1. Law and the California Schooling System Presented by Maria Haigh & Yurii Camacho

2. Background  Complex subject  CA School systems consist of 1, 056 school districts of VARIOUS TYPES  “At the outset it may be observed that any attempt to apply of the school law would lead to hopeless confusion” (Horton v. Whipple 1922)  Combination of constitutional, statutory, administrative, contract, and judicial law

3. Constitutional Law  Highest form of law  2 sources: Federal & State  Federal Supremacy Clause  “State constitutions and laws can be more protective of civil liberties than US Constitution.”

4. Statutory Law  “Statue” is a law made by legislative body  “most but not all” statutes are in accordance to spending authority  Constantly added, revised, or repealed  CA Education Code  CA Government Code: Educational Employment Relations Act (EERA) aka Rodda Act

5. Administrative Law  Statues tend to lack “operational value”  “is the body of law developed by administrative law agencies under the authority of the legislature to carry out their statutory responsibilities…” US Department of Education CA State Board of Education  State: Uniform Complain Procedure (UCP)

6. Contract Law  Most known by professionals  “Spells out” the terms and conditions of employment conditions  Private Schools: Constitutional rights do not exist Few provisions of federal & state laws pertain CA Department of Education has little influence  Collective Bargaining o Winton Act 1965 o EERA o Grievance Process

7. Judicial Law  Rulings handed down by courts  2 systems: State & Federal  CA – 4 tiered judicial system: Municipal courts (1) Superior courts (1) Appellate division (3) CA Supreme Court (7)  US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit  US Supreme Court Out of 8,500 appeals, less than 100 were heard

8. California Schooling Structure  CA Constitution directs legislature to establish public education  Governor Sets legislature agenda Veto Controls education budget  State Board of Education (SBE)  State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI)  California Department of Education (2,800 staff employees)  58 Counties that EACH replicate the state’s system

9. Parents’ Rights & Responsibilities  Education is a shared responsibility with parents.  Parents sent children to private schools or educated them at home  Education increasingly became a government responsibility.  What rights do parents retain over the education of their children?

10. Choosing a Private School  In 1923, U.S. Supreme Court first confronted parents’ rights in the context of education.  Meyer v. Nebraska, private school teacher challenged state law, that forbid teaching of foreign language in public or private to any student not passed the eighth grade  Court ruled that the state law had intruded on teacher’s right to teach and parents right to control child upbringing.  Court observed that parents have the right to, “control the education of their own.”  14 th Amendment – Justices found this to exist in the word “liberty”  Court revisited again in seminal Pierce v. Society of Sisters  Oregon case requiring that every child attend, ages 8-16, public school, failure to do so was considered a misdemeanor offense  Parent’s right, Oregon’s compulsory public school attendance law, “unreasonably interferes with the liberty of parents and guardians to direct the upbringing and education of children under their control.”  Justice James McReynolds - (include quote on PPT/page 13)  Parents have the constitutional right to enroll their children in private schools, and the state cannot require all children to attend public schools.  In 2000, court reaffirmed parent rights.

11. Parental Rights Limited California district court rejected a parents claim having elementary-age children respond to a survey with addressing the topic of sex and sexual activity. The survey violated the parent’s rights to control their children’s upbringing (Fields v. Palmdale School District, 2003.

12. Old Order Amish Wisconsin v. Yoder – convinced U.S. Supreme Court they should withdraw their children from public school after eighth grade and educate at home based on their separatist religious heritage, no other group successfully has done so.

13. Homeschooling  Right to homeschooling is a matter determined by state law; California requires children 6-18 to attend school full-time, private school has an exemption for attendance and instruction by a tutor ( Educ. Code 48222 and 48224).  Children who are homeschooled may be instructed for at least 3 hours a day for 175 days a year by tutor. The instruction must be between 8-4pm and in English.  Tutor must hold teaching credential with exception of private school teachers

14. Expanding Parent Choice  1994, governing board adopted intradistrict open enrollment policy (Educ Code 35160.5 (b)  Parents or guardians may choose any school in their district for their children  Athletic and academic performance may not be considered  Districts are allowed to give special consideration for students who seek transfers from overcrowded schools  Siblings already attending a chosen school may grant priority to siblings  NCLB (2001) permits parents whose children attend a low- performing public schools receiving Title 1 funds to transfer to higher-performing traditional and charter schools in the district  Few families take advantage of interdistrict transfer programs because children do not wish to leave their neighborhoods and because of transportation burdens.  UC Berkely (1999) that one-fourth of all students in the state no longer attended neighborhood schools.

15. Charter Schools  Charter School Act passed in 1992  Newly created school that is free of state regulations.  Staff and students are there by choice  Charter schools give parents increased options for the education of their children and generate new approaches to schooling.  Charter schools must recognize the constituitional rights of their students and teachers  Rights of expression, the right to associate, and the right to due process.  Neutral toward religion  Bound by local building, health and zoning laws.  www.cde.ca.gov/charter/ Charter schools must be newly created or converted from traditional public schools. www.cde.ca.gov/charter/  Converting a public school to a charter school requires 50% of the signatures of the permanent teachers at the school  Petition must be signed by at least one-half of the parents or one-half of teachers interested in teaching  Can encompass any grade levels and operate at a single or multiple sites within the district  District must include alternative arrangements for those opposed to the idea

16. Starting a Charter School  Governance system; educational program, its goals and measurable outcomes; student outcome assessements; employee qualifications; admission requirements; facilities; start-up costs; three-year cash flow projections; annual financial protocol; student suspension; and expulsion procedures and protocol in case school closes  Affirmation that school ; will be nonsectarian; free of charge; not discriminate against students ethnicity, national origin, gender or disability.  Preference only to students living within previous attendance area  If oversubscribed, will admit students by public random  School must specify racial balance provision (Educ Code 47605)  Preference given also to low achieving students and 50% of student population eligible for free or reduced price- lunch

17. Petition is Submitted  To district’s governing board for a public hearing, followed by board of approval or rejection of petition  Reasons for denial include; charting entity is incomplete; educational program is unsound; petitioners are unqualified; not enough signatures on petition; petitioners have not agreed to comply with statutory conditions for operating a charter school.  If rejected, charter can revise and resubmit proposal to governing board  Petitions for countrywide charter schools rejected by county boards cannot be appealed

18. Operating a Charter School  Can be granted for up to five years  May be operated as, or be operated by, a nonprofit benefit corporation  Charter school recipients must be non-profit, can contract with for-profit educational management organizations  Monitored by authorizing entity.  AE may inspect charter school at any time may revoke the charter.  Charter can be renewed by its grantor for five- year periods if the school continues to meet the conditions

19. Questions ONLY  Begin with a leading question  All response to the first question must be made in a form of a question  May change “topic” and/or “focus” of the “discussion” with a new leading question

20. Questions ONLY! For example: Yurii: How is it that the US Supreme Court believes that state constitutions and laws can be more protective of civil liberties than the US Constitution? Maria: Is it because state constitutions and laws are specific to the “needs” of their constituents at the state level than in comparison to the national level?

21. Thank You!