BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1799 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1799 (Bradford) As Amended June 27, 2012 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(May 29, 2012) |SENATE: |37-0 |(August 23, | | | | | | |2012) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: ED. SUMMARY : Requires that, when a pupil transfers from one school to another within the state, the pupil's records be transferred from the prior school to the new school within 10 schooldays following the date the request was received by the prior school. Specifically, this bill : 1)Finds and declares that: a) The academic record of a transferring pupil is essential to the pupil's placement, academic success, and timely graduation; and, b) An accurate, updated pupil record enhances school safety, academic achievement, and pupil welfare when the record of a transferring pupil includes transcripts, immunization records, and, when applicable, suspension notices, expulsion records, and individualized education programs. 2)Requires that, when a pupil transfers from a public school to another public or private school or from a private school to a public school within California, the school that the pupil transfers from shall transmit his or her records to the new school of enrollment within 10 schooldays. 3)Defines "schoolday" to mean any day upon which the school is in session or non-holiday weekdays during the summer break. The Senate amendments specify that the provisions of this bill do not supersede any other state or federal law governing the transfer of pupil records for specific pupil populations. EXISTING LAW requires pupil records of pupils transferring from AB 1799 Page 2 a public school to another public or private school or from a private school to a public school within California to be transferred upon request of the district or private school where the pupil intends to enroll. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, this bill is unlikely to result in new costs to any school district that would meet the minimum threshold ($1,000) for filing a claim for mandate reimbursement as a result of its imposition of a 10-day deadline. COMMENTS : While existing law already requires the transfer of records upon request, it does not specify a time within which the former school must transfer the records. According to the sponsor of the bill, the Los Angeles County Office of Education, this results in cases where "the records are sent a year or two from the date of the initial request, and in numerous instances the records are never sent." The reason, according to the sponsor, is the amount of time it takes to sort through a pupil's cumulative record, identify the files that must be transferred, copy them, and send them. Budget cuts in recent years have led to the reduction of administrative and clerical staff to do this. Analysis Prepared by : Rick Pratt / ED. / (916) 319-2087 FN: 0004793