HB1941 SD1

SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to require the department of education to provide grants for the planning and implementation of community schools through a five-year pilot program to:

(1) Ensure high-quality educational opportunities and improved educational outcomes for all students through investment in full-service community schools;

(2) Support and fund the planning, development, implementation, and evaluation of community schools;

(3) Elevate community schools as a comprehensive solution to problems facing public schools, especially in low-income, rural, and Native Hawaiian communities;

(4) Document and evaluate lessons learned from community school programs to develop a set of best practices to be shared locally, statewide, and nationwide;

(5) Elevate community schools as an important component of a viable long-term equity strategy that accelerates learning, addresses students' social-emotional and mental health needs, and builds resilience among families and communities; and

(6) Support learners, educators, families, ‘āina, and communities by nurturing networks that promote reciprocity.

SECTION 2. Community schools grants; definitions. As used in this Act:

"Applicant" means a lead partner agency that proposes to work with an eligible school or consortium to plan or implement, or both, community school programming pursuant to sections 4 and 5 of this Act.

"Community organization" means a nonprofit organization that meets the applicable requirements of section 42F-103, Hawaii Revised Statutes, has been in existence for three or more years, and serves individuals within the community surrounding the covered school site on education and other issues.

"Community school consortium" means a group, consisting of one or more schools and community partners or community organizations, or both, including government agencies, that propose to work with one another to plan or implement, or both, community school programming.

"Community school coordinator" means an individual who is responsible for aligning programming with the needs of the school community identified in the baseline analysis.

"Community school programming" means the services, activities, and opportunities as described under section 5(f)(3) of this Act.

"Consortium" means a group consisting of one or more schools.

"Department" means the department of education.

"Eligible school" means a public school that is:

(1) A Title I school that is among the lowest-achieving fifteen per cent of Title I schools in the State;

(2) A public intermediate or middle school or public high school that is eligible for, but does not receive, Title I funds that is among the lowest-achieving fifteen per cent of secondary schools in the State;

(3) A public high school that has had a graduation rate that is less than sixty per cent over the past three years; or

(4) A public school that has been identified for comprehensive support and improvement, targeted support and improvement, or otherwise has been identified by the State as a school in need of additional support.

"Lead partner agency" means the organization that joins a school to manage and lead the work of developing and sustaining the community school.

"Pillars of community schools" means all of the following:

(1) Integrated student supports for the students of a community school that address out-of-school barriers to learning through partnerships with social and health service agencies and providers and coordinated by a community school coordinator;

(2) Expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities, including evidence-based strategies including before-school, after-school, during-school, weekend, and summer programs that provide additional academic instruction, individualized academic support, enrichment activities, or learning opportunities, for students of a community school;

(3) Active family and community engagement that brings parents and families of students of the community school and the community into the school as partners in students' education, and provides centralized supports for families and communities in community schools; and

(4) Collaborative leadership and practices that build a culture of professional learning, collective trust, and shared responsibility for each community school using strategies that shall, at a minimum, include a school-based leadership team, a community school coordinator, and a community-wide leadership team.

"School leadership team" means a team established by a community school that is responsible for developing school-specific programming goals, conducting a needs and assets assessment, and supporting the implementation of community school programming, and is comprised of twelve to twenty members, including at minimum:

(1) A principal;

(2) Community partners, including a representative or representatives from the lead partner agency;

(3) Parents and residents;

(4) Teachers and classified staff; and

(5) Students.

"School site" means a school site at which an applicant has proposed or has been funded to provide community school programming.

SECTION 3. The department shall establish a five-year community schools pilot program and make planning and implementation grants available, as follows:

(1) One-year planning grants, as described in section 4 of this Act, awarded up to $88,000 for each eligible school to be served under the grant; or

(2) Implementation grants, as described in section 5 of this Act, awarded up to $200,000 per year for each eligible school to be served under the grant.

SECTION 4. Community school pilot program; grants; planning. (a) The department shall establish a five-year community school pilot program and make grants available to plan for community schools. The pilot program shall terminate on June 30, 2027.

(b) An application process shall be used in awarding grants. Proposals submitted shall be evaluated and scored on the basis of criteria consistent with this section.

(c) Proposals may be submitted by applicants; provided that each covered school site referenced in the proposal is an eligible school.

(d) Each applicant shall demonstrate:

(1) That the school has a strong interest, voluntarily, in participating in a full-service community school program supported by an implementation grant;

(2) A need for the school to be a community school, including by providing data regarding poverty rates, discipline rates, academic achievement, student physical and mental health, or additional information connected to the pillars of community schools;

(3) Commitment to establishing or designating a school leadership team to support the school's community school planning and implementation; and

(4) A cogent plan for hiring a community school coordinator, if a coordinator is not yet hired.

(e) Community school planning grants may be awarded of up to $88,000. Grantees unready to implement programming immediately shall use their grant funds for up to one year of planning. Once the plan is complete or at the end of the one-year period, the grantee shall submit a community school plan to the department as described in subsection (f) of section 5 of this Act. If the grantee decides not to use planning funds, the community school plan shall be submitted with the application.

(f) A grantee shall establish a school leadership team responsible for developing school-specific programming goals, baseline analyses, assessing program needs, and overseeing the process of implementing expanded programming at each covered school site.

(g) The school leadership team shall have ongoing responsibility for monitoring the development and implementation of community school operations and programming at the school site and shall issue recommendations on a quarterly basis and summarized in an annual report to the department. The reports shall also be made available to the public at the school site and on school and district websites.

(h) Upon award of a community school implementation grant, the lead partner agency shall hire a full-time community school coordinator to coordinate services at each covered school site. If proposing to serve three or more school sites, the lead partner agency shall also hire a program director to coordinate activities across covered school sites. Program directors and community school coordinators shall work collaboratively with school leadership and school leadership teams to provide the services and programs that meet school and community needs and priorities.

SECTION 5. Community school pilot program; grants; implementation. (a) The department shall make community schools implementation grants of up to $200,000 a year available to implement a community school's strategy, subject to the availability of funding.

(b) An application process shall be used in awarding grants. Proposals shall be evaluated on the basis of criteria consistent with this section and other factors adopted by the department. Grants shall be made for a term of up to five years and shall be renewable at the discretion of the department and subject to the availability of funding. Before using grant funding for implementation, grantees shall submit a community school plan, as described in subsection (f), to the department.

(1) Data to demonstrate the school's need to be a community school. Data may include poverty rates, discipline rates, academic achievement, or student physical and mental health, or additional information connected to the pillars of community schools; and

(2) A community school plan as described in subsection (f).

(d) Grants awarded under this section shall be available to support the following activities:

(1) Where the lead partner agency has received funding to provide community school programming at multiple covered school sites, selection and compensation of a program director to oversee and coordinate programing across multiple covered school sites;

(2) Selection and compensation of a community school coordinator at each covered school site;

(3) Ongoing convening and consultation of institutional partners;

(4) General coordination of programs within and between covered school sites;

(5) Professional development for school staff that engages them as full partners in the community school;

(6) Ongoing monitoring of the impact of community school on participating children and adults;

(7) Development of alternative funding strategies to guarantee the long-term sustainability of the community school;

(8) Ongoing operation of the school leadership team; and

(9) Other activities, both operational and programmatic, that assist in the implementation of the plan required under subsection (f).

(e) At the conclusion of each grant term, each community schools operational grant grantee, led by the lead partner agency and supported by the school leadership team, shall submit to the department, and make available at the school site and online, a report describing efforts to integrate community school programming at each covered school site and the impact of the transition to a community school on participating children and adults. The report shall include but not be limited to discussion of the following:

(1) An assessment of the effectiveness of the grantee in implementing the community school plan and meeting performance objectives and goals, and detailing the impact of the community school programming implemented on students' academic achievement and opportunities;

(2) Problems encountered in the design and execution of the community school plan; and

(3) Recommendations for improving delivery of community school programming to students.

(f) Before using grant funding awarded pursuant to this section, the grantee shall provide to the department a community school plan. For schools that apply for the planning grant, the community school plan shall be submitted no later than the end of the first year. The community school plan shall detail the steps the grantee and partners shall take to integrate community school programing at the school site and include plans for:

(1) A baseline analysis of community assets;

(2) A baseline analysis of needs in the community surrounding the school, to be led by the lead partner agency or the school leadership team, in collaboration with relevant experts, as appropriate;

(3) Establishing at least two of the following types of community school programming that meet the needs indicated by the needs and assets analysis:

(A) Integrated student supports, which may include:

(i) Health and social services, which may be based in the school or provided in the community, including primary health, dental care, vision care, and mental health including trauma-informed care; or

(ii) Nutrition services, including providing additional meals or assistance in accessing federal, state, and local food assistance programs;

(B) Integrated student supports, which may include programs that provide assistance to students of the eligible school who have been or are at risk of being chronically absent, suspended, or expelled, and students who are failing, or at risk of failing, including:

(i) Mentoring and other youth development programs;

(ii) Programs that support positive and equitable school climates, including restorative justice practices and culturally competent pedagogy and practices, or juvenile crime prevention and rehabilitation programs;

(iii) Specialized instructional support services;

(iv) Homeless prevention services;

(v) Developmentally appropriate physical education;

(vi) Legal services, including immigration-related legal services;

(vii) Dropout prevention programs and reengagement programs;

(viii) Supports for students in foster care and children experiencing homelessness;

(ix) Transportation services necessary for students to access integrated student support services, expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities, family and community engagement activities, or other services and activities identified to support the development of students; and

(x) Technical assistance for students with limited access to digital devices or high-speed internet services;

(i) Additional academic instruction and high-quality academic tutoring;

(ii) Before- and after-school and summer learning programs;

(iii) Mentorship programs;

(iv) Workforce development activities, including career and technical education, internships, pre-apprenticeship programs, and service-learning opportunities;

(v) Student support services for children with disabilities;

(vi) Additional college access support, including earning college credit while in high school, college visits, summer bridge programs, college counseling, or other services geared towards college success;

(vii) Advanced skill development in areas of interest including music, arts, sports, technology, or other areas; and

(viii) Culturally-based, ‘āina-based, and project-based programming;

(D) Active family and community engagement strategies, which may include:

(i) Culturally and linguistically relevant communication between the school and families;

(ii) On-site early childhood care and education programs;

(iii) Home visitation services by educators and other professionals who are employed by the lead partner agency or a service provider;

(iv) Adult education, including instruction in English as a second language programs, financial literacy education, programs that lead to the recognized equivalent of a high school diploma, or credit recovery programs;

(v) Workforce development activities, including job search and preparation services and career advancement activities;

(vi) Legal services, such as help with green card or citizenship preparation;

(vii) Programs that aid family and community well-being, including accessing homeless prevention services;

(viii) Programs that promote parental and family involvement and family literacy and provide volunteer opportunities;

(ix) Assistance and supports for children and young people involved in the child welfare system;

(x) Higher education preparation courses, including credit accumulation and other higher education or continuing education preparation courses, and college counseling to prepare students and families for higher education; and

(xi) Child abuse and neglect prevention activities, including services to strengthen families.

(4) The actions needed to coordinate and, in collaboration with its partner entities, facilitate the provision of strategies aligned to the pillars of community schools, the Na Hopena Ao Framework, and needs and assets analysis.

(5) Documentation of meaningful and sustained collaboration between the school and community stakeholders, including local governmental units, civic engagement organizations, businesses, and social service providers;

(6) Professional development;

(7) Establishment and maintenance of partnerships with institutions, such as universities, hospitals, museums, corporations, nonprofit community organizations, or other community partners, to further the development and implementation of community school programming;

(8) A plan for school leadership team development;

(9) Annual measurable performance objectives and goals and plans to collect, maintain and analyze data to show impact of programming; and

(10) Ensuring the continuation of the community school after the grant period ends.

SECTION 6. Community school pilot program; evaluation; report. (a) Reports shall be submitted by the lead partner agency, subject to the approval of the school leadership team, participating in the community school pilot program to the department, to be evaluated by the department based on criteria developed by the department; provided that the criteria shall include but not be limited to the following:

(1) The effectiveness of the school or community school consortium in implementing the community school plan, including the degree to which the grantee navigated difficulties encountered in the design and operation of the community school plan and identification of any federal, state, or county laws or rules impeding program implementation;

(2) The progress made against the school's annual measurable performance objectives and goals identified in the community school plan;

(3) The extent to which the program has yielded lessons about ways to improve delivery of community school programming to students;

(4) The degree to which there has been an increase in the number or percentage of students and non-students receiving community school programming; and

(5) The degree to which there has been improvement in retention of students and academic achievement among students receiving community school programming;

(b) The department shall annually report to the governor and the legislature on the impact of each community school's plan and progress no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the regular session of each year, beginning in 2023. The report shall be made publicly available. All data featured in the report shall be made available in machine-readable formats.

(1) Provide analysis of the community schools program's success, the impact of funded initiatives, and recommendations for enhancing the program's effectiveness; and

(2) Include analysis and recommendations related to the potential to replicate the best practices of eligible schools in non-grantee public schools.

(d) The department of education shall submit a final report to the governor and legislature on the pilot program, including any findings, recommendations, and proposed legislation, no later than twenty days prior to the regular session of 2027.

SECTION 7. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $ or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2022-2023 to establish and fund the pilot program and grants under this Act.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of education for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 8. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050 and shall be repealed on June 30, 2027.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	1941
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		S.D. 1