BILL NUMBER: AB 549 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 23, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 1, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 14, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer
FEBRUARY 20, 2013
An act to amend Section 32282 of the Education Code, relating to
school safety.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 549, as amended, Jones-Sawyer. Comprehensive school safety
plans: adult role on campus guidelines.
Existing law provides that school districts and county offices of
education are responsible for the overall development of a
comprehensive school safety plan for its schools operating
kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive. Existing law
requires the schoolsite council of a school to write and develop the
comprehensive school safety plan relevant to the needs and resources
of the particular school, except as specified with regard to a small
school district. Existing law requires the comprehensive school
safety plan to include specified strategies and programs that will
provide or maintain a high level of school safety.
This bill would require those strategies and programs to include
the development of clear guidelines for the roles and
responsibilities of mental health and intervention professionals,
school resource officers, and police officers on the school
campus, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The bill
would require these guidelines to conform to specific requirements,
including the requirement that the primary function of a
police officer and school resource
officers on campus is to address serious and immediate
threats to the focus on addressing those situations
that require protecting the physical safety of
students pupils and school staff. The bill would
require a school and school district that elects to apply for and
receive state or federal funding for the purposes
of increasing campus safety to comply with certain requirements,
including submitting a plan to the State Department of Education on
the proposed use of the funds.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(1) It is imperative that California maximizes the health,
welfare, and safety of children in and out of schools.
(2) Schools remain one of the safest places for students
pupils .
(3) Recent California voter surveys indicate that Californians
strongly support planning, training, mental health services, and
teaching conflict resolution as ways to improve safety and prevent
violence in schools.
(4) More than a ratio of 2-to-1 eligible California voters believe
having trained guidance counselors in every school would be more
effective than having armed police officers in the schools.
(b) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to foster a
positive learning environment for students
pupils in schools with role-appropriate adults who are focused
on academic excellence, health, wellness, and safety.
(c) Further, it is the intent of the Legislature to improve school
campus safety and academic success by better defining the roles and
responsibilities of police officers adults
on campus as they pertain to safety and school discipline.
SEC. 2. Section 32282 of the Education Code is amended to read:
32282. (a) The comprehensive school safety plan shall include,
but not be limited to, both of the following:
(1) Assessing the current status of school crime committed on
school campuses and at school-related functions.
(2) Identifying appropriate strategies and programs that will
provide or maintain a high level of school safety and address the
school's procedures for complying with existing laws related to
school safety, which shall include the development of all of the
following:
(A) Child abuse reporting procedures consistent with Article 2.5
(commencing with Section 11164) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 4 of
the Penal Code.
(B) Disaster procedures, routine and emergency, including
adaptations for pupils with disabilities in accordance with the
federal Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. Sec. 12101
et seq.). The disaster procedures shall also include, but not be
limited to, both of the following:
(i) Establishing an earthquake emergency procedure system in every
public school building having an occupant capacity of 50 or more
pupils or more than one classroom. A school district or county office
of education may work with the California Emergency Management
Agency and the Seismic Safety Commission to develop and establish the
earthquake emergency procedure system. The system shall include, but
not be limited to, all of the following:
(I) A school building disaster plan, ready for implementation at
any time, for maintaining the safety and care of pupils and staff.
(II) A drop procedure whereby each pupil and staff member takes
cover under a table or desk, dropping to his or her knees, with the
head protected by the arms, and the back to the windows. A drop
procedure practice shall be held at least once each school quarter in
elementary schools and at least once a semester in secondary
schools.
(III) Protective measures to be taken before, during, and
following an earthquake.
(IV) A program to ensure that pupils and both the certificated and
classified staff are aware of, and properly trained in, the
earthquake emergency procedure system.
(ii) Establishing a procedure to allow a public agency, including
the American Red Cross, to use school buildings, grounds, and
equipment for mass care and welfare shelters during disasters or
other emergencies affecting the public health and welfare. The school
district or county office of education shall cooperate with the
public agency in furnishing and maintaining the services as the
school district or county office of education may deem necessary to
meet the needs of the community.
(C) Policies pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 48915 for
pupils who committed an act listed in subdivision (c) of Section
48915 and other school-designated serious acts that would lead to
suspension, expulsion, or mandatory expulsion recommendations
pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 48900) of Chapter 6 of
Part 27 of Division 4 of Title 2.
(D) Procedures to notify teachers of dangerous pupils pursuant to
Section 49079.
(E) A discrimination and harassment policy consistent with the
prohibition against discrimination contained in Chapter 2 (commencing
with Section 200) of Part 1.
(F) The provisions of a schoolwide dress code, pursuant to Section
35183, that prohibits pupils from wearing "gang-related apparel," if
the school has adopted that type of a dress code. For those
purposes, the comprehensive school safety plan shall define
"gang-related apparel." The definition shall be limited to apparel
that, if worn or displayed on a school campus, reasonably could be
determined to threaten the health and safety of the school
environment. A schoolwide dress code established pursuant to this
section and Section 35183 shall be enforced on the school campus and
at any school-sponsored activity by the principal of the school or
the person designated by the principal. For purposes of this
paragraph, "gang-related apparel" shall not be considered a protected
form of speech pursuant to Section 48950.
(G) Procedures for safe ingress and egress of pupils, parents, and
school employees to and from school.
(H) A safe and orderly environment conducive to learning at the
school.
(I) The rules and procedures on school discipline adopted pursuant
to Sections 35291 and 35291.5.
(J) Clear guidelines for the roles and responsibilities of
mental health and intervention professionals, school resource
officers, and police officers on the school campus. The
guidelines shall conform to the following requirements:
(i) The primary function of police officers on school
campus shall be limited to addressing serious and immediate threats
to the physical safety of students and school staff
strategies to create and maintain positive school climate, promote
school safety, and increase pupil achievement shall
emphasize and prioritize mental health and intervention services,
restorative and transformative justice programs, and positive
behavior interventions and support .
(ii) The primary function of police and school resource officers
on a school campus shall be to focus on addressing those situations
that require protecting the physical safety of pupils and staff.
(ii)
(iii) The school shall consider existing strategies and
model approaches to minimize the involvement of law enforcement in
student pupil conduct and minor
offenses that do not rise to the level of a serious and immediate
threat to physical safety.
(iii) The school shall enter into
(iv) If a school district
has police officers on campus, schools are encouraged to create
memorandums of understanding with any existing law
enforcement entities on campus that contain criteria to properly
distinguish administrative responses to student conduct and minor
offenses pursuant to school district policies and state law, from
criminal responses. Memorandums of understanding shall be public and
shall include participation and input from students, parents, and the
school community that clearly delineate the
respective roles and responsibilities of the school and the police
officers in order to maximize resources and to ensure that the
administrative response to pupil conduct and minor offenses are
handled pursuant to school district policies and state law before
involving law enforcement. Memorandums of understanding shall be
public and shall include participation and input from pupils,
parents, and the full school community .
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature that schools develop
comprehensive school safety plans using existing resources, including
the materials and services of the partnership, pursuant to this
chapter. It is also the intent of the Legislature that schools use
the handbook developed and distributed by the School/Law Enforcement
Partnership Program entitled "Safe Schools: A Planning Guide for
Action" in conjunction with developing their plan for school safety.
(c) Grants to assist schools in implementing their comprehensive
school safety plan shall be made available through the partnership as
authorized by Section 32285.
(d) Each schoolsite council or school safety planning committee in
developing and updating a comprehensive school safety plan shall,
where practical, consult, cooperate, and coordinate with other
schoolsite councils or school safety planning committees.
(e) The comprehensive school safety plan may be evaluated and
amended, as needed, by the school safety planning committee, but
shall be evaluated at least once a year, to ensure that the
comprehensive school safety plan is properly implemented. An updated
file of all safety-related plans and materials shall be readily
available for inspection by the public.
(f) As comprehensive school safety plans are reviewed and updated,
the Legislature encourages all plans, to the extent that resources
are available, to include policies and procedures aimed at the
prevention of bullying.
(g) The comprehensive school safety plan, as written and updated
by the schoolsite council or school safety planning committee, shall
be submitted for approval under subdivision (a) of Section 32288.
(h) A school or school district that elects to apply for and
receive state or federal funding for the purposes
of increasing campus safety shall comply with the following:
(1) Submit a plan to the department on the proposed use of the
funds.
(2) Develop, if using funds for additional law enforcement
personnel, clear memoranda of understanding with law enforcement on
the roles and responsibilities of law enforcement on and off school
campus. The memoranda of understanding shall be available to the
public.
(3) Prioritize, if electing to receive additional funding for
campus safety from a state or federal source, using funding
for counselors and administrators before using the funds to increase
law enforcement, to the extent this prioritization is permitted by
state and federal law. to improve school climate,
including increasing school personnel, intervention workers,
counselors, and other supportive mental health service providers, and
to improve school-based programs, restorative and transformative
justice, and schoolwide positive behavior intervention and
support, to the extent this prioritization is permitted by state and
federal law.
SEC. 3. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.