LCAP Analysis: School Climate in California

LCAPs Show Districts Focusing on School Climate in California Schools, But Still Much Work to Be Done

Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAP) encourage school districts to reform school discipline practices and improve school climate in support of the eight state priorities. According to the national anti-crime organization Fight Crime, in an analysis of California’s LCAPs:

• One hundred percent describe actions to address school climate
• Ninety-six percent plan to employ school counselors, psychologists and other support staff
• Seventy percent plan to implement alternative practices such as Positive Behavioral Supports and Interventions (PBIS), Restorative Practices or restorative justice, and social emotional learning

Under the LCAP category of school climate, districts must provide specific goals, actions and expenditures to address suspension and expulsion rates. Districts must also address safety and school connectedness as measured by surveys of students, teachers and parents.

The report states: “We are particularly concerned with suspension and expulsion rates because research shows that students who have been suspended or expelled from school are more likely to fall behind academically, drop out and become involved in crime in the long run.”

Increased attention to school climate has already helped yield a more than 20% decline in suspension rates in California over the last two years.