BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1235
Page A
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1235 (Steinberg, et al.)
As Amended August 22, 2012
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE : 23-12
EDUCATION 8-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Brownley, Norby, Ammiano, |Ayes:|Gatto, Blumenfield, |
| |Buchanan, Butler, Carter, | |Bradford, |
| |Eng, Williams | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Fuentes, Hall, |
| | | |Hill, Cedillo, Mitchell, |
| | | |Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Grove, Wagner |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Encourages schools to implement evidence-based and
other schoolwide strategies for the purpose of reducing the
suspension rate if the number of pupils suspended out of the
school's enrollment or any numerically significant pupil
subgroup is above a specified threshold; and, requires the
Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) and California
Department of Education (CDE) to provide training and technical
assistance on the implementation of evidence-based schoolwide
strategies to address school climate. Specifically, this bill :
1)Encourages, beginning with the 2014-15 school year, a school
district with a school where the number of pupils receiving
off-campus suspensions during the prior school year exceeded
25% of the school's total enrollment or exceeded 25% of any
numerically significant pupil subgroup of the school's
enrollment to implement, for a minimum of three years, at
least one of the following strategies to reduce the suspension
rate or disproportionality:
a) An evidence based system of schoolwide positive
behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) that employs
school-level information about the behavioral and academic
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history of pupils to define and implement systems of
support and interventions at the school, classroom and
individual levels and is aimed at improving the social,
emotion and academic success for all pupils; or,
b) Other schoolwide strategies that are evidence based and
designed to address school climate in order to create
learning environments where teachers can teach and pupils
can learn and to reduce suspensions from classrooms and the
school.
2)Requires the SPI to invite a school's leadership team to
attend an annual regional forum if the percentage of pupils
suspended off campus out of the school's total enrollment or
any numerically significant pupil subgroup exceeds the 25%
threshold set in paragraph 1) during the 2014-15 school year
or the following thresholds for subsequent years:
a) 23% in 2015-2016;
b) 21% in 2016-2017;
c) 19% in 2017-2018;
d) 15% in 2018-2019; and each school year thereafter.
3)Requires the SPI to provide technical assistance and training
at no more than three annual regional forums each year for the
2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-2018, and 2018-2019 school
years for schools that exceed the thresholds described in
paragraphs 1) or 2).
4)Specifies that the purpose of the annual regional forums shall
include, but not be limited to:
a) Providing training regarding implementation of
schoolwide evidence-based strategies;
b) Using data to create positive school climates and to
assist with data-based decision making;
c) Sharing resources and evidence-based practices, engaging
community, and building capacity for alternatives to
off-campus suspensions;
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d) Identifying gaps and weaknesses in services;
e) Identifying and sharing solutions and best practices at
the local level and exposing schools to other school
leaders, experts, and educators in California and
nationally who are successfully implementing evidence-based
strategies; and,
f) Evaluating the efficacy of strategies adopted.
5)Requires the SPI, on an annual basis, to do all of the
following:
a) Notify each local educational agency that has a school
or schools that exceed the thresholds in paragraphs 1) or
2) and provide technical assistance as requested to those
schools.
b) Invite schools whose off-campus suspension rates exceed
the applicable threshold in paragraphs 1) or 2) to send a
school leadership team that includes the school principal
and other administrators responsible for implementing
alternatives to excessive suspensions to the applicable
regional forum, with the goal of serving no fewer than 100
schools per year.
c) Prioritize invitations to schools with the highest rates
of off-campus suspensions.
d) Provide the State Board of Education (SBE) with the
names of the schools that exceed the thresholds in
paragraphs 1) or 2), the names of the schools invited to
attend a regional forum, and the annual rate of reduction
or increase in each school's off-campus suspensions.
6)Requires CDE to provide technical assistance regarding the
implementation of schoolwide evidence-based strategies for
schools whose off-campus suspension rates exceed the
applicable threshold in paragraphs 1) or 2).
7)Authorizes the SPI to use any appropriate state, federal, or
private funding sources to support these activities;
authorizes the CDE to provide information regarding additional
schoolwide strategies that meet the criteria for
evidence-based strategies; and, requires the SPI to seek
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private funding to supplement any state or federal funds made
available for this purpose.
8)Specifies that the requirements of paragraphs 5), 6) and 7)
are contingent upon the availability of funds.
9)Expresses the intent of the Legislature to encourage all
schools to examine alternatives to off-campus suspensions that
lead to resolution of pupil misconduct without sending pupils
off campus and to address disproportionate rates of off-campus
and in-school suspensions; and, specifies that schools using
strategies described in paragraph 1) are not precluded from
suspending pupils to an off-campus site.
10)Authorizes a school district to use appropriate state,
federal, or private funding sources to support the
evidence-based schoolwide strategies required of schools whose
suspension rates are above the applicable threshold rates
specified in paragraphs 1) or 2).
11)Defines a "numerically significant pupil subgroup" as any
racial and ethnic subgroups, gender-based subgroups,
socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils, English learners or
pupils with disabilities that meet one of the following
criteria:
a) The subgroup consists of at least 100 pupils enrolled at
the school; or,
b) The subgroup constitutes at least 50 pupils and
constitutes at least 15% of the total population of pupils
enrolled at the school.
12)Deletes provisions in existing law encouraging schools with
suspension rates of higher than 30% of the school's enrollment
to implement a supervised suspension program or a progressive
discipline approach that could include:
a) Conferences between school staff, parents and pupils;
b) Referrals to the school counselor, psychologist, child
welfare attendance personnel, or other school support
staff;
c) Detention; and,
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d) Study teams, guidance teams, resource panel teams, or
other assessment related teams.
FISCAL EFFECT : The Assembly Appropriations Committee estimates
annual General Fund administrative costs, likely between
$150,000 and $250,000, to the CDE to provide technical
assistance and training to schools that exceed pupil suspension
rates pursuant to this bill. Actual costs will depend on the
number of schools who meet this requirement and attend the
annual forum referenced in the bill. In addition, the Assembly
Appropriations Committee estimates potential, unknown General
Fund and Proposition 98 cost pressure, likely in the millions to
school districts to implement specified intervention and support
strategies for a minimum of three years at a schoolsite where
the number of pupils receiving off-campus suspensions exceeds
25% of the school's enrollment, as specified. There were 9,985
schools in the 2010-11 school year.
COMMENTS : This bill seeks to reduce the suspension rate in
California schools by encouraging schools with high suspension
rates to develop and implement schoolwide strategies for
improving school climate. It provides schools with two options
for implementing schoolwide climate improving strategies. The
school may opt to employ either a PBIS approach or another
evidence-based approach designed to address school climate.
Whichever strategy is chosen, it is encouraged that the strategy
be implemented for a minimum of three years.
Option 1: Positive behavior intervention and support: The PBIS
approach focuses on setting specific behavioral expectations for
students that reflect desirable behavior.<1> When students
uphold these positive behavioral expectations, they are rewarded
and the positive habits are reinforced through schoolwide
systems. It is a proactive approach that involves the whole
school community and seeks to prevent misbehavior by rewarding
and recognizing desired student behavior. Numerous studies and
reports verify and highlight the effectiveness of PBIS programs
at improving school climate and leading to greater student
success.
Option 2: Other evidence-based schoolwide strategies to improve
---------------------------
<1> U.S. Department of Education, National Technical Assistance
Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. 2012.
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school climate: Instead of implementing a PBIS program, this
bill also authorizes schools to use other schoolwide strategies,
such as a Restorative Justice program, that are evidence-based
and designed to address school climate in order to create
positive learning environments.
Schoolwide strategy requirement threshold: This bill focuses
explicitly on schools that suspend off-campus a percentage of
the total school population or a percentage of a numerically
significant pupil subgroup that exceeds the set threshold rate
for that year. The threshold rate gradually declines over time.
Initially, the threshold is an off-campus suspension rate of 25%
or higher. In subsequent years, the threshold is reduced each
year until it reaches an off-campus suspension rate of 15% or
higher. Once the threshold is an off-campus suspension rate of
15% or higher, it will remain at this level over time. Pushing
all of California's schools to reduce their off-campus
suspension rates below 15% or to be implementing schoolwide
strategies to improve school climate is a positive change that
would likely benefit many students across the state.
Regional forums to provide training and technical assistance:
This bill requires the SPI to provide technical assistance and
training at three annual regional forums each year from the
2014-2015 school year through the 2018-2019 school year. These
forums will be specifically for schools with off-campus
suspension rates that exceed the specified threshold rate for
the given school year. The purpose of these forums is to provide
training on implementing schoolwide evidence-based strategies,
using data to create positive school climates, sharing resources
and evidence-based practices, identifying gaps and weaknesses in
services, identifying and sharing solutions and best practices,
and evaluating the efficacy of strategies adopted. Beginning
with the 2015-2016 school year, the SPI will invite schools with
suspension rates above the given threshold, with a priority for
the schools with the highest suspension rates, to have their
school leadership team attend the applicable regional forum. In
addition, the SPI will provide the SBE with a list of the names
of schools that exceed the suspension rate thresholds, who
attend the regional forums and the annual rate of reduction or
increase in each of these school's suspension rates. Further,
the CDE will provide technical assistance regarding the
implementation of schoolwide strategies to all schools whose
suspension rates exceed the thresholds laid out in this bill.
This bill allows the SPI to use state, federal or private
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funding sources to support these activities and requires the SPI
to seek private funding to supplement any state or federal funds
made available for this purpose. It also specifies that the
requirements for the SPI to provide technical assistance and
training at these annual regional forums and to complete all
related tasks are contingent upon the availability of funds.
Numerically significant pupil subgroups: This bill also
requires schools to comply with the requirements of this bill
when the off-campus suspension rate for any numerically
significant pupil subgroup is above the given threshold. This
bill identifies subgroups in five overarching categories that
generally align with those used to report California's Academic
Performance Index (API). These subgroups include subgroups
based on race and ethnicity, gender, socioeconomically
disadvantaged pupils, English learners, and pupils with
disabilities.
Additionally, this bill requires a subgroup from the groups
specified above to meet two criteria in order to be considered a
"numerically significant pupil subgroup." The current definition
is consistent with the structure in place with the API and
requires one of the two following conditions to be met:
1)The subgroup consists of at least 100 pupils enrolled at the
school.
2)The subgroup constitutes at least 15 percent of the total
population of pupils enrolled at the school and consists of at
least 50 pupils enrolled at the school.
Analysis Prepared by : Mark Murphy and Sophia Kwong Kim / ED.
/ (916) 319-2087
FN: 0005349