BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 614
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 27, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
AB 614 (Bonilla) - As Amended: March 25, 2011
SUBJECT : School attendance review boards: member composition
SUMMARY : Authorizes, instead of requires, the membership of a
county school attendance review board (SARB) to be comprised of
specified members. Authorizes the county and local SARBs to
include a representative of school, county, or community mental
health personnel.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires that each person between the ages of 6 and 18 years,
not otherwise exempted, be subject to compulsory full-time
education and attend the public full-time day school or
continuation school or classes in which their parent or
guardian resides, and that each parent, guardian or other
person having control or charge of the pupil ensure that
pupils enrollment and attendance.
2)Defines a "truant" as any pupil subject to compulsory
full-time education or to compulsory continuation education
who is absent from school without a valid excuse three full
days in one school year or tardy or absent for more than any
30-minute period during the schoolday without a valid excuse
on three occasions in one school year, or any combination
thereof.
3)Requires a school district, upon a pupil's initial
classification as a truant, to notify the pupil's parent or
guardian that:
a) The pupil is:
i) Truant.
ii) May be subject to prosecution.
iii) May be subject to suspension, restriction, or delay
of the pupil's driving privilege.
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b) The parent or guardian:
i) Is obligated to compel the attendance of the pupil
at school.
ii) May be guilty of an infraction and subject to
prosecution, if they fail to meet this obligation.
iii) Has the right to meet with appropriate school
personnel to discuss solutions to the pupil's truancy
c) Alternative educational programs are available in the
district.
d) It is recommended that the parent or guardian accompany
the pupil to school and attend classes with the pupil for
one day.
4)Defines a "habitual truant" as any pupil who has been reported
as a truant three or more times per school year (absent or
tardy at least three days), where an appropriate district
officer or employee had made a conscientious effort to hold at
least one conference with a parent and the pupil, after the
filing of either a truancy report to the attendance supervisor
or district superintendent.
5)Establishes a School Attendance Review Board (SARB) at the
local and county level to create a safety net for students
with persistent attendance or behavior problems, keep students
in school, provide students with a meaningful educational
experience, and refer students and their parents or guardians
to court when necessary.
6)Requires the county SARB and authorizes the local SARB to
include, but need not be limited to, specified members
representing parents, local educational agencies, law
enforcement officials and county and community service
providers.
7)Authorizes a habitually truant pupil to be referred to a SARB
or to the probation department for services and authorizes a
SARB or probation officer to direct the pupil or pupil's
parents to make use of those services, if it is determined
that available community services can resolve the problem.
8)Authorizes a SARB to notify the district attorney or probation
officer, if it is determined that services cannot solve the
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problem, or if the pupil and/or parent have failed to respond
to directives.
FISCAL EFFECT : This bill is keyed non-fiscal.
COMMENTS : Background . California's compulsory education law
requires all students between the ages of six and 18 to attend
school full-time and their parents and legal guardians to be
responsible for ensuring that children attend school. A student
who is absent from school without a valid excuse for more than
30 minutes on three days in a school year is considered a
truant. Parents or legal guardians are notified when their
children has been classified as a truant and are reminded of
their obligation to compel the attendance of pupils at school.
Upon a pupil's third truancy in a school year and following a
district's conscientious effort to hold a conference with the
parent or legal guardian of the pupil and the pupil, a pupil is
classified as a habitual truant and may be referred to a SARB or
to the local probation officer.
California established a SARB process over 30 years ago to
provide intensive guidance and coordinated community services to
meet the needs of students with school attendance or school
behavior problems in an effort to prevent a student from
dropping out of school. Existing law states the intent of the
Legislature to authorize the use of intensive guidance and
coordinated community services for this process. There are
three types of SARBs. A county superintendent of schools may
convene a county SARB. A county SARB or a local school district
governing board located in areas where there is not a county
SARB may authorize the establishment of one or more local SARBs.
Some areas of the state have both county and local SARBs while,
in other areas, a county or regional local SARB provides
services to multiple school districts. The Superintendent of
Public Instruction is required to coordinate and administer a
state SARB to encourage the cooperation, coordination and
development of strategies to support county SARBs in carrying
out their responsibilities to establish local SARBs, which may
include training of SARB personnel.
SARBs meet with referred pupils and their parents/legal
guardians to assess their personal and family situations that
may cause pupils to be tardy or absent from school on a regular
basis and identify community/public resources that may help
pupils improve their attendance in school. As noted by the
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author, "Schools, with the use of SARBs, seek to understand the
factors or barriers preventing students from attending school -
such as lack of health care, poor transportation, fears of
community violence, bullying by other children, boredom with the
curriculum or lack of safety in the classroom. SARBs can use
this information to determine how to proceed, especially by
working with families and in partnership with community agencies
that offer relevant resources."
There is no statewide data or report on local and county SARBs.
However, anecdotally, county offices of education have found
SARBs to be an important intervention. For example, in Los
Angeles county, the Los Angeles County Office of Education
reports that in 2009-10, of the 4,310 cases that were referred
to local SARBs, 2,936 or 68% of pupils improved their
attendance, defined as a student who increases his/her
attendance at least 50% following a referral to a SARB. The Los
Angeles County SARB does not hear cases and instead serves in an
advisory role and provides technical assistance to 48 local
SARBs.
Existing law requires county SARBs, but authorizes local SARB to
include, but need not be limited to, specified members from
school, local law enforcement, and community and county service
agencies, as follows:
1. A parent
2. A representative of school districts
3. A representative of county probation department
4. A representative of county welfare department
5. A representative of county superintendent of schools
6. A representative of law enforcement agencies
7. A representative of community-based youth service
centers
8. A representative of school guidance personnel
9. A representative of child welfare and attendance
personnel
10. A representative of school or county health care
personnel
This bill authorizes, rather than requires, county SARBs to be
comprised of the aforementioned members and adds a
representative of school, county, or community mental health
personnel as possible members of county and local SARBs.
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According to the California Department of Education (CDE), when
SARBs were instituted over 30 years ago, county SARBs received
funding from the state, and the Legislature, at the time, felt
that it could mandate the composition if funds are provided for
this purpose. Due to budget constraints, county SARBs have not
received funding for 20 years. Some county SARBs have been
eliminated as result of the loss of funding. According to the
author's staff, the Legislative Counsel has opined that since
county SARBs are permissive, the composition is also permissive,
despite the requirement specified in law.
Committee staff notes that if the composition is not required,
it is possible for a SARB to be comprised of representatives
that skew towards one perspective (e.g., law enforcement focus
or social welfare focus). According to the CDE, successful
SARBs are those that will relay a strong enforcement directive
to convey a serious message about compulsory education laws
while ensuring that the pupil and his/her family have access to
resources/services to address problems and challenges that
inhibit a pupil from attending and arriving to school on time.
Staff recommends maintaining the composition of the membership
as a requirement.
According to the author's office, the rationale for adding a
mental health representative to the SARB membership is to help
SARBs effectively identify mental health issues of students and
recommend appropriate resources. While the membership of SARBs
are permissible under statute, the author notes that statute
already identifies representatives from county probation, county
welfare, local law enforcement, child welfare and health care
personnel. The author believes it is necessary for the state to
signify to county and local SARBs that the inclusion of a mental
health representative is recommended by the State Legislature.
Related legislation . SB 980 (Bonilla), also scheduled for
today's hearing, authorizes members of a SARB to disclose and
exchange information or writing connected with public service
programs, probation, law enforcement or other confidential
information, to other members of the SARB if the member believes
that the information is relevant in the prevention,
identification or treatment of a pupil's truancy.
Prior related legislation . AB 42 (Zettel), Chapter 222,
Statutes of 2000, eases access to student records by judges and
probation officers under specified conditions, and adds a
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representative of the health care profession to county, local,
and state SARBs.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None on file
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087