BILL NUMBER: AB 1178INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bocanegra FEBRUARY 22, 2013 An act to add Chapter 18.5 (commencing with Section 11750) to Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1178, as introduced, Bocanegra. Pupil instruction: California Promise Neighborhood Initiative. Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state, and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law also establishes a system of postsecondary education in the state that consists of 4 segments: the University of California, the California State University, the California Community Colleges, and independent institutions of higher education. This bill would express findings and declarations of the Legislature about, among other things, the educational, cultural, and health needs of California's most distressed communities. The bill would establish the California Promise Neighborhood Initiative to develop a system of 40 California promise neighborhoods throughout the state to support children's development. The bill would require the State Department of Education to designate the 40 California promise neighborhoods by January 1, 2016, and would specify that the promise neighborhoods would be selected from areas that voluntarily apply, as prescribed, for that designation. The bill would specify items that would be required to be included in an application to be designated as a California promise neighborhood. The bill would specify the services to be provided to the participating neighborhoods. The bill would also specify information to be annually reported to the State Department of Education by designated California promise neighborhoods. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Chapter 18.5 (commencing with Section 11750) is added to Part 7 of Division 1 of Title 1 of the Education Code, to read: CHAPTER 18.5. CALIFORNIA PROMISE NEIGHBORHOOD INITIATIVE Article 1. Findings and General Provisions 11750. The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the following: (a) All children throughout California, regardless of their families' socioeconomic, English learning, or special education status, or the neighborhoods in which they reside, deserve access to a high-quality education, health services, and social services that will prepare them to succeed in college and in their careers, and that will allow them to become productive citizens contributing to the wealth of our cities, state, and nation. (b) Many children living in California's most distressed communities lack access to opportunities that will ensure adequate academic, social, and health preparation for achieving success and helping to end family and neighborhood poverty. (c) Innovative and comprehensive approaches to break the cycle of poverty are necessary for creating opportunities for children to succeed and ultimately to help turn around poor neighborhoods. (d) Long-term investments in underserved children's academic, social, and health development and the strengthening of a system of family and community support shared by various stakeholders are also needed to sustain the future of our communities. (e) The Harlem Children's Zone in New York has demonstrated the lasting benefits of developing a network of support services to revitalize an entire community focusing on the social, health, and educational development of children. (f) The Federal Promise Neighborhood Initiative, inspired by the Harlem Children's Zone, seeks to develop a cradle-to-career pipeline of support services in specific neighborhoods that will transform communities. (g) Out of more than 50 communities in California that applied for the Federal Promise Neighborhood Initiative grant, 12 communities in California were selected to receive planning or implementation grants. (h) Many of the communities that were not selected by the federal government continue to work on developing community plans because cross-community planning provides lasting benefits in aligning and maximizing resources in a community. (i) Establishing a network of services to serve specific families breaks down many unnecessary barriers in the effective delivery of programs and services. (j) The alignment of local, state, and federal resources can maximize existing dollars and better serve specific communities. (k) Central to the development of the Harlem Children's Zone and the Federal Promise Neighborhood Initiative has been the use of data to drive real-time decisionmaking and program improvement. 11751. (a) The California Promise Neighborhood Initiative is hereby established to develop a system of 40 "promise"neighborhoods throughout California to support children's development from cradle to career. Participation in this initiative is voluntary. (b) The purpose of the California Promise Neighborhood Initiative is to significantly improve the outcomes and opportunities for children and their families living in California's most distressed neighborhoods and to transform those communities. By using results-driven accountability and leveraging federal, state, local, and private resources, the state will seek to provide children and their families in these neighborhoods with access to a community-based continuum of high-quality services and practices based on the best available evidence, which will address the needs of children from birth through college and career. (c) The department shall designate 40 California promise neighborhoods by January 1, 2016, selecting from applicants that meet eligibility criteria, and have demonstrated that they will implement a comprehensive, integrated continuum of solutions or pipeline of services based on the best available evidence to improve academic achievement, including early childhood programs, child and youth social and health development, college and career readiness, and efforts to build strong family and community supports measured by common outcomes in neighborhoods with high concentrations of low-income families, persistently low-achieving schools, or schools with an achievement gap. (d) The department shall begin the California Promise Neighborhood Initiative selection process by including the existing and federally recognized promise neighborhoods. 11752. As used in this chapter: (a) A "California promise neighborhood" is a specific geographic area that represents a community focused on revitalization through the establishment of a cradle-to-career network of services aimed at improving the health, safety, education, and economic development of the defined area. (b) An "eligible applicant" is any of the following: (1) A nonprofit organization, including a faith-based organization to the extent permitted by law. (2) An institution of higher education. (3) An Indian tribe or tribal organization, serving as a lead agency representative of the proposed geographic area to be served and in partnership with at least one public elementary or secondary school, traditional or charter, located within the identified geographic area that the grant applied for would serve. Article 2. Program Provisions 11753. (a) The department shall work with the Employment Development Department, the California Health and Human Services Agency, the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, the California Children and Families Commission, the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, the Student Aid Commission, the Department of Parks and Recreation, and other agencies and departments selected by the Governor to implement this chapter. (b) Commencing no later than July 1, 2014, the department shall develop an application process for eligible entities to apply for sites to become California promise neighborhoods. (c) For purposes of implementing this chapter, the department may use existing available state resources and federal funds. If state or federal funds are not available or sufficient, the department may apply for and accept grants and receive donations and other financial support from public or private sources for purposes of this chapter. 11754. (a) The department shall work with the California Health and Human Services Agency and county health and human services agencies to ensure, to the extent feasible, the maximum participation of eligible populations within California promise neighborhoods in the following programs: (1) The CalFresh program pursuant to Chapter 10 (commencing with Section 18900) of Part 6 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. (2) The Medi-Cal program pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. (b) The department shall post participation rates for these areas and establish a goal of 90 percent participation by January 1, 2016. The department shall explore different methods of increasing participation, including, but not necessarily limited to, a universal application and electronic data sharing with schools and school districts. 11755. The department shall work with the California Children and Families Commission (First 5 Commission), established pursuant to Division 108 (commencing with Section 130100) of the Health and Safety Code, to ensure that, to the extent feasible, children and families residing within California promise neighborhoods receive maximum consideration for receiving funding for competitive grants administered by that commission. 11756. (a) The department shall work with the California Community Colleges, the California State University, the University of California, the Student Aid Commission, and the California Postsecondary Education Commission to ensure that, to the extent feasible, children and families residing within California promise neighborhoods receive maximum consideration, to the extent feasible, when applying for funding for competitive grants. (b) Schools and school districts within California promise neighborhoods shall, at a minimum, receive maximum consideration for receiving funding for the following competitive grants: (1) The After School Education and Safety Program established pursuant to Section 8482. (2) A California Partnership Academy established pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 54690) of Chapter 9 of Part 29 of Division 4 of Title 2. (3) The Immediate Intervention-Underperforming Schools Program established pursuant to Section 52053. (4) Career technical education pathways grants pursuant to Section 88532. 11757. (a) The department shall work with the Employment Development Department, the California Workforce Investment Board, and the Employment Training Panel to ensure that, to the extent feasible, children and families residing within California promise neighborhoods receive maximum consideration for receiving funding for competitive grants. (b) Cities and counties in which California promise neighborhoods are located shall, to the extent feasible, receive priority in the following programs and grants: (1) Programs of the Employment Training Panel established pursuant to Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 10200) of Part 1 of Division 3 of the Unemployment Insurance Code. (2) Workforce development solicitations for proposals. 11758. (a) The department shall work with the Department of Parks and Recreation to ensure that children and families residing within California promise neighborhoods receive, to the extent feasible, maximum consideration for receiving funding for competitive grants. (b) Cities and counties in which California promise neighborhoods are located shall receive, to the extent feasible, maximum consideration for funding for the creation of new parks and recreation activities in underserved communities. 11759. (a) For purposes of receiving a California promise neighborhood designation, an eligible applicant shall submit an application to the department at a time, in the manner, and containing the information, the department may require. (b) An eligible applicant shall submit a description of the geographically defined area or neighborhood to be served and the level of distress in that area based on indicators of need and other relevant indicators. (c) In order for an area to apply, the geographic area of the proposed California promise neighborhood shall meet all of the following minimum criteria: (1) Contain a designated high school or schools and feeder schools. (2) Have high poverty rates. (3) Have high unemployment. (4) Have low high school graduation rates. (d) An eligible applicant, at a minimum, shall include the following partners as part of its application: (1) Other community organizations. (2) Child development organizations. (3) Schools or school districts. (4) Postsecondary educational institutions. (5) City and county governments. (6) Representatives of local business and industry. (e) An eligible applicant shall submit a preliminary memorandum of understanding, signed by representatives of each partner entity or agency. (f) Eligible applicants shall submit a description of a plan to significantly improve the academic, health, and social outcomes of children living in an identified neighborhood and to support the healthy development and well-being of children and youth in the neighborhood by providing a continuum of solutions to address the neighborhood's needs. The continuum of solutions proposed by the eligible applicant shall be based on the best information available to the applicant. (g) An eligible applicant shall submit an analysis of community assets within, or accessible to, the neighborhood, including, at a minimum, a description of all of the following: (1) Early learning programs and network, including home visiting, high-quality child care, Early Head Start programs, Head Start programs, and prekindergarten programs. (2) Community centers, after school programs, and other opportunities for out-of-school activities. (3) Transportation resources. (4) Parks and recreational facilities. (5) Available healthy food options and opportunities for physical activity. (6) Existing family and student support organizations. (7) Businesses and employers located in the community. (8) Postsecondary educational institutions located in or near the community. (h) A description of the process by which to develop, launch, and implement a longitudinal data system that integrates student-level data from multiple sources to measure progress on educational and family and community support indicators for all children in the neighborhood. 11760. Each eligible entity that receives a California promise neighborhood designation under this chapter shall prepare and submit an annual report to the department, which shall include both of the following: (a) Information about the number and percentage of children, family members, and community members in the neighborhood who are served by the program, including a description of the number and percentage of children accessing each of the pipeline services and the number of family and community members served by which programs. (b) Disaggregated data regarding population and program levels related to the program's success in annual growth, expressed with respect to program and project indicators and performance metrics developed by the department.