BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2537
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 18, 2012

                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                                Julia Brownley, Chair
            AB 2537 (V. Manuel Perez) - As Introduced:  February 24, 2012
           
          SUBJECT  :   Pupil discipline: suspensions and expulsions

           SUMMARY  :  Limits the acts committed by pupils that result in 
          mandatory expulsion; authorizes, rather than requires, a school 
          district to expel a student for committing specified acts; and 
          authorizes, rather than requires, a principal to notify 
          appropriate law enforcement authorities of specified acts 
          committed by pupils.  Specifically,  this bill  :  

          1)Expresses the intent of the Legislature that the acts 
            enumerated in the sections of law dealing with suspensions and 
            expulsions form the exclusive bases for the imposition of 
            suspension and expulsion.  Expresses the Legislature's intent 
            that the sections of law dealing with suspensions and 
            expulsions grant to school districts the discretion to suspend 
            or expel a pupil for any of the specified acts, except the 
            acts that require mandatory expulsions.

          2)Authorizes, rather than requires, a principal or a principal's 
            designee, to do the following:

             a)   Notify, prior to the suspension or expulsion of a pupil, 
               the appropriate law enforcement authorities of the county 
               or city in which the school is situated of any specified 
               acts committed by the pupil, including assault with a 
               deadly weapon; possession, use, sale, or otherwise 
               furnishing of controlled substance or narcotics; 
               possession, sale, or otherwise furnishing of firearm; and 
               possession of explosive.

             b)   Ensure that copies of the special education and 
               disciplinary records of a pupil with exceptional needs are 
               transmitted, as described in federal law, for consideration 
               by the appropriate law enforcement authorities to whom a 
               principal or a principal's designee reported the criminal 
               activity.  

             c)   Expel a pupil for any of the following acts committed at 
               school or at a school activity off school grounds:








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               i)     Causing serious physical injury to another person, 
                 except in self-defense;
               ii)    Possession of any knife or other dangerous object of 
                 no reasonable use to the pupil;
               iii)   Unlawful possession of any controlled substance as 
                 specified in the Health and Safety Code; 
               iv)    Robbery or extortion; or,
               v)     Assault or battery upon any school employee.

          3)Deletes the provision specifying that willful failure of a 
            principal or the principal's designee to make any required 
            report to local law enforcement agencies is an infraction 
            punishable by a fine of $500.

          4)Specifies that the decision of a local governing board to 
            expel a pupil who committed specified acts, including physical 
            injury; possession or furnishing of a firearm, knife, or 
            explosive; and offering, arranging sale of controlled 
            substance; shall be based on both, rather than one, of the 
            following:

             a)   Other means of correction are not feasible or have 
               repeatedly failed to bring about proper conduct; and, 

             b)   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.

          5)Authorizes, rather than requires, a principal or 
            superintendent of schools to recommend expulsion of a pupil 
            who committed the following acts:

             a)   Selling or otherwise furnishing a firearm;
             b)   Brandishing a knife at another person;
             c)   Unlawfully selling a controlled substance; and,
             d)   Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or 
               sexual battery.  

          6)Requires a principal or superintendent to recommend expulsion 
            of a pupil that he or she determines has committed either of 
            the following acts at school or at a school activity off 
            school grounds:

             a)   Possession of a firearm unless the pupil had obtained 








                                                                  AB 2537
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               prior written permission to possess the firearm from a 
               certificated school employee, concurred in by the 
               principal.

             b)   Possession of an explosive.

          7)Specifies that the decision of a local governing board to 
            expel a pupil who committed specified acts at school or at a 
            school activity off of school grounds, including damaging 
            school property; stealing or attempting to steal school 
            property; possessing or using tobacco; committing an obscene 
            act or engaging in habitual profanity or vulgarity; unlawfully 
            possessing or unlawfully offering, arranging or negotiating to 
            sell drug paraphernalia; disrupting school activities or 
            otherwise willfully defying school authorities; knowingly 
            receiving stolen school or private property; and possessing an 
            imitation firearm; shall be based on both, rather than one, of 
            the following:

             a)   Other means of correction are not feasible or have 
               repeatedly failed to bring about proper conduct; and, 

             b)   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.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Authorizes or requires a principal or a superintendent of 
            schools to suspend or expel a student committing any of a 
            number of specified acts.  (Education Code (EC) Sections 
            48900, 48900.2, 48900.3, 48900.4, 48900.7, 48915)

          2)Requires the principal or superintendent to recommend 
            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 finds that expulsion is 
            inappropriate, due to the particular circumstance:

             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, except 
               for the first offense for the possession of no more than 








                                                                  AB 2537
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               one avoirdupois ounce of marijuana, other than concentrated 
               cannabis.
             d)   Robbery or extortion.
             e)   Assault or battery upon any school employee.  (EC 
               Section 48915)

          3)Requires a principal or superintendent to immediately suspend 
            and 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:

             a)   Possessing, selling, or otherwise furnishing a firearm.
             b)   Brandishing a knife at another person.
             c)   Unlawfully selling a controlled substance.
             d)   Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault.
             e)   Possession of an explosive.  (EC Section 48915)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Legislative Counsel, this bill 
          is non-fiscal.  

           COMMENTS  :  Background  .  Under existing law, a principal or a 
          superintendent may suspend or expel a pupil for committing any 
          of a number of specified acts.  The California Department of 
          Education (CDE) reported 700,884 suspensions and 18,649 
          expulsions in 2010-11.  

          For expulsions, current law specifies three categories:  1) acts 
          committed by a pupil that result in immediate suspension and 
          recommendation for expulsion; 2) acts committed by a pupil for 
          which a principal or superintendent must recommend expulsion, 
          unless the principal or superintendent finds that expulsion is 
          inappropriate, due to the particular circumstance; and 3) acts 
          committed by a pupil for which a principal or superintendent 
          have discretion to determine expulsion.  The chart on page 4 
          prepared by the Los Angeles Unified School District shows the 
          three levels.

          This bill eliminates all requirements to expel pupils and 
          instead gives principals and superintendents the discretion to 
          determine whether a pupil should be expelled, with the exception 
          of two categories:  1) possession of a firearm; and 2) 
          possession of an explosive.  The category of "possessing, 
          selling, or otherwise furnishing a firearm" is divided.  
          "Selling or otherwise furnishing a firearm" becomes an act that 
          may result in an expulsion, while possession of a firearm is 








                                                                  AB 2537
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          kept as a mandatory expulsion.  Under this bill, category I will 
          only contain possession of a firearm and possession of an 
          explosive.  All other acts under category I and all of category 
          II offenses would move to category III.  

          According to the sponsor of the bill, Public Counsel, possession 
          of a firearm or  an explosive were kept as mandatory expulsions 
          because the federal Gun-Free Schools Act of 1994 requires 
          states, as a condition for receipt of federal funds, to require 
          school districts to expel pupils for possession of a firearm; an 
          explosive is considered a firearm.


           ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |              |                  |                                           |
          |  Category I  |   Category II*   |               Category III*               |
          |   Student    | Student Offenses |           Student Offenses with           |
          |Offenses with |       with       |        Broad Principal Discretion         |
          | No Principal |Limited Principal |                                           |
          |  Discretion  |    Discretion    |                                           |
          |  (except as  |                  |                                           |
          |  otherwise   |                  |                                           |
          | precluded by |                  |                                           |
          |     law)     |                  |                                           |
          |              |                  |                                           |
          |--------------+------------------+-------------------------------------------|
          |              |                  |                                           |
          |Principal     |Principal must    |Principal may recommend expulsion when the |
          |shall         |recommend         |following occur at any time, including,    |
          |immediately   |expulsion when    |but not limited to, while on school        |
          |suspend and   |the following     |grounds; while going to or coming from     |
          |recommend     |occur at school   |school; during the lunch period, whether   |
          |expulsion     |or at a school    |on or off the campus; or during, or while  |
          |when the      |activity off      |going to or coming from, a                 |
          |following     |campus unless the |school-sponsored activity.                 |
          |occur at      |principal         |                                           |
          |school or at  |determines that   |(E.C. 48915İb] and İe])                    |
          |a school      |the expulsion is  |                                           |
          |activity off  |inappropriate,    |                                           |
          |campus.       |due to the        |                                           |
          |              |particular        |                                           |
          |(E.C.         |circumstance.     |                                           |
          |48915İc])     |                  |                                           |
          |              |(E.C. 48915İa])   |                                           |
          |              |                  |                                           |








                                                                  AB 2537
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          |--------------+------------------+-------------------------------------------|
          |              |                  |                                           |
          |1.Possessing, |2.Causing serious |3.Caused, attempted to cause, or           |
          |  selling, or |  physical injury |  threatened to cause physical injury to   |
          |  furnishing  |  to another      |  another person.                          |
          |  a firearm.  |  person, except  |        (Unless, in the case of "caused,"  |
          |  E.C.        |  in              |    the injury is serious. İSee II.1])     |
          |  48915(c)(1);|  self-defense.   |    E.C. 48900(a)(1); 48915(b)             |
          |   48900(b)   |            E.C.  |2.First offense of possession of marijuana |
          |              |  48915(a)(1);    |  of not more than one ounce, or alcohol.  |
          |              |  48900(a)(1),    |  E.C. 48900(c); 48915(b)                  |
          |              |        maybe     |3.Sold, furnished, or offered a substitute |
          |              |  also            |  substance represented as a controlled    |
          |              |  48900(a)(2)     |  substance.                               |
          |              |                  |        E.C. 48900(d); 48915(b)            |
          |              |                  |                                           |
          |--------------+------------------+-------------------------------------------|
          |              |                  |                                           |
          |1.Brandishing |2.Possession of   |1.Caused or attempted to cause damage to   |
          |  a knife at  |  any knife,      |  school or private property.  E.C.        |
          |  another     |  explosive, or   |  48900(f); 48915(e)                       |
          |  person.     |  other dangerous |2.Stole or attempted to steal school or    |
          |  E.C.        |  object of no    |  private property.  E.C. 48900(g);        |
          |  48915(c)(2);|  reasonable use  |  48915(e)                                 |
          |              |  to the pupil.   |3.Possessed or used tobacco.  E.C.         |
          |  48900(a)(1) |                  |  48900(h); 48915(e)                       |
          |  and         |                  |4.Committed an obscene act or engaged in   |
          |  48900(b)    |          E.C.    |  habitual profanity or vulgarity.  E.C.   |
          |              |  48915(a)(2);    |  48900(i); 48915(e)                       |
          |              |  48900(b)        |                                           |
          |              |                  |                                           |
          |--------------+------------------+-------------------------------------------|
          |              |                  |                                           |
          |1.Unlawfully  |2.Unlawful        |1.Possessed, offered, arranged, or         |
          |  selling a   |  possession of   |  negotiated to sell any drug              |
          |  controlled  |  any controlled  |  paraphernalia.  E.C. 48900(j); 48915(e)  |
          |  substance.  |  substance,      |2.Disrupted school activities or willfully |
          |              |  except for the  |  defied the valid authority of school     |
          |        E.C.  |  first offense   |  personnel.  E.C. 48900(k); 48915(e)      |
          |    48915(c)(3|  of no more than |3.Knowingly received stolen school or      |
          |    );        |  an ounce of     |  private property.  E.C. 48900(l);        |
          |    48900(c)  |  marijuana.      |  48915(e)                                 |
          |              |  E.C.            |4.Possessed an imitation firearm.  E.C.    |
          |              |  48915(a)(3);    |  48900(m); 48915(e)                       |
          |              |  48900(c)        |                                           |








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          |--------------+------------------+-------------------------------------------|
          |              |                  |                                           |
          |1.Committing  |2.Robbery or      |1.Engaged in harassment, threats, or       |
          |  or          |  extortion.      |  intimidation against a pupil or group of |
          |  attempting  |  E.C.            |  pupils or school district personnel.     |
          |  to commit a |  48915(a)(4);    |    E.C. 48900.4**; 48915(e)               |
          |  sexual      |  48900(e)        |2.Engaged in sexual harassment.  E.C.      |
          |  assault or  |                  |  48900.2**; 48915(e)                      |
          |  committing  |                  |3.Caused, attempted to cause, threatened   |
          |  a sexual    |                  |  to cause, or participated in an act of   |
          |  battery (as |                  |  hate violence.                           |
          |  defined in  |                  |          E.C. 48900.3**; 48915(e)         |
          |  48900İn]).  |                  |4.Made terrorist threats against school    |
          |        E.C.  |                  |  officials or school property, or both.   |
          |    48915(c)(4|                  |  E.C. 48900.7; 48915(e)                   |
          |    );        |                  |                                           |
          |    48900(n)  |                  |                                           |
          |--------------+------------------+-------------------------------------------|
          |              |                  |                                           |
          |1.5.   Possession | 5.   Assault or  |1.Willfully used force or violence upon    |
          |of an         |    battery upon  |  the person of another, except in         |
          |explosive     |    any           |  self-defense.  E.C. 48900(a)(2);         |
          |         E.C. |       school     |  48915(b)                                 |
          |48915(c)(5);  |    employee.     |2.Harassed, threatened, or intimidated a   |
          |48900 (b)     |       E.C.       |  pupil who is a complaining witness or    |
          |              |  48915(a)(5);    |  witness in a disciplinary action.        |
          |              |                  |   E.C. 48900(o); 48915(e)                 |
          |              |  48900(a)(1) and |3.Any behavior listed in Category l or ll  |
          |              |  48900(a)(2)     |  that is related to school activity or    |
          |              |                  |  school attendance but that did not occur |
          |              |                  |  on campus or at a school activity off    |
          |              |                  |  campus.  E.C. 48915(b)                   |
          |              |                  |4.Unlawfully offered, arranged to sell,    |
          |              |                  |  negotiated to sell, or sold the          |
          |              |                  |  prescription drug Soma.                  |
          |              |                  |                E.C. 48900(p); 48915(e)    |
          |              |                  |5.Engaged in, or attempted to engage in,   |
          |              |                  |  hazing, as defined in Section 32050.     |
          |              |                  |  E.C. 48900(q); 48915(e)                  |
          |              |                  |6.Engaged in an act of bullying,           |
          |              |                  |  including, but not limited to, bullying  |
          |              |                  |  committed by means of electronic act     |
          |              |                  |  directed specifically toward a pupil or  |
          |              |                  |  school personnel.  E.C. 48900(r);        |
          |              |                  |  48915(e)                                 |








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          |              |                  |                                           |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          * For Categories ll and lll, the school must provide evidence of 
             one or both  of the following  additional findings  : (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 student's presence causes a continuing danger to the 
            physical safety of the pupil or others.
          **Grades 4 through 12 inclusive.

          Source:  Los Angeles Unified School District










































                                                                  AB 2537
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          The author states, "School officials are currently mandated to 
          automatically suspend and /or expel students for various broadly 
          defined acts.  These policies, known as 'Zero Tolerance,' were 
          put in place over ten years ago as an effort to cut down on 
          school violence.  Although these policies were written with the 
          best of intent, they have resulted in thousands of students 
          being suspended and/or expelled for low level offenses.

          School administrators agree that there are instances in which a 
          student engages in an activity that merits immediate suspension 
          and/or expulsion, such as carrying a loaded weapon on school 
          premises.  However, many also agree that there are gray İareas] 
          in the law."  

          The author provides the following example:

          "In a well documented case, Danielle Brinkam, a model student at 
          Rowland High School in Rowland Hills, California was expelled in 
          2005. She was a straight A's student, had received perfect 
          attendance since kindergarten and was a member of the choir. She 
          worked at a local grocery store. She woke up late one morning 
          and put on her work pants, which contained a knife she used to 
          open boxes with. When the administration found her in possession 
          of a knife, İshe] was expelled, a shock to many who knew her. 
          Many agreed that the punishment didn't fit the crime because she 
          did not use the knife on anyone and did not pose a threat." 
           
           Impact of punitive policies  .  The sponsor states that research 
          has consistently shown that school removals and other "get 
          tough" punishments fail schools and students, are not effective 
          at transforming anti-social behavior into pro-social behavior 
          and in fact have the opposite effect of exacerbating the problem 
          and further alienating the child from the school environment and 
          "pushing" them out of school.  

          A University of California, Los Angeles' Civil Rights Project 
          October 2011 brief titled "Discipline Policies, Successful 
          Schools, and Racial Justice," report that data gathered by the 
          U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights shows 
          disparity in suspensions and expulsions for Black students, 
          especially males, and students with disabilities.  An analysis 
          of data collected in 2006 shows that 28% of Black male middle 
          school students were suspended at least once, while the rate was 
          10% for while males.  The report argues that disciplinary 
          actions that result in exclusion from school cause students to 








                                                                  AB 2537
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          miss important instructional time and may result in a "greater 
          risk of disengagement and diminished educational opportunities." 
           

           School safety versus alternative reform  .  The goal of this bill 
                                                                                  and several other bills introduced this year is to keep the 
          students at school so that alternative corrective measures can 
          be identified to help address the causes of the student's 
          behavior.  Supporters of the bill believe that once a student 
          exits the education system, that student is at a much higher 
          risk of entering the juvenile justice system.  According to 
          supporters of the bill, in 2008, California reported a total of 
          165,901 individual juvenile court matters.  Garfield High School 
          in Los Angeles, which implemented the Foundational Discipline 
          Policy of School-Wide Positive Behavior Support that focuses on 
          the benefits of implementing positive behavior support programs 
          on a school wide basis, has reduced suspensions dramatically, 
          yet administrators do not believe school safety has been 
          compromised.  

          However, the Legislature established the different levels of 
          authority, from mandatory to permissive, for school safety 
          reasons.  Many of the provisions in the EC were crafted 
          following violent crimes committed in elementary schools and 
          colleges campuses in California and in other states; the most 
          infamous being the Columbine massacre in 1999, where 13 people 
          were killed and 21 were injured by two students who ultimately 
          committed suicide.  There are offenses the Legislature has 
          deemed to be serious enough to require mandatory expulsion while 
          giving principals and superintendents discretion over numerous 
          other offenses.  The issue for the Committee to consider is 
          whether the Legislature should allow principals and 
          superintendents to evaluate each situation and determine whether 
          expulsion is warranted.  The offenses proposed by this bill that 
          will go from mandatory to permissive expulsion include the 
          following:

          1)Selling or furnishing a firearm.
          2)Brandishing a knife at another person.
          3)Unlawfully selling a controlled substance.
          4)Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or 
            committing a sexual battery.
          5)Causing serious physical injury to another person, except in 
            self-defense.
          6)Possession of any knife, explosive or other dangerous object 








                                                                  AB 2537
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            of no reasonable use to the pupil.
          7)Unlawful possession of any controlled substance, except for 
            the first office of no more than an ounce of marijuana.
          8)Robbery or extortion.
          9)Assault or battery upon any school employee.  

          Concerns have been raised by the Association of California 
          School Administrators that with the discretion at the local 
          level, governing boards will need to have strong justification 
          for expulsions that are given for fear of lawsuits, which may 
          inhibit expulsions that may be warranted.  The Committee may 
          wish to leave categories I and II offenses as required 
          expulsions but give principals some discretion to address 
          situations like that of the Rowland High School pupil described 
          above.   
           
          Additional considerations for expulsions  .  For the offenses 
          listed under Category II and III of the chart, existing law 
          requires a decision to expel to be based on one or both of the 
          following:

          1)Other means of correction are not feasible or have repeatedly 
            failed to bring about proper conduct; or, 

          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.

          This bill requires the decision to be based on both criteria.  
          While using other means of corrections is an ideal goal, should 
          principals and superintendents be prohibited from suspending or 
          expelling a student until he or she attempts other corrections, 
          even if he or she believes the student poses a safety risk?  The 
          Committee may wish to keep current law for the offenses listed 
          in category II to continue giving principals and superintendents 
          the authority to recommend expulsion for safety reasons.  The 
          Committee may wish to not apply the two conditions on the 
          offenses currently under category I.   

           Should principals not be required to report certain incidences 
          to local law enforcement  ?  Current law requires a principal or 
          the principal's designee, frequently a vice principal, to notify 
          law enforcement authorities of crimes involving assault with a 
          firearm, an assault weapon, or a deadly weapon or instrument; 
          possession or sale of controlled substances; possessing, 








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          selling, or otherwise furnishing a firearm; and possession of an 
          explosive, prior to or after suspending or expelling a pupil.  
          Current law also specifies that the willful failure to make a 
          report is an infraction punishable by a fine of up to $500 to be 
          paid by the principal or principal's designee.  This bill 
          eliminates the $500 fine and makes it permissive for a principal 
          or a principal's designee to contact local law enforcement 
          authorities.  

          The California Police Chiefs Association opposes this provision 
          of the bill and states, "Experience has shown that the failure 
          to report on-campus criminal activity to law enforcement 
          frequently leads to a repetition (and in some cases escalation) 
          of the criminal activity of the student in question.  Repetition 
          of escalation of criminal activity on a campus jeopardizes the 
          safety of other students.  Unlawful activity is just that, 
          unlawful; the reporting of that unlawful activity should remain 
          an obligation of school administrators."  

          Districts that have school police departments may likely already 
          have working relationships with local law enforcement agencies.  
          For example, the Los Angeles School Police Department submits 
          copies of crime reports to the appropriate law enforcement 
          agencies for statistical and information sharing purposes.
            
           Related legislation  .  This bill is one of several bills 
          introduced this year attempting to reduce the use of punitive 
          measures to respond to disciplinary and attendance problems.  
          The pending bills include:


           --------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |       Bill        |                     Summary                     |
          |-------------------+-------------------------------------------------|
          |AB 1729 (Ammiano)  |Requires other means of correction to be used    |
          |* pending in the   |and documented prior to the suspension or        |
          |Assembly           |expulsion of any student, and revises the steps  |
          |Appropriations     |taken for suspensions and expulsions of students |
          |Committee          |with exceptional needs.                          |
          |-------------------+-------------------------------------------------|
          |AB 2242            |Imposes in-school suspension and prohibits       |
          |(Dickinson)        |off-campus suspension or extended suspension, or |
          |                   |expulsion, due to disruption of school           |
          |*pending in the    |activities or willful defiance of school         |
          |Assembly           |officials.                                       |








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          |Appropriations     |                                                 |
          |Committee          |                                                 |
          |-------------------+-------------------------------------------------|
          |AB 2300 (Swanson)  |Prohibits, at the request of a pupil or a        |
          |*pending in the    |pupil's parent or guardian, a school from        |
          |Assembly           |disclosing a pupil's disciplinary records        |
          |Appropriations     |relating to suspensions to a postsecondary       |
          |Committee          |educational institution.                         |
          |-------------------+-------------------------------------------------|
          |AB 2537 (V. Manuel |Limits the acts committed by pupils that result  |
          |Perez)             |in mandatory expulsion; authorizes, rather than  |
          |                   |requires, a school district to expel a student   |
          |                   |for committing specified acts; and authorizes,   |
          |                   |rather than requires, a principal to notify      |
          |                   |appropriate law enforcement authorities of       |
          |                   |specified acts committed by pupils.              |
          |-------------------+-------------------------------------------------|
          |AB 2616 (Carter)   |Eliminates the requirement and instead           |
          |                   |authorizes a school to use its discretion to     |
          |                   |classify a pupil who misses three full days in   |
          |*pending in the    |one school year or is tardy or absent for more   |
          |Assembly Education |than a 30-minute period during the schoolday     |
          |Committee          |without a valid excuse on three occasions in one |
          |                   |school year, or any combination thereof, as a    |
          |                   |truant.                                          |
          |-------------------+-------------------------------------------------|
          |SB 1235            |Requires a school district to, if the number of  |
          |(Steinberg)        |pupils suspended from school during the prior    |
          |                   |school year exceeded 25% of a school's           |
          |                   |enrollment or any numerically significant racial |
          |                   |or ethnic subgroup, implement for a minimum of   |
          |*pending in the    |three years, an evidence-based system of         |
          |Senate Education   |schoolwide positive behavioral interventions or  |
          |Committee          |strategies that are evidence based and designed  |
          |                   |to address school climate.                       |
          |                   |                                                 |
           --------------------------------------------------------------------- 
           Previous related legislation .  AB 1390 (Blumenfield), Chapter 
          292, Statutes of 2009, requires a principal or a principal's 
          designee to report any incident involving the possession, sale, 
          or otherwise furnishing of a firearm and possession of an 
          explosive to the city police or county sheriff with jurisdiction 
          over the school and the school security department or the school 
          police department.









                                                                  AB 2537
                                                                  Page  14

          AB 1511 (De Leon), introduced in 2009, authorizes a governing 
          board of a school district or a county superintendent of schools 
          to enter into a memorandum of understanding with a prosecuting 
          city attorney's office or district attorney's office having 
          filing jurisdiction over the school district to facilitate the 
          placement of one or more prosecutors on one or more school 
          district campuses in order to promote public safety.  The bill 
          was gutted and amended into a different bill in 2010.  

          This bill was heard in this Committee on April 11, 2012 as a 
          discussion item only.  Potential amendments may be considered at 
          the April 18, 2012 hearing.   
           
          REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :  
           
          Support  

          Public Counsel Law Center (sponsor)
          American Civil Liberties Union 
          Center for Juvenile Law and Policy
          Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
          Coleman Advocates for Children & Youth
          Labor/Community Strategy Center's Community Rights Campaign
          Legal Advocates for Children & Youth
          Legal Services for Children
          New America Foundation
          Youth and Education Law Project, Mills Legal Clinic
          Youth Law Center

           Opposition 
           
          Association of California School Administrators
          California Police Chiefs Association
          Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087