BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 414
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 30, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 414 (Carter) - As Amended: March 14, 2011
SUBJECT : Pupils: homework assignments for suspended pupils
SUMMARY : Provides that upon the request of a parent, legal
guardian, or the affected pupil, a teacher shall provide
appropriate homework to a pupil in any of grades 4 to 8,
inclusive, who has been suspended from school for three
schooldays or less. Expresses the intent of the Legislature to
ensure that pupils in grades 4 to 8, inclusive, who are
suspended for three days or less do not fall behind in class
assignments or homework. Specifies that it is not the intent of
the Legislature to require teachers to correct classroom
assignments or homework missed while a pupil is suspended or to
add any additional burden on teachers with respect to their
workload.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that a pupil may be suspended or expelled for
committing any of the following offenses:
a) Causing, attempting to cause, or threatening to cause
physical injury to another person; or willfully using force
or violence upon another person, except in self-defense;
b) Possessing, selling, or otherwise furnishing a firearm,
knife, explosive, or other dangerous object;
c) Unlawfully possessing, using, or selling a controlled
substance;
d) Unlawfully offering, arranging or negotiating to sell a
controlled substance;
e) Committing or attempting to commit robbery or extortion;
f) Causing or attempting to cause damage to school property
or private property;
g) Stealing or attempting to steal school property or
private property;
h) Possessing or using tobacco, or products containing
tobacco or nicotine products;
i) Committing an obscene act or engaging in habitual
profanity or vulgarity;
j) Unlawfully possessing or unlawfully offering, arranging
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or negotiating to sell drug paraphernalia;
aa) Disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully
defying the authority of supervisors, teachers,
administrators, school officials or other school personnel
engaged in the performance of their duties;
bb) Knowingly receive stolen school property or private
property;
cc) Possessing an imitation firearm;
dd) Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault;
ee) Harassing, threatening or intimidating a pupil who is a
complaining witness or a witness in a school disciplinary
proceeding in order to prevent the pupil from being a
witness or retaliating against that pupil for being a
witness, or both;
ff) Unlawfully offering, arranging to sell, or negotiating
to sell the prescription drug Soma;
gg) Engaging in or attempting to engage in hazing;
hh) Engaging in the act of bullying, including, but not
limited to, bullying committed by means of an electronic
act;
ii) Committing sexual harassment (grades 4 through 12 only);
jj) Causing or attempting to cause hate violence (grades 4
through 12 only);
aaa) Engaging in harassment, threats, or intimidation against
school district personnel or pupils that have the effect of
disrupting classwork, creating substantial disorder and
invading the rights of either school personnel or pupils by
creating an intimidating or hostile educational environment
(grades 4 through 12 only); and
bbb) Making a terroristic threat against school officials or
school property, or both.
2)Provides that a suspension shall only be imposed when other
means of correction fail to bring about proper conduct.
3)Provides that as part of or instead of disciplinary action, a
principal, a principal's designee, a superintendent of school,
or a governing board may require a pupil to perform community
service on school grounds, or with written permission of the
parents or guardians, off school grounds, during the pupil's
nonschool hours.
4)Provides that a pupil may be assigned to a supervised
suspension classroom if the pupil poses no imminent danger or
threat to the campus, pupils or staff and authorizes the
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school to continue to claim apportionment for the pupil if the
classroom is staffed and enables the pupil to complete
schoolwork and tests missed by the pupil during the
suspension. Requires the pupil to contact his or her
teacher(s) to receive the assignments and requires the
teacher(s) to provide all assignments and tests the pupil will
miss while suspended.
5)Provides that a teacher of any class from which a pupil is
suspended may require the suspended pupil to complete any
assignments and tests missed during the suspension.
6)Provides that a suspension may be made by a teacher, a
principal or a principal's designee, a superintendent of
schools or a governing board. Requires a conference to be
held between the pupil, his or her parents or guardians,
teacher, principal or principal's designee, or superintendent
regarding the suspension.
7)Provides that a principal shall not suspend a pupil from
school for more than five consecutive days and the total
number of days for which a pupil may be suspended from school
shall not exceed 20 schooldays in any school year.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Background . A pupil can be suspended or expelled for
any of the offenses specified by law. Under current law, a
principal may suspend a pupil for five consecutive days, but may
appeal to the district superintendent for additional days. The
total number of days of suspension can be no more than 20 days
in a school year. Current law also allows a school to assign a
pupil to a supervised suspension classroom that enables a pupil
to complete assignments and tests that will be missed by the
pupil during the suspension. A teacher who suspends a pupil
from his/her classroom is authorized, but is not required, to
require the pupil to complete all assignments and tests missed
during the suspension. This bill requires a teacher to provide
appropriate homework to a pupil in grades fourth through eighth
who has been suspended from school for three schooldays or less
when the request is made by a parent, legal guardian or the
suspended pupil. The bill also expresses legislative intent not
to require teachers to correct classroom assignments or homework
missed while a pupil is suspended or to add any additional
burden on teachers with respect to their workload.
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Statewide, 782,692 out of 6.2 million enrolled students were
suspended in 2008-09, and 757,045 out of 6.1 million students in
2009-10. Suspension data disaggregated by grades is not
available.
Why just grades four through eight ? Some studies have shown
that the suspension rate is higher for pupils in middle and high
schools. The author believes that if students are "caught early
enough we can perhaps give more students hope and the
opportunity of success that education brings."
Why target suspensions of three days or less ? The author
indicates that the reason for this provision is to target those
pupils with less severe problems or those that are just
beginning to show signs of behavioral problems in an effort to
keep them from falling behind.
The author further argues that African American and Latino
students are disproportionately suspended and thus most at risk
of falling behind and dropping out. Research by the University
of California, Santa Barbara's California Dropout Research
Project show that each cohort of 120,000 20-year-olds who drops
out of school costs the state $46.4 billion in total economic
losses (loss of state and local tax revenues and expenditures
for health, crime and public assistance benefits). The state
benefits by preventing kids from falling behind in school.
Purpose of the bill . The author states, "By affording suspended
students the opportunity to review and complete class
assignments while fulfilling their disciplinary obligations
students will be held accountable for the work they missed while
suspended. AB 414 also provides parents the opportunity to take
a much more active role in the discipline of their child."
Suggested amendments :
1)Add "other persons holding the right to make educational
decisions for the pupil" to the list of individuals authorized
to request homework. This would cover foster kids.
2)Allow requests for "missed assignments". This would cover
class work missed while pupil is suspended.
Prior Related Legislation . AB 2656 (Brownley), introduced in
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2008, requires a pupil who has been suspended from school to
complete all in-class assignments, tests, and homework he or she
missed while suspended from school. The bill was held in the
Assembly Appropriations Committee Suspense file.
SB 1004 (Margett) would have required a school district to adopt
a policy with respect to assignments and homework for suspended
pupils. The bill was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005
with a statement that the bill was unnecessary because nothing
prohibits a school district from adopting such policy.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087