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Via EdSource | By John Fensterwald

One of the first school districts to finish a draft of the spending and accountability plan required by the state’s new school funding law is proposing to hire social workers to deal with the effects of troubled home lives, cyberbullying and other social and emotional issues hobbling students’ ability to concentrate and learn.

The 24,000-student East Side Union High School District in San Jose, the largest high school district in Northern California, wants to spend $1.25 million to place a full-time social worker at each of the district’s 11 comprehensive high schools next year, according to the proposed Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) that Superintendent Chris Funk released last week. An additional social worker would work at the district office to coordinate services for foster and homeless youths, who often switch schools during the school year.

The LCAP is a three-year planning document that spells out how each district, charter school and county office of education will spend additional money provided by the Local Control Funding Formula. A district’s goals and expenditures must respond to eight priorities that the Legislature set for parent engagement, student achievement and school climate and conditions.

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