(a)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, school districts shall not be required to submit to the department, as part of the consolidated application, school plans for categorical programs subject to this part. School districts shall assure, in the consolidated application, that the Single Plan for Pupil Achievement established pursuant to subdivision (d) has been prepared in accordance with law, that schoolsite councils have developed and approved a plan, to be known as the Single Plan for Pupil Achievement for schools participating in programs funded through the consolidated application process, and any other school program they choose to include, and that school plans were developed with the review, certification, and advice of any applicable school advisory committees. The Single Plan for Pupil Achievement may also be referred to as the Single Plan for Student Achievement. The consolidated application shall also include certifications by appropriate district advisory committees that the application was developed with review and advice of those committees.
For any consolidated application that does not include the necessary certifications or assurances, the department shall initiate an investigation to determine whether the consolidated application and Single Plan for Pupil Achievement were developed in accordance with law and with the involvement of applicable advisory committees and schoolsite councils.
(b)
Onsite school and district compliance reviews of categorical programs shall continue, and school plans shall be required and reviewed as part of these onsite visits and compliance reviews. The Superintendent shall establish the process and frequency for conducting reviews of district achievement and compliance with state and federal categorical program requirements. In addition, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall establish the content of these instruments, including any criteria for differentiating these reviews based on the achievement of pupils, as demonstrated by the Academic Performance Index developed pursuant to Section 52052, and evidence of district compliance with state and federal law. The state board shall review the content of these instruments for consistency with state board policy.
(c)
A school district shall submit school plans whenever the department requires the plans in order to effectively administer any categorical program subject to this part. The department may require submission of the school plan for any school that is the specific subject of a complaint involving any categorical program or service subject to this part.
The department may require a school district to submit other data or information as may be necessary for the department to effectively administer any categorical program subject to this part.
(d)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, as a condition of receiving state funding for a categorical program pursuant to Section 64000, and in lieu of the information submission requirements that were previously required by this section prior to the amendments that added this subdivision and subdivisions (e) to (i), inclusive, school districts shall ensure that each school in a district that operates any categorical programs subject to this part consolidates any plans that are required by those programs into a single plan. Schools may consolidate any plans that are required by federal programs subject to this part into this plan, unless otherwise prohibited by federal law. That plan shall be known as the Single Plan for Pupil Achievement or may be referred to as the Single Plan for Student Achievement.
(e)
Plans developed pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 52054, and Section 6314 and following of Title 20 of the United States Code, shall satisfy this requirement.
(f)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the content of a Single Plan for Pupil Achievement shall be aligned with school goals for improving pupil achievement. School goals shall be based upon an analysis of verifiable state data, including the Academic Performance Index developed pursuant to Section 52052 and the English Language Development test developed pursuant to Section 60810, and may include any data voluntarily developed by districts to measure pupil achievement. The Single Plan for Pupil Achievement shall, at a minimum, address how funds provided to the school through any of the sources identified in Section 64000 will be used to improve the academic performance of all pupils to the level of the performance goals, as established by the Academic Performance Index developed pursuant to Section 52052. The plan shall also identify the schools’ means of evaluating progress toward accomplishing those goals and how state and federal law governing these programs will be implemented.
(g)
The plan required by this section shall be reviewed annually and updated, including proposed expenditure of funds allocated to the school through the consolidated application, by the schoolsite council, or, if the school does not have a schoolsite council, by schoolwide advisory groups or school support groups that conform to the requirements of Section 52852. The plans shall be reviewed and approved by the governing board of the local education agency at a regularly scheduled meeting whenever there are material changes that affect the academic programs for students covered by programs identified in Section 64000.
(h)
The school plan and subsequent revisions shall be reviewed and approved by the governing board of the school district. School district governing boards shall certify that, to the extent allowable under federal law, plans developed for purposes of this section are consistent with district local improvement plans that are required as a condition of receiving federal funding.
(i)
Nothing in this act may be construed to prevent a school district, at its discretion, from conducting an independent review pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 64001 as that section read on January 1, 2001.