Section 48325 Of Article 8. School Attendance Review Boards From California Education Code >> Division 4. >> Title 2. >> Part 27. >> Chapter 2. >> Article 8.
48325
. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that statewide policy
coordination and personnel training with respect to county
attendance review boards will greatly facilitate the achievement of
the goals expressed in Section 48320. It is therefore the intent of
the Legislature in enacting this section to do the following:
(1) Encourage the cooperation, coordination, and development of
strategies to support county school attendance review boards in
carrying out their responsibilities to establish local school
attendance review boards as necessary. These strategies may include,
but need not be limited to, plans for the training of school
attendance review board personnel.
(2) Divert pupils with serious attendance and behavioral problems
from the juvenile justice system to agencies more directly related to
the state public school system by developing a system for gathering
and dispensing information on successful community-based and
school-based programs.
(3) Reduce duplication of the services of state and county
agencies in serving high-risk youth, including youth with school
attendance or behavioral problems.
(4) Reduce the number of dropouts in the state public education
system by promoting interagency cooperation among those agencies
which have as their goals preventing students from dropping out, and
increasing the holding power of the public schools.
(b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall coordinate and
administer a state school attendance review board, as follows:
(1) On or before January 31 of each year, the superintendent shall
extend invitations of participation to representatives of
appropriate groups throughout the state, including, but not limited
to, representatives of school districts, parent groups, county
probation departments, county welfare departments, county
superintendents of schools, law enforcement agencies, community-based
youth service centers, school guidance personnel, child welfare and
attendance personnel, the health care profession and state
associations having an interest in youth with school attendance or
behavioral problems. The superintendent shall also request the
participation of representatives from interested state agencies or
departments, including, but not limited to, the Department of the
California Youth Authority, the Department of Justice, the State
Department of Social Services, and the Office of Criminal Justice
Planning. To the extent feasible, members of the board shall include
persons who are currently members of county or local school
attendance review boards. For every year after the first year that
the board is convened, the purpose of the invitations of
participation shall be to inform appropriate groups, state agencies,
and departments of the purposes of the board, to fill vacancies, and
to supplement the membership of the board as necessary.
(2) The superintendent shall prescribe an appropriate deadline for
acceptance of invitations of participation as a member of the state
school attendance review board for that particular year, and the
invitations accepted on or before the deadline shall constitute the
board for that year, except that the board shall also include a
representative of the State Department of Education designated by the
director of that department. The representative of the State
Department of Education shall be the chairperson of the board.
(3) The superintendent shall convene the board at least four times
during the year. At its first meeting, the board shall elect any
officers, other than its chairperson, as it deems necessary. Members
of the board shall serve without compensation and without
reimbursement of travel and living expenses.
(4) The State Department of Education shall provide assistance as
requested by the Superintendent of Public Instruction in order to
implement the provisions of this section.
(c) The state school attendance review board shall make
recommendations annually to the Superintendent of Public Instruction,
and to state agencies as deemed appropriate, regarding the needs and
services provided to high-risk youth, including youth with school
attendance or behavioral problems, in the state public schools, and
shall propose uniform guidelines or other means to attain the goals
stated in subdivision (a).