California Assembly Bill AB2815 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2815AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 5, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member O'Donnell FEBRUARY 19, 2016  An act to amend Section 44382 of the Education Code, relating to teacher credentialing.   An act to amend Section 48240 of the Education Code, relating to pupil attendance.  LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2815, as amended, O'Donnell.  Teacher credentialing: alternative certification programs: special education.   Pupil attendance: supervisors of attendance.   Existing law requires the board of education of any school district and of any county to appoint a supervisor of attendance and any assistant supervisors of attendance as may be necessary to supervise the attendance of pupils in the district or county, and requires the board to prescribe the duties of the supervisor of attendance and assistant supervisors of attendance in accordance with specified provisions.   This bill would express the Legislature's intent that a supervisor of attendance perform specified functions, and would authorize the supervisor of attendance to provide support services and interventions, as provided.   Existing law establishes an alternative certification program to address the shortage of qualified teachers in specified subject matters, of teachers who work with limited-English-proficient pupils, of minority teachers, and of special education teachers. Existing law requires alternative certification programs to address geographic and subject matter shortage areas and be targeted toward people with work experience and others who already have a bachelor's degree in the field in which they plan to teach.   This bill would additionally require alternative certification programs to address the shortage area of special education.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 48240 of the   Education Code   is amended to read:  48240.  (a)    The  governing  board  of education  of any school district and of any county  office of education  shall appoint a supervisor of attendance and  such   any  assistant supervisors of attendance as may be necessary to supervise the attendance of pupils in the  school  district or county. The  governing  board  of the school district or of the county office of education  shall prescribe the duties of the supervisor  of attendance  and assistant supervisors of  attendance, not inconsistent with law,   attendance  to include, among other duties that may be  required by the board,   required,  those specific duties related to compulsory full-time education, truancy, work permits, compulsory continuation education, and opportunity schools, classes, and programs, now required of  such   the  attendance supervisors by this chapter and Article 4 (commencing with Section 48450) of Chapter 3 and Article 2 (commencing with Section 48630) of Chapter 4 of this part.  (b) It is the intent of the Legislature that in performing his or her duties, the supervisor of attendance shall promote a culture of attendance and establish a system to accurately track pupil attendance in order to achieve all of the following:   (1) Raise the awareness of school personnel, parents, guardians, caregivers, community partners, and local businesses of the effects of chronic absence and truancy and other challenges associated with poor attendance.   (2) Identify and respond to grade level or pupil subgroup patterns of chronic absenteeism or truancy.   (3) Identify and address factors contributing to chronic absenteeism and habitual truancy, including suspension and expulsion.   (4) Ensure that pupils with attendance problems are identified as early as possible to provide applicable support services and interventions.   (5) Evaluate the effectiveness of strategies implemented to reduce chronic absenteeism rates and truancy rates.   (c) The supervisor of attendance may provide support services and interventions, which may include, but are not limited to, any or all of the following:   (1) A conference between school personnel, the pupil's parent or guardian, and the pupil.   (2) Promoting cocurricular and extracurricular activities that increase pupil connectedness to school, such as tutoring, mentoring, the arts, service learning, or athletics.   (3) Recognizing pupils who achieve excellent attendance or demonstrate significant improvement in attendance.   (4) Referral to a school nurse, school counselor, school psychologist, school social worker, and other pupil support personnel for case management and counseling.   (5) Collaboration with child welfare services, law enforcement, courts, public health care agencies, or government agencies, or medical, mental health, and oral health care providers to receive necessary services.   (6) Collaborating with school study teams, guidance teams, school attendance review teams, or other intervention-related teams to assess the attendance or behavior problem in partnership with the pupil and his or her parents, guardians, or caregivers.   (7) In schools with significantly higher rates of chronic absenteeism, identify barriers to attendance that may require schoolwide strategies rather than case management.   (8) Referral for a comprehensive psychosocial or psychoeducational assessment, including for purposes of creating an individualized education program for an individual with exceptional needs as that term is defined in Section 56026, or plan adopted for a qualified handicapped person as that term is defined in regulations promulgated by the United States Department of Education pursuant to Section 504 of the federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 794).   (9) Referral to a school attendance review board established by the county or by a school district pursuant to Section 48321 or to the probation department pursuant to Section 48263.   (10) Referral to a truancy mediation program operated by the county's district attorney or probation officer pursuant to Section 48260.6.   SECTION 1.   Section 44382 of the Education Code is amended to read: 44382. Alternative certification programs shall address geographic, subject matter, and special education shortage areas, and shall be targeted toward people with work experience and others who already have a bachelor's degree in the field in which they plan to teach.