ACSA is supporting efforts to correct an issue with a recently enacted law that would remove charter school administrators from the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) if they are promoted or change charter school employers after July 1, 2027.

The law, AB 1997, which was passed in 2024 and authored by Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, was aimed at simplifying the complexity of calculating final pension benefits for employers, retirees, and CalSTRS and its members. McKinnor said she was unaware at the time that the law would exclude certain administrators.

Clean-up legislation authored by McKinnor, Assembly Bill 2519, would ensure charter school administrators are able to retain membership and continue earning benefits.

“[This] is something that we must correct for fairness purposes so that people in those positions can continue to earn service credit towards their retirement in the future,” McKinnor said in her statement to the Assembly Public Employment and Retirement Committee.

ACSA was first alerted to concerns about the forthcoming law by members serving in charter schools last December. The ACSA Governmental Relations team met with the impacted members and quickly engaged with CalSTRS to see what could be done given the urgency to craft a solution before the new law took effect. CalSTRS convened a working group of labor organizations, school business services, and statewide education associations to work through potential scenarios to resolve the issue.

Unlike other stakeholders, ACSA had the unique position of reflecting multiple viewpoints during the drafting phases given the membership includes charter administrators who are directly impacted, business services leaders tasked with calculations and reporting, plus thousands of CalSTRS members who expect accurate benefit calculations when they reach retirement.

ACSA supported AB 1997 and the subsequent regulatory drafting for implementation over the last year, which promotes the accuracy of payroll information reported by education employers so that final retirement calculations by CalSTRS are correct and complete.

“AB 2519 upholds the intent of current statute while making meaningful modifications to the positions subject to CalSTRS membership,” said ACSA Legislative Advocate Dorothy Johnson. “State pension benefits remain a critical recruitment and retention tool, and the loss of eligibility for charter school administrators could discourage qualified, experienced administrators from serving in public education.”

While the forthcoming law would not remove or take away the pension or vested pension of affected charter school administrators, it could affect their ability to continue earning service.

To fix this issue, AB 2519 would require charter school governing bodies to pass a public resolution that designates which administrator positions are subject to membership through either 1) requiring the position to have a credential, license, permit or certificate issued by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing or Department of Healthcare Services or 2) the position would require the holding of a valid credential, license, permit, or certificate if that position was employed by a school district or county office of education.

“AB 2519 strikes a balance of preserving charter school educator eligibility when reasonable requirements are met and ensuring the accuracy of benefits calculations for all STRS members,” Johnson said.

The bill successfully passed out of the Assembly policy committee and will next be heard in the appropriations committee for review of potential fiscal impacts.