williams progress 2007

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Williams v. California:The Statewide Impact

of Two Years of Implementation


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The Statewide Impact oTwo Years o Implementation

August 2007

Prepared by:

ACLU Foundation o Southern Caliornia

Public Advocates, Inc.

Based on research conducted by:

Dr. Marisa Saunders, Lindsay Huber, Dr. Anne Marshall and Dr. Siomara Valladares

University o Caliornia, Los Angeles

The ACLU Foundation o Southern Caliornia and Public Advocates, Inc., are deeply grateul to The

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation or sponsoring the generation and production o this report. We

extend special thanks to Ramona Ripston, Executive Director, ACLU o Southern Caliornia; Jamienne

Studley, President and CEO, Public Advocates, Inc.; and Jack Londen, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP.

Williams v. California:


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contentsCHAPTER 1: Introduction and 6

Summary o Key FindingsCHAPTER 2: Williams v. California: 12

The Case and the Settlement

CHAPTER 3:The Statewide Impact o 18

Williams Implementation

Special Fcus: The State f Califria 19

Special Fcus: Ls Ageles Cuty 29

Special Fcus: Sacramet Cuty 36Special Fcus: The Greater Bay Area 41

Special Fcus: The Cetral Valley 49

CHAPTER 4: Conclusions and Next Steps 55

EndnoTES 57


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cHapter1

6

IntroDUctIon anD sUmmaryoF Key FInDInGs

On August 13, 2004, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the settlement oWilliams v.Caliornia, a lawsuit led on behal o thousands o Caliornias public school students who were denied

equal educational opportunity. The settlement called or all o Caliornias public schools to provide at least

the basic necessities o educational opportunity: textbooks and instructional materials, clean and sae school

acilities, and qualied teachers. The settlement also promised students, parents, and community members

new inormation and tools to oversee this progress.

Now, three years ater the plaintis and Governor Schwarzenegger announced the settlement, and precisely

three years ater the Caliornia Legislature passed the Settlement Legislation, this report examines theimpact o the Williams Settlement Legislation during the rst two years o implementation2004-05

and 2005-06by documenting students access to textbooks and instructional materials, clean, sae and

unctional school acilities, and appropriately certicated and assigned teachers.

A clear picture o progress emerges rom each o the our regions examined (Los Angeles County,

Sacramento County, the Greater Bay Area, and the Central Valley) and the state as a whole. In only two

short years o implementation, teaching and learning conditions in Caliornias public school classrooms

have materially improved as a direct result o the Williams standards and accountability systems. For

instance, students received more than 88,000 new textbooks and instructional materials because county

superintendents discovered the materials were missing and insucient when they conducted their Williams

site visits. Students have gone so ar as to give visitors rom a county oce o education a standing ovation

in appreciation or their new books. Likewise, administrators appreciate how the acilities standards have

spotlighted repair needs, leading to a statewide decline in the number o schools with acility deciencies.

Nearly 3,000 emergency repairs have already been unded through the $800 million Emergency Repair

Program (ERP). As one administrator said, Williams is right at my back helping me get things done.

Administrators also report that textbook and acility improvements are helping them attract and retainqualied teachers, a trend that should aid schools in building on early progress with respect to teacher

misassignments. The new annual teacher assignment monitoring or low perorming schools has

highlighted signicant numbers o misassignments in many regions o the state, particularly in c lasses

with substantial numbers o English learners, which in turn is motivating teachers, schools, and districts to

explore additional training opportunities and other solutions.

Administrators and county oce o education ocials routinely trace the improving conditions to systemic

reormsnew textbook distribution systems, revamped acility work order procedures, and new teachertraining and assignment practicesthat districts and schools instituted in response to the Williams

Settlement. In many cases, the results have been dramatic. In schools where students previously lacked

sucient textbooks to take home at night, more than hal the teachers lacked ull credentials, and acilities

were poorly maintained, students now all receive textbooks, including books to take home; learn in ully

maintained school acilities; and have markedly improved access to credentialed teachers who are properly

assigned.

cHapter1

Today is a landmark dayor Caliornias neglected

students. I am here to tell

you they will be neglected

no more.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, announcing

the Settlement oWilliams v. California

August 13, 2004


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Teachers and administrators explain that the new procedures

and improvements also brought intangible changes that may

be just as responsible or ensuring problems are prevented and

students receive the textbooks, acilities, and teachers they

need and deserve. Many teachers and administrators describe

cultural changes within their institutions, encouraging open

lines o communication, an emphasis on students needs, and

accountability.

Williams requires that every Caliornia public school provide

each student with, at the very least, sucient textbooks and

instructional materials; clean, sae and unctional buildings and

acilities; and permanent, appropriately trained and assigned

teachers. Not all schools are meeting these standards yet, and

thus the inormation collected through the Williams monitoringsystems should be utilized quickly to develop and target new

solutions, while the initiatives and eorts that have led to the

remarkable improvements over the course o the rst two years

oWilliams implementation should be recognized, shared, and

redoubled.

Summary of Key Findingstextbooks and instructional materials In the rst year oWilliams implementation, county oces

o education ound, on average, that 20% o decile 1-3

schools had insucient textbooks and/or instructional

materials. This gure decreased to 13% in the second year

o implementation (2005-06), with 21 county oces o

education nding sucient textbooks and instructional

materials in all schools.

All our regions studied experienced a decrease in the

percentage o decile 1-3 schools with insucient textbook/

instructional materials, with Sacramento County and the

Greater Bay Area experiencing the greatest decreases with

drops o 17 and 16 percentage points, respectively.

In the Central Valley, the percentage o schools with

insucient textbook/instructional materials was lower than

the statewide county average in both 2004-05 and 2005-

06.

school acilities The average percentage o decile 1-3 schools in each county with good

repair deciencies or emergency acility needs decreased during the

rst two years o implementation.

Forty-two percent o county oces o education ound ewer decile 1-3

schools with acilities deciencies in the second year o implementation

than in the rst year.

County oces o education reported, on average, nding one or more

good repair deciency at 62% o schools inspected in 2004-05,

compared to 47% o schools inspected in 2005-06.

County oces o education ound, on average, that 8% o the decile 1-3

schools in each county had acility conditions that posed emergency

or urgent threat[s] to the health or saety o pupils or sta in 2004-

05. This gure remained almost constant between the two years o

implementation, with a slight decrease to 7% in 2005-06.

The region with the highest percentages o decile 1-3 schools withemergency acility needs was the Greater Bay Area. School conditions

have improved across the region, but some schools, such as many in the

Oakland Unied School District, need additional attention.

In general, administrators and teachers report that repairs on their

campuses are conducted more quickly and acilities receive more

attention as a result oWilliams.

The $800 million Williams Emergency Repair Program now oers

grants as well as reimbursements or health and saety repairs, and the

number o projects unded has increased rom 149 to 2,797 in one year,

helping to address the more than $803 million in necessary repairs

documented at eligible schools by the Williams School Facilities Needs

Assessments.

Statewide, students received at least 24,932 new textbooks and

instructional materials as a result o county oce o education oversight

in 2004-05. Students received 63,163 new textbooks and materials in

2005-06.

Over hal o all county oces o education reported that schoolsimproved textbook distribution and tracking systems as a result o

Williams.


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TABLE 1

Los Angeles

County

Sacramento

County

Greater Bay

Area

Central Valley Caliornia*

Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2

Percentage o decile 1-3schools with insucienttextbooks/instructionalmaterials

22% 14% 35% 18% 45% 29% 14% 3% 20% 13%

Percentage o decile 1-3schools with good repair

acility deciencies

95% 95% 88% 73% 75% 63% 57% 39% 62% 47%

Percentage o decile 1-3schools with emergencyacility conditions

5% 9% 1% 0% 30% 35% 15% 16% 8% 7%

* Note: Overall statewide county averages are reported in Caliornia columns.

Y1 First Year o Implementation (2004-05)

Y2 Second Year o Implementation (2005-06)

Overall, administrators and teachers reported that improvements at their schools, such as

increased access to textbooks and instructional materials and cleaner, saer acilities have

assisted in both attracting and retaining teachers in recent years. For example, a school

administrator rom the Greater Bay Area explained that as a result oWilliams implementation

eorts:

Our school reputation improved a lot. So many people are willing to teach here. The acultyis more stable and not a lot o teachers are leaving.


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teachers Throughout the state, students access to qualied and properly

assigned teachers increased over the course o the rst two years o

Williams implementation.

The percentage o ully credentialed teachers in decile 1-3 schoolsthroughout the state increased rom 90% in 2004-05 to 92% in

2005-06.

In the our regions examined in this report, the percentages o ully

credentialed teachers in decile 1-3 schools increased or remained

constant above 90%. Administrators widely credited these

improvements to No Child Let Behind and Williams.

The average countywide percentage o decile 1-3 schools with

teacher misassignments ell rom 49% in 2004-05 to 43% in 2005-

06, according to reports rom 29 county oces o education.

Statewide, Caliornia Commission on Teacher Credentialing data

reveals there were 28,893 teacher misassignments spread across

53% o the decile 1-3 schools in the state in 2005-06 (not including

misassignments corrected beore the reporting deadline).

TABLE 2

Los Angeles

County

Sacramento

County

Greater Bay

Area

Central Valley Caliornia

nub dil 1-3

hl (2003 B apI) 598 73 299 439 2,115

Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2

Percentage o teachersin decile 1-3 schools thatwere ully credentialed

85% 89% 95% 95% 91% 92% 94% 94% 90% 92%



Fully Credentialed Teachers in Decile 1-3 Schools By Region and Year o Implementation

Despite improved teacher assignment practices and greater

numbers o teachers receiving additional training, much more

needs to be done to ensure all students have highly qualied and

properly assigned teachers in every class. In particular, ar too

many teacher misassignments still persist, caused by teacherslacking the appropriate authorization to teach English learners:

o In 2004-05, county oces o education ound that 30% o

the teachers assigned to classes in decile 1-3 schools in which

20% or more o the students were English learners lacked the

required authorization to teach English learners.

o Ater one year o implementation, 13% o the decile 1-3

school classes with 20% or more English learners weretaught by a teacher lacking the appropriate English learner

authorization. This means 20,200 classes with 20% or

more English learners were taught by a teacher lacking the

appropriate English learner authorization.

Overall, administrators and teachers reported that Williams-related

improvements at their schools have assisted in both attracting and

retaining qualied teachers.


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TABLE 3

Los AngelesCounty

SacramentoCounty

Greater BayArea


nub dil 1-3

hl (2003 B apI) 598 73 299 439 2,115

Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2

Percentage o decile 1-3

schools with teachermisassignments

83%* 70% NA 67% NA 36% NA 26% NA 53%

* Inormation provided by the Los Angeles County Oce o Education

NA Inormation not available rom the CCTC



Teacher Misassignments in Decile 1-3 Schools By Region and Year o Implementation

FIGURE 1pg Dil 1-3 shl th aigd

cl wih 20% eglih L Wh Lkd

h ai eL auhizi i 2004-05

FIGURE 2pg Dil 1-3 shl cl wih 20%

eglih L th W tugh b th

Lkig h ai eL auhizi i 2005-06

36%

23%

19%

24%

30%

Los AngelesCounty

SacramentoCounty

Greater Bay Area Central Valley Caliornia

15%

11%10%

12%13%

Los AngelesCounty

SacramentoCounty



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Report Organization

The second chapter o this report provides a summary

oWilliams v. Caliornia, the Settlement Legislation,

the rst year o implementation, and some o

the signicant outcomes in the rst year. Theseoutcomes include legislative changes enacted to

improve implementation, monitoring procedures, and

outcomes. The third chapter looks at the impact o

the Williams Settlement Legislation on student access

to instructional materials; clean, sae and unctional

acilities; and qualied teachers in Caliornias lowest

perorming public schools. Special ocus sections

within the third chapter examine how schools

across the state and in our particular regionsLos

Angeles County, Sacramento County, the Greater

Bay Area, and the Central Valleyare aring in

increasing students access to these essential elements

o educational opportunity. These sections provide

in-depth analysis o county-, district- and school-

level data, as well as detailed analysis o the successes

and challenges experienced by schools, districts, and

county oces o education as they implement theWilliams Settlement Legislation. The ourth and

nal chapter draws some conclusions and identies

important next steps.

11


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CHapter1

12

CHapter2


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13

The schools ranked in

deciles one to three, inclu-

sive, on the 2006 Base Aca-

demic Perormance Index

receive additional unds andoversight. The list o decile

1-3 schools is updated

every three years. Up until

July 1, 2007, the schools re-

ceiving additional unds and

oversight were the schools

ranked in deciles one to

three, inclusive, on the 2003

Base Academic Perormance

Index.

all students on equal terms. The case argued that Caliornias public education system ailed on both

o these counts: it did not give all students the necessary educational resources and it allowed unequal

opportunities to persist across schools. Williams called on the state to create standards or basic

educational materials, a system o management and oversight, and accountability so schools live up to

these standards.

On August 13, 2004, ater more than our years o litigation, the parties announced a settlement

agreement. Just over two weeks later, on August 27, 2004, the state Legislature passed ve bills

implementing the legislative proposals set orth in the Settlement Agreement. Governor Arnold

Schwarzenegger signed the bills into law on September 29, 2004, and they took eect immediately.

The settlement embodied the central principles o the plaintis case and included signicant changes

to Caliornias education laws.

Scope of the SettlementThe Williams Settlement Legislation established new standards and accountability mechanisms

to ensure that all Caliornia public school students have textbooks and instructional materials and

that their schools are clean, sae, and unctional. It also took steps toward assuring all students have

qualied teachers. The Settlement holds the state accountable or delivering these undamental

elements and provides approximately $1 billion to accomplish these goals. The Settlement also phases

out the use o the Concept 6 multi-track, year-round school calendar by 2012.2

The new standards and many o the accountability systems established by the Williams Settlement

apply to all Caliornia public schools.3 Each and every student has a right to sucient textbooks,

a school in good repair, and a qualied teacher. All districts must perorm sel-evaluations to ensure

compliance with the textbook and acilities standards. Further, the overall condition o acilities, the

availability o textbooks and instructional materials, and the number o teacher misassignments and

teacher vacancies must be reported in annual School Accountability Report Cards (SARCs) that are

made available to all parents and the public. The Settlement Legislation also created a new Uniorm

Complaint Process or parents, students, teachers, and others to use to ensure that all schools and

districts meet the new standards and provide sucient instructional materials, qualied teachers, and

sae, healthy school acilities.

The lowest perorming schools in the statethe schools ranked in deciles one to three, inclusive, on

the 2006 Base Academic Perormance Index (API) receive additional unds and oversight.4 Pursuant

to the Settlement Legislation, the State o Caliornia is providing $800 million in installments o at

least $100 million each year to pay or emergency repairs in these decile 1-3 schools. In the rst year

o implementation, districts received $25 million to conduct comprehensive assessments o the acility

conditions and needs in these schools, and $138 million or new instructional materials or studentsattending schools ranked in the lowest two API deciles.

County superintendents provide additional oversight over decile 1-3 schools, conducting annual visits

and reviews to determine compliance with the new instructional materials and acilities standards and

to determine whether the schools SARC accurately reports these data. Beginning with the 2005-06

school year, the Settlement Legislation requires county superintendents to visit decile 1-3 schools at

DECILE DETAILS

13


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County Superintendent ViSitS

County oces o education made tremendous eorts

to visit all decile 1-3 schools pursuant toWilliams

in both 2004-05 and 2005-06. Collectively, they

visited a total o 1,856 schools in 2004-05 and over

2,085 in 2005-06. Indeed, survey results indicate

that over 88% o all decile 1-3 schools were visited

pursuant to Williams in 2004-05, and 99% o decile

1-3 schools in the counties were visited in 2005-06.10

The increase in number and percentage o decile1-3 schools visited between years in the state can

be attributed primarily to the increase in visits made

between years by one county oce o educationthe

Los Angeles County Oce o Education (LACOE).

LACOE visited 350 o the decile 1-3 schools in Los

Angeles County in the rst year, making a diligent

eort as required by the Settlement Legislation. TheSettlement Legislation included this diligent eort

clause in anticipation o the challenges the largest

county oces o education would ace when trying

to visit all the decile 1-3 schools in the second hal

o the 2004-05 school year. LACOE visited 595

decile 1-3 schools in 2005-06, the second year o

implementation.

At the school site level, most school administrators

characterized Williams site visits and inspections as

very positive experiences that provided opportunities

to assess their textbook availability and inspect

their school sites with keener eyes. Many site

administrators shared the unease they elt prior toand during the rst visit, and many conessed they

anticipated the monitoring and accountability system

as just additional hoops to jump. Once they became

more knowledgeable o the intent o the visit and the

process, administrators reported eeling much more

comortable. Administrators commented that the

visiting teams tried to work with the school sites to

report accurately insuciencies regarding textbooks

or instructional materials, and to ensure a clean, sae,

school acility. Indeed, one county administrator noted

that by the second year a ew teachers expressed

disappointment when their classroom and students

were not paid a visit by the team.

A ew site administrators commented that although

they have come to understand that county reviews are

meant to assist the schools, tremendous pressure to

look good persists. For example, a new principal

in 2005-06 mentioned that it would be a negative

refection o his leadership i textbook insuciencies or

acility deciencies were ound, in particular because

no insuciencies or acility issues were ound during

Year 1. This pressure to obtain a clean report trickled

down to the teacher level:

I kept trying to explain to people, it is a good

thing, this is going to help us get what we need, but

unortunatelyno matter what was said, I still eel

that teachers elt that it was checking on them ratherthan, Were [here] to help you get what you need.

And thats unortunate.

Awareness regarding the purpose and the results o

Williams visits and oversight has increased between

the rst and second years o implementation, but

enhancing knowledge and understanding is an ongoingissue that counties, districts, and schools continue to

grapple with.


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least annually as priority schools and to complete their reviews o textbook suciency in these

schools by the ourth week o the school year.5 The visits to examine acility conditions can be

conducted simultaneously with the textbook suciency reviews or at a later point in the school

year. The Settlement Legislation requires that at least 25% o the county superintendent visits

must be unannounced.

The Settlement Legislation also requires county superintendents to annually monitor, review,

and report on teacher assignments and teacher vacancies in decile 1-3 schools.6 County

superintendents submit the results o all assignment monitoring and reviews to the Caliornia

Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) and the Caliornia Department o Education

(CDE), including inormation regarding whether teachers in decile 1-3 schools assigned

to classes comprised o 20% or more pupils who are English learners have appropriate

authorization or training to teach these students.7 All teacher misassignments (i.e., where

a teacher lacks subject matter, English learner or other required training or authorization)

and teacher vacancies (i.e., where a classroom has no single, designated ull-time teacher, butis instead staed by a series o substitutes) must be reported to district superintendents or

correction. Ultimately, the CCTC is required to submit biennial reports to the state Legislature

concerning teacher assignments and misassignments, including the data rom the county

superintendent reports.8

County superintendents report the results o their annual visits and reviews to each school

districts governing board on a quarterly basis and submit an annual report in November to the

governing board o each school district, the county board o education, and the county board

o supervisors o his/her county, describing the state o decile 1-3 schools in the county. The

reports must include school specic ndings regarding student access to sucient standards-

aligned instructional materials, compliance with acilities maintenance requirements, teacher

misassignments and vacancies, and accuracy o SARCs with respect to the availability o

sucient textbooks and instructional materials and the saety, cleanliness, and adequacy o

school acilities including good repair.9

The First Year of Implementation:

Improvements and Amendments11

State agencies, county superintendents, school districts, and schools started implementing the

Williams Settlement Legislation immediately ater Governor Schwarzenegger signed the ve

bills on September 29, 2004. With the 2004-05 school year underway, there was no time to

spare, and in the subsequent months, unds were distributed; districts and schools conducted

sel-assessments and addressed problems areas; state agencies adopted new regulations andorms; students, parents, and teachers utilized the new complaint process to hold districts and

schools accountable to the new standards; and county superintendents and their stas visited

schools and helped identiy and correct deciencies in the decile 1-3 schools. Lessons and

unanticipated challenges emerged rom this whirlwind o implementation activity, leading the

parties to the Williams Settlement to sponsor clean-up bills to streamline oversight procedures,

clariy standards and requirements, and improve the programs and systems designed to ensure


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all students receive the most basic educational necessities. All ve

pieces o clean-up legislation sponsored by the parties passed the

Legislature and were signed into law.12

Assembly Bill 831 was the rst clean-up bill and became eective on

July 25, 2005. Among other things, the bill armed the intended

recipients o the $138 million in new instructional materials unds;claried the denition o sucient textbooks or instructional

materials; claried how a teacher vacancy must be remedied; added a

provision allowing county oces o education with 200 or more decile

1-3 schools to use surveys in their suciency reviews; and claried that

a teacher misassignment exists when a teacher has at least one student

in his or her class who is an English learner (EL) in need o EL services

and the teacher lacks the appropriate EL authorization.

The second bill, Senate Bill 512, became eective on Oct. 7, 2005,

and a ew months later, on January 1, 2006, the Williams provisions

in Senate Bill 687 and Assembly Bill 491 became eective as well.

These three bills addressed multiple implementation issues, including

how county superintendents could eciently ocus their teacher

assignment monitoring eorts. A provision in Senate Bill 512 allows

county superintendents to monitor and review teacher assignments in

a decile 1-3 school on the regular our-year cycle, rather than annually,

i the county superintendent nds no misassignments or vacancies at

the school or two consecutive years, unless the school is likely to have

problems with misassignments and vacancies based on past experience

and other available inormation.

The most recent bill, Assembly Bill 607, continued to make important

amendments to the Settlement Legislation. The bill became eective

on January 1, 2007, and included the next step in the evolution

o the good repair standard, establishing a detailed statewideminimum standard in the Caliornia Education Code and directing

the development o the Facility Inspection Tool that will rate all

public school acilities on an objective good/air/poor scale. Perhaps

just as importantly, the bill authorizes the Caliornia Department o

Education to act immediately on county superintendent insuciency

reports and undamentally restructured the $800 million Emergency

Repair Program to allow districts to receive grants beore they perorm

repairs, in addition to reimbursements or completed repairs.

In sum, Williams implementation eorts beneted rom open lines

o communication and a spirit o collaboration across the state that

generally created an environment wherein useul adjustments and

improvements could be identied, proposed, and enacted quickly

to ensure the new standards and accountability systems have their

intended eect. Indeed, the legislative and procedural changes that

have occurred at the state, county, district, and school levels are

signicant achievements.

The remainder o this report examines the impact the evolving WilliamsSettlement Legislation made on Caliornias lowest-perorming schools

over the course o the rst two years o implementation.

Ideally, this report also would examine the impact o the Williams

standards and accountability systems on higher-perorming schools.

Ater all, the standards and accountability systems, including the

annual instructional materials suciency hearings, the Uniorm

Complaint Process, the acility inspection systems, and the teacherassignment monitoring procedures, apply to every public school in

the state. Each school now reports on the suciency o instructional

materials, the good repair o acilities, and teacher misassignments

and vacancies in its annual School Accountability Report Card. Yet

collecting data rom the more than 9,300 schools and 1000 districts

across the state was not easible. Thereore this report ocuses on the

impact the Williams Settlement Legislation has had on Caliornias

lowest perorming schools, schools ranked in deciles one through three

on the Base Academic Perormance Index, because the Settlement

Legislation provided these schools with additional nancial assistance

and oversight. The need or improvement in these decile 1-3 schools

is most critical.

16


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cH

apte

r1

18

tHe stateWIDe Impact oFWILLIAMS ImpLementatIon

This report investigates the impact o the Williams Settlement Legislation on Caliornias lowestperorming schoolsschools ranked in deciles one through three, inclusive, on the 2003 Base Academic

Perormance Index (API)13by seeking answers to the ollowing questions:

Since the enactment o the WilliamsLegislation, has access to textbooks and instructional materials

increased or public school students in Caliornia?

Since the enactment o the WilliamsLegislation, has access to clean, sae, and unctional schools

increased or public school students in Caliornia?

Since the enactment o the WilliamsLegislation, has access to appropriately certifcated and

assigned teachers increased or public school students in Caliornia?

The statewide and regional answers to these questions, provided in the ollowing sections o this report, are

based on data and inormation collected rom 42 county oces o education, accounting or more than 99%

o all decile 1-3 schools in the state, and 12 decile 1-3 schools rom our distinct regions o the state: Los

cH

apte

r3


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Angeles County, Sacramento County, the Greater Bay Area, and the Central Valley.14 Researchers visited

three schools in each o the our regions, and during the one-day site visits, they interviewed teachers and site

administrators to gain a better understanding o the impact oWilliams Legislation on decile 1-3 schools.15

While the Williams Settlement makes clear that all o Caliornias public school students, regardless o the

school they attend and its API ranking, are entitled to the basic tools o education, the Settlement Legislation,

as described previously, provides additional unding and oversight or the lowest perorming 30% o schoolsin the state the decile 1-3 schools. In the rst two years o implementation, the list o decile 1-3 schools

was drawn rom the 2003 Base Academic Perormance Index, but the list o decile 1-3 schools was updated

on July 1, 2007, and now is based on the 2006 Base Academic Perormance Index. The list will be similarly

updated every three years to refect the most recent Base Academic Perormance Index.16

The State of CaliforniaPublic school students in Caliornia have increased access to textbooksand instructional materials since the enactment o the WilliamsLegis-lation

New standards and accountability systems have eectively increased students access to standards-aligned

textbooks and instructional materials. The Williams Settlement Legislation requires that all schools

must provide each pupil, including English learners with a standards-aligned textbook or instructional

materials, or both, to use in class and to take home.17 This is the legal denition o sucient textbooks

or instructional materials, and when a county superintendent nds a school wherein one or more students

does not have sucient textbooks and/or instructional materials to use in class and take home, this is an

insuciency. O 40 county oces o education that collectively visited 90% o the decile 1-3 schools in the

state, 19 reported nding textbook or instructional materials insuciencies in the rst our weeks o the

2005-06 school year, down rom the 24 county oces o education that ound insuciencies in the rst year

o implementation. And,within the counties, the average percentage o decile 1-3 schools with at least

one textbook/instructional materials insufciency dropped rom 20% in 2004-05 to 13% in 2005-06, with

twenty-one county ofces o education reporting no insufciencies.18 Statewide, the number o decile

1-3 schools with insucient textbooks and/or instructional materials decreased rom 318 to 285 in one year,which is particularly signicant in light o the act that the Los Angeles County Oce o Education alone

visited 245 more schools in the second year o implementation ater satisying its statutory duty to make a

diligent eort in the rst year and visiting 350 schools.

Yet, while decile 1-3 schools generally improved student access to textbooks and other instructional materials

within this short time period, the overall number o classrooms with identied insuciencies increased. A

total o 1,026 classrooms had insucient textbooks and/or instructional materials or students in 2004-05.

This number more than doubled to 2,305 in 2005-06.19 Indeed, in 2005-06, 34% o responding county

oces o education identied more classrooms with insuciencies than in the previous year. To remedy these

identied insuciencies, a total o 24,932 additional textbooks were distributed in 2004-05 and 63,163

books were distributed in 2005-06. In sum, survey responses rom county oces o education indicate that

while ewer counties and schools had insuciencies during the second year o implementation, when a school

had insucient textbooks or materials, the insuciencies tended to be larger in size and scope.

This year, I was 19 booksor 25 books short. In the

past it would have beentoo tough, pretty bad.This time it was like,

Oh, youre a decile 1-3school, oh, well go downand meet you there. Well,

I got every book I neededlickety-split. That wasway cool. I like that.

Principal o a school in the

Greater Bay Area

19


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20

These ndings correspond with county oce o education sta gaining

experience and learning more about how to identiy and address

insuciencies. In addition, these ndings suggest that the legislative

clarication o sucient as requiring standards-aligned materials

and at least one textbook/set o materials or each student may have

led to county oce o education teams and districts to reassess class

sets that they may have mistakenly deemed sucient in the rst yearo implementation.20 Thereore, the increase in number o classrooms

with reported insucient textbooks or instructional materials likely

is an indicator that the oversight system is unctioning as intended.

What is certain is that more students are receiving the instructional

materials they need to study and learn, consistent with the intent o

the settlement. County oces o education report that 93% o the

insuciencies identied in 2004-05 were remedied, an impressive

accomplishment considering most visits were conducted in the last

months o the school year, and that 100% o the insucienciesidentied in the all o 2005-06 were remedied.

TABLE 4

Year One (2004-05) Year Two (2005-06)

L agl cu 22% 14%

G B a 45% 29%

s cu 35% 18%

cl Vll 14% 3%

Statewide County Average 20% 13%

Percentage o Decile 1-3 Schools with Insufcient Textbooks/Instructional Materials by Regionand Year o Implementation

TABLE 5

Year One (2004-05) Year Two (2005-06)

L agl cu 13,770 50,399

G B a 6,751 8,920

s cu 5,894 656

cl Vll 1,667 104

Caliornia 24,932 63,163

Number o Instructional Materials Provided to Students in Decile 1-3 Schools to Address Their Lack

o Sufcient Textbooks or Instructional Materials by Region and Year o Implementation


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21

The size and scope o textbook/instructional material insuciencies identied

by county oces o education oten varied rom school to school during the

rst two years oWilliams implementation.

For instance, in the rst year o implementation at Luther Burbank High School,

the Sacramento County Oce o Education review team ound that students

in some classes received only one o the two core English/language arts texts

adopted by the district or their grade level, while other students had both. In

addition, the county oce o education team ound textbook insuciencies

in Algebra 2, special education classes, physical/earth science, physics,

economics, U.S. Government, U.S. History, and insucient equipment or the

lab science courses.

In contrast, while also in Sacramento City Unied School District, Mark Hopkins

Elementary had only one textbook insuciency in one classroom in the

rst year o implementation. The county oce o education team ound an

insucient number o science standards-based textbooks and/or instructional

materials or students identied to receive core instruction in a sel-contained

Special Education classroom.

The Williams remedial mechanisms unctioned as intended at both schools

and the identied insuciencies were corrected within the rst eight weeks

o the school year. The Sacramento County Oce o Education reported no

insuciencies at either school in the second year o implementation.

When Schools Have Insufcient Textbooks and/or Instructional Materials, the

Problems Vary in Size and Scope, But Are Corrected

Importantly, these immediate results were accompanied by systemic

improvements designed to ensure all students receive sufcient

instructional materials in uture years. Over hal o all county oces

o education reported that they were aware o textbook distribution

procedure improvements at the county, district, and/or school level.

In addition, on-site administrators and teachers acknowledged that

county oce o education oversight had moved or pressured districts toimplement new practices and/or procedures to ensure the timely receipt

o standards-aligned textbooks.

Interviews conrm students increased access to textbooks and

instructional materials. According to many county and district

administrators, the level o attention Williams places on distribution

practices and the timely receipt o textbooks and instructional

materials has greatly improved students access. A number o districtadministrators noted that prior to Williams, teachers and site principals

oten reported having sucient textbooks, and indeed this was what

was recorded in the annual school board resolutions. But, Williams

orced counties, districts and schools to closely examine student access

to textbooks and instructional materials and gather evidence to use

as the basis or their resolutions; this process revealed that in many

instances students actually had not received sucient textbooks. As a

result, many o the districts shared new tracking measures that allow

the district to possess accurate inormation regarding the number o

textbooks within their possession and their location.

Not only do these new procedures permit the transer o textbooks rom

one school location to another when a shortage at a school site occurs,but they also provide greater inormation and accuracy when textbook

ordering is required. For example, as one administrator shared,

For years it was a system where each school considered the

books on site to be the school s books, but now theyre the

districts books. With the new textbook program, i I need

more books, I just call. It s the districts responsibility to

make sure that all schools are sufcient. So its an inter-loan process where we all have access to booksyour books

are my books, my books are your books.

Ultimately, and most importantly, these new textbook systems and

students access to sufcient instructional materials are positively

aecting instruction. As one teacher in the Greater Bay Area shared,

21


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22

This year was the frst time we had textbooks on time. I

like to start right o on the frst day, so I had everything

photocopied rom the past year so I could do the program

without having the materials, and I didnt need them this

year. That was exciting. Everybody has their workbooks

now, and you dont have to be copying or hoarding them i

you fnd an extra one.

Public school students in Caliornia haveincreased access to clean, sae, and unctionalschools since the enactment o the WilliamsLegislation

County oce o education reports rom 2004-05 and 2005-06 indicate

that oversight has been eective in identiying and motivating the

correction o acility problems, and that over the course o the rst twoyears, the number o schools with acility deciencies has declined.21

Forty-two percent o county ofces o education ound ewer schools

with acilities defciencies in 2005-06 than in 2004-05. On average,

county oces o education reported that 62% o the schools inspected

had one or more good repair deciency (a condition that prevents the

school rom being deemed completely clean, sae, and unctional, but

does not pose an immediate health or saety threat to students or sta)

in 2004-05, compared to 47% o schools inspected in 2005-06 (see

Figure 3).

The overall percentage o decile 1-3 schools in the state with at least one

identied good repair deciency increased between years, however, due

in large part to the Los Angeles County Oce o Education visiting

an additional 245 schools in 2005-06, which led to 232 more schools

with identied deciencies even though the percentage o schools with

deciencies within Los Angeles County remained steady at 95%.

The variation across the regions in terms o the percentages o schools

with acility deciencies (see Table 6) is not simply an indication o

dierent conditions at school sites; it also is a consequence o variation

in how dierent county oce o education inspection teams were

trained and how county oces o education determined and reported

good repair deciencies.

Whereas beore Williams there was no statewide standard o good

repair or school acilities, county oces o education now use a state-

adopted evaluation instrument to determine i a school has any good

repair deciencies. During the rst two years o implementation,

county oces o education used the Interim Evaluation Instrument.

Starting this year, 2007-08, they are using the new permanent evaluationinstrument, called the Facility Inspection Tool (FIT).22 Accordingly,

acility inspection results should be more comparable in the uture

because the FIT contains specic objective instructions on how to rate

the condition o a schools acilities on a good/air/poor scale.

The Interim Evaluation Instrument guided inspectors through acility

standards in thirteen categories (ranging rom restrooms to mechanical

systems and interior suraces) to determine whether a school was ingood repair, meaning the acilities are maintained in a manner that

ensures the school is clean, sae, and unctional. County oces o

education also used this site inspection process to determine i the

condition o any acility posed an emergency or urgent threat to the

health or saety o students and sta.

FIGURE 3


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23

FIGURE 3swid cu avg Dil 1-3 shl wih Gd ri Fili

Dfii

To the extent county oces o education were able to conduct ollow-up visits to

school sites to veriy repairs, they reported that 54% o identied acility issues

were remedied in 2004-05, and 83% were remedied in 2005-06.

The Williams Settlement Legislation denes emergency acilities needs as structures or systems that

are in a condition that poses a threat to the health or saety o pupils or sta while at schools, including,

but not limited to gas leaks, broken heating, ventilation, re sprinklers, or air-conditioning systems, and

broken windows or exterior gates that will not lock and pose a security risk.23

An average o 8% o the decile 1-3 schools in each county were ound to have acility conditions that

posed an emergency or urgent threat to the health or saety o pupils or sta in 2004-05.24 This gure

remained near constant between years, with a very slight decrease in 2005-06 to 7%. O the county

oces o education reporting, 23% ound ewer urgent acilities threats in 2005-06 than in 2004-05.

However, 13% o counties reported more urgent threats in 2005-06 than they had the previous year.

In all, county oces o education identied ar ewer schools with acility conditions posing emergencyor urgent threat than schools with good repair deciencies in both years. Thereore, not surprisingly,

while the average percentage o schools with good repair deciencies within a county decreased

substantially in one year, the average percentage o schools with conditions that posed an emergency or

urgent threat within a county declined only slightly between years, rom 8% to 7%.

The Williams Settlement Legislation created the $800 million Emergency Repair Program (ERP) to

ensure school districts could immediately address all acility conditions that pose emergency or urgent

threats to the health and saety o pupils or sta in decile 1-3 schools without having to draw downunds set-aside or major maintenance projects and thereby place themselves in jeopardy o experiencing

62%

2004-05 2005-06

47%

23


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24

more acilities problems caused by a lack o regular maintenance. In 2004-05 and 2005-06, the ERP

was structured as a reimbursement program; a district had to pay or and complete the emergency

repairs beore it applied to the state or unds. The state would reimburse the district or 100% o the

costs o the repairs i the district s application was approved. However, i the state Oce o Public

School Construction denied the application, the district had to cover all the costs already incurred.

Some site and district administrators expressed reluctance to start emergency repair projects because

they were uncertain about whether they would be reimbursed and did not have the unds to pay or

them otherwise. Some ocials also expressed conusion about what types o projects would qualiy or

the program. These actors contributed to the relatively low number o applications submitted in the

rst two years o the program despite documentation o approximately $803 million worth o necessary

repairs at eligible schools in 2005 through the School Facilities Needs Assessment Grant Program.25

On July 2, 2007, however, the ERP became a grant program, allowing eligible schools to receive unds

beore they conduct repairs. Eligible schools may also receive reimbursements i they conduct repairs

beore applying or unds. This new grant option and the ever-growing track record o approvals

(see page 25) should allow the documented needs to translate into more applications and ultimately

into successul repairs. Moreover, even beore the grant option became available, the level o

participation in the ERP was on the upswing: as o July 2, 2007, 2797 emergency repair projects

in decile 1-3 schools were completed and ully unded or a total o over $40 million, up rom 149

projects and $3.5 million just one year earlier.

Even with the ERP experiencing some early growing pains, county oces o education reported a

high and increasing number o repairs. To the extent county oces o education were able to conduct

ollow-up visits to school sites to veriy repairs, they reported that 54% o identied acility issues were

remedied in 2004-05, and 83% were remedied in 2005-06.26

I know they did a lot ofxing and the bathroomsare much cleaner. I haventheard a single kid say, Iwent to the bathroom andthere wasnt any toilet paper,or, I dont want to go inthere, its nasty. I used tohear that a lot.

Teacher at a school in Los

Angeles County describing

Williams-related repairs at

the school

TABLE 6

2004-05 2005-06 2004-05 2005-06

L agl cu 95% 95% 5% 9%

s cu 88% 73% 1% 0%

G B a 75% 63% 30% 35%

cl Vll 57% 39% 15% 16%

swid cu avg 62% 47% 8% 7%

Percentage o Decile 1-3 Schools with

Emergency Facility ConditionsGood Repair Facility Defciencies

sh Dii pbl addd b erp pj

ai

erp ri

rlExamples

P j t


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25

For more inormation on the

EMERGENCY REPAIR PROGRAM,

see www.opsc.dgs.ca.gov/SAB

Programs/ERP_Main.htm.

Extensive termite damage created structural hazard $101,373

Bleachers unsae due to dry rot and broken boards $2,838

Exterior steel light poles severely deteriorated at bases $48,611

Deteriorated play equipment poses saety hazard $52,996

Library ceiling bowed and stained, tiles in danger o alling $11,710

Main irrigation line burst underground $1,800Playground blacktop cracked and deteriorating $9,000

Rat inestation $350

Main re alarm panel damaged by lightning strike $285

Frayed, torn, and damaged carpet poses tripping hazard $6,560

Broken windows $31,480

Missing bathroom stall doors $1,797

Tree roots intruding into tennis courts causing trip hazard $15,936

Gang grati $3,626

Broken evaporative cooler in auto shop $42,238

Grease trap rusted out and not draining properly $3,000

HVAC heat exchanger cracked and compressor broken $6,325

Holes in walls exposing students to wiring and insulation $141.50

Roos in severe disrepair mold, dry rot, alling tiles, etc. $1,585,764

Playground unsae due to insucient wood chips $1,694

Uneven concrete walkway with deep cracks $7,645

Light xture diusers missing/broken, causing eye strain $3,224

Main electrical breaker burned out $58,854

Underground natural gas leak $25,015

Roo leaks in classrooms and common areas $22,551

Newly discovered hazardous asbestos and lead containing materials that threaten health and saety $105,280

Broken sewer and water lines $16,420

Sewer line ailure caused by tree roots bursting lines $9,076

Rodent inestation in athletic elds causing trip hazards $1,608

Severely damaged masonry shear wall $852,640

Deteriorated and cracked asphalt pavement in play area $55,999

Pigeons roosting in shade supports; waste poses health hazard $15,766Exterior lighting in parking lot too dim to provide sae environment in early morning and evening $19,206

Mold detected on walls o storage rooms next to classroom $24,162

Fence and gate support posts rusted out and ailing $1,920

Major rot/damage around foor joist, oundation, windows $3,000

Storm drain ailed to operate properly $29,806

Septic system overfowing and leach lines plugged $22,786

Dry rot and mold in restrooms $43,505

Severe ant inestation $1,920

Perimeter encing cut by vandals $1,850

Bathroom partitions with rusted edges/doors alling o $992

Broken AC and heating units $2,085

Cooking pot steam generator malunctioned $10,973

Floor coverings pose tripping and allergy hazards $8,346

Killer bees in a wall $1,325

Hot water heater leaking and rusting into water supply $662

Exposed wires, broken exit light, unsecured light xtures $1,339

Dry rot and peeling paint $12,518

o Projects

Funded by the

EMERGENCY

REPAIR

PROGRAM

In addition, administrators and teachers highlighted the speed o acility repairs since the enactment


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26

, g g p y p

o the WilliamsLegislation. As one principal rom Sacramento noted, They come out on the [Williams]

review and make a list o the things we need, and then they come out and they x them. The district

is very responsive. Indeed, despite some limited conusion regarding distinctions between good

repair and emergency or urgent threat acility issues, site administrators displayed a comprehensive

understanding that the new accountability and oversight system provided them with a new orm o

leverage to voice acility concerns to their districts.

Public school students in Caliornia have increased access toappropriately certifcated and assigned teachers since theenactment o the WilliamsLegislation

Students access to appropriately certicated and assigned teachers has increased over the course o

the rst two years o implementation. County oces o education identied ewer schools withmisassignments in 2005-06 than in 2004-05, and the overall percentage o ully credentialed teachers in

decile 1-3 schools throughout the state increased rom 90% in 2004-05 to 92% in 2005-06.27

Accounts rom administrators and teachers are consistent with these numbers, as they related signicant

positive changes over the course o the past ew years, as exemplied by comments rom a principal in

Los Angeles County:

Im seeing a trend o teachers coming qualifed, whereas in the past the majority o the teachers

we hired were temporary contracted teachers. The teachers I hired this past summer were

qualifed. That was unusual. The past trend has been teachers train here, and once they get

their credential they leave.

These improvements are likely due to a combination o several reinorcing actors, including legislative

and budgetary initiatives targeted at improving the educational outcomes o all students and teacher

quality throughout the state. These legislative initiatives include the ederal No Child Let Behind Act

(NCLB), as well as the Williams Legislation that reiterated and expanded Caliornias commitment to

meeting the NCLB requirements.30 Williams also expanded the states existing assignment monitoringprocess to ensure that all teachers have the teaching assignments or which they hold the appropriate

credentials or certicates.

While most schools remain on a our-year monitoring cycle, decile 1-3 schools are now monitored

annually by county oces o education.31 In addition, county oces o education must collect and

report data on misassignments resulting rom teachers teaching English learners without the appropriate

English learner authorization in classes in which 20% or more or the students were English learners. All

misassignments and vacancies must be reported to the district superintendent or correction. Assignmentmonitoring data is reported to both the Caliornia Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) and

the Caliornia Department o Education. In turn, the CCTC is required to submit biennial reports to

the State Legislature concerning teacher assignments and misassignments, including the data rom the

county oce o education reports.32

What is amisassignment?28

A teacher is misassigned, for

example, if the teacher:

Is teaching a subject for

which the teacher is not

appropriately credentialed

(e.g., a teacher with an

English credential teaching

Algebra); or

Is teaching a class with

one English learner or

more and lacks the proper

authorization and training to

teach English learners.

I walk the campus everymorning and every eveningand whenever I see anything,

Im pretty quick to put thework orders in. Ill put on theresometimes, Williams, andusually that puts a little speedinto it.

Principal o a school in Los

Angeles County

26

Survey responses rom county oces o education reveal an training or authorization to teach the English learners. Ater one


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27

encouraging trend, as well as how much improvement is still needed.

First, the encouraging trend: the average countywide percentage

o decile 1-3 schools with misassignments ell rom 49% in

2004-05 to 43% in 2005-06, indicating an improvement in the

appropriate placement o qualifed teachers or decile 1-3 schools.33

Notwithstanding this positive trend, however, CCTC data revealsthere were still 28,893 misassignments spread across 53% o the decile

1-3 schools in the state in 2005-06 (not including

misassignments corrected by districts beore the

CCTC reporting deadline).34 Middle schools

and high schools were responsible or 90% o the

misassignments.

Similarly, the number omisassignments caused by

teachers lacking the required

training or authorization to teach

English learners remains too

high, despite notable progress.

Looking only at the classes in

decile 1-3 schools in which 20%

or more o the students were

English learners, 30% o teachers

in 2004-05 lacked the required

year o implementation, although a direct comparison is not possible

because the CCTC used dierent units o measurement or English

learner related misassignments, improvement appears evident rom the

data: 13% o these classes in the decile 1-3 schools were assigned a

teacher lacking the appropriate English learner authorization in 2005-

06. Yet, this fgure equates to 20,200 classes in decile 1-3 schools in2005-06 in which a substantial number o English learners received

instruction rom a teacher lacking the most minimal English learner

authorization.

Overall, administrators and teachers reported that improvements at

their schools, such as increased access to textbooks and instructional

materials and cleaner, saer acilities have assisted in both attracting

and retaining teachers in recent years. For example, an administratorrom the Greater Bay Area explained that since Williams, Our school

reputation improved a lot. So many people are willing to teach here.

The aculty is more stable and not a lot o teachers are leaving.

Administrators expressed hope that improvements brought about by

Williams and other eorts would continue to impact their ability to

attract and retain highly qualied teachers to their school sites.

What is ateacher vacancy?29

A teacher vacancy existswhere a class has no single,designated full-time teacher,but is instead staffed by a

series of substitutes.




FIGURE 5pg Dil 1-3 shl cl wih 20%



36%

23%

19%

24%

30%

Los AngelesCounty

SacramentoCounty


15%

11%10%

12% 13%

Los AngelesCounty

SacramentoCounty


TABLE 7


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28

Im seeing a trend o teachers coming in qualifed, whereas in the past the majority o the teachers wehired were temporary contracted teachers. The teachers I hired this past summer were qualifed. Thatwas unusual. The past trend has been teachers train here, and once they get their credential they leave.

Administrator o a school in Los Angeles County

TABLE 7

Los Angeles

County

Sacramento

County

Greater Bay

Area


nub dil 1-3

hl (2003 B apI) 598 73 299 439 2,115

Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2

Percentage o teachers

in decile 1-3 schools thatwere ully credentialed

85% 89% 95% 95% 91% 92% 94% 94% 90% 92%

Y1 First Year o Implementation (2004-05)Y2 Second Year o Implementation (2005-06)

Fully Credentialed Teachers in Decile 1-3 Schools By Region and Year o Implementation

TABLE 8

Los Angeles

County

Sacramento

County

Greater Bay

Area


nub dil 1-3

hl (2003 B apI) 598 73 299 439 2,115

Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2 Y1 Y2

Percentage o decile 1-3schools with teachermisassignments

83%* 70% NA 67% NA 36% NA 26% NA 53%

* Inormation provided by the Los Angeles County Oce o Education

NA Inormation not available rom the CCTC



Teacher Misassignments in Decile 1-3 Schools By Region and Year o Implementation

28

Three years ago it was horrendous. And now we dont have any misassignments; we ensurethat the teachers are in the right assignment


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29

that the teachers are in the right assignment.

Administrator o a school in Los Angeles County

Los Angeles CountyStudents in Los Angeles County are receiving more o the basic

educational necessities as a result o the rst two years oWilliams

implementation. The percentage o decile 1-3 schools with insucient

textbooks or instructional materials declined, as did the percentage o

decile 1-3 schools with teacher misassignments, and many teachers

and administrators witnessed signicant acilities improvements at

their school sites. Yet, as described in the ollowing section, the rate o

signicant improvement in the county must continue and increase i the

minimum standards established by the Williams Settlement Legislation

are to be met by all schools.

Los Angeles County is home to 80 school districts that serve nearly

1.7 million students at more than 1,700 school sites, 35% o which are

decile 1-3 schools. Accordingly, the Los Angeles County Oce o

Education (LACOE), the largest regional educational agency in thecountry, is responsible or annually visiting and reviewing 598 schools

that serve 737,000 students in 39 districts; these schools include 37 high

schools that serve over 3,000 students each and 175 schools that are on

multi-track year-round schedules and thereore require more than one

visit a year. Two hundred and ninety-seven schools are within the Los

Angeles Unied School District, which is the largest school district

in the state, the second largest district in the country, and serves over

700,000 students in approximately 700 schools.

This section examines, in addition to county-wide data, how

implementation has aected three decile 1-3 schools in Los Angeles

County: Frank D. Parent Elementary School in the Inglewood Unied

School District, Walton Middle School in the Compton Unied School

District, and Pomona High School in the Pomona Unied School

District. Interviews with teachers and administrators, in combination

with school specic inormation and data reported by the Los Angeles

County Oce o Education, paint a compelling picture o how the

Williams Settlement Legislation has improved access to the basic tools

o education or public school students in Los Angeles County.

What becomes clear is that Williams has dramatically impacted these

students education or the better. The contrast at Frank D. Parent

29

Elementary School alone highlights the beore and ater picture o

Willi t h l d t d t d ti l t it

As detailed below, the Frank D. Parent improvements are emblematic

Willi i l t ti th h t th L A l i Th


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30

A closer look at the three schools visited in Los Angeles County

Los Angeles is not only the largest county in the nation, but also one o the

most diverse counties in terms o its student population. In the 2005-06

school year, nearly 83% o all students in the county were students o

color.35 Moreover, approximately one-third o the students were English

learners.

The three schools highlighted rom this regionFrank D. Parent Elementary

School, Walton Middle School, and Pomona High Schoolare all located in

urban areas, similar to most schools in the region.

In 2005-06, Frank D. Parent Elementary School served 743 students

in grades K through 8 (90% Arican American, 9% Latino, 4% English

learners) and 46% o its students qualied or ree/reduced price meals.

Forty-two percent o the schools in the Inglewood Unied School District,

in which Frank D. Parent Elementary School is located, are decile 1-3

schools.

Walton Middle School served 700 students (32% Arican American, 68%

Latino, 51% English learners) and 100% o its students qualied or ree/

reduced price meals. Ninety-two percent o the schools in the Compton

Unied School District, in which Walton Middle School is located, are

decile 1-3 schools.

Pomona High School served 1,777 students (14% Arican American, 77%

Latino, less than 5% Asian American, 45% English learners) and 72% o

its students qualied or ree/reduced price meals. Sixty-six percent o

the schools in the Pomona Unied School District, in which Pomona High

School is located, are decile 1-3 schools.36

Williams eect on schools and on students educational opportunity.

When Williams was in litigation, Frank D. Parent students could not

bring books home or homework because the school did not provide

them with enough books, 43% o teachers lacked ull credentials, and

the school bathrooms were lthy and regularly lacked toilet paper or

students to use. Students in grades 6-8 did not have science textbooksor science lab equipment.

Now, ater the Williams Settlement, conditions at Frank D. Parent

Elementary School have improved dramatically. Interviews with the

school principal and teachers reveal that students access to textbooks

or use both at school and at home has increased, as has students access

to a corps o committed and highly qualied teachers. In addition, the

school is maintained in good repair, consistent with the newWilliams

standard. The school conducted a acilities needs assessment pursuant

to the Williams School Facilities Needs Assessment Grant Program or

decile 1 to 3 schools and identied ewer than $2,000 in needed repairs

or the school, signaling the schools new commitment to appropriate

acilities maintenance.

oWilliams implementation throughout the Los Angeles region. These

rst two years o implementation have seen marked progress toward

providing educational opportunity to students in this region, while also

underscoring some necessary urther improvements.

Public school students in Los Angeles Countyhave increased access to textbooks andinstructional materials since the enactmento the WilliamsLegislation

The Los Angeles County Oce o Education (LACOE) ound increas-

ing access to sucient instructional materials over the course o the

rst two years o implementation. LACOE sta visited 278 decile

1-3 schools in 35 school districts to determine whether students had

sucient textbooks and instructional materials in 2004-05 and ound

insuciencies in 22% o the decile 1-3 schools in Los Angeles County.

The number o schools with insuciencies decreased in the second year

o implementation, to 14% o the 595 schools visited. Importantly,

over hal o the districts visited in 2004-05 had no insufciencies, and

70% o the districts had no insufciencies in their decile 1-3 schools

30

in 2005-06. O the districts with insuciencies in 2005-06, Los Angeles Unied School District

accounted or 78% o all the instructional material insuciencies Indeed i Los Angeles Unied


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31

My daughter has no books tobring home rom school orhomework; she has to use Xerox

copies. I know that approxi-mately 41 or 43 percent o theteachers at Parent are uncreden-tialed. It is absolutely unac-ceptable to me that such a high

percentage o teachers do nothave training in how to teach.

You have to have a license to dohair, you have to have a licenseto drive a car, you should haveto have a license to work with amind.

Parent o a student at Frank D.

Parent Elementary School, Dec-

laration orWilliams Case, June

30, 2000

In the all o 2005, when a Los Angeles County Oce o Education Williams team

entered a ourth grade classroom at Henry Clay Middle School in Los Angeles Unied

School District to determine whether students had sucient instructional materials,

the students and their teacher stood up and applauded. They were expressing their

gratitude or the new textbooks they had received shortly in advance o the county

teams visit. The team lead, a proessor at a local university, reported that the teach-

ers and students in the other classrooms were equally enthusiastic.

FIGURE 6pg Dil 1-3 shl wih Iufi txbk/Iuil m-

il i L agl cu cd swid cu avg

Most teachers and site administrators interviewed in Los Angeles County reported increased access to

textbooks in their classrooms. Some teachers expressed a need or other materials such as visual mediaand supplemental activity supplies to assist in teaching the state standards, but all stated students had

access to basic textbook and instructional materials needs as mandated byWilliams.

Administrator and teacher interviews also revealed that changes in textbook distribution

practices (put in place as a result oWilliams) have also made a dierence in students access to

these essential materials and how quickly they receive them. Within the Los Angeles region, these

practices include: 1) distributing books earlier in the semester; 2) ensuring lost or misplaced books

are replaced immediately; 3) an increased awareness o the importance o having district-approved

accounted or 78% o all the instructional material insuciencies. Indeed, i Los Angeles Unied

schools are excluded rom the analysis, the number o insuciencies reported by schools within the

county decreased by almost hal between the rst and second years o implementation.

22%

2004-05

2O%

14%13%

2005-06

Los Angeles County Statewide Average

31

books and instructional materials that are standards-aligned; 4) earlier completion o purchase orders;

5) establishment o book distribution and replacement procedures; and 6) the creation o a district-level


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32

Well, we have books orevery child now, no longeris it acceptable that a kidcan lose a book and marchon his merry way. We haveaccountability systems in

place now and we have todo this because we know, orWilliams, every child has tohave a book.

Administrator at a school in

Los Angeles County

5) establishment o book distribution and replacement procedures; and 6) the creation o a district level

textbook coordinator position. As one administrator stated, I thinkWilliams is making sure that were

doing our job and doing it in a timely manner.

Another administrator, rom Frank D. Parent Elementary in Inglewood, explained how the district and

schools are coordinating the allocation and distribution on textbooks better, rather than allowing someschools to have too many while others have too ew:

The district has been excellent as ar as providing us with textbooks, and when students lose

books we kind o trade and borrow with other schools and make sure that all o our students

have the textbooks that they need.

For both years o implementation, districts and the county oce o education ensured that all textbook

and instructional material insuciencies were addressed: to address identifed insufciencies, students

received 13,770 replacement textbooks and/or instructional materials in 2004-05, and 50,399

replacement textbooks and/or instructional materials in 2005-06.

Public school students in Los Angeles County have increased accessto clean, sae, and unctional schools since the enactment othe WilliamsLegislation

An examination o rst two years o implementation o the acilities provisions o the Williams Settlement

Legislation in Los Angeles County indicates students are gaining greater access to clean, sae, andunctional schools and conrms the importance o the oversight and review provisions in the Williams

Settlement. Whereas Los Angeles County Oce o Education (LACOE) sta reported relatively ew

emergency acilities deciencies in the decile 1-3 schools either year, they identied at least one good

repair deciency at almost every school they visited both years.37 This high rate o basic deciencies

underscores the value o implementing a mechanism to regularly monitor the condition o school acilities

and identiy necessary repairs.

Interviews with teachers and administrators revealed clear improvements at all three school sitesresearchers visited within Los Angeles County, with administrators and teachers lauding the

tremendous eorts made by the school and the district to maintain the acilities. The principal at

Pomona Senior High School commented, From year one to year three, its night and day. We have

cleaned up the school considerably. We are holding custodians accountable, were holding teachers

accountable. And, at all sites, administrators commented on the districts positive and immediate

response to acility concerns when they arise. For example, an administrator explained:

Im not saying that the district wouldnt help, but I dont know i they would be so speedy to

help us right away. I defnitely thinkWilliams is a beneft. To me theyre all things that the

schools should be providing anyway, you know, as ar as textbooks and nice, clean and sae

acility.

On the surace, the LACOE reports do not appear to refect the positive changes teachers and

administrators in decile 1-3 schools witnessed rom 2004-05 to 2005-06. LACOE reported good repair


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33

deciencies at approximately 95% o the schools they visited both years

and emergency deciencies at 5% o the schools in 2004-05 and 9%in 2005-06. Yet the good repair gure can be misleading because it

encompasses schools with even one relatively minor issue that district

sta subsequently addressed, as well as schools with many minor

deciencies. Accordingly, it is dicult to measure the incremental

improvements (i.e., a particular school site improving rom 35 good

repair deciencies in the rst year o implementation to only two such

deciencies in the second year) or the speed with which deciencies

are identied and repaired now. Nonetheless, the numbers underscore

a need or continued vigilance within the region regarding acilities

maintenance and repair, in addition to underscoring the value or

students educational opportunity o external oversight or their school

conditions.

Furthermore, the increase in the number o emergency or urgent

threats identied could be the result o site inspectors receiving

additional experience and training, and thereore being better able to

help districts identiy repairs that need immediate attention and qualiyor unding rom the Emergency Repair Program: LACOE hired a

dedicated sta person to conduct visits in Year 2 and this hire allowed

or more intense training and oversight and resulted in increased

consistency in evaluations. The trend is positive, with schools in Los

Angeles County applying or Emergency Repair Program unds in

much greater numbers: as o June 1, 2007, 83 projects at decile 1-3

schools in Los Angeles County had been unded (or example, Pomona

Unied School District received nearly $200,000 to pay or roo repairsat Pomona High School), and 1810 projects were pending approval

countywide.

The positive changes resulting rom implementation are not always

easy to quantiy. A perect example is the shit in student attitude andbehavior noted by administrators and teachers. For instance, at Pomona

High School, district ofcials, site administrators and teachers said

they noticed a change in students attitudes towards their school

as the acility conditions improved. Refecting on pre-Williams

conditions, the principal stated, Actually, acility condition does impact

the classroom, it does impact academics in my opinion, because i you

cant take pride in the school then you dont want to be here; you want to

destroy the school.

FIGURE 7pg Dil 1-3 shl wih Gd ri Fil-

i Dfii i L agl cu cd s-

wid cu avg

95%

2004-05

62%

95%

47%

2005-06

Los Angeles County Statewide Average

Public school students in Los Angeles County have increasedaccess to appropriately certifcated and assigned teachers since


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34

cc ss o o ly c c d nd ss gn d ch s s ncthe enactment o the WilliamsLegislation

Public school students in Los Angeles County are receiving greater access to appropriately certicated

and assigned teachers each year since the Williams Settlement. The Los Angeles County Oce o

Education reported a total o 498 schools with teacher misassignments in 2004-05 and 416 schoolswith teacher misassignments in 2005-06, meaning that the percentage o decile 1-3 schools with

misassignments ell rom 83% to 70% in a single year.

Though ewer schools have misassignments, the percentage o schools with misassignments in the

Los Angeles region still exceeds the statewide gure o 53% o decile 1-3 schools in 2005-06. Indeed,

in 2005-06, there were a total o 23,168 misassignments in the entire state, with over hal (57%)

occurring at the high school level, and 69% o these misassignments were identied in one district

the Los Angeles Unied School District.

This data underscores a need or continued, and greater, ocus on reducing teacher misassignments

or public school students in Los Angeles County generally and in particular in Los Angeles Unied

School District. While the data is troubling, it also yields useul inormation that had not been

collected beore the Williams Legislation required its collection, and that inormation can be, as it so

ar has been in the rst two years o implementation, used to drive signicant reductions in teacher

misassignments.

A ocus on misassignments in classrooms serving 20% or more English learners is o particularly

critical importance in Los Angeles County. In both 2004-05 and 2005-06, the county served

over 320,000 English learners within decile 1-3 schools, comprising over 44% o the total student

population attending these low-perorming schools. In the 2004-05 academic year, 36% o all decile

1-3 school teachers assigned to classes with 20% or more English learners lacked proper authorization

to instruct English learners. In the ollowing year, teachers lacking the proper English learner

authorization taught 15% o decile 1-3 school classes with 20% or more English learners.

Notwithstanding these troubling gures, teachers and administrators commented that a ocus onEnglish learner monitoring and instruction has already made a dierence. For example, a teacher in

Los Angeles County reported previously never hearing anything about Specially Designed Academic

Instruction in English (SDAIE), which is specialized instruction or teaching non-English students

using the English language, such that students gain skills in both the subject material and in using

English. Yet now, the teacher said, SDAIE is emphasized and all teachers are expected to know

the techniques. In addition, the teacher explained that with each year that goes by more and more

teachers have Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development (CLAD) certicates, which

authorize teachers to provide instruction or English Language Development and SDAIE, becauseCLAD training is part o the credentialing program or new teachers. According to the teacher, this

combination o SDAIE and CLAD training means we all know the basicsand then we build rom

there with new things.

Because thats the frst thingyou say, Are you highly qual-ifed? and i youre not, you

cant get a contract. We havevery ew o those now; weused to have a lot. We havebetter quality teachers; theycome in with more knowl-edge and more inormation.

Teacher at a school in Los

Angeles County

One administrator in Los Angeles County described how she was initially reluctant aboutWilliams imple-

mentation at her school Over time she recognized the positive impact o the Settlement Legislation on her


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35

mentation at her school. Over time she recognized the positive impact o the Settlement Legislation on her

school and students. She stated:

At the beginning I probably wouldnt have been as supportive aboutWilliams. It was difcult to un-

derstand, Im sure everybody was in the same boat. But our district did takeWilliams and dissected it,trained us and continued to train us. Anything new that comes out withWilliams we are always toldabout it. I know the district is really trying hard to improve our schools in those areas, and there have beenimprovements. As a site administrator,Williams is right at my back helping me to get things done.

Although misassignments and/or vacancies were identied in 2005-

06 at all three schools in Los Angeles County visited or this report,

administrators at both the middle school and elementary school

reported that they had no misassignments or vacancies or the 2006-

07 academic year. At all three sites, administrators and teachers

commented on the improvements they had seen over the years as a

result o No Child Let Behind and the Williams Legislation.

Administrators specically articulated a solid understanding o their

responsibility to hire and appropriately assign credentialed teachers

as a result oWilliams and No Child Let Behind. As one principal

stated, I you have a teacher that is teaching out o their credentialed

area, thats on you as an administratorits not on anyone else. With

an understanding o the Settlement Legislation, administrators elt

empowered to take the necessary steps to provide their students with

highly qualied and appropriately assigned teachers, which oten

included working with their districts to ensure all classes were staed

appropriately.




pg Dil 1-3 shl cl wih 20%



36%

30%

CaliorniaLos Angeles County

15%13%

CaliorniaLos Angeles County

Sacramento County


37/64

36

Learning conditions or students in Sacramento Countys decile 1-3 schools have improved during the rst two years oWilliams

implementation. The percentage o schools with textbook or instructional materials insuciencies was cut nearly in hal in one year, and

teachers and administrators highlighted how buildings and grounds have beneted rom the well-dened acilities standards and related

accountability systems. Nonetheless, notable challen

williams progress 2007

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