Steve Smith Enterprises v. East Side Union High School Dist. CA6

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Steve Smith is the president of SSE, which assists schools and school districts in obtaining reimbursements for state-mandated education costs. The district is a California public high school district. In 2005, the district and SSE entered into a written contract under which SSE would assist the district in seeking reimbursement for state-mandated education costs. Before turning to the procedural history of this case, we briefly outline the law governing reimbursement of state mandates. A. Law Governing Reimbursement of State Mandates When the Legislature or any state agency requires a local government entity (such as the district) to provide a “new program or a higher level of service,” the state Constitution mandates that the state provide the entity financial aid or reimbursement. (Cal. Const., art. XIII B, § 6, subd. (a) (section 6).) To implement this directive, in 1984 the Legislature created the Commission on State Mandates (Commission) and tasked it with determining whether a local entity is constitutionally entitled to reimbursement by the state. (See County of San Diego v. State of California (1997) 15 Cal.4th 68, 81 (County of San…