BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 1396
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          Date of Hearing:   June 18, 2014

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                  Mike Gatto, Chair

                   SB 1396 (Hancock) - As Amended:  April 23, 2014 

          Policy Committee:                             EducationVote:5-0

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

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the California Department of Education (CDE),  
          to the extent one-time funding is available in the 2014-15  
          Budget Act, 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 (MTIS) programs, including but not  
          limited to, schoolwide positive behavior intervention and  
          support (SW-PBIS). Specifically, this bill:

          1)Requires the designated COE to establish professional  
            development activities that will lead to statewide  
            professional development support structures to expand MTIS  
            efforts, including the incorporation of restorative practices,  
            in each region of the state.

          2)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  
            SW-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.

          3)Targets funding to all of the following activities: linking  
            MTIS efforts with Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)  
            planning; creating exposure to MTIS, which includes pamphlets,  
            videos, creation of websites, webinars and newsletters;  
            regional conferences to provide free training for specified  
            school personnel; establishing stipends for release time for  
            school personnel to attend workshops; developing best  








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            practices for current district-level MTIS systems,  
            establishing a cohort of trainers to work directly with school  
            districts to implement MIS programs, and establishing a  
            repository for the collection and dissemination of best  
            practices.  

          4)Requires the designated COE, working in cooperation with the  
            Department of Finance (DOF), CDE, and Legislative Analyst's  
            Office (LAO), to analyze data on the success of MTIS efforts  
            at both the state and national levels and establish best  
            practices to address academic and behavioral issues.

          5)Requires the LAO to review the impacts of professional  
            development and report to the Governor and Legislature by June  
            30, 2017. 


           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)One-time costs in the range of $1 million to $2 million for  
            CDE to contract with a COE to create professional development  
            content and provide statewide professional development  
            opportunities.  This cost estimate also includes stipends for  
            release time for school personnel attending workshops. 

          2)General Fund costs, likely in the range of $30,000 to $50,000  
            for DOF, CDE and LAO to analyze data on the success of MTIS  
            programs at both the state and national levels, and establish  
            a set of best practices for school districts.  

          3)Unknown General Fund costs, likely in the range of $80,000 to  
            $100,000, for the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) to review  
            the impacts of professional development and report on best  
            practices. This report would require local data collection in  
            order to evaluate the program impact on students and the  
            corresponding best practices. These activities likely could  
            not be absorbed within existing LAO resources. 

          The requirements in the bill are contingent upon funding in the  
          2014-15 Budget Act.  No funding source has been identified at  
          this time.  

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  . According to the sponsors of the bill, the California  








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            Association of School Psychologists (CASP), schoolwide  
            positive behavior intervention and support (SW-PBIS) is one of  
            the most effective approaches to creating a positive school  
            culture.  This bill aims to provide one-time targeted funds to  
            provide school districts with resources and professional  
            learning opportunities for school personnel to implement  
            preventative and proactive approaches to discipline.

           2)Background  . Multi-tiered intervention and support (MTIS)  
            programs are a school- and community-based continuum of care  
            that provides expertise and services to students to meet their  
            academic, behavioral, social-emotional and mental health  
            needs.  Several districts, including Los Angeles, San Diego,  
            San Francisco, Santa Ana, Oakland, Elk Grove, and Irvine  
            Unified School Districts have adopted MTIS or similar  
            restorative justice approaches to address academic and  
            behavioral needs.   The US Department of Education encourages  
            SW-PBIS strategies and has an Internet Web site with resources  
            to provide technical assistance to school districts.  
           
          3)Concerns  . This bill requires the designated county office of  
            education to work with the DOF, CDE, and LAO to analyze  
            relevant data on the success of MTIS programs at both the  
            state and national levels, and establish a set of best  
            practices that school districts can use. These entities are  
            not well suited to analyze data and research best practices  
            and would need additional resources to implement these  
            requirements.  The committee may wish to consider whether  
            these activities are more appropriate for a research  
            organization or experts in instructional delivery. 

            The bill also requires the LAO to review the impacts of  
            professional development and report on best practices. CDE  
            receives federal special education funding for these types of  
            activities and may be better situated to contract with a local  
            education agency or research organization to provide this type  
            of report.
           
           
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081 












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