Pupil Support Training Program.

Existing law requires the governing board of any school district to give diligent care to the health and physical development of pupils and authorizes the governing board of a school district to employ properly certified persons for the work. This bill, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature for its purposes, would establish the Pupil Peer Support Training Program. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to develop an application process and administration plan for the selection of grant recipients under the program before January 31, 2024. The bill would require the Superintendent to award Pupil Peer Support Training Program grants on a competitive basis to local educational agencies serving pupils in any of grades 9 to 12, inclusive, to establish a peer support training program at schools, as specified. The bill would require a grant recipient to ensure that a school staff member holding a pupil personnel services credential supervises the training of, and services provided by, pupils serving as peer supports under the program. The bill would require a staff member of a community-based organization, as well as any volunteer of the organization, who is participating in this program at a schoolsite to successfully complete a criminal background check, as provided.