BILL NUMBER: AB 2537 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 22, 2012
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 7, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 19, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 16, 2012
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 1, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member V. Manuel Pérez
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
An act to amend Sections 48902 and 48915 of the Education Code,
relating to pupil discipline.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2537, V. Manuel Pérez. Pupil discipline: suspensions and
expulsions.
Existing law requires the principal of a school or the principal's
designee to notify the appropriate law enforcement agencies of the
county or city in which the school is situated of certain unlawful
acts committed by a pupil that may result in suspension, expulsion,
or criminal liability of the pupil, as specified. Existing law
provides that a willful failure to make a report required by these
provisions is an infraction punishable by a fine of not more that
$500.
This bill would delete the provision making a violation of that
reporting requirement an infraction.
Under existing law, the principal or the superintendent of schools
is required to recommend the expulsion of a pupil for certain acts
committed at school or at a school activity off school grounds,
unless the principal or superintendent finds that expulsion is
inappropriate, due to the particular circumstance. These acts
include, among others, the unlawful possession of certain controlled
substances, except for the first offense for the possession of
marijuana, as specified. For these acts, the governing board of the
school district is authorized, but not required, to order the
expulsion of the pupil.
This bill would instead require the principal or superintendent of
schools to make that recommendation unless he or she determines that
expulsion should not be recommended under the circumstances or that
an alternative means of correction would address the conduct. The
bill would encourage the principal or superintendent of schools to
make that determination as quickly as possible to ensure that the
pupil does not lose instructional time. The bill would include the
act of possessing an over-the-counter medication or medication
prescribed for the pupil by a physician as an additional exception to
the act of possessing a controlled substance for purposes of the
expulsion provisions described above.
Under existing law, the principal or superintendent of schools is
required to immediately suspend, and to recommend expulsion of, a
pupil that he or she determines has committed certain acts at school
or at a school activity off school grounds, including, among others,
the possession of a firearm, and the governing board of the school
district is required to order a pupil expelled upon the finding that
the pupil did commit one of these acts.
This bill would specify that the act of possessing an imitation
firearm, as defined, is not an offense for which suspension or
expulsion is mandatory, but is an offense for which suspension or
expulsion may be imposed.
This bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that the
acts enumerated in specified provisions form the exclusive bases for
the imposition of suspension or expulsion.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature that the acts
enumerated in Article 1 (commencing with Section 48900) of Chapter 6
of Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Education Code form the
exclusive bases for the imposition of suspension or expulsion.
SEC. 2. Section 48902 of the Education Code is amended to read:
48902. (a) The principal of a school or the principal's designee
shall, before the suspension or expulsion of any pupil, notify the
appropriate law enforcement authorities of the county or city in
which the school is situated, of any acts of the pupil that may
violate Section 245 of the Penal Code.
(b) The principal of a school or the principal's designee shall,
within one schoolday after suspension or expulsion of any pupil,
notify, by telephone or any other appropriate method chosen by the
school, the appropriate law enforcement authorities of the county or
the school district in which the school is situated of any acts of
the pupil that may violate subdivision (c) or (d) of Section 48900.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (b), the principal of a school or
the principal's designee shall notify the appropriate law enforcement
authorities of the county or city in which the school is located of
any acts of a pupil that may involve the possession or sale of
narcotics or of a controlled substance or a violation of Section
626.9 or 626.10 of the Penal Code. The principal of a school or the
principal's designee shall report any act specified in paragraph (1)
or (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 48915 committed by a pupil or
nonpupil on a schoolsite to the city police or county sheriff with
jurisdiction over the school and the school security department or
the school police department, as applicable.
(d) A principal, the principal's designee, or any other person
reporting a known or suspected act described in subdivision (a) or
(b) is not civilly or criminally liable as a result of making any
report authorized by this article unless it can be proven that a
false report was made and that the person knew the report was false
or the report was made with reckless disregard for the truth or
falsity of the report.
(e) The principal of a school or the principal's designee
reporting a criminal act committed by a schoolage individual with
exceptional needs, as defined in Section 56026, shall ensure that
copies of the special education and disciplinary records of the pupil
are transmitted, as described in Section 1415(6)(k) of Title 20 of
the United States Code, for consideration by the appropriate
authorities to whom he or she reports the criminal act. Any copies of
the pupil's special education and disciplinary records may be
transmitted only to the extent permissible under the federal Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 1232g et
seq.).
SEC. 3. Section 48915 of the Education Code is amended to read:
48915. (a) (1) Except as provided in subdivisions (c) and (e),
the principal or the superintendent of schools shall recommend the
expulsion of a pupil for any of the following acts committed at
school or at a school activity off school grounds, unless the
principal or superintendent determines that expulsion should not be
recommended under the circumstances or that an alternative means of
correction would address the conduct:
(A) Causing serious physical injury to another person, except in
self-defense.
(B) Possession of any knife or other dangerous object of no
reasonable use to the pupil.
(C) Unlawful possession of any controlled substance listed in
Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 11053) of Division 10 of the
Health and Safety Code, except for either of the following:
(i) The first offense for the possession of not more than one
avoirdupois ounce of marijuana, other than concentrated cannabis.
(ii) The possession of over-the-counter medication for use by the
pupil for medical purposes or medication prescribed for the pupil by
a physician.
(D) Robbery or extortion.
(E) Assault or battery, as defined in Sections 240 and 242 of the
Penal Code, upon any school employee.
(2) If the principal or the superintendent of schools makes a
determination as described in paragraph (1), he or she is encouraged
to do so as quickly as possible to ensure that the pupil does not
lose instructional time.
(b) Upon recommendation by the principal or the superintendent of
schools, or by a hearing officer or administrative panel appointed
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 48918, the governing board of
a school district may order a pupil expelled upon finding that the
pupil committed an act listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) or
in subdivision (a), (b), (c), (d), or (e) of Section 48900. A
decision to expel a pupil for any of those acts shall be based on a
finding of one or both of the following:
(1) Other means of correction are not feasible or have repeatedly
failed to bring about proper conduct.
(2) Due to the nature of the act, the presence of the pupil causes
a continuing danger to the physical safety of the pupil or others.
(c) The principal or superintendent of schools shall immediately
suspend, pursuant to Section 48911, and shall recommend expulsion of
a pupil that he or she determines has committed any of the following
acts at school or at a school activity off school grounds:
(1) Possessing, selling, or otherwise furnishing a firearm. This
subdivision does not apply to an act of possessing a firearm if the
pupil had obtained prior written permission to possess the firearm
from a certificated school employee, which is concurred in by the
principal or the designee of the principal. This subdivision applies
to an act of possessing a firearm only if the possession is verified
by an employee of a school district. The act of possessing an
imitation firearm, as defined in subdivision (m) of Section 48900, is
not an offense for which suspension or expulsion is mandatory
pursuant to this subdivision and subdivision (d), but it is an
offense for which suspension, or expulsion pursuant to subdivision
(e), may be imposed.
(2) Brandishing a knife at another person.
(3) Unlawfully selling a controlled substance listed in Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 11053) of Division 10 of the Health and
Safety Code.
(4) Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault as defined
in subdivision (n) of Section 48900 or committing a sexual battery
as defined in subdivision (n) of Section 48900.
(5) Possession of an explosive.
(d) The governing board of a school district shall order a pupil
expelled upon finding that the pupil committed an act listed in
subdivision (c), and shall refer that pupil to a program of study
that meets all of the following conditions:
(1) Is appropriately prepared to accommodate pupils who exhibit
discipline problems.
(2) Is not provided at a comprehensive middle, junior, or senior
high school, or at any elementary school.
(3) Is not housed at the schoolsite attended by the pupil at the
time of suspension.
(e) Upon recommendation by the principal or the superintendent of
schools, or by a hearing officer or administrative panel appointed
pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 48918, the governing board of
a school district may order a pupil expelled upon finding that the
pupil, at school or at a school activity off of school grounds
violated subdivision (f), (g), (h), (i), (j), (k), ( l ),
or (m) of Section 48900, or Section 48900.2, 48900.3, or 48900.4, and
either of the following:
(1) That other means of correction are not feasible or have
repeatedly failed to bring about proper conduct.
(2) That due to the nature of the violation, the presence of the
pupil causes a continuing danger to the physical safety of the pupil
or others.
(f) The governing board of a school district shall refer a pupil
who has been expelled pursuant to subdivision (b) or (e) to a program
of study that meets all of the conditions specified in subdivision
(d). Notwithstanding this subdivision, with respect to a pupil
expelled pursuant to subdivision (e), if the county superintendent of
schools certifies that an alternative program of study is not
available at a site away from a comprehensive middle, junior, or
senior high school, or an elementary school, and that the only option
for placement is at another comprehensive middle, junior, or senior
high school, or another elementary school, the pupil may be referred
to a program of study that is provided at a comprehensive middle,
junior, or senior high school, or at an elementary school.
(g) As used in this section, "knife" means any dirk, dagger, or
other weapon with a fixed, sharpened blade fitted primarily for
stabbing, a weapon with a blade fitted primarily for stabbing, a
weapon with a blade longer than 31/2 inches, a folding knife with a
blade that locks into place, or a razor with an unguarded blade.
(h) As used in this section, the term "explosive" means
"destructive device" as described in Section 921 of Title 18 of the
United States Code.