School accountability: school climate and restorative justice: assessments.

(1) Existing law establishes the Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999 to, among other things, ensure that each child in California receives a high-quality education consistent with all statewide content and performance standards, as specified. This bill would require low-achieving schools, as defined, on or before September 1, 2017, to begin and, on or before July 1, 2018, to complete a school climate assessment, as specified. The bill would require every assessed school to take steps to ensure that responses to school climate assessments remain anonymous and that no individual is identified. The bill would require these schools to publish the results of the assessment on their Internet Web sites, provided that personally identifiable information or information that can reasonably lead a reader to identify an individual is not shared. The bill would require the outcomes resulting from a school climate assessment to be shared through meaningful engagement and collaboration with pupils, parents, teachers, and school personnel in order to develop corrective action recommendations and would require the recommendations to be incorporated and implemented by the school district no later than one year after completion of the assessment, except as provided. By imposing additional duties on school officials, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the State Department of Education to develop and post to an easily accessible page on the department's Internet Web site a listing of available school climate assessment instruments and organizations. The bill would require the department to convene an advisory committee comprised of stakeholders and professionals who have participated in the development and expansion of alternative discipline programs, such as restorative justice and positive behavioral interventions and supports, to make recommendations to the department. The bill would require the Legislative Analyst's Office, on or before January 1, 2023, to compile data of the changes in pupil academic achievement at targeted low-achieving schools, including a breakdown by pupil ethnicity, and chronic absenteeism, suspension, expulsion, and dropout rates of the targeted schools and provide a report to the department, the Governor, and the appropriate legislative budget and policy committees, as specified. The bill would repeal these provisions on July 1, 2023. (2) 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 these statutory provisions.