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California Department of Education

Executive Office

SBE-002 (REV. 11/2017)


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MEMORANDUM

DATE: November 29, 2017

TO: MEMBERS, California Practitioners Advisory Group

FROM: Staff, California Department of Education

SUBJECT: Update on the School Conditions and Climate Work Group: Review of the Final Recommendation Framework and Recommendations

Summary of Key Issues

Background

With the approval of a new accountability system in May 2016, the State Board of Education (SBE) established an annual review process for the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) evaluation rubrics, which are reported through the online California School Dashboard (Dashboard). This process includes the review of state and local indicators and performance standards to consider necessary changes or improvements based on newly available data, recent research, and/or stakeholder feedback. Using this process, the California Department of Education (CDE) includes state and local indicators that need revisions or updates in the work plan presented at each March SBE meeting. This process allows for a deliberate approach to improving the state and local indicators and incorporating changes prior to the annual release of the Dashboard each fall.

LCFF Priority 6: School Climate

The California Department of Education (CDE), in partnership with the California Comprehensive Center at WestEd, convened the School Conditions and Climate Work Group (CCWG) to explore options for the further development of school conditions and climate measures in California’s accountability and continuous improvement system and to advise the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) on proposed revisions to LCFF Priortiy 6. The CCWG includes a broad range of stakeholders including practitioners (teachers and administrators), researchers, parents, and advocates.

Since September 2016, the CDE and CCWG actively engaged the California Practitioners Advisory Group (CPAG), local educational agencies (LEAs), and other external stakeholders in the process of creating and reviewing emerging ideas generated by the workgroup. The CCWG worked diligently to synthesize their thinking

and incorporate SBE, CPAG, and stakeholder feedback to prepare a comprehensive set of recommendations for state and LEA level action to the CDE and SPI.

A description of the recommendations and work of the CCWG was presented to the SBE via an Information Memorandum on October 26, 2017, (https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/pn/im/documents/memo-ocd-oct17item01.doc and https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/pn/im/documents/memo-ocd-oct17item01a1.pdf)

At the November 2017 SBE meeting, SBE members were presented with a summary report of the CCWG’s work, including a synopsis of the framework recommendations which comprise both those that can be acted upon with existing resources and authority and those for which additional resources and authority will be necessary to implement (https://www.cde.ca.gov/be/ag/ag/yr17/documents/nov17item03rev.doc). The presentation also included a discussion of the first set of recommendations that the CDE will bring forward to the SBE for discussion and approval in March 2018. The SBE also requested that the CDE bring the final set of CCWG recommendations back to the CPAG for additional input.

During its December 5, 2017 meeting, California Practitioners Advisory Group (CPAG) members will be invited to engage in a discussion to provide feedback on the CCWG’s final recommendation framework, themed stakeholder feedback, and the first set of CCWG recommendations that the CDE plans to bring to the SBE. The CDE anticipates bringing this first set of CCWG recommendations to the SBE in March 2018.

Attachment(s)

·  Attachment 1: Map of the School Conditions and Climate Work Group Recommendations to the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) Statute Language and the State Board of Education Current Approach

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Attachment 1

Mapping School Conditions and Climate Work Group Recommendations to the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) Statute Language and the State Board of Education Current Approach

Summary of Ed Code Statute Language ARTICLE 4.5. Local Control and Accountability Plans [52060 - 52077] (Article 4.5 added by Stats. 2013, Ch. 47, Sec. 103.) / Current SBE Adopted Approach to School Climate /
52060.
(a)On or before July 1, 2014, the governing board of each school district shall adopt a local control and accountability plan using a template adopted by the state board.
(b)A local control and accountability plan adopted by the governing board of a school district shall be effective for a period of three years, and shall be updated on or before July 1 of each year.
(1)  A description of the annual goals, for all pupils and each subgroup of pupils identified pursuant to Section 52052, to be achieved for each of the state priorities identified in subdivision (d) and for any additional local priorities identified by the governing board of the school district.
(2)  A description of the specific actions the school district will take during each year of the local control and accountability plan to achieve the goals identified in paragraph (1), including the enumeration of any specific actions necessary for that year to correct any deficiencies in regard to the state priorities listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (d). The specific actions shall not supersede the provisions of existing local collective bargaining agreements within the jurisdiction of the school district.
(d)All of the following are state priorities:
1.  The degree to which the teachers of the school district are appropriately assigned
2.  Implementation of the academic content and performance standards adopted by the state board.
3.  Parental involvement
4.  Pupil achievement
5.  Pupil engagement
6.  School climate, as measured by all of the following, as applicable:
(A)  Pupil suspension rates.
(B)  Pupil expulsion rates.
(C)  Other local measures, including surveys of pupils, parents, and teachers on the sense of safety and school connectedness.
7.  The extent to which pupils have access to, and are enrolled in, a broad course of study
8.  Pupil outcomes
52061.(a)  On or before July 1, 2015, and each year thereafter, a school district shall update the local control and accountability plan. The annual update shall be developed using a template developed pursuant to Section 52064 and shall include all of the following:
(1)  A review of any changes in the applicability of the goals described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 52060. / The SBE approved standards for the local indicators that support LEAs in measuring and reporting their progress within the appropriate priority area. For each local indicator, the approved standard includes:
1.  Measuring LEA progress on the local indicator based on locally available information, and
2.  Reporting the results to the LEA's local governing board at a regularly scheduled meeting of the local governing board and to stakeholders and the public through the Dashboard.
3.  For each applicable local indicator, LEAs assign one of three performance levels:
·  Met
·  Not Met
·  Not Met for Two or More Years
Self-Reflection Tool School Climate (Priority 6):
LEAs provide a narrative summary of the local administration and analysis of a local climate survey that captures a valid measure of student perceptions of school safety and connectedness in at least one grade within the grade span (e.g., K–5, 6–8, 9–12). Specifically, LEAs will have an opportunity to include differences among student groups, and for surveys that provide an overall score, such as the California Healthy Kids Survey, report the overall score for all students and student groups. This summary may also include an analysis of a subset of specific items on a local survey that is particularly relevant to school safety and connectedness.
School Conditions and Climate Work Group Proposed Recommendations for Potential Consideration by the SBE in March 2018
1.  Approve the inclusion of useful tools, resources, and supports for school conditions and climate within the developing Statewide System of Support to support the capacity of system actors such as county offices of education, LEAs, and schools. (Section 6, Recommendation 6.4)
2.  Approve the proposed update to the Self-Reflection Tool that guides LEAs in determining progress on the local performance indicators for School Conditions and Climate (Priority 6). (Section 7, Recommendation 7.5)
3.  Direct the CDE to conduct further analysis to explore options for a combination and integration of self-reflection tools that can determine progress on multiple local indicators concurrently, to minimize duplication of effort. – i.e., Parent Engagement (Priority 3) and School Climate (Priority 6). (Section 6, Recommendation 6.3)