Local government: local educational agencies: ethics and governance training.

(1) Existing law requires all local agency officials to receive training in ethics, at specified intervals, if the local agency provides any type of compensation, salary, or stipend to those officials. Existing law defines "local agency," for these purposes, to mean a city, county, city and county, charter city, charter county, charter city and county, or special district. Existing law also defines "local agency official" to include members of local agency legislative bodies or elected local agency officials who receive any type of compensation, salary, or stipend or reimbursement in the performance of official duties, as specified. This bill would include a school district, county office of education, and charter school in the definition of "local agency." The bill would include in the definition of "local agency official" any member of a governing board of a school district, a county board of education, or the governing body of a charter school, whether or not that member receives any type of compensation, salary, or stipend or reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties. The bill would also require local agency officials who serve a school district, county office of education, or charter school as of January 1, 2022, to receive the ethics training required by specified law before January 1, 2023, and at least every 2 years thereafter, except as specified. This bill would also require all local educational agency officials, as defined to include any member of a governing board of a school district, a county board of education, or the governing body of a charter school, to receive training in K–12 public education governance laws, as defined, at least once every 4 years. The bill would authorize a local educational agency or an association of local educational agencies to offer these training courses or to arrange for its officials to receive this training from an outside entity, as specified. The bill would require local educational agencies to maintain specified records related to any ethics training they require of their officials. By imposing new duties on school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools, the bill would constitute a state-mandated local program. (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 the statutory provisions noted above.