AB 842: California community schools.
- Session Year: 2017-2018
- House: Assembly
- Latest Version Date: 2017-03-23
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.
This bill would establish the California Community Schools Act, which would require the State Department of Education to make grants available to qualified schools to plan and operate community schools. The bill would require the department to establish an Office of Community Schools to oversee the implementation of the community schools program. The bill would require the department to provide technical assistance to applicants and would allocate $5,000,000 to the department for that purpose, subject to appropriation of those funds by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute. The bill would require the department to award community school planning grants of $300,000 to all successful applicants for planning purposes and to award community school operational grants of $750,000 per year for 5 years to applicants following the approval of a community school plan, as specified, and have demonstrated readiness to begin operation of a community school. The bill would require a grantee to establish a community school leadership team and hire a community school coordinator, and would require the community school coordinator, in collaboration with the community school leadership team and others to conduct a baseline analysis of assets and needs at the schoolsite. The bill would require a local educational agency to approve a schools grant application before the application is submitted to the department. To the extent the bill imposes additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require grant recipients to submit a report to the department including specified information relating to the implementation and effectiveness of the community school plan, and would require the department to evaluate the grant recipients report in accordance with specified criteria. The bill would require the department, no later than August 30 after the first year of operation and each year thereafter, to report to the Governor and the Legislature on the impact of the program. The bill would provide that the act shall be implemented only if funds are appropriated for its purposes by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Existing law establishes the State Board of Education in the state government, consisting of 10 members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of 2/3 of the Senate.This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to these provisions.Existing law establishes the State Board of Education in the state government, consisting of 10 members appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of 2/3 of the Senate.
This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to these provisions.
This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the California Community Schools Act.
9101.The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)Too many children, particularly children of color and socioeconomically disadvantaged children, attend schools that are persistently struggling to achieve the outcomes stakeholders desire. In order to ensure high-quality educational opportunities and improved educational outcomes for all pupils, the state must invest in approaches that are supported by research and consistent with best practices in the field.
(b)Poverty limits educational opportunities and the well-being of children. Studies demonstrate that the results of poverty impact at least the following areas negatively: physical health outcomes, cognitive outcomes, school achievement outcomes, emotional or behavioral outcomes, youth employment, and food security. A schools core mission, to educate children, is profoundly dependent on ameliorating the symptoms of poverty. Community schools are an effective strategy to combat the consequences of poverty and provide all children with an opportunity to thrive.
(c)Quality and equitable education is a long-term public safety strategy. Measures to reduce school dropout rates, increase access to health and mental health services, and improve employment prospects are proven alternatives to expensive and often inhumane attempts to reduce crime via criminalization and incarceration. Studies show that a 10-percent increase in the high school graduation rate leads to a 9.4-percent reduction in the crime rate. This effect may also be multiplied, as an increase in the high school graduation rate will also lead to an increase in real wages and lower unemployment rates.
(d)The Legislature can drive dramatic improvements in public education, public safety, and pupil health and achievement by creating opportunities for local educational agencies and other agencies, schools, and community partners to collaborate in the planning and operation of community schools and by creating pathways for parents, teachers, other school staff, and members of the broader community to engage meaningfully in these processes.
9102.A community school is a school that includes all of the following elements:
(a)A curriculum that is engaging, culturally relevant, and challenging, including a robust selection of classes and after school programs in the arts, languages, ethnic studies, advanced placement and honors courses, as well as services to support English learners and special education pupils, GED preparation, career technical education, and job training.
(b)An emphasis on high-quality teaching and not on high-stakes testing. Assessments are used to help teachers meet the needs of pupils, and educators have a real voice in professional development.
(c)Wraparound supports such as health care, eye care, and social and emotional services that support academics that are available before, during, and after school, year-round, to the community with providers who are accountable and culturally competent.
(d)An emphasis on positive discipline practices, such as restorative justice and social and emotional learning supports, so each pupil can grow and contribute to the school and community. Suspensions and harsh punishments are eliminated or greatly reduced.
(e)Promotion of parent and community engagement so the community actively participates in planning and decisionmaking. This process recognizes the link between the success of the school and the development of the community as a whole.
(f)Leadership that is committed to making the community school integral to the schools educational mandate and functioning and ensure that the community school coordinator is part of the leadership team.
9103.For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:
(a)Applicant means a school operated by a local educational agency that proposes to implement the community school strategy pursuant to Section 9107.
(b)Classified staff means nonsupervisory employees of a school, excluding teachers.
(c)Covered schoolsite means any local educational agency-run schoolsite at which an applicant has proposed community school programming pursuant to this chapter.
(d)Community partner means a community stakeholder, including, but not limited to, parents and parent organizations, pupils and pupil organizations, early learning programs, the business community, health care providers, civil rights organizations, civic engagement organizations, advocacy groups, local civic and community-based organizations, local governmental agencies, local school employee organizations, and institutions of higher education.
(e)Community organization means a nonprofit organization that has been in existence for three years or more and has a verifiable track record of working with the community surrounding the covered schoolsite on education and other issues.
(f)Grantee means an applicant that has been granted a community school operational grant pursuant to Section 9108.
(g)Local educational agency means a school district or county office of education.
(h)Program means the community schools grant program established pursuant to this chapter.
9104.(a)The department shall make grants available to plan and operate community schools at local educational agency-run schools within the geographic bounds of local educational agencies. The department shall use a request for proposal process and proposals shall be evaluated and scored on the basis of criteria established by each local educational agency that are consistent with this chapter. Proposals may be submitted by applicants to the local educational agency in whose geographic bounds the applicant is located provided that each covered schoolsite referenced in the proposal is either of the following:
(1)A school the local educational agency determines is a high-needs school that would benefit from the community school strategy.
(2)A school that serves a higher than average share of high-needs pupils relative to the local educational agency average of high-needs pupils served per schoolsite.
(b)The department shall establish and enforce a policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, religion, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, housing status, or immigration status in the development and administration of community school programming.
(c)The department shall establish an Office of Community Schools that oversees the program established pursuant to this chapter.
(d)The department shall provide technical assistance, including, but not limited to, grant writing and support for the design of nondiscriminatory community school programming. Technical assistance may be provided by the department directly or by a nonprofit organization with demonstrated experience with community schools planning in partnership with community organizations or civic engagement organizations funded by the department through a request for proposal process to provide technical assistance. Five million dollars ($5,000,000) in technical assistance shall be allocated to the department to provide assistance to grantees, subject to appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
(e)Upon award of a community school planning grant, an applicant shall hire a community school coordinator as a full-time member of the schoolsite staff to coordinate a planning process. The community school coordinator shall be a nonadministrative certificated employee. Where an employee organization of certificated employees has a collective bargaining agreement with the local educational agency in which the grantee is located, the community school coordinator shall be a bargaining unit member covered by the agreement.
(f)A community school coordinator shall work collaboratively with school leadership and the community school leadership team to identify and arrange for the provision of services and programs that meet school and community needs and priorities. The role of a community school coordinator shall be limited exclusively to work directly related to fulfilling the priorities for the schoolsite as described in the community school plan pursuant to Section 9107.
(g)A community school planning grant of three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) shall be awarded to each successful applicant. A school shall use the grant funds for up to one year of planning. At the end of this period, the school shall submit a community school plan. An applicant that has demonstrated readiness to begin operation of a community school and has submitted a community school plan shall be awarded a community school operational grant of seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000) per year for five years pursuant to Section 9108.
9105.(a)During the planning period and notwithstanding the existence of locally bargained schoolsite leadership bodies, each grantee shall establish a community school leadership team responsible for developing school-specific programming goals, assessing program needs, and overseeing the process of implementing expanded programming at each covered schoolsite. Where those bodies already exist, they may assume the roles and responsibilities of a community school leadership team provided they include the community school coordinator as a voting member and conform to the requirements.
(b)Where there is no locally bargained school leadership council, the community school leadership team shall meet the following requirements:
(1)The community school leadership team shall be comprised of no less than 12 people and no more than 16 people, with at least three parents, three classroom teachers, one nonadministrative certificated employee working outside of the classroom, one classified employee, and one principal. The team shall include at least one representative from the following stakeholder groups:
(A)Principal. The school principal shall be a voting member of the community school leadership team. The school principal shall not be the chairperson of the community school leadership team.
(B)Community partners.
(C)Parents and residents. The community school leadership team shall work with engaged parents and community residents to conduct an annual election for representatives on the community school leadership team.
(D)Classroom teachers and other nonadministrative certificated employees. If an employee organization of nonadministrative certificated employees has a collective bargaining agreement with the local educational agency, the employee organization shall conduct an annual majority vote election for representatives on the community school leadership team. If the nonadministrative certificated employees are not represented by a an employee organization and do not have a collective bargaining agreement with the local educational agency, the nonadministrative certificated employee representative shall be elected by a majority vote of the nonadministrative certificated employees assigned to the school.
(E)Classified employees. If an employee organization of classified employees has a collective bargaining agreement with the local educational agency, the employee organization shall conduct an annual majority vote election for representatives on the community school leadership team. If the classified employees are not represented by an employee organization and do not have a collective bargaining agreement with the local educational agency, the classified employee representatives shall be elected by a majority vote of the classified employees assigned to the school.
(F)Upon selection, the community school leadership team shall immediately appoint two representatives from the community who are not parents, teachers, classified staff, or pupils to serve as voting members on the community school leadership team.
(2)Following the selection of the community representatives pursuant to subparagraph (F) of paragraph (1), the community school leadership team shall select a chairperson to guide the community school leadership teams work.
(3)The community school leadership team for a high school shall have between 12 and 15 members and shall meet the requirements of this section, except the community school leadership team shall also include two pupils elected by pupils of the school who shall serve as voting members.
(4)The community school coordinator and the community school leadership team at each grantees covered schoolsite shall be responsible for overseeing the baseline analyses required by Section 9106. Each such community school coordinator and community school leadership team shall also have ongoing responsibility for monitoring the development and implementation of community school operations and programming at each schoolsite and shall issue recommendations to school leadership, the local educational agency, and community partners on a regular basis and summarized in an annual report. These reports shall also be made available to the public at the schoolsite and on school and local educational agency Internet Web sites.
9106.(a)A baseline analysis of assets and needs at the schoolsite, spearheaded by the community school coordinator and in collaboration with the community school leadership team and relevant experts, as appropriate, shall include the following elements:
(1)Development of a needs/asset assessment survey for the following stakeholder groups: (A) pupils, (B) parents and guardians, (C) school staff, and (D) community members and partners. The community school coordinator shall work with the community school leadership team to identify a lead person or persons for each stakeholder group to help develop the assessment for their stakeholder needs/asset assessment survey.
(2)Conduct a needs/asset assessment that identifies the challenges facing the school and identifies school assets. The needs/asset assessment shall include qualitative and quantitative surveys, at least three forums with stakeholders, and at least two focus groups with each stakeholder group. At least 75 percent of pupils, parents, and guardians, and all school staff shall take part in the survey, and at least 45 percent shall take part in the forums and focus groups during the needs/asset assessment process. The needs/asset assessment survey shall include questions that evaluate each category specified in Section 9102.
(3)Analysis of the student body, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A)The number and percentage of pupils with disabilities and the needs of these pupils.
(B)The number and percentage of pupils who are English learners and the needs of these pupils.
(C)The number and percentage of pupils who are foster youth and the needs of these pupils.
(D)The number of pupils who are homeless and the needs of these pupils.
(E)The number and percentage of pupils receiving free or reduced-priced meals and the needs of these pupils.
(4)Analysis of enrollment and retention rates for pupils with disabilities, English learners, and pupils receiving free or reduced-priced meals.
(5)Analysis of suspension and expulsion data, including the justification for disciplinary actions and the degree to which particular populations, including, but not limited to, pupils of color, pupils with disabilities, pupils who are English learners, and pupils receiving free or reduced-price meals are represented among pupils subject to those actions.
(6)Analysis of school achievement data disaggregated by major demographic categories, including, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, English learner status, disability status, and eligibility for free or reduced-priced meals.
(7)Analysis of current parent engagement strategies and their success.
(8)Evaluation of the need for and availability of wraparound services, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A)Mechanisms for meeting pupils social, emotional, and physical health needs, which may include coordination of existing services as well as the development of new services based on pupil needs.
(B)Strategies to create safe and secure school environments and improve school climate and discipline, such as implementing a system of positive behavioral supports, and taking additional steps to eliminate bullying.
(C)Strategies to provide professional development for school staff based on needs identified by school staff in their needs/asset assessment.
(9)Analyze the breadth and depth of community and school support for the school curriculum and the breadth and depth of support for changes to the school curriculum.
(10)A baseline analysis of community assets and a strategic plan for utilizing and aligning identified assets. This analysis should include, but not be limited to, a documentation of individuals in the community, faith-based organizations, community and neighborhood associations, colleges, hospitals, libraries, businesses, and social service agencies that may be able to provide support and resources.
(11)A baseline analysis of needs in the community surrounding the school, spearheaded by the community school coordinator and in collaboration with the community school leadership team and relevant experts, as appropriate, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(A)The need for high-quality, full-day child care and early childhood education programs.
(B)The need for physical and mental health care services for children and adults.
(C)The need for job training and other adult education programming.
(D)The need for before and after school programs and summer learning opportunities.
9107.(a)Each applicant shall demonstrate in the community school plan that all of the following have been addressed in the needs/assets assessment and shall include a description of how the applicant plans to support each of the following:
(1)Positive discipline practices such as restorative justice.
(2)Curricula that is engaging, culturally and socially relevant, and academically rigorous.
(3)Wraparound supports such as physical and mental health services, social services, and academic enrichment programs.
(4)An emphasis on high-quality teaching, not on high-stakes testing.
(5)Parent and community engagement plans so the full community actively participates in decisionmaking processes.
(6)Inclusive school leadership that is committed to making the community school strategy integral to the schools mandate and functioning and ensuring that the community school coordinator is a part of the leadership team.
(b)All of the following shall also be addressed in the community school plan:
(1)Maintenance of attendance records in all programming components.
(2)Maintenance of measurable data showing annual participation and the impact of programming on the participating children and adults, which shall be made publicly available to the extent permitted by state and federal law.
(3)Documentation of meaningful and sustained collaboration between the school and community stakeholders, including local governmental entities, civic engagement organizations, businesses, social service providers, cultural organizations, institutions of higher education, and health institutions.
(4)Ensuring compliance with the nondiscrimination policy.
(5)Measurements assessing the areas specified in subdivision (a) in the beginning and end of the school year.
(c)Grantees shall provide the department with a community school plan. The community school plan shall detail the steps the grantee and partners will take to integrate community school programing at the schoolsite and include plans for all requirements specified in subdivisions (a) and (b) and how the grantee shall ensure the continuation of the community school after the grant period ends.
9108.(a)The department shall make community school operational grants of seven hundred fifty thousand dollars ($750,000) per year per school following the departments approval of the community school plan that was developed using the community school planning grant. The grant shall receive local educational agency approval before the department can approve the grant. A community schools operational grant shall be for a term of five years and shall be renewable at the discretion of the department.
(b)A local educational agency shall approve or deny a grantee within 45 days of receiving a grantees community school plan. If the community school plan that is submitted is not reviewed within 45 days, the community school plan shall be considered adequate.
(c)The department shall approve or deny a grantee within 45 days of receiving a grantees community school plan. If the community school plan that is submitted is not reviewed within 45 days, the community school plan shall be considered adequate and the community school operational grant shall be approved and disbursed. If the community school plan that is submitted by a grantee is deemed incomplete or inadequate, the department shall notify the grantee and provide support to the grantee to reach approval within 90 days of notice.
(d)Grants under this section shall be available to support the following activities:
(1)All participating local educational agency-run schools shall hire a community school coordinator. For multiple schoolsites, a program director shall be hired to oversee and coordinate programing for the schoolsites.
(2)Funding for new local educational agency-employed positions that fulfill strategic needs found in the needs/asset assessment process. The new positions shall be aligned to the community school elements specified in Section 9102.
(3)Funding for nonprofit partner organizations to increase parent and community engagement.
(4)Ongoing convening and consultation of institutional and community partners.
(5)General coordination of programs within and between covered schoolsites.
(6)Professional development for school staff that engages them as full partners in the community school.
(7)Ongoing monitoring of the impact of the community school on participating children and adults.
(8)Development of alternative funding strategies to guarantee the long-term sustainability of the community school.
(9)Ongoing operation of the community school leadership team.
(10)Other activities, both operational and programmatic, that assist in implementation of the community school plan specified in Section 9107.
9109.At the conclusion of each year under the grant term, each community schools operational grant grantee, spearheaded by the community school coordinator and supported by the community school leadership team, shall submit to the department and make available at the schoolsite and online a report describing efforts to integrate community school programming at each covered schoolsite and the impact of the transition to a community school on participating children and adults. This report shall include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
(a)An assessment of the effectiveness of the grantee in implementing the community school plan.
(b)Problems encountered in the design and execution of the community school plan, including identification of any federal, state, or local statute or regulation impeding program implementation.
(c)The operation of the community school leadership team and its contribution to successful execution of the community school plan.
(d)Recommendations for improving delivery of community school programming to pupils.
(e)The number and percentage of pupils receiving community school programming who had not previously been served.
(f)The number and percentage of nonpupil community members receiving community school programming who had not previously been served.
(g)Any improvement in retention among pupils who receive community school programming.
(h)Any improvement in academic achievement among pupils who receive community school programming.
(i)Any changes in pupils readiness to enter school, active involvement in learning and in their community, the pupils health, and the pupils relationship with the school and community environment.
(j)An accounting of anticipated budget savings, if any, resulting from the implementation of the program.
(k)Any improvements to the frequency or depth of families involvement with their childrens education.
(l)Assessment of community stakeholder satisfaction.
(m)Assessment of institutional partner satisfaction.
(n)The anticipated ability of the grantee and partners to continue to provide services in the absence of future funding under this chapter.
(o)Increases in access to services for pupils and their families.
(p)The degree of increased collaboration among participating agencies and private partners.
9110.A report submitted by a grantee pursuant to Section 9109 shall be evaluated by the department with respect to criteria developed by the department. These criteria shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(a)The effectiveness of the school in implementing the community school plan, including the degree to which the grantee navigated difficulties encountered in the design and operation of the community school plan and the identification of any federal, state, or local laws impeding program implementation.
(b)The extent to which the recommendations of the community school leadership team are reflected in the community school plan and the degree to which the community school leadership team has been engaged in discussion and decisionmaking.
(c)The extent to which the project has yielded lessons about ways to improve delivery of community school programming to pupils.
(d)The degree to which there has been an increase in the number or percentage of pupils and nonpupils receiving community school programming.
(e)The degree to which there has been an improvement in retention of pupils and improvement in academic achievement among pupils receiving community school programming.
(f)Local budget savings, if any, resulting from the implementation of the program.
(g)The degree of community stakeholder and institutional partner engagement.
(h)Increases in access to services for pupils and their families.
(i)The degree of increased collaboration among participating agencies and private partners.
9111.(a)No later than August 30 of the year following the first full year of operation of the program and each year thereafter, the department shall report to the Governor and the Legislature on the impact of the program. The report shall be made publicly available at covered schoolsites and on the departments Internet Web site. Data in the report shall be made available in machine-readable formats.
(b)The report shall draw upon the following data sources to provide analysis of the community schools programs success in addressing the issues set forth in Section 9101, the impact of funded initiatives, and recommendations for enhancing the programs effectiveness:
(1)Aggregate data from reports required under subdivision (a).
(2)Aggregate data from grantee reports required by Section 9109.
(3)Interviews and other consultation with pupils, parents, community members, program directors, and resource coordinators.
(4)Consultation with community school leadership teams.
(c)The report shall include analyses and recommendations related to the potential to replicate the best practices of grantees in nongrantee public schools.
(d)The report shall include a calculation or estimate of cost savings, including budget savings at the state, local, and federal levels in areas such as public health, public safety, and public education resulting from investment in community school programming.
(e)A report to be submitted to the Legislature pursuant to this section shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
9112.This chapter shall be implemented only if funds are appropriated for its purposes by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
SEC. 2.If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SECTION 1.Section 33000 of the Education Code is amended to read:33000.There is in the state government a State Board of Education, consisting of 10 members, who are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the membership of the Senate.There is in the state government a State Board of Education, consisting of 10 members, who are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of two-thirds of the membership of the Senate.
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Date
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Status
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| Feb 1, 2018 | From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. |
| Jan 31, 2018 | Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution. |
| May 17, 2017 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Apr 27, 2017 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 1.) (April 26). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Mar 27, 2017 | Re-referred to Com. on ED. |
| Mar 23, 2017 | From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on ED. Read second time and amended. |
| Mar 23, 2017 | Referred to Com. on ED. |
| Feb 17, 2017 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 19. |
| Feb 16, 2017 | Read first time. To print. |
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Date
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Description
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Location
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Votes
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| Apr 26, 2017 | Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] | Assembly 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.
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Organization
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Position
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Date
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| California Federation Of Teachers | ** Support | Apr 25, 2017 |
| California Right to Life Committee, Inc. | ** Against | Apr 25, 2017 |
| Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice | ** Support | Apr 25, 2017 |
| Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy | ** Support | Apr 25, 2017 |
Date of Hearing: April 26, 2017
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Patrick O'Donnell, Chair
ABPCA Bill Id:AB 842 (
Author:Gipson) – As Amended Ver:March 23, 2017
SUBJECT: California community schools
SUMMARY: Requires the California Department of Education (CDE), contingent upon an appropriation for this purpose, to establish an Office of Community Schools, and to allocate planning and five-year operational grants to local education agencies (LEAs) to plan and operate community schools. Specifies the elements of a community school plan as well as the composition of the community school leadership team, and requires annual reporting by the community schools, as well as by the CDE on a statewide basis. Specifically, this bill:
- Expresses legislative findings and declarations regarding the effectiveness of community schools in addressing the consequences of poverty and providing all children with an opportunity to thrive by creating opportunities for LEAs to collaborate with parents, school staff, community members and local agencies.
- Defines a community school as a school that includes all of the following elements:
- A curriculum that is engaging, culturally relevant, and challenging, including a robust selection of classes and after school programs, as well as services to support English learners and special education pupils, high school equivalency test preparation, career technical education, and job training;
- An emphasis on high-quality teaching and not on high-stakes testing;
- Wraparound supports such as health care, eye care, and social and emotional services that support academics that are available before, during, and after school, year-round, to the community with providers who are accountable and culturally competent;
- An emphasis on positive discipline practices, such as restorative justice and social and emotional learning supports. Suspensions and harsh punishments are eliminated or greatly reduced;
- Promotion of parent and community engagement so the community actively participates in planning and decision-making;
- Leadership that is committed to making the community school integral to the school’s educational mandate and functioning and ensures that the community school coordinator is part of the leadership team.
- Requires the CDE to implement a process to make grants available to LEAs to plan and operate community schools within the geographic boundaries of the LEA.
- Specifies that a qualified LEA schoolsite is a school deemed by the LEA to be a high-needs school that benefit from the community school strategy OR is a school that serves a higher than average share of high-needs pupils.
- Requires the CDE to establish and enforce a policy prohibiting discrimination, on the basis of specified characteristics, in the development and administration of community schools.
- Requires the CDE to establish an Office of Community Schools and to provide technical assistance to LEAs, directly or through contract with a nonprofit organization with expertise in community schools. Allocates $5,000,000 to the CDE for the provision of technical assistance, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature.
- Requires an LEA, upon receipt of a community school planning grant, to hire a full-time certificated community school coordinator, and requires that this individual’s role be limited to the work identified in the community school plan.
- Requires the CDE to provide a $300,000 planning grant to each successful applicant, who is responsible to complete a community school plan within one year.
- Requires the provision of five-year grants of $750,000/year to those applicants who have submitted a completed community school plan to the LEA and CDE, and demonstrated readiness to begin operation of a community school. Grants are renewable at the discretion of the CDE.
- Requires the LEA to approve or deny an applicant’s community school plan within 45 days and the CDE to approve or deny the plan within 45 days.
- Requires each grantee to establish a community school leadership team and specifies that an existing locally bargained schoolsite leadership body may assume the roles and responsibilities of this team.
- Requires the community school leadership team to be comprised of between 12-16 people, with specified numbers of parents, teachers, certificated non-classroom employees, classified employees, principals, community members, and representatives of community partners. A high school team must also include two pupils.
- Requires development of a baseline analysis of assets and needs at the schoolsite and in the community, including the following elements:
- Needs assessment developed through surveys, forums, and focus groups with key stakeholders;
- Composition of the student body, including numbers of pupils with disabilities, or those who are English learners, foster youth, homeless, receiving free and reduced-price meals;
- Suspension and expulsion data, including analyses by sub-group;
- Disaggregated school achievement data;
- Success of current parent engagement strategies;
- Need for, and availability of wraparound services to meet pupils’ social, emotional, and physical health needs; strategies to create safe school environments; and professional development;
- Availability of community assets, including individuals, faith-based organizations, community associations, colleges, hospitals, libraries, businesses and social service agencies;
- Needs in the surrounding community for child care, physical and mental health care services, job training and adult education, after school programs, and summer learning opportunities.
- Requires each grantee to provide the CDE with their community plan, which must specify how the following elements are being addressed:
- Positive discipline practices such as restorative justice;
- Curricula that is engaging, culturally and socially relevant, and academically rigorous;
- Wraparound supports such as physical and mental health services, social services, and academic enrichment programs;
- An emphasis on high-quality teaching, not on high-stakes testing;
- Parent and community engagement plans so the full community actively participates in decision-making processes;
- Inclusive school leadership that is committed to making the community school strategy integral to the school’s mandate and functioning and ensuring that the community school coordinator is a part of the leadership team.
- Specifies allowable uses of community school implementation grants, including hiring of community school coordinators, program directors, other program staff, as well as funding for nonprofit organizations to increase parent and community outreach, ongoing consultation with institutional and community partners, professional development for school staff, ongoing monitoring of the impact of the community school, development of alternative funding strategies, and ongoing operations.
- Requires each community school grantee to provide to the CDE, and make available at the school and online, an annual report identifying the impact of the transition to a community school on participating children and adults, and including specified elements, including any improvements in retention of pupils, academic achievement, pupil health, school readiness, family engagement, access to services and community/institutional partner satisfaction. The CDE is to evaluate such reports utilizing specified criteria.
- Requires the CDE to submit a report annually, beginning no later than August 30th following the first full year of operation of the program, to the Governor and the Legislature outlining the impact of the program, based upon aggregate data, interviews with stakeholders, consultation with school leadership teams, and including analyses and recommendations on best practices, as well as estimated budget savings at the state, local and federal levels in the areas of public health, public safety, and education arising from investments in community schools.
- States that the implementation of the community school grant program is subject to an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute.
EXISTING LAW:
- Establishes the Learning Communities for School Success Program to implement the K–12 education portion of the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act (Proposition 47) as approved by the voters at the November 4, 2014 statewide general election. Requires the CDE to administer grants and coordinate assistance to LEAs in identifying and implementing evidence-based, non-punitive programs and practices designed to keep the most vulnerable pupils in school. (EC 33430 - 33436)
- Federal law, H.R. 5168 of the 113th Congress, establishes the Full Services Community Schools Act of 2014, which encourages coordination of academic, social, and health services through partnerships among public elementary and secondary schools, LEAs, and community-based organizations, non-profit organizations, and other public or private entities.
- Federal law, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, as amended, Title V, Part D, Subpart 1, authorizes the Fund for the Improvement of Education. Under this authority the Department of Education has established the Promise Neighborhoods, as a competitive grant program.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
Need for the bill. According to the author, “in California and across the nation, the education system has time and time again had serious challenges with effectively educating poor and minority communities. The key to the issue is that the challenges often lie outside of the classroom, and are direct reflections of the environments and communities that youth come from.
Many are exposed to gang violence, street crime, domestic abuse, drug abuse, poor health and a number of ills that become impediments to achievement in the classroom. These factors suggest that in order to effectively education a child, one must bring together a holistic community-based solution.”
High rate of childhood poverty in California. According to the Public Policy Institute of California, 21.2% of children in California lived in families without enough resources to make ends meet in 2015, up from 17.3% in 2007. Additionally, 5.2% of California’s children were in deep poverty as they live in families with less than half of the resources needed to make ends meet. The rates of child poverty vary by region and by ethnicity. The poverty rate for Latino children (31.6%) was more than double that of Asian American (13.5%) and white (11.9%) children in California in 2014.
The achievement gap between low-income children and youth and their higher-income peers has been well-documented. This gap is present when children enter school and often widens as the child progresses through the education system. Research has shown that children living in poverty are five times more likely to drop out of high school than their higher-income peers, and only 9% will obtain a college degree. A 2012 study, by the Annie Casey Foundation, noted that “children who spend a year or more in poverty account for 38% of all children, but they account for 70% of all children who do not graduate from high school.”
Children living in poverty often fail to receive adequate medical care. Lack of preventative care and treatment for chronic conditions such as asthma or diabetes leads to frequent absences from school. Chronic absenteeism in the early school years has been proven to be a strong indicator of failure to graduate from high school or to attend college.
Students living in poverty may also lack access to enrichment opportunities through after-school programs or summer learning, further widening the achievement gap.
What is a community school? According to the Coalition for Community Schools, “a community school is both a place and a set of partnerships between the school and other community resources. Its integrated focus on academics, health and social services, youth and community development, and community engagement leads to improved student learning, stronger families, and healthier communities. Community schools offer a curriculum that emphasizes real-world learning and community problem-solving. Schools become centers of the community and are open to everyone – all day, every day, evenings, and weekends.”
A paper by the Partnership for Children and Youth, and others, Leveling the Playing Field: Community Schools Confront Poverty to Improve Student Success, identifies the key ingredients of successful community schools as health services, mental health services, family engagement, and after-school programs. Although each service on its own has the power to improve student achievement, in community schools these services are brought together and integrated into a single, reframed educational experiences that has the power to clear the path to success for children in poverty.
Research shows positive impacts of community schools. The Coalition for Community Schools identifies research showing that students attending community schools:
- Enter school more fully prepared to learn as a result of participation in high quality early care and education programs;
- Have improved work habits, efforts and attitudes toward learning through participation in extended learning opportunities and other support services;
- Experience improved grades and test scores, and are more likely to graduate from high school, due in part, to access to tutoring, mentoring, and after school activities;
- Are healthier due to access to health services including nurses, dentists, and mental health practitioners at school;
- Have families who are more engaged with the school and their children’s education;
- Are less likely to be absent from school;
- Face fewer discipline referrals and are less likely to be suspended from school.
How community schools are funded. A 2013 brief by the Partnership for Children and Youth, “Community Schools: Aligning Local Resources for Student Success”, notes that a community school is not a program, but is a way of doing business in a collaborative manner to support student success. This involves a partnership between local agencies to align and redeploy resources. Through a coordinated delivery stem, a community school is able to offer more effective programs and services than any one of the partners could offer in isolation. The base funding for community schools comes from its partners, not from a specific grant or funding stream and a community school can be started and sustained without new funding.
Federal funding for community schools. The federal Department of Education has two programs offering funding to schools and communities to establish partnerships to deliver integrated services to children and families.
- The Full-Service Community Schools program has provided $55 million in funding since 2009 to encourage coordination of academic, social, and health services through partnerships among public elementary and secondary schools, the schools’ LEAs, and community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, and other public or private entities. California agencies in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Long Beach received $2.5 million grants through this program in 2014 and 2015. These grants are to be expended over a five-year period.
- In 2010, the Obama Administration launched the Promise Neighborhood Initiative, which is modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone. In the first year, the Promise Neighborhoods program awarded one-year grants to support the development of a plan to implement a Promise Neighborhood in 21 communities across the country. At the conclusion of the planning grant period, grantees were expected to have a feasible plan to implement a continuum of solutions that will significantly improve results for children in the community being served. California communities which received these planning grants of approximately $500,000 in 2010 through 2012 included Hayward, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Fresno, Chula Vista, and Corning.
A number of California agencies have also received implementation grants under this program between 2011 and 2016 in amounts ranging from $15 million to $30 million. These include: Hayward Promise Neighborhood, Los Angeles Promise Neighborhood, Chula Vista Promise Neighborhood, Mission Promise Neighborhood, Los Angeles Promise Neighborhood, and the Everett Freeman Promise Neighborhood.
California funding for community schools. At this time, there is no dedicated education funding stream specifically designated for community schools. School districts have the discretion to use their Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), including supplemental and concentration funds, to serve the best interests of students, particularly high-needs students, and this could include the establishment of community schools.
California voters passed Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act (SNSA), in November 2014. The SNSA reduced the penalties for certain non-violent, non-serious drug and property crimes. 25% of the monies available through criminal justice system savings are to be allocated to the CDE for administration of a grant program to reduce truancy and support pupils who are at risk of dropping out of school or who are victims of crime. The CDE will administer the Learning Communities for School Success Program. Fiscal Year 2017-18 will be the first year of funding for the program's three-year LEA competitive grants. The grants are to be annually awarded using continuously appropriated funds arising out of the annual savings resulting from Proposition 47.
Existing law further specifies that a LEA that receives a grant through this program shall use the grant funds for planning, implementation, and evaluation of activities in support of evidence-based, non-punitive programs and practices to keep the state’s most vulnerable pupils in school, and that this may include, the establishment of a community school.
The committee may wish to consider, given that there is no prohibition on schools using existing LCFF funds or partnering with community agencies to establish a community school, whether it is reasonable to provide individual schools with both planning grant of $300,000 and $3.75 million five-year operational grants, or whether the program should be focused on incentivizing the planning and initial operation of community schools for a wider number of schools, rather than providing longer-term five year grants to a smaller number of schools?
Arguments in support. Supporters contend that this bill would provide grants to district-run schools with community school elements that are supported by research and consistent with best practices in this field. These range from culturally relevant curriculum to deeper parent engagement strategies and wraparound services that serve the whole child. They also note that establishing an Office of Community Schools, within the CDE, would allow for the provision of technical assistance to help ensure the law is implemented with fidelity. Schools who form real partnerships with non-profit organizations, businesses, local and federal governments, universities, hospitals, and other organizations will be better able to meet the core unmet needs of our students.
Prior legislation. AB 1014 (Thurmond),Chapter 397 and SB 527 (Liu), Chapter 533, Statutes of 2016 establish a grant program to implement the Proposition 47 (2016) requirement to direct 25% of the funds to K-12 schools to reduce truancy and support students who are at risk of dropping out of school or are victims of crime. School districts, COEs and charter schools are eligible to apply for three years of grant funding for planning, implementation, and evaluation of activities in support of evidence-based, non-punitive programs and practices to keep students in school, consistent with the LEA's goals established in their local control and accountability plan (LCAP).
These bills authorize funds to be used to establish a community school, implement activities or programs to improve attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism, implement restorative justice models to keep students in school and reduce referrals to law enforcement agencies, implement activities that promote social-emotional and positive learning environments, establishing partnerships with community-based organizations to support implementation of evidence-based, non-punitive approaches, and adding or increasing staff whose primary purpose is to address attendance issues.
SB 403 (Liu) of the 2015-16 Session would have authorized a LEA or schools, in collaboration with community partners, to form a community consortium to establish a California community school to coordinate academic, social, and health services for students, families, and community members . Would also have required the SPI to make grants available to fund community schools, to the extent that funds were allocated for this purpose. This bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
AB 2555 (Bocanegra) of the 2013-14 Session would have required the SPI, in collaboration with various other state agencies and private organizations, to develop a five-year plan for expanding cradle-to-career initiatives in California including full-service community schools, promise neighborhoods, wraparound programs, wellness centers, and healthy communities efforts. This bill was held in the Assembly Appropriations committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Federation of Teachers
Clergy & Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE)
Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE)
Opposition
California Right to Life Committee, Inc.
Analysis Prepared by: Debbie Look / ED. / (916) 319-2087
Bill Author
Bill Co-Author(s):