Amended in Assembly April 5, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2815

Introduced by Assembly Member O'Donnell

February 19, 2016

begin delete An act to amend Section 44382 of the Education Code, relating to teacher credentialing. end delete begin insert An act to amend Section 48240 of the Education Code, relating to pupil attendance. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2815, as amended, O'Donnell. begin delete Teacher credentialing: alternative certification programs: special education. end delete begin insert Pupil attendance: supervisors of attendance. end insert

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Existing law requires the board of education of any school district and of any county to appoint a supervisor of attendance and any assistant supervisors of attendance as may be necessary to supervise the attendance of pupils in the district or county, and requires the board to prescribe the duties of the supervisor of attendance and assistant supervisors of attendance in accordance with specified provisions.

end insert begin insert

This bill would express the Legislature’s intent that a supervisor of attendance perform specified functions, and would authorize the supervisor of attendance to provide support services and interventions, as provided.

end insert begin delete

Existing law establishes an alternative certification program to address the shortage of qualified teachers in specified subject matters, of teachers who work with limited-English-proficient pupils, of minority teachers, and of special education teachers. Existing law requires alternative certification programs to address geographic and subject matter shortage areas and be targeted toward people with work experience and others who already have a bachelor’s degree in the field in which they plan to teach.

end delete begin delete

This bill would additionally require alternative certification programs to address the shortage area of special education.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 48240 of the end insert begin insert Education Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

48240.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert The begin insert governing end insert board begin delete of education end delete of any school
district and of any county begin insert office of education end insert shall appoint a
supervisor of attendance and begin delete such end delete begin insert any end insert assistant supervisors of
attendance as may be necessary to supervise the attendance of
pupils in the begin insert school end insert district or county. The begin insert governing end insert board begin insert of the
school district or of the county office of education end insert shall prescribe
the duties of the supervisor begin insert of attendance end insert and assistant supervisors
of begin delete attendance, not inconsistent with law, end delete begin insert attendance end insert to include,
among other duties that may be begin delete required by the board, end delete begin insert required, end insert
those specific duties related to compulsory full-time education,
truancy, work permits, compulsory continuation education, and
opportunity schools, classes, and programs, now required of begin delete such end delete
begin insert the end insert attendance supervisors by this chapter and Article 4
(commencing with Section 48450) of Chapter 3 and Article 2
(commencing with Section 48630) of Chapter 4 of this part.

begin insert

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that in performing his or
her duties, the supervisor of attendance shall promote a culture
of attendance and establish a system to accurately track pupil
attendance in order to achieve all of the following:

end insert begin insert

(1) Raise the awareness of school personnel, parents, guardians,
caregivers, community partners, and local businesses of the effects
of chronic absence and truancy and other challenges associated
with poor attendance.

end insert begin insert

(2) Identify and respond to grade level or pupil subgroup
patterns of chronic absenteeism or truancy.

end insert begin insert

(3) Identify and address factors contributing to chronic
absenteeism and habitual truancy, including suspension and
expulsion.

end insert begin insert

(4) Ensure that pupils with attendance problems are identified
as early as possible to provide applicable support services and
interventions.

end insert begin insert

(5) Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies implemented to
reduce chronic absenteeism rates and truancy rates.

end insert begin insert

(c) The supervisor of attendance may provide support services
and interventions, which may include, but are not limited to, any
or all of the following:

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(1) A conference between school personnel, the pupil’s parent
or guardian, and the pupil.

end insert begin insert

(2) Promoting cocurricular and extracurricular activities that
increase pupil connectedness to school, such as tutoring,
mentoring, the arts, service learning, or athletics.

end insert begin insert

(3) Recognizing pupils who achieve excellent attendance or
demonstrate significant improvement in attendance.

end insert begin insert

(4) Referral to a school nurse, school counselor, school
psychologist, school social worker, and other pupil support
personnel for case management and counseling.

end insert begin insert

(5) Collaboration with child welfare services, law enforcement,
courts, public health care agencies, or government agencies, or
medical, mental health, and oral health care providers to receive
necessary services.

end insert begin insert

(6) Collaborating with school study teams, guidance teams,
school attendance review teams, or other intervention-related
teams to assess the attendance or behavior problem in partnership
with the pupil and his or her parents, guardians, or caregivers.

end insert begin insert

(7) In schools with significantly higher rates of chronic
absenteeism, identify barriers to attendance that may require
schoolwide strategies rather than case management.

end insert begin insert

(8) Referral for a comprehensive psychosocial or
psychoeducational assessment, including for purposes of creating
an individualized education program for an individual with
exceptional needs as that term is defined in Section 56026, or plan
adopted for a qualified handicapped person as that term is defined
in regulations promulgated by the United States Department of
Education pursuant to Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794).

end insert begin insert

(9) Referral to a school attendance review board established
by the county or by a school district pursuant to Section 48321 or
to the probation department pursuant to Section 48263.

end insert begin insert

(10) Referral to a truancy mediation program operated by the
county’s district attorney or probation officer pursuant to Section
48260.6.

end insert

begin delete

SECTION 1.  

Section 44382 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

44382.  

Alternative certification programs shall address
geographic, subject matter, and special education shortage areas,
and shall be targeted toward people with work experience and
others who already have a bachelor’s degree in the field in which
they plan to teach.

end delete