K-12 Education K-12 Proposition 98 Funding Increases Nearly 19 Percent. All Rights Reserved. Historically, when the state has modified existing funding formulas, it has included hold harmless language to ensure every district receives at least as much funding as it received in the year the change is made. Home; . Under the extraordinary cost model, the state would phase out HTST allocations for the majority of districtsas described under Option 1while maintaining a small amount of funding for districts with exceptionally high transportation costs. Action: We recommend CASTO maintain a neutral position on this bill until additional amendments have been published. As described earlier, higher levels of school bus ridership are more common in districts serving greater percentages of lowincome students. Severe Safety and Safety Bus Stops and times will be available at the school sites approximately 1 week before school starts. EC Section 41850.1 Statutory language related to funding allocations, audits and data collection Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) FAQs for the HTS Transportation Reimbursement. Available data indicate that onequarter of districts receive an HTST allocation sufficient to cover less than 30 percent of their costs, whereas another onequarter of districts receive an HTST allocation that covers more than 60 percent of their costs. As described earlier, current HTST allocations vary across districts but cover an average of 35 percent of transportation expenditures statewide. Please note: There is NO change to our current transportation plan, this simply documents that plan and the board will officially adopt it in March. Only a few charter schools operate transportation programs and those programs serve an even smaller number of students. How the Legislature chooses to treat HTST funding moving forward will depend largely upon its perspective regarding a few key policy questions, including: School Districts Divided on Future of HTST Funding. The LCFF establishes a perpupil funding target that is adjusted for differences in grade levels but otherwise is uniform across the state. The states HTST program covered 35 percent ($491 million) of these statewide costs. Similar to the multiyear approach the state currently is using to phase in the LCFF, the state could phase out HTST allocations over several years by gradually counting those allocations toward each districts LCFF funding allocationthat is, scoring the funds towards closing the gap to the districts LCFF target funding level. The difference is partially due to a greater proportion of students in California living within two miles of school (nearly 70 percent) compared with students across the nation (less than 50 percent). This Google translation feature provided on the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) website is for informational purposes only. Inflation is hurting everyone, and you think we should bus everyone to school. Format: PDF; HTML; . Fund Transportation Costs Within LCFF. From the Office of School Transportation She says she loves what she does and said that shes got a couple more years left until she retires. While state law continues to require that districts spend HTST funding on pupil transportation, the state eliminated the separate spending requirement for students with severe disabilities. ). As described earlier, transportation expenditures vary notably across districts. Transportation spending per pupil averaged $240 during 201112. Most notably, all of the states approximately 1,100 charter schools (serving more than 450,000 students) do not receive HTST funding because charter schools were not authorized until the early 1990s. The LAO is unable to guarantee the accuracy of this translation and is therefore not liable for any inaccurate information resulting from the translation application tool. (LEA) in accordance with Section 36 of Article XIII of the Constitution of the State of California. Treats HTST Program Consistently With Most Other Categorical Programs. Specifically, while statewide perrider expenditures averaged $1,800 in 201112, about onequarter of districts spent less than $1,000 per rider and about onequarter of districts spent more than $2,500 per rider. In 2012, we surveyed districts regarding how they thought existing state categorical programs should be treated under a new school finance system. Home-to-School (HTS) Transportation Reimbursement was implemented by Assembly Bill (AB) 181 (Chapter 52, Statutes of 2022) and amended by AB 185 (Chapter 571, Statutes of 2022). Specifically, the Legislature asked us to recommend how the state might address historical funding inequities and improve incentives for local educational agencies (LEAs) to provide efficient and effective pupil transportation services. Funding Allocations Are Outdated and Irrational. David Neben Nationally, available data suggest up to 50 percent of students ride the bus to school. LUSD Board Of Education approved March 9, 2023 (Complies with Ed. . Credit: Allison Shelley for American Education, A towns library fight spotlights inequities, Californias Community Colleges: At a Crossroads, Adjuncts gig economy at CA community colleges, College And Covid: Freshman Year Disrupted, Education during Covid: California families struggle to learn, Tainted Taps: Lead puts California Students at Risk, Full Circle: California Schools Work To Transform Discipline, Californias Homeless Students: Undercounted, Underfunded And Growing, Eyes on the Early Years Newsletter Archive, San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District, Click here for EdSource's Comments Policy, Long after wildfires, rural schools face frustration, homelessness, and trauma, College and Covid: Freshman Year Disrupted, Education During Covid: Families Struggle to Learn. While districts containing more lowincome students may face higher transportation costs, the LCFF provides additional funding to cover those costs. Students with disabilities will continue to be provided home to school transportation services, when specified in their IEP, in accordance with the current process. Rather, as discussed earlier, most districts indicate that facilitating student attendance has been the primary rationale for transporting students. For example, if the state paid 75 percent of transportation costs above an 8 percent spending threshold, we estimate it would cost roughly $10 million per year. Take Los Angeles USD for instance. Feedback will be reviewed for future plan updates. Home-to-School (HTS) New Formula Retains HTST Funding but Freezes LEA Allocations. Day after day, rain or shine, you have risen to the challenge of ensuring our children reach their educational destinations safely. Sec. Treatment of HTST Program Glaring Exception to Reform Effort. (Each of these options would apply in the same way to all districts, COEs, and charter schools.). Federal American Rescue Plan 12. Most Pupil Transportation Offered Out of Concern That Students Might Not Otherwise Get to School. Retains HTST program as a separate funding stream, freezes allocations at. Transportation Services Plan - Garden Grove Unified School District To assist the Legislatures deliberations, we have identified three options for funding pupil transportation moving forward. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) and state education officials recently named the two school bus drivers of the year. Nonetheless, in cases for which charter school data are available, we also have included them in our numbers. Because pupil transportation service levels and spending vary due to such a wide variety of local factors, establishing a specific service requirement for this program is difficult. Which reform option the Legislature selects ultimately will depend upon its policy goals for pupil transportation and how much state funding it wants to dedicate to this purpose. And the surplus can help kickstart funding without depriving students of other programs and services critical to repairing the last two years of stress, isolation, delayed socio-emotional development and learning disruption. The bus stops here: Time to fund transportation for all California a Cost of providing every district with its 201213 funding level if greater than how much it would receive under the new formula. School Bus Ridership Has Been Declining for Many Years. grades 1 to 8, inclusive, who receive home-to-school transportation shall receive safety instruction that includes, but is not limited to, proper loading and unloading procedures, . A Few Districts Transport a Significant Portion of Their Students. Over Time, Approach Would Free Up Funding for Other Educational Purposes. Most school districts in the state operate school bus programs to transport a portion of their students to and from school. require that a case plan includes a plan . Christopher Schiermeyeris the superintendent and Mark Becker is the board president of San Lorenzo Valley Unified School District located between the Santa Cruz Mountains and the California coast. The Department of Finance staff has indicated that this program will also remain untouched in determining where to find financial relief for the state budget. That is, under current law, any district that received a onetime grant for bus replacement in 201213 will continue receiving this same amount but may use the freedup funds for any transportation purpose. Although the budget package rolled most categorical programs into the LCFF, it retained HTST as a separate funding stream. Specifically, the state would establish a threshold at which costs notably exceed what an ordinary district pays for pupil transportation, then fund a share of the costs in excess of that threshold. Transportation - Sacramento City Unified School District - Putting Your unwavering commitment to excellence and professionalism has not gone unnoticed. We're asking for your input on the plan linked below as we work to finalize and take to the board for adoption. Home-to-School Transportation Reimbursement funding information to assist school districts, transportation agencies, and school transportation operators in providing the safest and most efficient transportation services for their passengers and customers. MESD values input from all stakeholders, especially parents/guardians, including our All Parents Association members representing Parents Club, School Site Council, English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC), District English Learner Advisory Committee, and Migrant Advisory Committee, and Special Education. May you return refreshed and ready to embark on another successful academic year. Pupil Transportation - Categorical Programs (CA Dept of Education) As of this quarters meeting of the State Board of Directors, we are still awaiting the publication of trailer bill language details to accompany the fiscal appropriations details. CEO, Strategic Education Services THERMAL, Calif. (KABC) --A Coachella Valley school bus driver is being celebrated as a hero for rescuing nearly two dozen middle school students from a burning bus. Each option varies in how many districts it would benefit, how much it would cost the state, and how many spending requirements would be associated. To help mitigate this transition, the change could be implemented gradually and in a way that ensures no district receives less funding than it receives today. Here you will be able to sign up, renew, or update your membership, register for upcoming events and receive important information in regards to California's School Pupil Transportation Industry. Conversely, retaining the HTST program could create pressure for the Legislature to reestablish categorical programs for other local activities, undermining the goal of providing state funding in a more flexible and less complex manner. The California Highway Patrol shall investigate all schoolbus accidents. About 275 districts (just over onequarter of the states roughly 950 districts) transport fewer than 10 percent of their students, whereas about 100 districts transport more than half of their students. Fundamental Questions Arise When Considering Future of HTST Funding. Current laws require that Education allocate HometoSchool program funds to each school district based on the lesser of its prior year's allocation or approved cost of providing transportation services, increased by the amount specified in the budget act. Submitting this form will send a password reset email to the email associated with this account. (These averages include spending for students both with and without disabilities. Reimburses transportation costs on a sliding scale, covering between 50percent and 90percent of costs beyond certain spending thresholds. And even for these students, existing state funding is hardly sufficient to pay for a busing program. Who is going to pay for this? If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelinesandcontact us. PDF TRANSPORTATION SAFETY PLAN - Berkeley Public Schools With respect to HTST, about 40 percent of respondents preferred to maintain the existing program, about 40 percent preferred to eliminate the program, and about 20 percent preferred a restructured transportation program. HTST Program Widely Recognized as Problematic. Overview; Per Diem Rates; . The driver quickly pulled over after noticing flames and smoke pouring from the back. Home To School Transportation Plan - monroe.k12.ca.us In 2011-12, school districts spent $1.4 billion to transport students. CDE IB 22-70 (Home to School Transportation Reimbursement Program ) (003).pdf. In 201112, only about 170 districts charged fees. Programs; Local Assistance; Federal and State Programs; Safe Route To School Program (under construction) Safe Route To School Program (under construction) . Need school districts to allow students to take bus to childcare , not just residence. LCFF Contains Incentives to Maximize Student Attendance. (The district total includes 38 districts that receive no direct funding from the state but participate in one of several statefunded Joint Powers Authorities [JPAs]consortia of districts organized to provide pupil transportation. Because the vast majority of pupil transportation services currently are run by school districts, we generally use the term school districts throughout this report. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, students are 70 times more likely to get to school safely if they take a bus instead of traveling by car. Here you will be able to sign up, renew, or update your membership, register for upcoming events and receive important information in regards to California's School Pupil Transportation Industry. Meanwhile, 25-year veteran Robert Sorber of Miller Creek School District received his award last month. ByMerari Acevedo-Vigo- School Transportation News. Federal Law Requires Districts to Provide Transportation to Certain Students. All Options Represent Notable Improvement Over States Current Approach. Welcome to the California Association of School Transportation Officials "CASTO" webpage. . . The final revenue source supporting pupil transportation is fees, which in 201112 generated $17 million and covered just over 1 percent of expenditures statewide. State Establishes New HTST Spending Requirement for Students With Severe Disabilities. Many districts in California provide hometoschool transportation only for the students in one of the above groups. Your dedication to the California Association of School Transportation Officials makes our organization strong and influential. Three Districts Illustrate Disparities in HTST Funding Allocations, All Charter Schools and a Few Districts Excluded From Funding. Translate . Many districts interviewed for this report, however, noted that these trends also reflect shifting local priorities, and that their governing boards have decreased transportation services in order to fund other school programs. The 2022-23 California Spending Plan: Proposition 98 Moreover, beginning in 201415 all districts must set annual goals around student attendance and student outcomes as part of new local accountability plans. The districts transporting larger shares of their pupils tend to have smaller enrollments, be located in more rural areas, and enroll larger proportions of students from lowincome families compared to those with smaller pupil transportation programs, although these trends do not apply in all cases. (Throughout this report, we rely on districtreported financial data collected through the states standardized accounting system. These ridership trends differ notably from many other states. Unlike the states previous approach to HTST, however, these allocations will not receive future COLAs. from school and driving home). Review of School Transportation in California The budgetary tradeoffs resulting from these high expenditures likely lead to reduced spending in other areas, including instruction. In addition to the HometoSchool Transportation (HTST) program, the state historically funded a school bus purchasing program for districts with fewer than 2,500 students. The draft Transportation plan is an outline of our services. . (These estimates are only rough approximations, based on districtlevel data from 201112.) (The figure shows a slightly higher percentage riding the bus14 percent instead of 12 percentbecause the data are slightly older and from a different source.) Through the districts statement, many coworkers, board members and staff expressed their gratitude toward Conley and their excitement that she received a well-deserved honor. Adopting any of the three options contained in this report would be a notable improvement to the states existing HTST program and help the Legislature further its goal of building a school funding system that is simple, transparent, and rational. The School Bus Driver of the Year award given by CHP is awarded to hard-working and dedicated candidates that contribute to the schools bus industry for the safe transportation of students in California. The options primarily differ in the degree to which they account for transportation costs separately from the other costs districts face. This report lays out three options the Legislature could pursue in reforming its approach to funding pupil transportation. Importantly, to ensure schools continue to best serve the needs of students, parents and the community, AB 2933 provides local flexibility without imposing an extreme burden on LEAs through future funding uncertainties. The state also discontinued the collection of detailed expenditure and ridership data from districts. A description of the local educational agency's transportation services that would be accessible to pupils with disabilities and homeless children and youth, as defined pursuant to the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. It is with great pleasure and gratitude that I write this message to express my deepest appreciation for your commitment to the safe transportation of our students. J-141-T Report of Transfer of Home-to-School Transportation Services (XLS; Posted 31-Jul-2012) Due August 10, 2012. . December 1, 2022 Home to School Transportation Reimbursement Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Home-to-School (HTS) Transportation Reimbursement was implemented by Assembly Bill (AB) 181 (Chapter 52, Statutes of 2022) and amended by AB 185 (Chapter 571, Statutes of 2022). The Legislature then could use these funds for any educational purpose, such as increases in LCFF base rates or special education funding to benefit all districts. Acknowledgments: This report was prepared by Kenneth Kapphahn and reviewed by Rachel Ehlers.