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SB-1241 Safety and Violence Education for (SAVE) Students Act.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 04/11/2024 09:00 PM
SB1241:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  April 11, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 1241

Introduced by Senator Padilla

February 15, 2024

An act to add Article 6 (commencing with Section 32296) to Chapter 2.5 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, relating to pupil safety.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 1241, as amended, Padilla. Safety and Violence Education for (SAVE) Students Act.
(1) Existing law requires the governing board or body of a local educational agency that serves pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and that serves pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to adopt and maintain a policy on pupil suicide prevention that addresses, among other things, any training on suicide awareness and prevention to be provided to teachers of pupils in all of the grades served by the local educational agency. Existing law, commencing with the 2024–25 school year, encourages local educational agencies to provide that training to those teachers. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to identify one or more evidence-based online training programs that a local educational agency can use to train school staff and pupils as part of the local educational agency’s policy on pupil suicide prevention.
This bill would separately require the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Justice and the Mental Health Services Division of the State Department of Health Care Services, California Health and Human Services Agency, to maintain a list of approved training programs for instruction in suicide awareness and prevention and safety training and violence prevention. The bill would require the approved training programs to be evidence based and to include specified information, including, among other information, how to instruct school personnel to identify the signs and symptoms of depression, suicide, and self-harm in pupils, and how to instruct pupils to identify the signs and symptoms of depression, suicide, and self-harm in their peers. The bill would require these approved training programs to be in addition to the above-described evidence-based online training programs that a local educational agency can use to train school staff and pupils as part of the local educational agency’s policy on pupil suicide prevention unless the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Justice and the Mental Health Services Division of the State Department of Health Care Services, California Health and Human Services Agency, determines that the training program satisfies all of the requirements specified in the bill.
The bill would require the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Justice and the Mental Health Services Division of the State Department of Health Care Services, California Health and Human Services Agency, to also maintain a list of approved training programs for instruction in social inclusion, as specified. For each topic, the bill would require the approved training programs to include at least one option that is free or of no cost to school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools, and would require all of the approved training programs to be posted on the State Department of Education’s internet website.
The bill would, commencing July 1, 2027, require each school district, county office of education, and charter school serving any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive, to annually provide at least one hour of, or one standard class period per school year of, evidence-based instruction, per topic, based upon the above-described trainings, on each of suicide awareness and prevention, safety training and violence prevention, and social inclusion, except as provided. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Under existing law, each school district and county office of education is responsible for the overall development of a comprehensive school safety plan for each of its schools operating kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, in cooperation with certain local entities. Existing law requires the comprehensive school safety plan to include, among other things, the development of procedures for conducting tactical responses to criminal incidents, including procedures related to individuals with guns on school campuses and at school-related functions and procedures to assess and respond to reports of any dangerous, violent, or unlawful activity that is being conducted or threatened to be conducted at the school, at an activity sponsored by the school, or on a schoolbus serving the school. Existing law prohibits a chartering authority from denying a petition for the establishment of a charter school unless it makes written factual findings supporting at least one of specified bases for denial. One of those bases for denying a petition is if the petition does not contain a reasonably comprehensive description of the development of a school safety plan that includes the same safety topics required in the comprehensive school safety plan of a school district or county office of education.

This bill would require each school district, county office of education, and charter school, commencing July 1, 2027, to establish a threat assessment team, as specified, for each of its schools serving any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive, and would require, upon the initial establishment of a threat assessment team, and at least once every 3 years thereafter, each member of the threat assessment team to complete a threat assessment training program, as specified, from a list maintained by the Department of Justice. If the Department of Justice does not have an existing list of approved threat assessment training programs, the bill would require the Department of Justice to establish such a list. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would require each school district, county office of education, and charter school, commencing July 1, 2027, to enter into an agreement with an anonymous reporting program of the local educational agency’s choosing, provided that the reporting program satisfies specified requirements, including, among others, that it operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, and that it forwards reported information to, and coordinates with, the appropriate school personnel, law enforcement agencies, and other public safety agencies, as identified in a school’s adopted school safety plan, as applicable. provided. Commencing July 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, the bill would require each local educational agency, at the end of each school year, to submit specified data to the State Department of Education, in a manner prescribed by the State Department of Education, and to the Department of Justice, in manner prescribed by the Department of Justice, disaggregated by school. The bill would require a local educational agency to immediately remove a false report from a pupil’s record, as provided. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) 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.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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


SECTION 1.

 This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Safety and Violence Education for (SAVE) Students Act.

SEC. 2.

 Article 6 (commencing with Section 32296) is added to Chapter 2.5 of Part 19 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read:
Article  6. Safety Training, Instruction, and Teams

32296.
 For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:
(a) “Anonymous reporting system” means a system that enables any person to submit an anonymous report, including, but not limited to, via a telephone number, call center, internet website, mobile telephone application, or email address.

(a)

(b) “Evidence based” means a program or practice that demonstrates a rationale based on high-quality research findings or positive evaluation that such a program or practice is likely to improve relevant outcomes and includes ongoing efforts to examine the effects of the program or practice.

(b)

(c) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school.

32296.1.
 (a) (1) The State Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Justice and the Mental Health Services Division of the State Department of Health Care Services, California Health and Human Services Agency, shall maintain a list of approved training programs, to be posted on the State Department of Education’s internet website, for instruction in suicide awareness and prevention and safety training and violence prevention. The list of approved training programs shall include at least one option that is free or of no cost to local educational agencies. The approved training programs shall be evidence based and include at least all of the following:
(A) How to instruct school personnel to identify the signs and symptoms of depression, suicide, and self-harm in pupils.
(B) How to instruct pupils to identify the signs and symptoms of depression, suicide, and self-harm in their peers.
(C) How to identify appropriate mental health services within schools and within larger communities, and when and how to refer pupils and their families to those services.
(D) How to teach pupils about mental health and depression, warning signs of suicide, and the importance of and processes for seeking help on behalf of themselves and peers.
(E) How to identify observable warning signs and signals of individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others.
(F) The importance of taking threats seriously and seeking help.
(G) How pupils can report dangerous, violent, threatening, harmful, or potentially harmful activity, including the use of the local educational agency’s chosen anonymous reporting program pursuant to Section 32296.4.
(2) The approved training programs for suicide awareness and prevention identified pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be in addition to any training programs identified pursuant to Section 216, unless the State Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Justice and the Mental Health Services Division of the State Department of Health Care Services, California Health and Human Services Agency, determines that a training program identified pursuant to Section 216 satisfies all of the requirements specified in subparagraphs (A) to (G), inclusive, of paragraph (1).
(b) The State Department of Education, in consultation with the Department of Justice and the Mental Health Services Division of the State Department of Health Care Services, California Health and Human Services Agency, shall maintain a list of approved training programs, to be posted on the State Department of Education’s internet website, for instruction in social inclusion. The list of approved training programs shall include at least one option that is free or of no cost to local educational agencies. The approved training programs shall be evidence based and include at least all of the following:
(1) What social isolation is and how to identify it in others.
(2) What social inclusion is and the importance of establishing connections with peers.
(3) When and how to seek help for peers who may be socially isolated.
(4) How to use strategies for more social inclusion in classrooms and the school community.

32296.2.
 (a) Commencing July 1, 2027, each local educational agency serving any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive, shall annually provide, except as provided pursuant to subdivision (b), at least one hour of, or one standard class period per school year of, evidence-based instruction based upon the trainings approved pursuant to Section 32296.1, on each of the following topics:
(1) Suicide awareness and prevention.
(2) Safety training and violence prevention.
(3) Social inclusion.
(b) A pupil shall be excused from any of the instruction specified in paragraphs (1) to (3), inclusive, of subdivision (a) upon the written request of the pupil’s parent or legal guardian.

32296.3.

(a)(1)Commencing July 1, 2027, each local educational agency shall establish a threat assessment team for each of its schools serving any of grades 6 to 12, inclusive.

(2)Upon the initial establishment of a threat assessment team, and at least once every three years thereafter, each member of the threat assessment team shall complete a threat assessment training program from a list maintained by the Department of Justice. If the Department of Justice does not have an existing list of approved threat assessment training programs, the Department of Justice shall establish such a list for purposes of this section.

(3)Each school of a local educational agency shall retain proof of completion of an approved training program by each threat assessment team member. This proof may be maintained as part of a school safety plan pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 32280) or Section 47605, as applicable.

(4)Each threat assessment team shall, to the extent possible, be multidisciplinary, and may include school administrators, school counselors and psychologists, school resource officers, and other appropriate personnel.

(b)(1)If the school of a local educational agency has a similarly constituted safety team as of January 1, 2025, that team may also serve as the threat assessment team, provided that the team and each member of the team comply with the requirements of this section.

(2)If a member of a team described in paragraph (1) has completed a training program that is approved by the Department of Justice pursuant this section, and the team member completed that program anytime between July 1, 2026, and July 1, 2027, inclusive, the team member shall not be required to complete a training program again until July 1, 2029.

(c)A new member who joins a team described in either subdivision (a) or (b) shall complete an approved training program upon their appointment to that team.

(d)(1)A local educational agency, the members of the governing board or body of a local educational agency, and any employee of a local educational agency, including a school threat assessment team member, shall not be liable for damages in a civil action for injury, death, or loss to person or property allegedly arising from a team member’s execution of duties pursuant to this section, unless the team member’s act or omission constitutes willful or wanton misconduct.

(2)This subdivision does not eliminate, limit, or reduce any other immunity or defense that a local educational agency, the governing board or body of a local educational agency, or any employee of a local educational agency, including a school threat assessment team member, may assert under any other provision of law or under the common law of this state.

32296.4.32296.3.
 (a) (1) Commencing July 1, 2027, each local educational agency shall enter into an agreement with an anonymous reporting program of the local educational agency’s choosing, provided that the reporting program satisfies each of the following requirements:

(1)

(A) It operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

(2)

(B) It forwards reported information to, and coordinates with, the appropriate school personnel, law enforcement agencies, and other public safety agencies, as identified in a school’s adopted school safety plan pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 32280) or Section 47605, as applicable.

(3)

(C) Its provider will annually submit a report to the State Department of Education and the Department of Justice of the number of anonymous reports made through the reporting program, and the method by which they were received, disaggregated by individual school.
(2) A local educational agency that has established, before July 1, 2027, and continues to maintain, an anonymous reporting system, including as part of procedures described in subparagraph (K) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 32282, that complies with subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (1), shall be deemed in compliance with the requirement of paragraph (1).
(b) Each local educational agency shall promote the reporting program at each of its schools in order to inform pupils about the reporting program and its reporting methods.
(c) (1) Commencing July 1, 2028, and annually thereafter, at the end of each school year, each local educational agency shall submit all of the following data to the State Department of Education, in a manner prescribed by the State Department of Education, and to the Department of Justice, in manner prescribed by the Department of Justice, disaggregated by school:
(A) The type of threat and the manner in which the threat was received.

(A)

(B) The number and type of disciplinary actions taken in the previous school year as a result of anonymous reports.

(B)

(C) The number and type of mental wellness referrals as a result of anonymous reports.

(C)

(D) The race and gender of the pupils subject to disciplinary actions and mental wellness referrals as a result of anonymous reports.

(D)

(E) Any other information the State Department of Education or the Department of Justice determines necessary.
(2) Any data collected by an anonymous reporting program or reported to the State Department of Education or Department of Justice pursuant to this section shall be non-personally identifiable.
(d) If a local educational agency determines that a report is false and the subject of that report is a pupil, the information shall be immediately removed from the subject pupil’s record.

SEC. 3.

 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.