BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                             Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
                            2015 - 2016  Regular  Session

          SB 463 (Hancock) - School climate: Safe and Supportive Schools  
          Train the Trainer Program.
          
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          |Version: April 23, 2015         |Policy Vote: ED. 7 - 1          |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: No                     |
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          |Hearing Date: May 11, 2015      |Consultant: Jillian Kissee      |
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          This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.


          Bill  
          Summary:  This bill requires the California Department of  
          Education (CDE), to the extent that funding is available in the  
          Budget Act of 2015, to designate a county office of education to  
          be the fiduciary agent for the Safe and Supportive Schools Train  
          the Trainer Program.


          Fiscal  
          Impact:  
           This bill is contingent upon one-time funding made available  
            in the Budget Act of 2015.  To fund this program, costs would  
            likely be in the low millions Proposition 98 General Fund to  
            implement this program, as prescribed, over four years.
           Additional General Fund costs to the California Department of  
            Education are likely to be significant to develop and monitor  
            the contract with the designated county office of education.
           The Legislative Analyst's Office indicates that it will incur  
            costs of at least $100,000 General Fund to conduct the study  







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            as required by this bill. (see staff comments)


          Background:  
           Positive behavior interventions and supports 
           Current law encourages schools, as comprehensive school safety  
          plans are reviewed and updated, to include in school safety  
          plans clear guidelines for the roles and responsibilities of  
          mental health professionals, community intervention  
          professionals, school counselors, school resource officers, and  
          police officers on school campus, if the school district uses  
          these people.  The guidelines may include primary strategies to  
          create and maintain a positive school climate, promote school  
          safety, and increase pupil achievement, and prioritize mental  
          health and intervention services, restorative and transformative  
          justice programs, and positive behavior interventions and  
          support. (Education Code § 32282.1) 

          Current law also provides that corrective action other than  
          out-of-school suspension includes study teams, guidance teams,  
          resource panel teams, or other intervention-related teams that  
          assess the behavior, and develop and implement individualized  
          plans to address the behavior in partnership with the pupil and  
          his or her parents. (EC § 48900.5) 



          In addition, existing law requires that the individualized  
          education team for each student with exceptional needs consider  
          the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports for  
          students whose behavior impedes his or her learning.  (EC §  
          56341.1) 

           Multi-tiered interventions 
           Many schools voluntarily follow models of tiered interventions  
          to address student needs prior to imposing discipline or making  
          referrals to special education.  Models include Schoolwide  
          Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, Response to  
          Intervention and Positive Environments Network of Trainers.   
          Typically, the base tier is a schoolwide approach involving  
          instruction and school climate.  The middle tier is targeted to  
          students who did not respond to the schoolwide efforts and  
          involved more intense interventions such as tutoring.  The top  
          tier focuses on a smaller group of students who continue to need  








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          support and may include very intense and frequent services such  
          as counseling. 

          Proposed Law: 
          This bill requires, to the extent that one-time funding is  
          provided in the Budget Act of 2015, the CDE to apportion funds  
          to a designated county office of education to be the fiduciary  
          agent for the Safe and Supportive Train the Trainer Program.   
          CDE is required to choose the designated county office of  
          education from those that apply.

          This bill provides legislative intent that the development or  
          identification of the statewide training resource will lead to  
          the establishment of statewide professional development support  
          structures and a network of trainers allowing for the  
          development and expansion of certain research-based strategies,  
          such as Schoolwide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports  
          programs.

          It requires the county office of education to select an advisory  
          committee with relevant experience to assist in the planning and  
          implementation of this program and to consult with numerous  
          specific organizations to implement these strategies throughout  
          the state and nationally.  

          This bill requires funding to be allocated to support a number  
          of specific activities as part of a state-level plan, such as:
                 Explaining the importance of linking research-based  
               strategies with local control and accountability plans and  
               related state priority areas of student engagement and  
               school climate;

                 Providing regional conferences on implementation,  
               including free training for school and school district  
               teams and stipends for release time for school personnel  
               attending these conferences;

                 Developing best practices and ensuring that they are  
               widely disseminated;

                 Establishing a cohort of free or low-cost trainers and a  
               network of educators who can work directly with local  
               school districts; 









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                 Developing statewide methods for collecting and  
               disseminating best practices in implementing research-based  
               strategies; and 

                 Developing specific professional development and  
               communities for teachers using these practices in their  
               classes.

          This bill also requires the Legislative Analyst's Office to  
          review the impacts of this professional development effort and  
          report to the Governor and Legislature on the breadth and best  
          practices of the training and any student outcomes impacted by  
          this effort.

          Finally, this bill requires that any funding allocated for this  
          program is to be expended by January 1, 2019.


          Related  
          Legislation:1.    
          AB 1133 (Achadjian, 2015) requires the State Public Health  
          Officer to establish a four-year pilot program to, among other  
          things, provide free regional training and technical assistance  
          in support services that include intervention and prevention  
          services.  AB 1133 is pending in the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee. 

          AB 1025 (Thurmond, 2015) requires the CDE to establish a  
          three-year pilot program to encourage inclusive practices that  
          integrate mental health, special education, and school climate  
          interventions following a multi-tiered framework.  AB 1025 is  
          pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. 

          SB 1396 (Hancock, 2014) required the CDE, to the extent one-time  
          funding is available in the 2014-15 Budget Act, to designate  
          funds to a county office of education to establish professional  
          development activities to support the development and expansion  
          of multi-tiered intervention and support programs, including but  
          not limited to, schoolwide positive behavior intervention and  
          support. SB 1396 was held on the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee's suspense file. 

          SB 596 (Yee, 2014) required the California Department of  
          Education (CDE) to establish a three-year pilot program to  








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          encourage inclusive practices that integrate mental health,  
          special education, and school climate interventions following a  
          multi-tiered framework. SB 596 was held in the Assembly. 


          Staff  
          Comments: The Legislative Analyst's Office has indicated that it  
          believes it is not well suited to conduct the evaluation as  
          prescribed in this bill as it would require significant local  
          data collection.  It is unclear whether the LAO would be able to  
          conduct this study and the staff effort it might take.   
          Therefore, the LAO would need at a minimum, $100,000 General  
          Fund to address this workload.


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