BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 590
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 26, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Joan Buchanan, Chair
SB 590 (DeLeon) - As Amended: May 24, 2013
SENATE VOTE : 28-9
SUBJECT : School personnel: Classified School Employee Staff
Development and Training Program.
SUMMARY : Establishes the Classified School Employee Staff
Development and Training Program. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires local educational agencies, from funding available
for professional development, to set aside funding for
professional development for classified school employees.
2)Requires a portion of the total funding for staff development
from state or federal funds to be set aside for professional
development training for classified school employees to update
their skills and to learn best practices for any of the
following:
a) Pupil learning and achievement, including all of the
following:
i) Training for paraprofessionals to assist teachers
and administrators to improve the academic achievement of
pupils.
ii) Training to ensure the curriculum frameworks and
instructional materials are aligned to the common core
standards.
iii) Training in the management and use of state and
local pupil data to improve pupil learning.
iv) Training on the best practices in the appropriate
interventions and assistance to at-risk pupils.
b) Pupil and campus safety, including training and staff
development in the latest and best practices for pupil
safety and campus safety.
c) Education technology, including management strategies
and best practices regarding the use of education
technology to improve pupil performance.
d) School facility maintenance and operations, including
new research and best practices in the operation and
maintenance of school facilities, such as green technology
and energy efficiency, that help reduce the use and the
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cost of energy at schoolsites.
e) Special education, including training and staff
development on the best practices to meet the needs of
special education pupils, and to comply with any new state
and federal mandates.
f) School transportation and bus safety, including training
and staff development on the best practices and standards
for pupil transportation.
g) Parent involvement, including training and staff
development to enhance the ability of a school to increase
parent involvement at schoolsites.
h) Food service, including training and staff development
on new research and findings for food preparation to
provide nutritional meals and food management.
i) Health, counseling, and nursing services, including
training and staff development on the latest and best
practices for pupil health care and counseling needs.
j) Environmental safety, including training and staff
development on pesticides and other possibly toxic
substances so that they may be safely used at schoolsites.
3)Specifies as a condition of spending any of the funds set
aside for professional development and training for classified
school employees, a local educational agency shall meet all of
the following requirements:
a) The local educational agency has a local plan, developed
in conjunction with parents and classified staff, to
accelerate pupils' progress to academic proficiency. The
plan shall include an explanation of the manner in which
the objectives of the professional development and training
will be met.
b) The governing body of the local educational agency, at a
regularly scheduled public meeting, has approved the plan
and developed corresponding policies in support of the
plan.
c) The local educational agency consults with the
classified bargaining units.
4)Specifies that if the Superintendent determines that a local
educational agency fails to meet the requirements, the
Superintendent may restrict the local educational agency from
spending the funds set aside; and, specifies the
Superintendent may provide guidance on approved training
programs.
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5)Specifies that nothing in this measure shall be construed as
imposing new mandates on local educational agencies.
6)Defines "Classified school employee" to mean a person employed
on a full-time or a part-time basis as a classified school
employee at a community college, a public school, a charter
school, or a county office of education.
7)Defines "Local educational agency" to mean a school district,
a county office of education, a charter school, or a community
college district.
8)Makes legislative findings and declarations regarding the
vital role that classified employees play in public schools
and their need for professional development and training to
update their skills and to learn the best practices for vital
education programs, including campus safety, academic
achievement and curriculum standards, special education,
health care, child nutrition, pupil transportation,
environmental safety, and parental involvement; and, finds
that funding for classified employee training comes from
state, federal and local funds including the Instruction Time
and Staff Development Reform Program and Title I of the
federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the Administrator Training Program to provide
training for principals and vice principals at K-12 public
schools which requires incentive grants not to exceed $3,000
per schoolsite administrator; requires the Superintendent of
Public Instruction (SPI) to report to the Legislature; and,
establishes a sunset date of July 1, 2012. (Education Code
Section 44510)
2)Authorizes the Professional Development Block Grant, which
supports professional development activities allowed by the
Staff Development Instructional Support, Teaching as a
Priority, and Intersegmental programs. These activities
include teacher recruitment and retention incentives, staff
development projects designed to improve elementary teacher
skills, and programs that promote development of highly
qualified teachers. While the Budget Act of 2012 includes
$218.4 million for this block grant, the funds are subject to
categorical flexibility whereby school districts may utilize
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the funds for any educational purpose.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, substantial cost pressure on local education agencies
to divert existing professional development funds to training
classified employees as specified, and for the state to provide
additional funding.
COMMENTS : This bill creates the Classified School Employee
Staff Development and Training Program for K-12 and community
college employees and specifies that local education agencies
(LEAs) shall set aside a portion of the total funding for staff
development from state or federal funds for professional
development for classified employees.
Existing law (prior to the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF))
provides training for administrators, certificated employees and
chief business officers, and it is also important to provide
training for classified school employees. Classified employees
are often the most impacted by budget cuts, and are most likely
to take on new work responsibilities due to budget cuts. It is
important to provide training to classified employees who take
on significant new responsibilities, to ensure the safety of
employees and students. Currently, there is not a statewide
training program for classified employees. In fact,
paraeducators are currently the only classified employees that
have access to training programs within state categorical
programs. This measure will create a mechanism for all
classified employees and their various areas of expertise to
have access to professional development.
Classified school employees include paraeducators, healthcare
professionals, office and clerical staff, bus drivers,
groundskeepers, custodians, information technology assistants,
instructional assistants, food service workers, and school
safety personnel. In these capacities, they frequently interact
with parents and students, and are important partners in
educational success. They are employed in public K-12 school
settings and have major responsibilities for reinforcing
classroom instruction and the health and safety of students.
Classified school employees include part time as well as full
time staff.
According to the author, during the past few years, funding for
staff development in K-12 school districts and community
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colleges has been severely cut due to state budget shortfalls.
Classified school employees were laid off and furloughed, and
training funds were reduced. Professional development helps
classified school employees continue to update their skills and
knowledge on the best practices to implement new statutory
requirements for student care, and to better assist students,
parents and other educators. Classified employees are on the
front lines working to ensure the safety and care of students on
campuses, so they are required to learn the best practices for
vital education programs, including: campus safety, academic
achievement and curriculum standards, special education, health
care, child nutrition, student transportation, environmental
safety, and parental involvement. Professional development helps
classified school employees continue to update their skills and
knowledge on the best practice to implement new statutory
requirements for student care, and to better assist students,
parents and other educators. Due to new duties and
responsibilities classified school employees have to learn
frequently, there is a need to adequately ensure funding for
training. Historically, California has a long history of
supporting professional development to teachers and classified
staff to implement new school reform or to provide needed
specialized services to students.
LCFF and Professional Development : With the recent passage of
the budget act and the implementation of the LCFF, the existing
professional development funding program will be wrapped into a
school district's base funding and will no longer be earmarked
for professional development. There will be $1.25 billion set
aside for one time common core implementation and districts may
choose to spend some of this funding on professional
development. Other than this one time funding, there will not be
state set aside funding for professional development on an
ongoing basis. Districts do receive Federal Title I funding,
which can be used on professional development. In fact,
districts with program improvement schools must set aside 10% of
its Title 1, Part A allocation for professional development
activities. Under this bill, districts that receive state or
federal funding for professional development will be required to
set aside a portion of that funding for professional development
for classified employees. Because of the changes in state
education funding, committee staff recommends the bill be
amended to delete the requirement that a portion of state and
federal professional development funding be spent on
professional development for classified employees and, instead
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specify that if an LEA expends funds for professional
development the governing board shall consider the needs of its
classified school employees.
Background on Professional Development : According to the
California School Employees Association, in 1998, SB 1193
(Chapter 313) established the Instructional Time and Staff
Development Reform Program. The bill provided school districts
incentive funding to offer three staff development days for
teachers and one staff development day for classroom
instructional employees beyond the traditional 180 school days,
as an incentive to increase instructional time, while providing
crucial professional development. Specifically, the bill
provided teachers with a reimbursement of $270 per day for up to
three days, and funding of $140/day for one day for classified
instructional employees.
In 2001, AB 466 (Chapter 737), established the Mathematics and
Reading Professional Development Program, which was intended to
greatly assist efforts to increase academic performance in
California schools by enabling 176,000 teachers and 22,000
instructional aides or paraprofessionals to participate in
high-quality professional development activities over a
four-year period.
Unfortunately, funding for professional development for
classified school employees started to decline over the past
decade. Beginning with AB 825 (Chapter 871) in 2004, funding
for the Instructional Time and Staff Development Reform program
was combined with other training funds to create of a single
Professional Development Block Grant for school districts. It
was silent on supporting professional development for classified
staff, even though the original program was intended to give at
least one day to classified school employees.
Professional Development Plan : The bill requires a local
education agency, as a condition of spending funds set aside for
professional development training for classified staff, to
create a local plan to accelerate pupils' progress toward
academic proficiency. The bill specifies that the plan shall be
developed in conjunction with parents and classified staff and
shall be approved at a regularly scheduled public board meeting.
Given the committee staff recommendation above, it seems no
longer necessary to require a district level plan for
professional development for classified employees. For this
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reason, committee staff recommends the bill be amended to delete
this provision.
Committee Amendments :
1)Delete the requirement that a portion of state and federal
professional development funding be spent on professional
development for classified employees and, instead specify that
if an LEA expends funds for professional development the
governing board shall consider the needs of its classified
school employees.
2)Delete references to existing professional development funding
sources in the intent language, in order to eliminate any
conflict with federal law.
3)Delete the requirement that an LEA develop a plan for
classified employee professional development and related
requirements.
Previous Legislation : AB 406 (Yamada) in 2009, which was held in
the Assembly Appropriations Committee, would have created a new
grant program to fund training for classified school employees.
SB 352 (Scott), Chapter 356, Statues of 2005 established the
Chief Business Officer Training Program.
SB 430 (Nava), Chapter 364, Statues of 2005 reauthorized the
Administrator Training Program.
AB 75 (Steinberg), Chapter 697, Statues of 2001 established the
Principal Training Program, which was re-named by SB 430 (Nava)
as the Administrator Training Program.
AB 341 (Strom-Martin) Chapter 884, Statutes of 2001 required the
California Department of Education (CDE) to contract for the
development of standards for professional development for
educators and instructional leaders.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
California Labor Federation
California School Employees Association
Service Employees International Union
StudentsFirst
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Opposition
Association of California School Administrators
California School Boards Association
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087