Legislative Update: Gov. Brown signs bills on lease-leaseback, CPR and others; accountability measures vetoed
Published: September 28, 2016
Gov. Jerry Brown has taken action on several K-12 education bills, with other keys bills still awaiting his action before the Friday, Sept. 30 signing deadline.
On Sept. 23, Assembly Bill 2316 (O’Donnell, D-Long Beach) was signed, establishing a new competitive bidding process for schools which choose the lease-leaseback option for school construction projects. Three other keys bills authored by Asm. O’Donnell have also been signed into law: AB 575 extends the frequency in which new instructional materials for grades 1 to 8 may be submitted for adoption, AB 2246 requires governing boards serving grades 7 to 12 to adopt policies on pupil suicide prevention (with a focus on high-risk groups) and also directs the SBE to develop and maintain a model suicide prevention policy, and AB 2862 directs the SPI to revise and update existing visual and performing arts (VAPA) standards in consultation with a group of experts, ultimately allowing districts to update their instructional materials. CSBA supports all four bills.
Other key CSBA-supported bills recently signed include AB 2306 (Frazier, D-Oakley), which directs schools districts to exempt former juvenile court students from local graduation requirement (in excess of state requirements) when transferring into the district, AB 1719 (Rodriguez, D-Pomona), which adds instruction in compression-only (or “hands only”) CPR into already-established health education courses required for graduation, and SB 1072 (Mendoza, D-Artesia), requiring the installation of a “child safety alert system” in the rear of a school bus, which prompts the driver to inspect the bus interior to ensure children are not left unattended.
AB 2548 (Weber, D-San Diego), on which CSBA had a “disapprove” position, was vetoed on Sept. 24. With the SBE having recently adopted its new accountability system, Gov. Brown’s veto message reads, in part, “the Board is committed to continuously improving the system and has an annual review process in place for just that reason. It is unnecessary and premature to impose additional requirements at this time.” Gov. Brown also issued a blanket veto message on four other bills that would have created new unfunded mandates; these bills include AB 1783 (Dodd, D-Napa) related to inspection of nonstructural earthquake hazards in classrooms and AB 2182 (Mullin, D-South San Francisco), which would have created a new pilot program for neurocognitive testing and data gathering on the effects of concussions on students.
For additional information on 2015-16 legislation, click here.
CSBA’s “What’s New for 2017” report on all newly-signed legislation will be available for members in early October.
Other Key Bills Signed:
AB 2212 (Harper, R-Huntington Beach) - Pupils: suspensions and expulsions: bullying: electronic acts: video – Would expressly include a video within the definition of what constitutes an electronic act of bullying, punishable by suspension or expulsion at the discretion of the principal or superintendent. CSBA Position: Support
AB 2615 (Wood, D-Healdsburg) – After school programs – Would authorize a school program participating in the 21st Century High School After School Safety and Enrichment for Teens program to charge family fees, as specified; authorize the department to withhold or terminate grant allocations that do not comply with specified reporting requirements required by the department; and allow participating school programs to transfer program services to another schoolsite within the same local educational agency under specified circumstances. CSBA Position: Support
AB 2738 (Olsen, R-Modesto) – 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
AB 2845 (Williams, Santa Barbara) – School safety: Safe Place to Learn – Would express legislative findings and declarations relating to pupils who are subject to verbal, physical, and online harassment. The bill would add the support of pupils who face bias or bullying on the basis of religious affiliation, or perceived religious affiliation. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws. CSBA Position: Support
SB 1068 (Leyva, D-Chino) – Homeless children and youths: local educational agency liaisons: training materials – Would require the CDE to provide specified informational and training materials to local educational agency liaisons for homeless children and youths, including informational materials on the educational rights of homeless children and youths and the resources available to schools to assist homeless children and youths. CSBA Position: Support
SB 1375 (Jackson, D-Santa Barbara) – Educational equity: sex equity in education: federal Title IX notifications – Would require, on or before July 1, 2017, all public schools, private schools that receive federal funds and are subject to the requirements of Title IX, school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to post in a prominent and conspicuous location on their Internet Web sites specified information relating to Title IX. CSBA Position: Support
Other Key Bills Awaiting Action from Gov. Brown
AB 709 (Gipson, D-Carson) – Charter schools – Would state that charter schools are subject to the Brown Act, Political Reform Act and the California Public Records act. This is a 2-year bill introduced in 2015; Governor Brown has previously vetoed similar legislation. CSBA Position: Support
SB 739 (Pavley, D-Agoura Hills) – Charter schools: sited outside boundaries: prohibition – Would prohibit the governing board of a school district from authorizing new charter schools to locate outside the boundaries of the school district if the school district is assigned a negative certification. CSBA Position: Support
AB 2197 (Garcia, Cristina, D-Bell Gardens) – Unemployment insurance: classified employees – Would delete the prohibition on the payment of unemployment benefits to classified public school between two academic years, and would phase in up to 8 weeks of benefits available to those specified employees over a four-year timeframe. CSBA Position: Oppose