Legislative Update: Awards deadline extended to Sept. 9; amendments made to orientation legislation
Published: August 24, 2016
CSBA has extended the deadline for the 2016 Legislative Awards program to 9 a.m. Friday, Sept. 9. Don’t miss your opportunity to recognize your legislators who have demonstrated strong leadership for public education during the past year. Read more.
Application deadline set for Proposition 39 funds; webinar on Aug. 31
Proposition 39 (the California Clean Energy Jobs Act, 2012) makes funds available to Local Education Agencies throughout California for energy efficiency and conservation projects. To receive funds, LEAs must submit an energy expenditure plan to the California Energy Commission by Aug. 1, 2017. The California Energy Commission will hold an informational webinar for LEA’s at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. .31. More information is available at the Energy Commission’s website
Public employee orientation bill amended, remains alive in Senate
Additional amendments have been made to AB 2835 (Cooper, D-Elk Grove), a bill to require in-person orientation sessions for newly-hired public employees. The bill originally contained language to also require orientations for existing employees – those provisions were removed earlier in August.
The bill still requires that recognized employee organizations be allowed to present during the in-person orientation sessions, and for employers to provide contact information for new employees to the employee representative within 30 days of hire and for all employees in the bargaining unit every 90 days.
Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León are now listed as principal coauthors of the bill after the latest round of amendments, which includes the following provisions:
- The period of time in which the orientation must be conducted has been extended from within the first two months to within the first four months; this change addresses several cost and logistical burdens for school districts by reducing the maximum required number of orientation sessions that would need to be held each year to three, down from the original six.
- The orientation session is now required to be conducted during work hours, instead of during the work day.
- Elements of the bill suggesting content for the employer’s and the union’s portions of the orientation have been removed; the only required element of the orientation is now the 30 minutes of time offered.
- Language authorizing the exclusive representative to designate one employee representative who may attend the orientation has been removed from the bill, as have prohibitions on advocacy for or against a candidate for political office or ballot measure.
While the latest amendments somewhat address the financial and administrative impacts of the bill on LEAs, CSBA remains opposed to AB 2835 and continues to work on the bill during the final days of the legislative session to address concerns.
Bills Signed by Gov. Brown
SB 1211 (Huff, R-Diamond Bar) – Educational programs – Repeals existing categorical programs no longer necessary under LCFF. CSBA Position: Sponsor
SB 1178 (Vidak, R-Hanford) – Superintendent of Public Instruction: child abuse and neglect: poster – Would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to create a poster that notifies children of the appropriate telephone number to call to report child abuse or neglect; to be produced in five different languages. CSBA Position: Support
SB 1436 (Bates, R-Laguna Niguel) – Local agency meetings: local agency executive compensation: oral report of final action recommendation - Would require boards to orally report a summary of a recommendation for a final action taken in closed session on the salaries, salary schedules, or compensation paid in the form of fringe benefits of a local agency executive (i.e. superintendent) during the open meeting in which the final action is to be taken. CSBA Position: Oppose
SB 1343 (Wolk, D-Davis) – Pupils: intradistrict transfer of pupil convicted of violent felony or misdemeanor – Would authorize school district governing boards to transfer to another school in that school district pupils enrolled in that school district who have been convicted of violent felonies, as defined, or designated misdemeanors if the pupil to be transferred and the victim of the crime for which the pupil was convicted are enrolled at the same school, if certain requirements are satisfied, including, but not limited to, that the governing board of the school district adopts a policy and notifies parents or guardians of the policy as part of its annual notification to parents and guardians, as specified. CSBA Position: Support
Bills on Governor’s Desk
AB 1639 (Maienschein, R-San Diego) –Pupil health: The Eric Paredes Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act – Would require the CDE to post guidelines, video and an information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest symptoms and warning signs on its website, and would require a pupil and the pupil's parent or guardian to sign and return an acknowledgment of receipt of an information sheet on sudden cardiac arrest before participating in athletics, as specified. CSBA Position: Support
AB 2182 (Mullin, D-South San Francisco) – School athletics: neurocognitive testing – Would provide grant funding to Title I schools for the purposes of neurocognitive testing, seeking to ensure that concussions among student athletes are properly reported and managed, and would require LEAs offering interscholastic athletic programs to collect data on traumatic brain injuries and concussions sustained by pupils. CSBA Position: Support
AB 2738 (Olsen, R-Riverbank) – School bonds: local school bonds: investment – Would prohibit the proceeds from the sale of bonds from being withdrawn by the school district or community college district for investment outside the county treasury. CSBA Position: Oppose
Bills Still Active in Senate and Assembly
AB 2316 (O’Donnell, D-Long Beach) – School facilities: leasing property – Would establish a competitive bidding and selection process, similar to design-build, for school districts that choose lease-leaseback for school construction projects; the bill passed the Senate on a 29-8 vote on Aug. 23 and now heads to a concurrence vote in the Assembly to be sent to Gov. Brown if passed. CSBA Position: Support