A grandfather clause

A new bill, titled AB 1771, was introduced a week after SB 1432 was killed. However, this new bill has not yet passed.

“[AB 1771] would allow those DOC students to be grandfathered, meaning they would not have to leave their current programs,” assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, D-Long Beach, said.

Whereas bills may normally take months to move through the legislative process, the sponsors of AB 1771 tried to take measures that would speed it through before the session ends Aug. 31.

Co-authored by Gonzalez and O’Donnell, the bill attracted criticism from proponents of the original program.

“The grandfathering clause is a short-term solution,”  Irwin said, “but advocates have been asking if there is a better chance that we find a long-term solution.”

EdVoice, a non-profit organization devoted to improving student achievement and eliminating educational inequality, has argued in strong opposition to the new bill.

“AB 1771 is designed to end the [DOC] program altogether, with the current cohort of students being the last to enroll under the program,” Bill Lucia, the president of EdVoice, wrote in an opposition letter.

The new bill would allow DOC students to complete the highest grade level their current school offers. It would not allow new enrollment — even from students changing from elementary to middle or high school schools within the DOC district. For example, under this new bill, a DOC student attending Medea Creek could culminate from the middle school, but not attend Oak Park High School.

If the DOC program were not separately reauthorized, this would force DOC districts to downsize over the span of a few years.

OPUSD would have to begin cutting programs and teachers before the 2017-18 school year begins.

Still, O’Donnell sees the measure as a necessary compromise.

“I’m worried about families, I’m worried about student success and I’m trying to put forward a bill that works for the students now,” O’Donnell said.

Waiting until the legislature returns in December could give enough time for both sides of the issue to fix any disagreements before creating a new bill.

While there are other ways for students to change school districts, the DOC program is the only one allowing students to change districts without permission from their district of residence.

The other way to switch districts is through the inter-district transfer program. This method requires an agreement between both home and districts of choice before a transfer takes place.

Simi Valley Unified School District, for example, requires parents to meet with administrators to discuss the reasons for leaving a school district.

“This last year we have taken a harder line on inter-district transfers,” SVUSD Executive Director Sean Goldman said.

If a district of residence does not allow a student to transfer, students can appeal to the local county of education or otherwise apply for an intra-district permit to transfer within the local district, according to Marian Chiara, a staff member of the Division of Student Support Services at the Los Angles County of Education.

“Typically districts of residence say ‘no’ to inter-district transfers, but at the county level, administrators usually say ‘yes.’ It’s a cumbersome process of uncertainty,” Huff said.