Report 2016-136 All Recommendation 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 for Legislative Action

To ensure that students and staff are prepared to respond to violent incidents on or near school sites, the Legislature should require that safety plans include procedures, such as lockdowns, recommended by federal and state agencies. The Legislature should also require schools to hold periodic training and drills on these procedures.

Description of Legislative Action

The Legislature did not take action in the 2021-2022 legislative session to address this specific recommendation.

AB 1747 (Chapter 806, Statutes of 2018) requires the school site council to consult with a fire department and other first responder entities in the writing and development of the comprehensive school safety plan and to share the plan and any updates with them. Additionally, this statute requires a comprehensive school safety plan to include procedures for conducting tactical responses to criminal incidents.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

AB 1747 (Chapter 806, Statutes of 2018) requires the school site council to consult with a fire department and other first responder entities in the writing and development of the comprehensive school safety plan and to share the plan and any updates with them. Additionally, this statute requires a comprehensive school safety plan to include procedures for conducting tactical responses to criminal incidents.

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

Description of Legislative Action

SB 541 (Bates) would require every public school, including charter schools, and every private school that has an enrollment of 50 or more pupils or more than one classroom, and serves students in grades kindergarten to 12, to conduct an age-appropriate lockdown drill or multi-option response drill at least once per school year. As of September 4, 2019, this bill is pending in the Assembly.

AB 1747 (Chapter 806, Statutes of 2018) requires the school site council to consult with a fire department and other first responder entities in the writing and development of the comprehensive school safety plan and to share the plan and any updates with them. Additionally, this statute requires a comprehensive school safety plan to include procedures for conducting tactical responses to criminal incidents.

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

Description of Legislative Action

The Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.

Note: Assembly Bill 1747 would require the school site council to consult with a fire department and other first responder entities in the writing and development of the comprehensive school safety plan and to share the plan and any updates with them. Additionally, this bill would require a comprehensive school safety plan to include procedures for conducting tactical responses to criminal incidents. As of September 5, 2018, this bill is pending the Governor's action.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

Assembly Bill 1747 (Rodriguez) would require that the term "tactical responses to criminal incidents" in a comprehensive school safety plan include procedures related to individuals with guns on school campuses and at school-related functions, and that drills to prepare for active shooters or other armed assailants shall be based on the specific needs and context of each school and community. The bill would further provide that schools shall consider the most cost-effective method of preparing pupils and staff for an active shooter situation while balancing the physical and psychological risks associated with these drills.

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

Recommendation for Legislative Action

To ensure that districts and county offices are complying with state law each year, the Legislature should require CDE to conduct an annual statewide survey to determine whether schools have submitted plans and whether those plans have been reviewed and approved by their respective district or county office. The Legislature should also require CDE to issue an annual report detailing the survey's results.

Description of Legislative Action

The Legislature did not take action in the 2021-2022 legislative session to address this specific recommendation.

However, SB 541 (Chapter 786, Statutes of 2019) requires CDE to collect, and local educational agencies to provide, data pertaining to lockdown or multioption response drills conducted at school sites within school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools, and to conduct a study that identifies best practices for age-appropriate drills. This statute requires CDE to submit the data and the study to the Governor and relevant policy committees of the Legislature on or before November 1, 2021.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

As of August 31, 2020, the Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation. However, SB 541 (Chapter 786, Statutes of 2019) requires CDE to collect, and local educational agencies to provide, data pertaining to lockdown or multioption response drills conducted at schoolsites within school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools, and conduct a study that identifies best practices for age-appropriate drills. This statute requires CDE to submit the data and the study to the Governor and relevant policy committees of the Legislature on or before November 1, 2021.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

The Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

The Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

Assembly Bill 1747 (Rodriguez) would require the California Department of Education (CDE), on or before January 1, 2020, and every other year thereafter, to conduct a statewide survey to determine whether schools have forwarded their comprehensive school safety plans and whether those plans have been reviewed and approved by either the school district or county office of education. On or before November 1, 2020, and every other year thereafter, CDE would be required to submit a report to the Legislature detailing the results of the survey.

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

Recommendation for Legislative Action

To ensure that districts and county offices are complying with state laws related to safety plans, the Legislature should add a requirement to the EAAP audit guide for districts and county offices to receive audits of their approval of safety plans.

Description of Legislative Action

The Legislature did not take action in the 2021-2022 legislative session to address this specific recommendation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

As of August 31, 2020, the Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

The Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

The Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

Legislation has not been introduced to address this specific recommendation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: No Action Taken

Recommendation for Legislative Action

The Legislature should require that the partnership between CDE and DOJ periodically review safety plan requirements to ensure that the plans keep pace with evolving school environments and updated educational research.

Description of Legislative Action

The Legislature did not take action in the 2021-2022 legislative session to address this specific recommendation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

As of August 31, 2020, the Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

The Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.

California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

The Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.

Note: AB 1747 would have required the School/Law Enforcement Partnership to periodically review comprehensive school safety plan requirements to ensure that they keep pace with evolving school environments and updated educational research. This provision was removed from the bill prior to its submission to the Governor for action.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: No Action Taken

Description of Legislative Action

Assembly Bill 1747 (Rodriguez) would require the School/Law Enforcement Partnership, comprised of the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the Attorney General, to periodically review comprehensive school safety plan requirements to ensure that they keep pace with evolving school environments and updated educational research.

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

Recommendation #5 To: Education, Department of

To ensure that districts and county offices properly review and approve safety plans as required, CDE should provide additional guidance regarding district and county office responsibilities under state law by updating and correcting the safety plan compliance checklist and making it available to all districts and county offices.

60-Day Agency Response

Fully Implemented. As stated in our original response, the safety plan compliance checklist was updated, corrected, and posted on the CDE's Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ss/vp/documents/schoolsafetyplanchklist.pdf in August 2017 and is now available to all districts, county offices of education, and the public.

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

Recommendation #6 To: Education, Department of

To ensure that districts and county offices properly review and approve safety plans as required, CDE should provide additional guidance regarding district and county office responsibilities under state law by providing general direction to schools on what to include in their building disaster plans.

1-Year Agency Response

The CDE updated and posted the compliance checklist for a comprehensive school safety plan, which includes the following suggestions for the required building disaster plan: (1) fire; (2) relocation/evacuation; (3) bomb threat; (4) bioterrorism/hazardous materials; (5) earthquake; (6) flood; (7) power failure/blackout; (8) intruders/solicitors; (9) weapons/assault/hostage; (10) explosion/gas/fumes; and (11) medical illness or injury. The checklist is located at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/ss/vp/documents/schoolsafetyplanchklist.pdf.

This information was provided to all county superintendents and charter school administrators in a letter dated February 1, 2018 (https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/el/le/yr18ltr0201.asp), which reminded them to update and approve comprehensive school safety plans by March 1, 2018. Additionally, the information was provided to statewide school safety partner agencies and networks at the May 17, 2018, Superintendent of Public Instruction's School and Community Safety Advisory Committee meeting in Sacramento, CA (Attachment 1), and at the 9th Annual Safe Schools Conference during the CDE's Preconference session on July 18, 2018 in Garden Grove, CA (www.safeschoolsconference.com).

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

We reviewed CDE's revised school safety checklist and found that the checklist included information on what might be included in a building disaster plan, and CDE made efforts to distribute that information.

6-Month Agency Response

To further strengthen the general guidance already provided on building disaster plans, Education is updating the compliance checklist to include examples of building disaster plan procedures to consider when completing comprehensive school safety plans.

Additionally, the CDE issued a letter on February 1, 2018 reminding all county superintendents and charter school administrators to update and approve comprehensive school safety plans by March 1, 2018. The letter also included general guidance for emergency procedures and drills when developing school building disaster plans, including a list of various emergency situations for consideration, but not limited to the following: fire, relocation/evacuation, bomb threat, bioterrorism/hazardous materials, earthquake, flood, power failure/blackout, intruders/solicitors, weapons/assault/hostage, explosion, gas/fumes, and medical illness or injury (https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/el/le/yr18ltr0201.asp).

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

Although CDE has provided some information to school districts regarding what to include in schools' building disaster plans, it has yet to update the compliance checklist used by schools when updating their safety plans.

60-Day Agency Response

CDE explored options to collaborate with other agencies to strengthen the general direction already provided for schools disaster building plans.

The CDE Coordinated School Health and Safety Office met internally with the School Facilities and Transportation Services Division to discuss building disaster plan concepts. In addition, CDE reached out to various entities, which provided the following expertise and input: (1) Cal OES - Staff agreed with CDE's interpretation regarding building disaster plans representing evacuation plans (EC 32282(B) Disaster procedures, routine and emergency, including adaptations for pupils with disabilities in accordance with the federal ADA of 1990). Cal OES also indicated that state buildings have evacuation plans but not building disaster plans; and (2) DGS - The office building manager provided their annually updated Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) to CDE. General elements of the EOP are consistent with those required by EC section 32282, and include calling for disaster procedures (routine and emergency), a crisis response plan (often called EOP), including adaptations for pupils with disabilities, and procedures for safe ingress and egress of pupils, parents, and employees to and from school sites. DGS' EOP Table of Contents specifies types of emergency situations and procedures that will serve as suggestions to LEAs developing building disaster plans. They include fire, relocation/evacuation, bomb threat, bioterrorism/hazardous materials, earthquake, flood, power failure/blackout, intruders/solicitors, weapons/assault/hostage, explosion/gas/fumes, and medical illness or injury.

CDE is updating the compliance checklist for a comprehensive school safety plan to include items, as suggested by the agencies contacted, for inclusion in the required building disaster plan. In addition, these items will be included in the CDE's annual reminder to LEAs regarding updating and approving school safety plans by March 1, 2018.

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

CDE is updating is compliance checklist to include items, as suggested by the Cal OES and DGS, for inclusion in the required building disaster plan. In addition, these items will be included in CDE's annual reminder to LEAs regarding updating and approving school safety plans by March 1, 2018.

Recommendation #7 To: Education, Department of

To ensure that districts and county offices properly review and approve safety plans as required, CDE should provide additional guidance regarding district and county office responsibilities under state law by providing information on best practices similar to those we discuss in this report for monitoring and approving safety plans.

6-Month Agency Response

The CDE issued a letter on February 1, 2018 reminding all county superintendents and charter school administrators to update and approve comprehensive school safety plans by March 1, 2018, and provided additional guidance and updates, including effective best practices (https://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/el/le/yr18ltr0201.asp).

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

We reviewed the letter reminding all county superintendents and charter school administrators to update and approve comprehensive school safety plans by March 1, 2018 and found it included appropriate guidance. However, we expect CDE to provide regular updates and guidance to schools.

60-Day Agency Response

The CDE contacted Rocklin Unified School District (identified in the audit report as having met the requirements related to school based violence readiness and prevention) regarding best practices related to developing guidance to assist schools and districts in monitoring and approving safety plans, and was briefed on their school safety plan monitoring and approval procedures. These model practices will be included in the CDE's annual reminder to LEAs regarding updating and approving their school safety plans by March 1, 2018.

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

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

Recommendation #9 To: Justice, 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 August 2021

DOJ continues to collaborate with the CDE, schools, first responders, and law enforcement agencies on school safety, particularly by sharing expertise on active shooter threats and other forms of violence prevention. This process previously involved DOJ participating in in-person meetings convened by CDE. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, DOJ discontinued its in-person meetings but remains committed to ensuring the safety of California's schoolchildren and continues to confer with appropriate entities on school violence prevention.

DOJ's collaboration with the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) has resulted in the release of an updated guide, 2021 Educator's Guide to Comprehensive School Safety Plans. The handbook assists educators in developing school safety plans, and provides tools and resources to address the corrosive effects of school violence, cyberbullying, internet crimes, child trafficking, child exploitation, hate crimes, and more. CDE has informed the school communities that the handbook is available electronically from LACOE for a nominal charge.

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

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

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2020

The DOJ continues to collaborate with the CDE, schools, first responders, and law enforcement agencies on school safety, particularly by sharing available expertise on active shooter threat and violence prevention. In the past, the DOJ has participated in meetings convened by the CDE as part of this process. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DOJ has followed protocol and discontinued in-person meetings. However, the DOJ remains committed to ensuring the safety of all school children in California and continues to confer with appropriate entities regarding school violence prevention. Through this collaboration, and with the Los Angeles County Office of Education, efforts are underway for an updated handbook, the Guide to Comprehensive School Safety Plans. This updated handbook integrates guidance to prevent various incidents that target our vulnerable children today.

The handbook will assist in developing school safety plans, and provide available resources to address the corrosive effects of school violence, cyberbullying, internet crimes, child trafficking, child exploitation, hate crimes, and more.

Furthermore, this handbook and the safeguards outlined within are adaptable. Other institutions such as religious organizations and their schools, private schools, charter schools, and other civic institutions may find it beneficial to adopt the safeguards detailed in this handbook to secure their various meetings and physical locations such as parks, festivals, fairs, concerts, conferences, and other gatherings.

Once the updated handbook is available, this recommendation will be fully implemented. The DOJ looks forward to continuing our partnerships with our local communities to build and protect safe learning environments for our children.

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

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From September 2020

DOJ continues to collaborate with the CDE, schools, first responders, and law enforcement agencies on school safety, particularly by sharing expertise on active shooter threat and violence prevention. In the past, DOJ has participated in meetings convened by CDE as part of this process. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, DOJ has followed protocol and discontinued in-person meetings. However, DOJ has remained committed to ensuring the safety of California's school children and continues to confer with appropriate entities on school violence prevention. Through this collaboration with the Los Angeles County Office of Education, efforts are underway for an updated handbook, the Guide to Comprehensive School Safety Plans. This updated handbook integrates guidance to prevent various incidents that target our vulnerable children today.

The handbook will assist in developing school safety plans, and provide available resources to address corrosive effects of school violence, cyberbullying, internet crimes, child trafficking, child exploitation, hate crimes, and more.

Furthermore, this handbook and the safeguards outlined within are adaptable. Other institutions such as religious organizations and their schools, private schools, charter schools, and other civic institutions may find it beneficial to adopt the safeguards detailed in this handbook to secure their various meetings and physical locations such as parks, festivals, fairs, concerts, conferences, and other gatherings.

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

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2019

Ongoing DOJ-CDE Collaboration

While formal efforts through the Committee have not resumed, DOJ continues to collaborate with the CDE on school safety, particularly by sharing expertise on active shooter threat and violence prevention. For example, DOJ participated in the following collaborative efforts with CDE:

-March 11, 2019 - Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools; education communities received training on Developing Emergency Operations Plans (K-12 101 Training).

-May 31, 2019 -Federal Bureau of Investigations school safety symposium; law enforcement and partners reminded education communities reminded of the lessons learned from the Columbine and other active shooter incidents nationwide.

Safe Schools Handbook

Since publication of the 2002 Safe Schools handbook, school safety dynamics have changed dramatically. The DOJ lacks dedicated resources to facilitate collection of ongoing school safety data. With the loss of SLEP due to significant general fund budget reductions, DOJ was forced to eliminate critical positions that supported agency-led efforts on preventing crime and maintaining public safety, including monitoring and informing on changes to school violence prevention and emerging best practices. When the Legislature provides additional resources, DOJ will cultivate expertise to provide technical and law enforcement assistance to CDE to update the Safe Schools handbook.

DOJ looks forward to continuing our partnerships with our local communities to build and protect safe learning environments for our children.

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

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From August 2019

The California Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to collaborate with the California Department of Education (CDE) to share its available expertise on active shooter threat and violence prevention. Since the last update, DOJ has participated in the following meetings and presentations:(1) October 30, 2018 - School Safety Advisory Committee meeting; discussions and presentations shared insights on crises management and critical decision making for education leaders, (2) March 11, 2019 - Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools; education communities received training on Developing Emergency Operations Plans (K-12 101 Training), and (3) May 31, 2019 - the Federal Bureau of Investigations sponsored a school safety symposium; education communities were reminded of the lessons learned from the Columbine shooting.

Since the 2002 publication of the handbook, Safe Schools; A Planning Guide for Action, school safety dynamics have changed dramatically. Unfortunately, DOJ has lacked dedicated resources to ensure that it collects ongoing school safety data. In FY 2008-09, as part of significant general fund budget reductions, DOJ was forced to eliminate $4.861 million and 35.5 positions from its Crime and Violence Prevention Center, which supported multiple agency-led efforts on preventing crime and maintaining public safety, including monitoring and informing divisions on changes to school violence prevention and emerging best practices. As resources are made available, DOJ will acquire expertise to provide technical and law enforcement assistance to CDE to update the School Safety handbook.

DOJ will continue to partner with these local communities to ensure a safe learning environment for our children.

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

1-Year Agency Response

The California Department of Justice (DOJ) participated in the May 17, 2018 California State Superintendent of Public Instruction's School and Community Safety Ad Hoc Advisory Committee meeting held at the California Department of Education (CDE) in Sacramento. DOJ representatives were presented as new members of the Safety Committee. DOJ staff discussed DOJ's role and responsibilities, the School Violence Prevention audit and the need to update valuable prevention materials. In addition, the California Attorney General has issued several press releases regarding School Violence Prevention.

DOJ understands that the CDE is exploring resources and publication options to update the 2002 handbook, Safe Schools; A Planning Guide for Action. CDE will involve DOJ to update this handbook.

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

6-Month Agency Response

The Superintendent of Public Instruction has formed a Statewide School and Community Safety Advisory Committee.

DOJ will be participating in the committee. In addition to DOJ's law enforcement/community efforts, the committee is comprised of CDE Staff, educators, diverse superintendent and administrator organizations, representatives from State Parent Teacher Association, California School Employee Association, California School Board Association, mental health subject matter experts; Governor's Office of Emergency Services; community college safety coordinators; county offices of education; fire and law enforcement first responders; state, county, and local governmental and non-governmental entities; recreation and parks representatives; and others.

The committee will identify gaps and issues in school safety plans, identify and share effective practices that leads to enhanced relationships and networks between and among K-12 educators including superintendents, administrators, teachers, school nurses, counselors and mental health specialists, and classified staff.

The committee efforts will strengthen existing activities and identify new methods so that the school districts/boards, county offices of education, and school site personnel receive guidance in the development of their respective school safety and crisis response plans to ensure students and staff are kept safe in the event of an emergency involving active shooter incidents.

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

60-Day Agency Response

The DOJ has contacted CDE to discuss the history of the program and any associated resources. Unfortunately, there are no current resources available for the program at CDE or DOJ. Given this, CDE and DOJ are discussing the State Auditor's recommendation and how to move forward.

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

Recommendation #10 To: Kern County Office of Education

To ensure that their schools' safety plans comply with state law and are submitted and approved on or before March 1 each year, the Kern, Placer, and San Bernardino county offices, and San Bernardino City Unified should implement procedures to monitor and approve their schools' safety plans. The procedures should include the use of electronic document-tracking systems and safety plan templates.

1-Year Agency Response

Electronic document tracking systems have been created on Google Docs to monitor the completion of emergency drills at each school site and the development and revision of the comprehensive school safety plans. A School Safety Plan template has also been created and shared with each school site to ensure consistency and compliance in the development of the plans. All documents are following in an email to aaronf@auditor.ca.gov

Documents sent via email:

1. SEMS-NIMS Template

2. Court and Community School SB187 Plan Template

3. Safety Planning Timeline and Safety Planning Tracking

4. Alternative Education Safety Drills

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

We reviewed Kern COE's school safety plan templates and electronic document tracking system, and we found them to be adequate.

6-Month Agency Response

Starting in September 2017, a leadership committee was established to supervise and monitor the development of the Comprehensive School Safety Plan for each of the court and community school sites in Kern County.

The first step was to establish Safety Planning Committees (SPC) at each school site which consisted of an administrator, classified staff, teacher, parents, students, and other support staff. Some of the SPC's included law enforcement personnel as well. However, each school site safety plan was developed in consultation with law enforcement, even if they were not part of the SPC.

Meetings facilitated by the site SPC were scheduled at each school site over the next several months. The purpose of the meetings were to develop and review the Comprehensive School Safety plan. The development of each school site plan was developed in accordance to the Compliance Checklist for a Comprehensive School Safety Plan provided by the California Department of Education. A final meeting to which all staff, parents, students, and community members, including the mayor of the city, were invited, was held at each site to allow for public input.

Upon completion of the School Safety Plans, the SPC submitted the plans to the designee (Carlos Rojas) at the county office of education for approval. Supporting documents will be emailed to Aaron Fellner at aaronf@auditor.ca.gov today.

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

Kern County Office of Education schools have created school safety plans for the 2018 school year and submitted them for approval. However, it has yet to develop any procedures to ensure that this happens on an annual basis, such as a document tracking system. Further, it has yet to adopt safety plan templates to help ensure schools include all the elements required by state law.

60-Day Agency Response

The plan for implementing the recommendation is outlined in detail on the document emailed to aaronf@auditor.ca.gov on 10/20 at 7:47 a.m. PST. We have identified the specific tasks, staff responsible, and dates to be completed to ensure full implementation of the recommendation by March 1. 2018.

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

Recommendation #11 To: Placer County Office of Education

To ensure that their schools' safety plans comply with state law and are submitted and approved on or before March 1 each year, the Kern, Placer, and San Bernardino county offices, and San Bernardino City Unified should implement procedures to monitor and approve their schools' safety plans. The procedures should include the use of electronic document-tracking systems and safety plan templates.

6-Month Agency Response

PCOE has completed the annual update of the Comprehensive Safe School Plans (CSSP) for the schools it operates in accordance with the project plan provided on October 27, 2017, and has met the recommendations set forth by the California State Auditor's Office (CSAO). PCOE completed Recommendation 11 through the following steps:

- PCOE redeveloped its digital CSSP template to meet the unique needs of PCOE schools', students, parents, and staff. School site plans are identified individually by the County-District-School (CDS) identification numbering system.

- All CSSPs contain the policies and information required by education code and state law. In addition, 11 Emergency Procedure Manuals were created for each site containing confidential tactical procedures for use in crisis situations.

- Each School Site Council/Safety Committee analyzed and updated its CSSP, conferred with law enforcement and held a site-based public hearing. Each School Site Council/Safety Committee certified to the County Superintendent's office the fulfillment of the requirements for its CSSP by council/committee adoption.

- In addition to the required components of a CSSP, each site developed written safety procedures to accommodate students and persons with disabilities for emergency situations.

- The Placer County Superintendent of Schools and staff reviewed and approved each site CSSP prior to March 1, 2018.

- Progress and continued improvements will continue to be communicated to the CSAO on an annual basis.

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

Placer County Office of Education (PCOE) schools completed all their school site safety plans, using PCOE's safety plan template. Further, PCOE has implemented a document tracking system to ensure all its schools submit their safety plans prior to the March 1 deadline each year.

60-Day Agency Response

Following is a summarized project plan to meet recommendation #11 from the State Audit Report

- Communicate recommendation progress to the CSAO within 60, 180, and 365 days from August 31, 2017. Annual communication will then occur over the next five years.

- Redevelop the Safe School Plan electronic template to fulfill the unique needs of PCOE schools', students, parents, and staff, while meeting state requirements. School site plans will be identified by the County-District-School (CDS) identification numbering system (Sept. - Nov. 2017).

- Assemble all required policies and information inside the Safe School Plan template in order to provide a readily available public document. Some components of these plans will remain as confidential when they provide tactical details (Sept. 2017 - Feb. 2018).

- Require each school as identified by CDS code to analyze and update its Safe School Plan annually through a School Site Council/Safety Committee and certify to the County Superintendent's office the fulfillment of the requirements (Dec. 2017 - Feb. 2018).

- Develop written safety procedures to accommodate students and persons with disabilities based on current tactical practice (Sept. 2017 - Feb. 2018).

- Continue to practice and train students and staff on emergency procedures, including violent threat procedures utilizing federal and state resources, as well as current crisis response plans (Sept. 2017 - June 2018).

Documents showing current progress will be shared with the CSAO through the requested communication channel.

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

Recommendation #12 To: San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools

To ensure that their schools' safety plans comply with state law and are submitted and approved on or before March 1 each year, the Kern, Placer, and San Bernardino county offices, and San Bernardino City Unified should implement procedures to monitor and approve their schools' safety plans. The procedures should include the use of electronic document-tracking systems and safety plan templates.

Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From November 2019

The San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Student Services Safety Committee meets four times annually to review and update legislation and school safety planning templates consistent with the CDE comprehensive school safety checklist, SBCSS policies and Student Services procedures pertaining to the annual requirement for submitting Comprehensive School Safety Plans by March 1 of each year. As part of this process, the Student Services Safety Committee developed a procedure and electronic tracking system to review and submit safety plans per the State Audit recommendations.

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

We reviewed documentation submitted by the San Bernardino County Office of Education and found that it has developed a template for schools to use when drafting their school safety plans and has a process in place to track plan submissions.

1-Year Agency Response

Auditee did not respond to repeated requests for information.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: No Action Taken

6-Month Agency Response

The plan for implementation is outlined in the documents and attachments emailed directly to Aaron Fellner.

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

SBCOE provided our office with a draft safety plan template for eventual use at all of its schools. It also provided evidence that staff attended two active shooter trainings.

60-Day Agency Response

Documentation will be sent via email to Aaron Fellner, Audit Supervisor.

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

Recommendation #13 To: San Bernardino City Unified School District

To ensure that their schools' safety plans comply with state law and are submitted and approved on or before March 1 each year, the Kern, Placer, and San Bernardino county offices, and San Bernardino City Unified should implement procedures to monitor and approve their schools' safety plans. The procedures should include the use of electronic document-tracking systems and safety plan templates.

6-Month Agency Response

ALL CSSP's HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED, REVIEWED AND APPROVED USING DOCUMENT TRACKING SOLUTIONS.

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

SBCUSD provided us with the safety plan template used at all of its schools. In addition, it already utilizes a document tracking system.

60-Day Agency Response

The SBCUSD has trained all school sites on the u of Document Tracking Services DTS) as the means of completing. The individual school sites are currently conducting their planning meetings with SSC and other stakeholders to meet our internal deadline of January for submission to the school district.

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

SBCUSD has implemented a document tracking system and created a template for schools to use when creating safety plans. The recommendation will be fully implemented when all schools in the district submit safety plans, and those plans are approved by the district on or before March 1, 2018.

All Recommendations in 2016-136

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.