Published: 2015-07-08
Key Benefits:
(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that all public schools with any combination of instructional settings from kindergarten to grade 7, inclusive, have access to supplemental resources to establish programs and strategies that promote school safety and emphasize violence prevention among children and youth in the public schools. It is further the intent of the Legislature to fund and coordinate the programs and activities carried out pursuant to the Interagency School Safety Demonstration Act of 1985 (Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 32260)), relating to safe school model programs; Article 5 (commencing with Section 32280) of Chapter 2.5 of Part 19, relating to the development of school safety plans; and Article 6 (commencing with Section 32296) of Chapter 2.5 of Part 19, relating to school community policing, in a cooperative and interactive effort to promote school safety and violence prevention in the public schools.
(b) It is further the intent of the Legislature that the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Attorney General shall utilize available resources to make every effort to coordinate activities and the distribution of resources to maximize their effective and efficient use in establishing and maintaining safe schools.
(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 828, Sec. 23. Effective January 1, 2004.)
(a) The School Safety and Violence Prevention Strategy Program is hereby established to be administered by the Superintendent of Public Instruction for the purpose of promoting school safety and violence prevention programs among children and youth in the public schools.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction, in conjunction with the Attorney General, shall develop standards and guidelines for evaluating proposals, and shall award grants on a competitive basis, as authorized by this article, to schools and school districts serving any combination of instructional settings from kindergarten to grade 7, inclusive, that meet the following conditions:
(1) The school has developed a school safety plan as required by Article 5 (commencing with Section 32280) of Chapter 2.5 of Part 21.
(2) The school demonstrates its ability to carry out a collaborative and coordinated approach for implementing a comprehensive school safety and violence prevention strategy.
(3) After initial eligibility has been determined, a process of random selection for grants awarded pursuant to this article shall be used that ensure that, at a minimum, all of the following criteria are met:
(A) Schools are selected from the northern, central, and southern areas of the state.
(B) Schools selected represent large, medium, and small sized numbers in their pupil populations.
(C) Schools are selected from urban, suburban, and rural areas.
(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 828, Sec. 24. Effective January 1, 2004.)
A school or school district that applies for funding pursuant to this article shall submit an application that includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
(a) A school safety plan required by Article 5 (commencing with Section 32280) of Chapter 2.5 of Part 19.
(b) A school violence prevention strategy for improving and marshaling the resources set forth in the school safety plan to promote school safety and violence prevention programs among children and youth.
(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 828, Sec. 25. Effective January 1, 2004.)
The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall award grants under this article for one or more of the following purposes:
(a) Providing schools with personnel, including, but not limited to, school counselors, school social workers, school nurses, and school psychologists, who are specially trained in identifying and supporting at-risk children and youth where the applicant demonstrates that appropriate support activities are necessary and would be desirable in addressing identified problems, issues, and needs, including, but not limited to, classes pertaining to anger management and conflict resolution.
(b) Providing effective and accessible oncampus communication devices, where the applicant demonstrates that the use of these devices, beyond everyday, routine matters, is part of the school safety plan developed pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 32280) of Chapter 2.5 of Part 19.
(c) Establishing an in-service training program for all school staff, designed to assist school staff in identifying at-risk children and youth, communicating effectively with those pupils, and appropriately referring those pupils for counseling.
(d) Establishing cooperative arrangements with local law enforcement agencies for appropriate school-community relationships.
(e) Proposals that allow school districts to respond to existing or subsequent research that establishes structural changes in the operation of schools, such as smaller schools or “schools within schools.”
(f) Any other proposal that the applicant school or school district designs that demonstrates that the proposal would materially contribute to meeting the goals and objectives of current law in providing for safe schools and preventing violence among children and youth.
(Amended by Stats. 2003, Ch. 828, Sec. 26. Effective January 1, 2004.)
The Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Attorney General shall cooperatively design an evaluation process for the programs and activities established pursuant to this article and shall report to the Legislature by January 1 of each year, commencing in 2001, any recommendations for modifications to existing law relative to school safety and violence prevention among children and youth.
(Added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 996, Sec. 11. Effective January 1, 2000.)
Unless otherwise required by law, the Superintendent of Public Instruction shall establish the rules and regulations for the application process to be utilized by schools and school districts to obtain funds made available by this or any other provision of law or by the annual Budget Act to promote school safety and violence prevention among children and youth. To perform the duties of this article or any of the activities in subdivision (a) of Section 35294.10, up to 5 percent of the total funds appropriated for purposes of this article may be utilized by the Superintendent of Public Instruction for administrative costs.
(Added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 996, Sec. 11. Effective January 1, 2000.)