BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 680| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 680 Author: Block (D) Amended: 7/6/11 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 7-1, 6/29/11 AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock, Liu, Price, Simitian NOES: Huff NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Vargas, Vacancy ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/23/11 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : School safety plans SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill authorizes a school district or county office of education to develop portions of the school safety plans that include tactical responses outside of the existing process involving the schoolsite council, and allows districts to choose not to disclose the tactical plan. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Requires each school district and county office of education to be responsible for the overall development CONTINUED AB 680 Page 2 of all comprehensive school safety plans for its schools. The schoolsite council is required to write and develop a comprehensive school safety plan relevant to the needs and resources of that particular school. Existing law authorizes the schoolsite council to delegate responsibility for the development of the school safety plan to a school safety planning committee. 2. Requires the comprehensive school safety plan to include (a) an assessment of the current status of school crime committed on school campuses and at school-related functions and (b) identification of appropriate strategies and programs that will provide or maintain a high level of school safety and detail procedures for complying with existing laws, disaster procedures, policies regarding suspension or expulsion, a discrimination and harassment policy, and a safe and orderly environment conducive to learning. 3. Requires the schoolsite council or school safety planning committee to hold a public meeting to allow public comment, and requires the notification of specified people and entities prior to this meeting. Existing law requires each school to submit its school safety plan to the school district or county office of education for approval and requires a school district or county office of education to notify the California Department of Education by October 15 of every year of any school that is not in compliance. 4. The California Public Records Act requires public records to be open to inspection at all times during the office hours of the state or local agency and provides that every person has a right to inspect any public record, except as specified. Any reasonably segregable portion of a record must be available for inspection by any person requesting the record after deletion of the portions that are exempted by law. Each state or local agency, upon a request for a copy of records that reasonably describes an identifiable record or records, must make the records promptly available to any person upon payment of fees covering direct costs of AB 680 Page 3 duplication, or a statutory fee if applicable. Upon request, an exact copy must be provided unless impracticable to do so. This does not apply to records that are exempt from disclosure as provided by law. Each agency, upon a request for a copy of records, must, within 10 days from receipt of the request, determine whether the request, in whole or in part, seeks copies of disclosable public records and must promptly notify the person making the request of the determination and the reasons therefore. In unusual circumstances, as defined, this time limit may be extended by written notice to the person making the request, setting forth the reasons for the extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. An extension must not exceed 14 days. 5. Specifies that the Public Records Act does not require disclosure of records that are, among other types of records, a document prepared by or for a state or local agency that assesses its vulnerability to terrorist attack or other criminal acts intended to disrupt the public agency's operations and that is for distribution or consideration in a closed session. 6. Specifies that the Public Records Act does not require the disclosure of an information security record of a public agency, if, on the facts of the particular case, disclosure of that record would reveal vulnerabilities to, or otherwise increase the potential for an attack on, an information technology system of a public agency. 7. Requires an agency that withholds information to justify the withholding, either because the record is exempt from being released or because the public interest to withhold the information outweighs the public interest to disclose the record. 8. Requires any materials provided to a schoolsite council to be made available to any member of the public who requests the materials pursuant to the Public Records Act. AB 680 Page 4 This bill authorizes a school district or county office of education to develop portions of the school safety plan that include tactical responses outside of the existing process involving the schoolsite council, and allows districts to choose not to disclose the tactical plan. Specifically, this bill: 1. Authorizes a school district or county office of education to, in consultation with law enforcement officials, elect to not have its schoolsite councils develop and write those portions of their comprehensive school safety plans that include tactical responses to criminal incidents that may result in death or serious bodily injury at the public schoolsite. 2. Authorizes the portions of a comprehensive school safety plan that includes tactical responses to criminal incidents, in consultation with law enforcement officials and representatives of exclusive bargaining units of employees of that school district or county office of education, as specified, to be developed by administrators of the school district or county office of education. 3. Authorizes a school district or county office of education to elect not to disclose those portions of the comprehensive school safety plan. 4. Defines "tactical responses to criminal incidents" to mean steps taken to safeguard pupils and staff, to secure the affected school premises, and to apprehend the criminal perpetrator or perpetrators. 5. Specifies that his bill does not preclude the governing board of a school district or county office of education from conferring in a closed session with law enforcement officials to approve a tactical response plan developed in consultation with those officials pursuant to the bill. Comments Public records . The Public Records Act allows an agency to withhold disclosing any record if, on the facts of the AB 680 Page 5 particular case, the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the record. However, existing law also requires any materials provided to a schoolsite council to be made available to any member of the public who requests the materials pursuant to the California Public Records Act. Schools do not have the legal authority to develop school safety plans outside of the schoolsite council process, which is open to the public. Related Legislation SB 755 (Lieu), 2011-12 Session, would have made several changes to requirements regarding school safety plans, including adding specific dates by which plans must be annually updated and approved, and access to the plans by law enforcement within a specific time period after request. (Held under submission in Senate Appropriations Committee) AB 496 (Alejo), 2011-12 Session, would have required the school safety plan also to include a protocol for ensuring that all school personnel have access to classrooms and other school facilities during a disaster or other emergency if a school restricts that access during regular hours of school operation. (Held under submission in Assembly Appropriations Committee) AB 269 (Ma), 2011-12 Session, would have required a charter school to comply with all laws governing the health and safety of pupils and school employees, including school safety plans. (Held under submission in Assembly Appropriations Committee) FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 8/17/11) Association of California School Administrators Los Angeles School Police Department San Diego County Police Chiefs' and Sheriff's Association San Diego Schools Police Officers Association San Diego Unified School District AB 680 Page 6 Santa Ana Unified School District Stockton Unified School District Police ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/23/11 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Cook, Donnelly, Furutani, Gorell, Mansoor CPM:mw 8/17/11 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****