BILL NUMBER: SB 527 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 13, 2016
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. Planning Grants.
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
subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act of 2016 or another
measure enacted during the 2015-16 Regular Session of the
Legislature, of Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund
Grant Program, pursuant to which the department would issue a request
for proposal planning grants to local
educational agencies, as defined, each fiscal year and would
make grants to applicant local educational agencies.
defined. The bill would set forth criteria to guide the
department in awarding planning grants under the
program. program, and would specify the purposes for
which the planning grant funds may be used.
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) Sixty-five percent of pupils with an emotional disturbance
drop out of school. This dropout rate is higher than all other
disability categories.
(g) For pupils with these mental health concerns, the American
Academy of Pediatrics has found that suspension can increase stress
and may predispose 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.
(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.
(i) Removing pupils from school through disciplinary exclusion
also increases the risk that they will become victims of violent
crime.
(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.
(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.
(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.
(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. SECTION 1. 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 Planning Grants
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 Subject to an
appropriation in the Budget Act of 2016 or another measure enacted
during the 2015-16 Regular Session of the Legislature, and from funds
available 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 the department shall administer the Safe
Neighborhoods and Schools planning grants for the purpose of
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: crime.
(1) All 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 local educational agencies that
have developed a comprehensive plan and implementation strategy
utilizing research-based approaches to increase attendance rates,
reduce chronic absenteeism, remedy school push-out and dropout rates,
and reduce school removals of all types and referrals to 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, and other social and
emotional factors that impact pupil outcomes. The plan shall
coordinate pupil support programs with community-based providers or
public agencies, or both, at schoolsites and across the local
educational agency.
(3) A 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, to accomplish all of the following:
(i) Significantly reduce class and school removals, absences,
violent incidents on campus, and referrals to 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 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, 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 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,
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 at least an annual basis and engaging and
partnering with all key stakeholders, including, but not necessarily
limited to, parents, teachers, pupils, school administrators,
classified staff, schoolsite councils, English language advisory
committees, and community-based organizations in the process of pupil
and school improvement.
(D) An evaluation system that involves key stakeholders, including
teachers, principals, superintendents, 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 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 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 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)
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.
(f) The department shall consult with a stakeholder group by
telephone, Web-based platform, or other effective means. This
stakeholder group, which shall include public school pupils, and
parents of public school pupils, representing impacted communities
from several regions in the state, shall assist in making
determinations regarding the awarding of grants, in assessing whether
grant recipients are meeting the minimum requirements set forth in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), and, starting in year two of the
grant cycle, in assisting with developing or amending the requests
for proposals.
(2) Priority for funding shall be local educational agencies that
are located in communities with high crime rates, as determined by
local crime statistics, or have high rates of any of the following,
as determined by school-level data:
(A) Chronic absenteeism.
(B) Pupil suspension.
(C) Dropout rates in middle or high schools.
(D) Foster youth.
(b) A local educational agency that chooses to apply for funding
pursuant to this article shall submit a plan to the department, in a
format and by a date determined by the department, that includes a
description of all of the following:
(1) Local needs based on school-level data for any of the
following:
(A) Chronic absenteeism.
(B) Pupil suspensions.
(C) Dropout rates in middle or high schools.
(D) Local crime rates.
(E) The number of foster youth.
(2) A commitment to do all of the following:
(A) Align the program or strategies to the local educational
agency's local control and accountability plan (LCAP), and include
measurable goals in the local educational agency's LCAP.
(B) Address the needs of each pupil subgroup, as identified in the
LCAP of the local educational agency.
(C) Implement a community schools strategy, pursuant to paragraph
(1) of subdivision (c), for the purpose of reducing truancy and
supporting pupils who are at risk of dropping out of school or are
victims of crime.
(D) Engage pupils, families, the community, and partners in
planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
(E) Maintain a team, including school personnel, that is
responsible for overall operations.
(F) Monitor and evaluate program or strategy outputs, including
the evaluation rubrics adopted by the state board, and provide a
report of outputs at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the
governing board of the local educational agency.
(3) How the program or strategies will be sustained subsequent to
the planning grant period.
(4) How the program or strategies will be monitored and evaluated.
(c) Planning grant funds pursuant to this article may be used for
any of the following purposes:
(1) Development and initial implementation of a community schools
strategy, to coordinate and integrate delivery of educational,
developmental, family, health, and other comprehensive services to
pupils and their families through community-based organizations and
public and private partnerships, which strategy shall include all of
the following:
(A) Assessing and meeting academic, social, emotional, physical
health, and mental health needs of pupils.
(B) Identifying school and community resources, and developing
partnerships with community and service providers.
(C) Cross-agency collaboration.
(D) Integration of services.
(E) Establishment of a team, including school personnel, that is
responsible for overall operations.
(2) Technical assistance and professional development in community
schools strategies.
(3) Community schools planning activities.
(4) Initial costs of implementing new activities and services, or
improving or expanding upon existing activities and services.
(d) The department shall do all of the following:
(1) Conduct outreach regarding the Safe Neighborhood and Schools
planning grants to local educational agencies that are located in
communities with high crime rates, as determined by local crime
statistics, or have high rates of any of the following, as determined
by school-level data:
(A) Chronic absenteeism.
(B) Pupil suspension.
(C) Middle or high school dropout rates.
(D) Foster youth.
(2) Provide training and technical assistance to local educational
agencies that receive funding pursuant to this article.
(3) Coordinate training and technical assistance for local
educational agencies that do not receive funding pursuant to this
article.
(e) The department may use up to 5 percent of funds allocated to
the department pursuant to the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act for
administrative costs.
(f) Funds made available to a local educational agency pursuant to
this article may be used only to supplement, and not supplant, any
other federal, state, or local funds that would otherwise be
available to carry out the activities described in this article. It
is the intent of the Legislature that any ongoing costs for
activities pursuant to this article be paid for by the participating
local educational agency.