BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Kevin de León, Chair AB 1993 (Fox) - Bullying: Training Module Amended: May 27, 2014 Policy Vote: Education 7-0 Urgency: No Mandate: No Hearing Date: June 30, 2014 Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: AB 1993 requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to develop an online training module regarding bullying. Fiscal Impact: $100,000 - $130,000 (General Fund) in one-time costs for the CDE to develop and publish a bullying training module. Background: Existing law authorizes schools to suspend or recommend for expulsion a student who engages in an act of bullying, which is defined as any severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act, directed toward one or more students that has or can be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the following: a) Placing a reasonable student or students in fear of harm to that student's or those students' person or property. b) Causing a reasonable student to experience a substantially detrimental effect on his or her physical or mental health. c) Causing a reasonable student to experience substantial interference with his or her academic performance. d) Causing a reasonable student to experience substantial interference with his or her ability to participate in or benefit from the services, activities, or privileges provided by a school. (EC § 48900(r)(1)) Existing law defines an "electronic act" as the creation and transmission, originated on or off the schoolsite, by means of AB 1993 (Fox) Page 1 an electronic device, including but not limited to a telephone, wireless telephone, or other wireless communication device, computer, or pager, of a communication, including but not limited to: a) a message, text, sounds, or image; or b) post on a social network website, as specified. (EC § 48900(r)(2)) The Safe Place to Learn Act requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to post on the Internet and provide to each school district a list of statewide resources that provide support to youth who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying. The website must also include a list of statewide resources for youth who have been affected by gangs, gun violence, and psychological trauma caused by violence at home, at school, and in the community. (EC § 234.5) Proposed Law: This bill requires the CDE to develop an online training module to assist all school staff, school administrators, parents, students and community members in increasing their knowledge of the dynamics of bullying and cyberbullying. This bill further requires the online training module to include, but not be limited to, identifying an act of bullying or cyberbullying, and implementing strategies to address bullying and cyberbullying. Related Legislation: AB 1455 (Campos) authorizes schools to refer a victim of bullying, or other students affected by bullying, for case management, counseling, and participation in a restorative justice program. AB 1455 is awaiting action on the Senate Floor. SB 840 (Lara) 2014 would have required each local educational agency to develop and implement a policy against bullying. SB 840 was held under submission in this Committee. SB 231 (Correa) 2013 would have required the CDE to establish the California Bullying Prevention Advisory Council for the purpose of providing information about bullying, abuse, safety, and referrals to other agencies. SB 231 was held under submission in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. Staff Comments: The CDE will require additional resources to develop a bullying training module and publish it online. The CDE estimates that it will require $40,000 in contract costs to AB 1993 (Fox) Page 2 hire module developers, which would include educational leaders with expertise in bullying and cyberbullying, technology/online learning experts, and classroom teachers. It will also incur $15,000 in costs to publish the module online, through the K-12 High Speed Network. The remainder of the costs would be for CDE to staff the project, and coordinate its completion. This bill is vague in its requirements for what must be included in the training module and how complex and comprehensive it must be. Thus, costs will be driven by the CDE's interpretation of what it must do, and how efficiently it completes that work. The CDE estimates that it would need a .5 Education Programs Consultant (EPC) for one year (at a cost of $58,000), and a .2 Associate Governmental Programs Analyst (AGPA) for one year (at a cost of $18,000), to manage the project. The EPC would serve as project lead, and would be responsible for identifying experts from the field to provide input for the project, determine the criteria, strategies, and format needed to be included in the module and possible developers who have the expertise in online professional learning, bullying, and cyberbullying. The limited AGPA support would be to prepare the contracts, monitor the budget, and pay invoices. To the extent that the CDE can complete this project in fewer than 1,400 staff hours, costs could be reduced.