CCBE puts state spotlight on court school programs
Published: April 1, 2012
County office of education court school specialists, state policy experts and other speakers presented recommendations for preserving and improving essential juvenile community and court school programs during a panel discussion at the state Capitol. Assembly Member Nora Campos, D-San Jose, organized the Feb. 23 event with assistance from the California County Boards of Education, a section of CSBA and a close partner.
Santa Clara County Office of Education trustee Leon Beauchman, who chairs the CCBE Alternative Education Task Force, was among those who summarized the problems and outlined specific legislative funding remedies and strategies for accurately measuring program effectiveness.
Community and court schools provide lifesaving support for some of California’s most troubled and hard-to-reach students who might otherwise drop out, but the programs are expensive to operate and inadequately funded. Beauchman said his own Santa Clara COE’s court program operates at a $1 million deficit, and deficits in Los Angeles are even greater.
“This situation is not sustainable,” he said, joining the call for the state to reform its formula for paying for these critical mandated services. He also spoke about the need for new accountability measures to ensure that students in alternative and court schools don’t fall through the cracks.
CCBE works closely with the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association to showcase best practices and effective programs. Many are highlighted on a website, Alternative Options and Best Practices, maintained by the San Diego County Office of Education. Wendell Callahan, San Diego COE’s director of student services, was principal investigator for a joint project with the state Department of Education that examined continuation schools run by local districts as well as alternative and court schools run by county offices. Project findings are available on the San Diego COE website.
CCBE also includes model programs and other resources on the association’s alternative education task force page.
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