SB 403: California Community Schools Act.
- Session Year: 2015-2016
- House: Senate
- Latest Version Date: 2015-04-23
Existing law authorizes school districts and community college districts, and schools and colleges within those districts, to enter into cooperative or contractual arrangements with business, industry, or elements within the community for improvement of the local educational program.
This bill would establish the California Community Schools Act, which would authorize a local educational agency or school and one or more community partners, as defined, to form a community consortium to establish a California community school, as defined. The bill would require the State Department of Education, Superintendent of Public Instruction, subject to the appropriation by the Legislature of funds in the annual Budget Act or the availability of funds from private sources, to make grants available to qualified recipients to fund California community schools and to enhance programs at California community schools. The bill would establish qualification requirements for grant applicants, and would require grant recipients to comply with specified requirements, including, among others, conducting periodic annual evaluations. The bill would require the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the department to provide technical assistance, as specified. The bill would require the department, State Department of Education, on or before November 1, 2019, to report specified information relating to the formation and operation of California community schools to the education policy committees of the Legislature. The bill would also make a conforming change to provisions relating to county community schools.
Existing law authorizes a county board of education to establish and maintain one or more county community schools, and authorizes a county board of education to enroll certain pupils in county community schools, including, but not limited to, a pupil who has been expelled, as specified. authorizes school districts and community college districts, and schools and colleges within those districts, to enter into cooperative or contractual arrangements with business, industry, or elements within the community for improvement of the local educational program.
This bill would establish the California Community Schools Act, which would authorize a local educational agency or school and one or more community partners, as defined, to form a community consortium to establish a California community school with an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and parent and community engagement, as specified. school, as defined. The bill would require the State Department of Education, subject to appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or the availability of funds from private sources, to make community school grants available to qualified recipients to fund California community schools and to enhance programs at California community schools. The bill would establish qualification requirements for grant applicants, and would require grant recipients to comply with specified requirements, including, among others, conducting periodic evaluations. The bill would require the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the department to provide technical assistance to local educational agencies, assistance, as specified. The bill would require the department, on or before November 1, 2019, to report specified information relating to the formation and operation of California community schools to the education policy committees of the Legislature. The bill would also make a conforming change to provisions relating to county community schools.
Existing law authorizes a county board of education to establish and maintain one or more county community schools, and authorizes a county board of education to enroll certain pupils in county community schools, including, but not limited to, a pupil who has been expelled, as specified.
This bill would establish the California Community Schools Act, which would authorize a local educational agency or school and one or more community partners, as defined, to form a community consortium to establish a community school with an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and parent and community engagement, as specified. The bill would require the State Department of Education, subject to appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or the availability of funds from private sources, to make community school grants available to qualified recipients to fund community schools and to enhance programs at community schools. The bill would establish qualification requirements for grant applicants, and would require grant recipients to comply with specified requirements, including, among others, conducting periodic evaluations. The bill would require the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the department to provide technical assistance to local educational agencies, as specified. The bill would require the department, on or before November 1, 2019, to report specified information relating to the formation and operation of community schools to the education policy committees of the Legislature.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)All children are capable of success.
(b)Schools are the centers of vibrant communities.
(c)Strong families build strong educational communities.
(d)Children succeed when adults work together to foster positive educational outcomes.
(e)Schools work best when families take active roles in the education of children. Children are more successful in school when families and teachers are supported to work as partners.
(f)Hunger, homelessness, health issues, and a lack of access to intervention and enrichment activities inhibit learning. Schools are limited in their ability to dedicate time and resources to provide a wide range of opportunities and supports to ameliorate the impacts of child poverty, creating an opportunity gap that inhibits children from succeeding in school.
(g)
(a)A community school is a traditional school that actively partners with its community to leverage existing resources and identify new resources to support the transformation of the school to provide enrichment, social services, and additional life skill opportunities for pupils, parents, and community members at large. Each community school is unique because its programming is designed by and for the school staff, in partnership with parents, community stakeholders, and pupils in response to the needs of the local community.
(h)
(b)Using schools as hubs, community school strategies foster intentional collaboration and alignment among school districts; state, county and city government; and postsecondary education, community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and business. By providing in-school supports, enrichment, and extended learning opportunities outside of normal school hours pupils are more successful academically, more engaged in their communities, safer, and better prepared to make a successful transition to adulthood.
(i)
(c)The community schools approach is based on a whole child approach and youth development principles to improve pupil engagement and build a positive nurturing school climate. Research shows that community schools have a powerful positive impact on pupils, as demonstrated by increased academic success, increased attendance, improved pupil engagement, decreases in grade retention and dropout, and decreased behavioral problems with a resulting improvement of school climate.
(j)
(d)The integrated pupil support model of a community school embraces a whole child perspective that recognizes the importance of a childs health and safety, socioemotional development, behavior, and relationships to his or her educational success. The study recognizes that educational success is affected by multiple contexts, in and out of school. Research clearly indicates that the likelihood of academic success, especially for disadvantaged pupils, is enhanced by a more comprehensive set of supports and opportunities.
(k)
(e)The local control funding formula calls for a level educational playing field for high need pupils, which is a key focus of community schools. Local control and accountability plans take a holistic view of pupil outcomes, as do community schools. In addition to pupil achievement, new state priorities and local control and accountability plans add involvement of parents and the community in decisionmaking, and prioritize pupil engagement, school climate, college and career preparation, and other key areas that are highly aligned with community school strategies.
(l)
(f)Successful community schools currently exist in California and throughout the nation, and should be models for replication. California schools have benefited from the federal Full-Service Community Schools Program, the federal Promise Neighborhoods program, and from the national community schools movement that has been recognized by the National League of Cities and the National School Boards Association. These programs recognize that community schools are a fundamental equity strategy to address disparities.
(m)
(g)Community schools are cost effective because they leverage existing resources provided by local, regional, state, federal, nonprofit, and private sources and align and connect programs to the schools, where the pupils are already congregated and where parents and the broader community can be engaged.
SEC. 2.Section 1980 of the Education Code is amended to read:1980.(a)A county board of education may establish and maintain one or more community schools.
(b)A county community school shall not be designated as a California community school unless the requirements specified in the California Community Schools Act (Chapter 19 (commencing with Section 53310) of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2) are satisfied.
SEC. 3.Chapter 19 (commencing with Section 53310) is added to Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:19.California Community Schools1.Definitions53310.This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Community Schools Act.
53311.As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a)(1)Community consortium means a partnership established between a school or a local educational agency and one or more community partners for purposes of establishing and operating a community school. a consortium of community representatives that shall include both of the following:
(A)A public school or local educational agency.
(B)At least one other community partner that is independent of the public school or local educational agency.
(2)A community consortium may include a broad array of community partners, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A)A community-based organization.
(B)An organization serving children and youth.
(C)An institution of higher education.
(D)A foundation.
(E)A business.
(F)A teacher organization.
(G)An organization representing education professionals.
(H)A local government, including a government agency serving children and youth, such as child welfare and juvenile justice agency.
(I)An organization representing pupils.
(J)An organization representing parents.
(3)A community consortium may include representatives from multiple jurisdictions.
(b)Community partner means a provider of one or more community services or a community organization nonprofit government agency, community organization, nonprofit organization, or business entity with a mission and record of improving conditions in the community. community that provides one or more community services.
(c)California community school or community school means a public school engaged in cross-agency 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 to pupils, families, and community members.
(d)Community services includes all of the following:
(1)Primary medical and dental care that is available to pupils and when possible community residents.
(2)Mental health prevention and treatment services that are available to pupils and, when possible, community residents.
(3)Academic enrichment activities designed to promote a pupils cognitive development and provide opportunities to practice and apply academic skills.
(4)Programs designed to increase school attendance, including reducing truancy and early chronic absenteeism rates.
(5)Youth development programs designed to promote young peoples social, emotional, physical, and moral development, including arts, sports, physical fitness, youth leadership, community service, and service learning opportunities.
(6)Early childhood education, including prekindergarten, Head Start, and Early Head Start programs.
(7)Programs designed to do all of the following:
(A)Facilitate parental involvement in, and engagement with, their childrens education, including parental activities that involve supporting, monitoring, and advocating for their childrens education.
(B)Promote parental leadership in the school and community.
(C)Build parenting skills.
(8)Expanded learning opportunities for all pupils, including before and after school enrichment programs, workplace learning opportunities, and postsecondary partnerships.
(9)Schoolage child care services, including before school and after school services and full day programming that operates during school holidays, summers, vacations, and weekends.
(10)Supports to meet fundamental material needs of homeless and disadvantaged pupils.
(11)Youth and adult job training services and career counseling services.
(12)Programs that provide assistance to pupils who have been truant, suspended, or expelled and that offer multiple pathways to high school graduation, a General Education Development (GED), or other alternatives to high school completion.
(13)Adult education, including instruction in English as a second language, adult literacy, computer literacy, financial literacy, and skills training.
(e)Local educational agency means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
(f)Specialized instructional support personnel means local educational agency personnel in the following categories:
(1)Counselors.
(2)Social workers.
(3)Psychologists.
(4)Physical, occupational, and other therapists.
(5)Nurses.
2.General Provisions53312.(a)Local educational agencies and schools are authorized and encouraged to form community consortiums with community partners to establish California community schools.
(b)A California community school shall strive to become the center of the community by providing programs and services for persons of all ages, serving pupils, parents, and community members.
53313.The state board and the department shall support and encourage local educational agencies in the creation of California community schools. All policies, guidelines, and rules and regulations adopted by the state board and the department pursuant to this chapter shall actively foster the formation, development, and operation of California community schools.
53314.The department may seek funds from nonprofit and private donors and grants to fund local educational agencies efforts to create and support California community schools.
53315.The department and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence shall provide technical assistance directly or through referral to third-party technical service providers. The department shall establish and maintain a resource and referral directory when funds become available, either through state appropriations or other funding and support.
53316.53314.Subject to The Superintendent shall do all of the following:
(a)Subject to the appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act or the availability of funding from private sources for the creation and support of California community schools, the department Superintendent shall make grants available to fund California community schools and to enhance programs at California community schools.
(b)To assist public elementary or secondary schools to function as California community schools, the Superintendent shall award grants to applicants that do all of the following:
(1)Coordinate not less than three existing community services or provide and coordinate not less than two additional community services at one or more public elementary or secondary schools.
(2)Integrate multiple services into a comprehensive, coordinated continuum supported by research-based activities that achieve the performance goals established under paragraph (4) of subdivision (d) of Section 53316 to meet the holistic needs of young people.
(3)If applicable, coordinate and integrate services provided by community-based organizations and government agencies with services provided by specialized instructional support personnel.
(4)Provide matching funds or in-kind services from any allowable source, public or private, in an amount representing 25 percent of the grant.
(c)In awarding grants under this section, the Superintendent shall give priority to eligible applicants that have or are planning to implement a minimum of two or more California community schools serving high percentages of unduplicated pupils, as defined in Sections 42238.01 and 42238.02.
(d)The Superintendent may authorize an eligible entity to use grant funds under this section for planning purposes in an amount not greater than 30 percent of the total grant amount.
(e)The Superintendent may seek funds from nonprofit and private donors and grants to fund local educational agencies' efforts to create and support California community schools.
(f)The Superintendent shall provide technical assistance directly through the department or through referral to third-party technical service providers with a demonstrated ability to successfully develop community schools.
53317.A request for proposal process shall be used in awarding grants under this chapter. A proposal may be submitted by a school, a local educational agency, or a community consortium. The proposal shall be evaluated and scored using criteria adopted by the state board that is consistent with this chapter.
53315.All local educational agencies shall be eligible to apply to the Superintendent for the grant program.
53316.To seek a grant under this section, a local educational agency shall submit an application to the Superintendent at such time and in such manner as the Superintendent may require. The Superintendent shall award grants to applicants that include all of the following:
(a)A description of the eligible entity and their community consortium.
(b)A memorandum of understanding among all community partners that will assist the eligible entity to coordinate and provide community services and that describes the roles the community partners will assume.
(c)A description of the capacity of the eligible entity to coordinate and provide community services at one or more California community schools.
(d)A comprehensive plan that includes descriptions of all of the following:
(1)The pupil, family, and school community to be served, including information about demographic characteristics that include major racial and ethnic groups, median family income, percent of pupils eligible for free and reduced-price meals, and other information.
(2)A needs assessment that identifies the academic, physical, social, emotional, health, mental health, and other needs of pupils, families, and community residents.
(3)A community assets assessment that identifies existing resources that could be aligned.
(4)Yearly measurable performance goals, including an increase in the percentage of families and pupils targeted for services each year of the program, that are consistent with all of the following objectives:
(A)Children are ready for school.
(B)Pupils are engaged and achieving academically.
(C)Pupils are physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally healthy.
(D)Schools and neighborhoods are safe and provide a positive climate for learning that is free from bullying or harassment.
(E)Families are supportive and engaged in their childrens education.
(F)Pupils and families are prepared for postsecondary education and 21st century careers.
(G)Pupils are contributing to their communities.
(5)A description of how the grant planning components coordinate with the local educational agencys local control and accountability plan.
(6)Performance measures to monitor progress toward attainment of the goals established under paragraph (4).
(7)Stakeholder surveys that include department approved survey instruments that measure a pupils sense of safety, school climate, and pupil connectedness.
(8)Funding sources for community services to be coordinated and provided at each school to be served, whether such funding is derived from a grant under this section or from other federal, state, local, or private sources.
(9)A plan for sustaining the programs and services outlined in this chapter.
53317.(a)Each grant awarded under this chapter shall be for a period of three years and may be renewed at the discretion of the Superintendent based on the eligible entity's demonstrated effectiveness in meeting the performance goals and measures established under paragraph (4) subdivision (d) of Section 53316.
(b)Funds made available to a grantee under this chapter 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 assisted under this chapter.
53318.A community consortium shall develop a Each grant recipient shall do all of the following:
(a)Develop a three-year plan, in conjunction with a community consortium, for aligning community services that may shall include, but is not limited to, the following:
(a)
(1)Assessing the needs of pupils, families, schools, and the local community.
(b)
(2)Mapping resources in the school and community to identify potential community partners to provide services that fill identified needs and resource gaps.
(c)
(3)Developing a plan to establish a community school infrastructure, including, but not limited to, establishing the following:
(1)A committee of elected officials and local leaders to focus on policy decisions.
(2)
(A)An executive team tasked with overall operations.
(3)
(B)A school team for day-to-day service delivery, referrals, and coordination.
(4)
(C)Developing systems for coordination, collective decisionmaking, resources sharing, and sustainability.
(5)Examining opportunities to achieve economies of scale and eliminate duplication of efforts among the consortium members.
(6)
(D)Developing a plan for cross-agency collaboration by implementing memoranda of understanding between community partners.
(7)Evidence that community partners will commit time and resources to establishing relationships and creating systems for sharing resources and making decisions based on ongoing needs assessments and program quality data.
(8)
(E)Establishing school governance teams that are representative of the school community.
(9)
(F)Commitments from community partners to implement a data collection system based on shared outcome goals that includes community input to ensure improvement of service delivery and coordinated community services delivery.
(10)
(G)Use of a community schoolsite coordinator to facilitate partnership coordination, ensure equitable access to high-quality support services, and engage members from all constituent groups.
(b)Conduct annual evaluations of the progress achieved with the grant toward achieving the purposes of this chapter.
(c)Use evaluations to refine and improve activities conducted with the grant and the performance measures for those activities.
(d)Make the results of the evaluations publicly available, including providing public notice of the availability of the evaluations.
(e)Collect and report data as required by the department and the applicable local control and accountability plan.
53319.To qualify for a grant under this chapter, an applicant shall, at a minimum, have a plan to develop the following components as a part of the grant proposal:
(a)A local advisory group comprised of school leadership, parents, and community stakeholders that establishes school programming goals, assesses program needs, and oversees the process of implementing expanded programming.
(b)A community schoolsite coordinator who is responsible for establishing the local advisory group, assessing the needs of pupils and community members, identifying programs to meet those needs, coordinating partnerships and services with community partners, developing the before and after school, weekend, and summer programming, and overseeing the implementation of programming to ensure high quality and robust participation.
(c)A collaborative governance structure for the effective integration of school and community resources and family and community engagement.
(d)Expanded learning opportunities for all pupils, such as before and after school enrichment programs, workplace learning opportunities, and postsecondary partnerships.
(e)Access to onsite, coordinated community services for pupils and families, such as physical and mental health services through school-based health centers or programs, social services, and youth, family, and community engagement and development designed to holistically address the mental, emotional, and physical health of pupils and to support the acceleration of academic achievement.
(f)Documentation of collaboration between the school and community stakeholders, including local government, civic organizations, families, businesses, and social service providers.
(g)A nondiscrimination policy ensuring that the community school does not condition participation upon race, ethnic origin, religion, sex, or disability.
53320.A grant recipient under this chapter shall do all of the following:
(a)Conduct periodic evaluations of the progress achieved with funds allocated under a grant, consistent with the purposes of this chapter.
(b)Use the evaluations to refine and improve activities conducted with the grant and the performance measures for the activities.
(c)Make the results of the evaluations publicly available, including providing public notice of the availability.
(d)Identify best practices to help local educational agencies and schools in the formation of California community schools and to revise the community school policies of the state board and the department.
(e)Maintain attendance records in all programming components.
(f)Maintain data on annual participation.
53321.53319.Nothing in this chapter limits a county community school formed pursuant to Section 1980 from also being designated as a California community school, subject to compliance with this chapter.
53322. 53320.(a)The department shall study and report on the formation and operation of California community schools, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1)Best practices that can be replicated by other local educational agencies and schools desiring to form community schools.
(2)Whether California community schools have improved pupil learning, family and community engagement, school effectiveness in decreasing truancy truancy, chronic absence, and the dropout rate, and physical and mental health of the pupils and other members of the community.
(3)Whether California community schools have met their educational and community goals.
(b)The department shall report its findings and recommendations to the education policy committees of the Legislature on or before November 1, 2019.
(c)Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on November 1, 2020.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)All children are capable of success.
(b)Schools are the centers of vibrant communities.
(c)Strong families build strong educational communities.
(d)Children succeed when adults work together to foster positive educational outcomes.
(e)Schools work best when families take active roles in the education of children. Children are more successful in school when families and teachers are supported to work as partners.
(f)Hunger, homelessness, health issues, and a lack of access to intervention and enrichment activities inhibit learning. Schools are limited in their ability to dedicate time and resources to provide a wide range of opportunities and supports to ameliorate the impacts of child poverty, creating an opportunity gap that inhibits children from succeeding in school.
(g)A community school is a traditional school that actively partners with its community to leverage existing resources and identify new resources to support the transformation of the school to provide enrichment, social services, and additional life skill opportunities for pupils, parents, and community members at large. Each community school is unique because its programming is designed by and for the school staff, in partnership with parents, community stakeholders, and pupils in response to the needs of the local community.
(h)Using schools as hubs, community school strategies foster intentional collaboration and alignment among school districts; state, county and city government; and postsecondary education, community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and business. By providing in-school supports, enrichment, and extended learning opportunities outside of normal school hours pupils are more successful academically, more engaged in their communities, safer, and better prepared to make a successful transition to adulthood.
(i)The community schools approach is based on a whole child approach and youth development principles to improve pupil engagement and build a positive nurturing school climate. Research shows that community schools have a powerful positive impact on pupils, as demonstrated by increased academic success, increased attendance, improved pupil engagement, decreases in grade retention and dropout, and decreased behavioral problems with a resulting improvement of school climate.
(j)The integrated pupil support model of a community school embraces a whole child perspective that recognizes the importance of a childs health and safety, socioemotional development, behavior, and relationships to his or her educational success. The study recognizes that educational success is affected by multiple contexts, in and out of school. Research clearly indicates that the likelihood of academic success, especially for disadvantaged pupils, is enhanced by a more comprehensive set of supports and opportunities.
(k)The local control funding formula calls for a level educational playing field for high need pupils, which is a key focus of community schools. Local control and accountability plans take a holistic view of pupil outcomes, as do community schools. In addition to pupil achievement, new state priorities and local control and accountability plans add involvement of parents and the community in decisionmaking, and prioritize pupil engagement, school climate, college and career preparation, and other key areas that are highly aligned with community school strategies.
(l)Successful community schools currently exist in California and throughout the nation, and should be models for replication. California schools have benefited from the federal Full-Service Community Schools Program, the federal Promise Neighborhood Initiative, Neighborhoods program, and from the national community schools movement that has been recognized by the National League of Cities and the National School Boards Association. These programs recognize that community schools are a fundamental equity strategy to address disparities.
(m)Community schools are cost effective because they leverage existing resources provided by local, regional, state, federal, nonprofit, and private sources and align and connect programs to the schools, where the pupils are already congregated and where parents and the broader community can be engaged.
SEC. 2.Section 1980 of the Education Code is amended to read:1980.(a)A county board of education may establish and maintain one or more community schools.
(b)A county community school shall not be designated as a California community school unless the requirements specified in the California Community Schools Act (Chapter 19 (commencing with Section 53310) of Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2) are satisfied.
SEC. 2.SEC. 3.Chapter 19 (commencing with Section 53310) is added to Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:19.California Community Schools1.Definitions53310.This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Community Schools Act.
53311.As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a)Community consortium means a partnership established between a school or a local educational agency and one or more community partners for purposes of establishing, operating, and sustaining establishing and operating a community school.
(b)Community partner means a provider of one or more community services or a community organization nonprofit or business entity with a mission and record of improving conditions in the community.
(c)Community school means a public and private partnership to coordinate educational, developmental, and family engagement and support, before school and after school programs, and health services during school and nonschool hours for pupils, families, and local communities at a public school with the objectives of reducing absenteeism, increasing pupil engagement and connectedness, improving academic achievement, building stronger relationships between schools, pupils, parents, and communities, and improving the skills, capacity, and well-being of the pupils, families, and surrounding community residents.
(c)California community school or community school means a public school engaged in cross-agency partnerships with one or more community partners for the delivery of community services to pupils, families, and community members.
(d)Community services includes all of the following:
(1)Primary medical and dental care that is available to pupils and when possible community residents.
(2)Mental health prevention and treatment services that is are available to pupils and, when possible, community residents.
(3)Academic enrichment activities designed to promote a pupils cognitive development and provide opportunities to practice and apply academic skills.
(4)Programs designed to increase school attendance, including reducing truancy and early chronic absenteeism rates.
(5)Youth development programs designed to promote young peoples social, emotional, physical, and moral development, including arts, sports, physical fitness, youth leadership, community service, and service learning opportunities.
(6)Early childhood education, including prekindergarten, Head Start, and Early Head Start programs.
(7)Programs designed to do all of the following:
(A)Facilitate parental involvement in, and engagement with, their childrens education, including parental activities that involve supporting, monitoring, and advocating for their childrens education.
(B)Promote parental leadership in the life of the school and community.
(C)Build parenting skills.
(8)Expanded learning opportunities for all pupils, including before and after school enrichment programs, workplace learning opportunities, and postsecondary partnerships.
(9)Schoolage child care services, including before school and after school services and full day programming that operates during school holidays, summers, vacations, and weekends.
(10)Supports to meet fundamental material needs of homeless and disadvantaged pupils.
(11)Youth and adult job training services and career counseling services.
(12)Programs that provide assistance to pupils who have been truant, suspended, or expelled and that offer multiple pathways to high school graduation, a General Education Development (GED), or other alternatives to high school completion.
(13)Adult education, including instruction in English as a second language, adult literacy, computer literacy, financial literacy, and skills training.
(e)Local educational agency means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.
2.General Provisions53312.(a)Local educational agencies and schools are authorized and encouraged to form community consortiums with a variety of community partners to establish a California community school or schools with an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and parent and community engagement that will lead to improved pupil learning, stronger families, and healthier communities. schools.
(b)The A California community schools, formed pursuant to this chapter, school shall strive to become centers the center of their communities the community by providing programs and services for persons of all ages, serving pupils, parents, and community members throughout the day, including evenings, weekends, and summer. members.
53313.The state board and the department shall support and encourage local educational agencies in the creation of California community schools. All policies, guidelines, and rules and regulations adopted by the state board pursuant to this chapter shall actively foster the formation, development, and operation of California community schools.
53314.The department may seek funds from nonprofit and private donors and grants to fund local educational agencies efforts to create and support California community schools.
53315.The department and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence shall assist local educational agencies by providing provide technical assistance directly or through referral to third-party technical service providers. A The department shall establish and maintain a resource and referral directory shall be established and maintained by the department when funds become available, either through state appropriations or other funding and support.
53316.Subject to the appropriation of funds in the annual Budget Act or the availability of funding from private sources for the creation and support of California community schools, the department shall make community school grants available to fund California community schools and to enhance programs at California community schools.
53317.A request for proposal process shall be used in awarding grants under this chapter. Proposals A proposal may be submitted on behalf of by a school, a local educational agency, or a consortium of two or more schools or local educational agencies. Proposals community consortium. The proposal shall be evaluated and scored on the basis of using criteria adopted by the state board that is consistent with this chapter and other factors developed and adopted by the state board. chapter.
53318.A community consortium shall develop a plan for aligning community services that may include, but is not limited to, the following:
(a)Assessing the needs of pupils, families, schools, and the local community.
(b)Mapping resources in the school and community to identify potential community partners to provide services that fill identified needs and resource gaps.
(c)Developing a plan to establish a community school infrastructure, including, but not limited to, establishing the following:
(1)A committee of elected officials and local leaders to focus on policy decisions.
(2)An executive team tasked with overall operations.
(3)A school team for day-to-day service delivery, referrals, and coordination.
(4)Developing systems for coordination, collective decisionmaking, resources sharing, and sustainability.
(5)Examining opportunities to achieve economies of scale and eliminate duplication of efforts among the consortium members.
(6)Developing a plan for cross-agency collaboration by implementing memoranda of understanding between community partners.
(7)Evidence that community partners will commit time and resources to establishing relationships and creating systems for sharing resources and making decisions based on ongoing needs assessments and program quality data.
(8)Establishing school governance teams that are representative of the school community.
(9)Commitments from community partners to implement a data collection system based on shared outcome goals that includes community input to ensure improvement of service delivery and coordinated community services delivery.
(10)Use of a community schoolsite coordinator to facilitate partnership coordination, ensure equitable access to high-quality support services, and engage members from all constituent groups.
53318.In order to
53319.To qualify for a grant under this chapter, a school or local educational agency shall have, an applicant shall, at a minimum, the following components or have a plan to develop the following components as a part of the grant proposal in order to sustain a system for alignment of school and community resources with the needs of pupils and families: proposal:
(a)A local advisory group comprised of school leadership, parents, and community stakeholders that establishes school specific programming goals, assesses program needs, and oversees the process of implementing expanded programming.
(b)A program director or resource community schoolsite coordinator who is responsible for establishing the local advisory group, assessing the needs of pupils and community members, identifying programs to meet those needs, coordinating partnerships and services with community partners, developing the before and after school, weekend, and summer programming, and overseeing the implementation of programming to ensure high quality and robust participation.
(c)A collaborative governance structure for the effective braiding integration of school and community resources and family and community engagement.
(d)Expanded learning opportunities for all pupils, such as before and after school enrichment programs, workplace learning opportunities, and postsecondary partnerships.
(e)Access to onsite, coordinated support community services for pupils and families, such as physical and mental health services through school-based health centers or programs, social services, and youth, family, and community engagement and development designed to holistically address the mental, emotional, and physical health of pupils and to support the acceleration of academic achievement.
(f)Maintenance of attendance records in all programming components.
(g)Maintenance of measurable data showing annual participation and the impact of programming on the participating children and adults.
(h)
(f)Documentation of true collaboration between the school and community stakeholders, including local governmental units, government, civic organizations, families, businesses, and social service providers.
(i)
(g)A nondiscrimination policy ensuring that the community school does not condition participation upon race, ethnic origin, religion, sex, or disability.
53319.53320.A grant recipient under this chapter shall do all of the following:
(a)Conduct periodic evaluations of the progress achieved with funds allocated under a grant, consistent with the purposes of this chapter.
(b)Use the evaluations to refine and improve activities conducted with the grant and the performance measures for the activities.
(c)Make the results of the evaluations publicly available, including providing public notice of the availability.
(d)Identify best practices and lessons learned for the purpose of helping other to help local educational agencies and schools in the formation of California community schools and to revise the community school policies of the state board and the department.
(e)Maintain attendance records in all programming components.
(f)Maintain data on annual participation.
53321.Nothing in this chapter limits a county community school formed pursuant to Section 1980 from also being designated as a California community school, subject to compliance with this chapter.
53320.53322.(a)The department shall study and report on the formation and operation of California community schools, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1)Best practices that can be replicated by other local educational agencies and schools desiring to form community schools.
(2)Whether California community schools have improved pupil learning, family and community engagement, school effectiveness in decreasing truancy and the dropout rate, and physical and mental health of the pupils and other members of the community.
(3)Whether California community schools have met their educational and community goals.
(b)The department shall report its findings and recommendations to the education policy committees of the Legislature on or before November 1, 2019.
(c)Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on November 1, 2020.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)All children are capable of success.
(b)Schools are the centers of vibrant communities.
(c)Strong families build strong educational communities.
(d)Children succeed when adults work together to foster positive educational outcomes.
(e)Schools work best when families take active roles in the education of children. Children are more successful in school when families and teachers are supported to work as partners.
(f)Hunger, homelessness, health issues, and a lack of access to intervention and enrichment activities inhibit learning. Schools are limited in their ability to dedicate time and resources to provide a wide range of opportunities and supports to ameliorate the impacts of child poverty, creating an opportunity gap that inhibits children from succeeding in school.
(g)A community school is a traditional school that actively partners with its community to leverage existing resources and identify new resources to support the transformation of the school to provide enrichment, social services, and additional life skill opportunities for pupils, parents, and community members at large. Each community school is unique because its programming is designed by and for the school staff, in partnership with parents, community stakeholders, and pupils in response to the needs of the local community.
(h)Using schools as hubs, community school strategies foster intentional collaboration and alignment among school districts; state, county and city government; and postsecondary education, community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and business. By providing in-school supports, enrichment, and extended learning opportunities outside of normal school hours pupils are more successful academically, more engaged in their communities, safer, and better prepared to make a successful transition to adulthood.
(i)The community schools approach is based on a whole child approach and youth development principles to improve pupil engagement and build a positive nurturing school climate. Research shows that community schools have a powerful positive impact on pupils, as demonstrated by increased academic success, increased attendance, improved pupil engagement, decreases in grade retention and dropout, and decreased behavioral problems with a resulting improvement of school climate.
(j)The integrated pupil support model of a community school embraces a whole child perspective that recognizes the importance of a childs health and safety, socioemotional development, behavior, and relationships to his or her educational success. The study recognizes that educational success is affected by multiple contexts, in and out of school. Research clearly indicates that the likelihood of academic success, especially for disadvantaged pupils, is enhanced by a more comprehensive set of supports and opportunities.
(k)The local control funding formula calls for a level educational playing field for high need pupils, which is a key focus of community schools. Local control and accountability plans take a holistic view of pupil outcomes, as do community schools. In addition to pupil achievement, new state priorities and local control and accountability plans add involvement of parents and the community in decisionmaking, and prioritize pupil engagement, school climate, college and career preparation, and other key areas that are highly aligned with community school strategies.
(l)Successful community schools currently exist in California and throughout the nation, and should be models for replication. California schools have benefited from the federal Full Service Community Schools Program, the federal Promise Neighborhood Initiative, and from the national community schools movement that has been recognized by the National League of Cities and the National School Boards Association. These programs recognize that community schools are a fundamental equity strategy to address disparities.
(m)Community schools are cost effective because they leverage existing resources provided by local, regional, state, federal, nonprofit, and private sources and align and connect programs to the schools, where the pupils are already congregated and where parents and the broader community can be engaged.
SEC. 2.Chapter 19 (commencing with Section 53310) is added to Part 28 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:19.California Community Schools1.Definitions53310.This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Community Schools Act.
53311.As used in this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a)Community consortium means a partnership established between a school or a local educational agency and one or more community partners for purposes of establishing, operating, and sustaining a community school.
(b)Community partner means a provider of one or more community services or a community organization nonprofit or business entity with a mission and record of improving conditions in the community.
(c)Community school means a public and private partnership to coordinate educational, developmental, and family engagement and support, before school and after school programs, and health services during school and nonschool hours for pupils, families, and local communities at a public school with the objectives of reducing absenteeism, increasing pupil engagement and connectedness, improving academic achievement, building stronger relationships between schools, pupils, parents, and communities, and improving the skills, capacity, and well-being of the pupils, families, and surrounding community residents.
(d)Community services includes all of the following:
(1)Primary medical and dental care that is available to pupils and when possible community residents.
(2)Mental health prevention and treatment services that is available to pupils and, when possible, community residents.
(3)Academic enrichment activities designed to promote a pupils cognitive development and provide opportunities to practice and apply academic skills.
(4)Programs designed to increase school attendance, including reducing truancy and early chronic absenteeism rates.
(5)Youth development programs designed to promote young peoples social, emotional, physical, and moral development, including arts, sports, physical fitness, youth leadership, community service, and service learning opportunities.
(6)Early childhood education, including prekindergarten, Head Start, and Early Head Start programs.
(7)Programs designed to do all of the following:
(A)Facilitate parental involvement in, and engagement with, their childrens education, including parental activities that involve supporting, monitoring, and advocating for their childrens education.
(B)Promote parental leadership in the life of the school and community.
(C)Build parenting skills.
(8)Expanded learning opportunities for all pupils, including before and after school enrichment programs, workplace learning opportunities, and postsecondary partnerships.
(9)Schoolage child care services, including before school and after school services and full day programming that operates during school holidays, summers, vacations, and weekends.
(10)Supports to meet fundamental material needs of homeless and disadvantaged pupils.
(11)Youth and adult job training services and career counseling services.
(12)Programs that provide assistance to pupils who have been truant, suspended, or expelled and that offer multiple pathways to high school graduation, a General Education Development (GED), or other alternatives to high school completion.
(13)Adult education, including instruction in English as a second language, adult literacy, computer literacy, financial literacy, and skills training.
2.General Provisions53312.(a)Local educational agencies and schools are authorized and encouraged to form community consortiums with a variety of community partners to establish a community school or schools with an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and parent and community engagement that will lead to improved pupil learning, stronger families, and healthier communities.
(b)The community schools, formed pursuant to this chapter, shall strive to become centers of their communities by providing programs and services for persons of all ages, serving pupils, parents, and community members throughout the day, including evenings, weekends, and summer.
53313.The state board and the department shall support and encourage local educational agencies in the creation of community schools. All policies, guidelines, and rules and regulations adopted by the state board pursuant to this chapter shall actively foster the formation, development, and operation of community schools.
53314.The department may seek funds from nonprofit and private donors and grants to fund local educational agencies efforts to create and support community schools.
53315.The department and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence shall assist local educational agencies by providing technical assistance directly or through referral to third-party technical service providers. A resource and referral directory shall be established and maintained by the department when funds become available, either through state appropriations or other funding and support.
53316.Subject to appropriation in the annual Budget Act or the availability of funding from private sources for creation and support of community schools, the department shall make community school grants available to fund community schools and to enhance programs at community schools.
53317.A request for proposal process shall be used in awarding grants under this chapter. Proposals may be submitted on behalf of a school, a local educational agency, or a consortium of two or more schools or local educational agencies. Proposals shall be evaluated and scored on the basis of criteria consistent with this chapter and other factors developed and adopted by the state board.
53318.In order to qualify for a grant under this chapter, a school or local educational agency shall have, at a minimum, the following components or plan to develop the following components as a part of the grant proposal in order to sustain a system for alignment of school and community resources with the needs of pupils and families:
(a)A local advisory group comprised of school leadership, parents, and community stakeholders that establishes school specific programming goals, assesses program needs, and oversees the process of implementing expanded programming.
(b)A program director or resource coordinator who is responsible for establishing the local advisory group, assessing the needs of pupils and community members, identifying programs to meet those needs, coordinating partnerships and services with community partners, developing the before and after school, weekend, and summer programming, and overseeing the implementation of programming to ensure high quality and robust participation.
(c)A collaborative governance structure for the effective braiding of school and community resources and family and community engagement.
(d)Expanded learning opportunities for all pupils, such as before and after school enrichment programs, workplace learning opportunities, and postsecondary partnerships.
(e)Access to onsite, coordinated support services for pupils and families, such as physical and mental health services through school-based health centers or programs, social services, and youth, family, and community engagement and development designed to holistically address the mental, emotional, and physical health of pupils and to support the acceleration of academic achievement.
(f)Maintenance of attendance records in all programming components.
(g)Maintenance of measurable data showing annual participation and the impact of programming on the participating children and adults.
(h)Documentation of true collaboration between the school and community stakeholders, including local governmental units, civic organizations, families, businesses, and social service providers.
(i)A nondiscrimination policy ensuring that the community school does not condition participation upon race, ethnic origin, religion, sex, or disability.
53319.A grant recipient under this chapter shall do all of the following:
(a)Conduct periodic evaluations of the progress achieved with funds allocated under a grant, consistent with the purposes of this chapter.
(b)Use the evaluations to refine and improve activities conducted with the grant and the performance measures for the activities.
(c)Make the results of the evaluations publicly available, including providing public notice of the availability.
(d)Identify best practices and lessons learned for the purpose of helping other local educational agencies and schools in the formation of community schools and to revise the community school policies of the state board and the department.
53320.(a)The department shall study and report on the formation and operation of community schools, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1)Best practices that can be replicated by other local educational agencies and schools desiring to form community schools.
(2)Whether community schools have improved pupil learning, family and community engagement, school effectiveness in decreasing truancy and the dropout rate, and physical and mental health of the pupils and other members of the community.
(3)Whether community schools have met their educational and community goals.
(b)The department shall report its findings and recommendations to the education policy committees of the Legislature on or before November 1, 2019.
(c)Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section is repealed on November 1, 2020.
|
Date
|
Status
|
|---|---|
| Apr 16, 2015 | April 22 hearing postponed by committee. |
| Feb 1, 2016 | Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. |
| May 28, 2015 | May 28 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. |
| May 23, 2015 | Set for hearing May 28. |
| May 18, 2015 | May 18 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file. |
| May 8, 2015 | Set for hearing May 18. |
| Apr 29, 2015 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr 29, 2015 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 814.) (April 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Apr 23, 2015 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on ED. |
| Apr 17, 2015 | Set for hearing April 29. |
| Feb 25, 2015 | Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. |
| Apr 14, 2015 | Set for hearing April 22. |
| Apr 13, 2015 | April 15 set for second hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Apr 7, 2015 | From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on ED. |
| Apr 2, 2015 | Set for hearing April 15. |
| Mar 26, 2015 | April 8 set for first hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Mar 20, 2015 | Set for hearing April 8. |
| Mar 5, 2015 | Referred to Com. on ED. |
| Feb 26, 2015 | From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 28. |
|
Date
|
Description
|
Location
|
Votes
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2015 | Placed on suspense file | Senate Standing Committee on Appropriations |
Passed |
|
| Apr 29, 2015 | Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Senate Standing Committee on Education |
Passed |
This list shows positions taken on this bill by organizations on the date displayed, which is linked to the original source.
Positions by individuals are not included.
|
Organization
|
Position
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|
| Advancement Project | * Indeterminate | Apr 29, 2015 |
| California Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs | * Indeterminate | Apr 29, 2015 |
| California Federation Of Teachers | * Support | Apr 29, 2015 |
| California Federation Of Teachers | * Indeterminate | Apr 29, 2015 |
| California for Justice | * Indeterminate | Apr 29, 2015 |
| California School Based Health Alliance | ** Support | Apr 29, 2015 |
| California State PTA | * Indeterminate | Apr 29, 2015 |
| Children Now | * Support | Apr 29, 2015 |
| Children Now | * Indeterminate | Apr 29, 2015 |
| Community Schools Initiatives | * Indeterminate | Apr 29, 2015 |
| Los Angeles Education Partnership | ** Support | Apr 29, 2015 |
| Partnership for Children and Youth | ** Support | Apr 29, 2015 |
| Redwood City 2020 | ** Support | Apr 29, 2015 |
| San Francisco Board of Education | * Indeterminate | Apr 29, 2015 |
| u None received. | ** Against | Apr 29, 2015 |
SB 403 (Liu) Page 4 of 4
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 403 (Liu) - California Community Schools Act.
|
|
Version: April 23, 2015 |
Policy Vote: ED. 7 - 0 |
Urgency: No |
Mandate: No |
Hearing Date: May 18, 2015 |
Consultant: Jillian Kissee |
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary:
This bill authorizes local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools to coordinate academic, social, and health services for students, families, and community members in collaboration with community partners to establish a California Community schools (CCS). This bill also requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to make grants available to qualified recipients to enhance and expand CCS, to the extent funds are allocated for this purpose.
Fiscal Impact:
This bill results in a significant cost pressure to provide funding to support this program. Considering the number of requirements in order to apply and the bill’s potential for a large number of applicants, costs could be in the tens of millions. However, costs per community school are likely to vary widely based on such factors as local capacity to acquire funding from community partners, services provided, and size of the program. See staff comments.
The California Department of Education (CDE) indicates that it would incur an increase in workload of about $872,000 to administer the program, provide technical assistance, and complete a report on the program.
Background:
The federal
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 authorized the Fund
for the Improvement of Education (FIE), to support programs that
improve the quality of elementary and secondary education at the
State and local levels and help all children meet challenging
academic content and academic achievement standards. Additionally,
the FIE provides funds to the Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS)
program to encourage coordination of academic, social, and health
services through partnerships among; 1) public elementary and
secondary schools; 2) the schools’ local educational agencies; and
3) community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and other
public or private entities. (Elementary and Secondary Education Act
of 1965 § 5411)
Services provided under FSCS may include: high-quality early learning programs and services; remedial education, family engagement, including parental involvement, parent leadership, family literacy, and parent education programs; community service and service learning opportunities; programs that provide assistance to students who have been chronically absent, truant, suspended, or expelled; job training and career counseling services; nutrition services and physical activities; primary health and dental care; activities that improve access to and use of social service programs, among other things.
Under the local control funding formula (LCFF) local education agencies are required to complete a local control and accountability plan (LCAP). The LCAP must include districts’ annual goals in each of the eight state priority areas which include, student achievement, student engagement, student outcomes, school climate, implementation of common core state standards, course access, basic services, and parental involvement. This bill seeks to align California Community School strategies with similar provisions of the eight state priority areas provided in the LCAP such as parent involvement, community decision-making, prioritizing student engagement, school climate college, and career preparation, among other key areas.
Proposed Law:
This bill:
Authorizes and encourages a LEA or school to form a community consortium in order to coordinate programs and services for students, parents, and community members in collaboration with one or more community partners for the purpose of establishing a California Community School.
Requires all policies, guidelines, rules and regulations adopted by the State Board of Education and the Superintendent pursuant to this bill to actively foster the formation, development, and operation of CCS and to support and encourage LEAs to establish CCS.
Defines various terms for the purpose of this bill including:
A. CCS to mean “a public school that participates in a community based effort to coordinate and integrate, comprehensive academic, family, social, and health services for students, families, and community members through community based organizations, public and private partnerships with one or more community partners for the delivery of community services.”
Requires the SPI to make grants available for establishing and supporting CCS, to the extent state and/or private funds are available for this purpose. Specifically, the SPI is required to:
A. Award grants for a period of three years and base renewal of awards on eligibility established in this bill.
B. Require LEA’s to provide a 25% match in funds or in-kind services from allowable sources.
C. Restrict the use of funds for planning to 30% of a grant award.
D. Seek funds from outside sources.
E. Provide technical assistance or through referral to third-party, as specified.
F. Give priority to CCS serving high percentages of unduplicated students.
G. Award grants to applicants for the purpose of assisting public
elementary or secondary schools to function as CCS and perform
activities, as specified.
Authorizes all LEAs to apply for a grant within the timeline determined by the SPI and requires, as a condition of receiving funds, applicants to include the following:
A. A memorandum of understanding between all community partners and the LEA.
B. A description of the LEA’s community consortium, capacity to coordinate and provide community services, components with the plan that align with the LCAP.
C. A comprehensive plan describing; 1) demographic characteristics of students; family and school community; 2) the needs of students, families, and community residents; 3) community assets; 4) performance measures that monitor goal attainment; 5) stakeholder surveys that measure student safety; 6) school climate and connectedness; 7) funding sources of community services and a plan for sustaining services.
D. Yearly measurable performance goals that are consistent with specified objectives.
Requires each grant recipients to do all of the following:
A. Conduct annual evaluations to measure progress.
B. Use evaluations to improve program activities.
C. Make evaluation results available to the public, as specified.
D. Collect and report data as required by the CDE and the applicable LCAP.
E. Develop a three-year plan in collaboration with a community consortium for purposes of aligning community services. The plan must include, but is not limited to, the following:
A needs assessment of students, parents, and local community.
A resource map of the school and community that identifies potential community partners.
A plan for developing a community school infrastructure plan that establishes; 1) teams to oversee operations, school governance, and day to day service delivery; 2) a system for resource sharing; 3) a process for collective decision making and cross-agency collaboration; 4) data collection system based on shared outcomes and; 5) use of a community school site coordinator to facilitate partnerships, as specified.
Requires that funding for the program be considered supplemental to federal, state, or local funds that would otherwise be available for activities described in the bill.
Requires the department to:
A. Evaluate and report on the effectiveness of CCS to determine best practices, progress toward goal attainment, impact on student learning outcomes, improving community and family engagement, decreasing truancy, school dropout rate, the physical and mental health of participants.
B. Make recommendations and report findings to the appropriate legislative policy committees by November 1, 2019.
Related Legislation:
SB 527 (Liu, 2015) specifies uses for the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund for the purposes of rewarding school districts that have demonstrated a commitment to, and developed a comprehensive plan for, utilizing research-based strategies to increase attendance rates, to reduce school removals of all types and referrals to police, to address trauma, mental health needs and other social and emotional factors that impact pupil outcomes including community school strategies, among other things. SB 527 is pending in this committee.
Staff Comments:
This bill results in a significant cost pressure to provide funding to support this program. Considering the requirements in order to apply and the bill’s potential for a large number of applicants, costs could be in the tens of millions.
As an example, Hoover Elementary Community School (Redwood City) had a total cost of $557,000 in 2008-09 to provide an array of services such as academic enrichment, health services, and life skills. It drew from a number of revenue sources such as from the private sector, the district, the city, the county, and the state. The state portion comprised about 29 percent of total revenue. Assuming this model (based on 2008-09 costs) is applied to about 10 percent of LEAs that may apply for this program, the cost pressure to fund this program would be in the tens of millions.
-- END --
SB 403 (Liu) Page 7 of 7
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Senator Carol Liu, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 403
Author: |
Liu |
||
Version: |
April 23, 2015 Hearing Date: April 29, 2015 |
||
Urgency: |
No |
Fiscal: |
Yes |
Consultant: |
Olgalilia Ramirez |
||
Subject: California Community Schools Act
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes a local educational agency (LEA) or schools to coordinate academic, social and health services for students, families and community members in collaboration with community partners to establish a California Community schools (CCS) and requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to make grants available to qualified recipients to enhance and expand CCS, to the extent funds are allocated for this purpose.
BACKGROUND
The federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 authorized the Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE), to support programs that improve the quality of elementary and secondary education at the State and local levels and help all children meet challenging academic content and academic achievement standards. Additionally, the FIE provides funds to the Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) program to encourage coordination of academic, social, and health services through partnerships among; 1) public elementary and secondary schools; 2) the schools’ local educational agencies; and 3) community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and other public or private entities. (Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 § 5411)
Services provided under FSCS may include: high-quality early learning programs and services; remedial education, family engagement, including parental involvement, parent leadership, family literacy, and parent education programs; community service and service learning opportunities; programs that provide assistance to students who have been chronically absent, truant, suspended, or expelled; job training and career counseling services; nutrition services and physical activities; primary health and dental care; activities that improve access to and use of social service programs, among other things.
ANALYSIS
This bill:
Authorizes and encourages a LEA or school to form a community consortium in order to coordinate programs and services for students, parents, and community members in collaboration with one or more community partners for the purpose of establishing a California Community School.
Requires all policies, guidelines, rules and regulations adopted by the state board and the Superintendent pursuant to this chapter to actively foster the formation, development and operation of California Community schools (CCS) and to support and encourage local educational agencies (LEA’s) to establish CCS.
Defines various terms for the purpose of this bill including:
California Community School to mean “a public school that participates in a community based effort to coordinate and integrate, comprehensive academic, family, social, and health services for students, families, and community members through community based organizations, public and private partnerships with one or more community partners for the delivery of community services.”
Requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) to make grants available for establishing and supporting CCS, to the extent state and/or private funds are available for this purpose. Specifically, the SPI is required to:
Award grants for a period of three years and base renewal of awards on eligibility established in this bill.
Require LEA’s to provide a 25% match in funds or in-kind services from allowable sources.
Restrict the use of funds for planning to 30% of a grant award.
Seek funds from outside sources.
Provide technical assistance or through referral to third-party, as specified.
Give priority to CCS serving high percentages of unduplicated students.
Award grants to applicants for the purpose of assisting public elementary or secondary schools to function as CCS and perform all of the following:
Coordinate a minimum of three existing community services or two additional community services at one or more schools.
Achieve performance goals by integrating services to meet the holistic needs of young people.
Coordinate and integrate services provided by local government agencies and community based organizations with services provided by specialized instructional support personnel, if applicable.
Authorizes all LEA’s to apply for a grant within the timeline determined by the SPI and requires, as a condition of receiving funds, applicants to include the following:
A memorandum of understanding between all community partners and the local educational agency (LEA).
A description of the LEA’s community consortium, capacity to coordinate and provide community services, components with the plan that align with the local control and accountability plan (LCAP).
A comprehensive plan describing; 1) demographic characteristics of students; family and school community; 2) the needs of students, families, and community residents; 3) community assets; 4) performance measures that monitor goal attainment; 5) stakeholder surveys that measure student safety; 6) school climate and connectedness; 7) funding sources of community services and a plan for sustaining services.
Yearly measurable performance goals that are consistent with the following objectives:
Increasing the number for families served.
School readiness, academic achievement and college preparation.
Physical, emotional, mental, and social health of students.
Safe schools and neighborhoods and positive learning environment free from bullying and harassment.
Family support and engagement in the education of the student.
Career preparation.
Community service engagement among students.
Requires each grant recipients to do all of the following:
Conduct annual evaluations to measure progress.
Use evaluations to improve program activities.
Make evaluation results available to the public, as specified.
Collect and report data as required by the department and the applicable local control and accountability plan.
Develop a three-year plan in collaboration with a community consortium for purposes of aligning community services. The plan must include, but is not limited, the following:
A needs assessment of students, parents, and local community.
A resource map of the school and community that identifies potential community partners.
A plan for developing a community school infrastructure plan that establishes; 1) teams to oversee operations, school governance, and day to day service delivery; 2) a system for resource sharing; 3) a process for collective decision making and cross-agency collaboration; 4) data collection system based on shared outcomes and; 5) use of a community school site coordinator to facilitate partnerships, as specified.
Requires that funding for the program be considered supplemental to federal, state, or local funds that would otherwise be available for activities described in the bill.
Requires the department to:
Evaluate and report on the effectiveness of California Community schools (CCS) to determine best practices, progress toward goal attainment, impact on student learning outcomes, improving community and family engagement, decreasing truancy, school dropout rate, the physical and mental health of participants.
Make recommendations and report findings to the appropriate legislative policy committees by November 1, 2019.
Makes a number of declarations and findings related to California Community Schools performing specified functions and services including:
Actively partnering with its community to leverage existing resources and identifying new resources to provide enrichment, social services, and additional life skill opportunities for students, parents and community members.
Using school sites as hubs that foster intentional collaboration and alignment among local educational agencies (LEA’s), local government agencies, postsecondary education, community-based organizations, non-profit organizations and businesses that provide in-school supports and extended learning opportunities outside of normal school hours to improve educational outcomes.
Clarifies that a county community school cannot be designated as a California Community School unless the requirements outlined in this bill are met.
STAFF COMMENTS
Need for the bill. According to the author, by providing in-school support, enrichment and extended learning opportunities outside of normal school hours, students are more successful academically, more engaged in their communities, safer, and better prepared to make a successful transition to adulthood. This bill seeks to provide a state framework for implementing a community school strategy that expands and enhances inter-agency collaboration focused on student success, supporting families and building healthier communities.
Existing community school strategies. Many schools voluntarily follow models of community school strategies within the state, including Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), Ontario-Montclair School District, Bear Valley Unified School District, Redwood City School District, and Lake County Office of Education. These programs are each profiled by the Partnership for Children and Youth in their report on Community Schools: Aligning Local Resources for Student Success (2013). The document describes how existing community school efforts are financed and how local government agencies partner to align existing resources. As an example of how a community school functions in SCUSD’s Youth and Family Resource Centers (resource center) is detailed below :
Services: SCUSD’s Office of Integrated Support Services (ISS) operates 19 resource centers in schools throughout the district. These centers provide social, emotional, behavioral and academic support to students. Social workers, family advocates, interns and community partners work directly with students and families to address issues of concern, drawing on school and community resources for additional support. Services include:
-
Student Services
Family Services
School Services
Advocacy
Counseling
Classroom Support
Conflict Resolution
Dental Screening
Mentoring
Recreational Activities
School Supplies/Uniforms
Tutoring
Youth Development Activities
Case Management
ESL and Citizenship Classes
Health Insurance
Enrollment
Home Visits
Immunization Clinics
Parenting Classes
Parent Leadership
Attendance Services
Community and School Safety
Crisis Intervention
Student Attendance Review Board Participation
Student Study Team
Support
Suicide Risk Assessment
Translation Services
SCUSD Governance / Partnerships. Each resource center is governed by a combination of site-level management, district-level management and a collaborative composed of school and community stakeholders. At each site, a resource center coordinator works closely with the principal to identify students and families in need of support (generally through the Student Study Team process), and to identify strategies for addressing these needs. The resource center coordinator directly supervises resource center staff and interns, manages relationships with community partners, and sits on each school’s site council.
SCUSD Funding. Resource centers do not receive appropriations from the school district general fund. Instead, services are funded by a variety of sources and in-kind resources donated from the local university and community organizations. The following graph shows the various funding sources and the activities and services funded:
Funding sources and types:
School Site Funding: Title 1 (main source), Economic Impact Aid, Quality Education Investment Act.
School District: LEA billing option (Med-Cal) Targeted Instructional Improvement Block Grant, McKinney Vento (CDE).
Educational Related/Competitive Grants: Healthy Start (CDE), School Community Violence Prevention (CDE), Lifeline Mentoring (Federal).
Local Government/Partner Agencies: Sacramento County Mental Health, CSUS Dept. of Social Work (interns), over 120 community partners providing services.
This bill seeks to establish a grant program in order to enhance inter-agency collaboration that offer support services for students and families similar to the resource center profiled above.
LCAP Priorities. Under the local control funding formula (LCFF) local education agencies are required to complete a local control and accountability plan (LCAP). The LCAP must include districts annual goals in each of the eight state priority areas which include, student achievement, student engagement, student outcomes, school climate, implementation of common core state standards, course access, basic services, and parental involvement. This bill seeks to align California Community School strategies with similar provisions of the eight state priority areas provided in the LCAP such as parent involvement, community decision-making, prioritizing student engagement, and school climate college and career preparation, among other key areas.
Community Day schools. Existing law establishes Community Day schools, which are schools for students who have been expelled or who have had problems with attendance or behavior. These particular schools are administered by school districts or county offices of education and offer classes, provide basic educational skill development, on the job training, credit recovery assistance, tutorial assistance, counselors and other professional assistance in order to reinforce or reestablish educational development. This bill specifies that a “California Community school” should not be confused with a “California Community Day school,” however; nothing prohibits a Community Day school from implementing the California Community school strategy.
Related and prior legislation
RELATED LEGISLATION
SB 527 (Liu, 2015) specifies uses for the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund for the purposes of rewarding school districts that have demonstrated a commitment to, and developed a comprehensive plan for, utilizing research-based strategies to increase attendance rates, to reduce school removals of all types and referrals to police, to address trauma, mental health needs and other social and emotional factors that impact pupil outcomes including community school strategies, among other things. SB 527 is scheduled to be heard by this Committee on April 29.
PRIOR LEGISLATION
AB 2555 (Bocanegra, 2014) would have required the Superintendent of Public Instruction, in collaboration with various other state agencies and private organizations, to develop a five-year plan for expanding cradle-to-career initiatives in California that may include full-service community schools, promise neighborhoods, wraparound programs, wellness centers, and healthy communities efforts. AB 2555 was held in the Appropriations committee.
SUPPORT
California Federation of Teachers
California School Based Health Alliance
Children Now
Los Angeles Education Partnership
Partnership for Children and Youth
Redwood City 2020
OPPOSITION
None received.
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Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):