Amended in Senate August 1, 2016

Amended in Assembly May 19, 2016

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

An act to amend Sections 48240, 48242, and 48244 of the Education Code, relating to pupil attendance.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2815, as amended, O'Donnell. 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. Existing law authorizes a school district, with the approval of the county board of education, to contract with the county superintendent of schools for the supervision of attendance of pupils in the school district.

This bill would delete the requirement that a county board of education approve a contract between a school district and the county superintendent of schools for the supervision of attendance of pupils in the school district. The 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. The bill would also make nonsubstantive changes.

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 each school district and
each county superintendent of schools shall appoint a supervisor
of attendance and 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
county superintendent of schools shall prescribe the duties of the
supervisor of attendance and assistant supervisors of attendance
to include, among other duties that may be 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 the attendance
supervisors by this chapter and Article 4 (commencing with Section
48450) of Chapter 3 and Article 2 (commencing with Section
begin delete 48630) end delete begin insert 48640) end insert 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 begin delete shall promote end delete begin insert promotes end insert a
culture of attendance and begin delete establish end delete begin insert establishes end insert 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 absenteeism 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.

SEC. 2.  

Section 48242 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

48242.  

The governing board of a school district may appoint
a school district supervisor of attendance to act under the direction
of the county supervisor of attendance.

SEC. 3.  

Section 48244 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

48244.  

A school district may contract with the county
superintendent of schools for the supervision of attendance of
pupils in the school district. The county superintendent of schools
shall transfer from the funds of the school district to the county
school service fund an amount equal to the actual cost of providing
for the supervision of attendance.