BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 1396 (Hancock) - School Climate: Multi-tiered Intervention
and Support
Amended: April 22, 2014 Policy Vote: Education 7-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: April 28, 2014
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-Hernandez
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 1396 requires the California Department of
Education (CDE) to designate funds to a county office of
education (COE) to establish professional development activities
to support the development and expansion of multi-tiered
intervention and support (MIS) program efforts, as specified.
Fiscal Impact:
CDE costs of $1million - $2 million to contract with a COE
to create professional development content, and to make
professional development opportunities available to schools
statewide (including stipends for release time for school
personnel attending workshops).
Report: Significant costs, likely in the hundreds of
thousands of dollars for the Legislative Analyst's Office
(LAO) to complete the required report. See staff comments.
Background: Existing law encourages schools, as comprehensive
school safety plans are reviewed and updated, to include in
school safety plans clear guidelines for the roles and
responsibilities of mental health professionals, community
intervention professionals, school counselors, school resource
officers, and police officers on school campus, if the school
district uses these people. The guidelines may include primary
strategies to create and maintain a positive school climate,
promote school safety, and increase pupil achievement, and
prioritize mental health and intervention services, restorative
and transformative justice programs, and positive behavior
interventions and support. (Education Code � 32282.1)
Existing law provides that corrective action other than
out-of-school suspension includes study teams, guidance teams,
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resource panel teams, or other intervention-related teams that
assess the behavior, and develop and implement individualized
plans to address the behavior in partnership with the pupil and
his or her parents. (EC � 48900.5)
Specific to students with exceptional needs, existing law
requires the individualized education program team shall
consider the use of positive behavioral interventions and
supports for students whose behavior impedes his or her
learning. (EC � 56341.1)
Tiered intervention is an approach to early identification and
support of students with learning and behavior needs. Models of
tiered intervention vary but, characteristically, the approach
provides struggling students with interventions at increasing
levels of intensity to accelerate their learning. Students may
receive intervention support from teachers, other personnel, or
from specialists partnering with the school. Many schools
voluntarily follow models of tiered interventions to address
student needs prior to imposing discipline or making referrals
to special education.
Proposed Law: This bill requires the CDE to designate funds to a
COE to establish professional development activities to support
the development and expansion of MIS programs that include, but
are not limited to, School-wide Positive Behavior Intervention
and Support (PBIS) programs. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires the CDE, to the extent one-time funding is
available in the 2014 Budget Act, to apportion funds to a
designated COE to be the fiduciary agent for the MIS
program, selected from those that apply for such
designation.
2) Requires the designated COE to be responsible for the
establishment of specific professional development
activities that will lead to statewide professional
development support structures allowing for the development
and expansion of MIS efforts in each region of the state.
3) Requires this professional development and outreach effort
build upon existing statewide and regional organizations,
as specified.
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4) Requires the designated COE to consult with the K-12
Student Mental Health Initiative, the National Alliance on
Mental Health Illness, the California Technical Assistance
Center on Schoolwide PBIS, the California County
Superintendents Educational Services Association, the
California Mental Health Directors Association, the United
Advocates for Children and Families, and other non-profit
agencies throughout the state, and to select an advisory
committee, as specified.
5) Requires funding to be targeted to all of the following
activities, within the context of planning and
implementation: a) explaining the importance of linking MIS
efforts with LCFF planning; b) creating broad exposure to
MIS, which includes pamphlets, videos, creation of
websites, webinars and newsletters; c) creating regional
conferences on MIS program implementation to provide free
training for specified school personnel; d) establishing
stipends for release time for school personnel to attend
workshops; e) developing best practices of current
district-level MIS systems and ensure best practices are
widely disseminated; f) establishing a cohort of trainers
that can be available to work directly with school
districts seeking to implement MIS programs; and, g)
establishing a repository for the collection and
dissemination of best practices.
6) Requires the designated COE, working in cooperation with
the Department of Finance, CDE, and Legislative Analyst, to
analyze the relevant data on the success of MIS efforts at
both the state and national levels, and establish a set of
best practices to be made available to school districts and
consortia of districts to expand MIS and supports to
address academic and behavioral issues and to use as a
foundation for potential inclusion in a school district's
LCAP.
7) Requires the LAO to review the impacts of professional
development and report to the Governor and Legislature by
June 30, 2017, on the breadth and best practices of the
training.
8) States legislative findings and declarations relative to
the effect of positive behavior interventions and
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restorative justice practices on suspensions and
expulsions, and academic engagement and achievement.
Related Legislation: SB 596 (Yee) requires the CDE to establish
a 3-year pilot program to encourage inclusive practices that
integrate mental health, special education, and school climate
interventions following a multi-tiered framework. That bill is
pending referral in the Assembly.
Staff Comments: The cost of this bill will be determined by the
extent of the activities undertaken by the COE designated to
complete the required professional development work, the scope
of the MIS development determined in conjunction with the
advisory committee, the level of school participation in the
professional development, and the efficiency of the required
collaborations. Each of the bill's requirements will require a
set of implementation steps that drive the program costs.
This bill also requires that the LAO to review the impacts of
professional development and report on the breadth and best
practices of the training. This report would require extensive
local data collection over time, in order to evaluate the
program impact on students and the corresponding best practices,
and an in-depth qualitative evaluation. The LAO would require
significant additional resources, probably in the form of staff
who are specifically dedicated to this report.
This bill also provides that it is to be implemented to the
extent one-time funding is available in the 2014 Budget.
Ultimately, the scope of the program will be limited by that
budget appropriation: the program can only be established with
one-time funding from the current Budget. Because of that
limitation, the estimates in the "fiscal impact" consider a
total cost to develop and administer a program, even though the
expenses themselves may not be incurred in a single fiscal year.
To the extent that state funding of MIS programs results in
decreasing more intensive special education placements/services
or disciplinary procedures, there may be offsetting savings.
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