BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1105
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 18, 2008
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gene Mullin, Chair
SB 1105 (Margett) - As Amended: May 8, 2008
SENATE VOTE : 40-0
SUBJECT : Teacher credentialing: criminal convictions.
SUMMARY : Expands the definition of "conviction" when applied
to suspending or revoking educator credentials to include pleas
of no contest; and, allows the Commission on Teacher
Credentialing (CTC) to make adverse action findings available to
school districts for hiring purposes for five years.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Expands the definition of "conviction" for purposes of
suspending or revoking a credential to include conviction
following a plea of nolo contendere to specified offenses,
including certain sex offenses and serious misdemeanors.
2)Increases from one year to five years the time period within
which the CTC may make adverse action findings available to
school districts for hiring purposes without the credential
holder's written approval.
3)Authorizes a credential holder whose credential has not been
revoked as a result of a misdemeanor sex offense that does not
require registration as a sex offender, to apply for
reinstatement of the credential if the accusation has been
dismissed and the individual has been released from all
penalties, as specified.
4)Deletes provisions requiring a discretionary review when there
is a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the CTC to immediately suspend a credential when the
holder has been charged with certain sex or controlled
substance offenses and to revoke the credential upon
conviction, except in the case of a no contest conviction to a
misdemeanor sex offense where the credential is suspended
until an administrative review has been completed by the
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Commission. Education code 44425
2)Requires the CTC to revoke a credential when the holder has
been convicted of certain sex offenses or controlled substance
offenses and prohibits reinstatement of the credential for
certain felony offenses. Education code 44424
3)Establishes the Committee of Credentials for the purpose of
reviewing allegations that may be grounds for the denial,
suspension, revocation of a teaching or services credential
issued by the CTC. Education code 44240
4)Prohibits the CTC from making adverse action findings
available to employing school districts beyond one year from
the date the Committee of Credentials makes its
recommendations regarding those findings to the CTC, without
written approval by the credential holder. Education code
44242.5
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Education Committee,
this bill results in modest savings by eliminating the need for
criminal record reviews that follow "no contest" pleas.
According to the CTC, removing the one-year disclosure
limitation will result in minor but absorbable costs.
COMMENTS : A recent Associated Press (AP) study found that
roughly 25% of all disciplinary actions against teachers involve
sexual misconduct. In a study of all 50 states and the District
of Columbia, the AP found 2,570 educators nationwide whose
teaching credentials were revoked, denied, surrendered, or
sanctioned following allegations of sexual misconduct. The
study revealed that between 2001 and 2005, 313 California
educators had their credential suspended or revoked for sexual
misconduct. The study noted that while California law requires
educators who plead guilty to, or are convicted of, specified
sex, controlled substance, and violent felony offenses lose
their credential, existing law allows educators who are
convicted following a plea of "no contest" to those same crimes
to undergo a discretionary review by the CTC to determine
disposition of their credential instead of losing their
credential automatically.
The Commission on Teacher Credentialing is the sponsor of the
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bill and argues, "Most licensing agencies currently treat 'no
contest' pleas as guilty pleas. Under the Education code,
statutes dealing with employment treat 'no contest' pleas as
guilty pleas, while the licensing statutes do not, thus creating
an inconsistency. Under current law if a credential holder
pleads guilty or is found guilty of certain misdemeanor offenses
the credential is revoked on a mandatory basis. However, if the
credential holder pleads 'no contest' to the same offense, the
credential is subject to a discretionary review by the Committee
of Credentials and an Administrative Law Judge, a process which
is time consuming and costly. During this time, the credential
holder retains the credential."
According to the CTC staff, of the approximately 90 educators
who are convicted of a mandatory offense each fiscal year in
California, approximately 60 of those are convicted following a
plea of no contest to a misdemeanor offense, which triggers a
discretionary review by the Committee of Credentials rather than
a mandatory revocation. Approximately 25% of those cases end in
a result that allows the educator to maintain a credential and
continue to serve in the public schools. According to CTC
staff, the passage of time and the reluctance of child victims
to testify can lead to difficulty in providing sufficient
admissible evidence to sustain a revocation if the holder
appeals the revocation to an Administrative Law Judge. If the
CTC cannot demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence the need
to revoke the credential, the holder's credential may be
reinstated, allowing the educator to return to service in the
public schools. By expanding the definition of conviction to
include "no contest" convictions this bill makes statutes
governing employment and credentialing more consistent.
Mandatory Offenses and Discretionary Review . Several sections
of the Education code currently deal with criminal offenses
requiring revocation of teaching credentials. Section 44424 of
the Education code lists specific felonies and misdemeanors and
violent/serious felonies. Section 44010 of the Education code
lists specified sex offenses and Section 44011 lists controlled
substance offenses. Under current law a conviction of any of
the felonies listed in Section 44424 results in a mandatory
revocation. In some cases such as theft crimes, the Legislature
has specifically limited the revocation to felony thefts. In
others, such as child endangerment, the Legislature has included
both misdemeanors and felonies.
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Offenses that do not require mandatory revocation of teaching
credentials receive a discretionary review by the Commission on
Teacher Credentialing and action is taken by the Committee of
Credentials (COC) based on the facts and circumstances of the
case. According to the CTC, the discretionary review process
begins with a review by the CTC staff, followed by a review of
the COC. After the first review by the COC, the committee may
decide to end the review process or move the case forward for a
formal review by the committee. At the formal review by the
committee, the credential holder may appear and present their
case. After the formal review, the committee may issue a
decision for disciplinary action for the credential holder and
the person has 30 days to accept the discipline or request an
Administrative hearing by an independent Administrative Law
Judge. After the Judge makes a decision, the Committee of
Credentials can either accept that decision or reject the
decision and impose the committee's disciplinary action.
California Commission on Teacher Credentialing
Actions Taken on Sexual Offenses Involving Children
2002-2007
---------------------------------------------
| Fiscal | Mandatory | Discretionary |
| Year | Action | Review |
|-----------+-----------------+---------------|
| 2002-03 | 49 | 35 |
|-----------+-----------------+---------------|
| 2003-04 | 39 | 27 |
|-----------+-----------------+---------------|
| 2004-05 | 45 | 16 |
|-----------+-----------------+---------------|
| 2005-06 | 44 | 17 |
|-----------+-----------------+---------------|
| 2006-07 | 46 | 23 |
---------------------------------------------
* Source: Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
Employment Disclosure . The Department of Justice makes criminal
history information available to the CTC and employing school
districts upon the submission of fingerprint information at the
point of hire. Current law requires the CTC to provide
employing school districts with credential history information
and requires the CTC to provide confidential information about
the substance of any adverse action findings to employing school
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districts for up to one year. The findings are not subject to
public disclosure and can be used for employment purposes only.
If more than a year has passed, the employing school district
must obtain permission from the credential holder prior to
requesting the findings information from the CTC. Making these
findings available to districts for a period of five years will
enable districts to have more complete information about
educators they are considering hiring.
According to the CTC, "Under current law, the adverse action
findings of the Committee of Credentials can be made available
for one year from the date the Committee makes its
recommendation to a school district providing the credential
holder is employed by the district. If more than a year has
passed a school district must obtain a verified release from the
credential holder. The year barrier can be difficult for
employing districts to be aware of potential problems especially
in the case of substitute teachers who work in multiple
districts. This measure would expand the one year limitation to
five years if the credential holder has not appealed the
recommendation of the Committee of Credentials."
Committee Amendment : Staff recommends a typographical error be
corrected to cite the proper Penal code section as 1203.4, on
page 4, line 2 of the bill.
The Association of California School Administrators supports the
bill and argues, "ACSA supports the CTC in its effort to
streamline the discipline process and appropriately address
potential barriers that impact efficient enforcement. SB 1105
helps resolve state departmental inconsistencies and brings
education credentialing into alignment with other licensing
agencies and educational employment. With a clear focus upon
the safety of all students and schools, as well as proper
protection of the educator's rights and privileges, ACSA
supports SB 1105."
The California Teacher's Association, the American Civil
Liberties Union, and Equality California oppose the bill and
argue that existing code sections are discriminatory toward
teachers of specific genders and sexual orientation, in that
some sexual offenses are mandatory reasons for credential
revocation while other sexual offenses do not mandate credential
revocation and instead required a discretionary review. They
argue, "While we understand that the disparate impact of this
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legislation was unintended we are concerned about further
exacerbating the discriminatory treatment of gay teachers."
To the extent this inequity exists, more teachers of specific
genders and sexual orientation may lose their credential by
pleading no contest, rather than go through a discretionary
review by the CTC. While this issue of discrimination warrants
a discussion by the Legislature, this issue is outside the scope
of this bill. Committee staff recommends this issue of
discrimination be explored and addressed in future legislation.
Related Legislation: SB 1110 (Scott) from 2008 requires the CTC
to suspend an educator's California credential when it receives
notice that the educator's credentials have been revoked by
another state and requires the suspension to remain in effect
until the CTC takes final action on the California credential.
In addition, SB 1110 requires the CTC to revoke credentials of
educators convicted of crimes that result in limited or
prohibited contact with children and prohibits reinstatement of
the credential until the terms of the criminal probation are
satisfied. The bill is scheduled to be heard by the Assembly
Education Committee on June 18, 2008.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Commission on Teacher Credentialing (Sponsor)
Association of California School Administrators
California District Attorneys Association
California School Boards Association
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Saddleback Valley Unified School District
San Francisco Unified School District
Opposition
American Civil Liberties Union
California Teachers Association
Equality California
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087