BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair AB 1156 (Eng) Hearing Date: 08/15/2011 Amended: 07/06/2011 Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Education 7-1 _________________________________________________________________ ____ BILL SUMMARY: AB 1156 revises the existing definition of bullying, and encourages the inclusion of policies and procedures aimed at the prevention of bullying in comprehensive school safety plans. This bill requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Education (CDE) to contract to provide training in the prevention of bullying, as specified. This bill also authorizes a pupil who has been a victim of bullying to transfer to another district. _________________________________________________________________ ____ Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund Anti-bullying training Potentially significant cost pressure General Transfer rights ------Potentially significant costs------- Local School safety plans ------Substantial cost pressure----- Local _________________________________________________________________ ____ STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Existing law requires the CDE and the DOJ to contract with one or more professional trainers to coordinate statewide workshops for local educational agencies and school site personnel to assist them in the development of their respective school safety plans. The DOJ and CDE partnered to create the School Law Enforcement Partnership program, and the School Community Violence Prevention training grant. In 2008, this grant program's funding was included in categorical flexibility. In 2009, the DOJ ended its participation in the partnership after AB 1156 (Eng) Page 1 its activities were de-funded in the Budget Act. Currently, the CDE contracts with Kern County Office of Education (COE) to administer the School Community Violence Prevention Training grant; Kern COE has a $350,000 contract to perform this training and is scheduled to conduct 28 trainings on bullying prevention in 2011. Despite having the categorical flexibility option, Kern COE has continued to provide the training and has expressed that it intends to continue to do so. It is not, however, under any obligation to continue to fund these trainings. By adding additional training requirements to the $350,000, this bill put pressure on those funds, as well as on other education funds should Kern COE decide in the future to use that grant money flexibly. This bill specifies that a pupil complies with school district residency requirements in a school district if his or her residence is located within the boundaries of another district but the pupil meets all of the following conditions: A) the pupil has been determined by the superintendent of that other school district or the principal of the school attended in that other district to have been the victim of an act of bullying , as specified; B) the pupil is unable to transfer to another school within the other school district, as certified by the superintendent of the other district; and C) the pupil is unable to receive authorization for interdistrict attendance in a timely manner. This provision entitles certain victims of bullying to transfer to another school district. While there would not likely be any state costs (since funding follows the student), there will likely be local costs. Schools would likely have to establish a process for verifying that a pupil meets the conditions, and train staff on implementing it. This bill also encourages school safety plans, as they are updated and to the extent that resources are available, to include policies and procedures aimed at the prevention of bullying. Schools can already include bullying prevention policies and procedures in their comprehensive safety plans. Legislative encouragement to do so creates additional pressure on schools to take on those additional tasks. AB 1156 (Eng) Page 2