Williams Settlement and the SARC

On September 29, 2004, the Governor signed Senate Bill (SB) 550 (Chapter 900, Statutes of 2004). This urgency measure, which took effect immediately, implemented portions of the settlement agreement in the case of Williams, et al. v. State of California, et al. that impacted the School Accountability Report Card (SARC).

With respect to the SARCs published in the 2004–05 school year, SB 550 added additional reporting requirements relating to (1) any needed maintenance to ensure "good repair" of school facilities, (2) the number of teacher "misassignments" and "vacant teacher positions," and (3) the availability of "sufficient textbooks and other instructional materials."

SB 550 provides the following definitions for the terms "good repair," "misassignment," "vacant teacher position," and "sufficient textbooks or other instructional materials":

• "Good repair" means the facility is maintained in a manner that assures that it is clean, safe, and functional as determined pursuant to an interim evaluation instrument developed by the Office of Public School Construction. The instrument shall not require capital enhancements beyond the standards to which the facility was designed and constructed.

• "Misassignment" means the placement of a certificated employee in a teaching or services position for which the employee does not hold a legally recognized certificate or credential or the placement of a certificated employee in a teaching or services position that the employee is not otherwise authorized by statute to hold.

• "Vacant teacher position" means a position to which a single designated certificated employee has not been assigned at the beginning of the year for an entire year or, if the position is for a one-semester course, a position to which a single designated certificated employee has not been assigned at the beginning of a semester for an entire semester.

• "Sufficient textbooks or other instructional materials" means that each pupil, including English Learners, has a textbook or instructional materials, or both, to use in class and to take home to complete required homework assignments. It does not require two sets of textbooks or instructional materials for each pupil. It does not include photocopied sheets from only a portion of a textbook or instructional materials copied to address a shortage.

California Department of Education staff developed reporting formats and data definitions to address the additional SARC requirements included in SB 550. The proposed reporting formats and data definitions were approved by the State Board of Education (SBE) at its November 2004 meeting and modified somewhat at the SBE's January 2005 meeting. The SARC template and data elements continue to be reviewed and approved by the SBE at their annual July board meeting.

The following is a guide to the sections of the current SARC template and data elements where the Williams-related data elements can be found: