Sacramento,CA - On Wednesday, Assemblywoman Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley/Richmond) introduced AB 1944 that will permit high-school students to work at the polls during school hours without schools losing their Average Daily Attendance (ADA) Funding.

Under current law, elections officers may appoint students who are seniors in high school, at least 16 years of age, and have a grade point average of 2.5 or above to work at the polls. When the student is excused from school to work at the polls, the school loses the ADA.

Last fall, students in Larry Freeman's Economic/Government classes at Acalanes High school in Lafayette, CA approached Assemblywoman Hancock and Senator Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) about amending the education code to allow schools to receive ADA when students do election day work at the polls. Many had worked at the polls during the October election as part of an outside political activity requirement and were amazed to learn that even though this was a great learning experience, their school lost funds.

"It bridges the gap between education and actual action and that's the point of a government class. It helps us to understand the systems of government and how they work in our lives," said student Louise Diederich.

Over the last few months, the Acalanes High students have been researching the bill and exploring options. The students learned that 575 students worked at the polls on October 7, 2003 with a loss of $23,000 for San Francisco schools, 700 Alameda County students were poll workers amounting to $28,000 in lost revenue and over 100 Riverside County students with at least $ 3,000 lost. However, no students worked at the polls in San Bernardino County because school administration highly discouraged it due to loss of ADA payments.

Students from Acalanes High believe the best way to address this problem is to change law.

"This is a great civics lesson, "said Assemblywoman Loni Hancock. "The students are the driving force behind this bill. They are the ones researching the issue, gathering support, and learning how our democratic system works in a hands-on way -- not only how our voting procedures work, but how a bill becomes a law. I am just happy to have to opportunity to work with these bright young people and author the bill."