BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 1993
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 7, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                     AB 1993 (Fox) - As Amended:  April 10, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                              EducationVote:6-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires a school district to provide training on the  
          topic of bullying to every teacher employed by a school district  
          on or after July 1, 2015.  The bill requires a workshop  
          coordinated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the  
          California Department of Education (CDE) to include training on  
          restorative justice and upstander behavior. The bill specifies  
          that the implementation of the training is contingent upon the  
          availability of funds in the annual Budget Act.  

           FISCAL EFFECT :   

          1)Unknown General Fund/Proposition 98 state-mandated  
            reimbursable costs to school districts, in the range of $1.5  
            million to $2 million, assuming all 1,016 school districts  
            provide their own individual training on the topic of  
            bullying.  

          2)General Fund/Proposition 98 costs to CDE of approximately  
            $300,000 to contract with professional trainers and to  
            coordinate statewide workshops on bullying.  This reflects the  
            current cost of training under the existing School Community  
            Violence Prevention (SCVP) program. Funding to support this  
            training was rolled into the Local Control Funding Formula,  
            therefore no dedicated funding source continues for this  
            purpose. 

           COMMENTS  :  

           1)Purpose.  Existing law only authorizes schools to provide  
            training to teachers in preventative bullying strategies. This  
            bill requires trainings, including restorative justice and  








                                                                  AB 1993
                                                                  Page  2

            promotion of upstander behavior.  The bill defines upstander  
            as a person who recognizes a bully-victim situation and acts  
            in a manner that is responsible and helpful to the situation.   


           2)School Community Violence Prevention Training Grant  .  Prior to  
            the implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula  
            (LCFF), the School Safety Consolidated Competitive Grant  
            provided funding for several school safety and violence  
            prevention programs, including the School Community Violence  
            Prevention Training Grant, administered by the CDE.  These  
            activities were conducted through a contract with the Kern  
            County Office of Education.  The Kern County Office of  
            Education coordinated trainings on three topics:  safe school  
            planning, crisis preparedness and response, and bullying and  
            cyberbullying prevention and intervention.  The trainings are  
            offered on a statewide basis in various parts of the state  
            divided into 11 regions and are conducted by law enforcement  
            and education professionals.  According to the CDE, demand for  
            the trainings increased following the December 14, 2012  
            shooting at Sandy Hook.

            According to the CDE, Kern County Office of Education will no  
            longer coordinate the regional trainings beginning July 1,  
            2014.  The trainings may continue to be offered regionally on  
            a fee-for-service basis; however, the trainings will not be  
            required to be consistent with the School Community Violence  
            Prevention Training statute.  


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081