School employees: cultural competency training.
AB 857
California Bills
20250AB__085798AMD INTRODUCED 2025-02-19 AMENDED_ASSEMBLY 2025-03-28 2025 AB AMD Introduced by Assembly Member Gipson (Coauthors: Assembly Members Bonta, Bryan, Elhawary, Jackson, McKinnor, Muratsuchi, Ransom, Sharp-Collins, and Wilson) (Coauthors: Senators Richardson, Smallwood-Cuevas, and Weber Pierson) LEAD_AUTHOR ASSEMBLY Gipson COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Bonta COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Bryan COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Elhawary COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Jackson COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY McKinnor COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Muratsuchi COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Ransom COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Sharp-Collins COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Wilson COAUTHOR SENATE Richardson COAUTHOR SENATE Smallwood-Cuevas COAUTHOR SENATE Weber Pierson
An act to add and repeal
Article 1 (commencing with
Section 44675) of
Chapter 3.1 of Part of Division of Title of the Education Code, relating to school employees. school employees School employees: cultural competency training. Existing law establishes a system of public elementary and secondary schools in this state and authorizes local educational agencies throughout the state to operate schools and provide instruction to pupils in kindergarten and grades to 12, inclusive. Existing law authorizes local educational agencies to employ personnel to provide services in schools pursuant to that system.
This bill would require the State Department of Education to, on or before July 1, 2027, develop an online cultural competency training delivery platform and online cultural competency training curriculum for school employees to support pupils of color.
The bill would, commencing with the 2027–28 school year and ending with the completion of the 2031–32 school year, require a school district, county office of education, or charter school serving pupils in kindergarten or any of grades to 12, inclusive, to annually provide that training to all school employees, unless an employee is exempt from the training or an employee provides proof of completion for a cultural competency training completed while employed at another local educational agency, as provided.
The bill would also require local educational agencies to provide a proof of completion to school employees that complete the training and to ensure that all school employees complete the required training on paid time during the employees’ regular work hours or designated professional development hours, as provided. By imposing additional duties on local educational agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would require the department to (1) monitor compliance with the training requirement as part of the department’s annual compliance monitoring of state and federal programs, (2) report data, within months of the completion of the 5-year training period, from that compliance monitoring to the Legislature, and (3) post the report on the department’s internet website, as provided. The bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2033, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2034.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. MAJORITY NO YES YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION
Article 1 (commencing with
Section 44675) is added to
Chapter 3.1 of Part of Division of Title of the Education Code , to read: 1. Cultural Competency Training 44675. (
a) On or before July 1, 2027, the department shall develop an online cultural competency training delivery platform and online cultural competency training curriculum for school employees to support pupils of color. (
b) Local educational agencies shall do all of the following:
(1) Commencing with the 2027–28 school year and continuing through the 2031–32 school year, provide and require at least one hour of the training developed by the department pursuant to subdivision (
a) to all school employees annually. (A)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>For all current school employees, within the 2027–28 school year.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(B)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>(i)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Except as provided in clause (ii), for all school employees hired during or after the 2027–28 school year, within six weeks of commencing employment.</xhtml:p><xhtml:p>(ii)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>Employees may provide a proof of completion for a cultural competency training completed while employed at another local educational agency to satisfy the requirement of this subparagraph.</xhtml:p>"?>
(2) Provide a proof of completion to school employees that complete the training and maintain records documenting the date that each employee satisfied the requirements of this section.
(3) Ensure that all school employees complete the training required by this
section on paid time during the employees’ regular work hours or designated professional development hours unless otherwise negotiated and mutually agreed upon with the employees’ exclusive representative. (c)
(1) A teacher or certificated employee shall be exempt from the annual requirement specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (
b) if the teacher or certificated employee has a valid English learner authorization, Crosscultural, Language, and Academic Development certificate, or bilingual authorization that was issued within the last years.
(2) Employees may provide a proof of completion for a cultural competency training completed while employed at another local educational agency to satisfy the requirement specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (
b) for the applicable year. (
d) Nothing in this
section shall prohibit a local educational agency from providing longer, more frequent, relevant in-service training to meet the online training standards, provided that it is mutually agreed upon with the employees’ exclusive representative. (
e) The department shall monitor compliance with the training required pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (
b) through its existing annual compliance monitoring of state and federal programs. (f)
(1) The department shall provide a report to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature within nine months after the conclusion of the 2031–32 school year, summarizing the data collected through compliance monitoring over a five-year period, including the local educational agencies selected for monitoring and relevant compliance findings, if any, pursuant to this section. The department shall publicly post the report on its internet website.
(2) The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with
Section of the Government Code. (c)</xhtml:p>"?> (
g) For purposes of this section, the following
definitions apply: (1) “Cultural competency” means the active engagement in an ongoing process of self-reflection that informs deeper understanding and respect of cultural differences where an increase in cultural competency can lead to behaviors, programs, policies, practices, and services that are more culturally appropriate. (2) “Local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, or charter school serving pupils in kindergarten or any of grades to 12, inclusive. 44675.3. This
article shall become inoperative on July 1, 2033, and, as of January 1, 2034, is repealed.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to