SECTIONS 35294.10-35294.15 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 35294.10-35294.15

35294.10. (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.

35294.11. (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.

35294.12. 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.

35294.13. 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.

35294.14. 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.

35294.15. 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.