BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 580
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Date of Hearing: May 20, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
580 (O'Donnell) - As Amended May 6, 2015
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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
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(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
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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.
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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