BILL NUMBER: AB 1178 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bocanegra
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to add Chapter 18.5 (commencing with Section 11750) to Part
7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, relating to pupil
instruction.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1178, as amended, Bocanegra. Pupil instruction: California
Promise Neighborhood Initiative.
Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and
secondary schools in this state, and authorizes local educational
agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide
instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
Existing law also establishes a system of postsecondary education in
the state that consists of 4 segments: the University of California,
the California State University, the California Community Colleges,
and independent institutions of higher education.
This bill would express findings and declarations of the
Legislature about, among other things, the educational, cultural, and
health needs of California's most distressed communities. The bill
would establish the California Promise Neighborhood Initiative to
develop a system of 40 California promise neighborhoods throughout
the state to support children's development. The bill would,
commencing in July 2014, require the State Department of Education to
develop an application process for eligible entities to apply for
sites to become promise neighborhoods. The bill would require
the State Department of Education to designate the 40 California
promise neighborhoods by January 1, 2016, and would specify that the
promise neighborhoods would be selected from areas that voluntarily
apply, as prescribed, for that designation. The bill would specify
items that would be required to be included in an application to be
designated as a California promise neighborhood. The bill would
specify the services to be provided to the participating
neighborhoods. The bill would also specify information to be
annually reported to the State Department of Education by designated
California promise neighborhoods. require promise
neighborhood designees to undergo a performance reviewevery 3 years
conducted by the State Department of Education and the community
served by the promise nei ghborhood.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 18.5 (commencing with Section 11750) is added
to Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:
CHAPTER 18.5. CALIFORNIA PROMISE NEIGHBORHOOD INITIATIVE
Article 1. Findings and General Provisions
11750. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) All children throughout California, regardless of their
families' socioeconomic, English learning, or special education
status, or the neighborhoods in which they reside, deserve access to
a high-quality education, health services, and social services that
will prepare them to succeed in college and in their careers, and
that will allow them to become productive citizens contributing to
the wealth of our cities, state, and nation.
(b) Many children living in California's most distressed
communities lack access to opportunities that will ensure adequate
academic, social, and health preparation for achieving success and
helping to end family and neighborhood poverty.
(c) Innovative and comprehensive approaches to break the cycle of
poverty are necessary for creating opportunities for children to
succeed and ultimately to help turn around poor neighborhoods.
(d) Long-term investments in underserved children's academic,
social, and health development and the strengthening of a system of
family and community support shared by various stakeholders are also
needed to sustain the future of our communities.
(e) The Harlem Children's Zone in New York has demonstrated the
lasting benefits of developing a network of support services to
revitalize an entire community focusing on the social, health, and
educational development of children.
(f) The Federal Promise Neighborhood Initiative, inspired by the
Harlem Children's Zone, seeks to develop a cradle-to-career pipeline
of support services in specific neighborhoods that will transform
communities.
(g) Out of more than 50 communities in California that applied for
the Federal Promise Neighborhood Initiative grant, 12
eight communities in California were selected to
receive planning or implementation grants.
(h) Many of the communities that were not selected by the federal
government continue to work on developing community plans because
cross-community planning provides lasting benefits in aligning and
maximizing resources in a community.
(i) Establishing a network of services to serve specific families
breaks down many unnecessary barriers in the effective delivery of
programs and services.
(j) The alignment of local, state, and federal resources can
maximize existing dollars and better serve specific communities.
(k) Central to the development of the Harlem Children's Zone and
the Federal Promise Neighborhood Initiative has been the use of data
to drive real-time decisionmaking and program improvement.
11751. (a) The California Promise Neighborhood Initiative is
hereby established to develop a system of 40 "promise"
neighborhoods "promise neighborhoods" throughout
California to support children's development from cradle to career.
Participation in this initiative is voluntary.
(b) The purpose of the California Promise Neighborhood Initiative
is to significantly improve the outcomes and opportunities for
children and their families living in California's most distressed
neighborhoods and to transform those communities. By using
results-driven accountability and leveraging federal, state, local,
and private resources, the state will seek to provide children and
their families in these neighborhoods with access to a
community-based continuum of high-quality services and practices
based on the best available evidence, which will address the needs of
children from birth through college and career.
(c) Commencing in July 2014, the department shall develop an
application process for eligible entities to apply for sites to
become promise neighborhoods pursuant to this article. The
department shall designate 40 California promise neighborhoods by
January 1, 2016, selecting from applicants that meet eligibility
criteria, and have demonstrated that they will implement a
comprehensive, integrated continuum of solutions or pipeline of
services based on the best available evidence to improve academic
achievement, including early childhood programs, child and youth
social and health development, college and career readiness, and
efforts to build strong family and community supports measured by
common outcomes in neighborhoods with high concentrations of
low-income families, persistently low-achieving schools, or schools
with an achievement gap.
(d) A designee is responsible for, and shall be measured by the
department for, all of the following common outcomes:
(1) Children enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school.
(2) Pupils are proficient in core academic subjects.
(3) Pupils successfully transition from middle school grades to
high school.
(4) Pupils graduate from high school.
(5) High school graduates obtain a postsecondary degree,
certification, or credential.
(6) Pupils are healthy.
(7) Pupils feel safe at school and in their community.
(8) Pupils live in stable communities.
(9) Families and community members support learning in promise
neighborhood schools.
(10) Pupils have access to 21st century learning tools.
(d)
(e) The department shall begin the California Promise
Neighborhood Initiative selection process by including the
existing and federally recognized promise neighborhoods.
guaranteeing eligibility for the federally recognizedcommunities
in California receiving either planning or implementation grants.
11752. As used in this chapter:
(a) A "California promise neighborhood" is a specific geographic
area that represents a community focused on revitalization through
the establishment of a cradle-to-career network of services aimed at
improving the health, safety, education, and economic development of
the defined area.
(b) An "eligible applicant" is any of the following:
(1) A nonprofit organization, including a faith-based organization
to the extent permitted by law.
(2) An institution of higher education.
(3) An Indian tribe or tribal organization, serving as a lead
agency representative of the proposed geographic area to be served
and in partnership with at least one public elementary or secondary
school, traditional or charter, located within the identified
geographic area that the grant applied for would serve.
area.
Article 2. Program Provisions
11753. (a) The department shall work with the Employment
Development Department, the California Health and Human Services
Agency, the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, the
California Children and Families Commission, the California Community
Colleges, the California State University, the University of
California, the Student Aid Commission, the Department of Parks and
Recreation, and other agencies and departments selected by the
Governor to implement this chapter.
(b) Commencing no later than July 1, 2014, the department shall
develop an application process for eligible entities to apply for
sites to become California promise neighborhoods.
(b) The department shall work with the entities listed in
subdivision (a) to identify programs and opportunities for grants
suitable for prioritization and granting of bonus points in promise
neighborhoods.
(c) For purposes of implementing this chapter, the department may
use existing available state resources and federal funds. If state or
federal funds are not available or sufficient, the department may
apply for and accept grants and receive donations and other financial
support from public or private sources for purposes of this chapter.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage the Governor
to give a high priority to California promise neighborhoods in the
expenditure of discretionary federal workforce investment funds.
11754. (a) The department shall work with the California Health
and Human Services Agency and county health and human services
agencies to ensure, to the extent feasible, the maximum participation
of eligible populations within California promise neighborhoods in
the following programs:
(1) The CalFresh program pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with
Section 18900) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(2) The Medi-Cal program pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with
Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(b) The department shall have a participation goal
of 90 percent, and, beginning January 1, 2016, the department shall
post participation rates for these areas and establish
a goal of 90 percent participation by January 1, 2016.
areas. The department shall explore different methods of
increasing participation, including, but not necessarily limited to,
a universal application and electronic data sharing with schools and
school districts.
11755. The department shall work with the California Children and
Families Commission (First 5 Commission), established pursuant to
Division 108 (commencing with Section 130100) of the Health and
Safety Code, to ensure that, to the extent feasible,
children and families eligible applicants
residing within California promise neighborhoods receive
maximum bonus points, additional recognition, or
weighted consideration for receiving funding for competitive
grants administered by that commission.
11756. (a) The department shall work with the California
Community Colleges, the California State University, the University
of California, the Student Aid Commission, and the California
Postsecondary Education Commission to ensure that, to the extent
feasible, children and families eligible
applicants residing within California promise neighborhoods
receive maximum bonus points, additional
recognition, or weighted consideration, to the extent feasible,
when applying for funding for competitive grants.
(b) Schools and Schools, school
districts , and institutions of higher education within
California promise neighborhoods shall, at a minimum,
receive maximum for purposes of meeting the shared
outcomes of the promise neighborhood initiative, to the extent not in
conflict with federal law or with an initiative measure, receive
bonus points, additional recognition, or weighted
consideration for receiving funding for the following competitive
grants:
(1) The After School Education and Safety Program established
pursuant to Section 8482.
(2) A California Partnership Academy established pursuant to
Article 5 (commencing with Section 54690) of Chapter 9 of Part 29 of
Division 4 of Title 2.
(3) The Immediate Intervention-Underperforming Schools Program
established pursuant to Section 52053.
(4) Career technical education pathways grants pursuant to Section
88532.
(5) School improvement grants, to the extent that a school within
a promise neighborhood is presently low achieving and is eligible for
Title 1 funding pursuant to Chapter 70 (commencing with Section
6301) of Title 20 of the United States Code.
11757. (a) The department
shall work with the Employment Development Department, the California
Workforce Investment Board, and the Employment Training Panel to
ensure that, to the extent feasible, children and families
eligible applicants residing within California
promise neighborhoods receive maximum bonus
points, additional recognition, or weighted consideration for
receiving funding for competitive grants.
(b) Cities and counties in which California promise neighborhoods
are located shall, to the extent feasible, receive priority in the
following programs and grants:
(1) Programs of the Employment Training Panel established pursuant
to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 10200) of Part 1 of Division
3 of the Unemployment Insurance Code.
(2) Workforce development solicitations for proposals.
11758. (a) The department shall work with the Department of Parks
and Recreation to ensure that children and families
eligible applicants residing within
California promise neighborhoods receive, to the extent feasible,
maximum bonus points, additional recognition,
or weighted consideration for receiving funding for
competitive grants.
(b) Cities and counties in which California promise neighborhoods
are located shall, with the support of the promise neighborhoods,
demonstrate that multiple sources of block grant assistance are being
coordinated and invested in support of the planning, implementation,
and long-term results of their promise neighborhood program.
(b)
(c) Cities and counties in which California promise
neighborhoods are located shall receive, to the extent feasible,
maximum bonus points, additional recognition,
or weighted consideration for funding for the creation of new
parks and recreation activities in underserved communities.
11759. (a) For purposes of receiving a California promise
neighborhood designation, an eligible applicant shall submit an
application to the department at a time, in the manner, and
containing the information, the department may require.
(b) An eligible applicant shall submit a description of the
geographically defined area or neighborhood to be served and the
level of distress in that area based on indicators of need and other
relevant indicators.
(c) In order for an area to apply, the geographic area of the
proposed California promise neighborhood shall meet all of the
following minimum criteria:
(1) Contain a designated high school or schools and feeder
schools. schools that use a transformation
model that includes, but is not necessarily limited to, full-service
community schools, charter schools, turnaround schools as defined by
the federal government, and career pathways.
(2) Have high poverty rates.
(2) Contain a high school with a graduation rate below 70 percent.
(3) Have high unemployment.
(3) Have unemployment rates higher than the state as a whole.
(4) Have low high school graduation rates.
(4) Have more than 25 percent of households with annual incomes
below twenty-two thousand dollars ($22,000).
(d) An eligible applicant, at a minimum, shall include the
following partners as part of its application:
(1) Other community organizations.
(2) Child development organizations.
(3) Schools or school districts.
(4) Postsecondary educational institutions.
(5) City and county governments.
(6) Representatives of local business and industry.
(e) An eligible applicant shall submit a preliminary memorandum of
understanding, signed by representatives of each partner entity or
agency. agency that includes, but is not
necessarily limited to, all of the following:
(1) Each partner's commitment and contribution toward achieving
each common outcome at population level.
(2) Each partner's financial and programmatic commitment with
respect to the strategies described in the application, including an
identification of the fiscal agent.
(3) The governance structure proposed for the promise
neighborhood, including a system for how the eligible applicant will
hold partners accountable, the representation of geographical areas
on the eligible applicant's governing and advisory boards, and
resident engagement from the neighborhood in the organization's
decisionmaking process.
(4) Each partner's long-term commitment to providing pipeline
services that, at a minimum, account for the cost of supporting the
pipeline, including the period after grant funds are no longer
available, and potential changes in local government.
(5) Each partner's mission and plan that will govern the work that
partners do together.
(6) Each partner's long-term commitment to supporting the pipeline
through data collection, monitoring, reporting, and sharing.
(7) Each partner's commitment to ensure sound fiscal management
and controls, including evidence of a system of supports and
personnel.
(f) Eligible applicants shall submit a description of a plan to
significantly improve the academic, health, and social outcomes of
children living in an identified neighborhood and to support the
healthy development and well-being of children and youth in the
neighborhood by providing a continuum of solutions to address the
neighborhood's needs. The continuum of solutions proposed by the
eligible applicant shall be based on the best information available
to the applicant.
(g) An eligible applicant shall submit an analysis of community
assets within, or accessible to, the neighborhood, including, at a
minimum, a description of all of the following:
(1) Early learning programs and network, including home visiting,
high-quality child care, Early Head Start programs, Head Start
programs, and prekindergarten programs.
(2) Community centers, after school programs, and other
opportunities for out-of-school activities.
(3) Transportation resources.
(4) Parks and recreational facilities.
(5) Available healthy food options and opportunities for physical
activity.
(6) Existing family and student support organizations.
(7) Businesses and employers located in the community.
(8) Postsecondary educational institutions located in or near the
community.
(h) A description of the process by which to develop, launch, and
implement a longitudinal data system that integrates student-level
data from multiple sources to measure progress on educational and
family and community support indicators for all children in the
neighborhood.
(i) Any funding received as a result of the promise neighborhood
designation shall only be used for the development of the promise
neighborhood common outcomes.
(j) (1) As used in this chapter, "full-service community school"
means a school that aligns the efforts and resources of school
leaders, public agencies, and community partners to create safe,
healthy, and supportive schools that provide equitable opportunities
for all children and youth to develop the skills needed for healthy
and successful transitions to college, careers, and life-long
learning. The principles of equity and academic excellence drive the
full-service community school to meet the needs of all pupils,
including, and most especially, those pupils identified as vulnerable
to social disconnection and dropping out of school.
(2) (A) The core elements of a full-service community school
include, but are not necessarily limited to, all of the following:
(i) A high-quality education plan that attends to the full range
of 21st century skills, including core subjects and themes such as
both of the following:
(I) Civics, health, and environmental literacy.
(II) Information, media, technology, career, and life skills
appropriate to each grade from prekindergarten to grade 12.
(ii) The alignment of school and community resources with the
needs of pupils and families.
(iii) A collaborative governance structure for the effective
braiding of school and community resources and family and community
engagement.
(iv) Expanded learning opportunities for all pupils, including
before and after school enrichment programs, workplace learning
opportunities, and postsecondary partnerships.
(v) Access to onsite, coordinated support services for pupils and
families, including physical and mental health services, social
services, and youth, family, and community engagement and
development.
(B) The services set forth in this paragraph are designed to
holistically address the mental, emotional, and physical health of
pupils and to support the acceleration of academic achievement.
11760. Each eligible entity that receives a California promise
neighborhood designation under this chapter shall prepare and submit
an annual report to the department, which shall include both of the
following:
(a) Information about the number and percentage of children,
family members, and community members in the neighborhood who are
served by the program, including a description of the number and
percentage of children accessing each of the pipeline services and
the number of family and community members served by which programs.
(b) Disaggregated data regarding population and program levels
related to the program's success in annual growth, expressed with
respect to program and project indicators and performance metrics
developed by the department.
11760. Every three years, promise neighborhood designees shall
undergo a performance review conducted by the department and the
community served by the promise neighborhood. The review shall
examine performance in all of the following outcomes, as defined by
the department:
(a) Children enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school.
(b) Pupils are proficient in core academic subjects.
(c) Pupils successfully transition from middle school grades to
high school.
(d) Pupils graduate from high school.
(e) High school graduates obtain a postsecondary degree,
certification, or credential.
(f) Pupils are healthy.
(g) Pupils feel safe at school and in their community.
(h) Pupils live in stable communities.
(i) Families and community members support learning in promise
neighborhood schools.
(j) Pupils have access to 21st century learning tools.