BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 527 (Liu) - Education finance: Safe Neighborhoods and Schools
Fund Grant Program.
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|Version: April 20, 2015 |Policy Vote: ED. 7 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: May 18, 2015 |Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: This bill establishes various requirements for the
grant program authorized by the Safe Neighborhoods and School
Act (approved by voters as Proposition 47 in November 2014) for
truancy and dropout prevention. This program is to be
administered by the California Department of Education (CDE).
Fiscal
Impact:
Grant program funding: Unknown amount of special funds
available for the program outlined in this bill as a result of
savings derived from Proposition 47.
Administrative costs: The CDE indicates that this bill would
require increased funding in the hundreds of thousands of
dollars as well as 4.5 positions to develop an application
process annually and determine awardees with stakeholders.
This estimate may exceed the 5 percent threshold of funds to
be spent on administrative costs as required by the
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proposition depending on the amount of funds realized. Costs
to the CDE will vary depending on how many LEAs apply.
Background: The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act was approved by voters
as Proposition 47 in November 2014 and makes significant changes
to the state's criminal justice system. It reduces the
penalties for certain non-violent, non-serious drug and property
crimes, and requires that the resulting state savings be spent
on: 1) mental health and substance use services; 2) truancy and
dropout prevention; and 3) victim services. Further,
Proposition 47 requires that 25 percent of the Safe
Neighborhoods School Fund be allocated to the CDE to administer
a grant program to reduce truancy, high school dropout, and
student victimization rates.
The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) estimates that the amount
available for this grant program will likely total between $25
million and $50 million annually beginning in 2016-17. The LAO
recommended in its report that the Legislature allocate the
grants for reducing truancy, high school dropout, and student
victimization rates to school districts that have notably high
concentrations of English learners, low-income, or foster youth,
as these students are at higher risk for these outcomes.
According to the author's office, this bill is intended to
provide specificity in statute regarding the awarding of the
Safe Neighborhoods and Schools grant funds. Specifically, it
would target the funding of grants towards local educational
agencies (LEAs) who have developed three-year plans in their
local control and accountability plans (LCAPs) to develop
research-based, school wide approaches to addressing social,
emotional, and behavioral issues.
Proposed Law:
This bill establishes various requirements for the grant
program authorized by the Safe Neighborhoods and School Act
(approved by voters as Proposition 47 in November 2014) for
truancy and dropout prevention. This program is to be
administered by the CDE.
All local educational agencies (LEAs) are eligible to apply for
the grant program. This bill requires that the grant program
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rewards LEAs that have developed a comprehensive plan and
implementation strategy using research-based approaches to
increase attendance rates, reduce chronic absenteeism, remedy
school push-out and dropout rates, and reduce school removals of
all types and referrals to law enforcement agencies. The plan
must create a strong and supportive school culture that
identifies and addresses the needs of students and that
coordinates student support programs with community-based
providers or public agencies, or both.
This bill requires a LEA receiving a grant to show at a minimum
that it has designed and committed to implementing all of the
following:
1. A three-year plan, developed through its LCAP or
otherwise, to improve specific outcomes for students and
to identify and address disparities in any of the areas
with respect to student subgroups.
2. A robust data system to collect and disaggregate
data in the plan, including a survey that measures
students' sense of safety and student connectedness, to
monitor progress in these areas.
3. A system for sharing the data on the aggregate level
and progress towards meeting grant goals with the school
community on at least an annual basis and engaging with
all key stakeholders.
4. An evaluation system that involves key stakeholders
to assess effectiveness related to addressing the social,
emotional, and behavioral needs of students and
developing strong, supportive, and positive school
climates.
This bill requires the department to annually issue a request
for proposal to all LEAs for each fiscal year that there are
funds available from the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund.
LEAs serving high percentages of disadvantaged students,
consistent with the local control funding formula, are to be
prioritized to receive these funds.
This bill requires that the funds granted to LEAs only be used
to further implementation of the three-year plan and other
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commitments, as specified, through three categories of
activities:
1. Professional development, training, and coaching for
teachers, school administrators, students, parents,
counselors, administrative staff, and members of school
district governing boards.
2. Investments in social services, health, mental health,
restorative justice, and youth development staff, agencies,
and providers.
3. Entering into agreements with institutions and
community-based nonprofit organizations that have a track
record of improving student outcomes and providing cultural
competency and anti-bias training, supporting parent
leadership and engagement, and providing non-punitive
student and family support programs.
This bill prohibits the funds to be used 1) to supplant existing
funding allocated to meet the requirements of the school
climate, engagement, or other state priority areas included in
LCAPs, or 2) for law enforcement agencies or entities, public or
private.
This bill requires a LEA that has received grant funding to
submit annual outcomes-based data for evaluation to show
progress in reducing the rate of class and school removals,
referrals to law enforcement agencies, and dropout and truancy
rates of targeted students. The CDE will consider the data when
it makes determinations for eligibility for future funding.
Finally, the bill requires the CDE to consult with a stakeholder
group, with specified members, by telephone, web-based platform,
or other effective means to assist in making determinations
regarding awarding grants, in assessing whether grant recipients
are meeting the minimum requirements and, starting in year two
of the grant cycle, in assisting with developing or amending the
requests for proposals.
Staff
Comments: The amount of savings attributed to the passage of
Proposition 47 is unknown. Therefore, it is unknown if there
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will be sufficient funds to support the cost of this bill.
Proposition 47 states that the agency responsible for
administering the programs shall not spend more than 5 percent
of the total funds it receives from the Safe Neighborhoods and
Schools Fund on an annual basis for administrative costs.
Without knowing total funds to be received annually, it is
unknown whether the administrative costs imposed by this bill
would be within the threshold.
This bill requires the CDE to issue a request for proposals to
all LEAs annually, to the extent funds are available from the
Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund. In addition, this bill
requires the CDE to consult with a stakeholder group of a
specific makeup to assist in making determinations regarding
awarding grants, assessing whether grant recipients are meeting
the minimum requirements, and starting in year two, assisting
with developing or amending the requests for proposals. This
additional workload is estimated to result in General Fund costs
to the CDE in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
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