Latest News

April 16, 2008 - School Services of California and Axiom announce partnership

Click here to read the article

February 1, 2008 - Axiom launches long-awaited Summary School™ v1.0

Summary School v1.0 is a powerful web-based application which enables districts and school sites the ability to make endless comparisons with other schools on a variety of demographic and achievement parameters to enhance their students’ performance.

Key features include:

February 1, 2008 - Axiom launches much anticipated SPSABuilder™ v1.0

SPSABuilder™ is an easy-to-use, web-based application for dynamic Single Plan for Student Achievement (SPSA) creation. SPSABuilder™ makes continuous monitoring and improvement of school and student achievement goals, effortless. SPSABuilder™ couples the power of the Internet with facts and figures found in hundreds of reports made available from complimentary access to Summary School™. The SPSA is displayed in real-time, on the web and printable with just one-click.

CSBA, Partners Win Reimbursement Fight for School Districts and Local Government Agencies (March 2007)

WEST SACRAMENTO – The California School Boards Association announced a victory in the legal battle to ensure that school districts and other local governments are properly reimbursed by the state for costs associated with implementing state-mandated programs. The Superior Court of California has ruled that while it has always been the case that mandates added by the voters through a ballot measure are not reimbursable, the Legislature’s attempt in AB 138 (2005) to add mandates imposed by the Legislature under the guise of being "necessary to implement" or "reasonably within the scope of" an expressly stated voter approved mandate, was unconstitutional. Thus, under AB 138 mandates added by legislation – in programs such as the School Accountability Report Card, the Mandate Reimbursement Process, and certain Brown Act requirements – would not be reimbursable either.

"AB 138 clearly was part of an overall state strategy to avoid reimbursing local governments, including school districts, for the cost of implementing mandated state programs," said Dr. Kathy Kinley, president of CSBA. "For that reason, we are very gratified by the Superior Court’s decision."

The court also agreed with CSBA’s contention that the state could not retroactively avoid paying for mandates by changing the law after the Commission on State Mandates had found that the mandates were reimbursable, finding that the Legislature’s attempt to dictate to the Commission is a violation of the separate powers doctrine. Local governments rely on the Commission’s decisions regarding the extent of the reimbursements that would eventually be received from the state.

"This decision is a great victory for California public schools," said Scott P. Plotkin, executive director of CSBA. "We are hopeful that this decision will help convince state lawmakers that accountability and funding really do go hand-in-hand."

The suit against AB 138 was filed by CSBA’s Education Legal Alliance, joined by Sweetwater Union High School District, the City of Newport Beach, Fresno County, and Los Angeles County.

California School Boards Association Suit Contests State Decision to Not Reimburse Local Government (September 15, 2006)

WEST SACRAMENTO — The California School Boards Association and its Education Legal Alliance filed a lawsuit last week in the Sacramento Superior Court to dispute efforts by the State of California to circumvent its constitutional obligation to reimburse local governments for activities it mandates upon them.

Other parties to the suit, also filed against the Commission on State Mandates and Controller Steve Westly, are the Sweetwater Union High School District, the County of Fresno, the City of Newport Beach, and the County of Los Angeles.

"This is a blatant effort by state government to avoid its constitutional obligation to reimburse schools, cities and counties for state-mandated programs," said Scott P. Plotkin, executive director of the CSBA. "Local governments, and especially schools, are being hung out to dry by the state when it refuses to cover the costs for programs or operations it requires. It's beyond me how the state feels it can simply enact legislation that allows it to forego these constitutionally mandated reimbursements. In enacting AB 138, the Legislature has asserted the power to categorically exclude reimbursement."

In 1979, voters approved Proposition 4, which sought to prevent the state from forcing programs on local governments without paying for them. The Commission on State Mandates is the entity charged with determining which legislation constitutes a state mandate and how much will be reimbursed to local agencies. Historically, the Commission maintained that three state-mandated programs were reimbursable mandates: (1) the School Accountability Report Card; (2) the Mandate Reimbursement Process; and (3) certain Brown Act requirements. However, in 2005, the legislature passed and the governor signed AB 138, which required the Commission to either vacate or reconsider its prior decisions. In accordance with this new regulation, the Commission on Mandates has reversed and set aside its prior determinations in the three claim areas that are the basis of this litigation.

"AB 138, from whatever angle you examine it, is wrong," Plotkin said. "Instead of tearing down walls in our bureaucratic structure, it builds new ones. The state must be held accountable when it puts local entities in a financial bind – there is just no other way to look at it."

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact Ioannis Kazanis at (916) 669-3244.

SIA and Axiom Jointly Announce Settlement (August 2006)

"SIA and Axiom today jointly announce the settlement and dismissal of the lawsuit filed by Axiom last year. Through this settlement neither side admits any wrongdoing or liability, nor has either side substantially changed its business practices. The settlement reflects the parties' mutual desire to end the cost of litigation such that they may better direct their resources at serving the school district of California. The parties have also agreed that they shall make no further statements regarding the allegations in the lawsuit or the settlement other than this joint statement."

Truancy Hunter™ is featured in the San Mateo Daily Journal (May 2006)

Less absences could mean big bucks (by Heather Murtagh, The Daily Journal)

Save SARC Reimbursement? (January 2006)

Sacramento, California - January 20, 2006 – In their continued efforts to actively reduce or eliminate their financial obligations to school districts related to mandate reimbursement claims, the Commission on State Mandates (COSM) has re-evaluated their nearly eight-year-old decision on SARC reimbursement. Axiom anticipates on January 26, 2006, the COSM will eliminate SARC as a mandate-reimbursable program. Therefore, school districts will no longer be able to recoup their costs related to the preparation and distribution of their SARCs. In addition, this will eliminate Axiom’s ability to offer a reimbursable product.

The argument that COSM has used to arrive at their decision goes back to the origination of the SARC from Proposition 98. The COSM now believes that when California’s voters passed Proposition 98 in 1988, they required a simple, “but not limited to” 13-component SARC. The state’s new argument is the voter’s intention was never to limit the SARC to just the original 13 components.

This rationale leads to the overturning of their original 1998 ruling that the SARC is a mandate reimbursable program. In 1998, the COSM accepted a test claim that sought reimbursement for the legislature’s additions to the SARC since Prop 98 (1993-1997). The COSM declared the additional portion of the SARC a mandate-reimbursable program.

Not only has the state now eliminated the SARC as a mandate, the decision was made to go retroactive back to January 1, 2005, ending the reimbursement opportunity from this date forward. For SARC costs incurred on or before January 1, 2005, claims will be honored as submitted. As always, the State Controller reserves the right to audit all claims for thoroughness and accuracy.

The SARC has grown tremendously over the last few years with the addition of the NCLB, Williams, and the latest SB 687 requirements. Even though the number of required components has increased significantly over the years, Axiom’s prices have actually been reduced. It is through the constant refining of our processes and our reliance on the newest technology that we have been able to stay ahead of the SARC game. Unfortunately, this may not remain the case for long if the SARC requirements continue to grow at the rate they have previously.

Just because the COSM has concluded that SARC is no longer reimbursable doesn’t make it right. Axiom is seeking feedback from our clients regarding the state’s decision to make SARC non-reimbursable. As it stands now, the state can freely impose endless new SARC requirements on districts without bearing any financial burden. Are you willing to accept the state’s decision? Would you like CSBA to consider fighting the state on this decision?

To send us your feedback, please email sales@axiomadvisors.net

SARC News (September 2005)

Grading the Report Card: A Report on the Readability of the School Accountability Report Card (SARC)
(UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education, & Access)

Axiom's New Headquarters (May 2005)

Axiom is expanding! We've moved our headquarters in Sacramento to 2440 Gold River Road, Suite 200, Gold River, CA 95670. The new office is 50% larger than our last facility, which we'd occupied for the past 5 years.

(updated on September 18, 2006)