Schools. Spending Limits on Administration. Initiative Statute.
	Proposition 223 - Full Text of the Proposed Law

This initiative measure is submitted to the people in accordance with the provisions of Article II, Section 8 of the Constitution.

This initiative measure adds sections to the Education Code; therefore, new provisions proposed to be added are printed in italic type to indicate that they are new.

PROPOSED LAW

EDUCATIONAL EFFICIENCY INITIATIVE

SECTION 1. Part 26.2 (commencing with Section 46650) is added to the Education Code, to read:

PART 26.2. EDUCATIONAL EFFICIENCY INITIATIVE

Chapter 1. Designation

46650. This act shall be known as the California Educational Efficiency Act.

Chapter 2. Purpose

46641. It is the intent of this initiative to require that no less than ninety-five cents ($0.95) of each dollar appropriated for elementary and secondary public education be contributed in an accountable manner to the academic value of the actual in-school educational experience of pupils so that ninety-five cents ($0.95) of each dollar is spent on direct services to pupils, schoolsite employees, and school facilities. It is the further intent of this initiative to do all of the following:

(a) To reduce the cost of non-school administration in public schools.

(b) To mandate that existing state educational funds be efficiently spent to educate our children.

(c) To allow increased school effectiveness without additional taxes.

(d) To allow a decrease in student/teacher ratio without additional taxes.

(e) To guarantee that any additional new funding for public education will go to schools and classrooms first.

(f) To increase the accountability of the school districts to the citizens of California.

(g) To sanction school districts that fail to be efficient.

(h) To give the community greater decisionmaking authority over their schools.

Chapter 3. Definitions

46652. (a) The term "categorical program" means all those programs set forth in the Education Code that provide funding for special programs, including, but not limited to, programs established for technical schools, youth and adult offenders, adult education, science achievement, environmental education, healthy start program, parenting education, pregnant minors, summer school for the arts, early primary education, academic partnership, school libraries, Native American education, child nutrition allowances, school integration, year-round schools, staff development, new careers, mentor teacher, ethics and civic values, readers for blind teachers, international studies, bilingual office employees, counseling, opportunity schools and classes, nutrition, breakfast and lunch programs, learning disabilities, educational improvement. "Categorical program" shall also include categorical programs receiving federal funds, including, but not limited to, special education programs (Part 30 (commencing with Section 56000) of the Education Code).

(b) "Direct services to pupils" means professional services rendered directly to pupils by certificated or licensed personnel, including, but not limited to, teachers, supervisory personnel, nurses, physicians, psychologists, counselors, audiologists, audiometrists, librarians, and other support services personnel, or all instances where pupils are the direct beneficiaries of immediate and unbrokered services provided to them, such as transportation, cafeteria services, safety and security personnel protection services, and the services of a school supervisor or principal.

(c) "Direct services to schoolsite employees" means immediate and unbrokered services to schoolsite employees, such as actual training or professional development sessions or classes, police services, school-assigned personnel providing management functions and support to the school supervisor or principal, and the services of the school supervisor or principal.

(d) "Direct services to school facilities" means the labor and material costs of the actual physical cleaning, maintenance, and improvement of school facilities exclusive of any central district handling, administration, or overhead costs, and services of the school-assigned plant manager, if any.

(e) "General administration" means those activities involving the governing board of a school district, activities relating to the executive responsibility of the school district, activities associated with central data processing, central support, activities associated with fiscal services, and other general administrative services. For purposes of the definition of general administration, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) "Board" means the activities of the elected body that has been created under the applicable provisions of law and that has responsibility for the educational activities over which the elected body has jurisdiction. These activities may include, but are not limited to, supervision over services of the board, services related to the election of members of the board, services related to property tax assessment and collection, and services related to employee relations and negotiations.

(2) "Central data processing" includes, but is not limited to, in-house services provided from a mainframe computer or minicomputer as well as the costs of centralized services provided by another agency. Central data processing does not include smaller specialized units such as microcomputers or personal computers.

(3) "Central support" means activities relating to paying, transporting, exchanging, and maintaining goods and services for the school district. These activities include, but are not limited to, planning, research development and evaluation services; the provision of public information; purchasing; warehousing and distribution; and printing, publishing, and duplicating. For purposes of the definition of central support, the following terms have the following meanings:

(A) "Development services" include, but are not limited to, activities relating to the deliberate evolving process of improving educational programs, such as activities using the products of research.

(B) "Evaluation services" include, but are not limited to, activities relating to ascertaining or judging the value or amount of an action or an outcome through the careful appraisal of previously specified data in light of the particular situation and the goals previously established.

(C) "Planning services" include, but are not limited to, activities relating to the selection or identification of the overall, long-range goals and priorities of the school district and the formulation of various courses of action needed to achieve those goals through the identification of needs and relative costs and benefits of each course of action.

(D) "Printing, publishing, and duplicating" means activities relating to the printing and publishing of administrative publications, such as annual reports, school directories, and manuals. These activities also include centralized services for duplicating school materials and instruments, such as school bulletins, newsletters, and notices.

(E) "Public information" means activities relating to the writing, editing, and other preparation necessary to disseminate educational and administrative information to the public through various news media or through personal contact.

(F) "Purchasing" means activities relating to the purchasing of supplies, furniture, equipment, and materials used in schools or a school district.

(G) "Research services" include, but are not limited to, activities relating to the systematic study and investigation of the various aspects of education undertaken to establish facts and principles.

(H) "Warehousing and distribution" means the receipt, storage, and distribution of supplies, furniture, equipment, materials, and mail.

(4) "Executive" means the activities relating to the executive responsibility of a school district, including, but not limited to, services pertaining to the office of the county superintendent of schools, to community relations, and to state and federal relations.

(5) "Fiscal services" means activities relating to the fiscal operations of a school district. Fiscal operations include, but are not limited to, budgeting, receiving and disbursing funds, financial and property accounting, payroll, inventory control, internal auditing, and managing funds. For purposes of the definition of fiscal services, the following terms have the following meaning:

(A) "Budgeting" means activities relating to the supervision of budget planning, formulating, control, and analysis.

(B) "Financial accounting" means activities relating to the maintenance of records of the financial operations and transactions of the school district, including, but not limited to, accounting and interpreting financial transactions and account records.

(C) "Internal auditing" means activities relating to the verification of account records, including the evaluation of the adequacy of the internal control system, such as verification and safeguarding.

(D) "Payroll" means activities relating to the periodic payment of individuals entitled to remuneration for services rendered to a school district.

(E) "Property accounting" means activities relating to the preparation and maintenance of current inventory records of land, buildings, and equipment owned or leased by a school district as used for equipment control and facilities planning.

(F) "Receiving and disbursing funds" means activities relating to taking in and paying out money, including, but not limited to, the current audit of receipts, the preaudit of requisitions or purchase orders to determine whether the amounts are within the budgetary allowance and to determine that the disbursements are lawful expenditures of a school or a school district, and the management of school funds.

(6) "Personnel" means activities relating to the maintenance of an efficient staff for schools under the jurisdiction of a school district.

(7) "Other general administrative services" means other general administrative services of a school district not defined in this section.

(f) "Instructional resources supervision" means overall management and maintenance of the resources to instruct pupils and activities and materials used by pupils to enhance learning.

(g) "Supervision of instruction" means activities undertaken primarily to assist instructional staff in planning, developing, and evaluating the process of providing learning experience for pupils. These activities include curriculum development, instructional research, instructional staff development, instructional supervision, and the organizing and coordinating of training of staff in techniques for instruction, child development and understanding. For purposes of the definition of supervision of instruction, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) "Curriculum development" means activities that aid teachers in developing the curriculum, preparing and utilizing special curriculum materials, and understanding and appreciating the various techniques that stimulate and motivate pupils.

(2) "Instructional research" means activities associated with assessing programs and instruction based on research.

(3) "Instructional staff development" means activities that contribute to the professional or occupational growth and competence of members of the instructional staff during the time of their service to a school or school district. These activities include the coordination of services which guide teachers in the use of instructional materials, administering sabbaticals, and providing the environment for in-service training.

(4) "Instructional supervision" means activities associated with directing, managing, and supervising instruction services.

Chapter 4. Allocation and Expenditure of School Funds

46653. For the 1999-2000 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, each school district shall allocate and expend not more than 5 percent of the total aggregate amount of all funds received from state, federal, and local sources, including, but not limited to, all state and federal funds received for categorical programs, for administrative costs. Administrative costs means the sum of expenditures under the following categories as defined in this part:

(1) General administration.

(2) Instructional resources supervision.

(3) Supervision of instruction.

Chapter 5. Fiscal Administration

46654. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for the 1998-99 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, each school district shall develop as part of its budget a system that indicates the intended contribution of each projected expenditure to the achievement of a specific performance outcome objective pursuant to the school district's effort to improve pupil achievement.

46655. For the 2004-05 fiscal year and every five fiscal years thereafter, the governing board of each school district shall contract to have an independent general organizational management audit which shall include a performance audit and fiscal efficiency review undertaken to determine the degree to which the school district has complied with this part, including the effect upon pupil achievement of the expenditures of the school district.

Chapter 6. Reporting Requirements

46656. (a) For the 1996-97 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter through the 1999-2000 fiscal year, each school district shall report to the State Board of Education the total expenditures under the following reporting categories as defined by the State Department of Education:

(1) District administration as reported in column 3 of Form J380 (EDP Nos. 400 and 401) as that form existed on June 30, 1994 or any equivalent successor to this reporting category or any subsequent form(s) which report the same class of expenditures.

(2) Instructional administration as reported in column 3 of Form J380 (EDP No. 375) as that form existed on June 30, 1994 or any equivalent successor to this reporting category or any subsequent form(s) which report the same class of expenditures.

(3) Special projects administration and direct support costs as reported in column 3 of Form J380 (EDP No. 398) as that form existed on June 30, 1994 or any equivalent successor to this reporting category or any subsequent form(s) which report the same class of expenditures.

(4) Centralized data processing as reported in column 3 of Form J380 (EDP No. 402) as that form existed on June 30, 1994 or any equivalent successor to this reporting category or any subsequent form(s) which report the same class of expenditures.

(5) Maintenance and operations administration (EDP No. 408/6) as that form existed on June 30, 1994 or any equivalent successor to this reporting category or any subsequent form(s) which report the same class of expenditures.

(b) For the 1996-97 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter through the 1999-2000 fiscal year, each school district shall compute the percentage of funds expended in each fiscal year for the categories set forth in subdivision (a) to the total aggregate expenditures of all funds received from state, federal, and local sources, including, but not limited to, all state and federal funds received for categorical programs. Each school district annually shall publish the percentage calculated under this subdivision in a form that is easily understood by the general public and shall make the publication readily available to the general public.

(c) For purposes of this section and notwithstanding Section 46652 or any other provision of law, a school district may use the standardized account code structure published by the State Department of Education pursuant to Chapter 237 of the Statutes of 1993.

(d) For the 2000-01 fiscal year and each fiscal year thereafter, each school district shall compute the sum of expenditures under general administration, supervision of instruction, and instructional resources supervision as defined in Section 46652 as a percentage of the total aggregate expenditures of all funds received from state, federal and local sources, including, but not limited to, all state and federal funds received for categorical programs. Each school district annually shall publish the percentage calculated under this subdivision in a form that is easily understood by the general public and shall make the publication readily available to the general public.

Chapter 7. Sanctions

46657. Any school district that fails to comply with this part shall be subject to sanctions as described in this chapter. The State Board of Education shall fine each school district 25 dollars per unit of ADA, or five percent of basic per-ADA revenue limit times total ADA, whichever is the greater, computed on the ADA basis of the fiscal year preceding the finding of noncompliance. There shall be public notice of violations at a regular governing board meeting.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 2. IMPLEMENTATION

The provisions of this initiative shall be implemented as quickly as possible. Agencies of the state are prohibited from taking any action which delays implementation of this initiative or of any provision thereof. Any delay in implementation shall not invalidate this initiative or any provision thereof. The Legislature may amend this act only to further its purpose by a bill passed by a vote of two-thirds of the Legislature and signed by the Governor.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION OF ACTIONS

Any action or proceeding contesting the validity of this initiative, any provision of this initiative or the adoption of this initiative shall be commenced within six months of the date of the election at which this initiative is approved; otherwise this initiative and all of its provisions shall be held valid, legal and uncontestable. However, this limitation shall not of itself preclude an action or proceeding to challenge the application of this initiative or any of its provisions to a particular person or circumstance.

SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY

If any provision of this initiative or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remaining provisions and their applications shall remain in force. To this end, the provisions of this initiative are severable.