The California Department of Education’s Office of School Based Health Programs hosted a webinar on Aug. 13 focused on providing information to local educational agencies on California Education Code requirements for return to school and resources to support the physical, mental and social well-being of school communities for the 2024–25 school year.
Parent/guardian notifications
At the beginning of the first semester or quarter of the regular school term, the governing board of each school district shall notify the parent or guardian of a minor pupil of the rights or responsibilities of the parent or guardian. The notifications must include a request for a signed acknowledgement. If 15 percent or more of students speak a primary language other than English, notices must be provided in both English and that language.
New requirements for the 2024–25 school year:
- Anti-discrimination policy (Safe Place to Learn Act): LEA policies must now explicitly cover all school-related activities and entities, including actions by the governing board and superintendent.
- Vision appraisal changes: Students must be tested for farsightedness.
- Comprehensive School Safety Plan updates: New requirements include adaptations for students with disabilities, updated procedures for dangerous activities and opioid protocols for grades 7-12.
- Excused absence expansions: The amount of time students may be absent per semester to attend the funeral service of an immediate family member was expanded from one day for an in-state service and three days for an out-of-state service to no more than five days regardless of the location of the funeral. Expansions also include one full day for a religious retreat.
- Local Control and Accountability Plan additions: More details regarding midyear outcomes and expenditures were added. The mid-year report must include the following:
- All available mid-year outcome data related to metrics identified in the current year’s LCAP
- All available mid-year expenditure and implementation data on all actions identified in the current year’s LCAP. (EC sections 47606.5, 52062, and 52068)
- Assembly Bill 889: Parental Notification on Synthetic Drugs
Additional documents to include for 2024–25:
- List of all pesticides used at each school site
- Policy on parent classroom visits
- Uniform Complaint Procedures
- Title VI, Civil Rights Act of 1964 & Gender Equity/Title IX
- Student discipline
Resources for notifications include:
- Alternative Schools and Programs of Choice — Educational Options
- California College Guidance Initiative and Annual Parent Notifications
- Identification and Parent Notification Requirements — Multilingual Learners
- California Laws and Codes
- Title I, Part A Parent and Family Engagement — Title I, Part A
- Uniform Complaint Procedures
Student health and well-being
The Tobacco-Use Prevention Education Office (TUPE) reported that 7.3 percent of all high school students reported using tobacco or marijuana products in 2023. TUPE provides a program with a holistic approach to tobacco and marijuana prevention education. All LEAs are eligible for a grant for resources and technical assistance from TUPE, an initiative that more than 600 districts are currently using. Send an email to find the best TUPE resources for your LEA to tupe@cde.ca.gov.
The Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative presented on new resources available to students and staff, including new student mental health-support apps, a youth suicide prevention toolkit, Adverse Childhood Experiences and Toxic Stress Toolkit, a trauma-informed training and more. All resources can be found at cybhi.chhs.ca.gov/resource-external.
A presentation from the California School Nurses Organization covered topics such as lice and medications that schools must stock. The California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) policy on lice recommends it be destigmatized and children not be excluded from class instruction.
Medications
California Education Code 49414.8 provides $3.5 million to allocate to county offices of education for purchasing and maintaining a sufficient stock of emergency opioid antagonists for LEAs within its jurisdiction. COEs “shall purchase a minimum of two units for each middle school, junior high school, high school, and adult school schoolsite within their jurisdiction” through the Naloxone Distribution Project. LEAs must ensure that no fewer than two schoolsite staff meet the minimum standards of training for the administration of an emergency opioid antagonist or have undergone opioid overdose prevention and treatment training and reviewed materials available on the CDPH website.
California Education Code section 49414 also requires school districts to provide emergency epinephrine auto-injectors to school nurses or trained personnel who have volunteered to provide emergency medical aid to persons suffering or reasonably believed to be suffering from an anaphylactic reaction. LEAs may request a standing order for epinephrine from the state here and from EpiPen 4 Schools here.
Access the California Department of Education training standards here.
Presenters also went over school immunization requirements, which can be found here.
Other presentations covered included heat stress prevention tips, requirements for vision and hearing screenings, resources on how LEAs should communicate about illnesses and when to stay home or come to school, a drug impairment prevention toolkit and more.
