BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 420
Page A
Date of Hearing: May 1, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 420 (Dickinson) - As Amended: April 10, 2013
Policy Committee: Education
Vote:6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill limits a superintendent's or principal's authority to
suspend or expel a pupil from school for disrupting school
activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid authority of
supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or
other school personnel engaged in the performance of their
duties. Specifically, this bill:
1)Prohibits a pupil in grades K-5 from being suspended or
expelled from school for willful defiance.
2)Specifies a pupil in grades 6-12 may only be suspended from
school for willful defiance after the third offense in a
school year, provided other means of correction as defined
under current law were attempted before the recommendation to
suspend.
3)Prohibits a pupil in grades 6-12 from being recommended for
expulsion for willful defiance.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Increased GF/98 revenue limit costs, likely in excess of $3.5
million, to provide school districts with revenue limit
funding (general purpose) for pupils who no longer would be
suspended in grades K-5 for willful defiance and for pupils
who can no longer be suspended after the first offense, as
specified. According to the State Department of Education,
170,449 pupils served willful defiance suspensions
out-of-school in 2011-12.
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2)Potential, unknown GF/98 costs, likely in excess of $500,000,
to school districts to maintain a record of the other means of
correction provided to students in grades 6-12 as specified in
this measure. Current law defines other means of correction
and does not require school districts to document these
efforts; instead, it authorizes them to document. Under this
bill, however, a pupil in grades 6-12 may only be suspended
for willful defiance after the third offense in a school year,
provided other means of correction were attempted before the
recommended suspension. In order to meet this requirement, it
is reasonable to expect a school district to keep a record of
the other means of correction.
COMMENTS
1)Background . Federal law requires the state to report the
number of expulsions and suspensions. There were 709,596 (11%
of enrollment) suspensions and 9,553 (0.001% of enrollment)
expulsion incidents in California schools in 2011-12.<1> Of
the suspensions, 539,147 (76%) were out-of-school suspensions
and 170,449 (24%) were in-school suspensions.
In April 2013, the Superintendent of Public Instruction
released pupil suspension data disaggregated by offense. This
data reveals 341,112 willful defiance suspensions occurred in
California schools in 2011-12. This number represents 48% of
all suspensions and 6% of all expulsions. Likewise, 60% of
willful defiance suspensions are served out-of-school.
2)Acts that constitute a suspension or expulsion . Existing law
prohibits a pupil from being suspended from school or
recommended for expulsion, unless the superintendent or the
principal of the school determines the pupil has committed any
of the following acts:
a) Caused, attempted to cause, or threatened to cause
physical injury to another person.
b) Willfully used force or violence upon another person,
except in self-defense.
c) Possessed, sold, or furnished a firearm, knife,
--------------------------
<1>These numbers represent total suspension and expulsions,
respectively. A pupil may be counted more than once, if he or
she were suspended or expelled more than once for different
incidents.
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explosive or other dangerous object, as specified.
d) Unlawfully possessed, used, sold, or furnished, or under
the influence of a controlled substance.
e) Unlawfully negotiated or arranged to sell a controlled
substance, as specified.
f) Committed or attempted to commit robbery or extortion.
g) Caused or attempted to cause damage to school property
or private property.
h) Stolen or attempted to steal school property or private
property.
i) Possessed or used tobacco or products containing
tobacco, as specified.
j) Committed an obscene act or engaged in habitual
profanity or vulgarity.
aa) Disrupted school activities or otherwise willfully
defied the valid authority of supervisors, teachers,
administrators, school officials, or other school personnel
engaged in their performance of their duties.
bb) Knowingly received stolen school property or private
property.
cc) Possessed an imitation firearm, as specified.
dd) Committed or attempted to commit sexual assault, as
specified.
ee) Harassed, threatened, or intimidated a pupil who is a
complaining witness or a witness in a school disciplinary
preceding, as specified.
ff) Unlawfully offered, arranged/negotiated to sell, or sold
the prescription drug Soma.
gg) Engaged in, or attempted to engage in, hazing, as
specified.
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hh) Engaged in the act of bullying, as specified.
ii) Committed sexual harassment, as specified.
3)Purpose . Recently released 2011-12 school suspension and
expulsion data reveals African-American students are 6.5% of
total enrollment, but make up 19% of suspensions. White
students are 26% of total enrollment, but represent 20% of
suspensions. Latino students are 52% of total enrollment, and
54% of suspensions. The data related to willful defiance
suspensions reveals 55% of these offenses were committed by
Latino students, 20% were committed by White students, and 18%
were committed by African American students. In addition, 58%
of the total out-of-school suspensions are attributed to
Latino students.
According to the author, "More than two decades of research
has confirmed that out-of-school suspension and expulsion for
such lower level conduct does not work. It does not improve
student behavior and, in fact, can exacerbate the problem. In
addition, students who are subjected to out-of-school
discipline not only lose important instructional time, they
are far more likely to drop out of school and enter the
juvenile delinquency system, at great cost to the state, than
students whose problem behaviors are addressed proactively
with research-based supports and interventions in school and
with parents."
This bill limits a superintendent or principal's authority to
suspend or expel a pupil from school for willful defiance, as
specified.
4)Existing law regarding other means of correction . Statute
requires a suspension to be imposed only when other means of
correction fails to bring proper conduct. Current law
authorizes a school district to document the other means of
correction used, as specified. Other means of correction is
defined to include, but not be limited to, a host of actions,
including a conference between school personnel and the
pupil's parent/guardian, referrals to a counselor or
psychologist, enrollment in an anger management program, and
conducting community service on school grounds.
5)Non-fiscal bill . This bill is keyed non-fiscal. This
committee, however, requested to hear this measure to
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determine any potential costs or savings associated with
establishing alternative pupil suspension statute.
6)Previous legislation . AB 2242 (Dickenson), similar to this
measure, was vetoed by the governor in September 2012 with the
following message:
"This bill limits the authority of school officials to suspend
a student for 'willful defiance or disruption of school
activities.'
"I cannot support limiting the authority of local school
leaders, especially at a time when budget cuts have greatly
increased class sizes and reduced the number of school
personnel. It is important that teachers and school officials
retain broad discretion to manage and set the tone in the
classroom.
"The principle of subsidiarity calls for greater, not less,
deference to our elected school boards which are directly
accountable to the citizenry."
Analysis Prepared by : Kimberly Rodriguez / APPR. / (916)
319-2081