BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1088
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 27, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Julia Brownley, Chair
SB 1088 (Price) - As Amended: April 24, 2012
SENATE VOTE : 38-0
SUBJECT : Pupils: readmission
SUMMARY : Prohibits a pupil from being denied enrollment or
readmission to a public school solely on the basis that he or
she has had contact with the juvenile justice system and
requires a governing board to reevaluate a pupil for readmission
to a regular school district program or to the school the pupil
last attended if requested by the pupil or the pupil's parent or
guardian. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that a pupil shall not be denied enrollment or
readmission to a public school solely on the basis that he or
she had been arrested, adjudicated by a juvenile court, had
been formally or informally supervised by a probation officer,
or was detained for any length of time in a juvenile facility
or was enrolled in a juvenile court school.
2)Requires a governing board, at the request of a pupil or the
pupil's parent or guardian, to set a date, not later than the
last day of the semester following the semester in which the
governing board denied readmittance into the regular school
program, to reevaluate the pupil for readmission to a regular
school district program or to the school the pupil last
attended before the expulsion.
3)Requires a governing board to specify the date on which the
pupil will be reevaluated for readmission on the written
notice to the expelled pupil and the pupil's parent or
guardian describing the reasons for denying the pupil
readmittance into the regular public school.
4)Requires the reevaluation to be conducted in the same manner
as the initial readmission procedures.
5)Specifies that before a pupil is to be reevaluated for
readmission, the pupil shall provide to the governing board
written documentation detailing how the pupil has addressed
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the reasons given by the governing board for the initial
denial of readmission.
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
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)
4)Requires the governing board of each school district to
establish rules and regulations governing procedures for the
expulsion of pupils. Provides that pupils shall be entitled
to a hearing to determine whether the pupil should be
expelled. Requires the expulsion hearing to be held within 30
schooldays after the date the principal or the superintendent
makes the determination that the pupil has committed an
expellable act. Requires the governing board to conduct the
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hearing to consider whether a pupil shall be expelled in a
closed session, unless the pupil requests that the hearing be
conducted in a public meeting. Requires the decision of the
governing board to expel a pupil to be based upon substantial
evidence relevant to the charges. Requires the final action
to expel a pupil to be taken only by the governing board in a
public session. (EC Section 48918)
5)Authorizes a pupil or the pupil's parent or guardian to,
within 30 days following the decision of the governing board
to expel, file an appeal to the county board of education.
Requires the county board of education to hold a hearing
within 20 schooldays. Requires the county board of education
to adopt rules and regulations establishing procedures for
expulsion appeals. Specifies the questions and the criteria a
county board of education shall base the review on. (EC
Section 48919)
6)Specifies that at the time an expulsion of a pupil is ordered,
the governing board shall 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 maintained by the district or to the
school the pupil last attended. For a pupil expelled for one
of the acts that lead to immediate suspension and expulsion,
the governing board shall set a date of one year from the date
the expulsion occurred to evaluate the pupil for readmission.
(EC Section 48916)
7)Requires the governing board to recommend a plan of
rehabilitation for the pupil at the time of the expulsion
order, which may include, but not be limited, periodic review
as well as assessment at the time of review for readmission.
The plan may also include recommendations for improved
academic performance, tutoring, special education assessments,
job training, counseling, employment, community service, or
other rehabilitative programs. (EC Section 48916)
8)Requires a governing board to adopt rules and regulations
establishing a procedure for the filing and processing of
requests for readmission and the process for the required
review of all expelled pupils for readmission. Specifies that
if a governing board denies the readmission of an expelled
pupil, the governing board shall make a determination either
to continue the placement of the pupil in the alternative
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educational program or to place the pupil in another program
that may include, but need not be limited to, serving expelled
pupils, including placement in a county community school.
Requires the governing board to provide written notice to the
expelled pupil and the pupil's parent or guardian describing
the reasons for denying the pupil readmittance into the
regular school district program. Requires the written notice
to include the determination of the educational program for
the expelled pupil. Requires the expelled pupil to enroll in
that educational program unless the parent or guardian of the
pupil elects to enroll the pupil in another school district.
(EC Section 48916)
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, increased annual mandate costs of $500,000 - $1.4
million annually for additional readmission hearings. Unknown
costs/off-setting savings for readmission after incarceration,
depending on the choices of affected students and their
families.
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 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.
Expulsion process . Existing law establishes a process for
expulsion that includes a pupil's right to a hearing by the
governing board within 30 days after the date the principal or
the superintendent makes the determination that the pupil has
committed an expellable act. While requiring a governing board
to meet in closed session to deliberate an expulsion, unless the
pupil requests a public hearing, the decision to expel a pupil
must be made in a public session. When an expulsion is ordered,
the governing board is required to have a rehabilitation plan
for the pupil and set a date the governing board will evaluate
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the pupil for readmission to a school in the district or to the
school attended by the pupil before expulsion. The
rehabilitation plan may include drug treatment, counseling,
special education assessment, tutoring, community service,
attending a county community school or district community day
school and other rehabilitation programs. Pupils expelled for
"zero tolerance" acts - acts that result in immediate suspension
and recommendation for expulsion (possessing, selling, or
otherwise furnishing a firearm; brandishing a knife at another
person; unlawfully selling a controlled substance; committing or
attempting to commit a sexual assault; and possessing an
explosive) - are prohibited from enrolling in any school other
than a county community school, a district community day school,
or juvenile court school.
For most acts committed by a pupil, the date of the evaluation
for readmission must be set no later than the last day of the
semester following the semester in which the expulsion occurred.
Pupils who commit one of the zero tolerance acts are expelled
for a year and will not be evaluated for readmission until a
year after the date of expulsion.
Readmission. A governing board is required to readmit the pupil
following completion of the readmission process, unless the
governing board makes a finding that the pupil has not met the
conditions of the rehabilitation plan or continues to pose a
danger to campus safety or to other pupils and school staff. If
the governing board decides to deny readmission of an expelled
pupil, the governing board is required to determine either to
continue the placement of the pupil in the alternative
educational program initially selected for the pupil or to place
the pupil in another program that may include placement in a
county community school.
This bill provides a pupil another opportunity to be evaluated
for readmission if a governing board denies readmission.
Specifically, the bill requires a governing board to, at the
request of the pupil or the pupil's parent or guardian, set
another date, no later than the last day of the semester
following the semester the governing board denied readmission,
to reevaluate the pupil for readmission to a regular school
district program or to the school the pupil last attended before
the expulsion.
The bill also requires the written notice to the expelled pupil
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and the pupil's parent or guardian describing the reasons for
denying the pupil readmittance into the regular school district
program to include the date the pupil will be reevaluated for
readmission. The bill requires a pupil to be reevaluated for
readmission to provide the governing board written documentation
detailing how the pupil has addressed the reasons the governing
board denied readmission. To ensure that the pupil is informed
of this requirement, staff recommends adding this information in
the written notice.
This bill is consistent with a number of bills introduced this
year attempting to keep or return pupils to school. Studies
have shown that once a pupil exits the school system, he or she
is at much greater risk of dropping out of school, entering the
juvenile justice system, and committing crimes. This bill
attempts to give pupils a second opportunity to return to school
following a denial for readmission.
Enrollment after involvement in the juvenile justice system .
This bill prohibits a school district from denying enrollment or
readmission to a public school, regardless of whether the pupil
has been expelled or not, solely because he or she has had
contact with the juvenile justice system, including, but not
limited to: arrest, adjudication by a juvenile court, formal or
informal supervision by a probation officer, and detention for
any length of time in a juvenile facility or enrollment in a
juvenile court school. Many of the letters in support of the
bill stress the challenges they have experienced attempting to
help kids stabilize their lives by re-enrolling in school.
These may not be the kids who have been expelled from school,
but kids who got into trouble, were arrested, and entered the
juvenile justice system.
A 2010 report by the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at
Georgetown University titled "Addressing the Unmet Educational
Needs of Children and Youth in the Juvenile Justice and Child
Welfare Systems" identified an estimated 1.6 million youth who
are referred to juvenile court a year nationally. According to
the report, of those, approximately 24% are charged with
offenses against another person(s), 39% are charged with
property offenses, 12% involve drug-related offenses, and 25%
involve public order offenses. The report found that youth who
enter the juvenile justice system are often from low-income
families, have learning disabilities, have substance abuse
issues, or have experienced physical or emotional abuse. The
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researchers found that "reenrollment of youth in schools
following discharge from a juvenile correctional facility has
been a perennial challenge as schools and school districts have
resisted reenrollment of formerly incarcerated youth." Data
from the statewide summary of the report on the number of pupils
served with federal Title I funds shows that, in the 2009-10
school year, 13,693 of the 56,492 pupils served in juvenile
detention enrolled in a comprehensive public school within 30
days of exiting a juvenile court school. Youth Law Center, one
of the co-sponsors of the bill, states that most youth who's
been involved in the juvenile justice system want to return to
school upon release.
Arguments in support . The author states, "Across California,
juvenile justice youth are pushed out of school through the
imposition of enrollment barriers. Without any assessment or
educational justification, many of these youth, once released,
are summarily denied enrollment at their neighborhood school of
attendance and forced to attend alternative schools, often
without the possibility of returning to a comprehensive school
setting. According to the Department of Education, 66% of youth
leaving juvenile detention do not enroll in their local school
district within 30 calendar days.
Youth who have had contact with the juvenile justice system are
funneled into dropout recovery schools, county and community day
schools, independent study and continuation high schools which
graduate far fewer students than traditional institutions. For
these students, alternative schools represent an exit system,
the last step before dropping out. Sixty-three percent (63%) of
students attending continuation high schools drop out
altogether, eighty-one percent (81%) drop out at community day
schools and an astonishing ninety-eight percent (98%) exit at
Juvenile Court Schools. Some students are unable to find an
appropriate school because they are denied enrollment at
multiple school-sites; frustrated and alienated, they are more
likely to drop out. African American and Latino students have
suffered disproportionality from this practice."
Related legislation . AB 1729 (Ammiano), pending in the Senate
Education Committee, authorizes the use and documentation of
other means of correction and alternatives to suspension or
expulsion that are age appropriate and designed to address the
pupil's specific misbehavior and defines other means of
correction.
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AB 2242 (Dickinson), pending in the Senate Education Committee,
prohibits pupils who are found to have disrupted school
activities or otherwise willfully defied the authority of school
or school district officials from being subject to extended
suspension, or recommended for expulsion or expelled.
AB 2537 (V.M. Perez), pending in the Senate Education Committee,
makes changes to the provisions on mandatory 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.
AB 2616 (Carter), pending in the Senate Education Committee,
makes changes to the provisions governing truancy.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Public Counsel (co-sponsor)
Youth Law Center (co-sponsor)
Advancement Project
Alliance for Children's Rights
American Civil Liberties Union
Books Not Bars
California Catholic Conference
California Coalition for Youth
California County Superintendents Educational Services
Association
California Hawaii State Conference of the NAACP
California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association
California Public Defenders Association
California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation
California School Boards Association
California State PTA
California Teachers Association
Californians for Justice Education Fund
Chief Probation Officers of California
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
Children's Defense Fund
Community Asset Development Re-defining Education
Coleman Advocates for Children & Youth
Disability Rights Legal Center
East Bay Children's Law Offices
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Fight Crime: Invest in Kids
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Gay-Straight Alliance Network
Girls & Gangs
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay
Area
Legal Advocates for Children & Youth
Legal Services for Children
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Los Angeles County Office of Education
Los Angeles Unified School District
Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Center for Youth Law
New America Foundation
Office of Restorative Justice of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles
PICO California
PolicyLink
Prison Law Office
San Francisco Unified School District
The Mentoring Center
W. Haywood Burns Institute
Youth Justice Coalition
An individual
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087