California Education Code Section 52054

(a) Commencing in the 2001-02 fiscal year, by November 15 of the year that the school is selected to participate, the governing board of a school district having jurisdiction over a school selected for participation in the program shall do one of the following: (1) Contract with an external evaluator from the list of external evaluators and shall appoint a broad-based schoolsite and community team, consisting of a majority of nonschoolsite personnel. In a school that has a limited-English-proficient pupil population that constitutes at least 40 percent of the total pupil population, an external evaluator shall have demonstrated experience in working with a limited-English-proficient pupil population. Not less than 20 percent of the members of the team shall be parents or legal guardians of pupils in the school. (2) Contract with an entity that has proven, successful expertise specific to the challenges inherent in high-priority schools. These entities may include, but are not limited to, the following: (A) Institutions of higher education. (B) County offices of education. (C) School district personnel. (b) The selected external evaluator or entity shall solicit input from the parents and legal guardians of the pupils of the school. At a minimum, the evaluator or entity shall do all of the following: (1) Inform the parents and legal guardians, in writing, that the school has been selected to participate in the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program due to its below average performance. (2) Hold a public meeting at the school, in cooperation with the principal, to which all parents and legal guardians of pupils in the school receive a written invitation. The invitation to the meeting may be combined with the written notice required by paragraph (1). (3) Solicit, at the public meeting, the recommendations and opinions of the participating parents and legal guardians of pupils in the school regarding actions that should be taken to improve the performance of the school. These opinions and recommendations shall be considered by the external evaluator or entity and the community team in the development or modification of the action plan pursuant to this section or Section 52054.3. (4) Provide technical assistance to the schoolsite. (5) Notify all parents and legal guardians of pupils in the school of their opportunity to provide written recommendations of actions that should be taken to improve the performance of the school which shall be considered by the external evaluator or entity and the community team in the development or modification of the action plan pursuant to this section or Section 52054.3. Notice required by this subdivision may be combined with the written notice required by paragraph (1). (c) By February 15 of the school year in which the school is selected to participate, the selected external evaluator or entity, in collaboration with the broad-based schoolsite and community team selected pursuant to subdivision (a), shall complete a review of the school that identifies weaknesses that contribute to the school`s below average performance, make recommendations for improvement, and begin to develop an action plan to improve the academic performance of the pupils enrolled at the school. The action plan shall include percentage growth targets at least as high as the annual growth targets adopted by the State Board of Education pursuant to Section 52052. The action plan shall include an expenditure plan and shall be of a scope that does not require expenditure of funds in excess of those provided pursuant to this article or otherwise available to the school. The action plan may not be of a scope that requires reimbursement by the Commission on State Mandates for its implementation. (d) At a minimum, the action plan shall do all of the following: (1) Review and include the school and district conditions identified in the school accountability report card pursuant to Section 33126. (2) Identify the current barriers at the school and district toward improvements in pupil achievement. (3) Identify schoolwide and districtwide strategies to remove these barriers. (4) Review and include school and school district crime statistics, in accordance with Section 628.5 of the Penal Code. (5) Examine and consider disaggregated data regarding pupil achievement and other indicators to consider whether all groups and types of pupils make adequate progress toward short-term growth targets and long-term performance goals. The disaggregated data to be included and considered by the plan shall, at a minimum, provide information regarding the achievement of English language learners, pupils with exceptional needs, pupils who qualify for free and reduced price meals, and pupils in numerically significant subgroups. (6) Set short-term academic objectives pursuant to Section 52052 for a two-year period that will allow the school to make adequate progress toward the growth targets established for each participating school for pupil achievement as measured by all of the following to the extent that the data is available for the school: (A) The achievement test administered pursuant to Section 60640. (B) Graduation rates for grades 7 to 12, inclusive. (C) Attendance rates for pupils and school personnel for elementary, middle, and secondary schools. (D) Any other indicators approved by the State Board of Education. (e) The school action plan shall focus on improving pupil academic performance, improving the involvement of parents and guardians, improving the effective and efficient allocation of resources and management of the school, and identifying and developing solutions that take into account the underlying causes for low performance by pupils. (f) The team, in the development of the action plan, shall consult with the exclusive representatives of employee organizations, where they exist. (g) The school action plan may propose to increase the number of instructional days offered at the schoolsite and also may propose to increase up to a full 12 months the amount of time for which certificated employees are contracted, if all of the following conditions are met: (1) Provisions of the plan proposed pursuant to this subdivision shall not violate current applicable collective bargaining agreements. (2) An agreement is reached with the exclusive representative concerning staffing specifically to accommodate the extended school year or 12-month contract. (h) The team, in the development of the action plan, shall consult with the exclusive representatives of employee organizations, where they exist. (i) Upon its completion, the action plan shall be submitted to the governing board of the school district for its approval at a regularly scheduled public meeting. After the plan is approved, but no later than May 15 of the year that follows the year the school is selected to participate, the plan shall be submitted to the Superintendent of Public Instruction with a request for funding in the form prescribed by the Superintendent of Public Instruction, who shall review the school action plan and recommend approval or disapproval of the school`s request for funding to the State Board of Education. (j) Not later than July 15 of the year next following the year in which a school is selected for participation, the State Board of Education shall review and approve or disapprove the school`s request for funding, based on the recommendation of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Within 30 days of the State Board of Education`s review, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall notify the affected school districts of the state of the board`s action regarding the request for funding. In conjunction with its approval of a request for funding to implement a school`s action plan, the State Board of Education may, at the request of the governing board of the school district or the county board of education for a school under its jurisdiction, waive all or any part of any provision of this code, or any regulation adopted by the State Board of Education, controlling any of the programs listed in clause (i) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 54761 and Section 64000 if the waiver does not result in a decrease in the instructional time otherwise required by law or regulation or an increase in state costs and is determined to be consistent with subdivision (a) of Section 46300.