ICUC Presentation

Public Advocates & ACLU SoCal

Agenda

Outcomes

1. Learn how organizers and legal/policy groups can work together to win community priorities, implement changes, and hold systems accountable
2. Understand the basics of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), how we worked together to win this state law and implement it locally, and the new opportunities to strengthen it
3. Understand some of the bills that PA/ACLU are supporting this year

• Background: How did we pass LCFF?
• What is LCFF?
• How do we use LCFF (budget advocacy) in campaigns?
• How has ICUC used LCFF
• What’s next with LCFF
• Other legislation
• Activity

Grounding

Expertise of Grassroots / Advocacy Organizations

Expertise of Legal/Policy Organizations

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LCFF

Fighting for Equitable School Funding

LCFF is…

An organizing win in 2013 to address racialized disinvestment in public education by changing how school districts in California are funded

History of Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)

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After Prop 13 passes, over time CA moves from top 5 in school funding to 48-49th

Mike Kirst (SBE President) and other researchers release “Getting Beyond the Facts” and propose the Weighted Student Formula (Now LCFF)

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Prop 30 ($6 billion to CA schools) passes at the ballot and Gov. Brown pushes to pass LCFF

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Campaign for Quality Education coalition is created and leads with others to pass new funding formula

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Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed to cut CA education budget by billions of dollars

CFJ, PICO, ACORN & Public Advocates surveyed 5,600 parents, students & community members on education finance reform and released Now That We Have the Facts: California Parents and Students Voice their Demands for Public Education report

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After years of organizing Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) passes into law

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1978

2008

2008

2008

2008

2012

2013

Graphic by Californians for Justice, 2018

Click "Interpretation" to choose your language. Haga clic en “interpretation” para escoger su idioma.

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Grassroots effort: Thousands of students and families traveled to the Capitol to rally, meet with legislators, and advocate for full and fair school funding.

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THIS IS OUR LAW!

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LCFF

What is LCFF?

What is LCFF?

How LCFF Works

• Biggest funding source for K-12 education in California
• Designed to increase equity by:
• Giving districts more money for high-need students (students who are low-income, English Learners, or foster youth)
• Requiring districts to make spending decisions in partnership with community members (which requires transparency and accountability)

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• Districts have to use the "extra" equity funding they get for high-need students on high-need students
• To provide transparency and accountability, districts create plans called LCAPs that explain how they are using their money, the goals they expect to accomplish by spending that money, and their progress in meeting those goals

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The Formula

Example: District X has 10,000 students. Of these students, 60% are high-need (low-income, English learners, and foster youth). In year YYYY, the base grant amount is $8,000.

40% of the students are not high-need. These 4,000 students each generate base funding.

Non-high-need student

Base grant only ($8,000)

= $8,000/student

60% of the students are high-need. These 6,000 students each generate base funding and supplemental funding. The district has 5% more high-need students than the 55% threshold. These 500 students each generate additional concentration funding.

High-need student up to 55%

Base Grant ($8,000)

+20% Supplemental Grant ($1,600)

= $9,600/student

High-need students over 55%

Base Grant ($8,000)

+20% Supplemental Grant ($1,600)

+50% Concentration Grant ($4,000)

= $13,600/student

LCFF

Opportunities for Building Power

Using LCFF to Win Campaigns

Purposes behind LCFF

• Increase equity by providing more $ to high-need students
• Increase transparency
• Create opportunities for community engagement

Using LCFF to Win Campaigns

Opportunities Provided by LCFF

• Chances to try to influence school district priorities/spending
• Chances to talk to school board members and district decisionmakers directly
• Ability to understand school district spending and goals better
• Provides platform to build power among community
• Even if you win programs outside of LCFF, district will need to fund it through LCFF/budget process later

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New fiscal year begins and the Governor signs final budget.

Districts are revising their budgets for the coming year with parent and student advisory groups and holding listening sessions

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Governor releases proposed state budget

JAN - MARCH

Governor releases “May Revision”

(LCAPs updated)

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Districts release draft LCAP & Budget in alignment

MAY

County superintendent of schools may seek clarification in writing about the contents of the LCAP or annual update.

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COE approves by Oct 8 at the latest

AUG - OCT

District begins sharing parts of LCAPs in meetings and listening to recommendations

MARCH - APRIL

Districts must hold final Board meeting to discuss/take comments on proposed LCAP & budget

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LCAP adopted and submitted to COE for review & approval

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JULY

Timeline for LCFF Advocacy

JUNE

LCFF Campaign Strategies

• File a complaint (ICUC filed one against San Bernardino County Office of Education)
• Make noise with a report or study to shame bad actors
• Talk to the media
• Build relationships with school board members
• Collaborate with school district officials
• Develop allies inside and outside school district
• Submit Public Records Act requests for information

What are other communities asking for?

Mental Health and Social Emotional Health Resources

Psychologists

Counselors

On-Campus Mental Health Services

Trauma-Informed Practices

Race-Based Trauma Support

Well-Rounded Educational Opportunities

Arts Education

Music

Field Trips

Ethnic Studies Classes

Sports

Science Camps

Academic Support for Black Students and English Learners

College Preparedness Resources

Intervention Programs

Mentors

Tutors

School Climate and Reimagining Safety

Bullying Prevention

Restorative Justice

Culturally Relevant Training

Improving Crisis Responses Protocols

Case Study

Goal: Community does not want school police in Pomona CA. They instead want counselors.

Step 1: Review Pomona LCAP and find district spends $2m on police using dollars for high-need students

Step 2: Send letter to school district asking district to stop spending that money on police and to add a counselor to each school

Step 3: Give public comment at school board meeting where it was considering LCAP

Result: District changed LCAP to free up $2m in funds to hire a counselor at each school

LCFF

Making Rights Real in Inland Region

Our Collective Work to Implement LCFF in the IE

• “Lawyer on speed dial” - real time support while meeting with districts
• LCAP analysis
• LCAP capacity-building trainings
• SBCUSD Letters re: funding law enforcement (2020)
• SBCOE Complaint (2020-21)
• Wellness Center advocacy (2022)

How We Got Here

June 2020

Sept

2020

June

2021

Oct

2020

NOW

COPE & ICUC File Legal Complaint Against San Bernardino County Office of Education (SBCOE) for Approving Illegal School District Spending Plans

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SBCOE Denies Any Wrongdoing & Continues to Ignore Community Concerns

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COPE & ICUC File Appeal With CA Department of Education (CDE)

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COPE & ICUC Win! CDE ruled that SBCOE broke the law by approving bad plans and ordered SBCOE to do better.

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The fight is not over. SBCOE still claims that it has done nothing wrong, even though CDE ruled that they did.

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Why We Filed the Complaint

EQUITY

School plans misspent millions for high-need students

ACCOUNTABILITY

County knew about the problems but didn’t do anything

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TRANSPARENCY

School plans missing millions of $

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Why We Filed the Complaint

What We Won

“We feel vindicated by the decision,” said Sergio Luna, lead organizer with Inland Congregations United for Change. “For years, our students and parents have tried to be involved in their school district’s decision-making, but they have been consistently shut out, including when it comes to overspending on school police.”

- EdSource

[Jewel] Patterson, the youth organizer [at COPE], said the decision “gives the community a moment of ‘we hear you’ and a moment where we are able to take those funds that were already earmarked for high-needs students and use them for things that will actually benefit high-needs students.” -LA Times

What Happened Next

• SBCOE’s Misinformation Campaign
• Our Response
• Sent a letter to CDE with other organizations to request that it enforces its decision
• Sent a letter to SBCOE board members to invest more in LCAP review team and revise public statement
• Met with SBCOE staff to raise concerns and identified concerns in adopted LCAPs; sent multiple letters pointing out problems
• The result
• Statewide impact on County Offices of Education
• Law enforcement no longer considered an equity action
• Improvement in transparency and accountability, but still shortfalls

“The San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools is pleased that the Decision by the California Department of Education (CDE) validates there was no misuse or misappropriation of funds by SBCSS or the school districts involved, and does not require SBCSS to take any additional actions other than continue to comply with its oversight responsibilities in alignment with the new LCAP template moving forward.” - SBCOE Press Statement following CDE decision

Impact on the Ground

Wins

Our complaint resulted in the divestment of more than $25M in equity dollars from school police in San Bernardino County.

These freed up equity dollars were re-invested in additional and increased services for high-needs students, including:

• New bilingual school psychologists in Apple Valley
• 15-16 new elementary counseling support positions in Fontana
• $2M in additional nurses in San Bernardino City

Challenges

• Investment in policing overall has not meaningfully decreased.
• Major questions about equity remain - even though SBCOE is doing a better job at holding districts accountable for spending its LCFF funding equitably and effectively, it seems surface level (Hesperia example)

Questions?

Comments?

What’s Next with LCFF?

Problems with LCFF

• LCAPs are complex and difficult to read, most are 100+ pages
• LCAPs do not include all of the budget
• Sometimes LCAP information is wrong
• Districts often do not use funds equitably
• School site budgeting doesn’t align with LCAP
• School districts do not publish LCAP drafts until close to the deadline
• School districts do not always provide many opportunities for community engagement
• School districts sometimes do not listen to input

Ideas to Address Problems w/ LCFF

• Move LCAPs from 100+ page pdfs to an online platform
• Include more of the budget in the LCAP
• Hold County Offices of Education accountable for overseeing district LCAP processes and give them more power to reject LCAPs
• Better alignment between school and district budgeting
• Make LCAP engagement more meaningful by updating engagement timeline

Governor’s Proposals

How do we make change?

Equity Multiplier:

• $300m statewide for schools with highest proportions of low-income students

Requiring districts to adjust plans if they don’t work for 3 years

Requiring districts to pay attention to lowest performing student groups

• Participate in statewide coalitions
• Write letters with proposals to key policymakers
• Have meetings with policymakers
• Gather support among key partners
• Give testimony and hold rallies to put pressure
• Write op-eds and do outreach to media
• File a lawsuit

Questions?

Comments?

Legislation

Legislation - Education

We support these school discipline bills:

• SB 1323: eliminates mandatory school notification to police
• SB 274: eliminates suspensions for K-12 students for “willful defiance”
• AB 599: eliminates suspensions for possession of tobacco, including tobacco vapes*

• Statewide coalitions that track legislation re education:
• FixSchoolDiscipline
• Dignity in Schools California
• Alliance for Boys and Men of Color
• Partnership for Future of Learning
• LCFF Equity Coalition

* PA has not yet taken a position

Legislation - Education

PA supports these education bills:

• SB 609: require CDE to post links to all approved LCAPs on the California School Dashboard
• AB 1113: increase funding for afterschool programs serving middle and high school students

PA supports these bills, if amended to better promote equity:

• SB 28 & AB 247: places a school facilities bond on the ballot for public preschools, K-12 schools, and public colleges and universities

Legislation - Housing

PA is sponsoring these housing bills:

• AB 919: gives tenants, local agencies, and nonprofits the first opportunity to purchase rental housing properties (2 year bill)
• AB 920: adds “housing status” as a protected class to California’s existing anti-discrimination legislation
• AB 1086: strengthens enforcement of fair housing laws by allowing investigators to record conversations with housing providers (2-year bill)
• SB 225: creates a state funding program to acquiring housing and preserve it from the speculative housing market**
• SB 555: declares 10-year goal of creating 1.2 million units of social housing and a 5-year goal of creating 200k affordable units for very low income families**
• SB 567: protects low-income renters from unjust evictions and exorbitant rent increases**

** PICO CA has already taken a support position

Other ACLU Subject Areas

• Criminal Justice
• Freedom of Speech
• Voting Rights
• LGBTQ Rights
• Gender and Reproductive Rights
• Immigrants’ Rights

Questions?

Comments?

Activity

Translating Needs into Budget Demands

Let’s create a budget demand together!

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Step 1

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Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

What is one problem that you want to address in your school, district, or community?

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Identify 1-2 solutions for this problem.

Do any of these solutions require a budget allocation (or money)?

Does this solution align with any of the existing goals for your school/ district/ city? If so, are they already doing anything related to this solution?

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Decide on 2 to 3 ways that you could measure whether or not the actions are working at the end of the year.

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Step 5

1

What is one problem that you want to solve in your school, district, or community?

Students are not attending classes.

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2

Identify 1-2 solutions for this problem

• Students and families are experiencing stress and other mental health issues due to the pandemic, so wellness centers would help to address those needs and provide an incentive to come to school.
• Students and families don't feel connected to school, so a home visit program may improve relationships between teachers and families.

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Do any of these solutions require a budget allocation (or money)?

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• Yes - wellness centers require staffing, supplies, and potentially facilities funding.
• A home visit program requires additional staff to coordinate and paying teachers X-time for participating on top of their classroom duties.

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Does this solution align with any of the existing goals for your school/ district/ city? If so, what are they already doing to address this solution?

• SBCUSD has a few wellness centers already and they seem to be on board with building more wellness centers in theory, but we need a wellness center at every school and on a quicker timeline than they have provided.
• A few teachers do home visits, but it is not a universal practice. What do we need to do to make it a universal practice that targets students who are chronically absent?

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Decide on 2 to 3 ways that you could measure whether or not the actions are working at the end of the year.

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• Decreased rates of chronic absenteeism
• Number of students accessing wellness center services
• Increased positive responses to school climate surveys from students and families

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Breakouts

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Share outs

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What actions and measures of success did your group come up with?

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Feedback Surveys and Email Sign-Up

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Feedback Survey

PA Email Sign-Up

Resources

• Parent Participation and LCFF [English]
• Timeline for LCFF Advocacy [English]
• A Resource Guide for Multilingual Learners
• Our Right to Resources toolkit [English]
• Realizing the Promise of LCFF: Recommendations from the First 10 Years [English]

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