BILL ANALYSIS AB 1 Page 1 Date of Hearing: March 18, 2009 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Julia Brownley, Chair AB 1 (Monning) - As Introduced: December 1, 2008 SUBJECT : Teachers: program of professional growth: conflict resolution. SUMMARY : Authorizes an individual program of professional growth for teachers to include courses in negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution. Specifically, this bill : 1)Authorizes an individual program of professional growth to include courses in negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution, including peer mediation training and the theory and practice of nonviolence. 2)Specifies courses may include the following components: a) Basic negotiation skills; b) Communication skills, including cross-cultural communication; c) Basic mediation and peer mediation training; and, d) Theory and practice of nonviolence and peace building. 3)Specifies a teacher who elects to pursue a course in negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution, may introduce appropriate conflict resolution skills to pupils through classroom instruction, including, but not limited to, the core curriculum areas of reading, writing, mathematics, history/social science, and science. EXISTING LAW : 1)Specifies an individual program of professional growth may consist of activities that are aligned with the California Standards for the Teaching Profession that contribute to competence, performance, or effectiveness in the profession of education and classroom assignments of the teachers; a basic course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and, a course in first aid. (Education Code Section 44277) AB 1 Page 2 2)Specifies acceptable activities of an individual program of professional growth may include, the completion of courses offered by regionally accredited colleges and universities, online courses, participation in professional conferences, workshops, teacher center programs, staff development programs or instruction provided by the California Reading Professional Development Program, service as a mentor teacher, participation in systematic programs of observation and analysis of teaching, service in a leadership role in a professional organization, and participation in educational research or innovation efforts. (Education Code Section 44277) 3)Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to award grants through the Administrator Training Program for training in numerous areas including conflict resolution. (Education Code Section 44511) 4)Authorizes funds from the School Safety and Violence Prevention Act be used to hire school personnel trained in conflict resolution. (Education Code Section 32228.1) FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal. COMMENTS : Background . As of January 1, 2007, professional growth requirements for the renewal of teacher credentials were no longer required. SB 1209 (Scott), Chapter 517, Statutes of 2006, repealed the requirement for teachers to participate in 150 hours of professional growth. Instead, statute was enacted expressing the Legislature's intent to encourage teachers to engage in programs of professional growth to extend their content knowledge and teaching skill. As a result, teachers have the option to participate and enroll on their own time in professional growth programs as a method for improving their teaching skills and enhancing their classroom environment. Professional growth programs consist of activities that are aligned with the California Standards for the Teaching Profession (CSTP). AB 1 authorizes coursework in conflict resolution to be part of a program of professional growth. The existing program standards for both multiple and single subject teacher preparation programs currently include a requirement in Standard #10 for teacher candidates to have AB 1 Page 3 "opportunities to learn and practice effective strategies and techniques for crisis prevention, conflict management, and resolution in ways that contribute to respectful, effective learning environments, including recognizing and defusing situations that may lead to student conflict or violence." This means all teachers trained since the initial adoption of these standards in 2001, have had some training in conflict management and resolution while existing teachers may not have had this training in their teacher preparation program. Therefore under AB 1, both new teachers and experienced teachers would be able to further explore their knowledge through their individual professional growth program. In addition, the proposed coursework in conflict resolution also addresses several of the California Standards for the Teaching Profession and could compliment existing teaching practices for those teachers who choose to pursue coursework in this area, and in the future could be included in existing curriculum taught to students. AB 1 authorizes programs of professional growth to include courses in negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution and highlights the importance for teachers to consider pursuing coursework in this area. It is unclear; however, whether legislation is necessary to achieve the outcome the author is interested in seeing, since programs of professional growth are voluntary. According to the author, conflict resolution represents a range of processes that can be employed to reduce or eliminate conflict or to take advantage of a mutual opportunity. Conflict resolution processes include negotiation, basic and peer mediation, arbitration, and diplomacy. Today's teachers often find themselves confronting societal pressures and stresses manifested in the classroom. Diversity in student population, conflict at home, and bullying by peers represent examples of conflict that directly or indirectly confront teachers. Additionally, students face an array of conflict and negotiations in virtually all of life's arenas: home, school, employment, social groupings, etc. Providing teachers with enhanced skills to address conflict in the classroom or on the schoolyard as well as providing the tools for the introduction of negotiation and mediation skills to students through already established curriculum will inure to the safety of our schools as well as to the promotion of a culture of principled conflict resolution practice. AB 1 Page 4 School Safety and Violence Prevention Act . The Carl Washington School Safety and Violence Prevention Act, provides funds to school districts to hire personnel such as school counselors, social workers, or nurses who are trained in conflict resolution; purchase on-campus communication devices; establish in-service staff training for school staff to identify at-risk pupils; provide instructional curricula and materials to equip pupils with skills and understanding necessary to prevent school violence; establish arrangements with local law enforcement agencies for appropriate school-community relationships; prevent and respond to acts of hate violence and bias-related incidents, including implementation of programs and instructional curricula; and any other purpose that the school or district determines would materially contribute to the goals of safe schools and preventing violence among pupils. The Act provides grants based on a per pupil allocation, with a minimum of $5,000 per schoolsite or $10,000 per school district, to develop strategies and train staff in preventing and reducing violence at the schoolsite. In the 2008-2009 budget year, the School Safety Block Grant allocation was $85 million. It is possible that some of these existing funds have been used in the past to hire personnel trained in conflict resolution, although due to the changes enacted in the most recent Budget Act, the School Safety Block Grant is among those programs that are authorized to be used for alternative instructional programs. School District Programs . Some school districts have implemented conflict resolution programs into student curriculum on their own. One such program, adopted by the Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District is Cool Tools, an innovative conflict resolution system developed at UCLA Lab School. Cool Tools vividly teaches lifelong strategies for handling all forms of bullying. It was created to ensure a caring community in which all students feel safe to learn and play without threats of physical, verbal or non-verbal harassment of any type. What Other States are Doing . Other states, such as Ohio, have implemented statewide dispute resolution and conflict management programs that provide resources and training to Ohio schools. North Carolina requires teacher training programs to include coursework in management of student behavior and effective communication techniques for defusing and deescalating disruptive or dangerous behavior. Some North Carolina schools have resource coordinators that research and select conflict resolution educational programs to incorporate into existing AB 1 Page 5 curriculum for students at the school. Illinois requires schools to provide instruction in violence prevention and conflict resolution to students in grades 4 through 12. Related legislation : SB 1209 (Scott), Chapter 517, Statutes of 2006, repealed the requirement for teachers to participate in 150 hours of professional growth as a condition of credential renewal. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California Teachers Association (CTA) Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087