BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 2685|
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                                    CONSENT


          Bill No:  AB 2685
          Author:   De La Torre (D)
          Amended:  5/10/10 in Assembly
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE  :  6-0, 6/23/10
          AYES:  Romero, Huff, Alquist, Emmerson, Liu, Price
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Hancock, Simitian, Wyland

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  70-0, 5/24/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Charter schools:  criminal background of  
          employees and 
                      volunteers

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill requires the Commission on Teacher  
          Credentialing to make available to each private school, a  
          listing of all credential holders who have had final  
          adverse action taken against their credential.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law requires the Commission on  
          Teacher Credentialing (CTC) to send on a monthly basis to  
          each private school a list of all teachers who have had  
          their state teaching credential revoked or suspended.  The  
          list shall be identical to the list compiled for public  
          schools in the state.
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          This bill requires the CTC to make a listing of credential  
          holders who have had fin al adverse action taken against  
          their credential available to private schools.

           Comments

           The CTC issues an "All Points Bulletin" (APB) to Chief  
          State School Officers, County and District Superintendents  
          of Schools, Deans of Education, and California private  
          schools.  The APB lists current adverse actions taken by  
          the CTC against applicants and credential holders following  
          the CTC's final action.  Due to costs associated with  
          printing and mailing a "hard copy" of this list via the  
          U.S. Mail, the CTC has, since June 1, 2005, distributed the  
          APB on a monthly basis via encrypted electronic mail.  This  
          bill amends current law to conform to the CTC's current  
          practice of making the list available in electronic form  
          and expands the language to include all credential holders  
          (not just teachers), also consistent with the current CTC  
          practice.

          The CTC is currently planning to develop a secure database  
          and Internet Web site that would enable the CTC to update  
          the APB in real time so that APB information can be  
          accessed at anytime by prospective employers including  
          private schools.  The CTC anticipates this project will be  
          functional by August 2011.  By directing the CTC to "make  
          available" the APB, this bill will allow the CTC to  
          transition to the new database format and remain in  
          compliance with state law.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/2/10)

          California Association of Private School Organizations
          California State Sheriffs' Association
          Commission on Teacher Credentialing
          Crime Victims United of California
          Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
          The Child Abuse Prevention Center








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           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    In support, the California State  
          Sheriffs' Association writes "?is a practical way to ensure  
          anyone interfacing or making decisions about the fate of  
          California's children has passed a criminal background  
          check."

          According to the Crime Victims United of California, "This  
          measure will help to ensure that all schools, public and  
          private, have the tools to effectively identify teachers  
          and administrators whom threaten the safety of our children  
          by ensuring parity of protections for students not just in  
          public schools but also in private schools."


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,  
            Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Carter, Chesbro,  
            Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,  
            Emmerson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller,  
            Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,  
            Harkey, Hayashi, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,  
            Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller,  
            Monning, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel  
            Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner, Smyth,  
            Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,  
            Torrico, Tran, Yamada, John A. Perez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Bass, Charles Calderon, Evans, Hall,  
            Hernandez, Knight, Nava, Saldana, Villines, Vacancy


          CPM:cm  8/3/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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