BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 580 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 580 (O'Donnell) - As Amended May 6, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Education |Vote:|6 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: Yes SUMMARY: This bill requires, within the first six weeks of every school year and as part of a regularly scheduled staff meeting or meetings, each school district, county office of education AB 580 Page 2 (COE), and charter school to provide in-service training on early identification of pupil mental health issues and referral protocols to certificated employees that provide instruction to K-12 pupils and to classified staff who have regular personal contact with pupils. Specifically, this bill: 1)Specifies training for classified staff may occur at a time other than a staff meeting, but in all cases shall occur during regular work hours. 2)Authorizes training to be provided in an online format outside of a regularly scheduled staff meeting. 3)Encourages school districts, COEs and charter schools to provide training as part of a larger initiative aimed at improving mental health outcomes for pupils and encourages the use of existing funds to meet the requirements of the bill. 4)Specifies nothing in the bill shall be construed to require school personnel to identify, assess, diagnose, or treat pupil mental health issues, nor does the bill authorize or encourage school personnel to act outside of the authority granted by their credential or license. FISCAL EFFECT: Ongoing Proposition 98/GF state reimbursable mandated costs to school districts in the range of $5 million to $15 million, for school districts, COEs and charter schools to train staff annually. There are 1,016 school districts and COEs and 1,066 charter schools that would be required to train over 550,800 teachers, administrators and classified staff. This estimate AB 580 Page 3 assumes local education agencies bring in an outside trainer or use a train-the-trainer model. Costs could be reduced to the extent an online module is developed or districts are able to access other low cost options. Actual costs will depend on how local education agencies choose to implement the requirements of the bill. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, research demonstrates that early detection and treatment of mental illness improves students' attendance, behavior, and academic achievement. In surveys, teachers cite disruptive behavior and their lack of information and training in mental health issues as major barriers to instruction. This bill proposes to provide mental health training to equip teachers and other school staff with the tools they need to support the early identification of mental health problems among their students. 2)Types of training. In 2011, California Mental Health Services Agency (CalMHSA) funded a Student Mental Health Initiative through the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA). This regional initiative was designed to build capacity and cross-system collaboration to develop and sustain school-based mental health programs addressing prevention and early identification strategies. The project used a train-the-trainer model to provide educators with tools for the early identification and prevention of mental health problems. Two thousand trainings were conducted, with over 140,000 thousand participants. The estimated total reach of this project is two million students, or one third of the state's enrollment. AB 580 Page 4 Modeling this effort on a statewide basis could be quite expensive however. According to CCSESA, the program cost an average of $2.25 per pupil each year. There are approximately 6.2 million students in California. This translates to approximately $15.5 million annually statewide. A less costly alternative may be to provide targeted regional trainings or a statewide online module. The California Department of Education indicates that costs associated with the development of an online module is approximately $200,000. The committee may wish to consider narrowing the bill to develop a statewide online module. Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081