2005 California Education Code Sections 64200-64203 PART 38. QUALITY EDUCATION MODEL

64200.  (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to develop a quality
education model, within the minimum funding requirements for school
districts and community college districts imposed by Section 8 of
Article XVI of the California Constitution, to enable the Legislature
to make more informed annual budgetary decisions relative to the
best allocation of resources for education and to provide
substantially improved accountability, within a framework of local
control over the use of educational resources.  The model is intended
to identify the educational components, educational resources, and
corresponding costs that are necessary to provide the opportunity for
a quality education to every pupil.
   (b) It is further the intent of the Legislature that parents,
classroom teachers, other educators, governing board members of
school districts, and the public be involved in the design and
implementation of the Quality Education Model.
64201.  (a) The California Quality Education Commission is hereby
established, to become operative on July 1, 2003, for the purpose of
developing, evaluating, validating, and refining a Quality Education
Model for prekindergarten through grade 12, inclusive, to provide
state policymakers with adequate tools to enable them to establish
the reasonable costs of schools and the best direct available
resources so that the vast majority of pupils may meet academic
performance standards established by the state.  The work of the
commission shall serve to implement the principles and direction
described in the final report of the Joint Committee to Develop a
Master Plan for Education, and shall identify the educational
components, educational resources, and corresponding costs necessary
to provide the opportunity for a quality education to every pupil.
   (b) (1) The commission shall be composed of 13 members, who shall
be representative of the diversity of the state population, and shall
include:
   (A) Leaders from business and education.
   (B) Representatives of elementary schools, middle schools, and
high schools.
   (C) Representatives of urban districts, suburban districts, and
rural districts.
   (D) Representatives of the research community with experience in
educational policy and best practices.
   (2) Except for the first appointments to the California Quality
Education Commission, a member shall serve a four-year term.  A
person may not be appointed to serve more than two consecutive terms.
  The first terms of the members first appointed to the California
Quality Education Commission shall be as follows:
   (A) Three shall serve a term expiring August 1, 2005.
   (B) Five shall serve a term expiring August 1, 2006.
   (C) Five shall serve a term expiring August 1, 2007.
   (3) The commission members shall be appointed as follows:
   (A) Seven members shall be appointed by the Governor and approved
by the Senate.  Of the seven members appointed by the Governor and
approved by the Senate, one shall be a currently employed public
school teacher, one shall be a currently employed public school
administrator, and one shall be a current public school board member.
  The terms of these members first appointed shall be staggered so
that the terms of two members shall expire on August 1, 2005, the
terms of two members shall expire on August 1, 2006, and the terms of
three members shall expire on August 1, 2007.
   (B) Two members shall be appointed by the Senate Committee on
Rules.  The terms of these members first appointed shall be staggered
so that the term of one member shall expire on August 1, 2006, and
the term of the other shall expire on August 1, 2007.
   (C) Two members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
  The terms of these members first appointed shall be staggered so
that the term of one member shall expire on August 1, 2006, and the
term of the other shall expire on August 1, 2007.
   (D) Two members shall be appointed by the Superintendent of Public
Instruction.  The terms of these members first appointed shall be
staggered so that the term of one member shall expire on August 1,
2005, and the term of the other shall expire on August 1, 2006.
   (4) (A) The commission, by majority vote of all its sitting
members, shall elect its own chairperson from among its sitting
members.
   (B) The commission shall appoint an executive director, who shall
be exempt from the State Civil Service Act (Part 2 (commencing with
Section 18500) of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), and
may in its discretion remove him or her by a majority vote of all its
members.  The executive director shall be the secretary to the
commission and the commission's chief executive officer.  The
executive director shall receive the salary that the commission
determines, and, subject to appropriations, other prerequisites that
the commission determines.
   (C) Pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 11126 of the Government
Code, the commission may hold closed sessions when considering
matters relating to the recruitment, appointment, employment, or
removal of the executive director.  Decisions made during a closed
session of the commission related to the recruitment, appointment,
employment, or removal of the executive director shall be made known
at the next public meeting of the commission.
   (5) (A) A vacancy on the commission shall be filled within 30 days
by the appointing power that appointed the prior holder of the
position.  An appointment to fill a vacancy shall be for the
remaining portion of the term of the member whom the appointee
succeeds.  A vacancy may not impair the right of the remaining
sitting members to exercise all of the powers of the commission.
   (B) A majority of the sitting members of the commission
constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.
   (C) "Sitting member" means an individual who has been appointed
and is currently serving on the California Quality Education
Commission.
   (c) The commission shall do all of the following:
   (1) Identify key issues to address in developing, evaluating,
validating, and refining the Quality Education Model.  The commission
shall develop complete descriptions of prototype schools, at least
one for each of the three levels of elementary and secondary
education, to form models that fairly capture the diversity of public
schools in California.
   (2) Determine an adequate base funding amount for each of the
three prototype schools.
   (3) Recommend funding adjustments to allow schools that meet
certain criteria to receive additional funding beyond the base
funding amount.  The funding adjustments shall be limited to both of
the following:
   (A) A district characteristic adjustment that focuses on the
extraordinary needs of certain schools due to their geographic
locations, including transportation needs and weather challenges.
   (B) A pupil characteristic adjustment that is limited to the
following three areas:
   (i) Special education programs.
   (ii) Services for English language learners who have been enrolled
in California public schools for less than five years.
   (iii) Programs for low-income pupils.
   (4) Establish a category of grants to be known as initiatives that
shall be limited in duration and serve either of the following
purposes:
   (A) To pilot and evaluate a proposed new program at one or two
schools prior to implementing the program statewide.
   (B) To meet a school's immediate but temporary needs for
additional funding to mitigate the effects of an unforeseen
short-term problem faced by the school.
   (5) Focus on practical alternatives that are achievable within the
minimum funding requirements for school districts and community
college districts imposed by Section 8 of Article XVI of the
California Constitution.
   (6) Solicit comments, criticisms, and suggestions from
professional educators, education administrators, and education
policy experts relative to the elements of the Quality Education
Model.  The commission shall consult expert panels for advice
relating to research-based, best practices most associated with high
pupil achievement.
   (7) Solicit public comments, criticisms, and suggestions relative
to the elements of the Quality Education Model.  The commission shall
provide the public with information sufficient to enable interested
members of the public to understand the process being used to
evaluate, validate, and refine the Quality Education Model, and the
reasonable choices or options under consideration.  The commission
shall provide the public with information explaining the criteria and
models chosen and the basis for those choices.
   (8) Rely upon the most accurate available cost data, cost
estimation methods, and reasonable and expert assumptions in those
instances in which data are lacking.  The commission shall identify
data gaps, modeling assumptions, and recommendations for near-term
and long-term improvement of the model.
   (9) Deliver a report, comprised of the prototype models and the
commission's findings and recommendations, to the Governor and
Legislature no later than 12 months after the commission first
convenes.  The report shall include recommendations for any statutory
changes to conform the existing school finance structure to the
Quality Education Model proposed in the report.
   (d) The commission shall, upon delivery of the report, continue as
a standing commission, its members serving staggered terms, with the
following responsibilities:
   (1) To test the Quality Education Model's reliability, by
evaluating the accuracy of the cost elements and assessing whether
moneys are actually used to desired effects.
   (2) To refine the means with which to account for missing
elements, including intangible factors or quality indicators that
affect pupil achievement and for which data are not readily
available.
   (3) To identify the Quality Education Model's assumptions, assess
the validity of those assumptions, and improve their accuracy,
especially by finding those resources and methods that successful
schools embody.
   (4) To develop the capacity to estimate and forecast factors,
including the cost of the Quality Education Model's implementation
given model refinement, the growth of applicable revenues, the pace
of implementation, and the effects of the model on pupil performance.
   (5) To make recommendations for improvements in the state's
data-gathering systems.
64202.  Funding for staffing the California Quality Education
Commission shall be provided by nonstate funding sources.  It is the
intent of the Legislature that any state support of the operations of
the commission shall be limited to the in-kind contribution of
office space, equipment, and other materiel from existing resources.
For the purposes of expenditures for the support of the commission,
including the expenses of the members of the commission, the
commission shall be deemed to be within the executive branch of state
government, but the commission may only be subject to the control or
direction of an officer or employee of the executive branch for
ensuring that appropriated funds are encumbered and accounted for in
accordance with state law.
64203.  This part shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2008,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute,
that is enacted on or before January 1, 2008, deletes or extends that
date.