[KHTS] – The state Assembly approved a bill Tuesday by Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Calabasas, that would require future charter schools to operate within the boundaries of the district that charters them.

The legislation was sought by school districts in the Santa Clarita Valley after the Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District started chartering schools that operate campuses within the jurisdiction of other districts.

The Assembly passed the measure 42-23 with 14 abstentions.

The bill, if signed into law, would set strict limitations for where and when a charter school could be located outside of the physical boundaries of the chartering district.

Proponents said the bill addresses a “loophole” in the state’s Education code, pointing to Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District’s ability to charter 21 schools in the last two years — nine of which are located outside of the district’s boundaries, and seven having been put on hold by the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this story.

“School districts in Santa Clarita and across the state, the California State PTA, the California School Boards Association and both houses of the state Legislature believe that it is a good idea to close a loophole in the charter law which has been abused by some school districts and charter schools acting in bad faith,” said Brian Walters, school board president for the Newhall School District. “SB1263 was drafted to address this growing statewide problem.”

The bill is slated to go before the Senate for a concurrence vote in its house of origination before it could be sent to the governor’s office to be signed into law.

There is a question about whether Gov. Jerry Brown will sign the bill because of his support of charter schools and the fact that the bill has been strongly opposed by most charter school advocates.

“This bill closes a loophole that has been used by a school district to authorize numerous charter schools outside its boundaries in contradiction to the intent of the law,” Pavley said. “Abuse of this loophole hurts legitimate charter schools, and it hurts school districts that are trying to authorize charters within their boundaries and obey the law.”

Assemblyman Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, voted against the bill. He said it unfairly targets one school district at the expense of charter schools statewide. State Sen. Steve Knight also expressed opposition to the bill because, like Wilk, he felt the measure was an overly broad fix to a problem with the state’s Education Code.