Amended  IN  Senate  September 06, 2019
Amended  IN  Senate  August 30, 2019
Amended  IN  Assembly  April 01, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 258

Introduced by Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer

January 23, 2019

An act to add Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 49445) to Chapter 9 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, relating to pupil health, and making an appropriation therefor.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 258, as amended, Jones-Sawyer. Pupil health: School-Based Pupil Support Services Program Act.
The Healthy Start Support Services for Children Act requires the Superintendent of Public Instruction to award grants to local educational agencies or consortia to fund programs in qualifying schools that provide support services, which include case-managed health, mental health, social, and academic support services, to eligible pupils and their families.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would increase in-school support services to pupils in order to break down barriers to academic success.
The bill would enact the School-Based Pupil Support Services Program Act, under which grants would be awarded by the State Department of Education to local educational agencies (LEAs), as defined, or consortia of LEAs. The bill would specify that recipient LEAs and consortia would provide $1 of matching funds for each $4 of grant funds received. The bill would authorize 2 types of grants: planning grants and operational grants. The bill would require planning grants to be used by LEAs, on behalf of qualified schools, as defined, for planning and coordination activities relating to specified support services. The bill would require operational grants to be used by qualifying schools sponsored by LEAs or by consortia of LEAs for, among other purposes, increasing the presence of school health professionals, as defined, at schoolsites and providing programs that prevent and reduce substance abuse among pupils.
The bill would require the source of the state funding for the grants awarded under the program to be an appropriation from the Youth Education, Prevention, Early Intervention and Treatment Account established pursuant to the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (Proposition 64, as approved by the voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election). The appropriation would be made to the State Department of Health Care Services, for transfer to the State Department of Education, in accordance with a determination that expenditure of these funds for purposes of this bill would be authorized, as specified. The bill would place an unspecified limit on the amount and duration of the grants.
The bill would require each recipient of a grant under the program to annually report specified data to the State Department of Education. The bill would also require the State Department of Education to provide the Legislature with, and to make publicly available, a report detailing specified budget information and data measuring outcomes relating to the program.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: YES   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would increase in-school support services to pupils in order to break down barriers to academic success.

SEC. 2.

 Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 49445) is added to Chapter 9 of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code, to read:
Article  3.5. School-Based Pupil Support Services Program

49445.
 (a) This article shall be known, and may cited, as the School-Based Pupil Support Services Program Act.
(b) As used in this article, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Evidence informed” means likely to deliver the intended outcomes, based on existing data, even if not specific to the proposed program.
(2) “LEA” or “local educational agency” means a school district, charter school, or county office of education.
(3) “Lead agency” means the State Department of Education.
(4) “Qualifying school” includes a school in which 55 percent or more of the pupils enrolled are unduplicated pupils, as defined in Section 42238.02.
(5) “School health professional” means an individual holding a services credential with a specialization in pupil personnel services or a services credential with a specialization in health for a school nurse.

49445.3.
 (a) (1) For purposes of implementing this article, moneys from the Youth Education, Prevention, Early Intervention and Treatment Account established by paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 34019 of the Revenue and Taxation Code shall be appropriated to the State Department of Health Care Services, for transfer to the lead agency for purposes of awarding grants pursuant to this article, for each fiscal year beginning with the 2019–20 fiscal year. Funds that are not fully expended in a single fiscal year shall be available for purposes of implementing this article in any one of, or across one or more of, subsequent fiscal years.
(2) The State Department of Health Care Services shall transfer the funds appropriated in paragraph (1) to the lead agency upon determining that the grants to be awarded under this article shall be used for purposes for which the use of moneys from the Youth Education, Prevention, Early Intervention and Treatment Account is authorized.
(b) All grants awarded under this article shall be matched by the participating LEA with one dollar ($1) for each four dollars ($4) awarded. The lead agency may waive the match requirement upon verifying that the LEA made a substantial effort to secure a match but was unable to secure the required matching funds.

49445.5.
 The State Department of Health Care Services shall establish an interagency agreement with the lead agency to implement this article in accordance with the pertinent provisions of the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (Proposition 64, as approved by the voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election), and in accordance with a determination made pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 49445.3 that the use of the funds for these purposes is authorized. The lead agency may integrate or redirect existing resources to perform its duties under this article. These duties include, but are not necessarily limited to, all of the following:
(a) Developing, promoting, and implementing policies supporting the program.
(b) Reviewing grant applications to ensure the applications are either evidence based or evidence informed and awarding grants on that basis.
(c) Soliciting input regarding program policy and direction from individuals and entities with experience in the integration of children’s services.
(d) Ensuring that programs funded through grants are evidence based or evidence informed, and are effective in providing education and preventing substance abuse disorders and harm that may come from substance use.
(e) Ensuring that programs funded through grants provide accurate education to school employees, youth, and caregivers about substance use, mental health, and physical health.
(f) Ensuring that the programs funded through grants provide effective prevention as well as early intervention for behavioral health and physical health issues.
(g) Ensuring that the programs funded through grants provide timely treatment of youth and their families and caregivers, potentially through onsite county or school-employed professional staff who can enroll pupils and their families in Medi-Cal, CalFresh, housing programs, and other programs that may be necessary.
(h) At the request of the Superintendent, assisting an LEA or a consortium of LEAs in planning and implementing this program, including assisting with local technical assistance, and developing interagency collaboration.

49445.7.
 (a) An LEA or a consortium of LEAs shall first receive a planning grant that will pay the costs of planning and coordination activities, on behalf of one or more qualifying schools within the LEA, relating to programs that provide support services at or near the school that will include programs designed to educate pupils and prevent substance use disorders from affecting pupils and their families. Upon completion of the planning phase, the LEA or consortium shall be eligible to apply for, and may receive, an operational grant on behalf of a qualifying school, pursuant to Section 49445.9. A grant awarded under this section shall not exceed ____ dollars ($____) in a fiscal year, for a maximum of ____ fiscal years.
(b) The lead agency shall, in awarding planning grants, give consideration to grants that include collaboration with existing local mental and behavioral health and welfare departments.
(c) A planning grant recipient shall, at a minimum, comply with all of the following requirements:
(1) Implement a school climate assessment that includes information from multiple stakeholders, including school staff, pupils, and families, that is used to inform the selection of strategies and behavioral health, as well as substance abuse, and interventions that reflect the culture and goals of the school.
(2) Commit to leverage school and community resources to offer comprehensive multitiered services on a sustainable basis, which may include community and faith-based organizations, foster care providers, juvenile and family courts, and others, who recognize the early signs of substance use, behavioral health issues, physical health, and other barriers to academic success.
(3) Develop strategies and practices that ensure parental engagement with the school and provide parents with access to resources that support their pupils’ educational success.
(4) Develop strategies and practices that prevent and reduce dropping out of school.
(5) Create and maintain a mechanism, described in writing, to coordinate services provided to individual pupils among school staff and school health center staff while maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of health information consistent with applicable state and federal law.

49445.9.
 (a) A qualifying school, on behalf of which an LEA or consortium of LEAs has received a planning grant, may receive an operational grant once it has demonstrated readiness to begin operating a program or expanding existing support services programs. An operational grant awarded under this section shall supplement, and not supplant, existing services and funds. An operational grant awarded under this section shall not exceed ____ dollars ($____) in a fiscal year, for a maximum of ____ fiscal years.
(b) An operational grant recipient shall, at a minimum, comply with all of the following requirements:
(1) Increase the presence of school health professionals at its schoolsite.
(2) Provide effective evidence-based or evidence-informed programs that prevent and reduce substance abuse among its pupils.
(3) Establish a coordination-of-services team that considers referrals, as appropriate, and oversees schoolwide efforts, and uses data-informed processes to identify struggling pupils who require early interventions. This team may include existing staff.
(4) Provide comprehensive professional development opportunities for school employees, including teachers and classified personnel, that enable school employees to recognize and respond to a pupil’s unique needs, including the ability to provide referrals to professionals in the school who can provide the needed support service. This paragraph shall not be construed to require teachers or classified personnel to provide behavioral health services to pupils.
(5) Ensure that a contract for services provided pursuant to an operational grant complies with Section 45103.1.

49446.
 (a) Each recipient of either a planning grant or an operational grant under this article shall annually report all of the following to the lead agency:
(1) The number of school health professionals employed with grant funds.
(2) The ratio of newly hired school health professionals to pupils, as well as the training the newly hired school health professionals received.
(3) Information indicating an increase in the level of evidence-based programming for pupil support services and the specific outcomes being addressed by each program that is funded.
(4) Changes in measurable pupil outcomes identified as goals of the program funded, including, but not necessarily limited to, reductions in dropout rates, reductions in substance abuse disorders, decreased rates of school suspensions and expulsions, or increased graduation rates, over the span of the operational grant.
(5) How the grantee coordinated with existing local prevention, early intervention, and treatment services, if available.
(6) An evaluation of the impact of the School-Based Pupil Support Services Program, including a comparison of data from before the grant was awarded and after. The evaluation may include discipline referrals, attendance, suspensions, and other relevant data that can be used to assess impact.
(7) The name and address of all entities, including subcontractors, providing services pursuant to these grants.
(8) The amount of grant funds provided to each service provider and the number of pupils treated per provider.
(9) A general description of the services provided.
(b) No later than January 1, 2021, and at least annually thereafter, the lead agency shall provide to the Legislature, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, and shall make available publicly on the lead agency’s internet website, a report detailing both of the following:
(1) Budget information, including the funding allocated to each LEA and the specific outcomes addressed, as described in subdivision (a).
(2) Data measuring pupil outcomes, and year-over-year trend data that demonstrate the progress that has been attained in meeting target levels for each outcome.