BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 1390
AUTHOR: Blumenfield
AMENDED: June 1, 2009
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: July 1, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Lynn Lorber
NOTE: This bill has been referred to the Committees on
Education and Public Safety. A "do pass" motion should
include referral to the Committee on Public Safety.
SUBJECT : School security and police departments: report to
law enforcement.
SUMMARY
This bill expands requirements for K-12 school personnel to
report to law enforcement when suspecting that a pupil has
committed certain crimes, to include 1) school security or
school police departments, 2) additional offenses, 3)
non-pupils.
BACKGROUND
Current law authorizes any school district to:
1) Establish a security department under the supervision
of a chief of security or a police department under
the supervision of a chief of police. Current law
further delineates minimum qualifications and
conditions of employment, such training approved by
the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training
relating directly to the role of school police reserve
officers.
2) Employ personnel to ensure the safety of school
district personnel and pupils and the security of the
real and personal property of the school district.
3) Assign a school police reserve officer who is
deputized to a schoolsite to supplement the duties of
school police personnel. Current law states
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legislative intent that a school district police or
security department is supplementary to city and
county law enforcement agencies and is not vested with
general police powers.
Current law also:
1) Requires the principal of a school or the principal's
designee to notify the appropriate law enforcement
authorities of the county or city in which the school
is situated of any acts a pupil may have violated, as
follows:
a) Assault with a deadly weapon likely to
result in great bodily injury. Notification is
to occur prior to the suspension or expulsion.
b) Possession, use, selling of a controlled
substance, within one schoolday after suspension
or expulsion.
c) Offering, arranging or negotiating to sell a
controlled substance, alcohol or any intoxicant,
within one schoolday after suspension or
expulsion.
d) Acts that may involve possession or sale of
a controlled substance, a violation of the Gun
Free Zone (within 1,000 of a school), or
possession of a dirk, dagger, ice pick, knife
with a blade over 2 inches, folding knife,
razor, taser, stun gun, BB or pellet gun, or spot
marker gun.
2) Imposes a maximum fine of $500 for willful failure to
report any violations described above, to be paid by
the principal or principal's designee who is
responsible for the failure.
3) Provides that a principal, the principal's designee,
or any other person reporting a known or suspected act
described above is not civilly or criminally liable as
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a result of making the report unless it can be proven
that a false report was made deliberately.
4) Requires the principal or the principal's designee
reporting a criminal act committed by a schoolage
individual with exceptional needs to ensure that
copies of the special education and disciplinary
records of the pupil are transmitted (to the extent
permitted by the federal Family Educational Rights and
Privacy Act) for consideration by the appropriate
authorities to whom he or she reports the criminal
activity.
ANALYSIS
This bill expands requirements for K-12 school personnel to
report to law enforcement when suspecting that a pupil has
committed certain offenses, to include 1) school security
or school police departments, 2) additional offenses, 3)
non-pupils. Specifically, this bill:
1) Requires a school security department or school police
department to notify the appropriate county or city
law enforcement authorities having
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jurisdiction where the incident occurred, if a pupil
or non-pupil on a schoolsite committed any of the
following:
a) Possessing, selling, or furnishing a
firearm.
b) Possession of an explosive.
2) Requires the notification to be made within 24 hours
of the act.
3) Requires the notification to be made electronically.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Offenses added by this bill . Current law requires the
immediate suspension and recommended expulsion of a
pupil that the principal or superintendent determines
has committed either of the acts added by this bill at
school or at a school activity off school grounds.
2) Suspected violations . Current law requires school
principals to notify law enforcement about acts of a
pupil may have violated law. This bill requires
school security or police to notify law enforcement
about acts committed by a pupil or non-pupil. Staff
recommends an amendment to instead indicate that the
pupil may have violated the provisions specified in
this bill.
3) Principal vs. security . While it is conceivable that
a school principal would designate school security or
police to notify law enforcement pursuant to current
law, is it unclear why this bill does not specifically
allow school security or police to notify law
enforcement for offenses listed in current law. Why
should school principals or the principal's designee
report some offenses but school security or police
report others?
Additionally, current law imposes a maximum fine of $500
for willful failure to report any violations described
above, to be paid by the principal or principal's
designee who is responsible for the failure.
Shouldn't school security or police be subject to the
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same penalty?
Further, current law requires the principal or the
principal's designee reporting a criminal act
committed by a schoolage individual with exceptional
needs to ensure that copies of the special education
and disciplinary records of the pupil are transmitted.
Should school security or police be subject to the
same requirement?
4) Fiscal impact . According to the Assembly Floor
analysis, the Assembly Appropriations Committee
believes this bill would impose annual increased
General Fund (Prop 98) state reimbursable mandated
costs, likely approximately $75,000 statewide.
SUPPORT
Crime Victims United of California
OPPOSITION
None received.