BILL NUMBER: AB 2815 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member O'Donnell
FEBRUARY 19, 2016
An act to amend Section 44382 of the Education Code,
relating to teacher credentialing. An act to amend
Section 48240 of the Education Code, relating to pupil attendance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2815, as amended, O'Donnell. Teacher credentialing:
alternative certification programs: special education.
Pupil attendance: supervisors of attendance.
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.
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.
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.
This bill would additionally require alternative certification
programs to address the shortage area of special education.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 48240 of the
Education Code is amended to read:
48240. (a) The governing board
of education of any school district and of any
county office of education shall appoint a supervisor of
attendance and such any assistant
supervisors of attendance as may be necessary to supervise the
attendance of pupils in the school district or county. The
governing board of the school district or of the
county office of education shall prescribe the duties of the
supervisor of attendance and assistant supervisors of
attendance, not inconsistent with law,
attendance to include, among other duties that may be
required by the board, required, those specific
duties related to compulsory full-time education, truancy, work
permits, compulsory continuation education, and opportunity schools,
classes, and programs, now required of such
the 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.
(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:
(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.
(2) Identify and respond to grade level or pupil subgroup patterns
of chronic absenteeism or truancy.
(3) Identify and address factors contributing to chronic
absenteeism and habitual truancy, including suspension and expulsion.
(4) Ensure that pupils with attendance problems are identified as
early as possible to provide applicable support services and
interventions.
(5) Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies implemented to reduce
chronic absenteeism rates and truancy rates.
(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:
(1) A conference between school personnel, the pupil's parent or
guardian, and the pupil.
(2) Promoting cocurricular and extracurricular activities that
increase pupil connectedness to school, such as tutoring, mentoring,
the arts, service learning, or athletics.
(3) Recognizing pupils who achieve excellent attendance or
demonstrate significant improvement in attendance.
(4) Referral to a school nurse, school counselor, school
psychologist, school social worker, and other pupil support personnel
for case management and counseling.
(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.
(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.
(7) In schools with significantly higher rates of chronic
absenteeism, identify barriers to attendance that may require
schoolwide strategies rather than case management.
(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).
(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.
(10) Referral to a truancy mediation program operated by the
county's district attorney or probation officer pursuant to Section
48260.6.
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.