BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 231 (Correa) - California Bullying Prevention Hotline
Amended: March 20, 2013 Policy Vote: Education 9-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 13, 2013 Consultant: Jacqueline
Wong-Hernandez
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 231 requires the California Department of
Education (CDE) to contract for the establishment of a
California Bullying Prevention Hotline for the purpose of
providing information about bullying, abuse, and safety, as well
as providing referrals to other agencies.
Fiscal Impact:
Hotline contract: Annual costs in the hundreds of thousands
of dollars for the CDE to contract with an entity that meets
this bill's requirements to operate a basic 24-hour hotline.
Additionally, the CDE estimates one-time staff costs of
approximately $170,000 to establish the hotline.
Hotline coordination/administration: Minor costs of
approximately $25,000 annually for the CDE to administer the
hotline program.
Contingency: Making the hotline's operation in any fiscal
year contingent upon certification by the Superintendent of
Public Instruction (SPI) that sufficient funding is
available in that fiscal year creates ongoing cost pressure
on departmental funds, and instability for the program.
Background: Existing law defines bullying as any severe or
pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including
communications made in writing or by means of an electronic act,
and including one or more acts committed by a student or group
of students directed toward one or more students that has or can
be reasonably predicted to have the effect of one or more of the
following:
1) Placing a reasonable student or students in fear of harm to
that student or those students' person or property.
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2) Causing a reasonable student to experience a substantially
detrimental effect on his or her physical or mental health.
3) 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. (Education Code � 48900)
The Student Mental Health Initiative (SMHI) of the Department of
Health Care Services is a grant program for K-12 schools and
institutions of higher education to develop a comprehensive
system of mental health services and supports.
Proposed Law: SB 231 requires the CDE to contract for the
establishment of a California Bullying Prevention Hotline, and
requires the CDE to administer the hotline. This bill also:
1) Requires the CDE, in consultation with the SMHI of the
Department of Health Care Services and other entities as
deemed appropriate by the CDE, to contract with an entity
that has experience in: a) Hotline telephone services, as
specified; b) behavioral health services; c) crisis
prevention and intervention; d) suicide prevention and
intervention; e) providing services in a linguistically and
culturally competent manner.
2) Requires specific overarching goals and objectives of the
hotline.
3) Requires the specific responsibilities, activities, and
services that are to be provided through the hotline to be
determined by the CDE, in collaboration with the SMHI and
other entities as deemed appropriate by the CDE.
4) Requires the CDE to recommend to school districts
appropriate guidelines, best practices, and information
that districts may give to students and families about the
existence, goals, and objectives of the hotline.
5) Requires the CDE to recommend to school districts that
appropriate information about the hotline be included on
the district's website and in any new revisions to the
safety plans of the schools within the district, as
specified.
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6) Makes the hotline's operation in any fiscal year contingent
upon certification by the SPI that sufficient funding is
available in that fiscal year.
Related Legislation: AB 1156 (Eng) Ch. 732/2011 revised the
definition of bullying, and encouraged the inclusion of policies
and procedures aimed at the prevention of bullying in
comprehensive school safety plans. The bill further required the
Department of Justice and the CDE to contract to provide
training in the prevention of bullying, as specified.
Staff Comments: This bill requires the CDE, in consultation with
the SMHI of the Department of Health Care Services and other
entities as deemed appropriate by the CDE, to contract with an
entity that has experience in providing certain services,
including hotline telephone services. This bill requires the
specific responsibilities, activities, and services that are to
be provided through the hotline to be determined by the CDE, in
collaboration with the SMHI and other entities as deemed
appropriate by the CDE.
The CDE anticipates one-time staffing costs of $170,684 for: a)
$105,284 for 1 Education Programs Consultant to consult with the
SMHI, create a program, write a Request for Proposal for the
hotline contract, conduct a proposal review process to award the
contract to a service provider, develop the contract, and to
communicate with local educational agencies (LEAs) to promote
use of hotline; b) $40,542 for .5 Associate Governmental
Programs Analyst to provide additional professional support to
the consultant in those activities, and to conduct outreach to
LEAs; and, c) $24,859 for .5 Office Technician to provide
day-to-day administrative support for a limited term.
CDE is charged with continued administration of the hotline, as
well as communicating recommendations to all school districts
regarding the services provided by the hotline, and best
practices for communicating information about it to families and
students. The CDE estimates that it would require $26,321 in
ongoing part-time support (for .25 Education Programs Consultant
time) to manage and monitor the contract, analyze data and
reports from the contractor, and provide technical assistance
and outreach to LEAs.
This bill specifies that the operation (not simply the initial
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establishment) of the hotline "in any fiscal year is contingent
upon the certification by the Superintendent that sufficient
funding is available for the implementation of this article in
that fiscal year." In other words, this language specifies that
the hotline cannot operate in a year in which the SPI has not
determined there is enough money in that fiscal year for the
program. This may present practical problems for the CDE to
enter into a contract for the hotline, as well as for providing
a stable resource to help students and their families navigate
bullying situations. At a minimum, it creates cost pressure for
the state to allocate annual Budget Act funds to the CDE
specifically for the California Bullying Prevention Hotline.