BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1643
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Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 1643 (Buchanan) - As Amended: April 22, 2014
Policy Committee: EducationVote:6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill requires, rather than allows, the establishment of
county SARBs and specifies that the primary purpose of county
SARBs shall be to develop guidelines, policies, or programs to
administer the county and local SARBs and adopt plans to promote
interagency and community cooperation to address pupil
attendance and behavioral problems, improve coordination of
services and prevent entry into the juvenile justice system.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Specifies that a county SARB may accept referrals or requests
for hearing services from one or more school districts within
its jurisdiction and that nothing in the bill prohibits any
two or more counties from forming a SARB consortium or
partnership.
2)Adds a representative of the county district attorney's office
and the public defender's office to the county SARBs, as
specified. Specifies that the required composition of the
county SARBs shall be for the purpose of developing guidelines
and policies.
3)Specifies for the purposes of conducting hearings, the
chairperson of the county SARB is authorized to determine the
members needed at a hearing, based on the needs of the pupil,
in order to address attendance or behavioral problems.
4)Requires a county superintendent of schools to convene a
meeting of the county SARB at the beginning of each school
year is for the purpose of developing guidelines and policies
and adopting plans. Requires the county SARB to meet at least
three additional times each school year to assess the
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effectiveness of services and supports that its SARBs provide
to youth and their families. Authorizes a county SARB to meet
and conduct hearings as needed.
5)Requires county SARBs to provide oversight and ensure that
local SARBs comply with the policies and procedures
established by county SARBs.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Annual General Fund (GF)/P98 state mandated costs in the range
of $1.6 million to $3.5 million assuming all 58 county offices
of education establish a SARB and conduct a minimum of four
meetings per year. As an example, the Ventura County Office
of Education conducted nine meetings last year at a cost of
approximately $120,000.
It is estimated that 30 to 50% of districts and counties have
established SARBs on a voluntary basis. Because the bill now
requires the establishment of a SARB, LEAs can submit mandated
cost claims to the Commission on State Mandates for costs
associated with both new and existing SARBs.
2)Ongoing administrative costs to CDE of $76,000 (GF) to provide
technical assistance and training to support counties in
establishing County SARBs. This support includes assisting a
county with the development of effective bylaws, rules and
regulations.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose. This bill is one of a package of five bills sponsored
by Attorney General (AG) Kamala Harris that deal with truancy.
Truancy and chronic absenteeism are early indicators of poor
educational outcomes, including dropping out of school.
According to the author,
requiring every county to establish a SARB will ensure that a
plan is adopted in every county to keep students in school.
Research shows that a focus on the underlying causes of
truancy is crucial to eliminating barriers that prevent a
child from attending school on a regular basis. Early
intervention - addressing the problem in elementary school,
and before it becomes chronic - will help correct attendance
issues and ensure students graduate from high school. SARBs
can help connect students and their families with important
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community resources to help address challenges they face.
2)SARB background . Existing law authorizes the formation of
SARBs, either by a county office of education, a school
district, or two or more districts. Statute also provides for
a state SARB to oversee and assist county and local SARBs and
to provide statewide policy coordination regarding serious
attendance, behavior issues and dropout prevention.
3)Related legislation: The AG's package of bills comprises:
a) AB 1672 (Holden), requires School Attendance Review
Boards (SARBs) to report annually on referral rates to
county offices of education and expands these reports to
include information on student enrollment, absence and
truancy rates, district attorney referrals and SARB
intervention outcomes. This bill is pending in this
committee.
b) AB 1866 (Bochanegra) adds new data elements to the pupil
attendance data that the California Department of Education
(CDE) is required to collect and report through the
California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System
(CALPADS).
c) AB 2141 (Hall), requires that when a parent or student
is referred to a district attorney's office or any other
agency engaged in prosecution or charges are considered to
enforce state school attendance laws, the prosecuting
agency must provide a report on the outcome of the
referral. This bill is pending in this committee.
d) SB 1107 (Monning), requires the Attorney General to
issue an annual report on elementary school truancy and
chronic absenteeism. This bill is pending in the Senate.
Analysis Prepared by : Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)
319-2081