BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2537
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2537 (V. Manuel Pérez)
As Amended August 7, 2012
Majority vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |50-24|(May 31, 2012) |SENATE: |23-14|(August 22, |
| | | | | |2012) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Makes changes to the provisions on expulsion and
strikes a fine to be paid by a principal or a principal's
designee for failure 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.
2)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.
3)Revises the provision requiring a principal or superintendent
of schools to recommend expulsion of a pupil for committing
specified acts, as follows:
a) Strikes the exception to mandatory expulsion if the
principal or superintendent finds that expulsion is
inappropriate due to the particular circumstance and
instead authorizes a principal or superintendent to not
recommend expulsion if he or she determines that expulsion
should not be recommended under the circumstances or that
an alternative means of correction would address the
conduct;
b) Specifies that unlawful possession of any controlled
substance does not include the possession of
over-the-counter medication for use by the pupil for
medical purpose or medication prescribed for the pupil by a
physician; and,
AB 2537
Page 2
c) Specifies that if the principal or superintendent makes
a determination to recommend expulsion that he or she is
encouraged to do so as quickly as possible to ensure that
the pupil does not lose instructional time.
4)Specifies that possessing, selling or otherwise furnishing a
firearm does not include possession of an imitation firearm.
The Senate amendments revert to current law the requirement to
immediately suspend and recommend expulsion for unlawfully
selling controlled substance and make a technical,
non-substantive amendment.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : 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 reported
700,884 suspensions and 18,649 expulsions in 2010-11.
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 Ýareas]
in the law."
The author provides the following example:
AB 2537
Page 3
"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, Ýshe] 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."
The sponsor of this bill, Public Counsel Law Center, 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 by 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 White males. The report argues that disciplinary
actions that result in exclusion from school cause students to
miss important instructional time and may result in a "greater
risk of disengagement and diminished educational opportunities."
The goal of this bill and several other bills introduced this
year is to keep students at school so that alternative
corrective measures can be identified to help address the causes
of the students' behaviors. Supporters of the bills 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 the sponsor of the bill, Public Counsel Law Center,
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
AB 2537
Page 4
school wide basis, has reduced suspensions dramatically, yet
administrators do not believe school safety has been
compromised.
Current law specifies three expulsion categories: 1) acts
committed by a pupil that result in immediate suspension and
recommendation for expulsion ("zero tolerance"); 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 has discretion to decide whether to
recommend expulsion.
The following five acts are considered "zero tolerance" and
result in immediate suspension and mandatory expulsion:
1)Possessing, selling, or furnishing a firearm;
2)Committing or attempting to commit a sexual assault or
committing a sexual battery;
3)Possession of an explosive;
4)Brandishing a knife at another person; and,
5)Unlawfully selling a controlled substance.
When passed by the Assembly, this bill moved "unlawfully selling
a controlled substance" out of zero tolerance and into the
category which requires recommendation for expulsion but gives
principals and superintendents some discretion based on the
circumstances or if he or she determines that an alternative
correction would address the behavior. The Senate deleted this
amendment and reverted this provision back to existing law.
This bill clarifies that possessing, selling or furnishing a
firearm under zero tolerance does not include an imitation
firearm. A principal or superintendent can already suspend or
expel a pupil for possession of an imitation firearm under the
permissive category.
In the category that requires expulsion but allows principals or
superintendents the authority to not suspend, this bill strikes
the authority based on a principal or superintendent finding
that expulsion is inappropriate and instead simply authorizes a
AB 2537
Page 5
principal or superintendent to not recommend expulsion if he or
she finds that the student should not be expelled based on the
circumstance or if he or she believes an alternative correction
would address the conduct.
This bill also clarifies that possession of a controlled
substance does not include over-the-counter or prescription
medication for a pupil's medical use. According to the sponsor,
this is to ensure that a student is not expelled for taking pain
medication (e.g., ibuprofen).
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, 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.
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0004603