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California |
LAWS
(a)(1) The governing board or body of a local educational agency that serves pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall, before the beginning of the 2017-18 school year, adopt, at a regularly scheduled meeting, a policy on pupil suicide prevention in grades 7 to 12, inclusive. The policy shall be developed in consultation with school and community stakeholders, school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention experts and shall, at a minimum, address procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.
(2)(A) The governing board or body of a local educational agency that serves pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, shall, before the beginning of the 2020-21 school year, adopt, at a regularly scheduled meeting, a policy on pupil suicide prevention in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive. The policy shall be developed in consultation with school and community stakeholders, the county mental health plan, school-employed mental health professionals, and suicide prevention experts and shall, at a minimum, address procedures relating to suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention.
(B) The policy for pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, shall be age appropriate and shall be delivered and discussed in a manner that is sensitive to the needs of young pupils.
(C) The policy for pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, shall be written to ensure proper coordination and consultation with the county mental health plan if a referral is made for mental health or related services on behalf of a pupil who is a Medi-Cal beneficiary.
(3) The policy shall specifically address the needs of high-risk groups, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A) Youth bereaved by suicide.
(B) Youth with disabilities, mental illness, or substance use disorders.
(C) Youth experiencing homelessness or in out-of-home settings, such as foster care.
(D) Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning youth.
(4)(A) The policy shall also address any training on suicide awareness and prevention to be provided to teachers of pupils in all of the grades served by the local educational agency.
(B) Materials approved by a local educational agency for training shall include how to identify appropriate mental health services, both at the schoolsite and within the larger community, and when and how to refer youth and their families to those services.
(C) Materials approved for training may also include programs that can be completed through self-review of suitable suicide prevention materials.
(5) The policy shall be written to ensure that a school employee acts only within the authorization and scope of the employee's credential or license. Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing or encouraging a school employee to diagnose or treat mental illness unless the employee is specifically licensed and employed to do so.
(6) To assist local educational agencies in developing policies for pupil suicide prevention, the department shall develop and maintain a model policy in accordance with this section to serve as a guide for local educational agencies.
(b) The governing board or body of a local educational agency that serves pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, shall review, at minimum every fifth year, its policy on pupil suicide prevention and, if necessary, update its policy.
(c) Nothing in this section shall prevent the governing board or body of a local educational agency from reviewing or updating its policy on pupil suicide prevention more frequently than every fifth year.
(d) For purposes of this section, "local educational agency" means a county office of education, school district, state special school, or charter school.
(a) The Superintendent shall post, and annually update, on the department's Internet Web site and provide to each school district a list of statewide resources, including community-based organizations, that provide support to youth, and their families, who have been subjected to school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying, including school-based discrimination, harassment, intimidation, or bullying on the basis of religious affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity, or perceived religious affiliation, nationality, race, or ethnicity.
(b) The department's Internet Web site shall also include a list of statewide resources for youth who have been affected by gangs, gun violence, and psychological trauma caused by violence at home, at school, and in the community.
(a) As comprehensive school safety plans are reviewed and updated, the Legislature encourages all plans, to the extent that resources are available, to include clear guidelines for the roles and responsibilities of mental health professionals, community intervention professionals, school counselors, school resource officers, and police officers on school campuses, if the school district uses these people.
(b) The guidelines developed pursuant to subdivision (a) are encouraged to include both of the following:
(1) 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.
(2) Consistent with paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 32282, protocols to address the mental health care of pupils who have witnessed a violent act at any time, including, but not limited to, any of the following:
(A) While on school grounds.
(B) While going to or coming from school.
(C) During a lunch period whether on or off campus.
(D) During, or while going to or coming from, a school-sponsored activity.
The Learning Communities for School Success Program is hereby established for the purpose of implementing, pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 7599.2 of the Government Code, the K-12 education portion of the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, as approved as Proposition 47 by the voters at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election. Through this program, the department shall administer grants and coordinate assistance to local educational agencies to support the local educational agencies in identifying and implementing evidence-based, nonpunitive programs and practices that are aligned with the goals for pupils contained in each of the local educational agency's local control and accountability plan pursuant to Section 47606.5, 52060, or 52066, as applicable.
(a) A local educational agency that chooses to apply for funding pursuant to this article shall submit an application to the department to receive a grant, in a format and by a date determined by the department. An application submitted to the department by a local educational agency shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) Information about the pupil and school needs within the local educational agency.
(2) The activities the local educational agency will undertake with the grant funding.
(3) How the activities specified in paragraph (2) support the local educational agency's goals for pupils contained in its local control and accountability plan.
(4) How the local educational agency will measure outcomes associated with the activities specified in subdivision (e) and metrics reported in the local educational agency's local control and accountability plan.
(b) An application shall be for three years of grant funding. Consistent with the provisions of this article, the department may establish requirements for grantees to meet at the end of the first and second years of funding in order to receive funding for the remaining grant period.
(c) The department shall determine eligibility for grants and the distribution of grant funding based on all of the following factors:
(1) Pupil and school needs the local educational agency will address with the grant funds.
(2) Number of pupils to be served with the grant funds.
(3) Number, size, and type of participating schools within the local educational agency.
(4) Any challenges the local educational agency experiences in building capacity for fulfilling the purposes of this article.
(5) The unique characteristics of small school districts, given their challenges with economies of scale and access to services in rural locations.
(d)(1) Before the initial application deadline, the department shall conduct targeted outreach to local educational agencies that are likely to be given priority pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 33432 and shall offer the local educational agencies technical assistance as they develop their grant applications.
(2) The department may provide technical assistance with application development to any local educational agency that requests assistance. This may include assistance from external entities the department may contract with as part of the training and technical assistance structure established pursuant to Section 33433.
(e) The department shall issue application guidelines that include, at a minimum, information about the department's plans for overall evaluation of the program considering the objectives identified in Section 33434. For purposes of facilitating program evaluation, the department, in consultation with the executive director of the state board, shall identify a set of measures and associated data sources that are deemed valid and reliable for measuring pupil and school outcomes and assessing the benefits of the program.
(f) In meeting the requirements of this section, the department shall consult with stakeholders, including, but not limited to, representatives of local educational agencies, teachers and other school personnel, parents, advocacy organizations with experience working with target vulnerable populations, and parent- and youth-serving community-based organizations. It the intent of the Legislature that stakeholders provide input to the department on the design of the application and review process, including the size of the grant awards. The stakeholders shall not be involved in determining who will be awarded grants.
(a) A local educational agency that receives a grant shall use the grant funds for planning, implementation, and evaluation of activities in support of evidence-based, nonpunitive programs and practices to keep the state's most vulnerable pupils in school. These activities shall complement or enhance the actions and services identified to meet the local educational agency's goals as identified in its local control and accountability plan pursuant to Section 47606.5, 52060, or 52066, as applicable. These activities may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Establishing a community school, as defined in Section 33435.
(2) Implementing activities or programs to improve attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism, including, but not limited to, early warning systems or early intervention programs.
(3) Implementing restorative practices, restorative justice models, or other programs to improve retention rates, reduce suspensions and other school removals, and reduce the referral of pupils to law enforcement agencies.
(4) Implementing activities that advance social-emotional learning, positive behavior interventions and supports, culturally responsive practices, and trauma-informed strategies.
(5) Establishing partnerships with community-based organizations or other relevant entities to support the implementation of evidence-based, nonpunitive approaches to further the goals of the program.
(6) Adding or increasing staff within a local educational agency whose primary purpose is to address ongoing chronic attendance problems, including, but not necessarily limited to, conducting outreach to families and children currently, or at risk of becoming, chronically truant.
(b) In selecting grant recipients pursuant to this article, the department shall give priority to a local educational agency that meets any of the following criteria:
(1)(A) Has a high rate of chronic absenteeism, out-of-school suspension, or school dropout for the general pupil population or for a numerically significant pupil subgroup, as identified in a local control and accountability plan pursuant to paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 52052.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, "high rate" means a rate that exceeds the state average.
(2) Is located in a community with a high crime rate.
(3) Has a significant representation of foster youth among its pupil enrollment.
(c) A local educational agency that receives a grant shall provide a local contribution of matching expenditures equal to at least 20 percent of the total grant award. This local contribution can be from cash expenditures or in-kind contributions. A local educational agency is encouraged to exceed the 20-percent match requirement to enable the local educational agency to sustain the activities or programs established under this article beyond the three-year grant period.
(d) A local educational agency that receives a grant shall use the grant funds to increase or improve services that the local educational agency currently provides for purposes specified in this article.
(e) A local educational agency shall not use grant funds to pay for law enforcement activities, including personnel or equipment.
(a) The department shall use the funding the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act authorizes for administrative costs pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 7599.2 of the Government Code, which is no more than 5 percent of the annual funding the department receives from the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund, for the administrative costs of implementing this article, including, but not limited to, administering grant awards, coordinating the training and technical assistance structure described in subdivision (b), and completing the evaluation pursuant to Section 33434.
(b) The department shall establish a structure to deliver training and technical assistance to grantees using regional workshops and technical assistance providers that have expertise on pupil engagement, school climate, truancy reduction, and supporting pupils who are at risk of dropping out of school or who are victims of crime. The department may contract with those providers to assist the grantees as well as to serve as a resource for other local educational agencies that may use their own funding sources to engage in this community of practice. Technical assistance provided pursuant to this subdivision shall be consistent with the technical assistance provided to a local educational agency by the county superintendent of schools or the Superintendent, as appropriate, in the development of the local control and accountability plan.
(a) A local educational agency that receives grant funding pursuant to this article shall evaluate and report to the governing board of the school district, the county board of education, or its chartering authority, as applicable, and the department the results of the activities it undertakes pursuant to this article. The department shall compile information from grantee reports as part of an overall evaluation of the grant program implementation. The department shall assess the benefits of participation in the program and identify the pupil and school outcomes associated with the strategies and programs implemented by grantees. The department shall submit an interim report of preliminary evaluation findings to the Legislature on or before January 31, 2019, and a final evaluation report to the Legislature on or before January 31, 2020.
(b)(1) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(2) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on January 31, 2024.
For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Community school" means a public school that participates in a community-based effort to coordinate and integrate educational, developmental, family, health, and other comprehensive services through community-based organizations and public and private partnerships with one or more community partners for the delivery of community services that may be provided at a schoolsite to pupils, families, and community members.
(b) "Local educational agency" means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
This article shall not become operative unless funds are appropriated in the annual Budget Act or another statute to the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund in accordance with the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act for the purposes specified in this article.
(a) The governing board of each school district and each county superintendent of schools shall appoint a supervisor of attendance and any assistant supervisors of attendance as may be necessary to supervise the attendance of pupils in the school district or county. The governing board of the school district or county superintendent of schools shall prescribe the duties of the supervisor of attendance and assistant supervisors of attendance to include, among other duties that may be required, those specific duties related to compulsory full-time education, truancy, work permits, compulsory continuation education, and opportunity schools, classes, and programs, now required of the attendance supervisors by this chapter and Article 4 (commencing with Section 48450) of Chapter 3 and Article 2 (commencing with Section 48640) of Chapter 4.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that in performing his or her duties, the supervisor of attendance promote a culture of attendance and establish a system to accurately track pupil attendance in order to achieve all of the following:
(1) Raise the awareness of school personnel, parents, guardians, caregivers, community partners, and local businesses of the effects of chronic absenteeism and truancy and other challenges associated with poor attendance.
(2) Identify and respond to grade level or pupil subgroup patterns of chronic absenteeism or truancy.
(3) Identify and address factors contributing to chronic absenteeism and habitual truancy, including suspension and expulsion.
(4) Ensure that pupils with attendance problems are identified as early as possible to provide applicable support services and interventions.
(5) Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies implemented to reduce chronic absenteeism rates and truancy rates.
(c) When a pupil with a temporary disability, as defined in Section 48206.3, is receiving individual instruction in the home or a hospital or other residential health facility, the supervisor of attendance shall ensure that absences from the pupil's regular school program are excused until the pupil is able to return to the regular school program.
(d) The supervisor of attendance may provide support services and interventions, which may include, but are not limited to, any or all of the following:
(1) A conference between school personnel, the pupil's parent or guardian, and the pupil.
(2) Promoting cocurricular and extracurricular activities that increase pupil connectedness to school, such as tutoring, mentoring, the arts, service learning, or athletics.
(3) Recognizing pupils who achieve excellent attendance or demonstrate significant improvement in attendance.
(4) Referral to a school nurse, school counselor, school psychologist, school social worker, and other pupil support personnel for case management and counseling.
(5) Collaboration with child welfare services, law enforcement, courts, public health care agencies, or government agencies, or medical, mental health, and oral health care providers to receive necessary services.
(6) Collaborating with school study teams, guidance teams, school attendance review teams, or other intervention-related teams to assess the attendance or behavior problem in partnership with the pupil and his or her parents, guardians, or caregivers.
(7) In schools with significantly higher rates of chronic absenteeism, identify barriers to attendance that may require schoolwide strategies rather than case management.
(8) Referral for a comprehensive psychosocial or psychoeducational assessment, including for purposes of creating an individualized education program for an individual with exceptional needs, as that term is defined in Section 56026, or plan adopted for a qualified handicapped person, as that term is defined in regulations promulgated by the United States Department of Education pursuant to Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794).
(9) Referral to a school attendance review board established by the county or by a school district pursuant to Section 48321 or to the probation department pursuant to Section 48263.
(10) Referral to a truancy mediation program operated by the county's district attorney or probation officer pursuant to Section 48260.6.
A minor who is classified as a truant pursuant to Section 48260 or 48261 may be required to attend makeup classes conducted on one day of a weekend pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 37223 and is subject to the following:
(a) The first time a truancy report is issued, the pupil and, as appropriate, the parent or legal guardian, may be requested to attend a meeting with a school counselor or other school designee to discuss the root causes of the attendance issue and develop a joint plan to improve the pupil's attendance.
(b) The second time a truancy report is issued within the same school year, the pupil may be given a written warning by a peace officer as specified in Section 830.1 of the Penal Code. A record of the written warning may be kept at the school for not less than two years or until the pupil graduates or transfers from that school. If the pupil transfers from that school, the record may be forwarded to the school receiving the pupil's school records. A record of the written warning may be maintained by the law enforcement agency in accordance with that law enforcement agency's policies and procedures. The pupil may also be assigned by the school to an afterschool or weekend study program located within the same county as the pupil's school. If the pupil fails to successfully complete the assigned study program, the pupil shall be subject to subdivision (c).
Any person arresting or assuming temporary custody of a minor pursuant to Section 48264 shall forthwith deliver the minor either to the parent, guardian, or other person having control, or charge of the minor, or to the school from which the minor is absent, or to a nonsecure youth service or community center designated by the school or district for counseling prior to returning such minor to his home or school, or to a school counselor or pupil services and attendance officer located at a police station for the purpose of obtaining immediate counseling from the counselor or officer prior to returning or being returned to his home or school, or, if the minor is found to have been declared an habitual truant, he shall cause the minor to be brought before the probation officer of the county having jurisdiction over minors.
In enacting this article it is the intent of the Legislature to encourage school districts and county offices of education maintaining any classes in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, to adopt pupil attendance policies based on the active involvement of parents, pupils, teachers, administrators, other personnel, and community members which include proposals and procedures for the following:
(a) Notifying parents of pupil absences, including notification of parents on the day of each absence.
(b) Increasing parent and pupil awareness of the importance of regular pupil attendance.
(c) Auditing and accountability of pupil attendance.
(d) Staff development for certificated and classified personnel.
(e) Alternative learning programs designed to respond to the different ways pupils learn, such as independent study.
(f) Joint efforts between law enforcement and schools, such as school level attendance review teams and periodic efforts to return truant pupils to school.
The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall prepare and disseminate to school districts and county superintendents of schools information regarding effective practices to improve pupil attendance.
(a) Suspension, including supervised suspension as described in Section 48911.1, shall be imposed only when other means of correction fail to bring about proper conduct. A school district may document the other means of correction used and place that documentation in the pupil's record, which may be accessed pursuant to Section 49069.7. However, a pupil, including an individual with exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026, may be suspended, subject to Section 1415 of Title 20 of the United States Code, for any of the reasons enumerated in Section 48900 upon a first offense, if the principal or superintendent of schools determines that the pupil violated subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) of Section 48900 or that the pupil's presence causes a danger to persons.
(b) Other means of correction include, but are not limited to, the following:
(1) A conference between school personnel, the pupil's parent or guardian, and the pupil.
(2) Referrals to the school counselor, psychologist, social worker, child welfare attendance personnel, or other school support service personnel for case management and counseling.
(3) Study teams, guidance teams, 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 the pupil's parents.
(4) Referral for a comprehensive psychosocial or psychoeducational assessment, including for purposes of creating an individualized education program, or a plan adopted pursuant to Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794(a)).
(5) Enrollment in a program for teaching prosocial behavior or anger management.
(6) Participation in a restorative justice program.
(7) A positive behavior support approach with tiered interventions that occur during the schoolday on campus.
(8) After school programs that address specific behavioral issues or expose pupils to positive activities and behaviors, including, but not limited to, those operated in collaboration with local parent and community groups.
(9) Any of the alternatives described in Section 48900.6.
(a) The superintendent of a school district, the principal of a school, or the principal's designee may refer a victim of, witness to, or other pupil affected by, an act of bullying, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (r) of Section 48900, committed on or after January 1, 2015, to the school counselor, school psychologist, social worker, child welfare attendance personnel, school nurse, or other school support service personnel for case management, counseling, and participation in a restorative justice program, as appropriate.
(b) A pupil who has engaged in an act of bullying, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision (r) of Section 48900, may also be referred to the school counselor, school psychologist, social worker, child welfare attendance personnel, or other school support service personnel for case management and counseling, or for participation in a restorative justice program, pursuant to Section 48900.5.
(a) If the number of pupils suspended from school during the prior school year exceeded 30 percent of the school's enrollment, the school should consider doing at least one of the following:
(2) Implement an alternative to the school's off-campus suspension program, which involves a progressive discipline approach that occurs during the schoolday on campus, using any of the following activities:
(A) Conferences between the school staff, parents, and pupils.
(B) Referral to the school counselor, psychologist, child welfare attendance personnel, or other school support service staff.
(D) Study teams, guidance teams, resource panel teams, or other assessment-related teams.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to encourage schools that choose to implement this section to examine alternatives to off-campus suspensions that lead to resolution of pupil misconduct without sending pupils off campus. Schools that use this section should not be precluded from suspending pupils to an off-campus site.
(b) The governing board shall recommend a plan of rehabilitation for the pupil at the time of the expulsion order, which may include, but not be limited to, periodic review as well as assessment at the time of review for readmission. The plan may also include recommendations for improved academic performance, tutoring, special education assessments, job training, counseling, employment, community service, or other rehabilitative programs.
(a) The governing board, upon voting to expel a pupil, may suspend the enforcement of the expulsion order for a period of not more than one calendar year and may, as a condition of the suspension of enforcement, assign the pupil to a school, class, or program that is deemed appropriate for the rehabilitation of the pupil. The rehabilitation program to which the pupil is assigned may provide for the involvement of the pupil's parent or guardian in his or her child's education in ways that are specified in the rehabilitation program. A parent or guardian's refusal to participate in the rehabilitation program shall not be considered in the governing board's determination as to whether the pupil has satisfactorily completed the rehabilitation program.
(b) The governing board shall apply the criteria for suspending the enforcement of the expulsion order equally to all pupils, including individuals with exceptional needs as defined in Section 56026.
(c) During the period of the suspension of the expulsion order, the pupil is deemed to be on probationary status.
(d) The governing board may revoke the suspension of an expulsion order under this section if the pupil commits any of the acts enumerated in Section 48900 or violates any of the district's rules and regulations governing pupil conduct. When the governing board revokes the suspension of an expulsion order, a pupil may be expelled under the terms of the original expulsion order.
(e) Upon satisfactory completion of the rehabilitation assignment of a pupil, the governing board shall reinstate the pupil in a school of the district and may also order the expungement of any or all records of the expulsion proceedings.
(f) A decision of the governing board to suspend an expulsion order does not affect the time period and requirements for the filing of an appeal of the expulsion order with the county board of education required under Section 48919. Any appeal shall be filed within 30 days of the original vote of the governing board.
Notwithstanding any other law, the governing board of a school district may transfer to another school in that school district a pupil enrolled in that school district who has been convicted of a violent felony, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code, or convicted of a misdemeanor listed in Section 29805 of the Penal Code if the pupil to be transferred and the victim of the crime for which the pupil was convicted are enrolled at the same school, subject to satisfaction of both of the following conditions:
(a) The governing board of the school district has adopted a policy at a regularly scheduled meeting that contains all of the following provisions:
(2) A requirement that the school first attempt to resolve the conflict before transferring a pupil, including, but not limited to, using restorative justice, counseling, or other services.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature:
(1) That children exhibiting serious behavioral challenges receive timely and appropriate assessments and positive supports and interventions in accordance with the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1400 et seq.) and its implementing regulations.
(b) In the case of a child whose behavior impedes the child's learning or that of others, the individualized education program team shall consider the use of positive behavioral interventions and supports, and other strategies, to address that behavior, consistent with Section 1414(d)(3)(B)(i) and (d)(4) of Title 20 of the United States Code and associated federal regulations.
REGULATIONS
No relevant regulations found. |
