BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 680|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 680
Author: Block (D)
Amended: 8/25/11 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 to criminal
incidents outside of the existing process involving the
schoolsite council, and allows districts to choose not to
disclose those portions of the school safety plan that
includes tactical responses to criminal incidents.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/25/11 (1) clarify that it is
the tactical response portion of the school safety plan
that schools may choose to not disclose, (2) ensure schools
continue to meet existing requirements to include specific
elements in the school safety plan, and (3) remove an
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unnecessary reference to a designee of the bargaining unit
representative.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Requires each school district and county office of
education to be responsible for the overall development
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
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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
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
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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.
This bill authorizes a school district or county office of
education to develop portions of the school safety plan
that include tactical responses to criminal incidents
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 council
develop and write those portions of its comprehensive
school safety plan 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 school safety plan that
includes tactical responses to criminal incidents, in
consultation with law enforcement and with a
representative of an exclusive bargaining unit of
employees of that school district or county office of
education, if he/she chooses to participate, 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 that includes tactical
responses to criminal incidents.
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 this bill does not preclude the governing
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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
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)
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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
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 8/29/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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