California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2384

Introduced by Assembly Member Bradford

February 21, 2014

An act to amend Sections 52852 and 52853 of the Education Code, relating to school plans.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2384, as introduced, Bradford. School plans: schoolsite councils.

(1) Existing law requires a schoolsite council to be established at a school that participates in school-based program coordination. Existing law requires the council to be composed of the principal and representatives of teachers, other school personnel, parents, and in secondary schools, pupils, as specified.

This bill would add representatives of members of the community focused on education and representatives of local service providers working at the schoolsite, selected by the principal or the other members the schoolsite council, to a schoolsite council. The bill would authorize the schoolsite council or the governing board of the school district to expand the composition of a schoolsite council based on the operational structure of the school. The bill would require the governing board of the school district to set term limits for members of a schoolsite council, except for the principal.

(2) Existing law requires, at the elementary level, a schoolsite council to be constituted to ensure parity between (A) the principal, classroom teachers, and other school personnel and (B) parents or other community members selected by parents, and, at the secondary level, existing law requires a schoolsite council to be constituted to ensure parity between (A) the principal, classroom teachers, and other school personnel and (B) parents, or other community members selected by parents, and pupils.

This bill would remove community members from the parity calculations.

(3) Existing law provides that an employee of a school who is also a parent or guardian of a pupil who attends a school other than the school of the parent’s or guardian’s employment, is not disqualified by virtue of this employment from serving as a parent representative on the schoolsite council established for the school that his or her child or ward attends.

This bill would prohibit an employee of a school who is also a parent or guardian of a pupil who attends a school from serving as a member of the schoolsite council at the school that the employee’s child or ward attends. The bill would authorize the employee to serve on a schoolsite council at another school.

(4) Existing law requires a schoolsite council to develop a school plan that includes, among other things, instructional and auxiliary services to meet the special needs of non-English-speaking or limited-English-speaking pupils, including instruction in a language these pupils understand, educationally disadvantaged pupils, gifted and talented pupils, and pupils with exceptional needs.

This bill would, among other things, add low-income pupils and pupils in foster care to that list. The bill would require the school plan to also include mechanisms to ensure that the objectives in the school district’s local control and accountability plan are being adhered to. The bill would also require the governing board of a school district to ensure that schoolsite council members receive adequate training to implement the objectives contained in the school district’s local control and accountability plan and existing provisions of law.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 52852 of the Education Code is amended
to read:

52852.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert A schoolsite council shall be established at each
school begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert participates in school-based program
coordination. The council begin delete shall end delete begin insert shall, at a minimum, end insert be composed
of the principal and representatives begin delete of: teachers end delete begin insert of the following: end insert

begin insert end insert
begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Teachers end insert selected by teachers at the begin delete school; end delete begin insert school, end insert other
school personnel selected by other school personnel at the begin delete school; end delete
begin insert school, end insert parents of pupils attending the school selected by begin delete such
parents; and, end delete begin insert the parents, and, end insert in secondary schools, pupils selected
by pupils attending the school.

begin insert

(2) Community members focused on education and local service
providers working at the schoolsite selected by the principal or
the schoolsite council members selected pursuant to paragraph
(1).

end insert begin insert

(b) The schoolsite council or the governing board of the school
district may expand the composition of a schoolsite council based
on the operational structure of the school.

end insert

begin insert (c) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert At end insert the elementary level the begin insert schoolsite end insert council shall be
constituted to ensure parity between begin delete (a) end delete begin insert : (A) end insert the principal,
classroom begin delete teachers end delete begin insert teachers, end insert and other school personnel; and begin delete (b)
parents or other community members selected by end delete begin insert (B) end insert parents.
begin insert Members selected pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a)
shall not be included in the parity calculation. end insert

begin delete

At

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert At end insert the secondary level the begin insert schoolsite end insert council shall be
constituted to ensure parity between begin delete (a) end delete begin insert : (A) end insert the principal,
classroom begin delete teachers end delete begin insert teachers, end insert and other school personnel; and begin delete (b) end delete
begin insert (B) end insert equal numbers of begin delete parents, or other community members
selected by parents, end delete begin insert parents end insert and pupils. begin insert Members selected pursuant
to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert shall not be included in the
parity calculation. end insert

begin delete

At

end delete

begin insert end insert
begin insert (3) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert At end insert both the elementary and secondary levels, classroom
teachers shall comprise the majority of persons represented under
category begin delete (a) end delete begin insert (A) end insert .

begin delete

Existing

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert d) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert Existing end insert schoolwide advisory groups or school support
groups may be utilized as the schoolsite council if those groups
conform to this section.

begin delete

The

end delete

begin insert (e) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The end insert Superintendent begin delete of Public Instruction end delete shall provide several
examples of selection and replacement procedures that may be
considered by schoolsite councils.

begin delete

An

end delete

begin insert (f) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert (1) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert An end insert employee of a school who is also a parent or guardian
of a pupil who attends a school other than the school of the parent’s
or guardian’s employment, is not disqualified by virtue of this
employment from serving as a parent representative on the
schoolsite council established for the school that begin delete his or her end delete begin insert the
employee’s end insert child or ward attends.

begin insert

(2) An employee of a school who is also a parent or guardian
of a pupil who attends a school shall not serve as a member of the
schoolsite council at the school that the employee’s child or ward
attends. The employee may serve as a schoolsite council member
at a school other than the one that his or her child attends.

end insert begin insert

(g) Except for the principal, the governing board of the school
district shall set term limits for schoolsite council members.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 52853 of the Education Code is amended to
read:

52853.  

(a)  begin delete The end delete begin insert A end insert schoolsite council shall develop a school
plan begin delete which end delete begin insert that end insert shall include all of the following:

(1) Curricula, instructional begin delete strategies end delete begin insert strategies, end insert and materials
responsive to the individual needs and learning styles of each pupil.

(2) Instructional and auxiliary services to meet the special needs
of non-English-speaking or limited-English-speaking pupils,
including instruction in a language these pupils begin delete understand; end delete
begin insert understand, end insert educationally disadvantaged begin delete pupils; end delete begin insert pupils, low-income
pupils, pupils in foster care, end insert gifted and talented begin delete pupils; end delete begin insert pupils, end insert and
pupils with exceptional needs.

(3) A staff development program for teachers, other school
personnel, paraprofessionals, and volunteers, including those
participating in special programs. Staff development programs
may include the use of program guidelines that have been
developed by the begin delete superintendent end delete begin insert Superintendent end insert for specific
learning disabilities, including dyslexia, and other related disorders.
The strategies included in the guidelines and instructional materials
that focus on successful approaches for working with pupils who
have been prenatally substance exposed, begin insert suffered trauma, end insert as well
as other at-risk pupils, may also be provided to teachers.

(4) Ongoing evaluation of the educational program of the school.

(5) Other activities and objectives as established by the
begin insert schoolsite end insert council.

(6) The proposed expenditures of funds available to the school
through the programs described in Section 52851. For purposes
of this subdivision, proposed expenditures of funds available to
the school through the programs described in Section 52851 shall
include, but not be limited to, salaries and staff benefits for persons
providing services for those programs.

(7) The proposed expenditure of funds available to the school
through the federal Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994
(IASA) (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.) and its amendments. If the
school operates a state-approved schoolwide program pursuant to
Section 6314 of Title 20 of the United States Code in a manner
consistent with the expenditure of funds available to the school
pursuant to Section 52851, employees of the schoolwide program
may be deemed funded by a single cost objective.

begin insert

(8) (A) Mechanisms to ensure that the objectives in the school
district’s local control and accountability plan are being adhered
to.

end insert begin insert

(B) The governing board of a school district shall ensure that
schoolsite council members receive adequate training to implement
the objectives contained in the school district’s local control and
accountability plan and existing provisions of law.

end insert

(b) The schoolsite council shall annually review the school plan,
establish a new budget, and if necessary, make other modifications
in the plan to reflect changing needs and priorities.