Quality Education Investment Act

Bill Signed to Secure Funding For CTA-Backed QEIA Law to Help Neediest Schools

11.08.09
Governor Schwarzenegger has signed a bill securing funding for this fiscal year for a successful eight-year program bringing extra resources to hundreds of lower-performing public schools thanks to the CTA-backed Quality Education Investment Act of 2006.

The governor signed ABx3 56 to ensure funding – and to guarantee that school districts with QEIA schools would not see any additional funding cuts. QEIA promotes proven reforms such as smaller class sizes, more counselors, and additional staff training.

New data shows the QEIA schools are showing significant academic gains. On average, the 499 QEIA schools scored five points higher than similar schools in the state’s Academic Performance Index (API) for the last school year, the first full year of extra QEIA resources.  Read CTA statement.

Positive Movement on QEIA Funding

10.19.09
Although Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 84 last week, CTA and its education partners have worked with the Governor's office and the legislature to find the solution to funding QEIA for 2009-10. ABx3 56 (Evans) replaces the funding mechanism passed in the July budget that caused concern to many of the QEIA districts and schools. This new bill, when passed and signed by the Governor, will ensure QEIA districts are made whole and will not experience a revenue limit cut to offset funding for QEIA.

ABx3 56 was passed by the California Senate late last week and should be in the Assembly this week for concurrence. The details of the proposal are contained in the linked memo.

The California Department of Education, who administers QEIA funding, is currently processing QEIA funding payments to districts; your district should receive its QEIA allocation in the next several weeks. Per pupil funding amounts have not changed and are based on the number of student enrolled in your school in the prior year.

10.11.09
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed CTA-backed Senate Bill 84 which would have protected the Quality Education Investment Act as well as revenue limit funding for QEIA districts.

SB 84 would have protected QEIA districts from being hit with a $402 million cut in revenue limit (per-student) funding until replacement funds could be found.

9.29.09: QEIA School Accomplishments!

9.14.09: Guide for Dealing With Larger Class Sizes - Fall, 2009

Late in the evening of September 11, the last day of the regular legislative session, SB 84 (Steinberg) was passed by both the California Assembly and Senate. SB 84 contains the language that addresses the concerns regarding 2009-10 QEIA funding that have been raised for some districts and chapters since the passage of the budget six weeks ago.

To understand the impact of SB 84, it is necessary to remember that the July budget act (ABx4 2) resulted in a three-part QEIA funding process for 2009-10:

• QEIA would be funded through Proposition 98 funds rather than through the state’s general fund;
• Each district with QEIA schools would have its revenue limit reduced by an amount equal to its QEIA funding;
• An amount equal to the revenue limit reduction would be made available to those districts through other federal or state funding sources.

QEIA was fully funded in July and that continues to be the case. SB 84 clarifies that the revenue limit cut to QEIA districts that is a component of the three-part funding process cannot occur until the State Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Director of Finance have made funds available to compensate for that reduction to the affected districts.

SB 84 eliminates the possibility of a gap occurring between the time a district experiences a cut in its revenue limit and the receipt of funds to restore that cut.

The bill now goes to the Governor for his signature.

9.09.09: Legislative Proposal to Address QEIA Funding Issues

8.24.09: Status Report on QEIA Funding Issues

7.30.09: QEIA Funding for 2009-10 QEIA Funding Letter CTA QEIA Funding Fact Sheet

5.22.09: Secretary of Education impressed with San Francisco QEIA site -- California Educator

CTA’s Quality Education Investment Act (QEIA), passed into law in 2006 thanks to CTA-sponsored legislation and the settlement of a lawsuit between CTA and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, will help schools that are serving a higher percentage of low income, minority and English learners to close the achievement gap. Nearly $3 billion will go to K-12 schools with Academic Performance Index (API) scores in the bottom two deciles over the next seven years to reduce class sizes, improve teacher and principal training, hire more school counselors, and give local school districts the flexibility to support programs that best fit the needs of their students. Community colleges will also receive a portion of the funding to expand career and vocational education. This legislation settles the lawsuit that CTA won against Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger after he refused to repay the billions he borrowed from schools in 2004-05 and repays public schools all the money owed under Proposition 98.

The California Department of Education announced the 488 schools that were approved for funding by unanimous vote of the State Board of Education in May. 

Some of the goals of the program include:

• Reducing K-12 class sizes
• Having qualified teachers in all core subjects
• Increasing the number of credentialed counselors in high schools
• Establishing district-wide teacher quality index to ensure equitable distribution of teacher experience
• Quality training programs and time for collaboration 

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QEIA materials
-- Listen to Podcasts on QEIA Briefings
-- Fact Sheet
-- Deciles 1 and 2 Charts
-- Q&A
-- Radio ads in English & Spanish ("Achievement")
-- Members: Where we stand   
-- Read the text of SB 1133
-- Accountability requirements under SB 1133
-- Professional development requirements under SB 1133
-- Characteristics of successful schools: what the research indicates
-- QEIA SSC planning tips
-- Caveat emptor: tips for hiring external providers
-- 2007 QEIA funding totals by district
-- School Plan Budget Analysis - allocation of current resources (LACOE)
-- SPSA sample annual evaluation (LACOE)
-- Tools for effective meetings

News Releases
-- State OKs List of 488 Neediest California Public Schools That Will Share $2.9 Billion From CTA-Backed Law
-- Radio Advertising Campaign Draws Attention to CTA's Quality Education Investment Act and the Need to Help California's Schools of Greatest Need
-- Critical CTA Legislation Invests $3 Billion in California's Schools of Greatest Need to Help Close the Achievement Gap
-- Statement from (former) CTA President Barbara E. Kerr on Legislature's Passage of Quality Education Investment Act

California Educator Articles

-- QEIA training a big hit at Summer Institute; keynote speakers Kimberly Thomas Rapp, Robert "Bob" Marzano and Andy Hargreaves
-- Schools begin to benefit from QEIA funds
-- CTA Takes the Lead in Closing the Gap 
-- QEIA Gives Schools Enough Money to Prove That Teachers' Ideas Can Work

California Department of Education
-- State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell Announces List of Schools Selected to Receive Nearly $3 Billion Investment to Accelerate Student Achievement