Overhaul of education tasks could save state $350 million annually

School districts and community colleges across the state are mandated by California law to perform 51 state-ordered tasks a year. And every year, educators complain they are being required by lawmakers to carry out the tasks without getting the funds to get the job done. Some of these mandated tasks include sending letters to teachers whenever a student is expelled; conducting screenings for the spinal disease scoliosis; conducting physical education tests and reports; mailing parents letters whenever their child has too many absenses and providing free expulsion-hearing transcripts for low-income families.

Now the state's Legislative Analysts Office says the state could save nearly $350 million dollars by wiping out many inefficient state ordered programs.   

According to the LAO's report, Education Mandates: A Broken System, "If a mandate serves a purpose fundamental to the education system, such as protecting student health or providing essential assessment and oversight data, it should be funded. If not, the mandate should be eliminated." 

Increasingly, the state has failed to reimburse the school districts the costs of paying for the programs. This year alone, the unpaid reimbursements have ballooned to more than $3.6 billion dollars. After five school districts and the California School Boards Association sued the state over the issue, a superior court judge ruled in 2008 that the state could no longer stall paying school districts claims by delaying reimbursement. Last year, an appellate court found that another tactic used by lawmakers to reduce the monies owed to districts was unconstitutional.

According to the LAO's report, "Taken as a whole, our reform package would relieve school districts and community colleges of performing hundreds of activities that provide little value to students."