BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-12 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 13
AUTHOR: Knight
AMENDED: May 11, 2011
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 27, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Beth Graybill
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.
NOTE : This bill was previously heard by this Committee on
June 29, 2011 and
failed passage by a vote of 4-0. The bill was granted
reconsideration.
SUBJECT : Public School Volunteers.
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes a school district, county office of
education, or charter school to request a local law
enforcement agency to conduct a criminal records check of a
prospective nonteaching volunteer; prohibits persons who have
been convicted of certain violent or serious felonies,
specified sex offenses, or felony controlled substances
offenses from serving as a nonteaching volunteer, as
specified; and requires charter schools to comply with
existing fingerprint laws.
BACKGROUND
Existing law provides parents and guardians with certain
rights, including the right to volunteer their time and
resources for the improvement of school facilities and
programs under the direct supervision of district employees,
including but not limited to providing assistance in the
classroom with the approval of and under the direct
supervision of the teacher. In adopting policies that
outline the manner in which parents or guardians, school
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staff, and pupils may share responsibility for the
intellectual, physical, emotional, and social development and
well-being of pupils, school district governing boards must
specify the manner in which the parents and guardians of
pupils may support the learning environment, including
volunteering in their children's classrooms or for other
activities at the school. School districts are specifically
not authorized to permit participation by a parent or
guardian if it conflicts with a valid restraining order,
protective order, or order for custody or visitation issued
by a court of competent jurisdiction. (Education Code §
51101)
Existing law prohibits public and private schools from
employing individuals in non-certificated positions without
first conducting a criminal background check of the
individual. Existing law also provides that employees of
entities that provide certain contracted services to school
districts who may come into contact with pupils to be
fingerprinted and prohibits employees of those entities from
coming into contact with pupils if they have been convicted
of a serious or violent felony.
(EC § 45125 and § 45125.1)
Under existing law, a school district or county office of
education (COE) may request that a local law enforcement
agency conduct an automated records check of a prospective
nonteaching volunteer aide in order to ascertain whether the
individual has been convicted of any sex offense as defined
in Section 44010. If the local law enforcement agency agrees
to provide that automatic record check, the results therefrom
must be returned to the requesting district or COE within 72
hours of the written request. (EC § 35021.1)
Under existing law, sex offender registrants whose sex crime
was against a victim under age 16 are prohibited by law from
working, as an employee or volunteer, with minors, if the
registrant would be working with minors directly and in an
unaccompanied setting on more than an incidental or
occasional basis or would have supervisory or disciplinary
power over the child. If the registrant's crime was not
against a victim under age 16, the registrant must notify the
employer or volunteer organization of his status as a
registrant. Failure to comply with this law is a misdemeanor
offense. (Penal Code §290.95)
Current law specifies when a school district or COE requests
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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 that the
DOJ shall comply with that request. (EC § 35021.2)
Existing law prohibits the governing board of a school
district from employing or retaining in employment the
following persons:
Persons who have been convicted of a violent or serious
felony unless the person has obtained a certificate of
rehabilitation and pardon.
(EC § 45122.1)
Persons who have been convicted of specified sex
offenses unless the conviction was reversed, the person
was acquitted, or the conviction was dismissed pursuant
to Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code.<1> (EC § 44836)
Persons who have been convicted of specified drug
offenses unless the conviction is reversed, the person
is acquitted, or the charges are dismissed. (EC §
44836)
Existing law requires individuals assuming a paid or
volunteer position to supervise, direct, or coach a pupil
activity program sponsored by a school district to obtain an
Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate from the Commission
on Teacher Credentialing (who conducts a criminal background
check prior to issuing the certificate). (EC § 49024)
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Authorizes a school district, county office of
education, or charter school to request a local law
enforcement agency to conduct an automated records check
of a prospective nonteaching volunteer aide (NTVA) in
order to ascertain whether the individual has been
convicted of a specified sex offense, a specified felony
--------------------------
<1> Penal Code § 1203.4 provides a process by which
individuals as specified, who have fulfilled the conditions
of their probation or been discharged prior to the
termination of the period of probation, may petition the
court for a dismissal of the accusations.
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controlled substance offense that involves a minor, or a
violent or serious felony, as specified.
2) Specifies that a person who would be prohibited from
employment or retention in employment due to conviction
of a sex offense or violent or serious felony under
Education Code Sections 44836 or 45122.1 shall be
prohibited from serving as a NTVA. Specifies however,
that a person who has been convicted of a violent or
serious felony under Education Code Section 45122.1
shall not be prohibited, solely because of that
conviction, from serving as a NTVA five years after the
date of that conviction.
3) Specifies that a person who has been convicted of a
felony controlled substance offense that involves a
minor as specified in Section 11353, 11353.1, 11353.4,
11353.5, 11353.7, 11354, 11361, 11379.7, 11380, or
11380.1 of or subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 11353.6
of the Health and Safety Code or who has been convicted
of a controlled substance offense that involves a minor
in another state that would be classified as a felony
controlled substance offense under those same
provisions, shall be prohibited from serving as a NTVA.
Specifies however, that a person who has been convicted
of these offenses shall not be prohibited, solely
because of that conviction, from serving as a NTVA five
years after the date of that conviction.
4) Requires charter schools to comply with existing law
that prohibits school districts from employing or
retaining in employment, persons in public school
service who have been convicted of certain sex,
controlled substance, or serious or violent offenses,
and requires charter schools to comply with provisions
regarding fingerprinting for pupil activity supervisors.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill : According to the author, many school
districts routinely require volunteers to undergo a
criminal background screening in order to ensure the
safety of their pupils. Yet when the individual
screened is a parent and the screening reveals
convictions for offenses that would otherwise prohibit
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the district from employing the individual, a district
may find it difficult to turn down the parent because
current law specifies that parents and guardians have
the right to volunteer. By prohibiting individuals who
have been convicted of certain crimes within the
previous five years from volunteering, this bill gives
school districts and charter schools that choose to
conduct criminal background checks the statutory
authority to preclude an individual from volunteering at
a school within the district.
2) Automated records check . The California Department of
Justice (DOJ) provides an automated service for criminal
history background checks that may be required as a
condition of employment, licensing, certification,
foreign adoptions, or VISA/Immigration clearances. The
Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) system is
based on fingerprints that are transmitted digitally to
the DOJ. According to the DOJ, because this bill
authorizes the automated records check to be conducted
by local law enforcement agencies, the criminal history
check would likely be additional criminal history name
searches accomplished through the California Law
Enforcement Telecommunications Report (CLETS). The
CLETS is a non-fingerprint based system that provides
all criminal history (not just the offenses specified in
this bill). Could a name-based records review result in
the disqualification of a parent due to mistaken
identity? Could this requirement create an extra burden
for local law enforcement agencies that would have to
review the records in order to disclose only the
convictions specified in this bill? Since school
districts already have the authority to conduct criminal
background checks on volunteers, is the authority
provided in this bill necessary?
3) Protecting children . The Legislature has repeatedly
established high "fitness" standards for individuals who
work near and around vulnerable populations, including
children. Several sections of the Education code
prohibit individuals convicted of certain crimes from
being employed by school districts. Although volunteers
tend to have limited contact with children and serve
under the direction and supervision of teachers and
other school employees, it is unclear whether that
limited contact implies minimal risk to pupils. Many
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districts "err on the side of caution" and require
parent volunteers and other NTVAs to undergo a criminal
background check prior to engaging in volunteer service
in the district.
This bill prohibits individuals with certain convictions from
volunteering in schools for five years after the date of
that conviction. To the extent that this bill
establishes criminal "fitness" requirements for
volunteers that are similar to those that already exist
for school employees, this bill could strengthen the
ability of schools to create and maintain a safe
learning environment for their pupils. The author's
office maintains that the bill is necessary because
"districts can't prevent interested parents with a
criminal background from volunteering no matter how
serious their criminal convictions or how recent those
convictions may be without running the risk of getting
sued." However, opponents argue that this bill will
prevent many parents, especially mothers, from
participating in school activities during a critical
time in their children's lives. Under current law,
school districts have the discretion to conduct criminal
background checks and determine how much or how little
time is needed by volunteers. Under this measure, in
districts that do not require parent volunteers to be
screened, a parent who has been convicted of any of the
specified crimes could still be a volunteer. Could the
prohibitions imposed by this bill limit the flexibility
of school districts to determine their own conditions
and opportunities for volunteer service?
4) Impact on families . A June 2010 Research Brief
published by the University of California Los Angeles
Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access indicates
that although there is very little difference across
racial groups in reported use of illicit drugs, African
Americans are several times more likely than whites to
have been arrested and convicted of a drug offense.
Opponents contend that in some communities, AB 13 would
exclude a disproportionate number of individuals from
volunteering and make it difficult for parents with past
drug convictions to help out in classrooms or attend
school field trips. Although amendments taken in the
Assembly Education Committee limit the volunteering
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prohibition to the first five years following the
conviction, opponents maintain that the five-year "wash
out" would still prevent many parents from participating
in their children's education.
5) Related and prior legislation . This bill is similar to
AB 2034 (Knight, 2010) which also would have prohibited
school districts, county offices of education,
or charter schools that elect to screen volunteers from
allowing individuals who have been convicted of specific
violent, sex, or drug offenses to volunteer. This bill
failed passage in this Committee on a 0-3 vote.
AB 1025 (Conway, Chapter 379, Statutes of 2009)
authorizes the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC)
to issue an Activity Supervisor Clearance Certificate to
non-credentialed individuals, in a paid or volunteer
capacity, to supervise or coach a pupil activity
program.
SUPPORT
Antelope Valley Union High School District
California Police Chiefs Association
California School Employees Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Child Abuse Prevention Center
Keppel Union School District
Monrovia Unified School District Superintendent of Schools
Palmdale School District
Peace Officers Research Association of California
United Teachers Los Angeles
OPPOSITION
American Civil Liberties Union
Bay Area Parent Leadership Action Network
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
Community Work West
Drug Policy Alliance
East Bay Community Law Center
Ella Baker Center
Equal Justice Society
Fair Chance Project
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
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Justice Now
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
National Employment Law Project
Public Advocates
The American Civil Liberties Union
Letters from individuals