BILL ANALYSIS AB 352 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 15, 2009 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION Julia Brownley, Chair AB 352 (Audra Strickland) - As Introduced: February 19, 2009 [This bill has been double referred to the Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization and will be heard as it relates to the issues under its jurisdiction.] SUBJECT : Public Records: California Interscholastic Federation. SUMMARY : Declares the intent of the Legislature that the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) in consultation with the California Department of Education (CDE), comply with the California Public Records Act. EXISTING LAW : 1)Declares the California Interscholastic Federation as a voluntary organization that consists of school and school-related personnel with responsibility for administering interscholastic athletic activities in secondary schools; and, sunsets this declaration on January 1, 2012. 2)Declares the intent of the Legislature that the California Interscholastic Federation, in consultation with the department, implement the following policies: a) Give the governing boards of school districts specific authority to select their athletic league representatives. b) Require that all league, section, and state meetings affiliated with the California Interscholastic Federation be subject to the notice and hearing requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act. c) Establish a neutral final appeals body to hear complaints related to interscholastic athletic policies. d) Provide information to parents and pupils regarding the state and federal complaint procedures for discrimination complaints arising out of interscholastic athletic activities. 3)Requires the California Interscholastic Federation to report to the Legislature and the Governor on its evaluation and accountability activities undertaken on or before January 1, AB 352 Page 2 2010; and, requires the report to include: a) The governing structure of the California Interscholastic Federation, and the effectiveness of that governance structure in providing leadership for interscholastic athletics in secondary schools. b) Methods to facilitate communication with agencies, organizations, and public entities whose functions and interests interface with the California Interscholastic Federation. c) The quality of coaching and officiating, including, but not limited to, professional development for coaches and athletic administrators, and parent education programs. d) Gender equity in interscholastic athletics, including, but not limited to, the number of male and female pupils participating in interscholastic athletics in secondary schools, and action taken by the California Interscholastic Federation in order to ensure compliance with Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. e) Health and safety of pupils, coaches, officials, and spectators. f) The economic viability of interscholastic athletics in secondary schools, including, but not limited to, the promotion and marketing of interscholastic athletics. g) New and continuing programs available to pupil-athletes. h) Awareness and understanding of emerging issues related to interscholastic athletics in secondary schools. 4)Declares the intent of the Legislature that the California Interscholastic Federation accomplish all of the following: a) During years in which the California Interscholastic Federation is not required to report to the Legislature and the Governor, it shall hold a public comment period relating to the report at three regularly scheduled federation council meetings per year. b) Annually allow public comment on the policies and practices of the California Interscholastic Federation at a regularly scheduled federation council meeting. c) Require sections of the California Interscholastic Federation to allow public comment on the policies and practices of the California Interscholastic Federation and its sections, and the report required, at each regularly scheduled section meeting. d) Engage in a comprehensive outreach effort to promote the public hearings. AB 352 Page 3 FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal. COMMENTS : This bill declares Legislative intent for CIF to comply with the California Public Records Act. Currently, CIF complies with the Brown Act which requires all meetings to be publicly noticed and open to the public. Background on CIF . Since 1914, the California Department of Education (CDE) has allowed the California Interscholastic Federation, a voluntary association of schools, to regulate interscholastic athletics statewide. The Federation consists of ten regional sections, each of which is divided into several "leagues," for purposes of scheduling athletic contests, assigning referees, etc. Similar organizations exist in other states. Almost all public, private and parochial schools are CIF members. The California Interscholastic Federation was organized at a high school athletic convention held at the Y.M.C.A. Field House, Los Angeles, on March 28, 1914. The primary responsibilities of CIF are to administer high school athletic programs and to promulgate and enforce rules relating to a student's involvement in athletics - age, semesters in school, scholarship, residence, transfer status, and amateur standing. Such regulations, which are generated by the 1,400 member base of secondary schools, prevent undesirable exploitation of high school students, provide for the welfare of participants, and ensure that interscholastic athletics offer major benefits to students in a safe, rewarding environment. For purposes of administration, California is divided into the following 10 sections: Southern Section, Central Section, Los Angeles City Section, North Coast Section, Sac-Joaquin Section, Northern Section, Oakland City Section, San Francisco Section, San Diego Section and Central Coast Section. The State Federated Council has complete control of all State championships in high school athletics and may specify all details as to methods and places for conducting the contests. The CIF is one of the 50 state associations that belong to the National Federation of State High School Associations and actively participates in the national organization. Generally, rules recommended by the national body are adopted by CIF. According to the author, because the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is a public entity whose authority to govern interscholastic sports in California was delegated by the AB 352 Page 4 Legislature, it is important their records be subject to the Public Records Act. The Public Records Act is designed to give the public access to information in possession of public agencies for the purposes of transparency and accountability to the public. AB 352 will declare the intent of the Legislature for the CIF to comply with the Act to promote transparency and accountability. There is a need for the CIF to comply with the Act so that the public has access to records or precedence often dealing with the eligibility of student athletes to participate in sports and CIF sanctions on students, teams, or schools that violate CIF policies. The California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (CAHPERD) supports the bill and argues that passage of this bill would implement many of the recommendations presented by CAHPERD last year in a hearing before the Assembly Committee on Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism, and Internet Media. The expected result of implementing this legislation would be improved transparency and accountability of CIF to the public it serves. They also propose an amendment to specify that CIF shall annually "actively solicit" public comment on their policies and practices. According to CIF, the proposed amendments by CAHPERD are not necessary. CIF complies with the Brown Act and solicits public comment at every section and state meeting. They also solicit input on their website. According to CIF, AB 352 is overbroad in that it does not provide exemptions for records held by CIF which may be privileged and protected from disclosure by the Family Education Privacy Rights Act (FERPA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the California Education Code, and other privacy statutes. Information submitted to the CIF as part of the student eligibility appeal process or personnel matters often includes confidential information that should not be subject to public disclosure pursuant to the Public Records Act. Committee Amendments : If the committee chooses to pass this measure, staff recommends the bill be amended to specify that when CIF complies with Public Record Act requests, CIF should protect the privacy rights of student athletes and school district personnel. AB 352 Page 5 Related legislation . AB 1154 (Strickland) from 2009 requires the California Interscholastic Federation, if it imposes a sanction on an interscholastic team of a member school, to post online the name of the school, the team that has been penalized, the violation that has occasioned the sanction, and a description of the sanction. This bill is set to be heard by the Assembly Education Committee on April 15, 2009. AB 1039 (Strickland) from 2009 authorizes a pupil to appeal a final decision made by the California Interscholastic Federation to suspend or terminate a pupil from participation in a sport for a violation of its codes and regulations; and, requires the county board of education to be the final arbiter in the matter. At the request of the author, the bill is being held in the Assembly Education Committee as a two year bill. Previous legislation . AB 2312 (Strickland) from 2006 would have prohibited school districts, associations or consortia of school districts, the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), voluntary associations, or any other entity that governs interscholastic athletics or activities from prohibiting a pupil who transfers to a school from participating in interscholastic athletics or activities at that school, as specified. The bill failed passage in the Assembly Education Committee. SB 1411 (Ortiz) from 2006 would have allowed students to transfer between high schools and retain varsity athletic eligibility in sports in which the student competed during the previous year. The bill failed passage in the Senate Education Committee. SB 562 (Torlakson), Chapter 301, Statutes of 2005, extended the sunset provisions relating to the California Interscholastic Federation from January 1, 2007 to January 1, 2012. Specified certain reporting requirements and extended, indefinitely, provisions granting authority to the California Department of Education (CDE) to supervise physical education courses. REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support California Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (CAHPERD) AB 352 Page 6 Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087