BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Alan Lowenthal, Chair
2011-2012 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 2537
AUTHOR: V. Manuel Perez
AMENDED: June 19, 2012
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: June 27, 2012
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : Mandatory expulsions.
SUMMARY
This bill grants discretion to school principals to make a
determination of the appropriateness of the expulsion of a
pupil who has unlawfully sold a controlled substance, and
makes other changes relative to mandatory expulsion
provisions.
BACKGROUND
Current law prohibits a pupil from being suspended or
recommended for expulsion unless the principal of the
school determines that the pupil has committed certain
acts, and gives schools the discretion to take action for
most offenses. (Education Code § 48900)
Discretion to suspend
Schools may suspend a pupil for violating any number of
acts, some of which include:
1) Attempting to cause or threatening to cause physical
injury to another person. (Expulsion must be
recommended for causing serious physical injury.) (EC
§ 48915))
2) Being under the influence of a controlled substance.
(Expulsion must be recommended for possession or the
sale of controlled substances.) (EC § 48915)
3) Caused or attempted to cause damage to school
property.
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4) Possessed or used tobacco.
5) Committed an obscene act or engaged in habitual
profanity or vulgarity.
6) Possessed, offered, arranged or negotiated to sell
drug paraphernalia.
7) Engaged in, or attempted to engage in, hazing.
8) Disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully
defying the valid authority of supervisor, teachers,
administrators, school officials, or other school
personnel engaged in the performance of their duties.
9) Engaged in an act of bullying. (EC § 48900, §
48900.2, § 48900.3, § 48900.4, § 48900.7)
Pupils may be suspended for a first offense if the school
principal determines that the pupil committed certain acts
or that pupil's presence causes a danger to persons or
property or threatens to disrupt the instructional process
or the pupil committed certain acts. (EC § 48900.5)
Subjective decision expel
School may expel pupils for various offenses, including
disruption and defiance, upon finding either 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 violation, the presence of
the pupil causes a continuing danger to the physical
safety of the pupil or others. (EC § 48915(e))
Mandatory suspension and recommended expulsion
School principals are required to immediately suspend, and
recommend expulsion of, a pupil who has committed any of
the following acts at school or a school activity off
school grounds:
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1) Possessing, selling, or furnishing a firearm. (This
is consistent with the federal Gun-Free Schools Act.)
2) Brandishing a knife at another person.
3) Unlawfully selling a controlled substance.
4) Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault.
5) Possession of an explosive. (EC § 48915(c))
Prior to suspension
Current law states that suspension shall be imposed only
when other means of correction fail to bring about proper
conduct. (EC § 48900.5)
Suspension by the principal must be preceded by an informal
conference between the principal, pupil and whenever
practicable, the teacher, supervisor or school employee who
referred the pupil to the principal. School principals may
suspend a pupil without first holding an informal
conference with the pupil if an emergency situation exists.
A school employee is required to make a reasonable effort
to contact the pupil's parents at the time of suspension;
however, whenever a pupil is suspended from school (as
opposed to suspension from a class) the parent must be
notified in writing. (EC § 48911)
Decision to suspend
The governing board of a school district is required,
unless a request has been made to the contrary, to hold
closed sessions if the board is considering suspending or
taking other disciplinary action (other than expulsion) if
a public hearing would lead to the release of confidential
information. School districts are required to notify, in
writing, the pupil and the pupil's parent of the intent to
call and hold a closed session. (EC § 48912)
Alternatives to out-of-school suspension
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School district superintendents and school principals are
authorized to use discretion to provide alternatives to
suspension or expulsion, including counseling and an anger
management program. (EC § 48900(v))
School principals are authorized to assign a suspended
pupil to a supervised suspension classroom for the entire
period of suspension if the pupil poses no imminent danger
or threat to the campus, pupils, or staff, or if an action
to expel the pupil has not been initiated. (EC § 48911.1)
Current law states that schools should consider
implementing at least one of the following if the number of
pupils suspended during the prior school year exceeded 30%
of the school's enrollment:
1) A supervised suspension program.
2) A progressive discipline approach during the schoolday
on campus (as an alternative to off-campus
suspension), using any of the following activities:
a) Conferences between the school staff,
parents and pupils.
b) Referral to the school counselor,
psychologist, child welfare attendance personnel,
or other school support service staff.
c) Detention.
d) Study teams, guidance teams, resource panel
teams, or other assessment-related teams. (EC §
48911.2)
Teachers may suspend pupils from class for the day and the
following day. If the pupil is to remain on campus during
that suspension, the pupil must be under appropriate
supervision. Teachers must ask the parent to attend a
parent-teacher conference regarding the suspension. Pupils
are prohibited from returning to the class from which he or
she was suspended, during the period of the suspension,
without the concurrence of the teacher and principal.
(EC § 48910)
Schools are authorized to require a pupil to perform
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community service as part of or instead of suspension or
expulsion for most offenses. (EC § 48900.6)
Missed assignments
The teacher of any class from which a pupil is suspended is
authorized to require the pupil to complete any assignments
and tests missed during the suspension. (EC § 48913)
Number of days of suspension
The number of days that a pupil may be suspended from
school is capped at five consecutive schooldays. (EC §
48911)
With some exception, the total number of days for which a
pupil may be suspended is capped at 20 schooldays per
school year, unless the pupil enrolls in or is transferred
to another regular school, an opportunity school or a
continuation school, in which case the cap is 30 schooldays
per school year. School districts are authorized to count
suspensions that occur while a pupil is enrolled in another
school district toward the maximum numbers of days for
which a pupil may be suspended in any school year. (EC §
48903)
In cases where expulsion from any school or suspension for
the remainder of the semester from continuation schools is
being processed by a school district, the district
superintendent may extend the suspension until the
governing board has rendered a decision. (EC § 48911(g))
Length of expulsion
School district governing boards are required to set a
date, not later than the last day of the semester following
the semester in which the expulsion occurred, when the
pupil shall be reviewed for readmission to a school within
the district or the school the pupil last attended. (EC §
48916(a))
School district governing boards are required to set a date
of one year from the date the expulsion occurred for a
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pupil who has been expelled for:
1) Possessing, 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.
5) Possession of an explosive. (EC § 48916(a))
Pupils with exceptional needs
Schools are authorized to suspend or expel an individual
with exceptional needs in accordance with federal law. If
a pupil with an individualized education program (IEP)
exhibits behavior problems, the IEP team must make a
determination if the behavior is a manifestation of the
disability and whether the strategies in the IEP are
effective to address the behavior. If it is determined
that the IEP is ineffective, a functional analysis is then
amended to include a behavior intervention plan. (EC §
48915.5, § 56523, and California Code of Regulations Title
5, § 3052)
ANALYSIS
This bill grants discretion to school principals to make a
determination of the appropriateness of the expulsion of a
pupil who has unlawfully sold a controlled substance, and
makes other changes relative to mandatory expulsion
provisions. Specifically, this bill:
1) Grants discretion to school principals to make a
determination of the appropriateness of the expulsion
of a pupil who has unlawfully sold a controlled
substance by moving this act from provisions regarding
mandatory expulsion more permissive provisions of the
Education Code.
2) Does not grant discretion to the governing board of a
school district in ordering the expulsion of a pupil
determined to unlawfully sold a controlled substance
if the school principal recommends expulsion for the
pupil.
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3) Exempts possession of an imitation firearm from
mandatory suspension and expulsion, and instead
authorizes schools to suspend or expel a pupil for
possession of an imitation firearm.
4) Exempts possession of over-the-counter medication for
use by the pupil for medical purposes and medication
prescribed for the pupil by a physician from mandatory
expulsion for unlawful possession of a controlled
substance.
5) Encourages a school principal, if making a
determination whether to recommend expulsion under the
circumstances or if an alternative means of correction
would address the conduct to make that determination
as quickly as possible to ensure that the pupil does
not lose instructional time.
6) Adds to the authority of a school principal to
determine that expulsion should not be recommended by
making a determination that an alternative means of
correction would address the conduct.
7) Deletes the infraction and $500 fine that is imposed
upon a school principal or principal's designee who
willfully failed to make any required report to law
enforcement relative to certain acts for which a pupil
is suspended or expelled.
8) States Legislative intent that the acts specified in
the suspension and expulsion article of the Education
Code form the exclusive bases for the imposition of
suspension or expulsion.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, "Since
the passage of mandatory or 'zero tolerance'
provisions for some offenses in California law more
than a decade ago, a number of students have been
expelled or forced through the costly expulsion
process and denied access to school instruction and
their school district, even where under the
circumstances of the case the school administrator may
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have believed that another punishment could have
better addressed the issue or that the facts of the
case did not warrant the most extreme punishment,
expulsion. For example, in a well-publicized case, a
young Latino girl in Los Angeles with straight As who
had no prior history of discipline problems
accidentally brought the boxcutter she used at her
night job to school and was expelled by her district
because the act fell under the mandatory expulsion
section in the code. Current law has also been
interpreted to require a school administrator to expel
a student from school for low level offenses, such as
brining prescription medicine, which could be seen as
a 'controlled substance,' to school campus for
personal, medical use."
2) Discretion . Current law requires a school principal
to immediately suspend and recommend the expulsion of
a pupil who sold a controlled substance, and requires
the governing board of the school district to order
the pupil expelled. This bill allows school
principals to use discretion to determine whether to
recommend the expulsion, but does not grant discretion
to the school board; if the principal determines
expulsion is appropriate and recommends expulsion to
the school board, the school board must order the
pupil to be expelled.
3) Imitation firearms . This bill exempts possession of
an imitation firearm from mandatory suspension and
expulsion, and instead authorizes schools to suspend
or expel a pupil for possession of an imitation
firearm. Current law authorizes but does not require
schools to suspend or expel a pupil for possession of
an imitation firearm and provides a definition of
"imitation firearm." The provisions in this bill
provide further clarification that schools are
required to expel a pupil for possession of a firearm
and are authorized, but not required, to suspend or
expel a pupil for possession of an imitation firearm.
4) Unlawful possession . This bill specifies that a pupil
is not subject to mandatory expulsion for unlawful
possession of over-the-counter medication for use by
the pupil or possession of medication prescribed to
the pupil. While common sense leads one to wonder why
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possession of prescribed medication or
over-the-counter medication would be considered
unlawful possession, some schools are apparently
interpreting law as requiring expulsion for possession
of anything that may contain components that are on
the expansive list of controlled substances. This
bill provides clarification that possession of legal
over-the-counter medication and medication prescribed
to the pupil are not considered unlawful possession of
a controlled substance.
5) Capacity . Implementation of alternative means of
correction could include the need for staff training,
school counselors and psychologists, staff to
supervise pupils who serve in-school suspensions, and
classrooms to house pupils who serve in-school
suspensions. This bill does not require schools to
use alternative means of correction.
6) Related legislation . SB 1088 (Price) requires school
districts to conduct a second review for the
readmission of pupils who have been expelled and
denied readmission, and prohibits school from denying
enrollment or readmission to pupils solely on the
basis that he or she has had contact with the juvenile
justice system. SB 1088 is scheduled to be heard by
the Assembly Education Committee on June 27.
SB 1235 (Steinberg) requires schools that have suspended
more than 25% of the school's enrollment or more than
25% of any numerically significant racial or ethnic
subgroup of the school's enrollment in the prior
school year to implement, for at least three years, at
least one specified strategies to reduce the
suspension rate or disproportionality. SB 1235 is
scheduled to be heard by the Assembly Education
Committee on June 27.
AB 1729 (Ammiano) removes some discretion for suspension
upon a first offense and authorizes the use and
documentation of other means of correction.
AB 1732 (Campos) identifies conduct that would constitute a
post on a social media website, relative to
cyberbullying. AB 1732 is pending on the Senate
Floor.
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AB 1909 (Ammiano) requires schools to notify a foster
youth's attorney and representative of the county
child welfare agency of pending expulsion or other
disciplinary proceedings. AB 1909 is scheduled to be
heard by the Senate Human Services Committee on June
26, 2012.
AB 2032 (Mendoza) requires charter schools to be subject to
the same suspension and expulsion provisions as other
public schools. AB 2032 was held on the Assembly
Appropriations Committee's suspense file.
AB 2145 (Alejo) requires the California Department of
Education to disaggregate and report data related to
referrals to a school attendance review board and post
disaggregated expulsion and suspension data on its
website, and requires schools districts to maintain
data relative to expended suspensions. AB 2145 is
scheduled to be heard by this Committee on June 27,
2012.
AB 2242 (Dickinson) prohibits pupils who are found to have
disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully
defied the authority of school officials from being
subject to extended suspension, or recommended for
expulsion. AB 2242 is scheduled to be heard by this
Committee on June 27, 2012.
AB 2300 (Swanson) requires school districts to expunge from
a pupil's records a suspension for certain acts if the
pupil completes five hours of community service. AB
2300 was held on the Assembly Appropriations
Committee's suspense file.
AB 2616 (Carter) creates a new option for the first time a
truancy report is issued, shifts the existing
consequences for the first truancy to the second
truancy, and eliminates the mandate that a pupil found
truant for the fourth time in one school year be
referred to the juvenile court. AB 2616 is scheduled
to be heard by this Committee on June 27, 2012.
SUPPORT
American Civil Liberties Union
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Black Organizing Project
Black Parallel School Board
California Association for Parent-Child Advocacy
California State Conference of the National Association for
the Advancement of
Colored People
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
Children's Defense Fund - California
Community Asset Development Re-Defining Education
Community Coalition
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
Legal Advocates for Children & Youth
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Northern California Association of Counsel for Children
Public Counsel
Restorative Schools Vision Project
Youth and Education Law Project, Mills Legal Clinic
Youth Justice Coalition
OPPOSITION
None on file.