Report 2016-136 Recommendation 8 Responses

Report 2016-136: School Violence Prevention: School Districts, County Offices of Education, and the State Must Do More to Ensure That School Safety Plans Help Protect Students and Staff During Emergencies (Release Date: August 2017)

Recommendation #8 To: Education, Department of

To ensure that districts, county offices, and schools receive guidance on a variety of safety issues and to comply with state law, CDE and DOJ should resume their partnership activities, as required by state law. Further, the partnership should update the 2002 handbook, "Safe Schools: A Planning Guide for Action," and distribute it to all districts and county offices. If CDE or DOJ determine the need for additional funds to implement the legislative recommendations or to reestablish the partnership's activities, they should request those funds from the Legislature.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2021

The CDE continues to collaborate with the DOJ, local educational agencies, first responders, and law enforcement agencies on school safety by providing annual reminders to local educational agencies (LEAs) to update comprehensive school safety plans and legislative updates, including safe storage of firearms and parent/guardian sample memorandums in both English and Spanish. Additionally, CDE hosted two virtual statewide trainings provided by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Supportive Schools, Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools on Educator Resilience Strategies, participated in July 2021, in-person, at the annual School Safety Conference in Anaheim, CA, which included workshops on Emergency Planning and Management, and provided an update on full compliance with Assembly Bill 1747 to the CA Assembly Committee on Emergency Management. The Campus Safety Group (501c3) also provided workshops on the 2021 Guide to Comprehensive School Safety Plans that was developed in collaboration with CDE, DOJ, California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, and other federal and state stakeholders.

Furthermore, the CDE was a key contributor, along with DOJ and the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), in the release of the updated 2021 Guide to Comprehensive School Safety Plans. The handbook assists educators in developing school safety plans and provides tools and resources, including: 1) a comprehensive school safety plan template; and 2) addressing the history and present trends in school violence and prevention, bullying/cyberbullying, child trafficking and exploitation, hate crimes, emergency management, disaster preparedness, and more. The CDE has informed the school communities that the handbook is available in hard copy or electronically from LACOE for a nominal charge and free trainings are provided by Campus Safety Group (501c3).

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Fully Implemented

Education provided evidence that it has resumed their partnership to the DOJ to ensure schools receive guidance on safety issues, including various meetings held from 2020 through 2021. Education and DOJ also updated the Comprehensive School Safety Guide in 2021.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2020

Although the CDE and DOJ have not received the necessary funding to fully resume their prior partnership, the CDE continues to collaborate with the DOJ, other state and federal stakeholders, and the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE). LACOE provided funding and oversight for the development of an updated school safety planning guide titled, Guide to Comprehensive School Safety Plans 2020, which replaces the 2002 handbook, Safe Schools: A Planning Guide for Action. This guide is designed to assist local educational agencies in complying with Education Code 32280-32289.5 and other relevant government codes. In addition, the guide presents legal and social background, current trends, timelines, templates, and an array of valuable and validated reference materials; it is designed to inform and guide school leaders on carrying out their responsibilities effectively. The guide is scheduled to be published in November 2020, and will be distributed to schools and districts by LACOE for a nominal fee. In 2021, CDE staff will participate in statewide virtual trainings and forums offered by external training organizations using the Guide.

Additionally, on September 18, 2020, CDE provided a virtual workshop on comprehensive school safety planning to the State and Federal Program Directors. Currently, the CDE is also developing, with statewide input, best practices on reviewing and approving comprehensive school safety plans, which will be posted online once finalized. The CDE is an active member of the US Attorney's Office Greater Sacramento Hate Crimes Task Force, National Virtual School Safety Alliance, and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Supportive Schools National Leadership Group.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

We look forward to seeing a copy of the Guide to Comprehensive School Safety Plans 2020 and further evidence of the partnership efforts between CDE and DOJ.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2019

The CDE continues to collaborate with the DOJ, seeking its expertise on active shooter/assailant threat and violence prevention. Since the last update, the CDE has coordinated and/or participated in the following meetings and presentations in which DOJ has also participated: (1) October 30, 2018 - CDE convened the State Superintendent of Public Instruction School Safety Advisory Committee meeting in Sacramento; discussions and presentations shared insights and resources for statewide networks on crises management, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) presented on critical decision-making for education leaders; (2) March 11, 2019 at the Marin County Office of Education (COE), and on May 14, 2019 at Poway Unified School District, in collaboration with San Diego COE, CDE sponsored one day train-the-trainer trainings on "Developing Emergency Operations Plans K12" in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Supportive Schools, provided by Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center; and (3) May 31, 2019 - the FBI sponsored a school safety symposium in Sacramento; education communities viewed an FBI DVD titled, Echoes of Columbine, reviewed lessons learned from the Columbine shooting, and learned about the effectiveness of behavioral threat assessment teams in schools.

The CDE has met with a county office of education and a school safety expert to explore co-sponsoring an update of the Safe Schools Planning Guide.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Pending

1-Year Agency Response

The CDE and DOJ continue to discuss, and will continue to confer on, the current School Law Enforcement Partnership statute.

In the interim, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) participated in the May 17, 2018, Superintendent of Public Instruction School and Community Safety Ad Hoc Advisory Committee meeting held at the CDE in Sacramento. The following information was discussed during the meeting: (1) The California State Auditor's report 2016-136 titled, School Violence Prevention: School Districts, County Offices of Education, and the State Must Do More to Ensure That School Safety Plans Help Protect Students and Staff During Emergencies (Fact Sheet: https://www.bsa.ca.gov/pdfs/factsheets/2016-136.pdf, Summary: https://www.bsa.ca.gov/reports/2016-136/summary.html, Full Report: https://www.bsa.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2016-136.pdf Recommendations: https://www.bsa.ca.gov/reports/recommendations/2016-136); and (2) press release updates on school issues from the website Press Releases (https://oag.ca.gov/media/news).

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending

6-Month Agency Response

The CDE and DOJ discussed, and will continue to confer on, the current School Law Enforcement Partnership statute.

The DOJ has agreed to participate in the CDE SPI School and Community Safety Advisory Committee and in the planning of CDE's pre-conference session at the 9th Annual Safe Schools Conference in July, 2018. Additionally, the CDE has offered to participate in relevant DOJ meetings and committees.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending

60-Day Agency Response

The CDE and DOJ discussed, and will continue to confer on, the current School Law Enforcement Partnership statute. Future discussions will include potential next steps and viability of implementation given the absence of funding and staff for the program.

The CDE also researched the cost to update the 2002 School Safety Planning Handbook, which includes additional staff resources, convening school safety subject matter experts to recommend content, contracting a professional writer, editing and design, and preparation for online posting. The estimated cost is approximately $350,000; funding will be needed from the Legislature in order for the CDE to accomplish this activity.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2016-136

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.