BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 549
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          Date of Hearing:   May 1, 2013

                           ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
                                Joan Buchanan, Chair
                 AB 549 (Jones-Sawyer) - As Amended:  April 23, 2013
           
          SUBJECT  :   Comprehensive school safety plans

           SUMMARY  :  Requires the comprehensive school safety plan to  
          include clear guidelines for the roles and responsibilities of  
          mental health and intervention professionals, school resource  
          officers and police officers on the school campus based on  
          specified requirements.  Specifically,  this bill : 

          1) Finds and declares that schools remain one of the safest  
            places for students, and voter surveys indicate belief that  
            having trained guidance counselors in every school would be  
            more effective than having armed police officers in schools.  

          2)Expresses the intent of the Legislature to improve school  
            campus safety and academic success by better defining the  
            roles and responsibilities of adults on campus pertaining to  
            safety and school discipline.

          3)Requires the school safety plan to include clear guidelines  
            for the roles and responsibilities of mental health and  
            intervention professionals, school resource officers, and  
            police officers on the school campus that conform to the  
            following requirements:

             a)   The primary 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.

             b)   The primary function of police and school resource  
               officers (SROs) on a school campus shall be to focus on  
               addressing those situations that require protecting the  
               physical safety of pupils and staff.

             c)   The school shall consider existing strategies and model  
               approaches to minimize the involvement of law enforcement  
               in pupil conduct and minor offenses that do not rise to the  








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               level of a serious and immediate threat to physical safety.

             d)   If a school district has police officers on campus,  
               schools are encouraged to create memorandums of  
               understanding (MOUs) 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.  MOUs shall  
               be public and shall include participation and input from  
               pupils, parents, and the full school community.    

          4)Specifies that a school or school district that elects to  
            apply for and receive state or federal funding for purposes of  
            increasing campus safety shall comply with the following:

             a)   Submit a plan to the California Department of Education  
               (CDE) on the proposed use of funds.

             b)   Develop, if using funds for additional law enforcement  
               personnel, clear MOUs with law enforcement on the roles and  
               responsibilities of law enforcement on and off school  
               campus.  The MOU shall be available to the public.

             c)   Prioritize, if electing to receive additional funding  
               for campus safety from a state or federal source, using  
               funding 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.  

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Specifies that the schoolsite council or a school safety  
            planning committee is responsible for developing the  
            comprehensive school safety plan.  (Education Code Section  
            (EC) 32281)

          2)Specifies that the comprehensive school safety plan shall  
            include an assessment of the current status of school crime  
            committed on school campuses and at school-related functions  








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            and identification of 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, including child abuse reporting  
            procedures; disaster procedures; an earthquake emergency  
            procedure system; policies regarding pupils who commit  
            specified acts that would lead to suspension or expulsion;  
            procedures to notify teachers of dangerous pupils; a  
            discrimination and harassment policy; the provisions of any  
            schoolwide dress code; procedures for safe ingress and egress  
            of pupils, parents, and school employees to and from school; a  
            safe and orderly environment conducive to learning; rules and  
            procedures on school discipline; and hate crime reporting  
            procedures.  (EC 32282)

          3)Authorizes the governing board of a school district to  
            establish a school police department under the supervision of  
            a school chief of police, and to employ peace officers to  
            ensure the safety of school district personnel and pupils, and  
            the security of the real and personal property of the school  
            district.  Specifies that persons employed and compensated as  
            members of a police department of a school district, when  
            appointed and duly sworn, are peace officers, for the purposes  
            of carrying out their duties of employment (EC 38000 and  
            38001)

          4)Authorizes the governing board of a school district to  
            establish a security department under the supervision of a  
            chief of security, and to employ personnel to ensure the  
            safety of school district personnel and pupils and the  
            security of the real and personal property of the school  
            district.  Expresses the intent of the Legislature that a  
            school district security department is supplementary to city  
            and county law enforcement agencies and is not vested with  
            general police powers.  (EC 38000)

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown

           COMMENTS  :   School safety plans  .  Existing law requires each  
          school to develop a school safety plan that includes processes,  
          procedures, and policies to ensure student and staff safety at a  
          school site.  The components of the plan range from daily  
          processes, such as procedures for safe ingress and egress of  
          pupils, parents and school employees; to disaster and emergency  
          procedures such as those during and after earthquakes; to  








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          behavioral policies such as discrimination and harassment  
          policies.  The school safety plan is developed by a school site  
          council or a school safety planning committee.  Current law  
          requires a school to submit the school safety plan to the school  
          district or COE for approval and requires the school district or  
          county office of education (COE) to annually notify the CDE of  
          any schools that have not complied with the requirement to  
          develop a school safety plan.  The SPI is authorized to impose a  
          fine of not more than $2,000 against a school district or COE  
          for any willful failure to make any required report.  According  
          to the CDE, there has been no report of noncompliance by schools  
          and no district or COE has been fined for willfully failing to  
          report a school that has not developed a school safety plan.  It  
          is unclear whether this is because there has no violations and  
          every school in the state has developed its school safety plan,  
          or whether districts or COEs have not reported schools that have  
          not developed their school safety plans.   

           This bill  requires the school safety plan to include guidelines  
          for the roles and responsibilities of mental health and  
          intervention professionals, school resource officers, and police  
          officers on the school campus.  The guidelines must conform to  
          the following requirements:

          1)The primary 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.
          2)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.
          3)The school shall consider existing strategies and model  
            approaches to minimize the involvement of law enforcement in  
            student conduct and minor offenses that do not rise to the  
            level of a serious and immediate threat to physical safety.
          4)If a school district has police officers on campus, schools  
            are encouraged to create MOUs 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.  MOUs shall be  
            public and shall include participation and input from pupils,  








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            parents, and the full school community.   

           School police departments and security departments  .  Governing  
          boards are authorized to establish security departments headed  
          by a chief of security and a police department headed by a chief  
          of police.  Security departments are considered supplementary to  
          city and county law enforcement agencies and are not vested with  
          general police powers.  Individuals employed and compensated as  
          members of a police department of a school district, when  
          appointed and duly sworn, are considered peace officers.  The  
          Penal Code specifies that the authority of persons employed by  
          school district police departments extends to any place in the  
          state and authorizes these types of peace officers to carry a  
          firearm if authorized by the employing agency.  An estimated 22  
          districts have district police departments.  Larger districts  
          are more likely than smaller districts to have police  
          departments.  
           
          SROs  .  Districts that do not have police departments may partner  
          with local city or county law enforcement agencies through a SRO  
          program.  The SRO program assigns one or more police officers to  
          work with school districts to create and maintain a safe  
          environment and provide support and training to school and  
          district officials on crime prevention, gang intervention and  
          school safety.  Some SROs may assign one officer to each middle  
          and/or high school or one officer to work with several middle  
          and/or high schools, while others may assign one officer to work  
          with the whole district.  Some SROs are on campuses daily.

           Focus on less punitive measures  .  This bill raises many issues  
          regarding the role of law enforcement on campus.  Some parents  
          appreciate having law enforcement presence on school campus to  
          deter criminals from entering the schoolsite and to better  
          monitor gang activity inside and outside school.  However,  
          according to the author's office, some law enforcement officials  
          are too aggressive and turn too easily to issuances of citations  
          and arrests of pupils for non-safety reasons, including for  
          disciplinary reasons such as truancy and tardiness, fighting,  
          writing on school desks or books, and substance issues.  The  
          author states, "While they [law enforcement officers] are an  
          important part of overall community safety, they are not the  
          most effective means of keeping schools safe and can actually  
          have a counterproductive effect.  To make learning environments  
          safer, researchers recommend that schools take actions to create  
          connectedness and trust between children and adults."  A January  








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          2013 survey conducted by the California Endowment on voter  
          attitudes on school safety shows that voters are divided on the  
          presence of armed police officers in schools, with 23%  
          indicating strong support, 27% somewhat support, 19% somewhat  
          opposed, and 28% strongly opposed.

          In the last couple of years, legislation have focused on  
          reducing punitive measures, such as out of school suspensions  
          and expulsions, and emphasized more positive strategies to  
          change behaviors.  The rationale is that a student is more  
          likely to engage in gangs, commit criminal activities and enter  
          the juvenile justice system if they are not in school.   
          Consistent with this belief is that the presence of law  
          enforcement on school campuses and incarceration of pupils are  
          contrary to the cultivation of a positive school culture.   
          Pupils should not be arrested or cited at school for minor  
          offenses.  Disciplinary behaviors are more appropriately handled  
          by school staff.  A 2009 paper titled "Policing in Schools" by  
          the American Civil Liberties Union states, "Improper  
          school-based arrests and referrals to law enforcement have a  
          devastating impact on children.  Studies show that being  
          arrested has detrimental psychological effects on the child;  
          nearly doubles the odds of dropping out of school, and, if  
          coupled with a court appearance, nearly quadruples the odds of  
          dropout; lowers standardized test scores; reduces future  
          employment prospects; and increases the likelihood of future  
          interaction with the criminal justice system."  

           Role of police officers and SROs  .  This bill specifies that the  
          primary function of police and SROs on a school campus shall be  
          to focus on addressing those situations that require protecting  
          the physical safety of pupils and staff.  School police officers  
          and SROs would argue that they are more than just law  
          enforcement agents.  For example, SROs have programs to prevent  
          juvenile delinquency by developing positive relationships with  
          students and working with guidance counselors and other student  
          support staff to assist students and to provide services to  
          students involved in situations where referrals to service  
          agencies are necessary.  Limiting the role of SROs and police  
          officers to only that of ensuring physical safety may prevent  
          these types of activities.  The Committee may wish to consider  
          whether there is a non-enforcement role for police officers and  
          SROs and whether restricting their role to just situations of  
          where there is threat to the physical safety of pupils and staff  
          prevents flexibility for school districts and police or law  








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          enforcement agencies to establish strategies that allow law  
          enforcement to have a non-enforcement role.  

          The bill encourages schools that have police officers to create  
          MOUs to clearly delineate the role and responsibilities of  
          police officers to ensure that minor offenses are dealt with by  
          school staff rather than law enforcement.  While it may be  
          appropriate to have MOUs with SROs, a district that has its own  
          police department would not require a MOU.  If the Committee  
          chooses to pass this bill, staff recommends an amendment to  
          encourage the creation of a MOU or  the development of policies   
          in districts with police departments regarding the role and  
          responsibilities of law enforcement.  The provisions of this  
          bill were added to the school safety plan sections of the  
          Education Code.  Since the bill dictates the role of police  
          officers and establishes parameters for MOUs with law  
          enforcement, staff recommends relocating this provision to the  
          sections of the Education Code dealing with school security.      
           

           Use of future state and federal grant funds  .  This bill requires  
          a school or school district interested in applying for state or  
          federal funding to submit a plan to the CDE on proposed use of  
          funds; develop MOUs with law enforcement on the roles and  
          responsibilities of law enforcement on and off school campus,  
          and prioritize the use of funds to improve school climate,  
          including increasing school personnel, intervention workers,  
          counselors, and other supportive mental health providers, to  
          improve school-based reform programs.  According to the author's  
          office, the purpose of this provision is to ensure that  
          districts do not use funds to hire police officers over other  
          school staff such as mental health providers.  

          While the goals of changing school culture and ensuring that  
          there are adequate counselors and mental health providers have  
          merit, the Committee may wish to consider whether the law should  
          dictate the use of all future grant funds.  It is unclear what  
          funds will be available and what the requirements will be for  
          eligibility and applying for the funds.  If grants offer  
          flexible uses, each school may have different needs.  For  
          example, some schools may have high priority to strengthen the  
          physical safety of a campus, such as improving communications  
          systems or installing inside door locks.  Should the law  
          permanently specify the use of all future grant funds?  Staff  
          recommends amending this provision to encourage school districts  








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          to prioritize the use of grant funds for the purposes specified  
          in the bill.  According to the CDE, funds being deliberated in  
          Congress would not be allocated through the CDE.  As such, staff  
          recommends striking the provision requiring school districts to  
          submit a plan to the CDE.       

           Arguments in Support  .  The Children's Defense Fund-California  
          states, "Despite evidence that schools are the safest place for  
          our children, the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown,  
          Connecticut has ignited the need for action in communities  
          across America.  However, there is no evidence to support the  
          idea that the zero-tolerance approach of increasing police and a  
          security presence at schools actually makes them safer.  In  
          fact, these practices have turned many schools into unwelcoming  
          and even hostile environments for students, and actually provoke  
          misbehavior, rather than prevent it."

           Arguments in Opposition  .  The Association of California School  
          Administrators states, "AB 549 requires the MOU to include  
          specific strategies and offenses and limits the involvement of  
          police officers on a school site.  AB 549 is very prescriptive  
          for a school safety plan and requiring the MOU to be a pubic  
          document could actually reduce school safety."  

           Related legislation  .  AB 420 (Dickinson), pending in the  
          Assembly Appropriations Committee, removes disrupting school  
          activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid authority of  
          supervisors, teachers, administrators, school officials, or  
          other school personnel as a reason to suspend or recommend for  
          expulsion, any pupil in kindergarten through grade 5.  

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          Children's Defense Fund-California (sponsor)
          Advancement Project
          American Civil Liberties Union
          All of Us or None
          California Conference for Equality and Justice
          California Families to Abolish Solitary Confinement
          California Federation of Teachers
          California Fund for Youth Organizing
          Californians for Justice
          Californians United for a Responsible Budget








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          Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice
          Community Asset Development Re-Defining Education
          Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
          Justice for Families
          Labor/Community Strategy Center's Community Rights Campaign
          Legal Services for Children
          Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
          Los Angeles Community Action Network
          Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund
          National Center for Lesbian Rights
          PolicyLink
          Public Counsel
          Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles
          W. Haywood Burns Institute
          Youth Justice Coalition
          Youth Law Center
          Several individuals

           Opposition 
           
          Association of California School Administrators
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087