BILL NUMBER: SB 527 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 20, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Senator Liu
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to add Article 14 (commencing with Section 33480) to
Chapter 3 of Part 20 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Education Code,
relating to education finance.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 527, as amended, Liu. Education finance: Safe Neighborhoods and
Schools Fund Grant Program.
Existing law, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted by
Proposition 47, as approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014,
statewide general election, among other things, established the Safe
Neighborhoods and Schools Fund, a continuously appropriated fund,
which is funded by savings that accrue to the state from the
implementation of the act. The act provides that, among other
purposes, 25% of the funds shall be disbursed to the State Department
of Education to administer a grant program to public agencies aimed
at improving outcomes for public school pupils by reducing truancy
and supporting pupils who are at risk of dropping out of school or
are victims of crime.
This bill would express findings and declarations of the
Legislature with respect to the purposes of the act. The bill would
specify the administrative duties and responsibilities of the State
Department of Education with respect to the administration,
commencing with the 2016-17 fiscal year, of a Safe Neighborhoods and
Schools Fund Grant Program, pursuant to which the department would
issue a request for proposal to school districts
local educational agencies, as defined, each fiscal year
and would make grants to applicant school districts
local educational agencies . The bill would set
forth criteria to guide the department in awarding grants under the
program.
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. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund has been established
by Proposition 47, approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014,
statewide general election. The funds transferred to the Safe
Neighborhoods and Schools Fund are to be used exclusively for the
purposes of the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.
(b) Twenty-five percent of the funds are disbursed to the State
Department of Education to administer a grant program to public
agencies aimed at improving outcomes for public school pupils in
kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, by reducing truancy and
supporting pupils who are at risk of dropping out of school or are
victims of crime.
(c) Studies estimate that between 3.3 million and 10 million
children in the United States witness violence in their own homes
each year.
(d) Children who have experienced early, chronic trauma, such as
family or community violence, can develop emotional, behavioral,
cognitive, and relationship difficulties that can adversely affect
their ability to learn and function well in school.
(e) Exposure to trauma is associated with a higher risk for
dropping out of school, and in turn, dropping out of school increases
the risk of being imprisoned.
(f) Behavioral problems among schoolage youth are associated with
high rates of depression, experiencing a traumatic or violent event,
and other significant home-life stresses.
(g)
(f) Sixty-five percent of pupils with an emotional
disturbance drop out of school. This dropout rate is higher than all
other disability categories.
(h)
(g) For pupils with these mental health concerns, the
American Academy of Pediatrics has found that suspension can increase
stress and may predispose them pupils
to antisocial behavior and even suicidal ideation. Psychologists have
similarly found that disciplinary exclusion policies can increase
pupil shame, alienation, rejection, and breaking of healthy adult
bonds, thereby exacerbating negative mental health outcomes for young
people.
(i)
(h) Studies have shown that one suspension greatly
increases the likelihood that a pupil will drop out and become
involved in the juvenile justice system.
(j)
(i) Removing pupils from school through disciplinary
exclusion also increases the risk that they will become victims of
violent crime.
(k)
(j) Research has shown that coordinated alignment of
integrated pupil supports is an approach, well-grounded in theory,
research, and community experience that has been shown to reduce
truancy and chronic absence, and to improve academic outcomes, school
climate, and a pupil's physical and mental health.
(l)
(k) Schools that address the "whole child" embrace
youth development principles and ensure the social-emotional health
of pupils, and create integrated and trauma-informed support systems
that have a stronger positive school culture, higher attendance,
higher graduation and achievement rates, and lower truancy rates.
(m)
(l) Pupils who attend schools where support systems are
not easily accessible by pupils and their families and where
alignment of support systems within the school and with community
partners is lacking are less likely to have access to programs that
can address the needs of vulnerable populations, thus exacerbating
education and health inequities.
(n)
(m) Schools that implement research-based, schoolwide
approaches to addressing social, emotional, and behavioral issues,
such as School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports,
restorative justice, community schools strategies, and school-based
mental health and trauma-informed practices demonstrate strong
educational outcomes, including increases in attendance and
achievement, particularly for pupils of color and other at-risk
populations.
(n) A recent study regarding implementation of restorative justice
practices in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) from 2011 to
2014, inclusive, found that, among other things, there was a 128
percent increase in the reading levels of 9th graders at OUSD schools
with restorative justice programs, compared to an 11 percent
increase in reading levels at schools without these programs.
Four-year graduation rates increased by 60 percent at schools with
restorative justice programs, compared to a 7-percent increase at
other schools.
SEC. 2. Article 14 (commencing with Section 33480) is added to
Chapter 3 of Part 20 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Education Code,
to read:
Article 14. Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund Grant Program
33480. (a) The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund Grant Program
is hereby established under the administration of the department.
Grants shall be issued under this program commencing with the 2016-17
fiscal year. Pursuant to the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act,
approved as Proposition 47 by the voters on November 4, 2014, the
Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund has been established under
Section 7599 of the Government Code, and funds are allocated to the
department from that fund under Section 7599.2 of the Government
Code. In administering the grant program, the department shall comply
with all of the following requirements in order to improve outcomes
for public school pupils by reducing truancy and supporting pupils
who are at risk of dropping out of school or are victims of crime:
(1) All school districts local educational
agencies in the state shall be eligible to apply for the grant
program. As used in this article, a "local educational agency"
is a school district, a county office of education, or a charter
school.
(2) The grant program shall reward school districts
local educational agencies that have
demonstrated a commitment to, and developed a comprehensive
plan for, and implementation strategy
utilizing research-based strategies
approaches to increase attendance rates, to
reduce chronic absenteeism, remedy school push-out and dropout
rates, and reduce school removals of all types and referrals to
police, law enforcement agencies. The plan
shall create a strong and supportive school culture that identifies
and addresses the needs of pupils, including the victims of crime,
abuse, and neglect, and includes elements to address trauma,
mental health needs needs, and other
social and emotional factors that impact pupil outcomes, to
address and to remedy school pushout and dropout rates,
outcomes. The plan shall coordinate pupil support programs
with community and other public agencies
community-based providers or public agencies, or both, at
schoolsites and across the school district, and create a
strong and supportive school culture that identifies and addresses
the needs of pupils, including victims of crime, abuse, and neglect.
local educational agency.
(3) A school district local educational
agency receiving a grant under this article shall show at a
minimum that it has designed, and is committed to implementing, all
of the following:
(A) A three-year plan, developed through its local control and
accountability plan or otherwise otherwise,
to accomplish all of the following:
(i) Significantly reduce class and school removals, absences,
violent incidents on campus, and referrals to police.
law enforcement agencies.
(ii) Implement one or more research-based, whole school
approaches, including, but not necessarily limited to, schoolwide
positive behavior intervention and supports, restorative justice,
community schools strategies, trauma-informed practices, cultural
competency, competency and implicit bias
professional development that includes a focus on issues affecting
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender pupils and pupils of color,
social-emotional learning, and approaches to reengage
mental health support services, and strategies to
reengage and reconnect pupils who have been pushed out.
(iii) Identify and address disparities in any of the
aforementioned areas areas mentioned in clauses (i)
and (ii) with respect to subgroups addressed by the local
control funding formula, including, but not necessarily limited to,
English learners, foster youth, low-income pupils, and
pupils of color. pupils with disabilities, and ethnic
subgroups.
(B) A robust data system to collect and disaggregate data related
to the subject matter referenced in subparagraph (A). This
system shall include a survey that measures the pupils' sense of
safety and pupil connectedness to monitor progress in these areas.
(C) A system for sharing this de-identified data on the
aggregate level and progress with respect to meeting the grant
goals with the school community on a regular
at least an annual basis and engaging and partnering
with all key stakeholders, including, but not necessarily
limited to, parents, teachers, pupils, school administrators,
and classified staff classified staff,
schoolsite councils, English language advisory committees,
and community-based organizations in the process of pupil and
school improvement.
(D) A teacher, principal, superintendent, and school
board An evaluation system that involves
key stakeholders, including teachers, principals, s
uperintendents, and members of school district governing boards,
to assess effectiveness related to addressing the social,
emotional, and behavioral needs of pupils and developing strong,
supportive, and positive school climates.
(b) The department shall issue a request for proposal to all
school districts local educational agencies
in the state for each fiscal year that there are funds
available from the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund. Local
educational agencies serving high percentages of unduplicated pupils
with high needs as defined in Sections 42238.01 and 42238.02 shall be
prioritized to receive these funds. The request for proposal
shall be issued no later than in August
October of each fiscal year, or earlier if funds become
available sooner. Grants shall be awarded under this article no
later than April 15 of each fiscal year.
(c) The funds granted to school districts
local educational agencies under this article shall be utilized
only to
further implementation of the three-year plan and the other
minimum commitments specified in paragraph (3) of subdivision
(a). Grants shall be awarded under this article no later
than March 31 of each fiscal year. (a) through each of
the following:
(1) Professional development, training,
and coaching for teachers, school administrators, pupils, parents,
counselors, administrative staff, and members of school district
governing boards.
(2) Investments in social services, health, mental health,
restorative justice, and youth development staff, agencies, and
providers.
(3) Entering into agreements with institutions and community-based
nonprofit organizations that have a track record of improving pupil
outcomes and providing cultural competency and anti-bias training,
supporting parent leadership and engagement, and providing
nonpunitive pupil and family support programs.
(d) The funds granted to local educational agencies under this
article shall not be used for either of the following purposes:
(1) To supplant existing funding allocated to meet the
requirements of the school climate, engagement, or other state
priority areas in the local control and accountability plans.
(2) For law enforcement agencies or entities, public or private.
(e) A local educational agency that has received funding pursuant
to this article shall submit annual outcomes-based data for
evaluation, in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a), to show progress in reducing the rate of class and
school removals, referrals to law enforcement agencies, and dropout
and truancy rates of targeted pupils. The department shall consider
the data submitted under this subdivision when making determinations
for eligibility for future funding under this article.
(d)
(f) The department shall convene a
consult with a stakeholder group by telephone,
Web-based platform, or other effective means. This stakeholder
group, which shall include at least one parent of a
public school pupil and at least one public school
pupil, to pupils, and parents of public sch
ool pupils, representing impacted communities from several
regions in the state, shall assist in making determinations
regarding the awarding of grants and grants,
in assessing whether grant recipients are meeting the minimum
requirements set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).
(a), and, starting in year two of the grant cycle, in
assisting with developing or amending the requests for proposals.