BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 13
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 4, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 13 (Knight) - As Amended: March 24, 2011
SUBJECT : Public school volunteers.
SUMMARY : Prohibits school districts, county offices of
education (COEs), or charter schools that elect to fingerprint
volunteers from allowing individuals who have been convicted of
specific sex, felony drug or violent offenses to volunteer in
schools, and requires charter schools to comply with existing
fingerprinting laws. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that any person who would be prohibited from
employment in a school district due to a conviction of a sex,
felony drug or violent offense shall also be prohibited from
serving as a nonteaching volunteer aide (NTVA) at a district,
COE, or a charter school.
2)Requires charter schools to comply with existing employment
prohibitions due to convictions of sex, drug or violent
offenses; and, requires charter schools to comply with
provisions regarding fingerprinting for pupil activity
supervisors.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Specifies, notwithstanding any other law, that any person,
except a person required to register as a sex offender, may be
permitted by the governing board of any school district to
perform the duties related to supervising pupils during
breakfast, lunch or other nutrition period, or to serve as a
NTVA under the immediate supervision and direction of the
certificated personnel of the district to perform
non-instructional work which serves to assist the certificated
personnel in performance of teaching and administrative
responsibilities. (Education Code 35021)
2)Specifies that a school district or county office of education
may request that a local law enforcement agency conduct an
automated records check of a prospective NTVA in order to
ascertain whether the prospective NTVA has been convicted of
any sex offense as defined in Section 44010. A plea or verdict
AB 13
Page 2
of guilty, a finding of guilt by a court in a trial without
jury, or a conviction following a plea of nolo contendere
shall be deemed to be a conviction within the meaning of this
section. If the local law enforcement agency agrees to provide
that automated records check, the results therefrom shall be
returned to the requesting district or county office of
education within 72 hours of the written request. A local law
enforcement agency may charge a fee to the requesting agency
not to exceed the actual expense to the law enforcement
agency. (Education Code 35021.1)
3)Specifies when a school district or COE requests from the
Department of Justice (DOJ) records involving criminal
offenses committed by a prospective volunteer, the school
district or COE may request that the DOJ provide subsequent
arrest notification service and specifies the DOJ shall comply
with such a request. (Education Code 35021.2)
4)Specifies that parents and guardians of pupils enrolled in
public schools have the right and should have the opportunity
to participate in the education of their children, including
but not limited to, by volunteering their time and resources
for the improvement of school facilities and school programs
under the supervision of district employees, including, but
not limited to, providing assistance in the classroom with the
approval, and under the direct supervision, of the teacher.
(Education Code 51101)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, for a substantially similar measure, minor absorbable
costs to school districts, COEs, and charter schools that choose
to conduct an automated records check of NTVAs, as specified.
Current law authorizes school districts to conduct a check for
sex offenses. In most cases, the NTVA pays all or part of the
automated records check fee. It costs approximately $32 to the
DOJ, and $19 to the Federal Bureau of Investigations to cover
the costs of fingerprinting and the background check. Potential
one-time General Fund/Proposition 98 (GF/98) cost pressure to
charter schools, likely less than $100,000, to develop initial
systems to ensure employees and paid volunteers serving in a
coaching capacity comply with automated record checks. In most
cases, individuals pay all or part of the automated records
check fee, as referenced above. According to a May 2006
decision by the Commission on State Mandates (CSM), charter
schools are not eligible to claim mandate reimbursements. In
AB 13
Page 3
denying charter schools' mandate claims, the CSM repeatedly
cites the fact that charter schools are "voluntarily" created.
COMMENTS : Background regarding Nonteaching Volunteer Aides
(NTVA) . NTVAs are under the immediate supervision and direction
of certificated personnel of a district and are generally
parents who choose to volunteer in their child's classroom, in
the school office, or for school field trips. Current law
authorizes any individual to volunteer in school districts,
unless that individual is a registered sex offender. Current
law also authorizes school districts to fingerprint NTVAs to
ascertain whether the prospective volunteer has been convicted
of certain sex offenses that would prohibit employment of that
individual by the school district. In practice, many school
districts require volunteers to be fingerprinted; however, there
is no state statutory requirement for districts to do so.
The intent of this bill is to prohibit districts from allowing
individuals from volunteering in schools, if the district
chooses to fingerprint them, and finds that they have been
convicted of the same sex, felony drug and violent/serious
offenses that would prohibit that person from otherwise being
employed by the school district.
According to the author, local school districts have reported
instances where parents of students and other individuals will
offer to volunteer in their child's classroom, on field trips
and/or for other district activities. However, when the
district has run their fingerprints, the DOJ report comes back
showing convictions for offenses that would prohibit the
district, under current law, from employing them but does not
prohibit them from volunteering. While school districts want to
encourage parents to participate in their children's education,
they must at the end of the day ensure the safety of all
students, staff and other district visitors.
Employment Prohibition . Several sections of the Education code
currently deal with criminal offenses that prohibit individuals
from being employed by school districts. Section 45122.1 of the
Education code lists specific felonies and misdemeanors and
violent/serious felonies that prohibit classified staff from
being employed by school districts. Section 44010 of the
Education code lists specified sex offenses and Section 44011
lists controlled substance offenses. Both Section 44010 and
44011 are included in Section 44836, which prohibits anyone
AB 13
Page 4
convicted of these offenses from being employed by a school
district. Individuals who are convicted of these offenses,
except those that require the applicant to register as a sex
offender, become eligible for school district employment if they
obtain an expungement pursuant to Section 1203.4 of the Penal
Code. By referencing these same employment code sections, NTVAs
will also be provided the same opportunity to expunge their
record under Section 1203.4.
Convictions in the Past . This bill prohibits individuals with
certain convictions from volunteering in schools, without regard
to how long ago those convictions took place. For example, an
individual could have been convicted of selling heroin 15 years
ago, and despite any personal rehabilitation that person has
undergone, they would still be prohibited from volunteering at a
school. The committee should consider whether a time limit
should be included in the bill for drug offense convictions.
This bill also prohibits individuals with certain serious and
violent felony convictions from volunteering in schools. These
serious or violent felonies include, but are not limited to:
conspiracy to commit a crime, arson, first degree burglary,
assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, firefighter,
public transit employee, custodial officer or school employee,
use of weapons of mass destruction, shooting from a vehicle,
detonating an explosive device. The committee should consider
whether individuals convicted of these crimes should be
prohibited from volunteering in schools indefinitely, or if a
time limit should be included in the bill for serious and
violent felonies.
Crimes Involving Children . Some of the felony drug offenses
included in the bill involve children, such as drug sales on a
school ground, or drug sales involving a minor child. The
committee should consider whether these offenses should be
treated differently than drug offenses that do not involve
children or school facilities.
Arguments in Support : According to the California School
Employees Association, "Conforming safeguards regarding
volunteers to those that already exist for employees, as well as
ensuring that such protections apply to charter schools, will
ensure the safety of all students, staff and volunteers in
California's public schools."
AB 13
Page 5
Arguments in Opposition : According to Public Advocates, East
Bay Community Law Center, Legal Services for Prisoners with
Children, American Civil Liberties Union, Bay Area Parent
Leadership Action Network and the National Employment Law
Project, "AB 13 would prohibit parents and other community
volunteers from helping out in classrooms and on school field
trips if they have certain drug or any "serious and violent
felony" convictions. As currently written, regardless of
whether the past conviction occurred more than 10, 20, or even
30 years ago, AB 13 will bar parents from meaningful
participation in their children's education. Excluding people
with past drug and other serious convictions from volunteering
will disparately impact low-income communities and communities
of color because of the racial disparities in the criminal
justice system. In fact, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
prohibits blanket bans against hiring people with past
convictions because of the racially disparate effect of such
bans."
Committee Amendments : Staff recommends the bill be amended to
remove the felony drug offenses that do not involve minors, from
the volunteer prohibition. Staff recommends the bill also be
amended to authorize individuals to volunteer in schools who
have been convicted of felony drug offenses that involve minors
and violent/serious offenses, when those convictions occurred
more than 5 years in the past. This will provide a 5-year
"wash-out" for individuals convicted of felony drug offenses
involving minors and violent/serious offenses and allow them to
volunteer in schools after 5-years has elapsed from the
conviction.
Related legislation : AB 2034 (Knight), which failed passage in
the Senate Education Committee, would have prohibited school
districts, COEs, or charter schools that elect to fingerprint
volunteers from allowing individuals who have been convicted of
specific sex, drug or violent offenses to volunteer in schools,
and required charter schools to comply with existing
fingerprinting laws.
AB 346 (Conway) Chapter 52, Statutes of 2010, made changes to
the requirements for the Activity Supervisor Clearance
Certificate (ASCC).
AB 1025 (Conway) Chapter 379, Statutes of 2009, authorizes the
Commission on Teacher Credentialing to issue an ASCC to allow
AB 13
Page 6
non-credentialed individuals, in a paid or volunteer capacity,
to supervise or coach a pupil activity program.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Police Chiefs Association
California School Employees Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Child Abuse Prevention Center
United Teachers Los Angeles
Opposition
American Civil Liberties Union
Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
Drug Policy Alliance
East Bay Community Law Center
Equal Justice Society
Fair Chance Project
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Justice Now
Legal Services for Children
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
National Employment Law Project
Public Advocates
Stanford Community Law Clinic
Transgender Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project
Numerous Individuals
Analysis Prepared by : Chelsea Kelley / ED. / (916) 319-2087