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. ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: April 23, 2015 |Policy Vote: ED. 7 - 1 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: No | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: May 11, 2015 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 SB 463 (Hancock) Page 1 of ? 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 SB 463 (Hancock) Page 2 of ? 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; SB 463 (Hancock) Page 3 of ? 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 SB 463 (Hancock) Page 4 of ? 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. -- END --