The new LCAP template would tie goals and measurements of progress to actions and expenditures for each state academic priority and for all students and subgroups of high-needs students generating additional dollars.
Proposed changes to LCAP renew debate
July 6, 2014 | By John Fensterwald | No Comments
The State Board of Education this week could revise the process that districts use to create their funding and accountability plans. At a hearing in Sacramento on Thursday, critics will argue that the proposed changes don’t go far enough.
In response to hundreds of public comments, the state board will consider explicitly requiring districts to consult with students as they write their Local Control and Accountability Plans, which lay out budget and student achievement priorities. The plans are a critical component of the community and parent participation that the state’s new school funding system mandates. The board will also review a redesign of the LCAP template and may add a requirement that makes it clear that extra money for “high-needs” students must be used “principally” to benefit them. Civil rights groups lobbied heavily for the new wording.
“We all know so much more than we did in March and [are now] seeing issues that we didn’t see coming,” said David Sapp, education director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.
“While responsive to many of the public’s suggestions, the state board’s proposals fall short of satisfying a coalition of civil rights and children’s advocacy groups. They had sought more specific language in the LCAP to track how money is spent on high-needs students – low-income pupils, English learners and foster youth. They also want to be able to compare expenditures across districts through uniform accounting codes. And they asked the board to give explicit directions to county offices of education, which are charged with monitoring Proposed changes to LCAP renew debate | EdSource: