BILL NUMBER: AB 570	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 13, 2013
	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.
    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 board to establish and adopt policies
and procedures governing the identification, placement, and intake
procedures for these pupils, based on a finding that the voluntary
placement of the pupil will promote his or her educational interests.
The bill would require  the adopted policies and procedures to
ensure, among other things,  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
  district, that the policies and procedures
 to  be provided to  pupils  
pupils, and to the parents and legal guardians of pupils,  whose
voluntary transfer to a continuation school is under consideration,
 and to the parents or legal guardians of those pupils
  and that before a pupil is transferred, the pupil and
his or her parent or legal guardian meet with a counselor, principal,
or administrator from both the transferor school and the
continuation school to determine if transferring is the best option
for the pupil  .
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: 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) If the governing board of a school district 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
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
 also  ensure  that voluntary   all of
  the following: 
    (1)     That voluntary  placement in a
continuation school  will  shall  not be
used as an alternative to expulsion unless alternative means of
correction have been attempted pursuant to Section 48900.5. 
   (c) The policies and procedures adopted under this section shall
strive to ensure that 
    (2)     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) 
    (3)  If  a   the  governing
board  of a school district  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   parent
 or legal  guardians   guardian  of
that pupil. 
   (4) The notification of transfer shall specify that the transfer
is voluntary and that the pupil has a right to return to his or her
previous school if the transfer does not meet the pupil's educational
needs.  
   (5) Before a pupil is transferred, the pupil and his or her parent
or legal guardian shall meet with a counselor, principal, or
administrator from both the transferor school and the continuation
school to determine if transferring is the best option for the pupil.
 
   (6) To the extent possible, voluntary transfer to a continuation
school occurs within the first four weeks of each semester.