BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Carol Liu, Chair
2013-2014 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 549
AUTHOR: Jones-Sawyer
AMENDED: May 24, 2013
FISCAL COMM: No HEARING DATE: July 3, 2013
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT: Lynn Lorber
SUBJECT : School safety plans: role of intervention
professionals.
SUMMARY
This bill encourages schools to include in school safety
plans, when plans are reviewed and updated, guidelines for
the roles and responsibilities of mental health and
intervention professionals, school resource officers and
police officers on the school campus.
BACKGROUND
Current law:
1) Requires each school district and county office of
education to be responsible for the overall
development of all comprehensive school safety plans
for its schools. (Education Code § 32281)
2) Current law requires the schoolsite council of a small
school district to write and develop the school safety
plan, and requires the schoolsite council to consult
with a representative from a law enforcement agency in
the writing and development of the school safety plan.
(EC § 32281)
3) States legislative intent that all public schools
develop a comprehensive school safety plan that
addresses the safety concerns identified through a
systematic planning process. Current law states
intent that schools develop school safety plans in
cooperation with local law enforcement agencies,
community leaders, parents, pupils, teachers,
administrators, and other people who may be interested
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in the prevention of campus crime and violence. (EC §
32280)
4) Authorizes school districts and county offices of
education, in consultation with law enforcement, to
elect to not have its schoolsite council develop and
write portions of the school safety plan that include
tactical responses to criminal incidents. Portions of
the safety plan containing tactical responses may be
developed by school administrators in consultation
with law enforcement and with a representative of the
employee bargaining unit. Governing boards are
authorized to approve the tactical response portion of
the safety plan in a closed session. (EC § 32281)
5) Requires the comprehensive school safety plan to
include (1) an assessment of the current status of
school crime committed on school campuses and at
school-related functions and (2) identification of
appropriate strategies and programs that will provide
or maintain a high level of school safety and detail
procedures for complying with existing laws; disaster
procedures; policies regarding suspension or
expulsion; a discrimination and harassment policy;
and, a safe and orderly environment conducive to
learning. (EC § 32282)
6) Encourages, as school safety plans are reviewed and
updated, plans to include policies and procedures
aimed at the prevention of bullying.
(EC § 32282)
7) Requires the comprehensive school safety plan to be
evaluated at least once a year. (EC § 32282)
8) Requires the schoolsite council or school safety
planning committee to hold a public meeting to allow
public comment, and requires the notification of
specified people and entities prior to this meeting.
Current law requires each school to submit its school
safety plan to the school district or county office of
education for approval and requires a school district
or California Office of Education to notify the
California Department of Education by October 15 of
every year of any school that is not in compliance.
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(EC § 32288)
9) Requires each school to include a description of key
elements of the school safety plan in the annual
school accountability report card.
(EC § 32286)
10) Current law requires, if the Superintendent of Public
Instruction determines that there has been a willful
failure to make any report required in school safety
plan statutes to do both of the following:
a) Notify the school district or county office
of education in which the willful failure has
occurred.
b) Make an assessment of up to $2,000 against
that school or county office, which may be done
by deducting funding from the district's or
county office's future apportionment. (EC §
32287).
ANALYSIS
This bill encourages schools to include in school safety
plans, when plans are reviewed and updated, guidelines for
the roles and responsibilities of mental health and
intervention professionals, school resource officers and
police officers on the school campus. Specifically, this
bill:
1) Encourages all school safety plans to include, as
plans are reviewed and updated and to the extent that
resources are available, clear guidelines for
the roles and responsibilities of mental health and
intervention professionals (if intervention
professionals are used), school resource officers, and
police officers on the school campus.
2) Authorizes the guidelines to include primary
strategies to create and maintain a positive school
climate, promote school safety, and increase pupil
achievement, and prioritize mental health and
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intervention services, restorative and transformative
justice programs, and positive behavior interventions
and support.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Need for the bill . According to the author, "Across
the state, school districts, such as Los Angeles
Unified School District, have responded to the very
rational fears of parents by deploying more law
enforcement officers on school campuses. They are an
important part of overall community safety; they are
not the only 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. By distinguishing
the role of mental health professionals, school
resource officers and police officers on campus from
those of other personnel, it will better protect the
campus environment, improve school climate and ensure
that mental health professionals and law enforcement
are available to intervene in situations where they
are most needed."
2) Author's amendments . The author wishes to amend this
bill to expand reference to "intervention
professionals" to also include "community intervention
professionals, mental health professionals, and school
counselors."
3) Not currently part of school safety plans ? Current
law requires school safety plans to contain
"appropriate strategies and programs that will provide
or maintain a high level of school safety and detail
procedures for complying with existing laws," such as
disaster and discipline procedures. The
identification of the roles of various personnel is
not currently required to be specified in school
safety plans.
The identification of the roles of mental health
professionals, intervention professionals, school
resource officers, and police officers on the school
campus could be interpreted as limiting the role of
certain personnel on school campuses. However, many
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of the professions listed are not school employees; it
seems reasonable to delineate the specific roles of
each agency or entity that may respond to an incident
on school grounds. Law enforcement agencies have
jurisdiction over school campuses regardless
of what may be stated in a school safety plan.
Further, this bill encourages but does not require
school safety plans to include guidelines to identify
the role of various personnel.
4) Fiscal impact . According to the Assembly
Appropriations Committee, this bill would impose
General Fund (Proposition 98) cost pressure, likely
between $150,000 and $250,000, to school districts to
establish guidelines.
5) Related legislation . SB 49 (Lieu) requires school
safety plans to include procedures related to response
to a person with a gun on campus, extends from
annually to every third year the frequency of review
of safety plans, and requires charter school petitions
to include a description of a school safety plan, as
specified. SB 49 is pending in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
SB 634 (Price) requires comprehensive school safety plans
to include procedures for conducting school safety
drills, requires each school during each school year
to conduct a minimum number of school evacuation
drills relating to fire incidents, and requires
schools to conduct at least one law enforcement school
lockdown drill. SB 634 was held on the Senate
Appropriations Committee's suspense file.
AB 1264 (Conway) expands the definition of "tactical
response to criminal incidents" to include a plan to
safeguard against incidents that include a firearm,
explosive, or other deadly weapon, requires a school
district or county office of education to publicly
announce its adoption or update of a tactical response
plan, but does not require disclosure of those
portions of the plan that may be kept private,
requires school safety plans to include a tactical
response plan, and requires the school safety plan to
include a protocol for teachers to provide
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notification of pupils identified as having a
potential mental health issue that is likely to result
in violence or harm to the pupil or others. AB 1264
is pending in the Assembly Education Committee.
AB 202 (Donnelly) establishes the School Marshal Plan and
authorizes school districts, county offices of
education, and charter schools to use general purpose
funds to provide training for school marshals, which
is defined as a school employee who is authorized to
possess a firearm at a schoolsite or designated school
activities. AB 202 failed passage in the Assembly
Education Committee on April 17, 2013, on a 1-5 vote.
AB 470 (Mullin) removes $321,000 from the General Fund
(Proposition 98) apportioned under categorical
flexibility to support the School Safety Consolidated
Grant program for the purpose of requiring the
Department of Justice and the California Department of
Education to continue contracting with one or more
professional trainers to coordinate statewide
workshops for school districts, county offices of
education, and schoolsite
personnel in implementing school safety requirements.
AB 470 was held on the Assembly Appropriations
Committee's suspense file.
SUPPORT
American Civil Liberties Union
California Federation of Teachers
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
OPPOSITION
Association of California School Administrators
Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association
San Diego Schools Police Officers Association