Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999

Added to Programs No Longer Administered by the California Department of Education (CDE) on October 29, 2020.

This information is for historical purposes only and it is possible that information contained here may not be current.

Background

In 1999, the Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) of 1999 (Chapter 3, Statutes of 1999) was enacted into state law that required three components: (1) annual calculation of the Academic Performance Index (API) for all public schools; (2) the implementation of the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program; and (3) the implementation of the Governor’s Performance Award (GPA) Program (which was funded in the state budget up until 2002-03).

In 2013, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) was signed into state law which required the State Board of Education to develop a new statewide accountability system based on ten priority areas that defined a quality education more broadly than a single index or test score. The LCFF was also designed to improve student outcomes by providing more resources to meet the educational needs of low-income students, English learners, and foster youth. The law provides more flexibility to districts on how they choose to spend their money. In exchange, districts must provide more transparency by developing local control and accountability plans with meaningful community engagement.

In 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act passed which reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESSA). Under this federal law, states were required to develop (by the 2017-18 school year) a new multiple measures accountability system.

To meet the requirements in both state and federal law, California developed a single integrated accountability system – replacing the API – that was launched in the fall of 2017. This multiple-measures system provides a fuller picture of how districts and schools are addressing the needs of their students while also identifying the specific strengths and areas in need of improvement. Moreover, this system is used to identify local educational agencies (LEAs) that are in need of support, differentiated assistance, and intervention, as well as schools in need of support and improvement.

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