BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1116
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 30, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
SB 1116 (Huff, Romero and Yee) - As Amended: May 17, 2010
SENATE VOTE : 28-0
SUBJECT : Heritage school instruction.
SUMMARY : An urgency measure that requires heritage schools to
file an affidavit with the Superintendent of Public Instruction
(SPI) detailing specific information relative to personnel and
the course of study; and, requires employees of a heritage
school to be fingerprinted. Specifically, this bill :
1)Defines a heritage school as a school that serves children who
are between the ages of four years and nine months and 18
years, who attend a public or private full-time day school,
that does all of the following:
a) Specifies regular hours of operation.
b) Offers education or academic tutoring, or both, in a
foreign language.
c) Offers education on the culture, traditions, or
history of a country other than the United States.
d) Offers culturally enriching activities, including but
not limited to, art, dancing, games or singing, based on
the culture or customs of a country other than the United
States.
e) Maintains membership in a state or national cultural
or language association.
f) Complies with relevant local government regulations.
g) Does not operate out of a residential home.
2)Requires every person, firm, association, partnership or
corporation offering or conducting heritage school instruction
to file, between the first and 15th day of October of each
year, beginning October 1, 2010, with the SPI an affidavit or
statement, under penalty of perjury, by the owner or other
head setting forth the following information for the current
year:
a) All names of the person, firm, association,
partnership, or corporation under which it has done and
is doing business.
b) The address of every place of doing business of the
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person, firm, association, partnership, or corporation
within the State of California.
c) The address of the location of the records of the
person, firm, association, partnership or corporation,
and the name and address of the custodian of the records.
d) The names and addresses of the principal officers of
the person, firm, association, partnership, or
corporation.
e) The school enrollment, by grades, number of teachers,
co-educational or enrollment limited to boys or girls,
and boarding facilities.
f) That specified records are kept at the address stated,
and are true and accurate.
g) Criminal records summary information has been obtained
pursuant to current law affecting private school
employees.
3)Requires the affidavit or statement to include, under penalty
of perjury, a statement that the heritage school is in
compliance with requirements for fingerprinting and a criminal
record summary; and, requires the affidavit or statement to be
available to parents of all pupils enrolled in the school or
considering whether to enroll, if an instructor also serves as
the administrator.
4)Requires employees of any entity contracting with a heritage
school providing any of the following services, and who may
have any contact with pupils, to submit their fingerprints in
a manner authorized by the Department of Justice (DOJ), with a
fee charged by DOJ:
a) School and classroom janitorial.
b) School site administrative.
c) School site grounds and landscape maintenance.
d) Pupil transportation.
e) School site food-related services.
5)Exempts an entity providing any of the services listed in #4
from the fingerprinting and criminal records summary
requirements in an emergency or exceptional situation or if
the heritage school determines that the entity's employees
will have limited contact with pupils.
6)Authorizes a heritage school to determine, on a case-by-case
basis, to require an entity providing school site services
other than those listed in #4 to comply with fingerprinting
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and criminal records summary requirements.
7)Requires the heritage school contractor to submit to the DOJ
fingerprint images and related information required by the DOJ
of all employees of the entities that contract with a heritage
school; requires the DOJ to forward requests for federal
summary criminal history information to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), review information returned by the FBI,
compile a fitness determination and send it to the heritage
school; requires the heritage school to request from the DOJ
subsequent arrest notification service; and, requires the DOJ
to charge a fee sufficient to cover the cost of processing the
request for information.
8)Prohibits an entity from permitting an employee to come in
contact with pupils until the DOJ has ascertained that the
employee has not been convicted of a felony and/or obtained a
certificate of rehabilitation and pardon.
9)Requires an entity having a contract with a heritage school to
certify in writing that neither the employer nor any of its
employees who are required to submit fingerprints have been
convicted of a felony; and, requires an entity currently under
contract with a heritage school to complete the fingerprinting
requirements within 90 days of the effective date of this
bill.
10)Requires a heritage school contracting with an entity for the
construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or repair of a
school facility where the employees of the entity will have
contact, other than limited contact, with pupils to ensure the
safety of the pupils by one or more of the following methods:
a) The installation of a physical barrier at the worksite
to limit contact with pupils.
b) Continual supervision and monitoring of all employees of
the entity by an employee of the entity whom the DOJ has
ascertained has not been convicted of a felony.
c) Surveillance of employees of the entity by school
personnel.
11)Specifies that an entity that contracts with a heritage
school for construction or repair of a school facility is not
required to comply with fingerprinting and criminal record
summary requirements if one or more of the methods described
in #10 is used; and, exempts an entity providing construction,
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reconstruction, rehabilitation, or repair services in an
emergency or exceptional situation from the requirement to
keep those employees separated from pupils, or that they be
monitored.
12)Prohibits the filing of an affidavit pursuant to this bill
from being interpreted to mean that the State of California,
the SPI, the State Board of Education, the California
Department of Education (CDE), or any division or bureau of
the CDE, or any accrediting agency has made any evaluation,
recognition, approval or endorsement of the school or course,
unless this is an actual fact; and, specifies that it is
unlawful for any school to expressly or impliedly represent
the filing of an affidavit as an evaluation, recognition,
approval or endorsement.
13)Establishes the Heritage Enrichment Resource Fund (HERF) in
the State Treasury and authorizes monies deposited in the fund
to expended by the SPI upon appropriation by statute, for the
purposes of this bill; requires the affidavit or statement to
be filed together with a fee determined by the SPI to be
sufficient to cover, but not exceed, the costs of the CDE in
implementing this bill; and, requires the fees to be deposited
into the HERF.
14)Requires a director of a heritage school shall undergo at
least 15 hours of health and safety training, by an approved
provider, that includes all of the following components:
a) Pediatric first aid.
b) Pediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
c) A preventive health practices course or courses that
include instruction in the recognition, management, and
prevention of infectious diseases, including immunizations,
and prevention of childhood injuries.
15)Requires all employees and volunteers of a heritage school to
be in good health, as verified by a health screening,
including a test for tuberculosis.
16)Requires pupils attending heritage schools to have access to
working sinks, toilets, and drinking water; and, prohibits
pupils attending a heritage school from having access to
medication or cleaning supplies, except as otherwise provided
by law.
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17)Requires, upon a pupil's enrollment in a heritage school, the
heritage school to provide a notice to the pupil's parent or
guardian stating that the heritage school does not hold a
child care license.
EXISTING LAW pertaining to private schools:
1)Requires all private full-time day schools taught by persons
capable of teaching, which may exempt children from the
requirements of attendance upon a public full-time day school,
to be taught in the English language and offer instruction in
several branches of study required to be taught in the public
schools of the state. (Education Code 48222)
2)Requires private schools to file an affidavit with the SPI.
(Education code 33191)
3)Prohibits a private school from employing a person who has
been convicted of a violent or serious felony or a person who
would be prohibited from employment by a public school
district because of his or her conviction for any crime; and,
requires non-credentialed private school employees to submit
two sets of fingerprints to the DOJ and FBI. (Education code
44237)
4)Requires potential employees at a private or parochial
elementary or secondary school to present a certificate
showing that they have been examined within the last 60 days
found to be free of communicable tuberculosis before they are
employed; and after employment, additional testing is required
at least once each four years or more if directed by the
school; and, authorizes private schools to have the discretion
to waive this requirement for employees who are employed less
than a school year and who do not have frequent or prolonged
contact with pupils. (Health and Safety Code 121525)
5)Authorizes the State Fire Marshall to conduct an annual
inspection of private school buildings. (Health and Safety
Code 13146.3)
6)Specifies the design and structure of private schools and
requires an enforcement agency to provide inspections through
the Private Schools Building Safety Act of 1986; and defines
"private school structure" as "any building used for
educational purposes through the 12th grade by 50 or more
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persons for more than 12 hours per week or 4 hours in any one
day," but certain structures 2,000 square feet or less in
floor area are exempt. (Education Code 17320 et seq)
7)Requires the governing board of each private school to
establish an earthquake emergency procedure system in every
private school building having an occupant capacity of 50 or
more pupils or more than one classroom; and the earthquake
emergency procedure system must include: 1) school building
disaster plan and a drop procedure; 2) protective measures to
be taken before, during, and following an earthquake; and, 3)
a program to ensure students and staff are trained in the
earthquake emergency procedure system. (Education Code
35295-35297)
EXISTING LAW pertaining to childcare centers:
1)Requires childcare centers to secure and maintain a fire
clearance approved by the city or county fire department, the
district providing fire protection services, or the State Fire
Marshal; and, specifies the request for fire clearance shall
be made through and maintained by the Department of Social
Services (DSS). (California Code of Regulations, Title 22,
Section 101171)
2)Requires DSS to issue licenses to childcare centers for a
specific capacity, which shall be the maximum number of
children that can be cared for at any given time and DSS may
issue a license for fewer children than requested.
(California Code of Regulations, Title 22, 101179)
3)Requires childcare centers to have a ratio of one teacher
visually observing and supervising no more than 12 children in
attendance, except as specified:
a) The number of children in attendance shall not exceed
licensed capacity.
b) Whenever children are engaged in activities away from
the center, no teacher shall be in charge of a group of
more than 12 children. (California Code of Regulations,
Title 22, 101216.2)
4)Requires DSS to subject each licensed child day care center to
unannounced visits as often as necessary to ensure the quality
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of care provided; and under no circumstances shall DSS visit a
community care facility less often than once every five years.
(Health and Safety Code 1597.09)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, if the workload is similar for what is done for
private schools, the CDE estimates costs could be as high as
$235,000 in the first year and $212,000 ongoing. Staff notes,
however, that CDE is not required to do much other than to
collect the affidavits. It is reasonable to assume that the CDE
would incur startup costs related to the development of the
affidavit and of a database, and for technical assistance and
outreach to heritage schools, but these costs are likely to be
less than they are for private school work as there may be fewer
heritage schools and the CDE is not required to monitor
compliance. Staff assumes a first year cost in the range of
$100,000 to $150,000, and ongoing work of $50,000. To the
extent the required fees mitigate these costs, the pressure on
the general fund would be reduced.
The DOJ estimates one-time costs of $1.8 million for work
related to the fingerprinting and criminal background checks,
and ongoing costs of $370,000. These costs would be entirely
covered by fees as DOJ is authorized to assess sufficient fees
to cover the expense. The figures could be higher or lower
depending on the number of heritage schools that file an
affidavit. DOJ assumes there are 3,000 schools for this
estimate, though it is unknown exactly how many of these schools
are currently in operation. Presumably, these costs would be
lower if there are fewer schools.
This bill's key unknown cost factor is the number of heritage
schools, as there is no reliable estimate of this figure. If
the CDE's startup costs are $150,000, there would need to be
1,500 heritage schools to submit an affidavit and fee to offset
the costs. If there are fewer than that number (or fewer
willing to file the affidavit), this bill would represent a cost
to the General Fund.
COMMENTS : The intent of this bill is to exempt heritage schools
from child care licensing standards and instead require them to
follow some of the existing laws that apply to private schools
and child care centers. It is unclear whether this new program
will exempt heritage schools from existing childcare licensure
requirements. If it does, then this bill would allow heritage
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schools to exist as a separate, unchecked category under CDE.
Several bills on this topic have been authored by Senator Huff
in recent years. In the past many questions about the intent of
these bills were raised. This bill seeks to answer many of
those questions, yet still leaves a few unanswered issues for
consideration. One area of concern has centered on why heritage
schools were uninterested in obtaining childcare licensure, when
the restrictions of the program do not seem to be overly
burdensome. Some of the requirements include requiring that
children have access to restroom facilities and drinking water,
as examples. This bill, which is different from years past,
incorporates some of these health and safety requirements and
requires heritage schools to provide access to these types of
facilities. In addition, this bill incorporates mandatory
requirements for health and safety training for heritage school
directors, which was another area of previous concern. Further,
this bill requires heritage schools to notify parents of
enrolled students that they are not a licensed childcare center,
so that parents can be fully informed. These changes alleviate
a majority of the concerns that have been voiced in previous
years.
According to the author, heritage schools are privately
financed, culture based educational entities that have been in
operation for decades. They meet after regular school, on the
weekends and during the summer. They complement a child's
compulsory education and are bound by their commitment to
teaching foreign language and history in an effort to help the
student compete in an increasingly global economy and maintain
California's diversity and cultural heritage. Heritage schools
play an integral role in our communities, as they are a major
source of language and heritage instruction at the K-12 level.
They help prepare students for courses in advanced language and
literature at colleges and universities at no taxpayer expense.
Some public schools even grant credit to students for classes
taken at these heritage schools.
Definition of Heritage Schools . Heritage schools educate
children on foreign languages, culture, and customs. They seek
to preserve the culture and language of immigrants, fostering
tolerance and diversity. Traditionally many of them have been
referred to as Chinese, Greek, or Japanese Schools. Heritage
schools have expanded recently to include many other cultures.
According to the Senate Human Services Committee analysis of
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prior legislation, heritage schools come in many sizes,
settings, and organizational structures with one thing in
common: they exist to educate children to speak languages other
than English and to learn about a foreign culture and customs.
Some heritage schools are only open after school during the
school year; others are also open all day on school holidays and
during vacations. Some are; in essence, drop in programs
requiring no sign-in or sign-out of children. Others,
particularly when operating all day during school vacations,
provide care and supervision. In other words, some heritage
schools do not operate as child care centers while others do.
Child Care Centers or Private Schools ? Currently some heritage
schools operate as child care centers, while others do not, but
all heritage schools are required to comply with the childcare
licensing regulations. However, since heritage schools are
broader than the strict definition of a child care facility, it
is unclear how many obtain licensing as a child care facility.
CDE does not regulate private schools or have any oversight
responsibilities over private schools. Instead, local school
districts are responsible for overseeing private schools within
their boundaries to ensure they comply with the education code.
In addition to the education code, there are certain health,
safety, and building standards that private schools must abide
by. It is unclear whether heritage schools will also be
required to meet these building standards. The committee should
consider whether the bill should clarify that heritage schools
must abide by the same building standards as regular private
schools.
If heritage schools are authorized to file an affidavit with
CDE, like private schools, it sets precedent for other
instructional institutions to file affidavits with CDE. In the
past, there have been attempts by driver training programs to be
added to the private school list even though they are not full
time schools and they do not satisfy compulsory education
requirements. This change could potentially open the door for
other supplemental education service providers to request the
same undefined status.
Will some heritage schools still be required to have a child
care license ? While this bill is silent with regard to child
care licensing requirements, the likely effect is that the DSS,
which is responsible for the licensing of child care providers,
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would view the filing of an affidavit with the CDE as a
reasonable form of consumer protection, and would therefore not
require heritage schools to hold a child care license. However,
the committee may wish to consider amending the Health and
Safety Code to clarify that heritage schools that file the
affidavit are exempt from child care licensure requirements.
Compulsory Education . This bill has the potential to cause
confusion about the responsibilities of heritage schools.
Because heritage schools vary in the intensity of instruction,
which can be as low as one day a week, or as high as six hours a
day, parents who enroll their children in heritage schools full
time might become confused and think that they are sending their
children to a school that satisfies the requirement for
compulsory education. The committee should consider whether
heritage schools, as part of the existing notification
requirement, should be required to notify parents that their
program does not satisfy compulsory education requirements.
Employment Prohibition . Current law prohibits private schools
from employing individuals who would otherwise be prohibited
from being employed by school districts. This bill requires
heritage school employees to be fingerprinted, and references
the existing code section that prohibits private schools from
employing an individual who is prohibited from being employed at
a school district, but it does not explicitly prohibit anyone
from working in a heritage school if they have been convicted of
sex offenses, drug offenses, or serious and violent crimes. To
bring further parity between heritage schools and private
schools and to protect the safety of children, the committee
should consider whether to explicitly prohibit heritage schools
from employing individuals who are currently prohibited from
being employed in school districts and private schools.
Heritage Enrichment Resource Fund (HERF) . This bill requires
the affidavit processing fees collected by the SPI, which are
meant to cover the costs by processing costs borne on the CDE,
to be deposited into the HERF and authorizes the SPI to expend
those funds. The bill does not specify for what purpose the SPI
must expend those funds, beyond those that are going to cover
the cost borne on CDE. The committee should consider whether it
is necessary to create such a fund, if all the funds collected
are meant to simply cover CDE costs.
Committee Amendments : To ensure that parents have a clear
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understanding that heritage schools do not provide compulsory
education, staff recommends the bill be amended to include in
the notice to parents upon a pupil's enrollment, a statement
specifying that the school does not comply with compulsory
education laws. Staff recommends the bill be amended to further
align this bill with the requirements placed on all private
schools, by explicitly prohibiting heritage schools from
employing individuals who would otherwise be prohibited from
being employed in a public school district or private school,
rather than refer to a separate code section pertaining to
private schools. Staff further recommends technical clean up
amendments related to the application timeline and references to
the application as an affidavit or statement.
Previous Legislation : SB 129 (Huff), from 2009, which was held
on the Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file, was
substantially similar to this bill.
SB 379 (Huff), from 2009, which was held on the Senate
Appropriations Committee suspense file, would have exempted
heritage schools from child day care licensure.
AB 1888 (Huff), from 2008, which was held on the Assembly
Appropriations Committee suspense file, would have exempted
heritage schools from child care licensure requirements.
AB 344 (Huff), from 2007, which was never heard, would have
exempted heritage schools from child care licensure
requirements.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Bright Horizon Chinese School
California Association of Japanese Language School
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Oak League Education Institute
Palos Verdes Chinese School
Superior Education
Temple Education Center Corp.
Numerous Individuals
Opposition
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None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087