SECTIONS 52059 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 52059

52059. (a) For purposes of complying with the federal No Child Left
Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.), a statewide system
of school support shall be established by the department to provide
a statewide system of intensive and sustained support and technical
assistance for school districts, county offices of education, and
schools in need of improvement. The system shall consist of regional
consortia as well as district assistance and intervention teams and
other technical assistance providers.
(b) The regional consortia shall work collaboratively with, and
provide technical assistance to, school districts and schools in need
of improvement by doing the following:
(1) Reviewing and analyzing all facets of the operation of a local
educational agency or school, including the following:
(A) The design and operation of the instructional program offered
by the local educational agency or school.
(B) The recruitment, hiring, and retention of principals,
teachers, and other staff, including vacancy issues. The regional
consortia may request the assistance of the Fiscal Crisis and
Management Assistance Team to review school district or school
recruitment, hiring, and retention practices.
(C) The roles and responsibilities of district and school
management personnel.
(2) Assisting the local educational agency or school in developing
recommendations for improving pupil performance and school
operations.
(3) Assisting the local educational agency or school in efforts to
eliminate misassignments of certificated personnel.
(c) For purposes of performing the functions specified in
subdivision (b), funds for the regional consortia shall be
distributed based on the number of Title I schools, the pupil
enrollment in those schools, and the number of school districts in
each region that have been identified as being in need of improvement
pursuant to Section 6316 of Title 20 of the United States Code.
(d) The regional consortia shall ensure that support is provided
in the following order of priority:
(1) To school districts or county offices of education with
schools that are subject to corrective action under Section 6316(b)
(7) of Title 20 of the United States Code.
(2) To school districts or county offices of education with
schools that are identified as being in need of improvement pursuant
to Section 6316(b) of Title 20 of the United States Code.
(3) To provide support and assistance to school districts and
county offices of education with schools participating under the
federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 that need support and
assistance to achieve the purposes of that act.
(4) To provide support and assistance to other school districts
and county offices of education with schools participating in a
program carried out under this chapter.
(e) In accordance with paragraph (4) of subdivision (d) of Section
52055.57, the Superintendent may recommend, and the state board may
approve, that a local educational agency that has been identified for
corrective action under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
contract with a district assistance and intervention team or other
technical assistance provider to receive technical assistance,
including, but not limited to, a needs assessment of the local
educational agency.
(1) The Superintendent shall develop, and the state board shall
approve, standards and criteria to be applied by a district
assistance and intervention team or other technical assistance
provider in carrying out its duties. The standards and criteria that
a district assistance and intervention team or other technical
assistance provider shall use in assessing a local educational agency
shall address, at a minimum, all of the following areas:
(A) Governance.
(B) Alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessments to state
standards.
(C) Fiscal operations.
(D) Parent and community involvement.
(E) Human resources.
(F) Data systems and achievement monitoring.
(G) Professional development.
(2) Not later than 120 days after the assignment of a district
assistance and intervention team or other technical assistance
provider, or the next regularly scheduled meeting of the state board
following the expiration of the 120 days, the team shall complete a
report based on the findings from the needs assessment performed
pursuant to paragraph (1). The report shall include, at a minimum,
recommendations for improving the areas specified in paragraph (1)
that are found to need improvement. The report also shall address the
manner in which existing resources should be redirected to ensure
that the recommendations can be implemented.
(3) Not later than 30 days after completion of the report
specified in paragraph (2), the governing board of the local
educational agency may submit an appeal to the Superintendent to be
exempted from implementing one or more of the recommendations made in
the report. The Superintendent, with approval of the state board,
may exempt the local educational agency from complying with one or
more of the recommendations made in the report.
(4) Not later than 60 days after completion of the report, the
governing board of the local educational agency shall adopt the
report recommendations described in paragraph (2), as modified by any
exemptions granted by the Superintendent under paragraph (3), at a
regularly scheduled meeting of the governing board.
(f) A local educational agency that is required to contract with a
district assistance and intervention team or other technical
assistance provider pursuant to this section shall reserve funding
provided under subdivision (d) of Section 52055.57 to cover the
entire cost of the team or other technical assistance provider before
using that funding for other reform activities.
(g) Upon an evidence-based finding that a district assistance and
intervention team or other technical assistance provider has not
fulfilled its legal obligations pursuant to this section, the
Superintendent, with the approval of the state board, may remove the
district assistance and intervention team or other technical
assistance provider from the state list of eligible providers.
(h) The provisions of this section are declarative of technical
assistance requirements under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of
2001 outlined in Section 6316(b) and (c) and Section 6317(a) of
Title 20 of the United States Code.
(i) For purposes of this article, all references to schools shall
include charter schools.