Amended
IN
Assembly
March 01, 2021 |
Amended
IN
Assembly
February 18, 2021 |
Introduced by Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review |
December 16, 2020 |
(5)
(6)
(7)
(a)The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1)The COVID-19 pandemic poses a threat to the health and safety of all Californians.
(2)Even with protocols in place to mitigate the transmission of COVID-19, the presence of an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19 on a K–12 public or private school campus is an emergency that poses a risk to the health or safety of pupils and employees present on the campus.
(3)Reporting to the local health officer the presence of a positive case of COVID-19 in an individual who is or
has been present on a K–12 public or private school campus is necessary to protect the health and safety of pupils and employees present on the campus.
(4)To support the safe operations of schools and facilitate in-person instruction while preventing the spread of COVID-19, the State Department of Public Health and local health officers should also be aware of whether a school is offering in-person instruction and services to pupils and the degree to which the instruction and services are occurring. This information is essential to ensure awareness of possible locations where COVID-19 transmission may occur and to help focus testing resources and technical assistance to ensure safe reopening and school operations.
(b)
(c)(1)Every
(H)
(d)(1)Every school district, county office of education, charter school,
(2)
(b)It is the intent of the Legislature to review expenditure requirements for funds apportioned pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 43521 before the end of the 2020–21 fiscal year and make any changes necessary to respond to conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 adjusted case rates, both statewide and in any specific regions or hotspots.
(1)For elementary schools, for kindergarten and grades 1 to 6, inclusive, as applicable, instruction under the immediate physical supervision and control of a certificated employee of the local educational agency while engaged in educational activities required of the pupil.
(2)For middle schools and high schools, for grades 6 to 12, inclusive, as applicable, instruction under the immediate physical supervision and control of a certificated employee of the local educational agency while engaged in educational activities required of the pupil or instruction provided by a certificated employee of the local educational agency to a pupil in
a classroom or other appropriate local educational agency facility under the general supervision of that certificated employee and the immediate physical supervision and control of another certificated or classified employee of the local educational agency.
(3)
(2)A local educational agency may notify the State Department of
Education, through a process designated by the department, of its intent to opt out of receiving an apportionment under paragraph (1), and the department shall reduce the local educational agency’s total apportionment pursuant to this section accordingly.
(d)Apportionments computed pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be adjusted to reflect the exclusion of average daily attendance generated by pupils in full-time traditional independent study programs pursuant to Section 51747 or course-based independent study average daily attendance pursuant to Section 51749.5 reported to the department as of the 2019–20 second principal apportionment.
(e)(1)Funds apportioned to a local educational agency or state special school under subdivision (b) shall be provided to the local educational agency or state special school in equal portions in April 2021 and July 2021, and
shall be available for expenditure through September 30, 2022.
(2)Funds apportioned to a local educational agency or state special school under subdivision (c) shall be provided to the local educational agency in April 2021 and shall be available for expenditure through July 30, 2021.
(f)On or before April 1, 2021, the department shall
(g)
(a)Commencing no later than the regular summer break in 2021 and continuing until September 30, 2022, funds apportioned to a local educational agency or state special school under subdivision (b) of Section 43521 shall be used for activities that support academic achievement by offering supplemental instruction and support
(b)As a condition of receiving funding under subdivision (b) of Section 43521, a local educational agency shall provide, at a minimum, supplemental instruction to pupils, support for pupils’ social and emotional well-being, and, to the maximum extent permissible under the guidelines of the United States Department of Agriculture, meals and snacks to participating pupils. Specifically,
(c)Local educational agencies are encouraged to engage, plan, and collaborate on program operation with community partners and expanded learning programs, and leverage existing behavioral health partnerships and Medi-Cal billing options, in the design and implementation of services provided under this section.
(d)A local educational agency that has declined funding pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 43521 may expend up to 10 percent of funding received under subdivision (b) of Section 43521 in the 2020–21 school year to support school reopening for instructional services related to learning loss.
(e)
(2)
(f)
(g)A local educational agency shall not expend funds received under subdivision (b) of Section 43521 until it is providing in-person instruction to pupils pursuant to this section.
(h)In all circumstances, a local educational agency and state special school apportioned funds under Section 43521 shall deliver services in accordance with an applicable individualized education program.
(i)(1)As a condition of receiving funding under subdivision (b) of Section 43521, on
(ii)
(j)On or before May 1, 2021, the department’s Statewide System of Support for Expanded Learning, in collaboration with the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and consistent with the statewide system of support established in Section 52059.5, shall develop a best practice guide to assist local educational agencies with the
implementation of this section. The department, in collaboration with the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, shall make this guidance available to all local educational agencies. The guidance shall include all of the following:
(1)Guidance and professional development resources on evidence-based models for providing supplemental instruction and support in an engaging manner in a positive climate.
(2)Guidance on the effective practices for the assessment of pupils’ academic and social-emotional needs, the use of effective curricular resources and instructional practices, and the leveraging of community partnerships, in order to accelerate learning and meet pupils’ social-emotional and basic needs.
(3)Best practices for contacting and reengaging disengaged
pupils.
(a)A local educational agency, excluding a charter school classified as a nonclassroom-based charter school as of the 2019–20 second principal apportionment certification pursuant to Section 47612.5, shall be eligible for an apportionment under subdivision (c) of Section 43521, if it meets all of the following requirements:
(1)(A)On or before April 1, 2021, the local educational agency submits a completed COVID-19 school safety plan to its county office of education that provides for in-person instruction as required by paragraphs (5) to (7), inclusive, and describes how the local educational agency shall conduct ongoing asymptomatic testing of staff and pupils consistent with the state-supported cadences set
forth in the COVID-19 industry sector guidance for schools and school-based programs issued by the State Department of Public Health. County offices of education and school districts in a single-district county shall submit their COVID-19 school safety plan to the State Department of Education. For purposes of this chapter, the COVID-19 school safety plan shall consist of both of the following consistent with January 2021 guidance issued by the State Department of Public Health:
(i)The written COVID-19 prevention program required by subdivision (c) of Section 3205 of Title 8 of the California Code of Regulations, adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board as part of COVID-19 Emergency Standards.
(ii)The supplemental COVID-19 School Guidance Checklist approved by the State Department of Public Health as part of the COVID-19 industry sector guidance for schools
and school-based programs.
(B)Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a local educational agency providing or with an adopted plan to provide in-person instruction for any pupils on or before March 15, 2021, pursuant to guidance issued by the State Department of Public Health as published at the date of the local educational agency’s plan adoption, with a completed COVID-19 school safety plan publicly posted on its internet website, and ratified certificated and classified employee collective bargaining agreements or applicable memoranda of understanding that support implementation of its COVID-19 school safety plan in place, is not required to conduct ongoing asymptomatic testing of staff and pupils consistent with the state-supported cadences set forth in the K-12 School Public Health Guidance issued by the State Department of Public Health in order to be eligible for an apportionment under subdivision (c) of Section 43521.
(2)For a local educational agency whose employees collectively bargain, on or before April 1, 2021, the local educational agency submits to its county office of education, or for single-district counties, the State Department of Education, a copy of its ratified certificated and classified employee collective bargaining agreements or applicable memoranda of understanding that support implementation of its COVID-19 school safety plan. A local educational agency that already has ratified certificated and classified employee collective bargaining agreements or applicable memoranda of understanding that support implementation of its COVID-19 school safety plan in place before the effective date of this section does not need to renegotiate those agreements in order to be eligible for an apportionment under subdivision (c) of Section 43521. County offices of education and school districts in single district counties shall submit these documents to the
State Department of Education.
(3)On or before April 1, 2021, the local educational agency posts the COVID-19 school safety plan on its internet website home page.
(4)On or before April 1, 2021, the local educational agency certifies to its county office of education, or for single-district counties, the State Department of Education, that it has verified that each of its pupils participating in distance learning either has access to a computing device, software, and high-speed internet necessary to participate in online instruction, or has been given the option of in-person instruction pursuant to paragraph (5).
(5)(A)On or before April 15, 2021, the local educational agency offers optional in-person instruction, consistent with its COVID-19 school safety plan and in compliance with
Guidance Related to Cohorts issued by the State Department of Public Health, to at least all pupils in the following pupil groups:
(i)Individuals with exceptional needs.
(ii)Foster youth.
(iii)Homeless pupils.
(iv)English learners.
(v)Pupils without access to a computing device, software, and high-speed internet necessary to participate in online instruction, as determined by the local educational agency.
(vi)Disengaged pupils.
(vii)Pupils at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
(B)A
local educational agency may determine the priority order in which to bring pupils back within each group consistent with instructional needs, local capacity, and facility availability to serve small cohorts, but shall offer in-person instruction to each pupil group described in subparagraph (A).
(6)On or before April 15, 2021, or, for a local educational agency in a county with a COVID-19 adjusted case rate of greater than 7 per 100,000, on or before 15 calendar days after the COVID-19 adjusted case rate drops to 7 per 100,000 or lower, the local educational agency offers optional in-person instruction, consistent with its COVID-19 school safety plan, to each pupil group described in paragraph (5) and to pupils enrolled in transitional kindergarten through the highest elementary grade offered by the local educational agency up to and including grade 6, inclusive, as applicable.
(7)The local educational agency offers continuous in-person instruction for pupils pursuant to paragraphs (5) and (6) through the end of the scheduled 2020–21 school year, unless otherwise ordered by a state or local health officer. The scheduled school year is the adopted school calendar for the 2020–21 school year in effect on April 1, 2021.
(b)A local educational agency may offer instruction to pupils in any grades or pupil groups before April 15, 2021, consistent with the Guidance Related to Cohorts issued by the State Department of Public Health, or for pupils in transitional kindergarten through the highest elementary grade offered by the local educational agency up to and including grade 6, inclusive, consistent with its COVID-19 school safety plan.
(c)County offices of education shall submit the information received from local educational agencies pursuant
to subdivision (a) to the State Department of Education on or before April 5, 2021, using the form provided by the State Department of Education.
(a)In addition to the requirements in Section 43523, and in order to be eligible for an apportionment under subdivision (c) of Section 43521, a local educational agency in a local health jurisdiction or county in the purple tier under the State Department of Public Health’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy shall submit its COVID-19 school safety plan to the local health department and the State Safe Schools for All Team pursuant to guidance issued by the State Department of Public Health in the COVID-19 and Reopening In-Person Instruction Framework & Public Health Guidance for K-12 Schools in California, 2020–2021 School Year. If the local health department or the State Safe Schools for All Team identifies a deficiency in the local educational agency’s COVID-19 school safety plan within seven
business days, the local educational agency and its county office of education shall be notified of the deficiency by the local health department or the State Safe Schools for All Team. If the deficiency is not resolved through subsequent revisions pursuant to the process in the applicable guidance issued by the State Department of Public Health in time to allow the local educational agency to serve pupils as required in Section 43523, the local educational agency shall no longer be eligible to receive an apportionment under subdivision (c) of Section 43521. The county office of education with jurisdiction over the local educational agency shall notify the State Department of Education of this ineligibility within five business days of being notified that the local educational agency is unable to serve pupils as required in Section 43523.
(b)Subdivision (a) does not apply to a local educational agency already open for in-person instruction on
or before March 15, 2021, pursuant to the definition included in guidance issued by the State Department of Public Health, if its reopening was permitted by state and local public health directives in effect at the time of reopening.
(3)Verification that all pupils opting to participate in distance learning pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 43523, who are not served in cohorts
in-person pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 43523, have access to a computing device, software, and high-speed internet necessary to participate in online instruction.
(4)
County public health departments shall make COVID-19 vaccines available to schoolsite personnel who are working at a schoolsite where pupils are attending in person.