March 1, 2001. Particular attention shall be given to the following recommendations:
1. Santa Clara Regional Center. It is the intent of the Legislature that the $1.1 million in funding provided in the budget for the Santa Clara Regional Center is available only for planning for the center and shall not be construed as legislative approval of the center. The University of California (UC) is proceeding with the normal review process through the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) and, following review by CPEC, will present its proposal for permanent funding for the center for review and consideration by the Governor and the Legislature through the normal budget process next year.
2. Professional Development Institutes. It is the intent of the Legislature that the UC, through its professional development institutes, provide services to as wide a geographic area as possible. It is further the intent of the Legislature that the UC use funds for the institutes for direct services to the maximum extent possible, holding administrative costs and institutional overhead to a minimum.
It is the intent of the Legislature that the University Office of the President provide a preliminary report to the Legislature by December 1, 2000, and report annually by October 1 on the following information:
3. Contracting for Services. The Legislature requests that the UC conduct a study on the extent to which, over the last ten years, the university has contracted out for services that were formerly performed by UC employees. To the extent information is available, the report should include the number of contracts, the estimated savings to the UC during that period of time, the reason any savings were realized, the wages and benefits subcontractors paid to their employees, information on the subcontractor's labor record, and the number of instances in which such contracts were subsequently terminated and services were once again performed by UC employees. This report should be submitted to the Legislative Analyst for review and comment by March 15, 2001. The Legislative Analyst should submit her comments on the report to the Governor and the Legislature by April 15, 2001. It is further the intent of the Legislature that until September 30, 2001, UC will not contract out for services that are currently performed by UC employees. No exception should be made by the university to this policy before submitting 30 days notice to the Legislature and the Governor, explaining why it is necessary to contract out. Examples of instances in which an exception might be appropriate include those situations in which there is a need to obtain special expertise, services, and equipment which are not available internally; or situations in which it is financially necessary to do so. However, where financial necessity is the reason for the exception, before subcontracting for a service in which activities are fully or partially supported from state funds, including those at the teaching hospitals, it is the intent of the Legislature that the university first seek funding from the Legislature to address the financial necessity. Notice to the Governor and the Legislature should include a detailed justification for the exception. Until September 30, 2001, it is the intent of the Legislature that, in such instances where an exception is made and a UC employee is displaced, the university should make available, at comparable salary, another UC job for which a displaced employee is qualified.
4. University of California--M.I.N.D. Institute. The Medical Investigation of Neurodevelopmental Disorders (M.I.N.D.) Institute shall annually provide to the Governor and Legislature a five-year program and budget plan. The plan shall describe all past, current, and projected funding, both one-time and ongoing, from all sources for the institute. It shall also describe expenditures of all state and nonstate funds for all activities including, but not limited to, research initiatives, clinic operations and programs, and education components at the M.I.N.D. Institute. The Legislative Analyst's Office shall report to the Legislature by December 31, 2002, on the activities of the institute and on its success in obtaining funding from sources other than the General Fund. It is the intent of the Legislature to assess the need for ongoing state support for the institute beyond the 2003-04 fiscal year.
5. Teaching Hospitals Equipment. It is the intent of the Legislature that the $25 million provided in the budget for equipment for the teaching hospitals is used only for equipment and is not used to supplant other funds that would otherwise be used for equipment. This funding is provided in recognition of the current financial projections indicating the teaching hospitals will not have a sufficient operating margin at the end of 1999-00 to allow for normal capital and equipment costs. The UC will report to the Legislature by November 1, 2000, on the use of these funds and will include in the report an analysis that demonstrates that these funds were used for equipment and did not supplant other funds that would have otherwise been used for equipment.
6. Financial Aid for Nonresident Students. The UC shall report to the Legislature by November 30, 2000, on its policies and practices for providing financial aid to nonresident undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. The report shall account for the amount of fee revenue collected from and the amount of grant aid provided to nonresident undergraduate, graduate, and professional students for three years from 1988-89 to 1999-00. For purposes of comparison, the university shall also account for the amount of fee revenue collected from and the amount of grant aid provided to resident undergraduate, graduate, and professional students during this same period.
1. Financial Aid Outreach. It is the intent of the Legislature that the Chancellor's Office of the California Community Colleges shall report on the effectiveness of the community college financial aid outreach programs and the increasing awareness of financial aid opportunities to students. A preliminary report on plans to improve financial aid outreach and the planned performance indicators to measure the effectiveness of financial aid outreach shall be submitted to the Legislature no later than November 15, 2000. This report shall include data on local staff and resources dedicated to student financial aid outreach, student participation rates in state and federal student aid programs, and a summary of the activities deemed necessary to improve student access to financial aid funds. A report on this financial aid outreach program and the final baseline performance indicators shall be submitted to the Legislature no later than April 1, 2001.
2. Tracking Funding in Partnership for Excellence. It is the intent of the Legislature that the annual report by the California Community Colleges on expenditures of state funds appropriated for the Partnership for Excellence Program by local community college districts link each item of expenditure for the program to one or more of the five stated goals of the Partnership Program. These five goals include: transfer preparation, degrees/certificates, successful course completion, workforce development, and basic skills improvement.
The intent of the Partnership Program is to provide unrestricted funds to local community college districts for investment to meet the overall goals of the Partnership Program. This will provide the Legislature with information on how the funds provided were invested by each college in relationship to each of the goals of the Partnership Program. This requirement in no way limits the choice of investments by the local colleges but rather sheds light on how the colleges are investing funds in relation to their goals.
1. Financial Aid Packages for Students in Teacher Preparation Programs. Under the leadership of the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), the University of California, the California State University, the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the State Teachers Retirement System shall coordinate their efforts and report on the financial aid packages, completion of a teacher preparation program, and subsequent employment of students who entered their teacher preparation programs during the 1998-99 academic year.
For each student in a teacher preparation program, the report shall include the following information:
The CSAC shall submit a final report and an electronic file of the underlying data to the Legislature and the Department of Finance on October 30, 2000.