Shoreline Unified School District has its eyes fixed on Sacramento as a Feb. 17 deadline for introducing bills draws near: at least two pieces of legislation are in the works that could impact the state’s District of Choice program, a funding mechanism that provides about $500,000 a year to Shoreline, keeping the district financially afloat. The program is scheduled to sunset on July 1; if it is not reinstated, Shoreline could lose up to 120 transfer students, or 23 percent of its enrollment, according to Bob Raines, the district’s superintendent. Shoreline adopted the District of Choice program in 2015; since then, students who transferred in from non-Basic Aid Districts (or those funded mostly by property tax revenue) bring with them 70 percent of the state funding that was given to their original district. S.B. 52 would extend the program until 2022, and another bill that would extend the program is expected to be introduced soon. Another bill, A.B. 185, introduced by Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell, who chairs the Assembly Education Committee, would also extend the program but with sweeping revisions. The changes are aimed at ensuring equitable access for low-income students and students of color, such as mandating that all communication regarding transfer opportunities be available in all languages. A representative for Assemblyman O’Donnell told the Light that he was encouraged to make the amendments by a legislative report that found the program has been predominantly used by high-income students of white and Asian backgrounds. Yet Mr. Raines points to a particular clause that concerns him: small school districts (with fewer than 50,000 students) could decide to cap the number of students allowed to transfer out of their district to 3 percent of average daily attendance and to 10 percent of average daily attendance for the duration of the program. He fears that “hard cap,” as he puts it. He also said “it’s a false claim that the program is for ‘white flight’ or is a segregating tool. In our district, half of the 120 students [who transferred through District of Choice] are English learners and qualify for the lunch program.” Mr. Raines told the board on Jan. 19 that this “is a bill we don’t want to see.” The state adopted the District of Choice program in 1993 and has since reauthorized it several times. Currently, about 10,000 students in 47 districts benefit from the program. Bruce Abbott, the district’s business manager, suggested they adopt the program after seeing its success in other districts he had worked in. “At the time, Shoreline was in financial trouble… We would have been looking for further cuts if District of Choice never came through,” he said.