BILL NUMBER: AB 570	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 24, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 25, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 14, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer

                        FEBRUARY 20, 2013

   An act to add Section 48432.3 to the Education Code, relating to
continuation schools.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 570, as amended, Jones-Sawyer. Continuation schools: policies
and procedures: voluntary placement. 
   (1) Existing 
      Existing  law establishes continuation
schools to provide opportunities for pupils to complete the required
academic courses of instruction to graduate from high school, to
provide a program of instruction that emphasizes occupational
orientation or a work-study schedule and offers intensive guidance
services to meet the special needs of pupils, and to provide a
program designed to meet the educational needs of each pupil, as
specified. Existing law requires the governing board of each high
school or unified school district that assigns pupils to continuation
schools to adopt rules and regulations governing procedures for the
involuntary transfer of pupils to continuation schools.
   This bill would  , if the governing board of a school district
chooses to voluntarily enroll   high school pupils in a
continuation school,  require the governing  boards of
school districts that operate high schools   board 
to establish and adopt policies and procedures governing the
identification, placement, and intake procedures for  these 
pupils  who voluntarily enroll in continuation schools
 , based on a finding that the voluntary placement of the
pupil will promote his or her educational interests. The bill would
require that voluntary placement in continuation school not be used
as an alternative to expulsion, except as specified, and would
require that these policies and procedures ensure that no specific
group of pupils, as specified, is disproportionately enrolled in
continuation schools within the school district. The bill would
require these policies and procedures to be provided to pupils whose
voluntary transfer to a continuation school is under consideration,
and to the parents or legal guardians of those pupils.  The
bill would require that copies of these policies and procedures be
made readily available to all pupils, and to all parents or legal
guardians of pupils, at schoolsites and on the school's or school
district's Internet Web site. The bill would require the State
Department of Education to develop model standards for guiding school
districts with respect to implementing the policies and procedures
adopted under this bill. Because this bill establishes new duties for
school districts, it would impose a state-mandated local program.
 
   (2) 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
  no  . State-mandated local program:  yes
  no  .


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 48432.3 is added to the Education Code, to
read:
   48432.3.  (a)  The   If the  governing
board of a school district  that   operates
at least one high school   chooses to voluntarily enroll
  high school pupils in a continuation school, the
governing board  shall establish and adopt policies and
procedures governing the identification, placement, and intake
procedures for  pupils who voluntarily enroll in continuation
schools   these pupils  . These policies and
procedures shall ensure that there is a clear criterion for
determining which pupils may voluntarily transfer or be recommended
for a transfer to a continuation school and that this criterion is
not applied arbitrarily, but is consistently applied on a
districtwide basis. Approval for the voluntary transfer of a pupil to
a continuation school shall be based on a finding that the voluntary
placement will promote the educational interests of the pupil.
   (b) The policies and procedures adopted under this section shall
ensure that voluntary placement in a continuation school will not be
used as an alternative to expulsion unless alternative means of
 addressing a pupil's behavior have been considered and
documented   correction have been attempted pursuant to
Section 48900.5  .
   (c) The policies and procedures adopted under this section shall
strive to ensure that no specific group of pupils, including a group
based on race, ethnicity, language status, or special needs, is
disproportionately enrolled in continuation schools within the school
district.
   (d)  A   If a governing board chooses to
permit pupils to voluntarily transfer to a continuation school, a
 copy of the policies and procedures adopted under this section
shall be provided to a pupil whose voluntary transfer to a
continuation school is under consideration, and to the parents or
legal guardians of that pupil.  Copies of these policies and
procedures shall also be made readily available to all pupils, and to
all parents or legal guardians of pupils, at schoolsites and on the
school's or school district's Internet Web site.  
   (e) The department shall develop model standards for guiding
school districts with respect to implementing the policies and
procedures they adopt under this section to govern the
identification, placement, and intake procedures for pupils who
voluntarily enroll in continuation schools.  
  SEC. 2.    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.