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Findings and Recommendations 4 findings
F1
Not all Community Partners receive complete and timely background information from the California Department of Justice which would enable them to guarantee that all of their employees are legally eligible to work with children. Recommendations
Related Recommendations (1)
R1
By November 1, 2014, Stockton Unified School District is to require all Community Partners to have their own unique contract with the California Department of Justice so that each Community Partner receives fingerprint reports and Subsequent Arrest Notifications. 2.0 Employee Qualifications The California Education Code Section 8483.4 describes the employee qualifications required by the After School and Safety Program grant: "The grant administrator is to establish minimum qualifications for staff members who directly supervise students that meet the district's qualifications for an instructional aide. Documentation that demonstrates this requirement should be maintained for audit purposes." Therefore, employees of the Community Partners who directly work with the students in the after-school program must meet the same qualifications as for instructional aides (paraprofessionals) in the District. The contracts state that the Community Partner, "will only place after-school staff employees at SUSD sites who are NCLB compliant." The NCLB requirements for paraprofessionals are as follows: “1. High school diploma or the equivalent, and Two years of college (48 units), or 2. 3. A. A. Degree (or higher), or Pass a local assessment of knowledge and skills in assisting in instruction." 4. The Grand Jury examined many employee documents and numerous issues were found. One Community Partner did not have any academic documentation for one employee. Another Community Partner hired an individual who had only partially met the local assessment requirement. A Community Partner accepted transcripts from an unaccredited university; hired an applicant with an unevaluated diploma from a foreign college; and accepted transcripts from two individuals even though the documents did not show the students' names. The NCLB requirements are simply stated but can be very complex in certain situations. At least some of the Community Partners do not have the expertise to analyze transcripts. They have not received training to gain this expertise, nor have they been provided assistance from any entity that could enable them to guarantee that college degrees and/or units are valid. District after-school administration also does not possess the necessary skills to validate after-school employee qualifications. Expertise in applying the NCLB requirements is typically found in a district's human resources department. Early in December, a highly publicized conflict occurred between the Stockton Unified School District and Boys and Girls Club of Stockton. During the week of December 9, 2013, the national Boys and Girls Club revoked the charter of the local organization. Soon after, the District invalidated the contract with Boys and Girls Club. Very quickly, the YMCA was contracted to take over the 12 schools formerly served by Boys and Girls Club of Stockton. While attempting to provide jobs for as many of the Boys and Girls Club employees as it could, it was found that eight were not NCLB qualified. In addition, a District administrator audited Boys and Girls Club personnel files and found 18 to 20 employees had not been qualified to work in SUSD after-school programs. Findings
F2
Community Partner administrators do not have expertise in applying the procedures to verify the No Child Left Behind requirements that resulted in unqualified employees working in the after-school programs. Recommendations
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
By August 1, 2014, Stockton Unified School District is to provide expertise to the Community Partners in applying NCLB requirements through on-going training and/or consultation. 3.0 Auditing of Contracts The current contracts between the District and the Community Partners contain two exhibits that require the Community Partner to certify that their employees meet specific requirements prior to being hired. Exhibit F of the contract requires the Community Partners to certify that the fingerprint requirements are met for all employees. Exhibit G requires the Community Partners to certify that the NCLB requirements are fully met. No evidence was found that the District conducted any audits of the Community Partners prior to January 1, 2014. In 2014, the District did audit Boys and Girls Club of Stockton and found numerous examples of their employees not meeting the NCLB requirements. The Grand Jury investigation also found numerous examples of employees not meeting NCLB requirements or the Community Partner not reviewing DOJ reports. Given the extent of issues found during the Grand Jury investigation, it appears that greater monitoring is needed. Findings
F3
1 Some of the Community Partners included in the investigation allowed employees to work with students without having reviewed DOJ reports. As a result, the District was potentially exposed to liability and students were potentially endangered.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
1 No later than December 31, 2014, and not less than annually thereafter, the Stockton Unified School District is to audit the hiring practices of its Community Partners to determine whether they have received and reviewed Department of Justice reports prior to placing personnel in Stockton Unified School District schools.
F4
The District's exclusion of the word "and" at the end of #1 and the word "or" at the end of #2 in contract language found in Exhibit G allows these requirements to be interpreted differently than intended and may lead applicants to believe that they meet NCLB requirements when they do not. Recommendations
Related Recommendations (1)
R4
By September 1, 2014, the Stockton Unified School District is to modify the contract language of Exhibit G so that it is identical to the actual NCLB qualifications. Conclusion Since 2004 when the Stockton Unified School District after-school programs began to provide a more academic program, the quality of services to children has greatly improved. The programs have expanded and serve more students. The Community Partners strive to place the best individuals in schools to work with students but are faced with many challenges. The jobs are low-paying, many of the employees are students themselves and there is a very high rate of turnover. This creates impediments, particularly in the areas of hiring and training of personnel. It is imperative that these challenges be met as the safety of students and the quality of instruction are at stake. During interviews with Community Partners and with District administrators there appears to be a willingness to address these critical issues. The Grand Jury expects this will happen. Disclaimer Grand Jury reports are based on documentary evidence and the testimony of sworn or admonished witnesses, not on conjecture or opinion. However, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing such evidence except upon the specific approval of the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, or another judge appointed by the Presiding Judge (Penal Code Sections 911, 924.1(a) and 929). Similarly, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing the identity of witnesses except upon order of the court for narrowly defined purposes (Penal Code Sections 924.2 and 929). Response Requirements California Penal Code Sections 933 and 933.05 require that specific responses to all findings and recommendations contained in this report be submitted to the Presiding Judge of San Joaquin County Superior Court The Stockton Unified School District Board of Trustees shall respond to each Finding and Recommendation contained in this report. Mail or hand-deliver a hard copy of the response to: Hon. Lesley D. Holland, Presiding Judge San Joaquin County Superior Court P.O. Box 201022 Stockton, CA 95201 Also, please email a copy of the response to Trisa Martinez, Staff Secretary to the Grand Jury at: grandjury@sjcourts.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendicies
Conclusions 1
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CL1Since 2004 when the Stockton Unified School District after-school programs began to provide a more academic program, the quality of services to children has greatly improved. The programs have expanded and serve more students. The Community Partners strive to place the best individuals in schools to work with students but are faced with many challenges. The jobs are low-paying, many of the employees are students themselves and there is a very high rate of turnover. This creates impediments, particularly in the areas of hiring and training of personnel. It is imperative that these challenges be met as the safety of students and the quality of instruction are at stake. During interviews with Community Partners and with District administrators there appears to be a willingness to address these critical issues. The Grand Jury expects this will happen. Disclaimer Grand Jury reports are based on documentary evidence and the testimony of sworn or admonished witnesses, not on conjecture or opinion. However, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing such evidence except upon the specific approval of the Presiding Judge of the Superior Court, or another judge appointed by the Presiding Judge (Penal Code Sections 911, 924.1(a) and 929). Similarly, the Grand Jury is precluded by law from disclosing the identity of witnesses except upon order of the court for narrowly defined purposes (Penal Code Sections 924.2 and 929). Response Requirements California Penal Code Sections 933 and 933.05 require that specific responses to all findings and recommendations contained in this report be submitted to the Presiding Judge of San Joaquin County Superior Court within 90 days. The Stockton Unified School District Board of Trustees shall respond to each Finding and Recommendation contained in this report. Mail or hand-deliver a hard copy of the response to: Hon. Lesley D. Holland, Presiding Judge San Joaquin County Superior Court P.O. Box 201022 Stockton, CA 95201 Also, please email a copy of the response to Trisa Martinez, Staff Secretary to the Grand Jury at: grandjury@sjcourts.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendicies Appendix A: Exhibit F, Certification of Fingerprinting Appendix B: Exhibit G, Certificate of Compliance with No Child Left Behind (NCLB) APPENDIX A CERTIFICATION OF FINGERPRINTING To the Governing Board and the District Administrator in charge of the following services: I. Identification of Parties I, _____ am an individual contractor and/or vendor or I am an authorized representative of ______. My entity seeks to contract with the District, which may cause my entity and its employees, agents or independent contractors to come in contact with pupils, and I am aware of the requirements of Education Code section 45125 et. seq. П. Certifications I make the following certifications, under penalty of perjury: shall not begin to provide services to the District pursuant to that certain Α. Contract Regarding After School Safety and Enrichment Program date July 1, permit any of my employees, agents or 2011 (the "Contract"), nor independent contractors to come in contact with pupils pursuant to the Contract until the Department of Justice has ascertained that the person has not been convicted of a serious or violent felony as defined in Penal Code sections 1192.7(c) and 667.5(c) or of a sex or controlled substance offense. (Education Code § 45125.1(e).) have reviewed the results of the fingerprinting Appropriate officials at 1 В. information ascertained by the Department of Justice, and none of l employees, agents or independent contractors who may come in contact with pupils pursuant the Contract have been convicted of a felony as noted in Paragraph A, above. (Education Code § 45125.1(f).) Attached to this certification form is a list of the names of l imployees or C. independent contractors who may come in contact with pupils to this certification form. (Education Code § 45125.1(f).) I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of California that the information provided above is true and correct. Executed this 22 day of The 2013, at Stockton, California. 534159.1 Revised 7/9/13 APPENDIX B CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND (NCLB) acknowledges the Stockton Unified School District's paraprofessional requirements. The After School Education and Safety (ASES) grant requires all after school staff who directly supervise children to meet the same qualifications as a SUSD paraprofessional. All paraprofessionals shall have: (a) high school diploma or GED (b) completed at least 2 years of college (minimum 48 semester units) (c) obtained an Associates (or higher) degree; or (d) met a rigorous standard of quality and can demonstrate, through a formal local academic assessment and proof of certification through the San Joaquin County of Education. will comply with these requirements and will only place after school staff employees at will attach the names of all compliant staff with SUSD sites who are NCLB compliant. each monthly invoice. 534159.1 Revised 7/9/13