We want to thank all of you who sent emails, wrote letters, influenced others to write letters and shared our Action Alerts with colleagues and family. There is much to be thankful for in the state budget that went to the governor on June 15, 2018.
Great News – The Budget
- Maintains $2 million in federal Title III funding to be allocated to the 11 regional county offices of education, as currently allocated. Adopted Budget Bill Language requiring the 11 county offices of education to meet specified metrics in order to be held accountable for improving performance for English learners within their respective regions
- Includes $5 million for Licensed Child Care Teacher Professional Development targeted for Bilingual Teachers working with Dual Language Learners in Preschool
- Provides $437,000 in one-time federal Title III carryover funding to develop a tool/metric for teachers to use when giving input to reclassify a student.
- Includes $75 million one-time Proposition 98 for the Teacher Residency Grant Program. It specifies that $50 million is set aside for special education and $25 million for other teacher shortage areas, including Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and Bilingual Education.
To Watch:
- Approves $300 million in one-time Proposition 98 funding to allocate for low- performing students.
- Includes funding for the redesign of the Local Control Accountability Plan template and for the development of a budget summary for parents to improve transparency of LCFF funds.
Concern:
The language attached to maintaining the Title III funds with the 11 Regional County Offices which requires evaluation attached to improved performance for English Learners. No other project or entity is attached to the development of a metric tied to improved English Learner performance. We will ALL need to be involved in defining what that means.
The language attached to maintaining the Title III funds with the 11 Regional County Offices which requires evaluation attached to improved performance for English Learners. No other project or entity is attached to the development of a metric tied to improved English Learner performance. We will ALL need to be involved in defining what that means.
Disappointment:
- Does not include $5 million for year two funding of the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Grants.
- Does not include funding for AB 2514 (Thurmond) for new and expanding dual immersion and developmental bilingual programs.
Ongoing work:
- We will continue to move AB 2514 (Thurmond) through the legislature and hope to get the Governor’s signature. Next year we will seek funding in the budget for this program.
- Work on the interpretation of Title III language.
We are committed to working with all of you to move all the items forward and to be involved in the implementation of any new and continuing initiatives. Our advocacy saved the Title III money and won the $5 million dollars for the state preschool and Dual Language Learners.
Stay tuned for future Action Alerts, we need you to respond quickly and share them with others.