Code Section

52073.3.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) Without capacity in California’s public school system to conduct meaningful interestholder engagement, especially as it relates to the local control and accountability plan development process, pupils, families, and communities may not be able to hold school districts accountable for decisions that affect pupil outcomes.

(2) The statewide system of support established pursuant to Section 52059.5 should include expertise and resources to help school districts improve in their ability to engage interestholders meaningfully.

(3) Through an important investment made through the Budget Act of 2018, the statewide system of support has grown to include the Community Engagement Initiative, which was established for the purpose of all of the following:

(A) Building capacity in communities and school districts to have difficult conversations with each other and build trust, with a focus on improving outcomes for pupils.

(B) Identifying effective models of community engagement and metrics to evaluate those models.

(C) Developing effective peer-to-peer partnerships between school districts and county offices of education, utilizing the existing professional learning networks structure administered by the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, to deepen community engagement using lessons learned from the work identified in subparagraph (A) and the models identified in subparagraph (B).

(D) Scaling up the work identified in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) to improve community engagement statewide and incorporate practices that prove effective toward school district and county office of education continuous improvement efforts.

(4) Through the Community Engagement Initiative, local educational agencies have been able to create authentic partnerships among pupils, families, districts, and communities that nurture relationships, build trust, ensure cultural, racial, and linguistic equity, and lead to transformative pupil outcomes.

(5) While the initial investment in the Community Engagement Initiative was an important initial foray into building local educational agency engagement capacity, work remains to strengthen engagement statewide and further address the gaps in local capacity for meaningful community engagement.

(b) The Community Engagement Initiative Expansion, or the Expansion, is hereby established for all of the following purposes:

(1) Increasing and enhancing the emphasis on the engagement of pupils, families, and communities in all aspects of the Community Engagement Initiative.

(2) Expanding the use of the Community Engagement Initiative’s identified metrics to create a common definition and clear standards for meaningful engagement at the local and state levels.

(3) Developing an in-depth training series on meaningful pupil, family, and community engagement and engaging local educational agencies and schoolsite staff in those trainings to build the knowledge, skillsets, and commitment of key staff in improving pupil, family, and community engagement.

(4) Increasing the capacity of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the lead agency selected pursuant to subdivision (c) to scale up the initiative and improve alignment with the statewide system of support.

(c) (1) By May 1, 2023, the department and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, with approval from the executive director of the state board, shall select an expert community engagement lead agency, consistent with Section 52073.1, to coadminister the Expansion with the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence.

(2) The lead agency selected for the Expansion shall demonstrate a willingness and capacity to do all of the following:

(A) Develop and disseminate expertise in community engagement.

(B) Work collaboratively with the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and a diverse group of education interestholders.

(C) Communicate regularly with the department, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, and the lead agencies specified in Section 52073 through the formal process established pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 52073.

(D) Document the outcomes of the activities authorized by this section through the duration of the Expansion and, in partnership with the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the Expansion participants, develop resources based on the experiences and conclusions of the Community Engagement Initiative’s participants and the Expansion’s participants from their specific contexts that are broadly applicable and actionable statewide.

(E) Play a leadership role in disseminating the information specified in subparagraph (D) throughout the statewide system of support established pursuant to Section 52059.5 and serving as a resource to local educational agencies and community interestholders in applying that information to their local context.

(d) (1) The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the lead agency selected pursuant to subdivision (c) shall create a common definition and clear metrics for effective, equitable community engagement that draw upon the metrics developed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) Section 140 of Chapter 32 of the Statutes of 2018.

(2) The metrics shall mirror the original purpose of the Community Engagement Initiative, which is to engage underrepresented pupils, families, and communities, build trust and have authentic and productive conversations, and link engagement to efforts that improve student outcomes.

(e) (1) On or before December 1, 2023, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the lead agency selected pursuant to subdivision (c) shall develop an in-depth training series and resources on meaningful pupil, family, and community engagement.

(2) The developed training series and resources shall be able to accomplish, at a minimum, all of the following:

(A) Develop professional development through train-the-trainer models or online training modules that are scaffolded to support the continued professional development and deeper expertise of educators.

(B) Provide technical assistance to local educational agencies.

(C) Develop a network of educators, especially those selected to participate in previous community engagement professional learning networks pursuant to Section 140 of Chapter 32 of the Statutes of 2018, who can provide coaching and training to other local educational agencies.

(3) The developed training series and resources shall include content on areas, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) How to have conversations on complex issues such as race, language, disability, understanding community expertise, and sharing power.

(B) Engaging local educational agency and schoolsite staff in those trainings to build the knowledge, skillsets, and commitment of key staff in improving pupil, family, and community engagement.

(C) Focusing on and centering the voices of pupils, families, and communities in decisionmaking processes.

(D) Protocols for facilitating professional learning networks to help other communities and school districts improve and deepen their interactions, including the Community Engagement Initiative Protocol Toolkit, developed and tested by community engagement professional learning networks convened pursuant to Section 140 of Chapter 32 of the Statutes of 2018.

(E) Metrics for measuring increases in community engagement, including the metrics developed pursuant to subdivision (d).

(F) How to leverage the Community Engagement Initiative for transformational school investments and authentic pupil, family, community, and educator engagement, including, but not limited to, local control and accountability plans, expanded learning opportunity programs, and California Community School Partnership Act grants.

(4) The training series and resources shall be made publicly available, at no cost to local educational agencies statewide.

(5) The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence shall periodically update the trainings and resources, as needed, based on the findings of future community engagement professional learning networks and other research.

(f) For the 2022–23 fiscal year to the 2026–27 fiscal year, inclusive, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the lead agency selected pursuant to subdivision (c) shall convene 30 community engagement professional learning networks. Each of these professional learning networks shall be similar in composition to the teams described in subdivision (d) of Section 140 of Chapter 32 of the Statutes of 2018. These teams shall be willing to do all of the following:

(1) Participate in the professional learning network for no less than two years.

(2) Engage in open dialogue on issues related to improving local pupil outcomes.

(3) (A) Partner with other communities and school districts on improving community engagement.

(B) A partnership pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall include providing fiscal support to partnering organizations to support their capacity for meaningful collaboration and implementation of the Community Engagement Initiative.

(g) For the 2022–23 fiscal year, each of the professional learning networks created pursuant to subdivision (f) shall include as cofacilitators members of a team that participated in the initial community engagement professional learning networks established pursuant to subdivisions (e) and (g) of Section 140 of Chapter 32 of the Statutes of 2018.

(h) Beginning on July 1, 2024, the professional learning networks created pursuant to subdivision (f) may also include as cofacilitators members of a team that participated in the initial community engagement professional learning networks established pursuant to subdivision (k) of Section 140 of Chapter 32 of the Statutes of 2018.

(i) Each of the professional learning networks established pursuant to subdivision (f) shall do both of the following:

(1) Deepen the community engagement of the school districts and communities participating in each professional learning network, including by engaging with the Community Engagement Protocol Toolkit developed by the community engagement professional learning networks established pursuant to Section 140 of Chapter 32 of the Statutes of 2018.

(2) Use the metrics developed pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (f) of Section 140 of Chapter 32 of the Statutes of 2018 to measure changes in community engagement in each of the participating communities and school districts.

(j) The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the lead agency selected pursuant to subdivision (c) shall incorporate learning recovery work, as authorized by the funds apportioned pursuant to Section 32526, into the training and resources provided to local educational agencies.

(k) By June 30, 2027, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the lead agency selected pursuant to subdivision (c) shall submit a report to the executive director of the state board, the Superintendent, the executive director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, each of the lead agencies identified pursuant to Section 52073, and the chairpersons of each of the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature. The report shall include all of the following:

(1) A description of best practices for improving community engagement identified by the professional learning networks established under the Community Engagement Initiative and the Expansion, and any changes in the understanding of best practices throughout the duration of the Expansion.

(2) Using the definition and metrics identified pursuant to subdivision (d), an analysis of the impact of the work done by each team through the professional learning networks on their home communities and school districts.

(3) Feedback to improve the community engagement professional learning network protocol and metrics, and additional activities or resources that would assist in continued development of capacity within local educational agencies and local communities for conducting meaningful interestholder engagement.

(l) For the 2022–23 fiscal year, the sum of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to the Superintendent for allocation to the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence to expand and strengthen the Community Engagement Initiative pursuant to this section. The administrative agent of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, pursuant to policy and program direction from the governing board of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, shall develop the budget for the Community Engagement Initiative Expansion, subject to approval by the Department of Finance. Of the amount appropriated in this subdivision, five million dollars ($5,000,000) shall be allocated to the administrative agent of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence for costs associated with administering this program. All funds appropriated pursuant to this subdivision shall be available for encumbrance until June 30, 2029.

(m) For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the appropriation made by subdivision (l) shall be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202, for the 2021–22 fiscal year, and included within the “total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202, for the 2021–22 fiscal year.