(a) (1) By September 1, 2018, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence and the department shall establish a process, administered by the department, to select, subject to approval by the executive director of the state board, county offices of education to serve as geographic lead agencies to conduct the activities required pursuant to this section.

(2) (A) The department, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, and the geographic lead agencies shall work collaboratively to advance the purpose of the statewide system of support specified in subdivision (b) of Section 52059.5.

(B) The department and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence shall establish a formal process to ensure that the department, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, and the geographic lead agencies communicate with each other regularly.

(C) The department and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence shall establish a process for the department, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, and the geographic lead agencies to engage with stakeholders to inform each entity’s work within the statewide system of support established by Section 52059.5.

(D) The department and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, in consultation with the executive director of the state board, shall establish a formal process to coordinate the activities of the department, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, geographic lead agencies established pursuant to this section, expert lead agencies established pursuant to Section 52073.1, and special education resource leads established pursuant to Section 52073.2 to provide coherent and effective support to local educational agencies. The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, in consultation with the department, shall facilitate this formal process.

(3) The process to select geographic lead agencies shall ensure that no fewer than six and no more than 10 geographic lead agencies are selected in a manner to ensure statewide coverage. Geographic lead agencies shall be selected for a term not to exceed five years.

(4) The process to select geographic lead agencies shall, at a minimum, specify that a county office of education applying to be a geographic lead agency demonstrate all of the following:

(A) Appropriate expertise with the state priorities identified in subdivision (d) of Section 52060 and subdivision (d) of Section 52066 and with federal programs, which may include a plan to partner or subcontract, as appropriate, with other county offices of education or other entities for that expertise.

(B) Ability to build the capacity of county offices of education within a defined geographic area to provide effective assistance and support to school districts under the state priorities identified in subdivision (d) of Section 52060 and federal programs.

(C) Demonstrated capacity to provide assistance to school districts on improving pupil performance and closing achievement gaps for pupil subgroups identified pursuant to Section 52052.

(D) Capacity and willingness to provide necessary assistance and support to other county offices of education.

(E) Ability to coordinate and calibrate assistance and support provided to local educational agencies within a defined geographic area and with other geographic lead agencies, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, and the department.

(F) Willingness to establish goals and be held accountable for improved performance across multiple measures within a defined geographic area.

(5) A county office of education may partner as a consortium with other local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, or nonprofit educational services providers to submit a proposal to serve as a geographic lead agency.

(b) (1) A geographic lead agency shall have all of the following responsibilities:

(A) Assist in building the capacity of county offices of education within the geographic lead agency’s defined geographic area to provide effective assistance and support to school districts under the state priorities identified in subdivision (d) of Section 52060 and federal programs.

(B) Coordinate and calibrate assistance and support provided to local educational agencies within its defined geographic area and with other geographic lead agencies, expert lead agencies identified pursuant to Section 52073.1, special education resource leads identified pursuant to Section 52073.2, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, and the department.

(C) Provide assistance and support if another county office of education within the geographic lead agency’s defined geographic area is unable to provide appropriate assistance and support to one or more school districts in that county office of education’s boundaries, or at the request of a school district or county superintendent of schools pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 52071.

(D) Identify existing resources, professional development activities, and other efforts currently available within its designated geographic area to assist school districts and county offices of education to improve outcomes under the state priorities identified in subdivision (d) of Section 52060 and subdivision (d) of Section 52066, and upon request, share information about these existing resources.

(E) Upon request by the department and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, develop new resources and activities, designed to build capacity within school districts and county offices of education across the state under the state priorities identified in subdivision (d) of Section 52060 and subdivision (d) of Section 52066 or other areas of identified need.

(F) Other duties as specified by the department and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence as part of the process to select geographic lead agencies.

(2) A geographic lead agency may enter into subcontracts with one or more local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, or nonprofit educational services providers to assist in fulfilling the responsibilities described in this subdivision.

(c) The California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, in consultation with the department, shall assist the geographic lead agencies in fulfilling the responsibilities described in subdivision (b).

(d) (1) At the conclusion of the term for each selected geographic lead agency, the department and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence may renew the selection of the existing geographic lead agency or reopen the selection of a geographic lead agency in a manner consistent with subdivision (a).

(2) Before renewing the selection of an existing geographic lead agency, the department and the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence shall evaluate the geographic lead agency’s success in doing both of the following:

(A) Meeting the goals established pursuant to subparagraph (F) of paragraph (4) of subdivision (a).

(B) Fulfilling the responsibilities described in subdivision (b), including, but not limited to, progress in building the capacity of county offices of education within the geographic lead agency’s defined geographic area as demonstrated by trends within the geographic lead agency’s defined geographic area in the number of school districts receiving technical assistance pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 52071 and the number of school districts that stopped receiving technical assistance pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 52071 due to improved performance on the state and local indicators developed for the California School Dashboard pursuant to Section 52064.5.

(3) As part of the request for renewal, an existing geographic lead agency shall provide a description of efforts the geographic lead agency has made to fulfill the responsibilities described in subdivision (b).

(e) Commencing with the 2018–19 fiscal year, the sum of four million dollars ($4,000,000) shall be appropriated annually to the department from the General Fund to be awarded to county offices of education serving as geographic lead agencies pursuant to this section.

(f) For purposes of making the computations required by Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution, the amount appropriated in subdivision (e) shall be deemed to be “General Fund revenues appropriated for school districts,” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 41202, and included within the “total allocations to school districts and community college districts from General Fund proceeds of taxes appropriated pursuant to Article XIII B,” as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 41202.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 51, Sec. 39. (SB 75) Effective July 1, 2019.)