March 6, 2002

Members of the Joint Committee:

My name is Phillip Escamilla I am here today representing CSBA—the California School Boards Association. I have three main points I would like to address with you today with regard to the School Readiness Report: the availability of programs, the availability of resources, and the administration of programs.

Availability of Programs

CSBA supports elevating preschool programs in order to make them maximally effective in enhancing school readiness. The report does an excellent job of highlighting important issues in childcare and child development. For school-age children, effective child-care programs supplement the school experience and provide developmental opportunities. Therefore, CSBA supports making early developmentally appropriate educational opportunities universally available for all children, including nutrition and health programs for low-income children and families. In addition, the state should adopt preschool standards that contemplate the impact of cultural differences in family structures on identifying needed services. 

Availability of Resources

The key to realizing these objectives, however, is the availability of resources. There are concerns about costs and capacity that have been expressed by the staff analysis of the report, as well as by members of the Joint Committee today. Resources need to be allocated by the state for use at the local level, including Proposition 10 funding and local bond initiatives where feasible. The Proposition 98 guarantee needs to remain intact, and any new mandates on public schools, such as individualized transition plans, mandatory kindergarten, dual-language learning for all young children, "Ready Schools" plans, and other programs recommended by the report would need to come with new state-level funding that does not draw from funds currently set aside for K-12 public schools. In no case should there be a funding guarantee for new programs unless they are means-tested. As the staff analysis of the report notes, there are also issues regarding the mechanisms of these mandates that could prove problematic for districts, particularly the fact that the "Ready Schools" plans for elementary schools would require monitoring to ensure compliance. 

Administration of Programs

State agencies responsible for providing health, welfare, and social services need to improve regional collaboration, including coordinating with local school districts, to prepare children in preschool programs for the K-12 system. Collaboration, however, does not necessarily mean consolidating or eliminating existing elements of the governance structure. CSBA opposes replacing an elected SPI with a cabinet-level appointed position. Also, as the staff analysis notes, this recommendation goes beyond the scope of changes contemplated by the Governance report. In addition, CSBA continues to oppose giving county offices of education more oversight responsibility over local school districts than currently provided for in law. Recommendations to add additional responsibilities to county offices pursuant to Recommendation 9 of the report must not include additional oversight authority. As for the local administration of programs, new or additional services for young children do not necessarily have to be provided at the school site, and they should not duplicate services already provided by public schools or other agencies. Also, new programs would new or additional professionals to administer them, including personnel to provide training. Finally, state-level initiatives to increase parental involvement must consider that coordinating the responsibilities of districts and parents is best achieved at the local level.