BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2616
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 2616 (Carter)
As Amended August 6, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |70-0 |(May 30, 2012) |SENATE: |37-0 |(August 23, |
| | | | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: ED.
SUMMARY : Makes several changes to the provisions governing truancy.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that for purposes of the truancy provisions, a valid
excuse includes, but is not limited to, the reasons for which a
pupil shall be excused from school, and may include other reasons
that are within the discretion of school administrators and, based
on the facts of the pupil's circumstances, are deemed to
constitute a valid excuse.
2)Revises the provision governing the first time a truancy report is
issued. Specifies that the pupil and, as appropriate, the parent,
may be requested to attend a meeting with a school counselor or
other school designee to discuss the root causes of the attendance
issue and develop a joint plan to improve the pupil's attendance.
Strikes the provision that a pupil may be given a written warning
by a peace officer the first time a truancy report is issued.
3)Revises the provision governing the second time a truancy report
is issued. Provides that in addition to being assigned by the
school to an afterschool or weekend study program, the pupil may
be given a written warning by a peace officer. A record of the
written warning may be kept at the school for a period of not less
than two years, or until the pupil graduates, or transfers, from
that school. If the pupil transfers from that school, the record
may be forwarded to the school receiving the pupil's school
records. A record of the written warning may be maintained by the
law enforcement agency in accordance with that law enforcement
agency's policies and procedures.
4)Authorizes, rather than requires, that upon a fourth time a
truancy is issued within the same school year, the pupil to be
referred to the jurisdiction of the juvenile court that may
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adjudge the pupil to be a ward of the court.
5)Lowers a fine associated with a fourth truancy, if the pupil is
adjudged a ward of the court, from $100 to $50, for which a parent
or legal guardian of the pupil may be jointly liable. Specifies
that the fine shall not be subject to state penalties specified
under Penal Code Section 1464 or any other applicable law.
6)Adds "legal" before all references to "guardian."
The Senate amendments specify that the fine imposed with a fourth
truancy is not subject to any other applicable law, in addition to
the assessments under Penal Code Section 1464.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar to
the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
1)School discretion: Likely minor local savings, to the extent that
schools can more often contain attendance issues without involving
juvenile courts and other government entities.
2)Juvenile Court hearings: Likely minor savings, tens of thousands
statewide to the extent that juvenile court hearings related to
truancies are reduced.
3)Fines/Penalties: Likely very minor revenue loss to courts and
local entities, to the extent that fines and penalty assessments
are reduced.
COMMENTS : California's compulsory education law requires all
students between the ages of 6-18 to attend school full-time and
requires their parents and legal guardians to be responsible for
ensuring that their children attend school. This bill makes several
changes to the truancy laws. In 2010-11, the California Department
of Education (CDE) reported a truancy rate of 29.76%; 1.837 million
students out of a total enrollment of 6.2 million were considered
truants.
A student who is absent from school without a valid excuse three
full days in one school year or is tardy or absent for more than any
30-minute period during the schoolday without a valid excuse on
three occasions in one school year, or any combination thereof, is
considered a truant. This bill clarifies that a "valid excuse"
includes, but is not limited to, the excused absences authorized in
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existing law (e.g., illness, doctor and dental appointments of the
pupil or the pupil's child, attending funeral services of a member
of his or her immediate family), and may include other reasons
within the discretion of school administrators. The sponsor of the
bill, Public Counsel, states that administrators should have more
discretion to take into consideration circumstances that may have
caused a pupil to be absent or late - for example, a pupil takes
public transportation to school and the bus is late.
Parents or legal guardians are notified when their children has been
classified as a truant and are provided specified information,
including a reminder of their obligation to compel the attendance of
pupils at school, that parents or legal guardians who fail to meet
this obligation may be guilty of an infraction and subject to
prosecution, that alternative educational programs are available,
and that the parent or the legal guardian has the right to meet with
appropriate school personnel to discuss solutions to the pupil's
truancy.
Existing law specifies actions that may or shall be undertaken each
time a truancy report is required. Existing law authorizes a pupil
to receive a written warning by a peace officer upon a first truancy
report. The record of the warning is kept for two years and may be
transferred to a new school if the pupil changes school. This bill
authorizes, instead, the pupil and the parent to meet with the
school counselor or other school staff to discuss the root causes of
the attendance issue and develop a joint plan to improve attendance
upon a first truancy report. The truancy laws were devised as a way
to keep students in school. This provision of the bill is
consistent with the goal of a series of bills that have been
introduced this year attempting to reduce punitive disciplinary
measures and focus instead on alternative ways to keep a student in
school. Under this bill, the written warning by a peace officer
current authorized for a first truancy report is an authorized
consequence upon a second truancy report.
Upon a pupil's third truancy in a school year, a pupil is classified
as a habitual truant and may be referred to a school attendance
review board (SARB) or to the local probation officer. A fourth
truancy puts the pupil within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court
and may deem the pupil a ward of the court. If the pupil is
adjudged a ward of the court, the pupil may be required to do
court-approved community service, attend a court-approved truancy
prevention program, have his or her driving privileges suspended or
revoked, and/or pay a fine of $100. This bill makes it permissive
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to refer the pupil to the juvenile court, reduces the fine to $50,
and prohibits the fine to be subjected to additional state penalties
for all criminal offenses specified in Penal Code Section 1464 or to
any other applicable law.
According to the sponsor, "there are situations where a school could
find that sending the child into the juvenile justice system would
not be of benefit to the child, particularly given the research
showing that children with juvenile court involvement are as much as
4 times more likely to drop out of schools. In fact, juvenile court
involvement could further exacerbate the attendance issues,
particularly given the time required for the young person and his or
her family to go to Court and the lack of resources that the Courts
often have to assist with any underlying problems related mental
health, special education, disability, and poverty. Generally, as
the American Psychological Association and others have found, rather
than serving as a "wake-up call," aggressive criminal justice
centered policies in and around schools are more likely to cause
students to feel alienated from the educational system, causing
further disengagement. Moreover, if the Court determines that
incarceration is the appropriate response, our juvenile court
schools, according to at least one measure from CDE's DATAQUEST,
have a four year adjusted derived dropout rate of 98.7%, which is
obviously contrary to the intended goal of increasing attendance and
moving students closer to school success."
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| | Existing law | AB 2616 |
| | | |
|---------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------|
|First truancy |The pupil may be given a |The pupil, and, as |
|report |written warning by a peace |appropriate, the parent |
| |officer. |or legal guardian may be |
| | |requested to attend a |
| | |meeting with a school |
| | |staff to discuss the root |
| | |causes of the attendance |
| | |issue and develop a joint |
| | |plan to improve the |
| | |pupil's attendance. |
|---------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------|
|Second truancy |The pupil may be assigned to |The pupil may be given a |
|report |an afterschool or weekend |written warning by a |
| |study program. |peace officer, and may be |
| | |assigned to an |
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| | |afterschool or weekend |
| | |study program. |
|---------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------|
|Third truancy |The pupil shall be |No change. |
|report |classified as a habitual | |
| |truant and may be referred | |
| |to a SARB or a truancy | |
| |mediation program. | |
|---------------+-----------------------------+--------------------------|
|Fourth truancy |Requires the pupil to be |Makes it permissive to |
|report |referred to the juvenile |refer a pupil to juvenile |
| |court which may adjudge the |court. Reduces the fine |
| |pupil to be a ward of the |to $50 and prohibits the |
| |court. The pupil shall be |fine to be subjected to |
| |required to do one or more |state penalties. |
| |of the following: community | |
| |service, attend a | |
| |court-approved truancy | |
| |prevention program, have his | |
| |or her driving privileges | |
| |suspended or revoked, and/or | |
| |pay a fine of not more than | |
| |$100. | |
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Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087
FN: 0004607